"There's still no evidence that Kaito Kid really took the painting..."
In an extremely fired-up state, Ginzō Nakamori left with his officers, their blood boiling.
Seeing the client himself looking alternately pale and green, Mori Kogoro stepped forward and patted his shoulder comfortingly.
A subtle look of struggle appeared on Takeyori Oikawa's face.
Really, going along with the police's theory and accepting that the painting had been taken was the best option.
That way, half his objective would be accomplished. No one would pursue the question of when his next work would be unveiled, much less force him to face things he did not want to see.
But he also knew that his refusal to let Mori Detective lift the curtain had been somewhat too telling. Getting everyone to accept Ginzō Nakamori's instinctive deduction would not be easy.
"...Because Kaito Kid wasn't the one who took it." Gritting his teeth, he finally said, "My father-in-law must have moved it somewhere else for storage."
"Oh? He didn't tell you where he stored it beforehand?" Mori Kogoro raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. That way, it would ensure as much as possible that no one knew its exact location, wouldn't it?" Takeyori Oikawa felt that he had barely found a plausible explanation and continued, "The painting must still be somewhere in this building."
As he spoke, he pointed at the ceiling behind him.
There, a camera was aimed directly at the painting, its red indicator light on to show that it was operating.
"We can pull up the surveillance footage and take a look."
Takeyori Oikawa thought it over and, convinced he had made every preparation, relaxed considerably.
"Has that always been installed in your studio?"
"No. After receiving the calling card, I thought it was necessary to protect the painting, so I installed