PART 6

"It does look like you," said Mira.

"Come on Mira, you've been around us long enough to know that just because somebody looks like someone, that doesn't mean it really is them," replied Rollie.

"Yeah, I know, I know. Movie magic."

Angie knew that couldn’t be her on the tape, despite what it looked like. "Rol., pass me that jazz disk. The one marked iEnhance." Angie pointed to a shelf halfway up the wall.

Rollie rummaged around in the disk holder until he located the requested item.

"What are you thinking?" he asked as he handed her the disk.

"That new software Liam sent me can compare this image to one I know is me. It compares the bone structure of the two faces to objectively determine if they match. The technology’s not perfect yet. Two faces can have the same bone structure and still be different people. But, if the faces aren’t a match, they definitely are different faces." Working quickly, Angie launched the application and called up a picture of herself. She entered the relevant information about each photo and sat back in her chair.

"Now, we wait. That’ll take a few minutes. Mira, where are those documents?"

Francis, who was still holding them, relinquished them to Angie. She proceeded to scan the signature into the computer. Seconds later, a high quality image of the signature appeared on the screen. Angie started another application; a writing analysis program this time. It overlaid Angie’s known signature on the forger’s. Then the system determined if they were the same based on which pixels were black and which ones remained white. It wasn’t a highly sophisticated method but it was they best they could do without a larger writing sample and a certified graphologist.

The results came back surprisingly fast. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the result they wanted. It said the test was inconclusive. The signatures were extremely close. Both exhibited many of the same traits, but there were a few slight differences. It could be a different person or the same person in a hurry, using a different pen, or any other number of things.

The computer emitted a loud beeping sound, startling everyone. Glancing at the monitor, it revealed the image comparison process had concluded. This result was much more satisfactory. It definitely wasn’t Angie on that tape. That was a relief to everyone in the room. But several questions remained unspoken. If it wasn’t Angie, who was it? And why were they doing this?

"Angie, can you get a better picture?" questioned Mira. "I want to distribute a picture of this mystery woman. The uniforms can keep an eye out for her."

"Sure, no problem."

Utilizing her computer skills and the software available to her, Angie zoomed in and further enhanced the image. Before long, a color printout appeared in front of them. Angie skimmed over the paper then turned it over to Mira. She hesitated for a moment then said, "let me take a closer look at that picture. That face looks familiar.

Mira and Francis exchanged a look. A look that conveyed a single though, of course it looks familiar, you see that image daily, in the mirror. Both were too polite to say anything though.

Upon closer look, Angie knew it wasn’t her but someone with a strong resemblance. Now that she knew the face wasn’t hers, she could look at it more objectively and discovered that slight differences were noticeable. The nose was a little wider, the lips a little thinner. Her jaw was a little sharper. The eyes were closer together. The face in the photo also had a faint scar on her forehead, covered with inexpertly applied make-up.

Angie scrunched her eyes, attempting to focus solely on the picture in front of her. Her eyes covered the entire image several times, wanting to absorb every minute detail. Eventually she looked up. "I think I went to NYU with her."

"Are you sure? I mean, that was several years ago," Francis asked.

"I might be wrong, but I know I’ve seen her before," she was adamant in that.

"Who is she?" "What’s her name?" The questions flew at Angie.

She just threw her hands up. "I don’t know. I can’t remember. As you pointed out," she looked in Francis’ direction, "it was several years ago."

The four of them traipsed over to Angie’s apartment on foot. At that hour, traffic would be so backed up; it would take forever to reach their destination. They headed there because they wanted to go through her old college yearbooks. Maybe the face would be among the pages. They made one stop on the way to pick up some take away. It was going to be a long evening, as there would be thousands of pictures in each book.

They looked through all of them but didn’t find anyone who remotely resembled Angie. Angie’s optimism plummeted, she was almost positive the face would be there. She considered hacking into the school’s computer but without more information, a search would be next to impossible.

"What else do you remember about her?"

"Think, Angie. Who would do this to you?" questioned Mira.

"Come on, Ang. Think," encouraged Rollie

She berated herself silently. Why couldn’t she remember her?

"Sorry. I can’t think of anything," she said, disappointing everyone, herself included.

Dejected, the quartet walked the twelve blocks back to the workshop. Once there, Angie saved the image as a .gif file, wrote a brief note and sent it to some of the people she hung out with at NYU. Maybe one of them would remember the woman.

"Guess we’ll just have to wait and see if anyone recognizes her. Meanwhile, the Captain’s probably waiting for us, so, we’ll catch you later," Mira said as she and Francis left.

Both F/X artists grimaced at that statement, as waiting patiently was not a strong point of theirs.

***

The next afternoon, Rollie, while waiting for Angie to return from the lab, worked on the computer. He was searching for a note some producer sent him a while back. Unfortunately for him, Angie had filed the message. "I can’t find anything in what she calls a filing system," he muttered to himself. After a few minutes, and several wrong attempts, he gave up the search and decided to get the copy he knew was stored on the laptop. He glanced around but couldn’t see the laptop anywhere.

"Blue, where the laptop? Find the laptop." He called.

Blue cocked his head, than headed right for it. He emitted a series of electronic barks.

"Good boy. That’s my Blue boy." Rollie praised his beloved pet. He brought the portable computer over to the table and booted up the system, then the email program. Without paying close attention, he opened the message he thought he wanted. Immediately, he knew it was not the right note but he couldn’t stop reading. Something deep inside him forced him to continue.

****

Alone with his thoughts, the anger, that formed inside him when he found the note, grew and intensified. As a result, Rollie exploded at Angela when she returned from the film lab.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"What are you talking about?" Angie asked as she put the film canisters on the closest workbench.

"The email, Ang, I saw the message."

"How many times have I told you not to read my email Rol?" She brushed past him on her way to the kitchen.

"This is serious, Angela. Why didn't you tell me?"

"What email? I don't have a clue what you're talking about?"

"This email. The one about your apartment. Broken into, bloody hell, Angela. You should have told me about this."

Angie’s heart beat accelerated, and her breathing was shallower. Her skin went cold and clammy. There was no point denying any knowledge of the note. Why compound more lies on the one she already told? Especially when he wouldn’t stop searching and probing until he discovered the truth. Why delay the inevitable? She started blankly at the wall for a minute, then the ceiling, before facing the enraged Australian. "I thought the note was from Loubar," she said quietly.

"Loubar’s dead. You shot him."

"I know. I thought so too. But he’s come back to life before. And they never found the body." she responded, obviously distressed.

"So, that's just even more reason to tell me."

"Don’t you get it?" Angie said.

Angie tried to keep her composure, and not let her feelings show. She also struggled to hold back the tears. She lost the fight and the salty liquid dripped down her cheek, leaving a faint trail. "I was afraid you'd go after him. If anything happened to you, I don't think I could stand it. Almost everyone I have ever cared about is dead, " She spoke so softly, Rollie could barely hear her.

"It’s not the same for you. You still have Dingo and Mangela. There is not one person in this entire world I am related to. My list of friends is constantly shrinking too. Soon, there will be no one that cares if I live or die." Her voice was heavy with emotion.

"Don’t say that. Never say that. I care. Dingo and Mangela consider you part of the family, you know. They care too, " he said roughly, still looking at her.

"Oh, Ang." His expression instantly changed from one of anger, to one of sympathy and compassion. He walked over to where the young woman was standing. Rollie wiped the tears from her face and then he lightly held her by the chin forcing her to meet his gaze.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said as he hugged her tightly. He felt her stiffen, almost imperceptibly, and instantly released her, keeping his hands on her arms.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up memories of him and everything," his voice trailed off.

"It's OK Rol., I know you didn't. You’re just acting like yourself. You can't help it. Just like I can't help remembering sometimes. Keep being yourself, OK?" She laid her hands on the side of his face, meeting his eyes with hers. "You're the one I want, just as you are. It’s just that sometimes…" A far away look flittered through her eyes before they refocused on Rollie’s face. "Sometimes logic and emotion and reaction…" Angie wrapped her arms around her partner, leaving the rest of the sentence unsaid.

"We’re telling Mira." He stated forcefully.

She didn’t fight him about it. She knew it was the right thing to do.

Mira came right over and Angie related everything she knew about the mysterious emails. Rollie was a bit miffed that Angie hadn’t told him about the second one.

"I wish you’d told us sooner," said Mira, irritated Angie had withheld important information.

"I didn’t think the two were related. I mean, closing bank accounts, sending huge phone bills isn’t exactly his style. He’s usually more devious and sophisticated than that. This stuff is pretty juvenile."

Without saying another word, Mira picked up her cell phone and dialed a familiar number, one that she’d used many times before.

"Captain, Loubar might be alive."

***

Later, after Mira had returned to the stationhouse, Rollie and Angie sat together on the couch.

"I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about everything earlier," Angie whispered just loud enough for him to hear.

He watched as she slowly lowered her eyelids. He could feel the steady rise and fall of her chest against his own. She had fallen asleep.

"I know," he whispered in the ear of Angie’s sleeping form. He was wondering if she was keeping any other secrets from him. He always thought they told each other everything important. Now… now he wasn’t so sure. Could he still trust her? What scared him more was the fact he didn’t even realize she was hiding something from him. Previously, he could always sense when something was bothering the young woman at his side. When had that link broken? When did she develop this a mask between her emotions and the world? Why did she do that? Gracefully, he pulled a blanket over top of both of them and let himself drift off to sleep. Tomorrow would be soon enough to deal with these conflicting emotions and thoughts.

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