Phantom Thief vs. Great Detective: The Mystery of the Iridescence Brooch: Vol. 2

An entertainment read popular in Fontaine, telling of the first head-on clash between the phantom thief called the "Phantom Gentleman," Fantomas Louben, and the great detective Chesterton. Disclaimer: this story is pure fiction and has no connection with any real place, person, or event.

Fortunately the scene was not far from my uncle's home; I dragged my weary body back.

My uncle showed no special reaction to my return. As usual he sat in his customary seat, leafing through a book in his hands. "Tomorrow's Steambird will no doubt be splendid."

"You don't seem the least bit worried." I hung up my coat, undid the collar button, found a comfortable place on the sofa, and told him one by one everything that had happened and every detail of the scene.

"...The first explosion was probably not to destroy the structure of the house, but to cover the sound of a clockwork mechanism with a louder noise." "A clockwork mechanism? With such a heavy machine it would be hard to escape—so the clockwork must still be near the scene. Perhaps we can even find clues on it... It seems Louben is nothing special; his capture should not be far off." "Not entirely. Just as the first explosion only covered the mechanism's action, the mechanism itself may be another layer of bait." "So complicated." I rubbed my messy hair. "Then the key—the brooch's whereabouts..."

"Still hidden in the mansion." My uncle paused. "Layer upon layer of design all for one purpose: to make the officers on the scene conclude the brooch had already been taken away. No one would think the object thought stolen still remained indoors."

"Then—next, one need only forge a suitable identity, enter the mansion in broad daylight, and under no one's suspicion take that brooch in stride, is that not so?"