Hinata whirled around and saw a tall woman standing in the doorway.
She wore a crisp pantsuit and high heels, and had a bob haircut. She looked very smart and glamorous, and smelled of fine perfume.
Wait, I know her…!
Hinata had a stunning realization. He had seen this person before. Once in front of Sakura Jewelry, that store back in the shopping district near the station. And then again early in the morning outside his house, when he’d taken Chris on a walk…
Chris got up and pulled away, growling. That’s right—even back then, Chris hadn’t liked her.
“Helen Mehito,” Hinata murmured.
She laughed, surprise in her voice. “Oh, you remember me! I guess I should have expected as much, after you found both the treasure and this basement room. You’re very clever!”
“Wh-who is she…?” Mayuka asked, tugging on Hinata’s sleeve.
“…She’s the president of a jewelry business. She sells pieces to Sakura Jewelry…”
So Akane’s mother was Helen all along? Hinata was stunned.
“Then you know who that is, too, I presume,” said Helen, pointing a purple-painted nail at the man in the chair. Hinata nodded.
“It’s…Mr. Kobayashi.”
“Correct! You seem to know a lot for a mere child. So here’s my final question: Do you know what I want?”
Hinata thought this over for a few seconds.
What’s going to happen to us…?
Helen was here. Akane and Yuuma were up above. Perhaps the college students from before were hiding out in the mansion, too.
And we only have Mayuka, Chris, Mr. Kobayashi, who can’t seem to move, and me…
This was a truly desperate situation.
Their only option was to prolong the time they had until they were all tied up, too.
Feeling the pressure, Hinata tensed his stomach and opened his mouth.
“You’re the boss of a burglary ring, aren’t you? The guys responsible for the recent jewel heist we uncovered were working for you.”
One of Helen’s eyebrows rose.
“Oh? And?”
“I think you’re probably involved in a lot more shady stuff, too. You were using this mansion to collect information for more break-ins. I think you had some people digging around online—and then sent your other goons to go rob empty houses…”
“How rude. You act like I’m some common burglar!” Helen laughed. “But I forgive you. The antiques you found for me were actually quite valuable. That discovery alone made using this mansion as a base of operations worthwhile. I’m very grateful.”
Hinata gritted his teeth. In the end, that quest to find the treasure had only wound up enriching someone like her…
“But enough of this. I presume you’re also clever enough to know what I’m after now.”
Hinata winced. He felt a deep pain in his chest.
“…I…I think so…”
Helen’s mouth twisted. She was getting annoyed with him. “Well, out with it, then! Give me what I want!”
Mayuka shrieked softly. She was terrified.
Hinata steeled himself for what would come next, then said, “You want the information that Mr. Kobayashi has. He’s aware of some sensitive details that concern you…”
“You think he has dirt on me? Don’t be preposterous. I just want to know the name of the person who betrayed me.”
Betrayed?
So that was it. Helen had realized that someone in her organization was leaking information. If she didn’t root out the mole, her group would eventually collapse.
And Mr. Kobayashi had been trying to get information from the mole in order to rescue the grandchild of one of his regular clients.
Hinata looked Mr. Kobayashi in the face. Mr. Kobayashi, what should I do…?
The man’s eyes met his, but the only thing Hinata saw in them was frustration and regret.
Helen spat, “Don’t expect anything out of him. He can barely move since he got hurt. Sitting up is the best he can do. He can’t even speak. I have Yuuma and his friends taking care of him, but he’s barely alive as it is.”
“What? Really…?” Mayuka murmured.
Hinata felt crushed. Had Mr. Kobayashi been held prisoner in these circumstances for nearly half a year?
“When I caught him, he’d given his dog a USB drive with the information and let it run off. But we have the USB now. When the dog fled, it dropped it, and one of my men found it… The only problem is that I don’t have the password to open it. We even got his computer from his office, but we weren’t able to get into that, either.”
Helen began to grind her teeth.
“He won’t tell us anything,” she continued, “but when I ask about his dog, he blinks faster. I know the dog has some kind of secret. That’s why I was looking for the mangy mutt…”
Kobayashi’s eyes squeezed shut. Hinata could tell how he was feeling, and he put a hand on his shoulder.
“What was it, four or five months ago? It was around the time we started using this mansion as a base that I met you and that dog outside the vet clinic. I asked Akane about it, and she said it might be the same breed as Kobayashi’s dog. So I told her to lure you in here. She’s pretty good at it, don’t you think? Taking her hamster in, intentionally dropping her handkerchief, the whole works!” Helen chuckled to herself.
So it was a setup, Hinata realized. It was all a ruse. The haunted mansion, the video shoot…
Helen continued, “But even after we caught the dog, it didn’t have any clues in its collar or inside its mouth. And it escaped while we were looking…”
“Ohhh,” Mayuka said. “I guess it was a good thing for Chris that the spider popped up just then…”
Hinata nodded. They must have thought Chris had a secret compartment between his teeth or something. So when Akane got bit, it was because she had shoved her hand into Chris’s mouth. Chris wouldn’t bite anyone on purpose!
“And you confirmed that Chris was Mr. Kobayashi’s dog based on how quickly we found the treasure, huh?” said Hinata.
“That’s right. And that girl there stated very clearly that it was a former police dog. We tried to capture it with our car, but Yuuma failed,” she said, shaking her head in disappointment. “I’m tired of chatting. Give me the password, Kobayashi. Do you understand what’s going on? I have these children and your precious dog in the palm of my hand! I control their fates! So what do I need to do now? Where have you hidden the password on this dog?”
“Sh-she’s going to kill Chris,” Mayuka moaned.
Chris growled, baring his teeth at Helen.
I guess I have to do this, Hinata thought, clenching his fists.
“Mr. Kobayashi, may I tell Helen?” he asked, staring at the man. He blinked back. Hinata took that as an okay and continued, “It’s a microchip, isn’t it?”
Kobayashi blinked slowly once again. So it was true.
Hinata turned to Helen. “Most pet dogs and cats these days have a microchip embedded under their skin. It has a fifteen-digit identification number to identify a lost pet—and prevent pet theft and abandonment. I think the password to Mr. Kobayashi’s USB and computer is Chris’s ID number.”
Mr. Kobayashi blinked a third time.
A cruel smile spread across Helen’s face. “So all I need to do is get the microchip out of the dog?!”
“Nooo! Don’t!” Mayuka screamed, holding her hands over her mouth.
“That won’t work,” said Hinata sharply. “In fact, it will make it impossible to find the ID number. My family runs a veterinary practice, so I know what I’m talking about. Microchips are only two millimeters thick and one centimeter long. They’re small enough that they can be injected into the body with a syringe. Even a vet can’t find the spot where it’s been inserted and take it back out again. Plus, if the chip gets damaged, it’s useless.”
He clenched his fists again and willed himself to be strong.
“And if Chris dies, you’ll never get another chance at that password. The microchip only emits its signal while the pet is alive. If it dies, the transmission stops,” he said.
Helen exhaled. “Then how am I supposed to read this ID number?”
“…The only way is to go to a specialist veterinarian, or someplace like an animal shelter…”
She gave him a searching look, then said carefully, “Thank you for your advice. For now, hand over that dog.” Then she turned toward the door and shouted, “Akane!”
The door opened, and Akane entered without looking at any of them. She had been waiting behind it the whole time.
“Akane, take that dog upstairs,” Helen ordered.
The girl glanced at Chris but didn’t move. “Mother, there’s no leash.”
“Leash?”
Hinata opened up his walking bag and pulled the blue leash out to show her. “I have it. I’ll put it on him; just don’t hurt Chris…”
Hinata leaned over Chris’s shoulders, pretending to attach the leash to his collar. He purposely moved slowly and jittered his hands, making it look like his nerves were frayed.
The whole while, he looked Chris in the eye.
Are you ready, Chris…? The dog’s ears twitched.
“Quickly now!” Helen snapped. “Akane, we’re clearing out of here as soon as possible. Take the dog and go in Yuuma’s car. Don’t waste any time. We’re leaving them here.”
“I want to take Hammy, too, Mother…”
Helen clicked her tongue with annoyance. “Didn’t you hear me? Move! Now!”
Crouched next to Chris, Hinata held out the leash toward Akane. She came over to him and reached for it. At this point, Chris was hidden from Helen’s view behind Akane.
While he held out the leash, Hinata pretended to notice something to his left and murmured, “Oh, Hammy?!”
Akane’s eyes shot open. She turned to glance in the direction Hinata was facing.
Sorry, Akane!
Hinata swiped to the left, knocking Akane’s hand away!
While she lurched off balance, he turned and pointed at Helen.
“Chris, bite!!”
The dog lunged forward and jumped on top of the woman!
“Aaah!”