Fic: Haven - Stolen Away - Teen

[tanaquiljall]

Title: Stolen Away
Fandom: Haven
Rating: Teen
Contains: canon-typical content
Words: 10,240 words
Summary: Audrey and Nathan, with a little help from Duke, must solve a spate of burglaries, an unexplained death, and several of those strange events that are just business as usual in Haven.
Disclaimer: This story is a transformative work based on the Syfy/Entertainment One/Universal Networks International series Haven. It was written for entertainment only; the author does not profit from it.
Author's Note: Written for the casestory big bang. Thanks to Scribbler (scribblesinink) for the beta.

oOo

Stan rapped on the door to the detectives' room. "Someone to see you. An Adam Powell?"

Audrey looked up from the files she was working on, the accumulated reports on a recent spate of burglaries. Her visitor, hovering in the main office, was the victim of the latest incident. "Thank you, Stan. Send him in, please." She glanced back down at the evidence—such as it was—spread in front of her and wished she had better news to give him.

Getting to her feet, she greeted Mr Powell and waved him into a seat on the other side of the desk. "You're here for an update?"

He nodded. "And the report and crime number for the insurance company. Not that money can replace—." He stopped, his voice cracking. He turned his head away, tugging at the hem of his jacket—some kind of work uniform; a logo made up of a number of blocky arrows was embroidered on the left breast pocket.

"Was there something in particular?" Audrey kept her voice soft as she shuffled through the paperwork to find the report of what had been taken. It was the usual mix of jewelry and small, valuable trinkets. That at least was a consistent pattern, along with the break-ins happening during the day, in quiet neighborhoods where all of the neighbors were out at work. The burglaries were coming at the rate of just one or two a week, on different days, and Audrey's theory was that the perpetrator was probably taking some time to case the area and choose a suitable house each time. There was precious little other evidence, though: no one had seen or heard anything suspicious; the burglar wore gloves; and, whoever it was, they were taking the time to carefully pick a lock on a door to the rear of the property.

Mr Powell seemed to have composed himself. "There's an engagement ring and a picture frame," he explained. He shrugged. "It's not even the frame, really. But the photo in it. My wife. We had it taken when we were on our honeymoon on a cruise to Alaska. She died a couple of years back. Cancer."

Audrey gave him a gentle smile. "I'm sorry for your loss. And I'll do everything I can to find who took the photo and get it back to you." Sometimes, working for Haven PD involved danger and heroics to save lives, but mostly it was about doing the legwork to help people with problems that were quite ordinary in the grand scheme of things but which mattered a lot to them.

Movement behind Mr Powell caught her eye and she looked up to see Nathan hovering in the doorway. He raised his hand and she nodded at him to come in.

"Everything okay?" He took a couple of steps into the room and glanced down at Mr Powell.

Audrey gestured at the man sitting opposite her. "This is Adam Powell," she explained. "He's our latest burglary victim."

Nathan held out his hand for Mr Powell to shake. "Nathan Wuornos, acting chief of police." He turned back to Audrey. "Same M.O.?"

"Uh-huh. Such as it is." Audrey leaned back in her chair, fiddling with her pen. "I was just about to give Mr Powell an update, but I'm afraid I don't have much to tell him. I canvassed the area this morning, but the neighbors I caught before work were all out yesterday, so I haven't found any witnesses yet. Nor fingerprints or footprints or…." She shrugged apologetically in Mr Powell's direction. "I'm sorry. All I can do at this point is give you a copy of the crime report and promise you I'll keep working on the case."

The phone on her desk chirruped and she saw the call was from Dr Lucassi. He was currently acting as Haven's M.E. She picked up the phone and gestured with it. "Would you excuse me? I need to take this."

At Mr Powell's nod, she stood up, turning away and answering the phone. She was aware of Nathan, behind her, offering to get the copy of the crime report for Mr Powell, and him picking it up and heading out of the office to photocopy it.

At the other end of the line, Dr Lucassi was explaining why he'd called. "I've got a strange one here. A case of massive anaphylaxis, but the woman's sister insists she didn't have any allergies. Could just be an unfortunate reaction to something she wasn't aware she was allergic to, but it feels like a Trouble. I'd like you and Nathan to look into it."

"We'll be there." Audrey took down the address, feeling the case had to beat chasing a seemingly undetectable burglar, and hung up. Turning back round, she saw Nathan was handing over the crime scene report to Mr Powell, who'd gotten to his feet. She dipped her head at him. "Thanks for dropping by, Mr Powell. I have to look into something else, but I'll let you know as soon as I have anything new for you."

Mr Powell nodded his thanks and headed out.

Nathan gave the original of the crime report back to Audrey and tilted his head toward her phone. "What's up?"

"Dr Lucassi's got a case he wants us to see. I'll explain on the way." Audrey glanced down at the crime report as she shuffled the papers back into their files. Nathan must have noticed she hadn't signed it yet and had scrawled his own signature across the bottom.

Looking back up as she stacked the files together, she saw Mr Powell was reading his copy of the report as he crossed the main office, distracted enough to bump into Duke coming the other way.

"What's up with him?" Reaching the door to the detectives' room, Duke jerked his head in Mr Powell's direction. "It's like he didn't even see me. Or feel me." He rubbed his shoulder.

"He's got a lot on his mind." Audrey was collecting together her things and pulling on her jacket. She gave Duke a narrow-eyed look. "I don't suppose any of your business associates deal in jewelry of dubious origin?"

Duke pulled himself up straight, his face taking on an offended expression. "I'm in the import-export business and so are my business associates."

"Right." Nathan snorted.

Duke gave him a long-suffering look and then rolled his eyes. He turned back to Audrey. "If it's about those burglaries, ask the police in Bangor to circulate a list to the local pawn shops," he offered. "Maybe Augusta and Lincoln, too. Doubt whoever-it-is would go as far as Portland."

"Thanks." Audrey smiled at him, before raising her eyebrows. "Did you want something? We were on our way out."

"Just came by to tell you the guy's going to be coming by your place later to fix the thermostat on the shower."

Audrey's brows shot even further toward her hairline. "You came into the police station to tell me that?"

Duke lifted his hands in protest. "Hey, you were gone when I got to the Gull this morning. I was passing. I thought you'd want to know."

"I do." She patted him on the arm as she headed past him. "Thanks. But we gotta go."

She also reckoned Duke liked hanging out with her in the mornings, while she got ready for work, with the excuse of bringing her coffee to jump-start her day; and that he'd been put out she'd left early that morning, before he arrived, because she'd needed to talk to Mr Powell's neighbors. Plus, from the glance she caught over her shoulder of Duke and Nathan eyeballing each other for a moment, he wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to needle Nathan.

Shaking her head, she made for the door and Dr Lucassi's possible Trouble—which would surely be easier to solve than the tangle that was Nathan and Duke.

oOo

"You know," Audrey said, as she climbed out of the Bronco and followed Nathan past Dr Lucassi's car, "I'm starting to think our burglar has an invisibility Trouble."

Nathan shot her a startled look. "You really think so?"

She shook her head. "Not really. Would help explain my complete lack of progress, though."

"You'll figure it out." He gave her a reassuring smile as they headed up the path to the house and approached the front door, which stood open.

Inside, they found Dr Lucassi in the kitchen with the body. The dead woman, Suzanne Applebaum, was lying in an untidy sprawl next to a breakfast bar that seemed to be a dumping ground for her mail: piles of bills, magazines, flyers, a couple of Amazon boxes, an unopened parcel still in its courier's plastic envelope….

Careful not to knock anything off, Audrey stepped around the body and knelt down. Suzanne's face was swollen and covered with a rash and there was a blue tinge to her lips.

Nathan knelt on the other side. "Who found the body?" He looked up at Lucassi.

Lucassi jerked his head toward the front of the house. "Her sister. She's in the living room with Officer Stark. She arranged to come over for lunch, found her like this."

Audrey leaned forward, peering more closely at Suzanne. There was a faint reddish mark on her temple. "You're sure its anaphylaxis? No signs of foul play?"

"The bruise on her forehead?" Lucassi must have picked up her interest. "Looks like she got that when she fell. Knocked her head against a stool. Her sister said she was lying face down when she found her and she turned her over. The post-mortem will confirm the cause of death, but she has all the signs, and when I checked her throat, it was completely closed up."

"Any sign of an insect bite or a bee sting?" Nathan, too, was inspecting the body closely.

Lucassi shook his head. "Not that I've seen so far, but I'll look out for one."

"Okay." Audrey got back to her feet, this time nudging the unopened parcel on the edge of the counter with her shoulder as she stood up. She put out her hand to steady it, while she surveyed the kitchen, looking for anything that might have triggered an attack—an open bag of peanuts, evidence of a cat, an open window through which a bee might have flown. There was no immediate sign of the cause.

She nodded at Nathan and the two of them headed into the living room to talk to the sister.

Marie turned out to be the older of the two by a good ten years and to have clear memories of Suzanne growing up. "I told the doctor. Neither of us has ever had any kind of allergies," she insisted, her voice hoarse. "We don't even get hayfever."

Audrey pulled her notebook out of her jacket pocket. "When did you last speak to your sister?"

Marie scrubbed at eyes that were already red with tears and blew her nose. "About twenty minutes before I found her. I was coming over for coffee and I was running late, so I called to let her know. If I'd been here on time…."

Audrey shook her head slightly and said gently, "Anaphylaxis can be very fast. There might not have been anything you could have done even if you had been here."

Nathan, who had been letting his gaze wander around the room, taking in the unremarkable decor, turned back to Marie. "How often did you see each other?"

"At least once a week." Marie drew in a deep breath. "We'd have coffee, catch up. Sometimes we'd go out somewhere. Sometimes I'd come here or she'd come to my place."

"And she hadn't started any new medication? Taken up a new hobby? Visited somewhere new?" Audrey felt like she was grasping at straws. Maybe it was just a normal allergic reaction. People did suddenly develop allergies later in life, if they were exposed to something that made them more sensitive.

Marie shook her head. "Not that I know. I'm sure she would've told me." She looked from Audrey to Nathan and back again. "Do you think…? Are you thinking someone murdered her? Poisoned her?"

Nathan cleared his throat. "Do you have any reason to think someone might? Was someone harassing her? A dispute with a neighbor? Trouble at work?"

"No!" Marie clenched her hands into fists and beat them against her thighs. "Nothing like that. But if she wasn't murdered, why are the police here?"

Audrey reached out and put a calming hand on Marie's shoulder. "It's just a precaution. Dr Lucassi called us in when there wasn't an obvious explanation for why your sister went into anaphylaxis. He just wanted to make sure your sister's death was properly investigated and explained."

"Okay." Marie sank back against the cushions, looking suddenly much older and more haggard.

Nathan fumbled in his jacket pocket. "We'll leave you in peace now. But thank you for answering our questions. If you think of anything else, or have anything else to ask us, here's my number." He handed her his card.

He and Audrey made another brief survey of the kitchen and hallway, before heading outside to wait for the wagon that would transport the body to the morgue. Audrey leaned against Nathan's truck, giving the house a suspicious look while she flipped her notebook over and over in her hand.

"You think Dr Lucassi's overreacting?"

Nathan's question made her jump, pulling her from pondering what kind of Trouble might be involved—if there was a Trouble at all. She sighed. "Maybe? If it were Eleanor telling me she suspected there was a Trouble, I wouldn't doubt it. But I'm not sure Lucassi's nose is quite as sharp—or he's just not as used to spotting Troubles as Eleanor was." Audrey hadn't known Eleanor long, but she suddenly missed her very much.

"Let's see what his post-mortem turns up." Nathan nodded at the coroner's truck turning into the drive to join the clutter of cars already parked there.

Audrey sighed again. "I guess this means I have to go back to looking into those unsolvable burglaries now…."

oOo

Audrey's phone rang as she made her way back to her car after yet another unproductive attempt to canvass Adam Powell's neighborhood. Pulling the phone from her jacket pocket, she saw it was Nathan calling—and that it was an hour later than she'd realized.

When she answered, Nathan sounded annoyingly cheerful, although she reckoned it was only in contrast to her own mood. "How's it going?"

"Not good." She leaned against her car and rubbed her free hand across her forehead. "A few people maybe think they maybe saw a car or a truck they didn't recognize earlier in the week, but nobody can give me a description that's even halfway to being a lead."

"Afraid I don't have any better news here, either. We've not heard anything back since Stan faxed over the list of what's been stolen to Bangor, Augusta and Lincoln." He hesitated, as if thinking, and then asked, "Any news from Lucassi about Suzanne Applebaum?"

"Not so far. He said he'd get the autopsy done this afternoon and text me when he had the preliminary results." Audrey tipped her head back and closed her eyes with a weary sigh.

Nathan must have heard. "You eaten yet?"

"Not yet, no." Audrey straightened, realizing her stomach felt hollow and that maybe part of her bleak mood was just because her blood sugar was low.

"How about I meet you at the Gull and we grab some dinner and you catch me up? Then, if Lucassi has anything to tell you, I'll be there to hear it."

"Sure." A stiff drink and a meal she hadn't had to cook herself sounded wonderful. "See you there."

Nathan's truck wasn't in the parking lot when she pulled her own car into its usual space. The rest of the lot was surprisingly empty for this time of night, as was the restaurant when she walked inside. Duke was behind the bar, polishing glasses in a way that suggested he had something on his mind.

"Hey, Duke." Audrey nodded at him as she settled herself on a stool. "I'll have a dirty martini, please. And what's on the menu tonight?" There were always the usual staples, of course, but he often had a couple of specials based on the catch of the day.

Duke began mixing the martini. "Sorry, kitchen's closed."

"Great." Audrey rested her forearms on the bar and puffed out a frustrated breath. "Perfect end to a perfect day. Your chef's out?" She was a bit surprised Duke hadn't taken charge of the kitchen himself, the way he sometimes did in a pinch.

He pushed her drink across the bar at her and then, with a look to left and right to check none of the other customers were listening, leaned forward and said quietly, "Had a load of food go bad. All the baked goods that were delivered from Rosemary's this morning."

Audrey raised her eyebrows. "All of it?"

Duke straightened and nodded. "Uh-huh."

"Like… McShaw Trouble bad?" Audrey felt a little nauseous just remembering how disgusting the spoiled food had become when Bill McShaw's anger had poisoned it.

Duke nodded again. "I swung by Rosemary's and found her scrubbing out her display cases, just like I had the staff cleaning the kitchen here. So I went over to Bill's to talk to him. He swore he hadn't eaten anything from Rosemary's today—or yesterday, even. And Meg confirmed they'd had a really chilled out day. No stress at all."

Audrey shrugged. "So it's another McShaw?"

Duke shook his head. "I don't think so. Bill doesn't have any other family in Haven now Geoff's dead. That's why I ended up with this place, remember?" He gestured around him at the Gull. "I think there's some very distant cousins over in Nebraska or something."

Audrey threw back a large swig of her martini, thinking she should probably tell Duke to start mixing the next one already. "Maybe there's some fourth cousin with a different surname and a common great-great-grandfather they don't know about?" she suggested as she set the glass back down.

"That would be three greats." Duke grinned at her, leaning closer, before his gaze slid past her and he stiffened. He drew back, pulling himself upright. "Good evening, Detective Wuornos. I beg your pardon, Chief Wuornos. To what do we owe the pleasure of your company this evening?"

Nathan let out a faint, dismissive snort. "Audrey and I were going to eat dinner together." He leaned one elbow against the bar, a little closer to Audrey than strictly necessary, and gave her a warm smile.

Audrey pushed herself back from the bar, tired of their posturing. Tired of this day that seemed to bring her nothing but unsolvable problems. "Kitchen's closed," she informed Nathan, bluntly. She scraped her hair back out of her face, as if she was going to scoop it up into a ponytail, before letting her hands fall back into her lap. "And we seem to have another Trouble."

"We do?" Nathan raised his eyebrows, looking from Audrey to Duke and back again, correctly deducing that Duke was somehow involved in this.

Audrey quickly explained what Duke had told her.

"Definitely not an unknown McShaw?" Nathan looked at Duke for confirmation.

Duke shrugged. "Not impossible but… unlikely." He seemed to have gotten over his annoyance at Nathan putting in an appearance, perhaps realizing that he needed his help, as well as Audrey's, to put a stop to something that might keep closing the Gull's kitchen at random.

"There was that guy, Ian. He could take people's Troubles…." Nathan absently touched his own cheek, as if remembering what it had been like to feel.

"I thought of that, but I asked Bill and he said he hadn't had so much as a paper-cut in days." Duke folded his arms and rested them on the bar. "Has to be something else."

Audrey rubbed her hand across her forehead. "Well, whatever it is, it's going to have to wait until I've eaten. So let's get some takeout and head upstairs to my place." Her phone gave the low burp that signaled an incoming text. Reaching for her martini glass with one hand, she pulled up the message with the other. "It's Dr Lucassi. He wants me to call him back about the post-mortem."

"Go ahead." Nathan nodded at the phone. "I'll organize the food."

Taking her glass with her, Audrey headed outside and punched up Dr Lucassi's number. "Hey, doc. What've you got for me?"

"Definitely anaphylaxis." There was the sound of clattering at the other end of the line, as if Dr Lucassi was stacking instruments in an autoclave. "The interesting part is what I found wedged in the swollen muscles of Ms Applebaum's pharynx, which was probably the trigger for the anaphylaxis: a human hair, about a quarter inch long, with some skin cells attached."

Audrey regarded the end of her martini while she tried to make sense of what Dr Lucassi was telling her, not sure if drinking it would help speed up her sluggish brain or slow it down further. "She was allergic to her own hair and skin?"

"I don't think it was her own hair. The hair I found is much darker than Mrs Applebaum's natural color. But from the cross-section, it's definitely human, and not cat or dog or any of the usual allergy suspects. Best guess? Someone shed it, she accidentally inhaled it and… you saw the result."

"Uh-huh. So… is that normal? Being allergic to another person?" Audrey decided she needed the drink after all. She took another gulp.

"Not that I'm aware of. With atopic syndrome, patients can be allergic to a wide range of allergens, but that usually has a hereditary component and manifests during childhood. And it's still mostly the common triggers: pet dander, dust mites, pollen…. A person provoking an allergic reaction sounds like a Trouble to me."

Audrey sighed. "That's what I was afraid of. Well, thanks for letting me know so quickly, doc."

"No problem. I'll have my preliminary written report on your desk tomorrow." He hung up.

Audrey went on standing outside, turning her phone over in her hand while she tried to make sense of what Dr Lucassi had just told her.

"Hey." Nathan had joined her outside, his touch on her shoulder making her jump. "What's up?"

Audrey shoved her phone back into her jacket pocket. "Dr Lucassi seems to be right about the Trouble." She relayed the rest of what Lucassi had told her.

"So someone else was in the house with Suzanne right before she died?" Nathan rubbed his hand across his chin. "Guess we should question the sister again to see if she knows who it might have been. And I'll check the Chief's files to see if we have anything like this on record."

"And if that doesn't turn anything up, I guess I'll be spending another unproductive day canvassing neighbors who aren't in or haven't seen anything…." Audrey puffed out a breath. "Some days, my life really sucks."

oOo

Audrey was almost glad when she got the text requesting assistance from all officers at a shooting on the other side of Haven. The morning had proved as unproductive as she'd expected. Despite the growing number of unsolved cases piling up on her desk, she was happy to add another one in which there was a faint possibility of making an arrest.

She'd started the day with an interview with Suzanne Applebaum's sister, but Marie—looking like she hadn't gotten much sleep—hadn't been able to provide any fresh leads. Suzanne hadn't mentioned she was expecting any other visitors, so that meant the caller was likely random: a door-to-door salesman, a charity collector, a member of an evangelical church, or simply a passer-by stopping to ask for directions. For Audrey, it was back to knocking on neighbors' doors and finding most of them went unanswered.

By the time she arrived at the scene of the shooting, the place was crawling with cop cars and ambulances. She wove her way through the crowd to Nathan's side. "What happened?"

Nathan nodded his thanks to Officer Stark, who'd just handed him an evidence bag containing a gun, before replying. "Seems the householder, a—" He glanced down and checked his notebook. "—Peter Hampton, came back unexpectedly and surprised a burglar." He gestured toward the side entrance to the house and a gurney that was the center of activity. Audrey could see a splash of fresh blood on the white clapboard wall next to the open door. "The burglar pulled a gun, they had a fight by the door and the burglar got off a couple of shots. Hampton took one in the leg and the other one went wide and hit a delivery guy stopped just up the street. From what Hampton can remember, he managed to wrestle the gun away from the burglar and then the guy took off. The delivery guy was the one who called 911."

Audrey glanced across at the second ambulance, which was parked behind a delivery truck with a logo that looked vaguely familiar—and then did a double take as she caught sight of the injured driver. She took a longer look. "Is that Adam Powell?"

"Who?" Nathan was looking around with a distracted air, checking the scene was being properly secured.

"Our burglary victim from a couple of days ago," Audrey reminded him.

"Right." Nathan looked back over at Mr Powell, shaking his head. "Guess the guy's not having the best of weeks."

"So…." Audrey tapped her fingers against her thigh. "Is this our elusive burglar again?"

Nathan nodded. "Looks like it. Mr Hampton said the guy was wearing gloves and he dropped the bag with his haul: the usual jewelry and valuables."

Audrey dipped her head toward the gun. "Gloves means no prints, I guess, but at least this time we have witnesses. Maybe they can give us a description. Even help us with a photofit or a sketch."

"You want me to call in Vince?" Nathan was already reaching for his phone.

Audrey snorted. "I'm surprised he and Dave aren't already here. But let's talk to our victims first. See if they remember anything. Then we can maybe have Vince meet us at the hospital. Why don't I take Mr Powell and you can deal with Mr Hampton?"

When Nathan nodded his agreement, Audrey made her way across to Mr Powell. He was lying back on the gurney looking pale, while the EMT taped a dressing in place on his bicep. Audrey looked from the EMT to Mr Powell, including both in her question, as she asked, "Is it okay if I have a word?"

The EMT gave a brief nod as she went on working. "If you're quick."

"Officer Parker…." Mr Powell gave her a weak smile.

"Mr Powell. I'm sorry to be seeing you again so soon and like this." Audrey pulled out her notebook. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Mr Powell winced as the EMT added another piece of tape. "I was trying to deliver a parcel across the street, but no one was in. I'd just gotten back to my truck and was putting the parcel back when I heard a shout from that direction." He gestured toward the Hampton house. "I turned to look and next thing I know, there's the sound of a gun being fired and I've been shot in the shoulder. Then there was some more shouting, another gunshot and then I saw a guy running away up the street."

"Can you describe him?" Audrey's pen was poised over her notebook.

Mr Powell shook his head. "Not really. He was pretty scrawny. Fair hair, I think…."

The EMT cleared her throat. "Okay. We're done here. We need to go."

"Right." Audrey took half a pace back from the gurney.

Mr Powell gave her a pleading look. "Was that the guy who stole my stuff?"

Audrey nodded. "We think so, yes. We're hoping the householder here got a good look at him. But if you can remember anything else, let me know."

Mr Powell nodded as the EMTs loaded the gurney into the ambulance.

Turning away from him, Audrey began examining the delivery truck, noting the bloodstains on the pavement and side of the truck that showed where Mr Powell had been standing when he was hit. She waved over one of the uniformed officers and pointed to the area. "Can you make sure we get a photograph of this."

The officer nodded and Audrey swung back toward the house to find Nathan—and stopped. She frowned at the house and then, taking a glance over her shoulder, took a step sideways. She took another look backwards, checking she was standing immediately in front of the patches of blood, and then turned back to face the house again.

Nathan had indicated that the struggle between Mr Hampton and the burglar had taken place by the side door. The scene before her confirmed it: the EMTs were wheeling the gurney round from the side of the house, the gaggle of police were gathered to that side and Nathan was coming back toward her from the same direction, while the front of the house was quiet. The thing was, Audrey couldn't see the side door from where she stood. From where Mr Powell had been standing when he was shot. And he'd been quite clear that it had been the first bullet that had hit him, before he'd heard a second shot, which must have been the one that had wounded Mr Hampton.

Nathan came up to her. "Audrey—." He stopped and gave her a narrow-eyed look. "What is it?"

Audrey jerked her head in the direction of the other ambulance. "Did Mr Hampton tell you how many shots were fired?"

Nathan gave her a slightly puzzled look but dipped his head, clearly recognizing she had a good reason for asking. "He said two. The first one must have hit your Mr Powell. The second one caught him in the leg while they were wrestling for the gun. And the officer who recovered the gun said he checked the magazine and there were two bullets missing. Why?"

Audrey bit her lip. "That's what Mr Powell said as well."

"And?" Nathan tilted his head to one side.

Audrey pointed to the bloodstains behind her. "Mr Powell must have been standing there when he was shot." She put her hands on Nathan's arm and turned him, pushing him into place so he was facing the house. "What do you see?"

Nathan was silent for a moment. Then he sighed. "There's no line of sight to the side door. So if there was only one gun, which was just outside the side door the whole time, and only two bullets…."

"Exactly." Audrey grimaced. "How the hell did that first bullet manage to leave the gun, hang a right around the corner of a building and end up in Adam Powell's arm?"

Nathan puffed out a breath. "Either it was a very unlucky—and very unlikely—ricochet, or… well, we know of at least one person with a Trouble could make that happen."

oOo

Audrey tapped lightly on the open door of Adam Powell's hospital room. "May I come in?"

"Officer Parker. Of course." Mr Powell nodded at her from where he sat half-propped up in bed, his arm now properly bandaged and in a sling.

Audrey pulled a chair toward the bed. "How are you doing?" She dipped her head in the direction of his shoulder.

"I've been better." He gave her a weak smile. "Did you catch the guy yet?"

"Not yet, no, but we've got a sketch artist with Mr Hampton—the man whose house was burgled." That was where Nathan was: in Mr Hampton's hospital room, keeping an eye on Vince while he worked up a drawing from Mr Hampton's description. Audrey hesitated and then plunged on, "Mr Powell, do you mind if I ask you a few more questions?"

He gave a slight shrug. "Go ahead."

Audrey leaned forward. "Do you know if you're related to a Dwight Hendrickson? Maybe he's a distant cousin or…?"

Mr Powell frowned. "I don't think so, no." He was silent for a few seconds, his brow still furrowed, before he added slowly, "But I think I delivered a parcel to someone called Hendrickson this morning. Big guy." He looked up at Audrey, his mouth lifting up at one corner. "Really big guy."

"Yeah, that's Dwight." Audrey sat back in her chair and regarded Mr Powell thoughtfully, trying to put the pieces together. "And the first bullet our burglar fired hit you. But then the second hit Mr Hampton, even though you hadn't really moved…."

"Right." Mr Powell gave her a suspicious look. "What's all this about?"

Audrey drew in a deep breath and let it out again before she answered. "Mr Powell, have you heard of the Troubles?"

His expression turned wary. "Uh-huh. People talk."

"Well, I hate to make your week any worse, but… I think you have a Trouble. Maybe it was activated by the stress of the burglary, or maybe it was something else, but I think your Trouble is that you can pick up other people's Troubles. Just for a short while… maybe just a one-time use. But I think that's what's happened here." She gestured at his arm. "That bullet shouldn't have been able to hit you from where it was fired, but… Dwight Hendrickson's Trouble is that any bullet fired with a hundred yards of him will veer off and find him. If you had his Trouble, however briefly, then you're pretty lucky to be alive."

Mr Powell was staring at her wide-eyed, shaking his head in disbelief. "So I get burgled, ticketed for parking too close to a fire hydrant, shot at… and now you tell me I have a Trouble? A Trouble that… that gives me other people's Troubles?"

Audrey bit her lip, wishing she wasn't adding to Mr Powell's distress. "I'm afraid that's what it looks like." She met his gaze and held it. "For what it's worth, Mr Powell, I'm going to do everything I can to figure out how your Trouble works, so we can stop it being… too much trouble. And I'm also still going to do my best to catch your burglar and get your wife's photo back." She gave him a wry smile. "And I may even be able to get your parking ticket canceled."

She stood up and held out her hand to him. He accepted the handshake slowly, a bemused look on his face. She was about to turn away when another question occurred to her. "Mr Powell, one more thing. Did you eat anything from Rosemary's yesterday?"

His eyebrows shot up. "Yes. I bought a sandwich and a cinnamon roll for lunch. How did you…?"

Audrey tilted her head sideways, apologetically. "I think you may have picked up a different Trouble yesterday, from someone else. But I need to check a few things before I can be sure. So you take care of yourself, and I'll be back soon." She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile and headed off to look for Nathan.

Because she might have figured out something about what Mr Powell's Trouble was—but she still had no idea exactly how it worked, how he was managing to pick up other people's Troubles, or how to stop it.

Not yet.

She met Nathan coming down the hallway to find her. She dipped her head toward the folder he carried. "Is that the sketch of our suspect?"

"Uh-huh." He flipped the file open to show her the drawing. "I'm heading back to the police station to get it copied and circulated."

There was nothing particularly distinctive about the face Vince had drawn, but Audrey hoped it would be enough, along with the rest of the description, for someone to recognize it—assuming Vince had captured a reasonable likeness and Mr Hampton had been able to provide an accurate description. When Audrey had headed off to speak to Mr Powell, he'd still been struggling to remember exactly what had happened as he'd grappled with the burglar, though he'd been clear enough about finding the man on the other side of the door when he opened it.

Nathan closed the folder and gestured for Audrey to accompany him down the hallway. "What did you find out from Mr Powell?"

"That he doesn't think he's related to Dwight—but he did deliver a parcel to him this morning. He also bought lunch at Rosemary's yesterday." She pushed open the door out into the hospital parking lot. "I think we should talk to his manager and find out if he delivered a parcel to the McShaw house in the morning."

oOo

An hour and a half later, Audrey sat at her desk with her laptop in front of her, Nathan leaning over her shoulder as she opened the file emailed to her by Adam Powell's manager. It contained Adam's delivery schedule for the past week. She quickly paged down to the end and then began scrolling back up more slowly.

"There's the delivery to Dwight." Nathan reached forward and pointed to the third line down on the list for that day's sheet. Audrey nodded and went on scrolling up until the previous day's list filled the screen. "And there's one to Bill McShaw."

Audrey leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. "You know, Mr Powell mentioned something about getting a parking ticket this week. Bet you he got it yesterday afternoon, right before the food from Rosemary's went bad."

"Right." Nathan sounded distracted, still peering at the screen. "And look who else he made a delivery to yesterday." He tapped his finger next to a name near the top of the list.

Audrey leaned forward, her eyes widening as she read the name and address. "Suzanne Applebaum?"

"Uh-huh." Nathan was already straightening and reaching for his jacket, slung across the other desk. "What do you think the chances are that this Patrick Kenyon he made a delivery to right before he stopped by Suzanne's house has some kind of allergy Trouble?"

"Pretty high." Audrey closed the laptop and reached for her own coat, shrugging it on as she followed him out.

The Kenyon house was a half mile from Suzanne Applebaum's place. A man in his fifties, with gray hair, answered Nathan's knock, keeping the screen door closed.

"Mr Patrick Kenyon?" Nathan showed him his badge. "Acting Chief Wuornos, Haven PD. This is Detective Parker." Audrey held up her badge as well.

"I'm Patrick Kenyon, yes." The man's expression had turned wary but his tone was pleasant enough as he asked, "What can I do for you, officers?"

"Did you take delivery of a parcel yesterday? From a courier working for… uh…." Nathan looked across helplessly at Audrey.

"Maine Parcels," she supplied.

Mr Kenyon looked puzzled. "I did have a parcel delivered yesterday, yes. Though I don't remember the name of the delivery company."

"Dark blue uniform. A logo involving arrows." Audrey waved her hand around the spot on her own jacket that matched the breast pocket on Adam Powell's. "The driver was in his forties, dark hair, medium height."

Mr Kenyon nodded. "Sounds about right. What's this about?"

Nathan cleared his throat. "Mr Kenyon, have you heard of the Troubles?"

Audrey caught a flash of panic on Mr Kenyon's face, before he smoothed it away. He gave Nathan a tolerant smile. "In this town? Who hasn't?" He stuck his hands in his pockets and gave a half-shrug that looked a little too insouciant. "Is that what this is about? The Troubles?"

Audrey took a half-step forward and said firmly, "Mr Kenyon, could you tell us what your Trouble is, please?"

He held her gaze for a moment and then his shoulders sagged. "Oh God, is he all right? The delivery man, I mean." It was clear that he expected something terrible to have happened to Mr Powell. The kind of terrible thing that had happened to Suzanne Applebaum.

Audrey gave him a gentle smile. "He's fine. But unfortunately, he also has a Trouble. One that lets him acquire other people's Troubles for a short while. And we think he may have acquired yours."

She reached for the screen door to open it, but Mr Kenyon put up his hands in alarm. "Don't! I—." He hesitated and then blurted out, "I do have a Trouble, yes. I set off allergies in people, like if they were allergic to cat hair or bee stings or peanuts. Not everyone in Haven, but some of the families are particularly sensitive. The Driscolls, the Crockers, a few others…. So if you're related to any of them…."

"I'm not. But—." Audrey put up her hands to show she'd gotten the message and took a step back.

Mr Kenyon drew in a deep breath. "So, the delivery driver took my Trouble and… somebody else died?"

Audrey nodded. "I'm afraid so. The next person on his delivery schedule."

"Dammit." Mr Kenyon's head dropped. "It's been years. We've been so careful about where we go and who we talk to and who we touch."

Nathan let out a sigh. "I don't think this one's really your fault, Mr Kenyon. It was just an unfortunate coincidence. Your Trouble, the driver's Trouble, coming together. The next person he visited being extra-sensitive…. Just an accident."

Mr Kenyon looked up at him. "Doesn't make me feel any better about… this." He lifted his hands and turned them around, showing them front and back.

"I know." Nathan dipped his head. "But thank you for your honesty and for helping us understand what's happened. I'm sure it will mean a lot to our victim's family if we can give them an explanation."

oOo

"What I still don't understand," Audrey said, as Nathan drove them back to the police station, "is how Adam's picking up these other Troubles." She was turning her badge over and over in her hand, trying to put the pieces together.

"Does it matter?" Nathan glanced across at her as he made the turn onto Main Street. "Do we have to figure it out right now?"

"Not right now." Audrey shook her head. "But soon. If we're going to make sure he doesn't accidentally acquire any more Troubles that could be fatal. For him or someone else."

"Can it wait until tomorrow?" Nathan pulled into a parking space in front of the station.

"I guess. And I still have a burglar to catch." Audrey leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes.

Nathan laughed. "That can definitely wait until tomorrow." When Audrey opened one eye and squinted across at him, he added, "That's your boss speaking. And your friend speaking says we go should go eat some dinner." He hesitated for a fraction before adding, "Together. If you don't have other plans."

"No. No other plans." Audrey yawned. "Kitchen should be open at the Gull again and I can let Duke know he probably won't have any more Troubled food."

She was half aware of Nathan opening his mouth as if he was going to object to her choice of eating place—and then closing it. After a moment longer, he said. "Sure. You wanna run yourself back in your own car?"

"Uh-huh." She reached for the door handle. "And maybe Duke can help us figure out what's going on with Adam."

"You know…." Nathan's tone made her stop half way out of the car and turn and look back at him. "Duke's not a member of Haven PD."

Audrey gave him a tired smile. "I know. But he knows as much about the Troubles and how they work as we do—as anyone does—now your father and Eleanor are gone. He's helped us figure out more than one case."

"Yeah, when there's something in it for him," Nathan muttered.

"Yeah, well, that may be so." Audrey grinned at him. "Still doesn't mean he can't make himself useful. He might even recognize our mystery burglar if we show him the sketch."

Nathan still didn't seem entirely happy when Audrey invited Duke to join them after they'd ordered their food, but he confined himself to merely glowering and rearranging his cutlery as Audrey explained what they'd found out so far.

"So this means I don't need to worry about having to close my kitchen again?" Duke gestured vaguely in the direction of the bar.

Audrey shook her head. "Not for the moment. Seems like Mr Powell can only carry one Trouble at a time, like Ian Haskell, and only for as long as it takes to be used or affect someone else."

"So unless he manages to pick up Bill's Trouble again, the food's safe." Duke nodded to himself.

"Thing is, we don't know how he's picking up these Troubles." Audrey leaned back in her chair, toying with her wine glass. "I guess his Trouble was triggered when he was burgled. He did seem pretty cut up about losing that photo of his wife. But how the Troubles get transferred to him…."

"Wait." Duke put his hand up, as if asking for permission to speak, though he didn't pause for anyone to give him the go-ahead before plunging on, "Is this Powell guy the one who was in your office yesterday? The one who bumped into me like he couldn't feel me? Right after he talked to Nathan." Duke swung his head round to give Nathan a hard-eyed stare.

"Right." Audrey leaned forward, crossing her wrists and resting her hands on the table in front of her. "So it looks like he picked up Nathan's Trouble as well. We just have to figure out what he did to transfer it. Did you… touch him? Say anything in particular?"

Nathan shrugged one shoulder, looking a little uncomfortable at being the focus of Audrey and Duke's scrutiny. "Uh… I shook his hand. I got him a copy of the crime report while you were on the phone to Lucassi. I… that's it, I think…."

Audrey regarded him thoughtfully, running her mind over the scene, remembering putting the original of the crime report back in the file. "And you signed the crime report for me, because I hadn't done that yet," she said slowly. "You gave him your signature. Just like all the people who signed for the parcels he delivered."

Nathan nodded. "Makes sense. So… we just need to make sure he doesn't do that in future."

Duke snorted. When Audrey looked at him, he rolled his eyes. "Kind of a problem for a delivery guy, don't you think."

Audrey tapped her fingers on the table. "Maybe we can talk to his boss? Get him a job at the depot? He's not going to be able to drive for a while, anyway. And maybe his Trouble will go away if we can recover his stolen property." She wasn't so sure about that last part. Troubles didn't always vanish when you fixed whatever had triggered them. But it was worth a shot. "Which reminds me." She dug in her pocket and pulled out the sketch of the burglar. Opening it out, she placed it in front of Duke. "Recognize this guy?"

Duke smoothed down the corners, scratching his thumb along his cheek as he scrutinized the sketch. At last, he said slowly, "Could be Lenny Bartlett, I guess. The burglaries might be his sort of thing."

Nathan smirked at Duke. "I thought you didn't have any business associates who deal in stolen jewelry?"

"I don't." Duke glared right back. "Lenny's not a business associate. We've… played in a few poker games together, is all. And we used to drink together at the Scupper sometimes, before I got this place."

"Got an address for Lenny?" Audrey took the sketch back and folded it up again.

Duke shook his head. "No, but last I heard he was living somewhere over in Back Bay."

"We can check it out on the police database tomorrow." Nathan tilted his head in Duke's direction. "If he's a friend of Duke's, he's bound to have a police record."

Duke sat back, raising his hands and looking offended. Before he could say anything, though, the waitress arrived with the food. As she set the plates down in front of Nathan and Audrey, he pushed back from the table and stood. Waving his hands extravagantly, he gave a little bow. "Enjoy your dinner together."

Audrey watched him as he headed back behind the bar, wishing he and Nathan could get along without sniping at each other all the time, even for just five minutes. It would make life so much easier.

oOo

The next morning, Audrey stood half a step behind Nathan as he knocked on the door of the run-down house in Back Bay that, the police computer had informed them, was the home of Lenny Bartlett. She could hear someone moving about inside. After a minute or so, the door opened. The man standing on the doorstep certainly bore a strong resemblance to the sketch Vince had made, with the addition of a couple of day-old bruises on his face.

Nathan held up his badge. "Nathan Wuornos, Haven PD. This is Detective Audrey Parker." He indicated Audrey with a dip of the head. "Are you Leonard Bartlett?"

The man looked between them, and then narrowed his eyes, peering hard at first Nathan and then Audrey for a few seconds each, before closing the door again without saying a word.

Audrey gaped at the door for a moment, before glancing across at Nathan. He was putting his badge away, his expression unconcerned. "Well, I guess we're done here, then," he said, turning and gesturing for Audrey to lead the way back down the path to his truck.

"Nathan!" Audrey stared at him in wide-eyed disbelief.

He looked back at her, his expression puzzled. "What?"

She raised her eyebrows. "The guy just shut the door in our faces."

"What guy?" Nathan gave his head a little shake.

"Lenny Bartlett. The guy we came to question about the burglaries." She stuck her hand out in the direction of the house.

"It's all fine, Audrey. We can go now." Nathan reached for her arm to steer her down the path.

"It's not all fine." Audrey pulled herself out of his grasp and swung back toward the door, raising her hand and banging hard on the wood. "Lenny Bartlett? I know you're in there."

"Audrey…."

Nathan tried to take her arm again, but she swung round and hissed at him, "He has a Trouble. He just opened the door to us, did this… staring thing, shut the door and now you're acting like that was just fine and normal and we don't need to talk to him any more. Which is not fine and normal."

Nathan looked at her for a moment, brows lowered, and then nodded, letting his hand fall. "Okay. That's… not how I remember it, but I trust you. And… I guess now we know why no one saw him committing the burglaries."

"Uh-huh, looks like he—." Audrey broke off what she was saying as she spotted movement over Nathan's shoulder. Bartlett had sneaked out of the back and was hurrying away down the road. "Crap. There he is." She swung Nathan around and set the two of them in motion. "Hey! Bartlett! Haven PD. Stop where you are."

Bartlett slowed and turned, jogging backward while he looked at them, his face scrunched up. Audrey was aware Nathan was no longer at her shoulder—Bartlett must have whammied him again—but she went on running.

Bartlett's expression changed to surprise as she got closer. Finally understanding that she wasn't going to stop, he turned—too late. Audrey tackled him and wrestled him to the ground. Yanking his wrists behind his back, she slapped on her handcuffs. Leaning forward, she growled in his ear, "I'm immune to the Troubles, loser."

By the time she'd hauled Bartlett to his feet and read him his rights, Nathan had joined them, his forehead creased in a frown. "You're going to have to explain to me again what's going on, aren't you?"

Audrey gave Bartlett a slight shove to get him moving. "He's got some kind of mind control Trouble. Makes you forget you've seen him and what you wanted with him."

"Uh, what do we want with him?" Nathan followed as she marched Bartlett toward Nathan's truck.

Audrey rolled her eyes, not at Nathan, who could hardly be blamed, but at the prospect of having to repeat this conversation multiple times. "The burglaries, remember?"

"Right…." Nathan shook his head, as if trying to clear it. "Seems like we've got enough to search his house. Which is…?" He looked around uncertainly.

"That one." Audrey stuck out a hand in the right direction. "Why don't you call Judge Boone for the warrant. And I'll babysit Sunshine here."

"Works for me." Nathan dug in his jacket pocket for his phone and then halted with it half-way out. He blinked several times, before he whipped his head up to look at Bartlett. "You're trying it again, aren't you?"

Bartlett made a face. "Yeah," he admitted. "It doesn't work so well the more I do it to someone. Specially if I do it quite often and… if they know about it." He hunched his shoulders up round his ears.

"Hmm." Audrey regarded him thoughtfully. "And I'm guessing you also need to be able to see someone and to be close enough." Catching hold of Bartlett's arm, she swung him round so he was facing away from Nathan.

Bartlett let his head drop. "You know how this stuff works, huh?" he muttered.

Audrey gave a wry chuckle as she watched Nathan stride away, phone pressed to his ear. "I've worked a few cases like this, yes." If blindfolding Barrett really would prevent him using his Trouble, then at least they had a way to keep him in custody and get him in front of a judge. It wasn't like the Brodys, with that damned charisma they exerted without even trying. If he was eventually convicted, maybe they could arrange for him to be fitted with an ankle tag: a computer wouldn't be fooled so easily into thinking he wasn't really there.

Which just left the small headache of finding a permanent way to stop Adam Powell from picking up more Troubles and unwittingly spreading them around. But Audrey had a few ideas about that as well.

oOo

Audrey glanced over her shoulder at Nathan as she led him into Adam Powell's hospital room a day later. Nathan still looked a little unsure about her plan to confirm how Adam's Trouble worked, though he'd agreed it was likely the best way to find out—and possibly the only way.

Adam was sitting up, looking much more alert and a better color than the last time Audrey had seen him. After she brought him up to speed on developments in the burglary case, she laid out what she wanted to do.

"We think you're picking up other people's Troubles when they give you their signatures," she explained. "Nathan has a Trouble that shouldn't cause any problems if you have it temporarily. In fact, we think you might have acquired it briefly when you visited the police station the other day. So we'd like to try to deliberately give you Nathan's Trouble." There was a possibility Adam wouldn't be able to take on someone's Trouble a second time, in which case she'd have to find another test subject to be sure the signature was how the Trouble was transferred, but they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.

Adam nodded to show he understood. Audrey turned to Nathan, signaling for him to take over.

"Put your hand out on the bed." Nathan dipped his head in the direction of Adam's good arm. When Adam stretched out his hand, palm down, Nathan tapped the back of it with his fingers. "Feel that?"

"Uh-huh." Adam looked up at him, frowning slightly. "What—?"

"Here, take this." Nathan pulled out one of his business cards and scribbled his signature on the back, before tucking it into Adam's other hand.

Adam automatically turned it in his fingers so he could read the signature, before looking back up at Nathan, his frown deepening. "What now?"

Nathan reached out again, making sure Adam was watching, and pressed down firmly on the back of his hand with his fingertips. "What about now? Do you feel that?"

Adam stared down at Nathan's hand and his own for a few seconds, his eyes widening. "No. No. I can't feel that at all."

Nathan drew back, looking up at Audrey. "Looks like you were right. It is the signatures."

Adam flexed his hand. "Am I stuck like this?"

Audrey shook her head. "You shouldn't be." She nodded at Nathan—there was no point in her trying to touch Adam; that wouldn't tell them anything——and Nathan again tapped Adam's hand.

A relieved expression settled on Adam face. "Yeah, I felt that." He looked up at Nathan, a sympathetic expression on his face. "You really go around not being able to feel anything?"

Nathan rolled a shoulder. "I'm used to it," he muttered. He cleared his throat. "There's something else."

He looked expectantly at Audrey. She reached into the envelope she was carrying and pulled out a photograph in a cheap wooden surround. The silver frame that had originally held the picture was still in the evidence locker back at the police station, along with the rest of the stolen goods they'd been able to recover from Barlett's house and a half dozen helpful receipts from pawn shops in Lincoln for most of the items that weren't there, but Audrey had convinced Nathan to let her remove the photograph and temporarily re-frame it, so they could return it to Adam. "It may be the only way to cure his Trouble," she'd pointed out. "It's worth a try."

She held out the picture to Adam so he could see it. "I told you that we caught the burglar. When we searched his house, we found this." She put the photograph into Adam's hands. "And the frame and the other items you reported stolen, as well. You'll be able to get those back once the court case is over, but I thought you'd want this back now."

Adam sat looking down at the photograph: a pretty woman with dark hair standing in front of a background of snowy peaks rising out of blue water. Made prettier by the smile on her face as she looked at someone just to the left of the photographer. "Thank you," he murmured, sounding more than a little distracted.

With a touch on Nathan's arm, Audrey drew Nathan from the room, wordlessly leaving Adam to his thoughts.

Returning the following day, Audrey and Nathan found Adam sitting on the edge of his bed, dressed ready to leave. "Good thing you caught me. They're sending me home just as soon as my meds are ready." He patted the small duffel sitting next to him on the bed. The picture of his wife had been carefully laid on top of the folded clothes.

Audrey smiled at him. "We won't keep you long." She tilted her head. "We were just hoping we could test you again. Sometimes Troubles can go away if the circumstances are right."

Adam shrugged. "Sure. Though now I know how I catch other people's Troubles, I can make sure that doesn't happen. And I talked to my boss and he said he'd been considering asking me to come work at the depot once I get back. Won't be able to drive or shift parcels for a while anyway, with this." He lifted his bandaged arm.

This time, when Nathan handed over his signed card and gave Adam another poke with his fingers, Adam responded with a slightly aggrieved, "Ow!" before grinning up at Nathan. "I can still feel." He turned to face Audrey. "I don't know what you two did, but it worked."

Audrey gave a slight shrug. "Losing the picture of your wife was probably what triggered your Trouble. I was hoping returning it to you would turn it off just as quickly."

"And it did." Adam absently rubbed the back of his hand where Nathan had tested him. "Case solved."

Before he could say more, an orderly came in, carrying a bag of medicines, ready to shepherd Adam out to the car that was waiting for him. Watching him walk away, Audrey smiled to herself. Days like this? These were the days she loved her job—and whatever mysterious power or curse had brought her to Haven.