Subject: 98-LotteryLunacy


LOTTERY LUNACY is a follow up, of sorts, to a story I wrote last year
called THE MODEL MURDERS.  It isn't required reading for this, as it is a
stand alone story.  But this one will make a little more sense if you've
read the older story because this takes place in the same fic universe but
about a year and a half later.  If you've not read THE MODEL MURDERS and
would like to, it is archived I think at the main site that Mel runs, or I
can email it if you prefer.

This story deals with issues of racism, and the views of the killer are
most definitely NOT my own.

DEDICATION:
    This story is dedicated to my friend and fellow thug, Eric McCann
(May you and Leah be forever happy!!!)

THANKS:
- To Shana for her beta-reading...  I gave her a hard task I think.
- To ML & Cheryl, who I asked to remind me when I was forgetting some of
  the elements I wanted to keep... and their valuable feedback :)
- To Eric & my hubby Boyd for their assistance/feedback with certain parts
  of this story.
- To my good friend Jair Dias dos Santos, who kindly allowed me to use his
  name when I needed an ethnic sounding name for the judge.  Other than
  the name, and the fact that both the real person and the fictional judge
  are both good people, no similarity is intended.

WARNINGS:
    1)  While this story is *not* an adult story, in a couple of places in
it there is mild sexual behavior.  I've been suggested to warn the under
15 crowd, so consider yourselves warned...
    2)  Occasional swearing in the story, mostly mild.

STORY FLAVOUR:
    I'm almost a die-hard, although my primary faction is T+V... So you'll
find T+V, N+N, Stonetree, Reese & Commissioner Vetter all figure fairly
prominently. You'll also find this story is a strong one for the ladies -
Tracy & Nat are the stars of this one!
    One of the factions I'm on is the DP's, and this summer after I got a
tattoo on my arm, I was asked to write a story where Trace is into tats...
Since I'd had her get a teenie little one at the end of MODEL MURDERS, I
figured that the best setting for her request would be a sequal to that
one, and this story was born...
    In spite of the elements that figured into the creation of this story,
I've tried to maintain the same flavour as I used in its predecessor:  A
serious crime-solving story with a lot of fun thrown in for balance.

ARCHIVING:
Permission to archive granted to Mel and Michael, as well as any DP or
T+Vpacker.  Anyone else please ask.

OWNERSHIP:
We all know the drill - The FK characters are not mine as much as I might
wish otherwise.  No money is being made from this story, and I will return
the characters to their rightful owners with no permanent damage done to
them.  All non-FK characters are of my creation.  Judge Dias dos Santos is
fictional but the name is borrowed from my friend with his permission.

NOTES:
- Crimestoppers (c) is a program that I know is active throughout BC and
  Alberta that does little re-enactments of crimes and shows them on TV
  and has a tips number for people to phone anonymously.  They also have
  cash rewards for tips leading to a conviction.  As a result they have
  (at least here) an annual fund-raising telethon.  Because it is active
  in both BC & Alberta, I am assuming that it is also active through the
  rest of the country, and have included it within the story.  If you've
  never seen one, it's similar to a 2-3 minute segment (usually) like
  Unsolved Mysteries, except that it's done by the police (usually with
  auxilliary police or family and friends of police doing re-enactments)
  and shown LOCALLY for free by the local media stations either as a part
  of their news broadcasts, but usually also in a commercial slot between
  or during programs.   Sometimes the ones they run on the fundraiser
  telethons are a bit more in depth, but still usually less than 15 min. 

- For those unfamiliar with the term, a 'remand centre' is a facility
  specifically for holding someone in custody until/during their trial.
  My dictionary says it's only used in the UK, but I know it's used in
  Western Can, so I assume TO would have one as well. ALSO, please see
  note at the end for other explanations that I don't want to give away
  too much info with.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Lottery Lunacy
by "Micki" Lynn McCormick
Dec 98
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

Chapter 1:

It had been a slow night.  Hell, it had been a slow week for many
branches of the police department, but especially for the homicide
detectives.  In fact, in the last two weeks there hadn't been a single
suspicious death in the whole of Toronto.  For the first week they had
been able to catch up on backlogged cases requiring either a little
legwork or follow-up, as well as the inevitable paperwork.  But for the
last two nights 81-KILO had been assisting with the traffic department,
being called out to vehicle accidents and the like.  Nick didn't mind so
much, since it gave him a chance to see Natalie on other cases than just
the homicides.  Tracy, however, was bored silly.

When the radio call came in, Tracy rolled her eyes at Nick and asked,
"Whaddya bet it's another car accident?"  She then picked up the mike and
answered, "This is 81-KILO.  Go ahead."

The call gave them the address of a body found behind a dumpster in an
alley behind a 24 hour convenience store, then added that the coroner was
already enroute.

Tracy looked over at Nick and grinned.  "You SHOULD have bet, Nick...
You'd have won."  She then keyed the mike and answered, "81-KILO
responding."

By the time that they arrived at the site, Natalie had already had a few
minutes to look over the body.  As they came over, she okayed the techs
bagging, tagging and transporting the body, so she stood up to meet them.
"I don't think this one'll be yours.  Looks like our John Doe died of
exposure a couple nights ago, during that rainstorm most likely.  Of
course I won't know for sure 'til I get a toxicology report and do an
autopsy, but how it looks right now is he probably passed out from
drinking too much, and the exposure to the storm got him.  I'll get those
done right away and let you guys know what I find."  Seeing Tracy sigh,
Natalie added, "Still pretty slow for you two, eh?"

Nick asked Tracy to go talk to the person who found the body, and
walked back with Natalie to her car.  Tracy couldn't hear them, but she
looked over in time to see her partner close the Doctor's door, then lean
over and give her a kiss on her forehead through the opened window.
~While those two may have the slowest progress I've ever seen in a
relationship, at least *theirs* *is* progressing.  I still don't know what
Vachon wants or even what I want out of whatever relationship it is that
we do or don't have!~  Tracy refocused her thoughts to the interviewing
at hand, and Nick joined her shortly after seeing the coroner off.

        *****

Later that night, after Natalie had finished her shift, she went over to
Nick's to await his arrival home from work.  She was relaxing in their
hot tub when she heard the lift engage.  Wrapping a towel around herself,
she stepped into the main room of the loft only to be met by both Nick
and Tracy.

Seeing Natalie's bare shoulders above the big fluffy white towel, Tracy
smiled awkwardly.  "Uh... Hi Nat...  um...  Nick hoped you'd be here
because we've got some news, but, well, it can wait 'til tomorrow.  Or
Nick can tell you...  But either way, I think I should be going."  Tracy
turned to leave, but stopped as Natalie spoke.

"Wait Trace.  I've got news too."  She looked pointedly at Nick
before continuing, "And if your news has anything to do with the task
force, you might want to borrow my other swimsuit and come relax in the
hot tub for a bit and talk about it."  Natalie let her towel fall and
didn't miss the look of relief cross Tracy's face when she saw the
bandeau-topped 2 piece Natalie had worn out to the agent's party last
spring.  Presumably the younger detective thought she'd interrupted a
seduction attempt, and was relieved that she hadn't.  At almost that
instant Nick reappeared at Tracy's side and startled her since she
hadn't realized he'd left, offering her Nat's other swimsuit, a 2-piece
halter style bikini, and a big fluffy green towel.

"Are you sure?"  Tracy looked at her partner and the doctor who was
climbing into the hot tub she could see inside, but neither was acting
as if she were an interloper.  When they had both nodded, Tracy agreed.
"Okay, but only for a little while.  I gotta admit that the hot tub looks
very inviting right about now."

Natalie pointed Tracy in the direction of the washroom.  As Tracy
was unaware that Nick had moved some of the boxes of storage along the
far wall to create a small changing nook and when she realized that Nick
wasn't following her up to change in his bedroom, but had gone straight
into the little room with the hot tub, Tracy started grinning at that
implication.

By the time that she came back down a few minutes later, the door to the
hot tub room was open, and both Nick and Natalie were seated within
enjoying the hot, swirling water.  As she slid into the hot tub across from
them, she heard Natalie speak.

"Still adding to your body art collection, I see."  Natalie smiled.

Tracy searched the doctor's face, but found no trace of teasing on her face
or in her voice.  Tracy just noded, and slid back against the seat, soaking
up the warmth..

After a few minutes of silence, Natalie asked, "So what does your dad think
of that?"

"Are you kidding!  I haven't told him!  I do NOT have a deathwish, you
know."  After a quick glare at Natalie, both women broke into laughter,
then they all began discussing what each knew of the task force to which
they had all been assigned, investigating into a number of unsolved cases
throughout the lower portion of Ontario within the past year or so, and
which now looked to possibly be all the work of one person.

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Chapter 2:

The first meeting of the task force occurred almost a week later under the
oversight of Captain Joe Reese.  In addition to Reese, there were 4 pairs
of detectives from various precincts including Reese's own Knight and
Vetter, and Toronto's best coroner, Dr. Natalie Lambert, who was also a
primary speaker at this meeting, bringing the initial number of task force
members to ten.

Natalie explained that the original autopsies had each been done by various
coroners who were at the time as yet unaware of the existence of a serial
killer, and that as a result each case had not been examined to see if the
crime had fit the pattern of the others.  Natalie's task would be to do the
2nd autopsies on the victims looking for possibly missed clues in the light
of now knowing they were looking for the work of one person or a group. She
would also evaluate any autopsy reports done by other coroners in the area
to see if anything showed up at the autopsy making a death previously
unsuspected of being one of the serial killers look like it would need
handling by the task force.

Dr. Lambert added that they would not be able to autopsy one of the victims
a 2nd time since after the body had been released, the family had had the
body cremated.  "I have, however, gone over all the initial notes from the
autopsy, and although I can't re-evaluate the body itself, I'm quite
certain from notations which had seemed irrelevant at the time of the
Voortenhoff autopsy that Mr. Voortenhoff was most definitely one of the
victims of this killer."  Natalie continued, explaining how she had been
able to begin doing the 2nd autopsies, and had completed the first two.
>From the secondary autopsy of the second known victim, Natalie had
confirmed that Michael Heong was one of the victims despite the fact that
instead of being found by family or friends, he was found by a police unit
inspecting the man's new home at the request of his wife.  After several
days of trying to notify her husband of her and their son's safe arrival
in Hong Kong to visit relatives, the man's wife had called the Metro
police long distance and asked them if they could check her new home and
check if her husband had perhaps been admitted to hospital and unable to
communicate, since he was expecting her call.

Natalie concluded with mentioning which other unsolved cases were being
considered as possibles at this time, and therefore which would be being
reautopsied to determine if they were ones that would fall to the
jurisdiction of the task force.  She added as a final note that of the 9
more autopsies she already had ahead of her to evaluate, she would
estimate at this time that they were looking at probably 6 being the
responsibility of their perp.

        *****

Tracy  sat in  the church  talking to Vachon as he tuned his guitar.
While he was generally not too interested in the goings on of the police
department, he occasionally found something of interest in it, so when
Tracy needed someone to talk to, he didn't mind listening to her.  As
the blonde detective was telling him about the task force to which she and
her partner had been assigned, she mentioned how hard it must have been
for Mrs. Heong and her son, having to ask the police for assistance from
half way around the world only to find out that her husband had been
murdered, and have to cut short the longed for visit which had enabled
her son to meet his mother's family still in China.

Vachon sat up.  "Heong?  You don't mean Michael Heong do you?  Owns the
Brass Dragon restaurant downtown?"  Vachon put his guitar down.

"Uhh, they said he owned a restaurant, but I don't think I heard its name.
Why?  Do you know him?"

"I know a Michael Heong, though he doesn't know me.  If it's the same one,
he's the great-grandson of someone I helped while he was building the
railway across this country."  Seeing from Tracy's expression that he
wouldn't get away without explaining, he continued, "He'd been out looking
for a mountain lion that had killed one of the workers in the area they
were working in, and as such was far from the work camp when he slipped on
shale and broke his leg badly.  Of course things were different then, and
because he was 'WOG' or a 'chink', he'd had to go out into the night in
search of a dangerous animal without a weapon while the few rifles
available were in the posession of the white foreman safely at camp
getting drunk.  It was close enough to dawn and he was far enough from
the camp and it's doctor that I had to reveal my nature to him and fly him
back close enough to the camp that he could call out for help, and then
hide myself for the day."

Vachon slid forward and grabbed a green bottle, taking a drink from it
before continuing.  "He was laid up for a while, as his injury was an open
compound fracture, and by night I sneaked in to visit with him.  At first
he had thought I was some sort of demon, I think, because he called me by
a name though I was unfamiliar with it, and had been very frightened of me.
Once he realized I wasn't going to eat him, though, he told me how he'd
finally had enough money to send for his family in China to join him, and
was hoping they would be arriving in Vancouver soon.  He had still been
taking the extra and more dangerous tasks in order to have saved up enough
money so that when his family arrived they would be able to settle. I gave
him a few drops of my blood while he was sleeping, dropped into his wound,
so that it would help him heal.  Without it, I do not think he would have
been able to go back to the hard work he needed to support his family. But
while he was still weak before that, he had asked me if I would make sure
his family was alright and settled if he died before they arrived.  Soon
he had healed remarkably, and was able to go back to work.  A week later
while setting the explosive in a tunnel, he was killed.  I did meet his
wife and children, and make sure they had starting money.  As soon as they
were alright on their own though I took off, and I've only followed his
family line from a distance.

"If your Mr. Heong was the one from the Brass Dragon, then he'd
worked hard all his life to keep his father's restaurant running.  He'd
married a woman who had emmigrated from China, but had not been able to
bring her relatives to visit or to send her, or later their son to visit
her family.  When he won the grand prize on that charity sweepstakes, it
was the dreamhouse and a trip for 2 anywhere in the world.  He sent his
wife and son and stayed behind to run the restaurant."

"They didn't mention a sweepstakes at the task force, but we can't
rule anything out.  Right now we're looking for anything besides the M.O.
in common, so I'll have to go and check it out.  If it's the same person,
well, I'll bring it up at the next meeting.  It's really sad about that
guy you helped.  Did they really treat the workers that bad back then?"

Vachon picked up his guitar again, and began idly struming it, though
quietly enough that only he could hear it.  "Yeah.  If you weren't white,
and if you weren't the 'right' white, you'd be treated really badly in
many places."

        *****

By the end of the month the task force had established that including the
most recent victim, which had occured shortly after the task force had
been established, they had a total of 11 definite victims of the serial
killer, and 2 more possibles, over the last 15 months.  Seven of the
definites as well as one of the possibles had been killed within the
jurisdiction of the Toronto Metro Police.  Because the other murders had
occured in the nearby communities of Niagara Falls, Brantford, Kitchener
and London, the task force now also included a representative from the
police forces of those communities, as well as a liason with the
authorities in Guelph where the other possible victim was from.

They had established early on that the victims all had been of an
ethnic origin *other than* French or from the British Isles, but because
Tracy's inquiry into Mr. Heong's background confirmed what Vachon had told
her and the fact that he had so recently been a sweepstakes winner, she
brought that part of it to the attention of the rest of the task force,
and soon it was discovered that all the victims had been recent winners of
a sweepstakes or lottery that included a large new home, or after winning
cash had purchased what must be assumed to be their own dream house...

They initially thought perhaps it was someone from the real estate
agency, however that idea was discarded after it turned out that only two
of the homes had been handled by the same agency.  Likewise, another
theory discarded early involved some sort of relationship between agents
at various agencies when it was discovered that two of the agents, for two
different agencies, were brothers, and the wife of one of them worked in
the office of another agency.  But no one else seemed to have any type
of connections.

After the task force had been established, they had been giving
the press weekly updates, since the press were always eager to jump on
the bandwagon when a task force became necessary.  As soon as the lottery
angle was mentioned, the press jumped on it and began calling the whole
situation "Lottery Lunacy", and the serial killer began being refered to
by the media as "the Lottery Lunatic".

Tracy was most annoyed when she received a phone call at home one
afternoon which woke her up, and it turned out to be a certain reporter
whom, as she had long ago explained to Nick, she had *once* dated wanting
to get an inside scoop on the investigations and other goings on of the
task force and claimed he was calling Tracy to see if she'd reconsider
going out with him again.  ~Not bloody likely!~ she had thought to herself
as she got up and went to check if she had any mail in her mailbox.  There
was a letter from one of her sorority sisters, which she sat by the window
and read, before getting a glass of juice, and heading back to bed until
it was time for her to start her day and get up for work in another couple
of hours.

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Chapter 3:

The task force was continuing to search out clues, sorting through the
mass of false clues for the ones that might actually be useful.  Then the
crimestoppers program did a segment on the serial killer and the work the
task force was doing to be included in their annual fundraiser telethon.

A few minutes after the segment aired which mentioned in passing that
the media had dubbed the killer as the 'Lottery Lunatic', a call came
in on a pledge line.  That line was being manned at the time by a member
of the RCMP who was able to pass a written note to get a trace on the
call, but to no avail.  The caller, who informed that he was far from
crazy and definitely no lunatic and also stated that the reason that the
police were having such a hard time finding him was because the majority
of them were "stupid ethnics hired under equality laws," had called from a
pay-phone booth.  As soon as they had the location they sent a squad car
out to it, but no one was there by then.  They were able to confirm no
other calls had been made from that phone after that call and then get the
telephone company to let them dust the phone and handset for prints,
giving them the first hard evidence they had, assuming of course that the
caller was in fact the real perp and not one of those sorry individuals
who will take credit for a crime committed by another.

Another break came, and they thought they had found their quarry.  A man
who was an alarm installer employed by a company which was sub-contracted
at times by all of the agencies that the victims homes had been handled
through came to one of the officers attention when he was checking names
from other lists against a list of persons who had gone through financial
counseling or bankruptcy.  He fit the psychological profile quite well,
and had access to the names and addresses of the winners.  He was
initially brought in for questioning by two of the task force, but when
he was able to provide proof that he had been in Montreal at the time
of 2 of the murders and in Vancouver, Calgary and Regina when 3 others
were murdered, he was released from custody and no longer considered a
suspect, much to Nick's chagrin.

        ----

Nick and Natatie sat in the hot tub discussing the interview with the man
which they had seen through the observation window.

"I know he was lying to them in there, Nat.  His heart rate was way up,
and he was too nervous.  He didn't show it outwardly, but he was giving
off all the signals.  I know it's him, Nat.  Either him or he knows who
it is and is an accomplice to them."  Nick climbed out and began to pace.
"I could find out."

"Nick, You're using the vampire again.  No one else has that.  If you want
to keep working towards our goal, then you shouldn't use it either."

Nick whirled towards her.  "Don't you get it, Natalie?  That's what half
of this curse is.  I don't want to be what I am.  If I give in and stop
looking to be human, I use this so-called gift for nothing but evil.  But
as long as I am what I am, I have this ability, and it's near impossible
not to use it.  It's like telling you not to use you nose.  The sense is
there whether you want it or not.  It's not as simple as not using it.  I
can't do that.  All I can do is chose to use the information those sense
give me or not.  If I do I'm backsliding on any progress we make.  If I
don't, how can I live with myself knowing that I might have been able to
stop this?  *THAT* is the curse."  Nick stopped pacing, making himself
physically relax at least a little.  He climbed back into the hot tub and
sat down beside Natalie.

Natalie looked irritated at Nick's outburst, being that it was directed
at her.  Nick put his hand on her shoulder, but she slid away and sat
facing him.  "Then maybe what you need to do, Nick, is instead of acting
in a vampiric way on the information your senses tell you, is find a way
to act on them the same way that Tracy or Joe or any other human would
have to act if they were handed the same information."  Natalie stood and
began to climb out.  "I think I should go."

"Nat?"  Nick watched her stiffen and turn back towards him as she
wrapped her towel around herself, but she said nothing.  "Nat, you could
stay the day.  We're both pretty stressed.  Neither of us is working
tomorrow night.  We could watch a movie or two?"

Natalie wanted to tell him off, but refrained.  "I need to go home
and look after Sidney."  She saw the look in his eyes, the fear that she
had suddenly grown to hate him.  "I'll come back tomorrow afternoon,
though, and maybe we can go out and see a movie at a theatre in the
evening.  Or rent something if you prefer."  Natalie forced a smile she
didn't feel..  She knew she was tired and therefore also at least a little
bitchy.  "I'm just tired now.  I'll see you tomorrow, I promise."

Nick watched her walk behind the crates into the makeshift changing area,
and then walked her to the lift after she had dressed.

        ----

In another part of the city, Tracy sat with her eyes closed listening to
Vachon working out a melody on his guitar.  She didn't want to think about
the scathing article that Vachon had shown her from one of the weekly
alternative newspapers, where the editor picked one of the letters-to-the-
editor and then did a commentary on it.

The letter he had chosen had been from one who claimed to be the "so-called
Lottery Lunatic, except I'm not a nut-case".  The letter had focused on how
wrong it was for the ethnic free-loaders to take rewards of hard-working
English and French who had made this country what it is when they had done
nothing to deserve it.  "After all, if the niggers or wagon-burners or nips
or wops had made this country, our national languages wouldn't be French
and English, they'd be Swahili or Mohawk or Japanese or Italian."  He had
then gone on to criticize the police force for needing so many people to
find him, and for how long it took them to realize he was just one person
in the first place.

The commentary by the editor made no bones about the fact that
while he did not condone any acts of violence, he felt that the man was
entitled to his views, and that regarding the coments about the police
he had to agree that the police didn't seem to be doing their job to him
either, in regards to this case.  It was, all told, a very scathing
article.

Vachon set his guitar down, and moved over behind Tracy.  He began
to massage her shoulders.  "I thought you should see it."  He shrugged.
"Sorry."

Tracy leaned into his shoulder rub.  "Well, I'm enjoying this.  Can I
stretch out?"

"Sure."  Vachon smiled, although he made sure his guest didn't see it,
as he watched her pull her t-shirt over her head and loosen her pants
before lying down on the sofa.  Once she had settled, he sat down beside
her and undid the single hook of her bra then began to rub her shoulders
and back in earnest.  "I just don't know what else we can do.  Every
single avenue we check is a dead end."  Tracy let out a deep sigh.

"You tried checking the agencies.  Is there anyone else connected with
them?"  Vachon's hands gently caressed Tracy's back, tender from her
latest additions.

"Ooohhh, that feels nice...  Where'd you learn to be that good with your
hands?"

"You really wanna know?"  Vachon's hands glided so gently over her back
and sides.

Tracy twisted slightly to look up over her shoulder at him.  Her nose
curled and she shook her head.  "Nah...  I probably don't."  She rested
her chin again on her wrists.  "We thought we found the guy, but it
couldn't have been him.  He was out of town for almost half the murders.
Nick still thinks it was him though.  He's got all the right connections
and all, but if he was out of town..."  Tracy shrugged.  "We've looked at
every single possibility we can find, even some of the really ridiculous
ones just so we weren't overlooking a possibility.  Really, the only way I
think we have a chance of catching this guy is by being there when it
happens, and I don't think there's any way of managing that."

Vachon was working on the small of Tracy's back and the top of her
buttocks, having pushed her waistband and panties down a little.  Tracy
might be enjoying the back-rub, but he was enjoying the feel of Tracy's
warm, smooth, and delicate flesh and firm muscles just as much.  He paused
for a moment.  "Why not?  You guys do stings for drugs and prostitution.
You and Nick did that undercover thing last year with the modelling.  So w
hy not do something like that for this guy?"

"Because for something like this we would have to knowingly put an
unprotected person in danger and advertise it, and hope we had enough
manpower to stop it before he made his target.  We couldn't do that to a
civilian.  There's too many loose ends to risk someones life for."

Vachon stopped his backrub, and Tracy rolled on her side to face him,
covering her breasts with her arm.  He was grinning widely.  "Who said
anything about a civilian?  As the creep himself has pointed out, theres
a lot of police who are from backgrounds he's targetting..."  Vachon
watched as his wide grin became infectious and began to slowly spread
across Tracy's face, matching his.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Chapter 4:

Over the course of the next couple of months, the task force acquired
numerous leads.  Unfortunately, all of them were false.  They had a
couple of leads that proved interesting, 'though fruitless.

One came came from a woman who reported that her brother had said his
drinking buddy claimed being the "Lottery Lunatic" one night when he was
particularly drunk, but by the next day was saying he would never claim
such a thing no matter how drunk he'd been.

When they questioned the man, he didn't know anything of the case, and
explained that although he had no recollection of having said such a
thing, he might have because he believed in the reasons, as he understood
them, that the killer was committing his crimes, and that although he
didn't agree with murder, he still believed in 'the cause'.  He had been
in a drunk-tank at the time that two of the murders had happened, and
had been verifiably at work at the time of several others.  In spite of
the the fact that his personal beliefs differed from those on the task
force, he still apologised to them when he was allowed to leave for
"having stupidly made such remarks when I was hammered and made you guys
have to waste your time on me."

Although Tracy disliked the man for not only his racist views but also his
sexist ones, she did say later that she had to give the guy credit for
having the courage to apologise like that.  She told Nick and Natalie that
night while discussing the case in the hot tub, as they occasionally now
did, that it was the first time she'd seen someone actually do that
instead of, if anything, threatening to sue for harrassment.

The other interesting one came a couple of weeks later, during an early
fall snowstorm.  A homeless man claimed that he was responsible for the
murders, and backed up his claim with more knowledge about the cases
than any other suspect to date had.  It had, however, all been garnered
from the media, and when questioned about aspects of the case not told
to the press, the man conceeded he knew nothing.  He had hoped to gain
a night or two in jail before his claim was proven false so he could be
out of the streets during the storm and the shelters he knew of were
already filled.

Nick made a phone call to someone whom he knew from one of the shelters,
who in turn made a few calls, and located someone willing to give him
food and shelter in exchange for some work.

Throughout this time, Tracy was trying to convince Captain Reese of the
merits of the idea she had come up with for laying a trap for the killer.
She finally succeeded to the point of having her captain authorize her
tentatively setting it up and making all the plans for it, so that she
could present her idea in full, ready to elaborate on it and explain
anything people might question at an upcoming task-force meeting.

Tracy spoke with many people to arrange a number of things.  She also
bounced ideas off of Nick and Natalie, as well as Vachon, and got
feedback and suggestions from them.  They all knew that if the proposal
was accepted, regardless of whether it was a success or a failure, the
whole shebang would rest squarely on the shoulders of Tracy Vetter, and
it could make or break her career.  Nick, Nat, and Vachon began working
with her on her plans to make sure the sting would work.

It was mid-November when Tracy was ready to present it to the task-force,
and their superiors, for approval.

Tracy stood before the rest of the task force and presented her idea.
With the okay from the department, the Older Siblings charity would
announce the winner for their dream-house raffle for Dec. 15.  They
would use the dream house for their March raffle, and the 'winner'
would be none other than Captain Stonetree.  "In truth there is no
raffle for December 15th, but as they almost always have tickets
available for an upcoming dream-house, we didn't think that anyone would
think twice about a raffle for a date that they didn't have a ticket
for.  They have agreed to make a press announcement, and even to 'draw'
the name on TV if we like, as they sometimes do."  Tracy paused for a
sip of her coffee, then continued.

"I thought about asking you, Captain," Tracy turned now towards Joe
Reese, "but I figured that our culprit might get too suspicious if the
person heading the task force were to 'win'. Since he's already talked
about his feelings regarding the police, as well as his victims
backgrounds, and after talking with Captain Stonetree about how so many
people view his people as lazy, he's agreed to this.  After he 'wins',
he'd be given the keys to it in a public presentation, during which,
he'll announce that he's giving his resignation, since he no longer has
to work.

"We figure that ought to just prove to our perp how 'right' he is. He'll
take it as proof of the ineptness of the police and the laziness of
natives, which given his stated views he's bound to already believe, and
I don't see how he can *not* risk targeting Captain Stonetree. We'll set
up a party for him, which will be a combination 'house-warming' and
'farewell' with a lot of the higher-ups in the force.

"Then we can use the media to our advantage to let him know all about it.
I'm willing to be the one to do this.  I can announce to the media that
the next week will not hold a press conference.  Someone will ask why,
and I'll tell them that the reasons are confidential.  I..." Tracy
blushed slightly, but continued, "I once dated one of the reporters who
is hounding us.  He's even called me at home to try and get a scoop from
me. I know that he, at least, will ask me why after the press-conference
is over, and I'll be sure to ask him if he'll keep it off the record.
It's a 50/50 split if he will or not, but I'll be sure to be overheard
by others.  I'll tell him about the party for Stonetree, and that we'll
all be too hung-over to handle the weekly press, and laugh about it with
him.  Even if he doesn't report it, the others who do overhear will, and
it'll be an invitation that the murderer won't be able to pass up.

"It'll make me look like a git in the media, but I do not think this guy
with his racist supiority complex will be able to pass it up.  He'll
think he can get an ex-cop and his target group in one, and that we'll
all be too drunk to stop him.  THAT, my friends, is when WE get HIM..."

Tracy was well prepared, having had Nick, Nat, Vachon, even Urs and
Screed bombard her with as many questions as they could think of in
order to find anything she may not have thought through enough to have
an answer for.  As a result there were no answers asked which she was
unprepared for.

After the presentation of her idea to the rest of the task-force, Tracy
left for a little while for the others to discuss it.  Soon she was
called back in, and was told that they liked her idea, and wanted to
know if she was prepared to stand before the board of Commissioners to
present it for approval.

It was only a few long days later that Tracy made her presentation
before her father and his peers, with Nick and Captains Reese and
Stonetree present to show their support in the project.

By the next meeting of the task-force, Reese was able to make an
announcement.  "You've got your go-ahead Tracy.  Let's make this happen.
But for God's sake, people, be careful.  We're walking in dangerous
territory here."

Tracy and Captains Stonetree and Reese went out to go and take a look at
the dream-house which the charity was kindly allowing them the use of.
They needed to figure out how many people they could have without it
looking like the set-up it in fact was.  It was a large home in one of
the more expensive areas.  It had 4 bedrooms, an attached garage, and an
indoor pool, as well as having a gazebo in the back yard.  There was
also a dry sauna in the basement off of the rec-room, and an office and
a den, both of which had hide-a-bed furniture as well as a closet each,
so they could double as extra guest rooms.

Tracy was making note of where safe hiding places would be in case her
partner should get caught there during the day.  ~Besides, if we bring
guests for any part of the evening and Vachon comes, it'll be good for
him to know too.  If it's a safe place for Nick with his sun allergy,
it'll likely house a vampire in an emergency just as readily.~

At the next task force meeting, it was decided that family or dates
would be encouraged to be brought for the party. That way, with a large
number of people leaving after the party, it would seem less odd to
have so many "drunks" crashing in the bedrooms or on floors than if
only police attended and most stayed.

Tracy mentioned about the pool, and enquired if she should check with
the charity if they would mind that being used too.  Tracy paled as it
was decided that their 'party' would look odd if people were not
enjoying the use of all that the house had to offer.  As one of the
members pointed out, "Isn't that half the point of a real house-
warming?  You want to show off everything that your new home has to
offer."

They then went on to talk about who all should be there, since they
didn't want to endanger anyone, but it still had to have the look and
feel to anyone watching of being real.  When someone asked why, Tracy
was the one to point out that everyone there would have to be acting as
if it were for real.  "A good number of the victims have been found in
the morning by family or friends after a celebratory party. We have to
assume that the place will be being watched at the very least, bugged
probably.  Some of the people who'd had parties had them catered, but
not all, so there is a strong possibility that the person could be
sneaking in either as a friend of one of the guests, or a neighbour
come over, or as a caterer.  It's probably best if only the police
members there know it's a set-up.  Tell your family or dates that it's
what we're pretending it to be, so that no one screws up.  If there is
a listening device and someone happens to whisper in the vicinity of
one asking their husband or wife if there's any sign of the killer,
then it'll be for nothing.  I've even spoken to Captain Stonetree
already about him having family and friends there for it that he can
trust to not let it slip.  If there's only police and their dates,
that'll look suspicious too.

Reese added, "One thing I'd like to add is that we'll have to go through
all the motions.  Normally if someone retires from the force, whoever is
that persons supervisor will give them some sort of recognition at their
farewell party, whatever is appropriate for the length of service in the
department.  Since Stonetree is a Captain, it would be one of the
Commissioners who would present such an award. Tracy, your father is the
one who is now being the most supportive of this. I've already asked him
to attend, and be prepared to make a presentation speech, and explained
why. I made sure he knows that it could be being listened to, or watched
on some sort of hidden surveillance device.  So we WILL be going through
all the motions."

After the meeting came to an end, Tracy spoke.  "Captain, may I see you
for a moment?"

Once in the privacy and safety of her captain's office and the door
tightly closed, Tracy asked, "May I speak off the record?"

"Of course."  Reese took a drink from his bottled water he brought to
work with him each day, having long since given up on the tempremental
water cooler.

"If my dad is going to be there, Captain, I think it might be better if
I'm not.  We don't exactly get along the best, as you know, and I don't
think there'd be any way of keeping him from being upset with me.  With
other people in the department around, It might be a little embarrassing."

Reese gestured for Tracy to sit.  "Embarrassing for whom?  And why?"

"I... " Tracy blushed and swallowed, "I wear clothing that covers it all,
and no one at work has had any need to know. Well, Nick and Natalie know,
but they're friends. A while ago I got into the body art scene, and I got
a little tiny tattoo in a place that only someone on an intimate
acquaintance would need know.  Since it didn't hurt anywhere near what I
expected it to, I've since gotten other designs.  I've also gotten into
other forms of body-art."  Tracy looked up, sheepishly, and was surprised
to find her Captain smiling rather than looking condescendingly at her.
She smiled shyly, and continued, "My father doesn't know.  I know that
when he finds out he'll be fit to be tied.  If he didn't already know I
love swimming I'd just not go in the pool and still keep it covered and
it wouldn't be a problem.  I can't even do that and say it's... uh,
female troubles...  as he knows I swam on the high school and college
swim teams, and that didn't stop me then.  If he's there and I'm not in
the pool, he'll demand to know why.  And if I do go in the water, most of
my body-art will be visible."

"So you've got tattoos."  Reese smiled patiently, but in a friendly
manner.  "A lot of the males on the force have them too.  There's no
reason to let it bother you.  Are any offensive ones?"  When he saw
Tracy shake her head, he continued, "You getting them done safely?  Not
risking yourself by getting them done in an unprofessional place?"
Again she shook her head.  "The way I see it, you are an adult.  Your
father doesn't own you.  Do you want to spend the rest of your life
hiding from him?  If not, then why not use this as an opportunity to
stop hiding from your father.  Although I don't know him well, I have
had some acquaintance with your father, Tracy, and I think he'd be
less likely to cause a scene when there are other people around. It's
just my point of view, but if YOU are happy with you tattoos and if
YOU don't see a reason to need to hide them, I don't think you should
be acting as if you've done something wrong that you need to prevent
your FATHER finding out."

Reese leaned across the desk towards Tracy, and continued, "This
operation is your baby.  You are going to be there.  I personally
think you need to stop worrying so much how your father will react
and just be yourself. I'm sure there will be others there who might
have a style of swimsuit he'd deem inappropriate or whatever.  It is
not his business and he won't say anything to them.  I think if you
get assertive about this sort of thing now and get it over with, I
think it'll be better for you in the long run.  You can tell him ahead
of time if you prefer, or deal with it there.  Since it is supposed to
be a social situation, to deal with it there with other people around
for moral support might be better.  Like I said, I don't think he'd
make as big a deal over it in public as he would if you were alone."
He drank more of his water then added, "However you want to deal with
it is up to you.  But if you do it this way, you'll have people around
who you know will be 'on your side', as it were."

He leaned back in his chair and picked up a bundle of papers. "But both
of you will be there.  Whatever you decide, know that I'm behind you.
But you better get back to work."

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Chapter 5:

Natalie was sitting at her desk calling up some information on her 
computer screen when the phone rang.  As she was expecting a call from
Nick, she answered "Natalie's Bed and Breakfast."

"Hi Natalie.  It's Tracy.  You gotta tell me the story behind that line
sometime.  It's so sick there has *got* to be a story there."

"Sometime.  What can I do for you?"

"I need to talk to someone.  I was wondering if you would have time to go
for coffee this morning when you get off shift?"

Natalie sighed.  Tracy may have hidden that she was upset from someone who
knew her less well, but Natalie could hear it. "Sure, Trace.  I've a
couple errands I need to run first, but I could meet you, say, 7am.  Would
that be okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine.  Um, You wanna make it dinner?  I won't have a chance
to get anything til we're off shift and I'm already hungry.  I know a
dumpy-looking 24-hour joint that actually has really good food.  It mostly
caters to the trucker crowd, so it has to be good."  When Natalie agreed,
Tracy gave her the directions on how to get there, and hung up.

        *****

Tracy sat in the booth opposite from Natalie and both women placed their
orders.  After their coffees arrived and the waitress had disappeared,
Tracy spoke.  "You know that my dad is going to be at the party."

Natalie took a sip of her coffee and closed her eyes to prevent the
younger woman from seeing her roll her eyes back.  Of course she'd had
more than enough problems with her own grandmother, so she definitely
understood the pressure.  "Yes. I think Reese was the one to mention it
first.  And that's a problem, I take it?"

"Yeah.  I used to swim in school and college so if I don't go in the pool,
my dad will know something's up.  And if I do go in, he'll end up seeing
my tats and stuff,  and if he manages not to have a heart attack, he'll
have a fit!"  Tracy emptied her coffee cup and signalled the waitress to
refill it.  "So what do I do?"

"Did you talk to the Captain?"

"Yeah, he thinks I should just be me and not worry what my dad thinks.  He
thinks that my dad'll be upset, but won't blow up as badly there as he
would if I tell him ahead because there will be other people around and he
won't want to ruin his public image.  He doesn't know my dad very well,
obviously!!"

"Did I ever tell you about my grandmother, Tracy?"

"No, why?"

"She raised us after our parents died.  She..." Natalie lowered her voice
to a whisper and continued, leaning across the table, "suffice it to say
she didn't approve of women bothering with an education.  I went behind
her back to win a scholarship.  When she found out, she was furious.  But
when she found out I was studying medicine and wanted to go into
forensics, it was a really bad scene."

Tracy noted as Natalie rubbed a long gone bruise.

"I don't think your dad is as... physically expressive as my grandmother
was, but I think, based on my experiences with a domineering relative,
that you would be better to have him find out in public.  Yelling or other
verbal carrying-on will only make -him- look like a jerk, not you.  And if
you need worry about anything beyond verbal, well, there will be other
people there who can and will run interference if necessary.

"Did your grandma physically abuse you?"

Natalie shrugged, non-commitally.  "We all have ghosts. I loved my
grandmother, but I can't say that I'm unhappy she's passed on."

"I'm sorry Nat.  I had no idea."

"Don't feel sorry for me, Trace.  It was a long time ago.  It's ancient
history for me which I've dealt with and moved past.  I just think it
probably would be better if you let him find out when there are others
around.  Hopefully it won't be needed, but that way if need be, someone
can sit on him."

"I dunno..."

"I know, you'll be embarrased if he makes a scene.  We used to try not to
let anyone know how she was either because we felt like it was our fault,
somehow.  You need to learn that each of us is responsible only for
ourselves.  We can each choose how we react or respond to things.  Come to
the party, but bring your boyfriend.  That way if your dad doesn't make a
scene, it'll be fine, and if he does, you aren't going to be faced with
him wanting you to leave with him or him wanting to leave with you after,
giving him the opportunity to bother you about it privately.  If he does
make a scene, it is because 'he' is 'choosing' to do so.  Just be
prepared, and ready to respond in an adult manner, even if -he- is being
immature."

The two women leaned back as their orders arrived.

"I have a question for you, Trace.  How much does it hurt to get a tat?"

Tracy looked up, startled by the doctor's question.  "Why?  You know
someone who's thinking of getting one?"

"Yeah...  It was before you were Nick's partner, but my god-daughter was
murdered.  I've been thinking of getting a pair of little angel wings on
the back of my shoulder with her name below.  But I'm nervous."

"I'll bet you are.  You just don't seem the type for a tat.  Are you sure
about this?"

"Not yet.  That's why I'm still asking a lot of questions.  Besides, I
know a lot of people who would say the same of you."  Both women laughed.

"Well, it hurt, but not bad.  More annoying than actually painful.  If you
decide you're interested, I can take you to the guy who does my work, and
you can talk to him.  He's good at answering questions.  If you decide to
do it, he does really good work too.  And he's clean.  It's more like
being in a clinic, kinda."

Natalie nodded, and the two women turned to other topics throughout the
rest of their meal... christmas plans, movies, and shopping.

As they were paying their bills, Natalie added, "Speaking of, I need to
stop at a shop and buy a new swimsuit.  With how much use mine are getting
in the hot-tub, they're both starting to lose some of the stretch from the
fabric itself...  It's no big deal there, but I have no intentions having
my swim suit fall apart at the party."

"Actually, that sounds like a good idea.  I might do the same."  Tracy
stopped beside her car and looked over the roof of it at Natalie unlocking
her own.  "I'll think about what you said, Nat."

"Trace?  If he does, it'll make it more authentic.  There is also that to
it."

"I gotta go.  I'll talk to you toni... no, we've got our weekends off now.
See you in a couple, then."  Tracy waved and climbed into her car.

        *****

Tracy entered the church looking for Vachon.  As her eyes adjusted to the
darkness, she heard a quiet strumming.  She smiled as she listened to his
music, letting her ears guide her to the Spanish vampire.  Pushing the
door open slightly further, she spoke.  "Vachon?"

"Trace."  He said by way of greeting.

"I'm pretty tired from a long day at work.  I need to go to bed."  She saw
Vachon quirk his eyebrow.  "That isn't what I meant.  Just that before I
do, I need to talk to you."  Tracy sat down on the old sofa beside him,
and once he put his guitar down, she slid over next to him.  "I already
have a headache thinking about it."  She rubbed her eyes.

"Your dad?"

"Yeah.  We'll both be at the party.  He's going to see me and freak.  And
there doesn't seem to be a damn thing I can do about it."

Vachon put his arm around her, drawing her closer to rest her head on his
shoulder.  "You want me to come?"  Vachon was not overly impressed with
the idea of partying with a bunch of cops, but he was willing to put up
with it for his mortal friend.

"Yeah...  If you would..."

"Done, Trace."  He stroked her hair and inhaled its calla lily and apricot
scent that he so loved.

Tracy's eye were closed as she enjoyed relaxing here with her friend.
"I'm going to buy a new swim suit.  Do you have one, or do you need one
too?  I'm off tonight.  We could go buy them tonight."

Vachon faded, recalling the last swimsuit he had owned.

@>---,---'-----

He and Urs had made a trip to the beach.  Most of the few women who were
there were fully dressed.  Only a few still had swimwear on, and most
everyone still at the beach were heading to changing tents set up on the
beach now that the sun had gone down.  He and Urs had the very latest
fashion, at her prompting.  Now that it was tolerated for women to swim,
one of the top french designers had come up with a his & hers matching
swimwear.

Vachon came out of the changing booth in his, and waited nearby for Urs.
Vachon's woolen swimsuit was in a dark blue, with red ribbing along the
scooped neck and at the ends of the elbow and knee length arms and legs,
with a wide black stripe going around his middle.  As Urs came out in her
matching one of wrist and ankle length sleeves and legs, with higher
scooped neck, and an added skirt of black, Vachon smiled.  Seldom was he
the height of current fashion, but in that regard Urs had definitely been
an influence.  She had never learned to swim as a mortal... it wasn't 
something women did.  But now as a fledgeling she was so eager to do
things she had never been allowed to as a human, making the best of her
situation.  Just a few weeks ago, she had even persuaded him to teach her
how to climb a tree.

Vachon smiled as he recalled the shocked looks of the few others around.
Their swimsuits had been so risque by standards then.  His knees and
elbows were uncovered, and in mixed polite company.  And as for Urs...
why, every man in the area could see her ankles!!  It was outrageous...
then.

-----,---'---<@

"Vachon!!"  He blinked back into the present.  "Why does it seem that all
the guys in my life ignore me?  Nick fades like that, too.  Sheesh!  I
asked you if you have a preference of the style?  It might affect where we
look."

"Not really Tracy.  Anything is going to be more comfortable than the last
swimsuit I owned.  Wherever you want to go is up to you."

"Then how about meeting me at the mall by where Natalie lives.  Say, 6:00?
It's dark by then this late in the year, and they're open late because of
all the christmas shoppers."

"6:30 would be better for me.  I'll need my dinner first."

"Okay, 6:30.  It'll be fun.  You'll see."  Tracy stood and leaned over,
giving Vachon a kiss before turning and heading home for the day.

        *****

Tracy had picked out yet another swimsuit for Vachon that he was being
very non-comittal about.  She knocked on the door of the fitting room and
handed the next one in for him to try on.  A hand suddenly touched her
shoulder causing Tracy to jump and make an unexpected "ack!" sound.

Simultaneously two voices spoke.  "Hi Tracy.  You shouldn't be so jumpy.
Are you alright?" and "What's wrong, Trace?" as the fitting room door
opened and the spanish vampire stuck his head out to check on his friend.

"I'm fine. Really. Just startled."  She looked at Vachon in the doorway of
the fitting room, in a pair of racer styled tight trunks that left nothing
to the imagination, and blushed as she recalled hot-tubbing before when
he'd gone without trunks of any sort.  "Ah, Natalie, you.. remember my, uh
boyfriend, Vachon?  Vachon, I know you'll remember Natalie, my partner's
girlfriend."

Vachon smiled as Tracy blushed, hearing her heart race in response to him.
He put his arm around Tracy's shoulders, then leaned out and took
Natalie's hand, debating about kissing her knuckles just to annoy Tracy,
but deciding instead to shake for fear of annoying Nick.  "Nice to see you
again."

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Chapter 6:

Vachon made his selection and took it up to the counter while Tracy took
several swimsuits of various styles in to try.  Looking back to ensure
Tracy would be well out of earshot, he spoke quietly to the sales clerk.
"I've decided on this one," he handed her the skimpiest of the swimwear he
had tried.  "My... girlfriend... saw 'em on me and liked them.  I said I
chose differently so when she sees me in them it'll be a surprise.  Can
you wrap 'em so she won't see them please?"

The sales clerk took the small racer-styled men's bikini and folded it
neatly into a small blue box, on which she wrote 'his'.  "Are these being
paid for together?"

Vachon nodded, as Natalie came up and got a key for one of the fitting
rooms and went in with a few swimsuits herself.

"Alright.  I'll keep this up here for you, until your girlfriend is ready
to be rung in."  She smiled as Vachon turned and went back to the fitting
room.

        ---

Natalie was in the fitting room next to Tracy when she heard the door open
and Vachon's one word comment of "nice."  She couldn't see, of course, but
the way he said it, she was sure he was bobbing his head in a nod of
appreciation of whatever view he was getting.  A couple minutes later she
heard him again, "good."  Another one got "nice, but not you."  Just as
she had made her selection and was getting dressed, she heard Vachon ask
"What about the other ones?"

"No.  They're all too short in the body for me.  Most one-piece suits are,
Vachon."

After Natalie paid with her debit card, she whispered to the clerk what
she'd overheard, and asked the clerk a question.  Then she called "See you
guys later," and waved at Vachon as she exited the store.

A minute or two later when the clerk came back to see how Tracy was faring
in the fitting room, she brought back a small bundle of folded fabric.
"You might want to try this one, miss.  It's one that unless the person is
exceptionally tall or short, your body length doesn't really make a
difference.  I think it would suit you, and I'm sure your boyfriend would
like it."

After a minute, Tracy's voice floated out.  "No way!  I'm never going to
wear this."

"Let's see, Trace."

"NO!"

"Does it fit?"

"Yeeesss...  but you're still not seeing it."  Tracy responded 
emphatically.  "I decided, Vachon.  Will you ask the clerk if they have
one like the yellow one in any other colours?"

As Tracy came out of the fitting room, the clerk met her to take the
selections she didn't want. "We only have that style in the yellow at this
location, but it comes in a burgundy and teal, or a black and fushia as
well.  If you would prefer either of those colours, we can transfer one in
from another outlet for you."

"I'd like black and fushia, I think.  Should I pay for it now, or when it
comes in?"

"Whichever you prefer."

"Then I'll pay for it now, and that way if need be I can send someone else
to pick it up for me.  I work shiftwork.  Odd hours, you know."

Tracy put the double purchase of her suit and Vachon's onto her Visa card,
and gave them her home and cel numbers, then she and Vachon left the mall.

        *****

Natalie stopped at the loft after she bought her new swimsuit.  When she
entered, Nick was sitting at the piano, playing a quiet melody with his
eyes closed, listening intently to the music.  After he finished, she
spoke, startling him.

"That was beautiful."  Seeing him start, she smiled and added, "You
usually do that to me."  She sat beside Nick on the bench.

"I see you found something."  Nick gestured at the bag she carried.

"Yeah.  Trace and Vachon were there.  I think from the way he was acting
that he's going to go out of his way to keep her off balance at the
party."

"How so?"  Nick looked puzzled.

"I saw him poke his head out of the fitting room and that he noticed how
much she blushed.  She definitely liked what she saw. Plus I saw that his
package was already wrapped up so Tracy wouldn't see it.  I'll bet he's
going to surprise her by wearing it."

Nick grinned.  "I wouldn't put it past him."

"Are we watching TV tonight?  Or have you got plans?"

"You could model your new swimsuit for me?"

"You'll see it at the party, just like everyone else."  Natalie cuffed
Nick playfully on the arm.

        ---

Later, as they sat watching a movie on the TV, Natalie asked, "Nick, have
you got plans for tomorrow evening?"

"No.  Why?"  Nick shifted slightly so he could look at Nat.

"I finally decided to do it.  Mine won't be near as fancy as Tracy's are,
just simple black outline I think, and her name.  But I'm getting it
tomorrow evening, and you know how I hate needles.  If you can come with
me, it might be better so I don't have to drive back feeling faint or
anything."

"You're sure about this?  He does clean work with clean instruments?  I'd
hate for you to get an infection."  Nick looked worried.

"I haven't told Tracy, or anyone else for that matter.  But he's the guy
she goes to.  Once I finally decided, I want to get it over with as soon
as possible."

Nick put his arm around Natalie's shoulder and pulled her closer to him.
"Sure.  I'm told it's better if you eat first.  I'll take you for dinner
too if you like."

"Thanks.  That would be nice."

"You want me to come in with you?  Or just wait outside?"

Natalie thought about it.  Finally she smiled, "You'll worry too much if
you wait outside."  Natalie said glibbly.  She added mentally, ~Besides,
if I do faint, you can catch me, but I'll be damned if I'll say *that*
aloud.~

        *****

It was a week later when the Older Siblings charity held the 'draw' in
which Captain Stonetree's name was drawn live on a news broadcast of one
of the local television stations.

That night Nick took his turn making the weekly report to the media as to
the progress on the task-force's hunt for the serial killer.  Tracy would
do the one next week.

Everything was set in motion now.  It would only be a matter of time.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Chapter 7:

It was December 17 when the presentation of the keys was done for the
dreamhouse in a public ceremony with a large media contingent present.
Shortly after the presentation, Captain Stonetree found himself cornered
with a microphone shoved in his face as its bearer asked "When do you plan
to move into your new home here, Captain?"

Stonetree looked uncomfortable with the camera on him, but answered.
"Right away.  Don't need to work anymore to pay rent, so I'll take early
retirement.  It'll give me enough to live on for everything else.  I'll
have lots of time on my hands for moving then relaxing."  Stonetree forced
a smile for the camera.

        ---

Reese brought in an early morning paper that night which was passed around
the department then pinned up in the task-force office.  Front page was
Stonetree's announcement of retiring.

        *****

December 20th held the next press conference for the task force.  As
planned, Tracy made the presentation.  After concluding with the formal
presentation, and question & answer session, she added, seemingly as an
afterthought, "So we'll see you all in 2 weeks.  Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year to all of you."

There was a sudden stir among the reporters.  Many people speaking in
little groups within their ranks.  A number of comments could be
distinguished within the general hubub now going on.  "Taking a break over
the holidays?", "I wonder if the killer will also take a Christmas
vacation?", "The taxpayers who pay all your salaries won't like that
you're not looking for him just because you don't want to ruin your own
festivities with work!" among them.

One reporter stood and raised his hand, causing the others to begin to
quiet down, if reluctantly.

Tracy gestured to him.

"Detective Vetter?  Any relation to the commissioner, by the way?  What
I'd like to know is why there won't be a press conference next week."

Tracy smiled awkwardly, and fidgeted.  "Yes, I'm his daughter, and the
reasons, well, that's, uhh, confidential information.  And on that note,
Happy holidays."  Tracy exited the room quickly.

A few minutes later she was cornered, as expected, by none other than her
one-time date.  "Tracy!"  he called, getting looks from a few other
reporters still hanging around.  As she walked over to him, he asked, "So
what's up Trace?  What *is* the reason there won't be a press conference
next week?"

Tracy scanned  the room  quickly.   There was a couple of reporters
leaning against a wall near a corner.  This would work well.  She grabbed
his arm and led him to a wall where it seemed they would have privacy.
Just around the corner behind her friend was where the other two were
talking.

Tracy spoke in a quiet voice, but not a whisper.  "If I tell you, you'll
keep it confidential, right, you won't print it?"

"You know you can trust me, Trace."

"My partner's previous Captain won a dreamhouse, so he's retiring from the
force.  He's invited pretty much anyone whom he knows to come over for a
housewarming.  Since at one time or another he's worked with most of the
taskforce team, we're almost all going to be at his party the night
before, and I expect we'll all be too drunk or hung-over to handle dealing
with the media on the usual day."  Tracy put her hand on his arm again.
"Promise me you won't tell.  It could ruin my career."

"You can trust me, Tracy."  He leaned over and kissed Tracy's cheek.  "Are
you free for dinner?"

Suddenly a camera flashed in their faces, and a photographer for one of
the competing newspapers dashed off.

"Sorry Tracy.  I would have, but now with that, I have to tell my boss.
If they use that photo of us and I don't tell, I'll likely lose my job."

        ---

The next edition of a local paper held a photo of Tracy during
the press release, and a photo of her talking to the other
reporter.  The headline read 'Commissioner's daughter explaining
misuse of taxpayer's money'.

This was going better than planned.

        *****

Tracy was at work when her cel phone rang.  "Vetter," she
answered.

"Hello Tracy.  This is your Dad."

"Hi Dad.  I'm working right now.  Nick and I are on our way
to a shooting.  What do you need?"  Tracy hoped that
mentioning that she was with Nick and enroute to a scene would
deter him from giving whatever lecture she was about to receive,
which from the tone of his voice she knew she was getting.

"You're always busy, Tracy.  This won't take long."

~Damn!~ She thought as she rolled her eyes. ~There's no 'out'
on this one.~

Her father continued, "Do you remember when we held a party
when you were 14, Tracy?  I do.  You had just begun to develop
and you were so proud of yourself.  You went out and bought a
new swimsuit for the party.  Then when you came out you
embarassed me so badly."

"Dad, I--"

Her father continued without allowing her a chance to say
anything.  "That skimpy little two-piece was an outrage!  I
missed a promotion because of that.  It was another two years
before I finally made Commissioner."

"Most girls my age at the time were wear--"

Again her father cut her off.  "And if everyone else were
jumping off of a bridge I suppose you would too?  That is one of
the stupidest reasons of all."

Tracy tried yet again.  "Most one-piece suits--"

"Look less like you're out on the prowl!  I will not have
you at this function looking like you want it from everyone
around.  You will not embarrass me like you did when you were
younger by wearing a skimpy two-piece.  I'll let you get back to
work now.  Good night, Tracy."  Richard Vetter hung up the phone.

Tracy put her cel away.  "Parents!"

        *****

Tracy was sitting up after her shift, reading a book and
trying to relax enough to go to sleep when her phone rang again.
As she sat her book down and reached for the phone, she thought
~If that's my dad again, I'll kill him!~  Grabbing the handset,
she picked it up.

"Hello?  Is this Miss Vetter?"

Tracy answered slowly.  "Yes."

"Hi.  This is Sarah at the Swimwear Boutique.  The colour
you had requested is in now.  You can pick it up anytime."

"Okay.  Thanks."  Tracy was about to hang up when an idea
occured to her.  "Oh, ah, Sarah?"

"Yes?"

"Are you the same person who had served me the night I was
in, when I paid for them?"

"Yes, I am.  Why?"

A grin began to spread across Tracy's face.  "Do you remember
that one-piece you suggested, which I didn't like at the time?"

"Yes, I do."

"Would it by any chance be the same price as this one?"

"Let me check."  After a minute of listening to canned
music, the sales clerk returned.  "Actually, it's a couple of
dollars cheaper than the one you selected."

Tracy smiled broadly.  "I'm sorry to do this after you went to
the trouble of ordering or transfering the other one in, but
would it be possible to switch?  I'm not worried over a couple
of dollars."

"Just a moment.  I'll ask my manager."  A few more minutes of
canned music and the clerk again returned.  "Yes, she said we
could do that.  It only comes in the bright floral print you
tried on.  At least this year.  Will that be alright?"

Tracy grinned evilly.  "That would be perfect."  I'll pick it
up on my way to work this evening, if you're open late
tonight too."

"Actually, it's the last Midnight Madness sale before Christmas,
so we're actually open very late tonight."

"Thank you for all of your assistance, Sarah, and I'll be in
tonight then.  Merry Christmas."  Tracy hung up the phone.  "Go
for broke!" she said aloud to herself, and laughed nervously.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Chapter 8:

Tracy and Nick were following an unlikely line of inquiry that meant
that they needed to confer with Natalie.  As Nick stood up and grabbed
his coat, Tracy asked, "I'll come along too, if that's okay.  I need
to speak to her myself."

Nick raised an eyebrow at this, since usually Tracy would try and give
them a few moments alone whenever she could.  He was in a good mood
tonight.  "Really?  Anything I should know about?"  He smirked as Tracy
glared.  "Come on."

While they were in the caddy, Tracy asked, "Nick?  Are you and Nat
planning anything special for Christmas?"

"Me and Nat?"

"Come off it, Nick.  Everyone knows about you guys.  I overheard one of
the rookies this fall ask someone else what they knew about Dr. Lambert
only to get told by him and one of the ladies in vice who was nearby
that Nat was yours and to back off if he valued..."  Tracy stopped
mid-sentence.

"That she was mine?"  He smiled when Tracy blushed and nodded.  "And to
back off if he valued... what?"

Tracy got noticibly redder.  "Uh... I don't remember."

"Come on Trace.  Partners, right?"

Tracy sighed.  "She told him to back off if he valued his balls."  She
mumbled into her hand, and stared out the window as Nick actually
laughed.

        ---

After getting the relevant case information from Natalie, Tracy spoke.
"Listen, I know you guys probably have stuff you want to talk about, but
Nat, if I may, can I speak to you for a minute first?  Then I'll go out
to wait for Nick in the car.  Okay?"

Nick and Natalie exchanged glances.  "Sure," they both said, then Nick
added, "I'll be back in a few minutes."

After Nick had left the room, Tracy turned to Natalie.  "Nat?"

"What's up, Tracy?"

"You know what I talked to you about a while ago... About my dad?"  When
Natalie nodded, she continued.  "I am going to do it.  But, well, did
you ever do anything or not do it just to spite your grandma?"

"I think pretty much everyone has done something at one time or another
to spite their parents, or whomever is raising them, Trace.  Why?"

"Well, my dad was lecturing me so badly that I couldn't get a word in
edgewise.  Now I'm committed to a course of action I'm still not sure
about.  I'll be damned if I'll change my plans now.  But, well, if my dad
is there when I'm swimming, he'll either have a heart attack on the spot,
or kill me.  If need be, can we kinda stick with you guys at it?"

Natalie frowned slightly.  "What did you do?"

Tracy fidgetted.  "Well, I took what my dad said to heart.  He forbade
me to wear a skimpy 2 piece..."

The odd look on Natalie's face was one that anyone who knew her well
would know was one of recognition.  She knew that Tracy had decided on
the suit she had suggested to the clerk in an attempt to tease Tracy.
"Yeah.  You can stick with us."

"Thanks Nat."  Tracy leaned over and gave the doctor a quick hug before
leaving.  "I'll send Nick in now on my way out."

        *****

Christmas came, and Nick and Tracy managed to have it fall on their days
off, which coincided with Natalie's.  Nick and Natalie spent a cozy
Christmas in the loft, with Nick treating Natalie to a variety of
Christmas delights that he had never been able to partake in, but had
known other mortals over the years who had.  They watched movies together
and spent time relaxing and cuddling in the hot tub as well.  Nick even
ate a little popcorn with Natalie as they watched their movies, before a
popcorn fight broke out.

Natalie also mentioned to Nick what she expected his partner had planned,
and that there might be a need for them to run physical interference
between Tracy and her father.

Natalie was beginning to yawn.  Nick helped her from the hot tub, then
tossed his robe over the boxes making the wall of the changing area.

Nick had changed into the bottoms of a pair of silk pajamas by the time
Natalie came out with Nick's robe tied snuggly around her.

When they went back into the living room, Natalie spread the blanket out
on the floor before the fireplace, then opened the quilt on top of it.
Nick handed her a pillow.

"You could grab one and stay down here with me," Natalie sugested. Noting
the look of concern on Nick's face, she added, "at least for a little
while?"

Nick nodded. "Just for a bit."

It wasn't long after he had lain down beside her to cuddle for a bit that
he had fallen asleep before she did.  Natalie tossed the quilt over top
of him, and let herself drift off for the day nestled in his arms.

        ---

In another part of town Tracy's cel was ringing every 10 minutes, or would
be if she had it turned on.  She had chosen not to go spend the holiday
with her dad, but rather to go and spend it someplace she enjoyed spending
time.  The first few times it had rung she had looked at the call display
and seen his number, and chosen not to answer.  Then she had decided to
shut it off completely.

Tracy spent Christmas holed up at the church with Vachon, Screed, and Urs.
Tracy wasn't quite certain of what to make of Urs, having been told that
Urs was, in vampiric relations, Vachon's daughter.  She knew that meant
that they were most likely, or at least at one time had been intimate.
Yet, when the vampires were ready to sack out for the day, Urs had gone
over to Tracy and hugged her as she wished the mortal blonde a Merry
Christmas, then had kissed Vachon's forehead and said that she and
Screed would head into the organ room for the day, leaving Tracy and
Vachon to fend for themselves.

"So?"  Vachon looked at Trace and shrugged.

"So what?"  Tracy answered, slightly puzzled.

"I'm going to bed for the day.  You said you wanted to stay over.  Is that
still the plan?"

"Yes.  If it's okay I mean."  Tracy looked around the room, as if seeing
it for the first time.  "Where do you want me to sleep?"

"I don't have extra blankets."

Tracy looked over towards the corner of the room where his bed was, as if
she couldn't make up her mind.  "Will that be okay?"  She asked hesitantly,
subconsciously licking her lips as Vachon removed his shirt.

"If you mean will I..." he opened his mouth as if to bite or snarl.  "Safe
enough.  Not if you don't want me to."  He sat on the far side of the bed
and pulled his jeans off, sliding into the bedding before Tracy could
catch a glimpse of anything beyond the hint of bare flesh. He reached down
and pulled up a bottle from which he took a long drink, then pulled the
bedding down some on the near side.  "Coming?"

Tracy hesitated a moment, before ditching all but her panties.  She kept
one arm folded across her breasts as she pulled the sheet back up and
climbed in between it and the rest of the bedding.  In spite of having
put the sheet between their bodies, however, when he snuggled up against her
and slowly slid his hand to rest against the curve of her breast, Tracy
only smiled and wiggled tighter against him without pushing his hand away.

"G'night, Vachon."  She whispered, sleepily.

"Querida..." Vachon kissed her cheek, then drifted off himself.

        *****

Around 2pm on Boxing Day Nick's phone rang, and Natalie picked it up.
"Hello?"

"Natalie?"  It was Captain Reese's wife.  "Actually, I was prepared to
ask Nick for your number.  Did you two have a good Christmas?"

"Yes Denise, You guys?"

After the pleasantries were over, Denise asked Natalie if she knew how to
get a hold of Tracy.  "I suggested to my husband that some of the ladies
gather to decorate for the party, and he must have mentioned it to the
Commissioner, because he asked me if when I spoke to you, to ask about
Tracy.  Her father is very upset, apparently."

"Well, I can't guarantee that I know where she is, but I do know where
her, uhh, boyfriend lives.  I can stop by on my way and see if she's
there."

"Please.  So does that mean you are coming early to help decorate?"
Denise enquired.

Natalie sighed.  "Sure.  When?"

"Well, my daughter and I are on our way over now, as are Sandee and Maria
from vice.  Trevor Chiba's wife and older daughter are coming over for 4,
and there's a couple other wives coming for 4:30.  I guess the dinner
will be at 5:30."

"How about if I get ready and see if I can track down Tracy.  Then I'll
come directly over whenever I get there."

Natalie hung up the phone and woke up Nick, with difficulty.  "Hey,
Sleeping Beauty!"  She grinned at the confused look on his face as Nick
began to wake.  "Some of the wives are going over to decorate, and
Denise called *here* to ask *me* if I'd join them."  She cuffed Nick
playfully as he smirked.  "ANY-way, Reese wants me to see if I can find
Tracy, since her dad can't find her, and if I can, to see if she'll come
too.  I'll stop by Vachon's and see if she's there on my way.  I think
that's an excuse, but I'll do it."  Natalie brushed a stray lock of golden
hair from Nick's face.  "I'll ask Vachon to meet you here.  The dinner is
at 5:30, so I would suggest you guys find an excuse not to show up 'til
after 6, or even 6:30."

Nick sat up and pulled Natalie close.  "Be careful, okay?"  He kissed her
cheek, then lay back down in his bed.

        ---

Natalie stopped by the church, and sure enough she found the missing
detective.  After speaking with Tracy and Vachon for a couple of minutes,
she went out to her car to wait for Tracy.

The two women stopped at a liquor store and picked up some bottles.  They
ended up with 2 each of rum, whiskey and rye.  Then they stopped at a
specialty store that Tracy knew of, and picked up the same in the
de-alcoholized versions.  They stopped back at Tracy's and found cups,
mugs, pitchers, glasses and mixing-bowls enough to pour the booze into,
and filled the bottles with the alcohol-free booze instead.  The plan was
that only the people who knew about the sting would be staying for the
'wild party', and that they were prepared to act drunk even though they
wouldn't be.

Then Natalie and Tracy headed to the house to help prepare, arriving
there a little before 3:30.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Chapter 9a:

Tracy and Natalie helped out with the decorations and some of the other
preparations.  They ended up on 'balloon brigade' for while, along with
the the Reese and Chiba girls, and Jenny Schanke.  Before Christmas
and after discussing with Stonetree and Nat, Nick had stopped by Myra's
house and spoken to Myra, inviting her for the evening, but explaining
that when the other families left she'd need to as well since it would
turn into a sting later on.

Natalie and Tracy were blowing up balloons for the three adolescents to
place on the walls and ceilings after the girls had rubbed them madly on
their hair.  The girls were giggling fiercely since they had just
discovered Tracy's hair gave a better static charge to the balloons than
any of theirs, and had taken it upon themselves to rub the balloons on
Tracy's head, to the point that her hair now all fly-away.

Denise came in to check on what was happening, since the girls' wild
laughter and giggles could be heard throughout the house.

"Hi mom.  They weren't staying up very good.  Tracy showed us how, and her
hair works better, so now she's our balloon battery."

Tracy, Natalie and Denise exchanged glances before Natalie asked "Balloon
BATTERY?"

Jenny giggled.  "A battery gives you a charge and her hair gives the
balloons the best charge.  So she's a balloon battery."  12 year old Jenny
winked at the adults while the 9 and 10 year olds gave each other that
knowing look that only kids having to explain *everything* to an elder can
give.

"I see."  Denise looked at Tracy and smiled.  "Well Tracy, it looks like
you are doing a good job of being their 'balloon battery', but when you
are done, if you need it, I do have some hairspray in the bag with my
swimsuit.  An extra brush if you need one also."

Natalie smiled as Tracy answered.  "Thanks, but I've got my own with my
swimsuit too."

After Denise left, Amy Chiba looked at Tracy and Natalie, and asked, "So
whose wives are you guys?  You guys are more fun than most of them."

Natalie smiled and opened her mouth to speak, but Karen Reese spoke first.
"They aren't wives, Amy.  That's *why* they're more fun.  Tracy's a cop
just like our dads are, and Natalie is the dead doctor.  She's almost a
wife though.  Daddy says she and Nick, he's a cop too, have been telling
everybody they're just friends for more years than he's known them and
nobody believes them 'cept maybe them."

Natalie and Tracy looked at each other.  "The dead doctor?"  Tracy asked,
trying not to laugh.

"Yeah.  Cause she's a doctor to dead people to tell cops like my dad how
come the dead person's dead."

Jenny looked at Natalie.  "Still?  Before my Dad died he used to say you
guys were meant to be together.  He used to try and matchmake you two,
you know.  He's probably lookin' down and really unhappy you guys aren't
together yet."

Natalie stood, and walked towards the corner, beckoning for Jenny to
follow.  Once they got a little distance between them and the others,
Natalie sat and Jenny took a seat next to her.  "You want to know
something, Jenny?"  When the girl nodded, she continued, "When I got a
phone call to come and help today with the other wives, you know where
they called, and I really was there?"

Jenny looked up, grinning. "Nick's?" When Natalie nodded, Jenny's grin
widened, then it faded to a look of worry.  "But that doesn't mean
anything, really. Dad used to say you guys used to spend a lot of time
together watching movies and stuff even back then."

Natalie whispered.  "Keep a secret?"  When Jenny nodded she added, "Yes,
I still have my own place.  It's got more to do with Nick being a hard
person to be around sometimes.  Did your dad ever talk about Nick being
moody?"

"Yeah, but he always said when you moved in with him he wouldn't be."

"Well, your dad wasn't entirely right on that one.  I do spend most of my
time over there though."  Natalie thought for a moment, debating, then
added very conspiratorily, "Sometime we even sleep together too."  If
Jenny thought it more than just cuddling and sleeping, so be it.  It
would be if that were possible for Nick.  "I bought a hot tub and we have
it at Nick's place.  It's just a little one for us mostly."

Jenny looked at Nat and grinned. "Okay, maybe you're not married yet, and
daddy won't be truly happy til you are.  But at least he won't be
unhappy.  When you guys finally get your act together, can I be one of
your bridesmaids?"

Natalie laughed at the certainty in Jenny's voice.  At times she sounded
so much like her father.  "Sure, Jenny.  You dad would like that."

        ---

By the time people began arriving with food for the pot-luck style
dinner, not only had decorations been put up, but the pool table had been
covered with a a padded vinyl cover, on top of which a large thick piece
of plywood had been placed, and that covered with a plastic christmas-
print tablecloth.  The food brought over was sat on top, along with paper
plates, plastic cups and utensils.

As people finished eating the clean-up began, and by the time Nick and
Vachon arrived at almost 6:30, it was mostly cleaned up, although Nick
jumped in and helped.

Tracy had managed to avoid her father through the dinner, and it wasn't
until after the guys had arrived that her father found her.  Seeing his
daughter, he spoke.  "I was coming back to let everyone know that the
presentation and speech will begin in just a few minutes."  He turned
towards Tracy, and continued, "Well, I'm glad to see that you decided to
show up for this at least.  We kept a plate warm for you after we finally
decided to stop waiting and eat without you."

Tracy sat the hot-plate on the counter, then whirled to face her dad.
"Why?  Every time you informed me in the pretense of asking if I would be
over, I told you I already had other plans.  If you choose to wait for
someone who has repeatedly said they aren't coming, it's your own folly.
Now if you'll excuse us, Dad, I'd like to finish up here in time to
actually see the presentation."  Tracy turned her back on her father
and walked out to collect garbage, leaving her father fuming in the
kitchen doorway.

        ---

After the presentation people separated to different activities in
differing parts of the house.  In the rec room a game of darts was
happening as was a game of pool (or snooker - Natalie was never sure which
was which) and a shuffleboard match.  The television in the family room
had Lion King playing in a VCR, while the TV in the living room was tuned
to a local station which was running A Sound of Music.  Many people were
standing around chatting in various rooms, too.

Nick, Nat, Tracy, and Vachon were laughing as they entered the pool area.
They had decided not to go in the pool until later since it was mostly
families enjoying the water for now, but were all planning on going in
after the others had left.  Nick and Vachon had picked up a floating
volleyball net someplace before arriving at the party, and were busily
setting it up for people to use.

Just as they set it afloat, Nick was suddenly tackled.  "Come swimming
with me, Uncle Nick!"  his tackler released him and came around to stand
in front of him.  "I've really missed having someone play in the water
with me since my dad died.  Please Nick?  It'll be fun..."

Nick looked at the others.

Nat grinned. "Go on. Have fun." Natalie settled into a deck-chair with
Tracy and Vachon doing the same.  A few minutes later Nick came out of
the office, which was currently serving as a mens change room, and
handed his bag of clothes to Natalie.  He spoke briefly to Myra as she
came up to join the others on the deck, then slid into the water to await
his young friend.

Nick had just swum a width of the pool when Jenny came out.  She was
wearing a cute little 2-piece set that emphasized her just budding
figure, and was completely in style with another girl of similar age.
Tracy thought absently how similar it was to the one that she had once
embarrassed her dad with so badly.

Nick and Jenny swam and dived.  They had handstand competitions until they
ended when Jenny began tickling Nick's air-bound feet.  All too soon, so
far as Jenny was concerned, Captain Stonetree came through letting people
know that it was now after 9pm, and that at 10 it was going to switch to a
private, invitation only affair for some of the adults.  He also advised
people that he would be coming through again at 10 pm and collecting keys
from everyone who was staying.  Stonetree stopped and mentioned to Myra
how nice it was to see her and Jenny again, and added how proud her
husband would have been of Jenny.  Then he continued on his rounds
notifying people.

By quarter to 10 the last of the families and civilians left, Myra and
Jenny among them.  Tracy and Natalie walked out with them to see them
off, then stopped at Natalie's car to pick up the bottles from the trunk.
When they came in they proceeded to the kitchen where they made a party
punch - the kind frequently made by college students which is made with
as much of whatever kinds of booze is available, strong enough to to put
an elephant to sleep, and never quite the same recipe twice.

They poured up a quantity of the punch into glasses,  which was then
offered to people after the Captain had collected their keys.

Most people were slowly aiming towards the pool.  Tracy and Natalie
collected their bags and headed to change in the den, which was passing
for a women's change room.

There were a few other women in there already, and a few others came in
after Nat and Trace.  There were a couple of ladies from traffic, a friend
of Stonetree's from I.A., one more detective, and a tall redhead from
vice.  The only other non-police present now introduced herself as Brad's
fiancee (he being one of the officers from the task-force), and added that
she was military police.

        ---

Richard Vetter had declined a drink and retained his keys, explaining that
although he'd been invited, he also had to get up early for work the next
morning, so wouldn't be staying much longer.  He was standing in the
rec-room talking to a Captain with whom he had gone to the Academy, when
they began hearing wolf-whistles coming from the ajoining pool area.

Richard and Evan looked at each other.  "I wonder who the broad is?" Evan
asked.

Richard grinned. "Maybe it's Kelly from vice?  She's really hot."

"And I thought you weren't interested in other women since Barb."

Richard answered seriously, "One: Never pass up a redhead.  Two: Looking
at the menu never hurt anyone.  It's only ordering you shouldn't do if
you're married.  Three: I'm not married any more, so I can not only look,
but order if I want to.  Four:" He grinned as he repeated, "NEVER pass up
a redhead. Now lets go look at the menu."

Richard and Evan were laughing as they entered the pool area and saw who
it was that was attracting all the whistles...

        ---

Nat and Tracy had been the first women out, and when they had entered
the pool area, both women had worn a wrap or shortie housecoat over
their swimwear while placing their clothing bags with Nick and Vachon's.
Then both had looked at each other and taken a deep breath, before
removing their cover-ups.

Natalie took Nick's breath away, to the point that he didn't notice his
partner or her effect on the other men already in the pool.  His eyes
were only for her.  Natalie was wearing a one-piece suit in a t-back
style.  It allowed full view of the little tattoo she had gotten on the
back of her shoulder.  It was a greywork of a beautiful child's face
done from a photo, with angel's wings added behind the child.  Below it
was written inside a little banner:
                Cynthia Luce - Forever Nine
Every time Nick saw it, it made him feel like crying, and want to hold
Natalie tight, protecting her from the ills of the world.  The design
itself was beautiful, done in shaded blackwork so it looked much as a B+W
photo would have.  It was accented beautifully by Natalie's suit.  It
looked to be made of a sheer fabric with black, red and gold embroidery,
hiding nothing were it not for the lining: a built in panty and clamshell-
shaped cups in the bust of a red & gold material, that when darkened by
the sheer black cloth, was almost a perfect match to Natalie's chestnut
hair.

While Natalie was the sole focus of Nick's attention, Tracy was the
attention recipient of every other male in the area with hormones,
several of whom were whistling.  Tracy's multi-coloured one-piece left
nothing to the imagination of anyone.  Being of a thin fabric it clung
to her body tightly, and Vachon (and many other men!) were eagerly waiting
to see if it were possible for it to hug any tighter to her when she entered
the pool..  It was a thin strip of fabric, looped gracefully over her neck
and plunging straight down over her breasts in two strips, before being
attached to itself well below her pierced navel, and following
between her legs to emerge in a slight V at the back (which was about a
low as it could be without *truly* revealing too much) and wrap back
around to tie in front.  It clung tightly enough to her body that her
various pierces under the fabric were obvious, both nipples with rings,
as well as two ridges of rings that some of the men were noticing in her
nether region which appeared to be of a laceable style.  On her back were
8 pair of rings forming 2 vertical rows parallel to her spine.  These were
laced in a standard shoe-lace style criss-cross by a strip of fabric that
matched her suit, from Tracy having shortened both ties on her suit to
the length that worked best for her, and having had the two strips of rolled
fabric sewn together to form the matching lace for her back.  On her right
shoulder Tracy had a beautifully done tattoo of a dreamcatcher, except
the knots of the dreamcatcher were small celtic knots.  From the lower edge
of the design were 3 more flesh pierces.  Those three rings each held a metal
charm in the shape of a feather, one each of silver, gold, and what looked
to be pink gold.  Her left shoulder held a vampire smiley, complete with
a few drops of blood dripping from it's two long fangs.  On her left hip
and thigh was a colourful oriental Phoenix, done by the old Chinese man who
had been working on the woman who had been murdered for her heart.

Just as Tracy was about to jump off the diving board, Nick heard a sharp
gasp of breath from the doorway.  He looked over in time to see the
Commissioner turn first very red, almost closer to a purple, then fade
to the palest white Nick had seen on anyone who wasn't either his own kind
or a victim of, or suffering from albinism.  The man beside him began to
laugh.  "Guess you won't be ordering from that menu after all, in spite
of how tasty the dish looks!"  Richard Vetter looked ready to kill someone,
possibly his daughter or friend, and quite likely both. "Personally, I
think she beats that redhead you like." He slapped Tracy's father on the
back. "See you later, Rich."  He walked away laughing.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Chapter 9b:

As Tracy bobbed back up to the surface, her father began...  "OH MY GOD
TRACY!  WHAT IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?  ARE YOU JUST TRYING
TO GIVE ME A FRICKIN' HEART ATTACK?  YOU GO OUT OF YOUR WAY TO EMBARRASS
ME LIKE THIS AFTER YOU PROMISED ME YOU WOULDN'T?  WHY CAN'T YOU EVEN KEEP
YOUR GOD DAMNED WORD FOR ONCE?"

By the time he stopped for a breath, Natalie had dove in and swum out to
join the young detective in the water, for moral support if nothing else.
Nick and Vachon had already climbed out of the pool and were heading over
to the Commissioner as fast as they could while maintaining the pretense
of being mortal.  Natalie reached out for Tracy's hand and gave it a
squeeze as a sign to her that she wasn't alone.

Tracy took a deep breath.  "I didn't make any such promise dad.  You
spoke, I listened, and th..."  Her father cut her off mid sentence.

"That's bullshit, girl, and you know it.  I will NOT be lied to."

"Don't talk to her like that."  Nick's voice was low, quiet enough that
the commissioner had to actually focus on Nick and strain to listen.

"This ISN'T your affair, Knight."

"Nor is it yours, sir."  Nick continued to speak quietly enough to make
Tracy's father have to focus on him to hear, as Vachon guided him towards
a chair.  "Your daughter is an adult. You may not like the way she dresses
or her lifestyle, or the company she keeps, but it is her life and because
she is an adult, she is the only one whose business it is."  Nick had his
back to Tracy now, and used a mild whammy.  Focusing on the racing thump-
thump-thump of the elder Vetter's heart, Nick told him, "You will stop
yelling, and you will calm down enough to allow your daughter to speak.
Do you understand?"

Tracy's father nodded, took a deep breath, and looked around for a place
to sit down. Surprise at finding himself in front of a chair registered on
his face momentarily, but he sat anyway.  Now that he had stopped yelling,
he had begun to shake.

"That's better." Vachon and Nick pulled up chairs beside him, while Nat
and Tracy swam over to the edge of the pool nearest them.

Tracy's father looked at her.  "Why, Tracy?  You're destroying your own
body.  Why?"

"Dad, I like it.  To me it isn't destroying it, it's adding to it, because
I see this as art. I like it."  Tracy hadn't heard who had said what, but
was wondering if maybe Vachon had whammied her dad.  He never settled down
this fast.  "Why does it bother you so much?  It's my body."

Nick continued to maintain a slight hold over Tracy's father, just enough
to make sure he didn't go wild again.  But this type of control also
tended to make people more honest. "I like to admire the ladies, so I know
how the other men are thinking.  When you do things like this, you're only
encouraging them to look at you the same way, and I don't want them to.
You're my daughter, my little girl. I love you, and I want to protect you."

Tracy knew Vachon had to be controlling her father somehow.  She'd never
heard him ever say he loved her, and the way he was speaking in a flat,
semi-detached sort of way...  Vachon *must be* doing something to make him
respond honestly but controlled.  She just hoped he was being careful so
as not to let Nick see...

"Dad, I am an adult.  I don't need protecting.  This is the only one piece
suit that fits me.  Nothing else is long enough in the body for me...
That is why I wore it, by the way."

"If you wear things like that Tracy, men will think you only want one
thing.  I am scared you'll end up in a situation you can't handle."

"Give me some credit, Dad!  I'm a cop, just like you.  And a good one.
I'm not going to end up in a situation here, and if I do, my friends are
here too.  I know you don't like the idea of me having a boyfriend, but I
do, and between him 'n' me, and Nick 'n' Natalie, I am perfectly safe."

"Did your boyfriend ask you to get the tattoos and pierces?  THAT's not
right.  You shouldn't have to do anything because of someone else.  You
deserve better."  Tracy's father began to tremble again, this time he
reached into the inside pocket on his blazer and pulled out a small
pillbox, and taking one from it placed it under his tongue.

Natalie saw an opportunity, and squeezed Tracy's hand, in the hopes that
she'd see it too.  Tracy already had, and nodded silently to Natalie as
she liked her lips nervously, and took a deep breath.

"You're right dad.  That isn't right.  No one should have to do something
because of anyone else, should they?"

"No."  His voice was still fairly flat... slightly distant.

"And it shouldn't matter who it is that's trying to get them to do
something because they want them to do it?"  Tracy knew it was awkwardly
worded, but since her father sometimes spoke that way when he was upset,
she knew he'd follow her thought.

"No.  You," Richard Vetter paused as he took a deep breath, "no one,
should have to do something they don't want because of someone else."
He looked tired.

"Don't you get it, Dad?  I didn't do this because of my boyfriend, or
anyone else.  I didn't do it to upset you.  I did it because I got a small
tattoo a few years ago, and decided I like the body art scene, and I've
gotten other tats and pierces since.  I've gotten them for me, Dad.  I
keep them hidden at work, because I don't think it'd be very professional
with me being a cop, but again, it is my choice based on my beliefs to do
so.  This isn't work, dad, it's a party.  That's why I'm not worrying
about keeping the art covered.  And I'm going to continue to be into this
scene whether you like it or not, because like you just said, I shouldn't
do things because of other people, I should live for me.  So I'm not going
to change my tastes to suit you, either.  You may not like it, Dad, but
you've tried to control me more than anyone else in my life.  I'm going to
live my own life, so you need to get used to it.  Much as you may not like
it, it's my life and I'll live it my own way.  You can't protect me from
things I don't want to be protected from."

Tracy's father began to cough.  "I haven't made you do things, Tracy...
Have I?"

"Yeah, Dad, often in fact.  But it ends tonight."  She smiled past her dad
at Nick and Vachon still sitting by her father, and noticed that Reese
had come into the room, as had a number of others.  I like my job.  I am
not taking any transfers you might try and push me into.  I didn't want
the last one, and I had to work hard to get thrown out of it.  If any
promotions come to me, I want them to be because I have earned them, not
because I'm the commissioners daughter being treated with kid gloves.  I
don't want to sit at a desk and be a paper jockey.  Not at this point in
my life.  Maybe later on, maybe then I'll want something less dangerous or
whatever, but for now I am very happy right where I am.  I have a good
partner who doesn't coddle me because of you.  He get's a little
protective at times, but I think that's because he's old fashioned and I'm
a female, and he tries real hard not to let it be a factor.  Sometimes he
doesn't always succeed, but at least he tries.  And he does treat me the
same way as he treats other women, except of course his girlfriend.  And I
respect that.  I have a good Captain who tries to let me do my work in
spite of what you might think.  I know he's worried what you'll think, but
he's more inclined to give me an extra warning to be careful, because he
knows if something happens it'll be him stuck facing you when you're
angry."  Tracy took a deep breath.  "I am happy with my life as it is, and
I'm not going to change what I'm happy with for anyone, Dad, including
you.  I am not a kid, Dad.  Realize it, and get past it, and let me be me.
I'm going back to swimming now.  Goodnight, Dad."

Tracy turned to Natalie, shaking slightly at standing up to her dad like
that.  She had no idea if Vachon had really whammied her dad to keep him
in control, but it had definitely helped, whatever he had done.  Looking at
Nat she pointed to the far end of the pool.  "Race ya!"

Nick looked at the elder Vetter.  "Do you actually realize how you've
treated your daughter?"  He still spoke very quietly, a barely audible
whisper.

"Yes.  I didn't want to hurt her.  I wanted to protect her."  Tears had
welled in one of his eyes and were threatening to spill over and trail
down his cheek.

Vachon whispered now, "You cannot change the past, so don't try.  Just
learn from it.  Trace is strong.  Let her be.  If she makes mistakes,
they're hers to make."

Nick added, "Go home. Think about what you learned tonight, Sir."  They
watched as Tracy's father stood and walked slowly but purposefully to the
door from the pool deck, saying 'goodnight' to Reese and the others whom
he passed as he left.  Then they joined the ladies in the pool..

*****

He watched the small screen that displayed what he was recording from the
pool.  So the babe in the practically non-existant suit was a cop too...
interesting... And a german name too... Even if she hadn't won anything,
in spite of what she had said to her father, she couldn't really have
earned anything she had.  She was a kraut after all.  Maybe she'd be worth
a change of tactics.  After tonight he'd have to see what he could learn
about this one, and see if he could capture this one alive.  He could
think of a few things he'd like to do with her, or to her if she refused,
before dumping her somewhere.  He laughed as he absently rubbed himself,
thinking of what all he could do with that one!

*****

Soon the party atmosphere had picked up again, and everyone was enjoying
themselves.  Nick Natalie, Vachon, and Tracy found themselves in a water
volleyball match against Stonetree, Reese, Tracy's ex partner from her
rookie days, and the taskforce member who was from the Kitchener police
department.  Someone brought in a tray with a few pitcher's of the punch
that Tracy and Natalie had made and several glasses.  Soon their group and
several others who had been in the pool had climbed out and claimed cups
of the beverage.

One of the ladies who hadn't been in the pool but had been having fun with
others elsewhere in the house came to the pooldeck, and seeing Tracy
grinned broadly.  She came over to put her arm around Tracy's shoulder.
"Yer brave," she slurred slightly. "I couldn't wear that.  My boyfriens
tryna getta game uh strip poker goin.  He thinks yer cute.  He don't know
I know that."  She giggled.

Tracy wondered if this woman really was drunk, or if she was just that
good of an actress.

Then she spoke again, "Promise not ta touch 'im an ya can come join our
game.  But ya touch 'im or let 'im touch ya, an' I'll kill ya!" She leaned
in to the table and added, "Hell, all a yous can play."

Natalie looked around the table, then spoke up.  "Thanks Christine, but
I think we're going to pass."

She took a good look at Natalie, almost sitting on her lap in the
process. "Do I know you?" She asked.  Then smiled mischievously, and Tracy
knew she was acting. "Oh yeah!  Yer the doc what's got Knight on a short
leash even if 'e won't admit it!  Good goin' girl!"  She hugged Natalie,
then wandered off in the direction she had come from, giggling to herself.

*****

Another few hours later, and people were finding places to crash, or to
seem to crash.  Some had brought pajamas or other forms of sleepwear, but
a number of the guys were just finding places to lie down and something to
cover with, then seeming to crash out in their underwear.

Trace had planned ahead with Stonetree, however.  The ladies found room to
crash in the room that adjoined the master bedroom in which Stonetree had
disappeared for the night.  The 1/2 bath off of the second bedroom had a
door that could only open if unlocked on both sides connecting it to the
ensuite of the master bedroom.  As per the plan, except if someone was
actually using either of the bathrooms, the door would be kept ajar, as
would the doors from the bathrooms into the bedrooms.  This would allow them
to hear into the other room.

Nick and Natalie had discussed this situation beforehand.  As Nick pointed
out, three of the four people who would be seeming to crash in that room
knew that there would be two vampires and two mortals present.  Tracy
still believed Nick to be mortal, if even as Vachon had reported, the only
reason for her firm belief in that being that she believed Nick wouldn't
lie to her because he was her partner.  Natalie and Nick had decided that
this meant that they would still have to pretend at Nick being mortal for
Tracy's benefit, and that because Vachon knew what Tracy believed, that he
too would be having to play at that game around her and Nick for Tracy's
benefit.  It was convoluted and circuitous reasoning; However because of
it, Nick had figured that for the sake of pretense they needed to prepare
to look like the couple everyone believed them to be, just as Tracy and
Vachon would most likely be doing.  Natalie wasn't about to complain, nor
did she think Tracy would.

While Tracy went into the bathroom to go through all the motions of
preparing for sacking out for the night, Nick opened a big bag he had been
left tucked in the coat room until now.  From it he pulled two double
sleeping bags, laying one out on the floor beside the bed and the other
out on the bed.  When Tracy came out in her sweat-shorts and cropped
t-shirt, Nick smiled and offered her and Vachon the bed while he and
Natalie took the bag on the floor.  As Tracy sat on the bed, Vachon
slipped around to the far side where the sleeping bag on the floor was,
and stripped there, sliding into the bag beside Tracy.  Trace gave Vachon
a wide-eyed expression that showed both appreciation and reproach.

Just as the bathroom door almost closed, Vachon's voice could be heard,
"What?  I skinny-dipped in front of 'em before.  They've both seen me
naked.  So've you."

As Natalie closed the bathroom door, she looked to Nick and nearly burst
out laughing. "She gets so upset by his antics, yet she also enjoys them.
What's up with that?"  Natalie whispered to Nick as he turned to face the
door.  Nat had thought it best for them to come in together for appearance
reasons.  No one but she and Nick need know he was a gentleman in there
with her, facing the door as Natalie changed, until she touched his arm.

Turning, Nick was stunned find Natalie standing there in just her panties
and a lace camisole.  Nick handed her the top of his black silk pajamas,
"Speaking of antics..."  He loved the woman before him, but sometimes she
had a few antics of her own.  Before he got his back turned to Nat again,
she had lost the camisole, and was standing before Nick slowly doing up
buttons on the black silk.  "You're determined, aren't you?"  He whispered
to her, while trying desperately to keep his eyes on Natalie's face.

Tracy & Vachon both grinned from ear to ear as Nick and Nat came out of
the bathroom together clad in a pair of pajamas.  The top half that
Natalie wore ending well below her hips because of the difference in
height between her and Nick, and he wearing the bottom half.  Nick managed
to keep Natalie between him and Tracy, but Vachon was able to see the
effect Nat's teasing had caused, which of course just made him smirk more.

After Nick and Nat had crawled into the other sleeping bag on the floor,
Vachon reached out and turned off the small lamp, noting that they seemed
to be cuddling up.

"G'night guys."  Tracy's voice said softly.  Then she turned over in time
to find Vachon's arm wrapped around her and his hand caressing her breasts.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Chapter 10:

Natalie had fallen asleep cuddled into Nick's embrace on the floor in
spite of her best attempts to stay awake while pretending to sleep.  She
had managed to stay awake until a little after 5 am, but soon after was
sleeping soundly.

Nick was wide awake, lying totally still as he listened to Nat's soft
snores that, while quiet enough to be inaudible to most humans, to his
sensitive hearing sounded much like a purr.  He smiled as Natalie snuggled
tighter into his embrace.

Hearing movement, Tracy peered over the edge of the bed in the darkness,
unable to make out anything beyond the marginally darker lump on the floor
comprised of her two friends.  After staring hard at them for a moment
and seeing no further movement, she cuddled back into Vachon's embrace but
leaned towards him to whisper.  "I think they're both out cold."  Tracy
trailed her fingertip lightly down Vachon's chest.  "Want to help me stay
awake?"  Her hand came to rest just on the inside of Vachon's thigh, and
then she leaned in to claim his mouth with her own.

Nick of course, since he was awake and had hearing as sensitive as
Vachon's, heard her.  He lie there in silence listening to his mortal
partner's heart increase as she all but made-out with her vampire.
Subconsciously Nick began to caress Nat in a similar fashion, not
realizing he was until he heard Natalie's even breaths become a little
ragged, in spite of still being asleep.

Time passed, until it was almost exactly 8:15am, when Nick suddenly sensed
someone walking around the outside of the house.  Nick turned over and
coughed once, the pre-arranged signal between him and Vachon that would
alert the other vampire that they had picked up something with vampiric
hearing.  Nick roused Natalie, while Vachon whispered into Tracy's ear,
saying he had dropped a hand down onto Nick to wake him.

The next few minutes seemed to last a lifetime, but it was only 8:30 when
Nick and Vachon each heard the front door opening very quietly, and the
person whom they had been sensing outside was within.

Nick and Vachon continued to listen as the man's footsteps thundered
through the house and his heartbeat yelled his whereabouts, to them at
least.  Even with the benefits of a vampire whispering his location to
them, neither Natalie nor Tracy could hear him themselves.  Then they
began to as he drew nearer to the master bedroom next door, and to them.

They realized from the shadows playing along the under edge of the door
that he had stopped at their bedroom instead. Nick and Vachon both
whispered so quietly that Nat and Tracy could barely hear. "Sleep."  Just
as they closed their eyes the door opened a crack, and a dark form
entered the room with them.  Since Vachon was the only vampire who could
peek through his lashes enough to watch, he was the sole witness of the
stranger's next action.  He pulled a small camera out of a bag, and
holding it in the crack of light coming through the doorway, checked the
setting was on 1600 ISO, then approached the bed.

He eyes the bed carefully, then finding the angle he liked best, he knelt
down and took a low photo of Tracy, the angle of the photo being one that
if the photo developed properly, would be looking straight up Tracy's crop
top.  Vachon bristled, but disguised it as a shiver as he heard the
camera's soft click.  He wanted to rip this man to pieces himself right
now for the photos he was taking of Tracy, but he also knew that if he
acted now it would ruin the sting, and it was more important to the cops,
including Tracy, to get this guy on the murder convictions than on
Trespass charges.  Click.  Another pic.  This time he held the camera
barely above Tracy's flesh as he tried for a close-up of her breast,
having carefully pushed the short top up slightly.  Then he stopped near
the door and, and the faint 'click' was heard once more as he took a photo
of her with her breasts exposed and Vachon's arm wrapped tightly around
her.

"Sweet dreams, kraut-girl," he whispered below his breath at a level a
truly sleeping person would not be woken by.  As the door closed, Nick and
Vachon both heard him add, "but the hippie has got to go."  Then his
breathing changed to a short series of quick sharp exhales as he laughed
silently.

Tracy pulled her top down shivered, and the way that she inhaled made
Vachon think she might speak.  He put his finger to her mouth.  Whispering
as quietly as he could while still being audible to her, saying "It's
okay, Querida. We'll get those pics back.  Shhh..."  He leaned over and
kissed her cheek, feeling the tears and tasting their saltiness on her
cheek.  "'s'okay..."

Then they heard the door next to theirs open.  Tracy looked at her watch.
"8:59," she whispered, and pulled herself together for the task at hand
in spite of the feeling of violation she felt from his touch and the
pictures he had taken of her.

In an equal whisper Natalie added, "Damn, it'll be too close to sunrise.
Nick won't be able to participate in this now, or he'd end up having to be
about in daylight without any protection for his allergy."

Vachon turned to Tracy and handed her gun to her, as he planted a kiss on
her forehead.  "I can still hear the clicking of his camera in there too,
so I know the captain's okay for now, but you've got to be ready.  Go.
I'll look after myself."  He pointed her in the direction of the washroom
and it's connecting door.

As soon as Tracy had quietly entered the bathroom, Nat turned to the men.
"This room has a large walk-in closet that has no outside windows.  You'd
probably have time to help with the capture, but you know that means a ton
of paperwork Nick, and you'd be well past sun up because of that.  Go!"
She kissed Nick quickly, then ushered both men into the closet.

Natalie closed the door on them both, then grabbed Nick's gun from his
holster in the bag with their clothes, and silently came around to back up
Tracy.  Now the door was ajar, and in the faint light coming in from the
pre-dawn glow, she could see that Tracy had pulled her gun and entered the
room.  She listened a moment, and realized that the creep was laying
across Stonetree's face, in the process of smothering him, and Tracy was
telling him to move away.

"Make me, Bitch."  The man laughed, "I'm a lot bigger than you.  You shoot
me and I'm a dead weight, and there ain't no way a little thing like you
could move me as a deadweight.  You don't shoot and there is no way I'll
move.  Either way this lazy-assed wagon-burner is dead.  I'm not moving."

Natalie could see Stonetree's hand flailing, but ineffectual.  She knew
that while it might not be easy, she could handle deadweight people.
Hell, it was part of her job description on the graveyard shift..  And then
there was Nick.  How many times had she had to move him when he was in the
full slumber of a vampire during the day?  It might not be easy, but it
was doable.  She signalled to Tracy to keep the man distracted, and
changed the way she held the gun as she slipped up behind him.  Seeing
Stonetree's arm fall limp, she knew he'd passed out from lack of oxygen,
and had only moments to accomplish her task.

Natalie raised her hand high above the large man's head and coldcocked
him, knocking him out.  "Legs!" She yelled at Tracy, and took his arms,
and the two women moved him onto the floor.  "Stay on him, I didn't hit
him that hard.  He'll probably come to soon.  I'll look after Stonetree."

As Tracy pulled the man's arms behind him and cuffed the unconscious form,
she yelled out, "WHERE IS EVERYONE?  YOU'RE MISSING THE PARTY!"  Then she
looked over at Natalie and paled.

As other cops began appearing, they saw Tracy with a handcuffed perp, the
man whom Nick had been so sure was the killer earlier but had seemed
clean, and Natalie doing one person CPR/AR on Captain Stonetree, whom she
had moved to the floor herself.  "Call an ambulance!" Natalie called as
she watched his chest for his body to restart and felt for a carotid
pulse.  She began again, as the cold light of dawn spilled in through the
window.

Reese and the rest of the the police let out a collective sigh of relief
as Stonetree's heart began to pump on it's own again, but he still wasn't
breathing.  "Reese."  He came over to join Natalie by Stonetree.  She took
his hand and placed it on Stonetree's neck.  "Feel it?"  She was using
short sentences in between breathing for Stonetree.  When Reese answered
that he could, she added "keep it there." She breathed again for him,
"Count when I say," then after another breath, "and tell me."

A couple minutes before the ambulance arrived Stonetree began to breathe on
his own finally.  Natalie stayed ready to do assistive breathing if need
be, until the ambulance arrived..  Then once he was stabilized for
transport, she left to ride with him to hospital.  Once she had turned his
care over to another physician she would return, and there was a cruiser
going to meet her at the hospital to bring her back to the house.

*****

The uniformed officer who met Natalie at the hospital had, on Reese's
instruction, had a blanket ready for her to wrap in, which with all that
had happened was the first that Natalie realized she was still only
wearing Nick's silk pajama top.  Tony had been on a homicide team for a
few months, but had taken a downward transfer to leave, finding that he
was too uneasy around dead bodies.  During the time that he'd been on
homicide, however, Natalie had grown fond of him, in a sisterly sort of
way.  Normally he would have teased her about the state of dress, or
undress, she was in.  Under the circumstances, however, his only thoughts
were about how Stonetree was, and if his captain had regained
consciousness before Nat left.

On arriving back at the house Natalie had all kinds of questions to
answer, forms to fill in, and details to elaborate on.  The perp's first
words on coming-to had, or so Natalie was told, been to ask " Is the
fuckin' wagon-burner dead?"  Needless to say, this had not exactly
endeared him to the officers who had charged him and taken him in to be
booked.  Natalie was very thankful that he was already gone by the time
she returned wrapped in the blanket.

After the immediate papers had been filled in, Natalie finally had a
chance to go and dress.  When they received word that Stonetree was
conscious, and that there didn't seem to any complications, the people at
the house began to relax.  "He's gonna make it!"  someone hollered, and a
round of cheers when through the house.

Officers with a warrant were dispatched to go to Ryan Riching's house and
see if there was any evidence to connect him to the previous murders.

Tracy had explained to Captain Reese that her boyfriend had a similar
condition to Nick's, not realizing the full truth in it, and that because
of the daylight both men were hiding within the house and would be able to
come out after sundown.  A few officers asked if they were hiding
together, and made jokes about it.  Now that they knew Stonetree would be
okay, the normal stress-relieving banter was beginning to come back.

Tracy's father came down to congratulate the team on the effectiveness of
the sting, even managing to outwardly show pride in his daughter's
accomplishment.

Finally the sun had set, so Tracy and Natalie tried to slip away to get
the guys, and get them dressed before anyone else saw them.  That was not
to be, however.  Instead, one of the guys who had been a friend of
Schanke's and teased about as much saw them and followed, encouraging
others to come along too.  Seeing the throng of people, Tracy's father and
Reese joined the group, wanting to see what the attraction was.

The door opened behind the ladies in time for all to see Tracy's naked
boyfriend throw his arms around her, and Nick in the bottom half of the
pajamas pull Natalie tightly to him.  A cheer went up, embarrassing the
four, when someone proclaimed "'Just Friends' my ass!  Donny'll be happy!"

Natalie turned, "Out!  A little privacy please!"  She walked toward the
door making shooing motions with her hands.  As they backed out of the
doorway allowing her room to close the door, someone joked "Who'd of
thought it?  Knight coming out of the closet with his partner's
boyfriend?," which caused another round of laughter.

Nick looked at Tracy and Nat ruefully.  "I don't think we'll ever live
this one down."  He kissed Nat, then turned to pull his clothing from the
bag.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Chapter 11:

Ryan Richings sat in an interrogation room, with a lawyer present whom he
wasn't taking any advice from.

"I don't have any reason to deny what I've done.  I'm proud of this.  If I
end up charged and convicted it's just proof of the problems in our legal
system.  I'm going to tell them everything they want to know, because I'm
doing what's morally right.  I'm a just and moral person."

Captain Reese, Tracy and Natalie, along with a couple of other officers
were listening in the observation room, as Nick and another man from the
task-force asked the perp for details, which he proudly told in spite of
his lawyer's protests.  A white captain from another precinct had come to
supervise the questioning, since whenever Ryan saw Captain Reese he
started threatening his life, and when he saw Tracy he kept telling her
all the things he'd like to do to her before he killed her.

Tracy hadn't taken his comments as anything beyond a macho creep trying
to scare the hell out of her, but Reese had pulled her from the
questioning as soon as a team returned from Mr. Riching's home loaded with
videos & other evidence, including stills printed from the surveillance
video of Tracy changing into her swimsuit.  Following straight on their
heels was the police photographer bringing in the photos he'd developed
from the perp's camera recovered at the scene: the pics he had had taken
of Tracy as well as pics taken on the automatic timer -him approaching a
'sleeping' Stonetree  -covering his face with his belly  -a couple with
Tracy barely in the picture with her gun pointed at him  -one with Nat
sneaking up behind  -one of Ryan with his eyes rolling back and his body
just beginning to slump with Nat's hand and the handle of the gun
practically still in contact  -another showing the two women moving the
unconscious perp off of Stonetree  -Natalie getting the Captain to the
floor herself. The rest of the film was used up with people milling about
the room, watching as Natalie worked on saving the Captain's life.  The
film ran out before the ambulance got there and well before Ryan came to
with a headache.

Reese had agreed to keep possession of the photo's of Tracy in a sealed
envelope, and that if they were not needed in the investigation, that he'd
give them to her to dispose of.  This, of course, was way against standard
procedure for evidence, however under the circumstances, the lawyer
representing Richings had agreed, *if* they were first placed into an
inner envelope to be sealed and initialed by the police photographer and
Tracy, then into another envelope sealed and initialed by Reese & another
commissioner than Tracy's father, then into a third sealed and initialed
by him and the officer in charge of evidence storage.

Soon, under Nick's enhanced questioning, the man had told his story. The
others in the observation room listened to the sordid details.....

All but one of the 'possibles' that the task-force credited to him he
claimed responsibility for.  He also claimed having committed 2 similar
ones in the USA, one in Toledo, Ohio & the other in Buffalo, NY, during the
spree.  He also claimed one other in Halifax, Nova Scotia a number of years
before.  Those three he claimed were being at the "right place at the right
time" to walk up to the winner's new home and ring the door, shooting them
dead when they answered.  As for the current spree, he laughed at how inept
the police were for letting him go before, after pulling him in for
questioning.  He added that it had been easy to send his girlfriend on
little holidays with his credit card so give him the alibi that had cleared
him before.  Then he elaborated on how he had override codes for all the
security systems, since he'd installed the alarms.

He elaborated on his views, claiming he was cleansing the country by
purging it of parasites.  "Most people think the rats were responsible for
the old plagues.  That's not true at all.  It was the parasitic fleas that
the rats were host to that carried the plagues.  And that's what these
vermin are to our society...  They laze about and do nothing, living off
of the rest of us, the French and English who built this land.  Then they
have the unmitigated gall to enter our lotteries and take away our
winnings from the hard-working honest real Canadians like me!"

Ryan looked around smuggly.  Nick recognized the expression Ryan wore, and
shuddered.  The last time he'd seen it so exactly was when it had belonged
to the woman who had given him her cross and asked him to hold it up for
er to see as she was burned.  Nick knew that Richings believed himself to
be as much a martyr as Joan really had been, and he shuddered again.

After Richings was finished being questioned and interrogated, and was
being escorted to a holding cell to await processing and transfer, Tracy
dashed out of the observation room, followed closely by Natalie and Reese.

"Wait a sec!"  She called to Nick and the other officer who were escorting
him out.  "I want to say something."

Ryan turned his head.  "Well, if it isn't the Kraut-girl..."  He closed
his eyes in what could only be an ill-achieved attempt to mime some sort
of sexual release, and let his tongue loll in his opened mouth a second
before licking his lips, and changing to a leering look.  "Come-on, Baby,
do me!  You need a real man to take care of your needs, doll, and I
can..."

"QUIET."  Tracy spoke firmly.  "You've more than had your say tonight, and
told me already what you want to do to me given a chance.  I'm not here to
listen.  I'm hear to speak, to *tell* *you* something."

Tracy took a deep breath.  "I don't care if you say you believe me or not.
But I do want you to know the truth.  You said in there that the only real
Canadians are the ones who built this country, which you think are just
the French and English?  That is so much bull!  Michael Heong, the Chinese
guy you murdered, by your own standard would have had more right to be in
this country than you do.  His great grandfather helped to build this
country, laying the track that allowed it to become the great land
stretching from one coast to the other that it is now.  And that would
never have happened without the hard labour of him and a lot of other
Chinese workers.  He worked his ass off to lay the rails that are this
country's very foundation, ending up killed for his efforts.  A friend of
his met his wife and son, who was Michael Heong's grandfather, giving them
his pay, which he had *earned* and helping them get settled into this
land.  If our language had been decided based on who put the hardest work
into the building of this country, we'd probably be having this
conversation in CHINESE...  Or some other language of any of the hard
working immigrants who shaped this country.  Maybe it wouldn't be Chinese
specifically, but it would have had at least as good a chance of that as
any other.  It probably *wouldn't* have been the English or French though,
since they tended to be more into the politics than actually doing.  And
that isn't to say they didn't work hard too.  There were a lot who did.
But they were the first to get a foothold into the politics of this land,
and *that* has more to do with why English and French are our official
languages than who worked the hardest.  If you are go by whose ancestors
worked the hardest, then Michael Heong probably had *more* right to call
this land his than either you or I."

Tracy turned around and looked at her captain.  As Ryan was taken away,
she added to Reese, "I know, I was way out of line to lecture him like
that, but someone had to be a voice for Mr. Heong and the rest of his
victims.  I'd like to book off if I can, Cap.  I'd like to stop and see
how Stonetree is doing.  We would have lost him to this guy, too, if Natalie
hadn't been there."

Reese looked at Tracy.  He knew she was out of line, but he also respected
the fact that she voiced what nearly everyone in the precinct was feeling.
Of course, he didn't know how she'd found out so much about Heong's
background, but he could enquire later.  "Yeah, go on."  He said.  Then he
smiled and added, "And book your partner off, too.  He'll probably also want
to go check on his previous Captain.  Enjoy tonight off.  We'll have a
meeting of the task-force tomorrow, and prepare a press-release.  You can
do the honours.  This was your baby."  He smiled.  "Now get outta here."

A few minutes later as Natalie and Tracy went out to go warm-up the caddy
and wait for Nick so they could all go and visit Stonetree, Tracy turned
to Nat.  "You heard that?  I hope he was referring to the sting...  If that
monster were my baby, I think I'd want to disown it!"

Natalie slid her set of keys in and unlocked the door.  "I know, Trace.  Me
too."

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Chapter 12:

The 27th precinct was hosting a New Years party, which Nick and Nat had
gone to, as had Tracy and Vachon.  Even Tracy's dad put in a brief
appearance, and to his surprised daughter's disbelief, didn't make a fuss
about her date.  He was even cordial, if not friendly, to Vachon.

It was a little after 1am when Nick asked Natalie if she wanted to leave.
"I think I'd rather spend the rest of the evening with you.  We can go
back home and use the hot tub, watch a few movies.  You could stay the
day..."

Vachon slid off the dance floor to join them pulling Tracy along with him.
Since the other 3 had been been being teased daily about "Nick coming out
of the closet with his partner's guy", Vachon had been annoying Nick while
making Tracy laugh by showing up to meet her at work and making cow eyes
at Knight.  "Sounds lovely, dear."  Vachon's eyes were sparkling with
mischief.

Tracy, who was a little inebriated, was giggling as she added "Shhhh....
You've bin buggin' Nick enough."  She spun around in front of Vachon, and
pulled herself tight to his neck.  "You're mine."  She turned to Nick,
still giggling.  "So can we come over and use the hot tub tooooo.  Or was
it *just* Nat?  We'll unnerstand if you guys, like, wanna be alone."

Natalie looked at Nick, and smiled.  "Well, if you want to come over for a
little while, I think that would be alright."

"Little while.  Gotcha."  Tracy worked hard to wink at Natalie, as only
a drunk or a child will. "Did you drive Nick?  We took a taxi.  Either
way, can we stop at a 7-eleven for munchies on the way?"

Captain Reese stopped them as they were leaving.  "I thought you'd want to
know we have a date for the prelim.  It'll be Jan 15, 8am."  Eyeing the
foursome and noting the young detective would be staggering if not being
steadied by her boyfriend, he added, "Be sure to tell your partner when
she'll remember, okay Knight?"

*****

Nick and Nat drove together to the courthouse for the hearing.  Tracy
would meet them there, as would both captains.  It was still dark yet and
the first glow of pre-dawn twilight wasn't stong enough yet to be
problematic.  They parked underground, however, so that Natalie could
drive home after with Nick riding in the trunk.

They arrived early enough to find out which courtroom it would be in, and
were pleased to discover that its window faced west, so Nick should be
alright unless the hearing went all day.  This hearing, however, was just
a preliminary hearing to official inform Mr. Richings of the charges
against him, and ask him to plead.  Then they would remand him
accordingly, be that held in the remand centre until the next court date
and a full trial, or sent to a psychiatric facility to assess if he be fit
to stand trial.

A few minutes after they sat down, Captain Reese entered and came to join
them.  A few other people arrived, then Tracy.  While she was still
looking to find them, Stonetree came up behind her and spoke.  As she
turned her head, she saw the others, and the two of them came over to join
them as well.

Soon the room was filled with people for this hearing as well as others to
follow it, and then the court was called to order.

The first case to be heard was Richings.  He was brought into the
courtroom and seated, and then the charges agains him were read.  They
included all of the ones in Ontario that Richings had admitted to in the
station, including two which had occured after the task force had been
established. There were 14 counts of first degree murder, 1 count of
attempted murder in the case of Captain Stonetree, and 2 counts of issuing
death threats in the cases of Captain Reese and Detective Vetter.  Finally
the judge asked Ryan to plead.

Richings stood up.  "Because of repeated attempts by this lawyer to have
me plead something that is not true, I am hereby dismissing him as my
counsel and will represent myself.  He wanted me to plead insanity, but I
am not insane.  I am simply a moral citizen who is standing up for what is
right and defending this country by cleansing it of filth.  I am proud of
my actions.  If that makes me a murderer rather than an exterminator, so
be it.  If that is the case, then I am guilty, and it shows the moral
decay in our society when an upstanding and righteous man such as I am, is
called a murderer."  Richings continued to stand as the judge continued to
look at him.  He watched smugly as Judge Dias dos Santos removed his
glasses.

Tracy held her breath.  After having talked with the prosecution, because
she didn't want those pictures seen if it could be avoided, they had
decided not to press charges of sexual assault or sexual harrassment at
this time.  If they were able to get a sufficient conviction to guarantee
that Riching's would be in for life, they never would.  If not, then they
would press these charges in a different hearing or trial and see if the
sentence would extend his time in jail.

Natalie looked over, and reached across Captain Reese to grab Tracy's
hand.  As Tracy looked at her, Natalie whispered "Breathe..."

Just then the judge put his glasses back on, and spoke.  "You seem to be a
troubled man, Mr. Richings.  I could order you to undergo a psychiatric
evaluation, but even if I did and they confirmed you to need treatment, I
do not believe you can force a person to accept treatment or respond to it
if it is something they do not want.  You show no remorse for your
actions, and I believe you to be a menace to society.  Therefore, I
sentence you to one term of life in prison for each of the fourteen
charges of first degree murder, to be served consecutively.  On the charge
of attempted murder, an aditional 10 years, again, consecutively.  On the
two charges of issuing death threats, you are sentenced to 4 years each,
concurrent to each other but consecutive to the rest of the time you'll
spend in prison."

Tracy let out a sigh, and turned to hug Captain Stonetree next to her.
"Even if he gets time off for good behavior," she whispered to him, "he'll
never see freedom again.  He'll never hurt anyone again."

***** EPILOGUE *****

Captain Reese closed his door and walked back to his desk shaking his
head in confusion.  This was -what? third or fourth time maybe that Knight
had passed up a promotion.  At least now the higher-ups had decided to
just have Reese enquire first, which saved on the paperwork.  Shaking his
head again, Joe picked up the phone and dialed the superior whom the
request had come from to pass along that Knight wasn't going to accept.

After he had finished his call, he looked at the other paperwork on his
desk, and wondered idly if Knight would be present for the civic awards
banquet when the presentation was made, and what he would think.  He
smiled as he signed his assent.  As her commanding officer, his approval
was required.

*****

Tracy closed the door of her father's office a little more forcefully than
she intended, although it was an honest reflection of her feelings.

"Tracy."  Her father saw the look on her face, and stood. "What's wrong?"

"You said you'd stay out of my life.  Out of controlling it I mean.  So
why this?  Nick didn't get one.  Just me.  Why?  It reeks of favouritism
again, Dad!"

"I don't know what you are talking about.  I've tried to stay out of your
affairs.  When your file came up at a meeting, I asked them to hold it
until the rest of the business had been attended, and then I excused
myself so that I would not be a factor in any aspect of your career.  What
did you get that your partner didn't?"

Tracy dropped a letter on her father's desk that had been signed by one of
the secretaries to her father and the other commissioners, and whom Tracy
knew well.

After reading the letter, Commissioner Vetter began to smile broadly.
"I'm so proud of you, Tracy.  I promise you, I knew nothing of this.  I
presume it was decided at the meeting that I excused myself from.  No one
told me either."  He stepped forward toward his daughter, and stood before
her a moment before pulling her into an awkward embrace.  He was startled
to realize that he could not remember the last time he had hugged his
daughter.  Not even at her graduation from high school, college or the
academy.  The last one he'd gotten from her was the occasion of her 12th
birthday, when she had hugged him after receiving her 15-speed bike, and
that had been uncomfortable and awkward then.  He let her go, with a
startled look on her face.  "Your partner likely was offered the same, but
turned it down.  I don't know for certain, and I can check if you like.
But he's done that 3 times previously.  Would you like me to find out?"

"Yes, please." ~no one else could have a commissioner check for them~ she
thought to herself.  "Actually, wait dad.  No.  If I don't want you
controlling my life, I can't ask you to check something for me that you
wouldn't do for someone else.  I'll ask Nick myself.  Or Captain Reese.  I
gotta go."  She paused by the door.  "You're sure you didn't know about
this?"

When her father shook his head, she smiled.  "Thank you!"  Tracy pulled
the door behind herself as she left, a big smile on her face.

*****

June 25th held a civic awards ceremony and banquet.  Among the many
people who were in attendance were Nick and Natalie, Tracy and Vachon, and
Captain Stonetree.  Joe Reese and his family were also present, as were
both of Tracy's parents and her brother, although they were not seated
together, of course.  Myra and Jenny Schanke had attended to see if the
rumours they had heard were true.

After the dinner, the ceremony began.  There were a number of civic
recognition awards that were being presented to various people for
different reasons.  One municipal employee who had worked in the records
department was given an award for lifetime service, since his first job
had been as a clerk in the records department when he was 15, 50 years
ago.  Other awards were for various community service accomplishments, and
Nick was trying to not appear bored.

After all the other awards were given, they finally heard "Will Detective
Vetter, Captain Stonetree and Dr. Lambert please come forward."  Nick and
Vachon each gave their own date a kiss on the cheek, and sent them up to
stand beside the Captain.

"A few months ago these people all participated in a rather unusual police
procedure.  It was unusual in that they set up one of their own as a
target for a serial killer.  Because of the dangers involved,
participation was voluntary.  This went far beyond what is expected of an
officer."  The host continued to elaborate for a few minutes on the events
of the sting in a most tactful manner.  Nick doubted anyone at the dinner
ceremony would feel ill by what information was given.

"Captain Stonetree agreed to be the bait.  Captain Stonetree, you are
being presented tonight with a service medal for heroism, awarded for
service above and beyond the call of duty.  You did not need to risk your
life, but did so in the hopes of preventing a serial killer from
continuing his spree."  He paused as Captain Stonetree stepped forward and
had a small medallion dropped over his neck before putting his hand over
the microphone and speaking quietly to Stonetree and the two ladies beside
him.  "Also, you are being given a public promotion to the rank of Deputy
Commissioner.  Congratulations, Sir!"  He firmly shook Stonetree's hand,
then moved to stand before Tracy.

"Detective Vetter was the person who came up with the incredible plan, and
held the monumental task of overseeing it's smooth operation.  She not
only did so effectively, but she was also the arresting officer of the
murderer, and was partially responsible for saving the life of Captain
Stonetree.  Detective Vetter, you are hereby presented with an award of
Valour, and are being promoted to the rank of Detective Sargeant.
Congratulations!"  Again he shook hands firmly, then smiled at Natalie.
"Please wait."  He whispered, although both Nick and Vachon heard him
clearly.

"Doctor Lambert, as a coroner, is a civilian in the employ of the police
department.  She also participated in this particular operation.  In fact,
it was a joint effort between her and Detective Vetter that resulted in
the capture of the murderer, and if she had not been present, then Captain
Stonetree would not have survived that incident to receive his award
tonight.  As a civilian, there is no official recognition that you can
receive through your employment for your participation in the capture of
this international serial killer."  He paused, and smiled again at
Natalie, before beckoning to someone at the side of the stage.

Another figure stepped forward, and stopped before Natalie.  He also
smiled, then took over speaking.  "Members of the press who are present
will already recognize me.  I will still be holding the formal press
conference tomorrow as scheduled.  However, with the release of the names
going public tomorrow, it was decided by our office to make the
announcement of one individual here tonight."  He turned to look at
Natalie, who had a rather confused expression on her face, and reached to
take her hand.  "Doctor Lambert.  For your efforts in the capture of a
serial killer who, while based in this area, has killed people in multiple
provinces and states, you are being recognized by no less than our Queen
herself.  Your name will be publicly recognized tomorrow when the list of
newest members to the Order of Canada are announced then.  At a date
later in the year, you will need to come to Ottawa where the Governor-
General, on behalf of our sovereign Queen, will officially present you
with your award and recognize you as an Officer of the Order of Canada."
He shook Natalie's hand, firmly, and helped to steady her as she looked
like she was about to pass out, as Tracy and Stonetree both reached to
help support her as well.  "Congratulations, Doctor."
________________________________
* end of chapter 12 & epilogue *
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTES: (1)  Although the police ranks used in FK are not those used by the
municipal police in Toronto, I used the real rank that is above Detective
for Tracy's promotion.  Also, since I assume that an FK Captain would most
likely be a Superintendant, with Deputy Chief above then Chief, and also
assuming that a Chief would be what FK calls a Commissioner, I figured the
promotion for Stonetree would be Deputy Commissioner.  If anyone is
interested, I have the information as to the actual ranks used by the
police in Toronto, as told me by Constable W. (Bill) Brown of the Edmonton
Police after checking with someone in Toronto..  He has given me much
valuable information regarding Canadian police for another writing project
of mine.  (2)  The Order of Canada is the Canadian equivalent of being
knighted in Britain.  Being knighted is not recognized in Canada, however,
and anyone who is is not legally recognized by Canadian Law as such.
Instead of being Sir or Dame whomever like the Order of Britain, the Order
of Canada bestows letters behind your name that correspond to the ranks of
the Order of Canada.
  * C.C. is a Companion to the Order of Canada, and recognizes national
    pre-eminance or international service or achievment.
  * O.C. is an Officer of the Order of Canada, and recognizes national
    service or achievment.
  * C.M. is a Member of the Order of Canada, and recognizes outstanding
    contributions at the local/regional level or in a specialized field.
Depending on how you look at it, Natalie might have been eligible for any
of these.

THANK YOU for reading this story.  I hope it was enjoyed!