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Nick turned on the radio. The Nightcrawler was on.
"Hamelin
town was a town divided
Rats and Men lived
side by side
And where the
difference truly lay
Some say was
undecided."
"It appears, gentle listeners that our own
Toronto has its own share of rats out there tonight. But the real danger
appears to come from a man. So, who among us dares to be the flautist,
ridding our village of its evils? Someone will surely come to the
rescue. Perhaps someone unexpected. And this time our musician
will get paid, won't he? One way, or another? The children
left singing for a future much brighter. And thus Hamelin paid
for the tunes of the Piper."
Nick clicked the radio off as he pulled
up to the morgue. He was surprised to see Grace there.
"Putting in some overtime?" he asked.
"Something like that", she said quietly. She had
been crying- and recently.
"Grace, you okay?"
"No, but there's nothing any of us can do about
it, I mean once Natalie says she's going to do something.." She suddenly
realized from his blank expression he didn't know.
"Grace, where is Natalie? What did she decide
to do?"
"No, Nick- I know you're going to find out.
It's just not going to come from me. Why don't you ask Reese.
It was his bright idea."
Nick was already gone. He stood beside Reese.
"Captain, Grace said you know where Natalie is?"
Reese felt a huge headache coming on.
Before he could finish
the details of what Natalie would be doing, Knight had spun on his heels
and was literally running out the door.
"Knight! Knight!"
"Vetter- go stop him, please."
Tracy reached him as he got in the caddie.
"Tracy, in or out of the way. I don't
want to run you over, but if you don't move..."
"Nick, wait! Natalie said to tell you a few things."
"Let me guess- don't worry and I'll be fine and we're
all on the same team. Am I close?"
"Yeah, actually you were, but you also need to realize
that if you go and grab Natalie out of there, you're going to cause a stir,
blow her cover, and any chance we have of catching this guy is gone.
Word on the street is that you're a cop and so am I. If you want
to talk to Natalie about this, you're just going to have to wait until
she's off her shift."
Nick took a deep breath and then handed
her the keys to his caddie with a sigh.
"You're right," he said. "But take these, please,
and don't let me have them until the shift is over, not even if I beg.
It's going to be a long night."
He settled back into the mountain of paperwork
before him. He flipped the desk radio on with a defiant look toward
Reese. He dared the captain to come say anything. Reese found the
source of the noise and decided to indulge Nick.
With a little surge of excitement he realized
that Natalie may very well be at the Raven. Maybe LaCroix would let
him know something of her whereabouts through one of his little monologues.
But then again- did he really want to hear it from him? He decided
even bad news was better than no news and left it on.
LaCroix watched with interest as a leather clad Natalie made her way through the crowd. What's the story here? he wondered to himself. Not her usual self, he observed. She was dancing, drinking, partying and receiving a good deal of male attention. He wondered if she would hear his broadcast. It streamed out over the speakers, but had direct competition with the heavy rock music everyone was dancing to. Even better, he hoped his son listened.
"All the world's a stage. Sit one night and observe. You will find it endlessly entertaining, I assure you. You will see some of the best acting you have ever seen. Of course I love you, she tells him- eyes wide open. A hug, a passionate kiss, and then as they say good-bye- she slinks around the corner into the arms of another who eagerly awaits her. Can you ever really know the heart of another? What mysteries, secrets lie within? Enjoy the performance, gentle listeners, but remember..it is just a play, we- the players, but never the author. For when the playwright walks on stage, the play is over."
Yes, yes. Nicholas didn't know Natalie at all, he decided. Or maybe it was just he who didn't know her as well as he'd like to. Had he ever known the heart of another? he considered his own words. Well yes, maybe just one, a mortal nonetheless..........
Marcella, his beloved. It
had not been love at first sight. Not because she hadn't been beautiful,
she was. It was because he had mistaken her for one of the working class
as she held the sick whiny children for their mothers, so they could have
a brief respite. She also found it necessary to help feed the homeless
ones. She had despised the arrogant Roman on sight. He soon found
she had a set of beliefs not in keeping with her social status of a lady
of society. Beliefs that unfortunately clashed with his own. Oh,
how they had argued. How he wished now to hear her argue with him
just once more. His name on her lips.
Then the day had come when he'd realized he was
arguing just to argue. Just to keep her by his side for just another
minute of the day. The words sounded empty, hollow, without meaning
as he'd said them. Merely the product of years of training and strict
upbringing. It felt like a crack in his shield.
He had been in love with her for some time now,
but never said anything; only taking every opportunity to goad her into
discussing politics, philosophy, even religion. Did they agree on
nothing? It appeared so. No matter to him- he loved her spirit,
uncompromising, fearless, open, defiant, valiant in her causes as he
called them. Even if she had embraced the views of that Jewish peasant.
And then- he had done it, he kissed her, and she
had slapped him- hard. But slowly, he had won her heart.
It was like yesterday in his memory- the plays,
the walks, the kisses, the music. That is, when she could fit him
in her busy schedule. He learned quickly that she was a lot happier
when he joined in and helped her in feeding the poor and helping to care
for the children rather than belittling her for it.
She was good and sweet and strong. Strong
enough to stand up to him and for him, he remembered. There had been
that awful night, when he had returned home, planning just to retrieve
his sword and then be on his way. He looked longingly at her sleeping
form.
She would never want the monster he was now.
But she had surprised him. "Lucius, I prayed that
you would come back to me somehow and by some miracle, you are here!
I don't know or care how. I just know you're here. My prayer was
answered."
She hadn't cared about the monster within.
In fact, many of the times, she had actually appeased it. He had
thought it was simply because she loved him.
And so he had stayed, the baby on the way...And
they had been happy.
Until she had died, during childbirth. His
son following her quickly afterwards.
LaCroix looked down at his hand- it was wet and tinged
with pink. Teardrops, he thought wonderingly.
No! He would not deal with this pain. He squelched
it down to the farthest most reaches of his ancient soul. The familiar
anger returned. What made him think of her after all these years?
Doctor Lambert. He looked down
at the dance floor to see Natalie standing in the doorway, half in shadow
absorbed in conversation with her dinner companion of the other evening.
The Italian.
My, My, My, what was Nicholas going to say about
all this? It was obvious to him now, that she was working under cover,
but still, Nicholas would hardly approve.
"Natalie, what are you doing here?" She looked
up. It was Tony Giosso. "Hi," she whispered.
"Isn't it kind of a bad idea for you to be here right now?"
"Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about
you."
She looked puzzled for a moment. "No, I mean
you'll blow my cover," she whispered.
Realization settled over his features like a death
mask.
"You're the decoy," he said flatly.
"Yeah" she said. "I thought it was your idea."
"It damn well wasn't my idea, Natalie.
It's far too dangerous. You see, last time they caught the suspect,
but the decoy died. Rumor has it that they caught the wrong guy,
anyway."
Natalie thought it might be a real good idea to sit down somewhere.
"You mean this guy is the same......"
Tony nodded. "Promise me, you'll be
very, very careful."
She promised.
End Of Chapter 4.
Back to Part Three! / Onto Part Five!
