October 19th [7:13 PM]

"It's a very defeating feeling for a man to know that he has forgotten how to tie a tie. It's been two years since I've had to dress so formally," Shen commented as he fiddled with a black tie. He pulled it tightly and decided it looked presentable. "How do I look?" he said to Fenette, who was childishly pretending not to listen. She took a peek at him.

"Stupid."

"Gee, thanks," Shen muttered as he tucked away his cell phone. "I think I'm ready," he said to himself. Shen walked over to the door and opened it. Before he left he turned and said, "If it makes you feel any better, I'm not attracted to that woman." Then he left, locking the door behind him. Fenette watched him leave without saying anything. She sighed and floated across the room, stomach up. She didn't like it when other woman came into the picture, whether it is for business or not. One of her greatest apprehensions was Shen getting a girlfriend. She was used to being the only woman in his life and didn't want that to change. If it happened, she knew she would be ignored. Then what? She wouldn't be able to do anything. She was dead.

Fenette thought about what Shen had said earlier. She had pretended not to care, but the conclusion he came up with frightened her.

"You can listen to me or not, but I think I'd rather say this all out loud," Shen had said after coming home from the autopsy room. "The man, Mr. Von Kursch, was in fact the real Mr. Richvard Von Kursch. However, he died of liver cancer only a week and a half ago. He's crossed into the afterlife already. As you know, only murdered souls are departed from their body and scattered around in the living world without passage into the afterlife. I believe Marietta Von Kursch is not actually Marietta Von Kursch, but an imposter. I'm not entirely sure what her motives are, but I have a feeling it has to do with me. You remember what a spectral is, don't you, Fen?"

Fenette, who decided to listen, nodded intently. "That's what you are. A human without a beating heart, sustained by the souls they devour."

"You make it sound like I'm some kind of demon," Shen said with a small chuckle. "Well, I know spectrals are rare, but I have the undying feeling that Marietta is one, like me. However, I'm not exactly sure what she would want with me. Perhaps she's some kind of assassin. Judging by the look on your face, you're worried me. Don't be. I can handle one woman."

Fenette groaned. She wanted to follow him to make sure he would be all right. But she felt as though she'd be wounding his pride. And besides, if he found out, he'd be mad at her. "Ah ha!" Fenette said suddenly. "I'll just possess the body of someone in the restaurant!"

***

"You look lovely," Shen said suavely as he and Marietta took a seat at their reserved table in Stagione. The restaurant was stunning, but very extortionate. Shen wondered if he'd have to pay.

"Why, thank you. You look very handsome yourself," Marietta replied before turning to the waitress. "Blue Moon, please."

"Beer? I took you for the wine-type," Shen said. "I'll stick to water."

"I guess I'm not your average, elegant heiress," she said. Don't give yourself too much credit, imposter, Shen thought as he took a sip of he water that had been provided for each table. "So tell me, how long have you been a private investigator?"

"Only about three, maybe four years."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-three. Although my birthday is this Halloween."

"I'm Twenty-three too, but my birthday is in the summer. Oh, thank you," Marietta said when the waitress came back. Suddenly, the tray she held tipped and the glass fell on its side, the beer cascading onto Marietta's head. The waitress chuckled silently until a plump man came out from the kitchen. "Ay! What are you doing, Susan! In the kitchen, pronto!" The waitress' expression suddenly went blank, and then it turned to confusion. "What? Oh my! Did I do that? I'm so sorry miss. I'll get some towels," she said, running off.

Shen frowned. He could have sworn he had seen a faint blue streak of light leave the waitresses body, but he turned his attention to his date. "Maybe we'll get a discount on something," he joked. "Do you want to clean up in the bathroom? I'll order for you."

"I suppose so. Ugh, how embarrassing. I hope I don't look too foolish," Marietta said, getting up. "I'll be back in a minute."

Fenette was highly pleased at herself, as well as guilty. She had traveled over to the restaurant, possessed the poor, innocent body of the new waitress Susan, and made her spill beer on Marietta. It was pure genius. A foolproof plan, right? Fenette switched bodies after the beer fiasco and ended up in another young woman sitting with an old man, presumably her father. When Fenette saw Marietta get up to leave for the bathroom, she excused herself and followed. Perhaps she could get away with something even better.

When Marietta went inside one of the stalls, Fenette turned the heads of the automatic hand dryers upward. Then she placed wet toilet paper at the entrance of the bathroom. She washed her hands casually at the sink when Marietta came back with extra towels.

"Oh dear, what happened to you?" Fenette asked Marietta, faking a concerned look. Marietta glanced at Fenette.

"The waitress spilled beer on me by accident. Just my luck, huh?"

"What a pity. By the way, was that your date, the man with the black hair and tux? He's quite the looker."

"Ah ha. Yes, I suppose. I'm actually doing business with him. Do you happen to have any perfume? I'd rather not smell completely of beer all night."

"Uh, I think so," Fenette said, reaching into the possessed woman's purse and digging. Ah ha! Perfect! A can of MACE. That's a bit harsh... but who cares. I'm dead anyway. I do what I want. I'll just peel the label off, Fenette said, smiling to herself as she quickly unraveled the label from the cylinder of spray. "Here. I believe its vanilla."

"Oh, thank you," Marietta said relieved as she took the bottle and pointed it at her neck. Fenette faked a loud sneeze as soon as Marietta pressed down on the nasal, spraying spit everywhere and practically jumping up. Marietta's flew open as the spray traveled towards her face and all in the most precise moment Marietta yelped in pain. She clenched her eyes closed and coughed, groping around for a towel. Fenette silently moved the stack of paper towels from the other woman's reach. She smiled devilishly.

"Oh! I'm so, so, so, so sorry! I thought it was my vanilla perfume, but the label was torn off. Are you okay?" Fenette said, acting solicitous.

"F-fine. It's fine," Marietta said as she cupped her hands and splashed cold water into her eyes. "Agh! My contacts! The came off and fell on the floor! Can you find them?"

Fenette smiled evilly again. She bent over and looked around. "There they are," she muttered as she took up her foot and smashed the lens with her high heel. "They're broken and dirty."

"Dammit. I'm blind as a bat without them," Marietta complained. She walked over to the hand dryer and turned it on. "Gah!" she cried as a heavy blast of hot air blew up in her face, whipping her beer-drenched hair back. Fenette could barely contain her cruel, guilty laughter. Marietta's once flawless hair now stood up in different directions, looking wild and stiff. Marietta stepped back into doorway of the bathroom and stepped on the wet, sticky toilet paper. It instantly attached itself to her heel as she tumbled out of the woman's restroom and landed on her bottom. People began to giggle at the sight of the red-eyed, toilet papered, crazy hair, beer-smelling lady. Soon, most of the people in the restaurant, including the staff, began to laugh at her. Shen stared at Marietta in embarrassment and horror. The woman Fenette presently possessed walked out of the bathroom and tried to look at Marietta without laughing. She looked up and caught a glimpse of Shen. He stared at her and shook his head displeasingly at her, obviously very disappointed at her behavior. He stood up and walked over to Marietta. "Come on. We'll take a cab back to your place," he said, holding out his hand for her. She took it and steadied herself. Shen looked back at the body Fenette currently occupied. "Don't follow me. I thought you were more mature than that. I can handle things on my own."

Fenette stared him down for a moment, and then left the body. She floated up through the roof. Shen sighed and walked away from the restaurant.

"I'm sorry. I'm such a klutz," Marietta said dishearteningly.

"It's fine. You just lost your father; it's normal to feel a little unstable. Most people dealing with something like that become a bit more impaired with daily functions," Shen said as he waved a cab over. Marietta gave the cab driver her address and in fifteen minutes they were back at her house.

"I'm sorry we didn't get to talk much," Shen said.

"You can come in. I'll take a quick shower and make us some coffee," Marietta said sweetly, stepping aside at the front door.

"I suppose there's no problem in that," Shen said, entering the house. He looked around, trying to observe things that he missed in his previous visit. His eyes fell on the fire mantle, where pictures of Richvard Von Kursch and his family were. Well, that's frustrating. It's so evident that Marietta is not who she says she is. She looks nothing like the daughter in the pictures, Shen thought as he waited for her. This person is obviously very careless and not so bright. Whoever she is, she's not a very good imposter.

"Shen? I'm done," Marietta said, walking out of the kitchen and into the living room where Shen waited. She was dressed casually in a tank top and shorts, and was drying her hair with a towel. Shen suddenly narrowed his eyes at her, giving her an intense glare.

"That tattoo. Above your breast. Very unusual," he said. Marietta looked down and gasped slightly at the line of purple that marked her skin.

"Oh, this? I got it when I was in college," she said innocently.

"All right, enough with the act. I know what you are, and you know what I am. There's nothing more to it. But what I want to know is why you went through so much trouble to find me." Marietta looked up and smiled slyly.

"You're very smart," she cooed.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure out that you're a spectral."

The word spectral hung in the air. "Demon of the supernatural. Seer of the departed. We whose hearts have been replaced by the souls of the freshly killed. I have the mark that shows where my heart was stolen and restored," Marietta said, pulling down her shirt an inch farther to reveal a purple mark shaped like a long rectangle with two solidly colored rectangles. "You have one too."

Shen glanced down at his chest, and then looked back up. "Why pursue me?

"For selfish reasons I suppose. Power, mainly. Have you ever heard that devouring the soul of a spectral gives you unimaginable power?"

"Is that what you're trying to do? Seduce me and kill me? It's not going to work. I have one woman in my life right now. And besides, I'm not one to fall head over heels for a woman like you." Marietta narrowed her eyes.

"How exactly did you know?"

"You made a couple mistakes. Firstly, when we met, I asked you "May we come in?" The "we" referring to myself and the ghost who follows me. Any normal person who cannot see a ghost would have questioned me. But you forgot and let it slip. Secondly, I told you that all I needed to do was see the corpse and I'd be done with the case. Without an inspection? Thorough background check? Interrogation? That would have confused a normal human, but you knew what I would use the body for. Thirdly, when the ghost, Fenette's her name by the way, complained loudly, you glanced up at her. You may have thought it was to quick to notice, but spectrals have enhanced vision. Which is strange, because you were wearing contacts. Perhaps to try and confuse me? You should have been cautious with more things than one. Now, my final question. What happened to the real Marietta Von Kursch and who are you?"

Marietta chuckled lowly. "Rose," she said, her accent suddenly Russian. "My name is Rose. That is all I will tell you. You're a good actor. Let's see if you're a good fighter," she hissed murderously as she quickly pulled out a knife and lunged forward. Shen reacted quickly by grabbing the woman's hand. Instead of lashing out with her free hand, Marietta slammed her foot between Shen's legs. Shen coughed, the wind nearly knocked out of him. He let go of her wrist and fell to his knees. "Damn..."

Rose smirked. "Men," she mumbled, grabbing him collar and lifting him to his feet. She slammed him against the wall. Marietta was surprisingly strong compared to Shen, perhaps stronger than the average man. She leaned close to his face and looked at him, lustful for death. "Ready to die?" Shen tried shoving her back, but she merely moved a step, giving Shen a small amount of space from the wall. Marietta narrowed her eyes and frowned at him. She clutched her dagger tightly and reached behind Shen. With a fiendish smile, she plunged it through his back. Not yet satisfied, Marietta pushed Shen back against the wall so that the hilt of the knife was pushed forward, making it slide slowly until it was protruding from Shen's chest, right below his fake heart.

Although Shen knew that being stabbed would not kill him, it hurt excruciatingly. He gritted his teeth in pain and shut his eyes momentarily. "Not so tough now, huh?" he heard Marietta mock. "Now to get rid of you," she scorned. Marietta tilted toward Shen and pressed her lips against his. Confused and in painful discomfort, he used his lasting strength to lift his arms and try to push her away. Without warning, an abrupt cold feeling gripped Shen's entire body. He felt paralyzed and sick. He then realized what Marietta was doing. She was sucking his very soul from his body.

***

"Don't follow me, my... butt!" Fenette shouted as loudly as she could as she flew through the streets of New York. "Oh, I'll follow you, all right," she said as she sped through cars and people. Marietta’s place wasn't too far and in about five minutes Fenette reached her special mansion, probably the only house you would find smack dab in the middle of New York City. The lights were on and Fenette saw shadows in the living room. She cautiously poked her head through the wall and peered inside. "Wha-!" she closed her mouth so Shen wouldn't hear. But what would he care when he was making out with the client! Fenette balled up her fists and punched them through the air. Jerk! Jerk! Jerk! Jerk! Jerk!!!! she yelled inside her head.

Then Fenette took a second look. There was definitely something wrong with this picture. For one thing, there was bright red blood dripping down into a puddle beneath Shen's feet. Also, Shen looked like he was in pain. "Shen?" Fenette said silently. "Are you... okay?" Of course he's not okay, dummy! Do something! But what can a ghost do? Fenette thought frantically. "Oh god! Oh god! Oh god! What do I do? I'm dead! Argh... oh!! Ha! I know!" she yelled. Without giving it a second thought, Fenette swarmed into the house completely and slammed her ghostly body straight into Marietta. Marietta gasped as Fenette possessed her body. The force threw her to the side. But rather than Fenette having control of Marietta's actions, Marietta emitted a blood-curdling scream. "AH!!!! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! HELP ME! PLEASE STOP IT!" she yelled, clutching her head and rolling on the floor in agony. Shen looked down at her without mercy in his eyes. He reached down and placed two fingers on her forehead. Mustering up all of his energy, he summoned Fenette. Marietta jerked upwards, eyes wide and mouth agape. A blue light formed in the middle of her chest and Fenette suddenly shot out, tumbling in the air before halting to a stop.

Marietta collapsed to the ground; her eyes still open but blank. The purple tattoo faded from her chest. Fenette gasped at what had happened. Did she just kill that woman? "Shen, is she dead?" she asked, looking down at Shen. But he had fallen as well, still bleeding heavily. "Shen!" she cried. Fenette floated down to his side. "Hey!"

Shen was still conscious, but he was panting laboriously. "Are you okay?" Fenette asked, sounding like a scared and confused child. Shen turned his head to her. "Yeah," he croaked. "Just a bit bashed up." He reached out and grabbed the arm of the living room couch and used it to help him stand up.

"Is she dead?" Fenette asked.

"Yes."

"Why?" Shen looked down at the soulless eyes of Marietta.

"Because you possessed her body. Fen, never possess a spectral. It interferes with our life source, the souls we have devoured in the past to sustain our life. It overwhelms us and," Shen paused and glanced up at Fenette. "We die." He then chuckled softly at the horrified expression on her face. "Don't worry. And by the way... thanks," he said softly, reaching out to touch her hand. His fingers brushed through hers. "Come on. Let's go home. I ought to patch this wound up. It'll be gone in the morning," he said and began to walk away. Fenette stared at Marietta. She had actually killed someone. The thought was almost overwhelming. Fenette sighed and turned. At least she didn't feel jealous anymore.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: Ugh, I suck at endings. I wanted this to be up for Halloween, but there were some complications.

Next chapter:

Shen stood in the back and watched as the man with spiky blond hair strummed on his acoustic guitar and sang soulfully in a rough, Kurt Cobain-like voice. His words and music floated out into the crowd as everyone watched intently, listening to the message.

"A second chance I once believed.

I thought I could rewind, my love.

But I left this earth without word.

And my message lingers in the air.

Inaudible to your ears.

I wish I could tell you one last time.

I love you."