Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1998 23:28:04 -0400 
From: "Rebecca A. Burns" <raburns@VISI.NET> 
Subject: When History Repeats Itsself Part 00/?? 
To: FKFIC-L@lists.psu.edu 

Howdy Folks,

It is time for me to come out of lurkdom to present to you the first big 
piece of fanfic that I've ever written. It's taken me a long time to 
get up the nerve to post this, since I'm pretty hard on myself when it 
comes to this kind of thing. I don't like to post anything until I feel 
that it's done and after a little bit of pushing from a couple 
individuals (you know who you are) I finally decided to put the foot to 
the floor and finish it. I must give special thanks to the following 
people:

My Beta Readers: Meribeth Anthony, Janet (Alifoxx), and Rosemary 
(lmatchr2). Thank you for being so patient with me to send you parts to 
edit and comment. Believe me, your comments have been invaluable and I 
couldn't have done this without you.

Special thanks to Fred Mollin, Loreena McKinnett, Fiona Apple, and other 
various artists with whom I listened to while writing this story.

Finally, thanks to Lisa Knust & Amber Murray, who have been major 
influences on getting me to finish this and have been waiting to read it 
and will now get the chance. *bounce* Lookie! It's done!

Now that I've got that out of the way, let's get to the usual 
disclaimers, shall we?

Ah, heck we're all familiar with the disclaimer: The characters of Nick 
& Co. belong to Jim & Co. and no harm is intended. I'll put them back 
safe and sound when the story is over. The characters of Annie Taylor 
and any other name you don't recognize is from my own twisted 
imagination and any harm that comes to them is strictly my doing (and 
sometimes I enjoy it. Sometimes it's good to give your own creation a 
good swift kick in the head. After all, it's not a real person).

Questions, comments, harsh criticism, and virtual chocolate can be 
directed PRIVATELY to me at the address below.

Permission is given to post this to Mel's fanfic site only.

Chapters may be slow in coming due to RL ventures (i.e. work) so please 
be patient.

Now, I think I've said enough. On with the story.

Becky Burns 
raburns@visi.net

When History Repeats Itself-Part 1
By Rebecca Burns

Two scantily dressed young women were walking through 
Alexandra Park on a full moonlit Toronto evening. The 
tallest of the two, a brunette woman in her late 
20's, was wearing a sheer red minidress with 
spaghetti straps. The other, a little shorter than 
her companion, was wearing a black one piece form-
fitting leotard under a mini skirt, black hose & 
black suede two inch high heel shoes. They walked 
side by side down a cemented walkway, passing by park 
benches being occupied by couples whispering sweet 
nothings into each others ears.

"Don't you ever long for that, Annie?" The tall woman 
asked. "Romance?" 

"Not really, Annabelle." Annie Taylor replied with 
ever present English inflections. "I'm too busy with 
my work for a relationship. Besides, I just moved 
back here three months ago. I haven't had time to go 
out and find that someone special."

"Are you excited about your new job?" Annabelle 
Grayson commented.  "Professor Annie Taylor has a 
nice ring to it."

"I guess I'm excited." She answered, "I'm looking 
forward to all the students I'm going to have with 
open minds who want to learn about the art of the 
sixth sense but not awake enough to listen. And it's 
associate professor."

"Ah, the trials and tribulations of an associate 
parapsychology professor who just happens to be 
psychic. You'd do your parents proud."

"You would think so." Annie said with a laugh. "It 
would be nice to hear mum say that I was putting my 
talents to good use. If dad were still alive he would 
think I was crazy for doing this." 

"Good use?" Annabelle said surprised. "How many cases 
have you helped solve for the police? The CIA?  The 
FBI?  Not to mention the RCMP?  You've probably 
solved more cases than most cops do in a year. I'd 
say you were putting your talents to good use.  
You're not crazy, Annie.  You're anything but.  
You're the most together person I know."

"You've known me since high school, Belle."  Annie 
stated.  "You're biased." 

A woman jogged by them in a wisp of wind, her 
ponytail brushing against Annabelle's arm as 
she passed. 

"I've only been here for three months and I haven't 
been asked to do a single thing for the police. I 
don't think they know I'm even here."  Annie replied 
glancing behind her as the jogger passed. "Enough 
about me though. How is life without Blain?  I know 
that's the reason you asked me out tonight." 

"How'd you guess?"  Annabelle asked nervously.

"You going out without your purse was a dead giveaway 
and I don't dress this way to go for dinner." 

"It's that obvious, eh?"

Annie nodded in affirmation.

"Can we sit down?"

"Of course."  Annie said as she gestured to a nearby 
bench. They walked over to a nearby bench and sat 
down. 

Annabelle was visibly nervous as she began to speak. 
"Annie...I...I'm..." her hands were shaking, her lips 
trembling.  

Annie took hold of her friend's hands. A sudden chill 
ran up her back. She knew what was bothering her 
friend.  It was to the point that she feared for her 
life.  Not wanting to break her cardinal rule of 
never acting on the thoughts & emotions of her close 
friends, she kept it to herself and waited to hear it 
from Annabelle.  "Tell me what's wrong."

Detective Nick Knight sat in his car, A metallic 
bright green 1962 Cadillac and waited for his 
partner, Don Schanke. Knight had been preoccupied 
lately, something that didn't go unnoticed by his 
fellow officers and his close friend, Natalie 
Lambert, the county coroner. Recent events had led 
him to his current state. Then, the meteor scare. 
With the threat of the end of the world upon them, 
Nat was willing to do anything to stay alive, 
Including being brought across. If that had happened, 
he would have lost the one person who had faith in 
him to succeed in his quest for mortality. He could 
not bear to lose one of the few reasons for him 
remaining in Toronto. Everything they had worked for 
would have been for nothing. Nick wouldn't have been 
able to live with himself and everything he had 
worked so hard to achieve would be lost.  

"Knight?"  Schanke shouted as he pounded on the 
window. "Hello in there?" 

Nick turned his head and saw his partner standing 
outside the car holding a cardboard carrier with two 
cups of coffee in it. Nick reached over and opened 
the door. Schanke handed Nick the coffee holder as he 
sat down.

"What's with you, Knight?" Schanke asked as he 
retrieved the steaming coffee from Knight's hands.  

"What are you talking about?" Nick asked as he 
started the car. 

"You haven't been in the game lately." Schanke 
stated. "You've been falling behind on your end of 
the paperwork. I've had to answer to Cohen about the 
Thomas investigation and to top it all off, you 
haven't even finished your follow up on the Henderson 
case. The Captain's been asking me about it for the 
past two days. She's not gonna hold off on it much 
longer.  I can't believe that for once, you're the 
one behind on your paperwork and not me."

"I'll get it done."  Knight said as he shifted the 
car into gear. 

"Yeah." Schanke replied. "Nick, look, you're my 
partner. If something's wrong with you then 
something's wrong with me. If you're having your mid-
life crisis early, Why don't you take a break? I'll 
even switch vacation weeks with you."

"You don't have to Schank."  Nick answered.

"I want to." Schanke retorted. "I was going to take 
my vacation next week up at the cabin with Myra and 
Jenny but I can put it off."

"I just have some things on my mind Schank."  Nick 
said. "I'll be fine." 

If Schanke only knew Nick thought to himself as he 
pulled up in front of the coroner's building. 
"Why don't you drive back to the station." Nick 
requested as he opened the door. "I'm going to go in 
and get the Henderson autopsy report."


"You're going to let me drive the Caddy?" Schanke 
asked, shocked.  "Man oh man there is something wrong 
with you. How are you going to get back to the 
station?" 

"I'll get back. Don't worry." He replied as he exited 
the car, and shut the door as Schanke slid over to 
the driver's side. Without saying another word, Nick 
walked in the building.

To be Continued
When History Repeats Itself-Part 2
By Rebecca Burns

"I'm afraid, Annie." Annabelle said, with a sigh, 
looking Annie straight in the eyes. "I broke up with 
Blain two weeks ago, but he won't go away. He's been 
calling me at home, at the office. He's been leaving 
messages on my machine or calling and hanging up when 
I answer. He's sent me threatening letters and he 
sends me a dozen dead roses every week since we broke 
up. Now, I feel like I'm being followed."

"And I thought Blain was one of the nice guys."  
Annie commented. "Why my brother fixed you two up on 
that blind date, I'll never know."

"I've changed my phone number but it's still not 
working. He's gotten my number from people I thought 
were my friends."

"What about the police?"

"The police are no use. I've called several times 
with complaints, and even filed a peace warrant 
against him, but he always seems to get off."

"Can't you file a harassment suit against him?"  
Annie asked concerned.

"I was going to do that tomorrow. I just don't know 
what to do from that point.  Blain has so much power 
here. Lot's of friends in high places. He'll make 
them think I'm the one harassing him. No one believed 
me when I called the police and said he beat me."

"Don't let them think that!" Annie snapped. "If you 
want, I'll go down there with you. Fall session 
doesn't start for another two weeks. We can go for 
lunch afterwards and we can look for a new place for 
you to stay.  Someplace he wouldn't think of trying 
to find you."

"You'd do that?"  Annabelle queried, tears filling 
her eyes.

"Yes."  Annie answered. "You're my friend, Belle, why 
wouldn't I?  Now.  We're all dressed up with 
someplace to go right?"

Annie & Annabelle stood up.

"Right."  Annabelle said with a sigh.

"Then what are we waiting for?  Where is it that you 
wanted to go?"

"The Raven."

"The Raven?"  Annie repeated.

"Yeah. I went there with Claire last week. Techno 
music on Friday nights.  Free cover for us and the 
atmosphere is just so...Dark."

"I've heard of the place." Annie commented, "I read 
an article in one of the old student newspapers when 
I was cleaning up my classroom that made the Raven 
look like Buckingham Palace and the Sanctuary look 
like a Hell on earth. You really want to go there?"

"Yes."  Annabelle answered with newly found 
enthusiasm. "I can unwind there."

"Okay." Annie said with a smile, "Do you have your 
ID?"

"Damn." Annabelle shouted. "My ID.  It's in my purse.  
Tell you what, why don't you go on ahead. I'll be 
along."

"You sure?"

"Of course I'm sure."

"All right."  Annie replied as she glanced down at 
her watch. "I'll meet you there. I'll be at the bar. 
It's 12:30 right now. I'll wait until 1:30."

"You got it."

Annabelle hailed a taxi while Annie turned and began 
walking down McCaul, heading towards the Raven.

Annie's memories drifted back to a time where a 
situation close to this one was turned in her 
direction.

<---@--->

Summer, 1986

After a night of dining and dancing, Annie and her 
long time friend Sylvie were inclined to indulge 
themselves in a stroll along the banks of the Seine.  
A bright full moon lighted their path.

Annie had just finished a three-week, book tour of 
Europe and she needed a break. She was tired of 
speaking of her talents and how she'd helped solve 
dozens of cases for law enforcement agencies in 
various countries. She was tired. Period.

Sylvie had been her traveling companion over her 
three-week excursion, doing everything from 
confirming hotel reservations to making sure there 
was a pitcher of ice water on a table by the podium 
where her friend lectured. She became Annie's 
personal assistant and confidant. She knew her 
thoughts on everything from relationships that had 
faltered in her life to her deepest desires. She knew 
her joys and her fears. To Annie, Sylvie was the 
closest friend she had.

"Sylvie," Annie began, "I don't know if I can take 
much more of these fifteen minutes of fame."

"Then quit." Sylvie replied, her French inflections 
evident with each word she spoke.

"You know me better than that, Syl."  Annie returned, 
"I don't quit."

"Then your fifteen minutes of fame will turn into 
months, maybe even years."

Annie and Sylvie sat on an old wooden bench to rest. 
"I don't want that."  Annie stated. "For the first 
time, in a long time, I feel I need a change.  I've 
traveled everywhere I've always wanted to go. I live 
out of a suitcase 350 days out of the year. I need to 
settle down."

"You're twenty-four and you need to settle down?"  
Sylvie retorted, "I can't picture you settling down."


"Oh yes I can."  Annie snapped. "Just for awhile.  I 
have a friend in Toronto who suggested I get my 
doctorate.  I can settle down for about two years and 
have time to relax."

"And then go teach and stress yourself out even more?  
Annie, you're going from one stressful situation to 
another."

"But at least I'll be in one place. Not touring from 
one end of the world and back."

"Then you should do it." Sylvie said with a smile. 
"I've known you long enough to know that you don't 
stop until you get what you want, and if going back 
to school is what you want, by all means, do it."

Annie placed her hands in Sylvie's. "I knew there was 
a reason I kept you around." she said with a laugh. 

<---@--->

Nick walked into the lab where he noticed Natalie 
Lambert sitting at her desk entering data into her 
computer. 

"Nat?" Nick began. 

"Hold on."  Natalie requested as she held up her 
hand. "Let me finish this."

"Sure."  Nick said as he leaned up against the metal 
slab.

Natalie continued to type on the keyboard the results 
of a recent autopsy report. "Where's Schanke?"

"On his way back to the station."

Natalie stopped typing and looked over at Nick. "In 
your car?  Are you looking for a new one?"

Nick shook his head negatively and smiled. "No."

"OK..." Nat sighed and leaned back in her chair. 
"What's up?"

Not a word came from Knight's lips.

"I guess that confirms what Schanke told me last 
night." Natalie commented. 

"What are you talking about?"

"Schank told me you were a little preoccupied. You've 
been falling behind on your paperwork. Disregarding 
case reports. That your mind was on other things.  
Care to talk about it?"

"I've just had a lot of things on my mind."  Knight 
answered.

"Such as?"  

"I almost got a close friend killed." He said as he 
looked at her innocently.

"I see." She said leaning back in her chair. Her 
immediate thought was of Schanke. "Are they all 
right?"

He took hold of Natalie's hands. "She is now."

To Be Continued

When History Repeats Itself-Part 3
By Rebecca Burns

As Annabelle approached her apartment door, she 
noticed that her door was open not more than two 
inches. Knowing that she locked it, she walked 
towards it cautiously. She reached the door and 
pushed it open slowly. She reached her hand around 
the corner to turn on the light switch and was 
grabbed from the inside and pulled in.

The door closed.

A hand covered her mouth in the darkness. There was 
no face to this man that she could see. He must be 
wearing a mask, she thought. He was strong. The 
prominent scent of men's cologne drifted into her 
nose as her inhalations increased. He released his 
hand slowly from her mouth and placed one finger to 
his lips. "Shh."

"What do you want?" She asked frantically. "Take 
anything you want just please don't hurt me."

In a swift movement, a hand streaked across her face. 
The blow was so fierce; she fell to the ground, 
dazed. The man then knelt down, straddling his legs 
on each side of her body. His lips went towards her 
face and kissed her gently on the cheek, placed his 
gloved hands to his trousers, slipped them down below 
his thighs and entered her. She regained her senses 
with his first entry.

"No." She moaned. "Please don't. Please."

He placed his hands around her neck and applied 
pressure. She gasped for air as he forced himself 
into her. "No."  She gasped.  

She continued to gasp for air with each of his 
thrusts. Her hands grabbed for his face and obtained 
a small piece of the mask he was wearing. He cried 
out in anger. I must have scratched his face, 
Annabelle thought to herself. Just as he reached the 
climax of satisfaction, Annabelle took one last 
breath of life before the air of death paid an 
unwelcome visit.

When he completed his violent endeavor, he made 
himself presentable.  The trousers returned to his 
waist. He rose and began pacing the floor. He stopped 
and looked down at Annabelle. It was then he made the 
decision.  

He knelt down and picked up the body. A shoe fell to 
the carpet with a dull thud.  He carried her to the 
entrance of the apartment. As he exited with the 
body, he shut the door quietly. He walked cautiously 
down the hall to the stairs & walked down. He exited 
the building by way of the emergency exit. No alarm 
sounded. He made a point of disconnecting that 
beforehand. The emergency exit faced a dark and damp 
alleyway. He crossed the street and made his way over 
to the park. It was there that he would place her. He 
laid her out on the ground in such a way that it 
would appear that she would have met her death in 
that very location.

When he felt that everything was perfect, he removed 
the mask from his face and walked off into the 
shadows of the night.

As Annie approached the entrance to the Raven, she 
removed a pair of sunglasses, dark in color with wire 
rims and placed them over her eyes. She was stopped 
by a large, muscular man completely dressed in black 
from head to toe. The bouncer, she thought to 
herself. The bouncer gave the woman the once over; 
paying particular attention to her wardrobe for the 
chosen color of clothing for this establishment was 
black. She was dressed in black, which was without 
question.  Her hair cascaded over her shoulders in 
waves and her eyes were concealed by the sunglasses. 
The bouncer found this rather odd, as it was night 
and sunglasses were quite unnecessary.

"ID?" the bouncer asked in a low, bass toned pitch. 
He judged from her attire that identification would 
be difficult to carry around.

Annie reached into her small handbag and removed her 
identification card & handed it to the bouncer.

He looked at it carefully as she removed her 
sunglasses and looked up at him. As he caught a 
glimpse of her eyes, he froze in his place. Her eyes.  
THOSE eyes. She had the kind of eyes that could see 
into a person's mind & soul and tell you everything 
you ever wanted to know at a moments notice.  She had 
the eyes that made his kind fear and respect her. But 
why was she here, he thought to himself. That was a 
question that was best left unanswered-for now.

Annie gave a quick smile as she took her I.D. from 
the bouncer's hand and concealed her eyes, yet again 
with the sunglasses and pulled the door open. 
"Thanks."

The bouncer just stood there speechless as he held 
the door open for her.

Annie approached the bar and sat down. The bartender, 
a short, bald woman walked up to her. "What'll you 
have?"

"Red Wine, please." She replied with her moderate 
British timbre.

The bartender looked at her. Is she sure she means 
the RED wine? "We're out of stock up here. Let me go 
in the back and see if we have any."

The woman nodded in agreement and the bartender went 
on to the back room.

The back room was dimly lit with candles. A wrought 
iron gate stood open.  Beyond that, a woman was 
seated at a small desk writing in an inventory book.

"Janette?"  The woman started.

"What is it, Brianna?"  The tall woman asked, a 
light, French inflection present as she spoke. This 
was Janette DuCharme, owner of the Raven. She was 
dressed in a long red velvet evening gown that hugged 
every curve of her body. It was held up with thin red 
straps entwined in gold faux chain over her 
shoulders. Her dark, auburn hair was styled in a 
French twist. Thin spaghetti curls draped down the 
sides of her face down from the sides.

"There's a woman at the bar." Brianna answered, her 
voice uneven.

"There are always women at the bar."  Janette 
responded with a laugh.

"She's asking for red wine." 

Knowing that red wine was rarely ordered, with the 
exception of the preferred clientele, Janette stood 
up and began walking towards the bar. "Get a bottle 
from storage. I think I'll go and meet our customer."

~

Natalie pulled her hands away when she realized who 
he was talking about. The asteroid scare. He had 
saved her from an almost certain death. "You've been 
disregarding your case load because of me?"

"Yes." Nick replied. "Since last month, I realized 
that there are so many here that I've hurt. I 
couldn't bear to have that happen again.  Especially 
you."

"Nick."  Natalie started. 

She wasn't able to finish.  Her beeper sounded from 
her lab coat pocket. She removed it from her pocket 
and glanced at the message. "Damn. I gotta go. Look, 
I'll come by tonight if you want to talk, Ok?"

Nick nodded in agreement.

"Are you going to be able to get back to the 
station?"

Nick nodded.

Nat smiled as she grabbed her coat.  "Well, then.  
I'll see you later."

"Right."  Nick replied. 

Natalie made her way to the door, making sure she 
grabbed her medical bag on her way out. Nick followed 
behind her. They reached the exit. Nick, being a 
gentleman, opened the door for her and she made her 
way down the stairs to her car. As she opened the 
door she looked over at Nick, who was standing on the 
sidewalk. She smiled at him thoughtfully. He returned 
the gesture. She entered the car and shut the door. 
She started the car and took one last look behind 
her. 

Nick was gone.

To Be Continued
When History Repeats Itself-Part 4
By Rebecca Burns

Janette approached the bar & stood next to the 
mysterious blonde haired woman. "Can I help you?"

"I'm waiting for my drink."  Annie said as she 
reached for a pack of matches from an empty ashtray. 


"You must be the one who ordered the red wine, Oui?"

"Oui, Madam."  She said softly as she lit a match & 
blew it out.  "Is that a problem?"

"No." Janette remarked as she retreated back a half 
step.  A sharp sudden chill ran up her back. There 
was something about this woman that she didn't like. 
"Tell me, what brings you here this evening?"

Annie shook her head & smiled. "I'm here to relax.  
Dance a little.  Drink a little - if I ever get my 
drink, and just to have a good time.  I'm also 
waiting for a friend and, judging by the twenty 
questions, I take it that you're the owner of this 
fine establishment."

"That I am."  The tall brunette woman replied.

Brianna emerged from the back room and headed to the 
bar with a bottle of red wine in hand. She reached 
for a glass overhead and poured the liquid, handing 
the glass to the woman as she finished.  

"Thank you." The woman said as she removed her 
sunglasses & looked up at Janette and took the glass 
in hand.  "Cheers."

The chills that were going up Janette's back suddenly 
vibrated throughout her entire body as she caught a 
passing glimpse of the mysterious woman's eyes. She 
stepped back and stopped at the corner of the bar.

Annie stared at the bar owner with investigative 
eyes. This woman has had a long life, she thought to 
herself. She had been many people and had traveled 
many places. She feared fire and sun. It had been 
years since she had been to a house of God. There is 
a man whom, though not completely dependent on him, 
she relied on for guidance and wisdom. There was 
another man who's name bombarded her like explosions 
on the Fourth of July - Nichola. This man had been 
her lover for a number of years. Now, he was her 
pillow when she needed comfort. She would soon be 
torn by her need for reaffirmation or accepting 
another's quest as true. Annie felt a more prominent 
sensation hit her like a thunderbolt. It was a 
sensation that she first experienced nearly a decade 
ago. Old. Powerful. Dominant. Insightful. Protecting. 
To Annie, all those words equaled one thing: Master. 
It was at that instant that Annie knew who she was. 
She knew WHAT she was. This bar owner was a vampire.

And Annie wasn't afraid.

Nick arrived at the station a little after 2 am. 
Schanke was seated at his desk writing a follow up 
report on a recent homicide investigation. 

"It's about time you got back."  Schanke said. "The 
Captain's been looking for you.  Where's Natalie?"

"She got called away to a scene."

"So how did you get back?" 

"I walked." As Nick sat down at his desk.

"So that's what took you so long." Captain Amanda 
Cohen said as she approached the two detectives' desk 
with a file in hand.  

"Shouldn't you two be out arresting bad guys?"  Cohen 
asked curiously.

"Just writing up a report Captain."  Schanke replied. 
"Aside from that, nothing's happening."

"Well it just got busy." Cohen retorted as she placed 
the file on Nick's desk. "There was a woman found in 
Alexandra Park about an hour ago. No I.D. A jogger 
found her. She says that she was in the park earlier 
and saw her with another woman about an hour before. 
Said she got a good description of the woman with 
her. We're bringing in the witness now."

Schanke perused the file and read the preliminary 
report. "Why us, Capt?  Looks like Simmons and Brown 
were doing the follow-up on this and our caseload is 
nothing to laugh at."

"You look like you could use some work."  Cohen 
answered. "Simmons & Brown have three outstanding 
cases. You guys get this one. The M.E.'s waiting for 
you down at the morgue."

Knight stood up and grabbed his coat from the back of 
his chair, "Well, what are we waiting for?  Let's 
go."

"Detective Knight?" Cohen started. "A moment, 
please?"

"I'll be out at the car." Schanke announced as he 
walked out of the station. "Good luck."

"Yeah Cap?"  Nick started.

"I'm concerned about your performance over the past 
couple weeks."  Cohen began. "I know that these past 
couple weeks have been hectic for everyone but it 
seems that you've been a little more distracted.  Is 
there something wrong?"

"Nothing I can't handle, Captain."  Nick replied. 

"So I trust that you will stay in the game on this 
one?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good." Cohen responded as she turned to walk back to 
her office. "Oh, and, Knight? I expect to see the 
Henderson and Thomas reports on my desk by end of 
shift tomorrow."

"Yes Ma'am."

"Good. Now go out and catch me a suspect."

With that, Nick walk out of the station and over to 
his car and drove to the coroner's office.

To Be Continued
When History Repeats Itself-Part 5
By Rebecca Burns

Knight & Schanke arrived at the Coroner's office & 
went to the lab where they were met by Natalie.

"So," Natalie started, "You two are taking over the 
Jane Doe?"

"You could say that." Schanke replied.  "What's the 
story on her?? 

"I just finished it." Nat said as she handed the 
folder containing the preliminary work up on the 
victim to Nick. "Death was caused by strangulation. 
Judging by the torn stockings, she struggled. There 
were signs of sexual intercourse.  Looks like she was 
raped before she was killed, or while she was being 
killed.?

"Well, that rules out the woman that was with her as 
a suspect."  Knight said as he looked over the 
report. Schanke walked over to Nat's desk & picked up 
a clear ziploc bag containing a red velvet minidress.

"The semen samples taken were very recent and we have 
the TOD placed between 12 and 2. We were able to get 
some skin samples and some fibers from under her 
fingernails to barely do a DNA workup."  Nat replied. 
"I also found some yellowed bruises on her abdomen, 
chest, legs, and arms. Looks like a romantic 
relationship gone bad. A couple bruises were recent. 
I'd place them at about a week old. We still don't 
have a name on her."

"Judging by what she was wearing," Schanke started as 
he held up the bag, "where would she keep ID?"

"Anything else?"  Nick asked.

"Yep. She didn't die where she was found. Whoever did 
this wanted her to be found. There were no scuff 
marks or grass stains on the dress or on the heels of 
her shoe."

"A considerate killer."  Schanke remarked. "Who 
would've thought about that one?"

"You said shoe?"  Nick asked.

"Yep." Natalie answered as she handed Nick another 
back containing one red high heel shoe. "Only one 
shoe was found at the scene.  They searched the area 
and didn't find the other one."

"So," Schanke started, "We're looking for a guy with 
a shoe fetish? Great I'll let Nick do the report on 
this one.  The Captain will believe it coming from 
him."

"I'll have another please Brianna." Annie requested 
as she handed Brianna an empty glass. Brianna looked 
over to Janette, who shook her head negatively.

"I'll have to ask you to leave." Janette requested.

"But I just got here." Annie replied. "And my friend 
hasn't shown up yet."

"Perhaps you can call her and ask her to meet you 
somewhere else." Janette replied. 

"Perhaps." Annie said as she stood, "But I've done 
nothing disrespectful to you or your employees to 
allow you to ask me to leave."

"I'm asking out of the respect and concern of my 
other customers." Janette said softly. "As well as 
for your own personal safety."

"In other words, you're doing me a favor?"

"Precisely." 

Annie reached into her small handbag and pulled out a 
ten dollar bill.  She handed it to Brianna. "Keep the 
change."

"Thanks." Brianna replied, shocked.

With a nod and a quick glance to Janette, Annie 
walked towards the exit. As she approached the exit 
she passed a tall gentleman. He grabbed her by the 
shoulder and turned her around to face him. He had 
long dark hair and deep brown eyes. He looked at her 
eyes, she his. She watched as the eyes of the man in 
front of her changed from the original deep brown to 
a luminous yellow green.

[oh great, another one]

"What brings you here?" The man said.

Janette walked over to the man and placed her hand on 
his shoulder "Not what you think. Let her go."

As his eyes changed back to their original brown 
color, he released Annie and faced Janette. "Why do 
you protect her?" He asked angrily.

"You know the rules." Janette replied. "No harm comes 
to anyone in here. That means her. I offered her safe 
passage out of here and I suggest you give it to 
her."

"Of course." The man replied as he backed away. 
"There's always next time."

"There won't be a next time." Janette said as she 
looked at Annie. "Will there?"

Annie looked at Janette then at the man, "Perhaps. 
Perhaps not.  Who knows?"

With that said, Annie left the Raven and headed for 
home.

To Be Continued

When History Repeats Itself-Part 6
By Rebecca Burns

Upon returning to the precinct, Knight and Schanke 
walked into the interrogation room. Seated at the 
table was Jamie Moser, the jogger, who allegedly was 
witness to the murder under investigation. She was 
visibly nervous. Her auburn hair was bundled up in a 
ponytail and her brown eyes were cloudy. She was 
clutching a cup of coffee in her hands as the two 
officers introduced themselves and began asking their 
questions.

"Miss Moser," Detective Knight started, "Thank you 
for coming down here at such a late hour."

"Please, call me Jamie. No problem." The woman 
replied as she took a sip of her coffee. "I couldn't 
sleep anyway and after the night I've had tonight, I 
don't know if I ever will."

"Could you explain to us what happened?" Schanke 
piped in.

"Sure." Jamie answered as she took in a deep breath. 
"I was out jogging in the park around 11:30 or 12. It 
was my usual late night run before getting back to 
work and I was inside all day so I needed some air."

"What is it that you do?" Schanke asked curiously.

"I'm a technical adviser for a computer software 
company."  Jamie announced. "I'm inside all day. I 
jog to relax and for me the best time to jog is at 
night."

Knight & Schanke smiled as Jamie continued.

"Anyway, I was jogging towards these two women, one 
was dressed in black and the other dressed in a short 
dark red dress. My guess is that they were going 
dancing or something."

Nick handed the nervous brunette an "at the scene" 
photo of the victim, "Is this one of the women you 
saw?"

Jamie examined the photo with a look of ill, "She was 
more lively but yeah, that's one of them."

"What about the woman that was with her?"

"She was about five-three to five-four."  Jamie 
began, the wavering in her voice now gone. "Blonde 
hair, medium skin tone. Blue eyes."

"Did you catch her name?" Schanke asked.

"No, I'm sorry I didn't." the woman answered. "One of 
them was named Annabelle, I think. Also, one of them 
had a British accent."

"Were they having an argument?" Knight asked, his 
shoulder propped up against the front corner of the 
room next to the double sided mirror.

"No. The woman in the red dress mentioned something 
about the other  woman solving cases for the FBI and 
the CIA. And something about solving more cases than 
cops do in a year. That's all I got. Sorry."

"Would you be able to give us a composite of the 
other woman?"  Knight queried.

"Sure." Jamie yawned.

"Good." Knight said as he walked over to her, helped 
her out of her chair and led her to the door. "The 
officer will take you to get the composite done. 
Officer?"

An officer appeared at the door and led Jamie to the 
artist while Nick and Schanke went to their desks.

"So," Cohen started as she walked over to the duo 
"What have you got?"

"The witness says that the victim was with another 
woman."  Schanke replied, "she's helping with the 
composite now."

"The coroner's report says that the victim was 
raped." Cohen retorted. "Why are you going after this 
woman?"

"She might be able to give us an idea on who might 
have wanted to do this."  Nick returned. "And give us 
a name."

"Do you agree with you're partner on this, 
Detective?"

"'Fraid so, Captain."  Schanke replied.

"Okay." Cohen said as she turned and walked to her 
office. "I'll go with you guys on this one. But let's 
do it by the book. Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am."  Knight answered.

"Good. Once that composite's done I want an APB put 
out on her and a copy taken to every paper."

"Well, pardner," Schanke started, "according to the 
clock on the wall, it's time to mosey on outta here. 
If you want me to wait for the composite, you can 
forget it. This has been too weird of an evening for 
me."

"I'll wait for the composite."  Nick replied.

"Thanks" Schanke answered as he grabbed his coat. 
"Five days and counting. Man, oh man, I can't wait. 
Just me and the fish."

"Don't forget Myra and Jenny."  Nick commented.

"Don't spoil my quiet vacation fantasy, Knight."  
Schanke replied sarcastically.
"At least I go out of town on mine.  You stay home 
and do whatever it is you do in that tomb of yours.  
Hasta la bye bye."


Annie entered her apartment a little after 3, her 
high heels in one hand, her handbag in the other. She 
turned the lights on from the switch by the entrance 
and walked over to the counter. She immediately went 
to the answering machine to check to see if there 
were any messages. Two messages appeared on the 
display. She pressed the button and let the tape 
rewind as she went to her room to change into her 
nightclothes. She slipped out of her skirt as the 
first message played.

"Hi Annie, it's Nige.? A deep male voice sighed.  
?I?m at the office right now...Just calling to make 
sure you're going to be able to watch the kids Monday 
night. There?s a brief I have to finish and the 
little rugrats are dying to see you. Give me a call 
when you get in and, if you're out with Annabelle 
remind her that we've got an 8 a.m. staff meeting on 
Monday morning.  Love you lots, bye."

Annie smiled as the next message came on. 

"Annie? Hey, it's Annabelle. Just calling to make 
sure you've left. I know you're always on time so 
you're probably on your way here. When you get this 
message when you get home tonight, just erase it. You 
know how I hate these damn things. See ya."

Annie put on her robe as she went to the answering 
machine. She pressed the rewind button in dismay and 
prepared her evening tea. 

To Be Continued
When History Repeats Itself-Part 7
By Rebecca Burns

With the composite completed, copies sent to their 
requested destinations, and the Henderson and Thomas 
report finished, Nick decided to head home for the 
evening. He opened the sliding door as the elevator 
reached his loft. He was surprised to find that 
Natalie was not there. She must be finishing up the 
autopsy on the Jane Doe, he thought. He grabbed the 
remote control from the table and pressed a button. 
Automatically, large black blinds came gliding down 
over the windows, making the room completely dark. He 
was shocked to find that there were no messages on 
his machine. He made his way to the refrigerator and 
removed a half-empty green bottle of blood.  Removing 
the cork with his teeth then placing it on the 
counter, Nick made his way over to the couch and 
stretched out.  He thought about his conversation 
earlier with Natalie.  He wanted to tell her how much 
she meant to him and of the pain it would have caused 
him to lose her.  He had already lost so many people 
in his life, whether it had been from their death or 
from his having to move on and begin a new life.  His 
friendship with Natalie was one that he could not 
bear to lose.

<---@--->

"I'm going to hate getting on that plane tomorrow." 
Annie commented as she and Sylvie stared out at the 
waters of the Seine.  "I wish you could come with me.  
Los Angeles is beautiful.  Sun, sand and all the men 
you care to meet."

"I wish I could."  Sylvie replied. "But you know I 
have a job here to do.  I have lesson plans to make 
out before classes start next week."

"You know my invitation is open anytime you want to 
come."

"And I will be sure to take you up on it."  Sylvie 
replied.

In the midst of their laughter, a tall dark clothed 
man was walking by and stopped in front of them. 

"Good evening, ladies."  The gentleman said in a low 
bass tone.

Annie and Sylvie looked up at the figure blocking the 
moonlight above them.

He was pale - white as a sheet with very short blond 
hair.  It reminded Annie of her cousin's military 
haircut.

His eyes were a crystal clear blue - like bloodstone.  
He wore a long black trenchcoat over a black suit.  
The collar of his shirt pinned closed by an unusual 
silver pin in the shape of a sword.

"Monsieur."  Sylvie replied.

"Women as beautiful as you should not be about at 
this hour alone."  He continued, "You never know what 
may happen."

"And what brings you out on a night such as this, 
Monsieur?"  Annie asked curiously.

"Parisian evenings are quite relaxing and a walk 
along the Seine is an added pleasure."

"Oui." Sylvie said. "And the full moon is especially 
romantic."

"Oui."  The dulcet toned man said. "Would you ladies 
be so inclined as to join me?"

The mysterious man extended both his hands to the 
women.  Sylvie was the first to accept.

"But of course, Monsieur."  Sylvie said as she took 
his hand and rose.  She did not take her eyes from 
his.  It was like she had blocked all thought of her 
surroundings and was completely fixated on the 
enigmatic individual in front of her.

He looked down at Annie with a smile. "Mademoiselle?"

Annie swallowed hard as she looked up at him once 
again.  A sharp chill ran up her spine. There was 
something different about this man, she thought to 
herself. There was something so unusual about this 
man that she had to discover. There was more behind 
those eyes of his than what was on the exterior. She 
desired to know more. That desire built so quickly 
that it gnawed at her mind until she could no longer 
sustain it. She stood up and nervously took his hand.

She gripped his hand with such severity that she 
could feel her hand begin to swell. She could feel a 
surge of emotions come from this man that felt like 
they had been bottled up inside for centuries. A 
feeling of extreme age came over her, overshadowing 
the present day. Images of his past came flooding 
into her in crystal clarity.  She was made witness to 
ancient celebrations and of tragedy, of centuries 
filled with violence and of turmoil. She flashed on 
lives being taken away only to be resurrected by the 
man before her. A prostitute on the streets of Paris 
and a strikingly handsome man who fought in the 
crusades whom he revived and became his companions.  
Many colors were present, the most prominent were 
black and crimson red.  

The final and most revealing vision of this man came 
with being made witness to the demise of a young 
woman.  He caressed her cheek, kissed her on the lips 
passionately, and with a raising of his head, 
revealed his eyes which had immediately transformed 
from their ocean blue to a hypnotic yellow tint.  
Protruding from his mouth were a pair of fangs.  

<Oh my God>

<---@--->

Annie sat straight up in bed drenched in a cold 
sweat. She wiped her brow and as she regained her 
senses, she could hear her clock radio sounding off. 
Realizing that it was six in the morning, She turned 
the radio off, sat up, and stretched. All her 
thoughts focused to Annabelle. Was she home? Was she 
safe? Those questions had stayed with Annie since the 
night before. She reached for her phone and dialed 
Annabelle's number. She stood up and paced around the 
room as she waited for some answer on the other end. 
The only response she received was her answering 
machine. At the beep she left a message. "Hi 
Annabelle. It's Annie. I was just wondering if 
everything was all right. I waited as long as I could 
but the bar owner asked me to leave. Give me a call 
so we can decide on a place for lunch. Take care. 
Bye."

Annie hung up the phone and continued on with her 
daily routine. She showered, dressed, then went to 
the kitchen, turning on the small television on the 
counter for the morning news and fixed her usual 
breakfast - a bagel with cream cheese and orange 
juice. As the meteorologist completed the weather 
forecast, Ingrid Bonfiglio started with the news.

"Our top story this morning" the newscaster started 
as Annie sliced her bagel, "The body of a young woman 
was found in Alexandra Park early this morning. The 
cause of death is not yet known but a witness states 
that the young woman who is yet to be identified was 
seen with another young woman only hours prior to her 
death." 

Annie glanced over to the television as she opened 
the refrigerator and saw the composite picture flash 
up on the screen. The composite was remarkably 
similar to her own features right down to the eye 
color. She took out the orange juice and cream cheese 
and shut the door still looking at the screen.

"If anyone has any information regarding this murder 
or the identity of this woman they are asked to call 
the 96th precinct's Homicide division."

Annie placed the cream cheese and orange juice on the 
counter and leaned against the counter. Annabelle she 
thought to herself, tears welling up in her eyes. My 
dear friend Annabelle is gone. Who would have done 
this?  She was able to answer her own question with 
just one word. Blain. Only a man could do something 
as wretched as this. Her fists clinched in rage over 
this thought. Anger filled her entire being. She had 
always vowed to herself that this would never happen 
to her again. But just like before, this death could 
have been prevented.  

<---@--->

She let go of the man's hand and took a step back.   
The man looked at the woman in unequivocal shock.

"Sylvie."  Annie started as she grabbed her friend's 
hand. "Let's go."

"Annie."  Sylvie started as she pulled her hand away. 
"What harm is there in a walk?"

"Yes."  The man said, "What harm is there?  Wouldn't 
you like to join us?"

She felt him push at her subconscious.  His voice 
echoed those words through her brain.  He was so 
powerful, she thought to herself.  But I couldn't let 
him take control.  It was the oddest sensation she 
had ever felt.  She shook her head, unsure of what 
she had just experienced.

"No!"  Annie snapped. "Not with you, Monsieur.  Come 
on, Sylvie."

Sylvie looked at the man standing next to her with a 
look of awe and then back at Annie. Annie grabbed 
Sylvie by the arms & pulled her towards her. "Sylvie, 
listen to me.  This man want's to hurt you.  Please 
don't go."

"You worry too much, Annie."  Sylvie said.  "I'll see 
you back at the hotel in a couple of hours.  
Promise."

"But Sylvie."

"Annie.  I'll be fine."

Annie looked into the eyes of her friend.  Sylvie was 
so positive of her feelings.  There was no way to 
change her mind.

"Ok."  Annie said with a nod. "I'm going to go back 
to the hotel to pack.  I'll see you in a couple of 
hours.  Ok?"

"Ok."  Sylvie said as she gave Annie a hug. "I will 
see you in an hour."

The man bowed to Annie and smiled. "Bon soir 
Mademoiselle."

"Monsieur."  Annie nodded her head, still a bit 
miffed as to what just happened.

With that, Sylvie and her new acquaintance walked off 
into the night.

<---@--->

To Be Continued

When History Repeats Itself-Part 8
By Rebecca Burns

Annie shook her head with grief, trying to forget her 
past horrors and focusing to the present events. With 
tear filled eyes, Annie grabbed the cordless phone 
from the counter and called information for the 96th 
precinct. When she received the number, she called 
and requested the Homicide division. From there, she 
asked for the detectives in charge of the reported 
murder. The desk sergeant informed her that they 
would not be in until later in the evening and it 
would be best to come in then. Annie thanked the 
officer for his time and hung up the phone.  She 
walked down the hallway to a small room. It was 
furnished with a bookcase, a computer desk that 
rounded the back corner of the room, and a large 
roll-top desk by the door. Without hesitation, Annie 
went to the roll-top desk and pulled open one of the 
drawers. She removed a thick manila folder marked 
'biography & articles' and carried it out to the 
kitchen, placing on the counter by the phone. She 
opened the folder and glanced over the first page to 
make sure everything was up to date. When she found 
that it was, she closed the folder and went back to 
her breakfast.

~

Later that evening, with folder and the morning paper 
in hand, Annie entered the 96th precinct and walked 
over to the desk sergeant. "Excuse me?"

The young male desk sergeant put his pen down and 
looked up. He was taken aback by the fact that the 
woman in front of him had not yet taken her 
sunglasses off. "Yes ma'am?"

"I'm looking for the detectives in charge of the Jane 
Doe investigation."

"Which Jane Doe?"

"The one in the paper." Annie stated as she placed 
the newspaper and the thick folder on the desk, 
unknowingly covering the composite drawing of the 
Jane Doe's companion. "The young woman found in 
Alexandra Park?"

"Oh yeah." The desk sergeant replied. "I'm not sure. 
I'll have to check with the Captain. One moment. Let 
me go ask her."

"Officer," Annie began before he could turn away. "I 
just want to know if anyone's come forward to 
identify her."

"Not that I know of." he replied, "I just got on 
shift.  Are you from the press?"

"No." Annie sighed. The entrance door opened and Don 
Schanke walked by her, brushing against her back as 
he went through the swinging door and over to his 
desk. An image appeared in her mind. A woman, not 
more than 30 lying on a cold steel table.  A red 
garment enclosed in a plastic storage bag marked 
evidence. 

[it's her...my God it's her]

"Officer? May I speak with the gentleman that just 
walked in?"

"Which one?"

Annie pointed to the back of Schanke's head, "Him."

The desk sergeant looked at her awkwardly. If she 
didn't know who was in charge of the investigation, 
he thought to himself, why would she want to speak 
with Detective Schanke?

"Have a seat." the desk sergeant replied. "I'll get 
him for you."

Annie retrieved her newspaper and folder from the 
desk and sat down.

The sergeant walked over to the detective who was 
about to begin his melee' of paperwork. After a few 
minutes, Detective Schanke walked to the desk and 
looked directly at Annie.  

"Can I help you with something?"

Annie stood and walked to the desk. "Yes. You and 
your partner are handling the Alexandra Park murder?"

"Yeah," Schanke snapped. "That's right. Do you know 
her?"

Annie removed her sunglasses. "I'm afraid I do. And 
to answer your next question, Detective, Yes. I'm the 
woman in the sketch."

Schanke and Annie looked at the composite on the desk 
and then looked back at each other. The composite was 
a dead on match.

"Can we go someplace to talk?"

"Yes." Schanke replied. "Of course, Miss...?"

"Taylor. Annie Taylor."  

"Miss Taylor." Schanke said nervously as he opened 
the swinging door. "This way."

Annie walked through the door and followed the 
detective to one of the interrogation rooms. She was 
asked to have a seat and to wait a few moments for 
the detective to return, as he had to go make a phone 
call. Annie placed the folder and newspaper on the 
table and removed her coat, placing it on the back of 
the chair and began pacing the room.

The phone began ringing as Nick walked down the 
stairs of his loft. He was adjusting the collar of 
his shirt as his answering machine picked up and 
started its usual greeting. He stood by the phone, 
picking up a glass of nourishment and waited. When 
the greeting finished and the beep sounded, the voice 
of Don Schanke could be heard.

"Hey Nick." Schanke started. "I hope you're up 
listening to this because the woman that was with our 
Jane Doe last night is here. I was going to question 
her but I'd rather you be here when I did. I'm going 
to take her to the morgue to identify the body. We'll 
meet you back at the station. That'll give you time 
to get some of our backlogged reports finished. Hasta 
la bye bye."

Nick grimaced at the fact that Schanke wasn't going 
to wait. He felt a gnawing at his insides.  It wasn't 
hunger.  It wasn't fear. It wasn't the fact that he 
had to do paperwork until Schanke came back from the 
morgue.  


Schanke and Annie arrived at the morgue and were 
greeted by Grace Balthazar, the county coroner's 
assistant. 

"Hey Grace." Schanke started, "Where's Natalie?"

"Relax, Detective." Grace replied as she stood up 
from the desk that she occupied. "She won't be in for 
another hour. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"We're here to ID that Jane Doe that came in last 
night."

"Sure." Grace said as she looked over at Annie, who 
was fairly relaxed amidsts the steel slab in front of 
her. 

"Are you okay with this, Miss Taylor?" Schanke asked 
with concern.


"Fine, Detective." Annie nodded. "I've done this 
before.  Just not with close friends."

"Don't worry," He replied, "this shouldn't take 
long."

"Let's hope so."  Annie said.  

Grace opened the large freezer door and gestured 
Annie to follow her inside. Annie followed, 
swallowing hard as she entered the dimly lit room.

There was only one body in the room. It was covered 
with a white sheet which looked orange under the 
lighting. This must be where they keep the body 
between examinations, she thought to herself.  She 
stood next to the gurney. Grace stood at the head of 
the body, Schanke at the foot.

"Are you ready?" Grace asked as she grabbed the end 
of the sheet.

Annie nodded. "No, but go ahead."

Grace lifted the sheet and revealed the pale head and 
the top of the torso of the corpse. Annie covered her 
mouth, closed her eyes, and stepped back in horror, 
remembering an old friend in much the same situation.

<---@--->


As the sun rose, Annie went out searching for Sylvie. 
She had not returned and the time she had promised. 
It was not like Sylvie to be late for anything. Annie 
retraced their steps from the following night, 
Beginning with the ballroom where she had dinner and 
danced with guests. Then to the cafe where they had 
gone to get espresso. Finally, she went to the banks 
of the Seine and walked along the same sidewalk they 
had trodded on only hours ago. She stopped at the 
place where they had parted - Where she had left with 
the mysterious and strange man.   

A short distance away, a small crowd was gathered. 
They were hovering around a large oak tree. There 
were uniformed officers canvassing the area, asking 
onlookers questions. Annie approached with caution, 
trying to sift through the crowd to see what all the 
commotion was about. She made her way to the front of 
the crowd and saw what everyone was gawking at. There 
was the body of a woman, pale in color lying on the 
ground. Her head was turned to one side and two 
bloody holes could be seen. A photographer snapped 
pictures of the body while three men in trenchcoats 
were taking notes. Annie approached one of the 
officers. "Pardon Monsieur."

The young man turned and faced her. "Yes, 
Mademoiselle?"

"What happened here?"

"A woman was killed here late last night."

Annie moved closer for a look. The face was that of 
Sylvie. Tears filled Annie's eyes as she fell to her 
knees and wept.

<---@--->

"It's her." Annie stated. 

"Are you sure?" Schanke asked.

"Yes." She replied solemnly as Grace covered the 
body. "Her name is Annabelle Jean Grayson. Has the 
coroner completed the autopsy?" 

"Not yet." Grace answered, taken aback. "There are a 
couple more tests to run. Are you her next of kin?"

Annie regained her composure. "As close as you're 
going to get. Her parents died in a car accident 
three years ago and she didn't have any brothers or 
sisters and she's not married. Detective Schanke, can 
we please leave?"

"Of course." Schanke answered as he led Annie out of 
the room. "Thanks Grace." 

"Anytime Detective." She answered. "I'm very sorry, 
ma'am."

Annie smiled and nodded then followed Detective 
Schanke out of the building and back to the station 
to give a statement. 

The car was silent for most of the trip back to the 
station. Schanke would ocassionally glance over at 
Annie, who was staring out of the window and wondered 
if she was the killer. His mind raced with a handful 
of hypothesies. From lover's triangle to jealously. 
Annie sensed this within him. 

[How could he think that I would kill my friend?]

"How long did you know her?"  Schanke asked suddenly, 
breaking the silence for a brief moment. 

[This is going to take forever if I wait for Knight] 

"Pardon?" Annie replied as she turned her head away 
from the window.

"How long did you know Miss Grayson?"

"About fifteen years." She replied.

"So you were pretty close?"  

"Yes." Annie nodded affirmatively. "We were like 
sisters."

"Do you know who might have done this?"

"I thought you were going to wait until we get back 
to the station and your partner was present." Annie 
said abruptly. "Or is this just a shameless ploy to 
grab the collar for yourself?"

Schanke was at a loss for words.  

[How did she know that?]

Annie smirked as they drove back to the station in 
silence.

To Be continued

When History Repeats Itself-Part 9
By Rebecca Burns

Nick was waiting in the interview room when Schanke 
arrived.  Annie walked over to one of the chairs and 
sat down.  She looked up at Nick and stared at him 
for a moment.

"Miss Taylor."  Schanke started, motioning to Nick.  
"This is my partner, Detective Knight."

"Annie, Please" Annie interrupted. "Miss Taylor makes 
me sound like a grade school teacher."

"Sorry."  Schanke said, a bit perturbed at her 
response. 

[man, this is going to be a long night]  Schanke's 
subconscious echoed.

"If you quit stalling it won't be." Annie said as she 
leaned back in the chair.

"It won't be what?"

"A long night."

Nick, who was standing against the back wall, folded 
his arms, put his head down and smiled.  Despite the 
fact that the woman seated at the table had earned a 
brownie point for trying to lighten the tension in 
the room, she was right; it would be a long night if 
Schanke didn't get on with the questioning.

Schanke swallowed. "Where were you the night of the 
tenth around 12 AM?"

"I was walking with my girlfriend."  Annie started. 
"We just came from a late dinner and we were going to 
go dancing."  

Schanke handed Annie a picture of Annabelle. "Is this 
the woman you were with?"

Tears filled Annie's eyes. "Yes.  That's her.  That's 
Annabelle."

"How did you know her?"

"She was a friend from school."  

"How long have you known her?"

"About 15 years."

"And you knew her from school?"  Schanke retorted 
sarcastically.

"We went to school together.  We kept in contact 
after grad."

Schanke took a handkerchief out of his breast pocket 
and handed it to Annie. "What made you come forward 
to identify the woman?"

"Thank you." Annie said as took the handkerchief and 
wiped her eyes. "I waited at the club we were 
supposed to meet at for about a half hour. When she 
didn't show, I left.  It was about 1:30.   I knew I 
should have gone to her place but my head was killing 
me. When I tried to call her the next day and ask her 
why she didn't show, no one answered. Then I saw the 
article in the paper about the Jane Doe found in 
Alexandra Park and the composite on the morning news 
and put two and two together."

"What is your occupation, Miss Tay...I mean Annie?"  
Schanke continued.

"I'm an associate professor of Parapsychology at the 
University."  Annie replied.  "So technically, I'm a 
doctor."

"Parapsychology?"  Nick spurted out curiously. 

Annie looked up at Nick's shadowed face. "Yes.  
Parapsychology.  You know, the study of paranormal 
phenomena?  ESP?  Telekinesis? Psychics?"

"Why pick such an oddball line of work?"  Schanke 
asked snidely. 

"It fits with my talents and it's not an oddball line 
of work, Detective.  It's a proven science and on 
occasion, it pays quite well."

"Is this coming from the voice of experience?"

"You could say that."  Annie snapped. "We're all 
psychic in one form or another.  Some have the talent 
more prominently than others."

"And which end of that scale are you on?"  Nick asked 
as he moved closer to her. 

"The latter."  Annie replied. 

"So" Schanke sighed. "You mean to tell me you're..."

Annie sat back in her chair. "I'm what?"

[I can't say it.  she can't be]

"I can't be what, Detective?"  Annie asked, a smile 
beginning to show on her lips.  She waited for him to 
say the words, but before Schanke could form the 
words...

"You're a psychic."  Nick announced. 

"She is?"  Schanke said curiously.

"I am."  Annie said.  "It's all documented in that 
file you're holding, Detective Schanke.  Every 
newspaper article and every law enforcement 
commendation ever written about me, with the 
exception of this morning's news paper article."

As Nick stared at Annie, he remembered a time not too 
long ago where he faced a similar situation.

~~~
1992

"Your turn."  Schanke said as he handed Knight a 
piece of chalk to complete his turn at tic-TAC-toe.  
"You wanna know what I think about psychics'"

"Not really." Knight replied as he returned the chalk 
to Schanke without taking a turn.


"A psychic ruined my life."  Schanke continued.  
"Myra's got this aunt figures she's got the power. 
Power to make my life like hell. So what she did, she 
told Myra that I wasn't going to live to see another 
spring. So all winter long I'm eating watercress, 
bean sprouts, low-fat yogurt. You ever eaten low-fat 
yogurt"  Come to think of it,  I've never seen what 
exactly you do eat."

Denise Ford, the Psychic that was assisting Knight 
and Schanke with the kidnapping investigation of 
Conrad Hedges wife and daughter, grabbed her throat 
and gasped for air, "Pain!  Like a needle."

Knight and Schanke walked over to The driver's side 
of the limousine.  "And darkness. There was one death 
in this car. The driver. He lay there. I can feel the 
wind...I think. I feel cold metal.  Close.  Close 
by."

"Mrs. Hedges?"  Nick asked.

"No." Denise answered.  "Oh! I feel old. Very very 
old. Ancient. I am a black shape flying against the 
moon."

Nick looked up wondering what her last statement 
meant.

~~~

"Detective?"  Annie interrupted, "Are you alright?"

Nick shook his head. "I'm sorry.  I'm fine."

"This is just too hard to believe."  Schanke 
commented as he glared at Annie, "You mean to tell me 
that you do all that hocus pocus stuff.  Please.  
Some one get me a deck of tarot cards."

"Detective Donald E. Schanke."  Annie started as she 
held the handkerchief in her hands. "You've been on 
the force sixteen years.  You have a wife - Myra.  
She thinks you're going to an early grave if you 
don't start taking better care of yourself.  She's 
probably right.  You have an 8-year old daughter 
named...Jenny.  You like Souvlaki with extra garlic, 
thus annoying your partner."

"Anything else?"  Schanke asked dumbfounded.

"Well, you have a small scar on your right shoulder 
where you got shot last year and despite the fact 
that you think your partner dresses like Joe Cool and 
that he drives a vintage Cadillac, he's a trustworthy 
partner and a good friend."

[she must have read my jacket]


"To read your jacket, Detective Schanke I'd have to 
be either a cop or an attorney and since I'm neither 
one, that can only leave a very small handful of 
possibilities.  I'm getting something else...Knee 
socks?"


Schanke hung his head down and blushed.  Annie 
smiled.

"Do you have any idea on who might have done this to 
your friend?"  Nick asked.

"I have my suspicions."  Annie replied.  "Have you 
spoken to Blain Powers yet?"

"You mean the attorney Blain Powers?" Schanke asked 
curiously.

"Yes."  Annie replied. "He's a partner with Powers, 
Davies, and Hargrove.  Annabelle was a legal 
secretary and Blain was her boyfriend for a time.  
They broke up recently."

"Why do you think he would do this?"  Nick asked as 
he stepped closer to the table.

"I can't tell you that."  Annie stated.  "Not only 
was she my friend, she was also my patient."

"Your patient?"  Schanke repeated. 

"There's more to parapsychology than just reading 
tarot, runes, and mind reading.  You have to 
understand how the mind works in order to know how to 
discover how to use what's inside.  That's why I have 
a doctorate in Psychology as well."

"I didn't think doctor/patient confidentiality wasn't 
in effect after the patient's death."  Knight 
commented.

"True, Detective."  Annie yawned. "But I would 
consider it extenuating circumstances since she was 
my friend.  All I can tell you is that there has been 
a history of abuse."

"What kind of abuse?"

"Physical mostly." Annie said. "You'll find a few 
scars and old bruises on her when the autopsy is 
complete."

"Who would have..."

"I can't tell you that either."  Annie replied. "I'm 
sorry. There are too many ears here.  When her body 
is released from the morgue, I'll be able to tell you 
more.  Now, Detectives, if you don't have anything to 
hold me on, it's late and I'd like to go home."

"Will you be available if we have anymore questions?" 
Knight asked.

Annie stood up and reached into her pocket. "Of 
course."  She replied, handing Detective Schanke a 
white placard. "You can reach me at any of those 
numbers.  I have a staff meeting at 2 tomorrow and I 
should be home the rest of the night.  If you do 
call, please try to call before 9."

"If we have anymore questions." Knight started, 
"We'll call you."

"You will have more questions, Detective Knight and 
I'll be more than happy to help in any way I can."

With a quick glance to her, Knight opened the door 
and Annie walked out. Schanke followed carrying the 
large folder.

"What do you think the captain's going to say when we 
tell her the primary suspect is a voodoo queen?"

"Ease off, Schank."  Nick retorted.  "I don't think 
she did it."

"What?!"  Schanke exclaimed. "Haven't you ever heard 
of the term lover's triangle?  She falls for him, he 
falls for her and boom!  He kills the ex-girlfriend 
and they're home free."

"Give her a chance."  Nick said. "I just don't think 
she did it that's all.  And she doesn't take me for 
someone who would cheat on a friend."

Nick walked Annie over to the bull pen and gestured 
her to sit. "Just have a seat here, Miss Taylor." He 
requested, "We'll be right back with your file."

"Thank you Detective Knight." She said softly.

Natalie walked into the precinct and through the 
swinging double doors and past the bull pen.  Annie's 
head popped up as Natalie walked by.  She recognized 
her as her old roommate from college.

"Natalie?"  Annie started curiously. 

Natalie stopped and turned towards the voice that 
spoke her name. "Annie?"

Annie stood up and smiled. "My God, it's been a long 
time."

"What are you doing here?"  Natalie asked as he gave 
her a hug. "The last I heard you were in Vancouver 
teaching English to school boys."

"I moved back here a few months ago. I knew the woman 
who was found in Alexandra Park and I'm just here to 
answer some questions."

"Are you going to help with the case?"  

"They don't want my help." Annie replied. "At least 
that balding fat guy over there doesn't."

"Who?  Schanke?  He's harmless."

"He's arrogant and that I can't stand."

Nick walked over to Natalie and Annie carrying 
Annie's file. "Nat?  Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." Natalie replied with a smile. "Nick, I 
believe you've met Annie Taylor."

"Yes, we have."  Nick replied as he handed Annie her 
folder.

Annie held her hands up. "Hold on to it.  At least 
until the case is closed."

"Thanks."  Nick said. "You two know each other?"

"Yep."  Natalie replied. "We were roommates in 
college."

Annie glanced at her watch - 11:30 - way past her bed 
time. "If you don't have anything else for me, 
Detective Knight..."

"Of course."  Knight said.


"Thanks.  Natalie, it was so good to see you again.  
Can I give you a call?  I'd love to get together."

"Sure."  Natalie said enthusiastically. "I'm listed 
or you can call my office."

"Where's your office?" 

"Coroner's office."

"Great."  Annie said shocked. "Detective Knight has 
my number."

"Great."  Natalie smiled.

"I'll call you tomorrow."  Annie said as she walked 
to the door and left.

Nick tapped Natalie's shoulder.  "Was she serious 
about being psychic?"

"You mean she told you?"  Natalie asked surprised.

"So it's true, then?"  Nick asked as he sat on the 
corner of his desk and handed the large file to 
Schanke.

"Sure is."  Natalie replied. "Something wrong?"

"Ask me later."

"So, What do we have on our guest?"  Cohen asked as 
she walked over to Schanke's desk.

"Well," Schanke started as he picked up the folder 
from his desk, "According to what she gave us, Ann 
Marie Taylor, born in London, England, moved here 
when she was eight. Father was a corporate attorney, 
died three years ago, mother a psychiatrist who lives 
with her sister in Vancouver and her brother, an 
attorney lives here. Attended Bishop Strachen School 
and graduated with honors. Attended Duke University 
on full scholarship where she received a bachelor's 
degree in parapsychology and English Literature."

"Impressive."  Nick commented.

"Wait it gets better."  Schanke returned. "She wrote 
a book six years ago of which topped the bestseller 
list. She got her Doctorate in Parapsychology at U of 
T three years ago. She's worked with every federal 
law enforcement agency from England to the good ol' 
US of A since she was 12. She's even worked a few big 
cases for the Crown in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg 
and Toronto. She returned back here a few months ago 
to teach at the University."

"I seem to recall a case where a psychic helped catch 
the QE Park rapist a few years ago."  Cohen remarked.  
"Wasn't that her?"

"That's her." Schanke replied as he held up a news 
paper article regarding the case Cohen mentioned.  
"She used an article belonging to one of the 
victim's, waited for the 'sensation' and boom caught 
him within 2 hours."

"What did the autopsy come up with, Doctor?"


"Death was caused by strangulation during 
intercourse."  Natalie announced. "I place the time 
of death at between 12:45 - 1:15."

"Were there any scars on the body?"  Nick asked.

"Yep."  Natalie replied. "I found a few deep scars.  
One on her back from what looks like a belt. It looks 
pretty recent.  About a month.  Why do you ask?"

"She mentioned something about scars on the victim."

"See if Dr. Taylor would be able to give us a hand on 
this one.  She knows the victim and has some insight 
on her personal background." Cohen suggested.  "And 
question Counselor Powers.  High profile or not, I 
want every base covered on this case."


"But Captain," Schanke jumped in. "We can solve this 
one on our own.  We don't need any hocus pocus stuff. 
Besides, she has personal ties to this case that 
might inhibit her from helping us."

"Do you have a problem working with a psychic 
Detective?"  Cohen asked sternly.

"No ma'am." he answered hesitantly.

"We've worked with one in the past."  Nick 
interjected.

"Good.  Now, I want you two to ask her for her help. 
She might be able to lead us to our killer. Is that 
understood?"

"Yes ma'am."  Schanke responded as he picked up the 
phone and began dialing her number, getting the 
response of her answering machine instead of a live 
voice.  He left a message requesting her help on the 
case.

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 10
By Rebecca Burns

The next morning, Annie called the station and left a 
message for Detective Schanke stating that she would 
help with the case and that could stop by later in 
the evening.  She then called Natalie and invited her 
to brunch.  They decided on a small bagel cafe close 
to the university and Natalie's apartment.

"So."  Annie started as she spread cream cheese on 
her bagel.  "Tell me, how did a classy intelligent 
person like yourself end up as county coroner?"

"I needed a challenge?"  Natalie answered with a 
smile as their waiter handed her her coffee.  "No.  
Seriously?  I just like solving puzzles.  You know? 
Who killed who, with what, where and how?  I think of 
it as the live action version of Clue."

"Like with Annabelle?"

Natalie nodded as she sipped her coffee.  "Grace 
mentioned someone came in and identified her.  I take 
it you were the one who..."

"Yep."  Annie sighed.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that."  Nat 
commented.

"Thanks."  She answered. "It's the only part of the 
job I still can't stomach and I don't think I ever 
will."

"I remember how you were with your father."

"Oh, dad was no problem."  Annie said as she sipped 
her cappuccino.  "I knew how he died.  Nigel knew how 
he died.  Mom and Gwen _thought_ they knew how he 
died.  I just didn't have the nerve to tell them the 
truth."

"What did they believe?"

"That I caused his heart attack."

"You're kidding?"

"Nope."  Annie replied.  "Mom and Gwen blamed me for 
what happened to dad.  He died in his sleep of a 
massive heart attack.  Hell, you did the autopsy."

"I did."  Natalie informed her.  "It was one of the 
hardest things I've done."

There was a brief pause as the two women followed a 
young man with their eyes as he walked by.

"Ah, youth."  Nat commented.

"Ah...too young." Annie started. "Speaking of youth, 
tell me about this Detective Knight."

Natalie almost choked as her friend mentioned Nick's 
title.  "Nick?  Oh...ah...we're just friends."


"Friends?"  Annie answered slyly.  "The way you two 
were looking at each other at the police station, I 
thought that there may be something more between you 
than a professional relationship.  To be honest, I 
myself found him quite..."

Natalie looked up at Annie sternly.

"I'm sorry."  Annie said abruptly.  "It was just an 
observation, Nattie.  That's all."

"Don't be sorry."  Nat smiled assuredly.  "The rumor 
mill at work thinks the same thing.  Besides, I don't 
have time for a relationship right now. The only 
relationship I have is with the corpses at the 
morgue.  What did you want to know about him?"

"Who?"

"Nick."

"Oh.  I don't know, really."  Annie replied.  
"There's something about him that seems out of place 
to me but I can't put my finger on it-right now, that 
is, but something tells me I'm going to find out 
soon."

There was a brief silence before Natalie tried to 
change the conversation.  "So.  What are you planning 
on teaching at the University?"

"Well," Annie replied. "I'm not sure yet.  My meeting 
today is with the department head to come up with a 
syllabus.  We're having a slight disagreement on my 
first topic."

"Which is?"

"I wanted to start out with something a little 
unorthodox.  He wants me to start with the basics."

"How unorthodox?"

"I wanted to start off by discussing vampires."

Natalie almost choked on her last bite of bagel.  
"Vampires?  Wh...Why vampires?"

"The way I see it, if I start talking about the 
basics, you know, ESP and telekinesis and such?  My 
students are going to automatically think I'm this 
boring professor whose only going to talk about the 
scientific aspects of parapsychology, whereas is if I 
start off by discussing something unrealistic to 
them, I've got their attention.  The proverbial curve 
ball, sort to speak."

"You don't believe in them do you?"  Natalie asked 
cautiously.  "Vampires."

"In my line of work there are a lot of things I have 
to believe in and vampires is one of them."

"Why?"

Annie sighed. "Truthfully, let's just say I've read 
and seen enough to have a firm belief in their 
existence.  Granted if I have the opportunity to meet 
one face to face, I'd have a list of questions to 
ask."

"Like what?"

"I'd like to ask him-or her about immortality.  I 
mean, is it what they imagined it to be?  Do they 
feel any remorse about killing people in order to 
survive?  Do they really have to kill people?  What I 
really want them to do is separate the mythological 
from the factual."

"By myth you mean do they turn into bats or if they 
like garlic?"

"Exactly."  Annie replied enthused that her friend 
found this part of the conversation fascinating.  "I 
want to know if everything I've studied about them is 
true of if it's mindless drivel from someone's 
imagination."

Natalie glanced down at her watch. "I really should 
be heading home.  I should get a few hours sleep 
before work.  Wouldn't want to fall asleep on the 
job, would I?"

Annie wiped her mouth with her napkin. "You're right.  
You know, this is the first time I've ever talked to 
anyone about vampires.  Don't tell me you believe in 
them?"

The two women both stood.

"Well...I."  Nat stuttered, picking up her purse. "I 
guess I do in a way."

Annie shrugged.  "I guess you would, since you're a 
coroner working the night shift and all.  You kinda 
keep their hours.  Would you like to get together 
after this case is solved?"

"Sure."  Natalie said. "You're helping with the 
case?"

"Gotta call early this morning from Detective 
Schanke."  Annie announced.  "He sounded a little 
harsh on the phone, like he didn't want my help, but 
I said yes, just to piss him off."

"Then I may see you later tonight."

"You may but I doubt it."  Annie replied.  "I don't 
work that way anymore.  I go with personal 
belongings, not corpses."

"Why the change?"

"Bad experience."  Annie said, the smile disappearing 
from her face.  "Not something I want to go in to.  
Look, I'll give you a call?  Maybe we could get 
together and go out for dinner or something?  Do a 
little more catching up?"

"I'd like that."  Nat replied as they hugged. "You 
take care, and don't worry about Schanke.  Once you 
get to know him, he's a pussycat."

"A declawed pussycat I hope."  Annie commented. "Bye, 
Natalie."

Natalie raised her hand. "Bye."

Natalie took one last look at Annie as they walked in 
opposite directions-Annie for her meeting and Natalie 
for home.

To Be Continued

When History Repeats Itself-Part 11
By Rebecca Burns

"Just have a seat, Detective Schanke." Greta, the 
receptionist, began as she led Schanke into the large 
office of Blain Powers.  "Mr. Powers will be with you 
momentarily."

"Thank you." He replied as he looked around the room.  

It was an office of wealth and power.  Bookcases made 
of mohogany lined the walls where he had entered. 
Ever shelf was filled with books.  On either side of 
the room were identical circular glass tables which 
were surrounded by identical black leather chairs.  
As he sat down he noticed the desk and credenza in 
front of him were of the same wood as the bookcases.  
On the credenza sat a picture of Annabelle Grayson.  
It was a casual pose of the young woman leaning 
against a large maple tree.  Her arms were crossed at 
her waist and her long auburn hair hung over to one 
side flowing in the breeze.  Written on a corner of 
the photograph was the following:

"To Blain, Love Always, Belle."

Schanke turned as he heard the door open and a young 
man walked in, breezing by him before he could shake 
hands.  He was looking over a file as he sat down and 
finally looked up at the portly man standing in front 
of his desk.

"Mr. Powers?"  Schanke began as he extended his hand. 
"I'm Detective Schanke, Metro Homicide."

Blain Powers was a brash young man who appeared to be 
not much older than thirty.  His hair was cut short 
and he was clean shaven.  His eyes were hazel with a 
tinge of brown.  Schanke surmised that the man worked 
out due to the evidence of muscles bulging under the 
tailored black Armani suit he was wearing.

"Blain Powers."  He said as he shook Schanke's hand. 
"Please, have a seat."

"Thanks."  Schanke sighed as he sat down in one of 
the plush black leather chairs in front of Powers' 
desk."

"You'll have to excuse me, Detective Schanke."  Blain 
started. "I was in conference with my staff and I'm 
preparing a case.  How can I help you?"

"This shouldn't take long."  Schanke replied.  "Do 
you know a woman by the name of Annabelle Grayson?"

"Yes."  Blain answered calmly. "She's employed here. 
Is there something wrong?"

"I'm afraid so."  The detective answered.  "She was 
found in Alexandra Park early yesterday morning."

"Annabelle?"  Blain asked, the color rushing from his 
face. "Dead? She can't be.  I...I just saw her a few 
days ago.  Are you sure it's her?"

"Yes."  Schanke announced. "A friend of hers 
identified the body.  Counselor Powers, did you have 
a relationship with Miss Grayson at one time?"

Blain nodded and whispered. "Yes."

"When did you last see Miss Grayson?"

"Friday afternoon."  The lawyer answered, tears 
welling up in his eyes.  "I was leaving the office 
for a dinner meeting.  She was filing papers."

"How long were you two together?"

"About six months."  Powers answered.  "We broke up 
recently."

"I see."  Schanke commented. "And where were you 
around 2am yesterday morning?"

"Like most normal people, Detective, I was sleeping.  
Before I answer anymore questions for you, 
Detective," Blain began, wiping his eyes with a 
handkerchief, "should I have my lawyer present?"

Schanke responded, "That's up to you, Mr. Powers.  I 
just came by to notify you of her death."

"And I thank you for that."  Powers said.  "May I ask 
you a question?"

"Sure."

"Who identified the body?"

Schanke hesitated.  "I'm sorry, Mr. Powers.  At this 
time, I can't divulge that information.  All I can 
say is that it was a friend.  Was she your 
secretary?"

"No." Blain answered, shaking his head.  "She worked 
for Nigel Taylor, one of the associate partners.  If 
you don't mind, I'd like to be the one to notify 
him."

"Of course."  Schanke replied as he stood up.  "I 
don't want to keep from your work, Counselor."

Schanke reached into his pocket and removed his card.  
Handing it to Powers, he said, "If you can think of 
any information that can help with the investigation, 
you can reach me at this number."

Blain took the card from the detective.  "I will, and 
you'll keep me up to date on the investigation when 
you can?"

"When I can."  Schanke said as he started towards the 
door.

"Detective?"

Schanke stopped and faced the young man.

"Despite the fact that we weren't seeing each other, 
I still care...I mean cared about her.  She was a 
remarkable woman."

There was a brief pause before Schanke responded.  He 
studied Powers during that period of silence.  The 
man's eyes were red, his face was still white, but 
his hands were shaking.  Either this man was hurting 
over the death of his girlfriend or faking his 
sorrow.  That's the problem with lawyers, Schanke 
thought to himself, you could never really tell when 
they were lying or telling the truth. That's why they 
got paid the big bucks to keep rich folk from going 
to jail.  Nine times out of ten, their acting skills 
paid off.

"Thank you for your time, Counselor."  Schanke 
finally answered.  "We'll be in touch."

Schanke turned and walked out the door.

To Be Continued

When History Repeats Itself-Part 12
By Rebecca Burns

"So," Natalie started as she dumped the ingredients 
for Nick's protein shake in a blender at Nick's loft, 
"Cohen has you working with Annie?"

"Yeah." Nick replied with a sigh as he stood beside 
Natalie. "What can you tell me about her?"

"Annie?"  Natalie sighed. "Not much. She kept to 
herself most of the time. She didn't like talking 
about being psychic. She more or less thought of it 
as a curse than a gift. She told me stories about how 
she was taunted about it at school. They would do 
everything from leave hate mail on her door to 
deliberately throwing things at her to see if she 
would stop them in midair.  She used to get these 
awful severe migraines. She told me she's had them 
since she was a child. Nothing would help them. She 
would be up at all hours of the night pacing around 
the apartment. She came to the conclusion that it was 
sensory overload from the thoughts of people around 
her. She told me once that she gets impressions from 
people from either sight or touch. If she touches a 
subject, she gets the clearest images. And, I must 
say, She's damn good."

"How exact is she?"

"You mean how good is she at finding out things about 
someone? Let me put it to you this way. You were born 
when and you've lived how long?"

"That good?"

Natalie handed Nick the pale green concoction.  "That 
good.  Drink."

Nick winced, raised the glass to his mouth, and took 
a swallow.  He placed the glass on the counter & 
leaned back.  "I don't know if I'll ever get used to 
this."

"You mean the drinks or Annie?"  Nat asked with a 
smile.

"Both."  Nick answered with a sigh.  "If she 
discovers who I am, what I am, who knows what might 
happen."

"Well, she's a doctor of the supernatural."  Nat 
commented.  "Who knows?  You two might have something 
in common and she might be able to help you in ways I 
can't and you might be able to help her."

"How?"

"Well, you might be able to help her understand more 
about vampires.  Judging by the way she asked me 
about them today, she's got quite a few questions to 
ask."

"And risk her life in the process."  Nick 
interjected.

"That's possible." Nat replied. "But I've known Annie 
long enough to know that she'll keep your secret."

"Let's hope so."  Nick commented as he walked to the 
piano and sat down.

"C'mon, Nick."  Nat continued as she followed, "The 
least that could happen is that she'd go mad and 
she's too strong for that."

Nick placed his fingers on the delicate ivory keys 
and paused briefly as he remembered a time when 
events similar went quite wrong.

~~~
"Get away from me!"  Denise demanded as she slid back 
on the couch as Nick approached.

"I need to talk to you."  Nick replied calmly.  "I 
want to explain."

"What's happening to me?"  She asked nervously.  "I 
don't understand.  It's you, isn't it?  It's your 
fault."

Denise stood up and began moving farther away from 
Nick.  "I must be dreaming this.  That's it-just a 
nightmare. Just another vision. A wisp in the 
wind..."

"No."  Nick said as he grabbed Denise's hand and 
pulled her to him.  "No, believe me..."

Nick placed Denise's hand gently to his cheek.  "This 
is as real as it gets.  You're not loosing your mind, 
Denise.  Those images that were blind siding you.  
They weren't delusions.  You were seeing me."

"No!"  She yelled.  "I didn't see you.  I saw a 
monster that kills."

Nick sat Denise on the couch and knelt in front of 
her.  "That used to kill.  I'm about to ask you to 
believe something that's unbelievable."

Nick stood up and looked down at Denise.  "This is 
what I am."

Denise gasped in amazement as Nick revealed the 
glowing eyes and white fangs that Denise had seen in 
her visions.
~~~

"This may also be an opportunity for you to occupy 
your time worrying about someone else for a change."  
Natalie commented.

"What are you talking about?"  Nick asked, shaking 
his head of the memory.

"You forget so quickly."  Nat mumbled. "The 
conversation we had earlier at the morgue?  Remember?  
You know, Nick, you don't have to worry about me.  I 
can take care of myself."

"I know."  Nick said.  "I've lost so many people I 
care about, I don't know what I would do if I lost 
you."

"Don't be concerned about me right now."  Nat 
answered calmly. "I know how you feel and I'll be 
okay."

Smiling, Nat took his pale white hand in hers and 
squeezed tight.  Nick looked into her deep blue eyes 
and smiled.

To Be Continued...


When History Repeats Itself-Part 13
By Rebecca Burns

After a long day of department staff meetings and 
making funeral arrangements for Annabelle, Annie sat 
in a lounge chair on the balcony of her apartment on 
the Esplanade in an attempt to relax.  She was 
dressed in an oversized University of Toronto 
sweatshirt, blue flannel pajama bottoms, and her tie 
dyed fuzzy slippers.  She looked out into the 
darkening sky and tried let her mind relax as she 
took in the night air. She thought about how much she 
missed her friend.  Annabelle was the closest thing 
she had to a sister. She and her natural sister, 
Gwen, were four years apart in age and did not get 
along well. Being the oldest, her sister, was always 
mother's favorite. Gwen could confide in mother.  
Annie tried to confide in mother but sensed that her 
mother was only half-paying attention to her; 
concerning herself more with Gwen.  The sisterly 
conversations they had while growing up were 
sporadic, and went downhill after their father's 
death. Gwen blamed her for his death saying it was 
her fault and convinced their mother of the same. 
Annabelle was there to support Annie. She provided 
her with not only a shoulder to cry on, but words of 
encouragement. Now she was gone. There was no one who 
she could confide in and who could give her those 
words of reassurance she would need. 

"What did Powers say when you told him?"  Nick asked 
as he and Schanke drove down the Esplanade to Annie's 
apartment.

"What do you want first?"  Schanke started.  "What I 
think or what I know?"

"Humor me, Schanke."  Nick retorted as he pulled up 
to a large upscale apartment building.  "We're here."

"Now THIS is the kinda place I thought you lived in."  
Schanke commented as he and Knight got out of the 
car.

"Not enough space."  Nick replied with a smile.  
"What do you think?"

"About Powers?"  Schanke started with a sigh as they 
walked to the entrance.  "I think he was a guy in 
love-once.  He was hurt when I told him."

The two detectives started to pass the security desk 
and enter one of the elevators, when they were 
stopped by the security guard.

"May I help you gentlemen?"  The security guard 
started.

The two men turned and walked to the desk.

"I'm Detective Knight."  Nick began as he showed his 
badge.  "This is my partner.  We're here to see Annie 
Taylor?"

"I'll have to announce you."  The guard replied as he 
picked up the phone.  "One moment please."

The sounds of Mozart that emanated from the stereo in 
the living room were drowned out by the sudden sound 
of the ringing telephone beside her.  Annie picked up 
the cordless phone and put it to her ear.  "Hello?"  
She said harshly.  "I'm sorry...I had my stereo on 
and I didn't hear the buzzer...Two detectives?   Yes, 
send them up, please.  Thank you."

Annie turned the phone off and stood up.  She took 
one more look at the dark sky before making her way 
to the door.

"Do you want to know what I know?"  Schanke stared as 
the elevator hummed softly as it ascended.

"What?"

"I know he had something to do with her death.  He 
cried just a bit too much over a woman he used to 
date."

There was a brief silence as the elevator reached 
Annie's floor and opened.

"Do we really have to do this?"  Schanke asked as he 
and Nick made their way down the hall to Annie's 
door.  "I mean, I know the Captain wants us to ask 
her for help but I..."

"I know how you feel about her and her talent, 
Schank."  Nick responded. "But, Cohen's right.  I 
really think she can help us with this case.  There 
are a lot of questions that we don't have answered 
that she can help us with."

Nick knocked on the door, stood back and waited for 
Annie to open the door.

Annie opened the door slowly and looked up at the two 
detectives sternly. "I wish I could ask if this could 
wait until tomorrow but I know that's out of the 
question."

"I'm afraid not, Miss Taylor." Nick answered. "Sorry, 
Annie.  Captain Cohen has asked us to request your 
help on this case."

"I know."  Annie said with a sigh.  "I received 
Detective Schanke's phone call.  Please, come in."

Annie opened the door wider and allowed the 
detectives to enter. "Can I offer you a drink?"

"No, thank you."  Nick replied.  

"Okay..." She said as she walked to her room.  
"Please, make yourselves at home while I go change."

Annie went to her bedroom and shut the door to change 
while Schanke and Nick looked around.  The apartment 
was brightly decorated with lively paintings on the 
wall and photographs of various sizes on the 
bookcase.  One picture caught Schanke's eye and he 
walked over to the bookcase.  He picked up the 8"x10" 
landscape picture of four people, Annie, a young man, 
another young woman, and two young children, a boy 
and a girl.  

"I can't believe that she has time for a family."  
Schanke commented.

"Schank, put it down."  Nick suggested as he looked 
over at the bookcase.

"It's okay, Detective Knight."  Annie said standing 
in the doorway of her bedroom. "It's good that he 
said what he was thinking or I may have come up with 
a snappy comeback."

Annie started over to Detective Schanke and held out 
her hand. "May I?"

Schanke handed the picture to Annie.

"Thanks."  She said putting it back in its place. "If 
you must know, the people in this picture are family.  
The gentleman is my brother, Nigel.  The woman is his 
wife Katherine, and their children, Ryan and Jessica.  
Nigel's name should sound familiar to you.  He's an 
associate partner with Powers, Davies, and Hargrove."

"Sorry."  Schanke replied. 

"It's okay."  She smiled.

"You have a very nice place here, Doctor."  Nick 
commented. 

"I don't need to read your mind to tell me what 
you're thinking."  Annie said as she grabbed her coat 
and purse from the back of the barchair.  "My brother 
pays for the place and in return I take the Metro 
anywhere I want in the city and watch my niece and 
nephew. Nigel's had a hard time finding a nanny since 
their mother passed away last year.  It was either 
live here or his house on the island but I don't like 
boats."

"Sensible."  Schanke said. 

"Practical."  Annie retorted as she put on her coat. 
"Now, shall we get going?"

Schanke made it to the door first and held it open 
for Nick and Annie as they ventured off in search of 
Annabelle's killer.

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 14
By Rebecca Burns

Nick drove down Bathurst Street at a moderate speed 
while the police radio emitted a great deal of 
static-echoed bulletins and emergency calls.  Schanke 
was seated in the passenger seat while Annie sat in 
the back seat staring out the window. Annie could 
sense the tension from the two detectives. She sensed 
that even though Detective Knight was comfortable 
with the fact that she was psychic, he was hiding 
something about himself. What it was, she did not 
know. His partner, on the other hand, was a different 
story entirely. Detective Don Schanke was a non-
believer. He didn't want to admit that people like 
Annie existed.  It was too quiet in this car, she 
thought to herself.  Something had to be done about 
that.

"Detective Schanke?" Annie began as she broke the 
silence. "Would you mind if I asked you a question?" 

"Sure." Schanke replied. "What's to stop you?"

Annie smiled.  Finally, he's saying what he's 
thinking.

"You don't believe what I can do, do you?"  Annie 
asked curiously.

"Well..." Schanke started as he began fidigiting with 
his hands.

"Don't worry." She continued, leaning in close to the 
front seat of the car. "Most people don't. Back in 
Vancouver, my students didn't believe me until I flew 
a set of books across the desk and knew where they 
were born just by looking at them."

"Do most of your students go on to become 
parapwhatsis?"

"Parapsychologists?"  Annie commented with a laugh 
she sat back in the seat. "Well, to be honest, When I 
was student teaching, I had two go on to Duke to get 
degrees.  Detective Schanke, you should realize that 
most of my students are taking my class just for 
their science credit and some for an extracurricular 
credit. Those that are there for the extracurricular 
credit think it's a course on how to be a psychic-an 
easy credit. The others are there strictly for the 
science of it all. The research and the meaning of 
it. They want to know the how and why. To learn how 
to use the gift is one of the perks but it's only at 
the end of the session that I'll show them."

"Wait a minute."  Schanke said as he turned in the 
seat to face her, holding up his hands. "Wait a 
minute.  You mean to say that you show people how to 
be psychic?"

"Yep."  Annie replied with a smirk.  "My feeling is 
that everyone harbors some psychic potential. I show 
them how to harness it-try to anyway. You have some 
psychic potential in you, Detective Schanke. You're 
just afraid to use it."

"What about him?"  Schanke asked as he pointed to 
Nick. Nick shot his partner an angry glance. 

Annie glanced up at the rearview mirror and caught 
the reflecting gaze of Knight's captivating blue 
eyes. "I'm not sure.  I'll get back to you."

Schanke smiled as he looked over at Nick who shot him 
another quick angry glance.

"Forget I asked. How bout' some tunes on the radio?"  

Schanke turned the radio on and the voice of the 
Nightcrawler could be heard in the night.

"Gentle listeners." An evocative bass toned man 
vocalized, his hypnotic English intonations echoing 
through the speakers of Nick's car radio. 

Annie stared at the radio in utter surprise, her 
hands clenched in rage as she continued to listen.

[my god it's him]

"Tonight let us talk of encounters not yet forgotten. 
On revenge not yet taken. How long have you allowed 
you anger to grow within you? How long have you been 
searching for the one thing that would release you 
from your vengeful condition?  Have you dreamt of the 
one who has hurt you? Have you had visions of tasting 
the blood and essence of the one who also seeks 
revenge for the pain you inflicted upon them so long 
ago? He has not forgotten."

The Nightcrawler paused.

"Why is it that everytime I get in your car, you're 
listening to this guy?"  Schanke said sarcastically.

Nick said nothing as he continued driving - and 
listening.

"There will come a time when you shall meet with the 
object of your loathing and when you do, you had best 
prepare yourself for he will not go gently into that 
good night."

Annie sat in the back seat of Nick's car in shock. 
She had found him.  After years of searching for him, 
she had finally found him. She had sensed a part of 
him the night before at the Raven but nevermore so 
than now.  She allowed her hands to relax.  As she 
looked down at them, she noticed small red lines 
where her nails had dug into her palms.

"I will admit that he is a bit more vengeful than 
usual."  Schanke commented as they continued down 
Bathurst.

Suddenly, Annie's head shot up.  Her eyes were fixed 
straight ahead.  A sensation of pain and death 
vibrated within her.  "Stop here."  Annie said, 
slapping her hand on the back of the front seat. 
"Detective, stop here."

Nick stopped the Caddy in front of a large brick 
building. "Is this where she lived?"  He asked.

"Yes."  Annie nodded.

Everyone got out of the car and walked to the door.  
Nick opened it and held it open, letting Annie and 
Schanke enter.

Annie froze in her place. "He came in through the 
entranceway...Took the elevator up to the third 
floor.  He knew what he came here to do."

Schanke walked over to Nick. "I'll call it, get 
forensics down here and some uniforms to question the 
tennants."

"We'll meet you on the third floor."

"Apartment 3-C."  Annie said.  

Schanke went to the car while Nick and Annie went to 
the elevator.  Annie began to to pace the floor.  "He 
kept pacing.  Nervous.  Agitated."

The elevator opened and Annie walked in first.  "He 
was alone." She announced as Nick entered the 
elevator. "He continued pacing the lift trying to get 
the order of what he was going to do down in his 
head."

"Can you see his face?"

Annie closed her eyes. "No.  It's not clear."

The elevator opened and they stepped out. 

"Her apartment is the last door on the right."  Annie 
said, pointing in the suggested direction.  They 
walked down the hallway and stopped short of the 
door.

"He came in and left through the door."  Annie said, 
her eyes closed as they walked down the hall. "He was 
wearing gloves so he wouldn't leave any prints.  He 
found the spare key Belle kept above the door on the 
right.  She...was walking...to the door when she 
stopped...the door was open."

"Could she have left it open when she left?"  Nick 
asked. 

Annie opened her eyes and stopped just before the 
apartment. "Not Belle.  She was a very secure person.  
She was the type of person to lock up her sock drawer 
if she had to."

Nick reached for the doorknob when Annie stopped him.

"Detective."  Annie said.  "I don't think breaking 
the door down would be wise.  Would you mind if I 
gave it a try?"

Nick looked at her with a look of concern yet with a 
raised eyebrow of curiosity.  

"I won't break anything."  Annie said.  "Promise."

Nick stood away from the door.

Annie turned her attention to the door.  She closed 
her eyes and focused her energy and thought on 
turning the knob until the door opened.  Annie opened 
her eyes and looked over at Nick. "If I may?"

A bit dumbfounded by the whole experience, Nick 
nodded and allowed Annie to enter first.

To Be Continued

When History Repeats Itself-Part 15
By Rebecca Burns

As Annie walked into the apartment, she pressed her 
hand against the door jam.  She closed her eyes as 
she was hit with a vision of Annabelle being pulled 
inside.  "He took her by the arm and pulled her in."  
She relayed. "Shut the door behind them."

They continued into the dark living area where a cold 
chill came over Annie.

"She died here."  Annie said, pointing to the middle 
of the living room floor.  "He kept pacing 
around...waiting for her to arrive.  He was wearing a 
dark shirt...turtleneck I think...Beige 
pants...definitely not a burglar...he would have worn 
darker clothes...black hard soled shoes...And a 
mask...ski mask...only showing his eyes and mouth.  
They never left this room."

Schanke walked into the apartment.  "Units are on 
their way."

Nick held up a hand to silence Schanke while Annie 
walked around the room.

"He laid her down here."  Annie continued. "She tried 
to fight him.  He hit her...Slapped her across the 
face."

Annie sat down on the sofa, sighed, and put her head 
in her hands.

"Annie?"  Nick said softly.

"I'm fine, Detective."  She answered as she held her 
head up to reveal a stream of tears.  "She tried to 
scratch him on the face.  Have Natalie...I mean Dr. 
Lambert check her nails.  She kept screaming for him 
to stop...Kept telling him no, but he...he raped her 
anyway."  Annie placed her hands on her neck as if 
she were being choked.  "As he was...raping her, he 
put his hands around her neck and pressed down until 
she stopped breathing.  There may be some semen and 
blood stains on the carpeting where she died."

Annie stood up looked down at the carpet.  "Was she 
found with both her shoes on?"

"I only noticed one among her clothing."  Nick 
answered.

Annie looked around the room then looked under the 
couch.  "He took it with him."

"Why would he take her shoe?"  Schanke asked.

"A momento."  Nick and Annie answered in unison.

Nick and Annie looked at one another.

"In some serial cases," Annie continued as she broke 
the brief silence. "The killer will take a prize to 
remember."

"Are we looking for a serial?"  Nick asked. 

"No."  Annie answered.  "This isn't a serial."

"How can you tell?"  Schanke asked. 

"Something like a shoe is too minor.  They would want 
to take something that would be missed.  Something 
like a ring or a locket.  Very personal items.  This 
guy was sloppy.  Unless..."

"What?"

"Was her jewelry among her personal effects?"  Annie 
asked. 

"I'm not sure."  Nick answered.  "Why?"

"Her parents ' engagement rings."  She replied. "She 
never took them off.  It was her most prized 
possession."

"We'll have Dr. Lambert check it out."

The sounds of the approaching police sirens broke 
Annie's concentration.

"Detective Knight?"  Annie started. "Would you mind 
if I check out the other rooms?"

"You said he didn't leave this room."  Nick retorted.

"I know." the psychic replied.  "I just want to be 
sure."

Nick nodded in the affirmative. "Let me know if you 
find anything?"

"Of course."

Annie walked to the bedroom.  As she flipped the 
switch and illuminated the room, she could sense that 
the room had not been entered since Annabelle had 
left for the evening.  Three dresses were laid out on 
the neatly made four poster bed.  At the foot of the 
bed were shoes to match each of the outfits.  As she 
continued around the room, there were pictures of 
Annabelle's parents, her friends, and a photograph of 
her and Annie when they were in school on a writing 
desk in the corner.  Next to the picture was a 
leatherbound book and a fountain pen with the 
inscription 'May love find it's way to your heart.  
Merry Christmas, Nigel'.  She smiled when she 
realized it was a gift Annie's brother Nigel had 
given Belle the Christmas prior.  Annie picked up the 
journal and flipped through the pages, finally 
stopping on a section containing a small envelope 
marked 'Blain'.

Annie looked around the room and made sure no one was 
around.  When she was positive that she was alone, 
she slipped the book into her bag and left the room.

When she re-entered the living room, she watched as 
the officers gathered up their evidence.  Annie 
glanced out the window at the alley below.

"Detective Knight?"  Annie started. 

Nick walked back into the apartment and made his way 
over to Annie.  

"He didn't leave by the front door of the building."  
Annie announced. "In order to avoid bringing 
attention to himself he would need to leave by 
alternative means.  The only way he would be able to 
get out without being noticed would be the stairs."

"I'll send a couple of officers down with you."  Nick 
said.

"Thank you."  Annie said as she started out the door.  

"Schanke."  Nick said, walking to the door behind 
Annie.  "Take a couple uniforms down with you to the 
alley."

"You want me to babysit?"

"Humor me, Schank."  Nick said.

Schanke tapped two uniformed officers on the shoulder 
and motioned for them to follow.

They made their way down to the ground floor.  Annie 
stopped at the door which led to the alley and looked 
up.  "He left with her through this door."  She 
began.  "He cut the wires to the alarm system."

Annie opened the door and walked out to the alley.  
Schanke and the officers followed. 

"He looked around for a place to put her body."  
Annie said as she walked out of the alley.  "He 
wanted her to be found so he laid her out in the park 
by a patch of bushes.  He adjusted the body to make 
it look like she died there."

Annie stopped at a patch of bushes and looked down at 
the grass where it had been compressed into the 
earth.  "Here.  This is where he left her.  He took 
one shoe off here and took off to his car.  That's 
it, Detective Schanke.  After that, the trail's 
cold."

"You're sure?"  Schanke asked.

"I'm not a bloodhound, Detective Schanke."  Annie 
snapped.  "I don't track scents, only thoughts.  Once 
he left the scene of the crime, his thoughts went 
with him and got intermingled with everyone else's."

"Okay."  Schanke sighed.  "This is where the 
investigation started.  Let's get back upstairs to 
see what Knight was able to find out."

Schanke, Annie, and the two officers went back to 
Annabelle's apartment where all the evidence that was 
needed was gathered and Nick was waiting for them to 
return. 

"Find anything else?"  Nick asked Schanke.

"Back door alarm was deactivated and he carried her 
over to the park across the street."  Schanke said.  
"After that, nada.  You?"

"Everything that we could."  Nick said.  "Annie, is 
there anything else you could tell us?"

Annie paused for a moment.  "No.  I think that you 
might be able to get some answers, or at least try to 
get some answers at the bar we were supposed to meet 
at.  By the way it sounded, she had been there a 
lot."

"Where might that be?"  Nick asked.

"The Raven."

"Great."  Nick said.  "Schanke, can you take this 
back to the station and have it analyzed?  We'll go 
by the bar and then I'll take Annie home."

"Sure."  Schanke replied sarcastically, "Let you do 
all the leg work while I get to play the waiting game 
with the evidence."

"Like going with your partner and the resident 
nutcase, as you put it, would be more thrilling?"

"Touch‚, Doctor Taylor."  Schanke replied. "I'll see 
you back at the shop, Nick."

"Right."  Nick said then turned to Annie.  "Ready?"

The psychic nodded. "Lead on, Detective."

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 16
By Rebecca Burns

Nick pulled up in front of the Raven and shifted the 
car into park.  "You stay here."

"Why?"

"The owner asked you to leave, right?"  Nick 
questioned.

"Yeah."  Annie answered. 

"And why did she ask you to leave?"

"She said I was scaring the customers away from the 
bar."  

"Well, do you think it's wise to go in there so soon 
after?"

"Yes."  Annie responded harshly.  "I want answers, 
Detective and the only way I'm going to get an idea 
on who killed Annabelle is to go back in there."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Nick looked out the window to make sure no one was 
gauking at his passenger before they got out of the 
car and walked inside.

The music was blaring full throttle and people, 
vampires and humans, were dancing, mingling and 
drinking.  Nick walked in first followed by Annie.  
Her mind was flooded with the thoughts of the people 
in the room.  They came so fast and fierce that she 
sat down at the first empty table she came to.  

Janette was seated at the bar when Nick walked up to 
her.

"Janette." Nick started.

Janette turned.  Her eternal smile was still as 
eloquent and seductive as it was when he met her 800 
years before.  "Nichola!  What a pleasant surprize!  
What brings you down here on such a slow night?"

"A case."

"Awww..." She said sadly. "That's too bad.  I wanted 
to take a break this evening and you would have been 
the perfect diversion."

"Maybe next time."  Nick said.  "There was a woman in 
here the other night."

"There are always a lot of women in here on any given 
night."  Janette commented.

"She was about five-three.  Blue eyes.  Medium blonde 
hair.  English.  She was waiting for someone and you 
asked her to leave?"

Janette's back straightened. "I recall."  She said 
sternly.  "What about her?"


"The friend she was waiting for was found dead in the 
park the other night."  Nick replied as he took out a 
picture of Annabelle.  "Have you seen her in here 
before?"


Janette took the picture out of Nick's hand and 
glanced at it.  "Yes, I have seen her in here a few 
times.  She usually comes in here with a few friends.  
A man, her boyfriend, I assume, came in one night and 
tried to make her leave, she refused and I had Miklos 
remove him.  He was very dominating-quite 
controlling.  I take it this is the woman who was 
found?"

Nick nodded in agreement as he spotted Annie seated 
at a table talking to a waitress.  Janette looked in 
the direction Nick was looking and saw Annie.  

Janette grabbed Nick's arm and immediately he turned 
to face her.  "We need to talk."  She announced 
angrily as she stood up.

Nick did the same and followed Janette to the back 
room.

"What is she doing here?"  Janette asked furiously as 
she shut the door, walked over to her desk and leaned 
against it.

"She's helping me with a case."  Nick replied.

"I want her out of here."

"Not until we find..."

"Now Nichola!"  Janette demanded, her eyes glowing 
with a light green tinge.  "She is not wanted here."

"Why?"

Janette walked towards Nick. "You've been away from 
the community for too long to know." She began, her 
eyes returning to their original deep blue. 

"Know what?"  Nick asked as he advanced towards her.  
"Tell me."

Janette let out a deep sigh and spoke. "There have 
been rumors floating around about a young girl who 
could sense our kind. A psychic. They say that she 
came across one of us and knew everything about him, 
could see into his mind and his past just by a single 
touch."

"I've heard the rumors."  Nick said. "You think she 
may be?"

"I think so."  Janette replied. "You have to get her 
out of here.  Some of the older ones want nothing 
more than to take her. I was tempted myself."

"What stopped you?"  

Janette turned away.

"Don't tell me you fear her?"  Nick commented. "She 
knows what you are."

"She has an idea."  Janette answered nervously. 
"Although I don't see how.  She has never touched me.  
But those eyes of hers.  There's something there 
that...I can't explain it.  Get away from her, 
Nichola.  Get away from her as quickly as you can."

"I can't."  Nick answered. "Not until this case is 
solved."

"But if she finds out what you are, you will not have 
a choice but to take her."  Janette advised.

"You know I can't do that." 

"Then she will be hunted down by the community, and 
you know who will lead the hunt."

"I know that she may be a danger to us." Nick said as 
he took Janette's hand. "If she is who you say she 
might be, tell them to back away until this case is 
solved."

"I cannot guarantee that."  Janette answered. 

His grip got tighter on Janette's hand. "Janette."

"I will try."  Janette said.

Nick kissed gently on the lips.  "Thank you."

"You owe me."  Janette replied.  "And I will 
collect."

Nick smiled and left Janette's office as quickly as 
he came in, stopping at Annie's table to fetch her 
and left.

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 17
By Rebecca Burns

Upon telling what he had found out, Annie sat in the 
car in silence as Detective Knight drove her home.  
She was perturbed at the treatment she received from 
Detective Schanke.  The one thing she hated was 
ignorance.

"You know he means well."  Knight piped in.

Annie turned her head to face him. "Excuse me?"

"Schanke."  Knight replied. "He means well."

"Sure he does."  She replied sarcastically. "All my 
life I've had to tolerate guys like him.  Their 
ignorance and inability to comprehend or to even 
understand the paranormal or psychics or anything 
else off the norm."

"It's hard for him to accept change." Nick commented. 
"Some people understand it better than others."

"Yeah, well he should at least try to understand.  
Not just blow it off as an illusion or some sort of 
parlor act."

Annie looked over at Nick and blushed. "I'm sorry.  I 
usually don't do that."

"It's okay."  Nick said softly. "Schank does that 
kind of ranting all the time so I'm used to it."

"I normally don't do this in the presence of people I 
don't know." Annie explained. "But for some reason I 
feel that I can tell you anything and that scares 
me."

"Why?"

"Because I don't even know you but you understand me.  
What did Nattie tell you about me?  I noticed that 
you're a lot more comfortable around me than you were 
last night."

"She told me enough."  Knight responded as he pulled 
up in front of her apartment. Annie opened the door 
slowly and paused. 

"Detective Knight." she started, "Thank you for 
bringing me home."

"You're welcome."  Nick said. "Would you like me 
to..."

"No."  Annie answered. "Thank you.  That won't be 
necessary."

"Well then.  Goodnight Miss Taylor.  Thank you for 
your help."

"I hope what I gave you helps."

"It will."  Nick said with a smile.

Annie returned the gesture. "Goodnight."

Nick shifted his car into gear and drove away.  

Annie let out a sigh as she watched him drive into 
the night.  What was it about him that made her feel 
so comfortable?  What was this man so different from 
any man she's met?  Was it because she had not yet 
touched him as she had wanted?  True, he was 
attractive and a gentleman, but she always made sure 
not to mix business with pleasure.

All these thoughts ran rampantly through her mind as 
she walked into the open elevator and pressed the 
button for her floor.  She removed her keys from the 
pocket of her long coat and proceeded to remove the 
coat and drape it over her arm.  When the elevator 
opened, Annie walked to her door and began to place 
the key into the lock.  As her key touched the lock, 
the door squeaked open.  She stepped back then 
nervously approached it.  She pushed the door open 
with her foot and walked in. 

Aside from the bright lights of the hallway shining 
inward, the room was pitch black.  The lamp that she 
had left on upon exiting earlier was now on the floor 
in pieces.  She walked in further.  She reached for 
the light switch by the closet and turned it on.  As 
the room became aglow with light, she noticed that 
her couch and chairs had been overturned, rare books, 
photographs and small framed doodles from her niece 
and nephew that were aligned in bookcases along the 
vanilla colored walls were strewn on her living room 
floor. 

A sharp chill went up Annie's back that gave her 
notice that she was not alone.

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 18
By Rebecca Burns

<---@--->

The night was cool along the banks of the Seine as 
Annie strolled down the cobblestone path.  Her heart 
was heavy with sorrow as thoughts about Sylvie 
drifted in and out of her mind like ocean tides.  
Suddenly, she felt a presence like nothing she had 
ever experienced.  Her chest felt heavy and she found 
it hard to breathe.  She stopped in her tracks, and 
looked around until her eyes fixed themselves on a 
tall shadowy figure.

<---@--->

Annie walked cautiously towards the back bedroom.  
She laid her coat across the overturned couch as she 
passed by - never taking her eyes off the open 
bedroom door.  As she reached the entrance the chill 
transformed itself into a throbbing pain that pounded 
against her temples like deep bass drums.  Whoever 
was there, they were indeed very close by.  She 
stopped just outside the door.  As she reached around 
the corner for the light switch, a cold hand took 
hold of her arm and pulled her in.

Her arm was jerked towards the strong figure and 
stopped when her back met her assailant's chest - the 
faint aroma of Obsession permeated her senses.  While 
still grasping her arm, the powerful stranger covered 
Annie's mouth and leaned in close to her ear.

"I know you've been to the police."  He whispered 
gruffly. "I know that you're helping them.  If you do 
not discontinue, I will do to you what has been done 
to your friend."

He released her and pushed her forward onto the bed.  
Annie turned her head slightly to catch a glimpse of 
her attacker.  He was dressed in black and his face 
was covered with a dark ski mask.  All that she could 
see beyond that were sea green eyes.

[someone help me please]

He came towards her, fists clenched tight and his 
eyes carried with them a look of rage.

She quickly looked over to the nightstand at a small 
vase with dried flowers.  She cleared her mind of all 
thought and focused.  Before she could execute her 
plan, her attacker backhanded her across the side of 
her face.  Although dazed, Annie put forth what she 
had learned from one of her former beaus: feet and 
knees are always useful.

With a quick jolt, Annie thrust her legs forward - 
hitting her attacker in the lower extremities.  He 
fell back & curled into the fetal position on the 
floor gasping for air.

Annie reached for the phone.  She pressed the first 
button her fingers touched and held onto the 
receiver.  When she heard the musical digits in her 
ear, she remembered who she last called from her room 
- Natalie.

The assailant stood and trudged towards the bed, 
cringing with each step.  

Natalie was seated at her desk signing reports and 
filling out the necessary paperwork for DNA tests 
when her phone rang.  Without looking, she picked up 
the receiver. "Lambert."

"Please help me!"  Annie said desperately into the 
phone.

"Annie?"  Natalie said as she dropped her pen onto 
her desk.  "Annie what's wrong?"

Nick walked into Nat's office "Gotta minute?"

Nat raised her hand. "Annie?"

Nick looked up and walked to the desk.

"Stay away!" Annie yelled.

Nat pulled the receiver away from her ear.

Annie held onto the phone with both hands. The 
attacker grabbed the phone from her hands and with 
one swift move, hit Annie on the forehead, knocking 
her unconscious.  He slammed her phone down on the 
cradle and walked out

"Oh my God."  Natalie said as she hung up the phone.

"What is it?"  Nick asked.  

"That was Annie."  Nat announced as she sat down. "I 
know it was."

"Nat, what's wrong?"

"Annie - called and asked for help."  She started. 
"The next minute I hear a thud sound and then someone 
hung up the phone.  Nick, I think something's 
happened."

"I'll go by and check on her."  Nick replied.

"Would you mind if I come with you?"

Nick grabbed Natalie's coat from the back of the door 
and handed it to her.  "Sure."

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 19
By Rebecca Burns

When Annie awoke, she found herself lying diagonally 
on her bed - a small trail of blood could be traced 
from the top of her forehead down to her chin.  She 
sat up slowly.  The room began spinning around like a 
merry-go-round on overdrive.  She tried to focus her 
eyes on the clock by her bed to find out how long she 
had been out.  Her stomach twisted in every 
direction.  Her head felt like it was about to split.  
Her eyes focused at the clock.  It displayed 3 AM.  
She had been out only fifteen minutes.  Upon 
realizing this, she reached for the phone and dialed 
911.

"I wonder what could have happened."  Natalie 
mumbled.

"I'm sure everything's fine."  Nick responded.

"81 Kilo.  81 Kilo."  A female voice echoed through 
the police band radio.

Nick picked up the mike and pressed the button. "This 
is 81 Kilo."

"81 Kilo, please proceed to the 250 the Esplanade.  
Report of an assault and battery.  Paramedics en 
route."

"Isn't that Annie's building?"  Nat asked.

"Yeah."  Nick replied.  He could hear Nat's heart 
begin to beat hard against her chest.

"10-4."  Nick replied as he turned on his police 
siren and light.  "Contact Detective Schanke and have 
him meet me there."

"10-4."

Nick pressed his foot down on the gas and sped off to 
the call.

When Nick and Natalie arrived, Schanke and Cohen were 
waiting for them.  Two units were parked out front 
along with an ambulance.

"Fancy seeing you here, Dr. Lambert."  Cohen 
commented. "Unfortunately, there isn't a corpse to 
examine."

"Well, I..." Nat began.

"She got a phone call from Miss Taylor."  Nick said 
as they made their way to the elevator.  

The small group exited in the elevator and made their 
way down the hall and through a small crowd of 
curious neighbors to the open apartment door.  It was 
guarded on each side by two uniformed officers.

"Looks like a tornado hit this place."  Schanke 
commented as they looked around the room.

Knight stopped one of the medics that walked by.  
"Where is the woman that was attacked?"

"Back bedroom giving the medics a hard time."  He 
gestured.

Natalie & Nick walked to the back bedroom and it was 
there that Nat's suspicions were confirmed.

Sitting on her bed was Annie being treated by a 
paramedic.  A small gauze patch was taped to the 
right side of her forehead and a small band aid on 
her left cheek.

"Oh my God."  Nat sighed as she walked over to Annie. 
"Are you okay?"

"It's just a scratch."  Annie said. "I'll be fine."

"What happened?"  Natalie asked.

Annie looked up at Nick who was joined by Schanke.  

"I came home and someone attacked me."  She replied 
abruptly as she tried to 'shoo' away the last medic.  
"It's pretty obvious, don't you think?  Thank God the 
kids weren't here."

Nat smiled as she took hold of Annie's trembling 
hand.

Knight looked over at the paramedic who was packing 
his medic bag. "Give us a minute."

"Take all the time you need."  The medic replied. 
"She's got a concussion and a few cuts but she should 
be okay.  We wanted to take her to the hospital 
but..."

"I don't like hospitals."  Annie said nervously 
looking back at Natalie. "Only if I was dead would I 
go to the hospital.  I'll be fine."

"Thanks."  Knight said as he escorted the medic out.

"Miss Taylor." Cohen started. "Do you have any idea 
who might have done this?"

"Someone who lives in this building."  Annie said. 
"That's the only way they could've gotten in."

"This is one of the securest buildings in this area."  
Schanke commented.

"Does Mr. Powers live in this building?"  Knight 
asked.

"Two floors up on fifteen."

"You think that one of Toronto's high profile 
attorneys attacked you?"  Schanke commented smugly.

"Did you question him, Detective?"  Annie snapped.

"His alibi is being checked out."

"And it will probably check out.   He's a 
manipulative, brown-nosing, girlfriend beating jerk.  
He's also smart.  To him, Everyone has a price.  He 
could have easily paid someone desperate for money to 
give an alibi."

"Miss Taylor."  Cohen continued. "We're not sure who 
did this to you.  But we're going to be moving you to 
a safe place until this case is closed."

"With all due respect, Captain," Annie spouted, "Mr. 
Powers has friends within the department so he knows 
the location of most of the safehouses.  I won't be 
safe."

"She could stay with me."  Nat announced.

"But you're not an officer."  Cohen reminded.

"Then make it my place."  Nick interrupted. "It's got 
security and only Nat and Schanke can get in."

"Alright."  Cohen responded. "But I want a guard 
there."

"Captain." Annie interrupted, "I can take care of 
myself.  If Detective Knight's place is as secure as 
he says it is.  I'll be fine."

"Then it's settled."  Cohen said with a sigh. "We'll 
clear the officers out so you can get a few things 
together."

"Thank you."  Annie replied as Natalie helped her to 
her feet.

"I'll give you a hand."  Nat said.

The officers that were in the room slowly exited 
followed by Knight and Schanke.

"Are you nuts?" Schanke nudged Nick. "You're going to 
let the witchy woman stay at your place?"

"Relax."  Nick whispered. "It's only for a couple 
days."

"Well if she decides to hold a seance, count me out."

"You got it."  Knight said with a smile as the duo 
walked to the living room to wait.

"Where's your bag?"  Natalie asked.

"Under the bed."  Annie replied as she removed 
clothing items from the drawer and placed them on the 
dresser.

Natalie removed a small suitcase from under the bed, 
placed it on the dresser, opened it, and helped Annie 
pack.

Nick & Schanke walked cautiously around the living 
room looking at the debris that had been knocked from 
their shelves.

"What do you suppose he was looking for?" Schanke 
asked as he picked up a small picture frame that held 
an old picture of Annie and Annabelle and placed it 
back on one of the shelves.

"I don't know." Knight answered.

"I might know."  Annie said standing in the hallway 
in front of her bedroom.  She walked to the front 
door and placed her small suitcase down.

Annie walked over to her bag and removed the journal, 
and handed it to Nick. "This is what he might have 
been looking for."

Nick examined the book.  On the cover the word 
"Journal" was embossed in gold.

"It was Annabelle's."  Annie announced.  "I've read 
parts of it and it describes her relationship with 
Blain.  Not a very pretty picture."

"How did you come across this?"  Schanke asked.

"I swiped it when you and Detective Knight were 
searching the rest of Annabelle's apartment."  Annie 
announced.

"You took evidence from the scene of a crime?"  
Schanke snapped. "Do you realize that you may have 
just biased the investigation?"

"How could I have biased the investigation when you 
don't even have a suspect?"  Annie retorted harshly.  
"What are you going to do, Detective?  Arrest me?  
You need me to help you solve this case and you can't 
solve it with me in jail."

"Relax guys."  Nick said as he placed his hand 
against Schanke's chest to hold him back. "No one's 
biased the investigation. Mr. Power's isn't a 
suspect-Yet.  Nat, can you take Annie to my place?  
Schanke and I have some things to check out."

"Sure." Nat replied with a nod.  "Come on Annie.  
Let's get you home."

Annie and Natalie picked up her belongings and walked 
out of the apartment.

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 20
By Rebecca Burns

As Natalie pulled up to Nick's loft, Annie stared out 
of the window in amazement.

"He lives here?"

"Yep."  Natalie said as she stopped in front of a 
door which was illuminated by a dim light hanging 
overhead.

"Wow."  Annie commented. "I figured he'd live 
someplace...I don't know...Nicer."

"Well, looks can be deceiving." Natalie said as she 
turned the car off and got out, Annie followed her 
lead, grabbing whatever belongings she could carry.  
Natalie entered the alarm code and opened the door.  
They got in the elevator and made the ascent upwards.

"Mind if I ask you a question, Nattie?"  Annie asked 
over the rumble of the motor pulling the elevator up.

"Sure."

"Have you told me everything about Nick...I mean 
Detective Knight?"

Natalie blinked, "Yes.  Everything that I can.  Why 
do you ask?"

"I don't know."  Annie replied, "I just get the 
feeling that there's something you're not telling 
me."

[does she know?]

Annie stood her ground and did not answer.  She kept 
repeating to herself her one major rule: Never read 
the minds of your friends.

---

"Mr. Powers." Schanke started "We're sorry to bother 
you at such a late hour."

"That's quite all right, Detectives."  Powers 
answered. "I was just going over some notes.  Please.  
Come in."

Nick and Schanke walked in and Powers shut the door. 
"So, what can I do for you?"

"We need to know where you were around two thirty 
this morning."  Nick started.

"I was here going over some briefs."  He answered as 
he opened a package of cigarettes and pulled one out.  

"Is there anyone who could verify that?"  Knight 
continued.

"No."  Powers replied, "I live alone.  Would you mind 
if I ask what's happened to have caused you ask this 
line of questioning?"

"A woman was attacked in her apartment tonight."  
Schanke replied.

"Don't tell me."  Powers started, rolling his eyes as 
he spoke. "Annie Taylor?  She really wants to pin me 
for Annabelle's death?"

There was a brief pause and Blain let out a long 
sigh. "I'm sorry.  I've got a big case starting in a 
couple days and Annabelle's death..."

"We're very sorry, Mr. Powers."  Nick said. "If you 
can think of anyone who may have done this, please 
give us a call."

"I will, Detective."  Blain answered as he stood and 
walked them to the door. "Could you tell Miss Taylor 
that I hope she's all right."

Knight nodded in the affirmative and the two officers 
walked out.

--

The elevator stopped on the fifth floor with a thud.  
Natalie slid the door open slowly.  The air from the 
other side drifted into the elevator and enveloped 
them.

Wrapping her arms around herself, Annie inhaled and 
let out a sigh.  She smelled the dampness of the 
room.  

[the windows must be open]

"Quite a place isn't it?"  Natalie asked as she took 
two coffee mugs from the cupboard.

"I'll say."  Annie commented as she walked by the 
piano, placing the small suitcase down beside the 
bench.  "I could loose myself here.  No one else's 
thoughts but yours and mine. There should be more but 
I think the bump on my head is masking them out."

"Sounds like that doesn't happen much."

Annie shook her head. "No.  It doesn't.  This is the 
first time since I moved back here."

"Speaking of moving back."  Natalie started 
enthusiastically as she poured water into the mugs 
and placed them on the table along with two teabags, 
a small bowl of cream and sugar, "How was Vancouver?"

"Not bad."  Annie said as she sat down at the table 
across from Nat.  "Vancouver was nice.  The school I 
taught at was sorry to see me go but I couldn't pass 
up the chance to teach here.  That and I was getting 
tired of my sister."

"Gwen still giving you a hard time?"

"When doesn't she?"  Annie said as she sipped her 
tea. "You try to have an intelligent conversation 
with her and nothing comes of it."

"I'm sorry to hear that."  Nat said softly.

There was a brief pause.

"It's a tragic thing when your own sister blames you 
for your father's death."

"What did your mother say?"

"What can she say?"  Annie replied, "She lives with 
my sister, they have a practice together and mother 
always agrees with Gwen."

"And Nigel?"

"He's torn in a way."

"Torn?"

Annie nodded. "He doesn't know whether to side with 
me or Gwen where there isn't a side to choose.  Dad 
died of natural causes pure and simple.  Hell, you 
probably did the autopsy."

"I did."  Natalie acknowledged.  "One of the hardest 
ones I've done."

"I just wish for once that my sister would listen to 
me, you know?  Like you and Richard could?  Instead 
of me having to turn to my friends."

"Richard always was a good listener."  Natalie 
commented, "Stubborn but always willing to listen and 
help out.  It was one of the reasons he became a 
lawyer."

"How did he die, Nattie?  I could never figure it 
out."  Annie said softly.

"He was shot trying to stop someone escaping 
custody."  Nat answered nervously as she put her head 
down, lips trembling, remembering the supernatural 
way to which her brother departed.

//she's hiding something.// Annie thought to herself. 
//but what? It has to have something to do with 
Detective Knight.//

"But Detective Knight was here to help you through 
it?"  Annie asked curiously. "Right?"

"Yes."  Natalie replied hesitantly.

"Where is Detective Knight, anyway?"  Annie asked as 
she stood up.

"Good question." Nat said looking at her watch. "He 
should be here by now."

Annie yawned deeply. "Well, I'm not going to wait 
around for him.  I'm beat."  

She grabbed her bag and headed for the bathroom when 
a chill raced up her back.  She looked wildly in all 
directions.

"Annie?"  Natalie started, concerned as she walked 
over. 

"I'm fine."  Annie announced, "It was just a chill."

Natalie helped Annie with her bag as the elevator 
could be heard making its way up.

"That'll be Nick."  Natalie replied. "Why don't you 
have a seat on the couch and I'll take a look at 
you."  

"No."  Annie snapped.  "All I need is a hot shower 
and sleep."

"Okay."  Nat replied with a smile. "The bathroom is 
on the other side of the stairs and the towels are 
under the sink."

"Thanks."

Annie picked up her bag walked to the bathroom and 
shut the door.  She placed her bag on the sink and 
opened it.  She removed a large shirt, a pair of 
multi-colored socks and a pair of tie dyed fuzzy 
slippers.  Strange surroundings or not, she wanted to 
be comfortable.  She turned the faucet to hot and 
opened the cabinet under the sink and took hold of 
the first towel she touched.  She put the towel over 
her bag and ran her hands through the warm soothing 
water.

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 21
By Rebecca Burns

Nick slid the elevator door open and walked over to 
the table, removed his coat, and draped it over a 
chair.

"Cutting it close again dont'cha think?"  Nat 
replied.

"Yeah."  Nick replied.  "Where is she?"

"Changing."  She responded nervously.

Nick looked at Natalie concerned, "Something wrong?"

"You could say that."  Nat replied nervously as she 
walked over to the bookcase to get a blanket.

"What happened?"

Natalie knelt down and grabbed a large quilt and 
stood up. "Well, if I didn't know any better, I'd 
would say that she sensed you coming."

"That's impossible."  Nick said as he watched Natalie 
walk over to the couch. "Unless..."

"She was brought across?"  Natalie continued as she 
draped the blanket over the couch. "I think that's 
highly unlikely unless she's the first vampire who 
can eat solid food and drink tea.  Besides, with her 
talent, who knows what she can sense."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "So how could she have 
known?"

"I don't know but you're going to have to tell her.  
Soon."

"I know."  Nick sighed as he leaned against the 
table. "But how do we know it won't drive her mad?"

"We don't."  Nat replied. "But you have to try to 
make her understand."

Annie walked out of the bathroom with bag in hand and 
walked over to the couch, glancing up at Nick as she 
passed.

"Is everything all right?"

"Fine, thank you Detective."  Annie replied as she 
sat down on the couch. "I just have a headache.  
After a good night's..."

An image flashed before Annie of a man shielding his 
eyes from the sun.  She shook her head.  "I mean 
day's rest.  I'll be fine."

"Are you sure you don't want me to take a look at 
you?"  Natalie asked as she sat beside her friend and 
placed her hand on her shoulder.

Annie nodded.  "I'm sure.  What time is it?"

Nick glanced up at the sun clock on the wall behind 
him.  "Almost six."

"Well," Natalie began as she stood up "I guess I 
better go so you two can get some rest."

Natalie gave Annie a quick hug and stood up. 

"Don't worry."  Nat started with a smile as she 
grabbed her coat. "I'll be back tonight."

"I'll walk you down."  Nick said as he helped Nat 
with her coat.

"Oh, I can manage."  Nat replied.  She leaned in 
close to Nick.  "Just try to get along.  Please?"

Nick nodded. "We'll try."

Natalie walked into the elevator and began to slide 
the door closed. "I hope so.  I don't want to get a 
call to come here and identify a body."

"Which one?"

"Goodnight."  Nat said with a smile.

"Night Nat."  Annie said loudly.

"Night."  Nat said back.

Nick stared at the steel door as the light from the 
elevator descended.

"You know she might be right."  Annie yawned.

"What?"  Nick responded as he turned his head towards 
the voice.

Annie was lying on her stomach; her legs bent at the 
knees revealing her tie dyed fuzzy slippers up in the 
air.  Her head was resting in her hands watching 
Nick. "Nat's right."

"She is about a lot of things."  Nick commented as he 
walked over to the leather chair, grabbing the 
remote. With the press of a button, the blinds began 
to close.

Annie turned over and lay on her back.  "You have a 
very nice place here, Detective Knight. A little damp 
and cold, but nice." 

"Thanks."  Nick replied. "Is there anything I can get 
you?"

"A pillow would be nice." She requested.

"Are you sure?"  Nick asked. "You could sleep 
upstairs."

Annie sat up on the couch. "Oh I don't mind the 
couch.  Many a morning I find myself on the couch 
even when I know I went to my own bed."

"You sleepwalk?" he asked as he walked to the 
bookcase for a pillow, hoping that the answer was in 
the negative.

"I don't know."  Annie replied as her head dropped to 
her chest. "Never had anyone around long enough to 
find out. Most usually I chalk it up to my flying 
dreams."

"Flying dreams?"

Annie nodded as she raised her head, which was still 
throbbing from the blow earlier.  "Almost every week 
I dream about flying and almost always I wake up in 
someplace other than my bed."

Nick found this quite intriguing.  "Where?" He asked 
with a smile as he walked back to the couch, pillow 
in hand.

"Let's see," she started with a sigh. "In college I 
used to find myself in the student lounge. One time, 
the campus lawn at 3am, the roof, the boiler room.  
On one occasion, the gymnasium.  When I got a place 
of my own, there was no telling where I would end 
up."

Nick held out the pillow to Annie and smiled. "Here."

Annie reached for the pillow then pulled away. "I'd 
wanted to thank you for letting me stay here and 
apologize for the way I've treated you. You've been 
nothing but a gentleman towards me since we met and 
I've been nothing but chippy and abrasive to you."

Annie took the pillow from Nick and held it close to 
her.

"It's to be expected. Good night, Miss Taylor."  Nick 
responded as he made his way to the stairs.
 
"Good night."  She said softly.  "Detective?"

Nick turned to face her. 

"Would you mind if I called you Nicholas?"  Annie 
asked.  

"I'd like that a lot."  He smiled.

"Good."  Annie said with a smile. "Good night."

Nick nodded and continued up the stairs to his room.  
Annie placed the pillow under her head and lay down 
to sleep.

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 22
By Rebecca Burns

An hour and a half had past.  Nick was lying on his 
bed still dressed in the same clothing from earlier 
and still awake.  For some reason, he could not 
sleep.  There was a woman downstairs that he knew 
nothing about.  This worried him.  How could he 
protect her from his immortal secret?  He knew that 
he could not keep it from her for long.  Nick stood 
up and went downstairs.  He walked over to the couch 
and stared at her for a moment.  Annie was curled up 
in the fetal position, trying to keep warm.  Nick 
smiled.  He had forgotten that she was mortal and 
that mortals required the warmth of blankets in 
addition to the fireplace, which still burned 
steadily.  He walked over to the bookcase, opened a 
small set of doors below the shelves and removed a 
large blanket.  Natalie had brought it over on one of 
their movie nights and decided to leave it just in 
case.  He knew that she wouldn't mind.  Nick placed 
the blanket over Annie's shivering body and walked 
over to the refrigerator and took out a half empty 
bottle of nourishment.  He reached for a glass on the 
shelf and filled it.  He placed the bottle on the 
counter and went to the bookcase. 

Upon looking over the many titles on the shelves, 
Nick came across a book with a grey and black cover 
and silver writing.  The Greek symbol si was embossed 
on the cover and the title 'Dreaming with My Eyes 
Shut' by Annie Taylor.  He pulled the book off the 
shelf and walked to the living room, grabbing the 
bottle off the counter on the way.  He settled into 
the plush leather chair, the snap-pop of the 
fireplace barely audible.  Nick placed the bottle on 
the floor next to the chair.  Taking a sip from his 
glass, Nick placed the book on the arm on his lap.  
The blood rushed through him like rolling rapids, 
heightening his senses.  He could hear the soft 
breathing and rapid heartbeat being emitted from his 
sleeping guest.  The faint sweet scent of lilacs 
drifted through his senses from his left.  No doubt 
from Annie, Nick thought.  Her wounds were fairly 
recent so the scent would still linger.  He stared at 
her again and ran a hand through his short blond 
hair.  Why was he so taken by this woman?  Why did 
the desire to defy his promise to Natalie arise as 
quickly as it had?  He shook his head to clear away 
the thoughts that were running through his brain.  
Taking another sip from his glass, he picked up the 
book, opened it to the first page and began reading 
as his guest tossed and turned in restless dreaming.

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 23
By Rebecca Burns

Annie opened her eyes and sat up on the couch as the 
dream she had been having woke her.  Her head began 
to pound as she looked around the room to reacquaint 
herself with her surroundings.  Placing a hand 
against her head to wipe beads of sweat from her 
forehead and in an attempt to keep the room from 
spinning, she used the other hand to reach inside her 
bag which was on the table behind the couch and 
removed a hardbound book and a pen.  As soon as her 
eyes were able to focus, she opened the book to a 
clean page and began to write.

	I dreamt of him again tonight.  Like all the 
other dreams, he was dressed in black from neck to 
feet and his hair was the same as I had remembered in 
the past.  There was, however, something different 
about him.  He felt more, dare I say it-human.  I 
stood in front of him and felt no anger or desire for 
vengeance.  He had his hands on my shoulders and I 
felt no need to run.  I turned slightly and looked up 
at his face.  He looked down at me and smiled.  There 
were odd imperfections in his smile.  He had a look 
of understanding that calmed me.  His sea blue eyes 
told me that there was truth to what he was about to 
show me and I desired to know.  I smiled back at him.  
God, help me.

	Using only his eyes, he motioned me to look 
away from him and observe what was in front of me.  
When I turned, my eyes affixed themselves on a bench 
of wrought iron and wood.  It was placed next to a 
large oak tree.  On the bench sat a woman dressed in 
royal blue.  Her hair was long and dark. It draped 
down her back in waves of curls.  When I tried to 
step forward to investigate the identity of the 
woman, his grip got tighter and he leaned in, 
whispering in my ear, "You must not interfere.  You 
are here only to observe."

	I stood in place and continued to watch as a 
man suddenly appeared behind the woman, blocking her 
from my view.  He was tall with short blond hair and 
looked of average build for a man of his height.  He 
placed a hand on her shoulder and her head seemed to 
shift upwards.  He offered his hand and she accepted.  
She stood, walked around the bench and faced the 
unknown man.  As the woman's face became visible, I 
realized that I knew her as Natalie, a dear friend 
from school that I have recently become reacquainted 
with.  She wrapped her arms around the unknown man 
and kissed him passionately.

	They stopped kissing when he pushed her away 
suddenly.  He placed a hand behind her neck, 
carefully relocating her hair from her shoulders to 
her back.  He kissed her on the lips again and his 
lips made their way down to her neck.  Her head 
tilted to one side as her hands, which were clinging 
to his upper arms made fists then suddenly went limp, 
falling to her sides.  He let her fall into him as 
her legs gave out.  He knelt down and laid her gently 
on the ground.  He raised one of her hands to him as 
if to kiss it then placed it on the ground.  I 
blinked and he was gone.

	It was at that moment that he allowed me to go 
to her.  As I walked to her, the vibrant color that I 
remembered of Natalie's facial features had all but 
faded.  It was as pale as I had ever seen.  As I took 
one of her hands in mine, it was as cold as ice.  
When I moved her hair away from her neck, I saw two 
small holes.  They were fresh with blood-her blood.

	I felt the anger return.  I felt the urge to 
look at him but I could not take my eyes away from my 
friend.  "This is not going to happen."  I said.  
"Not to her."

	"I am afraid it is inevitable."  He replied, 
his voice suddenly thundering and harsh.  "As well as 
your fate."

	I felt a strong hand curl around my upper arm 
and began to lift me up.  I kept my eyes fixed on 
Natalie.  He placed his other hand on the back of my 
neck, forcing me to face him.  As I looked up at him, 
I saw the face of the man that has haunted me for 
years.  I saw the face of the monster that took the 
life of my friend, Sylvie.  I paralyzed with fear.  
As he brought his mouth towards my neck, I knew that 
I was about to die.

Annie paused from her writing.  She closed her eyes 
and replayed the last moments of her dream before she 
woke up.  She opened her eyes, sighed, and wrote one 
last entry.

	Is this dream what the future holds for me?  
For Natalie?  Can I prevent these events from 
occurring?  I fear that If I am not able to prevent 
them, I shall meet with the monster of my nightmares 
and with him, I will meet my fate.

Annie closed the book and placed it and the pen on 
the coffee table.  She took another look around the 
room and let out a sigh as she enjoyed the quiet that 
surrounded her.

To Be Continued...


When History Repeats Itself-Part 24
By Rebecca Burns

Annie discovered that the detective had placed an 
additional blanket over her during the course of the 
evening. She was happy about that. She sensed that he 
was a little uncomfortable with her being here but it 
was a last minute call from the captain and he did 
make the offer. Annie had been attacked in her home 
and Cohen wasn't about to let the only person who 
might be able to solve this case be put in any more 
danger than she was already in. 

Annie stretched her arms as she turned over on her 
side to face the fireplace,  which was still burning 
steadily.  She caught a quick glimpse of Nick's feet 
propped up on the coffee table.  As she looked over 
the chair, she noticed that his head was resting on 
the back of the chair, his hands crossed over his 
chest.  Under his hands rested a book, which was 
three-quarters finished.  For a brief moment she 
thought he was dead.

"Detective Knight?"  Annie whispered.

Nick's head came up from the back of the chair like a 
shot from a cannon.


Annie jumped back. "I'm sorry.  I thought you were 
asleep."

"It's all right."  Nick replied. "Are you okay?"

"Fine."  Annie studdered. "I think.  What time is 
it?"

Nick looked over at the sun clock on the kitchen 
wall.  "A little after eight."

"Eight?"  Annie groaned, sitting up. "As in eight in 
the morning?"

"Yes."  Nick nodded.

Annie's head plopped back down to the pillow. "I'm 
never up this early."

"How are you feeling?"

Annie touched the bandage on her forehead. "Okay I 
guess.  Still a little dizzy and cold.  By the way, 
thank you for the blanket."

"My pleasure."  Nick said with a smile.

"I see you've been reading my book."  Annie 
commented. "Is it because I'm here or curiosity?"

"A little of both."  Nick replied. "What made you 
write it?"

"Well..." Annie sighed as she sat up. "It was a time 
in my life where I didn't know what I was going to 
do.  I had already solved dozens of cases all over 
the world and had written everything down in my 
journals.  My friend Sylvie commented one afternoon 
that I shouldn't let my English degree or my journals 
go to waste and that I should write a book.  That's 
the result."

"It's very good."  Nick commented.

"Well, the critics had mixed reviews.  They called it 
anywhere from new age nonsense to a primer for the 
amateur parapsychologist."

"What made you give it up?"

"Writing?"  Annie said softly. "I didn't give it up 
entirely.  My friend, Sylvie was traveling with me 
and she died suddenly.  I realized how precious life 
was and what else could I do but teach other to 
realize it as well.  So, I moved to Toronto, got my 
Doctorate in Parapsychology and took a few extra 
courses along the way.  I taught English in Vancouver 
for a bit until the University offered me a job 
teaching and here I am."

"Natalie mentioned that you two were roommates."

"Yep."  Annie replied.  "She and I shared a flat 
together and we had a couple of classes.  What else 
did she mention?"

"Oh not much."  Nick replied nervously.  "Just that 
you weren't treated very well while you were there."

"She's right."  Annie replied. "She wasn't treated 
well either since she was my roommate.  Some of the 
organizations on campus thought that I was a witch 
and that I worshipped the devil, which is entirely 
untrue.  They ridiculed Nattie for rooming with me 
and would do everything from send hate mail to 
threatening messages on our answering machine.  I 
felt bad for Nat.  She shouldn't have been treated 
like that.  No one should be treated the way we 
were."

"Goes to prove that there are people in the world 
that can't treat someone who's different like 
everyone else."  Nick said.

"I've come across a lot of them in my day."  Annie 
commented. 

"As have I."  Nick sighed softly.

Annie looked over at Nick. "You're a very interesting 
man, Nicholas."

"As you are a very interesting woman.  Why is it that 
you don't like reading people the way you did in the 
past?"

"You noticed?"

"In the morgue you mentioned how you hated reading 
people."

"Especially dead people."  Annie said. "It's doubly 
worse if you know them."

"It's really that bad?"

"Sometimes.  I can't count how many nightmares I've 
had.   I have to admit that a part of me enjoys 
reading people.  Another part of me despises it and 
considers it an invasion of privacy but I know it 
helps solve cases.  I can't control it sometimes and 
it gets to be so overwhelming I get massive 
headaches. They get so bad I have to take four 
Tynenols every 8 hours just to keep me sane. Not to 
mention that I play music so loud the building 
manager said he would pay me to get the apartment 
soundproofed.   You would think that I should be use 
to them.  You can't imagine what it's like living 
with this so-called 'gift.'  I can't seem to 
understand why people think of this talent I have as 
some extraordinary endowment.  To hear the thoughts 
of everyone around you.  Violent thoughts, loving 
thoughts, secret thoughts and most of the time not 
being able to act on them."

"Like reading Schanke?"

"Oh he was easy."  Annie laughed. "All he did was 
brush by me in the station when I first came in and 
he's been an open book ever since."

"And Natalie?"

Annie put her head down. "I make it a rule never to 
act on the thoughts of my friends unless absolutely 
necessary and their thoughts tell me to act.  The 
first time Nattie and I met, though, I made the 
mistake of reading her and acting on it and we didn't 
speak for three days."

"And me?"

Nick had to ask.  Since the first time they had met 
and he discovered her gift he has wondered if she 
knew about his eternal curse.

"I was waiting for you to ask that."  Annie said.  
"Honestly, I don't know."

"Why?"

"In order for me to get a clear reading, I would have 
to touch you.  Part of me wants to.  However, your 
eyes told me enough to avoid it for now."

"I'm not going to hurt you."  Nick said as he placed 
the book on the table, picked up the glass and the 
bottle. "I wouldn't have offered you to stay if I 
was."

"It's not like that."  Annie said as she gazed up at 
him, making contact with his eyes.  "I know you're 
not going to hurt me."

Nick knelt down beside the arm of the couch. "My 
eyes.  What do they tell you?"

"They tell me that you are a man with concern for 
those around you.  That you would give your life for 
those you care about. "You have something missing 
from your life.  You've been trying for a very long 
time to find it and you've come close.  But just when 
you think it's within reach, it's gone."

"That's pretty good."  Nick said, shocked as he stood 
and walked to the sink when Annie suddenly stood up.

"You have a secret." She burst out.

Nick froze in his place in front of the sink.

"This secret has hurt many people for many years. 
You're afraid that if I should find out, something 
may happen and the end result may not be very 
pleasant.  What kind of secret could do that?"

Nick turned slowly and faced her, forcing the vampire 
inside him to stand it's ground beneath the exterior 
of his gruff features. "I don't want to frighten 
you."

Annie looked up at the clock and discovered that she 
and Nick had been talking for over 2 hours.  She lay 
her head back down on the pillow. "I guess it's for 
the best." she yawned. "For now."

Nick rinsed out his glass and threw the bottle in the 
plastic garbage can next to the sink then walked over 
to the couch.  He noticed that Annie had gone back to 
sleep.  He walked to the stairs and continued up to 
his room to sleep.

To Be Continued...	

When History Repeats Itself-Part 25
By Rebecca Burns

The sun finally set and Nick's alarm woke him from 
restless slumber.  He lay in bed and sighed, placing 
his hand on his forehead to check for signs of a 
sweat.  The last thing he wanted to do was frighten 
Annie.  As he sat up in bed, he could hear the sounds 
of the piano being played downstairs.  He smiled as 
he recognized the piece - Claire de Lune.   He stood 
up, put on his robe, walked out of his room to the 
railing, and watched Annie as she continued playing.  
She was already dressed and her hair wrapped in a 
towel.

Brains and talent in one person were a hard thing to 
come by, he thought.  He got lucky in discovering 
those qualities in Natalie and now similar attributes 
in Annie.  He didn't know whether to be grateful or 
fearful of this fact.  He grabbed the cold steel 
poles surrounding the balcony and stretched.  He then 
started down the stairs towards Annie.

Annie slowed her playing as he got closer and finally 
came to the end of the piece.  Nick stopped two feet 
away from the piano.

"Your G below middle C is flat."  Annie said without 
turning around.  "Did I wake you?"

"No." He replied. "Thank you for telling me.  About 
the piano, I mean."

"No problem."  Annie said. "It probably happened 
because of the fireplace running all night.  I opened 
the blinds a little bit.  I wanted to watch what I 
could of the sunset.  I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all."  He replied nervously, relieved that 
the sun had already set.  "You play beautifully."

"Thanks.  Thirteen years of lessons paid off into a 
college scholarship and here I am - a psychic 
shrink."

"Why not a concert pianist?  You have the talent for 
it."

"And it would have made my parents happy.  But I 
wasn't.  To me it was an escape, a way to relax.  
They wanted me to turn it into a career.  Kind of 
mold me in their image.  My sister became a 
psychiatrist like mom and of course, Nigel, became a 
lawyer like dad.  I was the unconventional one.  The 
middle child.  I decided to be different.  I majored 
in piano to satisfy my parents, while taking on 
another major of parapsychology with a minor in 
psychology."

"And you were able to keep it from them?"

"Until the end of the fall semester my second year."  
Annie said as she fixed herself a cup of tea.  "I 
found out that my father had a friend on the faculty 
who informed him of my declaration of majors.  Dad 
and mom visited me at 6am in my dormroom and 
humiliated me by saying that making things float 
around a room and reading minds wasn't a career and 
that it wasn't what they wanted for me.  A vicious 
little rumor quickly spread that I was a witch.  My 
roommate moved out, the sorority that I was in kicked 
me out, and my boyfriend dumped me.  I tried to tell 
them the truth but they wouldn't listen.  Before all 
this nonsense happened, everyone thought that I was 
taking parapsychology for an easy credit.  My dad 
ruined all that and I hated him for it."

"What did you do?"

"What I usually do when I'm pissed off.  I buried 
myself in my work.  I still kept the majors, 
graduating with honors in both, and went to grad 
school in the US to get away from dad and where 
psychics were a big thing on campus.  That's where I 
first got involved with the US police, tracking a 
serial rapist who was terrorizing the campus.  I 
wrote my thesis, which turned out to be standard 
reading, and got my masters.  You know, I've been 
babbling on for almost an hour and you're not even 
ready for work."

The phone rang.

"I am working."  Nick said, going for the phone. "I'm 
protecting you."

"I'm a big girl."  Annie shouted.  "I don't need a 
sitter."

Nick smiled as he picked up the phone. "Knight."

"My you're chipper."  Schanke piped though the phone. 
"What'd she do?  Put a love spell on you or 
something?"

"Kindly inform Detective Schanke that I don't do that 
kind of thing but if he'd like to improve his drive, 
I know a good therapist in town who specializes in 
that kind of thing."

Nick wanted to burst out in laughter but kept his 
composure. "What have you got, Schank?"

"Not much." Schanke replied. "Powers' secretary 
confirmed he was in a late meeting with Nigel Taylor 
and the other partners in the firm but left early 
after getting a page from a client."

"What time?"

"Eleven.  I'm on my way to Powers' place to check it 
out.  His secretary said he called in sick."

"Good."  Knight said. "Let me know what you find 
out."

"What are you going to do?"  Schanke snapped 
sarcastically. "Hang out with the gypsy all day while 
I do all the leg work?  Thanks a lot, partner."

"I owe you, Schanke."  Nick replied

"In spades."  Schanke said as he hung up.

Nick hung up the phone and started up the stairs. 
"Are you going to be all right while I..."

"I'll be fine."  Annie replied.  "If you don't mind, 
I'm going to pop in some music."

"Sure."  Nick answered.  He continued up the stairs 
to his room and gathered up the clothes he would wear 
for the night.

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 26
By Rebecca Burns

Annie walked over to the large entertainment center 
and admired his collection of compact discs and 
videotapes. She was taken aback by the variety of 
music he had to offer - mostly classical.  As she 
looked atop the case she spied a large blue and white 
speckled vase. Through the corner of her eye, she saw 
Nick coming down the stairs.  

"This is a gorgeous piece."  Annie commented. "Early 
sixteen hundreds."

"You know your antiques."  Nick returned as he 
continued down the stairs.

"My uncle owns an antique store.  He let me flip 
through all the books and I picked up on a couple 
things. I also took a course in school.  He has a 
piece like this one worth at about half a million."

"Impressive."  Nick said. "I didn't know how much it 
was worth."

"Most people don't."  Annie said. "If you'd like, I 
can have him appraise you antiques."

"I'll think about it."  Nick said with a smile. 
"Excuse me."

"Sorry."  Annie said as she watched him go into the 
bathroom and shut the door.  She smiled as she 
realized that although she knew very little about 
Nicholas.  She liked him.  He listened to what she 
had to say. Also, she found him intelligent, 
mysterious, and protective.  He hadn't treated her 
like an outcast and she appreciated that.  She 
continued looking through Nick's collection and 
finally decided on Beethoven, Annabelle's favorite 
composer.  She was in the mood to think about her.  
All the talk about her parents made her think of 
Annabelle and how she turned to her for support.  
When she hit the play button, the first selection, 
Moonlight Sonata, began to play.

Annie walked slowly over to the couch with her tea 
and sat down.  How Annabelle loved this song, Annie 
thought.  She always cried when she heard it.  Annie 
recalled a time when she and Belle were at ballet and 
Belle had to hold back tears.  

"That's what this piece is about, Annie."  Annabelle 
said to her.  "Pure love.  He's holding her like 
there is nothing else on earth but her. That's what I 
think love is or what it should be."

Annie grabbed the towel from her head and held it 
close to her tear-filled eyes.  She knew that her 
hair was contorted in different directions, but she 
didn't care.  She couldn't let him hear her cry.  
There have been no tears shed over the death of her 
friend.  Annie promised the day before - no tears 
until the case is solved.  She wiped the tears from 
her eyes.

The sound of the loft elevator coming up jerked Annie 
from her discontent.  She moved to the far end of the 
couch and waited as the elevator stopped and the door 
slid open.  Annie was relieved to see that the figure 
that emerged was Natalie.

"Annie?"  Natalie started as she walked over. "Are 
you okay?  You look...I'm sorry if I frightened you.  
I should have called."

"I'm okay."  Annie said. "My defenses are down so I 
didn't sense you coming.  Sorry."

"How's you head?"  Nat asked as she sat down. "Did 
you sleep all right?"

"Yes to both."  She replied with a smile. "Nicholas 
is an interesting man. I can see why you like him.  
We talked for two hours this morning and an hour this 
evening.  Well, I talked at least."

"Where is Nick?"  Natalie asked curiously, looking 
around. 

"The bathroom."  Annie answered. "Shouldn't you be at 
work?"

"I was on my way in when I came by to see how you 
were doing."

"Well, as you can see, I'm fine."  Annie replied. "I 
have got to find me a place like this, Nattie.  It's 
peaceful here.  I don't hear the voices, I don't 
sense the fear or anger.  It's open and closed at the 
same time and..."

"What?"

Annie shook her head.  "There's a feeling here.  It's 
lingering and I know it's not from me."

<does she know yet?>

"What kind of feeling?"  Natalie asked.

"That's just it."  Annie replied. "I can't explain 
it, really.  Age?  I think?  This place is filled 
with a history I can't put my finger on.  I felt it 
at the Raven last night and the night Annabelle died 
when I was waiting for her."

"The Raven?"  Natalie repeated as the tone in her 
voice transformed from a tone of curiosity to 
concerning. "You were at the Raven?"

"Yeah."  Annie nodded innocently. "The owner's not 
all that friendly and the place is dark.  I found it 
quite...interesting."

Natalie looked at her watch and suddenly stood.  "I 
should be going. Grace should have the results on 
those hairs we found at your apartment." 

"I hope it leads to the right person." 

"Me, too."  Nat answered. "Can you tell Nick that 
I'll call later?"

"Sure."  Annie said as the phone rang. "Will you be 
by later?  I wanted to stop by my apartment to get a 
few things."

"You bet."  Nat replied as she slid the door open. 
"Bye."

Annie picked up the receiver and waved to Natalie. 
"Hello?"

"I know where you are."  A voice sang into the phone. 
"I know where to find you."

"Why don't we finish this?"  Annie said. "What do you 
say?  Just you and me.  You pick the place and time 
and I'll be there."

There was a faint thumping in the background as the 
breathing grew heavy. "Warehouse district.  Bond 
Warehouse.  Top Floor.  Eleven o'clock."

"I'll be there."  Annie replied harshly as she hung 
up the phone.

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 27
By Rebecca Burns

Nick exited the bathroom with his hair slicked back 
away from his face and wearing a long read dressing 
robe.

"Was that the phone?"

"No."  Annie shook her head innocently. "Natalie was 
here, but she had to get to work.  She'll be by 
later."

"Great."  He replied sullenly.

"Is there anything to eat in this place?"  Annie 
asked, her stomach growling. "I can't live on tea and 
coffee.  I checked the fridge but all that was there 
was wine."

Nick looked at Annie with worry. "You didn't...?"

"Drink it?  Hell no.  I didn't even smell it.  I try 
to avoid alcohol on an empty stomach and especially 
when I'm working on a case.  Would you mind if I 
order take out?"

"I'll have Schanke bring something by."

"Why not call for delivery?"

"We want as few people as possible knowing where you 
are."

Annie thought for a moment as she flipped on the 
television. "Maybe you're right.  It makes sense."

As the television faded in, the theme music for the 6 
o'clock news ended and the news anchor began 
speaking. 

"Good evening.  I'm Minnie Doyle.  Our top story 
tonight: Police are still investigating the death of 
a young woman found in Alexandra Park early yesterday 
morning.  The woman, who has been identified as 
Annabelle Grayson, a legal secretary with Powers, 
Davies, and Hargrove, was found only yards from her 
home.  An autopsy performed yesterday revealed that 
she was raped and then strangled.  We also reported 
that there was another woman with Grayson shortly 
before her death.  The woman has been identified as 
Dr. Annie Taylor, a well-known psychic who is also an 
associate professor at the University of Toronto.  
You may recall ten years ago, Dr. Taylor helped 
police track down Tucker Stiles, the notorious Queen 
Elizabeth Park rapist.  Taylor is currently helping 
police with the investigation and could not be 
reached for comment.  In other news..."

Nick switched off the television. "I'm sorry.  I 
didn't know that..."

"It's not your fault."  Annie said, sitting 
motionless on the couch.  "I know you and Detective 
Schanke didn't say anything.  My only question is who 
did?"

"You're awfully calm about it."

"So I won't break anything."  Annie said calmly, her 
eyes closed while she took in a deep breath and 
exhaled. "I get pissed and things break.  You have 
too many antiques in here so I'm trying to not get 
upset about it."

Meanwhile at Blain Powers' apartment, Schanke was 
having a difficult time of questioning Blain.

"Mr. Powers."  Schanke started.  "You weren't very 
clear, during our discussion the other day, about 
where you were at the time of Miss Grayson's death."

"I was in a firm meeting and I left between Ten-
fifteen and Eleven o'clock."  Powers replied harshly 
as he sat on the edge of the couch.  "I got a page 
from a client. I was at his house going over 
strategy.  We go to trial next week."

"And you were there until..."

"At least two in the morning."

"And you never left your client's house?"

"No.  Look, Detective.  If you want to call my 
client, fine.  If you want to call my secretary, 
fine.  Hell, if you even want to call Nigel Taylor, 
that's fine, too.  But don't you come in here and try 
to pin a murder on me that I didn't commit!"

"Why did you come home early today, Mr. Powers?"  
Schanke asked.

"I wasn't feeling well."  He answered.  "I've been 
nursing a cold for the past few days."

"I'm sorry to hear that.  If I can get the name, 
number, and address of the client you were with at 
the time of Miss Grayson's death."

"Of course."  Blain sniffed as he grabbed a memo pad 
off his coffee table.  Schanke watched as Blain wrote 
and noticed his knuckles, which were scabbed over.

"What happened to you hand?"

Blain looked down at his injured hand.  "Oh...I box."

"Bare knuckled?"

"I have a tendency to overexert myself on the bag.  
Here..." Blain handed Schanke a slip of paper.

"Thank you Mr. Powers."  Schanke said as he stood and 
made his way to the door.

"Detective?" Powers began innocently "Might I ask how 
Miss Taylor is doing?"

"She's safe, if that's what you mean."  Schanke 
replied. "No broken bones from her attack last night.  
Just a few bumps and bruises.  Why do you ask?  I 
didn't think you two got along."

"Despite my dislike for Miss Taylor, she was 
Annabelle's closest friend so I know she's hurting.  
Besides, despite my profession, I do have some 
compassion."

Blain opened the door and allowed Schanke to leave. 
"I hope you find who did this to Annabelle, Detective 
Schanke.  Please keep me informed."

"Of course."  Schanke replied. "Goodnight, Mr. 
Powers."

"Detective."  Powers said as he shut the door.  He 
shook his head and sighed as he went to his room.

As Schanke got down to the car, his cellphone began 
ringing.  Retrieving the phone from his trenchcoat 
pocket, he voiced his salutation.  "Schanke."

"Hey Schank."  Knight began.

"Impeccable timing, Partner."  Schanke said. "I'm 
just leaving Power's place. Where's Miss Spooky?"

"Reading."  Nick replied. "What did you find out?"

"He left the meeting between ten fifteen and eleven 
and he was at one Simon Bond's place preparing for 
his trial next week."

"Simon Bond?"  Nick repeated. "Isn't he going to 
trial for embezzlement?"

"The very same."  Schanke said. "I'm heading back to 
the shop to check it out."

"Can you stop by here on your way?"

"Getting the willies around her, are we?"

"No."  Nick answered. 

"Oh no.  Don't tell me your fridge is empty?" He 
sighed. "All right, what does she want?"

"Chinese!"  Annie shouted. "Pepper steak and rice and 
chicken teriyaki."

"I heard."  Schanke said. "I'll be there in twenty 
minutes."

Schanke drove to the closest Chinese take-out place 
he could find, bought the food and made his way to 
the loft.

When Schanke arrived, Nick was seated at the table 
reading the paper and Annie, having changed her 
clothes, fixed her hair and makeup, had set out a 
plate, a glass and eating utensils at the table.

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 28 
By Rebecca Burns

The elevator arrived at its destination and the only 
sound that could be heard was that of thuds on the 
door.

"I'll get it."  Annie said as she walked briskly to 
the door.


Nick watched her as she grabbed the door handle and 
slid it to the left, hoping that she did not sense 
any memories from himself, Natalie, Janette, or, the 
door itself.

Annie examined Schanke from top to bottom: Schanke 
had a plastic bag in his teeth and cradled in his 
arms were bags of food.  In his hand was a large 
styrofoam cup.

"All I asked for was steak, rice, and chicken."  
Annie commented with a smile as she removed the bag 
from Schanke's mouth. "Not the whole restaurant.  But 
thank you just the same."

"No problem."  Schanke replied as he walked to the 
table.  Nick stood up from the table and stepped back 
to the stove. The smell of garlic was retching at his 
insides to the point of nausea.

Annie slid the door shut and walked over to the table 
and removed the containers from their bags.  

"I brought you a drink since I know there's nothing 
in his fridge but red wine."  Schanke said, placing 
the drink on the table.

"Red wine?"  Annie said with a smirk as she emptied 
the contents of one of the boxes onto the dish. 
"You're not supposed to refrigerate red wine."

"I've tried to tell him that." Schanke replied as he 
cracked open a fortune cookie.

"Schank, do you mind?"  Nick said leaning against the 
table behind the couch.

"How much do I owe you, Detective Schanke?"  Annie 
asked as she went to her purse.

"You don't have to..." Schanke started hesitantly, 
raising his hands. "really."

"Oh I insist."  She said as she handed Schanke a ten 
dollar bill.  "You guys have been nice enough to let 
me ride around with you despite the fact you don't 
like me."

Schanke sat down at the table and ate her dinner 
while Schanke went over to Nick. "You told her?"

"I didn't say anything."  Nick said folding his arms.  
"Did you find out anything else on Blain Powers?"

"Yeah.  Schanke replied. "I called Mr. Bond and he 
said that he paged Powers at ten fifteen, got there 
at eleven thirty, and was there until two am.  He 
said he never left."

"Anything else?"

"Only that they've known each other since they were 
kids and that he could never do something as vicious 
as murder."

"Power's probably called him before you did."  Nick 
commented.

"Must have."  Schanke responded. "How else would he 
know his pal was being investigated for murder?"

Nick handed Schanke the newspaper where on the front 
page was a story about the murder. "It's all over the 
news and we never released the name of the suspect, 
victim of the fact that Annie was helping us with the 
case."

"What are you saying?  A leak?"

"Probably from inside the department."

"You don't think that she could have..."

Nick shook his head. "Why would she?  Why would 
someone like her leak a story to the press if she did 
it?"

"Has she read that yet?"

"No.  I got it before she had a chance to, but not 
before she saw the story on the news.  Why?"

"Let's find out how much she does know about this."  
Schanke said as he walked to the table.

"Schank, I don't think that's a good idea."

Annie looked up at Schanke. "Yes, Detective?"  Annie 
said.

Schanke place the paper on the table. "Do you know 
anything about this?"

Annie skimmed the page from top to bottom. "Other 
than the sale at Eaton's, no.  Why?"

"Not even the article about the investigation?"  
Schanke said, pointing to the article in question.

Annie browsed the article, finally grabbing the paper 
to read it more thoroughly.  "How is this possible?"  
She finally asked angrily.

"We were hoping you could tell us."  Schanke said.

"You think I wrote this?  Or at least contributed 
information to this?"  Annie asked as she slapped the 
paper on the table and stood up.  "I not responsible 
for this.  I am not the kind of person who likes to 
draw attention to myself.  If I were, I wouldn't do 
it like this."

"Any idea who would know you were helping us with the 
case?"  Nick asked calmly.

"Let's see." She began sarcastically. "You, Detective 
Schanke, Captain Cohen, Natalie, and the dozen 
uniforms that were at my apartment.  Other than that, 
I haven't a bloody clue."

The vase that she had been admiring earlier came 
crashing to the ground, shattering it into pieces. 

"Dammit!"  Annie shouted. "I'm so sorry, Nicholas.  
I'm going to get some air."

"I'll go with you."  Schanke said.

"No!"  Annie replied. "I'm only going right outside 
the door.  I'll be back in ten minutes."

Before Nick and Schanke could respond, Annie was out 
the door.

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 29
By Rebecca Burns

"Talk about losing your temper."  Schanke commented.

"Ease off, Schank."  Nick suggested as he picked up 
the large pieces of the vase. "I told you you 
shouldn't have asked her."

"Well pardon me for trying to do my job."  Schanke 
snapped.

Nick stood up and placed the vase pieces on the 
table. "You mentioned that they knew each other since 
they were kids, right?"

"Yeah."  

"Find out how they knew each other.  If they were 
neighbors, and if they went to school together.  Bond 
might be covering for Powers about the night of the 
murder."

"I've got it on my to-do list."  Schanke said as he 
went to the elevator. "I'll let you know what I find 
out."

Schanke went down and out to his car.

Annie stood outside the door, a slight breeze was 
blowing through the alleyway.  She started walking 
towards the exit of the alley.  She needed to relax 
and regain her emotions before going back upstairs.

A cold chill went up her back as she sensed another 
presence close by.  It was if eyes were watching her 
from above, piercing into her back like cold steel 
daggers.

Annie stopped, looked up and for a moment, could see 
what looked to be a man standing on the ledge of the 
loft from which she had exited.  He looked tall, his 
hair a very short blond and his eyes had a glint of 
red.  Annie swallowed hard. "It can't be."  She said 
as she kept looking up.

She looked down at the concrete and gravel at her 
feet, shaking her head as the sensation left her.

"Miss Taylor."  Schanke said from his car window. "Is 
everything okay?"

Annie looked back up to where she had seen the 
figure.  Her suspicions were confirmed that it was 
gone.

"Miss Taylor?"  Schanke repeated. "Annie?"

"Fine, Detective Schanke."  Annie said, "I'm fine."

"Look.  I'm sorry if you thought I was instigating 
you in this."

"It's all right, Detective."  Annie yelled so he 
could hear her over the rumbling engine. "You were 
only doing your job."

"We'll catch this guy, Miss Taylor."  Schanke said as 
another car pulled up. "I'll bet my badge on it."

Schanke drove off as Natalie approached Annie. "What 
are you doing out here?"

"I needed some air."  Annie said. "I lost my temper."

"Oh no."  Natalie replied sympathetically. "What did 
you break?"

"You don't want to know." Annie shook her head. "What 
are you doing here?"

"I got the results of the workup."  She announced as 
she and Annie went up the stairs.

"What are they?"

"Why don't I tell you and Nick at the same time."  
Natalie said as she put her arm around Annie's 
shoulder.  She wanted so much to protect her friend.

Natalie and Annie walked through the door and down 
the small flight of stairs that lead to the living 
area.  There, Nick picked up the large pieces of the 
vase and placed them in a plastic wastebasket. A 
three hundred year old priceless antique was reduced 
to dust. 

Natalie looked at Annie, who shrugged her shoulders. 

"Can you clean my place when you're through?"   
Natalie asked with a smile.

"Very funny."  Nick responded. "What brings you 
here?"

"I got the test results."  

"And?"

"The semen and hair samples found on Annabelle 
Grayson and the hairs from Annie's apartment matched.  
The skin samples found in her fingernails hasn't come 
back yet.  My guess is that..."

"She struggled during the rape."  Nick broke in.

"And has the scratch marks to prove it."  Annie said 
as she began throwing away what was left of her 
dinner. "It has to be.  If she scratched him, where 
would the marks be?"

"Depends."  Natalie said. "What hand did she write 
with?"

"Right hand."  Annie said. "She was right handed."

"Scratches would be on his left side."  Nick said.

"It has to be Blain."  Annie said.

"We don't have any samples from him to prove that he 
committed either crime."  Nick replied.

"I know he did it."  Annie said angrily as she 
finished clearing the table.  "How else could someone 
get in my apartment without being buzzed up?  How 
else could someone find their way into her apartment 
without knowing where that key was and when all the 
doors and windows were locked. Can you answer me 
that?"

Seconds after those words were said, the fireplace 
lit up like a blinding starburst, which caused 
everyone, including Nick, to jump.

Annie clenched her fists and cursed herself silently.  
"Look, I need to get out of here.  I can't stay here 
knowing that he did this to her."

"What about yourself, Annie?"  Nat asked. 

"That's meaningless right now."  Annie said as she 
grabbed a pair of suede ankle boots and laced them 
on. "All I care about is seeing justice done."

"Then let us handle this."  Nick said. 

"But you said yourself that there's not enough to 
prove he did it."  Annie snapped. "How long until you 
do?  A day?  Weeks even?  I can't wait that long!"

Annie grabbed her coat from the coat rack and put it 
on as she headed to the door.

"Annie," Nat started. "Wait."

"I can't Nattie."  Annie said. "I'm sorry.  I can't 
sit around and not do anything."

Annie continued on her way to the elevator door.  
Nick followed.

"I can't let you go out there."  Nick said as he 
reached for her arm.  He grabbed her upper arm just 
above the elbow and spun her to face him.  He 
loosened his hold and Annie broke free and pushed him 
away.

"I'm going."

As Annie walked away, she flashed on a vision of a 
man with blood on his face.  More visions came to 
her, each one more violent than the one before.  She 
looked up at Nick and all she could see was the face 
of a vampire.

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 30
By Rebecca Burns

Nat leaned into Nick. "I think now would be a good 
time to explain."  She whispered. "Don't you?"

"Annie." Nick started as he advanced towards her. 
"Please let me explain."

"Stay back!" Annie shouted as she raised her hand. A 
powerful force pressed against Nick's chest as he was 
thrown backwards, slamming him against the thick 
metal door. Nick fell to his knees and rested his 
head in his hands.  

Natalie ran over & knelt down beside Nick. "Annie!" 
She started, shocked at what she had just been made 
witness to. In all the years that she had known her, 
she had never seen Annie act this way. She had 
inclinations of the power she possessed but never 
thought that she would see it to believe it.

"Are you all right?"  Natalie asked Nick as she 
helped him up.

"Yeah."  Nick replied as he shook his head, trying to 
regain his senses.

"You stay away from me!"  Annie ordered.

"He's not going to hurt you!"  Natalie announced.  
"He's not like that."

"Wait a minute."  Annie remarked, shaking her hands 
in front of her. "You...you know about him?"

"Yes." Nat nodded.

Annie walked towards her.  "How long?"

"Long enough to know that he won't hurt you."

"How long?!"  Annie repeated with more ferocity.

"Three & a half years."  Nat answered. "Annie, he's 
not a killer."

"Of course he is!"

"I was." Nick said as he finally caught his breath.  
"A long time ago."

Nick advanced towards her. Annie stepped back with 
each step he took.  He stopped as he sensed her fear.  

"Don't."  Annie said as she raised her hand.

He felt the pressure on his chest again, but he 
remained standing-a look of anger on his face.

"Annie please!"  Nat yelled, tears welling up in her 
eyes.  She stood between her two friends.  "Let him 
explain."

"I don't want to hear an explanation!"  Annie 
exclaimed fearfully. "He's like all the others I've 
met in my travels."

The pressure increased on his chest. As it built, so 
did his anger.  His eyes suddenly changed from their 
sensitive blue to an entrancing yellow.

"Oh my God." Annie sighed. She retreated her power on 
him. She let the thoughts of destroying the man 
before her travel back into her subconscious to lay 
in waiting until she made a decision as to what their 
destiny would be.

"I don't want to hurt you, Annie."  Nick said as he 
walked towards her.  "I want a chance to explain."

"Listen to him Annie."  Nat suggested.  "Please."

Annie walked back towards the window and looked out 
into the night. If she listened to this man, she 
thought, what would become of her outlook on the 
community he belonged to? There were so many 
questions she had had about his kind that were now 
begging to be answered. She wanted to know more but 
was frightened as to what would become of her sanity 
and her life. She remembered her friend Denise. She 
remembered when she called her the night before she 
died and spoke of strange visions that came to her 
while she was investigating the kidnapping of Conrad 
Hedges's wife and daughter. Visions of a man with 
blood on his face. Denise wanted an explanation as to 
what these visions meant. Annie could give no answer. 
Although it was overdue, she might get one now. She 
turned around and faced him.

"Ok."

Nick gestured Annie over to the couch. She walked 
over to the couch slowly.  Annie sat down. Nick sat 
at the other end facing her. He dared not get close 
to her for fear that she may unleash that power 
again.

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 31
By Rebecca Burns

"I thought you should know."  Janette spoke into the 
phone from her office at the Raven.

"I know she's here." A deep voice replied.

"Nichola."  She said, "He's with her.  Protecting 
her."

"He should not be a problem."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Give it time. She will come to us."

A click on the other line ended Janette's 
conversation.
--

Annie sighed as she sat down. "I'm listening."  She 
said seriously.

Nick looked over to Natalie then back at Annie. 
"Where should I begin?"

"The beginning is usually a good place."  Annie 
commented. 

"Right."  Nick sighed as he held out his hand.

Annie stared at Nick's strong pale fingers. "What?"

"Take my hand."  Nick said.

"But...I'm afraid."

"You don't have to be."

"But..."

"All you have to do is trust me."

Annie looked into Nick's deep blue eyes.  "You know 
that part of me does."

"Trust me."  Nick smiled. "Have I ever lied to you?"

After a beat, Annie slowly placed her hand in his, 
closed her eyes, and gripped the hand tightly.

She gasped as a cloud lifted in her mind, and visions 
from Nick's past came to her in a flood. She winced 
at the sight of Nicholas DeBrabant, as he was known 
during the crusades, being seduced by a beautiful, 
yet familiar woman.  The visions sped forward to his 
first kill then moving quickly through the years.  
The image of Natalie's first encounter stuck in her 
mind.  She gripped Nick's hand tighter, her nails 
digging into his skin as she captured an event that 
she knew was a turning point and now hers - the death 
of LaCroix - impaled by a firey stake finally 
disentigrating into ash.  The final image started as 
blurry -two figures were fighting.  The ending became 
crystal clear as Nick battled a tall figure who's 
face became more apparent.

Annie loosened her grip and opened her eyes slowly.  
She looked into Nick's eyes with new found respect.  
Nicholas B. Knight - Vampire cop.

"Well?"  Natalie said a bit miffed.

Annie let go of Nick's hand and looked at hers.  A 
few drops of blood were on the tips of her 
fingernails.  She looked back up at Nick.  "I...I 
don't...I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to."

"It's all right."  Nick said as he examined his hand. 
"I'll live."

"How are you feeling?"  Nat asked as she walked to 
Annie's side.

"Fine."  Annie said, placing her hand on her chest.  
Her heart was going a mile a minute. "How long was I 
out?"

Natalie looked at her watch.  "Two minutes."

"Wow.  A new record."  Annie commented as she raised 
her eyebrows and looked at Nick.  Slowly, Annie 
reached up and touched his face with her fingertips.  
"How is this possible?  A vampire that doesn't kill?"  

She placed a hand on his cheek.  "How is it 
possible?"

"It would take a long time to explain."  Nick said 
holding her hand against his cold cheek.

"I have the rest of my life to understand."  She 
said. "And I have so many questions.  But I can wait.  
I have time.  Right now, you have to find out who 
killed Annabelle."

"Right now, we don't have much to go on."  Nick 
commented.

"True."  Annie said.  "Wait a sec."

"What is it?"  Natalie asked.

"Belle's journal."  Annie announced as she stood up. 
"There's an envelope with Blain's name on it.  One of 
the entries in her journal said that if Blain hurt 
her to the point of death, that her death would not 
be in vain.  That she would have evidence to catch 
the killer."

"Where's the journal now?"    Nick asked.

"With Detective Schanke."  She answered.  "My guess 
is that the envelope contains hair samples."

"Perfect."  Nat said as she went for her coat. "I'll 
get the sample from Schanke and see what I can find."

Nat made her way to the door.  Nick and Annie 
followed. 

"Call when you know."  Nick requested as he slid the 
door open.

"You got it."  She said and looked at Annie.  "You 
two have a lot to talk about."

"Right." Annie replied. "You and I have a lot to talk 
about as well."

Nat stared at Annie and nodded

"Bye."  Nat said.

Nick slid the door closed and leaned against it.

"So now what?'  Annie asked.  "We can't just sit on 
our thumbs and do nothing."

"Talk."  Nick said.

Annie leaned against the metal door.  Her mind 
flashed on a previous vision of a figure encircled in 
fire.  She shook her head.

"A man died here."  Annie said stepping away from the 
door.  "You had known this man for a very long time."

She turned and faced Nicholas.  "Your master."

Nick nodded.

"And the woman who helped bring you across?  Is that 
the same woman who owns the Raven?"

"Yes."

Annie sat at the piano.  "So that's why she acted the 
way she did."

"What do you mean?"

"She asked me to leave and when I was waiting for you 
at the bar, no one would come near me."

"Janette is very..."

"Protective?  That I can understand."

"I have a question for you, now."  Nick said.  "How 
is it that you are able to sense us?"

"Hmm."  Annie started.  "I've never been asked that 
before.  How can I explain?  Let's see.  I had an 
encounter with a vampire ten years ago.  He was very 
old, very powerful, and somewhat handsome.  My friend 
- Sylvie, the one I told you of earlier?  Well she 
fell in love with him almost instantly.  He 
introduced himself - kissed the back of her hand the 
way any gentleman would.  Then he took my hand.  When 
he touched me, I could see his whole life right up to 
the present.  Much like what happened with you."

"What happened after?"

"I was very afraid."  Annie said with a nervous 
laugh.  "I had never experienced anything like that 
before.  Anyhow, I had begged Sylvie not to go with 
him but it was too late.  I knew what he was going to 
do to her and he knew I did.  He tried to make me 
forget-to just let him go about his business.  
But..."

"You're a resister."  Nick said.

"Yes."  Annie answered. "Probably due to the 
transferance of memories and events which is 
considered imperical evidence.  It's not the matter 
that I won't forget them, I can't forget them."

"What about the Enforcers?"  Nick asked, fully aware 
of her knowledge of imperical evidence, she had to 
know about the Enforcers.

"I've managed to stay one step ahead of them over the 
years."  She sighed.  "But since I've settled down 
it's going to get tougher.  The older I get the 
harder it becomes for me to protect myself against 
them.  Anyway, Sylvie and the vampire left, she was 
found the next morning and he and I met later that 
night."

"And you survived?"

"We both did."  Annie said.  "I had three broken ribs 
and scratches on my arm, and he was left with a cross 
branded on his hand.  I have no doubt his wounds 
healed.  We both vowed revenge.  Me, for him killing 
my best friend, and him, for what I did to his hand.  
The funny thing is is that the man that I fought 
looks much like..."

<dare I say it?>

"Who?"

"Your master."

Nick leaned against the piano.  "Are you sure?"

Annie walked over and stood next to Nick.  "Yep.  I 
even remember his name at the time.  Lucien.  But his 
real name is Lucius."

<she picked the wrong vampire to pick a fight with> 
Nick thought.

"True, but he started this whole mess."  Annie said.

"What?"  

"You just said I picked the wrong vampire to pick a 
fight with."  Annie repeated.

"No I didn't."  The vampire replied with a smile. "I 
was thinking it but I didn't say it."

"Oh boy."   Annie said. 

"What?"

"I knew there was something different about this 
time.  He blocked it out but you...you didn't.  I can 
hear your thoughts."  Annie looked at her watch - 
10:45 "Damn."

"What is it?"

"I'm supposed to meet someone tonight at 11."  Annie 
stood up and went for her jacket. "It's not that far 
and I'll only be an hour."

"I can't let you."  Nick said firmly

"C'mon, Nicholas.  I have to do this."

"I'll take you."  Nick said as he went for his keys 
which he kept in a small metal box next to the phone. 
"I'll get my coat."

With his back still turned, Annie walked to the door 
and opened it slowly.

<I'm sorry Nicholas>

"Huh?"  Nick asked as he turned his head only to see 
the door slam shut.  He took hold of his coat.

Annie was gone - Again.

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 32
By Rebecca Burns

<He's not going to get away this time> Annie thought 
to herself as she ran to the warehouse, arriving 
shortly before 11.  

Trying to catch her breath, she stood at the base of 
the building and looked up.  A six story warehouse to 
a woman 5 foot 3 inches seemed an awful lot like 12.  
She grabbed the door handle and pushed inward.  The 
door would not budge.  Annie stood back and turned to 
the side.  She thrust her right leg forward.  The 
door opened; the top hinge coming off the frame as 
her foot made contact with the door.

Dust and dirt flew as she entered.  The moonlight 
shone in through the dusty windows of the warehouse 
to reveal that with the exception of a few wooden 
crates, and numerous scraps of paper scattered about, 
the floor was bare.  Her heart felt like it was 
beating out of her chest as she walked cautiously 
through the warehouse.  Looking in front of her by 
way of the moon, she spotted a dimly lighted 
entranceway and a flight of stairs that led upwards.  
She went to the entrance.  The stench of men's 
cologne entered her sinuses.  The smell made her sick 
to her stomach as she continued up the flights of 
stairs-her senses sharp and ready for confrontation.

"I'm not sure where she is but I'm sure she's not 
far."  Nick spoke into his cellphone to Schanke as he 
drove around Gateway.

"I've got some news that may bring some light on our 
suspect."

"What did you find out?"

"Well, you were right about Bond & Powers.  They went 
to Upper Canada together and U of T.  Same 
fraternity, even joined the military at the same 
time.  Bond even married Power's sister."

"So Bond was covering for Powers' whereabouts that 
night."  Nick deduced.

"I tried calling Power's but he wasn't home.  Cohen's 
sending a couple of uniforms to Bond's place to bring 
him in for questioning."

"Good.  Put out an APB on Powers."  Nick ordered, "If 
he's out and about, Annie's in danger."

"So is he."  Schanke commented as Natalie walked 
briskly up to Schanke's desk.  "Hold on Natalie's 
here."

"Put her on."  He requested.

"Nick?"  Nat said nervously.

"What did you find?"

"A match."  Natalie said.  "Is Annie with you?"

"No."  Nick said making a turn.  "She ran out.  I'm 
out looking for her now."

Nick slammed on the brakes suddenly, stopping in 
front of an abandoned warehouse.  The top floor was 
dimly lit and the door was kicked in.

"Find her."  Natalie asked.

"I think I have." He replied.  "Tell Schanke to get a 
unit out to Armoury St.  Bond Warehouse."

Nick hung up his cellphone, got out of the car and 
walked inside.

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 33
By Rebecca Burns

Annie reached the top floor within a matter of 
minutes, her legs wracked with pain.  She could feel 
her muscles beginning to cramp.  She made a mental 
note to spend more time on the stair master if she 
survived this hell.  She caught her breath and 
surveyed her surroundings.

There were overturned desks and chairs on each side 
of the room - some recently relocated.  Six of the 
over 2 dozen lights were on, which made it difficult 
to see on the sides by the windows.

"It's about time you got here."  A voice echoed. 
"You're late."

"Well, if the elevator worked, we could've gotten 
this over with a hell of a lot sooner."  Annie 
commented, looking around.  She sensed someone near 
but saw no one.  The scent of the cologne was closer.

She walked forward, following the scent like a 
bloodhound and stopped when she eyed an unopened 
bottle sitting on a desk.  Next to the bottle was a 
photograph of Annabelle and Blain and a red high heel 
shoe.  A red "X" had been placed over Annabelle's 
face.  Annie took the picture in her hands and stared 
at it.  "Why did you do it?" She whispered.

"She left me."  He said.  "She left be for someone 
else."

"She didn't leave you for someone else."  Annie said 
shaking her head.  "She left because you beat her.  
You hurt her.  No one wants to be hurt by someone 
they love.  I know she did love you."

"No she didn't."  The voice said.  "If she loved me, 
she wouldn't have left.  You're just saying that 
because she was your friend."

"I'm telling you because it's the truth."  Annie said 
softly, looking around for anything resembling a 
figure.  "Why would I lie?"

Annie placed the picture back on the desk when she 
didn't receive an answer.  "Well?"

"You told her to leave me?"

She felt his breath on the nape of her neck as he 
spoke.  She froze as she felt the barrel of a gun 
press into the middle of her back.  "She would always 
say 'Annie said this' and 'Annie said that'.  It made 
me sick to think that she valued your advice and 
opinions rather than mine."

"So."  Annie said nervously. "You killed her because 
of me?"

"Yes."  He whispered in her ear.

"That's a cop out."  Annie said as calmly as she 
could.  "You didn't want to loose control of her.  
You beat her to try to control her and she left.  
It's your fault, not mine."

The figure turned Annie around quickly to face him.  
Annie looked up and locked eyes her assailant-Blain 
Powers.  His eyes were filled with anger, rage and 
hatred.

"You know, Blain."  Annie started.  "You're not going 
to get away with this.  The police are already onto 
you."

"So what?"  Blaid spat.  "They can't pin Annabelle's 
death on me.  There's not enough evidence to prove a 
thing."

Blain held the barrel of the gun under Annie's chin. 
"Don't you go trying any tricks or I'll drop you 
right now."

"How are you going to stop me?"  Annie asked.  "Rape 
me like you did Annabelle?  Maybe put your hands 
around my neck and cut off my air until I'm dead?"

Blain slapped Annie hard across the mouth, sending 
her to her knees.  A few drops of blood fell to the 
ground from her lip.  "Shut up!"  He yelled as he 
grabbed her arm and pulled her up.

"Is that what you did to her when she said she was 
going to leave?"  Annie said, wiping the blood from 
her lip.  "Did she try to fight back?"

"Actually" Blain started.  "She begged me to stop."

"But you didn't did you?"

"I thought I told you to shut up."  Blain said as he 
raised his hand.

"Don't touch me."  Annie said angrily.

Blain pulled back and retrieved his gun.  He pointed 
the gun at Annie's head and moved closer.

"You don't have the guts."  Annie said, clenching his 
fists.

Blain pulled the hammer back on the gun. "Why don't 
we test your theory."

A chill went up Annie's back.  It was so powerful, 
she stumbled backwards.

"Nicholas?"  Annie whispered.

"On your knees."  Blain ordered.

Annie shook her head.  "What?"

"Are you deaf?"  Blain asked, "On your knees."

Annie slowly went to her knees.  Blain walked behind 
Annie and aimed the gun at the back of her head.  "No 
one will find you here.  I'll be back at work and no 
one will even suspect."

"You're wrong."  Annie said, shaking her head slowly. 
"You are so wrong.  They will find me and you're 
going to jail."

"We'll just see about that."  Blain started.

Nick walked in the room, his gun pointed at Blain.  
"Police!  Drop your weapon and put your hands on your 
head."

"Stay back or I'll killer her."  Blain shouted.

"Just put the gun down."  Nick ordered.  "No one has 
to die here."

There were sirens in the distance and getting closer.  

"She has to die."  Blain said.  "She made me kill my 
Belle."

"She wasn't your Belle."  Annie said softly.  "And I 
didn't make you kill her.  Please, Blain, put the gun 
down."

Blain uncocked the gun and brought it down slowly.  
Nick started walking towards Blain.

Annie closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief.  
She began to stand slowly then turned to face Blain.  
Holding up her hand as she saw Nick advance, 
"Detective, wait."

Nick stopped. 

"Give me the gun, Blain.  Please."  Annie requested.

With his head down, Blain slowly began handing the 
gun over to Annie when he stopped.  He looked up at 
her.

There was no remorse in his eyes, Annie thought.  She 
could hear only one thought from him.  It repeated 
over and over like a skipping record. 

<you took my belle from me>

"Please."  She whispered.

Blain's eyes squinted, his brows turned down towards 
the bridge of his nose and his lips pressed together 
to form a closed mouth grin.  Annie's eyes widened 
and she stepped back a few inches.  Nick resumed 
walking towards Blain.  He did not want to risk using 
his inhuman talent of vampire speed and have half the 
police force barrel in to witness it.

With the gun still in his hand, he raised his arm, 
bent at the elbow and swiftly brought it along the 
side of Annie's head. 

Annie fell to the ground with a thud.

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 34
By Rebecca Burns

Blain quickly turned and nervously aimed the gun at 
Nick, who stopped in his tracks.  "Don't you see?  
She's making me do all this.  She made me kill her."

"Put the gun down, Mr. Powers."  Nick ordered.

"She has to die for what she made me do."  Blain 
said, his eyes filled with tears.

"No one has to die."  Nick said calmly as he started 
walking towards him.  He used the only immortal 
talent he could get away with if Schanke showed up - 
persuasion.  He could hear Blain's heart beating 
fast, his hot blood coursing through him like raging 
rapids.

"No...one...has...to..."  Blain said in monotone 
voice.  He shook his head. "No!  She does!  She has 
to die!  She's a witch.  She puts thoughts in 
people's head.  She's a monster."

"Then maybe you should have hit me a little harder." 
A voice grunted from behind Blain.  "Cause that last 
comment just got you in big trouble."

Blain turned and saw Annie, her face bloodied, on her 
hands and knees trying to muster up the strength to 
stand.

"Annie."  Nick started. "Stay down."

Annie stood up straight, using the desk for support.  
"A witch, am I?"  Annie wheezed, her anger building 
and staring at Blain.  "A monster?  If anyone is a 
monster, it's you."

Blain could feel his hand start to ache.  The fingers 
that were wrapped around the handle of the gun began 
to pull away until the gun dropped to the ground.  
His legs began to buckle until he fell to his knees.

"You."  Annie started as she staggered forward 
towards him.  "You who had claimed to have cared for 
a woman who wanted nothing but to love you.  And you 
took that sweet, gentle woman's precious life!"

The pressure built against his chest until he fell to 
the side, grabbing his chest in agony.

"Stop!"  Blain pleaded to the point of a whisper. 
"Please!"

"That's what she said when you raped her, isn't it?  
Stop?  You didn't stop, did you?  So why should I?"

"Annie."  Nick started as he walked towards her.  
"You're killing him."

"Stay back, Nicholas."  Annie said, not taking his 
eyes off Blain.  "I'm not killing him.  I'm merely 
giving him a taste of what it feels like to be close 
to death."

"Go ahead."   Blain gasped.  "I know you want to."

"I'm not like you, Blain."  Annie said as she knelt 
down beside him.  "I don't kill people."

"Please." He mumbled.

"Tell him!"  Annie said as a few drops of blood came 
from her nose.  "Tell him you did it!"

Blain shook his head.

The pressure built on his chest.  "Tell him!"

"Annie," Nick said taking short steps towards her.  
"He doesn't have to.  We have all the evidence we 
need."

"I did it."  Blain whispered.  "I killed her."

Annie looked at Blain and released a breath she 
wasn't aware of holding.  Blain felt the pressure 
lift from his chest and he gasped for air.

Annie covered her eyes as the tears began to fall.

Schanke, Cohen and a small group of uniformed 
officers made their way up the stairs and over to 
Blain.

"Read him his rights, Schank."  Nick said as he 
handed Schanke Blain's gun.

With the help of two officers, Blain stood up slowly 
and was handcuffed, read his rights and lead 
downstairs.

Cohen walked over to Annie who was still seated on 
the ground.  "Doctor Taylor?" Cohen started.  "Are 
you all right?"

Annie nodded as she wiped a small trail of blood from 
her nose. "I'm fine.  Thanks."

"We're going to have to have you come down to the 
precinct to give a statement."

"Can it wait?"  Annie asked solemnly.  "I'm not up to 
it."

"Of course.  Come by in the morning.  Detective 
Knight?  Can you see that Doctor Taylor makes it to 
an emergency room this time?"

"Yes ma'am."  Nick replied as he helped Annie up.

"Thanks."  Annie said.

Nick smiled compassionately. 

"You going to be okay, partner?"  Schanke asked.

"We'll be fine, Schank."  Nick replied.

"Miss Taylor?"  Schanke started. "I...ah..."

"It's okay, Detective."  Annie said. "I know."

Schanke smiled.

Cohen, Schanke and the uniformed officers left, 
collected evidence in hand.

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 35
By Rebecca Burns

"Can you walk?"  Nick asked Annie softly.

Annie nodded, "Just give me a minute to collect 
myself."

"I am taking you to the hospital this time."  Nick 
announced "You're going to need stitches."

"You hear me arguing this time?"  Annie asked with a 
laugh.  "My head is killing me, my hands are cold and 
I think I broke a rib or two."

They began walking to the stairs. "One thing.  I 
forgot to ask you if you fly."

"On ocassion."

"Will you take me sometime?"  Annie asked. "I want to 
know what it's like to fly when I'm awake."

"I'll think about it."  The vampire replied as they 
made it to the stairs.  

They both stopped.

A tingling pain traveled from Annie's toes to her 
head, so intense that it caused her to stumble back. 
Nick held her steady and she regained her balance.

They turned and saw two figures at the other end of 
the room.  One figure was tall the other petite 
wearing a dark dress.

"Really Nicholas," A male voice started as the couple 
walked forward.  "You ought to be more careful about 
the company you keep."

Annie's head shot up at the sound of the voice.  "I 
know that voice."  She mumbled and she remembered.

<---@--->

She felt a strong presence. Old and ancient. Full of 
hatred and hunger. It was who she was waiting for. It 
was coming from behind her as she walked along the 
Seine. It overwhelmed her. Her head began throbbing 
in pain and a small trail of blood exited from one of 
her nostrils. She removed a handkerchief from her 
coat pocket and held it to her nose.

"So." The mysterious man started, "You've decided to 
return."

Annie stopped in her tracks. "Only to find you."  She 
said angrily, turning to face him. "I do not fear 
you."

"So, you know?"

"You know I do." She replied. "And you know why I'm 
here."

"Yes." He replied, his eyes a haunting yellow green. 
"But you won't win."

"Never say never." Annie smiled as she walked towards 
him. Her hand reached into her shoulder bag and 
removed a wooden stake that she had acquired from a 
carpenter's shop earlier in the day. 

"Do you really think you're going to have the 
opportunity to use that?"

"Oh yes." She replied.

<---@--->


"LaCroix."  Nick started, taken aback.  "How did 
you..."

"Oh, it wasn't difficult."  LaCroix replied.  "I just 
followed that young beating heart of her's and here 
we are.  I must say, Doctor that you haven't changed.  
The years have been unfortunately kind to you."

"Nor have you."  Annie replied. "But I didn't expect 
you to.  We have to stop meeting like this you know."

"Nicholas," LaCroix started. "You should really 
choose your acquaintances more carefully. You don't 
know what kind of trouble you've let in here."

Annie pulled her away from Nick's arm and stood as 
straight as she could. "It's not his fault that I'm 
here." She said as she looked over at Janette, "Leave 
it to you, Lucius to have your children do your dirty 
work for you."

LaCroix cringed as he heard that name. He detested 
being called by his first name.  Only those who had 
known him through the centuries were permitted to 
utter his true identity.

"Why Janette?"  Nick asked.

"I had no choice, Nichola."  Janette replied. "She is 
a danger to us, to the community."

"I've never told your secret to anyone."  Annie 
announced. "Ever.  Who would believe me?  As much as 
I desire to kill you, Lucius, I've kept your secret."

"I suggest Nicholas," LaCroix started, "That you take 
your leave while you can.  This is none of your 
concern."

"Let her be, LaCroix" Nick demanded. "I don't want 
her killed.  Your revenge can wait."

"But mine can't, Nicholas."  Annie said softly. "I've 
waited ten years for this moment.  I want nothing 
more than to see him vanish into ash."

Nick turned Annie to face him. "He's too powerful."

"I shouldn't have let him get away back then.  I 
don't want to let him get away now."

"In your condition, you won't win."

"But I can try."

"There has to be another way."

"Well, trying to hypnotize me to make me forget 
everything would be useless."

As quick as a flash, LaCroix was next to Annie and 
grabbed her by the arm.  She looked up at him.  His 
eyes were a bright yellow green.  His fangs clearly 
visible.  This is what he had been waiting for.  
After almost a decade, he was finally going to get 
the retribution he so richly desired.  He could hear 
her heartbeat.  It was strong and full of life.  He 
could feel her fear beginning to rise in her.  He 
felt her pain and he enjoyed it.

Janette grabbed her brother's arm.  "This is their 
fight.  You shouldn't interfere."

"But he'll kill her Janette."

She loosened her hold on Nicholas. "Then justice will 
be done and the community will not have to worry 
about her any longer."

For a moment, fear filled Annie's entire being.  Her 
eyes widened as she gazed into the eyes that had took 
permanent residence in her nightmares.

"Enough of this idle conversation."  LaCroix said 
furiously. "Nicholas, leave now!"

As quick as light, Nick was standing next to his 
master.  "No!" Nick replied. "Please LaCroix, there 
has to be another way.  Look at her.  This wouldn't 
be a fair fight. This vendetta can wait, Please."

LaCroix looked down at Annie.  The fear diminished 
from her eyes.  She accepted the fact that she was 
about to die.  Glancing at her injuries- her pale 
face and hair spattered with dried blood, he surmised 
that she gave in too easily.  This was not the person 
he knew ten years ago.  She was far more energetic 
and he found her quite a challenge along the Seine. 
Despite the years, she still had the fire within her 
to fight but the fatigue she was experiencing had 
kept it at a low flame.  

He released his grasp on her. 

"I shall let it go."  LaCroix announced.  "This time.  
But mark my words.  If we should cross paths in the 
future, I will not be so lenient.  Nor will the 
Enforcers.  I advise you, Nicholas, that you 
disassociate yourself from this woman or the 
Enforcers will be after you as well."

Nick watched as LaCroix walked over and passed 
Janette, heading for the exit.

"Heed his advice, Nichola."  Janette stated.  "Leave 
her."

"Janette!"  LaCroix said angrily.  Janette walked 
over to the sound of LaCroix's voice and disappeared 
into the darkness.

When he was sure that they had left, he turned to see 
if Annie was all right.

To Be Continued...
 
When History Repeats Itself-Part 36
By Rebecca Burns

Annie was sitting on the ground, her back was against 
the wall by the stairwell.  Her head was bent into 
her chest.  He could hear the sound of her heart, 
slow but steady. 

Nick walked over quickly and looked her over.  Her 
skin was a pale.  He took hold of her hand and held 
it tightly while putting a hand to her cheek.  
"Annie?"

Annie's eyes opened slightly and tried to focus on 
the figure in front of her.  "Am I dead?"  She 
groaned.

"No."  Nick said softly with a grin. "You're not 
dead."

"Good. I thought he was going to kill me."  Annie 
said as she tried to stand. "It's hard to breathe."

"We'll get you to the hospital."  Nick announced.  
"You'll be fine.  Can you stand?"

Annie shook her head. "Too weak."

Nick wrapped his arm around Annie's waist and gently 
pulled her to her feet.

"I'm not going to make it down all those stairs."  
Annie wheezed.

Nick looked at Annie.  He could tell that she was 
hurting and all she wanted to do was rest.  She had 
done what she said she would do.  Annabelle could 
rest in peace.  Nick carefully scooped her up in his 
arms and held her close to his body as he flew down 
to the ground and placed her in the front seat of the 
Caddy.

Annie opened her eyes as soon as he shut the door.  
She looked around to get her bearings. "Wow."  She 
said.  "How'd we get down here so fast?"

"We flew."  Nick answered truthfully as he got in the 
car.

"Damn."  Annie groaned.  "Missed out again."  

"There's always a next time."  He replied with a 
smile.

"Great."  Annie leaned her head against the frosted 
window.  

Nick started the car and drove to the nearest 
hospital.

"Nicholas?"  Annie whispered. "Don't leave me there 
alone.  Please?"

"Don't worry."  Nick replied as he took her shivering 
hand. "I won't.  Just rest now.  We'll be at the 
hospital soon."

Annie closed her eyes and everything went dark.

To Be Continued...

When History Repeats Itself-Part 37-Epilogue
By Rebecca Burns

After another long day of staff meetings and 
preparation for classes, Annie came home to settle in 
for the night.  It had been a long week for Annie, as 
she had to arrange Annabelle's funeral as well as 
pack up Annabelle's apartment all while recovering 
from her injuries brought on by her attack.  She 
could take comfort in the fact that she had spent 
some time with Nicholas Knight.  As he promised, he 
stayed with her in the hospital but only until close 
to sunrise.  It was against her better judgment and 
she knew the dangers of each meeting, but the 
connection that was made when she first held his hand 
was so powerful, she needed to know more about what 
she had seen.  She no longer thought of him as a 
threat, and to her surprise, did not think of him as 
a vampire.

Annie came out of her room dressed in an oversized 
shirt decorated with colorful handprints, a get-well 
gift from her niece & nephew, and a pair of 
sweatpants.  She poured herself a cup of tea and put 
on a recording of Mozart concertos. She fingered 
through her bookcase, pulled out a small book of 
poetry, and proceeded to the balcony to read.  She 
opened the book to a page that she had marked and 
suddenly closed it.  She rested her head on the back 
of the lounge chair and let the cool evening breeze 
envelop her. 

She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes as she exhaled 
slowly to clear her mind.  She opened her eyes slowly 
and looked up at the crescent moon and a small 
grouping of stars.  She wondered for a moment what it 
would be like to touch them-to be alone with them in 
silence without the thoughts of others invading her.  
She smiled as she thought of Nicholas, whom has 
probably been closer to them than anyone she knew.  
What was it like to be up there with the 
constellations and not be enclosed in a small space?  
What would it be like to experience such a feat as 
unconfined flight?  What if...

It was then that she felt it. The pull.  It was the 
only way she knew to describe it.  It had taken her a 
week to realize what it was but she was finally 
beginning to understand what it was and that she 
would have to live with it for a long time to come.

"It's not always fun, you know."  A voice replied 
from in front of Annie.  

"But it is peaceful."  Annie started as she sat up 
and looked at Nicholas, who was leaning against the 
railing.  "Isn't it?"

"Sometimes."  He replied as he walked over to the 
lounge chair.

"Tell me."  Annie requested as she gestured for him 
to sit.  "What is it like?"

"Well."  Nick began as he sat at the end of her 
chair.  "When I became what I am, the one thing I 
enjoyed most was flying.  Not just for hunting prey, 
mind you, but it was the one place I felt a sense of 
freedom."

"From LaCroix?"  The psychic asked, her eyes wide 
with interest.  That look had been a frequent 
occurrence since Detective Knight stayed in the 
hospital with her.  They had talked about Nick's life 
for the past 800 years until Annie drifted off to 
sleep.

"Yes."  He nodded.  "But of course, somehow he was 
always able to find me."

"He's your master, Nicholas."  Annie replied. "He 
brought you across.  Links like that are difficult to 
sever."

"It was gone for awhile."  The vampire announced. "I 
thought he was gone for good but..."

"He returned."  Annie said recalling one of their 
conversations.  "You told me."

She paused for a moment and glanced up at the stars 
before continuing.  "And what of us, Nicholas?"

Nick looked at her and smiled. "What do you mean?"

"This link that's between us is like nothing I've 
ever experienced before.  With Lucius, I was able to 
control it.  To block it out.  But with you...maybe 
it's because I've gotten a chance to know you.  Maybe 
it's because you might have had your sixth sense 
since before you were brought across and becoming a 
vampire merely heightened the power.  I'm not sure, 
but it's going to take me longer than a week to 
figure it all out.  That is, if the Enforcers don't 
kill me first."

"I wouldn't worry about them."  Nick said as he stood 
up and walked over to the railing.

"But now that Blain is in jail and the case is 
closed, you really don't have to be associated with 
me."  Annie said as she stood up and walked over to 
him.  "And if LaCroix found out that you're still 
associated with me..."

"It's a chance that I'm willing to take."  Nick said 
as he placed his hands on Annie's shoulders.  She 
felt the urge to pull away but she relaxed in his 
grasp. "I haven't let LaCroix dictate my life for a 
long time and I'm not about to now."

"You know, Natalie was right about you."  Annie 
smiled, looking up into Nick's eyes.  "She said that 
you're a dedicated friend.  I believe that now."

"I better get going."  Nick said. "My shift 
starts..."

"In an hour."  Annie finished, easily reading his 
next words.  She sensed uneasiness in his tone of 
voice.  He was fearful of what she could sense in his 
thoughts.

Nick sighed. "Yes."

"Sorry."  Annie said. "I'll try not to..."

"Do it again?"  Nick smiled as he completed her 
statement. "It's okay. I'm used to it."

"Guess turnabout is fair play, eh?"

Nick nodded.

"You better go."  Annie said softly and she pulled 
away from him and began to turn away. "Nat may start 
worrying.  Let her know I'm okay."

"I will."  Nick said as he turned to the darkening 
sky. 

<take me flying sometime?> Nick's mind echoed. 

Nick turned to Annie.  "Why not now?"

"Huh?"  Annie replied, surprised. 

Nick held out his hand to her.  "Come flying with 
me."

Annie blinked her eyes and swallowed.  "Really?"

"Yeah."

Annie took Nick's hand and looked into his ocean blue 
eyes.  They were trusting and honest.

<I won't let anything happen to you, Annie> Nick's 
voice echoed in her brain. <that I promise>

<I believe you, Nicholas>

Nicholas scooped Annie up in his arms. "Hold on 
tight." he suggested, still looking into her eyes.

She put her arm around Nick's neck.  "Don't worry, 
Nicholas.  I know you won't let me fall."

With that, Nick took to the air.  Annie smiled, as 
she no longer heard the thoughts of others.  They 
enjoyed the pleasure of each other's company. From 
that point forward, both knew that the relationship 
between them was one of trust and friendship-each 
protecting the other until one-or both met the end.

For now, they were both safe.
~~FINI~~