“Wh-wh-what p-proof do you have of that?!”
Despite Numata’s protests, his nervous stammering was all but an admission of guilt. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his knees began to knock.
One of the guards used his phone to make a call, while the other raised his baton to keep Numata from trying anything funny.
“Hinata,” Liz said, her eyes glued to Numata, “take Chris and leave. This is dangerous, and I want you to head back to your group. I’d appreciate it if you notified Chihori.”
Hinata nodded and said quietly, “At the restaurant last night, he told me and Mr. Kobayashi all about his job. Shortly after that, Kobayashi was attacked. I think maybe…”
She tapped him on the arm to indicate that she understood. “Now, go on…”
Hinata pulled Chris’s leash, slipped past the security guards, and hastily left the kennel.
✦ ✦ ✦
An hour and a half later, Chihori came back from meeting the captain and sat in Mito’s room, cradling her head in her hands.
“Smuggling! H-how did I not see it…? His fishy attitude, the tarantula, the extreme temperature in his room… All the circumstantial evidence was there!”
“It’s not your fault,” said Mayuka comfortingly. “You’re just a member of the crew, not a detective… And believe it or not, Hinata is the president of a kids’ detective club. He’s solved a number of cases before—with Chris’s help, of course.”
“But…the crew has a duty to prevent crime and ensure the safety of our guests…,” Chihori wailed, even more distraught.
“What was he smuggling?” Kobayashi asked.
Chihori lifted her head and said, “Twenty tortoises of an endangered species called the Indian star. Liz was able to confirm it. They live in the tropics, so they require very warm temperatures or they’ll die.”
“Twenty?!”
“They were just hatchlings. They fetch high prices because of the beautiful patterns on their shells. He said he was going to hand them over to a local seller in Vladivostok.”
“And did he push Mr. Kobayashi into the pool?” Hinata asked urgently.
“He strongly denied it, even though the captain really pressed him on it. Then Mr. Soga heard what was going on and came to see…”
Mito’s eyes shot open. “Mr. Soga? What did he say?”
“He was yelling at the captain, saying that this broke smuggler must have stolen the Stradivarius.”
“Huh? So that Numata guy stole the violin?”
“No. He said he didn’t know anything about it, wasn’t interested in violins, and knew nothing about their value. It didn’t turn up in a search of his room, either…”
That made sense to Hinata.
“I’m so glad…,” Mito said, sighing in relief. “If it were left in such a hot room, the Stradivarius would have been ruined.”
“You’re happy he didn’t have it?” Mayuka grumbled. “Wouldn’t it be better to have found the violin?”
“No one would be happy to find some dried-out Stradivarius jerky!” Mito shot back.
The others all looked at one another, then burst into laughter. Stradivarius jerky!
A moment later, Mito joined in the laughter. “Still…I wonder where it’s disappeared to,” she muttered.
Hinata sat on the floor and rubbed Chris’s back. He thought everything over carefully, recalling all the strange events that had happened since they boarded the ship. He felt that if he could just get a hold on one of them and figure it out, all the other mysteries would follow, as if connected by a common thread. But which one should he focus on…?
“Mito,” he asked, “at the dinner party after the first concert, the Stradivarius was on display in the restaurant, right? Who handed it to you afterward?”
“I was very busy with all the people coming up to speak to me… I remember Chihori stopping by to say that it was time to leave, and then I was finally free…” She tilted her head, thinking hard. “Oh, that’s right, it was Mr. Soga himself! He’d had the bodyguards pack it up, and he gave me the whole case to carry.”
I see…
Hinata got to his feet. Chris gave him a look that said, “What’s up?”
“I’m going to take Chris for a walk…”
“But it’s almost noon. Don’t you want to have lunch at the café in the lobby?” Mayuka asked, reaching out to stop him.
“Yeah. I’ll be back by then,” he said, then led Chris out of the room.
✦ ✦ ✦
He went to the stairs and down to the third deck, thinking hard as he made his way to the lobby.
So close… I’m so close to figuring something out…
As soon as he set foot in the lobby, Hinata sensed that the atmosphere was different. He could hear concerned voices and the high-pitched whine of a dog.
What was going on? He followed the voices to the center of the room and was stunned by what he saw.
About halfway up the grand staircase on the left, Kotarou’s traumatized face was visible through the outer railing. His head and both front legs were sticking out between two pillars, and he couldn’t get loose! The whining must have been coming from Kotarou.
“He’s stuck!”
Hinata hurried up the staircase with Chris. There were a number of guests and crew members standing around the dog, but none of them seemed to know what to do.
“S-sorry,” he said, pushing his way between them until he was right in front of Kotarou—or rather, Kotarou’s butt. Reo was pulling on the leash hesitantly, but the dog’s front legs showed no signs of slipping back through the gap.
“Let me see the leash,” Hinata said, taking it from Reo and handing him Chris’s leash instead. “Wait here, Chris. Sit!”
Chris briefly grumbled, but he obeyed Hinata’s command and sat down on the spot.
First, Hinata tied Kotarou’s leash tightly to the pillar so the dog wouldn’t fall through. Then he held Kotarou’s collar tightly in his left hand. He ran his right hand through the pillars and pressed his palm to Kotarou’s right shoulder. Slowly, carefully, he began to pull.
Trying to yank both legs through at once wasn’t going to work. But as long as one of his shoulders was freed, it should be easy for him to get his head loose…
Careful not to hurt Kotarou’s shoulder, Hinata gingerly eased it back. In time, the dog’s right shoulder slipped through the bars, followed immediately by his head and left shoulder.
“Ohhh!”
“He did it!”
“Bravo!”
The crowd immediately burst into cheers and claps. Relieved, Hinata untied Kotarou’s leash and took a little bit of food out of his walking bag.
“There you go, Kotarou. Good boy. Sit!” he commanded.
Kotarou managed to sit down despite his wildly wagging tail. His eyes narrowed with excitement. Once the kibble was within range, he chomped it down.
“Now, don’t go sticking your head into tight spaces again, all right?” Hinata warned.
“Woof!” Kotarou replied eagerly. His eyes shone with delight. “You gave me a treat before, didn’t you?” he seemed to say.
Hinata hugged Kotarou around the neck, patted him on the back, then stood up.