Part Nine
 

Feeling the warm Summer air wash over him as he sped down the Gardiner
Expressway, helped to ease his anxieties over the impending exclusive
anniversary party that he was compelled to attend.  This was to be her
anniversary party so perhaps she would pay some attention to her husband
rather than to him.  What did she want from him anyway?  Was it an affair that
she was interested in?  If a one night fling would be all that it would take
to get him out of her system, then he would have no problem than to oblige.
Yes maybe the next time that she would come on to him, he would not hold back.
It would be interesting to see how she would act if he actually responded to
her flirting game.  He was not beyond teaching her what playing with fire
could lead to.  It had never been his nature to be chased and hunted.  And he
was growing tired of being her source of amusement.  From now on, the game
would be played by his rules.  If she made any more advances, then she had
better be prepared to back them up.  The time had come to end this cat and
mouse competition, and for her to act like the married woman she was.  Now
that he was armed with a strategy for the long evening that lay ahead, he
concentrated on enjoying the benefits of owning a convertible as he turned
onto One Harbour Square and came to a stop in front of the towering hotel.
Handing his keys to the valet driver, he strained his neck as he looked up to
the lighthouse restaurant that encircled the top of the thirty-fifth floor.
It glowed with red and yellow lights, as did many other of the tall buildings
that lined the water.

Without the breeze from driving, he was beginning to feel hot in his tuxedo,
so he hurried into the air-conditioned lobby entrance.  The splendor in which
the lobby had been decorated was very tastefully done.  The wide opened area
overflowed with style.  Large traditional and richly colored leather chairs
stood side by side embossed upholstered sofas.  All brought together by wooden
tables and expensive oriental carpets.  On every glowing polished table sat an
oversized crystal vase brimming over with long stemmed fresh floral
arraignments.  Carrie Billingsly certainly knew how to impress her guests.  As
he cooled off in the lobby, he saw that other formally dressed guests were
arriving, and he joined them in the elevator for the ride up to the reserved
suites.  He had called ahead to obtain his room number.  Tonight's host and
hostess had reserved several of the hotel's floors.  The elevator's third stop
was on the twenty-sixth floor, and he and another couple exited to find their
room numbers.  Keys to the rooms had been special delivered to all those who
were to attend, and he reached into his pocket for his electronic card.  After
closing the door behind him, he walked in and dropped his bag onto the
king-sized bed.  Then he went straight to the double layer of curtains to draw
them open to see the view from his room.  Being on the twenty-sixth floor gave
him a magnificent perspective as he looked down onto the water and watched the
reflected lights from the tall buildings dance on the rippled waves as
sailboats floated by.  He was certain that the view from the banquet room
would be even more commanding.  He turned back towards the room.  She had
certainly spared no expense in providing her guests with comfort.  His room
had come complete with a dining room set with a glass table and six
surrounding chairs and a full living room.  He glanced down at his watch, then
without unpacking he moved into the hall to catch the elevator up to the
banquet hall.

When the doors to the elevator smoothly slid open into the room, the first
ones he saw were Captain Reese and his wife.  They both looked nice and seemed
very excited as they held crystal glasses that teamed with tiny bubbles.
Relieved that it was not Carrie that met him at the entrance, Nick gratefully
accepted Reese's offer to join them.  A waiter walked by carrying a tray of
champagne, and Reese grabbed one and pushed it into Nick's hand.

"When in Rome..." he smiled at Nick who returned the smile.

As he sipped on his newly acquired drink, Nick's eyes wandered around the
spacious room and the illustrious guests.  Its grandeur was everything that he
would have expected from the Billingslys.  A dark wood baby grand piano sat in
the center of the floor and was surrounded by round tables that were draped in
flowing white linen.  Even the chairs that encircled the tables were covered
in the same luxurious material.  Thousands of small recessed lights graced the
elevated ceiling, creating a regal brilliance.  Tall floor to ceiling windows
showed off the inspiring view from the top floor.  After admiring the regal
surroundings, his eyes suddenly caught hers.  She stood several meters away
from him but their stares locked as if no one else was in the room.  Of
course, Nat and Mark had been invited too.  How could he have not thought that
they would be here?  After all, it was at their wedding that he had first
become acquainted with the Billingslys.  He let his eyes run up and down her
body.  She wore a long form fitting black dress that showed off every curve.
Instead of wearing her hair pulled up as many of the other women in the room
had, she had let her soft curls fall gently around her exposed white
shoulders.  She was like a beautiful portrait, an exquisite work of art.
Finally his vision again came to rest on her dark eyes, and internally his
body screamed from the pain of the longing for her.  Even after two years, he
had not been able to stop thinking of her.  Even though they both had
different lives now, and that so much had changed for them, and even though
what they had before was not right, he still hurt so bad.  Then just as
suddenly as he had spotted her, he lost her.  Reese moved to the side to let
another pass by, and blocked him of his view.  "Nick, Nick?"

Startled, he woke from the dream of her vision and looked at Reese who was
glad to get his attention.  "Nick, they have been saying that we should find
our seats.  Come on let's sit down, you're at our table."

Nick nodded, then immediately looked back as Reese moved off to the royally
set tables.  Natalie was gone.  Disappointed, he followed the Reeses to the
table.  But his spirits were again lifted when he arrived at the table to see
Mark pulling out a chair for Nat; they had all been assigned to the same
table.  But now with Nat in such close proximity, he prayed to be given the
strength to resist all the old feelings that began to stir.  Her love had been
his and he had walked away.  Watching Nick stand there, hesitant as to where
to be seated, Reese patted the chair next to himself and he moved to occupy
it.  Now he sat between Reese and Mark Harmond.  Sitting next to the husband
of the women he loved, he began to feel guilty.  He tried to remind himself,
that he had not done anything to compromise their wedding vows.  He did not
even know if Nat still had any feelings for him.  They had left each other all
the way, for her to turn back now after two years would be a miracle of fate.

As waiters began to serve the first course, everyone around the table began to
start small conversations.  The only two that sat quietly were Nick and Mark.
After several agonizing minutes, Mark turned to Nick.

"Detective Knight?"

"Please call me Nick."

"Nick, I ran into an old friend the other day that used to work with you.  He
told me that you used to have a very unusual allergy to sunlight.  How did you
overcome that condition?"

Nick felt his stomach drop and he laid his fork down on his plate as his mind
searched for an explanation.  His eyes moved momentarily to watch Nat as she
chatted with the woman next to her unaware of her husband's inquiries.
Swallowing hard, he looked into Mark's eyes.

"My doctors think it is in remission.  I really do not know why."

"Really, that is fascinating, and what was the name of your condition?"

"It is a genetic disorder that runs in my family.  I don't recall the name."

"Oh, that is a shame that other family members have it as well.  I didn't even
know that you had much of a family, no one ever seems to mention them."

"They live out of town.  I'm from a small family."

"Knight."  He rolled the name around his tongue as if he were taunting him
with it.  "What kind of name is that?  Your family must go way back.  From
Europe perhaps?"

Starting to find his probing questions too personal for comfort, Nick only
stared at Mark without answering.  He was saved from Mark's delving interest
as Nat turned to her husband and handed him her glass of wine that had been
automatically poured to each guest at the table.  A devilish smile lit up her
face as she passed it to him and smiled.  "Will you take this Mark?  I don't
want to drink it accidentally.  I have to remember to stay away from alcohol
now that we're trying."

Removing the glass from his wife's hand, he then kissed her fingers and turned
away from his conversation with Nick.  But with Nick's relief came pain.
Nat's timely distraction did help with Mark's questions, but now his heart
felt as if it had been shattered to pieces.  As he became engulfed by his
ravished feelings, he longingly looked over to her.  She was more beautiful
every time he saw her, and she was a married woman.  Why shouldn't she be
trying to conceive a child with the man she loved?  That he was no longer that
man sent an ice-cold shiver throughout his body.  A numbness threatened to
consume him, but why did he expect anything different?  When he had given
LaCroix all rights to his soul that night, wasn't this what he wanted for her?
This second chance for a life for her was the reason that he had consented to
spend eternity damned.  All that she was doing now was living the life that he
had almost destroyed.

As he tried to not get lost inside the thought of her, Carrie and Kenneth
Billingsly walked arm in arm to their table.  They had been moving around the
room to greet all their guests, and now they stood near the Reeses.  Carrie
spoke first when they arrived at their table.

"Look Kenneth, all of our favorite people from our favorite precinct.  We are
so pleased that you could all be here to share in our celebration.  I do hope
that you are all finding your accommodations acceptable."  Carrie smiled as
several thank you's spontaneously arose from her guests.  Then she laid her
hand over Denise Reese's shoulder causing her to look up.

"Darling, would you mind if we borrow your husband for a few moments?  I had
told Richard Vetter that I would like to start a special fund for the 96th
precinct, and I would like them to work out some details.  You do know that
gatherings such as these are never all pleasure.  With every party, there is
always a business deal."  She smiled as Joe Reese stood up and winked at Nick.
Nick could almost hear his Captain's thoughts of, 'See, I told you it's all
who you know.'

The piano player played a soft medley of classical pieces as the next few
courses were served.  Mark had to excuse himself a few times during the meal
to try and stop his cough, but other than that, both Mark and Nick remained
silent.  After the main course, Nick decided to escape the table for a few
moments and crossed the room towards the opened bar.  After ordering a drink,
he moved to the dark window glass that reflected the room and stared out over
the dark waters that flickered with all the lights from the buildings.  He
could still feel the magic of the night drawing him; it would seduce him if he
did not pay attention.  Dreamingly, he let his thoughts search out the
darkness as he sipped on the mixture of juice and vodka.  Then her words found
where his thoughts had been hiding.

"A magnificent view, isn't it?"

Not even turning to respond, he recognized his hostess's voice.

"I was wondering what was taking you so long."

She shifted to stand next to him.  "I did have other guests, and there is my
husband to attend to."

"Yes, there is your husband.  I was not certain that you still remembered that
you were legally a married woman."

"Of course I know I'm married, very happily married.  I'm afraid you may have
misinterpreted my friendly and open nature."

"Why did you call my Captain, to make sure that I came?  Could it be that you
knew that without his insistence that I would have rejected being here like
all the other invitations?"

"Yes, guilty as charged!  You are such a good detective.  I did want you here.
Is that a crime now?"

"Nothing I can arrest you for."

"Then I will not be needing my attorney.  He is over there at table three.  So
I didn't have to invite him after all."

Nick turned from the glass to face her.  "Mrs. Billingsly, I would appreciate
it if you would not invite me to any more of your parties in the future."

"Even if I invite that sweet Captain of yours?  I think he would be very
disappointed.  Just look at him over there speaking with the Commissioner.  Do
you really want to take all that away from him?"

Nick watched as Reese socialized with the Vetters, then sighed before
finishing his drink.

"What do you want?"

"I think you already know the answer to that Nicholas."  Angrily, he turned
away from her to again face the window, but could see her smiling reflection
in the black glass.  "Your other guests are waiting for you Mrs. Billingsly."

"It was nice seeing you again Nicholas.  I'm sure that it will not be so long
before our next encounter."

As she moved away, he went to refill his drink.  Waiting at the bar to finish
the second one, he refilled his glass and then finished a third but began to
feel a little unsteady.  The champagne, wine, and now these three drinks had
all mixed to calm him, but they were all too much within an hour.  He moved
back to the safety of his seat.  The waiters were bringing in flaming
desserts, but he was not interested in any more food or people.  Checking his
pocket for his electronic card to his room, he wished everyone a good night
and caught the elevator to his floor.

An hour passed before Carrie Billingsly inquired at his table as to Nick's
whereabouts.  Then later as her guests mingled and danced to the slow rhythm
of the piano, she pulled Natalie off to the side to speak with her.

"Natalie, I really do hate to disturb your good time, but I have an urgent
message that must be given to Detective Knight.  And with all my guests, I
really cannot get away.  Would you be so kind as to deliver this for me?"
Handing her a small sealed envelope, she continued.  "I believe that you are
on the same floor.  He is in room 2601.  I know I can trust that he will
receive it if you take it to him."

Nat looked back at Mark.  She knew how preoccupied he was with her and Nick's
past, and she hated to upset him.  But to drop off a message was so innocent
and Carrie was Mark's cousin.  Hesitantly she looked back at Carrie, who saw
her concern.

"Don't worry about Mark, Natalie.  I will not let him miss you too much.  I
have an old family album that I wish him to look at anyway.  Maybe I can
finally put some names with some pictures.  Go ahead, you would be bored if
you stayed."

Nat relaxed and smiled.  Both she and Carrie walked over to Mark.  "Mark,
Natalie is going to do a little favor for me, and while she is gone I have
some pictures that I want you to look at."  Pulling Mark across the room, he
looked back at Nat who blew him a kiss as she started off for the elevator.
 

End Part Nine

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