Originally Posted by ~LONGCAT~

I think the thief was: THE CHAIRS!
Here is how it all went down: Those sneaky furniture were in every room, they were able to set up a relay to smuggle the tarts out of the house without anyone noticing. The stools in the kitchen were fixed with sticky lollipops on the undersides, perfect for lifting a tray of treats up and no one would notice them tucked under the stool seats. The chairs in the ballroom were payed to act lookout and alert the others if anything started to go awry, we were able to find their "payment" tucked securely in their "cushions". The Sofa in the lounge wasn't so careful as the others, leaving behind trace amounts of the tarts in question, we knew right away that he had a part in this. The armchairs in the library were there to make sure everything went on schedule, things were supposed to be perfectly timed to make sure that when someone did notice the lack of tarts it would be too late. Long bench seating in the garden, with it's cushy pillows perfect for bouncing trays of tarts safely after being tossed out a window. Those chushy pillows were strategically placed to ensure the safety of the precious tarts, and where does that window lead to? Oh ho! The lounge, we knew that sofa played a larger part, he must have been the muscle. But where could the tray have bounced to? Hmm, the Conservatory, the sofa here is decked to the nines and is clean. But we can deduce that this was the end point of that tarts before they were sold in the black market. This darling sofa was the seller, she had the connections and means to dispose of those tarts for the highest price. Now the new mystery is who bought them! Probably The Red Lady herself, she knew about the tarts and she knew that Hammerbottom would go to any lengths to please her, so by setting up the theft and sale of the tarts with Hammerbottom's own household seating she ensured the fact that there would be an additional batch of tarts made just for her.

Originally Posted by Velvet

Originally Posted by Shadami

I think the thief was:Mr. Warren black
Here is how it all went down: Black was sick and tired of working for people that were unappreciative of his fine cooking skills. Slipping out during the opening ceremonies Black cut across the Garden into the kitchen(tracking in some mud) to take the tray of tarts. On his way back through the gardens he collided with Mrs. Rose who had seen him sneak off. The tray of tarts went flying, as did one of her earrings.

The two of them swore each other to silence, Mrs. Rose saying she would try to frame a certain fat man who needed to leave. In doing so they missed the end of the opening ceremony, and Black had to rush back to the kitchens, but the little platters of food had already been rushed out as guests were arriving.

Meanwhile in the gardens the millionaire twins were wandering around just for fun when they stumbled upon tasty looking treats. What's a little bit of dirt when something looks that good? The meandered over to the conservatory to pop through the secret passage connecting it to the lounge. Little did they know that they left some jelly from the tarts behind. When they popped out into the lounge the panicked news that the red lady's tarts had been stolen reached them via Ms. Chester. She was going on and on about how it could mean her loves head. They casually brushed their hands and shirts off, knocking the crumbs under the very seat she was on.

They grinned when she held out her hands. "Walk me to the library boys. I'm feeling lonely." Of course they obliged, she was a beautiful woman. But her blabbing on while they were so mischievous and needed to keep moving bored them, and they slipped out the window when she wasn't looking. (losing a thread and button int he process) Though of course not without a little trinket. Slipping her handkerchief from her to adore.

Coming in through the window into the ballroom and rejoining the party. As they started to slip back through another secret passage behind one of the statues, they realized that their fingers were still smudged with the tart. Panicking, they wiped their hands off and ran back to the window dropping their love trinket there. Knowing that suspicions would point to her because of the crumbs they'd left where she had sat, and the cup she had left in the library and forgotten about during her drama.

Back to Mr. Black in the kitchen. He was concentrating so much on making all the food for the party he had forgotten that he had taken and lost the tarts. Remembering after another set of food platters went out he started getting jittery. Especially since the news was getting around that they had been taken. He rushed off claiming bathroom and instead headed for the conservatory for a moment of calm to get rid of the jitters. Instead bumping into Mr. Pince who had just arrived, accidentally knocking the pocket watch he was playing with into the ferns somewhere. After much apologizing, and light talk where they couldn't find it, they went their separate ways. Both rushing off to get back to their duties.

Tirtil of course had nothing to do with it, as he was... late. Though Mrs. Rose made an effort to point the finger at him, in the only way she could. Lazily, with not much talent. But he was incredibly helpful in pointing out that the food was off for what people with such high praise of their cooking skills should have as food quality.

Originally Posted by zigbigadorlube

I think the thief was: Mr. Chadwick Tirtil

Here is how it all went down:

Angry at Bryony after she threatened to ruin in, Tirtil decides to knock out two birds with one stone: 1. His insatiable hunger and 2. That insufferable woman and her accelerating career.

Kitchen – Wrapper
During the opening ceremonies, Tirtil sneaks into the kitchen. He pops a piece of candy in his mouth and tosses the wrapper before snatching the tarts from the kitchen.

Ballroom - Lacy Hanky
Passing through the Ballroom, Tirtil plants Bryony’s hankey here to frame her.

Lounge – Crumbs
In the lounge he stops to nom a tart, all this sneaking around is making him hungry!

Library – Teacup
Those tarts have made him thirsty so Tirtil downs a cup of tea on his way through the library.

Garden – Earring
Outside in the garden he plants Bryony’s earring as another piece of evidence against her.

Conservatory – Pocketwatch
As he passes through the conservatory, Tirtil’s watch falls into the planter. By now he has eaten all of the tarts and disposed of the tray so he heads into the party.

Originally Posted by Roxxxy

I think the thief was: Ruby Stewart
Here is how it all went down:
From the conversation with the Tweedle twins, I deduced that Dumphrey was the liar, and therefore the thief is a woman, with jelly-stained fingers.
Pince seemed to be very upset about the Red Lady – and Ruby Stewart was wearing red.
I believe that Ruby stole the tarts, planning to blame Mr. Black, who would then be punished (presumably by having his head lopped off). Then she would be free to start her own business.
The fingerprint on the base of the statue belonged to her. I think she made it while trying to find the secret passage, where she planned to stash the tarts. I think she tracked the flour in from the kitchen, and dropped crumbs from the tarts. She left jam on the chandelier while looking for the secret passage, and threw the silver tray out the window!

Originally Posted by Ethos

I think the thieves were: Dedric and Dumphrey Tweedle!!
Here is how it all went down:
Ever get that odd feeling around twins that there's always some inside joke that's just below the surface constantly going on?

Here's where you go, "Hello Nail, meet Head," and then I continue.

Did you say it? ...Okay, well here I go anyway... joy kill.

These two little monsters have been collaborating since goodness only knows when about how to pull off the best, most elaborate, most outlandish, prankster-y heist ever. Since a young age the two had been raising ever increasing slices of hell for their own amusement of watching how their pranks affected their targets. It just so happened that their ... good... natured neighbor was ripe for the picking. As in picking ON their neighbor.

Everyone who is anyone knows that for all buildings of a certain size, their blueprints are kept for all to see in City Hall. It would have been all to easy for the pair of hooligans to read... Because they're architects, and that's probably like three classes for their undergrad anyway.

Knowing the lay out of their neighbor's manse allowed for more intricate plotting and planning, but the problem would be who might stumble upon their dastardly scheme once laid into action, and who might notice one or both of the boys missing.

Therefore, with a flair for the dramatic, the twins were likely using disguises to imitate the other guests and between one to nine ventriloquist dummies at any one time.

Don't ask me what ALL of the dummies were doing, I don't think I want to think it that far out...

creepy.

Welp, it's 6:30, so I'll keep the rest of this kind of short. With millions of dollars at their disposal, costumes and make up were not the problem. Just slip next door unnoticed in order to be "freshened up" by the hired makeup artist and to slip into something more... EXACTLY LIKE WHAT THE OTHER GUESTS WERE WEARING!

Sneaking and skulking between the houses (in order to distract the other guests) caused for the tracking of mud into the kitchen. It's also hungry work, what, running back and forth between the two mansions. Those peacocks and randomly imported flamingos don't strut around in tiny dog runs and town home back yards.

Grease smudges from the make up and a hanky that was dropped... ON PURPOSE were left by one of the troublesome twins on his way through the Ballroom. Being young and as... male as they are, the boys would not be one of the types of folks you would envision toting around a lacey hanky.

Having the possibly secret architectural knowledge unbeknownst to us laymen-types, the brothers would have known where to look for secret passages. The flour left here would have implicated the big baking fan, however it was probably just a passage to the kitchen itself. Crumbs could be from eaten tarts, or even more shocking... poor housekeeping on the part of the butler!

The library was where an issue almost arose. Dedric... IF THAT IS YOUR REAL NAME... was almost caught sneaking out of the house by some guests who were moving through. In his haste, he lost a button on the window sill. The tea cup isn't theirs, though. That's just a teacup. Remember where you put your half-full drinks, people, you weren't raised in a barn.

Having to run back and forth in order to encourage the insanity that was their pranky- magnum opus caused yet another snag, but one of the two boys used it to his advantage. While dressed as a woman, he lost one of his two large green earrings on the flagstones. How nice that the other piece of major evidence they provided (the lace hanky) was also very feminine whereas they are male. The platter, as the investigators mentioned, was indeed flung out of the window before hand. That is likely where a good portion of tarts were eaten. Out of sight of the others, but the boys would know how to get there easily enough.

Finally in the conservatory (though they had probably passed through here a few times as well), they left the fob watch by accident. It was a gift to one of the twin boys from their father, having been given a nervous "habit" after raising the two little terrors. It keeps good time, but this time the boy forgot it as he was changing the suit on one of the ventriloquist dolls out of sight of the others.

Again, please don't ask me about them.

The truth is too dark to tell.

Summary: Tweedles dun it for the luls, scooby-doo style.

THE END.

Originally Posted by fireprincess

I think the thief was: The tweedles
Here is how it all went down:
{Evidence: mud, smudge, crumbs, button and thread, serving platter}
The Tweedle brothers are notoriously known for their pranks, but what people often don't know is that they are directly related to The Red Lady! There have been whispers by the few that have an inkling of the relationship that they are The Red Lady's sons.
They decided it would be fun to pull a prank on their estranged mother, and figured they'd never get caught because they know all the secret passages. They snuck in the kitchen and grabbed the platter of tarts, leaving mud everywhere. Next, they fled to the library where they devoured the stolen goods. They were finishing up their last bite, when they heard someone in the hallway. They quickly threw the platter out the window, snagging one of the twin's buttons in the process. Then, using one of their secret passageways, they escaped to the ballroom, leaving behind a smudge on one of the statues as they replaced it on the pedestal, closing the passageway behind them. After this ordeal was over, the twins looked like a hot mess. They snuck to the lounge to clean themselves up, brushing evidence of their prank under the couch. Fearing the finger would be pointed at them, they volunteered evidence to make themselves seem less guilty.

Sorry this is sloppily written. I'm trying to meet a homework deadline the same time I'm writing this [sweat]

Originally Posted by Wyrmskyld

It's probably wrong, but it all makes sense! And I worked in every clue! [lol]

I think the thief was: Bryony Rose, with accomplices after the fact to do the actual eating.
Here is how it all went down:
Bryony swore to get revenge on Chadwick Tirtil for his negative reactions to her singing talent. Her plan to ruin him has been a long time coming to fruition, and tonight was finally the time. She knew the Red Lady would be here tonight, and how possessive she was of her tarts. She also knew that Chadwick Tirtil would be here-- he's always at these events.

Having designs on Hammerbottom, Bryony was a common visitor to the house and had learned about some of its infamous secret passages to aid in her plan.

First, she went out into the garden to get some mud to make a little humanoid figure out of. She was relying on the rumors of witchcraft she'd started months ago, inspired by the strange symbols on his pipe. She didn't notice she'd lost an earring while bending over to pick up the mud. While the opening ceremonies were going on, she slipped into the kitchen and dropped a wrapper from Tirtil's favorite type of candy into the flower pot while depositing the little mud dolly. While there, she couldn't resist sampling a couple of the hors d'ouvres, getting her fingers and lips greasy and accidentally dragging one of her ribbons in some flour.

Bryony quickly went to the ballroom, dabbing the grease off her face with her lacy handkerchief, which she accidentally dropped in her hurry to get the secret passage behind the statue opened, incidentally also leaving greasy fingerprints on the statue's base.

She went through the secret passage to the lounge, not expecting to see anyone there, and noticed the wheat flour on her sleeve just as she arrived in the lounge. She brushed it off and looked up to see the Tweedle twins. They accepted her offer of the tarts in exchange for their silence and assistance. They gave her a pocket watch that Dedric swore was Tirtil's and suggested she plant it somewhere incriminating while they got rid of the evidence. She got a smear of jelly on her finger and hurried to the conservatory, where she planted the watch and smeared the chandelier, hoping it would look like the watch was dropped while someone was opening the passage!

Meanwhile, the twins devoured the tarts-- getting their fingers quite jelly-stained in the process--, and proceeded to the library, intending to toss the platter out the window. While there, Dedric's button caught on the window. Dee put down his teacup to come help, and finally succeeded in freeing his brother, neither of them noticing that the offending button had come off and was lying on the floor with a bit of the thread that should have kept it attached to the shirt.

After that, all Bryony had to do was wait until someone questioned her, and point a finger at Tirtil! Being such an obvious glutton, no one would question but that he had done it.

Originally Posted by The_Crow

I can't say "minute for minute' what happened, but here's what I do know... it's kind of chopped up because of how you wanted it in the 'form' which is really two questions >_<;

ALSO, sorry for sending this to Seri first. I clicked the wrong PM button.

I think the thief was: Pince has the most to gain from runing Hammerbottom-- his freedom. In a similar boat Mr. Black and Miss Stewart want to get together and can only do that free of Hammerbottom. The theif had to know about the secret passages and the cooks DO work here. I suggest an allignce behind these three are responsible for the missing tarts, but of course everyone interviewed is entagled in their own drama.

Here is how it all went down:
Dumphery tells the truth: MAN with jelly stained fingers.

Bryony is mischeivious towards Tirtil. (Dropped earring clue is hers).

The twins are mischevious towards Fiona.

Thief uses the secret passages that Fiona knows of but not where they are. (Powder on Column and Jam on Chandelier)

Obviously, theif acquired tarts, ate them, brushed crumbs under, threw platter outside through open window into bushes, used secret passages to avoid detection/get back to where they should be.

.....

Sorry for getting it in so late. It's just it always required me to RE READ everything to get the names right.

Originally Posted by Vox

I think the thief was: Warren Black

Here is how it all went down:

As far as the evidence is concerned...

I would guess the candy wrapper belonged to Tirtil? It's not really a surprise nor incriminating in any way that he would have entered the kitchen at some point.

The hankerchief could have been Fiona's. It seems to match better with her attire than with Bryony's, and from what I can see, no one else is wearing makeup. I'm not sure what to think of the grease smudges, but they don't really seem relevant.

I am fairly certain the teacup is Fiona's as she is the only one who didn't have a beverage in hand. The button and thread seem to belong to the Tweedles. Neither of these things seem to indicate any guilt.

The earring is definitely Bryony's; it matches the lone one in her left ear. It probably out when she heard the tarts platter being thrown out the window. (And since Bryony was in the garden, perhaps she was the one who tracked the mud into the kitchen?) If anything, this seems to strongly indicate that she is innocent.

The pocketwatch is probably Pince's, and it's odd that it found in the conservatory where that chandelier is... But I think he's innocent too.

I honestly have no idea what happened... but I can tell you what didn't happen! Out of these beautifully written but largely unhelpful interviews, I gathered two actual bits of evidence, the first being Dedric and Dumphrey's liar-truthteller game. The liar says that he saw a woman with jelly-stained fingers, but since he was lying, it was a man, which rules out Bryony, Fiona, and also Ruby. (And since Bryony's earring was found in the garden where the tarts platter seems to have been tossed out another window, it seems especially safe to assume she is not connected to the theft.)

The second bit of evidence I'd like to examine is Ruby and Warren's claim that the tarts must have been stolen during opening ceremonies at the beginning of the party. Since Tirtil says he arrived an hour and a half late and Pince says he has just arrived, they are likely both innocent as well. This means that if I begin with the assumption that Dedric and Dumphrey did not steal the tarts, I am able to rule out all but one person and thus I conclude that the culprit must have been Warren Black.

So how did he do it? Beats me. I would not be surprised to find that the cooks know a few of the secret passages; in particular Black must have known about the two that had tart residue on them. I think they must both lead into the study where it appears the tarts platter was thrown out into the garden.

And why? Again, I don't know. This must somehow further his motive of convincing Ruby to leave with him. Perhaps he is causing a disaster in hopes that he can pin it on Hammerbottom and turn Ruby's loyalties against him?

Originally Posted by steelmagghia

I really haven't the slightest idea, because of this stupid carb free diet I've been feeling pretty stupid, but here goes:

I think the thief was: Byrony Rose
Here is how it all went down: Clearly all that avoiding sugars to keep her voice at its "best" has worn on her and she snapped, stealing the most delicious thing she could find (this may be somewhat autobiographical). You're not you when you're hungry, you know. She ran off to the conservatory, went through one of the secret passages, which was one of the ones she knew of. She then ate the tarts on the way outside, stashed the "evidence" (the plate) in the bushes, dropping her earring (green to go with her outfit) in the process. She then came back inside, sat in the lounge, and surreptitiously wiped the crumbs off onto the sofa.


ALL BECAUSE OF A DANG CARB FREE DIET!

Originally Posted by Nephila

BURP!

This is my confession. You see They were just to yummy. I did it because I wanted more prize chances for people that really want those items. :)

Originally Posted by PrincessKasumi

I think the thief was: The twins!
Here is how it all went down:
Come on, gotta be the twins! No if and or buts about it