The Stakes are out

Flaw is trying to find a book thief. Casey is investigating the theft of the Velvet Ruby.

## Episode Summary

The episode starts with a door bell chiming as Flaw enters a bookshop. The person behind the counter, Nisha, greets him and thanks Detective Terra for taking the case. She then tells him how the books have been going missing from her bookshop, and that she suspects someone might be stealing them. Flaw asks what books are missing and Nisha leads him through the shop, showing him empty shelves in the educational, fantasy, romance and children’s books sections. Flaw decides to ask the neighboring shops if they have had the same problem.

Casey is having tea in a luxurious living room. In front of her sits a woman, who is draped in shiny jewelry and rings. She’s Mrs. Wimston, the owner of the estate. Currently she is showing Casey an album of her son’s, Charles Wimston’s, baby pictures. She coos at the little birth mark in the shape of a crystal he has on his cheek. Casey remarks that it looks more like a bird, then remembers herself and asks about the case. Mrs. Wimston tells her that her most treasured item out of her gem collection, the Velvet Ruby, has been stolen. She whispers that she suspects one of the estate staff to be responsible. Casey agrees to investigate.

We then cut to a joint montage, as Casey and Flaw try to question potential witnesses. Flaw has a lot of doors closed into his face, some people yell at him to leave, mistaking him for local junior delinquents; Casey scares the staff far too much and so they cower from her, and then she is dragged into a prolonged one-sided conversation by Charles Wimston about his finances. The two siblings tire of this and give up on this approach to the investigation.

Casey reports that she hasn’t found anything to Mrs. Wimston. Mrs Wimston is very disappointed and suggests that perhaps it was the butler after all. Casey says that it’s too early to accuse anybody yet, and inquires about the estate’s security. Mrs. Wimston tells her that the security around the estate is flawless, because her precious son had been stolen a decade ago, when he was a child. He had been found, but he hasn’t been allowed to leave the premises since then. Casey clarifies that she meant security inside the estate, as that is where the theft took place at, and Mrs. Wimston says that her gem collection is protected in a secure vault, but she doesn’t trust anyone enough to guard it. Casey asks about surveillance cameras, and Mrs. Wimston answers that she hasn’t got any installed, as they are quite expensive. Casey pointedly stares at the jewelry on her, but doesn’t comment. She asks is she can see the inside of the vault, and Mrs. Wilmsom refuses to let her in. Casey walks off, frustrated, and calls Flaw.

On the phone the two share their disappointments about their respective cases, and come to the conclusion that the best course of action would be to patiently wait until new evidence presents itself. Casey hangs up and tells Mrs. Wimston that she’s going to be leaving for a while now, and simply walks out while Mrs. Wimston is simmering with indignation.

We cut to Nisha closing up the shop, and the camera pans over to show Flaw hiding in the dark corner behind one of the book stands. Some time passes, and Flaw starts getting sleepy, when the front door creeks open, and a group of dark figures enters. Flaw watches them for a bit, and when they start piling books into a bag, he announces himself. The figures startle and start to run away, but Flaw catches one of them by their sleeve and pulls the hood off them, revealing a child’s face. He startles but doesn’t let them go. Flaw looks at the other figures, and they all, one by one, take their hoods of to reveal that they are all children of varying ages. Flaw asks them why they are stealing from this bookshop, and the tallest one answers that they all come from families who can’t afford to buy them books, and so they organized this “book club” for those who want to learn. Flaw frowns and thinks. Eventually, he tells them to return all of the books, and at the upset children’s faces, he adds that they can return them after they’ve done reading them. He also suggests they talk to the adults about organizing a library of sorts in the town. One of the children asks if they are going to be taken in by the police, and Flaw tells them not to worry about it.

Meanwhile, Casey has been secretly staking out outside of the gem vault. She is hidden behind a curtain and is watching the vault door through binoculars. After some time, she catches someone walking in, though we can’t get a good look at their face. She stalks closer to the vault door, and a moment passes before a man comes out of it. It’s Charles Wimston, who’s holding a large green emerald in his hands. He is shocked to see Casey there. She takes the opportunity to wrangle the emerald out of Charles’s hands. She then tells him that he’s under arrest.

We cut to Mrs. Wimston shouting at Charles as he is being handcuffed by a police officer, Casey standing beside him. In a moment of anger, Mrs. Wimston slaps him. She is shocked to see his birthmark come off after her palm had collided with cheek. She shrieks, as Casey gums and looks something up in her notebook. She then explains that this man isn’t actually Charles Wimston, as the real Charles had been kidnapped years ago, and this one was a fake sent to steal her gem collection. Mrs. Wimston them asks the detective when her real son is then, and Casey shrugs, closes up her notebook and leaves. The fake Charles tells Mrs. Wimston that she was a bad mom anyways, and she gasps and slaps him again.

Some time later, Flaw is sitting a library, watching a group of children excitedly talking about the newest book that they’ve read. We see that one of them has a birthmark on his face shaped like a crystal (or a bird, depending on how you look at it). Flaw smiles and picks up a book to read.