A New Life
by Thomas Mc

Authors Note: Catherine and Vincent have settled into their new lives as a married couple but life is never simple when balancing work, home, friends, and the tunnel community while trying to keep a really big secret. (As always reviews and comments are welcome.)

Part 1 : The Adventure

It was a warm sunny, late July, afternoon and Geoffrey was with his two crewmates, Billy and Henry. They were moving as quietly as they could through the dense island jungle, trying to avoid the band of murderous, cutthroat, mutineers. Henry was leading them along the river's edge to a secret place where the treasure was hidden. The cliffs on the other side of the river were hundreds of feet high and riddled with caves. All three kept their eyes on those caves less some dangerous creature catch them unawares. Suddenly Henry stopped and pointed to a deep cleft in the side of the cliffs and called out in a loud whisper. "Hey guys come over here quick."

The other two joined Henry crouched in a drainage culvert. "Look they're boosting a car," He informed them.

In the alley across the street from the park were four men. One was sitting behind the wheel of a blue Mustang facing away from them. Two of the men were apparently keeping watch up and down the street. A fourth man was working with a slim-jim on a green Cadillac. He soon had the car open. One of the lookouts got into the Cadillac and the other got into the Mustang. A few seconds later, the Cadillac started up and both vehicles took off up the alley away from the park.

A couple of minutes later a middle-aged man came out and frantically looked around. He started yelling and stomping around for a minute then he went back inside.

Billy looked at the other two. "Wow. They boosted that car so fast." He screwed up his face trying to dredge up some memory. "I think I've seen one of those guy's before." He looked at the others, a bit uncertain. "Should we tell somebody?"

Henry spoke up. "Naw. You don't know who they are. Let's get out of here before the police show up."

"Yes, we'd better go," Geoffrey added nervously. The last thing those Below wanted was for him to get involved with the police. He had no way of identifying the culprits anyway but it still bothered him that he couldn't do anything about the theft.

The three companions headed deeper into the park once again dodging through the jungle to avoid Long John Silver and his pirate mutineers. Meanwhile a police cruiser came up the street and stopped at the apartment building to be met by a very unhappy middle-aged man.

~ BB ~

Around noon Joe came over to Catherine's desk. "How's it going, Radcliffe? Shake anything loose on the baby case?" he sat on the corner of her desk.

"Nothing new." Catherine shook her head. "I've shaken every tree, rattled every informant and questioned every contact I have and nothing's fallen loose on it." She frowned. "If there is an organized operation, it's buried so deep that no one can find it. I really don't think there is anything to find."

"I hate to keep pushing like this, but ever since that damn TV news show did that piece on black market babies in New York, the higher up's have been hounding me to do something about it." Joe shrugged. "And you know what they say about you-know-what rolling down hill. They push me to find out, so I push you."

Catherine frowned up at him. "Is it one of the requirements of your job to give me a hard time?"

Joe smiled. "No, just one of the perks."

"I thought so, and you enjoy it way too much." Catherine thought about what had so far been a fruitless inquiry. "Really, Joe, I don't think the situation is as wide spread or as organized as that article made it seem. An occasional incident, maybe, but the few I have dug up were isolated cases, and half of those were innocent errors on the part of the participants, and bad advice from incompetent lawyers."

Joe shrugged. "Well, write up a report for me on your findings and conclusions, for the record, and pass a copy on to Jackson in Public Relations." Joe dismissed the matter as settled and went on with other business. "What about that Davis matter?"

"I've got the statements of the Aunt and Uncle. It corroborates the statements of the cousin." She grabbed a folder from a stack of pending cases. "I've contacted C.P.S. and I think we can wrap this one up fairly quickly." She glanced at the contents of the folder. "I've already started the ball rolling on an indictment and, as soon as I finish up that baby thing for you, I'll start work on the brief. I should be ready to file with the court by Monday."

"That's fine, Radcliffe. By the way, good work on that Haldeman case. If you hadn't found that witness, we might have prosecuted. We could have ruined Mrs. Haldeman's life only to end up looking really bad when the truth finally came out." Joe smiled at her. "You deserve a gold star for that one."

"Thanks." Her eyes flashed with humor. "Do I get a cookie, too."

"Don't push your luck." Joe laughed as he stood up. "Next you'll be asking for a raise." With a smile and a chuckle, Joe walked away.

Joe walked back to his desk, happy. The Higher-up's minds would be put at ease about the black market baby non-scandal. And, just as important, the reputation of a good woman would not be smeared. Mrs. Haldeman was lucky that the District Attorney's office had someone like Cathy on staff. One thing Joe could always count on. If Cathy said there was nothing to a case, he could bet the bank on it. She was just as diligent when it came to exonerating the innocent as she was about going after the guilty. She had even reamed out a couple of detectives one time for bringing her a case full of holes after she found an unimpeachable witness for the defense.

~ BB ~

It was the end of the day and Catherine was still deep in the paperwork for her latest case. At least the black market baby case report had already been completed and turned in. She had even couched it in terminology that left the DA office an out if something did turn up. She had started putting everything away as she prepared to quit for the day, when she was interrupted by Joe as he passed by her desk ranting to himself. "What's up, Joe?" she asked, her curiosity peaked.

"Another three cars stolen," Joe complained to a very tired Catherine as she prepared to leave. "I don't suppose you've heard anything useful?" Joe asked her.

A rash of car thefts and hijackings had hit the city over the last four weeks and every one was taking heat. She knew about the situation but was not involved in the case. Though she no longer worked as an investigator, Catherine still had a habit of finding information and witnesses that others couldn't. Joe had come to rely on her when his cases began to stall out.

Catherine shook her head. "I'm afraid I haven't heard anything, Joe," she replied. "What happened now?"

"City councilman Harrison had his brand new Caddie stolen from his apartment at around three this afternoon. He's mad as hell and demanding action," Joe complained. "Everyone is feeling the pressure. These guys are very slick and they have left nothing behind."

"If I hear anything I'll let you know." Catherine told him as she headed for the elevator.

"Sure thing Radcliffe." Joe responded. "You just keep yourself out of trouble." He called as she stepped into the elevator.

It was still rush hour so rather than taking a cab, Catherine ran into the building across the street and down into the utility tunnels under the city. From there she entered a hidden access to the deeper, older, unused tunnels that honeycombed the bedrock under the city. She thought to herself that maybe she should see if Mouse could arrange an entrance from her work then thought better of it. Too many potential problems. Forty-five minutes later, she emerged into the ground floor parlor of her own brownstone. There she was met by Vincent who enfolded her in his arms and welcomed her home. Catherine and Vincent ascended the spiral stairs arm in arm. They entered the bedroom where she changed out of her business clothes.

While she was changing, they told each other about their day. Vincent talked about the goings on in the tunnels and Catherine told Vincent about the rash of car thefts and the hassles it was causing for Joe and the police. Vincent said that tomorrow he would spread the word among the helpers to be on the lookout for anything useful. Catherine also told him that the witness he had found had definitely helped prevent what could have been a tragedy in the Haldeman case.

Once she had changed, they went back downstairs to the kitchen and began preparing for dinner. It was such a prosaic domestic activity but, for both of them, it was heaven because they were doing it together, as a couple, in their own home.

Late that evening after going over some depositions from the previous day, Catherine finally climbed into bed. Vincent rolled over as she snuggled up against him. As she lay there with him pressed up against her back, his arm around her and his hand cupped against her breast, she could feel his love flowing to her through the link they shared and she returned it in kind. Over the last several months, she had become almost as adept at sensing his emotions as he was at sensing hers. She sighed. Life was so sweet now. She felt contentment envelop her as she drifted off to sleep.

~ BB ~

It was early in the day and Space Cadets Geoffrey, Billy and Henry were exploring a strange new planet that was full of dangerous plants and animals. Their last communication from the starship had indicated a possible village might be located somewhere up ahead. As they crouched behind what they hoped was a non-poisonous alien bush they watched a large reddish and black predatory beast up ahead that was coming fast in their direction. The beast stopped next to one of the silvery trees with the colorful glowing fruit on top. It stood there sampling the air and growling. A second bluish beast came up behind it.

Suddenly two men jumped out of the blue Mustang, ran forward and yanked open the drivers door of the red Ferrari. A short vicious battle ensued leaving the driver of the Ferrari lying in the street bruised and bloody. The two men jumped into the red car then both cars roared off at a high rate of speed and disappeared around the next corner.

Geoffrey jumped up and, calling to his friends, ran out to the injured man. "Mister how bad are you hurt." Geoffrey asked as he reached the injured man. Billy and Henry both arrived as the injured man looked up at them, tried to speak, then passed out. Geoffrey looked up at his friends. "Billy, go to that building and get someone to call the police. And hurry." Despite being the youngest of the three, Geoffrey had already taken control of the situation. Billy ran to the office building Geoffrey had indicated. "Henry, I need you to stand there and keep an eye on traffic. Make sure any other cars know that we're here." Responding to Geoffrey's self possessed tone, Henry positioned himself as indicated.

The guard at the front desk called out as Billy came running in. "Hold on there boy. This is a place of business. You can't go running around in here."

Billy ran up to the desk. "There's a man hurt out front at the corner. They beat him up and stole his car. Ya gotta call the police." Billy leaned against the desk. The guard immediately picked up the phone and dialed. As he made the report, he quizzed Billy for details and repeated them to the phone.

Finally, he hung up the phone. "The police and ambulance will be here in just a few minutes, son."

"Thanks mister." Billy called as he turned and sprinted back out the door before the guard could ask him anything else.

Geoffrey began carefully checking out the unconscious man, being as thorough as he could, which was better than most people were capable of. Father had always made sure that all of the tunnel children were reasonably proficient at basic first aid by the time they were eight. Vincent had always made sure that the children learned how to be responsible and self-reliant and how to keep a cool head in an emergency. All of these skills were necessary for children that lived and played in the tunnel system that made up Geoffrey's home. Geoffrey had always had an innate talent for anything medical so he had gone much further than the other children. Father always said that he would grow up to be a doctor or a con man. He still wasn't sure which.

Three different cars passed by the two boys and the unconscious man without stopping. Shortly after Billy entered the building, a dark green sedan pulled up behind them and stopped. The driver got out. "Hey, what are you kids . . ." Then he noticed the unconscious man on the ground that the younger of the two boys was carefully checking over. He watched in fascination as the boy examined the unconscious man. The thing that surprised him the most was how carefully and professionally the young boy was checking for injuries. Being an emergency room doctor, he easily recognized the skill and competence of the boy's examination technique. The young boy reluctantly pulled off his outer tunic and used it to stanch the bleeding from the back of the mans head.

Once he finished Geoffrey looked up at Henry and the new arrival. "Bruises, lots of minor cuts and scrapes with some bleeding. Broken nose, simple break in the small bone of the left leg, cracked his head on the pavement and got a concussion, no sign of shock." Geoffrey nodded his head. "He's stable but unconscious and he should be OK once the ambulance gets here." He, carefully, laid the injured man's head on a clean area of his old tunic to cushion it.

Two seconds later Billy ran up and skidded to a halt. "I got the guard to call the police."

Geoffrey looked over at Billy. "Good. We have to get out of here." Then he looked at the man that had just arrived. "Hey, mister can you stay and watch over this guy till the police get here?"

The man stared at Geoffrey for a moment then replied. "Ah, sure. I can look after him." He reached into his car and turned on the emergency flashers.

Geoffrey stood up. "Thanks mister. And please, don't move him till the ambulance gets here." Then he turned to his friends. "We gotta go guys. Now." Then he ran off into the park closely followed by his two friends.

As the three boys disappeared into the park the doctor realized belatedly that he should have gotten their names. He had been so fascinated, watching that youngest boy tend to the victim that he hadn't thought of it.

As they were running, Henry spoke. "That's the same four guys that boosted that car yesterday." He gasped for breath. "This time I remembered where I saw that familiar guy's face. He lives in the apartment building next to ours.

Billy spoke up. "I saw the Mustang's license number."

Henry added. "We gotta go home." And, grabbing Billy, started dragging him toward their apartment building.

After they were out of sight, Geoffrey headed for the nearest access to his underground home. His adventure in the park had become uncomfortably real today.

The doctor watched the three kids disappear into the park then bent down to check the injured man. The youngest boy's report on the man's condition had been quite accurate. As soon as the police and ambulance arrived, he identified himself and gave the paramedics his report. Then he gave a complete report of what he knew and saw to the police officer while the injured man was loaded into the ambulance. The police officer wrote down the doctor's statement and took his name and address. After giving his statement, the doctor got back into his car and followed the ambulance to the hospital.

The Officer went into the office building and took down the front desk guard's statement. Afterwards he went to every office that faced the street but no one there admitted to seeing anything.

As soon as Geoffrey reached the tunnel community, he headed straight to Father's chamber. There he found Father and Vincent pouring over some diagrams of the tunnels where they were planning a new expansion project. He gave Vincent and Father a complete account of the car jacking that had just happened and about the car theft he and his friends had witnessed yesterday.

~ BB ~

Catherine was a little late getting home that evening. She had stopped of at Dr. Peter Alcott's office so he could take a new blood and tissue sample. Peter had begun running tests to find out if Catherine and Vincent might be reproductively compatible. There were some differences in their biochemistry but so far all of his tests had proved inconclusive. He was now trying to study it from a genetics viewpoint but he wasn't really sure if that would be any more successful. After exchanging a little gossip and small talk, Catherine headed home.

As Catherine entered her home that evening, she called out, "I'm home," as Vincent walked into the parlor.

"How was your day?" Vincent asked.

Catherine replied, "More of the same. However, there was one very interesting report. It seems there was another car jacking today that was witnessed by three young boys. According to the report from an emergency room doctor, that happened along right after the attack, the youngest boy was dressed like a street urchin but he was very intelligent and extremely good at first-aid. The boy had already assessed the injured mans condition so accurately that he thoroughly impressed the doctor. The victim vaguely remembers a young street kid followed by two older kids running up to help him, before he passed out." She paused watching Vincent. "That kind of sounds, to me, like a description of one of the children from Below."

Vincent responded. "That youngest boy was Geoffrey. He told me all about it."

Catherine grinned. "Yea, I thought it sounded a lot like him. After dinner, I'm going to go down to talk to him. See if he has any information that can help me."

Geoffrey came out from the kitchen with a sandwich in one hand and a soda in the other as Vincent responded with a smile. "I thought you might want to."

Geoffrey told Catherine everything he remembered about what had happened. Catherine got the names and addresses of the other two boys. Then she praised Geoffrey for his competent handling of the situation, his skill in helping the victim and his prompt reporting of the incident to Vincent.

Geoffrey flushed with pleasure at Catherine's praise.

~ BB ~

As soon as Catherine arrived at work the next morning, she poked her head into Joe's office just long enough to tell him that she might have a lead on the car thefts by this afternoon. Then she dropped a few things at her desk and went right back out again.

Joe merely shook his head. That girl never ceased to amaze.

The two boys lived on the same floor in an apartment building that was located five blocks from the park. Less exclusive than Central Park West, but still reasonably well off. The building had an occupied front desk where Catherine identified herself and the apartment she wished to visit. She chose Billy's parents to see first and the woman occupying the desk called up and announced her as Catherine Chandler to see Mr. or Mrs. Parker.

Catherine was greeted at the apartment door by Mary Parker, the very curious mother of young Billy. She had heard of Catherine Chandler the beautiful heiress from the tabloids. She wondered what Catherine might want with her.

Catherine began by introducing herself. That's when Mary remembered reading some articles about Catherine going to work at the District Attorney's office.

Catherine continued. I'm not here in an official capacity right now. I would like to come in and speak to Billy for a few minutes, if it's okay with you."

Mary looked worried. "Is there any problem?"

"Not as far as I'm concerned," Catherine replied, "Actually I've only heard good things about Billy."

Mary led Catherine to Billy's room. The first thing Catherine noticed was all the Spiderman posters on his walls, then she noticed Billy on his bed, looking up from the comic he had been reading.

Mary spoke first. "Billy, this is Miss Chandler of the D.A.'s office. She says that she wishes to talk to you."

Catherine definitely had Billy's attention as he wondered worriedly what kind of trouble he was in. Seeing the worried look on his face, Catherine decided it would be best dive right in, the sooner to relieve them both of any fear that he might be in trouble.

"Billy, I was informed that you witnessed a carjacking just inside the park yesterday morning." She stated.

Billy looked at his mother who nodded then he responded, "Yea, I saw it."

Catherine continued. "First, I wanted to tell you that the man they attacked, is okay thanks to you and your friends. Also the man at the front desk was very impressed at the way you handled yourself when you reported it to the police." By now Billy was beaming with relief and pleasure that he was being complimented rather than chastised. "The reason I am here is to see if you can give me any more information. A description, any details you might have noticed would be helpful."

Billy gave as complete a description of the event as he could. Catherine was particularly pleased when he was able to give her the number of the Mustang's license plate. Catherine wrote down all the usable details and thanked Billy and his mother.

As she closed her notebook. She watched them as she asked. "Would you be willing to come to the police station with me, after I've talked to Henry, to try to ID the carjackers?" Before they could answer she continued. "Right now everything, where you're concerned, is unofficial and the information you gave me would be listed as from an anonymous source. You will have no further involvement. If, however, you do come with me to try to ID the criminals, then you will become officially involved as a witness."

Mary thought a moment then replied, "I'm inclined to allow it but I would like to call and talk to my husband first before we decided."

Catherine nodded, "That is actually a good idea. It would be best if you and your husband could both be there with him. A police station is not the most relaxing environment and having you both there will make it a lot less fearful experience for Billy." Catherine stood up. "I have to go see Henry and his parents next. I could check back with you afterwards."

Mary said, "That would be fine."

After that Catherine went down the hall to Henry's apartment. Both of Henry's parents, Jay and Irene Thompson, were home. Catherine used the same technique with Henry with good results. Henry was able to identify the apartment that the carjacker, he had recognized, lived in. When everyone was ready to go, Catherine was informed that Billy's father, Peter, would meet them at the police station.

~ BB ~

Between the license plate, the neighbors location and the mug shots, they were able to identify all four of the car thieves. Joe had arrest warrants sworn out on all four men.

"Congratulations Radcliffe." Joe was obviously very happy. "I don't know how you managed to do it. What about that third kid the doctor mentioned?"

Catherine shook her head. "None of the others know the boy's last name or where he lives." Strictly speaking, that was the literal truth.

Joe shrugged his shoulders. "Doesn't really matter, the two you found are more than enough to get an indictment. The doctor though says he would like to talk with that youngest boy."

Catherine replied, "I know. He apparently thinks that kid would make a great doctor."

~ o ~

When Catherine got home, she reported the results of her interview with the other two boys and their parents to Vincent. "We were able to ID all four of the car thieves." She smiled. "Fortunately the parents of both boys believe in doing the right thing and they want to teach that to their children. So we are getting full cooperation from both of them. Geoffrey and his friends did very well. Next time you see him tell him I said so."

Vincent replied. "I'll be sure to tell him. He'll appreciate the compliment, especially coming from you."

Catherine continued, "Oh, also, the emergency room doctor that stopped at the car jacking site, wants to find the missing third kid because he thinks Geoffrey could become a fine doctor. He said that he wants to help that young man get a proper education then sponsor him to a good medical school when he's old enough. I told him that I would let him know if that kid turns up."

Vincent thought about it for a minute. "It might turn into a useful contact for Geoffrey if he does decide to go into medicine, though Peter has already stated that he would sponsor Geoffrey to any medical school he wanted to go to, if he needs it."

Vincent paused then grinned as he picked up an envelope from the stack of mail on the parlor coffee table. "We got a letter in the mail from Brigit O'Donnell today." Vincent held it out to her. Together they opened and read it.

- - x - -

Dearest Catherine and Vincent,

I am going to be coming through New York in
two weeks on a book tour and I will try to call
you when I get in . I would also love to get
together with you and Vincent while there.
Vincent appeared so natural that Halloween
night I met him that , sometimes late at night,
I find myself wondering if that might really
have been Vincent and not just a costume he
wore to the party. I would dearly love to see
Vincent again while I'm there and find out for
sure. See you in two Weeks.

- - Love Brigit

- - x - -

Catherine turned to Vincent. "Well, what do you think?" She looked Vincent up and down, taking in the totality of his unique self, and smiled with a hint of mischief in her eyes. "It might be very interesting to see her reaction to you." Catherine cocked her head as she waved the letter at him. "Should we invite her over and see what happens?"

Vincent thought about it. "One thing is certain. If we invite her over, there will be no way of hiding our secret from her. No Halloween to cover my appearance." Then he smiled and shrugged. "But then if we don't meet her, she will suspect that there is something up."

Catherine laughed. "You do have a point there."

He gave her one of his lopsided, what the heck, smiles that she saw so seldom and found so endearing. "I think we should invite her over and let the chips fall where they may. Besides, I think she could handle the reality of what I am. Writers, especially fantasy writers, usually tend to have very flexible minds." Vincent grinned at her, his fangs clearly showing. "It will certainly make for an interesting evening."

Catherine marveled at how much more open Vincent had become, in the last year, to letting select people see him. He was a lot less sensitive about his appearance and to peoples reaction to him. She suspected that the reactions of Jenny, Nancy and Diana, had a lot to do with it.

Even Elliot had handled their first face to face encounter well. And though Victoria had screamed and tried to run away the first time she saw him, she had quickly become very fond of him. Elliot and Victoria had both been over to visit once since that first early morning encounter in the park.

That evening Catherine sent off a letter to Brigit. Vincent was very amused at the way Catherine worded it.

- - x - -

Dear Brigit,

We would both love to see you while you are
here in town. Let us know when you're going
to be free and maybe we can have you over for
dinner. One warning though. Be careful
what you wish for, you might just get it. We
are both looking forward to seeing you again.

- - Love Catherine & Vincent

- - x - -

That night they talked about the last time they had seen Brigit and speculated about what their next meeting in two weeks might be like. Vincent mentioned that Father would also enjoy meeting Brigit. Catherine suggested that they would have to try to arrange it.

~ BB ~

Around noon the next day, Joe walked up to Catherine's desk. "Good news Radcliffe. The police picked up two of the car thieves this morning." Joe grinned at her. "The higher ups are very happy with you right now." Then he chuckled. "Especially since they recovered the Councilman's car." Joe gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Keep up the good work kid." Then he headed back to his office.

Joe smiled to himself as he sat down at his desk. Sometimes he was amazed how much his attitude had changed where Catherine Chandler was concerned. When she first came to work there he had assumed that she was just another spoiled rich kid looking for something meaningful and with no idea what she was getting into. He had thrown her into investigations expecting her to give up and go running back to daddy before the end of the month. Now he had come to rely heavily on her dedication and her ability to achieve the impossible. He had just today gone out of his way to insure that she got proper credit for finding those witnesses and busting open this case.

~ BB ~

Three days later Joe came over to Catherine's desk with a middle-aged man in tow. "Hey, Radcliffe, just thought you would like to know that they caught the other two car thieves." Then he turned to the middle-aged man. "Councilman Harrison, this is Catherine Chandler, the one I was telling you about. She's the one who found the two young witnesses and broke the car theft case." Joe looked at Catherine. "Cathy, this is Councilman Jeff Harrison."

Catherine reached out and shook his hand. "It's an honor to meet you, Councilman."

"I'm the one who's honored." The Councilman replied smoothly. "From what Joe tells me, you are a major asset to the District Attorney's Office." Then he frowned. "But why did he call you Radcliffe?"

Catherine chuckled. "That is the very exclusive college where I took pre-law." Her eyes were dancing as she looked at Joe. "I'm afraid Joe had a rather low opinion of my potential when I first applied here. Rich kid playing at being civic minded or something like that. Radcliffe was originally a term of disparagement."

Joe laughed. "That's putting it mildly. But she sure put me in my place very quickly."

Catherine smiled back. "That's what happens when you underestimate us debutantes." She chuckled. "Now-a-days if he doesn't tease me about Radcliffe, it means I'm in trouble."

"Well, it was a pleasure to meet you." the Councilman replied as Joe led him away. As he continued the VIP tour of the DA's office, the Councilman asked. "That's really the Catherine Chandler?"

"That's her." Joe replied.

"But she's so small. I heard that she took out three very large armed men all by herself in an elevator and she was totally unarmed at the time." Councilman Harrison glanced back at Catherine to reassure himself that she had not altered in any way. She was already back at work on whatever case she had been dealing with before Joe had introduced the Councilman.

"Well, except that only one of the three men was actually armed, the facts of the incident are essentially correct." Joe grinned. "There was nobody else in that elevator but her and the three thugs. Keep in mind, though, that the man with the gun was a trained FBI agent." Joe shrugged. "I'm thoroughly convinced that any man that is foolish enough to try going one-on-one with her would get his clock cleaned. She can be tough as nails when necessary, yet she has the sweetest, most generous nature of anyone I've ever met. And she gets results." Joe chuckled. "Being very beautiful, very rich and a minor celebrity, does seem to open a lot of doors for her that the rest of us mere mortals can't even approach." Joe shook his head. "And my sources tell me, she is known and respected among the street people."

Harrison frowned. "Don't I remember something about her being the victim of a vicious mugging and mutilation some years ago?"

"Yes, that's her." Joe got very serious. "She disappeared for ten days then turned up with her face all stitched up and no memory of those missing days. The attackers snatched her right off the street. They beat the crap out of her, breaking three ribs and sliced up her face and stabbed her in the side. Then they dumped her in Central Park. All we found was her purse and some blood stains. We think that someone found her, fixed her up as best they could then dropped her off at her apartment once she was healed enough. Whoever it was probably saved her life. Once she was back, some very expensive plastic surgeons repaired most of the damage to her face. They did a pretty good job. She looks almost exactly like she did before the attack."

Harrison paused. "What do you mean almost? She looks perfect."

Joe replied. "They're not obvious unless you know where to look but there are two scars that they couldn't fix. One is just in front of and below the left ear. I've heard that there is a second one but I don't know where it is."

Harrison smiled at Joe. "She sounds too good to be true."

Joe laughed. "I'm constantly telling myself that."

Changing the subject Harrison asked. "What about those car thieves? How do things stand there?"

Joe replied. "Because of their previous records and the violent nature of the car jacking, we were able to prevent them from getting bail. Those four are caught in a ringer and I'm going to squeeze them till they gave up the rest of the car theft ring."

"That's good. Those carjackings were really causing a lot of trouble in my district." Again he switched subjects. "Oh by the way, I saw the report on the black market baby investigation. Very thorough, very good work. It really helped to put a lot of important people's minds at ease."

Joe chuckled. "That also was some of Cathy's work. When she looks into something, no stone is left undisturbed. If there had been anything there, it would have crawled out and she would have found it." Joe chuckled again. "I lost the best investigator I ever had when she switched to the domestic trials division. At least she doesn't get attacked by thugs in elevator's anymore."

~ BB ~

Catherine had just arrived home from work and was in Vincent's arms receiving a warm welcome home, when the phone rang. She looked over and glared at the offending instrument. "Spoil sport," she muttered as Vincent released her to answer it.

"Chandler's residence." . . .

"Elliot? This is a surprise." . . .

Catherine listened for a long time. First she registered curiosity, then pleasure, then surprise, and finally thoughtful contemplation.

"Oh, and how is that?" . . .

Catherine laughed.

"I think I can help you out. What about her parents?" . . .

"Oh, I understand. Let me discuss it with Vincent and see what he thinks." . . .

"I'll get back to you when we've come up with something." . . .

Catherine hung up the phone and turned to Vincent with a very thoughtful look on her face. Vincent stood there brimming with curiosity as he waited for her to speak.

Finally she spoke. "That was Elliot Burch." She paused. "He and Victoria have decided that they want to get married." She looked down, shook her head and gave one short soft laugh. Then she looked up at Vincent. "They want a very quiet, simple wedding without the type of media circus that would inevitably form around his marriage. They just want you and me as witnesses and a minister. Since her parents are getting old and are not well enough to make the trip to New York, she wants you to give the bride away and me to be maid of honor. Elliot said that you were the closest thing he had to a real friend, all he really has is lots of business acquaintances, and it was you that arranged for him and Victoria to meet, even if it was unintentional. So, he would like you to be his best man." She looked at Vincent speculatively.

Vincent took time to absorb and ponder over what Catherine had just told him. Finally he asked, "Did he say where and when?"

"No," Catherine replied. "He said he would leave that up to us, if we decided to help him. Neither one of them want a lot of media attention during their wedding and honeymoon. Victoria says it's your fault they're in this pickle."

"Oh." Was Vincent's only response to that.

"Vicky said that if you hadn't scared her that morning in the park, she wouldn't have run into Elliot and they wouldn't have fallen for each other and they wouldn't be having to find a way to get married without a media circus." Catherine laughed. "I guess she's got us there."

Vincent laughed. "I guess that means we are obligated to help them then." He put his arms around her. "And I know you do still care about him and want him to be happy." He gave her a little hug. "Why don't you invite them over for dinner next week and we will see what we can come up with." He looked into her eyes. "Now, where were we before that phone rang?"

Continued in Part 2

( rev 130529 )

'Beauty and the Beast' and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.