Well, I've been spending probably more time than I should on not doing homework, but, hey, what the heck. Here's Chapter 5.

Oh, and I noticed a mistake in the previous chapter; Sora said that it had been four days since Saturday, when Hayner disappeared, which would make the current day Wednesday. However, it's a Thursday when Pence comes to him. The explanation for that is that Sora's bad at counting.

But enough about my screw-ups. It's story time!

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Come night, the three of us went out, splitting up to cover more ground. (We had agreed to text the other two if we found a woman like to the one Pence had described.) Unfortunately, due to the sheer number of bars in the area, the search took a while. Even when we didn't linger in any of the bars for long, it was past midnight when we finished them all, and even then, we went back and swept over several more, in case she had arrived at one of them after we had left. But, nothing. "Well, it's only Thursday," I said when we congregated after our search. "Not many people frequent bars on Thursdays. Maybe we'll have better luck tomorrow."

Donald groaned. "Tomorrow? Sora, it's almost three in the morning."

"We have to keep going, Donald," I said. "We can't just leave Hayner to the mercy of this woman."

"Then let's keep going tomorrow," he grumbled. "I'm going to bed. And I'll be coming in late tomorrow."

I knew better than to object. And, to be honest, I felt similarly. "Yeah, I think we can afford a later morning tomorrow."

"Good. Good night." Donald walked off, occasionally staggering to exaggerate his level of fatigue. Less dramatically, Goofy and I took our leaves, as well.

Unfortunately, Morpheus must have had something against me, because that night, the nightmare struck again. Again the dungeon, again the figure, again the corpses…again the fear. I woke up just past six, unsettled. This is nothing, I tried to tell myself. It's my subconscious being afraid of some of the things I have to confront. It's not a premonition of any kind. My life is not predetermined.

Eventually, I managed to calm down enough in order to get back to sleep.

It was a little past eleven when I woke up again. I was still a little tired, but this was late enough to sleep in; I did have some other things I could do today. So, somewhat reluctantly, I got up, showered, dressed, ate breakfast, and headed out.

As I made my way to my workplace, I noticed a message on my phone, from Riku. "Hey, Sora," his voice said when I played it. "I was thinking that it's been a while since we've seen each other, so do you want to get together for lunch today? I'd be willing to take a break around 12:30, does that work for you? And if Donald and Goofy want to come along, too, that'd be great. Get back to me whenever you can."

I smiled. Lunch with Riku sounded like a very nice idea. We could catch up and enjoy each other's company for a bit. Besides, he was right; it had been a while since we'd gotten together like that. I called him back, and he answered. "Hey, Sora."

"Hey, Riku. How're you doing?"

"I'm holding up. You?"

"Same. I just got your message about lunch."

"Just now? Busy morning?"

"Uh…in a way."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Never mind. Anyways, I'd be glad to get lunch with you today."

"Great! What about Donald and Goofy?"

"I haven't checked in with them yet, but I'm sure they'd be glad to join us."

"You haven't checked in with them yet? Are you even at your office?"

"Uh…" A yawn interrupted my answer, which did not go unheard by Riku.

"Don't tell me you just got up."

"I had a very late night, okay?"

"Doing what?"

"For your information, I was working on a case."

"Really?" He sounded interested, which he was—Riku always liked hearing about my cases. "I'll be interested to hear the details. It must have been quite something to make you sleep in so late." He chuckled. "Then again, you always have been the lazier one."

"Yeah, when we were kids."

"Of course. You're a big boy now."

"Shut up. You're only a year older than I am."

"Physically, yes. Emotionally, I could be your father."

"Oh, you're hilarious."

He laughed. "So, lunch at 12:30?"

"Yeah, sounds good. Where?"

"Selphie's Diner work for you?"

"Of course."

"All right, then. Meet you there."

"Okay. Bye."

"Later."

Goofy was already at the office when I got there, having arrived just a few minutes prior. After we greeted each other, I told him about Riku's offer for lunch, and he immediately got on board. "What about Donald?" I asked.

"Good question," said Goofy. "Probably still sleeping."

I rubbed my eyes. "Can't say I blame him…But hopefully he'll be in by 12:30."

Goofy sat down. "What are we gonna do today? We can't go around browsing bars until later tonight."

I shrugged. "Whatever we can. I was thinking of…"

We discussed possible courses of action to take until 12:05, when I decided to call Donald's house. "H'lo?" he answered groggily, after the fourth ring.

"Donald? It's Sora."

"Sora…whaddaya want?"

"You coming in soon?"

"No."

"Riku's invited us to lunch."

That gave Donald pause for thought; a free meal was always something he was fond of. "When?"

"Twenty-five minutes."

I heard him groan on the other end of the line, and then say, "All right. Just gimme a few minutes to…" he yawned loudly, "get ready."

"Okay," I said. "Just make sure you're here soon. Actually, you can meet us there. It's Selphie's Diner. You remember where that is, right?"

"Yeah."

"See you there at 12:30?"

"Sure."

"Okay, then."

"Bye." He hung up.

"Donald's in?" asked Goofy.

"Yep. Woke him up, but he said he'd come."

"Great."

We continued to go over the case for another fifteen minutes, and then decided it was time to head out. Selphie's Diner was a short walk away from my office, and it had become a favorite location for Riku, Donald, Goofy, and me. The proprietor, Selphie Tilmitt, was a cheerful woman in her mid-thirties who had come to know us well, and always greeted us when we came. That day was no exception; when Goofy and I arrived, she bounded up to us and gave us both a hug. "Good to see you both again!" she said after releasing us. "It's been a little while!"

"It has," I agreed. "Everything holding up?"

"Peachy," she replied, still smiling. "Table for how many?"

"Four," I said. "Riku and Donald will be joining us later."

"Excellent. Right this way, then."

She led us to a table sandwiched between two booths, promised to have a waiter over momentarily, and dashed back behind her counter. "Good to see things are going well with her," said Goofy.

"Yup." I picked up my menu, even though I had a pretty good idea already of what I wanted. A quick glance to see if anything else caught my eye, and I made my decision final. "You know what you're getting?" I asked Goofy, whose menu was lying untouched in front of him.

He nodded. "Dingo Burger. You?"

"Tuna melt." I grinned. "They don't get any better."

"Just make sure you don't overindulge yourself. Too much tuna can lead to mercury poisoning."

"I know."

Just then, a waitress walked up to our table. She was young—probably only nineteen or twenty—and pretty, with brown hair that hung below her shoulders. "Hi," she said cheerily. "How are you today?"

"We're doing all right, thanks," I replied.

"Good to hear. My name's Olette, and I'll be your server today. Can I get you anything to drink?"

"I'd like an iced tea, please," said Goofy.

"Sure," said Olette, making a note. "And you?" She turned to me.

"I'll have a Coke."

Olette made another note, said, "Great! Be back in a minute," and left.

"Haven't seen her around before," I commented.

"Must be new," said Goofy. "She's really young."

"Probably a college student," I said.

"Wonder if she knows Pence."

"I doubt it. She might not go to Columbia, and even if she did, it's a big enough school that everyone would know only a small fraction of the population."

"Yeah, I guess."

Behind me, I heard the door opened, and turned my head to see Riku walk in, and receive a greeting from Selphie. She seemed quite enthusiastic to see him, and for good reason; Riku was exceedingly handsome, as many women (and some men) had noticed. Standing tall at exactly six feet, with long silver hair and a fit figure, he would often draw the gazes of surrounding people. I'll admit, I was a little jealous—though less so than I had been when we were kids together.

Selphie led Riku over to our table, and we rose to greet him. "Good to see you, Riku," I said, hugging him.

"You, too," he said. He released me and turned to Goofy. "Goofy, nice to see you, as well."

"Likewise," said Goofy, also hugging him.

We took our seats. Riku sat next to Goofy, across from me, just as Olette came over with our drinks. "Here you go," she said.

"Thank you," I said.

Seeing that we had been joined by someone else, Olette turned to Riku to ask him what he wanted, but was struck for a second by a man of his beauty looking directly at her. (His face was another of his very appealing characteristics: handsome, with a hint of Asian features in it—Riku's father was Japanese.) Fortunately, he had had experience with this and had anticipated her question, so he said, "I'll just have water, please."

Olette blinked. "Right. Water." She smiled. "I'll get it right to you." She turned and walked off, a little quicker than usual.

I looked at Riku. "Do you know how many people would kill to have that effect on women?"

"Too many," he said. "I wouldn't mind being treated like everyone else by every straight woman I met."

I shrugged. "Hey, don't complain. A lot of people envy you."

"That's something I wouldn't mind doing away with, too." He changed the subject. "You told me how the Porter case ended, but the only things I know about it are from a quick email from you and a small news article online. What happened?" He lowered his voice slightly. "Did it turn out to be your kind of case?"

I nodded, and launched into the story of Jane and Clayton, telling him how I developed my suspicions from initial observations, and how Lea's findings strengthened them. It was then that Olette returned with Riku's water, going red as she gave it to him. "Thank you," he said, which made her blush even more.

"You're welcome," she managed to say. "Are you ready to order?"

"Oh, damn, I forgot to look at the menu," said Riku. "But that's all right. I'll have…the chicken wrap, please. Hold the mayo."

She nodded eagerly and wrote it down. To make sure that she wouldn't forget us, I spoke up as she finished. "Could I have the tuna melt, please?" As she wrote, I said to my companions, "Should we order for Donald?"

Riku looked at his watch. "Running behind schedule."

"He slept in even later than—"

I was interrupted when the door opened again, and the sound of Donald's panting reached my ears. The three of us looked over to see him leaning against the counter, out of breath. "Donald!" I called.

He noticed us and headed over, after waving hello to Selphie. "Sorry I'm late," he said as he sat down.

"It's fine. We were just ordering now."

"You were?" He looked up at Olette, who was glancing at him with a bemused expression. "Uh…I'll just have the turkey sandwich."

She nodded and wrote it down. "And you, sir?" she asked Goofy.

"I'll have the Dingo Burger, please."

"Certainly." We gave her our menus, and she took them and said, "I'll be back with your food shortly."

"Thank you," said Riku warmly, causing her to turn red once again, and walk away rather quickly.

I looked at him. "That was mean."

"What? I can't be polite?"

"Oh, never mind."

"Yes. You were telling me about the Porter case."

I continued my narrative where I had left off, with Donald and Goofy occasionally chiming in. We told Riku about meeting with Jane, setting up our plan, and its execution. His face was grim as we recounted the trouble we had run into, and how both Jane and I had come close to being killed. "That was dangerous," he said when we had finished, "but I'm glad it worked out."

"Yeah, no kidding," I said.

"Now, you said Clayton was a wendigo?" said Riku in a low voice.

I nodded. "Heard of them?"

"Once or twice. They're not very popular."

"That's because they're weak spirits. They can only take over someone if the thought of cannibalism enters their mind, independently of the spirit's influence. So, fortunately, there haven't been too many occurrences."

"I guess." He leaned forward. "What about this other case you're taking on? The one that kept you up so late? I know nothing about it."

"No, you didn't recommend the client to me," I said (with a slight hint of pride). "He's actually a college student, here at Columbia."

Riku raised his eyebrows. "A college student? That's unusual."

"Yeah, but he needed my help."

"Needed? Is it something he could have told the police?"

Donald, Goofy and I glanced at each other. "Actually, he specifically said he was reluctant to get the police involved."

Riku frowned. "Why?"

The information was confidential, but I trusted Riku more than anyone, and knew that he would not go to the police if I asked him not to. "His friend disappeared, who had been using a fake ID to get into bars and drink."

"Ah. And he didn't want to get his friend in trouble."

"Right."

"What's his name?"

"The friend or my client?"

"Well, both, I guess."

"His friend's name is Hayner Michaels, and his name is—"

"Pence!" said Goofy.

I nodded. "Precisely."

"No, I mean…Pence is here."

"What?"

Donald and I turned around. Sure enough, Pence was standing in the front of the diner, looking around as if searching for someone. "What's he doing here?" Donald asked.

I shook my head. "Dunno."

We weren't far from the front, so we could hear Selphie greeting him. "Welcome back! It's…Pence, isn't it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Selphie laughed. "Pence, we've been over this. You don't have to call me 'ma'am.' Makes me feel old."

"Sorry, ma—Miss Tilmitt."

"You can dispense with that, too. Call me Selphie. 'Kay?"

"S-sure."

"Great. Now, come this way."

She led him in our direction, and Donald and I ducked down. "What are you doing?" asked Riku.

"It'd be awkward to run into him here," I said in a low voice.

"Why?"

"We're discussing his case." Plus, I didn't want him to think that us being here meant that we were taking a lax approach to his case. Unlikely, yes, but for an investigator like me, I needed all the positive opinions I could get.

Riku sighed, but said nothing. Meanwhile, I heard Selphie seat Pence down at the booth right behind us. Damn, I thought. I won't be able to discuss his case freely with him right there.

"A server will be right with you," said Selphie.

"Okay," came Pence's nervous voice.

I frowned and leaned across the table to Riku. "I don't want to discuss his case here, with him right behind me."

Riku nodded. "I can understand that."

A second later, Olette returned with our food. "Thank you very much," I said, before Riku could make her blush again. She smiled, then moved on to the table behind us. "Pence!" I heard her say. "Good to see you again!"

I blinked. Did those two know each other, after all?

"H-hey, Olette." The combination of nervousness and happiness in his voice gave me a suspicion as to why Pence was there.

"How are you holding up?"

"Ah…well, I'm kinda nervous. Scared."

"I can imagine. Have you gone to the police yet?"

Pence mumbled something that sounded like, "I don't want to get him in trouble."

"He could be in trouble already, Pence. A lot more trouble than he'd be in if he was caught using a fake ID."

"Well, I did hire a private investigator."

"An investigator? Pence, you don't have that much money."

"Oh, it's fine. He was willing to bring the price down to something I can pay."

"But still, it's money. And he wouldn't have as many resources as the police would."

"He said he's solved a lot of cases."

"He can say whatever he wants, Pence, but that doesn't mean it's true."

My eyes narrowed, even though I had to admit, she had a point.

"He seems okay."

"I think you should go to the police, Pence."

"But…"

"Hayner will be better off convicted with something small like using a fake ID than in the clutches of a kidnapper, or wherever he is."

"But…what about the investigator? I've already hired him. Shouldn't I at least give him a chance?"

Olette sighed. "Pence…"

"D-do I just tell him I've decided to use someone else? That would be rude, wouldn't it?"

"But it might get better results."

Pence said nothing for a moment. Then, "I'll check back with him this weekend, and see how he's doing."

"And if he hasn't done anything, will you go to the police?"

A pause. "Maybe."

"Well, just make sure you're not leaving Hayner hanging." She took a breath. "So, what can I get you?"

I tuned out of their conversation at that point, and looked up at my companions. Like me, none of them had touched their food, and I guessed they had all listened to the same thing I had. It left us all concerned; would I be able to find Hayner in time?

Suddenly, I was seized by an intense determination. I would. I would find Hayner, no matter what it took. I would send more emails to Lea, or do the research myself. I would do everything I could to find this mysterious woman. And if that didn't work, I would bar hop tonight like an alcoholic rabbit. (Okay, that was a bad joke. But you know what I mean.) I grabbed my tuna melt and shoved it into my mouth, wanting to leave as much time as possible to work on the case. "Sora, slow down," said Riku.

I shook my head, cramming another bite in. "Gorra ge' awuk," I said.

Riku raised an eyebrow, but didn't try to persuade me further, and began eating his meal. Donald and Goofy followed suit, but their paces were slow enough that I finished a good deal before them. "Sora, you're gonna have a stomachache," said Goofy.

I shook my head. "Can't put this case on hold." I looked at Riku. "Riku, you mind picking up the check? I'll pay you back."

"I was planning on doing it anyway," he said.

"Thanks," I said. "Sorry I for cutting this short."

He shrugged. "Duty calls. And, in your case, it sounds like time does matter."

I nodded, got up, and strode out.

That afternoon, I pushed myself to get as much done concerning this case as possible. I sent an email to Lea asking him to check for people fitting Rose's description, but added that this time, it was urgent. That done, I went to Columbia itself, to find out what I could about Hayner, and if he had told anyone else about his rendezvous with Rose. By that time, Donald and Goofy had joined me, though they did have trouble keeping up with the pace I set.

I found out that Hayner was on the fencing team, and had, in fact, gotten into Columbia on a fencing scholarship. He often hung out with several other members of the team, but none of them had reported hearing anything from him on Saturday, when he had disappeared. Several of them didn't know he had disappeared; apparently, Pence was keeping people going with a story that he was really sick, with mono. I suspected it was to keep the police out of it. I couldn't help but wonder if Olette was right—maybe Pence should have gone to the police immediately, and damn the consequences for Hayner. But, he hadn't, and we had to work with what we were given.

The other fencers did say that Hayner had been acting a little out of sorts on Saturday, and their descriptions were similar to Pence's: much more reserved and less loud, like he was deep in thought. They hadn't thought it was anything serious, though. I asked them if there would be anyone else that he interacted with on Saturday, and they doubted it; he usually didn't get up before noon, and it was only three o'clock when Hayner was due to meet Rose.

When I was done questioning them, I checked my email, and saw that Lea had done as I requested, but there was nothing about a young, red-haired (actually red) woman living in the area, or who had gone missing in the area. There were a few people whose driver's licenses had them with red hair, but they were either too heavy, too young, too old, tattooed, or not Caucasian. I was getting frustrated; we had nothing. "Nothing!" I said. "We don't know anything more about this woman than we did yesterday!"

"Calm down, Sora," said Goofy. "We have to keep trying. We'll get something eventually."

However, the rest of my day proved to be fruitless, increasing my frustration and forcing Donald and Goofy to calm me down more and more. Finally, I returned to my office, weary and angry, and sank into my chair. "Whoever she is, she's good," I said. "I just hope she's still in the area."

"We can keep trying to find out," said Goofy. "Come on, let's go get dinner."

"I can't…"

"Sora, you've been driving yourself relentlessly this entire day. Take a break, and then we'll check the bars again."

Donald nodded. "You're no use if you're spent."

I exhaled loudly. "Yeah, I guess."

"All right," said Donald. "Now, come on, let's find a place. Goofy's buying."

Goofy blinked. "Wait, what?"

Compared to lunch, dinner was a slow affair. I felt less rushed, but my heart still beat fast and hard. This was a possible matter of life and death, and it rested on my shoulders. But I didn't hurl my food down my throat this time, and forced myself to take it slower. Finally, though, we were done, and could resume our investigation. "Same tactic as before?" Goofy asked.

I nodded. "Split up, call or text if you find anything." I thought of something. "Actually, let's add something else. If it doesn't take too long, why don't we ask the bartenders to keep an eye out for us? We can give them our numbers and ask them to call if they find anything."

The other two agreed, and with that, we went off.

My search started out neither particularly good nor bad. I didn't find her, but the bartenders I talked to agreed to keep an eye out, and call me if they saw her. After several hours, however, I began to worry again. There was no sign of her, and the night was getting on. What if she didn't decide to visit another bar in the area?

I stepped into another bar, and was instantly assaulted by a blast of light and noise. Oh. This wasn't just a bar, it was a nightclub. And it was party night. People were dancing everywhere, with some electronic cacophony playing over speakers that, I decided, needed a much lower volume limit. Somehow enduring the attack on my eardrums, I made my way through the crowd, towards the bar counter. The bartender, a woman in her late twenties with blonde hair, turned to me as I approached. "What'll it be?" she asked.

I could barely hear her. It was a wonder anyone managed to communicate in this environment. "Actually, I'm looking for someone," I called over the music.

She raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"A red-haired girl. Like, actual red hair. Goes down to her shoulders, might be wearing sunglasses and a muffler?"

The bartender cocked her head to the side, as if in thought. "And you think I've seen her?"

"Have you?"

She looked at me like I had asked her if she had discovered a cure for cancer. "I don't memorize everyone's face that comes in here," she said.

I frowned. "So you haven't seen her."

She shrugged. "I might've. Might not have. Can't remember."

I withheld a scowl. "Do you mind if I look around?"

"Don't let me stop you."

I walked away from the bar just as someone called to the bartender, "Hey, Larxene! Another round!"

I scanned the dance floor, but it was impossible to identify anyone in the crowd. I didn't go too far in; getting any closer to the lights and music would have been too much for me. Retreating to the corner, I found myself standing next to a group of tables, where I guess people sat who didn't want to permanently damage their hearing. Sighing, I dropped into a chair and glanced around. There were a couple of other people seated at the tables. Some were drinking, some talking, and one was just sitting by herself…

I did a double take. Unless it was the light—and I didn't think it was—that was red hair. Down to her shoulders. And she could have been wanting to block out the light and sound, but I didn't think that was the reason for her sunglasses and scarf.

I think I had just found our mysterious woman.

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So, all that searching paid off! But that wasn't even half the battle...Tune in next time to see what happens when Sora comes face-to-face with their mysterious woman!