It is currently 18:36 Pacific Time on Sun Aug 8 2004. Currently the moon is in the waning Half Moon phase (48% full). Harbor Park -- Fountain Situated in the center of a large, open meadow is a clustering of six trees, a flower bed, a few steel-and-wood benches set firmly into concrete, and a flagstone courtyard that is dominated by a large fountain. The fountain is a wide circular pool of water some fifty feet across and about five feet deep in most places. The sculpture in the center is a mix of old and new, traditional and modern: eight concrete-and-stainless-steel slabs about six feet high are set in a rough Stonehenge-like circle around the center of the fountain. Water flows from their tops, cascading in bright mesmerizing sheets to the pool below. Rising above the steel circle is a large marble statue of the Water Bearer, an androgynous figure draped in robes of flowing water. It bears a large jug carved with various Greek symbols, from which pours a seething torrent of water into the pool at its feet. Cars on the nearby street have an excellent view of the park as do any residents of the tall buildings which line the waterfront. The murky waters of the Columbia River flow swiftly along the east side of the park. Bracketing the park to the west is First Street and the city of St. Claire. Recent construction work is creating an earthen berm several feet high all along the borders of the park in all directions. Contents: Flowers Obvious exits: ManHole Harbor Park Meadow A short afro of tight golden curls covers the scalp of a girl just shy of eighteen years old. Her skin is very fair, just this side of ghostly, and pinkish in places. Her eyes, fringed with blonde lashes and set beneath pale eyebrows, are light hazel and often shrunk behind oval wire-framed glasses. Her nose is round and rather large, with prominent nostrils and not much bridge, and the mouth beneath it is full, wide, and expressive; behind it are even white teeth that have, clearly, seen the best in dental and orthodontic care. About five and a half feet tall, the girl is skinny and does not appear athletic. Her wrists are thin, and her fingers are long and delicate, with short nails painted black. Her gray hooded sweatshirt is far too big for her; the t-shirt underneath appears to be black. Her pants are made of a loose, light material, black, and cargo-style, with multiple pockets; the cuffs bunch over a pair of bright orange Chuck Taylor hightops. A pewter dragon grasping a crystal hangs from a black cord around her neck. Outdoors, she's apt to be wearing the sweatshirt hood up and has a pair of dark wraparound sunglasses. She also has a little black backpack. The police car pulls up in a parking spot near the park entrance and the engine is killed. After about ten seconds, the door opens and Nicodemus emerges, keys jingling as he puts them into his right front pocket, and begins heading into the park and over towards the fountain area where Mary's currently seated. Mary still wears the wraparouned sunglasses, though the sun's getting low in the sky and dusk won't be long in coming. The girl doesn't look up until Nicodemus is fairly close. She squints behind the darkened prescription lenses, glances around at the rest of the park, then looks back at the approaching figure. Her body languages is tight and apprehensive. You see a thin and wiry young man in his early twenties--and a bit on the short side at about 5'4" to 5'6" in height. His black hair is cropped short in a 1950-esque crewcut. He's currently decked out in the traditional dark blue SCPD uniform. His badge identifies his number, rank (Officer), and last name (Dalton). Officer Dalton is carrying several obvious weapons, as police frequently do. Under his left arm in a shoulder holster is the lethal option: a no-nonsense Glock 21 .45 caliber pistol. On his hips are the non-lethal options. Left hip: chemical mace/dye. Right hip: taser. A "hands free" police band radio is mounted on his left shoulder. Two necklaces are around his neck, tucked inside his uniform so as to be inobtrusive. He's wearing black, form-fitting leather gloves. A faint hint of fine incense lingers quietly about his immediate vicinity, almost like a unique, well-selected cologne or aftershave. Nicodemus isn't wearing sunglasses like most police generally do. He's probably left them in the car. Still, they aren't particularly necessary in projecting that "authority figure" aura that police in uniform generally tend to have. He meets your gaze as you notice him and look up, nodding faintly. "Good evening," he says by way of greeting, stopping some twenty feet away, as if he might be headed off shortly. "Have you noticed a balding man about six feet high, muscled, white t-shirt and black pants in the park recently?" Mary shifts her weight on the rim of the fountain and shakes her head quickly, not even bothering to think about it. She adds a mumbled, "Sorry," and looks away, folding her arms across her chest. Long distance to Nicodemus: Mary gives off guilty teenager vibes like there's no tomorrow! "Have you noticed a disturbance in the park in the last thirty to fourty-five minutes?" Officer Dalton further inquires, shifting his weight to favor his right leg. Mary licks her lips nervously. "Um... no... I don't think so, I mean..." She shrugs. "I've been here for a while and haven't seen anything." Nicodemus lifts his right hand to scratch at the side of his head, not moving any closer though. Though he apparently does seem interested in your last statement. "Really? About how long have you been here today?" The dark lenses don't reveal the girl's eyes or the way they twitch here and there, restlessly. "Um... not long. Longer than, um, what you said." "No one has harmed you, threatened you or anything like that?" Officer Dalton adds, "This park has a bit of a reputation." Mary shrugs and looks down, where her heels digging at the grass. "Haven't seen anything." Between the uniform he's wearing, the fact that she only met him once, and her own less-than-stellar vision, it's doubtful that she recognizes Nicodemus as Sam's friend from the Dark Wine and Roses; he's just A Cop. The Man. "Oh." Officer Dalton moves over towards the fountain's rim, turning and taking a seat directly across from you on your park bench. Perhaps he's tired? "So you're okay, then?" Mary frowns, her jaw clenching. "I'm fine," she says shortly, voice shifting from merely sullen to downright unfriendly. Even hostile. "Go find some drug dealers or something, huh?" "Your parents are very worried about you, Mary," Officer Dalton says, not oblivious to her shift in tone and possibly shifting his approach because of it. He pauses here to assess her reaction to this twist in the conversation. Mary stiffens, the arms folded across her chest tightening. The hostile look vanishes as she bites her lower lip, and she gets up quickly, reaching for the little backpack on the ground nearby. "Don't-know-what-you're-talking-about-gotta-go." It all comes out in a jumbled mumble, the words tripping over each other in their haste to escape. "If they hurt you, we can get you a place to live." Officer Dalton says as you reach for your pack. "You don't have to go home, but you need to get off the streets. We can get you some help." There's honest concern and sympathy leaking through the cop fascade at this point. "You won't last long out here by yourself." Mary looks up sharply. "They would *never*--" She cuts off the protest and swallows, hugging her pack to her chest, chin quivering. The sunglasses hide the way her eyes (damn them) are tearing up. Nicodemus lets silence settle in for a short while--just the splash and gurgle of the fountain behind him and the noises from the city behind you. Mary sniffs, then swallows hard. "You don't understand," she says at last, sounding quite miserable. "I *can't* go home. I *can't*." "Okay," the policeman says in a tone of voice that seems to be entertaining the idea that going home is not an option, but possibly in need of explanation. "Why can't you go home?" "Because I can't." Mary pushes aside her sunglasses briefly to rub at her eyes, which besides being teary are shadowed and reddened. "Look, I have someplace to stay, okay? Just leave me alone." She backs off a step, preparing to go. "Look," Officer Dalton says, standing, and apparently not done. "I have to either take you to the police station counselor to get help and get placed outside of your parents' custody, or I have to take you back to your parents." He gives no hint of there being any other options at all. "You're having some issues obviously and need someone to talk to. Maybe a psychologist. Certainly someone more qualified than me." "There's nothing wrong with me!" Mary suddenly screeches, his face twisting into a mask of fury and hate. She takes a lunging step toward the goth-cop and swings the backpack hard at his face. That was certainly unexpected, and catches the cop off-guard. "Wai...!" He moves to duck, but just isn't fast enough. The backpack-mace clocks him upside the temple, knocking him off balance, and he falters a step back--right where the wall to the fountain is. He trips, sits down, then the momentum causes him to roll sideways on the wall and backwards onto the retaining wall. One flailing arm gets thoroughly drenched in the water, but he doesn't go swimming. Mary stands gaping for a second or two, then backs off a step, turns, and takes off running. "Augh!" Officer Dalton splashes the water twice with his one arm as he fumbles about for a means of getting back to a sitting position, other hand preoccupied with cupping the upper left side oh his face around his eye and forehead. He's still off balance, but not horribly so. "Fuck!" Long distance to the room: Mary giggles. From afar, Nicodemus shakes a fist! Two levels! Two levels! That's a black eye and a cut! :) As Dalton fumbles about, the girl gets further away, though her path angles her away from the entrance where the patrol car's parked. Nicodemus attempts to stand, wobbles uncertainly once he's on his feet, and he decides against doggedly pursuing while disorientated. Instead, he calls it in, reaching to key his shoulder-mounted radio. "Unit 189 to all cars in Ward 5 near Harbor Park. Be on the lookout for...." His voice fades as you continue running. Mary reaches the earthen berm that separates the park from the Columbia River and pulls up short against it, gasping. "Fuck," she mutters. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." Dusk has deepened into evening, and the albino girl risks pulling off her sunglasses and fumbles around in her backpack in order to switch them out with her normal glasses. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." From afar, Nicodemus trades a black eye and a superficial cut on the forehead for a couple hours of hiding from patrol cars. Nicodemus doesn't give chase, continuing to speak into his shoulder radio. He lifts his hand from his forehead, observing streaks of blood on it. He unkeys the mic. "Shit." The hand goes back to his head to apply pressure as the mic is re-keyed to communicate with other officers and the dispatch. You paged Nicodemus with 'Don't forget the eventual sleepless night in the motel room. And the crying. Oh, the crying. :)'. Nicodemus pages: A night? Boo hoo. Black eye is likely going to take /weeks/ to go away! Long distance to Nicodemus: Mary's whole *life* is ruined! So nyeah! I win! Nicodemus pages: Oh yeah. You win. ============================================================================== Message: 1/1 in folder main Received: Mon Aug 9 07:02:26 2004 From: Nicodemus To: cops (global mail alias), and Mary Subject: Missing Person Update ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Official report: Officer Dalton spotted Mary Rudolph in Harbor Park on August 8 at aproximately 10:15pm, where she claimed to have been for several hours. He noted that he had, prior to her disappearance, also seen her at Dark Wind and Roses. According to Dalton's report, Mary did not appear to have been abducted and no other people were around her. However, she does not appear to be willing to return home and managed to escape. The skinny around the police station: The kid clocked Dalton upside the head with a backpack. He's sporting a black eye today. Got his ass kicked by a teenaged girl. Ha, ha! ==============================================================================