Worth it?

Shivers

They stared at each other. "You know how stupid you are, right?" Ran kept quiet. What was he supposed to say? Yes? "Ran, you did this to yourself, you better know that. But it is impressive. You and your strong will. Really something. But tell me, who did you call? Huh?" He had intended to remain silent.

But seeing her glare got an answer out of him. "Yuki." "Ishikawa?" She laughed, putting her left hand onto her mouth while placing her right hand onto Rans shoulder, shaking his body. "Do you think I am that stupid? What did you tell the cops? Huh?" The shaking intensified. His head was starting to hurt.

"I did! Please. I did." Hana stopped. A pout formed on her face. "I do not appreciate you lying. What does the police know? Do I have to be prepared?" Ran looked to the floor. He was ashamed. Because he got why he was not being believed.

Scared of further abuse, he decided to tell the truth. "They hung up on me. I spoke Japanese, the operator spoke Italian. Yuki was my only option. And he doesn't know anything." Ran's head hung low. She patted his back, lifting his head. "Good job, Rannie. Thank you for your honesty."

A pause. Her eyes scanned the room. "But I still think you need some time to reflect." Hana said, moving to the exit. He grew frantic. "Please. I am sorry. Sorry." He muttered, pleading eyes looking up at her. But it all did not matter. She flipped the light switch, leaving him in complete darkness.

Stuck to the same chair, whimpering. Ran had always hated the dark.

-

Another coffee down. She rubbed her eyes another time. Her partner had fallen asleep a while ago, head resting on the desk. Everything was of no use: The things they knew did not help the slightest. To say it disappointed was an understatement.

What they were aware of as of now was that they were dealing with an abduction, possibly from someone related to the convict of the sexual harassment case and that there are at least three people involved. But what to do with that knowledge? The jail in japan was claiming that Haruto Ri, the convict, was still there. And he on the other hand was denying every accusation thrown at him.

After all, it could be something extremely unrelated to the sexual harassment case. Maybe those people were out for money, even if highly unlikely. The letters were pointing at aggression, which meant the victim knew them.

Mrs. Bianchi massaged her temples. The clock hit 3am. Another yawn. She had already given into the desire of falling asleep when an idea suddenly shot through her head. The letter H.

Fingers started flying over the keyboard of the PC, looking for people related to Haruto with the same letter. A 'Hana Ri', his sister, caught her eye. The scream she let out woke the older man, who looked irritated up at her. So, she just started rambling. "He has a sister, Hana. After he was sentenced to one and a half years jail, the family's relationship started to worsen. She also had to deal with lots as no one wanted to offer her a job anymore, the parents weren't making as much money anymore because it was known that their son was in jail. They ended up having to sell their house, having to move somewhere else. Hana is now employed, earning good money. But she lost the job offer she once had and earlier luxurious life style. Kind of her whole existence. The parents are divorced now."

He was fully awake now, nodding. "That's a reason to hate, isn't it? You ruined everything.' Where does this girl live now?" Rossi asked. The sound of keyboards clicking before an answer echoed through the room. "In japan. But- She apparently recently bought a plane ticket. To Italy, Monza. If that isn't a lead, then I don't know what is." Another nod.

"Mail me her photo. And give it to other officers as well. Wherever Ran is, she will probably know. They should ask around a bit so people keep their eyes open."