"We need the phone." The chief declared. "Just like we need to talk to Mrs. Su."
Liwu looked at the heartbroken mother once again. She doubted that the woman would willingly hand over the phone. It was the only connection she had to the kidnapper. The only hope of getting her daughter back.
The fact that she had not ntioned it to the police ant the criminal had threatened her already. If she talked, her daughter would be in danger. "I think we should clone it. Let her think we don’t know anything right now. Anyway, I don’t think she has any useful information on the kidnapper anyway."
"On it." Xuanji sped away to steal and clone the phone.
Liwu turned to Linlin. "Did you see anything else?"
Her partner sighed sadly. "Nope. For that to happen, she needs to voluntarily let read her fate. You know how this works. But I am afraid if I tell her what I am and what i can do, she will turn down."
He Xiao Yi raised his voice. "Is nobody listening to ? This criminal has experience. We need to look through kidnapping cases countrywide where a child vanished and turned up at ho. If he teleports to kidnap the child, then can deliver them in the sa way after getting his money."
"We heard you and we also heard Linlin say this is a kidnap for ransom." Liwu looked at Linlin, invisible pressure already squeezing her shoulders. "Do you know how many days we have?"
Linlin raised two fingers.
Liwu nodded. "Two days. That’s all we have. If the family does not have the money then I am afraid it is not enough ti for them to raise five million." She raised her eyes to the chief, "The bureau has a K and R account for such monts. We...."
"No." The Chief jumped in before she could request that he make a call and ask for funds to be arranged. "The fund was closed when information about it was leaked by IH earlier this year. Your mother was worried that people would begin staging their own kidnappings just because they knew the bureau would pay the ransom."
"And we are only hearing about it now!" Liwu exclaid loudly.
Chief Abby blinked. "It is part of an ongoing sting operation to arrest system hosts and people with such motives. We should first find out if the family has the money before considering this. Didn’t Xuanji say sothing about a Hollywood deal and endorsents. Take the mother to the station and question her while we run down other leads."
****
Detective Liwu sat across from the woman in the precinct’s interview room. Mrs. Su’s hands were trembling. A box of tissues sat untouchable on the table, though her cheeks were streaked with tears.
It had been thirty minutes since she drove the woman here and settled her down. Not for a single mont had Mrs. Su stopped crying.
"Mrs. Su," Liwu said gently, voice steady but firm, "the director told us that you always had an eye on your daughter when she was around any grown man on the set. You are protective of her, and that is great. It also ans that you witnessed Su Wan’s kidnapping. Is there anything you think we should know about it? Anything you rember."
The woman shook her head violently, sobbing. "I don’t know...I don’t know..."
Liwu leaned forward. "Ma’am, your daughter is still young. She must be scared and crying for help. Every minute matters. If soone contacted you--if there was a demand--you must tell us."
But Mrs. Su pressed her palms to her face, refusing to et Liwu’s eyes. Her shoulders shook, her words muffled. "Please don’t make talk. I can’t say...I just want to go ho."
Liwu’s jaw tightened. She had seen this before--parents paralyzed by fear, by threats left on ransom notes or calls. A part of her if they should stay out of the matter. Let her family pay the ransom. But, what if Su Wan was not returned? What if the kidnapper went on to do it again?
anwhile, in the main operation center of the precinct, He Xiao Yi tapped furiously into a console. A large screen flickered with case files. tilines, and suspect profiles. An algorithm--a hybrid of pattern recognition and behavioral mapping, was cross-referencing every abduction in the last decade.
An officer slipped him fresh coffee and he paused to take a sip, but the screen continued pulling up files.
"Sir, detective Linlin wants to know if you would like to talk to the father of the victim. He had just arrived." Another officer called out from the back of the room, holding a phone in her hand.
He Xiao Yi shook his head. This was more important. "Send him to Bad luck Tai. The parent’s won’t talk but our system will." He leaned back, rubbing his temples.
***
Back in the interview room, Liwu was facing a bigger challenge. Mr. Su’s lips were glued tighter than his wife’s. The man was like a stone, using his right to remain silent a little too seriously.
Liwu slid a tissue box to him even though he was not crying. "Mr. Su, you need to listen to . I have worked kidnappings before. I know the fear. But silence will not protect your daughter. It only protects the kidnapper."
Mr. Su stared at her, his lips did not even shake.
Liwu was frustrated. "Do you both realize that by remaining silent, you will only encourage the kidnapper to do it again? If there was a ransom demand and you pay and your daughter is returned, what is to stop this from happening to you again? How many more tis will you pay ransom?"
Mrs. Su gasped. She shook her head, tears dripping onto the table. "He can’t do that, he said it was just this one ti."
Liwu’s eyes sharpened. "So there was contact."
Mrs. Su froze, realizing she had slipped. Her lips trembled. "Please...I can’t...he’ll hurt my girl..."
Mr. Su slapped the table. "Shut up," he hissed at his wife. Then he rose, glaring at Liwu fiercely like she was the one that had kidnapped his daughter. "We are leaving now, before you get Susu killed. Don’t contact us again."
Liwu tried to make them stay, but failed. As they left, in the operation center, the algorithm pinged. It had not found one case but six!
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