After contacting the secretary to explain the situation, they discussed and decided to meet at the entrance.
It just so happened that Conan also needed to buy a bottle of iced cola to patch up the loophole in the excuse he had previously made.
While they were drinking iced cola and waiting by the entrance, a competent woman in a suit with her hair tied in a ponytail soon approached and she took out her phone as she walked.
"Over here."
After a moment, Senichi's own phone rang, and he waved to signal her to come over.
After a brief introduction, Teruyoko Keiko agreed to Senichi's request to visit the location where the paintings were stored.
"There are too many visitors here. It's faster to take the employee passage. Please follow me."
Teruyoko Keiko explained, then, she led them around to the side of the art museum and swiped her card to enter the employee passage.
After entering the museum, they soon arrived in a somewhat rundown corridor.
"This art museum was originally the mansion of an ancient wealthy family. Now it has been converted into an art museum, and this passage was where that family stored their wealth."
Teruyoko Keiko said as she led the two to an iron gate. The two guards standing at the gate clearly knew her, and at Teruyoko Keiko's signal, they quickly took out the key and opened the gate.
After entering, it was still a corridor, but Senichi felt like they were descending all the way. So he directly asked Teruyoko Keiko.
"No wonder you're famous as the 'Smell Detective.' It seems besides your keen sense of smell, you're equally sharp in other aspects."
While Teruyoko Keiko praised him with words, her expression didn't change much. She just glanced at Senichi and nodded in acknowledgment, "That's right, since it's the treasure trove of an ancient wealthy family, it's naturally not on the surface.
It's said that initially, it was in a master bedroom, but later as time progressed, the original bedroom was demolished and rebuilt several times before it became the museum's warehouse."
While explaining the history of the warehouse to Senichi, Teruyoko Keiko walked to the second door and entered the password. Then, the heavy stone wall in front of them opened and revealed the inside.
"Please come in." Teruyoko Keiko led the two into the storage room, where they could see numerous paintings placed everywhere, with some frames stacked in the corners.
After following Teruyoko Keiko into the room, Senichi had already activated his super sense of smell, but what entered his nostrils wasn't the residual scent left by people but rather a chemical odor.
"Is there something sprayed here?" Senichi asked Teruyoko Keiko.
"Sodium fluoride, an antifungal agent," Teruyoko Keiko explained. "Because this is a basement, the room tends to be damp. To prevent mold from growing and damaging the paintings stored here, the entire room has been treated with sodium fluoride."
"So, the sense of smell is useless here," Senichi sighed with a hint of regret. "I thought I could solve this easily."
"Relying on your sense of smell for reasoning every time is degrading," Conan teased Senichi, who was sulking nearby.
Since this case only involved a missing painting and not a murder, the two were feeling somewhat relaxed. After all, it wasn't a big deal.
For the Suzuki family, losing a painting... well, it didn't matter at all. It was like losing a drop from the ocean.
So, seeing Senichi "fail" with his "cheat code" made Conan feel a bit pleased.
"Well, there's no such thing as an all-powerful ability," Senichi glanced at Conan and said: "And as for reasoning, it still surpasses the level that someone like your beloved big brother Kudo Shinichi can't reach."
Hearing Senichi's sarcastic remarks, Conan's face darkened involuntarily. He was already seething inside, but he had to restrain himself because there were others present.
To outsiders, their conversation was just a kid speaking up for his beloved big brother and Senichi retaliating, nothing suspicious.
Skipping over this small altercation, Senichi asked Teruyoko Keiko to have someone move the double-secured box containing "Mirror Lake" outside.
Once they were in the corridor, Senichi activated his super sense of smell again and distinctly smelled the acrylic scent unique to the counterfeit in the box.
"That's enough, thank you," Senichi stood up and nodded to Teruyoko Keiko. "Thank you for your cooperation. I think we're done with the investigation here."
"I understand," Teruyoko Keiko nodded in acknowledgment and then signaled for her bodyguards to put the box back in the warehouse.
However, when they left the storage room this time, they followed Teruyoko Keiko down a different path, the internal passage of the art museum.
Once inside the museum, Teruyoko Keiko courteously bid them farewell and left directly.
"How did it go? Did you find anything in the painting crate?" Conan immediately leaned in to ask as soon as Teruyoko Keiko left.
"Someone seemed pretty happy that my sense of smell wasn't useful." Senichi looked at Conan teasingly. "Why are you so concerned about the information I gather through my nose now?"
Conan's face darkened at his words. "Are you going to tell me or not?"
Seeing that he had teased enough, Senichi spoke up, "Basically, it's almost certain that the forgery was indeed placed in this double-protected crate.
After Ayako and I admired the paintings together in the Suzuki family's warehouse, the crate was sealed again, and the 'steel seal' inside ensured that it wasn't opened before being transported to the art museum."
"So, that means 'Mirror Lake' can be confirmed to have been stolen in the art museum."
Conan nodded and said: "The painting would have been checked upon arrival at the museum, and it was only transported yesterday, so its disappearance today suggests that the insider had premeditated it...
The director seems to be the prime suspect at the moment, especially since he's the one with the most legitimate access to the painting."
"Indeed, but for now, it's best to hold our ground." Senichi smiled. "Shall we investigate another lead?"
"You mean that one?" Conan's gaze sharpened at his words, then he scratched his head. "But do you know anyone in that field? Without professionals, it'll be difficult to make progress."
"I didn't before, but I met someone related to this field during a recent case."
Senichi pulled out a business card from his wallet and chuckled. "These two are quite renowned experts in the field. With their help, we should be able to find someone knowledgeable to assist us."