Ned Nickerson really had a hard time sleeping. He didn't want to leave Nancy, but he also didn't want to lose his job. And it bothered him that Frank Hardy may have actually been right. Why couldn't he have stayed with Nancy and said to hell with everything else? And why wasn't he there for her when she had been stabbed?

And the fight with Frank didn't help things either. Sure it had felt good to finally be able to punch him, but at what cost? He hadn't talked to Nancy since and hadn't returned any of her phone calls. Was he really that much of a coward? Or was it that he realized he could be pushing her away without even knowing he was doing it.

That was the last thing that he wanted to do. She meant everything to him and she was the one true constant in his life. If he ever lost that, he wasn't sure what he would do. They had split once and it nearly killed him. He needed Nancy in his life; he knew that for sure. But if he kept on with these childish games with Frank, he knew he would lose her before he knew what was happening.

But he would deal with that tonight when he got off of work. He would call her and they would talk everything out. She needed to know where he stood with things. He at least owed that to her.

Ned grabbed his briefcase and his keys and was soon out the door. He lived in a modest Chicago apartment complex that was a ten minute drive to the office. He got into his Chevy Impala and was at the office in no time.

When he walked in the doors, he was immediately greeted by the receptionist, Shannon.

"Good morning, Ned," she said with a smile.

Ned smiled back at her. "Morning, Shannon. Any messages?"

Shannon nodded as she handed Ned a few sheets of pink message paper. "A few."

"Thanks," Ned said, taking them from her. He read through them as he walked to his small office. There were a couple from Nancy and a couple from clients of his. He opened the door to his office and was so caught up in the messages that he didn't notice anyone sitting in front of the desk until he sat down.

"Oh!" he said startled. "Can I help you?"

"I'm sorry–I didn't mean to startle you," the man said with an apologetic smile. "Shannon said I could come in and wait for you."

"No, it's okay," Ned said. "She just didn't tell me I had someone waiting in here."

"My name is Dominic Shepard," he said, holding out a hand. "I was interested in getting some property insurance."

"Ned Nickerson," Ned said shaking his hand. "May I ask what made you come to me?"

"You came highly recommended from a friend of mine," Dominic said with a smile. "Is that a problem?"

Ned gave him an apologetic smile of his own. "No–I'm sorry. I just haven't had a good week." He pulled out a tablet from his desk drawer. "So...property insurance?"

"I recently bought an old theatre. I hope to get it up and running one day," Dominic said.

"Well, I'd have to see the property first before we start with any of the paperwork," Ned said.

"No problem," Dominic said. "Would you like to see it now?"

Ned looked at his watch. "Well..."

"It won't take long at all," Dominic said.

Ned sighed. He needed something to take his mind off of everything else for a while. And here was that something practically smacking him in the face.

"Sure," Ned said. "Let's go."

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"I swear, I'm tempted to give you an office of your own," B.D. said when Nancy and the Hardys walked into his office the next morning.

"Hey, I could have followed you here last night," Nancy said. "You're lucky I didn't do that."

"No...I'm surprised you didn't do that," B.D. said, smiling at her.

"What can I say, B.D.?" Nancy asked. "I can be full of surprises."

"And that you are, my dear," B.D. said. He pulled a folder off of his desk and handed it to her. "I suppose this is what you came after."

Nancy opened the folder to reveal a picture of a man who appeared to be in his mid-to-late twenties, with dark hair. He was a very handsome man–someone you would pass every day on the street and not even think twice about him being a killer–with a strong build, as if he worked out every day or was just blessed with good genes. She passed the folder to Frank and Joe.

"So, what do you think?" B.D. asked.

Nancy shrugged. "I don't know; he looks normal enough."

"Just because he looks normal doesn't mean he is normal, Nancy," B.D. said.

"And just what is normal?" Nancy asked.

"We could go for hours trying to figure that out," B.D. said. "But don't discredit him just because he looks nice."

"Looks can be deceiving," Frank commented.

Nancy looked over at him and sighed. "I'm not saying this isn't our guy; I never saw his face. We have to wait until Nikki wakes up to be sure."

"Don't look at him as a person, Nan," Joe said., giving the folder back to B.D. "Look at him as a suspect."

"Okay, why are you guys riding me?" Nancy asked.

"We just don't want you to make it personal," Frank said. "It clouds your judgement."

"It is personal," Nancy said. "It was personal the day he killed Ann."

"Like you said–we won't know anything until Nikki wakes up," B.D. said. He opened the folder to let the picture look up at them. "But for right now, consider this to be your killer."

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Dominic pulled the car to a stop in front of the old theatre. "Well, this is it."

Ned looked up at the old building and whistled. "Sure doesn't look like much."

"Not right now," Dominic agreed. "Haven't you ever heard the expression, 'It's what's on the inside that counts'?"

"Many times," Ned said. "Let's go see what's on the inside, then."

He got out of the car and stretched. It had been a forty-five minute drive out of Chicago. In fact, Ned figured they weren't too far away from River Heights. He should have brought his own car; then he could have went to River Heights and talk to Nancy in person after he was finished here.

Dominic locked the doors to his car and led the way to the front doors of the old theatre. He pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the padlock that was holding a set of chains around the metal bars of the doors. He pushed open the doors and Ned was immediately greeted with a musty smell.

"Wow," Ned said, waving a hand in front of his face to fan the smell away.

"The realtor told me it hasn't been used in years," Dominic said with a small smile. "In fact, I think he was laughing to himself as I signed the papers."

"I'm pretty sure we'll be able to insure you," Ned said. "Do you have a flashlight?"

"Don't need one," Dominic said. "I already had the power turned on. I was ready to get started in here."

Ned followed Dominic to the stage area and waited as he turned on the lights. When the bright lights came on, Ned had to blink several times before he was able to see clearly. When he was able to see, he wished that he couldn't.

His mouth dropped in horror when he saw what decorated the stage. There were pictures everywhere of Nancy–in her house, doing errands, at the crime scenes of the murders. And there were pictures of his victims, too.

"What is this?" Ned croaked.

"What does it look like?" Dominic asked. "It's my shrine to Katie."

He said it so chillingly that Ned felt his blood run cold as he tried to say something. He was so completely caught off-guard by everything, he never even knew that Dominic was standing behind him. He finally realized it when felt a burst of electricity go through his body.

Stun gun! Ned realized.

"Don't worry," Ned heard Dominic say as he lost consciousness. "Katie will be joining us soon enough."

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Author's Note: Yes, I know it's another short chapter, but I hope this was suspenseful for you. In case you haven't figured it out, Dom and Dominic are the same. I didn't have many reviews for the last chapter, so I really don't know how everyone felt about it. For those of you who did review, I really appreciate the kind words and encouragement.

Let me know what you think!