Reo’s cabin was on the ninth deck, at the stern of the ship.
He stuck his card into the lock, then silently entered the room with Kotarou. Hinata and Mayuka weren’t sure if they should follow him, so they waited out in the hallway.
Before the door could close, Reo held it open from the inside and gestured with his head for them to enter. Hinata and Mayuka shared a brief look, then went inside.
The smell of Touko’s overpowering perfume filled the room. Chris promptly sneezed.
The inside was stunningly spacious. Mito’s room had seemed quite luxurious, but it was nothing compared to this.
There were multiple sofas in the living room, and on the left side was a dining area with a big round table. Outside the large glass door in the back was a massive balcony. The biggest surprise of all, however, was the spiral staircase just ahead of it. There were no beds anywhere in sight, so the bedroom had to be above them. A two-story cabin!
“Oh my! Isn’t it a little early?” said Touko with surprise. She was inside, seated on a sofa chair. “I said you could invite them after lunch.”
“There was a bit of trouble,” replied Reo, clearing his throat awkwardly.
He was supposed to invite us? Hinata wondered. So this was planned…?
Touko grimaced and gestured at Kotarou with her chin. “Let me guess: Kotarou got himself in trouble again? I told you not to get such a large dog… Go and take him to the kennel already.”
Reo hung his head silently. Hinata felt like he’d seen this same interaction once before. Why was that?
“Did you bring the Stradivarius?” said a man’s gruff voice, taking Hinata by surprise. “You were boasting about how you’d find it before we arrived in Vladivostok.”
Soga walked out from the room’s back right corner, which had been hidden from view. He had a glass in one hand. There was a bar counter to the right side of the room with a long line of alcohol bottles.
“Mr. Soga!” Mayuka said with alarm. The man grinned and sat down on another, larger sofa.
“My cabin happens to be right next door, and this woman has proven a good conversation partner to while away the tedium of the long voyage… Touko, the captain told me to keep it a secret, but I’ll tell you. My Stradivarius has been stolen…”
Touko gasped and put a hand to her chest. “When? Which one?”
“The first one that the girl played. She claimed some nonsense about the instrument simply disappearing from its case. Then they followed it up by insisting that the dog was going to find it! Speaking of which, have you had any success?” Soga asked, tilting his glass toward them.
Hinata hesitated. He couldn’t rise to Soga’s bait…
“Well, I’m not surprised,” Soga continued. “And I can’t waste any more time playing along with children’s games. I think the girl’s father is particularly suspicious. I mean, we’re talking about someone who makes money off his daughter’s violin playing,” the man said, laughing.
Mayuka stood off to the side, clenching her teeth. There was no reason for Soga to talk that way.
We know just how pure and true Mito’s and her father’s love for the violin is…, thought Hinata.
He couldn’t take it anymore. He sucked in a deep breath and glared at Soga, looking him right in the eye.
“Mr. Soga, I already know where the Stradivarius is.”
The man took the glass away from his mouth. “Oh? Where?”
“In the room next door.”
His lips puckered. “You mean my room? Well, of course there’s a Stradivarius there. But it’s not the one that was stolen. You already knew that!”
“No. That is the stolen instrument. There was never a second Stradivarius.”
Clink! Soga loudly set his wineglass on the table. Chris twitched with alertness at Hinata’s feet.
“What do you mean there’s no second Stradivarius?” Soga asked.
“After the party two nights ago, you placed the instrument on display into a violin case. But then you hid it and gave Mito a different case, which was empty. I’m sure you adjusted the weight to ensure it felt right to her.”
Hinata took another breath, then forced himself to continue.
“The next time Mito opened the case and found the violin missing, all you had to do was scream about it being stolen. Meanwhile, the Stradivarius you’d hidden was safe and sound in your cabin. You then placed a fake label over the one on the inside and put it back in the display case, claiming it was a completely different instrument…”
Soga slapped his knee and laughed. “Nonsense! Why would I steal my own property? That’s preposterous.”
“You took out a large insurance policy on that violin, didn’t you? I recall hearing you talk about how expensive the payments were. But if it was stolen, you could get the insurance payout, and you’d still have the Stradivarius. And if anyone suspected you, you could sell the supposedly stolen instrument on the black market in secret, then buy a replacement. Am I wrong?”
“Hinata, that’s amazing…,” Mayuka murmured, almost on the verge of tears. Chris looked up and whined.
Soga was no longer smiling. “What evidence do you have…?”
“Mito could tell that the first and second Stradivarius both had the same sound. The feeling she got playing them was identical. You underestimate her ability, Mr. Soga. You gave her the same instrument, assuming she would be none the wiser—you were mocking her.”
“Th-that’s all circumstantial…”
“Mito is a performer, not an appraiser. She doesn’t have the ability to tell a fake label from a real one. But if we take the Stradivarius currently in the case to an expert, they’ll be able to tell us if the label is real or not…”
The room was utterly silent.
Then Touko began to applaud.
“I think you’ve lost, Mr. Soga. You may have underestimated Mito, too—but you most certainly underestimated this boy. He’s quite something. And that dog, too…”
Hinata gasped. Touko’s comment was the last piece in the puzzle. He now knew the solutions to all the mysteries that had been plaguing them.
But it seemed he was a little too late…