The painting is fake, it has been swapped!
Looking at the painting in front of him, which had no flaws at all and was so lifelike that it could be mistaken for a real one, Tang Ze's brain began to work rapidly.
The painting was swapped, so when did the crime happen?
Today is the first day of the exhibition, and according to what I learned from a previous chat with Uncle Jiroyoshi, the paintings should be shipped over a day in advance and handed over to the organizers for venue decoration.
It was still morning and the exhibition had just opened. Besides, no one should be able to swap the paintings in public.
In other words, the painting was lost during the period when it was handed over to the art museum for safekeeping yesterday.
After determining the approximate time when the painting was lost, Tang Ze did not think of starting to investigate the case immediately.
After all, how to deal with this matter before that is more important.
You have to know that this is a world-famous exhibition of masterpieces that everyone is looking forward to. If such a big scandal were to be exposed on the first day, it would probably immediately cause a huge uproar in society.
What's more important is that it might alert the criminals. If the criminals find out that they are being targeted, it is not impossible for them to flee overseas with the paintings or hide them in a safe where they will never see the light of day.
After all, objects are not like people, and it is too easy to lose them.
Afterwards, Karasawa told everyone around him about the situation and stopped Sonoko from exclaiming. Karasawa and a few others quietly found Suzuki Jirokichi who was resting in the VIP room.
"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" Suzuki Jirokichi said with a smile after seeing them. "It's just opened now, so you probably haven't finished your tour yet. If you're not admiring the works, why do you have time to come and see an old man like me?"
"Uncle Jirokichi is in trouble," Sonoko said in a panic, "The Mirror Lake has been stolen!"
"Nani! How is this possible!!" Upon hearing this news, Suzuki Jiroji instantly stood up from the sofa and flew into a rage: "Could it be that bastard Kaito Kidd stole my painting!?"
"No, if he wanted to steal the painting, he would have given you a warning letter in advance and stolen Mirror Lake openly."
Tang Ze shook his head and said, "But the painting 'Mirror Lake' hanging in the exhibition room has been secretly replaced."
"Switch?" Suzuki Jirokichi was stunned: "How did you..."
Suzuki Jirokichi changed his tone mid-sentence: "Is it the smell of the oil painting that's different? Is that why you discovered the painting was secretly swapped?"
"That's right." Tang Ze nodded and said, "When Uncle Jiroyoshi and I went to see the paintings together before, the oil paints on them were all natural pigments.
But this time I smelled acrylic-based paint, which clearly had been substituted."
Suzuki Jirokichi's face turned pale when he heard this. He naturally believed what Tang Ze said. He knew Tang Ze's super sense of smell, and this was his nephew-in-law, so there was no way he would lie to him.
Then there is only one truth: the painting was lost in the art museum. After all, he witnessed the handover with his own eyes.
But the painting became fake after just one night, so naturally I had to ask the curator about it.
At the same time, it was also a notification. After all, something like this definitely requires the cooperation of the police, and they didn't want to cause such a big commotion, so it would be best to handle it in a low-key manner.
What the group didn't expect was that the curator, Koji Hashiyama, was actually certain that this was the authentic work.
"Our security system is absolutely perfect," the bald Qiaoshan curator assured confidently, "You can rest assured about that."
"But Tang Zejun's can't be wrong either." Suzuki Jiroyoshi frowned.
"Are you talking about your nephew-in-law?" Director Qiaoshan chuckled and said, "Although he is an expert in handling cases, he probably has no authority in art.
Look at all the paintings around here. Perhaps the scent of the works of the new generation of masters drifted onto Mirror Lake and people got the wrong smell."
Suzuki Jirokichi frowned at this, and just as he was about to say something, he was stopped by the other party who waved his hand and said, "How about this, Mr. Suzuki, since you don't believe it, how about I ask the experts from the Bear Country to come and identify it?
After all, evidence is needed to investigate a case. Words are not as credible as concrete evidence, right?
Don't worry about the cost, how about I pay for it?"
"That's it." Suzuki Jirokichi nodded and accepted this compromise.
Although he was somewhat dissatisfied that the other party completely refused to believe what he said, he could also understand it.
After all, from the other party's perspective, there is nothing wrong with Director Qiaoshan's behavior, and it can even be said to be very sincere.
After all, he believed in Tang Ze's judgment, but others did not believe the words of a stranger, and there was no evidence, something that could not be seen or touched.
A stranger said that the painting was stolen. No matter who took such a big responsibility, they would definitely deny it at the first time.
The other party did not choose to deny it completely. Regardless of whether this compromise was chosen out of consideration for his identity, their approach was respectful enough and left him speechless.
However, Tang Ze looked at Director Qiaoshan thoughtfully.
His way of thinking is different from others. If others look at things from a two-dimensional perspective, then he looks at things from a 2.5-dimensional perspective.
To put it simply, it's probably like those characters in American comics who can see "outside the wall".
It is known that the case has already occurred, so according to the "Scientific Law", most of the people who appear in front of you at this moment should be suspects.
Although this doesn't make sense, Tang Ze also knows that evidence is needed to solve the case, but that doesn't prevent Tang Ze from focusing on analyzing the behavior of the key focus objects, right?
The other party's behavior obviously caught his attention. He didn't know if it was because he was suspicious of everyone, but he always felt that there was something wrong with the other party's behavior.
But Tang Ze had no idea what was wrong.
There was indeed nothing wrong with the other party's approach, and they also gave Suzuki Jirokichi enough respect.
But in fact, from another perspective, Director Qiaoshan's attitude on this matter is very tough, and he denied the fact that the painting is fake without any basis.
If Tang Ze determined that the painting was a fake based on his sense of smell, then what did the other party base his judgment on?
But if he completely denies it, then they say they will invite experts from the Bear Country to identify it.
Unless that guy can bribe the experts, this trick will only delay time.
But it is obvious that human experts will definitely not destroy their own reputation. In other words, whether it is real or fake can be determined after identification, which is very contradictory.
All in all, Tang Ze now feels like he is looking at flowers in the fog, and nothing can be seen clearly.
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