"What? The GCPD has cracked every line of the Notice?"
Bullock's self-assured words sent shockwaves through Tim's mind.
"Every line" naturally included the one that had stumped him for days.
Someone inside the GCPD actually solved it? Gordon? Barbara? But I spoke to her not long ago. She was stuck at the same point…
Tim itched to ask how the GCPD had interpreted the Notice, but Bullock had already declared the analysis confidential.
Pushing further would only make him look suspicious.
No matter how intense his curiosity, Tim had to keep quiet for now.
It did not matter. Once inside the estate, he had his own ways of prying the details loose.
"All done. No problems. Please go ahead, gentlemen."
The inspection of both car and passengers was completed in minutes, and Bullock waved them through.
They got back into the car and continued forward, soon arriving at the main gates of the Vanafor Family Estate.
Servants of the Vanafor Family were waiting to escort Jack and Tim, introduce the grounds, and point out the areas off-limits to outsiders.
Along the way, they passed countless guards, GCPD officers interspersed with the Vanafor Family's own professionals.
The sentries covered every corridor. Calling it "a post every three steps" might have been an exaggeration, but there were no blind spots left. Sneaking through was impossible.
"Security's tighter than a drum. Kaitou Kid really thinks he can pull this off?"
Jack clicked his tongue in amazement at the sight.
"If I were the thief and saw this many guards, my knees would buckle and I'd scrap the whole crazy plan."
Tim felt the same. Even a veteran like Catwoman would think twice before facing a wall of uniforms like this.
And all of it had been brought about by Kaitou Kid himself.
Frankly, Tim doubted he could lift the emerald necklace under these conditions, and he was certain Kaitou Kid would find it no easier.
That only made the puzzle gnawing at him even deeper.
"Motive. What motive could Kaitou Kid have for sending a Notice, giving everyone time to fortify their defenses, and then still attempting the theft?"
He was not the only one asking that question.
At that very moment, in the vast garden west of the estate, Gordon stood motionless by a railing, yellow trench coat draped over him, pipe in hand, lost in thought.
In his mind, he replayed the night Kaitou Kid, disguised as Montoya, had pressed the package containing the Tear of the Goddess into his hands.
"Why? Why give the Tear back?"
In all his years in Gotham, Gordon had encountered every kind of criminal, including madmen whose motives defied reason.
But Kaitou Kid, though they had met only once, felt nothing like those vicious lunatics.
"What is he really after?"
Gordon's brows knitted as the thief's objective baffled him.
Just then, a tawny-skinned policewoman approached.
"Chief, the banquet is about to begin. Aren't you coming inside?"
Gordon answered with a question of his own.
"Montoya, do you honestly believe Kaitou Kid will appear here?"
The officer standing before him was Renee Montoya, the very person the phantom thief had once impersonated.
"Honestly, I can't be sure," she said, shaking her head, "but nothing else fits the 'Rainbow Bridge' clue."
"A swaying road to Heaven, a rainbow bridge. Gotham has no bridge with actual colors, so the word has to be symbolic. The key is 'rainbow.' Yet he appears after dark, so it won't be a real rainbow."
"That leaves only the multicolored hot air balloon tethered here in the garden."
Following her gaze, Gordon spotted the massive, brightly colored envelope spread out on the nearby lawn.
"And a balloon drifting in the sky fits the idea of a 'swaying road to Heaven.'"
"In short, Kaitou Kid will slip into the banquet from this garden at sunset tomorrow and steal the emerald necklace from Ms. Samantha's neck."
Montoya concluded.
"Sounds solid enough," Gordon murmured, running through the logic and finding no obvious flaws.
As she had said, it was not perfect, but no better interpretation existed.
"Time to go. I'll head to the banquet hall," he said, glancing at his watch.
"Montoya, secure the garden. If you spot Kaitou Kid, arrest him."
No matter where the thief entered from, the true focal point was the necklace on Ms. Samantha herself.
Gordon would stay close to her inside. The garden would have to be left to his subordinate.
"Don't worry, Chief. I still owe him for impersonating me last time."
Montoya's eyes flashed with resolve.
Gordon nodded and strode toward the banquet hall.
Meanwhile, Tim arrived with his father.
He scanned the crowd with a detective's wariness, convinced that any one of them could be Kaitou Kid.
Inside, the atmosphere was sharply different from the grounds outside. Uniformed guards were few, with ordinary servers moving everywhere.
But that was only on the surface. Tim quickly spotted plenty of plainclothes officers blending in among the guests.
Ms. Samantha had insisted that no uniformed police intrude on her party, so Gordon had ordered his officers into tuxedos and cocktail dresses.
"Welcome to the Vanafor Family commemorative banquet. May I offer you something to drink?"
As Tim scanned the room, a server approached Jack, balancing a tray one-handed.
The tray held a dozen assorted glasses.
Most people would struggle to keep even one glass steady on a platter, yet the server's hand did not waver, not a single drop spilled.
He was no exception. Every waiter here possessed the same uncanny poise, clear proof of the Vanafor Family's exacting standards.
You came, just as I predicted, Tim, the server thought, casting the boy an almost imperceptible glance.
Like lambs to the slaughter, you've finally stepped into the trap laid by the Notice…
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