The Necklace Summary

The necklace Chapter I Paul was a student of History. On holidays, he got a summer job at a museum in his town. He liked his job very much because he was interested in History. At the museum, he worked with a girl whom he liked. His job was to prepare some displays showing things that happened in Repson in the past. The Gilbertson necklace, beautifully made of diamonds, arrived when Paul started working at the museum. People said that it once belonged to Marie Antoinette. It was insured for a hundred thousand pounds. It was in a locked display case with a glass front. There were TV cameras in the ceiling of the room watched by a security guard (Roger Fox) to protect it. People at the museum were very friendly. Ian Maxton and Derek Halliday were museum attendants. Linda Jones worked in the museum office and Cora Turner sold the museum tickets. Anna and Paul were working on a display showing the old Repson prison and police station as it was a hundred years ago. There were policemen and criminals made of wax, but they looked real. There was also a display of pirates with a treasure chest full of jewels; and another display of an old shop. Mr. Yardley, who owned a jewellery shop, came in the room to see Ann and Paul work. It was said that he had businesses troubles. Chapter II The following day, while Paul was working in the displays, the alarm went off. Ann came back from the coffee machine. When they heard the alarm, Anna, Paul and the security guard, hurried into the room where the Gilbertson necklace was. The case was broken, and the necklace had disappeared. The TV cameras in the ceiling were covered with a newspaper. Roger said that he couldn’t see who covered the cameras because he was taking money and giving tickets to people while Cora was in the Ladies room. Roger ran off towards the main entrance to close the doors. Anna phoned the police. The police arrived. Detective Chief Inspector Craven and policemen came in the museum and started to ask questions. Chapter III Chief Inspector used Mr. Balfour’s office to ask questions to the people in the museum. Roger Fox was the first person to enter. The rest waited and talked about the theft. Cora Turner saw the dark TV screens behind the ticket desk at 11 o’clock. The TV cameras in the necklace room were covered with a newspaper. Roger closed the museum doors at ten past eleven and many people had left the building already. Cora was the next to enter Mr. Balfour’s office. Two policewomen entered the museum to search the women. Paul knew one of them, but she didn’t see him. Paul was relieved. Linda said that she was with Derek Halliday at the top of the building at eleven o’clock. She knew the time because Derek asked her how long it would be before Mr. Balfour came back, and she saw the office clock. Anna said Paul that they didn’t have to worry because they were together when the theft happened. But in fact Anna went to the coffee machine at that time, and she didn’t tell that to Chief Inspector. Paul entered Mr. Balfour’s office after Anna. Inspector Craven suspected Paul. Many valuable things were in the museum, and they had always been safe, until Paul started working there. Other detective questioned the visitors and the museum attendants. They said that there was a “closed” sign on the door of the room where the necklace was, so they didn’t enter. But the door wasn’t locked. Chief Inspector thought that the thief could have hidden the necklace somewhere in the museum. Everyone was searched, but the necklace wasn’t found. The police looked in all the rooms opened for visitors. Mrs. Gilbertson was informed about the theft. She was angry.

Inspector Todd went to the part of the museum where the displays were. Anna warned him that the paint was wet, and Inspector Todd stopped looking there. Chapter IV Paul noticed that part of the wall in the pirate display was not finished and told Anna. He also said that the police suspected him, but Anna didn’t think Paul was the thief. That afternoon, Anna left the museum before Paul because she had to go to the dentist. Paul decided to finish the wall in the pirate display. He moved a wax pirate and the wooden treasure chest. The jewels on the chest were arranged differently. Somebody had moved them. The Gilbertson necklace was among the false jewels. Chapter V First, Paul thought that he must tell Roger Fox and the police. But then he remembered that the police suspected him, and that they would believe that he had stolen the necklace, got frightened and pretended to find it. Suddenly he heard somebody going up the stairs. He hid the necklace back in the chest. It was Roger Fox. Nobody saw him discover the necklace and the hiding place because there weren’t security cameras in that room. The thief also knew that. He went downstairs with Roger. The museum was closed, and Mrs. Morgan was cleaning it. She and Paul’s mother were old friends. He left the museum and walked home, thinking about the theft and what the thief was going to do next. He also remembered that it was Anna who stopped Inspector Todd to have a close look at the pirate display. But he didn’t want to suspect Anna. Mr. Yardley needed money. He had said that he came to see Anna, but he could have hid the necklace in the chest then. Paul remembered the name of the newspaper on the camera was the Daily Chronicle and that Mr. Yardley read The Times. He was confused. The thief was somebody who knew about the pirate’s treasure chest, somewhere to hide the necklace. Chapter VI That evening, Paul went to a café after the cinema, and saw Cora and his brother arguing. Greg, his brother, used to gamble and he owed money. Paul suspected them because they needed money. Cora had said that she went to the Ladies Room when the theft happened. But perhaps she stole the necklace, hid it and wanted to sell it to get the money for her brother. Paul met Ian Maxton on his way to the museum. He said Paul that he had had an accident with his motorbike. When they entered the museum, Ian dropped his newspaper. It was the Daily Chronicle, the newspaper used to cover the TV cameras. Mr. Balfour called Paul to his office. He told him that the police suspected him. And that Mrs. Gilbertson was very unhappy. He also said that he used to be at the desk selling tickets when Cora was absent. That day he wasn’t in the museum, and Roger took Cora’s place; therefore Roger stopped looking at the security cameras. Chapter VII Paul hurried upstairs to check that the necklace was still in the chest, but Anna had already arrived. She saw Paul had painted the wall in the display. When she left to the coffee machine, Paul went to see the treasure chest. The necklace was there. When Anna came back, Paul told her about Ian’s accident. Anna said that Ian’s motorbike wasn’t insured. He had to pay for the damage of his motorbike and the damage to the car because he was to blame. Ian had to pay two thousand pounds and he didn’t have the money. So Paul suspected Ian to have stolen the necklace because he needed money. Besides, Ian read the Daily Chronicle. Paul went to a café after work. He met Derek Halliday. Paul asked Derek why he had asked Linda when Mr. Balfour was coming back to the museum the day the necklace was stolen, although he already knew that. Derek said that Linda was mistaken, because he hadn’t asked. Derek said that he had to make a phone call, and left the café. Chapter VIII

When Paul came back from lunch, inspector Todd was at the museum. Mr. Balfour called Paul to his office. Inspector Todd told him that a policewoman had recognized him, and reminded that Paul was in trouble with the police when he was 14. He was with two older boys who had stolen some cigarettes, and were caught by the police. Mr. Balfour suggested Paul to find another job after that week, because if Mrs. Gilbertson discovered that he allowed a boy who was accused of stealing working in the museum, she would blame Mr. Balfour. Paul told Anna. She was very unhappy. Paul remembered that his fingerprints were in the necklace and he had to wipe them out. Paul decided to catch the thief. Chapter IX Paul had a plan. He went under the pirate display, cut some pieces of wood with a saw, and pushed them over. Fortunately, nobody saw him doing that. He told Anna and everyone in the museum, except for Mr. Balfour, that he was going to fix the platform in the pirate display, and that he would have to move the display off the platform. He even telephoned Mr. Yardley. He left work at the usual time, making sure that everyone saw him. Then he came back, and told Mrs. Morgan that he had forgotten some books and wanted to fetch them. Mrs. Morgan told him that on Monday, the day that the theft happened, she had to put the office clock back to the right time because it was ten minutes fast. Mrs. Morgan told Paul that after he leave, make sure the doors were closed behind him, and she continued with her work upstairs. Paul looked for a place to hide, took out the Gilbertson necklace from the treasure chest, wiped his fingerprints out, and put it back in the chest. Then he thought of a place to hide from where he could see the pirate display. He decided to hide in the prison cell, using one of the wax dummies’ uniform, and taking the wax dummy’s place. Then he waited the thief to come. Chapter X It was midnight when he heard the noise of glass breaking. The alarm began to ring, but only for a few moments. The thief didn’t have a key, he thought, but he knew the place to switch off the alarm. The person was carrying a torch. When the thief took out the necklace from the treasure chest, Paul said “Hello Derek”, and switched on the light. Derek was frightened and amazed. Paul said that he knew that Derek was the thief when Mrs. Morgan told him about the office clock. Derek told Paul that somebody paid him for stealing the necklace. Suddenly, a person covered with a hooded coat shot at Derek. Paul moved quickly and switched the lights off. This person was somebody who didn’t know where the things were in the room because he/she knocked against wax dummies several times. She continued moving, without realizing that she was walking into the prison cell. When she was inside the cell, Paul ran across, shut and locked the cell door and called the police. Chapter XI Many policemen carrying guns arrived in the museum. The hooded person caused no trouble. She threw her gun across the floor and two policemen picket it up. The woman was Mrs. Gilbertson. The ambulance men ran to the pirate display to assist Derek, who was bleeding. The next afternoon, Paul told Mr. Balfour, Chief inspector Craven and Inspector Todd his story. He said that he decided to catch the thief because the police suspected him. Inspector Todd explained Paul that Mrs. Gilbertson did it because she needed money and wanted the money from the insurance company. She knew Derek before he started working at the museum because he used to be her gardener. She knew he was a thief, but recommended him to Mr. Balfour because she had been planning the theft for more than a year. Later she decided to kill him because Derek asked for more money to keep quiet about the theft. Derek and Mrs. Gilbertson went to prison, and Paul went back to school. But Mr. Balfour offered him a job at the museum when he finished school.

What he/she was doing when the theft happened Why Paul suspected him/her Anna She went to the coffee machine She stopped Inspector Todd from looking closely at the pirate display. She didn’t want Paul to paint the wall at the pirate display. Mr. Balfour He left the museum. --------------------Cora Turner She went to the ladies room Her brother needed money because he used to gamble and owed money. Ian Maxton He needed money because he had had an accident with his motorbike, it was his fault, and he had to pay the damage to his motorbike and the car because the motorbike wasn’t insured. Derek Halliday He was with Linda. He asked Linda when Mr. Balfour was coming, although he knew the time when he was supposed to come back. Mr. Yardley He was in the museum He had businesses troubles and he needed money. Jewellery was his business and he could know where to sell the necklace.