Intersection of The West Mall and The Queensway (roads); Toronto, Canada
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Mike Celluci parked on the side of the road beyond the chaos. Preliminary details said a forty-eight year-old businessman had a heart attack while driving and went through a red light. With the slick, snowy conditions it resulted in a ten vehicle accident. A senior center passenger van was knocked into a dealership's lot and parked cars. An SUV'S bad breaks were dislodged sending it and five people through small trees and into Etobicoke Creek. Last he heard twenty-two people went to the hospital by ambulance. The victim that interested him wasn't involved in the accident.
He climbed out of his unmarked police car. Ambulance, police and fire sirens were still coming and going. Uniformed officers had the area blocked off. Crime scene techs were assessing the numerous collisions. One group of officers and techs focused on the Creek. He walked toward them.
Bystanders rushing to help the passengers in the SUV found a woman unconscious in rocky area on the other side of the water. Mike received minimal details. Other than it had similarities to what happened to Vicki in Curtis Park and Sophie Lewis who was found dead in the Creek. Both south of the current scene.
Kate met him halfway across The Queensway. She looked cold, despite her thick parka, and angry. That seemed to be her thing lately. She already requested a new partner. Crowley hadn't made the arrangements yet. Although Kate was probably getting transferred out of homicide. He could only guess she said something that angered Crowley.
"There's no evidence. Nothing to even indicate how she got there. Uniforms are canvasing area businesses. CCTV for the accident shows nothing." Kate held out her phone showing a picture of an unconscious First Nation woman on a gurney. "The location is the only connection to Sophie Lewis or Vicki."
"Do we have an ID?"
"Charlotte Arnaud. Her mother and ex-boyfriend filed a missing persons report last night. She had an argument with the ex at a coffee shop on Lakeshore and Long Branch that afternoon. Her friends on social media realized there was a problem within a couple hours. By the time they filed the report, more then twenty people were searching for her."
"We need to look for a connection to Lewis. It's possibly cult related." Mike explained what he learned from the anthropologist about the cemetery thefts. He was still waiting back for research on the mausoleum at the Necropolis, the APB for Colin Harris and a search warrant for his social media for information about his stalker.
"You going to ask Vicki?"
"If she remembers anything, she will call."
That made Kate angrier. "What happened to staying away from her?"
Are you jealous? Mike wondered. "She's a potential witness in the investigation."
"You're not allowed to talk to her anymore. Then conveniently she has an incident and her office and apartment are broken into. Now she's back working with the department."
He took a moment trying to process that. "Vicki's not working. She's trying to fill in the gaps in her memory.
"Right." Kate walked around him to her car.

Vicki's New Apartment
After meeting with the anthropologist, Vicki Nelson reluctantly accepted she needed rest again. And pain pills. She hoped Henry wasn't getting bored. Moving the crypt stones suggested something supernatural was involved with the cult. But so far it was a mundane investigation.
The elevator stopped.
"What?" Henry lightly rubbed the small of her back.
"You have to be tired of babysitting," she said as they stepped through the open doors.
He slid his hand around around her waist. "It has it's benefits." He turned away from his part. "This way."
"Going to make me guess?"
"The sleeping arrangements made me think." Henry sounded amused. "For security reasons, I bought out the other tenants. I own everything on this floor."
"Meaning?" Vicki suspected she already knew.
Henry leaned in and spoke softly in her ear. "I have an excuse to keep you close."
Making him harder to resist. It wasn't as if she could hide her attraction. He could hear subtle changes to her pulse and breathing.
They stopped in front of a door down the hall from his. She leaned back, closing her eyes as he slid a hand over her stomach. While he unlocked the door with his free hand.
"Remember the dream." Henry opened the door and continued speaking as they entered. "Where you thought I came to your bed."
Impossible to forget.
He shut the door behind them. "Running my hands over your body." He tucked the keys in her pocket. Then reached up, drew the hair away from her neck and lightly kissed her.
"Henry," she managed softly.
He moved suddenly and lifted her, careful not to bump her injuries. Vicki struggled to remember her objections as he carried her toward the bedroom. Music switched on from some type of motion sensor sound system as they moved through the open doors. Henry set her on satin sheets in the middle of a queen sized bed.
She opened her eyes, meeting his as he sat on the edge of the bed. "You planned this." Satin sheets, a crystal vase full of long stem roses, music. Not that it surprised her. It was a matter of time before their relationship changed.
"Seeing you in my bed was intoxicating." He slid his finger tips from her elbow to her wrist.
Her cell phone rang.
Henry picked up her hand, twining their fingers together and kissed her inner wrist.
It sounded lame, but she couldn't think straight when he touched her. "No strenuous activity." It wasn't a conversation she wanted to have with an ER doctor.
"Just recreating your dream." His eyes sparkled with amusement. "I promise not to kiss anywhere bruised."

Mississauga Hospital
Standing in the ER break room room, Mike Celluci looked at is phone annoyed. He needed information. While Vicki said she was going to rest, he doubted it. More likely she dodged his calls because she was doing something she didn't want him to know about.
"Detective Celluci?" A woman asked softly.
He looked up as a nurse approached.
"I'm Olivia. I was told you wanted to speak to me about Victoria Nelson."
Mike removed a notebook from an inside jacket pocket. "You were on duty when she was admitted?"
She nodded. "And discharged."
"Did anything unusual happen? Guests? Calls?"
"Uh." Olivia took a moment. "A man called. Two, three times."
"Reporter?"
She shook her head. "They don't ask for medical information."
Since when? "What did he ask?"
"How bad were her injuries? Would she recover? I told him we couldn't provide information over the phone."
That sounded like a reporter. Unless he was involved in whatever happened in Curtis Park. "You took all three calls?"
Olivia nodded. "He could have called more."
Not unless he expected someone else to provide the information. "Did he give his name? Or any indication of who he was?"
"He had an accent. I didn't recognize it."
According to uniforms questioning people in Vicki's building, there was a Greek man coming and going from her office during the day. No one recognized him.
"He was persistent."
So are you. Mike wondered if the nurse had an agenda. Being a witness might mean interviews or attention. Because the hospital had a switchboard network, it would be incredibly difficult if not impossible to disprove. Especially if they received a lot of calls.
"Would you recognize his voice?"
"I don't know."
Mike reached into his pocket for a business card. If she wanted attention, she would definitely contact him. Ideally he would be able to figure out her motivation. "If you think of anything else, please call."
She accepted the card. As she walked away, Mike realized there was another possibility. Some types of offenders involved themselves in investigations. With what he knew of Sophie Lewis' killer, it was a definitely possibility. He needed to find out why Olivia was caring for Vicki.