Ghost of a Chance

Part Two


Time: 3am
Place: Toronto
Day: 8/5/96

Betsy slumped on the stairs of the apartment building. "Well, I tried," she told her personal specter. "They must have moved sometime since...you know."

Cohen didn't appear discouraged that her first idea hadn't panned out. "Then we'll track them down at their new location."

"This is hopeless," Betsy moaned, wanting nothing more than to be back at the Hostel where she belonged. Asleep. "For all we know, your ex-husband may have taken Evelyn to L.A. or somewhere equally distant. I am not leaving this city, not with all that's going on. He's not in the phone book--we double checked, remember?--and I don't have much else in the way of resources."

"We can't give up," Cohen maintained. "I'm sure my people at the precinct could--"

"You're a ghost!" Betsy exclaimed in exasperation. "What am I supposed to do, tell them the truth? They'd send me to a funny farm...though that's probably where I belong for agreeing to this."

"Could you hire help?"

"Private detective? Mercenary?" She shook her head. "That would take too long to arrange, and besides, I didn't bring much money with me on this little excursion, not to mention other forms of payment."

"There must be another source of information."

"Oh, sure, I could trot over to the Raven and ask Janette. That's what Nick always did," she grumbled.

"It's worth a try."

Betsy stared at the captain. "First of all, I can't believe you took me seriously. Second, I'm not dressed for the Raven. Third, I really don't need to hold a conversation with thin air in front of that many people who know me."

"People who know us..." Cohen repeated thoughtfully. "You know, my husband liked to eat out. He had a favorite place, a little deli with the most amazing selection of food. If we were to go there, someone might be able to tell us where he is now."

"Deli?" Betsy blinked. She couldn't mean... But, of course, this was Wartime. The Happy Souvlaki, where else? "I think I know the place you're talking about. They're used to serving the night shift, so they're probably still open."

"Shall we locate a phone to call another cab?"

Betsy thought of the look the first cab driver had given her. He had taken off as soon as possible, barely waiting for the fare to leave her hands before screeching away at full speed. "I'll walk, thanks."

The two of them made their way through the streets of Toronto, Cohen telling the NatPacker all about her daughter. It wasn't until they had been walking for nearly half an hour that Betsy realized, in her distracted state, she had gotten completely lost. She stopped, the ghost stopping with her. "Where are we?"

The captain examined her surroundings. "I'm...not sure. Things tend to get fuzzy the farther away from you they are, so I haven't been paying much attention. I thought you knew where you were going."

"I do! I mean," Betsy clarified, "I know our destination. I don't exactly know how to get there."

Cohen crossed her arms and focused one of her patented Disapproving Frowns on her faction leader. "Then ask someone."

"Who?" Betsy wasn't sure she wanted to walk up to a total stranger on a dark street in the middle of the night, even in Toronto. Not with a NatPacker's luck, not without heavy backup.

"What about him?" Cohen indicated a man leaning casually against a nearby streetlight.

There was something hauntingly familiar about him, but Betsy couldn't put her finger on it. She also couldn't figure out why there seemed to be something odd about the light around him, but she blamed that on her exhaustion. "All right," she acceeded. She approached the man and addressed him carefully, "Excuse me?"

He turned to face her, and her heart fairly doubled its pace. "Yes?"

"Richard?" she gasped. Natalie's brother, brought across by Nick during first season and promptly destroyed when he couldn't control his hunger. It sank in that the light appeared strange because it passed right through him, leaving no shadow. Another ghost.

The vampire/ghost smiled at her, no fangs in sight. "You're one of Nat's friends, aren't you? I've seen you with her. I want to thank you for taking such good care of her."

"I--I--" Betsy stammered. Two ghosts in as many hours. "Don't eat me!" she squealed, overwhelmed.

Richard shook his head. "I couldn't, even if I wanted to. I'm dead, remember? Really dead, this time. I'm here to help." He paused. "To repay, as it were. So, what can I do for you?"

Betsy swallowed her fright. "I have to find the Happy Souvlaki Deli. Can you show me the way?"

"Just follow me." He bowed to the two women. "I'll get you there safe and sound. I promise."

End Part 2

[previous] [next]


© 1996 Amparo Bertram. Previously published on FKFIC-L.