How To Solve "In Plain Sight"

Dearest detectives,

We hope you’ve enjoyed solving our latest case, “In Plain Sight”. We’re in the process of evaluation submissions to our Featured Detective Competition and look forward to announcing a winner soon. In the mean-time, Holmes would like to let you know how he solved the case, and what truly transpired.

Sincerely yours,

The Dear Holmes Team

——

Lincolnshire

September 19th, 1889

My dear Watson,

It is indeed a curious thing why those three people should have all called me to the theatre independently to solve this case, only to disregard your investigation so quickly. Everyone seems to be eager to hide something they don’t want you to see, but they still need my help to solve at least one of the cases. Yes, I say one, because there have actually been two cases all along — one devious only coming to light because of another, more foolishly perpetrated. I’m sure that the more elaborate one would have stayed hidden, if not for the revealing flames. Fire has a way of making us rethink our priorities and reach for the most valuable thing to save from it, and this has been one of these cases.

But I digress. Let me start with the first case: The fire at the theatre. After looking into George Edwardes’ financial situation, I am inclined to agree with your theory. I had some contacts of mine produce a copy of his insurance policy for me just after you sent me that first letter. You know it’s a habit of mine to collect all the available information before I theorize. The damage was well-planned and the fire well executed. Just enough to fulfill the insurance clause, but not too much, as to put the Gaiety in actual danger. They will be able to keep their opening night date, but also collect the money. The publicity is just an added bonus. The fact that he had an illustration done so early made me even more sure. He wanted to capture the look of the costumes in case the fire got out of control.

But George Edwardes is not the one who stole them. No, he needed them burnt. And he needed all of them on display to prove that they were actually damaged, as the costumes were actually insured for almost as much as the building itself, owing to the fact that they had to make their way from France. That Mrs. Hood’s dress disappeared so quickly was detrimental to his plan, and when the other two were stolen as well, he panicked. He needed them back, so he wrote to me, despite his ploy, as he probably didn’t want to involve the police force too deeply.

Mrs. Hood is the blameless victim in this case. She’s been hurt because she had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Mr. Edwardes must have talked about his intention to write to me, and she decided to take matters into her own hands in case he wavered. He did, but not for too long. The letters are only a day apart. She is the only one with a clean conscience, at least in this regard.

The culprit behind the second case — the stolen costumes — was someone who knew the theatre inside out. When the fewest people would be in the building while it was still open, when the night guard had his usual supper, what the quickest way was to run with the bounty.

Yes, I’m talking about none other than Irene Turner herself.

Why would she come to my door in the middle of the night then? It’s really quite simple: She was afraid and sought protection, hoping to lose her status as a suspect by transforming herself into a client. Mis Turner is not the first criminal to try this method with me, and she won’t be the last. There’s something daring in that act, as it either requires a little insanity or a lot of desperation. Miss Turner had the latter.

So, why would she steal the costumes in the first place? Did she have a grudge against the theatre? No, that can be safely excluded. She returned the costumes in time, clean, restored as well as they could be. Of course it couldn’t have been she who repaired the garments… not because she isn’t capable, but because you said she was at the theatre, following you around at all times. But another could — the one who had made them in the first place: Mary Turner, returned from Paris early. She must have sat in Miss Turner’s home, mending the masterpieces she had created. She was also the one who stole the remaining costumes on that night, injuring Mrs. Hood, while Irene Turner was out drinking to achieve a perfect alibi.

Couldn’t Irene Turner have brought her aunt directly to the theatre, then? What was the use in stealing the costumes and repairing them in secret? To that I say: She had absolutely no choice. You see the decorations on the various clothes weren’t just decorations… they were stolen jewels! Every pearl, crystal, golden ornament. They represent a mighty haul that needed to be brought from France to England, undetected. Mary Turner left an engagement at the World Fair, currently in progress in Paris, where she had worked in sewing and repairing uniforms for the British exhibitors. She must have realised that the fair is a prime spot to steal from many visitors. Whether she did it herself or had an accomplice, I can’t say, but she needed a way to safely transport her bounty back home.

The engagement as costume-maker for the Gaiety was the perfect opportunity. Instead of cheap imitations, the garments were decorated with actual jewels, hidden in plain sight. Irene Turner had probably planned to slowly remove some jewels every week during the run of the play, replacing them gradually with worthless stones, so that the exchange wouldn’t be as noticeable as now, when the whole set was exchanged at once.

When the fire broke out, Miss Turner must’ve panicked. The bodice of the dress that Mrs. Hood was supposed to wear, was obviously the most expensive of the three, possibly studded with actual diamonds, which sparkled like “a starry night sky,” as you put it. She was afraid that the jewels would be noticed by anyone who inspected the costumes closely to assess their damage in the aftermath of the fire. One day later she instructed her aunt on how to retrieve the other two sets of garments.

While you read this letter, the Yard will be instructed to visit Miss Turner’s house. Your cluelessness was the perfect method to keep her feeling secure, so she wouldn’t run with the jewels too quickly. I have not informed them about Mr. Edwardes’ trick. The play seems like an interesting interpretation, and I would hate to ruin my chance to see it.

Yours,

Sherlock Holmes