A Detective and a Middle School Student Work Together to Defeat Lupin

I arrived home, breathless, my heart still pounding from Lupin's series of riddles. Rose was already waiting for me in the living room, a cup of coffee in her hand and that calm expression that always annoyed me yet simultaneously put me at ease.

"How was it?" she asked, sipping her coffee. "Did you find the 'unheard melody'?"

I tossed the musical notation paper and the old pocket watch onto the table. "This looks more like chicken scratch than a melody, Rose! And this watch, its hands are stuck at three o'clock. What is this? I'm no musician, let alone a watchmaker!"

Rose picked up the musical notation, examining it carefully. "Hmm, interesting. Lupin certainly likes to make things difficult. Especially now that they've ventured into the artistic realm." She shifted her gaze to the pocket watch. "Three o'clock. Could be a time clue, or a location."

"I've thought about it," I said, running my hand through my hair. "But everything feels random. 'Lost laughter demands a price, where silent melody bears witness.' It's like a poem without meaning."

"That's precisely the key," Rose smiled faintly. "Lupin always embeds hidden messages in their words. We need to find out what's 'lost' and what 'price' they're referring to." She pointed to the pocket watch. "This watch, its hands are dead. Maybe it means something that doesn't move, something static, or something old and forgotten."

We spent the rest of the afternoon trying various possibilities. I tried to find patterns in the musical notation, flipping it over, trying to look at it from different angles. Rose occasionally offered vague hints, pushing me to think harder, but never giving a direct answer. She wanted me to reach the conclusion myself.

"What if 'the face untouched by time' refers to a very old statue or painting?" I asked, trying to connect the puzzle pieces. "Maybe there's a statue in that theater building?"

Rose nodded. "That's a possibility. But it could also mean something eternal, timeless, like an idea or a legend."

We even tried to find information about the charity concert mentioned in Lupin's initial message. There was nothing unusual, just a regular charity concert featuring various local and international musicians. This made me even more confused. What was the connection between the charity concert and all these riddles?

That night, after Rose left, I was still awake. I couldn't stop thinking about Lupin's riddle. The musical notation kept haunting my mind. I tried to search online for random musical notation, if there was a hidden code there, but found nothing.

"Silent melody." That kept echoing. What was a silent melody? Did it mean a melody that wasn't played? Or a sound that was intentionally silenced?

As I was thinking, my eyes suddenly fell upon something—the detective trench coat Rose had given me. I took the detective trench coat, put it on in my room. I even wore the fedora, though I felt ridiculous. I paced back and forth, trying to feel the aura of a detective, hoping for inspiration. Yes, that was just my thought; it crossed my mind that revelation might come when I truly looked like a real detective.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated. A new message from Lupin. This time, an image of an old, cracked comedy mask, with a sinister smile. Below it, there was text:

————————————————

Behind the false laughter, silence hides.

On the shadow stage, an actor without a role.

The clock ticks backward, yet never moves forward.

————————————————

My eyes widened. A comedy mask? "A frozen smile, in a mirror that doesn't reflect." Was this what they meant? Comedy masks are always associated with laughter, but this mask was cracked and sinister, like "lost laughter." And a mirror that doesn't reflect... that meant a lie, or something that couldn't be seen for what it truly was.

　　　　　　　◇

The next day, I returned to the old theater building, following Lupin's new clue. This time, I brought Chestina and Kalet with me, under the pretense of wanting to learn more about the historical architecture of old buildings for a school project. I knew it was a lame excuse, but they believed it. Of course, I didn't tell them about Lupin or the real riddle.

"This building feels really haunted," Kalet whispered, shivering.

"It's just an old building. Come on, Chestina, let's find some unique architectural features," I said, trying to distract them.

We went inside the building. This time, there was no projector on. Everything was dark and silent. I looked for an area that felt 'like a shadow stage' or a place for 'an actor without a role.' My eyes fell on a dark, dusty dressing room.

As I entered, I felt something strange. The temperature in the room felt colder. I turned on my phone's flashlight. The room was filled with worn-out performance props: torn costumes, messy wigs, and, in one corner, a large dressing mirror cracked in the middle. The broken glass distorted my reflection, as if I wasn't real.

In front of the mirror lay an old comedy mask, exactly like the one in Lupin's picture. The mask was cracked at the smile, as if the smile had been broken or faked. I picked up the mask. Behind it, there was a small engraving, a symbol I had never seen before: a teardrop flanked by two musical notes.

I felt a cold sensation creep up my spine. A teardrop and musical notes. "Silent melody." Was that what they meant? A sound of sadness?

Suddenly, I heard a loud creaking sound from behind the door. The room door quickly closed by itself, and there was the click of a lock.

"Damn it! A trap!" I exclaimed.

Kalet and Chestina were startled. They rushed to try and open the door, but it was locked tight.

"Arez! We're locked in!" Chestina panicked.

From a speaker, which had been installed in the room at some unknown time, Lupin's robotic voice returned. "Enjoy this performance, Detective. Behind the closed curtain, truth awaits. But can you escape this stage before the show ends?"

I looked around. There were no windows in this room. Only one locked door. And the air felt increasingly stuffy. My watch showed 2:45 PM. I knew Lupin wouldn't leave us trapped forever, but they definitely wanted to teach us a lesson.

I stared at the cracked mask in my hand, then shifted to the musical notation and pocket watch in my backpack. The cracked comedy mask, "a frozen smile." The broken dressing mirror, "a mirror that doesn't reflect." And the hands of the pocket watch pointing to three.

I had to solve this riddle before the show ended. Whatever that meant. I knew Rose was watching me, and she wouldn't help me until I was truly stuck. This was the real test.