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The narrator suggests the reader might be frustrated that Akechi didn’t try to capture the thief on the platform, but explains this is because Akechi underestimates the thief and has a strong conviction that he’ll win, and if he captured the thief before knowing where the stolen goods are, then they may never get recovered. At least that was my understanding of the explanatory interlude.
The thief first pretends to be in danger and says Akechi can call for help and get him arrested but Akechi says he has no such intention to which the thief responds maybe it’s he that wants to capture Akechi. The plan is for the porters to force Akechi into a big trunk and ditch him somewhere. Akechi got up and looked casually out the window after the thief said he wanted to take him and then he holds a white hankerchief out the window and points out Kobayashi watching, who is instructed to call for help if it drops. It’s all very old school overly complicated plans and counter plans getting thrown back and forth.
In the end once it looks safe for Akechi to walk out Akechi and the thief leave the room together. The thief doesn’t get into the elevator with Akechi but had a plan for the attendant to trap Akechi in the elevator, which fails. So it ends with Akechi surprising the thief when he sees him on his way out and humiliating him by having controlled the situation and not capturing him.
thoughts
The plot was so quaint. A bit too much glaring and big talk for my liking but it sets the scene in terms of the battle of egos wits to come I guess. I had been hoping the whole time that Akechi had made a plan with Kobayashi to stake out the place and then secretly follow the thief to his hideout after the meeting. But just meeting for the purpose of observing the thief and toying with his ego? As fun as that may be this dear reader still feels it was a missed opportunity. But if Akechi later uses what he learned against the thief, I’ll begrudgingly accept that. But I’m still hoping it’s not a missed opportunity. (My hopeful speculation:) Maybe there was someone else staked out at the front and the tap on the thief’s shoulder was the sign to follow that car! And that’s why Akechi can walk away so calmly… in any case, Akechi must have something up his sleeve we don’t know.
I thought it would have been hilarious if the real Tujino had been outside the hotel entrance, though, when Akechi taps him on the shoulder and addressed him in casual speech. But alas, not to be
I felt this week was a little weak overall. But let’s see the payoff and if akechi can make his grand claims (preventing the robbery, getting back the stolen goods, arresting him togheter with most of his henchmen) true by his action.
I agree with @mitrac that this week’s plot was not very convincing.
How could Akechi explain in a few words to Kobayashi what he should do? What if they had taken him to a room without a window facing the platform? What if the two guys had seized him before he could get to the window? How would they have got the trunk out of the hotel? If 二重面相 was so convinced of his plan why would he have instructed the elevator boy to block the elevator?
While the Detective was stuck in the elevator, I was sure the thief made a switcheroo, with one of his henchmen becoming Mr. Tsujino, like he did back at the lair with the cook. When the Detective tapped him on the shoulder on the entrance stairs and Tsujino turned around, I thought it would be Akechi who was surprised.… oh well. But, Kobayashi finally got to use this telescope! It was the one object in his 7-tools detective kit he did not use when he was trapped in the thief’s lair.
So many はははs! I hope you’re right about them tailing Zoku. The next chapter is titled Zoku’s Arrest, which I’m not sure how that can happen now with a third of the book still to go, but who can predict what these old books will do!
it’s like looking at your watch and thinking, nope, it’s not time yet 