Mrs. Tanaka spent the night on Takeshi's couch.
Not because she wanted to — she was too stubborn to admit she needed rest — but because Ren refused to let her go back to the halfway house until they knew it was safe. The other girls had been moved to a temporary shelter. Yuki had asked to come with Mrs. Tanaka. They sat together now, Yuki's dark hair hiding her face, her small hand wrapped around the old woman's fingers.
Ren sat across from them, a cup of cold coffee in his hands. Hikari was beside him, her shoulder pressed against his. Takeshi stood by the window, watching the street below.
"The man who took me," Mrs. Tanaka said finally. Her voice was steady, but her hands trembled. "I saw his face. Before they put the hood over my head."
Ren leaned forward. "Who was it?"
"I don't know his name. But I've seen him before. At the halfway house. He came to visit one of the girls — an old resident, someone who had left years ago." She closed her eyes. "He said he was her brother. I didn't believe him then. I don't believe him now."
"Can you describe him?"
"Tall. Late thirties. Short hair, dark. A scar on his left hand — here." She touched the back of her own hand. "He walked with a limp. Left leg."
Ren looked at Takeshi. Takeshi was already on his phone.
"I'll check the visitor logs," Takeshi said. "See if anyone matching that description signed in."
"Even if he signed in under a fake name, the security cameras might have caught him."
"I'll have Akemi look."
Ren turned back to Mrs. Tanaka. "Is there anything else? Anything he said? Anything that might tell us who he's working for?"
Mrs. Tanaka was quiet for a moment. Then: "He said something. When he thought I was unconscious. He said, 'The old man won't be happy if we damage her. She's worth more alive.'"
"The old man." Ren's jaw tightened. "My father."
"That's what I assumed."
Ren stood up. He walked to the window and stared at the dark street. His father had hired people — professionals — to kidnap an elderly woman. To threaten her. To hold her hostage.
What else was he capable of?
"We need to move faster," Ren said. "If we wait, he'll try again. Someone else. Maybe Hikari. Maybe you." He looked at Takeshi. "We need to arrest him. Now."
"We don't have enough evidence for an arrest warrant. We have suspicion. We have witness testimony. But we don't have hard proof that he ordered the kidnapping."
"Then we get proof."
"How?"
Ren thought about the warehouse. The men who had been guarding Mrs. Tanaka. The voices he had heard — laughing, talking, the clink of bottles. Someone there knew something. Someone there could be turned.
"The men in the warehouse," Ren said. "They're not loyal to my father. They're loyal to money. If we offer them more —"
"We're not bribing witnesses, Ren."
"We're not bribing them. We're offering them a choice. Cooperate, or go to prison for kidnapping and attempted murder."
Takeshi stared at him. "You think they'll talk?"
"I think they'll do whatever it takes to save themselves."
---
The next morning, Kobayashi filed an emergency motion.
She argued that Ren's father — Akira Akiyama — was a flight risk and a danger to the community. She presented the evidence of the kidnapping: Mrs. Tanaka's testimony, the phone records from Ren's call, the satellite images of the warehouse.
The judge — a young woman named Sakurai, the same "unpredictable" judge Kobayashi had mentioned — listened without expression.
"This is serious," Judge Sakurai said. "But it's circumstantial. Do you have any direct evidence linking Mr. Akiyama to the kidnapping?"
"Not yet, Your Honor. But we have witnesses who can identify the men who carried it out. And we believe those men will testify that Mr. Akiyama hired them."
Judge Sakurai was silent for a moment. Then: "I'm granting a limited warrant. The police may question Mr. Akiyama, but they may not arrest him without further evidence. And they may search his home and office for records related to the kidnapping."
Kobayashi bowed. "Thank you, Your Honor."
---
The police arrived at Ren's father's house at 2 PM.
Ren watched from across the street, sitting in Takeshi's car, his hands clenched in his lap. Hikari was beside him, her eyes fixed on the same scene.
Detective Watanabe led the team — four officers, plus a forensic specialist. They knocked. The door opened. Ren's father appeared, calm and composed, dressed in an expensive sweater and slacks.
He looked across the street. Straight at the car.
Straight at Ren.
He smiled.
Then he stepped aside and let the police in.
"He knew we were coming," Hikari whispered.
"Of course he did. Someone warned him."
"Who?"
"I don't know. But I'm going to find out."
---
The search lasted three hours.
The police emerged with boxes of documents — financial records, computers, phones. Ren's father stood in the doorway, watching them load the boxes into a van. His smile never wavered.
Detective Watanabe walked to the car and tapped on the window.
Ren rolled it down.
"We didn't find anything related to the kidnapping," she said. "No phone records. No payments to known criminals. No evidence that he was involved."
"But you know he was involved."
"I know. But knowing isn't proving." Watanabe's face was grim. "He's good. Too good. He's been doing this for a long time."
"What about the financial records? The ones from Yamashita?"
"We're reviewing them. But that's a separate case. It doesn't help us with the kidnapping."
Ren looked at his father, still standing in the doorway, still smiling.
"Thank you for trying," Ren said.
"I'm not done trying." Watanabe walked back to the van.
Ren watched her go.
His father raised a hand. A wave. Almost friendly.
Ren didn't wave back.
---
That evening, Akemi called.
"I found something," she said. "The visitor logs from the halfway house. The man Mrs. Tanaka described — he signed in three times. Under the name 'Suzuki Taro.' Fake, obviously."
"Did you get a clear image from the cameras?"
"One clear shot. I'm sending it to you now."
Ren's phone buzzed. A photograph appeared — grainy, taken from an angle, but clear enough.
A man. Tall. Dark hair. A scar on his left hand.
"Do you recognize him?" Akemi asked.
"No. But someone might."
Ren sent the photograph to Takeshi. To Kobayashi. To Watanabe.
Someone knew this man. Someone would talk.
And when they did, Ren would be ready.
---
That night, Hikari held Ren on the couch.
The apartment was dark. The city was quiet. The weight of everything pressed down on them — the kidnapping, the search, the smile on his father's face.
"We're going to win," Hikari said.
"How do you know?"
"Because you never give up. Because I never give up. Because we have people who believe in us." She looked at him. "Because we have to."
Ren didn't answer. He just held her.
And in the darkness, he let himself believe.
Just for a moment.