A Question of Trust

Horace Danby likes to collect rare, expensive books. The chapter says he robbed a safe every year so that he could secretly buy the books he loved through an agent.

He steals every year because he wants money to buy rare, expensive books. The story says he stole enough to last for twelve months and used the money to purchase the books he loved.

The person speaking to Horace Danby is a young woman dressed in red. The chapter says, "A woman was standing in the doorway... She was young, quite pretty, and was dressed in red."

The real culprit in the story is the young woman dressed in red, who tricks Horace. She is actually the wife of the owner of the house and outwits him, making him the victim of the theft scheme.

Yes. I began to suspect when the woman entered very calmly and confidently and behaved as if she belonged there. Her line "I came back just in time" and the way she spoke to the dog and straightened the ornaments made her seem like the lady of the house. I became more sure when she quickly took charge and used Horace’s fear of prison to manipulate him. This showed she was not an ordinary homeowner, but someone cleverly deceiving him.