The Jewel Thief

Showing Maddie

My first instinct is to pinch myself. It has to be a dream. It just has to. So I pinch myself, hard, and squeeze my eyes shut. And then I open them, but the jewels are still as plain as day, glittering more than ever.

So they're real. Gorgeous, magnificent jewels are hidden in my uncle's attic. But why? Maybe they belonged to his wife. Or maybe he stole them. No, they belonged to his wife, I decide.

I tentatively reach my hand out and run my fingers along them delicately. They are cool and smooth. There are a whole variety; emeralds, rubies, garnets, pearls, topaz, sapphires, amethysts, even the occasional diamond. I lift them up slowly, examining them. In doing this I realize that they are far too fancy to belong to Uncle, even though he is wealthy. Hmmm...

Suddenly I hear more noise down below and decide to explore this again tonight. I lock the chest and shove it back in the corner, hiding the key where it had been. I make my way back to the trapdoor and look down the hole. There is nobody below me, but the ladder has been taken down, put away behind the cupboard again! How am I supposed to get down now?
I run over to the dusty window and I eventually manage to crank it open, with much difficulty. I look down. It is a big drop and I don't want to risk it. I go back to the trapdoor. I stick my head down and peer around. I hoist myself down, my feet a foot from the ground and my hands gripping the edge of the attic floor next to the trapdoor. I let go with one hand and then the other. It makes quite a noise, and the trapdoor is still open, so I hoist up the ladder again. I run back up and put it right underneath the trapdoor, before climbing up and closing it. That was rather risky, I am not tempted to do it again. I replace the ladder and then go outside to post my letter to Molly, still thinking about the jewels. I wonder why they are in the attic, in a rusty chest instead of out in the open for everyone to see. I slip the letter in the mailbox and go back inside to find Maddie and tell her about the jewels, giving she's done with the dishes. I find her in our room – so she's finished, good – fumbling at the woven bracelet that Mum gave her ages ago like she always does when she is sad. I skip up to her. She has a solemn face and is still fumbling.

"Maddie, are you alright?' I ask softly. 'Is there anything wrong?"

"Oh Elizabeth, I am just remembering Dad. Do you remember how he used to be a carpenter? Oh, of course you don't. Well, I was coming out of the kitchen after having done the dishes when I noticed something familiar – it was the cabinet that I had noticed earlier. Dad's work is in the living room! That made me cry again."

"I know. I still miss Dad and Mum lots." It takes me a moment to decide whether I should tell Maddie about the jewels. But in the end, I realize that Maddie is my sister and I need to tell her. So I take a deep breath and hope she believes me.

"I have intriguing news. You remember how Uncle said not to go in the attic? Well, my curiosity got the better of me when I saw a trapdoor after supper. I climbed up a ladder and made my-"

Maddie cuts me off.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I dismantled that ladder! I wondered why it was there.' Catching my glance, she adds 'Sorry, keep going."

"Anyway," I continued, cross at Maddie, "I climbed the ladder and made my way into the attic. There is a bit of broken glass, but that's not the important thing. There's a rusty chest in one corner and, using a key I found, I opened it. And you'll never guess what's inside this chest."

"What? Old pictures of Dad? Some of Dad's things?"

"Better. In front of my eyes were tons and tons of jewels, rubies, emeralds, even diamonds. What puzzles me is why they're up there instead of on display or in a box exposed down here. And as far as I know, Uncle sold his wife's possessions when she died, so why would he still have these? They're also far too expensive to have ever belonged to him."

Maddie looks enormously surprised. "How about we could go investigate tonight. You coming?"

"Why would I not? This is a mystery. And we're going to crack it."

That night I shake Maddie awake. I fish out my dim flashlight Charlotte gave me for my birthday once and pull on my slippers. Maddie rubs her eyes. I shake her some more and eventually she drags herself out of bed. I cannot blame her, it is around three o'clock at night. We make our way out of the room very quietly and over to the attic trapdoor. I point at it. Maddie nods and rubs her eyes again. I carefully lift the ladder up and place it below the trapdoor. Maddie seems more awake now. I cautiously begin climbing the ladder and motion for her to follow. I reach the trapdoor and it creaks open as I push on it. It is even darker than down below and I shudder. Maddie seems to read my mind and lays her hand on my shoulder. At least I am not doing this alone. I switch on the flashlight and hoist myself onto the attic floor. Maddie follows soon after. It is barely brighter so I go back down and turn on the hall night-light. I climb back up and leave the trapdoor open a crack so we can see a bit better.

I lead Maddie over to the corner where I sighted the chest. There it was, tucked in the corner, looking very untouched. "Are you ready for the sight of your life?" I whisper to Maddie. She nods eagerly in reply. I retrieve the silver key and twist it in the lock. And there they are, the magnificent jewels that I had seen the day before. Maddie gasps. I fumble with them a bit and find a beautiful sapphire necklace. Giggling, I fasten the clasp around my neck. I dance around the room like a princess. But then I realize these are not my jewels. I take the necklace off and look for more clues to why they are up here. I turn to take the chest back from Maddie, but she's staring at something that looks like an ordinary scrap of paper. Then she tears her eyes away from it and looks at me, goggling.

"Elizabeth... I think you should see this..."

She tosses the scrap of paper onto my lap and I pick it up. My eyes flash to the formal signature at the bottom – it is Prince Phillip's signature.

'Dear Princess Margaret Rose,
Your sister Elizabeth is to be crowned sometime in 1953. You are to give her these jewels at her coronation. But you must keep them well-hidden until the special day. Please do not touch them, they are going to become Elizabeth's. Also, I am very sorry for the loss of your father, please take care.
Thank you and see you at the coronation.

Phillip.'


My mind races. So these jewels are going to belong to the queen! And someone has stolen them! I wonder why, and how they got all the way to America. Maddie glances at me curiously. I push the letter towards her and start thinking. The only possible suspect I can come up with is Uncle Henry. He is a cross, grumpy man who doesn't like kids. He is more likely to be a criminal than anything else. Come to think of it, I don't actually know what his job is. And of course the jewels are in his attic! He is a very big suspect. I am extremely excited since I have read lots of mystery novels and this mystery involves the robbery of jewels from a princess! I pull out my emergency notepad and scribble down some thoughts and our suspect, Uncle. Maddie is done reading and she says she thinks it is him too. I nod in agreement. I tell her we will discuss this tomorrow and she sighs. She must love the mystery thing as well.

We clamber back over to the trapdoor, after tidying away the chest and key. I turn of the flashlight and begin descending the ladder. I get to the bottom and Maddie follows. Suddenly I hear something. I hear a groan followed by a creak and a slam of a door. "Uncle," I whisper. I push the ladder against the wall and we run back to our room, shutting the door. I am out of breath and my heart is beating awfully fast. We climb into bed and make it look like we asleep. After a few minutes I am sure he is gone. I roll over to face Maddie.
"That was close," I whisper.
"Awfully." She sighs. "It was amazing though. I'm certain it was Uncle who stole them."
"I agree." I roll back over. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," I hear back. I shut my eyes and fall asleep.