Haibara smirks. “And here I thought even the Tokyo police force had lost its sense of romance.”

“Then I’ll hold onto it,” he says. “Until you’re ready to wear something new.”

Chiba, half-joking, asks if the groom is a "handsome elite from headquarters." Takagi, pale and sweating, can’t bring himself to ask her directly. Even Megure notices Takagi’s distress but offers only a cryptic, “Love isn’t always straightforward.” Before the personal drama can escalate, the squad is called to a murder scene in the Edogawa ward. A 34-year-old bank employee, Kiyoshi Inoue, has been found dead in his apartment, strangled with a necktie. The victim’s left ring finger has a pale indentation where a ring was recently removed.

As the suspect is led away, Sato finally removes the ring and holds it out to Takagi.

She tells him about Wataru Date. A respected detective from the same district. A decade ago, Date was killed in the line of duty while pursuing a robbery suspect. Before he died, he left behind an unfinished case file and a single note: “Tell Miwako to live happily. And tell her… I’m sorry I never got to give her this.”

“Do you know why I became a police officer?”

“I was going to give this back to Date’s mother today,” she says. “Because I think… I’ve found someone.”