The Nightingale Brooch — A Whodunly Case

Snow drifted past the tall windows of the Hotel Valmont. Inside, the winter garden glowed with lamplight, and a band tuned up for the New Year charity ball. The pride of the evening sat in a glass display case by the grand staircase: the Nightingale Brooch, a famous sapphire pin belonging to the retired opera singer Madame Odile Ferrand. She had lent it to the hotel for one night, to be unveiled at nine o'clock and auctioned for the children's hospital. At nine, the manager drew back the velvet curtain — and the crowd gasped. The glass case was shut, unbroken, and completely empty. The brooch was gone. Madame Ferrand sank into a chair, fanning herself. The manager locked the doors at once. Nobody had left the hotel since eight o'clock, when the brooch was last seen sparkling on its stand. Somewhere in the Valmont, among the music and the melting snow on the doormats, was a thief — and a very well-hidden brooch.