Chapter 95: The Hidden Setup

"If it's possible for one person to be hurt by another, then it's possible for that person to be healed by another."

— Sohma Hatori (Fruits Basket)

...

Henry reprimanded two employees, who hung their heads in shame while remaining silent and embarrassed.

At that moment, Barbara stepped forward and said, "Mr. Henry, our first priority should be to quickly confirm whether the diamond is safe. We all know how skilled the Phantom Thief is with his disguises. It's understandable that your employees recognize him."

Dick also said, "Ms. Gordon is right. Our main task should be to ensure that the 'Hope Diamond' is still in the exhibition hall. Let's put aside the blame for now."

Hearing their voices, Henry, who was angered just moments ago, was about to retort with something like, 'Are you teaching me how to do my job?'

But some of his anger calm down when he turned around and saw who was talking.

It was Commissioner Gordon's daughter and the adopted son of the Wayne family...

Henry's expression softened and he said, "Mr. Grayson, Ms. Gordon, I have already checked earlier, and the 'Hope Diamond' is still in the ice block and has not been stolen."

Hearing this, Dick and Barbara exchanged glances and saw the same hint of confusion in each other's eyes.

"If Phantom Thief Kid disguised himself as a worker and entered the exhibition hall yesterday, why didn't he take the opportunity to steal the 'Hope Diamond'?"

"Mr. Henry, are you absolutely sure that the diamond in the ice block is the 'Hope Diamond'? Is there a possibility that Phantom Thief placed it there to confuse us with a fake?"

Dick asked, pinching his chin.

"After all, the diamond is inside a translucent box with a blue tint, and it is impossible to verify its authenticity with the naked eye."

"You can rest assured on that point, I am very sure it is real."

Henry replied without hesitation.

Even the maintenance worker who previously entered the exhibition hall with the fake employees added, "After we finished the maintenance work yesterday and left the exhibition hall, there was still a large amount of the ice block that hadn't melted. I'm quite sure he didn't have the time to steal the diamond back then."

"After that, it was other workers who were responsible for storing the diamond and freezing it back into the ice block. They were under constant surveillance the entire time and never even opened the box, let alone stole the 'Hope Diamond'."

Dick's eyebrows furrowed deeply.

If what they were saying was true, then the Phantom Thief indeed did not steal the diamond, but why?

Was it because he had said he was going to steal it on Easter, so he didn't plan to do it earlier and just wanted to do some observation in the exhibition hall first?

Or perhaps the Phantom Thief found that the security level in the exhibition hall was too high and he didn't have a chance to make a move, so he had to temporarily retreat.

"Anyway, it's best to thaw the ice and thoroughly inspect the diamond."

Barbara spoke up.

But as soon as she finished speaking, Henry quickly intervened, "No! We can't do that!"

Others might not know, but he was well aware of what was inside the ice.

It wasn't just the 'Hope Diamond,' but rather the real 'Stone of Misfortune'!

If that stone were opened to see if it was real or not, everyone there would have misfortune and meet a terrible fate.

Before the exhibition ends or the Phantom Thief steals it, the 'Stone of Misfortune' must absolutely remain closed!

Both Dick and Barbara turned their gazes to him and asked him at the same time, "Why not?"

"Uh... the exhibition is about to start. If we melt the ice block now, how can we explain it to the visitors? How can we explain it to the Smithsonian Museum?"

Henry quickly came up with a somewhat convincing excuse.

"If we don't handle it properly, the outside world may think that the diamond has already been stolen. Then, those ruthless media outlets will add fuel to the fire by saying that our exhibition hall is useless in terms of security. No one will trust this exhibition hall again!"

"For this exhibition, I have almost exhausted all of my savings. I can't afford this loss."

With a mournful expression on his face, Henry played the emotional card with Dick and Barbara.

"Leaving aside the fact that Phantom Thief barely had time to steal the diamond, even if he did, he would probably return it."

"How can you think like that?"

Barbara and Dick exclaimed angrily.

"I don't want to think that way either, but reality forces me to. There are over a hundred employees in the exhibition hall who need to be paid. I have to protect the reputation of the exhibition hall."

Henry talked like he couldn't do anything, and he even believed what he said.

Who told you to take this gamble and take over such an important exhibition plan as 'Hope Diamond'?

'If you wanted to gain fame with this plan and had no confidence in facing failure, then you shouldn't have done this business in the first place.'

Dick wanted to say this, but seeing the sad expression on Henry's face, he decided to hold his words back.

"What are you all doing here?"

At this moment, Kim and Lily from the Smithsonian Museum came from a distance, and Jim and Harvey were also behind.

Barbara next to them explained the whole situation to several people and then said.

"The plan to melt the ice block and examine the diamond can be postponed, but I suggest we thoroughly search the exhibition hall."

"Phantom Thief is not likely to make a move on the diamond before Easter. However, he is highly likely to set up hidden traps in the exhibition hall to prepare for his plans."

As Barbara said this, a flash appeared in her eyes, "We've always failed to catch the Phantom Thief because we never knew when he set up traps at the crime scene. But this time, Phantom Thief has made a mistake."

In Jim's view, the safest approach would be to immediately check the diamond.

Once confirmed as real, they would cancel the exhibition and quickly send the diamond back to the Smithsonian Museum with Harvey.

Unfortunately, the cops were only in charge of security, and Jim didn't have the authority to interfere with the exhibition's planning.

Henry was firm in his position, so JIm didn't say anything else.

JIm, Kim, and Harvey all agreed that the thorough search that his daughter suggested was a good idea.

Even Henry couldn't find a reason to object.

Only Lily, upon hearing about the thorough search of the exhibition hall, had a slight shrank in her pupils...

The independent exhibition hall of the "Hope Diamond" was not large, and the inside search was quickly completed.

The more they searched, the more surprises they found. There were actually quite a few hidden traps.

The first one was a corner with a secret tunnel under the floor that led to a place nobody knew.

Inside the closet where the warming coats were stored, they also found a secret compartment.

Inside the compartment were gas masks, clearly meant for triggering the automatic closing of doors and the release of a hypnotic gas after setting off the alarm.

Also, all the equipment in the exhibition hall had a strange part or two hidden within, which didn't disrupt the devices' functions.

It was almost impossible to detect any issues during regular maintenance.

...

A/N: If we reach 600 power stones today, I will release an additional chapter tomorrow.

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