I don't own Cold Case.
I was on vacation from work and started watching cold case on cable. I became obsessed and watched every episode last weekend. Please review, let me know your thoughts.
Chapter 1
Scotty got ready for work; he tried his best to work out the tie knot. He was running very late. He didn't get much sleep last night; the squad was working on a new case. A little girl, Linda McCormick 10 years old; she drowned back in '87. The case became personal when Vera recognized the girl as one of his younger sister's playmates.
They narrowed the suspects' pool to three; the father who had been absent ever since the little girl drowned, a close friend who was the last one to see her before someone drowned her in the local pool and the lifeguard who found Linda's body. So far the interviews hadn't yielded any new results. Scotty and Lilly interrogated the father, Scotty wanted to rule him out from the beginning but Lil had been adamant about talking to the guy a second time. Scotty smirked while driving to headquarters. Ralph McCormick's alibi checked out, he had been in California on a business trip. Lilly ruled the dad after that.
Scotty thought about the other two suspects while driving to the precinct. The friend was easy to track; she was living in Florida ever since her high school graduation. Vera and Miller were going on a trip. Scotty smirked; his teammates drew the short sticks. Jeffries was still tracking the lifeguard, Rodrigo Mendoza. He had been almost convicted for the crime but there wasn't any evidence linking him to Linda in any way. Scotty went up the elevator to his desk. He saw Lil already pouring over case files and talking to Kat.
"Good morning ladies." He said and went straight to the break room for some coffee. Black two sugars, for Lil and a black one sugar for him. He gave the cup to Lil who smiled politely. "How come I don't get the same treatment? Where's my coffee?" Kat asked and made a face at Scotty. He smirked, "You always complain about not enough milk, too much sugar, too bitter…" Scotty sat next to Lil. "I grew tired of it, my partner never complains about her coffee. She's a simple girl unlike you." Scotty pointed out and smiled when Kat frowned deeply and Lil chuckled.
"I thought you would be on your way to Miami by now. What are you doing here?" Scotty asked to Kat.
Lil looked at the female detective after taking a sip of her coffee.
"I was, but Boss wanted me to try and track Mendoza. Will was getting frustrated so I took over." Kat smiled triumphantly and showed them a sheet of paper. "Mendoza lives in Miami Florida. He moved right after the case went cold."
"By any chance does he live close to Mrs. Giffords?" Lilly smirked, already thinking that their two main suspects were linked.
"No, not really. I don't know what Boss plans to do. He requested a staff meeting in thirty minutes." Kat said distractedly while Vera and Jeffries entered headquarters.
"All I'm asking is for two more weeks until I get my own place Will." Nick pleaded.
"Nick, you've said the same thing ever since you moved in. It's been close to a year. You are moving out next Monday and that is final." Will said as he sat on his chair and made a phone call, Scotty thought it was to stop Vera from pleading his case further.
Ever since Vera had his breakdown Will had accepted to take him back. So many things had happened last year. Christina had gone to rehab; Lilly had been offered a job in New York with the Feds… Lilly thankfully decided to stay in Philly and Christina cleaned her act and pieced her life together. She was living in New York with her daughter and a guy named Bruce. Lilly had worried about Rebecca, her niece but so far Chris was doing great. Lilly and him had gotten closer this year. They had dinner once a week and talked about anything and everything. Lilly was his best friend. She was the closest thing he got to a sister.
Stillman opened his door. "Good everyone is here. Please step into my office, all of you." The boss left the door open for the team to follow.
Scotty and Vera were the first to step in, soon Lilly and Kat sat in front of the boss. Jeffries entered the room after five minutes. "Sorry about that. I was checking on a possible lead about Mendoza."
"That won't be necessary Will. Kat already located our lifeguard." Boss wiped his glasses and then looked at his team.
"As you are aware our two main suspects live in Miami. I've decided to send four of you on the trip." There were groans from Scotty and Lilly.
Stillman wrote two t's and placed them in the regular notes cup. "The two of you who get the t's are going with Vera and Miller. "Boss about that, I can't go. Veronica has this thing, a trip to Connecticut and I'm not letting her go by herself."
The lieutenant nodded, "Well that solves our little problem."
"Boss you can't do that I ain't going to Miami." Scotty said seriously.
"I wasn't asking you Scotty. You and Lil are going whether you like it or not. Now due to cuts on our budget you have a decision on your hands. You can have the money for the airfare or the money for decent lodgings."
"Oh, come on John." Will said loudly.
"I'm sorry Will but the Department is still penny pinching" Stillman declared.
"Then why are you sending four of us?" Will argued eloquently.
The lieutenant sighed, "You haven't taken any of your lost hours. This is how I encourage you to take them. Lil don't even try to argue with me, the home front is covered, I'll stay here and I'm sure Kat will be back after a day." The young detective nodded.
"How long is this trip going to be?" Nick was actually looking forward to a few days of sunshine and half naked women.
"Four days tops." The boss said, "so what will it be airfare or lodgings?"
"Lodgings." Lilly said and no one else refuted her request.
"Great, you're leaving this afternoon after work. You'll get the service car and money for a rental once you get the Sunshine State."
"I don't want to see any of you after 4:00 PM. pack your bags and meet back here at 6:00PM."
Stillman went back to his paperwork. That was the cue the team needed, soon they emptied the office.
"Road trip, I hope this one's better than the one to Connecticut. Valens, that cot has your name on it." Vera's voice resounded all over the bullpen.
Scotty grumbled and called his mom. "Ma, I'm going to Miami, yeah work. No ain't staying at uncle Jose's house." He said while rubbing his temples. He hated road trips. He saw Lil get up and go into the break room. "Nah mom, I'll be fine just call Mike and let him know that I won't be going to Emilio's ball game. Yeah te quiero too bye." He hung up and finished some paperwork they needed in order to go on the goddamned trip.
Lil came back and sat next to him, "I thought you would be happier about going on vacation. You've been complaining about not going anywhere for weeks." Lilly smirked.
"Yeah, but I wouldn't choose Miami, come on Rush," she smiled softly. "It's freaking July, half the country is going to Florida. The whole state will be infested with tourists. I hate tourists." He scowled. Lilly kissed his cheek. "Cheer up doll face. We'll be back before you know it and maybe you'll find another Charlene." She winked at him and he couldn't help but laugh with her.
Scotty shook his head but kept the smile. Lilly had the power to bring a smile to his face and make him see the upside in things. He looked over to Jeffries who called different real state representatives. He really didn't want Nick around.
At 4:15 the four detectives left the bullpen. "Boss said to meet here at 6:00 he'll give us our petty cash allowances and instructions." Vera said sarcastically.
"Let's go Lil, I'll pick you up after I pack." Scotty grabbed her hand and went into the elevators. Will still wasn't on board with the trip. "People let's make this an easy process. Don't be late, that's for the both of you." He pointed to the younger detectives. I'll make sure Nick and I are here on time. Please do the same for your partner Lil."
They went their own ways after leaving headquarters. Will and Nick used the older cop's car while Lil and Scotty went separate ways.
"I'll pick you up in an hour Rush." Scotty yelled after her. Lilly nodded and drove away.
Scotty hastily threw clothes into an overnight bag. Lotion, shaving cream and deodorant, he put everything into the bag. He grabbed another pair of shoes and then went in search for something to eat before going to Lil's. He quickly made himself a chicken sandwich with some leftovers his mom gave him. After the mugging incident Scotty had taken to go home every Sunday for dinner with his parents. Only Lil knew about the incident and she had been there for him when he wanted to kill that bastard. He finished his snack and grabbed his cellphone, the overnight bag and went locked the apartment door.
He drove to his partner's house and knocked on her door. "Open up Lil. We'll be late, it's five thirty already." He shouted outside of her door.
Lilly opened the door. "About time you got here. Get the bags; they're on the living room. I'll wait for you in the car. She carried her purse and some sunglasses. "Bossy." He muttered and picked the two carry on black bags. "Hey Lil, we're only going for four days." he teased her.
"Shut up Valens." They laughed together.
They were at PPD Headquarters fifteen minutes later. Will and Nick were already at Boss' office. "Lady and Gentlemen. Here's your money and the case files." He gave the files to Lilly and the money to Will. "I expect you to report to Kat or me after your first interviews. That's the hotel you'll be staying in. I got you three rooms." Stillman said.
"I'll be taking one for myself thank you very much." Will's tone wasn't inviting any discussion. Vera and Valens frowned at each other.
"Have a safe trip." Stillman smirked at Will.
"Very funny John." Will closed the door to the office and joined the rest of the team in the parking lot.
"I call shotgun. Who's driving?" Vera asked as he got into the car. Scotty and him had already put all the luggage in the trunk, fortunately only Lilly had packed more than one bag otherwise they wouldn't have been able to fit all the bags into the car.
"I'll drive." Scotty took the car keys and got into his seat, soon they were leaving Pennsylvania behind. Vera and him started talking about the case. "I just don't think Laura would be able to kill Linda. She was a sweet kid. My sister was kind of the third wheel. They were always together, all day everyday. My mother wouldn't let Susan out much because she was three years younger than the girls and didn't trust a lot of people."
"Nick maybe you shouldn't interview Laura Giffords." Scotty said thoughtfully.
"You're very much involved in the case." Lilly read the last report made by the doctor who exhumed Linda's body.
"You and Scotty should interview Mendoza. Lil and me will talk to Mrs. Giffords." The black detective stated.
Twenty minutes later Scotty and Vera talked about sports, and future playoffs. Will joined them and Lilly just turned her iPod on and dozed off. Scotty drove for five hours straight until Jeffries took over the wheel. "Move Vera." He said trying to get Nick to go to the back seat.
"No way Valens. The back seat is uncomfortable and I called shotgun in Philly that works until we get to Miami." Nick drank his coke.
Lil took over the backseat ever since they stopped at the gas station to refill the tank. Will and Vera grabbed snacks and jumped in the front. Scotty opened the door and sat next to a sleeping Lilly. "Move over Lil" he said softly, she sat down but snuggled close to him. He sighed and moved her to a more comfortable position. She was half on top of him. He lifted her and managed to close his eyes and sleep for a while.
Jeffries and Vera talked loudly and asked something about the Phillies, "Hey Scotty what do you think about the playoffs? Do you think they're going to make it?" he heard no response. Vera looked back and found Scotty with his head back and mouth open. Lily had her head and one hand on his chest. She was knocked out too.
Nick snapped a picture. "Blackmail material." Will laughed but kept his voice low.
When Lilly woke up it was close to morning or so she thought. There was light filtering through her eyelids. She sighed and sat up. She heard Scotty grumble. "Where are we?" she asked.
"South Carolina." Vera was behind the wheel. Jeffries snored softly next to him. Scotty next to her stretched out and dug out some chips from a plastic bag.
"I need to use the restroom."
"We are about to get into Fayetteville. We'll stop there, we should be there in fifteen minutes." Vera said politely.
They stopped at another gas station and decided to have breakfast at a nearby diner. The rest of the trip went uneventfully. They were in Miami by midafternoon. Lilly drove them to their hotel. They made plans to interview the suspects that same afternoon. Scotty and Lilly insisted on starting to work that same day. Jeffries wasn't as thrilled but went along. It was clear that Vera was just as interested as the younger detectives.
Lilly and Will drove to Laura Giffords' house. She lived in a suburban area, upper middle class it seemed. They knocked on the door and a thirty something woman received them. "Laura Giffords?" Jeffries showed her his badge. "Philadelphia police. We're here to ask you some questions about Linda McCormick." The woman nodded.
"It's Reyes now." She let them in and showed them to the living room.
"Are you reopening her case, after all these years?" she sat down in front of them.
"We are looking into some new evidence." Lilly said noncommittally.
"Back in '87 you told the local police that you and Linda went for a swim at a local pool. Why didn't the two of you go back to the old neighborhood together?" Jeffries interjected.
"Linda and I were best friends. We did everything together, but we were almost teenagers. I was eleven and I started noticing boys. I was mooning over the local lifeguard. We fought that day. Linda made fun of me. She said that Rodrigo would never even look at me. I was mad and distraught at the same time and left in a huff. I never thought that would be the last time I would see her." The woman said sadly.
"Do you have any idea if she was interested in Rodrigo?" Lilly looked sharply at Laura who blinked and shook her head. "She didn't like him, she wasn't interested in boys yet."
"Detectives, I wish I could help you more but that's all I remember. It was so many years ago. My husband will be back from work any second now." The redhead smiled politely. She stood up and showed them to the door.
"Very cold and polite. I don't like her." Lilly said as she drove back to the hotel. Will chuckled and shook his head. "Still we don't have any motive from her. She stuck to her original account."
"Her alibi is not convincing though, she was home with her parents. They died three years ago in a car wreck. She could be lying for all we know." Lilly pointed out when they went to the pool. Vera and Scotty were already having some drinks. "I thought you were going to interview Mendoza." Jeffries sat next to them and ordered a drink.
Lilly decided to join her teammates and pulled a chair next to her partner. "We went to his job. A Cuban club ten blocks from here but apparently he starts his shift at 10:00 PM. They don't have any place down for him since he started working last Monday." Vera sipped his whiskey. He wasn't wearing his tie and he was sweating. Jeffries drank his beer as soon as it got there; he took his jacket off and used some papers as a fan.
Scotty however looked like he belonged; he wore his undershirt and his pants. He ordered another drink. Lilly didn't catch the name of it. He seemed to be enjoying the weather. Lilly wore her usual pantsuit sans the jacket and her cheeks were pink. "What did you get from Laura?" Nick asked interestedly.
"Same old story, she stuck to her original story word for word." Jeffries answered. "Lil thinks she might be our doer." The black policeman continued.
"Why?" Nick frowned at his colleague and friend.
"I don't know. It was just a feeling. We still have to interview Mendoza, once we talk to him we might have a better idea of what happened to Linda." Lilly drank her margarita.
"What do you say to joining us for the interview?" Scotty smirked and asked his teammates.
"I'll pass. I have a date with my bed." Will wasn't convinced even when Lilly accepted to accompany them. "It could be fun come on Will." She tried to persuade the older man who merely laughed and shook his head. "No way Lil. I'm still tired from all that driving I did." He drank another beer and then went up to his room.
By 10:00 PM Lilly was ready. She wore a blue dress, and waited for Scotty and Nick by the pool. Soon the two men went down the stairs. They both wore their regular suits. "Rush, looking hot." Vera whistled at her and she twirled around a little.
"Thank you gentlemen, now let's go get Mr. Mendoza." She grabbed Scotty's arm and they walked to the club.
The place looked nice enough. It was busy, full of Spanish speaking people. "Aren't you glad I'm here." He whispered close to her ear. She slapped his arm and walked up to the bartender. "We're looking for Rodrigo Mendoza." The bartender, an older looking guy ignored her and when she repeated herself he finally said, "No speak English" with an accented voice.
"Oyeme, estamos buscando a Rodrigo Mendoza." Scotty asked in Spanish.
"Ah Roro, ese llega en quince minutos chico. Tu eres cubano." The older man said in rapid Spanish.
"Por parte de mi papá, mi mamá es Boricua." Scotty answered. "Ah, no importa que vas a beber." The guy asked. He didn't give Scotty much chance to say anything before he gave him a drink, "Cuba libre pa ti y los gringos que van a beber."
Scotty smiled, "He says that Rodrigo will be here in fifteen minutes and he's asking what you're going to drink."
"Whatever he recommends." Vera said and dropped to the barstool. "We shouldn't be drinking we are about to interview a suspect. A virgin Cuba libre please." Lilly said looking at her colleagues.
"Live a little Rush." Vera took a gulp of his drink.
Twenty minutes later and at least four different salsa songs, the DJ gets in. Luis the bartender pointed him out. "That's our guy." Scotty finished his drink and waited for Vera and her.
They made their way through the dance floor and to Mendoza. "Rodrigo Mendoza?" Lilly asked. A black haired, good-looking man smiled winningly at her. "Yes, ma'am."
"Philadelphia Police Department. We need to talk about Linda McCormick." His face changed and the handsome smile disappeared.
"Not this again. I told the police all I knew about that little girl. I just found her in that pool it wasn't my fault." The man became agitated.
"Hey, hey we just want to talk." Vera said trying to calm the suspect.
"No man, you police people never just want to talk. You couldn't blame all those years ago and you won't now."
"Rodrigo, we're just trying to find her killer." Scotty finally spoke. Rodrigo looked at him. "No, you should know how this is. People like them they want us in jail. They almost made me sign a confession back then. They looked at me and they saw a poor Colombian kid who didn't speak much English. If I hadn't had that attorney I would be in jail right now doing time for a crime I didn't do."
"Rodrigo we need to talk. We could do it here or at the station, that's your choice." Scotty said calmly.
"I'll talk to you but I won't talk to them." Mendoza's face betrayed his deep distrust of Vera and Rush.
"One of them has to stay with me Rodrigo." Scotty said firmly.
"The girl." Rodrigo led them to a back room.
"Here's what happened. Linda was sweet. She was a great kid and a great swimmer. I could never understand how she drowned."
"Did you know that her best friend, Laura had a crush on you?" Lilly asked.
Rodrigo tensed. "Yes, but I didn't encourage her. She was always around Linda. I liked Linda, she reminded me of my little sister back in Colombia. I was fifteen and that was my first real job. All I wanted to do was work have money and send it to my mom and Jessica."
"Why didn't you tell the police that you knew Linda as a friend?" Scotty asked while taking notes.
"Are you serious man? They would have locked me up in a second. I didn't do anything to that little girl. She reminded me so much of Jessica I could never harm her.
"What about Laura? Could she have done it?" Lilly asked one more time.
Rodrigo didn't look at her but he made eye contact with Scotty. "You have to understand that we all thought it was an accident but…" He hesitated but decided to speak up.
"I have a restraining order against Laura. About fifteen years ago she came to a bar where I was working and said that we could finally be together. She said she was eighteen and that we were meant to be together. I didn't pay much attention until she became Fatal Attraction crazy. She attacked my pregnant wife, I filed a restraining order and I haven't heard from her ever since."
"Thank you Rodrigo, we'll be in contact." Scotty shook his hand.
"Hermano, yo no la maté, Linda no se merecía lo que le pasó. Tienes que creerme, yo se que los gringos no me creen pero tu tienes que creerme." Rodrigo said and looked at Scotty as if willing him to believe him.
Lilly looked at her partner who led her out of the backroom. "He says he didn't do it and that Linda didn't deserve what happened to her."
"Let's go to the hotel and check if the restraining order story is true." They walked up to Nick who was talking to a good-looking woman.
"You guys go without me. Shirley and I are having a nice conversation." He winked at Scotty and Lilly shook her head.
They walked back to the hotel, "Who do you think is our doer?" Lilly grabbed his and walked close to him.
"My money is on the best friend. I don't think Rodrigo did it." Scotty caressed her hand.
"Yeah, I have a feeling about this one. I think it was her too."
"Nick won't be happy." Scotty squeezed her hand.
"He'll have to deal with it." Lilly noticed that her partner looked sad.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked. Scotty looked at her and shook his head. "Nah you wouldn't understand." He smiled, but the smile wasn't his regular hundred watts.
"Try me." She said and led him to nearby benches. They sat and watched a group of young women cross the street.
"Something Rodrigo said, he said you have to believe me. I know they won't." Scotty sighed. "Is just, he was right. I've seen it happening, I actually believed him when he said that the cops tried to frame him. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened. He was right Lil, how many times have you heard Boss, Will or Nick talk about back in the day where no one spoke Spanish and people just signed confessions and being prosecuted without knowing what they were doing." Scotty laughed humorlessly.
"That's why we do what we do. We try to make right Scotty." She smiled at him and he kissed her hand. "You're right Lil." Scotty loved her smiles, she was an amazing friend; Lilly Rush could put a smile on his face in matter of seconds.
"Wanna go grab drinks and food?" He asked her and wiggled his eyebrows. She laughed and nodded. They walked for about eight minutes and found a nice bar. The place wasn't crowded; it had a nice vibe or so Scotty thought. "This is all in Spanish." Lilly looked at the menu and then showed it to her partner.
"Yeah, it's a nice change." He laughed at her, "What? It's nice to be ahead of you for a change." She laughed too.
"Help me order." She said and waited for him to translate the menu.
They ordered their food and had a nice dinner. They were having a nice conversation when the music started to play louder. Scotty looked at the spacious restaurant and suddenly couples crowded the dance floor. Salsa songs resounded through the place.
They ordered more drinks and watched some very talented couples dance. They talked about Chris and Rebecca, he couldn't remember the last time he saw them. "Three months ago, when she came and visited. Becky's so big now." Lilly said, Scotty was glad for Chris and the baby. Lilly's eyes sparked when she talked about the little girl.
"Chris is doing well, and I even like her boyfriend. Things are looking up for her." They had both been worried about Chris for a while but she was back on her feet. Rebecca changed her, grounded her, and gave her motivation to stay on track.
A man approached her and asked her to dance. Lilly shook her head and then looked at Scotty. Scotty looked back at the man. He looked normal enough, he was about to encourage Lilly to go dance when the man looked at him and said, "Sorry chico, oye pero sacala a bailar." Scotty stood up and pulled Lilly up, "Come on Lil, we're dancing." He smiled when she shook her head vigorously.
"I don't know how to dance to this music." She said vehemently. The man who asked her to dance was long gone. "Don't worry, I'll teach you. It's not as hard as it looks."
Scotty pulled her close to him and moved to the upbeat salsa song. "Move your hips Lil. He placed his hands on her hips and Lilly felt a heat rush through her body. He lifted her arms to his shoulders and moved to the music. Soon they were dancing, and he was spinning her. They laughed; Scotty even sang bits and pieces of some of the songs. She was having the time of her life. After a couple of sets they went back to their table.
Lilly was breathless, "I didn't know you were that good." Scotty pouted. "Of course I'm good at dancing. Lil, I'm half Puerto Rican they practically invented salsa. Ma used to play it in the radio while she cooked and she danced to it. Mike and I have rhythm in our bodies." He said cockily. Lilly laughed a little and nodded at him. "So that's how you charm them. You wine and dine them, you take them dancing and use you Latin lover dancing skills." Lilly said cunningly.
Scotty let out a big guffaw. "No Lil, How many salsa clubs do you think are in Philly. Not that many. I've only used my Latino charm with your white behind." He blew her a kiss and winked at her. For a second there, Lilly wanted to kiss the smirk off his face, but her eyes crinkled and she giggled. This was Scotty her best friend, almost like family.
A slow song started to play; he stood up and dragged her to the floor. "I've heard this song so many times while growing up." He brought her even closer than when they were dancing salsa. Lilly noticed how big his hands felt on her back and how good he sounded as he sang softly into her ear. She liked this, the intimacy, in that moment Lilly decided that she needed to go back into the dating world. She wanted to meet someone again and have an uncomplicated relationship. She wanted to have these moments with someone who desired her. Lilly blushed when unbidden images of a naked Scotty invaded her mind. She closed her eyes and got rid of those thoughts. She couldn't deny that her partner was a very handsome man but she wasn't about to open that can of worms.
Scotty loved the feeling of having a woman close to him, the softness, and the delicacy. Lilly fit perfectly into his arms. He smiled, she would kill him if she knew that he thought of her as this soft, delicate being that he needed to protect. Scotty embraced her even more. He sang softly into her ear. She would have his head too if she knew it was a love song. Everything was worth it as long as she wore that smile on her face.
When the song ended they looked at each other and for a moment there was undeniable spark of something in their eyes. It disappeared when another song started playing.
They left the dance floor, "What do you say we have one last drink and then walk back to the hotel?" Lilly asked winningly.
Scotty led her to the bar and they ordered their last Cuba libres, "Dos Cuba libres." Lilly giggled when he ordered the drinks. "What's so funny Rush?" he asked and smirked at her.
"Nothing is just that you are Scotty my partner from Philly but the you speak Spanish and it's like you are this other guy." She said as explanation.
The bartender placed their drinks. "Which one you like more Rush?" he asked playfully.
"Who says I like either of them?" She flirted back.
They smiled at each other and drank their cocktails. The fresh air was very welcome, they were both a little tipsy and walked back hand in hand giggling and talking to each other. They arrived to the hotel; he walked her to her room. "I had a great time, thanks Lil." He kissed her cheek.
"Me too, goodnight Scotty." She kissed his cheek too and went inside her room.
Scotty whistled and walked back to the room he shared with Nick. Empty, Nick must have scored tonight. Good for him. At least one of them was getting some tonight. He chuckled and stripped to his boxers. He didn't want to take a shower, he smelled like Lilly and that was a good smell.
