How did the lady in red manage to outsmart and out maneuver the other thief, Horace Danby, by robbing the safe without leaving a single fingerprint? (A Question of Trust)
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-15 07:19 · grounding rag
Model Answer
In A Question of Trust, the young lady in red outsmarts Horace Danby through a carefully executed deception, exploiting his fear, weakness, and greed.
Her key tactics were:
- Pretending to be the lady of the house — She entered confidently, called the dog by its name ("Down, Sherry"), and straightened ornaments, all convincing Horace she belonged there.
- Using his fear of prison — She noticed he was desperately afraid of arrest and cleverly used this vulnerability to control him.
- A false story about jewels — She fabricated that she had forgotten the safe's combination and needed her jewels for a party, appealing to his desire to please her.
- Making him remove his gloves — When she asked for a lighter, Horace eagerly took off his gloves to impress her, leaving his fingerprints all over the room.
- Leaving no evidence herself — Being a thief herself, she touched nothing without care, leaving no fingerprints.
Thus, she walked away with the jewels while Horace was arrested, proving the story's irony: a thief was tricked by a cleverer thief.
Source: A Question of Trust, Chapter 4
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Explanation
Examiners look for at least 5–6 distinct points covering her deceptive tactics and Horace's mistakes. Key things to highlight: the dog's name trick, his fear of prison, the fake jewellery story, and the critical gloves detail (he removed them — that's why his fingerprints were found). Also mention she left no evidence herself. End with a brief concluding line about the irony. Avoid retelling the entire story; keep it analytical and point-focused.