The San Francisco Cookie Mystery (Part 5) | Contents | The San Francisco Cookie Mystery (Part 7)
The “appraisal meeting” was arranged to be held on Monday after school.
After classes ended, the school building began to be enveloped in the noise of students leaving and doing club activities. The sounds of music clubs and the shouts of sports clubs could be heard near and far. It wasn’t necessary for me to be present while Osanai-san looked at the painting, and Kengo hadn’t asked me to come either. But I chose to go anyway. I just might be able to provide some assistance.
For the time being, I was go to pick up Osanai-san in her classroom and guide her to the empty classroom where “The Sight and the Outer, or fortune-cookie” was placed. As we walked down the hallway, Osanai-san didn’t seem particularly tense or relaxed, but she had a slightly annoyed expression on her face.
The empty classroom was unlocked. Just like on Friday, the desk and chairs were moved to create a space where the copy of Nicolas de Staël, or Shima Taiga’s sculptural work, was framed and placed on an easel. Doujima Kengo was standing there with a serious expression, and in the corner of the classroom, the art teacher Koumura was standing with a somewhat smiling face.
“Sorry for asking you to come here, Osanai.”
Kengo called out, but Osanai-san didn’t respond, and instead hid behind me. I spoke to her over my shoulder.
“Osanai-san, if you hide, he won’t be able to see you.”
Osanai-san nodded and took one step forward. First, she bowed to Koumura-sensei who was in the corner of the classroom and said in a voice that seemed like it would disappear.
“Hello.”
Apparently not expecting a greeting, Koumura-sensei replied with a puzzled “Ah, hello.” He then turned to Kengo and said,
“Is she the one you said is knowledgeable about this?”
“I don’t know if she is knowledgeable, but she has helped me before.”
“I see.”
Kengo spoke as if he had made up his mind.
“I am sorry to take your time during club activities. We are just going to look at the painting, so…”
“Is it okay if I’m not present? That’s not how it works. Anything that happens to the important painting cannot be undone.”
I’d actually wondered why Mr. Koumura was here. So it was for management of the artwork, huh.
“Alright. Then, I’ll leave it to you.”
Kengo bowed his head.
During this brief exchange, Osanai-san was standing front of the painting and measuring its width with a tape measure she had somehow obtained. It was a remarkable feat that took advantage of the psychological gaps of everyone present. Osanai-san whispered into my ear.
“114 cm.”
That number was 12 cm longer than the dimensions we’d found in the catalog of the 10th Prefectural Exhibition. Osanai-san showed no signs of agitation at the increased width. In other words, she had already anticipated it.
What was the identity of the additional 12 cm? Of course, it was the frame. When this painting was exhibited at the Prefectural Exhibition, it was probably not framed. If Osanai-san’s prediction of “a painting leaning against an easel” was indeed the complete picture of Shima Taiga’s sculptural work, then it would be strange for the painting to be framed. That was probably done for the sake of preservation after the Prefectural Exhibition ended.
Meaning that the painting’s current state was different from that of thirty years ago.
Osanai-san turned to Kengo.
“Doujima-kun. I want to remove the frame.”
“The frame?”
Kengo showed his confusion.
“Won’t it damage the painting?”
“I’m not sure… but I want to remove it.”
Amazing. Without giving any reason, and not even looking at Kengo’s face, she timidly made her request. If Kengo said he couldn’t do it, it would be the best outcome for Osanai-san as an excuse.
But unfortunately, Doujima Kengo was the type of person who would do anything to help if you ask him to push through. He answered shortly with “Understood” and spoke to Koumura-sensei.
“I am going to remove the frame. What should I do to avoid damaging the painting?”
Kengo was also quite impressive. He didn’t say “May I remove the frame?” but rather “I am going to remove the frame.” Koumura-sensei put on a serious expression, but perhaps seeing that Kengo wouldn’t back down, he sighed and said,
“We can’t have anything go wrong. I’ll do it.”
As he said that, he stepped in front of the painting.
“There’s no taping. That makes it simple.”
As expected of an art teacher, he flipped the frame over and removed the canvas, propping it back up on the easel in no time. The colors that had been hidden behind the yellowed plastic sheet emerged after thirty years.
Osanai-san glanced at me for a moment and nodded slightly, just enough for the tip of her chin to twitch. I suddenly exclaimed.
“Koumura-sensei, please let me see that frame!”
Kengo and Koumura-sensei both looked startled.
“Jougorou, what’s with this all of a sudden?”
Ignoring Kengo’s protest, I approached Koumura-sensei. He looked at the frame in his hand and said,
“It’s just a cheap one.”
He then handed it to me.
It was quite an old frame, and as Koumura-sensei had commented, it wasn’t particularly impressive. After the Prefectural Exhibition, Shima Taiga had probably framed it himself. It might have even been handmade by Shima Taiga; if so, the frame might have some value. However, my serious examination of an otherwise ordinary frame must have looked a bit comical to Kengo and the others. Kengo and Koumura-sensei’s attention was drawn to me.
All of a sudden…
“Ah.”
A voice came up. It was Osanai-san. What happened? Just when I’d drawn their attention away from her, she raised her voice herself. Looking closer, Osanai-san was pointing at the bottom of the painting.
“There’s something written there.”
“What?”
Kengo hurriedly leaned in to look at the painting, and Koumura-sensei bent down to bring his face closer to the painting. I followed the tip of Osanai-san’s finger from behind the two.
There were thin black letters that read, “Originate from The Square Fort in Antibes by Nicolas de Staël. I love him.”1 The letters were written right at the bottom of the painting — until just now, they had been hidden behind the frame.
“What!”
Kengo sighed.
“In the end, it was a study! Shima Taiga properly labeled the study so that it would be recognized as a copy and submitted it to the Prefectural Exhibition.”
Koumura-sensei adjusted his glasses, which had slipped down because he was looking down.
“But the Prefectural Exhibition should only accept original works…”
“That is a problem with the judges who overlooked it. Shima Taiga did not submit someone else’s work as his own. That’s great! Osanai, I can’t believe it! I never thought it would be true… amazing!”
Kengo looked like he was about to jump for joy. He praised Osanai-san and bowed his head, and if Osanai-san hadn’t been a girl, he would have picked her up and thrown her in the air. On the other hand, Osanai-san’s embarrassment was pitiful to see.
“Um… well, I just thought that it might not be visible through the plastic, and it was just a coincidence… if you take it out of the frame, anyone would have noticed…”
“The idea of taking it out of the frame didn’t even occur to me! You really helped me, I owe you one.”
“I didn’t do anything… I’m just…”
Osanai-san stepped back as if to escape from Kengo and naturally moved to hide behind me, like water flowing to a lower place. Kengo exclaimed, “Oh right!” and brought over a paper bag that was on a nearby desk.
“Let me give you a small token of gratitude. This is delicious.”
“Eh?”
Osanai-san’s voice brightened up.
“What is it?”
Osanai-san leapt out from behind me and took the paper bag from Kengo. She should definitely be careful about getting lured away by a bad person with candy or something. Kengo said with a rare, beaming smile.
“There’s a German bread shop nearby. They serve Berliner Pfannkuchen, which is basically fried bread. Don’t be shy, take it!”
The San Francisco Cookie Mystery (Part 5) | Contents | The San Francisco Cookie Mystery (Part 7)