36.

The promise

Natalie and Alice get up to go back to the hotel.

Lawrence Windsor: You’re very kind, both of you. I hope we find the thief.
Those works of art are very valuable. They are worth hundreds of thousands of
pounds. And they are very important to me. They are my most prized possession.
Natalie: We are happy to help. Thank you for letting us be a part of this. Art is
very important to me too.
Alice: I promise that we will do everything we can to find your stolen
drawings, Mr. Windsor.
Lawrence Windsor: If you do, you’ll receive a large reward.
Alice: That’s not necessary. We’re not doing it for the money.
Natalie: We’ll be in touch. We’ll let you know if we get any news.
Lawrence Windsor: Okay, thanks. Good luck!
 37. Alice tells Natalie what she knows

When they leave the house, Alice tells Natalie everything she has found out.

Alice: I spoke with all the house staff.

Natalie: With all of them? Who are they?
Alice: There are six: Charlie, the cleaner; Artur, the gardener; Liz and Jacob,
the cooks; Pauline, the nanny; and Daniel, the security guard.
Natalie: Okay. Do any of them seem suspicious?
Alice: No, none of them seem suspicious really. All of them are very nice.
They answered all my questions.
Natalie: What did they tell you?
Alice: The security cameras show that the thief is someone from the house.
Only three people came out of the house on Saturday: Lawrence Windsor, the
nanny and someone who leaves wearing Charlie’s coat and hat.
Natalie: Is it the man in the hat who was in the shop?
Alice: I don’t think so. It’s someone from inside the house who took the coat
and hat from the wardrobe. Charlie and Mariana both confirmed that someone
went in the coat wardrobe. They heard it.
Natalie: You already know a lot about the case. You’re a good detective.
Alice: Thanks. What have you found out?
 38. Natalie tells Alice what she knows

Natalie and Alice continue talking about what they know. They are walking
by the fence, outside Lawrence Windsor’s mansion.

Natalie: Mariana’s comic collection is huge. You can tell that she loves
comics just as much as her father loves the Turner drawings.
Alice: Don’t you think that Mariana behaves a bit strangely?
Natalie: I agree. She does behave strangely. When I asked her about the cost
of one of her comic books, she got awkward. Do you think we should call her a
suspect?
Alice: I don’t know. Maybe she knows something and doesn’t want to say.
Natalie: Why do you think she isn’t telling us everything she knows?
Alice: She could be protecting someone.
Natalie: Who? The thief?
Alice: It’s possible. The thief is one of the three people seen on the cameras:
the mysterious person, the nanny or even her father!
 39. There he is again!

Just as they are getting further away from the house, Natalie can’t believe
what she sees….

Natalie: Alice, look! It’s the man in the hat! It’s the same man from Robert
Green’s shop!
Alice: It’s true. It’s him! In the video footage, that man can be seen with the
police. Maybe he’s a detective.
Natalie: He looks very suspicious to me. What is he doing here?
Alice: I don’t know, but I want to find out. Let’s go and talk to him.
Natalie: Are you crazy, Alice?
Alice: Let’s go. He’s getting further away! Run!
Natalie: You are definitely crazy….
Alice: He is running as well. I think he saw us. He is trying to get away.
Natalie: He is heading towards Camden Market. There are a lot of people and
shops there. It will be difficult to find him....
 40. Following the man in the hat

Inside Camden Market, Natalie and Alice follow the man in the hat. He
walks very quickly among people, stalls and shops.

Natalie: I don’t see him. Do you?

Alice: No. I lost him. I know! Let’s go to the terrace of this cafe. From up
there we will able to see better.
Natalie: Are you sure? This is crazy….
Alice: Yes, let’s go.
Natalie: You were right! From up here you can see the whole market.
Alice: Look, there he is!
Natalie: He is going down that alleyway.
Alice: Let’s follow him!
 41. The alleyway

Alice and Natalie follow the man in the hat into an alleyway in Camden
Market. In the alleyway, there are three shops and they don’t know which one he
has gone into. One is a watch shop, another is a furniture shop and the third is a
bookshop.

Natalie: Where do you think he is?
Alice: He must be in one of these three shops. I am not sure which one he
went into.
Natalie: Do you think he is in the watch shop?
Alice: No, I don’t think he is inside the watch shop.
Natalie: Maybe he went into the furniture shop….
Alice: I don’t think he’s there either.
Natalie: So he must be in the bookshop.
Alice: Yes…. I think that’s the most likely.
Natalie: Should we go inside and see?
Alice: Yes, let’s look for him!
 42. The bookshop

Natalie and Alice go into the bookshop and, between the bookcases, they see
the man in the hat sitting at a table and reading a book. He seems to be waiting
for them.

Alice: There he is!

Man in the hat: Alice, Natalie, I’ve been waiting for you.
Natalie: How do you know our names?!
Man in the hat: I know many things….
Alice: What is your name?
Man in the hat: I can’t tell you my name, yet.
Alice: Can we sit down?
Man in the hat: Yes, of course. Take a seat. We have a lot to talk about.
Alice: Are you following us?
Man in the hat: In fact, I believe it is you two who are following me.
Alice: Well… that’s true. But only because you are always around when
strange things happen.
Man in the hat: Strange things? Like what?
Alice: Like the robbery of the Turner drawings at Lawrence Windsor’s
mansion. And the robbery of the same drawings at Robert Green’s shop.
 43. Face to face with the man in the hat

Alice and Natalie talk to the man in the hat inside a bookshop in Camden
Market.

Man in the hat: So you saw me that day in Robert Green’s shop.
Alice: Yes, we saw you there. Then we saw you leave.
Man in the hat: Okay. I see that you are very observant.
Alice: We also saw you in Lawrence Windsor’s house on the day of the
robbery.
Man in the hat: Really? How?
Alice: On the security cameras. In the video footage, you are talking to the
police.
Man in the hat: Yes, of course. It’s true. You are very observant!
Natalie: Do you have anything to do with the robbery?
Man in the hat: I am not the thief, that’s for sure.
Natalie: Are you a police officer?
Man in the hat: No, I’m not a police officer.
Natalie: Are you a detective, then?
Man in the hat: No, not exactly.
Alice: Then who are you?
 44. The Historians’ Club

The man in the hat tells Alice and Natalie that he is part of a team of expert
investigators that solve mysteries around the world.

Man in the hat: I am an investigator.

Natalie: And what do you investigate? Crimes? Robberies?
Man in the hat: Not exactly. I am part of a group.
Alice: A secret organisation?
Man in the hat: Yes, it’s a secret organisation. We are called The Historians’
Club.
Alice: What do you do?
Man in the hat: We solve mysteries.
Natalie: What kind of mystery?
Man in the hat: Well, we solve mysteries related to art history, archaeology
and architecture.
Natalie: Like the theft of the Turner drawings!
Man in the hat: Exactly!
 45. What the man in the hat was doing at
the market

Natalie and Alice share what they know about the man in the hat.

Alice: So, what do you know about the case?

Man in the hat: First I’d like to hear what you two know.
Alice: Okay…. To start, we know that someone took the Turner drawings
from Lawrence Windsor’s house on Saturday.
Man in the hat: At what time?
Alice: Before 11:30.
Man in the hat: How do you know?
Alice: Because at roughly 11:30, we saw the drawings in Robert Green’s
shop.
Man in the hat: Well done! I know, as I was also there….
Natalie: What were you doing there?
Man in the hat: Honestly, I was investigating some stolen art. There are lots
of stolen works of art in Camden Market. I wanted to see who was going to try
and sell works of art in the shops, to try and catch some art thieves.
Natalie: So you overheard our conversation by chance?
Man in the hat: Absolutely! But I knew straight away that something fishy
was going on….
 46. What the man in the hat did next

The man in the hat tells Natalie and Alice what he did on the day of the
robbery.

Man in the hat: Yesterday, in Robert Green’s shop, I overheard your

conversation about the Turner drawings. Then I went to find out which museums
and private collections in the city had original Turner drawings. It turns out there
is a private collection with a number of drawings in a mansion not too far from
Camden Market.
Natalie: Lawrence Windsor’s collection!
Man in the hat: Exactly! I stayed near the house until the police came.
Alice: Do the police have any leads?
Man in the hat: No, they have no idea who did it. Who do you two think it
was?
Alice: Don’t forget that there could be two thieves! Someone took the
drawings from the house…. But then someone stole them from Robert Green’s
shop.
Man in the hat: Exactly! You are very smart, Alice.
 47. The suspects

The man in the hat talks to Natalie and Alice about the suspects in the case.

Man in the hat: If there are indeed two thieves, I think we should focus on
the first thief.
Alice: We are almost certain that the first thief was someone from the house.
On the security cameras you can see that the only people who leave the house
are Lawrence Windsor, the nanny and someone else….
Man in the hat: Someone else?
Alice: Yes, someone covered up in a hat and a coat. Their face can’t be seen in
the video footage.
Man in the hat: Is it a man or a woman?
Alice: We don’t know!
Man in the hat: What time do they leave the house?
Alice: At 10:30.
Man in the hat: And do they come back later?
Alice: Yes, they return at 11.
Man in the hat: So the first thief is definitely someone from the house!
Alice: Yes, but who?
 48. The man in the hat disappears

Natalie and Alice talk to the man in the hat in the bookshop. However, while
they are talking, a sudden loud noise from behind makes Natalie and Alice turn
around. Several books have fallen off the shelves. When they turn back, the man
in the hat is gone!

Natalie: Where has the man in the hat gone? He was sat here a second ago.
Alice: He disappeared! As if by magic!
Natalie: And who knocked those books down behind us? They scared the life
out of me….
Alice: I don’t know. Maybe someone was spying on us from behind the
bookcase.
Natalie: That’s scary!
Alice: Yes, this is a very strange case. Look at this….
Natalie: The book that the man in the hat was reading when we arrived;
what’s special about it?
Alice: It’s not just any book, it’s a comic!
 49. Pauline at the market

Natalie and Alice leave the bookshop.

Natalie: Shall we go back to the hotel? It’s getting late. Maybe we can carry
on investigating tomorrow morning.
Alice: The life of a detective is exhausting!
Natalie: Hey, look who’s over there!
Alice: It’s Pauline, Mariana’s nanny!
Natalie: Yes, do you think she comes to the market often?
Alice: Hmm…. I don’t know, let’s ask the seller. Excuse me, have you seen
that woman around here before?
Seller: Pauline? Yes, of course. She is always around here.
Alice: Does she buy a lot of antiques?
Seller: Well… to be honest, I don’t think so. I’ve never seen her buy anything.
Alice: Thanks for your help.
Natalie: It’s a bit suspicious, don’t you think?
Alice: Yes, I think it’s quite suspicious….
 50. Back in Robert Green’s shop

Natalie and Alice are very surprised to see Pauline in Camden Market.

Natalie: It’s possible that Pauline comes here just because she likes antiques.
Alice: Yeah, of course. That doesn’t necessarily make her the thief.
Natalie: Also, Robert Green said that the person who brought him the
drawings was a man....
Alice: That’s true. Maybe we could go and ask him before going back to the
hotel…. If you don’t mind.
Natalie: Of course! I’m tired, but I don’t mind a slight detour…. Since we’re
already here.
Alice: You’re great, Natalie! Thanks.
Natalie: No need to thank me, Alice. It’s been a lot of fun investigating this
mystery with you. Let’s go!
Alice: Look, the shop windows are still broken. There’s Robert Green. Should
we go in?
Natalie: Yes, let’s.
Robert Green: Hi! How are you both?
Alice: Good, thanks. We don’t want to bother you. We just wanted to ask you
again about the person who brought you the Turner drawings.
Robert Green: Ah yes, that mysterious young woman….
Alice: Woman?! Didn’t you say before that it was a man?