"Handy talent to have," Josh said after ordering a Stella.

"Ice water for me, thanks," Kate told the waitress, then turned back to Tony.

"Whatever Turner has, I figure it must be pretty explosive. Everybody's clammed up tight. Sorry, guess I wasn't much help." Tony shrugged as the waitress returned with their drinks and took their orders.

Kate watched Tony lean back in the booth, his eagle eyes not missing a trick as he looked from Kate to Josh. She shot him a glare as a gleam of astonishment entered his eyes, and he opened his mouth. The waitress returned before he could say anything.

After the pot stickers and satay, Kate looked up to find Tony staring at her again, but this time he looked concerned. "What? Do I have something caught in my teeth?"

"No," he replied with a sad smile. "I'm worried about you. If Turner really does have something, I mean, I can't imagine you not being a cop."

"Kate could do anything she wants," Josh told him. "Leaving the force might be the best thing that could happen to her."

"Could you do it?" Kate asked Josh, angry at his assumptions about her future.

"Could I do what?"

"Stop being a doctor."

"And do what?"

"I mean, is it what you are or just what you do?"

Josh hesitated. "Both, neither. You make it sound like a cliche. It's what I do because of who I am and who I am depends on doing it."

She shook her head and looked down. "That's a big help."

"It's not exactly something I like to think about-giving up medicine."

"But it's okay to think about me leaving the job?"

"Nobody asked me," Tony put in.

"Would you ever give up being a journalist?" Kate indulged him.

"In a heartbeat. Find me a rich wife, and I'll gladly stay at home, cook, clean and carpool." He took a sip of his whiskey and sat back, smiling. "Isn't it a pity that such an enlightened man as myself is still single?"

"Hard to believe." Kate rolled her eyes.

"Seriously Kate, you're wasted down there, I've always said that."

"Now you sound like Michael."

"Don't be insulting. Wouldn't you rather not have to work with Turner, watching your back every minute, not to mention those crazy shifts and the punks on the streets-"

"He's right," Josh said.

"Don't you two understand, I'm not just doing a job out there. I'm alive when I'm out on the streets. It's like the feeling that Tony gets when he's close to breaking a story and he knows things no one else in the city knows. I'll bet it's the same when your trauma beeper goes off, Josh, and you race down to the ER, not knowing what you'll find there."

Both men were staring at her. Finally Tony sat his drink down and sighed. "She's right, doc. We're all adrenalin junkies. Isn't there a cure for it?"

"I only wish," Josh said solemnly.

She looked from one to the other in frustration. Chaos might rule the rest of the world, but until now Kate had always been in control of her own life.

The waitress arrived with their dinners. They piled noodles and various steaming concoctions onto their plates and began to eat.

"You know, I'll never understand this city," Josh said.

"Like what, doc?"

"Like why you all are so determined to remove *to be' from the English language. What would you say if I had a broken washing machine?"

Tony and Kate exchanged smiles. "The warsher needs fixed," they chorused.

"Right. What's wrong with *it needs to be fixed'-which is what the remainder of the English-speaking world would say. And last time I checked, there's no *r' in wash."

"Where are you from, anyway?" Tony asked.

"Small farm, outside of New Philadelphia."

"That explains it, a flatlander."

"It's not flat. Ohio has a lot of hills," Josh replied indignantly.

Kate and Tony both laughed at Josh, and he returned a mock scowl. She knew he was working hard to relieve the tension, to help her forget her problems, and she appreciated his efforts. Why'd he have to be so nice? It made leaving him all that much more difficult.

"Did you go to Ohio State?" she asked.

"Undergrad and medical school. Did my surgical residency at Hopkins, fellowship at Shock Trauma."

"That's a lot of time in Baltimore," Tony observed. "Where do you call home, Columbus or Baltimore?"

"Neither. Pittsburgh is my home now."

The certainty in his voice tore at Kate. Josh was a newcomer, yet he sounded devoted to the city. She loved the way that once Josh gave his loyalty, it seemed impossible to tear him away from a cause.

Even a lost cause like one crazy, mixed up cop.

Josh and Tony were at the cash register arguing over the check when Kate emerged from the ladies' room. She smiled as she watched them. They were so different from each other-yet so much alike.

A couple leaving the restaurant brushed past her in the narrow hallway. She moved aside to let them pass when suddenly flames surrounded them.

Their mouths opened in silent screams, blood flowed over their faces. The woman's scalp was partially peeled back from her skull. Kate felt a wrenching in her gut, smelt burnt flesh as the fire engulfed them.

Kate cringed, fell to her knees to escape the vision. They bent over her, blood dripping onto her, the flames licking at her.

Through the haze, she saw Josh rushing toward her. He reached out a hand and the flames vanished.

Josh's face twisted in pain, blood covered him, intestines pulsed through the flesh of his abdomen and one arm dangled at his side, ending in a jagged stump of tissue.

"No! Get away-don't touch me, please God-no!" The panic burst from her until all she could do was cower, trembling, sobbing words even she couldn't understand.

Josh turned and ushered the man and woman away from her. Then Tony reached her and thank God he was Tony. Warm and alive with no blood, he was fine. He held her tight, and she cherished the steady beat of his heart against hers.

She pulled her face into his chest, tears staining his shirt. "Don't let them go," she was finally able to construct a coherent sentence. "Those people, don't let them go, they're going to die."

"They're not going anywhere. Shh, it's all right, don't worry," Tony crooned to her, his hands stroking her hair. "Tell me what's wrong, Kate. What happened?"

"They'll die. Don't let them go. They'll both die."

"It's all right," she heard Josh's voice coming from a long distance away. "I'll take care of it, Kate."

"What the hell's going on?" Tony asked.

"Later," Josh said. "Get her out of here. Now."

"Shouldn't we call 911 or someone?"

"No." Josh's voice sounded nearer, more alive. "Don't worry Kate, I'll take care of everything. They'll be all right. For godsake, Tony, get going, now."

She kept her eyes clenched tight as she felt someone drape her jacket around her. Tony helped her to her feet and began to half-carry her out the door.

"Don't let them drive, Josh," she called out one last warning, daring to turn and look.

Josh glanced up at her, and she had to fight the urge to vomit as she saw blood draining from the jagged craters of his empty, burnt eye sockets.

CHAPTER 34.

Josh wiped a hand over his face as he watched Tony shepherd Kate out the door. Maybe he had been kidding himself by going along with her, ignoring how serious this was. The look on her face-she couldn't go on like this, he couldn't either. He had to get her some help, find someone who could deal with this.

"What was her problem?" asked the man who had triggered Kate's vision. Josh turned and could smell alcohol surrounding the man in a cloud. His companion clenched his arm. "Jeez, was she freaked out or what?"

"Did you see her arm?" Josh improvised. "She was in a bad car accident, someone was killed. They were hit by a drunk driver. I guess she smelled your breath and was afraid the same might happen to you."

"I'm not drunk, I can drive just fine," the man replied indignantly.

"I told you, you've had too much," the woman interrupted. She grabbed the car keys from him. "Tell your friend thank you," she said to Josh. "He doesn't usually drink, but we just found out I'm pregnant, and he couldn't help celebrating for both of us, I guess. Don't worry, I'll drive home and everything will be fine."

"I said I could drive!" her companion protested.

"C'mon Tom, stop bothering the nice man." She tugged at the man's sleeve. "Thanks, mister," she said over her shoulder as they left.

Josh stared after them, shaking his head. Kate might have saved two more lives-who knew for sure? But he didn't believe it was because of any psychic precognition. More likely her cop's instincts had smelled the alcohol on the man, seen him with the car keys, leaving her imagination to fill in the details. But the look on her face-he couldn't let her continue this way. He fished Anne Ramsey's business card out of his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

The fresh air hit Kate like a bracing wave of ice water. By the time they got to Tony's Mustang, her vision had cleared, and she could finally catch her breath.

"I'm okay, Tony."

"Are you sure? Dammit, Kate, you scared me to death. What happened?"

"It's nothing, I'll be fine. Let me get some air."

"That wasn't nothing. I think we ought to take you to the hospital, get you checked out. It must be stress, everything you've been through."

"No, I don't need a hospital. I told you, I just need some fresh air."

"You act like this has happened before." She was silent. Tony moved in front of her, staring at her. She dropped her gaze, unable to meet his eyes. "It has. Why hasn't Lightner done something about it! Or doesn't he know about these spells?"

"He knows," Josh said, coming up behind Tony. Kate looked up. He was whole, no blood, his face animated, but his eyes worried. She forced a small smile.

"I'm fine. Sorry about all the commotion."

"Tony's right, this has got to stop, Kate. I called Anne Ramsey. She's meeting us at the hotel."

"No. She'll have to tell Turner, and you know what will happen then. He'll leak it to the press. Just what this city doesn't need, a psycho cop running around loose with a psycho killer chasing her."

"You're not crazy, Kate," Tony interjected. "But Josh is right, you need help and maybe Ramsey is the right person to do it. She's got some pretty impressive credentials." He turned to Josh. "You want me to come?"

Josh looked at Kate. She sighed and shrugged her good shoulder. "Don't bother. I'll go talk to the head shrinker like a good little nutcase."

"That's my Kate, always the cooperative patient, right, doc? I don't know how you kept her in the hospital as long as you did." His voice turned serious. "You need anything, you call, all right?"

Kate nodded. "Thanks, Tony."

She stared at Josh's form hunched over the steering wheel. He flinched at the sight of every headlight, as if danger lurked in every on-coming car. She'd known rookies with that same expression of constant anxiety. They didn't last long on the job.

"Relax. He's not coming."

He darted a gaze in her direction. "How do you know?"

Ah, the heart of the matter. She blew her breath out, dreading this conversation and where it might lead. "If we're going to have a future, any chance, you need to believe in what I see."

He was silent for a long moment. Too long. She turned away, resting her head against the window.

"I believe in you," he finally answered.

"That's not what I asked."

"I'm sorry, Kate. It's the best I can do."

"Why did you call Ramsey? So she can commit me? Or cure me?"