"Your watch, Mr Caervey, what does it look like?"

"It's an old, simple watch with a golden rim and a new metal strap," replied Damian Caervey. "It has a couple sharp gashes in the rim that were never fixed as a reminder to my grandfather. I value it highly and care for it extensively. The watch is not valuable, though. He knows how important it is to me, that's why he took it!"

Damian Caervey turned his head to look angrily at Rowle, who frowned back at him.

"Thank you, Mr Caervey. Is it true, Mr Rowle, that you knew of the sentimental value the watch holds for Mr Caervey?"

Rowle snorted disdainfully. "I guess I knew, but not to a measure to honestly care. I'm not a thief. I don't need to steal anything and I'm certainly not stupid enough to nick his heirloom while having to share a compartment with him. This is ridiculous."

"Who else would steal it? Nobody came in or out since I last saw my watch!" shouted Damian.

"Please, Mr Caervey. Let's try to gather the facts in a reasonable manner," said Tem. "Since you brought it up. It appears you pulled down the window at some point, as it was still slightly open when I checked. I can conclude it’s intact and possible to fully close the window. Did any of you hear or sense somebody entering the compartment while you were distracted?

"I opened the window," said Carla. "It got quite loud with all the wind and train noises, so I didn't hear the doors. But for a brief moment, I felt an increased draft. Maybe that was the door being opened?"

"Thank you, Ms Adams. Can anybody else confirm that? Uhm, Ms...? You’ve been quiet so far," asked Tem, focusing on the timid girl next to Rowle. She held on tightly to a book in front of her, looking at the floor. Her long black hair obstructed most of her face and her shoulders tensed up. She shook her head slightly. "No, I’ve just been sitting here, reading my novel. But I looked up to see the eagle," she whispered, not looking at Tem.

"This is my sister, Beth. She’s a bit apprehensive, as it's her first year. I assure you, she has nothing to do with this," Rowle said, with a pressed undertone.

Tem simply nodded and focused on Caervey again.

"Can you think of anybody else, present company excluded, who would want to steal from you?"

"No. Wouldn't it be quite the coincidence if some potential thief happened to come by at exactly that moment and exploit the opportunity? This is pointless. I have to find a teacher who will be able to clear this up," said Damian Caervey.

"You are correct that the potential for a directed attempt at your watch is very unlikely, but I have to weigh all possibilities. Nevertheless, I can imagine someone seizing the opportunity to snag the watch, which was openly visible through the windows in the door. Based on the evidence, I am certain the door was opened. In order to slip in and quickly grab the watch, one simply had to step in and bend over." Tem demonstrated this.

"Based on my size, I have to assume the person had to be at least one head taller than me to reach your bag. As you can see, the usual path to take in this compartment is between the seats, but just before the seats start, there is the empty storage section. There is a sliding mark created by a wide shoe, which none of you are wearing. The disturbance in the dust points to a recent mark."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Tem's innards felt tight and anxious. He was eager to work on this case and, to some extent, happy it was challenging him. But it was bothering him that he was having trouble figuring everything out. Did he overlook some important detail? He had to convince the others he could solve this. So far, only more questions arose. And his reasoning wasn't without flaws. He tried to present his deductions confidently, but deep inside, he felt far from confident. A student taking the risk of plunging into a compartment and nicking a worthless and damaged watch from a bag on the floor? No evidence pointed towards a student, whether male or female.

Beth gasped quietly. "Who would do that? I can't imagine anyone stealing at Hogwarts."

"Hmph! Sure, because there are no dark wizards in this world. You-Know-Who went to Hogwarts. He was a Slytherin," said Caervey with contempt.

"Leave her alone, Caervey," said Rowle, raising his voice. "As if dark wizards were only Slytherins."

"Maybe you are covering for your kleptomaniac of a sister. So far, I’ve been willing to ignore this possibility. But with the astonishing deductive capabilities of our resident investigator, it seems I have to remain proactive!" Caervey shouted.

Before Rowle could jump to a retort, Tem butted in, "No, she is not the thief. She has no items the size and weight of your watch in her robes and no pockets in her uniform. She would have needed help to reach her bag on top of the luggage rack and it appears she is suffering from a rare—luckily mild—skin condition that leads to increased shedding of skin tissue. There are no traces on your bag."

At that, Beth pulled her robe sleeves tighter over her hands and seemed to shrink even further.

"Uhm, sorry. I didn't mean to insult you." Tem inclined his head towards her, hoping to comfort her. "Mr Caervey, please refrain from unsolicited accusations," he added. He looked around with unease, his head movement slightly erratic. Only now did he realise Nathan was still frantically taking notes, but ignored this for the time being.

Caervey growled in exasperation. "Fine, so basically somebody else stole my watch, but we have no idea who did it. At all. So let's line everybody up and check whose shoe is wide enough? Is that it?"

"We do have more to work with. How much time passed before you realised the watch was gone after the most likely time of the incident?" asked Tem.

"Well, after we looked out of the window, I took off my sweater and threw it on the seat. Carla said she liked the colour of my shirt and I got my case from the top, which I placed next to my seat. Just then, I realised my watch was not lying in my backpack anymore. I checked for a minute or so if it had slid down underneath my seat. So, basically not more than three minutes," Damian replied.

"That fits very well. The moment we were getting food from the trolley, a student went by. She might either be a suspect or at least have seen somebody else in the corridor. She left for the next compartment. I'll continue my investigation by searching for her, followed by a thorough questioning," Tem said. "I will report back to you with any considerable progress towards the whereabouts of your watch."

"Well, have fun with your investigation. I will, in the meantime, try to find a teacher. That should be more successful. I'm sure they put one on the train after last year's events," Caervey said, still wearing his frown.

"I will not dissuade you from doing so, but I want to impress on you that more findings will support a teacher in helping us," said Tem.

"Yeah, yeah, then be quick about it." Not wasting any more time, he turned on the spot and stomped towards the front of the train.

With the excitement gone, the spectating students went back into their compartments, muttering and talking through all kinds of far-fetched theories of who or what could've stolen the watch. Tem remained standing in the corridor, a thoughtful frown on his face, one hand kneading his chin. Nathan joined him, fretting about quietly. The small boy was unsure if he could tear the detective out of his reverie, but decided to give him a few more seconds.