Plot
The golden chariot from the "Oxus treasure" collection has been stolen from the British Museum. The inspector looks at the profile of all the staff and regular visitors present at the time of the incident and asks them a few questions.
Characters
Total characters = 6
Night Guard
Day Guard
Manager of the museum- Daniel Deronda
Worker in the museum- Kari Buhl
Police Inspector - Philip Marlowe
Female Police Assistant - Anna Howe
The police inspector, Philip Marlowe, gets a call from the manager of the museum, Daniel Deronda, about the golden chariot been stolen from the British Museum. Inspector Philip Marlowe enters the museum with his assistant Police officer, Anna Howe. The two guards greet him and call the manager.
Night Guard - Good evening sir, we have been looking for you for a while.
Inspector Philip - The honor is all mine. This is my associate, Anna Howe. Who called us to report the theft that took place of the golden chariot?
Day Guard - The manager has called you. The theft has left us in utter shock.
Inspector Philip - Okay. Who was present in the afternoon, when this theft took place?
Day Guard - I was at the duty, sir.
Inspector Philip - Where were you when the thief broke the glasses and took out the golden chariot from Oxus treasure?
Day Guard - Actually sir, I went to have lunch and due to some reason I came late. When I came back I saw the glasses were broken and the golden chariot was not present there.
Inspector Philip- Where was the other guard?
Night Guard - I was in the restroom, sir.
Inspector Philip - The entrance of the door has a password, which only the people of the museum know then how can the thief enter?
Manager- We are wondering about the same and it is such a shame that even after high security this happened.
Inspector Philip - Do not worry. Let us complete our interrogation and we will find the culprit soon.
Manager - I hope the same.
Inspector Philip - Where were you, Mr. Daniel?
Manager- I was busy doing some paperwork in my cabin.
Inspector Philip - When did you come to know about this theft?
Manager - I was informed about this by the guards.
Inspector Philip - Can anyone please show me the CCTV footage.
Manager - We can definitely show you the CCTV footage but the part where the theft took place has been deleted by the thief.
Inspector - How can someone do all these acts so smoothly, without having any information about the internal data of the museum?
Assistant Anna Howe- Sir, someone from the museum has surely helped the thief.
Inspector Philip -We can conclude one thing that, the guards were the ones to know about this theft and only they were present near the surrounding where the theft took place.
Day Guard - Sir we got to know about this first but we are not the culprits.
Night Guard - Yes sir, please don’t doubt us.
Inspector Philip - Then whom do you think should I held responsible for this?
Day Guard - I am not too sure but we have a worker here who is on leave for the past four days.
Inspector Philip - Who is that?
Night Guard - Kari Buhl
Inspector Philip - Anna, please take all his information and address from the guards and let’s go to his place.
Anna Howe- But sir he must have fled by now.
Inspector Philip- Still we can go and interrogate.
Inspector, Philip Marlowe with his assistant Anna Howe goes to Kari Buhl’s home. There, they found a newspaper and a cup of tea lying on the table.
Kari Buhl - Who are you and why are you here?
Inspector Philip - We are officers from the crime branch and we are here to interrogate you about the lost golden chariot from the "Oxus Treasure" collection.
Kari Buhl - But, I have not been to the museum for four days. I do not know anything.
Inspector Philip - Why have you not been to work?
Kari Buhl - I was not feeling well.
Inspector Philip - Why did not you inform about your taking leave the manager?
Kari Buhl - I forgot to inform the manager because my condition was extreme and I needed rest.
Inspector Philip tells Anna Howe to check the home carefully. Anna could not find anything. They both return to the British Museum.
Inspector Philip - I guess I know who is the culprit and I can explain it with proof. It would be better if the culprit confesses his crime on his own and accept it.
Questions for the students
Whom do you identify as the culprit in the story and why do you think so?
STUDENT 1 - I think that the day guard is the culprit as the theft took place in the afternoon when it was lunchtime for everyone and he took advantage of it.
STUDENT 2 - I feel that the night guard is the culprit because it was the resting time for him and everyone else was busy doing lunch.
STUDENT 3 - I have the view that the worker, Kari Buhl is the main culprit. He did not come to the museum for four days so that nobody can doubt his intentions.
Conclusion:
The real culprit is the Manager, Daniel Deronda. He was seen in the CCTV footage getting inside the room but the recording after that was deleted. Only the manager had the power to view any CCTV recording or to delete it. The manager was responsible for the theft that took place and he was the only culprit.