Chapter 6 5. The Phantom Thief on the Tree

Later, what happened on the bank of the pond, let readers imagine for themselves. Five or six minutes later, the former Matsuno driver stood on the bank of the original pool as if nothing had happened.Other than a slight shortness of breath, he looked normal. He began to walk hurriedly towards the main house.For some reason, he was limping slightly.Still, he dragged his limp straight across the courtyard, all the way to the main entrance. There are two scholars at the main entrance, holding objects similar to wooden knives, standing guard in a serious manner.Matsuno walked up to them, touched his forehead with a painful expression, and said:

"I'm cold all over, maybe I have a fever. It's too uncomfortable, I want to take a rest first." His voice sounded weak. "Ah, it's Matsuno. No problem, you go to rest. We are in charge here." One of the scholars replied energetically. Driver Matsuno greeted him and disappeared into the garage next to the entrance, behind which was his room. After that until morning, nothing unusual happened.No one passed by the front door or the back door. The inspectors guarding outside the wall did not see anyone who looked like a strange thief. At seven o'clock, a large number of police officers from the Metropolitan Police Department searched the house.At the same time, until the investigation is over, all family members are prohibited from going out, but there is no way to restrict students.Sanae, who was in the third grade at Kadowaki Girls' School, and Souji, who was in the fifth grade at Takachiho Elementary School, went out by car as usual when school time came.

Although the driver was still listless, he didn't talk much and kept his head down.However, I can't be late for school, so I barely got into the driver's seat. Nakamura, the head of the Metropolitan Police Department's search department, first met the owner of the house, Sotaro, at the crime scene in the study, heard the details of the incident, and then questioned everyone in the house one by one, and then began to search the courtyard. "After we arrived last night, until now, no one has left the mansion, and no one has climbed over the wall. I think you can absolutely trust us." The chief detective of the district police station confidently asked Nakamura Chief's report.

"So the thief may still be lurking in the house?" "Yes, this is the only possibility. However, after dawn this morning, we searched again, and so far found nothing, except for the dead body of the dog..." "Ah, the dead body of a dog?" "This family kept a dog named John in order to prevent thieves from coming to the door, but it was poisoned to death last night. According to the investigation, 'Twenty Faces', who pretended to be the son of this family, went to the yard to feed the dog yesterday evening. The dog ate something. He is really a careful man. If the youngest son of the family hadn't set a trap in advance, the guy would have escaped long ago."

"Then look in the yard again. The yard is so big, there might be some hiding place." While the two were talking, an exclamation came from the other side of the rockery in the yard. "Come here, please! Found it! Found the thief!" At this time, there was a sound of chaotic footsteps from all directions, and it was a group of policemen who rushed to the scene.Chief Nakamura and the chief detective also ran towards the source of the sound. Looking over, the person who shouted turned out to be one of the scholars of Hashiba's family.Standing under a huge Castanopsis tree in a dense forest, he kept pointing upwards and shouting:

"That's the one. The thief was there. I recognize his suit." The twig of this castan tree is three meters above the ground, hidden among the dense branches, and a person is lying horizontally in a strange posture.There was such a commotion, and he was not seen trying to escape. It can be seen that the thief should have died of anger. Otherwise, maybe fainted. It can't be dozing off in a tree. "Come on, go and drag that guy down for me." When the section chief gave an order, the ladder was immediately moved over. Some people went up the tree, and some people supported him from below. Three or four people worked together to lift the villain to the ground.

"Hey, why was he tied up?" That's right, he was tied up with thin silk ropes, and his mouth was also gagged. A large handkerchief was stuffed in his mouth, and another handkerchief was wrapped around his head, and a knot was tied at the back of his head. Restrict his gagged mouth.And, strangest of all, his suit was as wet as it had been in the rain. After taking out the handkerchief from the water, the man finally regained his strength, moaned and said: "Damn, hate!" "Ah, aren't you Matsuno?" the scholar exclaimed in astonishment. That's not 'Twenty Faces'.Although wearing the clothes of 'Twenty Faces', his appearance is completely different.It was clearly Matsuno, the driver at home.

But, speaking of the driver, didn't he go out not long ago to send Sanae and Souji to school?Then why is Matsuno here? "What's wrong with you?" When asked by the section chief, Matsuno yelled unwillingly: "Damn! I was tricked! I fell for that guy!"