~01
'The Weekend Bandit Strikes Again!'
You sit in your chair surveying the article in the newspaper in front of you. It details a recent robbery in a nearby museum. The coffee in your hand is hot, and you blow on it as you read. The article lists the fact that the Police still haven’t been able to catch the thief. 
You are certain the Police will try and contact you for help by the end of the week. As a Private Detective, your keen eye has brought down many a criminal in these past few years for them. You have no doubt that you would be able to catch this ‘Weekend Bandit’. 
At that moment, your phone begins to ring. 
You reach for your phone, expecting to see the number of the local Police Department. However, it is a completely unknown number. 

What do you do?

[b1:16]1. Ignore the phone. No phone calls before you have finished your morning coffee. 
[b2:02]2. Aha! Perhaps it is a new case! You answer the phone.
~02
You answer the phone, “Hello?”
“I’m so sorry to call so early! My name is Martine Dubois and I’m the Head Curator of this city’s museums. I’m calling about a robbery.”
“A robbery? When did it occur?”
There is a pause before she speaks. 
“It hasn’t happened yet.”
Your eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Before you can say anything she continues to speak:
“I’m sure you already have heard about the recent robberies at various museums as of late. The thief has been dubbed The Weekend Bandit and,” she takes a deep breath, “I believe that I know where he’s going to strike next.”
***
Fifteen minutes later finds Martine Dubois standing in your office. She is dressed immaculately. You offer her something to drink but she politely declines. Instead she offers up a USB. Straight to business. 
“Here is the CCTV footage from the robbery on the weekend.” She sits next to you to better see the computer as you plug the USB in.
You study the footage closely: a man approaches a glass cabinet. From this angle you cannot properly see his face or what he is wearing. From the side you can see that he has dark hair and is wearing glasses. The thief leans in, his nose almost touching the glass as if he is trying to read the descriptions inside the cabinet. When he finally reads something that he likes he pulls forth a glass cutter and proceeds to line it up along the glass. In seconds a perfect circle is removed and the thief reaches in and grabs the diamond. Then he dashes out of the room. 
The scene is burnt into your memory. 
“The newspaper said that he struck at night after everyone had gone home. He was in and out within ten minutes. Is that correct?”
She nods and smiles wryly.
“Yes, but here is what the press haven’t released. See that diamond?” She points at the diamond that the thief has stolen. “It’s worth a lot of money, yes? However, it’s not the most valuable diamond in that case.”
“So why did he steal that one?”
“Exactly! I have a theory. That singular diamond, along with two other diamonds were originally part of a necklace called ‘The Midnight Queen’. Many years ago someone split the diamonds from the necklace and sold them to three different museums.”
“… and you believe that the Weekend Bandit is going to steal the other two diamonds.”
She nods. “Yes. Alone, the diamonds are worth thousands of dollars. But all together? They would be worth millions. I would have gone straight to the Police, but the last time I went, the press where on my back. We can’t afford to have this information in the newspapers just yet! I’m worried that if word gets out before the next week’s big opening, if sponsors think we can’t keep their precious materials safe the exhibit will be pulled from the museum! We’re struggling to get people to come in at the moment, and we could hardly cope with the bad press.” She sighs “The press have only agreed to an embargo for the next 24 hours, so time is of the essence.” 
“So… You want me to prevent either from being stolen and catch the thief in the act?”
“Yes! The Museum that was robbed on the weekend was the Eastern Museum. The other two diamonds are held at the Western Museum and the Central Museum respectively.”

Where do you investigate first?

[b1:03]1. The scene of the crime. You head to the Eastern Museum to see if there’s something the police may have missed.
[b2:05]2. The Western Museum. You might be able to have a look at their security and make sure the diamond is protected.
[b3:06]3. ‘The Midnight Queen’? Sounds interesting. A journey to the Library will dig up some information about the history of the necklace. You head to the Library. 

~03
You drive Martine back to the Eastern Museum. 
When you arrive she leads you straight past the people waiting to get inside and into the lobby. The inside of the Eastern Museum is grand and filled with light. You pass a sign that points towards the ‘Dinosaur Exhibit’ and the children excitedly tugging their parents’ arms.
Martine leads you to a room off to the side. The room is richly furnished with carpets and long glass cases. Immediately you recognise it from the CCTV camera footage. She closes the door behind you both.
“We’ve closed this room off from the public for now.”
You look at the hole cut into the cabinet. Various jewels and gems glint at you from underneath the glass. As you walk past, their names jump out at you: Emerald, Jade, Lapis Lazuli, Yellow Diamond, Garnet… 
As you duck down you can see a wire running along the glass.
“Did the thief not set off the alarm?”
Her eyes widened, “Oh, he did! When he cut a hole and pulled the diamond from the case it set off the room’s alarm and brought the Police here. By the time they got here the thief was long gone. But the funny thing was that the first alarm connected to the entries into the museum didn’t go off, and there was no sign of forced entry. Otherwise the Police would have been here sooner.”
It occurs to you that the footage you saw of the thief only showed him in this room and then running from the place.
“Was there no footage of him entering the museum?”
Martine’s eyes widen.
“Oh! I didn’t even think of that.”
“Do you have more CCTV footage then? Where’s the rest of it?”
 Martine wrung her hands together, “It’s not common knowledge, but the CCTV system that we have in place performs a backup once a week. It takes approximately five minutes, but during that time the cameras are not switched on. He must have entered the building during that time!”
“So… the thief had to be familiar with the inner workings of the museum or have knowledge that a normal civilian would not have access to,” you pace around the cabinet looking at it intently, “and he could get inside without setting off the entrance alarm.”
Martine nods. 
Suddenly something occurs to you.
“Do the other museums use a similar CCTV system? Do their cameras back up their footage?”
“Yes, unfortunately. The Western Museum performs its backup tomorrow night, and the Central Museum does its backup tonight.”
“What time tonight?”
“6:00pm.”
You look at your watch. You have exactly twenty minutes to get there. The Central Museum is just under twenty minutes away from here. There is no time to waste. 
“The thief is going to strike the Central Museum!”
You are sprinting out of the door before Martine can even open her mouth. You will have to explain later. You jump in your car, start the engine and pull away from the museum. 
You will be able to get there in time… just. 
Perhaps it’s worth phoning the Police to request backup at the Central Museum? That might alert the Press though. You know that Martine requested that no-one else was involved but when the time is so short…
As you drive, you quickly glance look at your phone. The battery is about to die! You can only make one phone call as you drive. 

Who do you call?

[b1:09]1. The Police. They need to know that the thief will strike the Central Museum
[b2:10]2. Martine. She may be able to help.    

~END