ACT 7
Natalie and Nick returned to the sofa. Katherine took the chair across from them. She sensed a natural curiosity from Natalie, the kind one has when they've just met someone. Certainly, Natalie was aware of the air of surprise that permeated the room when the elevator doors opened. *She's smart enough to know the surprise wasn't just about them.*
Nick was sizing her up, trying to understand why he was seeing traces of his long departed sister. Both of them looked very tired. *Let's make this short,* Katherine thought.
"So, you are on transfer from the states?" Natalie asked. "Whereabouts?"
"Buffalo. Our PR people thought it would be a learning experience to find out how other departments function. Toronto was chosen because it was nearby and 'on the other side.' Your guys liked the idea and so I'm here. I'll be around six months to a year."
"Why homicide? Are there any others that were chosen? Who left from here?" Nick wanted to know.
"Your department has a pretty good case record. Arrests, prosecution, convictions. My guys hope we can learn something. Vice, bunco and patrol officers have been traded too, from here and other cities. It's been working out pretty nicely, and the PR hasn't hurt. I think a Stevenson from days went to my department."
Nick nodded with recognition. "He's a good detective. Has about 10 years with us."
"How were you picked to come here?" Natalie asked.
"My partner retired and I was at loose ends. Our caseload had dropped too." Katherine saw a look of surprise from Nick. "Mostly voluntarily because George was preparing to retire. I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay in homicide or do something different. My captain thought this might be a good change of pace for awhile. So here I am." She shrugged and took another drink from her glass.
"Look, I know this isn't easy for you, Nick. I've heard you would rather work alone, and under the circumstances, I can appreciate that," Katherine began.
Nick stopped her, "No that's ok." The dark look on his face brightened. "It will work out. I can't help but feel I've met you. Have you ever been to Toronto before?"
"No, this is my first time here. I grew up in Buffalo and never made it across the lake. Weird, huh? Ever been to Buffalo?"
Nick and Natalie shook their heads no. "So, how long have you been a cop?" He had relaxed a little and was leaning back in the couch. Natalie remained on the edge of the seat next to him.
"Ten years, six on the street and four in homicide. I liked the street. Got to know the people, you know how it goes, but after six years in a patrol car in the summer heat and winter's cold, it got old. I tested for detective and got it. How about you?"
*Don't try to tell me you didn't take a look at my personnel record, Detective Collins.* He gave her a brief sketch of his background, almost verbatim from the files she had scanned earlier. They talked shop for awhile, exchanging stories of cases they had worked on. Natalie stifled a yawn.
"I'm sorry, you must be tired." Katherine eyed Natalie, who also leaned back against the couch. "You have had some busy days, are you two alright?"
From the expressions on their faces, she could tell their thoughts raced to last night. "It's hard to lose a partner and a friend. I thought I lost a good friend a few years back. He got shot in the line of duty, too. Was on the critical list for a couple of days---very long days. They didn't think he'd make it. Then, all of a sudden, he woke up, like nothing ever happened."
She waited. Now their thoughts were about Tracy. *Good,* she thought. "He told me that while he was asleep, he went to a place full of white light. It was peaceful and comforting. He told me that there was a strange figure dressed in white who told him he was there too early. The figure helped him get back to the real world." Katherine paused and let her words sink in.
If it were possible, Nick had gotten more pale. Natalie became alert and once again was sitting on the edge of the couch. Neither was sure of what to say. *How does she know?* Nick wondered. *Was she the figure we saw last night?*
A cold chill went down Natalie's back. *This is too spooky.*
"My friend told me the figure in white had told him there was a lot for him to do before it was his time. He was told there would be somebody, a friend, to help him adjust to the real world once again." She gave them each a knowing look.
"Did he?" Natalie asked.
"Adjust to the real world?" Katherine nodded. "It took some time. Some things were different for him. His priorities became clearer. He took stock of his relationships and took a long look at those he cared about and those that cared for him."
"This friend was your partner, wasn't he?" Somehow, Natalie knew. She was beginning to understand what this woman was telling them.
"Yes. It was George. He was a good cop before and even better after. He's a wonderful husband and a great dad." Katherine reflected a moment on the partner she left behind. "He was a very good friend."
"You sound as if you were very close." Natalie told her. Then an awful thought crossed her mind. "He wasn't??" She couldn't finish the question.
"Oh, no! George and Judy are traveling across the country in their RV even as we speak. It was their dream. Now they have the time, they are getting to know each other again and enjoying the scenery. I miss him, very much, yes, but it was time to go."
She watched them consider what she had told them. Her words were revolving through their minds, images of the night before mixing with those of the friends they lost. She suddenly felt very tired too.
"Speaking of time to go." She stood up. "I really ought to get going. I'll let Reese know you'll be in tomorrow night. Get some sleep, both of you."
She was walked to the elevator door. She turned before she left and offered, "Pleasant dreams. See you tomorrow."
ACT 8
Back at her hotel, Katherine rinsed her face with cool water, hoping to wash away the night. Things were finally in motion. There was no turning back. Knight and his mortal love seemed nice enough. They were still a bit overwhelmed by the events that occurred in the last 24 hours, but they would handle it. Katherine was beginning to realize there was a lot more going on than she was first told. It was going to be a long assignment.
She had been promised this would be her last for awhile. "I need a break," she told them. "Some time off to regroup." And then they gave her this one. They told her that she was the only one qualified for this special case. She alone could relate to what would happen to Knight and his lady. There was no one else. So she accepted it with reservation and here she was.
"Sucker," she told the face in the mirror. She bent down and rinsed her face once more.
Straightening up from the basin, she reached for the towel that was no longer on the counter. "Here, " a vaguely familiar voice echoed through the bathroom. She jumped at the sound of his voice, grabbed the towel and dried her face quickly as she tried to identify the face that belonged to that voice. It disturbed her that she didn't feel him come into the room. That didn't happen very often, if at all.
She recognized the intruder as the young vampire from the Raven. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.
"Aren't you going to ask me how I got in?" he teased her.
"Javier Vachon, isn't it?" His chocolate brown eyes twinkled when he smiled and nodded in affirmation. "I think we both know HOW you got in." She said irritably and threw the towel at him as she passed him to go into the living area. *I'd like to know WHY I didn't feel you come in. Maybe I'm just tired.*
As he watched her walk past, Javier leaned against the doorjamb. He was already sure she knew what he, Knight and Lacroix were. It didn't seem to bother her. She wasn't afraid of them. In fact, she treated them as her equal. She had an air of mystery about her, something that left him wanting to know more.
She took a couple of steps in front of the window, then turned and glared at him. "What do you want, Vachon?"
He liked the way she said his name. She pronounced it in perfect old-Spanish tongue. He had not heard that in a very long time. "You've caused quite a stir tonight, Katherine Collins," he replied casually and began to approach her slowly.
"And?" She was trying desperately to keep her heartbeat in check with each step he took toward her. He kept his eyes on her, studying her from head to toe. At the same time, she felt his gaze go straight through her, attempting to read her intentions.
He stopped an arm length in front of her. "You've caused quite a stir tonight," he said again softly and brushed a stray lock of hair from her eyes. "What's really behind your wanting to find Knight? It's more than IA clearing him, isn't it?" He struggled to control the urge to take her right then and there. Perhaps he should have stopped by the Raven before making this visit.
"I have no idea what you are talking about, Vachon. Do you usually make it your business to pry into the personal affairs of others?" She knew he was still trying to read her. She stared back into his probing eyes with defiance and blocked his attempt to penetrate her mind.
*Is she a resister? Are they growing them on trees now?* He took one final long look into her eyes and thought, *There is something more to you, isn't there, my sweet?* He took a step closer and ran his fingers down her arm and took her hand. His voice became deep and commanding. "Do you realize with whom you are dealing?"
Her heart skipped a beat or two, her mouth went dry and for the first time in years, she felt a stirring of emotion in a vampire's presence. Her voice betrayed her when she whispered to him, "Yes. Yes, Javier Vachon, I know what you are." Faint drops of perspiration appeared at her temples.
Amused with her anxiety, he smiled reassuringly as he played with her fingers. He studied them as if seeing fingers for the first time. Impulsively, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, at the same time looking deeply into her green eyes once more. "I'm not the one you should be so anxious about. You looked as if you might be in need of a friend earlier. Someone to talk to." He struggled with great difficulty to keep the vampire in check. "I've got the feeling you've been through a lot lately." He paused and looked past her. "We all have." She caught a hint >of sadness in his voice.
Returning his stare, she didn't sense the familiar animal hunger she usually felt from the others of his kind but she was aware of his intense effort to keep that animal in check. She recognized his pain. He had lost someone he had cared for very much, and she felt his loneliness, his need for a friend. *Confusing emotions from a vampire,* she thought.
From somewhere deep inside her mind, she heard a very familiar voice tell her this vampire could be trusted. It was a voice that had guided her from a time she could barely remember, but one she trusted unconditionally. It was her father's voice.
-----
For an instant she was a little girl again, walking through the woods with her beloved father. They had taken many walks together in the woods on their property. Moments spent sharing with each other, making plans, dreaming. The father preparing the daughter for adulthood. The daughter teaching the father how to be a child once more. She could remember how his hand felt around her tiny one the day he told her to always follow her instincts. They had come to a fork in the road in an area she did not remember. He told her it was up to her to get them home. "Listen to the voice inside you, Katerina. When life becomes difficult, trust it. It will be your only friend." He smiled at her but she caught an uneasy look in his brown eyes. He was worried for her well being. More than that, he was scared, and trying ever so hard to keep it from her.
----
Deep down, she knew dad was right, that day and on almost any given day. More than once, that little voice inside directed her from danger and led her to safety. Right now, that voice was giving her a green light. This wonderfully handsome newcomer in her life was not a threat at all. She could trust him. It would be all right. *Ok, dad, you're on.*
Sighing, Katherine gently squeezed Vachon's hand and led him to the sofa. The coolness of his touch against her warm hand gave her the courage to tell him, "I know you are a vampire." Her words hung in the air like the hint of rain before a summer storm. She watched his face for a reaction. "Lacroix and Knight, too."
He stared silently at her, trying to find his next words. *Denial would be useless*, he thought. Slowly, he nodded in quiet confirmation. "Are you this Fleur Lacroix spoke of?"
She shook her head. "No, I'm not Fleur. I believe she was Knight's sister?" She raised her eyebrows in question and Javier nodded. " I'm not her. From time to time, I have been confused with loved ones from others' past. Lacroix and Knight are seeing what they wish to see. I don't know why it happens. I guess I have one of those faces. Sometimes I get flashbacks of those people I have been confused with. It can get pretty scary, but it's not often. Thank goodness."
"Who are you, then? Why are you here?" he asked once more. A thought crossed his mind. "You're not an enforcer, are you?"
Thinking she had relaxed some, he tried to read her mind once more, but once again was met with a blank wall. It disturbed him. Even though Tracy was a resister, he could occasionally get a glimpse of what she was thinking. Now, all he could pick up was a big black wall.
Again, she felt his gentle probing. It felt like a warm buzz around her head. She tried to distract him. "No, I am not an enforcer. They and I...well, let's just say we don't mix very well. Right now, Vachon, I can't tell you much more, but I promise you, my purpose is to help, not do any harm." Her face softened and her tired eyes sparkled with her smile. "You must trust me."
He believed her when she told him she was not an enforcer. Someone this beautiful could never be one of them. Still, he was not happy with the vagueness of her answer and frustrated he couldn't pull it from her mind. "You haven't given me much to trust you with, Katerina."
Startled at the name he called her; she pulled away from him. "Why did you call me that?"
Vachon attempted to reach for the hand that had quickly been pulled from his, but she held back. He saw a look of surprise and a hint of pain on her face.
"Why did you call me that?" she demanded.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. It just felt like the right thing to call you." He gave her one of his most engaging smiles, and reached again for her hand. "I am sorry."
Understanding the innocence behind his words, she timidly gave her hand to him. "Only two other people have ever called me Katerina. I haven't heard it in a long time." A sad, far away look came over her face. Images of the two who called her Katerina refused to be held back in her memory. She closed her eyes to shut them out.
He repositioned himself to put a sympathetic arm around her shoulders. "I really am sorry. I didn't know it would hurt you. It really did seem the right thing to call you."
This was the first time in a long while she'd let someone come this close to her. It felt good to let him hold her. Her inner voice was giving no danger signals. Instead, the voice was telling her it was ok to let him near. "Of course you couldn't have known. I shouldn't have reacted like that." She flashed him a smile. "It actually sounded nice from you."
They sat quietly together on the sofa in her hotel room for a long time, each lost in their own thoughts. The sounds of the hotel staff beginning their day came from the hall. The wind whistled and howled from the window.
Vachon wanted to know more about this woman who had so easily slipped into his life. There were so many things he wanted to know about her, so many questions he wanted to ask. He knew the answers would come in time, if he were patient. And time was something he had in abundance.
Katherine wondered how to respond to the myriad of feelings that were surfacing. She had confided her secret to only one other in her lifetime, and he was ripped from her existence. She wasn't sure she wanted a repeat of the same disaster so soon. Yet, for some reason, she knew that one day in the near future, she would be revealing those same secrets and more to this man holding her. She could only pray the results would not be the same.
"Vachon?" Katherine broke the silence. "You said there was something more than just telling Knight about IA earlier. You are right. I will tell you this much. I'm here because of Natalie Lambert and Nicholas Knight and what's happened here in the last few weeks. Certain members of a group I'd rather not name have become very much aware of what's been going on. They've been keeping an eye on your community. Lacroix included. Even you." His eyes shot up at the mention of certain members. "No, I said I wasn't with them, and I was telling you the truth. There are others who have sat up and taken notice about a lot of things here in Toronto. Some aren't very happy with the way things have gone. Others think they are going on very nicely. I'm here to sort of get things balanced, so to speak."
He raised his eyebrows with surprise. "For the good guys or the bad guys?"
She chuckled. "I guess that depends on how one looks at it, doesn't it?" Then she became serious. "That's it. That's all I can say right now. To say anything more would endanger too many people."