Some days are better than others, and some days don't make it onto the map. Natalie Lambert's day started with a canceled dinner date - one of her old friends couldn't get a baby-sitter - then got steadily worse. It was a dark, depressing evening anyway; it was raining when she got up, and the weather hadn't eased any by midnight, when she had to run some reports over to the 96th on the other side of town. Contrary to popular belief, the Coroner's office was not the center of exciting activity. On the way into the station, her umbrella got blown inside out, her new coat got soaked, and she walked into the main lobby looking like a drowned cat.
And now she had this vampire staring at her.
[A few notes, re: Natalie Lambert.
Despite being bright, kind, funny, pretty, and possessed of an original fashion sense, Dr. Lambert's social life for the last few years has revolved almost exclusively around dead (and formerly dead) people. Part of this is job-related, of course; part of it is Nick's fault, but not in the way that you probably think. Many of Metro's police force would love to ask out the attractive ME for coffee, doughnuts, and maybe the Policeman's Ball. However, it is generally rumored around the locker room that Nick Knight and Natalie Lambert are an item, albeit an unstable, unsteady item, and Detective Knight has a certain reputation - a pretty accurate one, actually - as a man with a quick temper.
So Natalie's nights are more often spent in the company of her cat and a good book than they are tripping the light fantastic, since Nick has this weird hang-up about dating mortals. Aside from the occasional foray to the Raven for one reason or the other, Metro's favorite coroner can't remember the last time she had a date.
The other outcome of this situation is that Dr. Lambert has become very, very good at spotting vampires at fifty paces.
End of our notes.]
The bizarre thing about the vampire standing in the middle of the 96th entrance area - aside from his staring at her - was that he looked exactly like Jerry Tate. Well, he was better-dressed. Maybe a little taller. Definitely cuter, but then, Natalie hadn't met a vampire yet who didn't project more charisma than Pierce Brosnan. Being eyed hungrily by vampires had ceased to be immediately unnerving for her years ago, and combined with the really rotten night she was having, it was just enough to push Natalie's already uncertain temper over the edge.
"Do you have some problem?" she asked, flipping wet hair out of her face and spraying water around her as she dumped an armful of file folders onto the reception counter. "Or haven't you ever seen a monsoon victim before?"
To her satisfaction, he blinked at her, slightly disconcerted, before suavely responding, "No, I was just wondering where we'd met. Paris, perhaps? Or was it Hong Kong?" The lamest and oldest of pick-up lines almost sounded sincere when accompanied by a disingenuous smile. Almost.
Natalie traded can-you-believe-this-guy? looks with Norma the desk clerk before turning back to squelch the would-be lady-killer (in more senses than one, Nat couldn't help mentally adding). Norma looked slightly envious, but the medical examiner knew better than to expect that he had anything more on his mind than lunch. "I've never been to either place, and if I had, I doubt I would have talked to anyone who was staring at me as rudely as you were."
"What a shame. Surely someone as lovely as yourself has better things to do than deliver paperwork in a downpour." He leaned in toward her, eyes narrowing in what most would interpret as romantic interest, and what Natalie was pretty sure was the look of a man sizing up the meat on the main dish. "Paris can be beautiful this time of year, but I think... Rio. Yes, definitely. Wouldn't you rather be on the beach, beneath the stars, sipping an exotic drink while listening to calypso... the sand between your toes, the warm night air--"
"That sounds lovely. And what city will you be visiting?" Natalie interrupted, annoyed both with the blatant come-on and her own reaction to it. God, I need a vacation. And it's been way too long since I've had to shoot someone down---this creep is almost starting to sound good.
"Mr. Lucard," Nick's voice cutting into the conversation was a definite relief. For about ten seconds. He'd grasped Lucard's arm and pulled the other vampire around to face him, his eyes taking on the glare they usually had right before they turned yellow and his fangs came out. "The lady doesn't want to be bothered."
Lucard's "oh?" was overlaid with Natalie's "I can speak for myself, Nick," and Tracy Vetter's whispered "Nick! Will you quit manhandling him?" as Knight's partner joined the small group at the reception area. The female detective plastered on a professional smile and added, "Interrogation Room number three is empty, so we can discuss the... recent developments in there. If you'll step this way?" Knight lingered at the reception counter for a few seconds as Tracy ushered Lucard down the hallway.
"Why was he talking to you?" Nick demanded, dissolving whatever gratitude Natalie felt at being rescued from the situation.
"Oh, I don't know, Nick, maybe he was just looking for someone to cut up some corpses for him!" the coroner hissed, slamming some files around before she got control of herself. "Why is he here, anyway? Usually your 'friends' make it a point to avoid the police station."
"He is NOT my friend," Knight responded hotly. At Natalie's raised eyebrows, he shrugged uncomfortably. "More of an acquaintance of an acquaintance of an acquaintance," he mumbled. Taking a deep breath, he added, "He's being held for questioning in the attempted shooting of Jerry Tate."
The M.E. stopped cold, working out the implications of that, then couldn't help but giggle. "You're kidding me, right? I mean, c'mon, Nick--" One thing Natalie had learned about vampire murders and murderers was that most of them preferred the 'hands-on' approach. The idea that any of Nick's brethren would use a gun and be clumsy enough to get caught was one that her brain simply refused to take seriously.
"Knight? Would you mind joining us?" Tracy's strident question cut across the usual station noise, and by the tone, Commissioner's Daughter Vetter was about to pitch a fit if her partner didn't get his butt into the interrogation room. Pronto.
"Oooo, she's using your last name. You're in for it now," Natalie laughed, her bad mood washed away by the innate ridiculousness of the latest case and Nick's earlier possessiveness. Who the hell was he, to ask why strange vampires were talking to her? She had the silliest impulse to tell him that she and Lucard were secretly planning on running away to Switzerland, to start a clinic for reformed vampires together, and use the proceeds to open similar outlets all over the world. But as Nick stomped off to join his partner, her levity drained away, leaving a sense of frustration. Damnit. Rio really did sound good. Why hadn't he ever asked her if she'd like to take a trip somewhere fun? Why hadn't...
With the ease of long practice, Dr. Lambert slammed the lid on such speculations and went in search of Captain Reese, despite the angry rumblings from her subdued subconscious.
But the seeds of some new ideas were already germinating in the dark....