my cousin, Ingrid, is so careless with her important jewelry

if her diamond earrings irritate her ears while she’s out

she’ll take them off and simply throw them in her handbag.

one time she called to say

she lost her diamond bracelet

it wasn’t in her handbag, she looked

this time she found it wrapped in a tissue in her bathrobe

miraculously, she had always found her missing jewelry

she was lucky…until the day her luck ran out.

she had a habit of taking off her ring while doing the dishes

but this was a diamond ring she inherited from her mother

it couldn’t be replaced, it meant so much more to her.

on this particular day, she was having her house painted

it was filled with painters in every room all over the house

after the painting job was finished and the men went home

at some point she remembered she left her ring on the windowsill

well, it was gone!

was it misplaced or stolen?

she knew where she last saw it…now it wasn’t there

this time the police were called in

and the men who had painted

were all asked to take lie detector tests

all, except for the one man who flew home to South Ameriica

right after the job was done.

all the other men checked out.

to this day the mystery of the missing diamond ring has never been solved

was it merely misplaced or stolen?