[Files 775-777] Target on Tape

[KapmK]

I'm pretty sold on the whole rug thing. They didn't knock Ayumi out because they wanted to further cement the whole missing cat story by showing her the pet carrier and talking about it. On the other hand, it was pretty stupid to use a cat photo with such an obvious source.

The entire cat story was just meant to keep them busy during the rug switch. It's a whole lot like an old episode of a show called Monk.

I've been mulling it over, but I'm not really sure who the culprit is. The two younger sisters didn't seem to know anything about appraisal (I'm pretty sure knocking on the object is frowned upon), which means they would have no idea what the rug is worth. But that may have just been them playing dumb to avoid suspicion.

The middle aged couple made a point of telling him not to let many other people see the vase. This could have been an attempt to keep anybody from noticing the rug before they had a chance to steal it.

The last two were jerks. This is relevant because I can't really imagine a conversation with them naturally flowing toward questions about Haibara. Also, Gosho tends to try to surprise people as much as possible. Generally the person who seems the most likely to commit a crime is not the culprit.

Actually, now that I've formulated my thoughts, I'm kinda leaning toward the middle aged couple being the culprits.

On another note, hey, I'm new. Nice to meet you all.

[Abs.]

10 cents the person who came around asking questions about Haibara was actually Sera

[GinRei]

10 cents the person who came around asking questions about Haibara was actually Sera

Agreed.  That was my initial guess as soon as he said that too.  After all, said person also asked about her friends, and we all know Sera has an unnatural interest with one of those friends in particular.

[leokiko]

I'm pretty sold on the whole rug thing. They didn't knock Ayumi out because they wanted to further cement the whole missing cat story by showing her the pet carrier and talking about it. On the other hand, it was pretty stupid to use a cat photo with such an obvious source.

The entire cat story was just meant to keep them busy during the rug switch. It's a whole lot like an old episode of a show called Monk.

I've been mulling it over, but I'm not really sure who the culprit is. The two younger sisters didn't seem to know anything about appraisal (I'm pretty sure knocking on the object is frowned upon), which means they would have no idea what the rug is worth. But that may have just been them playing dumb to avoid suspicion.

The middle aged couple made a point of telling him not to let many other people see the vase. This could have been an attempt to keep anybody from noticing the rug before they had a chance to steal it.

The last two were jerks. This is relevant because I can't really imagine a conversation with them naturally flowing toward questions about Haibara. Also, Gosho tends to try to surprise people as much as possible. Generally the person who seems the most likely to commit a crime is not the culprit.

Actually, now that I've formulated my thoughts, I'm kinda leaning toward the middle aged couple being the culprits.

On another note, hey, I'm new. Nice to meet you all.

Good observations, the only thing bugging me is if Gosho will fit in a BO case in there, which isn't really likely, but I always hope for the best.


Of course he can always lay more hints towards a few characters, quoting:

10 cents the person who came around asking questions about Haibara was actually Sera

[Jd-]

10 cents the person who came around asking questions about Haibara was actually Sera

Agreed.  That was my initial guess as soon as he said that too.  After all, said person also asked about her friends, and we all know Sera has an unnatural interest with one of those friends in particular.

I'm going with this as well, and if GinRei puts in 10 cents too, we can be up to 30 cents on this gamble.

[Shuusgirl]

Am I the only one who thought that the sister that's facing us and inspecting the vase looked eerily like Chianti?

[xpon]

Anyone still think Okiya is just some "ordinary graduate student"? 

ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sonoci]

10 cents the person who came around asking questions about Haibara was actually Sera

Agreed.  That was my initial guess as soon as he said that too.  After all, said person also asked about her friends, and we all know Sera has an unnatural interest with one of those friends in particular.

I'm going with this as well, and if GinRei puts in 10 cents too, we can be up to 30 cents on this gamble.

I'm in on this too. ...Maybe we can get a whole dollar!

[JohnTitor]

Whoa.

This case is peculiar.

[KapmK]

The professor did say he was pretty sure it was one of the 3 groups he mentioned, but I guess it isn't that much of a stretch to say he might be wrong. He isn't the sharpest light bulb in the pumpkin patch. And it wouldn't make sense for someone to attempt a kidnapping when they know they'll have friends over. I guess I'll throw in 5 cents.

[Sato]

I think it is one of the groups. Professor may not be bright, but he's helpful as Shinichi's family member and his confidante. Maybe kidnapping is unintentional as they wish to steal.

Spoiler:

I think the robbers want the real one and have it switch to fake as they look the same

[MagicianUndertheMoonlight]

I am inclined at the moment to agree with Sato.

Spoiler:

Agasa mentions that the rug was returned though a little dirt it was without a stain. Yet if Ayumi was rolled into it after having fell in coffee then it would have taken more than the time they had Ayumi in their possession to clean. Coffee on most things is a permanent stain and Agasa did mention that he had the rug on display while the three groups examined the vase. They kidnapped Ayumi in order to have an excuse to take the rug (hence why they researched that only Agasa and Ai lived in the house) and returned her in a new rug so that it would seem that the rug was only incidental to the crime.

What I find interesting is that Sera made the observation that Ai was in the video and that Okiya hid behind the curtains while Sera was there. I also think the whole no breast thing is just a red herring by Gosho. He rarely in the manga ever has comments about sexuality that it feels so out of place. 

[dk]

I am inclined at the moment to agree with Sato.

Spoiler:

Agasa mentions that the rug was returned though a little dirt it was without a stain. Yet if Ayumi was rolled into it after having fell in coffee then it would have taken more than the time they had Ayumi in their possession to clean. Coffee on most things is a permanent stain and Agasa did mention that he had the rug on display while the three groups examined the vase. They kidnapped Ayumi in order to have an excuse to take the rug (hence why they researched that only Agasa and Ai lived in the house) and returned her in a new rug so that it would seem that the rug was only incidental to the crime.

What I find interesting is that Sera made the observation that Ai was in the video and that Okiya hid behind the curtains while Sera was there. I also think the whole no breast thing is just a red herring by Gosho. He rarely in the manga ever has comments about sexuality that it feels so out of place.  

Maybe they did it when letting her out of the rug to drink water. If they did, why bother going though kidnapping and trick everyone believe in the cat story, they could just has stunned Ayumi and took the rug away or switch it, maybe they don't want to alert the police because people will think they're just some frantic person who want to find their precious cat, therefore no one will bother call the police ?

And how can someone who come to Agasa's house to examine the vase ask such personal questions ? Could it be Agasa was mistaken for someone who came between them ?

[Abs.]

Am I the only one who thought that the sister that's facing us and inspecting the vase looked eerily like Chianti?

Not the only one

[KapmK]

They conceived this whole cat story to keep people from realizing they were after the rug. If they were both knocked out and they found that the rug was stolen, they would immediately suspect the strangers that were recently in their house appraising things. But appraisers aren't the first thing that come to mind when you are presented with a kidnapping. They would have a similar problem if they just switched the rug when they were unconscious, even if they tried to steal the vase as a smokescreen. If they steal the vase too, they'll still be suspecting the same people. If they don't, the fact that they broke into the house and didn't take anything will cause immediate suspicion, and they might just blindly question everyone that's recently been to the house (including the culprit). They didn't want to have to deal with that. Alternatively, they could've just ransacked the house to make it look like a random burglary. But they didn't really have enough time for that either.

But yeah, I'd be creeped out if a stranger started asking me questions about a 7 year old girl's daily routine. Yet not only did Agasa not find it suspicious in the least, he even forgot who asked. He really dropped the ball on that one.