Work Text:
By Any Other Name
By PJ
May 2024
Tracy sat at her desk completing the paperwork on their latest case, the decapitated corpse in the Raven. As usual when it came to paperwork, her partner was absent. Although it irked her every time, it was probably for the best in this case. She knew the case was closed, although there hadn’t been an arrest. Vachon had told her on the phone that he knew who the killer was. Apparently, it had been taken care of by the vampire community. Unfortunately, Vachon had moved on before she could get the details from him. It would be helpful if someone from the community could provide her with a forwarding address so that she could call and ask him. However, she didn’t know any other vampires in town.
Before signing the report, she went over the contents again. Her eyes lingered on the name of the material witness they had held for 24 hours. It was the owner of the Raven, Lucien Lacroix. As she knew the bar catered to vampires, she had wondered if the owner was one himself. Vachon had denied it, however, given the enforced secrecy of the vampire community, there was the possibility that he wouldn’t reveal other members to her. According to her own perception, there had been a sense of evil emanating from Lacroix. The same sensation she always perceived from Vachon.
There was something familiar about that first name, Lucien. She was certain that she had heard it before, in the context of another recent case. On impulse, she went to the file cabinet and pulled out case files from the last three months. Back at her desk, she scanned the reports. “Of course,” she mumbled. “The weird case about the killer Frank Lopietro, who believed he was a female vampire in a past life.” That’s where the name had turned up. The treating psychologist Dr. Lisa Kadlec had performed past life regression therapy and recorded the sessions. Tracy read the transcripts of the recordings until she found what she was looking for.
“Lucien, it’s been so long. And who is this fair traveler? Nicholas Chevalier. Nicholas, allow me to introduce one of your sisters: the Comtesse du Montaigne, Francesca –– Francesca du Montaigne.”
One of the vampires in Frank Lopietro’s narration was called Lucien. If Lopietro's story were true, that meant Lucien was real and could still be alive. Although the name was probably fairly common in France, could it be coincidence that the owner of a bar that catered to vampires went by the same name? If Lucien Lacroix and the Lucien from the 18th century were the same person, he must be the one who had brought Francesca and Nicholas Chevalier across.
Tracy pulled out an empty sheet and began to draw a family tree. In the upper box she jotted down ‘Lucien’. In the box underneath she wrote ‘Nicholas Chevalier’ and in the adjacent box she added ‘Francesca du Montaigne (deceased)’. From the introduction recorded on the tape, Tracy assumed that there was at least one more sister. She drew another box next to Francesca’s and sketched the symbol for female into the box. Vachon had told her that vampire families often moved on together. At least he and Urs had never been separated since he had brought her across. Perhaps this mysterious Chevalier was also in Toronto along with Lacroix.
Eager to find additional clues, Tracy started a computer search for incidents at the Raven. She found a report of a shooting inside the club dated about a year ago. There was a locked file from Internal Affairs attached. Curious, she typed in her badge number and security code, but access was denied. After glancing around to check if anyone paid her attention, she typed in her dad’s access code, which she had memorized since she had helped him to establish a remote connection to his office computer from home. The locked file opened immediately.
Her eyes widened as she read about an investigation of Nick’s conduct during the shooting that resulted in the death of a woman. IA had cleared Nick after evaluating several witness reports. Apparently, Nick had visited the club on his night off when several gunmen entered, demanding money and jewellery. Nick had stepped in to dissuade the men from their plan, however they began to shoot, and a woman was hit by a stray bullet. Among the witness statements Tracy found the name of the former owner, Janette duCharme. She wondered if the Raven had already catered to vampires before Lacroix took over.
“Hey, where’s your partner?” Natalie’s voice prompted her to close the file and to hide the sketch quickly.
“I have no idea,” Tracy responded, slightly miffed. “He said he had an errand to take care of and left me with the paperwork.”
“I’m sure it was something important,” Natalie jumped immediately to Nick’s defense.
“It always is when it comes to paperwork,” Tracy muttered. “Anything I should tell him when he comes back?”
“Well, no, maybe just to give me a call. I got off earlier tonight and wondered if ––“
“My shift’s over, too.” Tracy thought briefly, then she blurted, “How about a girls night out? There’s this club I wanted to check out.”
“Which club?” Natalie asked with an ill foreboding.
“The Raven. It looked pretty cool.” Tracy was certain that if she could get a chance to observe Lacroix again, she would be able to confirm if he was a vampire or not.
Natalie stared at her. “Are you sure you want to go there? I heard it’s rather sleazy.”
“We can always leave if we don’t like it and go someplace else.”
“Okay, why not? Let me just make a phone call,” Natalie consented. She had a feeling that Tracy wanted to visit the club for a reason.
“Great. I’ll just grab my things from the locker room.”
As soon as Tracy had left, Natalie reached for the phone on Nick’s desk and punched in his number.
“I’m either in bed or incommunicado. Leave a message.”
Natalie cursed during the recording. “Nick? It’s me. I don’t know why, but Tracy wants to go to the Raven. She had this I’m on a mission look. Is anything up I should know about? Anyway, I’m going with her, just to make sure she doesn’t get into trouble.”
* * * *
Tracy steered towards a table that allowed her a good view of the bar. Natalie glanced around nervously before sitting down next to her. She didn’t see Lacroix, nor anyone else she might know from the community.
“What can I get you?” a waitress asked as she approached their table.
“A glass of Pinot grigio,” Natalie ordered.
“Me too,” Tracy added.
The waitress returned with a bottle and two glasses. “It’s on the house. As a thank you for your recent help,” she addressed Natalie with a smile.
“Oh, you’re welcome,” Natalie replied, taken by surprise. She had been unaware that her involvement in providing the cure for the fever that had hit the community several months ago had become common knowledge.
“What is she talking about?” Tracy inquired.
“Oh, there was this case, remember Joey, the mentally retarded boy, who was in my custody? He ran away and ended up here at the club. Someone broke an ankle on the dance floor while I was here to retrieve him. I provided first aid,” Natalie explained quickly with a shrug.
“Have you heard anything from Joey, how he’s doing?” Tracy asked. She had felt awkward in the boy’s company, uncertain about how to respond to his disability, but Natalie had gotten along genuinely well with him.
“Yes, he sends me short letters now and then with the latest news from the wrestling scene. He’s doing as fine as circumstances permit.”
They continued to chat about people that were loosely connected to former cases, but who had left an impression.
“Good evening, ladies. I trust you’re enjoying yourselves?”
Both looked up, startled, as neither had noticed the elder approaching. Tracy stared at the man who caused the hair on the back of her neck to rise. Dressed all in black, he held a goblet with a red beverage in one hand and a bottle of white wine in the other. He cast her a chilly smile as if he were aware of her reaction to him. “Detective Vetter, it’s a pleasure to see you again under more sanguine circumstances. And who is your fair companion?”
“Mr. Lacroix,” Tracy acknowledged him. “Meet Dr. Natalie Lambert, a colleague from the pathology department.”
“How delicious. The pleasure is all mine, Doctor.” He picked up Natalie’s hand and raised it to his lips. Natalie glared at him and retracted her hand quickly. Lacroix placed the new bottle on the table and retrieved the empty one. “If you will excuse me, I have a visitor awaiting me for a game of chess.” He held Natalie’s gaze for a moment, then he turned and strode towards the private quarters.
“He seems to like you,” Tracy observed.
“I’m very sure that he does not.” Natalie fumed. She had a suspicion who the visitor was and she didn’t like it at all.
While Lacroix’s attention was focused on Natalie, Tracy had eyed him very closely. Again, she had perceived an aura of evil. She had noted the extreme pallor, and the beverage in his glass seemed to be thicker than ordinary red wine. “I think he’s creepy.”
“You have no idea,” Natalie muttered.
* * * *
Back at her apartment, Tracy emptied her pockets. She smoothed out the paper with the family tree and stared at the names. She had the distinct feeling that she was missing something. It was the same feeling that had bothered her during the Lopietro case. Yet, she was confident that it would come to her at some point.
It had been a fun evening with Natalie. Tracy wondered why they had never done this before. At work Natalie was always very professional and slightly distant. But last night she had detected a weird sense of humour in the other woman she hadn’t been aware of before.
On the following day, before her shift started, Tracy paid a visit to her Uncle Sonny, who lived in a retirement home in the Annex. He was still waiting for a heart transplant, but at least his condition was stable. Like all Vetters, he was a retired cop, and Tracy visited him occasionally to get his insight into a tricky case. While she waited for him to fetch tea and cake from the community kitchen, her eyes fell on an open magazine on the table with a crossword puzzle in progress. The word chevalier in her uncle’s shaky script caught her attention. The box next to it said “French for knight”.
“Oh my god.” Why had this not occurred to her earlier? Nicholas Chevalier was the French translation of Nicholas Knight! She jumped up and rushed from the room, almost running down her uncle in the process. “Sorry, a call came just in. I’ll make more time next week. Promise!”
“Suit yourself. More cake for me,” her uncle commented dryly while his eyes followed his departing niece.
* * * *
Tracy rushed back to her apartment. If the matching name was not a coincidence, it would mean that her partner was a vampire! She had been fairly certain that Nick was mortal. True, he had this sun allergy. And a food allergy. But she had never perceived this sense of evil from him that had bothered her in Vachon’s company. No, she couldn’t picture her partner as a ruthless killer. Then again, there had been the incident when he was shot with a Teflon bullet. It hadn’t occurred to her at the time, but his recovery was astonishingly rapid, and afterwards his skin wasn’t even marred by a scar that matched the injury.
From her desk drawer she pulled the photograph she had kept to herself from the case of the Montreal arsonist. It showed the suspect Janette de Brabant and her brother Nicholas. The likeness to Nick was undeniable. Was she the same Janette who formerly owned the Raven? Picking up a pencil and the sheet with the family tree, she wrote the name Janette with a question mark into the empty box with the female symbol.
What she needed was a confirmation. Heading back to her car, she drove to the warehouse Nick called home. It was still daylight and an hour before their shift started, so he was most likely home. Noting a security camera above the door, she pressed the bell.
It took a while before she heard Nick’s voice from the speaker. “Yes?”
“It’s me,” she stated and looked into the camera. “I need to talk to you.”
“Come on up. Take the elevator to the second level,” Nick instructed.
Tracy entered the freight elevator that brought her to the second floor with disconcerting creaking noises. When the elevator stopped, she pulled the door aside and stepped into the loft. Having never been here before, her eyes wandered around curiously, taking in a grand piano, an eclectic art collection, a state-of-the-art entertainment centre, and posh furniture. Nick sat at the kitchen table, a black coffee mug in front of him. Except for the hospital garments, she had never seen him in anything else than the tailored suits he wore to work. Now he wore an outdated looking red robe over black pyjamas that gave him a distinct Lord of the Manor look. The windows on the side of the loft facing the kitchen were blocked with heavy shutters, but the shutters on the opposite side were partly raised to let in the last vestiges of the setting sun.
“Hi,” she greeted him and approached the table.
“Coffee?” he asked and held up his mug.
“Yes, please,” she said and took the seat across from him.
Taking his mug with him, Nick went to the kitchen counter and began to prepare a new batch of coffee. “So, what’s up?” he asked.
“Well, it’s about ––“ She couldn’t possibly accuse him of being a vampire face to face without running the risk of making herself utterly ridiculous if he was mortal. “–– our paperwork,” she ended lamely. “Again you left me to write the case summary. I think it’s time you do your share of paperwork, too. So, the next time, it’s your turn. I won’t do it again all on my own, even if the Captain demands the report.”
Nick looked properly rebuked. “Sorry, I had to take care of something last night. You could have left the report to me.”
“And I will next time. I’m glad we’re agreed.”
Nick poured the coffee into a second mug and set it in front of her. “Do you take milk or sugar?”
“No, thanks. Black for me,” Tracy replied.
“You’re welcome. Anything else you want to get off your chest?”
Tracy regarded him scrutinizingly. She didn’t sense anything from him. Perhaps, the name was just coincidence and he was indeed the normal human being she had believed him to be. “No, that was all,” she smiled.
“Good. I’m getting dressed while you drink your coffee,” Nick announced and ascended the stairs. Tracy saw him vanishing into a room that departed from the gallery.
As soon as she heard the shower running, she took her mug and wandered around the loft. She opened the refrigerator and gasped. The shelves were bare except for a half-eaten container of Chinese food and a half pint of milk. Then she took a closer look at the piano. The sheet music on the stand was hand-written in ink. After discovering an easel and painting supplies in one corner, she concluded that Nick had probably painted several of the canvases scattered around the loft himself. Impressed at his many talents, she realized that she hardly knew anything about his private life.
* * * *
Unbeknown to her, two eyes followed her movements around the loft. Nick stood in the shadows on the gallery and watched. While she had ridden up in the elevator, he had quickly emptied the fridge of any evidence except for Natalie’s left-overs from her last visit, and moved his bottles into the bedroom. The precaution seemed to have been justified as Tracy was clearly looking for something. He quickly dressed before resuming his post.
He saw her examining the box that contained Saint Joan’s wooden cross. Then Tracy went to his desk and pulled open the upper drawer that contained his gun and ammunition, along with writing supplies, including a fountain pen engraved with his real name and a stack of check books. Nick lifted over the railing and landed noiselessly behind her. “Anything I can help you with?”
Tracy whirled around. She had been so absorbed in searching the loft that she hadn’t noticed the shower stopping nor her partner returning down the stairs. She blushed in embarrassment at having been caught snooping around. “Um, I was looking for scissors. I broke a nail.”
Nick raised an eyebrow at her response and indicated the door to the lower bathroom. “There’s a manicure set on the counter.”
“Thanks.” Tracy walked into the bathroom and tried to get her elevated heartbeat under control. Before Nick had caught her, she had glimpsed a pen engraved with the name Nicholas de Brabant. The same name Janette had used. Apparently, she was indeed his sister. But why did he go by Knight? Still, she hadn’t found anything that hinted directly at vampirism. On the contrary, the presence of the cross rather negated that theory. But she wasn’t sure if the repelling effect of holy symbols wasn’t just a myth. Vachon had lived in a church after all. She would have to resort to other means in order to find out the truth.
* * * *
Tracy used her lunch break to prepare her next move by eating garlic-laced bruschetta. It wasn’t her favourite taste as it made her extremely thirsty for the rest of the night, but she was curious if her breath would prompt a reaction from Nick. However, when she returned to the precinct, Nick was gone.
“Message for you,” the desk sergeant called and handed her a sheet of paper.
Tracy glanced at the note.
~ Suspect sighting at Varsity Stadium. Meet me at 299 Bloor Street West. – Nicholas ~
Tracy went back to her car and headed to the address. Nick’s Caddy was nowhere in sight when she arrived, and the stadium lay deserted at this time of night. After checking her gun, Tracy approached the main entrance. One of the glass doors was unlocked. She entered and made her way cautiously up the stairs that led to the stadium.
* * * *
“Do you think she knows something?” Natalie asked while placing a kidney on the scales. Nick had told her about Tracy’s surprise visit.
Nick leaned with his back against the door, as far away from the oozing organ as he could manage. “I’m not sure. Did she say why she wanted to go to the Raven?”
Natalie shook her head. “Were you at the club last night? Lacroix said he had a visitor for a game of chess.”
“No, I wasn’t. Myra needed a hand in moving the television around, and then Jenny had a problem with a history text. You talked to Lacroix?”
“He came to our table and graciously delivered a second bottle of wine on the house.”
“By that he made sure that you weren’t bothered by other patrons,” Nick stated.
“And who saves us from being bothered by him? Really Nick, he had the gall to let Tracy introduce him to me, and then he kissed my hand. I’m sure it made his evening.”
Nick glanced at her gloved hands, covered in blood. “It would make mine. But right now your hands look a bit too gory even for my taste. I should go, Tracy will be back from her lunch break soon.”
Natalie removed one glove and made a motion to toss it at him, but he slipped out the door before the glove landed properly in the bio hazard bin.
* * * *
“Is Tracy still at lunch?” Nick asked when he returned to the precinct.
“Didn’t you leave her a message?” the desk sergeant asked, confused.
“No, I didn’t. What was the message?” Before the sergeant answered, Nick spotted the note on Tracy’s blotter. His eyes widened at the use of his full first name. “Damn,” he muttered and rushed out of the precinct.
* * * *
Meanwhile, Tracy was certain that she was alone in the stadium. She stood in the middle of the lawn and scanned the stands. Perhaps Nick had chased the suspect to a different location. She was just about to holster her gun when she perceived a sensation that made her skin crawl. Two dark figures dropped from the sky and landed to each side of her.
“Detective Vetter, how convenient that you followed our call,” one of them said.
“Who are you?” Tracy demanded. The other man who had remained silent so far looked vaguely familiar. She was certain that she had seen him at the Raven last night.
“Who we are, is irrelevant. What we are is to make sure the Code is enforced by wrapping up loose ends. Unfortunately, you are one of those loose ends left by your dearly departed friend Javier Vachon,” the speaker informed her.
“What are you talking about?”
“Your knowledge about us was tolerated as long as Vachon was responsible for you. With him out of the picture you are a liability the community cannot afford.” He nodded at his companion who stepped behind Tracy about to reach for her. Tracy whirled to face him and exhaled into his face. The vampire recoiled immediately from the garlic scent, hissing at her with elongated fangs.
Tracy was just gathering her breath to exhale anew when a third vampire landed in a blur in front of her, shielding her protectively from the others. “Leave her alone!” Tracy recognized Nick’s voice and realized with a mixture of sadness and relief that she now had her proof.
“She is trustworthy. There’s no need for you to interfere,” Nick continued.
“We cannot allow it. Without someone taking responsibility on her behalf, she’s free game.”
“I will assume responsibility for her,” Nick stated.
“Of course, your sire predicted that you would interfere. Once a knight, always a knight, isn’t it?”
“Are we agreed?” Nick insisted.
“We accept your decision. Make sure she abides by the rules.”
When both vampires had departed, Nick turned to Tracy. “Are you alright?”
Tracy holstered her gun and took a long glance at him. “I think so, Nicholas Chevalier.”
Nick glanced to the ground. “So now you know,” he said softly.
“You could have told me! Do you have any idea how stupid I feel for not noticing?”
“I thought you were better off not knowing. You’ve just experienced the consequence of too much knowledge.”
“Maybe I wouldn’t have run into this trap had I known that you could handle a suspect on your own,” Tracy shot back.
“Since when do I sign messages for you as Nicholas? That should have roused your suspicion.”
“True,” Tracy admitted ruefully. “I guess my mind was elsewhere.”
“Elsewhere as in trying to prove your partner is a vampire?” Nick smirked. “At least your choice of lunch kept your attacker at bay until I got here.”
Tracy smiled. “It worked, didn’t it? But you don’t seem to be bothered.”
“After riding three years with Schanke, I guess I built some tolerance.” Nick hesitated. “Tracy, about what I am, does it bother you?
Tracy studied him closely. “It’s odd. From Vachon I always felt that sense of evil inside him. It scared me. I don’t feel that from you. Maybe that’s why I never figured out what you are.”
Nick nodded solemnly. “I try to make amends. I don’t kill anymore for food, and I usually don’t drink human blood. You might feel something from me when I get really angry.”
“Uh-huh.” Tracy felt some relief, but the word anymore bothered her. It implied a confession that he had obviously killed in the past. She just hoped that it hadn’t been as many centuries as Vachon had done the same.
“Do you still want to continue as partners?” Nick asked, uncertain.
“Honestly? That depends.”
“On what?”
“Why do you work as a cop? Are you using your position to cover up kills?”
Nick looked aghast at her assumption. “No. I work as a cop because I’m good at it. If I come across a body for which a vampire is responsible, I hunt them down like any other suspect. It just doesn’t end up in the reports.”
“Like the case of the decapitated corpse in the Raven? Was the killer a vampire?”
“Yes, I staked her myself.”
Tracy suppressed a shiver. She still couldn’t picture her partner committing any act of violence. “It was a woman? Why did she do it?”
“She had a quarrel with Lacroix.”
“He’s a vampire too, isn’t he? And he’s the one who turned you.”
Nick was surprised. “How did you discover that?”
“His first name, Lucien. He was mentioned by Frank Lopietro in the stories about Francesca. You knew this Francesca then and were her dark and dangerous lover? It’s all true then?”
“To the minute,” Nick admitted. “Although I was a different man then.”
“And your real name is Nicholas Chevalier?”
“No, I’ve been using Knight or any variation of it more often because it’s a title I earned when I was mortal.”
Tracy’s eyes widened. “That would place you in the Middle Ages. Seriously? You’re older than Vachon?”
“Huh-hm,” Nick confirmed.
Tracy let that sink in. “The woman who owned the Raven before Lacroix, is she the same Janette who was involved in the arson case? She said she was your sister; that would make her a vampire, too?”
Nick stared at her. “You put that together, too? You’re an awfully good detective.”
Tracy grinned at him. “So she is your sister? Then your real name is de Brabant?”
Nick sighed. “Sister in the sense that she was also brought across by Lacroix. She was the reason I chose this. We’ve been lovers on and off since then. And yes, I am Nicholas de Brabant.” He playfully indicated a bow. Getting serious again, he added, “You must be aware that you cannot discuss any of this with anyone, ever. Not even with Natalie.”
“Why would I discuss this with –– she knows?” Tracy’s eyes widened.
“She has known what I am since I woke up on her table, before I started at Metro.”
“You woke on her table? You mean you were a case and arrived at the morgue in a body bag?” Tracy squeaked.
Nick nodded. “I was blown to pieces by a pipe bomb. By the time she opened the bag, I was sufficiently recovered to walk away.”
“Jeez, that must have scared the crap out of her.”
Nick smiled, his eyes taking on a far-away look as he recalled Natalie’s reaction. “No, her curiosity won out. She was pretty amazing.”
Tracy nodded. It matched the trait she had only recently discovered in the coroner. “Nick, when you said that you would assume responsibility for me, what does that mean?”
“It means that I’m responsible that you don’t reveal the existence of vampires. If you do, we will both be killed.”
Tracy’s eyes widened. “It would get you killed if I say anything? That’s pretty cruel and a great sacrifice on your part. Thanks.”
“It’s the Code. We haven’t remained undiscovered for millennia by being careless. And I know that you haven’t said anything since you made Vachon’s acquaintance. I trust you, Tracy.”
Tracy was touched. “Do you know where Vachon went? Did he know I would get into trouble if he just left? That’s not like him.”
Nick avoided her gaze. “He didn’t make it, Tracy. He was attacked and fatally wounded. I’m sorry.”
Tracy was dumbstruck. “He’s dead? That’s why the guy said dearly departed? I thought he was being sarcastic. But why do I remember Vachon telling me that he moved on?”
Nick shrugged. “I wouldn’t know,” he lied. “Perhaps he intended to move on before he was attacked?”
They had walked back to the parking area. “Where’s your car?” Tracy asked, while she steered towards the only car in the lot.
“At the precinct,” Nick said sheepishly.
“Right. Need a ride?”
“I’ll meet you at the precinct. There’s someone I need to talk to first.”
Nodding, Tracy opened her car door and sat down. After starting the engine, she raised her hand to wave, but Nick, who had waited next to her car until she was safely inside, was nowhere to be seen. “I guess this takes some getting used to,” she muttered.
* * * *
Nick entered the Raven and walked to the bar where Lacroix was pouring a second glass, which he placed in front of him the moment Nick reached him. “Good evening, Nicholas.”
“Why are Enforcers in town? Did you call them?” Nick accused.
“Really Nicholas, you know very well that I prefer to keep them at a distance given your list of indiscretions. Unfortunately, recent events haven’t gone unnoticed.”
“The fever?” Nick concluded.
“And Divia’s havoc. Toronto has become rather unpopular for our kind, I’m afraid. Was I correct?”
“About what?”
“Vilnius and I discussed chess strategies the other night. I told him that in my opinion, the knight is the most valuable piece on the board. He didn’t believe me.”
“He knows better now,” Nick smiled in spite of himself.
“I’m pleased to hear that.”
“However, Tracy knows now that Vachon is dead. I thought I owed her the truth after all. But I didn’t tell her that you altered her memories at my request.”
“And why is that?” Lacroix raised his eyebrow.
“She doesn’t need to know that it’s possible although she’s a resistor. Just in case.”
“A wise decision, Nicholas. So you now have two ladies to look out for. Are you sure you can handle that? If it turns out to be too much responsibility, I’m willing to offer assistance where the charming Doctor Lambert is concerned.”
“Lacroix?”
“Yes, Nicholas?”
“Forget it!”
FIN