The Riddle of the Amber Ring
Episode 3: The Golden Setting
Back in his mobile laboratory van parked down the lane, Alistair examined the items he had managed to salvage from the greenhouse floor—including a discarded receipt from an antique shop in the port district. The receipt was timestamped just three hours before the theft, listing the purchase of a specialized resin-solvent compound used to dissolve amber mountings without heat damage. Alistair drove straight into the city through the dense morning fog, arriving at the rundown antique shop just as the iron security gate was being lifted. The shopkeeper, a nervous man with ink-stained fingers named Victor Vance, tried to lock the front door upon seeing Alistair approach. Alistair wedged his shoulder into the doorframe, forcing his way inside the cramped, cluttered shop. “Where is the Amber Star, Vance? I know you fenced it for the Ravenwood insider,” Alistair demanded, displaying the receipt. Vance backed away toward the counter, his hand trembling as he reached beneath the cash register. “I… I only cleaned the setting! I didn’t steal it!” Vance stammered. Suddenly, the front window of the shop shattered inward as a masked assailant fired a silenced pistol through the glass. Vance screamed, diving behind the counter as Alistair hit the floor, scrambling behind a towering stack of wooden shipping crates.
The Secret Buyer
The gunman stepped through the shattered storefront window, his tactical boots crunching over broken glass as he swept the shop with his weapon. Alistair held his breath behind the wooden crates, slipping his heavy brass pocket compass into his hand like a weighted projectile. The gunman approached the counter, grabbing Victor Vance by the collar and dragging him to his feet. “Where is the ledger? Give it to me, or the shop burns with you inside,” a harsh voice demanded. Alistair recognized that voice instantly—it belonged to Lady Evelyn, the Duchess’s niece. She had orchestrated the entire theft to cut her aunt out of a family trust fund hidden behind the amber’s coded inclusions. Before Evelyn could extract the information from Vance, Alistair hurled his brass compass across the room, striking a heavy iron chandelier hanging above Evelyn’s head. The chandelier crashed down onto the counter, pinning Evelyn’s arm and knocking her weapon to the floor. Vance scrambled out the back exit into the alley, leaving Evelyn trapped beneath the iron fixture. Alistair stepped out from the shadows, picking up Evelyn’s dropped pistol and keeping her covered while he dialed the emergency services. “The game is over, Evelyn. The amber’s secret inclusions are already documented on my laptop,” Alistair stated coldly.