The next morning, there was a knock on the hospital room door.
"Taniyama-san?" Lin called from the doorway. Mai looked up from the jello cup she was having a staring contest with.
"if you call me Taniyama-san one more time I will ask you to leave." Her words were firm and brooked no argument as she turned back to staring at the green jello cup. 'did anyone actually like lime jello?' she wondered. It made her want to puke even if she wasn't in the hospital.
"Noll is waiting for me downstairs. I came up ahead of the others. is there anything else you need?"
"Why? Why won't you call me Mai?"
"It is hard to keep a professional distance using first names." He stated a little too coldly.
"So you are just here because you work for my boss? This is just business?" her eyes looked up at him. He saw the pain and anger flare. Beyond them he saw the real question, was it all business? Do you still hate me because I am Japanese?
"No I came because you don't always tell everyone what you need. You take care of everyone else but yourself."
"I don't need anything thank you." She stated in dismissal. Turning a ferocious glare at the jello.
"Tani…" he stopped himself before he went further. "How about this. at work, on cases and business related occasions, I will call you Taniyama-san but outside of work I will try to call you Mai." He gave her a hopeful smile.
"That will do." Mai looked back to him. "Hospitals are considered personal Lin-san." She stated reinforcing the idea. Lin Chuckled.
"Mai, Outside of work call me Koujo."
"Thank you Koujo."
"Did you need anything Mai?"
"Any color jello besides green."
Mai was allowed to leave under supervision after a day in the hospital. She went back to the base at the house. While there, several officers were invited to take an account of what happened for their own record. She learned of the progress in the case that had been made so far, although the officer still hadn't come back for the book. Everyone had wondered if Naru's bravado was going to come up false for once. Mai gave an account of what happened while she was kidnapped. She said she could recognize the man but did not know his name, and then told everyone about what was in the book.
They followed her to the library where she picked up the book and sat in the chair, she read out a couple pages then flipped to the interesting parts. the journal covered around twenty years of a mans life, never an entry too long nor were there entries everyday. But once a year or so he bought a bond from the government. Worth between one and five thousand dollars. And in the book the bonds were folded into the pages. She held them out to be seen then folded them back into the book. The last page told of how the man was dying from a wasting disease, and he wanted his son to cash in the bonds to take care of his family. The newest bond was dated over fifty years ago, and it was calculated that if cashed in the bonds would bring a sum over ten million. After giving her statement she asked to lay down she was still tired from her ordeal. They let her stay in the room she was supposed to be before.
The discussion with the police got heated when she left. How was she able to touch the book when no one else was, everyone had left the library and the book in the same chair it was before, but after a while Lin looked over the monitor to see that the chair was empty.
"Naru," he called, they all stopped and looked at him. "the book is gone" he rewound the tape. Somehow after Mai left the room while people were walking by the camera the book disappeared.
"No body has left so it must still be here." Naru stated looking at the lieutenant, who nodded. Everyone but Mai was brought into the base room. Everyone was asked to empty their pocket, which all but one did readily. He shrugged.
"why should I empty my pockets."
"just to prove no one here did anything wrong that book is evidence, you know that."
The lieutenant proceeded to pat down the man and found the book tucked into his belt behind his back. He set it on the table infront of them.
"why did you take the book?"
Caught red handed the officer lied. "I wanted a couple of the bonds, I could use the money."
"Officer Akagi, you know that they were evidence."
"twenty three million dollars worth of bonds laying in a police evidence vault for the next ten years! How can you even think that is right?" he raised his voice in anger.
They heard a scream from the room that Mai was in. the officers held akagi while the lieutenant and the rest of the group went to check on Mai. She was huddled in the corner of the bed with her blanket wrapped around her close.
"What's wrong Mai-chan?" Bou-san asked approaching her. Mai reached out and hugged the Monk.
"he's here," she whispered.
"Who is here?"
"The man who kidnapped me, he just hollered, it was him." she stated.
"the officers are holding in the other room, would you look at him to see if you recognize him?" Lin asked.
Mai nodded, not letting go of the monk as she followed the others into the base room. she looked at him and recognized him instantly. "You," she said softly. "The officer from before, the one who investigated Naru last year. you kidnapped me?" her words an accusation and indictment. The lieutenant was satisfied with all the evidence.
"Take him out of here." He motioned for the officers to take him away.
"Wait," Mai said. Beside her appeared a ghostly form, the old man of the library.
"it seems I have waited a long time for something that will never happen." He stated looking sadly at his grandson. "This inheritance is something you need to earn, but in kidnapping you have done something unforgivable, you lose the inheritance." He took the book from Mai. He pulled out the loose papers, the bonds. "you will never see these again." he held them out toward his grandson before they started to smolder and burn, soon all that was left of the bonds was ashes.
Officer akagi lunged toward Mai, but the other officers held him as he swore such explicatives and curses at her such things that shoul not be written here. The case was over, and the team returned to the office.