Look Sebastian,” Bates tells his friend on visiting the crime scene, “the most difficult mystery is the one that seems easy!”

“It seems neither to me, my friend!” a troubled Sebastian replies. “Someone came into my house and ransacked the room with the safe.”

“What surprises me is the robber knew exactly when and where to strike!” Bates says as he discusses the case.“How can you say that?” Inspector Davis, who accompanied Bates, asks.

“Simple. The electric clock in this room is 30 minutes behind,” Bates points towards the wall clock.

“Meaning what?” Sebastian and Davis ask in unison.

“It means that for 30 minutes, there was no electricity, providing the thief with an ample time to break into the room and then leave with whatever he came for,” Bates replies with logic.

“But doesn’t your building have a standby generator?” Inspector Davis puts down another question.“Yes it does, but it only works when the electricity of the whole building goes off,” Sebastian replies.

“Meaning someone deliberately cut off your electricity from the main switch as none of the other residents complained,” Bates explains.

“Anyway, I didn’t lose anything as the safe was empty,” Sebastian replies.

“Empty… Why was it empty?” Bates and Davis ask simultaneously.

“I couldn’t find time to go to the bank and bring my stuff home from the locker,” Sebastian replies embarrassingly. “But the question is… who broke into the room?”

“Whoever else knew you had installed a safe,” Bates delivers a quick reply.

“No one… except me, I guess,” Sebastian replies confidently.

“What about the person who installed it?” Davis seizes his chance to help Bates.

“Oh yes… the locksmith and his helpers,” Sebastian remembers. “They knew as well, but they seem like nice people.”

“All those who seem nice are usually not nice. They must be the ones we are looking for,” the philosopher in Bates wakes up.

“They? You mean they were more than one in number?” Davis asks Bates, waiting for a quick answer.

“Yes, one ransacked the room, the other cut off the electricity from the switchboard at the basement. I am certain they will strike today, same time… and we will be waiting,” Bates lays down his plan.

“How sure are you that they will try again?” Davis says.

“As sure as sure can be, because no thief admits defeat, ever. He either succeeds or is apprehended,” Bates replies.

“And at what time do you think they will strike?” Davis asks.

“At precisely 8:30pm or the time when Sebastian would leave his place because that’s when they tried yesterday. You called me about the incident at 9pm after your return from your daily walk, which keeps you away from your house for 30 minutes,” Bates replies.

“So what should we do?” Sebastian asks, with hope in his eyes.

“Go about your daily routine that is walk at 8:30pm and don’t return till 9pm. In the meantime, Davis and I will wait in your room, while constables will be present here as well as in the basement of the building, waiting!” Bates discloses his plan.

In less than 30 minutes, the mystery was solved. James, the locksmith, entered the room just minutes after Sebastian left, as if he was waiting outside. As he was busy opening the safe, Bates and Davis caught him in the act while the constables accounted for his accomplice in the basement, who was there to control the switchboard.

“Why did they try again so soon, knowing that the safe would have been empty?” Sebastian asks after the thieves were dispatched to prison.

“You knew it was empty. I knew it was empty,” Bates says as he concludes the case. “But the thieves thought that you may have filled it with riches, which you didn’t.”

“It’s a blessing that I am scared of visiting banks,” Sebastian tells Davis and Bates.

“I wouldn’t have said this but your laziness is what saved you for once,” Bates gives his verdict.