Hearts of Darkness
     Forever Knight, season 3, episode 7
     Written by J. Daniel Sexton
     Transcribed by Marg Baskin
     Proofread by Nancy Warlocke

Guest Cast:
     Ellen.........................................Krista Bridges
     Urs...........................................Kristin Lehman
     Don Eckhart.....................................Edward Jaunx
     Screed...........................................Greg Kramer
     Bourbon..................................Normand Bissonnette
     Lemieux..........................................Steve Behal
     Todd <Tom> Marnecki.............................David Nerman
     Killoughby...............................Camille James Adams
     McFarlane........................................Ralph Small
     Mrs. Marnecki..................................Adriana Galic
     Girl in Whirlpool.............................Laura Catalano


TEASER

[SCENE: The Raven. LaCroix has a microphone, and is playing.]

LaCroix: Let us peel back the layers. Let us strip away the last 
vestiges of decorum and civility and reveal our inner selves. 
Oui, mes amis, it's amateur night at the Raven, and tonight our 
amateurs will reveal their inner selves by getting naked.

[A young woman, Monica, goes up on stage and begins to strip to 
the wild appreciation of her audience. Urs is sitting nearby at 
the bar, watching. Very troubled by the sight, she remembers 
images of her own past as a dance hall girl in post-Civil War New 
Orleans. Vachon comes up behind Urs, and stops to watch the 
stripper's performance.]

Vachon: [appreciatively] If she's an amateur, I'm a vegetarian. 
You know her? 

[Urs doesn't answer.]

Vachon: Urs? 

[She still doesn't answer him--doesn't even seem to hear him.]

Vachon: [concerned] Hey--what's wrong?

[Monica is making silent but tangible contact with one man in the 
audience. She finishes her routine, and as she goes off-stage, 
Urs jumps up and intercepts her. Vachon follows along.]

Urs: That man, the one you're dancing for. He'll hurt you.

Monica: [trying to pull free] Sure.

Urs: No, no, no--you're frightened. You're making a mistake.

Monica: [annoyed] No, you're frightened. I'm hungry. 

[Monica shoves past and walks away. Urs makes a move to follow, 
but Vachon stops her.]

Vachon: Hey, if she wants him, she's got him. Let it go, Urs.

Urs: She wants him to hurt her. [She shrugs free of his hold.] I 
gotta get some air. 

[Urs hurries away, leaving Vachon looking totally confused.]

[SCENE: An apartment somewhere. "Monica" awakens in bed. She is 
confused and scared, her behavior nothing like the personality 
she displayed at the Raven. She examines her surroundings, trying 
to figure out where she is, and discovers the corpse of Don 
Eckhart, the man she was dancing for the previous night. Eckhart 
is tied to a piece of weight equipment, semi-dressed in B&D 
leather, with a knife sticking out of his chest. ]

OPENING CREDITS

[SCENE: Eckhart's apartment, later. Police officers and forensics 
technicians swarm around. Tracy is questioning "Monica", who has 
identified herself as Ellen Simmons. Tracy holds up the silky 
minidress "Monica" was wearing at the Raven.]

Ellen: [looking at the garment] It's not mine. I don't own 
anything like that.

Tracy: You've never seen this before? So where are your clothes?

Ellen: I don't know.

Tracy: Miss Simmons, this is a police investigation, you 
understand? We need your full cooperation.

Ellen: I'm sorry--I don't know.

Nick: How do you know Eckhart? 

[Ellen just looks at him without comprehension.]

Nick: The deceased--the man who rents this apartment.

Ellen: [apologetically] I can't remember.

Nick: Officer.

Female Officer: This way, ma'am.

[The officer leads Ellen away.]

Nick: She's probably in shock. We should give her some rest. 

[Nick goes over to Natalie, who is writing out notes on the body. 
It is still lying in the same position, but is now covered by a 
sheet.]

Nick: She admits to calling the police, but that's it. The rest 
is a blank. You get anything?

Natalie: Oh, yeah. I'm taking an informal poll. What would you 
expect from a gaping knife wound, arterial lacerations and organ 
trauma?

Nick: Lots of blood.

Natalie: So, where is it? 

[She pauses to let him think about the implications, then pulls 
the sheet back to expose Eckhart's head and neck. There is an 
obvious vampire bite on the side of his throat.] 

Natalie: A vampire stops over for a bite, stabs the host, and 
leaves our suspect behind to make his apologies. But first he 
erases a few pesky gray cells.

Nick: Okay, but why?

Natalie: I dunno. That's your department, I'm afraid.

[Tracy comes over, still carrying "Monica"'s stage costume from 
the Raven.]

Tracy: Size six. I have friends who would kill to fit in to 
something like this, and Miss Simmons fits it like a glove.

Natalie: Well, she, uh... She could be in shock.

Nick: Or, she could be telling the truth.

Tracy: Guys--do we really believe she came to a place like this 
expecting flowers and poetry?

[Pan around the room. There are sexually explicit prints on the 
walls, various S&M paraphernalia spread around.]

[Nick and Natalie move away, and as soon as they're gone, Tracy 
pulls the sheet back and examines the vampire bites, too.]

[SCENE: Urs is wandering aimlessly through the Toronto streets. 
CUT to FLASHBACK: New Orleans, c. 1890, a bar/dance hall. Urs is 
there, dressed as an entertainer--low-cut dress, feathers in her 
hair. She moves through the crowd, flirting with different men 
while she sings. Vachon, Screed and Bourbon are among the 
audience, and Vachon is clearly fascinated by her. Urs's current 
"protector", Lemieux, is standing by the bar, watching her 
performance disapprovingly.]

Urs: [singing] "I want you to love me, so I can start anew. Won't 
live a day longer, if I can't have you. To yearn for your touch, 
is all I can do. Desire is heartbreak, if I can't have you. 

[Making eye contact with Vachon, she flounces over to him. She 
puts one foot up on an empty chair and pulls off a white lace 
garter. She flutters it, hands it to him, then brushes a finger 
down his nose. Lemieux clearly doesn't like this.]

Urs: [singing] "Without you, I'm nothing, and life is untrue. Why 
should I live, if I can't have you?"

[Urs returns to the bar. Another man approaches her, but as he 
reaches for her arm, Lemieux drags her away roughly.]

[CUT to the present. Urs is standing in the shelter of a high 
rise building. The sun has risen, and she can see its brightness 
past the edge of the building--she's within a few steps of death. 
She stares at it for a minute, then retreats to shelter.]

[SCENE: The precinct. Ellen is in one of the interview rooms, 
with some polygraph technicians who have been testing her. Tracy 
and Nick are observing through the one-way glass.

Nick: She looks tired.

Tracy: Yeah, they've been at it for over two hours. She swears 
she never met Eckhart, and the machine backs her up.

Nick: That's strange.

Tracy: Yeah. She has the psychiatrist just stumped.

Nick: And her family?

Tracy: None surviving, so she says. Her mother died before she 
was ten. No brothers and sisters. She toured the foster home 
circuit, and was living on the streets by the time she was 
twelve.

Nick: What about her father?

Tracy: That's not pretty, either. Seems that he hung around long 
enough to steal all of Mummy's money, then just up and left. Last 
Ellen heard, he was killed in a bar fight in Victoria. We're 
checking on it.

Nick: Listen, last night you said you thought she killed Eckhart. 
Something happen?

Tracy: Yeah. I believe her now.

[They leave. A female officer escorts Ellen out into the squad 
room and parks her in a chair in the corner. At the back of the 
room, an argument is starting up near the sergeant's desk.]

Cop: Look, sir, don't give me a hard time. We're going to hold 
you for questioning. Now, I need your name and address.

Lawyer: This is ridiculous. If there was a problem, my client's 
wife would not have dropped the charges.

Reese: What seems to be the problem here, officer?

Cop: His wife dialed 911 screaming for help. Claimed he was 
beating her.

Lawyer: Do you know who my client is?

[Reese looks at the man being detained.]

Reese: [disgusted] Tom "Hammerhead" Marnecki. Majors, Kings, 
Fliers, Leafs 1983-88. Twenty-seven points in five years. Known 
for his fists, and little else.

Marnecki: [insolently] You're a fan. You want an autograph?

[In the background, Ellen is watching the exchange, her face 
still and utterly blank of emotion.]

Reese: Did you get a victim's statement from Mrs. Marnecki?

Lawyer: What victim statement? She dropped the charges, and she's 
coming here to take him back.

Reese: [to the cop] Will you keep him out of my hair 'til she 
gets here.

[Reese walks away.]

Marnecki: [calling after him] Hey, it was 29 points.

Cop: Hey, hey--that's enough out of you, Marnecki. Sit down.

[Reese returns to his office. Nick and Tracy follow him.]

Reese: That clown almost single-handedly ruined hockey, and he 
wants me to give him a break. [picks up the report on Ellen] All 
right, what do we got? Three different psych profiles on Ellen 
all with the same preliminary diagnosis: suppressed memory.

Nick: Yeah, that squares with the polygraph as well.

Reese: So, what, uh? She sees something so horrible her mind 
can't cope?

Tracy: It's not uncommon.

Reese: What do we have on the victim? 

Tracy: If you ask me, Eckhart got what he deserved. He almost 
killed his fiance in San Francisco. Ran away to Toronto, sets up 
a sex den in his living room. Something out of the Marquis de 
Sade. What a nightmare! And all it takes is a smile at a 
stranger.

Nick: Maybe they weren't strangers.

Reese: Isn't Ellen from the coast as well?

Tracy: Vancouver. But she's only been here a week.

Nick: Yeah, but according to the sheet, Eckhart's been here eight 
days.

Reese: Coincidence?

Nick: Well, but... maybe Tracy's right. Ellen could be a victim 
here as well. I mean, if she is blocking something out, that is a 
defense mechanism.

Reese: All right--self defense. Maybe a third party was in the 
room. Any evidence of that?

Nick: Nothing yet.

Reese: All right, then we have to do what we can to get past a 
suppressed memory.

[SCENE: the morgue. Nick and Natalie are discussing the case.]

Natalie: Her fingerprints are all over--silverware included. You 
couldn't frame a Picasso any better than this.

Nick: Why would a vampire set up Ellen?

Natalie: You're asking me?

Nick: Maybe he wanted Eckhart, and Ellen just got in the way.

Natalie: Maybe, but I think that you're wrong about one little 
thing. 

[She pulls out a small instrument and approaches him.]

Natalie: Open your mouth.

Nick: What are you doing?

Natalie: Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit. Just open your 
mouth.

[She measures the distance between his canine teeth.]

Natalie: Hah! Just as I thought: 3.5 centimeters, canine to 
canine. The killer's bite is 2.9.

Nick: Well, that lets me off the hook.

Natalie: You and almost every other *male* vampire.

Nick: A woman.

Natalie: She's cunning. She gets hungry, and she kills.

[CUT to Urs, wandering the streets in a seedy area, gazing at the 
hookers and their johns. A car drives past, slows to a crawl as 
the driver ogles her, then moves on.]

COMMERCIAL

[SCENE: Nick enters Eckhart's apartment, ducking under the 
barrier of police tape. He looks around, then spots something 
under the edge of the carpet. It's a coaster from the Raven.]

[SCENE: the Raven. "The Night Calls My Name" is playing. Tracy 
enters, and starts looking around for Vachon, picking her way 
uncomfortably through the weird crowd. A half-naked man, with the 
physique of a body builder and a dog collar around his neck, 
approaches her, and she hastily avoids him. As she's backing 
away, Vachon comes up behind her, startling her.]

Vachon: Your kind of guy?

Tracy: Uh... [She takes another disbelieving look.] ...no. Not 
really.

Vachon: [smiling] Good answer.

Tracy: A man was killed last night. Stabbed in the heart. This 
woman was with him when he died. 

[She hands over a photo of Ellen.]

Tracy: A vamp-- [She cuts off the word, drops her voice to a 
near-whisper, and continues.] A vampire killed him. I saw the 
bite marks.

Vachon: Maybe she's the vampire.

Tracy: Uh, uh, can't be. I saw her the daylight. She says she 
doesn't remember a thing.

Vachon: You said the guy was stabbed?

Tracy: Yeah. It's like he was framing her for the murder, or 
something. Or maybe he was protecting her.

Vachon: Unlikely.

Tracy: But not impossible. Look, if a vam-- [whispering again] If 
a vampire is involved, could her life be in danger?

Vachon: I honestly don't know. 

[Tracy stares at his speculatively, trying to decide if he's 
lying. Meanwhile, Nick arrives at the Raven. He sees Tracy 
talking to Vachon, and hastily conceals himself as Tracy turns to 
leave. Once she's gone, he approaches Vachon, who has been joined 
by LaCroix. Nick hands the coaster to LaCroix.]

LaCroix: Nicholas--how thoughtful of you to bring your own 
coaster. If only all of my clients were as environmentally 
conscious.

Nick: I found it at a murder scene.

LaCroix: [gleefully] Really? You know, for all that I dislike 
what you do, it does appear to have some advantages. Murder 
scenes and all that.

[An attractive woman walks past, and LaCroix drifts off, 
following her.]

Nick: [to Vachon] What did Tracy want?

Vachon: She still hasn't gotten over the new wrinkle in her 
reality. She sees vampires under every rock.

[Nick hands over a photo of Eckhart.]

Nick: Name's Eckhart--know him? [seeing Vachon's reaction] You 
do.

Vachon: Been here on and off all week.

Nick: Well, now he's dead by one of us... A female.

[Vachon throws him a worried glance.]

Vachon: [casually] Really?... This Eckhart guy split with a 
stripper--an amateur, but real hot. Called herself Monica.

Nick: Is Monica one of us?

Vachon: No.

Nick: Did Urs see Eckhart? 

[Vachon shrugs.]

Nick: [self-righteous mode on] If she's out of control, somebody 
has to answer, and that somebody is you.

Vachon: Okay, okay--I hear you. I've been watching her myself the 
last couple of weeks. [sigh] She's like she was when I first saw 
her...

[CUT to FLASHBACK: the music hall. After finishing her song, Urs 
walks back to the bar. Lemieux grabs her roughly.]

Lemieux: I don't like you looking at other men. 

[Vachon comes over.]

Lemieux: [insolently, to Vachon] What can I do for you?

[Vachon grabs Lemieux around the throat with one hand, pulls him 
away from Urs and marches him backwards across the room. Forcing 
the man into a chair, he leans over him and speaks softly, close 
to Lemieux's ear.]

Vachon: Bother her again and you die--compris?

Lemieux: Oui.

Vachon: Bon.

[Vachon releases Lemieux and walks back over to the bar, Screed 
is hovering close to Urs, who is staring at him with trepidation. 
Vachon slaps Screed on the head with his gloves.]

Vachon: Pas touche.

Screed: [backing away] Whatever you say.

Urs: [smiling at Vachon, she glances at Lemieux] He meant me no 
harm. He's a friend.

Vachon: [sardonically] Indeed.

Urs: But you don't know him. He's been kind to me. [She realizes 
he doesn't believe what she's saying.] But thank you anyway. 
You're a true gentleman.

[Vachon gives her back the lace garter she handed him, and kisses 
her hand. As he bends over it, his gaze locks with Lemieux's, 
passing on a warning.] 

Vachon: I'll take my leave.

[As he walks out, Urs is smiling.]

[CUT to the present. The Raven. Vachon is telling the story to 
Nick.]

Vachon: Urs was mortal then. Vulnerable.

Nick: And she sees herself in Monica? Wants to protect her? From 
what?

Vachon: Her fate, maybe? I don't know.

Nick: Why kill Eckhart?

Vachon: Maybe it was a mistake. Things could have gotten out of 
hand. Urs doesn't know her own strength.

[Nick walks off, leaving Vachon looking worried.]

[SCENE: the precinct. In the background, heard but not seen, 
there is a tumult of voices as Marnecki is being interviewed by 
the press.]

Marnecki: Now hold on, and I'll answer all your questions.

Reporter: Are you and your wife getting back together?

[Nick arrives at the door to Reese's office.]

Nick: What's that all about?

Reese: Marnecki's lawyer called the press.

Nick: His wife dropped the charges?

Reese: [disgusted] You know, some people's lives make no sense to 
me. Marnecki's probably going to throw a big party back at his 
club. Treat his groupies to victory laps in the hot tub... [he 
grunts in distaste]

[Tracy walks in, with an enormous piece of luggage dangling over 
her shoulder--somewhere between a soft suitcase and an oversized 
gym bag.]

Tracy: I'm all set, Captain.

Reese: Where's Ellen?

Tracy: Oh, uh, she's waiting in the bullpen.

[Nick looks at Reese in confusion.]

Reese: [to Nick] Tracy thinks Ellen might respond if we get her 
home. Something familiar, to trigger her memory. Who knows? Got 
to be worth a shot.

Tracy: Yeah, I stay with her a couple of days. Just see what 
happens.

Nick: Sounds like a plan. Let's go.

Tracy: [quickly] Uh, you don't have to go.

Nick: Sure, I do. 

[He looks at Reese for confirmation. When the Captain nods, Tracy 
looks annoyed.]

Nick: What's in the bag?

Tracy: [guiltily] Oh, you know. Overnight stuff.

[A uniformed cop sticks his head in the open doorway.]

Cop: Excuse me, sir. Mrs. Marnecki's here to take her husband 
home.

Reese: What do you want me to do about it?

[CUT to the tumult surrounding Marnecki. Mrs. Marnecki joins her 
husband and they hug. Again, Ellen is watching the proceedings 
with an odd, blank expression on her face.]

Voice: Hey, folks, let her through.

Reporter: Tell your fans what's happening? What's going on?

[Tracy and Nick come out of Reese's office, and head for Ellen. 
Nick stops as they pass his desk.]

Nick: Tracy--why don't you get Ellen? I've got to make a quick 
call.

[Tracy comes up behind Ellen and lays a hand on her shoulder to 
get her attention. Ellen gasps and jumps.]

Tracy: Come on, Ellen. Let's get you home.

[As they leave, Ellen keeps throwing glances back at the 
Marneckis.]

Nick: [on the phone] I need your help.

[Tracy leads Ellen past Nick's desk just as he hangs up the 
phone.]

Tracy: I think we'd better go out the back way. 

[SCENE: Outside Ellen's apartment building. Nick and Tracy are 
standing beside the Cadillac. Tracy is having trouble carrying 
the gym bag, which seems to be very heavy.]

Nick: All that for two nights?

Tracy: [nonchalantly] Plus a few extras. You know. 

[Nick pauses, apparently hearing something.] 

Tracy: What, something wrong?

Nick: [still looking around.] No... No, it's fine. Come on.

[They go inside the building. Behind them, Urs steps out of the 
shadows.]

COMMERCIAL

[SCENE: Ellen's apartment. Ellen is very flustered by the 
necessity of offering Nick and Tracy some sort of hospitality.]

Ellen: Um, I don't really have much to offer you--you want coffee 
or something?

Nick: No, thank you.

Tracy: I'd love one.

Ellen: [embarrassed] Um...instant?

Tracy: [grinning] Great.

Ellen: Okay. Excuse me.

Nick: [to Tracy] Stay with her. I'll look around.

[Tracy follows Ellen into the kitchen while Nick starts to 
explore the apartment.]

Tracy: So, Ellen, what kind of work do you do?

Ellen: Well, you know, um, mostly secretarial stuff. I'm trying 
to get in at a few law firms... You know.

[CUT to Nick, checking out the bedroom. He opens a closet, which 
is full of simple, conservative clothes. When he checks out a 
suitcase lying on the floor at the bottom, he finds clothes of a 
different sort--black silk, lace. He stuffs a sample garment into 
his jacket.]

[CUT to the kitchen.]

Tracy: It must be scary, coming to a new city with no firm job 
offer. Not a lot of people would take that leap of faith.

Ellen: I have a little money saved.

[Nick enters the kitchen.]

Nick: Everything checks out.

Ellen: Are you sure you don't want any coffee. Um. You want some 
chips?

[She offers him a Tupperware container full of chips.]

Nick: No, thank you. I've got to get going.

Ellen: Okay. [She hesitates.] Excuse me. [She shoves a huge 
handful of chips into her mouth.]

Nick: Have a good night.

[He leaves the kitchen. As he walks through the living room, he 
stops beside Tracy's oversized luggage and unzips it. There's a 
large, elaborate cross and a few stakes inside, lying on top of 
the clothes. He flinches back from the cross.]

[SCENE: The ground floor of the building where Ellen lives. Nick 
meets Vachon, who has come in answer to the phone call.]

Nick: Thanks for coming.

Vachon: Yeah, but I'm not sure why I'm here. Tracy's a big girl. 
She can protect herself while you're gone.

Nick: Against one of us?

Vachon: You really think Urs is involved?

Nick: I dunno, but there's a vampire tailing us, and it could be 
her.

Vachon: She wouldn't have any reason.

Nick: Yeah, well, you don't know that for sure. I'll be back as 
soon as I can.

[SCENE: the morgue. Natalie is staring into the microscope.]

Natalie: The hair looks like a match. I'd say it's Ellen's all 
right. Very risque, but hardly what I'd call an effective 
disguise, if that's what you're thinking.

[She hands the lacy garment back to Nick.]

Nick: Well, if Ellen was stalking Eckhart, she might have thought 
he'd recognize her from out west. This could be part of it. 
Different hair. Different make-up. It still doesn't answer why.

Natalie: Even if you can connect Ellen and Eckhart, Ellen didn't 
kill him. That was a vampire, as your partner knows only too 
well.

Nick: Well, her closet was full of this stuff. But Ellen... I 
mean, you saw her, she just isn't the type.

Natalie: I dunno--grandparents get busted for mail-order porn 
these days. You just don't know.

Nick: It's as if we're talking about two different people.

Natalie: Wait a minute, wait a minute--what if we are? Two 
people, but one body.

[CUT to Tracy and Ellen. They're sitting at the table in Ellen's 
apartment, having coffee and talking.]

Tracy: So today during questioning, you talked about your father 
a lot. When he left you, it must have hit you pretty hard... 

[Ellen nods jerkily, then looks away.]

Tracy: Sorry. I didn't mean to pry.

Ellen: That's okay.

[CUT to outside the window of the room. Urs is watching them and 
eavesdropping on their conversation.]

Ellen: Are you close to your father?

Tracy: Actually, yeah... Just one of the lucky ones, I guess.

[Ellen rubs her fingers compulsively across the table top, 
staring at them while she talks.]

Ellen: I came home from school one day, and he was a gone. And 
there was a note, with the number to call Social Services. He 
signed it, um, "Love, Dad."

Tracy: You must have felt so hurt.

Ellen: Worse than that. I felt like I wanted to die.

[CUT to Urs, as she sinks into memories.]

[FLASHBACK: Urs's room. Lemieux grabs Urs without warning, and 
threatens to cut her face with a knife.]

Urs: Oh! Why are you doing this? I've never denied you!

[Vachon breaks into the room. Snarling, he grabs Lemieux, then 
bites him.]

Urs: [as she watches Vachon feed] Oh, no. No, no!

[Vachon discards Lemieux's drained corpse, then turns to Urs. 
Blood still stains his mouth, but he licks it away.]

Vachon: [quiet and reassuring] Don't be afraid.

[As he tries to approach her, she backs away.]

Urs: [crying] Stay away from me.

Vachon: I scared you. I'm sorry... but I couldn't allow him to 
hurt you.

Urs: What are you? [She glances down at Lemieux's corpse.] You 
killed him.

Vachon: Yes. I'll leave if you want me to.

Urs: [still scared, but pulling herself together] I've heard 
people around here talking about a group of men... They say these 
men live to kill, afraid of nothing. Is that you and your 
friends?

Vachon: We don't live to kill, we kill to live.

[Urs moves closer to him, and touches his mouth with her 
fingers--touching the blood stains, or perhaps feeling the 
outline of his fangs.]

Urs: Vampires?

[Again, she looks down at the body by their feet, then kneels and 
touches Lemieux's throat. Vachon cups her chin in his hand and 
turns her face upwards until she looks at him.]

Vachon: [softly] Let me take you away from this. 

[He lifts her to her feet, and continues to caress her face.]

Vachon: Someone of your beauty, dancing for fools... and thieves.

Urs: I can't leave. I've tried, but I always come back.

Vachon: Why?

Urs: I don't know. I make them happy? I want to thank you--and I 
want you to help me die.

[CUT to Tracy and Ellen.]

Ellen: [Casually, as though it's a trivial thing.] Haven't you 
ever wanted to die?

Tracy: [very uncomfortable] No.

[Ellen smiles at her vacantly. Outside the window, Urs looks 
miserable.]

COMMERCIAL

[SCENE: the morgue. Nick and Natalie talking.]

Nick: The psych report stopped with suppressed memory.

Natalie: Yes, but suppressed memory is a result of shock. They 
assumed that it was an isolate incident. What if it's not? What 
if it's part of an ingrained behavior? What if Ellen has 
developed this other, tougher persona to help her handle 
situations that she can't? Like Eckhart's murder.

Nick: So, Monica the amateur stripper Vachon said left with 
Eckhart...

Natalie: Is actually Ellen. And if it really is a case of 
multiple personalities, Ellen doesn't know what happened to 
Eckhart, because Ellen wasn't there. Physically, yeah, she was in 
the room, but mentally it was Monica.

Nick: All right, say Ellen is Monica. What's the connection to 
the killer?

Natalie: And where's the vampire?

Nick: No. It can't be Ellen--I would sense it.

Natalie: Are you sure?

Nick: I've got Vachon on guard outside the apartment. But Tracy's 
inside with Ellen.

Natalie: With Ellen? Or Monica?

[SCENE: Ellen's apartment. Tracy is wandering around aimlessly 
while Ellen is in her bedroom, changing her clothes. Ellen 
surreptitiously watches Tracy through the doorway. Her body 
language is different, not quite Monica's, but lacking Ellen's 
uncertainty. She picks up a newspaper, reads the 
headline--"Marnecki released"--then turns toward the closet 
again, and pulls out some of Monica's clothes. Elsewhere in the 
apartment, Tracy reaches the living room and discovers someone 
has unzipped her gym bag, exposing the cross.]

[SCENE: Downstairs, Vachon senses Urs nearby, peers out through 
the front door, then hastily goes outside. He catches Urs by the 
arm and turns her to face him.]

Vachon: Urs, what are you doing here? 

[She seems to be in a daze, and doesn't answer.]

Vachon: That man in the club--you killed him, didn't you?

Urs: No! Why would you think that?

Vachon: Because of what he represented to you.

Urs: I don't treat death as lightly as you do, Javier.

[CUT to FLASHBACK, a continuation of the previous scene. Urs and 
Vachon in her room. Urs is trying to persuade him to kill her.]

Urs: Death is nothing to you.

Vachon: No--

Urs: It comes so easily. 

Vachon: No--

Urs: Please, feed and then let me die. Please. 

[She kisses him. After a moment, the passion becomes decidedly 
mutual.]

Urs: [desperately] Please. Kill me.

[Vachon kisses her again, then strikes at her throat.]

[CUT to the present. Ellen's apartment. Tracy is looking around. 
Ellen comes out of the bedroom, as "Monica", clad in skimpy black 
leather.]

Ellen/Monica: Tracy.

Tracy: Ellen.

Ellen/Monica: Sorry, Ellen doesn't want to talk to you anymore.

Tracy: [carefully] Well, if I'm not talking to Ellen, then who am 
I talking to?

Ellen/Monica: I'm Monica.

[CUT to Urs and Vachon, outside the apartment building.]

Urs: That woman--Monica. She's as trapped as I was... as I am. 
There was only one way out for me...

[CUT to the past. Vachon is sitting on a couch, cradling Urs, who 
is asleep. Her throat shows bite marks. She awakens, and when her 
eyes open, they are vampire gold.]

Urs: What is this?

Vachon: [very softly] What you asked for. An end... A 
beginning...

[Urs stands up and goes to a mirror, then stares at her 
reflection in horror.]

[CUT to the present. Urs tries to make Vachon understand her 
feelings.]

Urs: I asked you to kill me... not to bring me across. Not to 
bear for eternity what I couldn't bear for another second. I 
asked for death, and you gave me forever... Forever!

Vachon: How could I kill you?

Urs: I know, but... I'm the product of your desires. This is what 
you wanted. You didn't save me, any more than I can save Ellen, 
and her only way of escaping is to become somebody else. And I 
can't do that.

[CUT to the interior of the apartment. Tracy is circling Monica 
warily.]

Tracy: You don't by any chance know a Don Eckhart, do you?

Ellen/Monica: Yeah, I know Donnie. He's a very bad boy. You see, 
I like men like that. I know how to handle them.

Tracy: Don Eckhart was murdered last night. We found Ellen in his 
apartment.

Ellen/Monica: [indifferently] Yeah, so he's dead. We didn't kill 
him.

[She heads for the door, but Tracy intercepts her.]

Tracy: Where are you going?

Ellen/Monica: I don't know. Thought maybe I'd drop by Marnecki's. 
Maybe get his autograph.

Tracy: No, I can't let you go anywhere. No--

Ellen/Monica: Out of my way.

["Monica" tries to shove past. Tracy grabs her, trying to pin her 
in an armlock, but "Monica" flings her aside easily. Tracy flies 
back into the door and is momentarily stunned by the impact. When 
"Monica" turns to the camera, she is in vampire form--fangs and 
yellow eyes. ]

[They struggle, then "Monica" tosses Tracy to the floor. Outside, 
Urs and Vachon both hear Tracy's cry as she hits the floor. 
"Monica" leaves and as she flies away, Urs follows her. Seconds 
later, Vachon barrels into the apartment, and finds Tracy lying 
on the floor, unmoving. As he kneels beside her, Nick arrives. 
Cradling Tracy, Vachon stares up at him.]

COMMERCIAL

[SCENE: continuation of previous, except that Nick is now holding 
Vachon by the shoulders of his jacket, threateningly.]

Vachon: She's alive.

Nick: What the hell happened? 

Vachon: Ellen attacked her. She got away, and, uh... I think she 
flew. Urs showed up outside. She distracted me. I didn't expect 
this any more than you did, Knight.

Nick: Where's Urs now?

Vachon: I don't know.

[Tracy begins to stir. Nick shoves Vachon toward the door.]

Nick: Get out of here.

[Vachon disappears, and Nick lifts Tracy into a sitting position, 
helping her to lean back against the couch.]

Nick: Tracy, you okay? Come on. Take it easy, come on.

Tracy: [rubbing her skull gingerly] Ellen...

Nick: No, it's okay. Just take it easy. Take your time.

Tracy: Ellen... She said her name was Monica, but.. she was 
different. She said she admitted to being with Eckhart last 
night, but she didn't kill him. Although I find that hard to 
believe.

Nick: Do you have any idea where she is now?

Tracy: Yeah... Marnecki's.

Nick: No, no--stay here. [settling her back in place] Tracy, stay 
here. I'll send for help.

Tracy: [weakly] Okay.

[He races out, leaving her still cradling her skull.]

[SCENE: the stairwell of the apartment building, a few seconds 
later. Vachon is sitting on the stairs, looking miserable and 
annoyed. Nick is leaning over him, still furious.]

Nick: Wait for the paramedics. Nothing else happens to her. I 
mean it! Don't let her see you.

[SCENE: a hot tub for two, on the balcony of Marnecki's penthouse 
apartment. Marnecki is sharing the water with a blonde woman in a 
bikini.]

Marnecki: It's nice, huh?

Woman: Umhm.

Marnecki: Makes all those body checks and sucker punches worth 
it... Speaking of body checks... 

[He starts to lick his way up her exposed stomach, while she 
laughs. While they fool around in the water, Ellen walks in from 
the balcony. Marnecki's companion notices her first, and her 
reaction makes him look over.]

Marnecki: What? Who the hell are you?

Ellen/Jacqueline: Good question.

Marnecki: How the hell did you get up here?

Ellen/Jacqueline: [casually] I flew.

Marnecki: You flew? [to his companion] Go call the cops.

Ellen/Jacqueline: I didn't mean to spoil your fun. 

[She begins to unlace the leather thong that is holding the front 
of her dress together.]

Marnecki: [watching with growing interest] Forget it. Maybe I 
should tell my friend to forget that call. The three of us can 
play. 

["Jacqueline" smiles and walks closer.] 

Marnecki: Oh, yeah.

[He kisses her cleavage, then her mouth.]

Marnecki: Oh, yeah.

Ellen/Jacqueline: By the way. I'm Jacqueline.

Marnecki: Whatever.

[She sinks her fangs into him, and kills him. His girlfriend 
returns, sees the body, and starts to scream. Sensing another 
vampire behind her, "Jacqueline" turns, to find Urs standing 
behind her.]

Ellen/Jacqueline: Ah, the dancer. I wondered about you. 

[Urs stares past her at Marnecki's corpse in the hot tub.]

Ellen/Jacqueline: You don't approve--but you dance for the 
approval of men like him and like Eckhart every night. No matter 
how they treat you, you always come back for more. Am I right? 
And I bet you don't even know why.

[Nick lands on the balcony behind them.]

Urs: I don't. But you do, don't you?

Ellen/Jacqueline: I am three. First there is Ellen--sweet, 
innocent Ellen. A born victim. Well, like you, I would imagine. 
Alone in the world, seeking the affection and approval of men to 
replace the father who deserted her, no matter how much abuse... 
and pain it costs her.

[CUT to Urs's memory of Lemieux threatening her with the knife.]

Urs: Why are you doing this?

[CUT to the present.]

Ellen/Jacqueline: It was too much for Ellen, so Monica appeared, 
to deal with the abuse.

Urs: How?

Ellen/Jacqueline: She fought fire with fire. She used them.

Urs: But you don't use. You kill.

Ellen/Jacqueline: [proudly] Yes. Call me Jacqueline. Monica's 
indiscretions led her to a vampire. He brought her across, and 
then I emerged. It was the best thing that ever happened to us. 
The pain is Ellen's. The anger is Monica's, and I am the revenge. 
I give it to Ellen and Monica. You should try it.

Urs: But what has revenge brought them? Nothing but more pain and 
anger. Maybe you don't feel it, but they do. I know they do. 
You're lying to them. 

[Nick finally steps out of the shadows, and walks up beside Urs. 
Jacqueline turns away from them for a moment, and when she turns 
back, her eyes are human again and her body language has become 
Ellen's. Ellen looks at Marnecki's corpse in horror.]

Nick: Ellen.

Ellen: I killed him... Did I...? [desperately] Did I...?

Nick: Ellen, you didn't do this.

Ellen: It has to stop.

[She starts to cry, then turns and hurls herself through an open 
window.]

Nick: Ellen!  

[Nick tries to intercept her, but Urs steps in front of him, 
stopping him before he can go after Ellen.]

Nick: Ellen!

[He runs to the window, but Ellen has already hit the ground 
below.]

Nick: I could have saved her.

Urs: Nothing could have saved her. She was like me. Nothing could 
have saved her except death. She's lucky. 

[Nick takes her in his arms and holds her.]

COMMERCIAL

[SCENE: the Raven. Some kind of costume party is taking place. 
People wearing elaborate masks move around in the background. Urs 
is talking to Vachon.]

Urs: Somehow, she knew... In so many ways we were the same. My 
father abandoned my family when I was twelve. But we told 
ourselves we wouldn't let it destroy us. Growing up, I thought 
I'd forgotten him. And then something Jacqueline said made me 
remember. And I realized I've spent my life searching for my 
father in every man I've met. Someone to approve of me. To tell 
me I was a good girl. And maybe even love me. And I did whatever 
it took. But I don't know if just knowing that is enough...

Vachon: To change?

Urs: Umhm.

Vachon: I can't say.

Urs: When I met you, more than anything else in the world, I 
wanted to die. 

Vachon: [regretfully] I know. I haven't had the chance to say I'm 
sorry for what I did.

Urs: You don't have to. [She touches his chin with her fingers] 
It's done.

Vachon: So... Now... Do you still want to die, Urs?

Urs: I understand more than I did yesterday... But has it changed 
my mind? 

[She caresses his cheek, makes a small, ambiguous noise in her 
throat, then walks away without answering.]

[SCENE: the loft. Natalie uses the remote to close the shutters, 
cutting off the sunlight as Nick joins her.]

Natalie: [reading from a file] Ellen got as far as a pre-trial in 
'87. Attempted murder of a pimp in Vancouver. Looks like all the 
charges were dismissed for lack of evidence. I guess that's why 
nothing showed up in the background check.

Nick: We only know of two of her murders. There could be more.

[He sits down on the piano bench, and Nat takes a seat beside 
him.] 

Natalie: Hey, maybe there is a clue here. [She butts him with her 
shoulder.] Oh, come on, don't tell me you haven't considered the 
consequences of her situation. She was a vampire who functioned 
as a human. Sunlight. Food... Sex.

Nick: But she wasn't whole.

Natalie: That's not the point. In Ellen's mind, she was not a 
vampire. And that belief was so certain that it allowed her to 
live as a human. It just shows the incredible power that the mind 
can have over the body.

Nick: And you think there's something in it for me? 

Natalie: I don't know. But it's something to think about.

[SCENE: the cold storage locker in the morgue. Ellen's body is 
lying on a gurney, covered in a sheet. Her bare feet are visible. 
One of them twitches.]

END CREDITS