The arrival of Saburo Hanyu and others disrupted Ginzo Nakamori's actions.
Faced with his own artwork being stolen, Saburo Hanyu was very angry.
Although there was no loud tantrum, the words he had spoken earlier made the atmosphere awkward.
Even though they had focused their attention on the painting "My Beloved Daughter," they had arranged for a detective to guard Saburo Hanyu's studio.
However, despite these measures, someone managed to sneak in and steal the artwork, which was indeed Ginzo Nakamori's responsibility.
After calming down the angered Saburo Hanyu, Ginzo Nakamori was preparing to confront Yamada Yasuhiro with a set of face-pulling techniques to reveal the truth. However, Senichi intervened.
"Why are you stopping me, Detective Senichi!" Ginzo Nakamori complained, "Let me verify whether this guy is the Phantom Thief in disguise."
"There's no need for that. This gentleman is probably just a lost mountain climber, and the one who stole the painting is not the Phantom Thief," Senichi said, looking at the skeptical Ginzo Nakamori, "Because I've already found the real culprit, and that person is among us!"
"What?!" Senichi's words surprised everyone present. On the side, Conan looked at Senichi, then at the surrounding flower sea, speculating with a dead-fish-eyed expression.
Damn, this old dog is cheating again!
"Who is it?" Upon hearing Senichi's words, Ginzo Nakamori immediately stepped forward and asked, "Who is the true culprit who stole the artwork?!"
"It's very simple. The real culprit is you!" Senichi pointed at the man in front of him who had a surprised expression and said, "I'm not wrong, am I, Mr. Haruhiko Hanyu?"
"What kind of joke is this!" Haruhiko Hanyu, upon hearing Senichi's words, couldn't help but be angry, "Do you have any evidence for saying such absurd things? It's ridiculous to call someone a criminal based solely on words! This is the first time I've seen someone declaring someone a criminal with just their mouth!"
"No, there is evidence, and it's right on you." Facing Haruhiko Hanyu's retort, Senichi smiled and said, "It's just that even you haven't realized it."
"Evidence?!" Haruhiko Hanyu, hearing this, anxiously looked down at himself and then responded with a stern tone, "What evidence? Isn't everything fine?"
"Didn't I say you can't see it?" Senichi pointed at his nose, "The evidence on you isn't some object; it's a smell. Apart from the strong and nauseating fragrance outside, the lavender scent inside the room, in my sense of smell, clearly points to you!"
"What does that fragrance have to do with me stealing the painting?" Haruhiko Hanyu protested.
"It has everything to do with it," Senichi smiled and said, "Because this place is not the Phantom Thief's target, Detective Nakamori only arranged for a detective to guard the entrance.
But even in such a situation with only one route, it's enough to block a petty thief like you without any skills. So, to avoid detection by the detective, you had to take a detour to enter the studio.
And since the surroundings are lavender flower fields, the only way to get in is by passing through here."
At this point, Senichi opened the window, pointing to the ground below, and said, "Look here, the lavender flower field points to obvious footprints, indicating that the intruder indeed walked from here to the window and climbed in.
And if lavender is crushed, it releases a fragrance. So, only the culprit who stepped on the lavender would have such a strong lavender scent!"
"..."
Although Haruhiko Hanyu's expression showed panic upon hearing Senichi's words, he still shouted, "You're slandering me! None of the others smelled the lavender fragrance. Only you did! This can't be considered evidence!"
"My brother-in-law's sense of smell is extraordinary, and identifying criminals through smell is a piece of cake for him," Sonoko, who didn't have a good impression of Haruhiko Hanyu from the beginning, sneered, "Even if you play dumb, you can't escape the truth."
"What does it matter? In criminal investigations, you can't just believe one person's one-sided words!" Haruhiko Hanyu pointed at Senichi, "What if he is trying to frame me!"
"While bringing you in for identification is not impossible, it would be too troublesome," Senichi, seeing Haruhiko Hanyu's stubborn denial, wasn't angry at all. Instead, he smiled and said, "So, I'll ask another witness to help identify your crime."
"Another..."
"Witness?"
Upon hearing Senichi's words, Ayako and the others were also confused, unsure of where to find another witness with such a sensitive sense of smell as Senichi.
"It's Paulo!" Conan timely reminded them from the side, "Didn't sister Sakurako mention it? Paul hates the smell of lavender and will bark incessantly if he smells it. So, just bring Paulo here. If he keeps barking in front of Mr. Haruhiko, it means he has the scent of lavender on him."
"No time to waste, quickly bring over Miss Sakurako's dog!" Ginzo Nakamori immediately ordered, upon hearing Conan's words. However, before the detective could step out of the gate, he was stopped by Saburo Hanyu.
"No need!"
Saburo Hanyu, with a gloomy expression, walked towards Haruhiko Hanyu.
"Uncle, I... I did take your painting! But I just couldn't accept letting this woman take everything!"
Haruhiko Hanyu pointed at Sakurako Hanyu and shouted, "Just because of this person with an unknown background, trying to inherit the Hanyu family's fortune, I just wanted one painting..."
"Smack!"
Faced with Haruhiko Hanyu's continuous justifications, Saburo Hanyu walked over quickly and delivered a resounding slap straight to his face. "Bastard! You've disgraced me! Tell me where the hidden paintings are."
The slap knocked him to the ground, Saburo Hanyu coldly said, "The Hanyu family doesn't need useless individuals like you! Now, tell us where you've hidden the painting."
Facing his uncle, Haruhiko Hanyu honestly confessed everything. However, when the group found that the self-portrait was in the lavender flower field, a distant flicker of fire emerged.
Soon, the fire grew larger, capturing the attention of everyone present.
"What's going on! Report the situation immediately!" Ginzo Nakamori yelled into the communicator as he witnessed the unfolding situation.
"Report! There's, there's a tree in front of the courtyard that suddenly caught fire for some unknown reason!"
"What?!"
"Is it the reference for Mr. Hanyu's 'Tree' painting?" Upon hearing the report from the communicator, everyone was astonished. The art dealer, Hachi Hiromi, spoke up directly.
Seemingly having heard the conversation, Sakurako Hanyu, on the side, seemed to recall something. She instinctively looked towards the corner of the studio, where there was only an empty canvas left. Unconsciously, she shouted.
"It's gone! The 'Tree' is gone!"
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