Day 7

Togusa could not tell if he had a restful night or that he simply passed out once he returned to bed.

Everything will be okay.

The mantra in his head repeated over and over again. No more doll, no more restless nights, no more worries.

He got up a little later than usual but seemed to be in a better mood. He heard his wife cooking breakfast in the kitchen and could smell the filling aroma of food. He then realized that with the absence of Marion, his daughter would grow concerned and become upset but he would have much rather take that chance than have the doll continue living in their house.

He poured himself a cup of coffee in his temporary mug and sat at the counter. He looked around and asked, "Where's our little girl?"

"She is looking around for her doll," His wife replied, "Silly thing must have misplaced it and forgotten where she put it."

"I see…" Togusa responded almost in a mumble as he brought the drink to his lips.

As he sat looking through the emails on his phone, he heard his daughter's voice.

"Mama, I found her!" The girl happily entered the room while raising Marion up in the air.

Togusa almost choked on his coffee and he felt his heart suddenly begin to race. How in the world did the doll get here? How is it still intact? Why doesn't it look and smell filthy?

"H-honey...where did you find her?" He struggled to ask. He could feel his hand trembling and so much so that he spilled hot droplets of coffee on the counter.

"In my closet! She is very clever at hiding!" She giggled.

Her mother then commented, "I'm glad that you found her Love but now you must eat your breakfast or you will be late for school!"

"Yes, Mama!" The girl yipped as she carried her doll into the dining room.

Togusa slowly turned and looked back at his daughter and her playmate and of course, the doll's head was turned directly towards him. He stood and made his way to the closet in the hallway. He grabbed a large briefcase and opened it up before removing everything inside and tossing it to the bottom of the closet. After doing all of this, he closed the briefcase and held it as if he had important files to hand over to Section 9.

Togusa's wife handed her daughter her lunch bag and kissed her head.

"Your father is going to take you to school today, okay?"

"Okay!" She smiled and looked at her father as Marion hung in her arms.

Togusa could not bring himself to smile back.

"Let's go then." He gave a nod and allowed the girl to enter the garage first.

He placed the briefcase in the passenger seat and his daughter asked, "What's that for?"

"Important business."

"Oh okay." She shrugged as she combed her doll's hair with her fingers.

When they arrived at the school, Togusa's daughter exited the vehicle and strapped Marion to the seat in her place.

"Have a nice day, Sweetheart." Togusa forced a smile.

"You too!" She smiled back before saying to Marion, "You be good to Daddy, okay?"

The comment sent chills up his spine. It's as if she knows something that he doesn't...or does. She waved goodbye and trotted towards the school to meet up with her friends. As she was out of view, Togusa slowly drove out of school grounds and parked his car in an empty alleyway nearby. He used the "Detective Mode" on his vehicle to scan the area for any people and once the coast was clear, he exited the car.

He opened the backseat door and unbuckled Marion before grabbing her and opening the passenger door. There he unlocked his briefcase and placed the doll inside. He locked her in and went as far as buckling up the suitcase against the seat for extra "protection".

Once the deed was done, Togusa got back into the driver's seat and gripped the steering wheel. He went into the opposite direction of headquarters and headed straight for Shinjuku.

"Sorry Chief…" Togusa said aloud since he was going to miss work; he did not know how exactly to explain the situation if he were to inform his superior of his absence.

As he drove closer and closer towards the city, the briefcase began to shake.