"Falling Stars"
Author's note: This case file is based on a real murder that happened here in Brazil in 1992. I'll be sticking to real facts and dates as much as I can, but some people and facts will be added for entertainment purposes. After the fic is finished I'll have an extra chapter about the real case (which never went cold). Most important, this is a pre-The Woods fic. I chose to go this way because the events of that episode are too big, and I want to deal with other personal stuff here (expect more than one personal storyline in this fic). Now, enough with the babbling. Enjoy, and please, review.
Thanks: to my beta-reader, Joutsensydn.
XXXXX
Chapter 1 – The Case
Philadelphia, December 28th, 1992
A young woman is leaving a theater. She walks down the street to her car. She gets in and drives for about two blocks. She's about to go into a gas station when she realizes it's closed and starts to back away, but a red car is blocking her. She honks, but the car remains in place.
Next thing, she's being violently taken out of her car and thrown into the one that was blocking her. The car drives away.
In aforest we hear several screams as she's repeatedly stabbed in the chest. Her cry for mercy is sharp and helpless.
The car that brought her there drives away. The night is already dark and a second car is driving by, almost unnoticeable.
The woman's body is lying in the forest, covered in blood. Her lifeless eyes remain open, like still begging for a chance.
Later, in a basement at Police Headquarters, a box is labeled and filed:
Hannigan, J. Dec. 28th, 1992.
XXXXX
Philadelphia, July 2005
It's early afternoon and detectives Lilly Rush, Scotty Valens, Nick Vera and Will Jeffries are sitting at a small restaurant near the Philadelphia Police Headquarters. Their burgers and fries are already on the table, but they haven't been touched. The detectives are waiting for their boss, Lieutenant John Stillman, who's talking on his cell phone outside the restaurant. They watch him through the window.
"You think the boss is gonna take too long?" Scotty asks, looking back from Stillman to his lunch.
Lilly laughs. "You can't hold yourself together for a couple of more minutes, Scotty?"
"It's already past 2 pm," Scotty says, like it's the obvious explanation. "And our burgers are getting cold."
"You can relax, Scotty," Nick says, smirking. "Boss is coming."
Stillman walks to the table and sits down with them. "Sorry about that." He picks up the burger, being immediately followed by Scotty. Lilly, Will and Nick shake their heads, smiling, and then pick up their burgers as well. "The call was from the CSU unit," Stillman starts, the detectives paying close attention. "Yesterday they got an anonymous call about drugs being buried in a forest up North." He picks up a couple of fries, and goes on. "They went to check it out. The police dogs didn't smell any drugs, but they did pick up some bloody and rusty scissors."
"And it matched a cold job," Lilly states.
Stillman nods and goes on. "A big one. Jill Hannigan, 1992."
Their reaction shows the name is familiar to them all. "The actress?" Vera voices their surprise.
Stillman nods. "You four better get ready for some newspaper and TV interviews."
"Was the murder weapon recovered from the same place where she was found?" Lilly asks.
"Yes." Stillman answers. "The CSU people believe it was buried deep back in 1992 but time and rain brought it slowly back to the surface."
"We didn't get lucky enough to find any prints on those scissors, did we?" Scotty asks, but his face shows he knows it's a long shot.
"Apparently nothing came up on the first tests," Stillman says. "But CSU is running more detailed tests to see if they can pick up any leads."
Scotty nods as he chews on the last bite of his burger, while Lilly, having already finished her much smaller burger, looks at him impatiently. "What?" he asks, his mouth half-full.
"Are you planning on finishing this anytime today?" she asks back. "We do have an investigation to work on."
"I haven't finished my soda yet," Scotty protests.
"Well, take it with you," she says, starting to get up.
Scotty gets up and glares at Stillman. "Next time, please wait until we've finished lunch, Boss."
Stillman, Nick and Will laugh. "I have a court appointment in 20 minutes, so I'm staying," Stillman says. "You go and get started, you can brief me about it when I get back." The four detectives nod and leave the restaurant.
XXXXX
At Police Headquarters, having retrieved the case file from the storage room, the detectives are now going through the old statements and reports.
"There's nothing useful here," Vera begins. "The original investigation found nothing. All possible suspects had good alibis."
Lilly leans forward from her desk. "Maybe someone lied. Or they never interviewed the right person."
"I don't mean to kill the excitement here," Scotty says, "but maybe it was just a random crime. In her statement, Jill's mother said Jill had the habit of going out alone late at night."
"Not a very wise habit, even 13 years ago," Nick adds.
"No." Will shakes his head. "You're overlooking the fact that this girl was killed with 18 scissors stabs to her chest. It's personal."
Lilly decides to cut the speculation short before they lose focus. "Let's see what we know for sure." She picks up a piece of paper and picture from her desk. The picture shows a young and very beautiful woman, clearly in her early 20s, with pale skin, long, curly dark hair and big black eyes. Lilly passes the picture around and starts reading. "Jill Hannigan, 22 years old. Upcoming actress, starring in a successful play written by her mother. She didn't have any known enemies or money problems, but..." she pauses for a while. "2 years before her murder, she checked into a rehabilitation clinic for substance abusers."
"Now, this is interesting." Scotty says, sitting up in his chair. "Was she ever arrested?"
"There's nothing here about that," Lilly says. "Probably not."
"I'll check into it anyway," Nick says.
"She was married, wasn't she?" Will asks.
Lilly nods. "Yes. She had been married for a year to actor Peter Campbell."
"The guy from the chicken soup commercial," Nick points out. "Talk about an all-star case."
"Well, shall we get started or should we wait for the boss?" Scotty asks.
"It's still early in the afternoon. I think we can pay our first visits today." Lilly says, glancing at her watch. "We could visit Jill's mom, and Nick and Will could go see the husband." The other detectives nod in agreement.
"Boss will probably be out of the courtroom soon. Let's walk there and tell him about our plans," Will suggests. The other detectives pick up their coats and leave.
XXXXX
Outside the courthouse, the four detectives are talking about the case as they wait for Stillman. They're so immersed in their discussion that none of them notices Stillman walking towards them, along with ADA Kite and another man.
"Hello." It's Kite who brings the detectives' attention to their presence. "How are you all doing?"
"Hey. We're fine, thanks." Scotty is the one who answers. "How was court?"
"Oh, easy. It was a solid case, with a solid investigation." Kite answers, smiling discreetly every time he glances at Lilly. He then realizes the other man hasn't been introduced. "Sorry. This is DA Kenneth Brown. He's just been transferred from Pittsburgh."
"Nice to meet you all," says Brown, who's a tall, blond man, apparently in his late forties, clearly a very charismatic figure. He shakes hands with all the detectives.
"Welcome," Lilly says. "And good luck here in Philly."
"Thanks," Brown says, displaying a detergent-commercial smile. "I'm actually a Philly native, so this is a great opportunity for me."
"DA Brown has some special plans for the DA's office." Stillman says, not looking pleased.
"My plan is to restructure the work routine between the Police Department and DA's office, actually." Brown says. At the detectives' lack of reaction and slightly open mouths, he goes on, "I want more integration between us. To avoid any slip-ups once we reach the courtroom phase." The detectives just nod, smiling faintly. Neither of them is eager to see the DA's office interfering with their job.
Stillman is the one to wake them up from their day-nightmare. "You guys came down here because..."
"Oh," Lilly begins. "We wanted to fill you in on our investigation plans for this afternoon."
"I see. Excuse us," Stillman says to Kite and Brown, walking away with Lilly.
"Sorry, Lil," he says, once they're out of earshot. "I can't stay and talk about the case right now. Brown has just invited me out to lunch. He wants to discuss his ideas." He sighs. "Just do what you gotta do, and we'll talk about it later."
"OK, Boss." Lilly nods. "Should we expect trouble around the corner?"
"Maybe, I don't know yet." He answers seriously. "But we have to be careful. Brown has friends in high places, and he can get us in real trouble if he wants to. That's why I'm having two lunches today."
They walk back to the group. "We're going now," Lilly announces, addressing everyone. "We're starting a new investigation today."
"Oh, too bad. I was thinking of inviting you to join us for lunch. But good luck to you," Brown says, smiling as always.
"We can do it some other time, right, guys?" Kite asks.
"Sure," Lilly answers, remembering what Stillman had just said.
"We should get going, then," Scotty says, a bit puzzled by Lilly's rapid acceptance of the invitation. He had never taken her for a political person.
"See ya, Rush." Kite waves to Lilly before fading out of sight. Lilly rolls her eyes as they start heading back to Police Headquarters for their cars. She avoids looking at Scotty, Nick and Will on the way, because she knows they're not successful at hiding their know-it-all smirks.
XXXXX
To be continued