3x02 On Edge
...Episode Info
Episode 3x02: On Edge
Airdate: June 23 2005
Summary: When the body of an up-and-coming figure skater asks for help, Tru finds herself in the middle of the cutthroat world of ice skating. Meanwhile, Jenson begins to experience Fate’s backlash, and Tru is shocked to learn that Davis has told Carrie his secret.
...Crew
Writer: Erin
Co-Writer: Cherrygurl
Beta-Reader:Lilkittyangel
...Cast
Eliza Dushku (as Tru Davies)
Zach Galifianakis (as Davis)
Shawn Reaves (as Harrison Davies)
Jason Priestly (as Jack Harper)
Liz Vassey (as Dr. Carrie Allen)
Eric Christian Olsen (as Jensen)
Lizzy Caplan (as Avery)
Benjamin Benitez (as Gardez)
Lindze Letherman (as Kristen Haymore)
Kathy Lee (as Valerie)
Aleksandr Domogarov (as Yuri)
Sage Mears (as Tara)
Jewel Staite (as Erica Haymore)
Gloria Stuart (as Grandma Haymore)
3x02 On Edge
A teenage girl skates across the ice in an indoor ice rink. There are other people skating around her, but she stands out as she skates gracefully to her music. Her light brown hair blows back from her face as she launches off the ice on her left foot, completing two and a half turns before landing smoothly on her right foot, gliding backwards. Some distant applause encourages her as she builds up speed, moving into a blinding footwork sequence. The music comes to a halt and she strikes her final pose, with her arms high above her head. She grins with pride and satisfaction, unaware of the unseen person watching her from the shadows.
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“It’s really not that bad once you get used to it,” Tru insists. It’s a warm evening outside the Standard Café, and the atmosphere inside is even warmer as four friends socialize over a late dinner.
“I just don’t know if I could ever get used to it, I mean, the bodies in the lab at school are different, they’re...older, not like ones at the morgue, I mean, those people just died, it must be...weird,” Avery finally says as she sips her coffee.
Harrison glances nervously over at Avery, whom he is sitting next to. “Nah, I think Tru is pretty comfortable with the whole dead people thing by now,” he says, half joking.
Avery looks at him shyly. “How about you, Harrison? Think you could handle working in a morgue?”
He shrugs. “I think I’ve found my calling with this work for the old man. I’m telling you, this job has made me a new man,” he insists.
Tru relaxes into Jensen’s arm, smiling up at him slyly. They have been watching the sparks fly between her brother and Avery all night. “Well, you know I’m proud of you Harry. And dad must be too, he did give you that raise and everything,” Tru mentions.
Harrison leans back in the booth. “I guess I just have a...whaddya call it? A natural talent,” he says suavely.
Tru laughs and shakes her head. She looks at the clock sadly. “I should get going...” She stands up, pulling on her jacket. “Duty calls.” Just how much, however, she would have to wait and see. Would she have this conversation again tomorrow? The next few hours would reveal the very fate of time.
Jensen stands up next to her. “I can walk you to the morgue.”
Tru smiles at him appreciatively before glancing back at Harrison and Avery. “Do you guys mind?”
“Oh, I don’t think they do,” Jensen says quietly.
Avery shoots him a look. “No, it’s okay, go ahead,” she says with a slight blush.
Tru grins at them. “I’ll see you both tomorrow,” she says, leaving her share of the bill on the table before taking Jensen’s hand and walking out the door with a bounce in her step. Now alone at the table, Harrison and Avery’s eyes meet and they exchange a little smile.
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“That was fun tonight, I’m glad I brought Harry. I think he really hit it off with Avery,” Tru comments as she and Jensen stroll down the hallway towards the morgue hand in hand.
Jensen nods in agreement. He starts to speak but Tru holds a finger up to his mouth. She pauses a moment before speaking. “Jensen...are you okay?” she asks finally.
He gives her a strange look. “Um, yeah...why?”
Tru looks down slightly. “I don’t know, you’ve just seemed....a little...I don’t even know. I just thought I’d ask.” Her mind flashed back to Jensen’s Luc comment, and she struggles to push it from her mind.
The moment is interrupted when Davis walks out into the hallway, stopping abruptly upon seeing the intimate distance between the pair. “Um, uh, sorry, I’ll just be inside...” he turns and hurries back into the office.
Tru leans in and quickly kisses Jensen goodbye. “Good night, Jensen. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Or today...again, she thinks to herself. She hesitates before turning away and walking towards the office, not wishing to make the situation any more awkward.
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Davis glances up from the computer as Tru enters and hangs up her jacket. “Is everything okay with Jensen?”
Tru takes a deep breath, sitting down in a reclining position in one of the desk chairs. “That’s a really good question.” She notices the look on Davis’s face. “Don’t even go there...it doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that I gave him...another chance at life,” she mumbles, a guilty expression on her face.
Davis stands, running a hand through his hair nervously. “Tru, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.”
She looks at him expectantly. “Okay.”
He struggles with his words. “I know you’re probably not going to like this...but I would rather have you hear it from me-“
”Incoming,” Gardez calls out from the hallway. Tru continues to stare at Davis expectantly, but he quickly turns around and waits for the body to be brought in. He wheels the body in through the office into the Standards Room. Puzzled, Tru stands up and follows.
“What have we got tonight?” Tru asks sadly, glancing at Davis, who fails to meet her eyes.
Gardez unzips the body bag. “See for yourself.”
The body is a girl of about fifteen years old, dressed in a bright pink figure skating dress and beige tights. She has light brown hair that is pulled back in a messy ponytail. Broken-in looking white ice skates cover her feet, and a black fleece jacket covers her arms and shoulders. “She’s a figure skater,” Tru says in surprise. She leans over, examining the embroidery on the jacket. “Her name’s Kristen.” She quickly scans the body for other clues, never knowing how much time she’ll have with the body.
“Looks like cause of death was laceration to the jugular vein,” Davis says, pointing at the victim’s throat, where a bloody gash exists. “Which means she most likely bled to death. Not a lot of blood present on the clothing...if you could call it that.”
Tru gives him a look. “Hey, I always thought ice skating was kind of cool.” She looks to Gardez. “Where was the body found?”
“Ice rink down in Chelsea Piers,” Gardez replies. He opens his mouth to speak but another voice catches Tru’s attention. She looks down at the victim, who has turned her head to look at Tru.
“Save me!” The day rewinds.
Tru wakes up in her bed, early morning sunlight streaming through the window. She rolls over with a sigh. “Looks like I’m going skating.”
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“So I need you to find out where the ice rink is on Chelsea Piers. That’s where the body was found, I figure I’ll head over there and look for Kristen, our victim,” Tru says into her cell phone as she pulls on her shoes.
“Okay, I’m on it,” Davis says on the other end as he punches some info into the computer. “Did you get any other information before the day rewound?”
“Yes, you said that cause of death was laceration to the jugular vein, and she probably bled to death although there wasn’t much blood present on her clothes,” Tru says as she grabs her keys on the way out the door.
“That probably means she was face down after the injury occurred, and the blood had the chance to pool somewhere else...okay, got it. There’s an ice rink at Pier 66,” Davis says.
“Thanks, D.” Tru remembers something. “Oh, and Davis? Is there anything you want to tell me? Yesterday...I mean, today, you were about to tell me something right when Gardez brought the body in, it sounded important.”
Davis runs his fingers through his hair nervously. “Um, uh, no, nothing. I don’t know what that would be.”
Tru frowns slightly. “Okay, Davis. I’ll keep you posted.” Tru steps out onto the sidewalk.
“Okay. Good luck. And remember, keep your eyes open for Jack.”
Tru nods grimly. “Don’t worry.” She hangs up the phone and barely takes it away from her ear when it rings again. She flips it open. “Hello?”
“Tru, hey,” Jensen’s gentle voice says into the phone.
“Oh, hey Jensen,” Tru says, silently thankful that the day had restarted in this respect...last night hadn’t gone so well with Jensen.
“Well, it’s Saturday, meaning it’s the day of our big night out,” he says. “You’re still gonna be there, right? It’s just sometimes you’re a little...unpredictable.”
Tru smiles slightly, glancing at her watch: 9 am. She should have plenty of time. “I would say that I should be there, but I can’t make any promises,” she says truthfully. “Hey, and is it okay if I bring Harrison? He doesn’t have many friends of his own...”
“Sure, the more the merrier, right? Well, I’ll see you tonight. Bye.”
“Bye, Jensen,” Tru says. She takes a deep breath. “Hopefully tonight will go a little smoother second time around.”
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Tru walks into the ice rink and is met with a blast of cold air. She shivers slightly and takes in her surroundings. There are about a dozen skaters on the ice. The far wall of the rink is all glass, with a beautiful view of the harbor outside. A glass enclosed room at the far end of the ice is occupied by eight or so adults.
Tru walks casually up to the Plexiglas barriers, scanning the rink for her victim. Finally she spots her, stretching out by the boards, wearing the same pink skating dress she had been wearing the night before. She smiles and laughs with a young, pretty brunette girl who is sitting in the hockey box with a fur coat on. Tru watches as Kristen begins to stroke around the rink, quickly building up speed. After a few warm-ups she moves into some single jumps, occasionally stopping by the box for instructions. Tru decides to try and move closer to try and hear what is being said. She slowly wanders along the outside of the rink, stopping just outside the hockey box.
“You look good today. Okay, let’s get right into it, double salchow; do it from the program,” the young brunette tells her student. Kristen nods her head and turns backwards, doing crossovers around the end of the rink. She steps forward sweeping her arms high above her head, and abruptly turns backward and launches off her left inside edge, pulling her arms and legs in tight to complete two rotations before landing smoothly on a right back outside edge with her arms extended.
“Wow,” Tru says out loud. She made it look so effortless. As Kristen came over to talk to her coach about the jump she had just completed, Tru took the opportunity to scope out some of the other skaters. They ranged in levels and ages, some were young girls practicing basic crossovers on the circle, some were practicing advanced jumps like Kristen. One girl caught Tru’s eye, a tall, stunning Asian girl wearing very tight pants and a tank top. She landed a double jump and skidded to a stop just inches away from one of the smallest girls on the ice. To Tru’s utter disbelief, she did not even apologize, instead just skated over to the boards where a tall man with a puffy yellow coat and bleached blonde hair stood waiting. “Not exactly Miss Congeniality,” Tru comments. She turns her attention back to Kristen, who has completed several more jumps.
“Okay, let’s go for the double axel. Try it from the spread eagle, remember to spring completely off your left leg before pulling in,” her brunette coach instructs. Kristen nods seriously before taking off down the ice. She moves smoothly into an outside spread eagle, her feet turned out and her arms spread. From there she completes a single turn and then launches herself high into the air, completing two and half rotations before landing. She smiles with satisfaction as she heads back to the boards. “Great job, that was one of your best. Just do that next weekend and we’re all set,” her coach says enthusiastically. “I have to go to Sarah now, warm up your footwork and then run through the long. I’ll be back.” Kristen nods, taking a sip of her water. Tru starts to move into the hockey box to address the skater when the Asian girl stops dramatically next to Kristen, grabbing her own water bottle. “Nice axel, Kristen,” she says in a sickeningly sweet voice.
Kristen regards her coolly. “Thanks, Valerie.” Neither of them says another word before Kristen takes off down the ice once again. Tru shivers again, and this time it isn’t from the cold air of the ice rink.
Valerie skates dramatically around the rink in preparation for a jump, the same one Kristen just completed. She takes off, but Tru can instantly tell that she is leaning way too far to the right, and sure enough she hits the ice with a thud.
“No, no, no,” the bleached blonde calls out with a thick Russian accent. “Do it again.” Valerie gets up off the ice, an unpleasant scowl on her face before circling the rink once again. She begins her circular footwork: Turn, bracket, twizzle, hop, slide, turn, turn...she completes the complicated pattern with ease. This time she launches into the double axel and lands successfully. Tru takes her eyes off the stunning Asian skater and notices that Kristen is back at the boards sipping her water. Tru takes the opportunity to enter the box. “That was really impressive,” she compliments her.
Kristen turns around in surprise. “Oh, thank you.”
Tru steps a little closer. “That jump you landed before, the...”
“The double axel? Yeah, that’s a big one,” she says with a small laugh. “I just hope I can land it like that next weekend.”
“Next weekend?” Tru asks casually.
“North Atlantic Regionals. The biggest competition of the year, top four advance to Sectionals,” Kristen says with a nod.
“Oh wow, good luck then,” Tru says. She hesitates. “Is that girl going, too? She seems to have a bit of an attitude.” She nods her head towards Valerie and her coach.
Kristen scoffs. “Oh, that’s just Val being Val. I’m used to it by now. But yeah, she’s going.”
Tru nods her head, racing to find what to say next. “You know, I’ve always wanted to do this, I used to love watching the skating on TV when I was little, with my mom. It looks so elegant.”
Kristen nods. “It is. But don’t let all the glamour fool you. It’s a lot of hard work, maybe more than any other sport.”
Tru nods back. “But I’ve always wanted to try it...do you think maybe you could help me out, just give me a few pointers to get started?”
Kristen looks at her with regret. “I’m sorry, but the biggest competition of my career is next weekend...I can’t really take the time.”
Before Tru can reply, a nasally voice cuts through the bitter air. “Kristen Jane? Who is this woman?” asks a very old woman, presumably in her seventies. She is very petite, with a fur coat and designer bag, and a nasty scowl on her face.
Kristen sighs. “Relax, Grandma. This is...” she looks at Tru.
“Tru. Tru Davies,” she says, holding out her hand to Kristen’s grandmother. She doesn’t accept it, and just wraps her fur tighter around herself.
“My granddaughter is preparing for regionals Ms. Davies, she doesn’t need distractions,” she says harshly. She snaps back to Kristen. “Where on earth is Erica?”
“She went to work with Sarah.”
Her eyes widen in disbelief. “Doesn’t she realize that regionals are a week away? And I haven’t even seen you do your program. You need to be your sister’s first priority.”
“I am, don’t worry. Just go sit down,” Kristen urges. The older woman obliges, but not without shooting a warning look Tru’s way. Kristen shakes her head in apology. “I’m sorry, that’s just my grandmother, she’s a little high strung, especially before competitions.”
Tru nods. “I understand.”
Kristen starts to turn away but changes her mind. “Look, I do have to run through my routine, and this is club ice anyway...but a public session starts in a half hour, if you have some skates, I can help you for a few minutes then.”
Tru smiles. “That would be great. Thank you so much.” Kristen smiles at her before setting off to circle the ice.
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“Excuse me, I’d like to rent a pair of skates,” Tru says as she enters the rink pro shop.
The girl behind the counter looks up from her magazine. She is wearing track pants over a skating dress, and has a jacket identical to the one Kristen had been wearing in the morgue, except hers read Tara. She is tall and thin with blonde highlighted hair. “Sure. Size?”
“Seven please,” Tru says. She glances around. “So, you’re a skater too?”
Tara nods. “Yeah. I’m just working here to help pay for my ice time. Little known fact about figure skating, it’s mad expensive.”
Tru laughs. “Do a lot of the girls do this?”
“Only the ones from normal working families like mine,” Tara says a little bitterly. “Girls like Kristen and Valerie; they haven’t had to work a day in their life.”
Tru perks up. “I saw them skating out there, they’re very good.”
Tara nods as she searches the racks of skates for Tru’s size. “Tell me about it. But Kristen - her grandmother won the lottery.”
“Seriously?” Tru asks in disbelief.
Tara nods knowledgeably. “I think it was about ten years ago, she won two or three million. They try to keep it all hush, hush, I think they want people to think they earned their money through hard work, but you can’t keep a secret around here. And her sister Erica coaches her, so they don’t even have to pay much for lessons! And Val, her family’s just rich, and besides she’s a spoiled bee-atch. And what really sucks is that she’s like totally gorgeous to boot.” Tru is slightly taken aback. “I take it Val’s not very popular. How about Kristen?”
“Oh, we all love Kristen. She doesn’t walk around with her nose in the air like Val. That’s why we’re all secretly rooting for Kris to win next weekend,” Tara says, handing Tru a pair of skates.
Tru sits down to lace up. “Kristen and Valerie, are they competing against each other?”
“Oh yeah, huge rivals. They’re the best novice skaters we have here.” “Novice?” Tru asks.
“Oh, it’s just a level. Preliminary, Juvenile, Intermediate, Novice, Junior, Senior. It’s one of the highest. They both have a really good chance to make it to Sectionals, maybe even Nationals. They’re definitely each other’s main competition.”
Tru silently thanks her good luck for leading her to what appeared to be the rink gossip. “Sounds like figure skating is a lot more harsh than it looks.”
Tara laughs. “Totally. But aside from my personal feelings, I think Kristen will win anyway. She’s way more consistent, Val’s one of those girls that freaks once she makes one mistake and can’t recover. Kind of like Sasha Cohen, only much less likeable. And also, Kristen is fifteen, and Valerie is seventeen. Seventeen, that’s old in the world of figure skating. Her career probably won’t last much longer, but Kris still has a few years left.”
Tru thinks for a moment. “Is Valerie...do you think she’d ever, I don’t know, do something to eliminate the competition?”
Tara raises an eyebrow. “That’s a weird question. Well, if you’re asking if she has a temper, that’s a big yes.” She glances around furtively before leaning in closer to Tru. “This one time, at Empire State Games, Valerie had a really bad skate. Afterwards, she stormed into the locker room and threw her skates across the room. Then she called some random girl who had been watching her a bee-atch. Only she didn’t say bee-atch. And there was a lovely choice adjective before it.”
Tru’s eyes widen. “Wow, that’s pretty bad. Did she get in trouble?”
“Nah, the girl was too scared to report her to the referee. I wish it had been me, because I would have had her disqualified before she knew what happened,” Tara says, moving back behind the counter.
Tru considers that as she finishes lacing up her skates. “Well, thanks for the skates. It was nice talking to you.”
“You too,” Tara calls as Tru exits the pro shop.
Once outside Tru pulls out her cell phone and dials the morgue while adjusting to walking in her skates. Davis answers on the second ring. “How’s it going? Any suspects yet?”
“Yes, one. Girl named Valerie, big competitive rivalry, plus I hear she has quite the temper. I think she has to be the doer, it seems like everyone else adores Kristen. But I still don’t know why, I mean, I think there must be some specific event to set her off.”
“Well yesterday you said the body wasn’t brought in until nighttime, so the murder most likely didn’t occur until late afternoon. You have a while. Any sign of Jack?”
“No, luckily. But knowing him he’ll show up right when it’s most inconvenient. Anyways, I’ve got to go, I’ve got a skating lesson with Kristen,” Tru says wryly.
“Ooh, fun. Be careful,” Davis says, and it’s clear that he isn’t just talking about the dangers of the ice.
“Always am,” Tru replies as she heads for the rink. Commercial break
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Tru steps out onto the ice cautiously, holding onto the boards to stop herself from falling. Kristen skates over with a smile on her face. “Careful there.” Tru carefully tries to glide a little on her own. “This is much harder than it looks.”
“I know. Just make sure you hold your arms out for balance, it helps,” Kristen suggests, turning backwards effortlessly to skate facing Tru.
Tru tries to stand up and formulate questions at the same time. “So, you must love this sport. I mean, if you put so much time into it.”
Kristen shrugs sheepishly. “I don’t know. I like it. I mean, I’ve been doing it ever since I can remember, it’s kind of the family tradition, Erica skated, now she coaches, my grandmother...but I do like it,” she concludes.
“No offense, but your grandmother seems a little...difficult,” Tru admits, beginning to do a little better on the ice.
Kristen shakes her head a little. “I’m used to it. She just wants me to be successful.” She pauses a moment. “Why are you so curious about my personal life?”
Tru freezes. “Oh, I’m just interested in the sport, and you are so talented...I’m sorry if I offended you.”
“Oh no, you didn’t, it’s just a little weird, that’s all,” Kristen says. Before either of them can speak again, Erica skates over.
“Kris, what are you doing?” she asks, sounding slightly irritated.
“I’m just helping Tru here learn how to skate,” she says quietly.
“Well come on, we have to practice, Grandma will kill you if she sees you slacking off before regionals.”
Kristen looks at Tru with regret. “Sorry, I’ve got to go. It was nice meeting you.”
“You too. Thanks.” Tru continues to skate. She watches as Valerie reenters the ice, scowling again. She starts to stretch out at the boards while Tara from the pro shop enters the ice with the man that had been teaching Valerie earlier. “They have the same coach,” Tru says quietly. She makes a quick decision, and approaches Valerie at the boards. “Hello. You’re a very good skater, I was watching you earlier.”
Valerie gives Tru a once over, regarding her as if she is some kind of small pest. “Do I know you?” she says in that sickeningly sweet voice.
“No, I’m just a fan of the sport.” Tru takes a deep breath and decides to take a chance. “Look, I’m a friend of Kristen’s, and I know about this rivalry you two have. But next weekend is just a competition, and I’m sure the girl that’s most deserving will come out on top. You don’t have to do anything extreme.”
Valerie stares at her like she has three heads. “I think Kristen and I know exactly where we stand. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have practicing to do.” She skates away, leaving Tru to stand there looking frustrated.
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“Okay, my feet are officially killing me, I think I’m done for the day.” Tru walks into the pro shop and places her skates on the counter. She looks up, taken aback by who she finds standing there. “Jack. Of course.”
“Why, hello Tru. And how are you today?” he asks in his usual cocky tone.
“Are you even allowed to be in here?” Tru says, sitting down to massage her sore feet.
“Ouch, that looks painful. You know, I do admire how dedicated you are to this obstruction of fate business you have. Suffering for your craft.”
Tru jams on her shoes, glaring at him. “Save it, Jack. I’m two steps ahead of you today, and I plan to stay that way. You won’t win; not this time.”
Jack moves around to the front of the counter. “Tru, Tru, you never learn. I’m always two steps ahead of you whether you know it or not.”
“Shouldn’t you be out kicking puppies or encouraging small children to play in traffic?” Tru says angrily, heading out of the pro shop and back towards the rink.
“Tru, I’m not evil. I just like to see destiny run its course.”
Tru stops in the middle of a hallway. “Great. Now I’m lost, this rink is like a maze.” She turns around and runs straight into Jack. “Come on, Jack; just let me go back to the rink!” He starts to speak, but she shushes him when she hears voices coming from a door to her right. She steps closer to the door, which is labeled Locker Room #3.
“Valerie, you can’t let her do dis!” shouts the angry Russian voice of Valerie and Tara’s coach.
“We have to Yuri, we don’t have a choice! I already explained this!” Valerie yells back.
“You need to do something about dis before ze competition, talk to Kristen!”
“I told you, I can’t do that! It’s too risky,” she shoots back.
Jack grabs Tru’s arm and drags her off in the direction they came from. “Tru, didn’t your parents ever tell you that it’s not polite to listen to other people’s conversations?”
Tru shoves his arm away. “Dammit, Jack. That was important!”
“Tru, you’re running around trying to prevent a murder when for all you know a tragic Zamboni accident killed Kristen Haymore,” he says coolly.
“Oh, come on, we both know that Valerie did something to her. And I’m going to stop it if it’s the last thing that I do.” Tru turns around and storms away, leaving Jack to stare after her.
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“I can’t believe it, Tru! Ice skaters! You’re spending the entire day with very fit girls in short skirts and you don’t even care to share some of the wealth with your baby brother?” Harrison asks incredulously.
Tru can’t help but smile as she stands outside the rink talking on her cell phone, the cool coastal air hitting her face. “Sorry Hare, but I think I’ve got this one. But it’s getting late, I think the attempted murder should be taking place soon, but I’m going to be cutting it close for dinner.”
“It’s alright, I’m sure I can keep Avery and Jensen entertained.”
“Thanks.”
“And Tru? Next time you have to save a young female athlete, please let me help.”
Tru grins. “I will. Bye Hare.” She hangs up the phone, glancing at her watch. Four pm. According to Davis, the murder most likely took place late afternoon. “I should get back inside,” Tru said, pushing open the big glass doors. She hadn’t seen Jack since they had overheard the conversation between Valerie and her coach, and she just knew that he would show up when it was least convenient for her.
Tru re-enters the rink, scanning the ice. She spots Valerie practicing a combination spin down in the corner, still looking furious. Yuri is working with Tara, but she notices that he keeps glancing down at Valerie. Meanwhile Kristen is talking to Erica by the boards. Kristen heads out to center ice and strikes a graceful pose. Music fills the rink. She begins her smooth opening steps, launcing into a double-double jump combination and landing smoothly. The music calms into a slow section as she steps into a spin, leaning her back and neck back as far as she can and lifting her arms above her head. She exits, performing backward crossovers around the end of the rink and stepping into a graceful forward spiral. Tru watches, mesmerized as she completes several more double jumps with ease. The music speeds up again, and she begins her playful circular footwork. Turn, bracket, twizzle, hop, slide, turn, turn...”Wait a second,” Tru says suddenly, feeling a strong sense of deja vu. “Those steps...” her mind flashes back to mere hours earlier, when she had watched Valerie perform the exact same footwork sequence. “It’s the same choreography,” she says out loud. She barely pays attention as Kristen lands her double axel and her grandmother claps obnoxiously from inside the Plexiglas enclosed room. The music comes to a halt and Kristen looks satisfied.
“That’s it! Valerie must have stolen Kristen’s choreography,” Tru exclaims quietly. “It makes sense...except, why would Valerie kill her for it? And what did she mean that it was too risky?” She looks up from her thoughts and notices that Kristen is leaving the ice, pulling on her black warm up jacket, the same one she had been wearing in the morgue. Tru watches as Yuri nods curtly at Valerie, and after a moment’s hesitation she too exits the ice, only several seconds behind Kristen. Tru brings up the rear, following a safe distance behind. They venture past the pro shop towards the hallway where she had overheard the conversation earlier. She is about to enter the hallway when a hand clamps over her mouth and she is dragged off to the side. She fights off her assailant, breaking free near some snack machines in a deserted corner of the rink. She turns around to see who it is. “Jack! You son of a bitch, let me go!” she tries to pull away, but he struggles to keep her there.
“Sorry Tru, I’m afraid I can’t do that,” he says calmly.
“I’m just doing my job, just like you,” she snaps at him. “And this isn’t playing fair.”
“You didn’t play by the rules when you prevented Jensen’s death.”
“And you didn’t play by the rules when you murdered Luc.” Tru stands there, staring at him icily, him blocking her way back to the locker rooms.
“Well, then I guess we’re even,” Jack says.
Tru tries to make a break for it, darting around him. He grabs her around the middle, but she kicks back her heels, getting him in the shin. She uses the momentary lapse to run as fast as she can in the direction of the locker rooms, Jack close behind. She darts into the hallway and slams the door behind her just as Jack gets there. She holds it shut with her back when she spots a cleaning cart. She leaves the door for a second to grab it, slamming it against the door. Satisfied, she runs down the hall, desperately searching for the two rivals.
She hears faint voices coming from inside locker room #3 again. She pushes in slightly on the door handle so she has enough room to peek inside. Kristen and Valerie are standing a few feet apart facing each other.
“I don’t get it, Val. I thought we had reached an understanding here,” Kristen says angrily.
“Kristen, Yuri saw you doing the footwork today. And he said that I have to make you take it out of your program for next week. You know how that would look, two girls in the same group from the same club doing the same footwork sequence!”
“First off, taking your choreography wasn’t even my idea in the first place, it was my grandmother’s. I wanted nothing to do with it! I would have taken it out a long time ago, but I still don’t think you realize this is stupid! You should be sucking up to me big time.”
Tru frowns in confusion. So, Kristen had stolen Valerie’s footwork? And what was Kristen holding over Val’s head to prevent her speaking up until her coach had found out?
“Kristen, we’re two very different people. You’re a better person than I am, and we both know it. So please, just change your footwork and I’ll think of some other way to repay you,” Valerie pleads.
Kristen shakes her head. “Val, do you even realize how easy it would be for me to get you in trouble with US Figure Skating? You’re a minor, Val, and Yuri is your coach! It’s wrong!”
“What I do in my personal life is none of your business; you’re only involved in this because you saw us kissing!” Valerie says, anger starting to build up in her voice.
“It is my business when it involves one of my competitors breaking the rules, and probably the law.”
“I’m not sleeping with him! It’s just a few kisses,” Valerie hisses. “Now you better run to your little sister and tell her to change your footwork or-“
”Or you’ll what? I’m not afraid of you,” Kristen says, taking a step closer.
Tru sees Valerie glance down to see a skate lying on the bench inches from her hand, her fingers twitching slightly. Noticing that both girls are wearing their own skates, her eyes pan down to the open bag below the skates and the embroidery on it: Tara. Not wasting another second, Tru enters the room. Both girls turn to stare at her in shock.
“Go away! How long have you been there?” Valerie asks in fear.
“Long enough. I know what you’re doing, both of you. Neither of you are innocent in this,” Tru says.
Kristen folds her arm. “If you’ll excuse us, I think we can resolve this by ourselves.”
Tru shakes her head. “Yeah, Val wants to resolve it alright. You can almost see the wheels spinning. Ki-injure Kristen with Tara’s skates, try to blame it on her? What did you plan to use as a motive? Her jealousy of Kristen’s fortunate financial situation? Of her skating ability?”
Val stares in shock. “What...”
“Okay, I’m going to help you. Valerie, you need to end things with Yuri right now. Kristen’s right, it is wrong, and it’s only going to hurt you in the future. Kristen, you need to change your footwork.”
“But-“ Kristen objects.
“No! Don’t you see, you two want the same thing. You just want to go to regionals next week and win. You know, sometimes a little competition makes you work a little harder, do your job a little better. Believe me, I know.” Tru looks at them. “So why don’t you shake on it, and end this phony blackmail thing or whatever it is.”
Kristen and Valerie regard each other icily. Finally, Kristen reaches her hand out, and Valerie accepts it. Val looks down. “I...I’d better go talk to Yuri.” She sits down on the bench and begins to remove her skates at warp speed. “I have to get some air,” Kristen mutters, ripping off her own skates. “I’ll talk to Erica about my footwork when I get back.” Both girls finish removing their skates. Kristen places hers in her bag and walks briskly out to the lobby, while Valerie zips up her bag and puts it over her shoulder, walking defiantly past Tru.
Tru is alone in the room when Jack walks in, looking very annoyed. “A cleaning cart. You really think that will stop me from ensuring that Fate gets its way?” Tru walks past him out into the hallway. “Save it, Jack; it’s over. I won.” She continues on until she is out of earshot.
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Jack warns. Commercial break
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“Wow, stolen choreography, coaches kissing students...I guess figure skating isn’t as innocent as it looks,” Davis comments over the phone.
“Tell me about it. Davis, you should see these girls, they’re so wrapped up in this sport that they can’t even see right from wrong.” Tru sits on the bench outside the ice rink as it begins to get dark.
“So, did Jack ever show up?”
“Oh, yeah. We had a little showdown. But I took care of it.” She glances at her watch and sighs. “I’m already missing dinner.”
“Did the victim go home?”
Tru shakes her head. “No, I think she’s still there.” She freezes. “I don’t think I saw Jack come out either...”
“Tru, maybe you should...you know that Jack will stop at nothing to get his way.”
“I know. I’m on it.” Tru hangs up the phone, darting back into the ice rink.
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“So it’s too bad Tru couldn’t join us, I wonder what kept her,” Jensen says as the three of them exit the diner.
Harrison smiles at Avery. “Well, it’s a good thing you don’t need my sister to have fun.”
Avery glances down, smiling. “Yeah, and Tru always seems to be running off somewhere...it’s kind of weird actually.”
“Nah, my sister’s just a busy girl,” Harrison says. He hangs back slightly, letting Jensen go ahead of them. “So, Avery, I was thinking maybe we could do this again sometime...without third wheel Jensen.”
Avery grins at him. “I’d like that. You’re a really funny guy, Harrison.”
Harrison grins back and starts to say something, but is interrupted when Avery screams. He looks ahead with alarm, and sees Jensen sitting on the curb, his hands behind him as if to break a fall. A bus zooms around the corner, beeping its horn.
Avery rushes to Jensen’s side. “Oh my God, Jensen, are you okay?! That bus almost hit you! I almost had a heart attack!”
Jensen stands up shakily. “I don’t know where that came from, I looked when I stepped off the curb and there was nothing coming...”
Avery grabs his arm, shooting a frantic, worried look back at Harrison. “They were driving way too fast...let’s just get you home.” They cross the street carefully, with Harrison following close behind, wondering what on earth had just happened.
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Tru rushes into the rink and stops, looking around. The ice is almost deserted, except for a lone figure down at the opposite end of the ice: Kristen. She is skating her program to the music which fills the air. She seems fine, but Tru isn’t so sure. She starts to walk quickly down to her when a figure steps out in front of her. “What did you do this time, Jack?” Tru says angrily, trying to step around him.
“My job, Tru; haven’t you figured that out by now?” he stands unmoving in her way.
“I know you did something to her,” Tru says, staring him right in the eyes. “Now what did you do?”
“You know, ice skating is a very complicated and delicate sport. You know, I played hockey when I was a kid. And I’ll always remember how...fragile those darn things can be.”
Tru frowns, glancing at Kristen as she covers the ice. “Her skates...you did something to her skates?” She spots something sticking out of Jack’s coat pocket, and snatches it away. “Scissors? Did you cut her laces?” She shakes her head in amazement. “You...” She dodges around him. “Kristen! Stop!” But she doesn’t hear her. As a last resort, Tru steps out onto the ice, slipping and sliding. Her eyes widen as she notices that Kristen not only appears to be in her own little world, but she is starting the approach for the double axel. “They’ll never hold.” Tru tries to run on the ice, but slips and falls hard. “Aah,” she yelps in pain.
Kristen stops just short of the jump when she spots Tru lying on the ice. She runs over and stops the music. “Tru? What are you...”
“Kristen, your laces, check your laces,” Tru says, grasping her ankle which is throbbing painfully.
Kristen bends over to examine her skates. “I don’t see anything...Oh, oh my God.” She fingers a frayed piece of lace that is a fraction of a centimeter from breaking completely near the top of the skate. She looks down at Tru. “I could have...”
Tru nods gravely. “I know.”
“Who did this?” Kristen asks, helping Tru to her feet. “Was it Valerie? I am changing my footwork, I agreed to...”
“No, not her. Let’s just say it was someone who likes to interfere where they don’t belong.” Tru looks over to the spot where Jack had been standing, to see that he is gone. “But it’s not important now. All that’s important is that you get some new laces, and go kick some butt next weekend.”
Kristen smiles a little as she helps Tru into the box. “Are you okay? That was pretty wild, diving out onto the ice like that...”
“It’s all in a day’s work,” Tru says grimly.
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An hour later, Tru limps into the morgue, her ankle wrapped in an ace bandage from the rink First Aid kit and a bag of ice in her hand. Her cell phone rings and she takes it out, flipping it open. “Yeah?”
“Tru, hey. So, how’d it go? Save any lives?” Harrison says.
“Yes, thankfully I did. But it was so close Hare...Jack was this close to winning. I got there just in time, and got a nice twisted ankle as a souvenir.”
“Ooh, ouch. Well, it’s not as bad as the pain Jensen almost felt...” Tru stops dead in her tracks. “What are you talking about? What happened to Jensen?”
“Nothing...but it was so weird Tru. We’re walking back from dinner, I’m just flirting with Avery, and the next thing we know this bus goes by going like a hundred miles an hour and almost flattens your man.”
Tru blinks. She takes a moment to form words. “Jensen...he’s okay?”
“Yeah, he got out of the way just in time. But I’m telling you, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Fear is clear in Tru’s eyes. “Yeah...thanks for telling me Hare. Look, I’ve got to go now, but I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Okay, see ya Tru.”
Tru hangs up the phone, taking a moment to lean against the wall and think. Had Jack been right? Had she been wrong to save Jensen? Was he paying the price?
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“But I was so close, if Tru had gotten there ten seconds later Kristen would have met her Fate,” Jack says angrily.
“You’ll win next time. And it sounds like you definitely gave her a run for her money,” Carrie says into her cell phone.
“So anyway, how are things on your end?” Jack asks.
Carrie grins wickedly. “Couldn’t be better. Davis trusts me more with every day.” She peers down the hall and spots Tru limping in her direction. “And guess who just walked in. I’ve got an idea...turn the tides back in our favor. I’ll fill you in later.” She hangs up the phone, stepping out into the hall just as Tru walks by. “Oh, hello Tru.”
“Hey, Carrie,” Tru says distractedly. “Is Davis around?”
“Yeah, in his office. But Tru, I just wanted to say, I think it’s so amazing what you can do. And I want you to know that any time you need help, I’m here, whatever you need.”
Tru stares at her. “What are you talking about?”
“I think you know, Tru. And I think it’s so wonderful that you and Davis can trust me with your secret...I know you won’t regret it.”
Tru looks on in disbelief. “Davis...he told you? About what I can do?”
Carrie feigns concern. “What...you didn’t know?” Her eyes grow wide. “Oh, I am so sorry...I guess I only assumed he had already told you! Wow, I must learn to keep my mouth shut,” she says with a chuckle. Tru just stands there in shock. “Well, anytime you need help, you know where to find me.” She turns and walks down the hall, her high heels clacking with every step.
Tru leans against the wall, still holding the ice pack in her hand. Just then Davis emerges from his office. “Tru! There you are. How did it go?”
She stares him in the eyes, the hurt and betrayal evident in her gaze. “I can’t believe it Davis. We had this discussion, I told you that we can’t tell Carrie, not yet at least. And you told her! You went behind my back.”
Davis looks stunned. “Tru...I-I wanted to tell you, I know it was...wrong of me, I was going to make it up to you, but I promise you, Carrie can be trusted-“
”Did you ever even consider the fact that this maybe wasn’t your secret to tell?” Tru says angrily. “When I came here, I trusted you, I trusted you with my calling, with all of my secrets! And you just turn around and repeat them to the first attractive brunette that whispers in your ear?”
Davis looks stung. “Tru...”
“No, you know what, just save it. I just spent the entire day trying to do my job, trying to save a life. And guess what, I did. And you know what, I did it almost entirely on my own. So maybe I don’t need your help any more. I understand what I do so much more now than when I started, I can take Jack. I can do this. And if I ever need help, I’ll just call my brother. Because it looks like he’s the only one I can trust.” Tru breaks her gaze and limps back down the hall as fast as she can, not looking back, while Davis watches her go with regret in his eyes.
ROLL CREDITS
Episode 3x02: On Edge
Airdate: June 23 2005
Summary: When the body of an up-and-coming figure skater asks for help, Tru finds herself in the middle of the cutthroat world of ice skating. Meanwhile, Jenson begins to experience Fate’s backlash, and Tru is shocked to learn that Davis has told Carrie his secret.
...Crew
Writer: Erin
Co-Writer: Cherrygurl
Beta-Reader:Lilkittyangel
...Cast
Eliza Dushku (as Tru Davies)
Zach Galifianakis (as Davis)
Shawn Reaves (as Harrison Davies)
Jason Priestly (as Jack Harper)
Liz Vassey (as Dr. Carrie Allen)
Eric Christian Olsen (as Jensen)
Lizzy Caplan (as Avery)
Benjamin Benitez (as Gardez)
Lindze Letherman (as Kristen Haymore)
Kathy Lee (as Valerie)
Aleksandr Domogarov (as Yuri)
Sage Mears (as Tara)
Jewel Staite (as Erica Haymore)
Gloria Stuart (as Grandma Haymore)
3x02 On Edge
A teenage girl skates across the ice in an indoor ice rink. There are other people skating around her, but she stands out as she skates gracefully to her music. Her light brown hair blows back from her face as she launches off the ice on her left foot, completing two and a half turns before landing smoothly on her right foot, gliding backwards. Some distant applause encourages her as she builds up speed, moving into a blinding footwork sequence. The music comes to a halt and she strikes her final pose, with her arms high above her head. She grins with pride and satisfaction, unaware of the unseen person watching her from the shadows.
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“It’s really not that bad once you get used to it,” Tru insists. It’s a warm evening outside the Standard Café, and the atmosphere inside is even warmer as four friends socialize over a late dinner.
“I just don’t know if I could ever get used to it, I mean, the bodies in the lab at school are different, they’re...older, not like ones at the morgue, I mean, those people just died, it must be...weird,” Avery finally says as she sips her coffee.
Harrison glances nervously over at Avery, whom he is sitting next to. “Nah, I think Tru is pretty comfortable with the whole dead people thing by now,” he says, half joking.
Avery looks at him shyly. “How about you, Harrison? Think you could handle working in a morgue?”
He shrugs. “I think I’ve found my calling with this work for the old man. I’m telling you, this job has made me a new man,” he insists.
Tru relaxes into Jensen’s arm, smiling up at him slyly. They have been watching the sparks fly between her brother and Avery all night. “Well, you know I’m proud of you Harry. And dad must be too, he did give you that raise and everything,” Tru mentions.
Harrison leans back in the booth. “I guess I just have a...whaddya call it? A natural talent,” he says suavely.
Tru laughs and shakes her head. She looks at the clock sadly. “I should get going...” She stands up, pulling on her jacket. “Duty calls.” Just how much, however, she would have to wait and see. Would she have this conversation again tomorrow? The next few hours would reveal the very fate of time.
Jensen stands up next to her. “I can walk you to the morgue.”
Tru smiles at him appreciatively before glancing back at Harrison and Avery. “Do you guys mind?”
“Oh, I don’t think they do,” Jensen says quietly.
Avery shoots him a look. “No, it’s okay, go ahead,” she says with a slight blush.
Tru grins at them. “I’ll see you both tomorrow,” she says, leaving her share of the bill on the table before taking Jensen’s hand and walking out the door with a bounce in her step. Now alone at the table, Harrison and Avery’s eyes meet and they exchange a little smile.
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“That was fun tonight, I’m glad I brought Harry. I think he really hit it off with Avery,” Tru comments as she and Jensen stroll down the hallway towards the morgue hand in hand.
Jensen nods in agreement. He starts to speak but Tru holds a finger up to his mouth. She pauses a moment before speaking. “Jensen...are you okay?” she asks finally.
He gives her a strange look. “Um, yeah...why?”
Tru looks down slightly. “I don’t know, you’ve just seemed....a little...I don’t even know. I just thought I’d ask.” Her mind flashed back to Jensen’s Luc comment, and she struggles to push it from her mind.
The moment is interrupted when Davis walks out into the hallway, stopping abruptly upon seeing the intimate distance between the pair. “Um, uh, sorry, I’ll just be inside...” he turns and hurries back into the office.
Tru leans in and quickly kisses Jensen goodbye. “Good night, Jensen. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Or today...again, she thinks to herself. She hesitates before turning away and walking towards the office, not wishing to make the situation any more awkward.
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Davis glances up from the computer as Tru enters and hangs up her jacket. “Is everything okay with Jensen?”
Tru takes a deep breath, sitting down in a reclining position in one of the desk chairs. “That’s a really good question.” She notices the look on Davis’s face. “Don’t even go there...it doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that I gave him...another chance at life,” she mumbles, a guilty expression on her face.
Davis stands, running a hand through his hair nervously. “Tru, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.”
She looks at him expectantly. “Okay.”
He struggles with his words. “I know you’re probably not going to like this...but I would rather have you hear it from me-“
”Incoming,” Gardez calls out from the hallway. Tru continues to stare at Davis expectantly, but he quickly turns around and waits for the body to be brought in. He wheels the body in through the office into the Standards Room. Puzzled, Tru stands up and follows.
“What have we got tonight?” Tru asks sadly, glancing at Davis, who fails to meet her eyes.
Gardez unzips the body bag. “See for yourself.”
The body is a girl of about fifteen years old, dressed in a bright pink figure skating dress and beige tights. She has light brown hair that is pulled back in a messy ponytail. Broken-in looking white ice skates cover her feet, and a black fleece jacket covers her arms and shoulders. “She’s a figure skater,” Tru says in surprise. She leans over, examining the embroidery on the jacket. “Her name’s Kristen.” She quickly scans the body for other clues, never knowing how much time she’ll have with the body.
“Looks like cause of death was laceration to the jugular vein,” Davis says, pointing at the victim’s throat, where a bloody gash exists. “Which means she most likely bled to death. Not a lot of blood present on the clothing...if you could call it that.”
Tru gives him a look. “Hey, I always thought ice skating was kind of cool.” She looks to Gardez. “Where was the body found?”
“Ice rink down in Chelsea Piers,” Gardez replies. He opens his mouth to speak but another voice catches Tru’s attention. She looks down at the victim, who has turned her head to look at Tru.
“Save me!” The day rewinds.
Tru wakes up in her bed, early morning sunlight streaming through the window. She rolls over with a sigh. “Looks like I’m going skating.”
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“So I need you to find out where the ice rink is on Chelsea Piers. That’s where the body was found, I figure I’ll head over there and look for Kristen, our victim,” Tru says into her cell phone as she pulls on her shoes.
“Okay, I’m on it,” Davis says on the other end as he punches some info into the computer. “Did you get any other information before the day rewound?”
“Yes, you said that cause of death was laceration to the jugular vein, and she probably bled to death although there wasn’t much blood present on her clothes,” Tru says as she grabs her keys on the way out the door.
“That probably means she was face down after the injury occurred, and the blood had the chance to pool somewhere else...okay, got it. There’s an ice rink at Pier 66,” Davis says.
“Thanks, D.” Tru remembers something. “Oh, and Davis? Is there anything you want to tell me? Yesterday...I mean, today, you were about to tell me something right when Gardez brought the body in, it sounded important.”
Davis runs his fingers through his hair nervously. “Um, uh, no, nothing. I don’t know what that would be.”
Tru frowns slightly. “Okay, Davis. I’ll keep you posted.” Tru steps out onto the sidewalk.
“Okay. Good luck. And remember, keep your eyes open for Jack.”
Tru nods grimly. “Don’t worry.” She hangs up the phone and barely takes it away from her ear when it rings again. She flips it open. “Hello?”
“Tru, hey,” Jensen’s gentle voice says into the phone.
“Oh, hey Jensen,” Tru says, silently thankful that the day had restarted in this respect...last night hadn’t gone so well with Jensen.
“Well, it’s Saturday, meaning it’s the day of our big night out,” he says. “You’re still gonna be there, right? It’s just sometimes you’re a little...unpredictable.”
Tru smiles slightly, glancing at her watch: 9 am. She should have plenty of time. “I would say that I should be there, but I can’t make any promises,” she says truthfully. “Hey, and is it okay if I bring Harrison? He doesn’t have many friends of his own...”
“Sure, the more the merrier, right? Well, I’ll see you tonight. Bye.”
“Bye, Jensen,” Tru says. She takes a deep breath. “Hopefully tonight will go a little smoother second time around.”
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Tru walks into the ice rink and is met with a blast of cold air. She shivers slightly and takes in her surroundings. There are about a dozen skaters on the ice. The far wall of the rink is all glass, with a beautiful view of the harbor outside. A glass enclosed room at the far end of the ice is occupied by eight or so adults.
Tru walks casually up to the Plexiglas barriers, scanning the rink for her victim. Finally she spots her, stretching out by the boards, wearing the same pink skating dress she had been wearing the night before. She smiles and laughs with a young, pretty brunette girl who is sitting in the hockey box with a fur coat on. Tru watches as Kristen begins to stroke around the rink, quickly building up speed. After a few warm-ups she moves into some single jumps, occasionally stopping by the box for instructions. Tru decides to try and move closer to try and hear what is being said. She slowly wanders along the outside of the rink, stopping just outside the hockey box.
“You look good today. Okay, let’s get right into it, double salchow; do it from the program,” the young brunette tells her student. Kristen nods her head and turns backwards, doing crossovers around the end of the rink. She steps forward sweeping her arms high above her head, and abruptly turns backward and launches off her left inside edge, pulling her arms and legs in tight to complete two rotations before landing smoothly on a right back outside edge with her arms extended.
“Wow,” Tru says out loud. She made it look so effortless. As Kristen came over to talk to her coach about the jump she had just completed, Tru took the opportunity to scope out some of the other skaters. They ranged in levels and ages, some were young girls practicing basic crossovers on the circle, some were practicing advanced jumps like Kristen. One girl caught Tru’s eye, a tall, stunning Asian girl wearing very tight pants and a tank top. She landed a double jump and skidded to a stop just inches away from one of the smallest girls on the ice. To Tru’s utter disbelief, she did not even apologize, instead just skated over to the boards where a tall man with a puffy yellow coat and bleached blonde hair stood waiting. “Not exactly Miss Congeniality,” Tru comments. She turns her attention back to Kristen, who has completed several more jumps.
“Okay, let’s go for the double axel. Try it from the spread eagle, remember to spring completely off your left leg before pulling in,” her brunette coach instructs. Kristen nods seriously before taking off down the ice. She moves smoothly into an outside spread eagle, her feet turned out and her arms spread. From there she completes a single turn and then launches herself high into the air, completing two and half rotations before landing. She smiles with satisfaction as she heads back to the boards. “Great job, that was one of your best. Just do that next weekend and we’re all set,” her coach says enthusiastically. “I have to go to Sarah now, warm up your footwork and then run through the long. I’ll be back.” Kristen nods, taking a sip of her water. Tru starts to move into the hockey box to address the skater when the Asian girl stops dramatically next to Kristen, grabbing her own water bottle. “Nice axel, Kristen,” she says in a sickeningly sweet voice.
Kristen regards her coolly. “Thanks, Valerie.” Neither of them says another word before Kristen takes off down the ice once again. Tru shivers again, and this time it isn’t from the cold air of the ice rink.
Valerie skates dramatically around the rink in preparation for a jump, the same one Kristen just completed. She takes off, but Tru can instantly tell that she is leaning way too far to the right, and sure enough she hits the ice with a thud.
“No, no, no,” the bleached blonde calls out with a thick Russian accent. “Do it again.” Valerie gets up off the ice, an unpleasant scowl on her face before circling the rink once again. She begins her circular footwork: Turn, bracket, twizzle, hop, slide, turn, turn...she completes the complicated pattern with ease. This time she launches into the double axel and lands successfully. Tru takes her eyes off the stunning Asian skater and notices that Kristen is back at the boards sipping her water. Tru takes the opportunity to enter the box. “That was really impressive,” she compliments her.
Kristen turns around in surprise. “Oh, thank you.”
Tru steps a little closer. “That jump you landed before, the...”
“The double axel? Yeah, that’s a big one,” she says with a small laugh. “I just hope I can land it like that next weekend.”
“Next weekend?” Tru asks casually.
“North Atlantic Regionals. The biggest competition of the year, top four advance to Sectionals,” Kristen says with a nod.
“Oh wow, good luck then,” Tru says. She hesitates. “Is that girl going, too? She seems to have a bit of an attitude.” She nods her head towards Valerie and her coach.
Kristen scoffs. “Oh, that’s just Val being Val. I’m used to it by now. But yeah, she’s going.”
Tru nods her head, racing to find what to say next. “You know, I’ve always wanted to do this, I used to love watching the skating on TV when I was little, with my mom. It looks so elegant.”
Kristen nods. “It is. But don’t let all the glamour fool you. It’s a lot of hard work, maybe more than any other sport.”
Tru nods back. “But I’ve always wanted to try it...do you think maybe you could help me out, just give me a few pointers to get started?”
Kristen looks at her with regret. “I’m sorry, but the biggest competition of my career is next weekend...I can’t really take the time.”
Before Tru can reply, a nasally voice cuts through the bitter air. “Kristen Jane? Who is this woman?” asks a very old woman, presumably in her seventies. She is very petite, with a fur coat and designer bag, and a nasty scowl on her face.
Kristen sighs. “Relax, Grandma. This is...” she looks at Tru.
“Tru. Tru Davies,” she says, holding out her hand to Kristen’s grandmother. She doesn’t accept it, and just wraps her fur tighter around herself.
“My granddaughter is preparing for regionals Ms. Davies, she doesn’t need distractions,” she says harshly. She snaps back to Kristen. “Where on earth is Erica?”
“She went to work with Sarah.”
Her eyes widen in disbelief. “Doesn’t she realize that regionals are a week away? And I haven’t even seen you do your program. You need to be your sister’s first priority.”
“I am, don’t worry. Just go sit down,” Kristen urges. The older woman obliges, but not without shooting a warning look Tru’s way. Kristen shakes her head in apology. “I’m sorry, that’s just my grandmother, she’s a little high strung, especially before competitions.”
Tru nods. “I understand.”
Kristen starts to turn away but changes her mind. “Look, I do have to run through my routine, and this is club ice anyway...but a public session starts in a half hour, if you have some skates, I can help you for a few minutes then.”
Tru smiles. “That would be great. Thank you so much.” Kristen smiles at her before setting off to circle the ice.
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“Excuse me, I’d like to rent a pair of skates,” Tru says as she enters the rink pro shop.
The girl behind the counter looks up from her magazine. She is wearing track pants over a skating dress, and has a jacket identical to the one Kristen had been wearing in the morgue, except hers read Tara. She is tall and thin with blonde highlighted hair. “Sure. Size?”
“Seven please,” Tru says. She glances around. “So, you’re a skater too?”
Tara nods. “Yeah. I’m just working here to help pay for my ice time. Little known fact about figure skating, it’s mad expensive.”
Tru laughs. “Do a lot of the girls do this?”
“Only the ones from normal working families like mine,” Tara says a little bitterly. “Girls like Kristen and Valerie; they haven’t had to work a day in their life.”
Tru perks up. “I saw them skating out there, they’re very good.”
Tara nods as she searches the racks of skates for Tru’s size. “Tell me about it. But Kristen - her grandmother won the lottery.”
“Seriously?” Tru asks in disbelief.
Tara nods knowledgeably. “I think it was about ten years ago, she won two or three million. They try to keep it all hush, hush, I think they want people to think they earned their money through hard work, but you can’t keep a secret around here. And her sister Erica coaches her, so they don’t even have to pay much for lessons! And Val, her family’s just rich, and besides she’s a spoiled bee-atch. And what really sucks is that she’s like totally gorgeous to boot.” Tru is slightly taken aback. “I take it Val’s not very popular. How about Kristen?”
“Oh, we all love Kristen. She doesn’t walk around with her nose in the air like Val. That’s why we’re all secretly rooting for Kris to win next weekend,” Tara says, handing Tru a pair of skates.
Tru sits down to lace up. “Kristen and Valerie, are they competing against each other?”
“Oh yeah, huge rivals. They’re the best novice skaters we have here.” “Novice?” Tru asks.
“Oh, it’s just a level. Preliminary, Juvenile, Intermediate, Novice, Junior, Senior. It’s one of the highest. They both have a really good chance to make it to Sectionals, maybe even Nationals. They’re definitely each other’s main competition.”
Tru silently thanks her good luck for leading her to what appeared to be the rink gossip. “Sounds like figure skating is a lot more harsh than it looks.”
Tara laughs. “Totally. But aside from my personal feelings, I think Kristen will win anyway. She’s way more consistent, Val’s one of those girls that freaks once she makes one mistake and can’t recover. Kind of like Sasha Cohen, only much less likeable. And also, Kristen is fifteen, and Valerie is seventeen. Seventeen, that’s old in the world of figure skating. Her career probably won’t last much longer, but Kris still has a few years left.”
Tru thinks for a moment. “Is Valerie...do you think she’d ever, I don’t know, do something to eliminate the competition?”
Tara raises an eyebrow. “That’s a weird question. Well, if you’re asking if she has a temper, that’s a big yes.” She glances around furtively before leaning in closer to Tru. “This one time, at Empire State Games, Valerie had a really bad skate. Afterwards, she stormed into the locker room and threw her skates across the room. Then she called some random girl who had been watching her a bee-atch. Only she didn’t say bee-atch. And there was a lovely choice adjective before it.”
Tru’s eyes widen. “Wow, that’s pretty bad. Did she get in trouble?”
“Nah, the girl was too scared to report her to the referee. I wish it had been me, because I would have had her disqualified before she knew what happened,” Tara says, moving back behind the counter.
Tru considers that as she finishes lacing up her skates. “Well, thanks for the skates. It was nice talking to you.”
“You too,” Tara calls as Tru exits the pro shop.
Once outside Tru pulls out her cell phone and dials the morgue while adjusting to walking in her skates. Davis answers on the second ring. “How’s it going? Any suspects yet?”
“Yes, one. Girl named Valerie, big competitive rivalry, plus I hear she has quite the temper. I think she has to be the doer, it seems like everyone else adores Kristen. But I still don’t know why, I mean, I think there must be some specific event to set her off.”
“Well yesterday you said the body wasn’t brought in until nighttime, so the murder most likely didn’t occur until late afternoon. You have a while. Any sign of Jack?”
“No, luckily. But knowing him he’ll show up right when it’s most inconvenient. Anyways, I’ve got to go, I’ve got a skating lesson with Kristen,” Tru says wryly.
“Ooh, fun. Be careful,” Davis says, and it’s clear that he isn’t just talking about the dangers of the ice.
“Always am,” Tru replies as she heads for the rink. Commercial break
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Tru steps out onto the ice cautiously, holding onto the boards to stop herself from falling. Kristen skates over with a smile on her face. “Careful there.” Tru carefully tries to glide a little on her own. “This is much harder than it looks.”
“I know. Just make sure you hold your arms out for balance, it helps,” Kristen suggests, turning backwards effortlessly to skate facing Tru.
Tru tries to stand up and formulate questions at the same time. “So, you must love this sport. I mean, if you put so much time into it.”
Kristen shrugs sheepishly. “I don’t know. I like it. I mean, I’ve been doing it ever since I can remember, it’s kind of the family tradition, Erica skated, now she coaches, my grandmother...but I do like it,” she concludes.
“No offense, but your grandmother seems a little...difficult,” Tru admits, beginning to do a little better on the ice.
Kristen shakes her head a little. “I’m used to it. She just wants me to be successful.” She pauses a moment. “Why are you so curious about my personal life?”
Tru freezes. “Oh, I’m just interested in the sport, and you are so talented...I’m sorry if I offended you.”
“Oh no, you didn’t, it’s just a little weird, that’s all,” Kristen says. Before either of them can speak again, Erica skates over.
“Kris, what are you doing?” she asks, sounding slightly irritated.
“I’m just helping Tru here learn how to skate,” she says quietly.
“Well come on, we have to practice, Grandma will kill you if she sees you slacking off before regionals.”
Kristen looks at Tru with regret. “Sorry, I’ve got to go. It was nice meeting you.”
“You too. Thanks.” Tru continues to skate. She watches as Valerie reenters the ice, scowling again. She starts to stretch out at the boards while Tara from the pro shop enters the ice with the man that had been teaching Valerie earlier. “They have the same coach,” Tru says quietly. She makes a quick decision, and approaches Valerie at the boards. “Hello. You’re a very good skater, I was watching you earlier.”
Valerie gives Tru a once over, regarding her as if she is some kind of small pest. “Do I know you?” she says in that sickeningly sweet voice.
“No, I’m just a fan of the sport.” Tru takes a deep breath and decides to take a chance. “Look, I’m a friend of Kristen’s, and I know about this rivalry you two have. But next weekend is just a competition, and I’m sure the girl that’s most deserving will come out on top. You don’t have to do anything extreme.”
Valerie stares at her like she has three heads. “I think Kristen and I know exactly where we stand. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have practicing to do.” She skates away, leaving Tru to stand there looking frustrated.
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“Okay, my feet are officially killing me, I think I’m done for the day.” Tru walks into the pro shop and places her skates on the counter. She looks up, taken aback by who she finds standing there. “Jack. Of course.”
“Why, hello Tru. And how are you today?” he asks in his usual cocky tone.
“Are you even allowed to be in here?” Tru says, sitting down to massage her sore feet.
“Ouch, that looks painful. You know, I do admire how dedicated you are to this obstruction of fate business you have. Suffering for your craft.”
Tru jams on her shoes, glaring at him. “Save it, Jack. I’m two steps ahead of you today, and I plan to stay that way. You won’t win; not this time.”
Jack moves around to the front of the counter. “Tru, Tru, you never learn. I’m always two steps ahead of you whether you know it or not.”
“Shouldn’t you be out kicking puppies or encouraging small children to play in traffic?” Tru says angrily, heading out of the pro shop and back towards the rink.
“Tru, I’m not evil. I just like to see destiny run its course.”
Tru stops in the middle of a hallway. “Great. Now I’m lost, this rink is like a maze.” She turns around and runs straight into Jack. “Come on, Jack; just let me go back to the rink!” He starts to speak, but she shushes him when she hears voices coming from a door to her right. She steps closer to the door, which is labeled Locker Room #3.
“Valerie, you can’t let her do dis!” shouts the angry Russian voice of Valerie and Tara’s coach.
“We have to Yuri, we don’t have a choice! I already explained this!” Valerie yells back.
“You need to do something about dis before ze competition, talk to Kristen!”
“I told you, I can’t do that! It’s too risky,” she shoots back.
Jack grabs Tru’s arm and drags her off in the direction they came from. “Tru, didn’t your parents ever tell you that it’s not polite to listen to other people’s conversations?”
Tru shoves his arm away. “Dammit, Jack. That was important!”
“Tru, you’re running around trying to prevent a murder when for all you know a tragic Zamboni accident killed Kristen Haymore,” he says coolly.
“Oh, come on, we both know that Valerie did something to her. And I’m going to stop it if it’s the last thing that I do.” Tru turns around and storms away, leaving Jack to stare after her.
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“I can’t believe it, Tru! Ice skaters! You’re spending the entire day with very fit girls in short skirts and you don’t even care to share some of the wealth with your baby brother?” Harrison asks incredulously.
Tru can’t help but smile as she stands outside the rink talking on her cell phone, the cool coastal air hitting her face. “Sorry Hare, but I think I’ve got this one. But it’s getting late, I think the attempted murder should be taking place soon, but I’m going to be cutting it close for dinner.”
“It’s alright, I’m sure I can keep Avery and Jensen entertained.”
“Thanks.”
“And Tru? Next time you have to save a young female athlete, please let me help.”
Tru grins. “I will. Bye Hare.” She hangs up the phone, glancing at her watch. Four pm. According to Davis, the murder most likely took place late afternoon. “I should get back inside,” Tru said, pushing open the big glass doors. She hadn’t seen Jack since they had overheard the conversation between Valerie and her coach, and she just knew that he would show up when it was least convenient for her.
Tru re-enters the rink, scanning the ice. She spots Valerie practicing a combination spin down in the corner, still looking furious. Yuri is working with Tara, but she notices that he keeps glancing down at Valerie. Meanwhile Kristen is talking to Erica by the boards. Kristen heads out to center ice and strikes a graceful pose. Music fills the rink. She begins her smooth opening steps, launcing into a double-double jump combination and landing smoothly. The music calms into a slow section as she steps into a spin, leaning her back and neck back as far as she can and lifting her arms above her head. She exits, performing backward crossovers around the end of the rink and stepping into a graceful forward spiral. Tru watches, mesmerized as she completes several more double jumps with ease. The music speeds up again, and she begins her playful circular footwork. Turn, bracket, twizzle, hop, slide, turn, turn...”Wait a second,” Tru says suddenly, feeling a strong sense of deja vu. “Those steps...” her mind flashes back to mere hours earlier, when she had watched Valerie perform the exact same footwork sequence. “It’s the same choreography,” she says out loud. She barely pays attention as Kristen lands her double axel and her grandmother claps obnoxiously from inside the Plexiglas enclosed room. The music comes to a halt and Kristen looks satisfied.
“That’s it! Valerie must have stolen Kristen’s choreography,” Tru exclaims quietly. “It makes sense...except, why would Valerie kill her for it? And what did she mean that it was too risky?” She looks up from her thoughts and notices that Kristen is leaving the ice, pulling on her black warm up jacket, the same one she had been wearing in the morgue. Tru watches as Yuri nods curtly at Valerie, and after a moment’s hesitation she too exits the ice, only several seconds behind Kristen. Tru brings up the rear, following a safe distance behind. They venture past the pro shop towards the hallway where she had overheard the conversation earlier. She is about to enter the hallway when a hand clamps over her mouth and she is dragged off to the side. She fights off her assailant, breaking free near some snack machines in a deserted corner of the rink. She turns around to see who it is. “Jack! You son of a bitch, let me go!” she tries to pull away, but he struggles to keep her there.
“Sorry Tru, I’m afraid I can’t do that,” he says calmly.
“I’m just doing my job, just like you,” she snaps at him. “And this isn’t playing fair.”
“You didn’t play by the rules when you prevented Jensen’s death.”
“And you didn’t play by the rules when you murdered Luc.” Tru stands there, staring at him icily, him blocking her way back to the locker rooms.
“Well, then I guess we’re even,” Jack says.
Tru tries to make a break for it, darting around him. He grabs her around the middle, but she kicks back her heels, getting him in the shin. She uses the momentary lapse to run as fast as she can in the direction of the locker rooms, Jack close behind. She darts into the hallway and slams the door behind her just as Jack gets there. She holds it shut with her back when she spots a cleaning cart. She leaves the door for a second to grab it, slamming it against the door. Satisfied, she runs down the hall, desperately searching for the two rivals.
She hears faint voices coming from inside locker room #3 again. She pushes in slightly on the door handle so she has enough room to peek inside. Kristen and Valerie are standing a few feet apart facing each other.
“I don’t get it, Val. I thought we had reached an understanding here,” Kristen says angrily.
“Kristen, Yuri saw you doing the footwork today. And he said that I have to make you take it out of your program for next week. You know how that would look, two girls in the same group from the same club doing the same footwork sequence!”
“First off, taking your choreography wasn’t even my idea in the first place, it was my grandmother’s. I wanted nothing to do with it! I would have taken it out a long time ago, but I still don’t think you realize this is stupid! You should be sucking up to me big time.”
Tru frowns in confusion. So, Kristen had stolen Valerie’s footwork? And what was Kristen holding over Val’s head to prevent her speaking up until her coach had found out?
“Kristen, we’re two very different people. You’re a better person than I am, and we both know it. So please, just change your footwork and I’ll think of some other way to repay you,” Valerie pleads.
Kristen shakes her head. “Val, do you even realize how easy it would be for me to get you in trouble with US Figure Skating? You’re a minor, Val, and Yuri is your coach! It’s wrong!”
“What I do in my personal life is none of your business; you’re only involved in this because you saw us kissing!” Valerie says, anger starting to build up in her voice.
“It is my business when it involves one of my competitors breaking the rules, and probably the law.”
“I’m not sleeping with him! It’s just a few kisses,” Valerie hisses. “Now you better run to your little sister and tell her to change your footwork or-“
”Or you’ll what? I’m not afraid of you,” Kristen says, taking a step closer.
Tru sees Valerie glance down to see a skate lying on the bench inches from her hand, her fingers twitching slightly. Noticing that both girls are wearing their own skates, her eyes pan down to the open bag below the skates and the embroidery on it: Tara. Not wasting another second, Tru enters the room. Both girls turn to stare at her in shock.
“Go away! How long have you been there?” Valerie asks in fear.
“Long enough. I know what you’re doing, both of you. Neither of you are innocent in this,” Tru says.
Kristen folds her arm. “If you’ll excuse us, I think we can resolve this by ourselves.”
Tru shakes her head. “Yeah, Val wants to resolve it alright. You can almost see the wheels spinning. Ki-injure Kristen with Tara’s skates, try to blame it on her? What did you plan to use as a motive? Her jealousy of Kristen’s fortunate financial situation? Of her skating ability?”
Val stares in shock. “What...”
“Okay, I’m going to help you. Valerie, you need to end things with Yuri right now. Kristen’s right, it is wrong, and it’s only going to hurt you in the future. Kristen, you need to change your footwork.”
“But-“ Kristen objects.
“No! Don’t you see, you two want the same thing. You just want to go to regionals next week and win. You know, sometimes a little competition makes you work a little harder, do your job a little better. Believe me, I know.” Tru looks at them. “So why don’t you shake on it, and end this phony blackmail thing or whatever it is.”
Kristen and Valerie regard each other icily. Finally, Kristen reaches her hand out, and Valerie accepts it. Val looks down. “I...I’d better go talk to Yuri.” She sits down on the bench and begins to remove her skates at warp speed. “I have to get some air,” Kristen mutters, ripping off her own skates. “I’ll talk to Erica about my footwork when I get back.” Both girls finish removing their skates. Kristen places hers in her bag and walks briskly out to the lobby, while Valerie zips up her bag and puts it over her shoulder, walking defiantly past Tru.
Tru is alone in the room when Jack walks in, looking very annoyed. “A cleaning cart. You really think that will stop me from ensuring that Fate gets its way?” Tru walks past him out into the hallway. “Save it, Jack; it’s over. I won.” She continues on until she is out of earshot.
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Jack warns. Commercial break
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“Wow, stolen choreography, coaches kissing students...I guess figure skating isn’t as innocent as it looks,” Davis comments over the phone.
“Tell me about it. Davis, you should see these girls, they’re so wrapped up in this sport that they can’t even see right from wrong.” Tru sits on the bench outside the ice rink as it begins to get dark.
“So, did Jack ever show up?”
“Oh, yeah. We had a little showdown. But I took care of it.” She glances at her watch and sighs. “I’m already missing dinner.”
“Did the victim go home?”
Tru shakes her head. “No, I think she’s still there.” She freezes. “I don’t think I saw Jack come out either...”
“Tru, maybe you should...you know that Jack will stop at nothing to get his way.”
“I know. I’m on it.” Tru hangs up the phone, darting back into the ice rink.
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“So it’s too bad Tru couldn’t join us, I wonder what kept her,” Jensen says as the three of them exit the diner.
Harrison smiles at Avery. “Well, it’s a good thing you don’t need my sister to have fun.”
Avery glances down, smiling. “Yeah, and Tru always seems to be running off somewhere...it’s kind of weird actually.”
“Nah, my sister’s just a busy girl,” Harrison says. He hangs back slightly, letting Jensen go ahead of them. “So, Avery, I was thinking maybe we could do this again sometime...without third wheel Jensen.”
Avery grins at him. “I’d like that. You’re a really funny guy, Harrison.”
Harrison grins back and starts to say something, but is interrupted when Avery screams. He looks ahead with alarm, and sees Jensen sitting on the curb, his hands behind him as if to break a fall. A bus zooms around the corner, beeping its horn.
Avery rushes to Jensen’s side. “Oh my God, Jensen, are you okay?! That bus almost hit you! I almost had a heart attack!”
Jensen stands up shakily. “I don’t know where that came from, I looked when I stepped off the curb and there was nothing coming...”
Avery grabs his arm, shooting a frantic, worried look back at Harrison. “They were driving way too fast...let’s just get you home.” They cross the street carefully, with Harrison following close behind, wondering what on earth had just happened.
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Tru rushes into the rink and stops, looking around. The ice is almost deserted, except for a lone figure down at the opposite end of the ice: Kristen. She is skating her program to the music which fills the air. She seems fine, but Tru isn’t so sure. She starts to walk quickly down to her when a figure steps out in front of her. “What did you do this time, Jack?” Tru says angrily, trying to step around him.
“My job, Tru; haven’t you figured that out by now?” he stands unmoving in her way.
“I know you did something to her,” Tru says, staring him right in the eyes. “Now what did you do?”
“You know, ice skating is a very complicated and delicate sport. You know, I played hockey when I was a kid. And I’ll always remember how...fragile those darn things can be.”
Tru frowns, glancing at Kristen as she covers the ice. “Her skates...you did something to her skates?” She spots something sticking out of Jack’s coat pocket, and snatches it away. “Scissors? Did you cut her laces?” She shakes her head in amazement. “You...” She dodges around him. “Kristen! Stop!” But she doesn’t hear her. As a last resort, Tru steps out onto the ice, slipping and sliding. Her eyes widen as she notices that Kristen not only appears to be in her own little world, but she is starting the approach for the double axel. “They’ll never hold.” Tru tries to run on the ice, but slips and falls hard. “Aah,” she yelps in pain.
Kristen stops just short of the jump when she spots Tru lying on the ice. She runs over and stops the music. “Tru? What are you...”
“Kristen, your laces, check your laces,” Tru says, grasping her ankle which is throbbing painfully.
Kristen bends over to examine her skates. “I don’t see anything...Oh, oh my God.” She fingers a frayed piece of lace that is a fraction of a centimeter from breaking completely near the top of the skate. She looks down at Tru. “I could have...”
Tru nods gravely. “I know.”
“Who did this?” Kristen asks, helping Tru to her feet. “Was it Valerie? I am changing my footwork, I agreed to...”
“No, not her. Let’s just say it was someone who likes to interfere where they don’t belong.” Tru looks over to the spot where Jack had been standing, to see that he is gone. “But it’s not important now. All that’s important is that you get some new laces, and go kick some butt next weekend.”
Kristen smiles a little as she helps Tru into the box. “Are you okay? That was pretty wild, diving out onto the ice like that...”
“It’s all in a day’s work,” Tru says grimly.
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An hour later, Tru limps into the morgue, her ankle wrapped in an ace bandage from the rink First Aid kit and a bag of ice in her hand. Her cell phone rings and she takes it out, flipping it open. “Yeah?”
“Tru, hey. So, how’d it go? Save any lives?” Harrison says.
“Yes, thankfully I did. But it was so close Hare...Jack was this close to winning. I got there just in time, and got a nice twisted ankle as a souvenir.”
“Ooh, ouch. Well, it’s not as bad as the pain Jensen almost felt...” Tru stops dead in her tracks. “What are you talking about? What happened to Jensen?”
“Nothing...but it was so weird Tru. We’re walking back from dinner, I’m just flirting with Avery, and the next thing we know this bus goes by going like a hundred miles an hour and almost flattens your man.”
Tru blinks. She takes a moment to form words. “Jensen...he’s okay?”
“Yeah, he got out of the way just in time. But I’m telling you, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Fear is clear in Tru’s eyes. “Yeah...thanks for telling me Hare. Look, I’ve got to go now, but I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Okay, see ya Tru.”
Tru hangs up the phone, taking a moment to lean against the wall and think. Had Jack been right? Had she been wrong to save Jensen? Was he paying the price?
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“But I was so close, if Tru had gotten there ten seconds later Kristen would have met her Fate,” Jack says angrily.
“You’ll win next time. And it sounds like you definitely gave her a run for her money,” Carrie says into her cell phone.
“So anyway, how are things on your end?” Jack asks.
Carrie grins wickedly. “Couldn’t be better. Davis trusts me more with every day.” She peers down the hall and spots Tru limping in her direction. “And guess who just walked in. I’ve got an idea...turn the tides back in our favor. I’ll fill you in later.” She hangs up the phone, stepping out into the hall just as Tru walks by. “Oh, hello Tru.”
“Hey, Carrie,” Tru says distractedly. “Is Davis around?”
“Yeah, in his office. But Tru, I just wanted to say, I think it’s so amazing what you can do. And I want you to know that any time you need help, I’m here, whatever you need.”
Tru stares at her. “What are you talking about?”
“I think you know, Tru. And I think it’s so wonderful that you and Davis can trust me with your secret...I know you won’t regret it.”
Tru looks on in disbelief. “Davis...he told you? About what I can do?”
Carrie feigns concern. “What...you didn’t know?” Her eyes grow wide. “Oh, I am so sorry...I guess I only assumed he had already told you! Wow, I must learn to keep my mouth shut,” she says with a chuckle. Tru just stands there in shock. “Well, anytime you need help, you know where to find me.” She turns and walks down the hall, her high heels clacking with every step.
Tru leans against the wall, still holding the ice pack in her hand. Just then Davis emerges from his office. “Tru! There you are. How did it go?”
She stares him in the eyes, the hurt and betrayal evident in her gaze. “I can’t believe it Davis. We had this discussion, I told you that we can’t tell Carrie, not yet at least. And you told her! You went behind my back.”
Davis looks stunned. “Tru...I-I wanted to tell you, I know it was...wrong of me, I was going to make it up to you, but I promise you, Carrie can be trusted-“
”Did you ever even consider the fact that this maybe wasn’t your secret to tell?” Tru says angrily. “When I came here, I trusted you, I trusted you with my calling, with all of my secrets! And you just turn around and repeat them to the first attractive brunette that whispers in your ear?”
Davis looks stung. “Tru...”
“No, you know what, just save it. I just spent the entire day trying to do my job, trying to save a life. And guess what, I did. And you know what, I did it almost entirely on my own. So maybe I don’t need your help any more. I understand what I do so much more now than when I started, I can take Jack. I can do this. And if I ever need help, I’ll just call my brother. Because it looks like he’s the only one I can trust.” Tru breaks her gaze and limps back down the hall as fast as she can, not looking back, while Davis watches her go with regret in his eyes.
ROLL CREDITS