A Due South / Touched By An Angel Crossover Story

By: Yvette Jessen

© 2002 not intended to infringe on any previously or currently held copyrights.

He'd left her. When April came home from the cafe where she worked, every trace of her husband, Steven, was gone. The note from him was sitting on the table and she picked it up and began to read. "I've been seeing another woman," the note said. "I won't take you back, and all the stuff left here is yours. I don't need it, I'm hitting the road." There were no apology, and no indication of where he went. He was simply gone.

She pulled a handkerchief from her purse, and as she did so, nickels and dimes fell out of the bag, and skidded across the table. Using this small cloth, she blew her nose loudly as the tears slid from under her eyelids and landed on the front of her white blouse. Finally, she stood up from the table, scooped the change up in her hand, tossed it in her purse and walked down the hall into the bedroom. The apartment was small, but now with her husband gone, it felt large and unfriendly.

April threw her purse on the bed, and walked over to the window and pulled the cord, which closed off the blinds separating her from the outside world.

Her hands were trembling when she opened the top drawer of the dresser, which held many of her clothes. When she looked inside for the gun which was usually kept on Steven's side, she noticed it was gone as well as the bullets which were usually tucked underneath Steven's T-shirts. The shirts were gone, as well as the bullets.

Well, that figures, she thought to herself, the gun belonged to Steve, and she really didn't like having it around. She finally sat down on the bed, and looked out the door of the bedroom into a long hallway, which separated the bedroom from the rest of the apartment. She stood up and pulled the cord and opened the blinds slightly, so she could see the street below. The street was visible underneath her window, but she didn't really care about the goings on there.

She grabbed her nightclothes off the bed, changed, and lay down. Her other clothing was slung listlessly in the corner. The echoes of the sirens continued to blare through the night. But the sounds on the streets rarely kept her awake. She had grown accustomed to their noise over the past year she had lived there. But, tonight was different. She stared blankly at the ceiling, but after a few minutes, she rolled back onto her side and stared outside through the cracks in the blinds. Tomorrow would be another day, and it would be a new beginning for me, she thought. But, the tears persisted to stream down her cheeks, and she began to sob in the darkness.

Behind her, three angels watched, all three unseen by the grief-stricken woman.

"Is she our new assignment?" The auburn headed angel asked.

"Her name is April Hudson, and that poor baby has been through some hard times," the eldest of the three angels said. "She's going to be going through even more before we're done, Angel Babies."

"Is that why you're here, Andrew?" The younger angel asked the handsome man standing next to them.

"I'm Steve's angel, Monica," the man answered. "I don't know if I will even see April over the course of this assignment."

"Steve's going to die, isn't he?" Monica asked.

The Angel of Death shrugged his shoulders. "That I don't know, but whatever happens, April is going to have to survive."

"Tess, do we know what is going to happen here?" Monica asked weakly. "I mean; it looks as though April cannot take too much more."

Tess nodded, "I know what you mean, but she going to have to, because before she can face the future, she's going to have to get through the next few days. They are going to be crucial."

Monica nodded, and as they disappeared, she cast a final glance on the weeping woman.

* * *

The sun shone brightly the following morning, and Benton Fraser took his post near the door of the Canadian consulate. As the morning passed, he remained there and was soon joined by his deaf wolf, Diefenbaker. It had been a nice day, warm and sunny, and the Mountie just loved such days as this. It made it easier whenever he would have to assume guard duty.

Nearing the end of his shift, he noticed that three small boys had approached him. One was holding a milkshake and the other two were laughing, their voices carrying down the street and their expressions empty. "I dare you to pour that on him." One of the boys was saying. "You can pour it right on his boots, and he won't even care."

"No, he'd probably kill me if I did." The boy holding the milkshake said as he cast a wary glance up at Fraser. "That guy's built like a mountain and he probably has a bad temper like my dad." The small boy strained his neck so he could see Fraser's face, but when he looked into the expressionless eyes of the Mountie, he shrugged his shoulders and looked back over at his playmates.

"Oh come on Joey, he won't move. Bobby told me about the time he dropped his ice cream cone on one of these guys and they didn't do a thing, they didn't even get mad, they just stood there like nothing happened. Anyway, he said that after he ran off, the guy didn't even chase him down." The third boy said.

The first boy grabbed the milkshake out of his friend's hand and in one fluid movement; he had poured the contents of the cup on Fraser's boots. "See," he said triumphantly. "He didn't even wink."

"My milkshake," Joey began to cry as the two other boys began to walk casually away, both laughing.

"That's not a very nice thing to do," a soft voice came from behind the boys. When they turned around they saw a young woman wearing an apron and had a name badge on the dress pocket. She had pulled her hair back into a French braid, and began to reach inside her apron pocket and produced some napkins. "How would you boys feel if someone did such a thing to you?"

One of the boys looked at her guiltily. "I wouldn't like it," he mumbled.

"I thought so," she said with a little more assertiveness in her voice.

"But, it was my milkshake and I didn't want to pour it on him." Joey said sadly. "Now, I don't have enough money to buy another one."

The woman dug in her apron and pulled out five quarters. "Here, take this, you can buy a new one. But, only if you promise not to do such a thing again." She extended the money towards him.

"But, my mommy said I shouldn't take money from strangers," Joey said.

"Yes, your mommy is right, and I know that I am a stranger, but if you will look at this, you can read this right?" The woman asked pointing to the nametag on her dress. After the boy nodded she continued to speak, "My name is April Hudson, I work at that cafe over there, but do you see this man?" She pointed to the Mountie who was guarding the consulate. The little boy nodded, and she continued to speak. "He's a policeman, and I think if he could speak to us, he'd say under these circumstances, it's OK."

"Go ahead and take it, Joey," urged the other two boys. "She's about as harmless as he is." They pointed to Fraser, and started walking away again.

The small boy reached his hand out, "Ok, I promise I won't pour it on anyone," he told her.

"Good boy." She gave him the money and watched as he took off running after the other two boys and didn't stop until they reached the end of the street. She remained standing there, and after a few seconds passed, she looked up at Fraser sympathetically.

"I hope you'd say it's ok for the boy to take the money." She said softly, but when she received no acknowledgement, she got down on her knees and began to clean the sticky liquid off of his boots with the napkins she had pulled from her apron pocket. As people walked by, they stared at her, but she paid them no mind.

Next, she retrieved the paper cup and tucked the wet napkins inside. This, she sat on the ground near his feet. She pulled the small cloth handkerchief from her purse and used it to wipe away the last of the milkshake. "You'll probably want to polish them when you get home," she offered after she picked up the cup, and stood up. Her voice softened, "This isn't such a good job, but at least it looks better and you won't get into trouble..." Her voice trailed as she looked down at her watch and sighed deeply, "Oh boy," she muttered.

Within seconds, she tucked her handkerchief back inside her purse, and stood up. She ran away from where he was standing. As she ran past a nearby garbage can, she threw the cup away.

A few feet away, Monica stood watching. What a nice thing to do, she thought to herself as she watched April make her way towards the diner where she worked. "Tess, why is it that bad things happen to people like April, who go out of their way to help other people?"

"Angel Girl, sometimes things like this happen, and even an angel doesn't know why," Tess said. "You'd better get going, you're going to be late, and from what I know about Mr. Steel, he's not going to care if it is your first day or your twentieth."

Monica glanced down at her outfit and noticed that she was wearing a dress similar to April's.

"OK," she said softly and she disappeared only to reappear at the front door of the café.

* * *

Once April stepped out onto the street, she ignored the cars, which drove along the street. Most slowed down, and honked as she made it to the opposite side. When she reached the front of the cafe, she threw open the door and rushed inside.

"April, you're late again," said the burly man standing behind the cash register once she entered the diner. "I told you, late again, and you're fired." He pulled a cigar from his pocket, bit off the end, and spit it into an ashtray.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Steel, I really am," she said out of breath. "But, there was someone who needed my help, and I couldn't just leave him..." her voice trailed and she looked up at him as he lit the cigar.

"You know I didn't hire someone to come late because they had to go flirt with the Mounties. I hired a waitress," he sneered.

"Mr. Steel," a strange voice spoke up, causing both of them to glance over. "I cannot do the entire lunch crowd by myself, it's my first day and I'm still learning the menu."

"OK; Monica," the man snapped, and he turned his attention back towards April. "I'll tell you what, you work this last lunch crowd, and if you do a good job, you can keep this job, if not, then you're out of luck."

April nodded, and sighed deeply. "OK," she finally agreed, but deep inside, she knew that the job was going to be lost by two. Steel was going to toss her out as soon as the lunch crowd had died down, but she needed the tips, so she went back to work.

Monica approached her after Steel had gone back to reading his newspaper. "I'm sorry that you got into trouble," she offered.

"No big deal, we have always walked on pins and needles around here, so what difference does it make? He's gonna toss me out, I've seen it happen with tons of other girls," she sighed deeply. "Besides, it's really the story of my life, from one bad situation to another. I'm just a glutton for punishment."

"You don't mean that, do you?" Monica asked.

"Sure I do," April responded, her voice flat. "Come on, let's get to work or you'll be the one he tosses out next."

"April, I want to be your friend," Monica offered.

"Thank you, but right now, I think being my friend is a big mistake." With that she turned and walked away leaving Monica staring after her.

* * *

As her shift ended, April went into the back room and began cleaning out her locker. Behind her, Monica appeared in the doorway and came over to where she was standing. When she could feel the hand of the angel on her shoulder, April turned around. "He fired me, I knew he was going to. He even accused me of flirting with a Mountie. Of all the rotten luck."

"You weren't flirting," Monica said.

"You know that and I know that, but try telling that to Steel," April said softly. "He just sits there and puffs on his smelly cigars and acts as though he's some kind of god sitting on his throne."

Monica looked at her assignment, her brown eyes filled with sympathy. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Besides a new life, no, there's nothing anyone can do," April sighed deeply as she hung her small purse from her shoulder and shrugged her shoulders. "You know, people always say that things happen in threes, well, two down one to go."

"What happened?" Monica asked.

"My husband left me last night, and then I lost my job, so I'm wondering what is going to happen next," April shook her head. "Maybe I'll just die or something, then I could at least put all this behind me." Shrugging her shoulders she walked out of the room for the last time.

Monica watched her go and Tess appeared next to her. "Well, how's it going?"

"Oh Tess, if there's such a think as the depiction of utter hopelessness, then I think April could be the poster child for it. She is totally devastated, but she won't show it, she just makes jokes about it or wishes she was dead."

"Those aren't jokes, Miss Wings," Tess said. "When April wishes she was dead, she figures that the darkness that encompasses her is so thick that she cannot imagine ever finding her way out of it. You're going to get a little bit of help though."

"I am?" Monica asked.

"Yes, but it will be human help," Tess said.

* * *

As April walked away from the restaurant, she pulled the nametag off the dress she carried and stuffed it in the pocket of her jeans. The morning's tips were stuffed inside the small wallet sized purse she carried.

She walked back in the direction of the consulate, but she didn't even know why she wanted to go there, it was, after all the reason she lost her job in the first place. Maybe, Mr. Steel was right, maybe I was flirting, she thought miserably to herself, but all I wanted to do was help.

When she reached the opposite side of the street, she could see that Fraser was still standing there, and once she was about three feet from where he was, she pulled the nametag from her pocket and tossed it in the garbage. I know it's not his fault, she thought to herself, but I wish I had someone to talk to, and he looks like he'd be a nice person. Sighing deeply, she continued up the street knowing full well that appearances can be very deceiving, and she knew this beyond any doubt because she had learned this lesson the hard way.

As she disappeared around a corner, she did not notice that Fraser remained standing at his post, but he was watching as April had approached where he was standing. Something's happened to her, he thought solemnly, she must have lost her job. It makes perfect sense simply because he knew that she had been wearing a waitress dress and now she was dressed casually in jeans and a button down the front white blouse. Before she disappeared, he could see that she was walking with her head down and her shoulders slumped and his heart went out to her.

"It's such a nice day," A voice interrupted his thoughts and he could see that a heavy set woman with mahogany colored skin was now standing next to him, her coal black eyes regarding him with kindness, and though his senses were now going crazy, he could somehow detect that there was something completely miraculous about this particular woman. "You know, Constable, sometimes an angel appears to help a person, and sometimes a person appears to help another person and gives off the impression of being just like an angel."

Fraser was tempted to respond, but before he could, the woman was gone, and he waited for some moments until the clock tower gonged marking the hour as well as the end of his shift.

He sighed with relief, once Constable Turnbull came out to relieve him of his duty, and the two men changed positions. Once Fraser had gone inside to report to his superior, he was free to leave, and the first thing he wanted to do was go and find the woman who had cleaned the milkshake from his boots. As soon as he stepped outside, he walked over to the garbage can and pulled out the nametag she had tossed in.

He had heard her tell the boys her name, but took the nametag and without even a nod in Turnbull's direction, he ran in the direction he had seen her going in. "She's at the park, Benton," the voice emerged again and he turned to see that Tess was once more standing beside him.

"Who are you?" He asked. "Are you a ghost?"

"No, baby, my name is Tess and I'm an angel sent by God to help you help her," she said.

"Excuse me?" Fraser arched an eyebrow as he regarded her. "How can I help her?"

"She needs a friend, honey, and you've been known around here as being friends with the most unlikely of people," Tess answered. "You see, April is going to need your help, Benton, and God hopes that you will look beyond what may stand before you when it comes to really seeing that truth."

"What can I do?" He asked.

"Go to her, and talk to her."

"That's what I was planning on doing," he said.

"Then you should follow that intuition," Tess said smiling. "You know, your friend Ray gets onto you for following that intuition, but God gave that gift to you, it made you strong and confidant, and gave you an edge for your line of work. You depend on your senses; you know that they will guide you in the right directions, now where are they leading you?"

The Mountie closed his eyes for a moment, and after a few seconds, he nodded. "To the park," he muttered, but Tess had once again disappeared and he was standing alone on the sidewalk.

As he made his way down the street and around the corner, he saw April exiting a convenience store with a newspaper tucked under her arm. He watched as she wandered down the street and stopped when she had reached a small park. She sat down on a bench, and opened the newspaper.

Fraser walked over to where she was sitting and sat down next to her without a word. He took a deep breath before he reached over and touched her shoulder, thus causing her to look up. "April Hudson?"

She nodded as she looked up at him shyly. "Yes," she paused, "Aren't you the man who was guarding the Consulate?"

Fraser nodded, "Constable Benton Fraser, RCMP," he introduced himself. "I wanted to thank you for what you did. It was very nice of you."

"You're welcome," she said softly looking down at the newspaper she had just bought.

"I would've told the boy to take the money if I could have spoken then," He offered freely. "You knew I was a policeman?"

"Well, yes, my husband, I-I mean ex-husband comes from Canada," she whispered softly. A silent tear escaped from under her eyelid, but she wiped it away. "I guess that's why I was there earlier today. I thought that maybe I could see if maybe he had gone there and I could have talked to him."

"I see, well, what does he look like?" Fraser offered. "Maybe I did him. I do see everyone who enters and leaves when I'm on guard duty."

She shook her head as another tear escaped. This one rolled down her cheek without her bothering to brush it aside. "It's not worth the trouble."

"I don't mean to pry, but are you OK?" Fraser asked.

"Not really," she said more to herself than to him. She pulled the handkerchief from her purse and wiped her eyes with it. "Sorry, I don't usually cry in public. It's just been the most horrible day."

"What happened?" He asked gently.

"I got fired." She said sadly.

"Why?"

"Because, I was a good Samaritan," she sighed deeply.

"You mean, because you took the time to wipe the milkshake off my boots?"

She nodded, "yeah."

"Oh dear," he muttered before he spoke again. "Listen, I'm going over to that snack cart to get something to eat. Do you want me to get you something, a cup of coffee perhaps?"

"I'd prefer tea, I don't drink coffee so late in the day." She said reaching for the small purse and digging inside for some money. Some change fell on the ground, and Fraser bent down to pick it up.

Once he had collected all the money, he handed it back to her and stood up. "I'll buy the tea." She accepted the change and nodded as he walked towards the cart but after a few seconds, he turned back around. "Oh, did you want anything to eat?" She shook her head and he turned back around and walked over to the cart. He placed an order and after a moment, came back carrying a bag of food, a can of soda, and a small Styrofoam cup of tea. The last item, he handed to her. Once she had it in her hand, he opened the bag, and pulled out a ham and cheese sandwich.

Once she held the cup in her hand, she took a sip of the warm liquid as he unwrapped the sandwich and began to eat. In between bites, he spoke to her, "Sorry, but I haven't eaten much today, and standing outside in the sunshine makes me hungry."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Yes, I can believe that." She sat the teacup between them on the bench and opened the newspaper. When she found the 'Classifieds', she began to concentrate on the employment ads. As usual, she was under qualified for just about every job. She sighed deeply as she closed the newspaper and rubbed her hands on her jeans.

By this time, Fraser had finished the sandwich and opened the can of cola. He took a sip and looked over at her. "I'm sorry you lost your job on my account, is there anything I can do? Perhaps I could speak to your boss?"

"No, there's no point in that. He told me if I was late again, I'd be fired. I don't blame him. I don't blame anyone really. It's just the story of my life." She shrugged her shoulders and looked down at her hands, which were, by this time, covered with the black newspaper ink.

Fraser reached inside the bag and pulled out a fresh napkin. This, he handed to her. "I get the feeling that you've had something else happen over the course of the past days," he said.

She looked up after stuffing the napkin inside her pocket.

"Your husband left you, didn't he?" He asked, but it came out sounding more like a statement than an inquiry.

She looked down at her lap, the embarrassment covering her worry filled face. "H-how'd you know?"

"Just something you said earlier," he began. "If I may say so, you're a nice person, April, and if he left you, maybe it's because you deserve someone better." Fraser offered.

April sat silently, allowing his words to sink in. If I could have someone, I'd want it to be someone like the man sitting right next to me, she thought, looking back over at him. But, it seems as though someone as nice as him is probably married, or has about 100 admirers and about as many girlfriends, I'd probably have to take a number to be able to speak to him again.

"I guess I should return this to you," he said, noticing her deep in thought. "I found it at the Consulate." He extended the plastic nametag towards her.

"Do you always make it habit of going through garbage cans?" she asked smiling weakly taking it and putting it in her pocket.

"Not usually," Fraser said smiling. "I thought if I didn't catch you, that I'd have to use it to find out your address."

"Just because I cleaned your boots?" April took a sip of her tea.

Fraser nodded. "Yes."

She shrugged her shoulders again. She wasn't used to men being nice to her, and so this answer came as a bit of a surprise to her. She looked up at him shyly. He's so handsome, she thought, and polite. She wished that the men she knew could be as nice as he was.

She nodded after emptying her cup, "I'd like to stay and talk, but I really have to go. It was nice meeting you, Constable Fraser." She said unable to make eye contact with him, but she began to feel that maybe loosing her job was worth it to actually have him speak with her. "Thank you for the tea."

He nodded as she stood up and left the area where he was sitting. About ten minutes passed, and he made his way back towards the Consulate. When he turned the corner, he saw his partner's green Buick Riviera parked along the side of the street. Ray Vecchio was standing beside the car with a scowl on his face. Upon seeing Fraser, Diefenbaker began to bark. "Ok, I'm coming," Fraser said quickening his step. "Hi Ray." He offered when he reached the car. "Sorry, I know that you were going to meet me here, but something came up."

"Something being, the 'Dragon Lady's' starving you to death?" Ray asked as he noticed the paper bag that Fraser was carrying. "No biggie, but you'd better give him something, he's been driving me nuts since I got here." He indicated Diefenbaker who innocently cocked his head to one side.

Fraser threw a second sandwich over to the wolf, and opened the passenger side of the car. Once Diefenbaker was sitting in the back seat, Fraser got in, and Ray started the car. "You didn't happen to pick me up a sandwich too, did you, Benny?"

Fraser dug in the bag, and handed a wrapped yet another package to his partner.

"Now, we're talking," Ray laid the package on the dashboard and drove in the direction of the police precinct. Seconds later, there was gunfire followed by a woman's screams.

"Something's going down." Ray quickly pulled the car towards the curb and they got out of the car and ran towards the area where the gunfire had originated.

* * *

As the two policemen pulled up to a nearby alley, Ray got out of the car within a second and took off in one direction, Fraser in the other.

Once Ray got to the end of the alley, he saw a woman holding what appeared to be a gun, and she was trembling. A man was on the ground in a puddle of blood, and Ray approached, his eyes widening when he saw the woman on the ground, her body trembling, but she glanced up and instead of seeing the policeman at the other end of the alley, her eyes locked with the green eyes of a man wearing a beige suit.

Ray shook his head, but turned around to see that some teenagers on bicycles were peddling about 10 feet away. "Call 911!" he shouted out to them, and one of the boys raced off in the direction of a pay phone.

As he turned back around he could see that the woman was holding the gun, and he approached hesitantly, hoping not to startle the woman. In all his years of police work, he had never seen a suspect stay at the scene of the crime, but this time, the woman was not moving. He reached out and touched the woman's shoulder, and she looked up, her eyes filled with tears, and her face swollen. "Drop the gun," he said pulling his badge from his pocket and showing it to her.

She did as he instructed without so much as a question. Ray helped her to her feet, and with one hand holding her, he waited until Fraser had come over to them before he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, leaned over and picked the gun up off the ground and in one fluid movement, he slipped the gun inside a plastic bag.

Fraser leaned down and checked the man's body for a pulse, when he found none, he glanced up and his eyes locked with those of his partner. "He's dead, Ray," he whispered.

Ray nodded as they heard the distant siren and he looked at the woman. "It looks like this one is going to be an open and shut case, Benny."

The woman's eyes widened upon hearing the words of the detective and she backed away wanting to run away, but Fraser reached out and gently, but firmly grabbed her arm. "No, April, you can't run away from this."

"But, I didn't do it," she began to scream hysterically.

"Wait a minute, you know her?" Ray asked as the paramedics arrived on the scene and they began to treat the man. Upon running some simple tests, they confirmed it, the man was dead and Ray was looking at April with spite in his eyes.

Fraser nodded. "Yes, Ray, I do, but I don't…"

"…You don't what, Benny? You don't think she did this?" Ray asked as he sighed deeply. "Lady, I'm sorry, but I you're under arrest."

April's eyes filled with tears and she looked at Fraser. "I didn't do it. Please, you've got to believe me, I didn't do it."

As Ray led her away, Fraser could see the tears as they continued to stream down her cheeks.

* * *

At the precinct an hour later, Ray led April inside, and Fraser followed. "The deal is, a Steven Hudson was shot and killed this afternoon, and you're the only person that was on the scene when we arrived." Ray was looking at her as if he doubted any and every alibi April could possibly have.

Ray stood up and looked around the room, "Elaine," he called, as the Civilian Aide approached. "Can you have someone dust this for fingerprints?" He pulled the bag from the pocket of his jacket and handed it to her. "Once they do that, I want you to run a background check on each person."

April looked up at him as he towered over her. "I didn't do it," she repeated.

"Mrs. Hudson, according to this file, the gun is registered to you, correct?"

"Yes, but Steven Hudson was my husband." April said as tears continued to stream down her face. "Why would I want to shoot him?"

"My guess is because he had contacted an attorney about two months ago to file for divorce." Ray argued. "Desperate times call for desperate measures, do they not, Mrs. Hudson."

April shook her head frantically. "I don't understand, he had left me a note last night." she cried out and laid her face in her hands and shook her head. "I had no idea that he had contacted a lawyer."

"A card for a Mr. Harold Jacobs was found inside his pocket." Ray said. "The Civilian Aide called the number on the card and apparently, Mr. Jacobs is a hot shot divorce attorney and according to his secretary, Mr. Hudson had been meeting with him since May."

April looked at the detective and tried to collect her thoughts. "Even so, I didn't shoot him. I'm not a killer, you've got to believe me."

"Then who did?" Ray cornered her.

She shook her head, "I don't know."

"Ray, you're making her hysterical." Fraser spoke up. He sat down next to her and handed her a handkerchief. "It's OK, April." He patted her shoulder gently, but looked around the bustling police precinct and then back at his partner. "Can we take her somewhere else so she can calm down a little?" He looked around the room and could see that it was full of police officers. Fraser knew that this place intimidated her; he could see it in her eyes.

"Yeah, OK, the interrogation room is empty." Ray offered.

"We're not going to interrogate her, Ray. But we do need to talk to her. I don't think she did it, but maybe she can tell us who did." Fraser helped her to stand up.

The two of them led April down the hall into the empty room. Once inside the door was closed. "Now, April, tell us what happened." Fraser said as she sat down.

"You won't believe me," she said softly looking up at Ray.

"Look lady, I don't have anything else to go on except for what I saw, and the evidence we have. If you didn't shoot him, I just want to find out who did. If you don't tell us what's going on, then you're going to end up going to jail." Ray sat down across from her. "Right now, you could stand accused of first degree murder, Mrs. Hudson, and if you didn't shoot him, then I want to know who did. It's really quite easy, but only if you choose to cooperate."

She nodded, and looked down. Seconds later she looked back up and spoke, "Detective Vecchio, I want to cooperate, but I don't know who did this. All I know is after I left the park, I walked down to the pastry shop, and then towards the apartment building where I live."

"Which park?" Ray asked.

"The park about three blocks from the Consulate, Ray. I was with her." Fraser answered.

"You know her?" Ray looked over at Fraser and repeated what he said back at the alley.

"Yes, she and I spoke briefly." Fraser sat down next to his partner. Diefenbaker took a place by the door. "Go ahead April, tell us what happened after you left."

"I went down the street to the pastry shop, and when I didn't find anything I wanted, I left. I usually walk home through the alley. It's a direct way, instead of taking the normal streets, they tend to curve around a lot, and it takes longer for me to get home. Anyway, when I stepped in the alley, I saw Steve, and ran towards him. He had left me a note last night saying he was leaving, and all I wanted to do was talk to him; I wanted to find out why everything had gone so totally wrong between us." She grabbed a tissue from the box off the table and blew her nose loudly.

"I didn't see anyone else standing in the alley until I got closer to where Steve was, and then I saw three other people. There was a woman, and a man, and behind them there was someone else, a guy wearing beige. He didn't look like someone who was with the other two, but there was something surreal about him. Anyway, since the sun was shining right in my eyes, I couldn't really make out their faces very well. I walked closer to where Steve was, but then I heard the woman speak, and I saw the gun reflecting in the sun, so I stopped, and waited behind some garbage cans. I was so scared, but they didn't seem to pay me any mind, so I stayed there until I heard the gun go off. I screamed and without thinking, I ran over to where Steve had fallen." She shuddered as the tears streamed down her cheeks. "But, then, the woman looked up and saw me, and she began to laugh; a really mean spirited kind of chuckle. But, when she saw me, she threw the gun at me." April covered her face in her hands and cried. "I thought she was going to kill me next. But, when I turned around again, the man and woman were gone and the only one who was there was this man in beige and then you showed up."

Ray stood up, and walked to the door, "Hey, Elaine, ya got anything on the prints on that gun?"

"No, it'll probably take awhile, there are a lot of prints on it and they can't get a proper ID reading." Elaine offered. "But, I'll let you know."

"Do the best you can, and if you do get an ID on anyone else, let me know." Ray stepped back inside the room. He relayed the information to Fraser and sat back down.

"Did you notice anything distinguishing about the two people you saw, maybe birthmarks or something?" Fraser asked.

"Yes, I noticed that the man wore one orange sock and one yellow one." April said. "The woman was overweight and it looked as though she had a bunch of rings on her left hand."

"But you just said that it was sunny outside," Ray objected. "How could you have noticed these things?"

"I know what I said, Detective Vecchio, but even though I couldn't see their faces, I could feel where her shadow cut off the field of sun, and I could see both their hands and feet. I don't know how that's possible, but it's the truth." April said. "You've got to believe me, I didn't shoot anyone."

"Even though the gun is registered in your name?" Ray asked.

"My husband was from Canada, and he told me he couldn't have a gun registered in his name. I had no reason to doubt him, and since he wanted to have one, we had it registered in my name. Believe me, I hated the idea, and objected, but he managed to talk me into it." April said and looked at Fraser, "you don't carry a gun, Constable Fraser, right?"

Fraser nodded in affirmation. "Did they say anything to you after they shot Steven?"

She nodded, "The woman said if I tell anyone, they'd come back and finish me off. She also said that they knew where I live." She shuddered. "They also said that my story wouldn't hold up because my husband had left me and all that anyone would have to do is check with Steve's attorney and he'd verify that I shot Steven because I wanted revenge." April rested her head in her hands and the tears streamed down her cheeks. Finally after a moment, she looked up.

"How would they know this?" Ray looked at her. "You don't know them?"

"No, I'd never seen them before." April answered.

"Strange, are you sure you didn't know them?" Fraser asked.

April nodded. "I'm positive."

"Actually, I think I can prove you're telling the truth, April." Fraser said. "When we were at the park, I noticed there was no way you could have concealed a weapon."

"You sure about this, Benny?" Ray asked.

"Yes, April couldn't have possibly had a gun on her, look at how she's dressed." Ray looked over at April's white blouse and tight blue jeans. "In such an outfit, there is no way she could have concealed a weapon." Fraser paused, "I saw no evidence of a gun when we were in the park, and I also know that she had just come from her workplace. The chances of her getting away with concealing a weapon there is also not likely."

"When I came home last night, there was a note from Steve, and the gun and bullets were gone." April said. "You can check my apartment if you don't believe me. All of Steve's possessions are gone."

"Yeah, I'd like to check it out," Ray said, looking over at her, but after a few moments, he looked at his partner. "Even though you don't believe she did it, Fraser, all arrows seem to point to her. You know since we don't have any witnesses to back up your story, these people you describe could be figments of your imagination." Ray shook his head, "Mrs. Hudson, I'm afraid I don't believe your story."

Her silent gaze fell onto Fraser.

"Ray, what do you suggest we do?" Fraser persisted. "We may need to put her under protection. If we arrest her and put her into jail, we'll be locking up an innocent woman and there wouldn't be a chance to catch the real culprit."

"You really believe her, don't you?" Ray asked.

Fraser nodded. "Someone told me once to look beyond what is right before me. I think those words made a lot of sense."

"You know very well, that Lieutenant Welsh would have a fit if you sprung her out of here. Remember what happened with Tyree?" Ray asked referring to a young basketball player Ray had arrested and Fraser had bailed out.

"Yes, Ray," Fraser looked over at him. "But, I've got an idea, and even Lieutenant Welsh could not argue against it."

* * *

Two hours later, Fraser and April left the precinct house. Ray stood by the door. I can't believe he talked me into this. House arrest, this has to be the stupidest idea he's ever had.

Finally he followed Fraser to the car, unlocked the door and got in. "Listen," he said as he started the engine, "I know you well enough to know that when you say you'll keep an eye on her, you'll do it, but Benny, I don't like this."

"I know, Ray, but if we're going to prove she's innocent, this is the only way I can think of to do it."

"What about leaving her at the Police station, Benny? We could get a search warrant and go there tomorrow."

Fraser shook his head, "No, I believe she's innocent, and in her emotional state, it'd be morally wrong to leave her in there."

April listened to the exchange, but remained silent except to give them the directions to her apartment. Within ten minutes, Ray pulled up in front of a large Apartment building. Once he parked the car, they got out, and Fraser pulled the seat forward so she could get out. Diefenbaker was sitting in the backseat as well and he jumped over the seat once April was standing on the sidewalk. April pulled a small key chain from the front pocket of her jeans and led the two men inside. Once they reached the door of the apartment, April opened the door and they walked inside. Diefenbaker came a few seconds later, and walked inside before April closed the door.

"Give me the key, Mrs. Hudson." Ray instructed. She handed it to him without a word and he locked the door from the inside. Once done, he slipped it into his pocket and walked confidently into the living room.

April came shyly into the small room and sat down on the corner of the sofa. Fraser and Ray remained standing, and finally, Ray started looking around the room. Fraser walked into the adjoining kitchen. April remained seated for a moment and finally went into the kitchen behind him, her stomach beginning to grumble all the while telling her it was time to get something to eat.

Wordlessly, she pulled a box of cereal from the cabinet and grabbed a bowl. Once she had sat both things on the small counter, she poured the cereal into the bowl, and turned around, opened the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of milk.

With shaking fingers, she opened the milk and poured a small amount over the cereal. Once that was done, she put the milk back in the refrigerator and closed the door. She walked around to the opposite side of the kitchen and took a seat at the small bar, which acted as a divider between the kitchen and the living room. There she quietly ate the cereal while the men searched the apartment. Silent tears slid from under her eyes as she stared down at the bowl, but rather than try to show them how she felt, she wiped them stubbornly away. At that moment, she was afraid to mourn her husband in front of the two strangers there, specifically because she knew that at least one of them thought she had murdered her husband.

Fraser looked up from inside the kitchen and saw this, but out of respect to her, he said nothing and continued to quietly search through the cabinets.

April finished the cereal and went into the kitchen and put her bowl in the sink and filled it with water. Her head was down the entire time as though she didn't wish to talk to either Ray or Fraser.

Finally, she left the room, and walked down the hall to the bedroom. Once in the room, she sat down on the bed and began to remove her shoes. She continued to wipe the tears from her eyes, and since she was alone now, she began to weep softly. Her crying which had started softly, had by this time risen in pitch and she fell against the pillow to muffle the sounds.

"April," a feminine voice emerged some moments later, and she turned around, her face was streaked with tears, but she looked into Monica's warm brown eyes.

"Monica, what are you doing here?" April whispered trying to keep her voice low so as not to rouse any suspicions of the men in the living room.

"I'm an angel, April, God sent me here to be with you during this time," Monica said softly as she began to glow, the light of God's love filling the room and the younger woman was left shaking her head in denial.

"D-does He know that I didn't kill Steve?" April asked weakly, the tears still making their way down her face, but her fear was evidently showing.

"He knows, April, but I'm here because your life is in danger," Monica said softly. "The people who murdered Steven saw you, and they know who you are and they plan to come after you."

"W-what about t-that other man?"

"You mean Andrew?"

"I-I don't know who he was, I saw him, he was dressed in beige, and I know h-he was there but…" her voice trailed off and she looked at Monica with bewilderment and fright in her deep-set eyes.

"The man you saw in the alley behind the two other people was an Angel of Death, April, his name is Andrew, and he was with your husband when he died," Monica said softly. "You may or may not see him over the course of the coming days, but he would never hurt you, he wants to help you, just as I do and God does."

"T-that man was an angel?"

"Yes, he was, so you see, you're not alone in this, April," Monica said softly.

"The police think I killed Steve, that detective in there thinks I'm a murderer, Monica. What am I supposed to do? I honestly don't know what to do." As she spoke, her voice rose slightly in pitch and Monica could see that Fraser was now standing in the doorway staring into the room watching the young woman as she wept.

* * *

Back in the living room, Ray had finished searching, and after finding nothing, he called to his partner, who had, by this time returned to the kitchen. "Benny, did you find anything?"

Fraser looked through the cabinet one last time before speaking. "There are two boxes of shredded wheat, some chocolate, and two bottles of cola." He paused once again. "Hmm, that's odd."

"What?" Ray practically shouted as he made his way over towards the bar.

"They pack coupons inside these cans of coffee," came the answer.

"Would you please look for evidence and not for Mr. Coffee, Fraser?" Ray snapped.

"Sorry Ray."

"There's nothing here, we'd better go see what's in the bedroom." Ray started walking down the hallway.

Fraser nodded and walked out of the kitchen.

"I'll check these hall closets, you start in the bedroom, Fraser." Ray opened the closet door and began digging around through the dresses, which hung there.

By the time the Mountie entered the bedroom, April was no longer crying but was still lying there with her face firmly pressed against the pillows. The fabric of the pillow was wet as well as her eyes, which were now swollen from the crying she had done. She sat up, but the tears were still falling from beneath her eyes and down her face.

Seems she's just too shy to show how she's really feeling, Fraser thought sadly as he opened the chest of drawers which was in the corner of the room. Strange, some of the drawers are empty, and some are half full. He looked closely at one of the half full drawers, and noticed that April's socks and stockings were shoved to the far right of the drawer. He said nothing and opened the closet. Like the drawers, half of it was filled with clothing and the other half was empty. He turned around to see Ray enter the room.

"Nothing, it's as though Mrs. Hudson lives here alone. I don't even see an old razor blade or aftershave here." Ray said. He sat down on the foot of the bed and suddenly felt something crumble beneath his weight. He reached for it and once he had it, he recognized it as a piece of stationary. It was a letter addressed to Steven. "Bingo," he said as he unfolded the piece of forgotten paper.

He began to read the letter, and once he had finished it, he handed it to Fraser. It was addressed to 'Steve' and looked as though it had seen better days. The date on the top left corner was for the previous day, and both policemen realized that this was probably the letter that propelled Steve to leave in the first place.

"There's something else here," Fraser pointed to a second folded piece of paper, which was sticking out from under the other pillow. He reached over and grabbed the paper and began to unfold it. A second slip of paper fell onto the bed.

"What's that?"

"It looks like some tickets, but there's something else," Fraser held the note to his nose and sniffed it. "Perfume, I'd guess 'Autumn Breeze'."

"I'll check the bathroom," Ray left the room while Fraser began to read the note.

Seconds later, Ray returned, "No 'Autumn Breeze', just some deodorant, and some body spray. Mrs. Hudson, do you wear perfume?"

April sat up and wiped her eyes, "No, I'm allergic to it. It makes me sneeze, and gives me hives, if I come in direct contact with it."

Fraser nodded and after he read the letter, he looked at the young woman. "It sounds like your husband was seeing a woman named Stacy for the past three months, April." He looked down at the small cards that were in his other hand and inspected them closely. "Ray it seems as though Stacy had given Steven a ticket to the 'Boomtown Circus' for tonight's show."

"So, what do you suppose it means? To me, it sounds like a giant jigsaw puzzle." Ray asked as they left the room and walked down the hall into the living room. Once he knew they were alone, he continued. "Different colored socks, a dead man, a mysterious lover who likes the circus, and a widow who doesn't even go nuts about the death of her husband. Sorry Benny, but I still think Mrs. Hudson did it."

"I know, but Ray she was crying, so it seems as though all her feelings about this are being concealed. Yet, somehow, I really don't believe that she did it. Whatever the case, I think one of us should use the ticket and see if we can find out who this Stacy is." Fraser said. "Why don't you go? I'll stay here with April and Diefenbaker."

"Yeah, OK, whatever you say. Just make sure you lock the door as soon as I'm gone." Ray said, "And Benny, don't let her out of your sight."

Fraser nodded, "OK, and Ray could you get some burgers when you come back later?"

Ray nodded.

"Thank you kindly."

"I wish you wouldn't say that all the time, it's annoying." Ray mumbled as he opened the door and left. Fraser locked the door and walked back into the living room. Within moments he sat down on the sofa and began to flip through the magazine, which had been casually dropped on the coffee table.

Seconds later, April entered the room and Fraser looked up. "Did you get any sleep?"

She shook her head; "I couldn't close my eyes for even a second." She sat down in a chair opposite him. "Your partner thinks I shot Steven, doesn't he?"

Fraser nodded, "yes, he does, but I know you didn't do it April, and I want to help you prove it, if I can."

"I don't think there's anyone can help me." She hugged her knees to her chest. "It seems disaster does happens in three's. The funny thing is; if I was in your partner's place, I don't think I'd believe the story either."

"Listen, I know you're probably going to think I'm crazy, but I saw the woman who was talking to you in your room earlier, the angel," Fraser said.

"Y-you saw her?" April asked.

"Yes, and I heard her mention that guy in beige that you saw in the alley," Fraser said softly. "But, it's not just her presence that makes me believe you, I just believe that there is more to a story than just what is blatantly suggested. Somebody is obviously trying to set you up." He paused before he asked another question, "You didn't know your husband was having an affair, did you?"

She shook her head, "I had no idea. I always thought he came in late because of his work. I must be so stupid to have actually believed in him?"

"You're not stupid." Fraser answered.

"Then what am I?" April said as tears brimmed under her eyes.

"A caring person who deserves better I would say," Fraser answered.

April looked down at her lap, and blushed. She wiped her hands over her eyes and finally after a few moments, looked up at him. She was cold, but didn't say anything. Instead, she wrapped her arms around herself.

Fraser, noticing this, stood up and grabbed the afghan off the sofa. Once he unfolded it, he walked over to where she was sitting and gently covered her shoulders with it. She looked up at him gratefully. "Thank you."

He nodded and walked sat down in the second chair. "April, do you want me to get you anything?" She shook her head. Finally, she looked over at Diefenbaker whose head was cocked to one side.

Fraser could tell that the wolf was trying to communicate with him because he was looking intently at the Mountie and was making begging noises. Finally, he responded, his voice emerging with scolding undertones. "Yes, I know you saw the Milk Duds in the kitchen, but you can't just help yourself, you're not at home."

"He eats chocolate?" April asked.

"He eats everything." Fraser confirmed.

"If he wants the Milk Duds, he can have them." She said. "I'm probably not going to eat them, anyway." She paused, "I'm sorry there's not a lot of food here. I didn't have a chance to go to the grocery store today."

"You eat a lot of cereal, don't you?"

"I'm vegetarian," she answered, "nuts have a lot of protein, and so I usually buy a bran cereal and eat that at night." Her face clouded over, "Steve used to get mad at me because I didn't eat meat. I was vegetarian long before I met him, and after we got married, he became more vocal about how he thought a man should have meat and potatoes on his plate every night."

"Why did you stop eating meat?"

"I love animals, and couldn't stand to see them destroyed. I think that's why I was so opposed to having the gun in my name. I mean; I know it's a personal choice, but I'd never tell you that you shouldn't eat ham and cheese sandwiches." She shook her head as she continued speaking. "It's just the way I am, I can't stand to see a living thing being killed. I've been this way since I was 16 years old, and I'm 35 now. "

Fraser stood up, "Nearly 20 years."

"Yeah, but it's rather ironic, as now I stand accused of murder." She shook her head in profound disbelief. "I was called so many names as I was growing up because of this, and my husband never could understand how important it was for me to want to preserve life, and not end it."

Fraser nodded, but after a few moments, he turned back to face her, "Are you sure about the Milk Duds?"

She nodded, "yes, I'm sure."

He walked into the kitchen and pulled the Milk Duds down and threw the package to Diefenbaker. "Remember, you don't help yourself here, this isn't your home."

The wolf walked over to a small corner and began to eat the Milk Duds. Fraser came back into the living room. "He's spoiled."

April smiled slightly. "Constable Fraser, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he replied.

"I was just wondering why you believed me when I told you that I didn't kill Steve?" She asked softly. "I was pretty angry with him for leaving me, but just because I was angry doesn't mean that I would intentionally want to kill anyone."

"I know you wouldn't, and it's not just because of the angel I saw talking to you, but April, we need to consider something here, if whoever it was who was responsible for Steven's death had actually seen you and know who you are, then maybe this is not the safest place for you to be."

"It's not, Benton," Tess said as she appeared in the room and he could tell that the angel had earnest look on her face. "You've got to get her out of here, now."

Fraser nodded, and he stood up and offered April his hand. "What is it?" She asked feeling the intensity of the fear that encased her as he pulled her to her feet.

"Just trust us," was all he said.

"Us?" April looked around the room, but when she saw no one else present, she shook her head with the intention of saying something, but instead of saying anything, she did as he said and grabbed her jacket.

* * *

Ray made it to the Boomtown Circus within 1/2 an hour. He parked the car and with the ticket in hand, he made his way inside. Once he found his seat, he sat down and waited. The circus had already started when he came inside, so it was already dark, and with a pin-sized flashlight, he managed to find his assigned seat. The first thing he took notice of once he had sat down was the quickest exit route. Once he found it, he glanced down and started studying the program, which had been given to him upon entering. Because it was dark, the names were hard to read, but he waited until the lights had once again come up.

Once he was able to, he skimmed about halfway down the page, and his eyes widened when he recognized the name Stacy Woodward printed, and he took a deep breath as he looked around the tent.

It wasn't until the middle of the second act that he was able to see that one of the clowns was staring at him with a confused and almost suspicious look on his face. The policeman tried to ignore the sour looks this particular performer was shooting in his direction, but his suspicions kept telling him that something just did not seem at all right. There was an indescribable eeriness about this person, something his intuition was telling him that he simply could not shake.

His mind drifted back to when he had talked to April about what she had witnessed and he couldn't help but shake his head in complete denial. It must be a mistake, he thought to himself, but when he eventually got a closer look at the clown, he could see that the clown was wearing one orange sock, and one yellow one. It can't be, he whispered under his breath, but continued to watch as the clown pulled a bouquet of flowers from his top hat and handed them to a young woman in the audience.

Ray continued to watch, but after a second, he glanced around and could see a familiar looking man standing at the entrance to the tent. This man was dressed in a beige suit, and the stubborn police detective was momentarily distracted as this unusually dressed individual was making his way down the aisle before stopping near where he was sitting.

"Is this seat free?" The man asked, his soft voice filled with kindness, but his green eyes filled with a strange sense of compassion and empathy.

He nodded, but his attention immediately diverted back to the events out in the ring. Seconds later, he realized that the clown had disappeared and he looked over at the man briefly all the while shaking his head.

After a few moments had passed, the man seated next to him spoke. "Raymond Vecchio?"

"Who wants to know?" He snapped, his voice emerging in a hushed whisper.

"My name is Andrew, and this may be hard for you to believe, but I was with Steven Hudson when he died, and I can tell you that April Hudson is not a murderer," the angel said softly. "Normally, I'm not supposed to tell people this until much later, but I think you need a little bit of help in working all of this out."

"Who the hell are you, Mister?" Ray hissed, his voice rising only slightly, but he could hear people shushing him in the neighboring seats.

"Shhh," Andrew looked at the police detective and this attention reverted back to the events taking place in the ring. "You know the truth Raymond, deep inside you know that she told you and your partner the truth. I was there, and I saw what happened."

"You were the guy in beige that she claimed to have seen," Ray whispered.

"Yes," Andrew nodded, but he remained seated next to police detective. "Raymond, April is in danger, and the murderers are going to go after her tonight. She needs your help, but more than that, she's going to need to know that you believe her."

"First of all, I don't believe her anymore than I believe you, second, if you want to stay on my good-side, then call me Ray," he hissed. "Aside from that, who's to say you didn't pull the trigger?"

"I couldn't have, because Steven and April were the only people who were able to see me. They were the only ones who knew that I was present, so you have a choice whether to believe my words or not."

"This is nuts," Ray looked at the angel as though he was a few sandwiches short of a picnic. "Next thing you're going to tell me is that you're some kind of magician who can appear and disappear at will."

"Ray, I am not a magician, I am an angel, and I was Steven Hudson's Angel of Death," Andrew said simply as he began to glow. "No one here can see me, but one thing is clear, you have to go and find April and your partner, or I will have to find them myself and lead them Home."

"Home?" Ray shook his head.

"Heaven," Andrew said simply as he consulted his golden pocket-watch. "Ray, if you don't hurry, they will both die tonight."

Ray closed his eyes for a second and nodded. "It might rouse their suspicions, Andrew."

The angel shook his head. "Not if I take your place." When Ray looked at him, he could see that Andrew was now dressed in a slacks and a black jacket. "Now go, and Ray, please be careful."

The detective nodded, stood up as the poodle trainer came out into the ring, and as he cast a final glance in the direction of where Andrew was now seated. Before leaving, he could not help but notice that she had a bunch of silver rings on her left hand. He nodded and discreetly exited the tent.

* * *

Backstage, after her act, the poodle trainer came into a small room as the clown approached her. "Stacy, we've got a huge problem right now. There's some strange man in the seat that was reserved for Steven Hudson."

The woman turned around. "What do you mean?" She hissed. "This ticket was delivered to Steven at his workplace yesterday afternoon. No one else could possibly have gotten their hands on it."

"True, but there's was some guy sitting in his spot, a short fellow with very short dark hair," the clown insisted.

Stacy peered out through the hole in the curtain and as she backed away, a gleam came into her eyes. "Naturally, Stevie couldn't make it tonight," she whispered as her gaze landed on the man who was seated in Steven's reserved space. "He doesn't look all that short, he looks to be over six feet tall, and he's got more hair than you described."

"Who is he, Stacy? I've never seen him before?" The clown asked.

"I don't know, but I think he's probably misplaced or something, that happens here all the time," Stacy said, but the clown could see that she did not look completely convinced. "OK, we have already taught Steven a lesson about trying to take the 'Boomtown Circus' revenues from me, but that doesn't seem to solve our problem, and that is, I want April Hudson out of commission, and you are just the guy to do it, Bozo."

"Why me?"

"Well, you pulled the trigger earlier today, so I think you should go for broke on this," she said.

"You just don't want to get the rap for double murder, so you get someone else to do your dirty work," the clown said.

"Look," Stacy hissed. "What does it matter who gets busted on this one? The point is, she saw us both, and as long as she is out there and able to talk, who's to say she won't blow the whistle on both of us?"

The clown still looked unconvinced.

"Mike, the facts are there, this strange man could be misplaced in the audience, or he could be a cop and is somehow linked to her. I personally, wouldn't be willing to take any chances. Now, I don't care how you do it, I just want it done. Have I made myself clear? Now, you and Shane round up some of the boys and get yourselves over there and put her out of business."

The clown nodded, and walked towards the curtain and glanced out to see that the closing act had finished and the audience was getting up to leave. "What about that guy that was here?" He asked.

"I'll take care of him," Stacy said cracking a wicked smile.

The clown nodded and once he had removed the make-up from his face, he pulled on a pair of gloves, and looked down at the slip of paper he held in his hands. After a few minutes, he found a small metal box, opened the lid, and looked down at the gun, which was in the bottom of the box.

Stacy returned some five minutes later and looked at the Mike with unsuppressed surprise shadowing her face.

"You take care of that guy in Steven's seat?"

"You're not going to believe this, but he just disappeared into thin air."

"Excuse me?" Mike looked at her as though she had just admitted to juggling bananas. "Disappeared as in 'poof'?"

Stacy nodded, her face was somewhat pale but she nodded, her eyes filled with silent disbelief. "I don't know what's happening, but this is getting creepy."

"You want me to stick around?" Mike asked, all the while hoping that this would get him off the hook.

"No, just get over there and take care of business, maybe I'm just seeing things," Stacy said softly, all the while shaking her head. Somewhere deep inside of her, she was not about to believe for a second that the man who disappeared was a hallucination, and she knew she had seen him somewhere before, but where specifically remained a mystery.

* * *

By this time, Ray had parked his car once again in front of April Hudson's apartment. I have a feeling I have to hurry and get her out of there, he thought grimly.

As he got out of the car, Andrew had reappeared, reached out, and touched Ray's shoulder. This startled the cop, and he whirled around and looked at the angel with anger in his eyes. "You just about scared me to death," he practically shouted, his voice sharp, thus causing Andrew to wince, but instead of stopping there, he continued. "Look, I remember what you said back at the big top, and if you don't want to be here officially, then I would suggest that you not creep up behind people like that…" He stopped when they both heard the sound of tires squealing in the distance.

"I'm sorry, Ray," Andrew said as the two of them made their way inside the building and up the stairs. By then, the cop's breathing had returned to normal.

Once they reached the door, Ray began to pound on it, but seconds later, he realized that he still had the key, and he used it to open the door. As the angel and the cop entered the apartment, they realized that both Fraser and April were gone.

"Where are they?" Ray turned and looked at Andrew, but the two of them began to survey the apartment hoping that they might find a clue as to where Fraser and April had gone. As the detective came out of the bedroom about twenty minutes later, he looked at Andrew with anger in his eyes. "I raced halfway across town to get here to save their lives, and they aren't even here. Andrew, are they still in danger or is this some kind of joke?"

The angel nodded numbly. "Yes, they are and no, this is not a joke."

"Do you know where they went?"

Andrew shook his head. "I don't know where they are, but I think it's good that they left."

"What do you mean, if they had still been here, we could have gotten them out of here? Come on, use your brain, you got one don't you?"

Andrew took a deep breath, "yes, Ray, I do…" From there they could both hear the sound of gunshots in the distance. The angel went over to the window and looked down onto the street. "That's why it's good that they weren't here, Ray."

The policeman went over to the window and looked outside as well. The street had emptied out and he looked at the angel with confusion marking his annoyed face. "Who's out there?"

Andrew shook his head. "Ray, I don't mean to scare you, but they are coming inside this building."

"I still think that if they had been here when we got here, then we wouldn't be standing around here gabbing while waiting for some lunatic to come in and shoot up this place," Ray shouted, his voice beginning to break the sound barrier.

Andrew took a deep breath. "I can only guess that your partner somehow sensed danger, Ray, and he probably knew that he had to get April out of here before someone came to harm her," Andrew said, as he heard the sound of voices resonating out in the hallway. Andrew approached the door and pressed his ear up to it. After a second, he turned back around and looked at the police detective. "Ray, I don't mean to frighten you…" his voice trailed.

"Look, I'm a cop and I can take just about anything, even nutcases claiming to be angels, so out with it already," Ray hissed.

"OK, we're trapped, and Adam is here. I suppose it would be wise if you were to get out of here."

As the angel spoke, they could hear someone shooting into the front door, the shots ringing out, thus destroying the eerie stillness of the apartment building.

"Adam, who the heck is Adam?" Ray asked over the shots as he looked at Andrew with annoyance shadowing his eyes.

"He's another Angel of Death," Andrew said and Ray looked at him.

"You mean that trigger happy bozo outside wants to kill me?" Ray looked at him. "Great, now, we're up here on the tenth floor; what do you expect me to do? Face that loon, or plunge to my death from a ten-story building. Fraser does this kind of thing all the time, but he's got a death wish, I don't."

Andrew looked at the detective, his exasperation evidently showing. "Ray, I'm not talking about jumping out a window, I'm talking about using the fire escape that is connected to the balcony in the living room."

"Oh," Ray looked at Andrew somewhat embarrassed, but after a few seconds, he shrugged his shoulders before he and Andrew left through the balcony door. Looking back in the direction of the front door, he spoke, his voice emerging flippant. "Hey Adam, give my regards to St. Peter."

Andrew shot his fellow angel an apologetic look as they came out onto the balcony and Ray began to climb over the railing all the while reaching for the metal ladder of the fire escape. Once he had managed to grip the metal railing, he began to descend the side of the building, first Ray and then Andrew. As soon as they reached the street, both the angel and the policeman looked up and could see that there was a man was standing at the window of the apartment looking down at them as they made their escape.

"I guess he's afraid of heights," Ray chortled.

"Actually, he is, that's why he didn't follow us," Andrew said softly. "But, he will go back down using the elevator, so we'd better hurry."

"OK, fine, as usual, you're right, Mr. Genius, but now what?" Ray ran his hand over his mouth trying to stifle a yawn. "I'm frankly not in the mood to take any extended journeys tonight, if you catch my drift."

"I don't want to uh, work tonight, either, Ray," Andrew said as he started to walk towards Ray's prided green Buick Riviera. "But, we do have a problem, I don't know where Benton and April are, but maybe you have an idea as to where they may have gone," Andrew said.

"I have no idea," Ray began. "There are so many possibilities. I mean; the precinct house is probably out of the question because it's too obvious. Maybe the consulate would be a possibility, but the most probable place that I could think of would be for him to have taken her to that dive of an apartment he lives in."

Andrew followed him to the car. "Then, we'd better hurry."

Ray nodded in concurrence and they climbed into the car and fled a good two minutes before the man who was after April had managed to come back out of the building and reach the street. He swore under his breath when he realized that there was not a trace of them anywhere. He returned inside the building all the while contemplating where it was they might have gone.

* * *

Back at April's apartment, some ten minutes after Andrew and Ray had disappeared in the darkness, Mike was still cursing his bad luck at having missed April and Fraser as well as letting the detective and his friend get away. He made it back into the apartment right as his cell phone began to ring and he grabbed it. "What?" He snarled.

"Switch to decaf, Mike, its Stacy," the voice at the other end of the line was quick on the uptake.

"Hey you should talk, you were the one claiming to have seen a ghost less than an hour ago," Mike grumped.

"Listen, Shane just called and told me who that Mountie is that he and Shane were trailing earlier tonight. Apparently, the cops and him work together and the two of them put her under house arrest for Steven's murder. It looks as though we may actually be off the hook, if she takes the rap for it. Anyway, according to what they were able to dig up about him, his name is Fraser, he works with this other joker named Ray Vecchio, who, by the way, had a striking resemblance to one of the guys who as at tonight's show. Anyway, based on what I understand about cops, there are three possibilities as to where April Hudson could have gone, and two of them are places we wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole," Stacy said.

"How did you figure out that they had even left?" Mike asked.

"Well, he also told me about your little episode with the fire escape when he called, and he said that Hudson and the Mountie weren't even there when you got there. So, I just put two and two together. Now, I want you to round up the guys and head over to the old apartment building on the eastside. You can't miss it; it's the biggest dive in that part of town. I know you grew up here, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding it."

Mike nodded, but spoke. "OK, Stacy, did you find out anything about the guy who was seated in Steven's seat at tonight's show?"

"Actually, I did, and he was completely clean, it appeared as though he had been misplaced during most of the show," she said. "I wouldn't worry about him, just concentrate on doing your job and getting Stevie's wife out of the picture, the rest you can leave to me."

With that she hung up the phone and shook her head. Those idiots, she thought bitingly, if you want something done right, you always have to go and do it yourself.

* * *

At that moment, April and Fraser were running in the direction of his apartment. "Do you really think that they might come after me?" She gasped as she ran next to him.

Fraser shook his head. "I don't know, but I have this feeling." He stopped running and reached out and touched her shoulder. "Listen, April, I'm going to tell you something that may sound a little bit strange, but there are angels here and they are sort of calling the shots."

"Angels?" April shook her head, not so much in disbelief, but rather because she still remembered when Monica had appeared to her back at her apartment. "You believe in angels?"

Fraser nodded. "Yes, I do, I think sometimes God responds to people in absolutely uncanny, but miraculous ways."

"Yes, He does, and Benton, you'd better get your rear in gear," Tess appeared next to them and her eyes were filled with intensity. "Those guys who are after April are not far behind, they just broke into April's apartment. The worst of the news I have is there was just a telephone exchange between the people who are chasing her and they are closing in fast."

The Mountie nodded, but he looked at April as if to reemphasize his point. "Do you see her?" He finally managed to ask.

The young woman looked at him and shook her head. "No, I can't."

"She just told me that we need to get a move on, April, so come on, let's get going, the apartment is not too far from here."

She nodded and began to follow him, all the while wondering whom it was he had actually seen. Of course, she was still reeling from her angelic encounter earlier that evening and she was pondering if Monica had actually been real or a figment of her imagination.

Some ten minutes later April and Fraser reached the apartment building. Once inside, he led her through the corridor and up the stairs. Once they had reached the front door to his apartment, he opened it, and they both went inside and he closed the door behind them. "OK, here we are."

"Where's the bathroom?" She asked. "I need to freshen up a little."

Fraser opened the front door and pointed down the hall. "It's at the end of the corridor."

The young woman nodded and followed his instructions down the hall. Once she had reached the bathroom, she locked herself inside, sank to her knees, and wept. As she did, she felt someone wrapping their arms around her, thus offering her a semblance of comfort.

With tearstained eyes, she looked up to see that Monica was now next to her, the angel smiling gently at her.

"They're trying to kill me, aren't they Monica?" She asked through her tears.

"Yes, they are, April, but you need to trust that God is in control of everything that is happening," she said gently. "I know you're afraid, but more importantly, God knows and He's with you."

April rubbed the tears from her eyes. "Did Constable Fraser really see an angel?"

"Yes, he did, her name is Tess, and you all have angels, there's one with the detective, as well."

She sniffed and looked into the warm brown eyes of the angel seated next to her. "Really?"

Monica smiled and nodded. "You ready to go back now?"

April shook her head, but after a second, she managed to make eye contact with the angel. "Constable Fraser is very nice."

"Yes, and he cares, April, but in his own way," she paused taking a deep breath. "If you really trust him, then let him see you as you are now; don't hide yourself away in shame because of emotions, just let them out. You don't have to lock yourself in a bathroom to experience the grief you carry by showing them. You are sad, so it's OK to let the rest of the world recognize that you're only human."

The young woman nodded as Monica helped her up off the floor. "You know, no one ever said that kind of thing to me before. Steven used to find every reason in the world to ridicule me; my emotions were the first on his hit list. I guess I always knew that he was having an affair; I didn't want to see it because then I would have to realize and understand that I'm probably unworthy of love."

Monica shook her head. "That's not true, April, God loves you and it breaks His heart to see you in so much emotional turmoil."

"Why did He allow all these things to happen?" She asked.

"He didn't, people have free will, April, and they made choices that were not in their or your best interest," Monica replied honestly.

Seconds later, she could hear that someone was now knocking on the door. "Just a second," she called out as she turned away from Monica, she realized that the angel was now gone. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and slowly opened the door to see Fraser standing on the other side. "Hi."

"You OK?" He asked. "I was starting to get worried."

She nodded, but after a few seconds, she shook her head. "I'm scared."

Fraser nodded and took her hand in his and helped her to walk back down the hall. Once in the apartment, he closed the door and after she had sat down, he came over and rested a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You know, it's OK to be afraid. I was starting to have this false impression of you, that you were some kind of superhuman because you kept so much inside. It reminds me of…me."

"You?"

"Yes, you see…" his voice trailed off and he glanced towards the window and then towards Diefenbaker, who had just sat up and looked towards the door as if anticipating something.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I heard something and I think Diefenbaker has also sensed it," he began and pointed over to where the wolf was now watching the front door with a new, much more keen sense of alertness.

"You heard something outside?" She asked. "But, couldn't he have heard it."

"Not hardly, he's deaf," Fraser said. "I guess it's kind of hard to explain, but we have a sort of understanding with one other. Diefenbaker is also the only family I have left."

"Family," April shook her head as her thoughts drifted to Steven.

Fraser came over to her and reached for her hands. Once he held them, he pulled her to her feet. "Stay as quiet as you can," he said softly.

April nodded and backed up against the corner of the room. Outside, they could both hear the sounds of someone charging through the hallway in their direction, simply because there were thundering footsteps resonating throughout the room.

"Is there another way out of here?" She finally asked all the while keeping her voice barely above a whisper.

"Only if you want to jump out the window," Fraser responded in kind.

April nodded mutely, but froze when there came a loud knock at the door. "Fraser, open up, it's me."

The Mountie released a pent up sigh and looked at her. "It's Ray." He went over and opened the door. "Ray, you just about scared April to death."

"Well, my new partner is an Angel of Death, so he won't have far to go," Ray said smugly.

"What?"

"Never mind, can we come in?" Ray asked.

"We?" Fraser looked out into the empty hallway. "There's no one else there, Ray."

"Of course there is, hey Mr. Angel of Death, would you please make yourself visible so we can maybe get them out of here without getting ourselves killed?" Ray asked, much to April's curiosity and Fraser's amusement.

Andrew, not having much of a choice in the matter, made himself visible and when April saw him, she fainted.

"Great, maybe you should disappear again," Ray said sarcastically.

"Ray, she's unconscious, and we have maniacs after her, what more could happen?" Fraser asked.

"I'll tell you what more could happen," Tess' strong voice emerged and she appeared, and was looking at the cop and the Mountie with unsuppressed irony. "You two need to get her out of here, or she's going to be doing a lot more than just fainting."

Ray looked at Andrew, "let me guess, you'd be back on the clock again?"

"What do you mean, Ray," but the two angels and the cop looked at him with looks that clearly said 'not now' and Andrew offered a simple nod.

At that moment, Fraser suddenly became alert. "I think they're here," he said softly.

"That they are, baby." Tess said softly.

"OK, then I will trust that you will take care of April, Andrew, I'm going to need Benny to help me kick some serious booty. Besides, I honestly don't think this is part of your job description," Ray said sarcastically and Tess chuckled.

Andrew went over and picked April's body up in his arms, and he and Tess walked slowly towards the door. "Benton, how do we get out of here?"

"I think we can cover that, you just stay in here while we clean up," Ray said softly. "There may be some gunplay, so I would suggest that you get her behind something sturdy."

"My question is; how did they get my address?" Fraser asked, and this completely befuddled the detective simply because Fraser always seemed to have the answers to everything.

"The internet," Andrew said simply as he brushed his hand gently through the young woman's hair. "All they had to do was find out your name, and they probably managed that because the two of you work so well together."

Tess looked at Andrew. "Not now, Angel Boy," she scolded gently. "You can explain all that to them later, right now these boys have work to do."

Ray smirked, "yeah Angel Boy."

As they started to hear the pounding on the door, Andrew sat down on the floor next to April. At that moment, Monica appeared and the three angels watched over the woman.

Fraser, by this time, had pulled the door open with such a force that Mike and Shane were pulled into the apartment and Mike even stumbled and was left looking up at the Mountie who was towering over him.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Mister I'm afraid of heights. Maybe Benny and I ought to hang you out to dry," Ray sneered looking at the man.

"You're not going to get away that easily," Mike said.

"Perhaps not, but keep in mind that if you kill April, you'll have to kill us and one of the neighbors is bound to see you leaving the building, so you can either drop the gun and face whatever consequences may come," Fraser said calmly. "Or you could deal with the teeth of a wolf that doesn't take kindly to your presence here."

Mike turned to see a mound of white fur attacking him and the gun he carried skittering across the floor of the apartment.

Shane watched as Diefenbaker attacked his friend and instead of running, he pulled his gun out and aimed it at the wolf. This action caused Fraser to jump him and the man could see that this action was a grave mistake. Within seconds, both men were on the floor, and there was no longer any danger.

During this time, Ray managed to call in for some backup, and moments later, some of the police officers arrived on the scene and were taking the two men into custody. As they were being led away, Ray looked at his partner. "You know, Benny, we make a pretty decent team."

Fraser nodded and looked over at Andrew and was surprised to see that his friends had joined him. "Has she woken up yet?"

The angel shook his head. "No, not yet." He reached over and rested a gentle hand against her hair and brushed it gently almost probing her to wake up.

After a few moments, her eyes fluttered and she looked up and into the green eyes of the Angel of Death. "It can't be…" she whispered.

Andrew reached over and touched her face. "I didn't mean to frighten you, April."

She nodded numbly, but could see that Monica was seated next to him. She looked at the angel who had been with her for much of the evening, a question looming.

"April, this is Andrew, he was the angel who was with your husband when he died," Monica said gently. "You have nothing to be afraid of," she added. "He is not here to hurt you."

The young woman nodded mutely and her eyes met those of Andrew. "I s-saw you," she finally managed to stammer.

"I know you did," he said softly. "Maybe the reason you did was so that you would know that you weren't alone when all this happened, April."

Ray came over to them at that moment and looked down at the woman. "You told me that she was innocent, Andrew, and at first I didn't believe it, but now, after everything that has happened, I guess I do."

"What's going to happen to me?" She asked weakly.

Ray shrugged his shoulders. "We have to prove that you didn't kill Steven, and that shouldn't be too hard after we caught those bozos outside."

"But, what's going to happen now?" April asked weakly.

"Stacy Woodward is still out on the loose, and I don't know how, but I have a strange feeling that you may still be in some kind of danger, April," Fraser said and he looked at Tess who simply offered a reciprocating nod. "From what I understand about her, she is not going to leave this alone, until she has managed to get April out of the way."

"You mean; this really isn't over yet?" April looked at Fraser, her eyes wide with fear.

"I'm afraid not," Andrew supplied the answer to her question, but after a few moments, he looked at Ray. "You have any idea where we can take April where she'll be safe?"

Ray smirked, "I think I know just the place."

* * *

The Vecchio house was dark when Ray pulled up to the curb. Looking around, he nodded, the neighborhood was quiet, there seemed to be nothing going on, and Stacy Woodward had probably not caught wind of the fact that her two goons had been busted at Fraser's apartment building. He knew that they would have to hurry, but instead of going into details about this, he turned around to the people in the backseat.

"OK, the coast is clear," the cop offered simply as he got out of the car and looked around the darkened neighborhood. As he did, he waited for April and Fraser to get out of the car. Behind them, the three angels pulled into the driveway with Tess' bright red Cadillac convertible.

"You know, that car stands out about as much as you do in your red serge, Benny," Ray said sarcastically as he quickly motioned for them to head for the front door. Next, he went to the garage and opened it, thus motioning for Tess to pull the car into the now empty parking space. He was not sure if Woodward and company had seen this car, but people would pay attention as it stood out like a sore thumb.

Once she had pulled in, Ray waited until the three angels had disembarked the car, and had come out of the garage. He pulled the door down and motioned for them to follow him to the front door. As soon as they reached the porch, the door swung opened and Ray's sister Francesca was standing in the doorway, her eyes brightening considerably when she saw that Fraser was in the company of her brother.

"Hey Ray," she said her voice bordering between the sounds of annoyance and sarcasm, but then she turned to Fraser and spoke, her voice emerging a purr. "Hello Benton."

In response, Ray literally had to push her out of the way so that he could get them safely inside the house.

As they passed through the front hallway, Francesca turned around and her eyes widened when she saw Andrew, her smile broadening as he passed by, and she reached for his hand, with the intention of taking it and giving it a squeeze. "Hi there, I'm Ray's sister, Francesca, and you are?"

"His name is Andrew, and believe me, Frannie, he's not your type," Ray said evenly, trying to dissuade his sister from throwing herself at the Angel of Death. In response to his words, Monica had to cover her mouth with her hand in order to stifle her laughter, while Tess had a look on her face that clearly said, 'what is it about that boy?'

Instead of offering any sort of verbal response, Andrew smiled weakly at the young woman and managed to make his way to the other side of the room without any further incidents happening. After a few moments, he managed to sit down on the sofa in a convenient location between Monica and Tess. On the other side of Monica, sat April who regarded him with an unsuppressed mixture of fear and amusement.

"I see," Francesca mused and without even a smile, she continued, "already taken, this is the story of my life. OK then, I'm going back to bed, good night everyone."

"Good night, Francesca," Fraser offered and once the others had offered similar sentiments, the young woman disappeared through the doorway and they could hear her climbing the stairs.

Once she was gone, Andrew managed to make eye contact with the cop, but before he could even speak, Ray nodded, all the while trying to suppress the urge to laugh out loud. "Yes, Andrew, she's always been like that. She flirts with every guy I know, Benny especially."

The Angel of Death nodded, but smiled weakly as he looked at Monica and saw the amusement literally dancing in her brown eyes. At that moment, his handsome face flushed crimson and his eyes unconsciously met those of Fraser, who offered him a reciprocating nod. At that moment, he realized that Ray had spoken the truth; Fraser had dealt with the flirtations of Francesca Vecchio as well. When the other angels looked over at Fraser they could see nothing short of a 'deer trapped in the headlights' look on the Mountie's face.

"So, what are we going to do about Stacy Woodward?" Ray asked trying to get his partner off the hook.

"I was thinking that maybe we should go down to the fairgrounds and check things out there," Fraser said. "I thought we could take Tess with us, and then Andrew and Monica could stay here and watch out for April."

"If she gets into any danger, can you guys do anything, or is it out of your hands?" Ray asked as he pointed skyward.

Andrew looked at Tess, and when he got a nod, he spoke. "I think she's going to be OK."

April looked at Fraser. "Do you think that Stacy is going to come here looking for me?"

The Mountie shook his head. "I don't think so, April, she may be looking all over Chicago for us, but chances are, after what happened at my apartment, she probably will think that we took you to the precinct house or the consulate. I don't think it will occur to her that we brought you here."

"Yeah, and besides that, my address is unlisted, so she wouldn't be able to find it online or in the telephone book," Ray said. "Don't worry, if anyone shows up, they can contend with Frannie and I honestly don't know of too many people who would want to."

April smiled slightly and nodded.

"OK, then, we'd better get out of here, since Tess' car is in the garage, we'll take the Riv out to the grounds," Ray said reluctantly. He didn't like the idea of having to take his car anywhere, one of them had already gotten blown up and now he was not keen on the idea of this one getting destroyed.

Fraser nodded. "Ray's rather protective of his baby," he explained after noticing the cop's obvious reluctance with taking the car anywhere, especially straight into danger.

"That's OK, Ray, so is Tess," Monica said as she recalled how much attention Tess gave to her car.

Rather than participate in the discussion of cars, April could feel her body beginning to tremble. In response, Monica wrapped her arms around the young woman and held her tightly.

"Everything is going to be OK; April," Monica whispered softly, and when the woman nodded, Tess turned to face her as Fraser came over to where she was sitting.

"You're going to be fine, there are angels here and they won't let anything happen to you," he said confidently.

"I'm so afraid," she looked up at him, her eyes filled with fear and the Mountie knew that this was real; she had been through so much already.

"We know you are scared, baby," Tess said gently as she reached over and touched the shoulder of the woman. "But, you're in God's hands, and right now, that's the best place in the world for you to be."

She nodded and Ray showed her to a room where she could get some sleep. Once she was settled in the room, Fraser, Ray, and Tess disappeared outside.

* * *

Once the two policemen and Tess had gone outside, the angel looked at the two of them. "You two are probably the most unlikely friends I have ever seen."

"Ah yeah," Ray scoffed it off. "So Tess, did the man upstairs tell you where we can find Woodward?"

Tess shook her head. "It doesn't work like that, I'm just along for the ride."

"You mean there isn't some trick to this. I mean, Benny here uses his sense of smell to solve cases, do you have some angel sense that you can help us with on this one?"

Tess chuckled at the cop's 'in your face' attitude, but she shook her head. "Perhaps, I'm here to tell you simply to trust your instincts. You two are policemen, you pay attention to detail, now then, do you remember anything during your brief visit to April Hudson's apartment?"

Fraser thought about it, "nothing that stands out in my mind."

Ray looked at the angel. "All I remember from my time there is that someone was trying to kill me, and he was afraid of heights. Once we took off, we went to Fraser's place, and found you there. But, I don't understand what the significance of this is. Stacy Woodward is probably still at the fairground waiting for the 'goon-brothers' to report in."

"Maybe she is, Ray, but maybe she has already caught wind that something's amiss, and she went to check on things," Fraser said. "My dad used to say that in order to catch a deviant, one has to start thinking like one."

"You'd better not let Lieutenant Welsh ever hear you say that," Ray muttered.

"OK, but Ray, think about it, how could they have found the apartment if they hadn't have been there before?" Fraser asked. "They didn't follow you, did they?"

"No, I don't think they could have been because Andrew and I had arrived there a good twenty minutes before they even showed up," Ray said, but after a few minutes, he had an idea. "In laymen's terms, that means, Stacy Woodward knows where April lives, and maybe she went there after not hearing anything from the 'goon-brothers'," Ray said and glanced briefly back in Tess' direction. "Do you think that she might have gone to April's place after not hearing anything from her cohorts?"

Tess nodded and smiled. "Remember what Andrew told you when you showed up there earlier this evening. He said that it was smart of Benton to have gotten April out of there, but I think you figured it out. If we are going to the fairgrounds, chances are, Stacy Woodward won't even be there. Use your logic, Ray, and you will know exactly where to go."

"Yeah, that's gotta be it, because Woodward is probably not one to sit around and wait for news to come in," Ray said as he tossed his cell phone to the Mountie. "Get Elaine on the horn, I want you to find out if Stacy Woodward has been brought up on charges for anything else in, say, the last five years. Oh, and get some backup over at April Hudson's apartment while you're at it."

Fraser nodded and made the call. When he hung up the phone some five minutes later, he looked at Ray. "Ironically, she had been arrested about three years ago for extortion."

"Didn't April say that Steven had made some investments into the Boomtown Circus during the past five years or so?" Ray asked.

"Yes, that was when we took her statement earlier at the precinct house. If I recall, she said that she didn't like this investment at all because of the mistreatment of the animals there," Fraser said nodding. "You know Ray, I knew from the start that April was innocent, but this may very well have proved it."

Ray nodded, "I guess it does, so I'm betting that Woodward did find out that Steven knew what was happening and maybe he was threatening to blow the whistle on the entire operation if she didn't cooperate with him. That was probably why he was killed in the first place."

"Well, it makes a lot more sense to me than your first theory, Ray, especially since April Hudson would not hurt man or beast, she even said that to have the gun in the house was not her idea," Fraser said and once they had pulled up to the darkened building, Ray cut the motor, turned off the lights and they waited in silence.

Within ten minutes, they watched as a silver BMW pulled up to the building and a woman got out of the car and went inside. Fraser was out of the car in an instant.

"Wait, Benny, do you know for sure if that was Woodward?" Ray asked.

"Well, I saw the lamp from the doorway reflecting light off the jewelry she wore, silver rings, you tell me. She also fit the description to what April had given when she witnessed her husband being shot, so I'm guessing…" his voice faded as Ray interrupted.

"…OK, OK, you're probably right, come on, let's go check it out," Ray's voice was a depiction of impatience. The two of them got out of the car, but when Tess didn't move, he looked at her. "You coming?"

The angel shook her head. "You two both know what you have to do, I'll wait here."

The police detective and Fraser shrugged their shoulders and raced across the street leaving Tess alone in the car. Seconds later, Adam came over to where she was waiting and tapped on the window. She rolled it down and looked at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, Tess, I've been watching the building for the last few hours since seeing Andrew and Ray earlier this evening," Adam began as he rubbed his hand across his bearded chin, looked down at his watch as he continued to address Tess. "Interesting case, I must say," he mused as he closed his golden pocket watch and returned it to his pocket.

"Did you see anything there, Angel Boy?" Tess asked.

Adam shook his head. "Not much, but did you know what Ray Vecchio said to me before leaving with Andrew?" Shaking her head, she waited as he continued. "He said, 'hey Adam, give my regards to Saint Peter'."

Tess chuckled again. "You on call now?"

Adam shook his head. "No, they should be taking care of this situation rather well by now. Those two are so different, but I've never seen such a strong partnership before."

Tess nodded. "There's still a message for them that needs to be delivered. Come on, let's go upstairs and see if they've taken care of things yet."

Adam nodded and once Tess had gotten out of the car, they walked towards the door leading inside. A few minutes later, a number of police cars arrived on the scene.

* * *

Back at the Vecchio house, April was having trouble sleeping. She had been tossing and turning for most of the night, her eyes barely closing and when they did they would suddenly open with the intention of seeing if someone was watching her. Throughout the evening, Andrew and Monica would take turns watching over her. When she eventually woke up, she could see that Andrew was seated next to her bed and she surmised that it was his turn.

"W-where's Monica?" She whispered.

"She's downstairs," he said. "Do you want me to go get her?"

April shook her head. "No, you don't have to."

Andrew closed his eyes for a moment, but after a few moments, he opened them again and looked down at her. "You've had a real tough day, haven't you?"

"Yes, I suppose so," she said softly as she sat up in the bed, her arms now resting in her lap and she glanced towards the window. After a few moments, she looked at him. "Is Steven in Heaven?"

"Yes, he is," Andrew said gently.

"He never really loved me, so I don't know why I feel so sad because he's gone," she said softly.

Andrew reached over and took her hand in both of his. "You were hurt, but you did love him. If you didn't, then his passing would not have saddened you as much as it did. Monica told me about what happened in the bathroom at Benton Fraser's apartment building."

"Why did she?"

"I would have found out, if not from her; then from God," Andrew said gently. "You know, being strong is not always a requirement for life. There exists many definitions to strength, April, and one of them is being able to have the courage to feel what it is you are feeling at a precise instant in your life. I know that what you saw today was devastating, because I saw it too, and it affected me as much as it did you. We both saw earthly life end today, but death is not the end of life, death is the end of this frame of reference, but now Steven is Home, with the Father of us all."

"I don't know what to do," she could feel her voice cracking, her tears tumbling down over her face.

"Monica has tried to tell you how," Andrew said gently. "Even Benton has told you in a number of words that you can safely cry, scream, be angry or frightened because of what it is you saw and lost today. God wants to heal your broken spirit, April, He wants to make you whole again, but He can't unless you start to trust Him to do so for you. But, you have to understand that this will only happen in His way."

April looked up at him. "It's so hard."

"I know it is, April, and God knows," Andrew said softly as he stood up and sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. "He loves you, and He has been with you this entire night. He knew from the start that you would need His intervention in all of this, that's why He sent you angels, to protect and watch over you, but he also sent you Ray and Benton to help you get through the human side of this tragedy. Will you let them help you?"

In response to his words, she nodded numbly, and after a few moments, she could feel that he had pulled her into his arms and held her, her head now resting against his chest, his hand holding it there, his fingers brushing her hair out from in front of her tear-stained face.

Eventually, April allowed herself to cry bitterly in the arms of the Angel of Death, her sobs emerging in gasps.

Andrew held her in his loving embrace for some time until Monica came into the room. When she saw them, she spoke, her question emerging but somehow, she knew what the answer was going to be. "Did she talk to you?"

"Yes," Andrew said softly, as the woman's sobs quieted somewhat and she remained wrapped tightly in his arms. "It's been hard for her, she grew up thinking that strength was defined in holding things inside, but now she knows that it is defined in letting things out and allowing oneself to not be tied down with painful emotions."

Monica sat down next to them as well and reached over and touched the softness of April's hair. "Is she going to be OK, Andrew?"

The Angel of Death nodded and smiled weakly as Monica brushed a stray hair out from in front of April's face. "Well, she's out of danger now, but she is going to need a lot of support in the coming days."

Monica nodded. "In other words, we're not finished yet."

Andrew shook his head. "No, but almost."

* * *

At April's apartment building, Stacy Woodward had arrived and as she arrived at the front door and had gained access to the apartment. Those morons, she thought to herself as she managed to jiggle the lock and the door opened. She was not certain if April would still be there, but she figured that this was the most likely place.

She remembered what Steven had said about her, how she was as quiet as a mouse, and chances were, she had not spoken out about the murder, in fact, Stacy was convinced that April would have been too afraid to.

As the woman came into the living room and began to look around, her eyes were scanning the room in search of nothing in particular. Of course, she was still looking for April, but she also realized that while she was here, she would dig through the paper in the hopes of finding any, and all links that Steven could have had that would have been incriminating evidence against her. If she were to find anything, then she would be able to destroy it without anyone being the wiser.

Walking down the hall in the direction of the bedroom, she took a deep breath and opened the door half expecting to see April on the bed asleep, but when she realized that the room was empty, she cursed under her breath and turned back around to face the doorway.

Standing there, were Ray and Fraser and as quickly as she could, she pulled a gun and aimed it at the two policemen. "Where is she?" She seethed.

"In a safe place, and you're under arrest for murder, extortion, and anything else I can think of," Ray said evenly. "Put the gun down, now Miss Woodward."

"What makes you so sure that I would give myself up this easily?" She asked, her voice a dramatic whisper and she looked at Fraser, her gun following the intended path of her eyes. "I happen to know that our Canadian friend doesn't have a gun on him, so what's to stop me from shooting him right now?"

As Ray started to lower the gun, Fraser took off his hat and flung it at the woman as a way to distract her from shooting one or both of them. This proved successful, because instead of her reaching her intended target, the gun was knocked out of her hand and skidded across the floor. Before dropping it, the gun went off, the shot ricocheting off the wall and smashing into a mirror, thus shattering it. As if by impulse, Stacy hit the deck and Ray went over to where she was on the floor all the while trying to prevent the glass slivers from cutting her.

Without skipping a beat, Ray went over to her, and pulled her to her feet all the while continuing to speak as though nothing had distracted him at all. "As I was saying, besides having seven years of bad luck, you're under arrest."

At that moment, the backup arrived and Ray handed the poodle trainer over to the officers. Once they had led her from the room, Ray looked at his partner in profound disbelief.

"Benny, why is it that every time we get into trouble, that you immediately think of throwing your hat? You could have gotten one, or both of us killed."

"Not hardly, Ray, the Angel of Death isn't even here," Fraser replied calmly.

"And how do you know that?" Ray asked sarcastically.

"Well that's very simple, Ray, if he was here, my father would have told me that he was here," Fraser said.

"Benny, your dad's been dead for over a year, what makes you think that he would be a reliable source as to the whereabouts of an Angel of Death?" Ray asked, shaking his head. "My dad was right about one thing, sometimes you're loony-tunes."

"That's just not true, Ray," Fraser objected, but there was a small smile on his face.

"The Angel of Death wasn't in here, Ray, take my word for it," Tess said as she came into the room and looked at the two policemen.

"I thought you were waiting downstairs, Tess," Fraser said softly.

"No, I was told to come up here and give you two a message," Tess said simply. "Adam and I are here to deliver it."

"Adam?" Fraser looked at his partner. "I thought the only angels here were you, Monica, and Andrew."

"I'm Adam, and Ray, that comment you made about St. Peter was very amusing," Adam said, his gray eyes sparkling mischievously.

"What comment?" Fraser asked, but Tess, Adam and Ray shook their heads.

"Later, Benny, later," Ray said and they looked at Tess as though they were awaiting her next words.

"God sent us to you to tell you that He loves you both very much, and the reason you two became partners was for a reason. You both have something of a unique friendship, but think about how empty your lives would have been had you not met."

"I think I see your point, Tess," Fraser said and nodded in concurrence with the angel's words. After a moment, he looked at his partner. "You know, Ray, I know I'm not always the easiest person in the world to work with, but you are my best friend and I am really glad that we are friends."

Ray looked at Tess. "So the man upstairs knew what he was doing when he sent Fraser to Precinct 27 over a year ago?"

"Yes, He knew exactly what He was doing," Tess said smiling. "There was no coincidence as to why it was you started working together. You share a wonderful friendship, and the level you care for each other is a part of what makes it so special."

Ray smirked. "OK, let's get this mushy stuff over with, we still have a witness that we need to protect."

"April is just fine, Ray," Adam said, "she's in good hands, I assure you."

The police detective nodded. "OK, so in other words, we're doing just fine, and that when Benny starts in with his Inuit tales and stories, that that is just his way and he's not trying to drive me bananas."

"You've summed it up, Ray," Tess said. "God wants you to know that you should trust your intuition on things. Benton already knows to listen to that inner voice inside, but you need to know that just because something looks a certain way that it's not always going to be that way."

"Like April Hudson?" Ray asked.

"Like April Hudson," Adam confirmed before he disappeared.

"Hey, where'd he go?" Ray asked once the Angel of Death was gone.

"He's probably back on the clock, Ray," Fraser began. "I heard a story once that said, it doesn't take more than one angel to tell someone what they need to know, right?" Once Tess nodded, he continued. "Come on, let's get back to the house and let April know that this is finally over."

Ray agreed and they left the apartment.

* * *

Three days later, April returned home and before going into the apartment building, she and Fraser both got out of Ray's Buick and watched as the detective sped away, the car barreling back down the street in the direction of the police station. As they were walking slowly towards the red Cadillac that was parked on the opposite side of the street, they smiled when they made eye contact with the three angels who were standing in front of it.

Once she reached them, she practically threw herself into Monica's arms. "I just want to thank you all for everything you've done for me," April began to speak once the embrace loosened.

"It was our pleasure, April," Monica said smiling as Fraser reached them and rested his hand gently on her shoulder.

"Did you and Benton talk about all of this yet, April?" Andrew asked, all the while noticing the new friendship between the young woman and the policeman.

She nodded. "Yes, we talked a little bit about it last night, and Constable Fraser promised to help me get back on my feet."

Fraser nodded as she spoke. "That's right, and I suppose you three are leaving today?"

"Yes, baby, we are," Tess said smiling at him. "God is really proud of you, of all of you."

"I'll tell Ray, when I see him again," Fraser said. "I don't think he's particularly fond of good-byes."

The three angels smiled. "We understand," Tess said simply. "Come on Angel Babies, we have work to do and April probably wants to get resettled in at home."

After one last embrace with Monica, April watched as the three angels got into the Cadillac and drove away. Once they were gone, she looked up at Fraser.

"I guess life will be getting back to normal now," Fraser mused but April shook her head.

"I don't think it will ever be normal again," she began. "In fact, I hope that it will never be as it was before. They said that things happen in threes, but I didn't know that that I would discover a new friend in the face of all of this."

Fraser nodded and smiled down at her. "You know, I don't blame you for not wanting things as they were before. And, something tells me, it won't ever be as it was before. Come on, let's go up and get you resettled," He turned and called down the street. "Come on Dief, you promised that you would help us and rumor has it, April bought an entire case of milk duds especially for you."

April smiled and nodded, "Diefenbaker gets bribed to help," she smiled. "But, I don't have anything to give to you."

"Oh don't be so sure about that. You did help me out about a week ago when that boy poured his milkshake on my boots," Fraser said smiling.

April laughed, yes, she thought, that was true. She watched down the street and there she could see that the wolf was running in their direction. Above his head, a white dove was flying through the air and cooing as it disappeared over the trees. At that moment, when she looked at Fraser, she knew that things were going to be OK.

The End…

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