"There has to be an explanation!” Inspector Davis mutters as he sits on the sofa.

“There is no such thing as an unsolvable problem, my friend,” replies Alfred Bates, the world-famous detective.

The two friends were talking about the theft of jewels at the Wayne residence two days back. The police was dumbfounded as there was no clue available. Not only was the door locked from the inside, the windows were bolted shut as well.

“What I fail to understand,” starts Davis, “is how did the thief enter and leave the room, with the doors and windows locked from the inside. What’s your take on the case, Bates!” asks Davis.

“I know that the thief is a young man, very shrewd and is still in the house,” Bates answers casually.

How do you know that? Davis inquires.

“A person with no knowledge of the house would have looked around for the jewels, yet nothing was moved. The person who took the jewels committed the crime in the least possible time. He knew when and where to strike, meaning it was an inside job,” Bates explains.

“How do you know he is a young, shrewd man?” asks Davis.

“A woman would not have escaped notice in the Wayne residence. You must remember that apart from Mrs Wayne, there are four men — Mr Wayne and his three sons — who live on the premises. The servants live in the separate wing. Had the thief been a woman, someone from the household would have noticed her. Hence it was a man,” Bates details his observations.

“Shrewd and young?” asks the inspector.

“Only a shrewd man would have planned the burglary beforehand,” reasons Bates. “Since the burgled room was on the second floor, the man entered it through the windows, a feat an old man would have avoided.”

“And how did he leave?” Davis’s questions continue.

“Through the door,” remarks Bates. “Earlier in the day, he must have unlatched the window so that he could enter the room easily at night, which he did. He unlocked the door from the inside and after pressing the door knob, simply closed it. Hence, no detection, whatsoever.”

“Who has the jewels then?” Davis puts one final question.

“Mr Wayne’s eldest son James. The other two sons looked nervous when the police questioned them, but James remained calm throughout the proceedings,” Bates continued. “He knew something which the police didn’t, and when you asked him where he was on the night of the burglary, he said he was at his friend’s place watching The Late Night Show on TV.”

“What if he was telling the truth?” the inspector ponders.

Bates stands up and replies. “There was no The Late Night Show on TV that night due to some breaking news about an accident at the oil refinery. Hence, James is the man!”