Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Heist and Seek

The film opens with a mysterious figure backing out of a heist, only to be shot by an unseen assailant. In Lawrenceton, Aurora 'Roe' Teagarden and her boyfriend, Professor Nick Miller, attend a movie night where Nick secretly shows Aurora's friend Sally an engagement ring he plans to use. The town is preparing for a library fundraiser featuring 'Leicester’s Gift,' a pearl-encrusted Tudor crown supposedly worn by Queen Elizabeth I. The exhibit is brought in by James Reading, a museum board member, and Kelly Stevens, the assistant director. During the gala's climax, the curtains open to reveal the crown has vanished from its mannequin. Aurora quickly deduces that the security guard, Brett Talbot, used a trash bag to smuggle the crown out to a dumpster. However, when the police arrive at Talbot's hotel, they find him shot dead and the crown missing. The investigation initially focuses on Miya Quan, a suspicious importer who refused to be searched at the gala, and Howard Kane, a library patron with a past conviction for grand larceny. Aurora's suspicions are further piqued when she learns that the original security guard, David Reyes, disappeared a week prior; she and Sally eventually find his body near the docks. Tensions rise between Aurora and Nick when she suspects his friend, Professor Eric Hanson, due to a lie about his gala ticket. The mystery deepens when Aurora discovers that Kelly Stevens has a history of dealing in stolen jewelry and is using the theft to usurp the museum director's position. However, the true breakthrough occurs when Aurora realizes James Reading's wife, Olivia, is a descendant of the Earl of Leicester and has recently filed for divorce. Aurora concludes that James orchestrated the theft of the crown and a rare Shakespearean book to perform a 'grand gesture' to win her back. In a final confrontation at the museum, James attempts to kill Sally and Aurora, but Nick intervenes. Aurora uses a Renaissance pike to disarm James during a struggle. With the killer in custody and the artifacts recovered, the film concludes with Nick taking Aurora to a private spot and finally proposing, to which she joyfully says yes.