LAST ACT

*****

Nick: There's no problem.
Stonetree: What do you mean, there's no problem? I ask you what's going on, and you bite my head off like a rattlesnake.
Nick: Okay, okay. Everything's fine.
Stonetree: What's it, a woman?
Nick: No, it's not a woman.
Stonetree: You constipated or...something?
Nick: You know something? I think most murders are solved just by straight out confessions.
Stonetree: That sounds like a cop that's lost his confidence. How many cases you got outstanding?
Nick: Eight.
Stonetree: That's a lot.
Nick: Yeah, it's a lot. There's nothing to go on. I'm just staring a pile of clues that don't connect. What am I supposed to do?

Schanke: Nice tie, Captain. What, your kid make it?

Man: Spontaneous human combustion, that's what this lady said. She was running around like a chicken with her head cut off telling anybody who'd listen that it was spontaneous human combustion.

Man: You figure there was a person in there?
Schanke: What? Are you kidding? Have you ever heard of a fire that destroys bones and saves polyester?

Erica: You sir, are very skilled with your sword. Do you wish to run me through again?
Nick: And again...and again. If we have time.

Erica: We have all the time in the world. Time to write and perform, to live and love. We have been blessed with a gift. We can enjoy life--forever. Nick: Forever.

Schanke: Suicide.
Nick: Yeah.
Schanke: Yeah? Are you listening to me?
Nick: What?
Schanke: I said, we just got a call about a suicide. They want us to check it out at the hospital. Now.
Nick: Yeah, yeah, I'm coming.

Schanke: You know, the problem with suicide is that nobody does it with any flare or panache. If I was going to buy me a ticket out of here, I'd do it in style.
Nick: Oh, and how would that be?
Schanke: First a romantic gourmet dinner for two, followed by a couple of nights fabulous lovemaking, and then a nightcap of nitroglycerin. Talk about going out with a bang, huh?

Nick: How long had she been on duty?
Dr. Cole: Twenty or so hours.
Schanke: Could have been a cop.

Natalie: Well, the incisions are fairly deep. Perfect, actually. She died very quickly. Nick: The question is, why?
Natalie: Well, you're asking the wrong person. Only she really knows. Nick: Maybe.
Natalie: Okay, okay. It seems a little strange to me too. I mean, she was found with the scalpel in her hand. It must have been pretty hard to hold onto with those incisions, but not impossible. I told you it was very quick.
Nick: But why does she do it at work?
Natalie: Well, why not? She had just lost a patient. She was exhausted, depressed. I'm playing the devil's advocate here, but there are no fast rules for suicide. It's a very strange, very personal thing.

Erica: Your blood courses through me. It's so strong...so many memories.
Nick: What do you see?
Erica: A fight in the blazing sun. A castle...Moorish, I think.
Nick: The crusades.
Erica: You were wounded...nearly killed.
Nick: Yes.
Erica: I hate the thought of dying.
Nick: Then why do you think of dying yourself?
Erica: My blood told that to you? Have I infected you with that thought?
Nick: No. It's just that I don't understand, that's all. Not from you.
Erica: Life is so precious, and we are so blessed with our endless years. We must contribute to it, to add to it, to pay for those lives we've taken away. There will come a time when this lust I have for life will wane. When the plays I write will cease to amuse me. When I will no longer shout for joy when I perform.
Nick: I can't believe that.
Erica: It's true. And when that happens, I will be a taker. Unworthy of life. Best to go away, lest I become a burden.
Nick: That will never happen.
Erica: Yes, it will, and to you. And when that happens, we will do what we must do.

Erica (well, her voice, anyway): Are you a burden, Nicholas?

Erica (her ghost): Maybe it's time to move on, Nicholas.
Nick: Erica....
Erica: Maybe it's time to join me.
Nick: Why'd you do it?
Erica: I was already dead.
Nick: You had so much life.
Erica: I was a burden. I wasn't giving anything back. I was so alone. Isn't that how you feel?
Nick: Erica....
Erica: Come with me. Join me. Join me in the light. Please, Nicholas. I'm so alone. Join me....

Nurse #1: That girl was a ray of sunshine. You know, some of us think there's more going on.
Nick: Like?
Nurse #2: Like maybe somebody killed her.

Nick: Yeah, I did a little time with the circus, myself. You okay?
Dean: That's a loaded question to ask a terminally ill patient, Detective. Those shows take a lot out of you when you're on chemotherapy.

Erica: I always loved the boulevards. Especially on nights when it rained. The lights reflecting like stars in the puddles beneath my feet. But it's so crowded now, so noisy. It made me feel out of step with the time. Do you feel like that, Nicholas? Do you feel a part of this world?

Stonetree: You look awful.
Nick (sitting down): Thanks. You wanted to see me?
Stonetree: Sit down Nick.

Stonetree: Why is this so important to you?
Nick: I _need_ it.

Janette: So she finally did it. It took her long enough.
Nick: Why didn't she come to me?
Janette: She didn't want you to know. She grew tired of the world. She said...that she didn't want to infect you with her disease.
Nick: I could have stopped her.
Janette: No. No. You're a fool to think that. Besides, she's dead now. Why do you waste your time, when there are those of us who want to live. Isn't that more exciting?

Nick: Oh, no, this can't be hers.
Janette: If I had known, I would have offered her my decorator.

Erica: What a tragedy that we can't create life. That we can't leave children like my little Catherine, here.
Nick: You're talking of death again.
Erica: I'm talking of death and birth, my love. Don't you see? When I die-
Nick: You don't have to die, Erica.
Erica: When I die, I will be old and tired. I'll have nothing to leave behind but my plays. Children, Nicholas. That is our sad, sweet irony. We can live until we grow tired of life, but then after, there is nothing. Mortals can revitalize their love of life and vitality with each new generation. Their children are their immortality.

Natalie: Playing it a little close, aren't you?
Nick: Seconds to spare.
Natalie: So...we're feeling a little self-destructive. Nick will you talk to me, it's like you've been living in a shell!
Nick: All right. I lost an old friend the other day.
Natalie: How old?
Nick: Oh, two, three hundred years.
Natalie: Old friend takes on a whole new meaning with you. I'm sorry.
Nick: Yeah.
Natalie: (Getting the doll as Nick goes to put in on a sun covered pedestal) It's beautiful.
Nick: It was hers. Erica loved life more than anyone I'd ever known.
Natalie: How did she die?
Nick: Oh, she had this theory. When you stop contributing to life, when you become a burden, it's time to move on. (Sticks his hand in the sun)
Natalie: Suicide is never the answer.
Nick: Isn't it? I mean, for us?
Natalie: Will you stay away from the window, Nick! You're frightening me.
Nick: Maybe when someone's lived almost 800 years, they've lived enough. It's a crowded planet.
Natalie: You're talking nonsense. You make contributions to life everyday.
Nick: Well, I sure haven't been doing much lately.
Natalie: Oh, why? Because you're been having a hard time solving some cases? Well, frustration is a part of life, Nick!
Nick: Well maybe it's time to died, Nat!
Natalie: No! You don't want to die anymore than Marilyn Seagal did.

Schanke: Hey Knight, raise the draw bridge, and there better be food in there!

Schanke (opening Nick's refrigerator): This is truly pathetic. Should we be talking about an alcohol problem here?
Nick: Uh, they were presents.
Schanke: Presents?
Natalie: Left over from Christmas....
Nick: ....ah and my last birthday party.
Natalie: Gifts.
Nick: Yeah.
Schanke: Well, for your information, red wine is not supposed to be refrigerated.
Nick and Nat: Oh....

Schanke: Isn't it a little dark in here?
Nick: I'll crack the blinds a little.

Natalie: It just doesn't feel right, that's all, that a woman who knew she was carrying a child would kill herself.

Schanke: Don't you even have any crackers here? I mean, what am I doing here, why am I wasting my lunch time, for what reason? So, we know that the woman was pregnant. What does that give us besides a growling stomach and a major need of souvlaki?
Nick: Maybe a motive.

Schanke: I'm married, you don't have to tell me.

Nick: There's still something missing...something I can't get a handle on.
Schanke: Like a suspect.
Nick: I gotta go. I'll be back in a couple of hours.
Schanke: Hey, hey, hey. Where are you going?
Stonetree: Let him go. I like him like this. Thinking again. On the case. A cop doing his job with some passion.
Schanke: At least tell me where you're gonna be.
Nick: The theatre.

Schanke: You know, there's only one thing I like about working with you.
Nick: Oh yeah, what's that?
Schanke: Overtime.

Schanke: What is this? Check out time at Mercy Hospital?

Dean: I see you brought some protection, this time.
Nick: Detective Schanke.

Schanke: That's incredible. She was gonna have his baby?
Nick: Yeah. Sort of her way of making him immortal.

Stonetree: How was the theatre?
Nick: Enlightening.
Stonetree: You didn't take Schanke with you?
Nick: Are you kidding? No. We met at the hospital.

Stonetree: What are you guys up to?
Schanke: I may be wrong about this, but I think we're setting a trap.

Dean: Do you believe in life after death?
Nick: In a strange way, yeah.
Dean: I guess there's something in all of us that wants to live forever, huh?
Nick: Well, you're not going to get any argument from this guy.

Erica: I'm waiting, Nicholas. Once, you said you'd follow.
Nick: I don't know. I still find life exciting, and I think I've got more to live.
Erica: I always loved the romantic in you, but the time will come.
Nick: No. Not by my own hand.
Erica: By who's, then? You don't really think you can become mortal. That's no more than a fantasy, Nicholas.
Nick: Well, I believe it.

Nick: There are only two ways to escape eternity. One way is to join the dead, the other to join the living.
Erica: I'll be waiting.

Nick: Is life that cheap to you, huh? Huh? Is it?! Is it that cheap?!

Schanke: Police! Nick, bring him back in!
Carl: Please.
Nick: He doesn't deserve to live, Schanke!
Schanke: Nick, you solved this thing! Besides, think of the paperwork if you drop him.
Carl: (After being brought back in) Keep him away from me. He's...he's a monster!
Nick: Get him out of here.
Schanke: You're alive, pal. Don't blow it by insulting my partner.

Schanke: Did I miss something? What'd I miss?
Natalie: Only the Middle Ages.
Schanke: Damn! Were they funny?
Nick: (To Nat): I enjoyed them.