Even from behind, it was clear that Soga’s small frame was trembling with rage. Mayuka was standing by the glass door, looking ready to cry. She clutched Kobayashi and his wheelchair.
“Regarding this matter, there’s something I’d like to confirm. Miss Chihori?” Kobayashi said, calling her into the room.
“Y-yes?” She straightened up. The captain and Soga turned around with a start.
“You brought juice to our room last night, correct?”
“Yes. It was a room service order of four glasses of pomegranate juice, paid for by Mr. Soga.”
“What? I didn’t place any such order!” Soga said, scowling.
Chihori shook her head. “That was what I was told. So I went to the restaurant to pick up the juice and brought it here.”
“When it arrived, we drank it,” Kobayashi said. “And immediately after that—”
“I suddenly got very sleepy!” Mito cut in, insistently waving her fists. “I passed out almost immediately, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up just a few minutes ago.”
“I think something must have been mixed into those drinks,” said Kobayashi. “Probably a drug that put us to sleep.”
Chihori gasped and covered her mouth with a hand. “O-oh no… I had no idea…”
“And where is this pomegranate juice, hmm?” Soga snapped. “Let’s see some evidence of your claim!”
Kobayashi looked troubled. “When we woke up, the glasses were gone. Did you clean them up, Chihori?”
“No!” she said, shocked. “The cleaning staff tidy up the rooms in the mornings. My shift was only until nine last night, so I didn’t enter the room after bringing up the juice.”
“Then who took the glasses away? The cleaning staff?”
“I don’t think so. They said that they opened the door and saw people passed out inside and were too frightened to go in. When I heard that and came to see, they were standing around in the hall, all shaken up.”
“That means that sometime after we fell asleep, someone entered this room and removed all evidence of the glasses. I think it’s highly likely that whoever it was is also responsible for stealing the Stradivarius.”
“That’s all mere conjecture! Juice laced with drugs? It’s nonsense!” Soga shouted. “And surely you don’t think that claiming ignorance because you were asleep is a valid excuse!”
“Well, what else can we say? It’s the truth,” Mayuka wailed, on the verge of tears.
Soga thrust a finger at Mito. “Did your father steal it? He was the first one off the ship!”
Her cheeks flushed with anger. “No! The violin was still in the case when Daddy left!”
Kobayashi wheeled his chair in front of Mito. “Last night, someone put down that we disembarked the ship,” he explained. “They entered false information into the computer system at the desk. What did they say about Chris, Hinata?”
Hinata looked down into his dog’s eyes. “Th-their system said that I had already retrieved him…”
“All of that suggests that someone intentionally put us to sleep, then falsified records to make it look like we had left the ship, trapping us here.”
The captain’s thick eyebrows shot upward. “For what purpose?!”
“That’s the real question. I have no idea. If they just wanted to steal the violin, they wouldn’t need to go to such lengths…” He stopped and thought, his face a mask of concentration.
“None of that matters!” exclaimed Soga. “I just want my violin back… Did you help them steal it?!” He turned to Chihori.
“I—I don’t know anything about this…”
She looked flustered as she turned to the captain for help. But he just shook his head, looking out of his depth.
“To think that such a scandal would happen on my ship… I’ll have my whole security team comb every deck for the violin. For the time being, Mr. Soga, if you could keep quiet about the theft…”
“Are you trying to shut me up?!” Soga demanded, in a state of extreme agitation.
The captain held out both hands to keep the man at bay and bowed apologetically. “Our guests are here to enjoy themselves. I can’t upset them with some huge public manhunt. We’ll do everything we can; I just ask that you allow us to do so quietly…”
Soga was breathing heavily, but he held his tongue for now. The captain exhaled, then turned to Mito and Hinata.
“You were only supposed to be on board for a few hours, well before the ship left port. I assume you aren’t carrying passports?”
They all shook their heads. The captain sighed. “You shouldn’t be here, and yet we’re already out in the Pacific…”
“Maybe if you stopped at a port somewhere and let us off,” Mayuka suggested hopefully.
Kobayashi rubbed her arm. “Mayuka, this isn’t a taxi. They can’t just make a stop whenever you want.”
“A massive cruise ship like this one cannot change destinations on a whim,” the captain agreed. “And it would be very difficult to dock at a port that wasn’t expecting us. As captain, I permit you to stay on board, but I cannot allow you to leave the ship when we dock. You must not act independently, and you must stay with Chihori at all times. I want you all to behave yourselves until we return to Yokohama in six days.”
“Six days? What about school…?” Mayuka asked, her voice tiny. No one could answer her. “Wh-what about my mom and dad…?” she wailed.
“We’ll inform them of the situation, but I forbid you from contacting anyone outside the ship.”
“What about the cost of the cabin?” Kobayashi asked, his face pale. With a start, Hinata realized that traveling on a cruise ship for that many days would probably be very expensive.
The captain cleared his throat and said, “We will waive the cost for now. But if it turns out you are in any way responsible for this turn of events, you will be receiving a bill at a later date.”
“We’re definitely not responsible!” Mito shouted.
“Then who took my Stradivarius, young lady?” Soga snapped. “If you bear no responsibility, then show it to me so that I may have it back!”
“Chris…,” Mayuka muttered. She pointed at the dog standing in front of the door. “Chris will search for it! I know he’ll find it! Chris is a very talented detective!!”
“Chris?” Soga turned around to look at the Shiba Inu, then laughed humorlessly. “You’re saying this mutt is a detective? I don’t have time for children’s fantasies.”