Failed Attempt to Trap the Jewel Thief

The Failed Attempt to Trap the Jewel Thief is an unsuccessful sting in which the investigators try to draw the burglar out by pretending to be a fence. Its failure establishes that the thief is alert to deception and shifts Darcy’s attention from the abandoned trap to the reason the burglar has gone to California.

The Proposed Trap

The plan is raised as a way to catch the thief: the investigators could pose as a fence, a buyer of stolen goods, and wait for the burglar to approach. Darcy confirms that they tried this approach, though the account gives no further details about how the supposed meeting was arranged.

Failure and Investigative Consequence

The burglar never appears. Darcy concludes that the thief must have sensed the trap and emphasizes that the target is not easily fooled. With this line of pursuit stalled, he turns to a different question: why the thief has travelled to California. One possibility he raises is that Cy Goldman has recently bought two valuable Spanish pieces, a lead that gives the failed sting a new investigative direction.