Phantom Thief vs. Great Detective: The Mystery of the Iridescence Brooch: Vol. 3

An entertainment read popular in Fontaine, telling of the first head-on clash between the phantom thief called the "Phantom Gentleman," Fantomas Louben, and the great detective Chesterton. Disclaimer: this story is pure fiction and has no connection with any real place, person, or event.

"So that's it—what a cunning fellow..."

My uncle watched me with interest, as if waiting for me to go on. So I drew a deep breath and began to set out my own reasoning. "Just as you once said—eliminate all the impossible, and whatever remains, however unbelievable, can only be the truth. So everyone present at the time is under suspicion—no, in the worst case, perhaps all of them are accomplices, and the phantom thief called Louben was never one person to begin with..."

I recalled everyone present then, trying to remember every suspicious detail.

"Mademoiselle Louperet of The Steambird—her worship of Louben is plain as day. I checked her press credentials, but forging identity is second nature for Louben."

"Monsieur Chandler of the Maison Gardiennage briefly left the scene before the brooch was stolen, and only returned to us when the incident occurred. As for his furious manner—thinking back now, it seems a little deliberate."

"Madame Christie of the Marechaussee Phantom kept stressing to others the possibility that Louben used a clockwork mechanism. By your account, that may be exactly the sleight of hand Louben used."

...

"Then, in your view, among all these people, who is most likely the culprit?"

Having analyzed every person present's suspicion, I carefully asked my uncle.

"Your observation is quite sharp," my uncle set down his pipe, stood, still gripping that white-steel cane that gleamed cold under moonlight, "but you seem to have overlooked one point—the most critical point for the case."

I froze for a moment; he raised the cane.

"You—the gentleman who came to rely on an uncle you had never met, calling yourself 'Boilete'—were also among the crowd at the scene, weren't you, Mr. Louben?"