"Her name was Ayame Harrison. 16 year old daughter of Sakura and Brock Harrison." Inu Yasha announced. "She worked at the café. Her manager says she came in this morning, worked for about an hour before she went to the back to take out the trash. She never came back in, but he didn't think too much of it, since the girl was always running off from work to go hang out with her friends."
It was Wednesday evening, the middle of a long, hard and stressful week for both Miroku and Sango. Everything was done for the day, all appointments, all medications and normally everyone would have headed home, except for the witnesses.
Sango looked up at Inu Yasha and Nelly who were both reviewing their notes from the interview they had with the café owner. "Do you think Howard's escape at anything to do with this?"
"It's a possibility." Nelly stated, clearing off the nurses station where Hayden and Sango worked at. Miroku was seated in Hayden's usual seat just in front of her computer, reclined back, trying his best to relax. Sango was in her normal seat, her entire body shaking from the upset of the day before.
She had spent nearly all night on the phone the night before discussing this with Miroku. It was an awful, unfortunate thing to happen and especially at such an intimate moment in their…relationship. If she could even call it that. It seemed more like random acts of sexually charged intimacy to her and she wasn't even sure if Miroku wanted a relationship.
"By the way…" Inu Yasha growled, looking at the two peculiarly. "How did you two discover the body anyway? What are you doing behind the restaurant?"
Sango felt the heat rise up her neck and to her cheeks and she glanced over at Miroku who simply stayed calm. "I can't reveal that information out of respect for Sango."
"Oh, I know exactly what that means." Nelly chimed in. "You two were back their messing around when, bam, you saw it."
Sango couldn't make eye contact with the three men, she simply looked down at her knees and felt shameful.
"Something like that." Miroku said, noticing the look of embarrassment on Sango's face. "But, hey look guys, this stays here. Don't tell anyone else. I don't want Sango to get a reputation or anything."
Inu Yasha made a low grumble of disappointment and Nelly nudged him harshly. The hanyou folded his arms. "Fine. For Sango-chan's sake."
Sango forced a smile. "Thank you…" She smiled at Miroku and realized at that moment, maybe he did want more than just sex. Maybe he did respect her and want her to find happiness after all.
"Well, I see it this way…" Nelly said, leaning against the wall. "If you wouldn't have been back there, who knows when Ayame's body would have been found?"
"Yea, it could have been days, weeks even." Inu Yasha informed, looking up at the clock. "Well, I'm headed home to get dinner and hit the hay. Got a big day tomorrow."
"We should do the same." Miroku said, standing up. "May I walk you out?" He asked, looking at Sango as he helped her with her jacket. The overnight nurses had just started to arrive and that was their cue to leave.
"Sure." Sango agreed, hesitantly.
Nelly nodded at them and smiled as he led her down the hallway towards the main exit of the hospital.
"This is the last picture I have of Ayame." Sakura Harrison pulled out a school picture of her daughter Thursday afternoon at Tokyo police station.
Sango had gotten a lucky break, along with Miroku. They had to leave work to come down and talk to Ayame's parents about what they had seen. After explaining the story of what happened, leaving out the intimate elements of the truth of course, Sakura looked as if she was about to cry.
Her husband, Brock Harrison, who's occupation was a medical doctor at Tokyo's largest hospital, comforted his wife. They also learned that Sakura had just had her second child five years ago after years of trying for another one.
She had always been proud of her two girls, and Brock had even been working hard on saving up a college fund for his daughter. Of course, as always, the parents were suspects but were quickly taken off the radar after some question and more examinations on the body.
But the police would leave that up to the forensics.
Sango took the picture of the 10th grade school girl, smiling happily in her picture.
Sakura wiped a tear away from her eye and held Brock's hand. "She was always such a happy girl. She just went to her homecoming with her new boyfriend two weeks ago…" She said. "I'd give anything to help her dress up for that again…"
Sango felt as if her heart was going to break into pieces. Losing a child was the hardest thing a parent could ever experience and she couldn't imagine the pain and anguish her parents were feeling now. It must have been indescribable.
"Tell me," Brock spoke up. They had so many questions for them, but they just had to know. The police weren't talking much, so the long-time married couple were getting all they could out of Miroku and Sango. "Could you tell what kind of weapon was used?" It was a grim detail, Brock wanted to know everything he could about the murder of his daughter.
Miroku looked over at Sango for a long moment. "Well, this might be hard to believe…but we don't think we used a weapon."
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, immediately becoming anxious.
"We think he killed her his bare hands, maybe even his teeth…"
Brock was more shocked now than angry. "What kind of sick son of a bitch would do that to a 16 year old girl? Sakura, I swear to Buddha I'm going to find this man and make sure he suffers the same fate my little girl did."
Inu Yasha stepped in the room. "We're going to do all we can, sir, to make sure this maniac is brought to justice. Sango, you're needed back at work. Miroku, Jay says he needs you to come in and talk to Hamilton again. Apparently he's had a dream he wants to tell you about."
"Right." He said, standing up. "It was very nice meeting you Mr. and Mrs. Harrison. I'm so sorry for your loss."
Sakura simply nodded and took his hand, then smiled sweetly at Sango. Brock gave him a firm handshake and smiled at Sango before Miroku led her away from them.
"Kami, that must be so hard. I couldn't imagine…"
"Yea, neither could I." Miroku said. "I don't even have children and that breaks my heart."
"I feel like this all my fault for some reason." She said as they walked back to Miroku's car just outside the police station. Opening the door for her, he looked at her quite perplexed as she got in.
"How?"
"Well, you know, Howard was obsessed with me and if this is him doing all these horrible things it's because of me."
"Hey, don't feel that way." Miroku assured her. "Look, even if it is Howard doing all of this stuff, it has nothing to do with you. He's insane to begin with."
Sango looked at him as he closed the car door and a few seconds later slipped in the driver's seat beside him. "I know I shouldn't worry so much about it. It's just…kind of scary to think he's lose and running around Tokyo somewhere. No one really knows what he's capable of."
"Well, don't worry about a thing. I'm always going to be there to protect you. You know all you have to do is call."
Friday morning came all too early for Sango. She hadn't slept good at all and when her alarm rang at 6:30, she felt like smashing it into a million pieces. She had a full day of caring for her patients and Miroku had his usual therapy group.
At least today might be easier at acting "professional" around one another. That had become increasingly difficult, along with the increasing numbers of heated stares from across the hallway. She hadn't seen him for a record breaking three hours and she thought she might actually get through today without being tempted by his charm and charisma.
But she was wrong.
By lunch time, the doctor was free to roam about the building and annoy the nurses. Sango was too busy to leave, so instead he decided to hang around her and Hamilton as she took him to lunch in the cafeteria, much to the jealousy of Hayden.
Hamilton of course was delighted that Miroku had joined him and his favourite nurse. He had become very comfortable with Miroku over the past couple of weeks, which was saying a lot since the only person he really behaved for was Sango.
"Are you free tonight?" Miroku asked taking a bite of his less than perfect burger. He really hated hospital food, but being in Sango's company made it bearable. "Maybe…I can take you out to a late dinner?"
Sango pushed her salad around, realizing half the lettuce was dead. She had really enjoyed going out somewhere for lunch but after Wednesday's events, she wasn't so sure she was ready to go back to that café. "Don't you have school early in the morning?"
"Not until 9." Miroku replied. "I would have asked you out this morning, but Hayden has been giving me death stares all day. I figured I'd ask you away from her…"
"I don't know, Miroku." Sango told him. "My brother has a football game tonight at school…he really likes for me to be there."
He thought for a minute and wasn't going to let her use that as an excuse. "Alright, then we'll go to his game, grab dinner on the way and eat in the stadium."
"You mean, you'd really want to go to Kohaku's football game?" She asked. "It's his first game of the season where he's not being benched."
Miroku nodded. "Sure, anytime to spend with you is fine with me."
It was the last quarter of the game and surprisingly the couch allowed Kohaku to actually participate after Sango had complained to his school that they weren't putting him on the field. Apparently, her relentless arguing worked.
The timer was quickly counting down until the end of the 4th quarter and Sango cheered when Kohaku got possession of the ball. She was proud of him, but she honestly couldn't wait until the game was over. Her bum was beginning to get numb from sitting on the cold metal of the bleachers.
Miroku was beside her, and had been the whole time, aside from the time he left to throw their Wacdonald's wrappers in the trashcan. He sat beside her, his arm around her and keeping her warm with a blanket from his car the entire time. He even was lucky enough to steal a couple kisses from her, which he enjoyed.
Kohaku made the last touch down on the first game, bringing his team and his school to a fantastic win. Maybe that would teach his coach to let him play more.
The stadium started to clear and Sango stood up along with Miroku to meet Kohaku, who was chatting with his friend, Souta and didn't even realize the two were standing there. "Oh, hey sis." He said, with a smile.
"Kohaku, I'm so proud of you." She said. "You did a great job." She placed a kiss on his head and he simply blushed. "I'm too old for you to do that, now. Geez."
Miroku laughed and grabbed her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. His palm was warm and rough, yet gentle and comforting.
"Well, we just wanted to congratulate you." Sango said. "Are you coming home tonight after your celebration dinner?"
"Uh, actually, Souta wanted to know if I could spend the night. I told him I'd have to check with you first…" He said, hopefully. "So…can I?"
"Alright." She told him. "But don't forget to take your asthma medication, and don't stay up too late. And don't make prank phone calls."
"Fine, fine. I promise. You don't have to treat me like I'm 12!"
"You are 12." Sango pointed out with a smile. "Goodnight Kohaku."
"Night." Kohaku called out, then he and Souta ran in the opposite direction to catch up with their teammates.
She turned back to Miroku and he led her out towards the parking lot. His car was parked next to hers, since she had insisted on taking two separate cars. She was obviously trying to distance herself from him, which was fine for now. He just had to keep his persistence up if he wanted any kind of real shot with this woman.
He opened the car of her white Honda for her and she slipped inside, looking up at him. "Thank you for coming to the game, I think it meant a lot to Kohaku, too."
"It was fun." Miroku said with a smile, leaning against the backseat window and staring down at her. "Are you sure you're going to be OK tonight home alone?"
Sango hesitated for a minute. She hadn't thought of that. Normally, she'd be alright with it, she had done it countless of times before, but now with Howard Bailey on the lose she wasn't so sure she was comfortable with it.
"Yes." She replied after a moment. Then she saw his expression change, almost to fear then to worry. His eyes were fixated through the window and he backed away slowly, then his eyes met hers.
"Hey, you know what? It's early, how about I take you out for a cruise around Tokyo?" He asked.
"Miroku…" She groaned. "I'm tired, I want to go home and go to bed. I--"
"C'mon, I really, really, really want to take you for a cruise." He said. "Just get out of the car and come with me, please?"
His eyes darted from her to the backseat and Sango agitatedly grabbed her purse and stepped out. "Why do you want to take me for a cruise? It's almost 11:00!"
Miroku pulled her close to him and lowered his voice to a whisper. "There's a man in your backseat with a knife."
"What?" Sango asked, covering her mouth to keep from screaming. Her eyes wide as she stared back into her car, realizing the danger she had been in for the last two minutes. Or worse, if Miroku hadn't been there she could have driven the maniac home and then who knows what would have happened?
"Don't panic…" He said, checking his own backseat and assured that it was clear. "Get in my car. I'll alert the police, let's just get you out of here."
"Well, Miroku." Inu Yasha grumbled over the cell phone he held to his ear as he shined a flashlight in the backseat of Sango's car. "You're mystery man with the knife apparently fled. There's no evidence but I have a forensic team scraping the floorboard for skin and hair samples."
Miroku had taken Sango back to her apartment and even though she insisted she would be fine alone, he wasn't going to leave her there. Someone was out there, looking for Sango and would probably keep killing until he found her. His only job though was to make sure she was alright, that she would be safe, even if he had to stay with her until this entire mess was cleaned up and this vicious killer was put behind bars.
There was no doubt in his mind that the same man in the backseat of the car was the same man who killed Ayame Harrison.
"Well, let me know as soon as you find out something. Especially if it's Howard." Miroku said. "What's the news on Bailey's escape anyway?"
"We've got a security tape we're observing right now." Inu Yasha said. "Nothing unusual about it though. We don't even see Bailey leaving his cell, yet Monday morning he was gone. It's mind-boggling."
"Well, keep me posted." Miroku said. "I'll see you guys Monday."
"Alright, night."
"Night." Miroku clicked off his cell phone and sighed. Then proceeded to lock the doors and windows, stopping momentarily when he heard Sango's voice behind him.
"You're not planning on staying here, are you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "I've never let a man stay here overnight. Not even my ex-fiancé."
Miroku turned around and grinned at her, then slowly advanced towards her. His eyes were smoldering as he watched the thin fabric of the turquoise, silk robe she was wearing cling to her body. "Well, I'm different. I'm here to protect you."
"From who?" She asked.
"Oh, I don't know…the vicious creep that was in the backseat of your car tonight with a knife?" Miroku asked with a chuckle. "That guys still out there somewhere and he's after you. I want to make sure your safe."
Sango looked at him for a long moment, her eyes softening. "Miroku…I'm fine, really. I appreciate the gesture, but it's a little soon for me. I mean…everything's going so fast and I don't know if I'm ready."
He gave her a lazy, tired grin. "You sound like we're going to have sex or something. I mean, that wouldn't be a bad idea, but…"
"Miroku!"
"I'm kidding!" He told her. "I'm not going to do anything you don't want me to. I promise. I'll even sleep on the couch if you're that uncomfortable."
"Really?"
"Yes." Miroku told her. "So do me a favor and relax. Go run a nice bath, relax. You've had a hard week." He kissed her briefly and she felt her heart jump in her chest.
"Thank you." She said, softly. "You…can make yourself at home. I'm going to take a bath and try to relax before bed."
"Alright." He said, sitting down on her couch. "You got cable?"
"Satellite."
"Awesome!" He cheered and flipped on her television and tuned into the sports channel. Every time he watched ESPN he thought back to Howard and how calm, collected and normal he seemed just last week when he had a short conversation with him, just as if he was one of his buddies.
And now, Howard was a raging lunatic who escaped out of his solitary cell somehow. It was a mysterious happening and he just hoped Police would be able to get to the bottom of it.
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