The Detective Is Already Dead, Vol. 6 by nigozyu and Umibouzu

Author:nigozyu and Umibouzu
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Yen On

“I don’t buy artists’ names. I buy their skill. I want to pursue ‘the real thing’ in art as well.”

As she spoke, she gazed at the paintings by unknown artists that hung in the gallery. The experts hadn’t discovered these artists yet, so their pictures didn’t stand out on the market. Even so, there was solid talent behind them, and Krone purchased them at high prices.

“If that’s your ambition, then why did you sell counterfeits?” Boy K. asked, pointing out the apparent contradiction in her behavior.

“That’s also an outgrowth of my ideals,” Krone told him. “The paintings you showed me really were replicas. I’ve been in this business for more than ten years, but even I couldn’t tell at first. I knew, logically, that those paintings shouldn’t be in Japan. That was how I managed to identify them as counterfeits; it wasn’t the result of a formal appraisal.”

She’d identified them the same way I had. However, unlike me, her knowledge of fine art was deep and detailed, and even she hadn’t immediately been able to identify those paintings as fakes. That was how polished the copies were.

“I set a price not on the paintings themselves, but on the skills of the painter who’d made such perfect imitations.”

“Wait, did Danny buy them from you for the same reason?”

“No. As a matter of fact, he asked me to do this.” At last, Krone gave us the information we wanted. “He said he knew an artist with extraordinary skills. He’d never seen anything like it before. He asked if I could visit them and buy their artwork.”

It seems Danny’s story about coincidentally running into Krone and buying those pictures really had been a lie. Had the two of them been business acquaintances all along? Then why had he kept quiet about it? He hadn’t even told the kid…

“If he wanted the pictures that badly, why not just go get them himself? Why was he so roundabout?” The idea seemed to mystify the boy.

“I couldn’t say. I only knew him through our business deals, and he never let others know what he was really thinking.” Krone gazed at the one blank space on the white wall. “I think he must have had some lofty goal. …That said—and you may be angry with me for saying this—his eyes seemed to be focused on something in the distance, and it frightened me a little.”

Danny Bryant had always had several faces.

A former Federation Government spy, and a traitor to the group.

A private detective, and an enigmatic wandering handyman.

A surrogate dad for Boy K., whom he’d taken from the children’s home.

Which one was real, and what had he been trying to accomplish? If I met him, would I have figured it out?

“Still, who would have thought he had someone like you?” Krone turned back, gazing at Boy K. Then she gave a sudden smile. “Now, what’s next? Have you finished your business here? It’s true that I sold illegal counterfeits, so if you plan to turn me in, I’ll have no choice but to comply.

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