224 – Fake Phantom Thief
“Back for a while.”
She signaled me with her eyes with a short word. She nodded her head, easily realizing that she meant to step back and talk about her.
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After reaching a quiet space away from the eyes of the sailors, we exchanged opinions.
“Do you think the captain is the culprit?”
“Maybe.”
Most of the clues we found pointed to the captain.
Especially from what I just overheard, the situation has become almost certain.
But Sharon shook her head and muttered softly.
“Not enough yet.”
The clues so far have been enough to use as evidence to infer the culprit, but they are 2% less than enough to be used as physical evidence to convince others.
There was nothing I could do about it even if the captain said something stupid and said no.
If this is the surest way to overcome the situation, then, of course.
“I’m sure you’ll find the jewel yourself.”
This case was not a simple murder case, it was killing a person to steal jewels.
In other words, if the jewel is found from the captain, all problems are solved.
“Where do you think you are?”
“Captain’s office.”
Anyway, our thoughts seemed to coincide. Well, there is probably no place on this cruise that is harder to reach than that place. It is also possible to explain that the security personnel are concentrated only at the top.
The problem is that the captain is guarding her jewelry with her eyes closed. Even the owner of the jewel stays in the same space, so even if you use magic, it won’t be easy to steal the jewel.
Of course, if I’m sincere as Raven the Phantom Thief, I’ll just steal a jewel.
However, it is impossible to openly do so because Sharon is watching her closely.
“What should I do?”
“The best way would be to induce him to go out himself.”
As she said, if the captain vacates the seat, the remaining problems will be easily resolved.
But if the jewel is in the captain’s room, how can it come out? No matter what happens, you’re going to try to stay inside and not move.
“We can use the captain’s plan against us.”
“The captain’s plan?”
At the completely unexpected answer, I pondered what the plan might be.
“He said he would stay anchored in the middle of the sea until he found the culprit.”
“Isn’t it…? But you are the real culprit.”
After hearing the words, I suddenly had a question. Since the captain himself is the culprit, it would be much safer to just get to the land quickly and steal the jewels. Why?
After thinking about it for a while, the answer came out surprisingly easily.
“To avoid suspicion.”
“Right. Jewels were stolen and there were even murders, but if you just ignore it and arrive on land, you will be the first to be suspected.”
“In other words, as the captain, the fact that we witnessed the scene acted as a handshake.”
If we hadn’t gone downstairs and checked inside the secret room, we could have arrived on land and stole the jewels without a fuss.
But soon another question popped into my head.
“If that’s the case, why did you leave the scene sloppy?”
When I first witnessed the crime scene, I had two possibilities in mind.
A rookie criminal who is so clumsy that he can’t erase the traces of the scene, or a seasoned criminal who even uses it as part of his plan.
Recalling what the captain has shown so far, the answer is clearly the latter.
But it is also true that it completely contradicts the conjecture just now.
“Think deeper. Considering the value of the jewels, the crime will eventually be revealed. Timing is what matters.”
She continued her reasoning, chewing on the hints she gave her. Then, not long after, her answer began to emerge clearly.
“To build up an alibi. If you conduct the investigation yourself, it will be easier to get out of the investigation net.”
Anyway, the investigation underway on this ship is nothing more than a blindfolded show.
Even so, can it be solved as smoothly as I thought?
“The kingdom of the Franks would consider recovering the jewel more important than apprehending the culprit. If the captain carried out the investigation on his own, would he be willing to believe it?”
“Think about who the suspect the captain named is.”
“Ah.”
Phantom Thief Raven. The name was enough to shake all the basic premise.
The moment it is revealed that he is the culprit, the spotlight will be on the culprit himself, not the jewelry.
People would understand if the jewel disappeared in the middle of the sea.
Why? Because the perpetrator is a thief. Also, he’ll assume that he stole it by some kind of nefarious trick.
Then, naturally, the suspicious eyes toward the captain will have no choice but to fade.
After realizing the truth, a false laugh comes out.
I wondered why the captain didn’t particularly suspect us and showed a kind attitude, but it was because he had no intention of catching the criminal anyway. On the contrary, we must have felt grateful to him. He had witnessed the crime scene as he had hoped.
Anyway, I was amazed at Sharon’s reasoning ability for recognizing such a cunning trick at once.
Are you always playing this kind of brain game when you try to catch me? I wondered why the trick I worked on all night and day was so easily figured out every time.
“So, how are you going to use the captain’s plan against him?”
Sharon answered my question with a faint smile.
“Be the real culprit.”
***
“How far has the investigation progressed?”
“I’m about halfway done now.”
At some point, instead of the bright sunlight, the soft moonlight peeked out over the sea.
It’s been more than half a day since the ship docked in the middle of the ocean, but for the captain, this was nothing more than a daily routine.
However, the jewelry owner across from him seems to have a different idea.
“Now it’s only half! So, when the hell is the investigation going to end?! Is it true that we can catch the culprit in the first place!?”
At the unpleasant voice that scratched the nerves, the captain calmly dealt with it by suppressing his anger.
“Calm down. How can the culprit escape in the middle of this sea?”
“The thief! If it’s him, how do you know if he’ll escape with another mysterious magic…!!”
“No matter how phantom thief you are, if you drown in the sea, it is the same as drowning. It takes an hour to reach the nearest land by boat at full speed. It is not a street that can be crossed by human power.”
The captain thought to himself as he spat out an answer roughly.
What if a real thief stole it? Can you really break through the strict boundaries in the middle of this vast sea?
Well, even if you think about it, it’s just meaningless rubbish.
His plan was too simple. This unfunny investigation continues until dawn, and eventually sends a request for support without finding the culprit.
It’s no problem since no one can find the jewels anyway since they put them in a secret safe that only they can take out.
The police will close this case as the phantom thief’s work and withdraw their attention. There has never been a case of recovering jewels stolen by him. Then the gem will safely gulp itself.
‘I think it’s a perfect plan.’
All you have to do is listen to the man in front of you. I let out a sigh when I thought that I still had to deal with it for several more hours, but I was able to endure it because the jewel would fall into my hands if I endured that time.
While the captain was leisurely sipping his tea as if toasting victory, someone suddenly rushed in and opened the captain’s room door without permission.
“What are you doing?”
“Sir, sorry! I have something to report urgently…!!”
While frowning at the sailor’s rude behavior, he displayed the patience he had developed while dealing with the jeweler.
“If it’s useless, I’ll throw it into the sea. Talk.”
“That’s… Additional phantom thief cards have been discovered!”
Pooh!
The captain, who squirted the tea he was drinking right into the jewelry owner’s face, hurriedly got up from his seat.
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“What!? What is that…!!”
This is nonsense. That’s because the notice was a fake that he forged.
There was only one card he prepared. No other cards could be found.
In an instant, the captain thought of a very terrifying possibility.
If there really is a phantom thief on board this ship.
I want to deny that there’s no way, but it’s not impossible when you think about how valuable the jewels in your hands are. Isn’t it an important jewel enough to present to the king of a country?
“Looks like that cunning phantom thief is moving!! He still means he remains on this ship, so good news for us!!”
While the jewelry owner was not paying attention to the black tea-scented essence that was sprayed on his face, the captain wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and brightened his eyes.
‘Yes. Rather, it might be good news.’
I’ll make you regret not daring to climb aboard your ship without fear.