Copyright February 1997 by Deborah Matthews on all original characters and and story line. This story is not intended to infringe on copyrights held by Alliance, CBS or CTV or any other copyright holders for Due South. Please do not reproduce for anything other than personal reading use without the written consent of the author. Comments and discussion welcome at bredfern@garfield.cs.mun.ca

****************************

PART ONE

Despite the chill that hung in the air, it was a beautiful fall day in Chicago. The leaves in shades of amber and crimson still clung to the trees and bushes and the late afternoon sunlight gave everything a golden glow. The green Riviera made it's way down the avenue and pulled into the crowded parking lot, circled once, and then parked in the reserved loading zone space. Ray Vecchio got out of his car and turned the collar of his overcoat up against the sudden breeze and walked around to the passenger side of the car and opened the door.

"Frannie, I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Ray said to his sister as they walked across the parking lot.

"Quit whining Ray, a deal is a deal. Anyway, you'll probably like a lot of this stuff - it's supposed to be sexy. Maybe you'll find something to keep you company." she said as they walked through the door of the dimly lit art gallery. Francesca had dragged her brother to a gallery opening of a sculptor whose work was somewhat controversial. Getting her brother to go with her was, well, something of a miracle. Usually, he wasn't so keen on paying up when he lost bets.

Once inside the building, brother and sister parted company. The gallery was divided into two rooms, the first of which was a reception area which was crowded with swanky-dressed people holding cocktail glasses. Frannie headed directly for the middle of the crowd, picking up a glass of wine along the way. The second room, rather dimly lit and relatively quiet, contained the actual exhibits. Ray's plan was to keep as low a profile as possible, so he headed into the exhibit room and took a quick look around. The lighting in the room was intended to disguise the cracked plaster and industrial lighting - which was turned off. The room appeared to be lit solely by strategically placed floodlights, which gave the area a mysterious atmosphere. There were pedestals scattered about, each one topped with a sculpture and lit by a single beam of light from above. In the centre of the room a larger sculpture rested on the floor. He waited until the group looking at it moved and then walked over to it. At first glance it appeared to be an abstract mass of curves and valleys but soon forms began to emerge from the confusion. Ray blinked hard and looked again. There it was again! Male and female torsos, arms and legs, entwined about one another in impossible positions. Ray looked at the inscription on the post in front of him. It read "Where Do I Leave Off and You Begin? He whistled softly and shook his head, then turned and looked at the smaller pieces along the walls. They were classically rendered female nudes. He picked one up and studied it. They were innocent enough - actually more of a suggestion of the female form than anything - but there something about them that made Ray uncomfortable. He realized it was the expression on their faces. The face was worked in astonishing detail for the size of the piece. The tiny statue he had cradled in his palm appeared to be looking right at him with a sort of disapproving look on her face, almost as if she knew exactly what was going on and didn't like it one little bit. He carefully set her back down on the pedestal.

"Oh boy," said Ray who was straightening his tie and glancing around to see if anyone was watching him and, worse still, hearing him talk to himself. "I'd love to hear what Fraser would say about this. Who is this woman who makes this stuff?" He picked up a small card next to one of the sculptures and read 'Fine sculpture by Shawn Parker'. Ray walked into another dimly lit section of the gallery and glanced briefly at a section of sculptures in the same style as the larger piece - male and female bodies intertwined in ways that took a good deal of imagination to decipher. Around another corner a group of male nudes caught his eye. Ray was rather anxious to see the expression on the faces of the male sculptures. They were decidedly different from the female nudes, however. Instead of the realism that marked the female series, the male nudes were almost caricatures. Ray picked up a sculpture for a closer look. Yes, that's what he thought it was, a man with no, ah, equipment. He groaned and talking first to himself and then to the woman who had walked up behind him. "Oh man, can you believe this stuff? Is this weird or what?"

A small red headed woman stood behind him. She smiled said "I agree, it is weird. What kind of artistic statement do you think it makes?" She took the sculpture from Ray and turned it over and over in her hands.

Ray looked at her, really looked at her. Decided his initial impression of red hair was wrong - actually it was brown with red highlights, chin length, slightly curly and at the moment tucked behind her ears. Smoky green eyes. Small features, a young looking face although crinkle lines around her eyes told a different story. Ray casually let his gaze travel downwards. She was a small woman, barely reaching his shoulders. But not oriental small - she very definitely had curves. The short, scarlet coloured dress of some slinky sort of material skimmed the contours of breast, waist, hip - then flared out to the kind of skirt that had to be held down in the wind. Shimmery flesh-toned stockings on shapely legs. He casually glanced at her hands. No rings, just a single silver, carved bracelet. Ray's eyes met hers again and he knew he'd been caught. She was slightly smiling and blushing, but did not look away. Ray decided he definitely liked what he saw and settled in to chat her up. He casually leaned his palm against the wall over her shoulder. "I have no idea. Although I'm not a good person to ask. I'm not exactly well-versed on the subject of art."

"You don't have to know about art to have an opinion." she said pretending not to notice his rather obvious come-on.

"Take the example of music. People aren't shy about saying what they think about a piece of music - they don't try to intellectualize it, they just feel it. Try thinking about visual art in the same way - just feel it, don't think it."

"I'm guessing that you would be an artist?" Ray said trying to turn the conversation in a different direction.

"Come on, give it a try." she said smiling encouragingly. "Just say the first thing that you thought of when you picked this up."

Ray felt slightly panicked. This was another one of those tests women put men through nowadays. He sighed, then shrugged his shoulders. "Okay - don't laugh. The first thing I thought of was hostility transference therapy."

She stared at the floor, slowly nodded her head and waited for him to continue.

"Well, say something went wrong - a relationship went wrong. Say some guy really screwed up and she's still mad, not only at him, but the whole male gender. So to get back at him, she ah...emasculates all men. Hostility transference therapy." Ray looked down at her, waiting for her reaction.

"That's a very interesting theory." she looked up at Ray, her face serious. She was about to add something when she was distracted by a guy in a black turtleneck and gold studs in each earlobe who had been frantically waving his hand in the air to get her attention.

Ray saw an unpleasant look cross her face. She excused herself and ducking under Ray's arm, she quickly crossed the floor towards the guy. At the same time the turtleneck moved towards her and holding his arms wide open embraced her with a kiss on each cheek and loudly said, "Shawn, it's been ages. Brilliant show, simply brilliant. I don't know how you do it, darling."

Ray's jawed dropped open for a moment and like an embarrassed cat he suddenly busied himself with brushing some imaginary dust from his jacket. He scanned the room for Francesca, hoping for a quick retreat. She was nowhere to be seen - typical. Frannie was never where he wanted her to be.

A few moments passed while the 'turtleneck' pawed at her and then finally went off to find another victim. She stood alone in the centre of the room, her back to Ray. Slowly she turned around and put both hands over her face to cover it. Finally she walked over to him.

"If this floor suddenly just opened up in front of me, I'd jump right in. I'm really sorry. Look why don't we just forget what just happened and start again. I'm Shawn Parker." She held out her hand.

He really wanted to be angry but found he couldn't. She was blushing in a rather attractive way. But he wouldn't let her off that easy. He put on his best poker face.

"Oh don't I feel like a complete ass. How long were you going to play that little game or were you planning to see just how far I could stick my foot in my mouth?"

Ray let her suffer for a few seconds, then pretended to grudgingly shake her hand. "Ray Vecchio. Brilliant show you've got here Miss Parker, simply brilliant. I don't know how you do it." he said in a dry parody of the turtleneck guy.

Shawn sniffled a laugh, "Why thank you, how kind of you to say. I really was interested in your opinion of my work. Would you have said anything if I'd told you who I was? No, I didn't think so." she sighed at the expression on Ray's face. "I can never get a straight answer from men."

"We're not all bad you know. You should let me take you out sometime and I'll prove it." Ray said. At the look on her face, he instantly regretted his words..

"I'm sorry, I don't 'go out' - I have to work." she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"You work all the time do you?. What, you don't eat?" he wasn't sure why he was pressing her. It was possible that it had something to do with the fact that he hadn't met anyone in a long time, while women were constantly falling all over Fraser.

She smiled. "I eat while I work..... Look Mr. Vecchio..."

"Ray."

"Ray. Let me be frank. My father gave me a piece of advice a long time ago - all men are wolves. It is a little dramatic maybe, but it's good advice. I don't play with wolves. End of story."

Ray raised his eyebrows. "All men are wolves, eh? Well your father is a smart man, but I'm not a wolf - I promise. I swear to God, I'm not a wolf." he was smiling now.

Shawn looked at him. There was mischief in his eyes.

"Come on, you pick the place, anywhere you feel comfortable."

She hesitated a moment. There was something about him......

Finally she sighed and then said "Do you run?"

"You mean like jogging?" She nodded her head.

"Sure, well sometimes, anyway."

"Okay, how about Saturday at 7:30, north entrance of Grant Park."

"You're serious, aren't' you?" she smiled and nodded her head again. Ray continued "You don't trust me enough to eat dinner with me, but you'll go running with me. That's a strange sort of logic if you ask me."

"Perhaps," she said "but I bet I can run faster than you can." Ray laughed.

"Wanna bet?"

"Definitely. Men like you with long legs are great at sprinting. But I'm really good at endurance running and in the end, I'll beat you. I guarantee it."

"You're pretty sure of yourself. Well that's a challenge I just can't pass up." Ray said.

***************

Fraser woke up to the sound of pounding on his apartment door. He bolted upright in bed with a disoriented look on his face and finally recognized the voice coming from the other side of the closed door.

"Fraser, it's Ray. Open up." Fraser leapt out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans.

"It's not locked Ray." he said opening the door. Ray gave him a 'I can't believe you look' and started in on his usual lecture, then broke off in mid sentence.

"Wait, I don't have time this morning. I've got a favour to ask. What? What are you looking at?"

"Ray, is that a jogging suit you're wearing?"

"Yes"

"Why?"

"I'm going jogging."

"But you don't run, Ray."

"Today I'm running. That's what I need the favour for. I need to borrow Dief."

"You need to borrow Diefenbaker."

"Do you have to repeat everything I say? Yes, I'm going running with this girl I met and I want to take Dief with me. Is that okay with you?"

"A girl! Ah, understood. He's all yours Ray." Ben said seriously.

"Thank you! Come on Dief!" he made a hand gesture to the deaf wolf.

"Oh, Ray, there's just one thing - his pads get sore when he runs on concrete. Maybe you could make sure he runs on the grass?" Ray rolled his eyes to the ceiling and shaking his head, closed the door.

**********

He pulled up next to a black car in the parking lot of the park. Shawn was already there, doing warm up stretches against a park bench. A backpack sat on the bench. Ray parked and telling Dief to stay, got out.

"You're here on time. Good. Have you stretched yet?"

"Yes" Ray lied, wondering what happened to hello and good morning. "I brought a friend. You should probably come and meet him before I let him out."

"You brought a friend?" she looked where Ray was pointing. In the back seat of Ray's car a pathetic white face stared out.

"Oh my goodness." she said walking slowly over to the car.

"Are you okay with this? You're not allergic or anything are you?

"No. Yeah it's okay. I think. Is he friendly?"

"Oh yeah" Ray opened the door and Dief jumped out happily and pressed his nose into Shawn's outstretched hand.

"Shawn, meet Diefenbaker. He's a wolf." he said, grinning broadly.

"Hi, Diefenbaker. Are you going to run with us? Hey? Good boy." she said scratching Dief behind the ears. Then she stopped and looked at Ray.

"Did I just hear you say wolf?"

"Yes."

"How do you have a wolf in Chicago?"

"He's got a special wolf license. I can show it to you if you want. See, THIS is a wolf - I'm not a wolf." he said slapping his chest with his palm.

"Are you having fun now, Mr. Vecchio?" she said laughing.

"Uhuh. Are you ready to run?" She stowed her backpack in Ray's car.

The three of them set off through the park, Dief running ahead, then stopping and running back, weaving between Ray and Shawn, then running on ahead again. They ran for about twenty minutes and Shawn finally stopped at some old iron gates. She leaned against the concrete pillar and bent over to catch her breath.

"What was that you said about endurance?" Ray said as he ran passed her.

"You're better than I thought you'd be" she said catching up to him "But it's not over yet,"

"In my line of work, I have to keep in shape."

"Oh? And what kind of work would that be?"

"I'm a detective with the Chicago PD."

"Oh!" Shawn's face suddenly became serious.

"What do you mean, oh?" Ray said with a laugh.

"Nothing. Do you like it?"

"Ah yeah! Is anything wrong?" he said, noting the sudden change in Shawn's face.

"No. Let's go up here." They pushed open the gate and walked up a maple-lined driveway. The driveway had once been paved, now the grass and weeds had reclaimed most of it. At the top of the hill stood the foundation of what must have been at one time, a very grand house. Shawn stood on the flagstone that marked the spot where the front door would have been and turned and looked out over the view of the park and the lake beyond. She looked at Ray with a wrinkled brow as if she was considering something.

"It's beautiful up here. I wonder why nobody has ever rebuilt." Ray said.

Shawn shook her head slowly.

"I can dimly remember this house. It was something to see. I can't remember who owned it right now." he continued.

Shawn suddenly turned away and began running down the hill again and shouted 'come on you two' over her shoulder. She didn't stop running again until she was back at the car.

When Ray finally caught up to her, she was leaning against the door of his car. "I told you I'd win in the end" she said, noting his breathlessness.

"No fair, you got a head start." he said. He opened the car and took a couple of bottles of water out and handed one to Shawn and poured some water into a dish for Diefenbaker.

"How'd you do that? You're not even out of breath!" He said taking a sip from the bottle. They leaned against the car drinking spring water and enjoying the warmth of the late fall sun. Ray turned to look at her. Her eyes were closed and her hair framed her face in damp curls. The sun reflecting on her skin made her look radiant. Ray found himself thinking thoughts he knew she would not welcome. He cleared his throat.

"What comes next?"

"Hmmm?' Shawn opened her eyes sleepily and noted that Ray was a little too close and was looking at her intensely. She opened car door and pulled out her backpack and got a thick wool sweater for herself and a rubber ball which she tossed for Diefenbaker. Diefenbaker obliged by running after it like a puppy.

"What was it you were saying? she said.

For a second before she pulled away, their eyes had met. Ray knew he hadn't been wrong about what he'd seen in her eyes before her guard went up. He's have to play it very cool if he wanted to get to know this girl better.

"I said, so where do we go from here? Do you want to do this again, or maybe do, I don't know, do you want to have dinner sometime or something?" Dief came running back with the ball in his mouth and dropped it in front of them and waited. Ray picked it up and threw it again. Dief yawned and looked at him.

Shawn laughed and sprinted after the ball and immediately Dief jumped up and ran after her. Ray followed along lazily. She was talking to an old man on a park bench when he found her. She waved him over.

"Ray, come and meet my friend."

The man was elderly, that much was certain. His face was deeply lined and his hair was snow white. His eyes however, were astonishingly young looking - clear blue and unwavering. He was wearing a charcoal-coloured thick Donegal wool cardigan and a peak cap.

"Angus this is Ray Vecchio. Ray, Angus MacPherson."

Ray shook the man's hand. His grip was strong. Ray noticed with a small shock that the old man wore a silver bracelet around his wrist.

"You'd better watch yourself there laddie - our Shawn here is a wee fey lass. Before you know it you'll be fallin' under her spell."

"Angus, you are terrible!" she kissed him on the cheek and gave him a hug. He tweaked her chin and told her to stay out of trouble.

Shawn ignored the quizzical look Ray gave her and threw the ball back towards the parking lot for Diefenbaker, who ran off after it with his tongue hanging out.

"And old friend I take it?" Ray said.

"Yes a very dear, old friend." she said. They arrived back at the car. Shawn waved at two grey hair ladies who just driven into the parking lot. Shawn explained she was having a picnic lunch with them.

"You have a lot of friends here in the park, don't you?" Ray asked.

"Yes," she said. "it's a special place."

"You didn't answer me before. What now?" Ray repeated his earlier question.

"Yes, I'd like to see you again Ray. You did, after all, survive the Angus test. Why don't you give me your number and I'll call you." As Ray put his business card in her small hand, he smiled to himself. For the first time in a long while, his heart was light.

************

Constable Benton Frazer eased himself into the car after a long day of sentry duty at the Canadian Consulate in Chicago. "Thank you picking up me up, Ray. How has your day been?"

"Lousy. I had a ton of paperwork to finish up. Welsh has been on my back all day. It took twice as long as usual, and you know how long that is, I just can't seem to concentrate. I don't know what I'm gonna do."

"Well, Ray, in my experience the longer one avoids an area of obsession, the more of an obsession it becomes, until gradually it fills up your entire life. Did I ever tell you about my third cousin Charlie and his *little problem*, as the family referred to it, with his chickens?"

"Chickens?"

"Yes, you see it seems that Charlie was trying to breed a chicken with fluffy feathers to keep them warm but along with the fluffy feathers came an extreme lack of intelligence. So he was trying to cross a smart chicken with a fluffy chicken and......"

"Whoa. What a minute. Back up. What do you mean obsessed? Where do you get this obsessed?"

"It's perfectly obvious Ray. This girl you met. You can't stop thinking about her. In short, you are, albeit temporarily, obsessed with the thought of this young women who, to this point, is unavailable to you. I do believe you suffering from a bad case of "in love."

"Yeah? Well smarty pants...." Ray began then stopped. "I am not in love with her."

"Smarty pants Ray? I'm not sure I'm familiar with that expression. Is that a local expression?"

"Benny - give it up. I'm tired."

"Why don't you call her Ray."

"I can't. She said she'd call me. She's very wary of men. I can't call her."

"Ah."

"Ray?"

"Yeah Benny?"

"If it's any consolation, you have my sympathy."

"Thanks." Ray said softly.

After a long moment, Ray spoke again.

"Benny do you know what 'a wee fay lass' is?" Benton thought for a moment.

"I think you mean fey Ray. F *e* y. Fey. It has several meanings. What was the context?"

Ray told him about meeting Angus in the park.

"Those were his words? Fall under her spell? In that sense, it would seem to me that 'fey' alludes to some sort of other worldly powers."

"You mean like a witch?"

"No, not like a witch." Benton wrinkled his forehead and thought for a moment. "More like a fairy. Capricious." As an afterthought, he added 'guided by whim' as an explanation.

"I know what capricious means Benny." Ray said irritably.

Fraser gave Ray a long, drawn look and reached over to squeeze his friend's shoulder.

**********

Someone is in the studio! Shawn felt a hot prickly sensation run though her body as she stood stock still in the room, trying to figure out the direction the sound had come from. She stood frozen, trying to get her brain to work, trying to calculate how long it would take her to cross the floor to the doorway or to find a safe place to hide. Her eyes focused on the pen knife on the bench in front of her. It wouldn't hurt to have something to defend herself with, she thought. She picked up the knife and began slowly to inch herself across the room towards the door. Suddenly a crash behind her! She wheeled around and saw a black shape looming over her. She jumped out of the way, but the shape lunged after her and grabbed her shoulders and started pulling her towards the door. Shawn screamed and began stabbing at the enormous hands with the pen knife. The tiny knife finally connected and there was a muffled curse, and the hands suddenly let her go, but only for a moment. Before Shawn could get free she was grabbed again firmly and suddenly felt herself being flung violently across the room. She slammed against the wooden shelf where the plaster molds were kept. The shelf was jarred by the force of her body and from the corner of her eye, she could see the square white shape of the heavy plaster mold coming at her. The arm she put over her head did little to protect her from the blow. She immediately lost consciousness.

Shawn woke with the taste of blood in her mouth. She tried to sit up but first the pain and then the nausea convinced her that up was not the direction to be in right now. She opened her eyes, and then realized that they were already open. She looked around with panic until she saw the familiar outline of the digital display on her telephone and remembered that the lights were out. She lay there in the dark, trying to piece together what had happened. When she remembered the dark shape, her heart began pounding and she listened hard for more sounds from the darkness. The only sound she could hear was her own heart thudding. She could feel the blood now, as well as taste it. Shawn reached into her pocket for a tissue, finding not only a tissue but a card. Shakily she pulled it out and looked at it as if she could read it. Obviously, it wasn't HIS card, but it reminded her and that was enough. Slowly feeling her way across the room, she finally found the telephone and pulled in off the bench. Then using the light from the handset, she dialled the number to Ray Vecchio's cell phone. It answered after three rings.

"Vecchio."

"Ray, it's Shawn......." her voice broke as she struggled to find a way to explain what had happened.

"Shawn? What's wrong." Ray immediately pulled over to the curb and put the Riviera in park. The car behind him swerved around him with the horn blaring and the driving yelling 'you idiot'.

"Ray, what is it?" Fraser asked with concern. Ray held his hand up and listened for a moment.

"Okay, Shawn. I'm on my way. Just stay put. We'll be there in five minutes. I want you to talk to my friend, okay?" he passed the phone over to Fraser saying just talk to her as he squealed away from the curb and tore down the street. Fraser covered the mouthpiece with his hand for a moment.

"Ray is this that girl?" Ray nodded.

Fraser took the phone and gingerly said "Ms. Parker - Shawn. Are you still there?"

"yes"

"Good, I'm a friend of Ray's. We are on our way to you now." He held the phone away and winced as Ray turned right through an intersection without indicating or so much as slowing down.

"I'm Constable Benton Fraser of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Can you hear me?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, I have to go." The line went dead.

"Ray, she's gone." At the look on Ray's face he quickly corrected himself. "She hung up the phone. How much longer?"

"Almost there. She's in one of those warehouses at the dockyard."

As they pulled up on front of the building, Ray filled Fraser in. They decided that Fraser would check to see if the intruder was still in the vicinity while Ray went to find Shawn.

Ray opened the door and stepped into the darkened room. Cautiously, he searched the room for both the intruder and Shawn. He could find no evidence of either until he heard a soft groan from somewhere in the darkness. He searched for the light switches and the warehouse hummed back to life as the florescent lights flickered on. She was on the floor next to the desk the telephone still clutched in her hand. He took the receiver from her hand and hung up the phone.

There was a nasty gash on her forehead that was bleeding badly, and her lip was cut. He pressed a handkerchief to her forehead and her eyes opened.

"You came." she said after a moment. "My head hurts. Ray? Thank you for coming."

"Shh, don't try to talk. We're gonna take you to the hospital, you've got a nasty bump on your head."

"No. No hospital."

"You don't have a choice. Be quiet."

"No, Ray." Shawn struggled to sit up and Ray pushed her back on the floor again.

"Just lay still and be quiet." He needn't have said it because the effort of trying to sit up made Shawn pass out again. Ray looked around and yelled to Fraser.

Fraser came running in the room, out of breath. "No sign of anyone, Ray." He stopped when he saw Ray bent over the girl and pressing a now blood-soaked handkerchief to her forehead.

"Oh dear." he said and kneeling on the floor. He picked up her hand and felt for her pulse. "Her pulse is steady, but she's rather cold. Do you still that blanket in your car?" Ray shook his head.

"Your wolf got it full of hair." Ray laid his hand on Shawn's shoulders and her eyes opened again.

Shawn lay silently looking from one man to another. She was cold. Ray's hand on her shoulder was warm and soothing. It felt good. He was a nice man. Beautiful eyes. She looked over at Fraser and frowned. Why was he dressed in that red coat and hat? Why was he holding her hand, and why was he so handsome and gentle. More beautiful eyes. A girl could get lost there. The room began to swim around her again and slowly faded to black.

"She's fainted. Ray, she might have a concussion. We'd better get her to the hospital."

"Yeah and let's go now before she wakes up." After a brief, terse negotiation, it was decided that Fraser would carry her while Ray drove. They found Shawn's first aid kit and put gauze over the wound on her forehead. Although neither of them would admit it, Ray was rather concerned about his car, and Fraser was worried about his uniform.

**********

"What did I tell you, no hospital I said. And where do I wake up?" Shawn glared at Ray as he came in her hospital room.

"You know what? I don't know why I like you. You never say hello to me. What was I supposed to do?" Ray said with a heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry. I know you had to."

"How do you feel?"

"Oh just peachy keen! I don't remember how I got this." she said, pointing to her lip.

Her forehead had a square bandage on it.

"So you remember everything? Did you get a look at the guy who did this?"

"No, it was too dark. The lights were out. I heard a crash and then I saw this shape." she stopped and considered for a moment. "He was a large man - very strong. He just grabbed me and threw me across the room like I was a rag doll."

"There was no signs of a break in. Any ideas on how he got in there?"

Shawn pressed her lips together and looked away.

"Let me guess, the door was unlocked." She looked at him with wide eyes.

"How'd you know that?"

"Never mind. How can you go around calling men wolves and leave your door unlocked?"

"Are you going to hold that wolf business against me forever? I only stepped out for a few minutes. He must have been watching."

"You seem very calm about all this. Has this ever happened before?"

"It's probably just shock. I'll panic later."

"You didn't answer my question."

A long pause.

"Sort of."

"Sort of? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's a long story. Look, I didn't call you last night as a cop. I called you as a friend. Can you deal with that? If you can deal with that, I'd like you to stop asking questions."

"Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"You could say that. It's just that I need somebody to trust right now. Can you do that?" Ray wanted very much to say yes, but there was a picture of Fraser and Victoria Metcalfe in his head.

"Shawn, in all honesty I can't say yes, but I won't say no. But you can trust me to tell you the truth."

"Maybe that will be enough. I'm so tired." she said.

"You should get some sleep. Do you want me to go?" Ray said in a soft voice.

She shook her head. "Can you stay for awhile? I don't really want to be alone."

She seemed very sad, so Ray sat on the edge of the bed, pulled the blanket over her shoulders and waited for her to fall asleep.

***********

"Ah, good. You are awake I see. Dr. Farcus wants to give you one last check but says you can go home. Lucky there was no concussion." Constable Benton Fraser, standing at the foot of her bed still in full dress uniform, said cheerfully.

Shawn looked around in confusion.

"Do you remember what happened to you?" he said in a slightly less cheerful tone.

"Yes. But I thought you were a hallucination. You nearly frightened me to death."

"Yes, well, please accept my apology for frightening you. It is true that you fainted when you saw me, but you had lost quite a lot of blood and your pulse was rather weak. I assure you that it was not my intention to frighten you."

"You are with the Canadian Consulate, I presume?"

"That is correct." Fraser smiled, relieved that he was not going to be asked to explain himself yet again.

"Thank you for helping me, Constable. I'm Shawn Parker." she held out her hand.

"Please, call me Ben. I think I should tell you that I had to go through your handbag for identification when we brought you here. You carry two sets of identification." he said matter-of-factly.

"That's unfortunate, but understandable. I would have liked to have seen the reaction of the admitting staff. I notice I'm in a private room - they obviously didn't spend much time checking my insurance policy. So what did you do when you found out?"

"By some coincidence I have recently been doing some research on arsonists and came across a newspaper clipping about your family home. The address on your hospital file was the same, so I knew you were the same person. I'm very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you. It was a long time ago. And you can see from my fat file I've paid my dues."

"I assume that is why you didn't want us to bring you to the hospital. Given the circumstances, would I be correct in assuming you are in some kind of trouble?"

"Yeah, you could say that. Um, does Ray know about this?"

"No. I wanted to speak to you privately first. You should tell him yourself."

"I almost did. I asked him last night if he would treat me as a friend and not a cop. He told me he couldn't do it - so I didn't tell him anything."

"So the trouble you are in has legal implications?"

"I ... yes ... it's rather complicated. Personally, I have done nothing but I have become involved against my will in some suspicious dealings. I tried to stay out of it but I don't think I have a choice anymore. I need someone I can trust to help me figure out what I should do next".

Fraser gave her a searching look, then put in hand firmly on her shoulder.

"I'll do whatever I can to help you. You can trust me. And as for Ray, I'll see what I can do to convince him to help you - under one condition."

"What's that?" Shawn said, knowing the answer. She settled in to tell Fraser the story of her life. When she was finished Fraser squeezed her shoulder. . "You have to tell Ray the truth too. Everything. Ah. I see we have company."

He moved away from the bed to allow the nurse to tend to Shawn. The woman looked like she hadn't smiled in years. Her grey streaked hair was pulled back into a tight little bun. She stuck a thermometer in her Shawn's mouth and strapped a blood pressure cuff on her arm. After recording the numbers on Shawn's chart, she went to the window and threw open the curtains, flooding the room with sunlight, and giving Fraser a disapproving look as she passed him.

"Good morning. So you are back with us again, Miss Parkhurst. You gave us quite a scare last night." The nurse glanced at Fraser which he returned by raising his eyebrows.

"Dr. Farcus is coming shortly to have a talk with you. Do you want help in straightening up before he gets here?" Fraser discretely turned to look out the window while the nurse helped Shawn out of bed and into the washroom. The window faced the parking lot and Fraser noted a familiar green Riviera illegally parked near a fire hydrant. Fraser shook his head.

At that moment Ray came in the dreary hospital room carrying a brown paper bag.

"Hey Fraser. How's it goin'? Where is she?" he said nodding his head towards the empty bed.

"Good morning Ray. She's in the, ah..." he said nodding his head towards the washroom.

Ray nodded his head. "Maybe I should give her this." He knocked on the door. The nurse poked her head out. Ray flinched a little at the expression on the woman's face.

"I brought some clothes for Shawn. Tell her they are from my sister - I take no responsibility for whatever is in there." He passed the bag to the nurse. The door closed and after a moment opened again. Shawn stuck her head out and smiled.

"Hello! You've got impeccable timing; I've been just trying to wash dried blood off my dress. Thank you. I must have been a pretty sorry sight last night."

"Yeah, well don't thank me yet!" Ray said with a smile.

Shawn closed the door and pulled a demure black velour sweatshirt and matching pants out of the bag. When she came out of the bathroom, both Ray and Fraser were looking at her. They exchanged a quick look.

"What? I must look pathetic." Shawn said running her hard over the bandage on her forehead.

"Yes, you look very pathetic." Ray said. "How do you feel?"

"Okay." she picked up her medical chart from the holder on the wall and read through it. "But when these drugs wear off, I think I'm not going to be a happy camper."

Dr. Farcus came into the room and took the file from Shawn. "I see you haven't changed Shawn. Don't worry, we'll give you something when you go." He looked at Fraser and Ray and then at Shawn with a questioning look. Immediately they stepped forward to introduce themselves. Farcus was in his late 50's, with a full head of grey hair. He sported a handlebar moustache which he habitually twirled between his thumb and index finger.

"They are personal friends, Sam, they are not here professionally."

"Ah so it's still Sam. When are you going to start calling me Dr. Farcus?" The man smiled and opened Shawn's chart to the last entry. "This report says you were attacked last night?" Ray cleared his throat.

"We responded to the call and brought Shawn to the hospital but since we were off duty at the time, we just here as friends." Fraser frowned in the corner and started to speak when Ray shot him a look. Fraser closed his mouth and nodded. Ray said "Look, why don't we just wait outside." The two men left the room and went to wait in the hall. After awhile, Dr. Farcus came out the room and closed the door behind him walked over the Ray and Fraser.

"Okay, I'm releasing her to your care," he said looking from Fraser to Ray, "Try to make sure she's not alone too much in the next few days. We don't want any repeat incidents."

"Understood Dr. Farcus. You have our assurances that Shawn will be well cared for." Fraser said.

After he'd left, Ray said "What the hell was all that about? You know something I don't know Benny?"

The door opened and Shawn joined them in the hall way. She looked behind her and whispered, "I'm out of here. Let's go before Nurse Kratchet comes and makes me ride in a wheelchair. Can you take me home, gentlemen?"

**********

The Riviera pulled up in front of a small white house Shawn rented with another artist. There was a postage stamp garden in the front and a small but serviceable verandah hung with flower baskets that stubbornly held on to the last blooms of the season. She had the ground floor and he lived on the second story. The upstairs flat was, at the moment unoccupied; the artist had procured an arts council grant and was off studying in Germany. Fraser jumped out of the car and opened the back door for Shawn. The three of them walked up the steps and waited while Shawn searched for her keys. She was about to put the key in the lock when Fraser reached for her hand and quietly said wait.

"Shawn was that window broken when you left?" She leaned out over the verandah rail to look where Fraser was pointing. Her kitchen curtains were blowing out through the broken glass.

"No." They all looked at one another, then Fraser carefully put the key in the lock and quietly opened the door. Ray stepped into the hallway cautiously and peer around the corner into the living room, then motioned for Fraser to check the upstairs flat. They told Shawn to wait while they made sure the intruder was no longer in the house. Fraser returned after a moment and told her no one was upstairs and handed Shawn back her keys.

They went the apartment room by room, taking note of the damage. Everything was pulled off the bookshelves; books were scattered everywhere. Broken shards of pottery, damp soil and mangled plants lay on top of the books. Shawn kneeled on the floor and began sorting through them, shaking the soil off carefully. Ray and Fraser glanced at her. Outwardly she was composed but her face was so pale that freckles which were normally barely visible stood out plainly. Glancing into the kitchen she saw dishes had been pulled from the kitchen cupboards and smashed.

Suddenly she gave a little cry and jumped up and rushed down the hall into the studio. She stopped at the doorway to the room and put her hands over her face. Ray came up behind her and puts his hands on her shoulders and peered into the room. He understood why she hadn't gone into the room. It was impossible. The filing cabinet had been overturned in the middle of the floor and file folders and papers were scattered everywhere. Tubes of paint had opened and splattered and squeezed over the paper and walls. The wooden easel was smashed and the aluminum travel easel was bent almost out of recognition. Worst of all, stacks of finished paintings were either smeared with paint or slashed with a knife. Ray glanced at Shawn as saw that she was trembling. He leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Are you okay?" She nodded yes but didn't look at him.

Fraser poked his head out from the doorway of the room next door and raised his eyebrows when he saw Ray. Ray slowly shook his head and Benton nodded then jerked his head towards the room he was in and disappeared.

As concentrated as Shawn was on not losing control of her emotions, she did not miss the private conversation between the two men. The sick feeling in her stomach was beginning to pass so she took a deep breath, uncovered her eyes and looked up at Ray.

"Fraser found something?" she asked.

Fraser was standing before a large old fashioned oak dressing table with a oval mirror in Shawn's bedroom. He turned around and pointed towards the bed. The room had not been disturbed except that a single book had been placed on the middle of the neatly made bed. The book was open. Shawn stared at the book with a look of dread on her face almost as if it were a body. The book was open to a particular page, a page with a particular photograph. Someone had circled the photograph with red ink and had scrawled the words "I think it's time you gave us this" under it.

Ray leaned over the bed to get a clear look at the photograph. He stared at it for a long time, then finally, slowly he straightened up again. He looked at Shawn and raised his eyebrows. "Shawn? Does this mean what I think it means?"

Shawn awkwardly crossed her arms across her chest, bit her lip and looked out the window.

"Oh great! How the hell did you get involved in something like this! Wait, don't tell me." Ray said.

"Shawn I think this would be a good time to tell Ray the truth." Fraser said.

"The truth? I knew it! I knew you knew something I didn't know." Ray said. Shawn sighed.

"Yes, I have the painting. But I didn't steal it - I inherited it. About a month after I received it I found out it had been stolen from a private collector. I didn't know what to do - so I hid it."

"Who did you inherit it from?" Ray said.

"My father." Shawn glanced at the two men, shrugged her shoulders and frowned. She picked up a picture frame on the dressing table and turned it around to show it to Fraser and Ray. She turned the picture around again and stared at it for a long moment then carefully returned it to the dresser.

"I need a cold drink. I'll be back in a second." Shawn said with a little smile.

After she left the room Ray picked up the picture frame again.

"I've seen this guy before. I can't remember where. Look at that nose. She doesn't have it, though. Must have her mother's nose. He must have been a wealthy man to buy paintings like that. You know who he is, don't you Benny?"

"Yes Ray."

"So you gonna enlighten me here?"

"I think she should tell you herself."

"What's the big mystery? This is really driving me nuts. Benny? What are you doing?" Fraser was standing at the doorway with his head cocked to one side.

"I'm listening, Ray."

"To what?"

"Nothing."

They looked at one another and hurried out of the room. The kitchen was empty and the front door was wide open. Ray shot through the door and ran down the stairs, looking up and down the street. There was no sign of her. Fraser joined him in the street.

"She's not inside." Fraser said. Ray nodded.

"She ran Fraser. That doctor told us to watch over her. You'd better tell me everything you know. C'mon she can't have gone far."

"Understood. Hold on for just a moment." Fraser ran back inside and returned in a moment with a wallet. The two men started off down the street.

********** "So when did you find all this out?" Ray asked.

"It was at the hospital. I found two sets of identification in her wallet." He slipped the two plastic cards from the wallet and gave them to Ray. One card said Shawn Parker. The other said Chanil Parkhurst. The photograph was of the same person. Ray looked at Fraser quizzically.

"Chanil Parkhurt - I know that name. That's how you pronounce it, right? Like the perfume?"

"Yes."

He looked at the cards again and was silent for a few moments.

"Parkhurst." Ray stopped suddenly with a 'click' expression on his face.

"That house near the park where we ran that day Charles Parkhurst's house. Shawn is his daughter."

"Yes." Fraser said.

"That house burned to the ground - must have been nearly 10 years ago. That was some house, I remember it. It had a iron fence all around it and a big iron gate. That's where she took me when we went running that day. I wonder why she didn't say anything."

"She told me about that. She meant to tell you but she said she didn't know how to start. Her father and the woman who raised her died in the fire. Chanil - Shawn, was studying at the San Francisco Art Institute at the time. She came back home and shortly after she was hospitalized for about six months."

"At the psychiatric hospital. I remember reading something about a suicide attempt?"

"According to the statement she had in her file, it was an accident. I mean that the injury was an accident - she did not intend to hurt herself. Actually she admitted herself to the hospital - she could have left at any time. There was an investigation into the cause of the fire at the time and she was being questioned. There was suspicion of a mangled attempt at arson. Parkhurst was in debt. I would imagine Shawn was under a great deal of pressure."

"That's what I remember - the investigation into the fire. Is that why she changed her name?"

"Partly. She told me it was because people assumed she was a rich heiress and she was trying to make a living as an artist. No one would buy her work. She was virtually penniless. I think the words she used were "everyone thought I was a rich, spoiled brat and I couldn't sell a piece of art to save my life."

"And the other reason?"

"To try to forget and start a new life, I suppose." Fraser shrugged his shoulders.

"Did you know about this stolen art business?"

"No. But she did tell me she was in some sort of trouble. I believe she told you that much herself."

"She tried to." Ray frowned as he remembered telling Shawn he wouldn't promise to help her.

"Benny? What if we don't find her. Do you think she's gonna be okay?"

"We'll find her Ray." Fraser said.

******************

The two men had been walking around the neighbourhood for three hours, showing Shawn's photo in the local shops.

"Excuse me, Ma'am, have you seen this woman recently?" Fraser and Ray had stopped in a flower shop and were showing the photograph to the proprietor.

"I'm not sure - do you know what she was wearing?" she said.

"A black leisure suit, I believe." Fraser said.

"Velour, a velour jogging outfit." Ray added. "and a silver bracelet on her left wrist and little silver earrings in the shape of whales." he continued.

"She has a bandage on her forehead."

The woman looked at the two men, Fraser in the scarlet uniform and Ray in the Armani suit and wondered vaguely if they were putting her on. She shook her head no, and accepted the business card Ray offered her, promising to call if she had any information for him. As they turned to leave, the woman suddenly called for them to wait. She deftly clipped two flower buds and tucked a red rose in Ray's lapel. She turned to Benton and examined his uniform for a second, then finally tucked the rose into the band of his stetson. She smiled with pleasure at the results and refusing Fraser's attempts to pay her for the flowers, sent them on their way. They left the store and walked down the street a full block and a half before they finally looked at one another and grinned.

Another hour passed without luck, then finally they had a lead. A mechanic in a local garage had worked on Shawn's car and knew where it was housed. He scribbled the address down on a piece of paper.

"Don't mention it. I hope you find her. Shawn's a good kid. I'll tell ya one thing though - if she's planning on going anywhere in that car she won't get far. The engine needs an overhaul, her old man drove it into the ground. If she's has moved it out of the garage just follow the trail of blue smoke." The mechanic wiped her hands on and old rag. He looked pointedly at the flowers in the men's clothing, and seemed about to ask about them when Fraser offered his hand and said "Thank you kindly."

**********

The address was on the far side of the Parkhurst property. They parked the car in the parking lot of the public park and walked across the road to the iron fence and climbed over the top. Ray looked around and shuddered.

"At least there are no dogs here this time." he said.

"You've been here before Ray?"

"Let's not go there Benny, I was just a kid. Frannie put me up to it. The garage is through the trees there." They went through a thick stand of pine trees which went uphill all the way until it finally opened into a small clearing on top of the hill. There were two buildings and an empty dilapidated swimming pool. Fraser made a comment about it being a hazard and Ray said, yeah well, technically it's still private property. One building would have been used at a pool house - the other had the double doors of a garage on the front of it and no other windows. Beyond this was another stand of mixed hardwood and evergreen trees and the through the gaps, the foundation of the main house peeked through. Fraser and Ray walked silently up to the garage. The padlock had been undone and lay on the ground to the side of the doors. Fraser turned the knob on the doors. It was locked from the inside. Ray motioned that he was going to look in the pool house. When he came back, Fraser was stood with his ear pressed against the garage door. He pointed to the door and mouthed 'she's inside' to Ray. Ray gestured back 'what should we do, knock?' Fraser thought for a moment then shook his head. He held up his arms in front on him with an imaginary steering wheel between them and then made a 'fly away' motion with his hands. Ray frowned, then shrugged. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a small metal object. He held it between his fingers and pointed it towards the door, twisted his wrist back and forth and with raised his eyebrows nodded his head to Fraser. Fraser nodded back. Ray kneeled before the door and began picking the lock.

*********

Inside the garage Shawn was under the hood of her father's turquoise vintage GTO. Now her car, she supposed although the only place she seemed to drive it to was the garage. Why she thought it would run on this particular day was a mystery. 'Stupid, stupid,' she thought to herself. 'Why didn't I just go and rent a car. Stupid idea running away like that. Well what else could I do, sit around and wait to be arrested. You didn't know that, you did the right thing. I didn't NOT know that either, I left the only two people who perhaps could have helped me.' Shawn was so focused on her internal conversation and on trying to remove a bolt from the starting motor she didn't hear the garage door being quietly opened.

Ray and Fraser opened the door to see Shawn, wearing white overalls, standing on a stool and leaning over the front of the engine. Fraser held his finger up to his lips and pointed to the top of his head and then to Shawn. Ray frowned for minute then shook his head in agreement, realizing that Fraser was saying they if they scared Shawn she would strike her head on the top of the hood. So Ray slowly crept up behind her and put his hand just over the top of her head and cleared his throat.

Shawn jumped and screamed, ramming Ray's hand into the hood of the car in the process. She screamed again and spun around awkwardly with the ratchet in her hand, ready to strike the intruder. She missed and swung again, and this time Fraser smartly caught the ratchet before it struck Ray, pulled it from her hands and tossed it out of reach. He lifted Shawn off the stool and held her firmly by the shoulders. Ray pulled his hand out and shook it, moaning loudly.

"I think it's broken." he said.

"What the hell do you think you are doing creeping up on me like that? Serves you right! You're lucky you got away with a broken hand. I could've killed you with that ratchet." Shawn's face was flushed a deep red and she was shaking. "Didn't you ever hear of knocking? How did you know I was here anyway. It was Gerome wasn't it? That's the last time he'll work on my car. You had no business following me. I can take care of myself." Shawn's outburst was stopped suddenly by a sob. Then she sort of crumpled into Fraser's arms and began sobbing uncontrollably.

Fraser hesitated, unsure of what to do, then awkwardly patted her back and said 'there there." Just as quickly as it started, the tears were over. Shawn gave one last sob and pulled away from Fraser. She dug into the pocket of the overalls and pulled out a handkerchief. She dried her face, then blew her nose.

"Oh dear, you've got grease all over your face now." Fraser said. "There was just a little streak on your cheek, but now..."

Shawn looked at her hands. They were covered in grease. The white handkerchief was now a soggy grey mass. Fraser went to the bench and found a clean rag and a can of grease remover and applied the product to Shawn's face and hands. Ray was nursing his bruised hand and was surreptitiously checking out the GTO. He opened the driver's door and adjusted the seat back and slid behind the wheel. He looked at the instrument panel and ran his good hand along the dash. The keys were still in the ignition and on an impulse, he reached out and turned the key. The car sputtered once and then the engine turned over and settled into a low purr.

Shawn and Fraser's head appeared in the passenger's side window. Ray grinned sheepishly at them. "I guess you fixed it." he said to Shawn.

"I guess your hand isn't broken after all." Shawn said as they walked around the car to the driver's side.

"Guess not." Ray said, flexing his hand.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes" she said.

"Can I ask you a question?" Fraser said.

"You want to know where I was headed?" Shawn replied.

"No. What I was going to ask was, are you going to stay this time and let us help you?"

"I'm glad you didn't want to know where I was headed, because frankly, I don't know myself. I just had to leave. I just get these overwhelming impulses to run away. I can't promise it won't happen again. I'm sorry. But I will try."

"Okay, here's what we're gonna do. You call the shots. We'll do whatever you ask. You want to find out who attacked you and who was in your apartment - we'll find them. You want to deal with the painting - we'll help you. We do what you say. No pressure." Ray said from the inside of the car. "Oh by the way, this is a wonderful car." Shawn smiled. "There's just one condition."

"There's always a condition. What?" Shawn made a face and sighed.

"You have to try really hard not to disappear again, and if you get that feeling where you have to get away, you tell one of us where you are going."

Shawn considered.

"You're serious? About me calling the shots?" Ray nodded.

Shawn opened the back door of the car and got in behind Ray. She ran her hand over the upholstery of the seat beside her.

After a few minutes, Ray looked at her through the rear view mirror. "About this painting - Did your father ever mention it to you before he died? Do you think he had any idea it had been stolen?" he said.

"Ah, so you know. I was wondering about that." Shawn said looking at Fraser.

"I'm sorry. I had to tell him, I'm sure you understand. We had no idea if we could find you again." Fraser said.

She sighed heavily. "Ray, as you know, my father was an art dealer so there very valuable paintings coming and going all the time. But no, I never saw or heard anything about my father having acquired that painting." she frowned. "I've thought about that a lot - whether he knew the painting was stolen. I know this much for certain - if my father had found himself with a stolen painting, it wouldn't have been an accident. But I don't know - I don't know what he intended for me to do with it." she sighed again and shook her head.

"What about your mother?" Ray said.

She looked up sharply at Ray's reflection in the rear view mirror. "Mother was never in the picture, but as far as I know she is alive somewhere. My father's estate was in her name. Everyone assumed I inherited everything. Even this car is not legally mine. It just happened that the car was in the garage at the time. Otherwise, they would have taken the car too. Same thing with the pool house. There was some old furniture being stored there which I took for my apartment. "

"Were you and your father close?" Ray said.

"Not really. He was away most of the time. Actually we were strangers. I always hoped he'd find time for me someday, though"

Fraser nodded slowly.

"I can't just let the painting go, there are just too many unanswered questions in my life."

"So how is finding out about the painting going to help answer these questions." Ray said.

"I have a hunch."

"A hunch? A girl after my own heart. So let's hear it?"

"No. I'll jinx it. I just want to find out who is after it. Can you help me?"

"Do you agree to my condition?"

"Yes."

"Okay, you've got a deal."

"So do you want to take this car out for a spin?" Ray said grinning.

"Be my guest - only I should warn you - it's not insured." Shawn said laughing.

At that Fraser reached in turned off the ignition and removed the keys.

"You were really going to drive an uninsured vehicle? I think it would be wise if I held on to these keys for you for the time being. By the way, you didn't have your Driver's License with you either." he said fishing her wallet out of his pocket and handing it to her.

"Well at the time, I forgot. Do you think I can get a ride home?

"You're not going back to your apartment."

"Of course. It has to be cleaned up sometime."

"No no, that's not the way this works. We've got to dust it before anything is touched."

"You really think this guy left fingerprints? Get real! He probably put that book on my bed first thing and then trashed my apartment just to irritate me."

"I think she's starting to feel better Benny - she's insulting me again." Ray said to Fraser.

"Most likely you are right Shawn, but there is still a chance that there might be a clue. No offense but even the smallest detail could be important. It would be best if you delayed returning home for now." Fraser said.

"Can I at least go by and get some things?" Shawn said. Ray and Fraser nodded.

"Okay, lets get going then." Shawn got out of the car and closed the hood of the car. She unzipped the baggy overalls and stepped out of them, picked them up and wiped a greasy fingerprint off the hood of the car.

***************

PART TWO

Fraser stood awkwardly at the doorway of the Shawn's motel room holding his hat in front of him and running his hands over the brim. Shawn told him to come in and cleared a chair for him. She had been painting. Included in the list of 'things' she had to get from her house were some painting supplies. Fraser and Ray wouldn't let her go into her studio but she remembered moving a bunch of oil paints, brushes and canvases into a storage chest in her bedroom. Part of Fraser's awkwardness had to do with the streak of blue paint Shawn sported across her chin.

"Sit, please! You are too tall for this poky little room. So. You found something." Fraser obediently sat in the chair.

"Yes, however I'm afraid you aren't going to like it."

"What did you find?"

"Through a series of remarkable coincidences I discovered that your painting is hanging in the Ontario Art Gallery in Canada. They've had it for twelve years and it has never been stolen."

Shawn sat on the bed.

"Which means..." she said, thinking out loud.

"One of the paintings is a forgery." Fraser said.

"It would have to have been an extremely convincing copy to fool the Ontario Art Gallery. And the one my father had looks extremely convincing."

"Was there any documentation with it?" Fraser said.

Shawn was about to give a sarcastic reply when she glanced at Fraser's face and remembered who she was talking to.

"No, but unless there is doubt about the work and it is tested, there wouldn't be any papers. The signature is usually enough. One of the two will have to be tested now. Does Ray know this yet?"

"I left him a message. I asked him to meet to meet us here when he was free. That was..." Fraser consulted his wrist watch "approximately two and a half hours ago."

Shawn looked out the window as a green Riviera pulled into the parking lot. She smiled.

"Good timing. That's his car, I believe." she said. Fraser joined her at the window and confirmed it. He looked at Shawn and frowned.

"What?" she said, opening the door for Ray.

"So what's this about a second painting? Why is your chin blue?" Ray said closing the door behind him.

Shawn slapped her hand over her chin and glanced at Fraser. She mumbled something and edged around Ray in the tiny room to get to the bathroom.

"What?" Ray said.

"I said, Ben, why don't you fill him in while I'm gone."

Fraser began telling Ray about finding the second painting in the Canadian art gallery. When Shawn returned, he was still telling Ray about how he'd discovered the other painting.

"So what do you think Ray?" Shawn said when the story was finished.

"Definitely an improvement." he said grinning at her.

"Wise guy. About the painting."

"Oh that." Ray suddenly became serious. "I think this is suddenly more complicated and more dangerous for you."

"Why?" Shawn said frowning.

Fraser and Ray exchanged quick glances and Fraser licked his lip before he answered.

"Given what you've told us about your father we think there is a possibility he might have paid someone to make a forgery of the painting. He put the original away for safekeeping by leaving it to you as your inheritance. Somebody, probably the person who made the forgery knows that you have the original." Fraser said.

"You said if your father had a copy it wouldn't be by accident. I suspect something went wrong somewhere. In any case, somebody knows that there are two paintings and they either know, or suspect that you have it. Probably he is afraid that you will bring it out into the open exposing the copy." Ray added.

"Or he has a buyer for it." Fraser added.

"But it doesn't quite fit. You are forgetting about the first stolen painting from the private collector. That was about a year after my father died. Nine years ago."

"No it fits - I suspect there was more than one copy made." Ray said.

"Yes. Let's suppose for a moment that the painting the Ontario Art Gallery have is a copy. Painting 'A' was made from the original as a practice and sold to the private collector. Then painting 'B' was made, this time a better forgery, which was sold to the Ontario Art Gallery. We know you don't have painting B. Which leaves two possibilities: one, that you have the original painting and the stolen copy is still out there somewhere, and two, that you do indeed have the copy stolen from the private dealer and the original is unaccounted for."

"Ouch, my head is starting to hurt." Shawn said putting her hand up to the bandage.

"When was the last time you saw your painting?" Fraser asked.

"Nine months ago. It's safe, I'm certain of that. Why else would someone be in my house and studio?"

"Do you have access to it?" Ray said.

"Yes. Actually you were quite close to it."

"It's in the gallery?"

"Yes."

"Are you willing to show it to us?" Fraser asked.

"Are you sure it's safe? Never mind - silly question! We'll have to wait until the gallery is closed. After dark would be best."

"Okay then, tonight. In the meantime, I've got some people checking out the private collector, B.A. Winston, to see what the story is on his painting. With any luck we'll know something by tonight." Ray said checking his notebook.

"While you are at it, you may as well check out my hunch too." Shawn said. "Lois Stevens - my father's wife. I've got a strong feeling she is involved in this."

"Your mother?" Fraser said.

"Yes, so the rumour goes. I don't remember actually meeting her. And I can't tell you much about her. Actually she probably doesn't even use that name anymore. Maybe that's why she never materialized to claim Daddy's estate." Shawn was silent for a moment.

"I've changed my mind. Forget I mentioned it. If she's got something to do with this I don't want to know about it." Shawn said, then "Damn! No, go ahead. Anything you can find out. Maybe I'm totally wrong. Just one thing - no offense meant by this, but please don't refer to that woman as my mother again. Okay?"

"Understood." Fraser said.

Fraser and Ray exchanged looks.

"We don't want you to go back home just yet. We think you are probably being watched." Ray said.

"Are you kidding me? Don't you think you are sort of, ah, exposing me? I'm sat here out in the open with a Mountie and then you pull up in that car of yours. If anyone wanted to know where I was they'd just follow one of you two." "She's got a point there Ray."

"Look, if you've finished looking for evidence, I'm going back home. I'll be careful, I'll even lock the doors. Just one thing, when you pick me up tonight? Don't wear the uniform - and maybe we can take a taxi. No, I know - let's meet somewhere, then walk to the gallery. There won't be any car in the parking lot. Should we synchronize our watches?"

"This isn't a game Shawn. You've already been hurt once." Ray said.

"I know. I just always wanted to say that. So I take it you'll pick me up around seven?"

Ray nodded.

**********

The weather had turned nasty. The pleasant autumn chill in the air had turned into biting cold and the wind had picked up and was blowing leaves everywhere. Ray parked the car in an alley behind Shawn's gallery and the three of them sat there, having an argument. Ray and Fraser wanted Shawn to stay in the car while they got the painting; Shawn was insisting that she had to go too.

"The painting is hidden in sort of a vault. You need me with you" she said.

"Just give us the combination and the location." Ray said.

"It's not that kind of vault. It's more of a puzzle." she said, then added "You don't have a choice. If I don't come with you, you are never going to find the painting." She was dressed completely in black - black leggings with boots, a heavy black turtleneck, a long black wool scarf and a black beret on her head. She busied herself with tucking her silver bracelet inside the cuff of the sweater.

After making her promise to obey any directions they gave her, they got out of the car. It was a strange night. The street was uncommonly quiet of traffic and the direction of the wind was such a way that the power lines were singing. They bent their heads against the wind and headed for the building.

Shawn unlocked the door and disarmed the security system, then locked the door behind them. She led the men into the exhibit room and shutting the door behind them firmly, she flicked on the overhead lights. The spoke in whispers, even though there was no need to.

"It's in here" she said, walking over to the large sculpture in the middle of the floor. She began circling it.

Ray looked closely at Fraser, waiting for his reaction to the piece. At first he was more interested in the ritual-like circling that Shawn was doing, but finally his attention was drawn to the sculpture itself. Ray watched as Fraser blinked, shook his head slightly and stared again - harder. Like Ray, the seemingly abstract mass had suddenly transformed into an intertwined mass of arms and legs. He crossed his arms over his chest and said "Humph" under his breath. Ray smiled to himself.

Shawn suddenly stopped circling the sculpture and said sharply "Here!" Without taking her eyes off the piece, she motioned with her index finger for them to come over. She kneeled before the piece.

"Ben, put your hands exactly where I tell you and keep them there." He knelt down next to her and she took each of his hands in turn and placed them precisely on the smooth bronze. He pushed tentatively against it and felt not the slightest resistance.

"No, not yet. It won't work until all three of us have our hands on it." At the incredulous looks the two men gave her she smiled and reminded them that it was a puzzle. Shawn repeated the ritual on the opposite side of the sculpture until she had again found exactly the right places for Ray to put his hands. Ray knelt and let Shawn place his hands on the metal. He looked at her with a quizzical expression on his face.

"This is some kind of trick, right?" he said.

"Not at all. Try it." Ray pushed. Nothing happened.

Shawn patted him on the shoulder and said 'watch this.' She stood up between the two men and lightly placed her hands on the top of the sculpture. She was still for a moment, then she quietly said, "Now push."

The top part of the sculpture slid away smoothly revealing the hollow interior. Shawn stepped away and looked at Ray and Fraser and smiled. Although they couldn't see one another, they had exactly the same expression on their faces. Both of them had their mouths open and were staring into the vault.

"How'd you do that?" Ray said.

"Smoke and mirrors," Shawn said with a smile. She stepped inside the sculpture and felt around on the inside for a moment. There was a ripping sound, and then she carefully pulled out a thin wooden crate which was held together with leather straps.

"We'd better close this up again before we open the painting." she said.

"How do you close it?" Fraser said.

"I have to change directions, but the two of you stay right where you are. She walked around to the other side of the sculpture and put her hands on it.

"Do you have to put our hands in the same places? Because I lost my spots!" Ray said.

"As did I." Fraser added.

"Close your eyes and you will remember." she said peering around the sides of the sculpture then watching Fraser who was concentrating intently with his eyes closed, she said "That's it Ben." She looked down at Ray who was shaking his head at her.

"Just close your eyes Ray. It will work, trust me." she said. He held her eyes for moment before closing them. Shawn bit her lip. Slowly, his hands traced a pattern on the surface and then stopped. He opened his eyes in surprise. "That's it." Shawn said softly.

They waited a moment and the three of them pushed together - effortlessly - until the sculpture came back together again without so much as a seam in the way of evidence. Fraser stood up and dusted the knees of his jeans. Ray was sitting on his heels, examining the surface of the sculpture. He head was slightly spinning - the old man's words in the park came back to him 'You'd better watch yourself there laddie - our Shawn here is a wee fey lass. Before you know it you'll be fallin' under her spell.'

Shawn knelt down next to Ray. "Are you all right?" she said. He looked into her smoky green eyes without saying anything.

"Ray?" Fraser came over with crated painting in his hands and looked at Ray quizzically.

Ray shook himself and stood up abruptly. He looked at the box and ran his hand over his head. "Should we be opening that here?" he said.

They decided to take the painting to the station for safe keeping and to wait until then to open it. After a brief discussion, it was decided that Fraser and Shawn would wait at the gallery until Ray came back with the car.

**********

Fraser and Shawn stood in the darkened doorway of the gallery. Fraser had the crate tucked under his arm.

"He's been gone a long time, don't you think? I've got a bad feeling." Shawn said.

"I'm beginning to share that feeling. Unless the car won't start."

"His car gives him problems?"

"Yes, sometimes. Not that Ray would ever admit to it." Fraser smiled. Suddenly Fraser straightened his back.

"Oh Dear. Shawn I'm afraid your hunch is right. Go back inside and call the police. Then stay put until I call for you. Understand?" Fraser was looking for a place to secure the painting and finally gave it back to Shawn.

"What is it. What did you see?" Shawn put her face up to the glass and peered out. All she saw was the empty parking lot.

"I can't see a thing. Ben what is it?"

Fraser took her firmly by the shoulders and spun her around.

"Listen to me. Go back inside. Now! Do you understand?" Shawn looked bewildered but she nodded her head and went back down the hall. When Fraser was sure she was safely out of range, he unlocked the door and stepped outside the building and waited for the two figures to make their way to him.

A tall man with a slicked back ponytail and long black leather coat had a gun pointed in Ray's ribs. Ray's hands were raised and he was muttering, 'alright just don't get excited.' When they got close to the building. the gunman said 'okay, that's close enough.' Ray said 'sorry Benny.' Seconds later, a black limousine came around the curb and pulled into the parking lot. The back door opened and long black stockinged legs and spiky high heels slowly and dramatically emerged. The upper half of her body came into the light. Her hair was a startling shade of red, piled high into a roll on the top of her head. Diamond and emerald baubles hung on her ear lobes. She was wearing a full length mink coat.

"Nice work Jimmy. Good evening Gentlemen. I think you know what I am here for, so if you will just give me the painting, we can all go home and no one will get hurt."

"Lois Stevens I presume. How can you do this to your own daughter?" Ray said.

"My daughter. I never could figure it why someone given such a lovely name as Chanil would call themselves Shawn."

"My father called me Shawn because he wanted a son." They all looked up. Shawn had opened a window on the second floor of the building and was leaning out the window frame.

"Get back inside Shawn." Fraser said.

"No. You don't need to use a gun. You can have the painting." Shawn left the window and came downstairs. She opened the door and walked up to her mother with the painting in her hands.

"You know you didn't have to do this. I would have given you the painting if you had asked. Now let him go." "Give me the painting first." Shawn stood where she was and held out the painting. Lois stepped forward into the light. Shawn gasped. It was like looking into the mirror. Even with the difference in height Lois Stevens was an older and harsher version of Shawn. She said 'you've inherited your father's shortness, I see' and took the painting with a sly smile. Lois walked over to the car and opened the crate. A long moment passed, and then she held up the Picasso for them all to see. She got in the car and opened the window.

"I must say, you've looked after it very well. I think you should have gone into your father's line of work - you obviously have the right sensibilities. Maybe we can do business again some day." The woman jerked her head to her hench man.

Suddenly everything seemed to be moving too quickly. The guy withdrew the gun from Ray's back and got in the car. The window closed again and the driver put the car in gear. Fraser began running after the car and Shawn yelled - 'Ben - stop.'

Ray grabbed his cell phone, punched a few numbers and after a second's pause, yelled into the phone 'okay Huey - now!" He whipped out his revolver and ran to the side of the building. Fraser caught up to the limousine and sprang onto the trunk of the car.

A car came speeding out of the darkened alley and blocked the exit to the parking lot. From across the street a squad car pulled out of a side street and put on the siren. The limousine came to a screeching halt, throwing Fraser off the car. He rolled and somehow landed on his feet, and crouched behind the car. Huey jumped out and positioned himself behind his car with his revolver drawn. He called out to the limo and told them to get out of the car with their hands raised. The squad car came right up over the curb and into the parking lot and stopped in front of the limo. Two officers jumped out and drew their weapons.

"It's over Lois. Give yourself up." Ray shouted. A few moments passed and the car door slowly opened and the three occupants slowly got out with their hands over their heads. Huey and the officers sprang into action and arrested the trio. Ray walked over to Fraser, who was talking to Huey. Fraser had recovered the painting from the limousine and after a brief discussion, he gave it to Huey who put it in the trunk of his car. Ray put away his revolver back into his holster and looked around for Shawn. He found her sitting on the doorstep with her head in her hands. Ray went over to her.

"Are you okay?" Ray said touching her shoulder.

"I feel sick." She looked up with an ashen face to Ray. Ray nodded.

"Why don't you come with me for a drive into the countryside."

"Now? In the dark?"

"Sure, why not? Come on." Ray helped her up. She was shaking enough to make her legs uncoordinated. Ray steadied her, then called out to Fraser. Fraser joined them and Ray filled him in and left him to stay with Shawn while he went for the Riv. "What do you think is going to happen to me?" Shawn said to Fraser.

"Now that we have your Moth...ah Ms. Stevens, I'm sure the whole story will be revealed. I don't think you have anything to worry about." Fraser said. Shawn nodded. They looked down the road and the green Riv was turning the corner.

Ray pulled up and Fraser opened the door for Shawn and after a moment's hesitation, he leaned in car and fastened the seat belt around her. He smiled awkwardly at Shawn and stood up and gave a satisfied nod as he shut the door. They waited while Ben crossed the road and joined Huey then Ray drove off.

*********

Ray pulled into the diner and returned with two styrofoam cups of coffee and waited for Shawn to return from the Ladies Room. After five minutes, Ray began shifting uneasily. Finally he went over to the door and knocked and called her name. There was no reply, but he heard a muffled sob. He looked around and seeing no one in sight, he opened the door and went in. A single florescent fixture was flickering. He looked at the floor and saw her shoes under one the cubicle doors. Ray said again 'Shawn - are you okay in there?'

"Yes." another muffled sob. Ray pushed on the door. It was locked. "Are you going to come out?' he said. After a moment, the door opened and Shawn came out with red swollen eyes. She went to the sink and splashed cold water into her face. Ray handed her a paper towel.

"I was okay until I looked in the mirror. I just realised I look exactly like her." She pressed the towel against her eyes.

Ray put his arms around her and rubbed her back.

"You look like her, but you are nothing like her. Lois Stevens is not a nice person." Shawn looked up at Ray and laughed through the tears.

"That's a bit of an understatement isn't it?' she said. "That's what I like about you Ray, you make me laugh."

"Oh so you do like me. I was beginning to wonder. Does that mean you will go out on a date with me?"

"Don't push your luck, Monsieur Love." Shawn laughed again and half sighed-half sobbed against his chest. Ray held her tighter and stroked her hair.

"I didn't thank you. How did you know anyway?"

"Shh." Ray said. "Try to forget about it. Think about something nice."

The door suddenly opened at a rather large lady jumped back in surprise. She began yelling at Ray, calling him a sex fiend, and shouting to them about getting the management and calling the police.

"Hold you horses, Lady. This is official police business here!" he flashed his identification at her.

The woman looked at it and twirled around saying "Well! I never!" in a huffy voice and stormed out. Shawn began laughing at the fierce look in Ray's eyes, and after a moment he started laughing too.

"C'mon," he said, "we'd better get of here before someone else comes."

They got in the car and headed back into Chicago.

*********

"Well if it isn't 'mommy dearest.' Ray said as he opened the door of Questioning Room No. 2 and saw Lois Stevens sitting there. Huey, with the help of Fraser, had already starting questioning her. Ray pulled out a chair, pushed it right in front of Lois and sat down. He was so close their knees were touching. Lois stared at him without any emotion registering on her face.

Fraser cleared his throat. "Ray, she refuses to answer any questions without her lawyer being present."

Ray stood up and kicked his chair out of the way and paced across the floor.

"So where is the hell is he." he growled.

"It's 'she' actually Ray. She's on her way but it might take a while." Fraser said.

"Wait, don't tell me, let me guess - she's on some beach in Hawaii, right."

Fraser and Lois looked at Ray. Ray's eyes narrowed when he realized he had guessed right. Fraser wrinkled his brow.

"How did you..."

"Lucky guess." Ray finished. He turned to Lois. "So you've got nothin' to say to us."

Lois silently stared back at Ray. A small smirk crossed her face.

"You're involved with Chanil aren't you?" she said. "She always did have a thing for strays."

"Yah, well I guess being abandoned herself had something to do with that."

Fraser looked at Ray with concern. Ray's face had darkened and his voice was rough, but so far he was keeping his anger in check.

"Touche." Lois said.

"What kind of mother walks out on her own kid?"

"Chanil was nothing more than a business deal. Charles Parkhurt wanted a kid. I agreed to give him one. He was supposed to tell the kid I was dead but the idiot never did and then he tried to screw me out of the money he owed me."

"So that's when you started blackmailing him." Fraser said.

"Nice try, boy scout. Do you think it is possible to get a cup of coffee around here?"

Fraser went to get the coffee.

"Even if you didn't want her, doesn't it mean anything to you that there is another person on this planet who looks exactly like you." Ray said. Lois laughed.

"Oh please, cut the sentimental crap. There are people who look like me are aren't even remotely related."

"Yeah but this kid who just happens to look like you also inherited your talent."

"Yeah well, she's not a bad little artist but she's nowhere near the same league as her 'Mom'."

"Well maybe she would be in the same league if her 'Mom' hadn't walked out on her and the two people she had left in the world hadn't died under mysterious circumstances."

Fraser had turned and was standing quietly in the doorway. He put the coffee in front on her and waited pointedly for him to look at her. Finally Lois turned to him with a blank expression on her face.

"You are quite an artist. The Picasso is amazing. Even the forensics lab was convinced it was the real thing. If it hadn't been for the fact that the natural pigments used to make viridian hue and alizarin crimson have been replaced by man made equivalents, they would not have been able to dis-authenticate it."

Standing at the window, a sudden eureka look came into Ray's eyes. He wheeled around. "The painting is a copy just like Shawn said it would be." he said, thinking as he spoke..

"You see Shawn knew you'd come back for the original. Charles Parkhurst attached a letter to the back of the painting that told Shawn everything." Ray picked up his coffee and took a sip, and paused just long enough for the information to sink in.

"Shawn took the letter to the Ontario Art Gallery who had the two paintings analyzed. When the one Shawn's father left her proved to be the real Picasso, the Gallery agreed to do a trade - for a substantial finders fee to Shawn, of course." Ray paused again.

"Your daughter set you up Lois."

Lois rolled her eyes towards the ceiling and said "oh please. That's ludicrous. Charles would never implicate himself."

"But it seems he did Ma'am. And the fact remains that if you had known the painting Shawn had was a fake, you wouldn't have wanted to steal it. The only plausible conclusion to be drawn is that you thought the painting was the original Picasso."

"You are gonna do hard time for stealing your own painting. Now that's revenge for you." Ray laughed.

"It is not a copy. You forget I examined the painting myself. I don't know what kind of story you are trying to pull over on me, but that painting is definitely the original. Do you think I'm stupid? I know my own work!"

"Fraser, I think that was a confession. What do you think?"

"I agree Ray."

Ray went to the door and called for a guard. He turned around and looked at Lois. She suddenly looked old.

"I didn't confess to anything. You are both out of your minds. You are going to regret this Vecchio, I guarantee you that. This isn't going to go anywhere and you both know it." Fraser and Ray looked at her silently, while the guard came to escort her back to the holding cell. Ray sat at the table and rubbed his hands over his head.

"Fraser I didn't know you had it in you. That business about the painting being a forgery was a stroke of brilliance." Fraser sat down across from Ray.

"I don't know what you are talking about Ray. The painting is a forgery. It's right there in the report." He pushed the clipboard over to Ray who opened the file and read the report. His jaw dropped. When he finished he looked up at Fraser, for once in his life at a loss for words.

"You thought I was making that up? But that's entrapment Ray. You know I would never do that." Fraser stood up and walked over to the door.

"There was no letter from Charles Parkhurt was there?"

"Of course not Benny, I thought you were playing along. For goodness sake, sit down, you're making me nervous."

"Shawn didn't know the painting was a forgery. And the Ontario Art Gallery? You made that up too?"

"Yes!" Ray said irritably, then added " I can't believe that painting is a fake."

"Ray, we just coerced that woman into confessing."

"So which painting is the real painting? Maybe that art gallery in Ontario does have the real one after all." Ray said.

"Doesn't that bother you?"

"No. Honestly it doesn't. I am sorry I involved you against your will though. I honestly thought you were going along with it. Let me ask you this, though, if you had known, would you have stopped me?"

Fraser didn't reply. After a moment Ray sighed.

"C'mon," he said. "Let's go tell Shawn what happened."

**********

Shawn was putting the last of her books back on the bookshelf when Ray and Fraser arrived. She had spent the rest of the night and morning trying to get her apartment back in livable shape. With a neighbour's help she hauled boxes of broken dishes and the papers and canvases ruined beyond help out to the curb.

She'd made them wait until fresh coffee was brewed before they started telling her anything. The two of them sat uneasily in the living room and waited while she puttered in the kitchen. Twice Fraser appeared at the doorway offering to help. Twice she sent him away. Finally she poked her head out and asked him to carry the tray out.

The tray was laden with chocolate chip cookies. As she poured the coffee, she apologized for the mismatched dishes.

"It was all I could save. Someone put a board over my kitchen window."

"Thank you kindly" Fraser said as he accepted the coffee. "I boarded up the window. I was just sorry the hardware store wasn't open or I would have replaced the glass. I'll gladly come by later and do it for you."

"Thank you Ben. That was so sweet of you! You are a true friend." The three of them concentrated for a few minutes on the chocolate chip cookies. Finally Shawn asked them to tell her what had happened at the station.

"We don't have any details, but Lois confessed to making the forgeries." Ray said.

"She did? Just like that?"

"Um, she had to be persuaded a little." Ray said.

"Did you suspect she was the forger all along?" Shawn said.

"We ran a check on her. It turned out that she's had a rather colourful past. The reason it took so long for her to catch up with you is that she was in prison. Hadn't been the first time either."

"Prison! What for?"

"She was smuggling stolen Mayan artifacts into the United States and selling them to museums."

"I'm not surprised. I don't know if my father was involved in any of that, but I do know there was a lot of shadowy things going on. Chanil is a Mayan name you know."

"I know" Fraser continued, "Lady Chanil was a Mayan princess who was sent by her father to bring peace between warring factions by marrying her into the enemies' royal family." Fraser said matter-of-factly.

At the strange looks they both gave him, he crossed the room and picked out a book on Mayan history on her bookshelf.

"The book naturally falls open to this description of Lady Chanil being carried through the forest in a royal carriage to meet her bridegroom." he explained.

"I suspect that my mother gave me that name for a reason. Chanil was a very brave woman. I think she knew what kind of man my father was." Shawn said with a sigh.

"You said the 'm' word." Ray said.

"What kind of man was your father?" Fraser asked.

"He was the kind of man who would use his own daughter as bait."

Fraser and Ray looked at one another.

"What do you mean by that?" Ray asked. Shawn sighed.

"It going to come out soon anyway, so I might as well tell you." She deliberately stopped and poured more coffee and bit into another cookie.

"My father didn't regard women all that highly. He, for example, didn't take any pains to hide his business dealings from me, because he simply didn't think I was capable of snooping. Like I said before, a lot of shadowy things seemed to be going on, but I didn't discover anything illegal that could be traced directly to my father. But I did discover one interesting thing. And that was a file containing correspondence between Lois and Charles and some cancelled checks. They were blackmailing one another. I don't know exactly over what, but I've got an idea. But I can tell you this: Charles had promised that Picasso to Lois, then for some reason he wouldn't give it to her. You can imagine my horror when he left it to me."

"About the painting" Fraser began.

"Yes." Shawn said cautiously.

"The painting was analyzed. It is a forgery." Ray said.

They were waiting for her reaction. Shawn stood up.

"Well!" she said "that didn't take very long."

"You knew? Who did it?" Ray said his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"That would be me...." Shawn said quietly.

"You!"

"Yes."

"But why?" Fraser said.

"To get back at my parents for putting me in the middle of their private war. And about the painting, there were certain differences only someone who had access to both paintings would know about. That's why she was fooled. And I am right, aren't I? She didn't know the difference. You see, she encrypted certain details in her own work so she could identify it easily."

"She said she knew could tell her own work." Ray said.

"Ha! Revenge is sweet!" Shawn laughed.

"You took an awfully big risk, Shawn. You should have gone to the police." Fraser said.

"Yes, it was a big risk. Actually isn't a very good copy. If she'd had time, she would have found me out and then I would have been in really big trouble. But I couldn't think of any other way to nail her. Incidently - that six months I spent in hospital? I went there so I could have time to think. And practice." she added.

"You faked a suicide attempt to get into a mental institution?" Ray said.

"No!" Shawn shook her head hard. "There was no suicide attempt. That genuinely was an accident. I never wanted my Doctor to think I was thinking along those lines. It was essential that I was there voluntarily."

"And did you have a back-up plan in case it didn't work out?" Fraser said.

"Not really - except to get out of the country as quickly as possible. I have a plane ticket in a safe place. By the way, how did you know to have back up that night? I was amazed. It was perfect."

"I made a lucky guess." Ray said quietly.

"Where is the original Picasso?" Fraser asked.

"I sold it to a gallery who had one of Lois' copies. I can't tell you where. So you see if my plan had backfired, I really would have been in trouble."

Ray and Fraser exchanged a quick look.

"You are going to have to give a statement." Ray said abruptly.

"About all that?" Shawn said with alarm.

"No, just about the attack, the threats and what happened that night at the gallery. Besides, who would believe it? I don't quite believe it myself - all of this. It's some piece of work." Ray said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.

"You don't really mean that." she said quietly.

Ray shrugged.

"Look we can wait for tomorrow to do this. We are all tired. I'll call for you in the morning." Ray said standing up and going to the door. He left without saying goodbye. Fraser stood up awkwardly, unsure of what to do - finally he just politely said goodbye and followed Ray. Shawn felt tears welling in the back of her eyes. She realised she'd just handled herself very badly - said exactly all the wrong things in wrong way. She was too flippant about the whole thing. She should have prepared them. She slowly sat at her kitchen table and laid her head on her arms.

Ray had quietly come back into the house and stood in the doorway watching her. He wasn't sure why he'd come back - he knew he was too angry to talk to her right now. For a few moments, Ray had seen something he didn't like in Shawn - he'd seen her become Lois Stevens. It was an extremely unpleasant sensation. But now seeing her sat at the table, looking so alone and vulnerable, he remembered all the times he'd acted just like his father and how he'd hated himself for it. He must have made a sound, for Shawn suddenly looked up and gasped.

"You startled me."

"Sorry. I just had to asked you something." Ray crossed the room and stood in front of her.

"What?"

"Last night....in the ladies room......was that all for effect?"

"You are really angry with me aren't you?"

"I think that's an understatement. You could have told me what was going on." he said.

"If I had, would you have let me do it?" Ray shrugged and played with a trinket on the table.

"You didn't answer my question." he said.

"No, it wasn't for effect. I had prepared for that meeting with Lois for so long - you can't imagine - but when I saw her, saw how much I resembled her physically" she paused and looked into Ray's eyes anxiously. "I suddenly realized how capable I am of being just like her. I did something I swore I would never do. I used you and Fraser to help me pull it off. It made me feel physically sick. And now I feel even worse because now you know what kind of person I am capable of being."

He sat down and took her hands in his own.

"What hurts most is that you didn't trust me. And you lied to me."

"I wanted to trust you. You told me not to."

"When did I say that?"

"The night you stayed with me in the hospital. You were asking me questions and I asked you if you would just be a friend and not a cop. You said you couldn't do that."

Again, the image of Victoria Metcaffe came to him. He sighed.

"Yeah, I remember that." He ran his tongue over his lower lip, then shrugged his shoulders. After a moment he said "I don't know if any of us really ever know what we are doing. I just know we do what we think we have to do. Sometimes it is not always the best choice."

She was silent for a moment, then biting her lip she softly said. "I'm sorry. Do you think possibly you could forgive me some day?"

Ray hesitated.

"If you can manage to stay out of trouble for awhile, I think I can, yeah." he finally said.

"Well, when you decide, why don't you call me up for that date you were talking about." she said, half jokingly.

"You'd go out with me? After all this?" Ray said.

"If you still want me to, yes."

"Have you got any plans for Saturday yet?"

Shawn blinked. "Are you being serious?"

"Yes." He gave her hands a squeeze. "Hey, if I let you go now, you might never say yes again."

She chewed her lip and looked away and nodded, not trusting her voice. She felt tears sting the back of her eyes and silently swore. Shawn was on the verge of breaking down and knew it would absolutely be the wrong thing to do right now. Ray would feel he had to rescue her and that just wasn't fair. Or good for either of them right now.

She pulled her hands away and slowly stood up and took a deep breath.

"There you go then." she said making an effort to smile.

Ray stood up as well and after a moment he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked.

"Yes. Absolutely. I just need some sleep." They walked to the door together. Ray had his hand on the door knob when Shawn stopped him.

"Just one more thing." she began.

"Yes?" he said.

"Just this - you've got a big heart, Ray Vecchio." she reached up and touched his cheek with the back of her hand.

With a grin he opened the door. Fraser was sitting at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for him, the stetson on his lap. He stood and put the hat on, tipping it slightly to Shawn before giving it the final little adjustment. Ray skipped down the stairs and gave him a friendly smack on the shoulder as they passed, which knocked Fraser slightly off

balance, just enough to make him stumble a tiny bit before regaining his composure. He adjusted his uniform and said 'good day' to Shawn and quickly turned and hurried into the car to stop Ray from racing the engine.

She stood in the doorway and watched until the car turned the corner, then went back inside, picked up a small jade figure of a Mayan princess from her bookshelf and took it with her into her studio. Carefully she set the figure down on the table next to a large canvas that was draped with a sheet. Pulling the sheet aside, Shawn looked at the charcoal drawing she'd started on early that morning. It was still just a sketchy outline, but already the shapes were coming to life. It was a portrait of herself and Ray as they'd met for the first time in the gallery, when Ray had first asked her to go out with him. Shawn selected a pencil and slowly began the careful process of making the image in her head come to life on the canvas before her.

- the end -