ʟᴜᴘɪɴ│ᴛᴋ [complete]

.48. ɪɴ ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ᴡᴇ ɢɪᴠᴇ ᴜᴘ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ᴡʜᴏ ᴄᴀʀᴇs ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛɪᴛʟᴇs ᴀɴʏᴡᴀʏ

The art world in a state of commotion after confirmed fifth theft

Van Gogh, Monet, Pizzirani, Schiele and Klimt, apart from being renowned artists, now have something else in common: all have had one of their paintings stolen by the mysterious A. L., a lover of fine arts who's been roaming all over Europe to get their hands on very specific pieces. Permanent and temporary exhibits everywhere would do well to up their security until police figure out how to stop them from snatching any more works of art.

No one knows when or where they'll strike again, but there are no indications this A. L. will quit anytime soon. Could this be Lupin's way of reminding us that he hasn't been caught yet? The signature fits. Although the use of playing cards is not as original as we'd expect from the sophisticated crook, the question of A. L.'s identity remains.

♠

Jungkook was thankful Jimin had opted to leave Namjoon out of the picture. There was no point framing the author for being in the wrong places at the wrong times. The detective figured people would speculate that A.L. was non other than Arsène Lupin, but a mere signature on a deck of cards was simply not enough evidence to prove the robber's identity.

Despite his Robin Hood disposition, Jungkook was almost grateful for them providing Taehyung an alibi. Indeed, as long as his fiance was seen and pictured in London, he couldn't be accused of offences perpetrated abroad.

He and Taehyung waited until the bestselling writer returned from his tour in order to set a date for their engagement party. Namjoon, who'd lost some weight and had grown a few wrinkles, was happy to RSVP, asking if he could bring a plus one (of course he could).

Ashleigh, who had finally finished whatever business she was conducting on the continent, shed a few tears of joy at the news and immediately offered to take care of the preparations. "I promise to make it very romantic! But I also want it to be a surprise, so please, stay away from the mansion until then," she warned.

Taehyung, who had practically moved in with Jungkook (he slept better with Tae around), didn't have any objections apart from the necessity to access his workshop.

"Whatever for?" his sister asked.

"A gift for my fiance that I must build."

Ash had reluctantly allowed her brother to work on his 'gift' on the condition he avoided the banquet hall and any room likely to be used by guests.

In the meantime, Jungkook met with Jimin to discuss the disturbing fact that A. L. had not been active since the writer's return to London. "What if they quit? What if they never commit another robbery? We might have lost these paintings forever!"

"Calm down, Jimin. They know they can't open a museum of purloined artworks, so I bet they're waiting until the news cycle shifts its focus away from them before looking for potential buyers. We just need to pay extra attention to the underground art market."

"What if they don't want to sell?"

"A possibility that would mean the paintings are sitting somewhere in storage. But tell me, Jimin, what's the point of stealing art if you're going to keep it hidden?"

"I guess we'll just have to be patient. By the way," the reporter pulled a cart from his inside pocket before adding, "thank you for inviting me to your engagement party. I'm honoured you think of me as a friend worthy of sharing this moment with-, wait. What's that face you're making?"

Jungkook was shocked to learn that Ashleigh had sent out invitations without consulting them. A few calls later and he found himself trying the process the number one hundred, which was roughly the total of guests who had RSVP'd. Not to mention the dozen reporters scheduled to be there as well, ready to turn this event into pricey special editions.