The Contingency Plan

Chapter 6

Deception

Mouri Ran sat by herself on the park bench, admiring the ironies that defined her life. Much of that life had come with an implacable faith in such a thing as destiny. Call it providence or fate or the divine will of heaven, it was, if nothing else, a romantic notion which gave much comfort in the lowliest parts of life. And she was well accustomed to those lowliest parts.

It had been a very long and very difficult year since the man she loved evaporated into thin air. But with so many people reliant on her, there was little point in admitting it. That would only spread her sorrows onto friends and family. Besides, they wouldn't understand. She could barely understand.

Yet as hard as she tried to repress it, as earnestly as she needed to hide the forlorn pain, the truth was, she often felt empty. Times like these, where she had too much time to think and no one to impress, were the worst.

Depression could creep in the quiet. It stole her sleep in the night, and during the day, the world itself seemed to be composed of depressing, monochromatic grays.

Now, despite all the turmoil and exhaustion, it was turning out to be a beautiful morning. Golden sunlight crested over the mountains, reflecting magnificent hues onto the white fluffy clouds that dotted the sky and sparked across placid waters. Birds sang, and a warm breeze carried along the fragrance of wildflowers across the bay.

Fate was not without a sense of irony, it would seem, and it all felt so wildly inappropriate.

After Shinichi failed to emerge from the garden, Lt. Grierson had promised to keep up the search. Getting her contact information, he told her to go back to her hotel to rest. Instead, she had spent the whole night anxiously calling a dead phone and wandering the grounds aimlessly. Something had gone wrong. She wasn't sure exactly what, but one thing was certain. For a second time, she hadn't been there when he needed it.

Thankfully, the phone call from Lt Greirson came in while she had some battery left.

"Good morning, Miss Mouri. I know you were concerned about your friend last night. We just got a report of a person matching his description. Don't have a lot in the way of details yet, but I'm heading over now to check it out. I can pick you up on the way if you want."

Ran hastily accepted the offer. He gave her the address of a park near Fort Mason, and that's where she nervously waited until a sleek BMW rolled to a stop just before seven. She got in, and together, they drove west along Marina Blvd.

Turning down the volume on the radio, the officer noticed her furtive movement out of the corner of his eye. The fidgeting tremor of idle legs wishing to be elsewhere. He tried to calm her down with some small talk as Marina turned into Battery Bluff. "You look tired. You get any sleep, miss?"

"Huh? Oh, no, not really."

"I figured as much. Me neither, if I'm going to be honest. Long night."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Are you alright?"

Grierson nodded wryly. "I'm fine. It was paperwork mostly, but I'm used to it. Before I worked homicide, I used to be a bomb tech. We used to train with sleep deprivation."

Ran agreed politely, not knowing what to say. After a shared moment of silence, she blurted out what was really on her mind. "Is Shinichi okay?"

Grierson cocked an eyebrow. He knew enough about Japanese culture to understand the familiarity of using one's first name without the typical honorific. "Worried, eh? You two close?"

"Close?"

He realized the term might not translate well. "Yeah, I mean, are you two related or friends? Have you known each other for a long time, is what I'm asking."