The case of the Moonstone was most unusual. I knew that the answer was in the smear of paint on Rachel Verinder's sitting room door, but I couldn't find the garment which made the mark.
At the time Rachel was behaving very strangely, especially when she refused to answer my questions. I was convinced that she had taken her own diamond, and that Rosanna had assisted her. I assumed her maid had taken Rachel's garment with the paint stain, hidden it, and then secretly made a new one in her room during the night. However, what happened later proved me wrong.
After the party Rachel went to London, where Godfrey again asked her to marry him, and this time she accepted. However, when she found out that Godfrey had heavy debts and only wanted to marry her for her money, she cancelled the wedding. This made me curious, and when I heard that some Indians had attacked Godfrey, I became even more interested. I began to wonder whether I had been mistaken about Rachel and Rosanna.
Franklin Blake, meanwhile, received a letter from Rosanna saying that she knew what he had done on the night the Moonstone disappeared. She had found paint stains on his clothes when she cleaned his room. She admitted that she had hidden the evidence because she loved him and wanted to keep him out of trouble. The letter confused Franklin and he decided that he had to talk to Rachel, even though she was still angry with him. When they met, Franklin was shocked to hear Rachel telling him that she had seen him take the diamond, but had protected him from me by not answering my questions.
Poor Franklin found the news deeply disturbing. Was it possible that he had stolen Rachel's diamond and then forgotten that he did it? In all my years as a detective I have never heard of a thief having such a loss of memory. And where had he put the jewel if he had taken it?
Fortunately, Dr Candy had the solution. You may remember that Franklin was suffering from lack of sleep at the time of Rachel's birthday, and had upset Dr Candy with his remarks about doctors. Later that evening Dr Candy had put some opium into Franklin's drink to prove to him that it would help. Franklin slept very well that night dreaming about the diamond, and without waking up, he had moved it to his bedroom where he thought it would be safer.
Franklin and Rachel were both delighted to discover that Franklin was innocent after all. It warmed my heart to see them so happy together, but the diamond was still missing. We could not find it in Franklin's bedroom. Where was it? They asked me to find it, so I continued my investigation.
This time I was more successful and eventually discovered the real thief: Godfrey! It turned out that Godfrey had also seen Franklin move the diamond that night and, knowing that Franklin would be accused, he had taken it. The diamond seemed to be the perfect solution to his financial problems, but was, in fact, the start of many difficulties. Godfrey found it impossible to sell the Moonstone in England because everyone knew it was stolen. Desperate for money, he tried to persuade Rachel to marry him, but when she changed her mind, he had no choice but to go abroad to sell the diamond.
My detective work finally led me to the ship where I found Godfrey. Unfortunately I arrived too late. Godfrey was dead and the Moonstone was gone.
I am embarrassed to admit that I made many mistakes in this investigation. If you guessed who had committed the crime, then you are a better detective than the famous Sergeant Cuff! I have never found the Moonstone, and I cannot prove who killed Godfrey. I wonder, however, whether perhaps justice was done after all. Godfrey paid a high price for his crime. He lost the jewel and his life, while Franklin and Rachel are very much in love and engaged to be married. As for the Moonstone, I have heard that it has somehow returned to its true home in India, where it once again decorates the forehead of the statue of the moon god. |