Welcome the new long story!
Legal: I do not own and am not associated with DeGrassi, Epitome or Cold Case.
Important things to know before reading ~
*This story is inspired by the tv show Cold Case but is not a crossover.
*Technically a future fic it is 100% A/U.
*There never was a school of any kind called DeGrassi and thereby no one ever went there. No one went to high school together unless so mentioned in a chapter. There is still a DeGrassi street.
*Almost all characters from all seasons of DeGrassi will be used in some capacity in this story. Be patient your favorite character is likely to show up somewhere in some capacity. Ages, jobs and sometimes family will be changed. For the most part I will give ages and backgrounds when characters are introduced.
*Clare is 24 in this story her background and family will be revealed throughout the story. As will the other main characters for this story.
*Each case will be different and some may be very intense, I will do my best to warn at the beginning of the chapter when it will be intense or possible trigger warnings.
*Finally, while I am using ranks for OPP (at least from what I could find) everything else is purely fictionalized for this story. Shifts, the station they work at, other precincts etc. is all fictionalized and structured to fit this story.
Okay that does it, hope you all enjoy this premier!
Ch. 1 The Old & the New
(CLARE)
Click click click click my heels make a rhythm as I ascend the stairs to the homicide unit. I open my gun locker and place in my service weapon. We never wear weapons on the floor, we shouldn't need them and there's too much risk that a suspect will take it.
"Hey Clare," Spinner smiles when I sit at my desk.
"Hi Spin," I smile back but I'm looking at Sean in the bosses office. "Seems pretty quiet this morning," I comment looking at the stack of paperwork on my desk.
"Sounds like it was a busy night, I'm glad we don't have the graveyard shift anymore," Spin replies.
"Yeah, starting on the graveyard shift was tough, the guys on that shift did not want to work with a woman."
I'm a Detective Constable, I made D.C. almost two years ago and was very proud. The guys on the night shift didn't make it easy for me though, they didn't think a woman should be in homicide. Which shows you what kind of sexist pigs they were. There are other females in homicide units within the OPP, not many though and at 24 I was by far the youngest. I majored in criminology in college, which helped. Last year I solved a big case and got promoted to day shift, which also didn't make the night shift guys happy. Mostly because I got promoted above them. It did make me happy though, my new partner Luke Baker was not a sexist pig. Though he wasn't too happy about having a female partner he didn't make sexist comments or treat me like a kid. Though our first couple months partnered together we argued a lot.
"Hey Partner, sorry I'm late. Did I miss anything?" Luke asks locking up his service weapon.
"Not a thing, just looking at the stack of paperwork," I smile.
Luke Baker is 27, he made Detective Constable almost three years ago. Two years ago he transferred from another precinct. When he was a senior in high school his family moved to Florida, but Luke stayed here and married his high school sweetheart. Jenna is a big reason Luke and I began getting along. About two months into us being partners Jenna invited me over for dinner. I got along with Jenna pretty well, met their son David and got to talk to Luke as a person. Ever since then Luke and I have been pretty solid as partners, sure we still disagree but I know Luke has my back.
"Hey Spin," Luke greets sitting at his desk across from mine.
"Hi Luke," Spin nods to him without looking up from his computer.
Gavin "Spinner" Mason is 33 and he's been a DC with homicide almost six years now. The way he tells it he barely made it through high school and had a lot of problems as a kid. His dad died of cancer when he was young, and his little sister Kendra disappeared at age 15. Spin had a couple really hard years, he did everything he could to find Kendra to no avail, and he almost slipped into a bottle never to come out. It was our boss that helped Spin turn his life around and become a cop.
"Why's Sean in with the boss? What's going on?" Luke inquires.
"A new desk sergeant bumped into Sean on our way in. He's in a bad mood today as it is and I had to stop him from pushing the guy into the wall. Snake is giving him a lecture about conduct," Spin explains.
Sean Cameron is 33 like Spin, and like Spin he had a rough childhood. He hardly talks to anyone about anything, especially his past. What I've been able to piece together is that he was expelled from his first high school for a fight. Not just any fight but he deafened his opponent in one ear. I think his father drank, and was probably abusive. He lived with his brother for most of his adolescence, but a few years ago his brother was killed on his bike during a hit and run. The death of his brother hit Sean really hard and he carries a big chip on his shoulder now because of it, at least I think that's what it is. He's a good guy though, he's good at his job, he's protective and he can be the sweetest kindest guy anyone would ever want to talk to. I do wish he'd let people in though and stop being such a loner.
"You have to learn to breathe son, one more incident and I'll have to send you to anger management classes Sean," Simpson says opening the door to his office and escorting Sean out.
"Yeah, I know Sir I'll try," Sean nods.
Simpson nods to us and closes the door to his office. Archibald "Snake" Simpson is Detective Staff Sergeant of the Riverdale precinct in Toronto. In other words our boss. He's a good boss, he's like a father figure to all of us, though three of us had a crappy father or an absentee father growing up. Only Luke seems to have a good relationship with his dad. I haven't seen my dad since he left us when I was seven, walked out on us for his mistress.
No one is sure how the sarge got the nickname Snake, he'll only say that he got it in junior high school. Mostly we call him Sarge or Simpson anyway. He's married with two kids, both are grown, though their son Jack still lives at home, he's 19 and attending U of T. Their daughter Emma is a few years older than me and lives in B.C., but I've seen her picture at their house. Sarge's wife Christine is very sweet, she's a beautician with her own beauty shop close to Queen Street.
"Morning," Sean says to us before sitting at his desk.
"Hi Sean," Luke and I greet at the same time.
Sean sits at his desk and we all start on paperwork. Unless we get a call paperwork is usually the first hour of the day. We know we have a call when Simpson emerges from his office with that look on his face.
"Body at Little Miss Steaks, need you four down there," Simpson tells us.
We all get up and start grabbing our stuff to leave when a woman walks in. Thin, frail looking with long dark hair and sallow eyes. She's sad, more than that she looks almost defeated. Yet, there's this small spark of hope in her eyes.
"I need to speak to a detective about a murder," she says. Her voice is hoarse, cracks as though she's been crying, which it appears she has.
"I'll catch up with you guys," I tell them.
"See you Edwards," Sean replies. The guys get their things, grab their service weapons from their lockers and go downstairs.
"Please have a seat," I insist motioning to the chair at the side of my desk. She gives me a small smile and sits down. "What's your name?"
"Mary Cline, formerly Bettenkamp."
"When did this murder happen?"
"Seven years ago," she tells me.
I was typing on my computer, but I freeze and look at her with this bit of information. When people come in to report murders they've usually just happened. Sometimes days, weeks or months pass before being reported because people are scared, but seven years?!
"Seven years?"
"My son was killed when he was in high school. It was never solved, the police barely looked into it. I'm dying DC Edwards, stage four cancer. They've given me six months at best. The only thing I want before I leave this Earth is my son's killer brought to justice," she pleads with me.
"What was your son's name?"
"Wesley Bettenkamp, he was in grade ten at Bardell High. His uncle, my ex-husband's younger brother, still teaches science at Bardell."
"Anything else you can tell me?"
"Wesley was very bright, he had such a bright future and it was just stolen."
"I'll look into the case, but I'll have to get permission to reopen it. Sometimes the passing of time is an advantage though, witnesses open up, relationships that were once strong are no more. Give me your current phone number and address."
"It's never changed, I still live in the same house, my number is the same. Whatever happens, thank you for trying D.C. Edwards," she smiles.
"It's Clare, I'll look at the file, see what I can bring to my boss."
"That's more than anyone else has done," she tells me with a grateful smile as she gets up.
She leaves and I look up the file on the computer. Wesley was reported missing at first, his body found two weeks later under a bridge in a part of the ravine. It was partially decomposed and there were no fibers, fingerprints or other evidence on the body. He was exceptionally bright, led a clean life filled with academic pursuits, the file lists a girlfriend at the time, a best friend who happens to be a beat officer at our precinct, I recognize the name. A few other students from the school are listed for statements including a few other friends. There's not a lot to go on, no real suspects, no one had a grudge against him, he wasn't a trouble maker. Wesley was definitely not into drugs or a gang. It isn't much to take to the boss but I'm going to try.
I get up and go Simpson's office, knocking on the glass door. He looks at me and motions for me to enter, I take a deep breath, a case this old is going to take some convincing.
"What is it Clare?" He asks when I've entered his office.
"I'd like permission to reopen an old case."
"How old?" Simpson asks leaning back in his chair a little.
"Seven years," I reply and he gives me a look. "I don't have any new evidence, but the woman that came in is the victim's mother. Her son was killed and the killer never brought to justice."
"I feel for her Clare, I do, but you know as well as I do that murders go unsolved all the time."
"I know, but she's dying. It's cancer and the doctors have given her six months at best," I inform him. I know this will get to him because he's been in remission for eleven years. "All she wants is to find her son's killer and have him held responsible before she dies. We may not be able to do that, but the case was hardly even looked into. The victim's best friend is a beat cop at this very station, Dave Turner. Just give me 48 hours, I'll re-interview witnesses, they may open up after so many years. If I can't find anything at least I tried."
"Alright Clare, your tenacity has always been something I've admired about you, even when I first met you at sixteen. You have 48 hours and no more unless you find something. See if Dave's on shift and go talk to him first, when your partner gets back I'll have him join you."
"Thanks boss," I grin.
(LUKE)
"Hey Baker, where's that partner of yours?" Sean questions.
We've been at Little Miss Steaks for over an hour, the crime scene techs are doing their thing. We already saw where the victim was killed. She was a waitress here named Jess Martello, she was closing last night and her body was found in the girl's washroom this morning. She lives close by and usually walks home from work, so everyone thought she'd gone home, until the owner opened this morning. We've interviewed the owner and the kitchen staff from last night, and the owner gave us a list of everyone else that was working last night.
"Not sure," I comment taking my cell phone from my pocket. "No messages from her. She must have been held up at the station talking to that woman."
"Well, we should get back there anyway. If it's another fresh case the boss will split us to work on them, we might need to pull from other precincts."
We get back in the car and Spin drives, the three of us came in one car as I expected Clare to meet us here and bring the other. We park in the garage and walk together into the precinct on DeGrassi Street. It's one of the smallest in the city, the only one in Riverdale, but we stay pretty busy.
"There she is," I remark seeing Clare speaking to the officer at the desk.
"Is Officer Dave Turner working?" She asks him.
"What do you want with Dave?" Sean asks.
"And why didn't you meet us at the crime scene?" I question her.
"We have another case partner," she enlightens me.
"We were afraid of that, see you upstairs," Spin remarks. He and Sean go upstairs and I lean on the front desk next to Clare.
"Turner's working, he's on patrol though," the officer tells Clare.
"Then find out his location," Clare responds to the officer in a tone that says he should have done that in the first place.
"So what's the case?" I ask Clare while they're finding out Dave's location.
"A fifteen-year-old boy murdered and found in the ravine."
"I didn't see anything about that," I remark.
"He's waiting for you at the corner of Danforth and Pape," the officer tells us.
"Let's go," Clare says to me. She thanks the officer as I walk out with her.
"If a body was found in the ravine I would have heard about it," I comment as we begin walking out to the car.
"It was, only the body was found seven years ago," she enlightens me opening the car and I freeze.
"Seven years?! We're on a case that's seven years old when there's a fresh case we could be working on that's more important," I exclaim.
"A boy was murdered Luke, and he's been waiting seven years for someone to find his killer, don't you think that's more important?"
"Simpson approved this?"
"He gave me two days to look into it, to see what I can find and talk to witnesses. Dave Turner was the victim's best friend, now are you coming with me or not Luke?"
I growl slightly and begrudgingly get in the car. I'll follow my partner on this for two days, but I don't see the point, cases this old are hard to solve. Especially, when there is no new evidence. Clare drives us and we see the patrol car, she parks behind them, Dave gets out of the car and gets in the back of our car.
"I was told you wanted to speak with me," Dave inquires.
"You were best friends with Wesley Bettenkamp?" Clare asks.
Dave's face changes immediately, he looks sad, there's a longing in his eyes, but a flash of reminiscent happiness as well. He lets out a breath it sounds as though he's been holding for seven years.
"Wes, yes we were best friends. Has the case been reopened?" Dave asks in a tone filled with hope.
"Not officially, not yet, but we're looking back into it. His mother came to see me today, she's dying and asked me to look into the case again. Can you tell us about Wesley? Was there anything suspicious about him or his behavior just before he died? Did anything out of the ordinary happen before his death?" Clare questions.
Dave looks into the distance as he thinks back on seven year old memories. I see the far off look in his eye, the gloss of tears as he thinks of his long dead friend.
"No, nothing was strange before he disappeared, he was happy. He and Hannah were very happy," Dave is saying when Clare interrupts.
"Hannah was his girlfriend?"
"Yeah, they had been dating all year, they were talking about plans for summer. Wes was happy, really happy, the last time I saw him. He'd just won a science scholarship, ten grand to put toward university. Ten grand wouldn't go very far, but he was only in grade ten. He exceled in all his classes, I'm sure he would have gotten more scholarships and grants, maybe even a free ride. Wes was going to go far, I just knew that he'd discover the cure for something one day or invent something and get rich."
"Was Wes bullied in school?" I question. I'm sure of the answer before I even finish asking the question.
"Yeah, kids like him always are right? I was too, even though my dad was a cop."
"Was there anyone that was particularly vicious to him?" Clare asks.
"No, nothing really bad. Shoving in the halls, tripping, making him spill his lunch, things like that. Just jocks and bullies being cruel, he was beat up a few times over the years. Nothing worse than a black eye though. I thought about that you know, that a bully went to far and dumped the body out of fear. It was my first thought when Wes' body was found, the head injury and all, but I didn't see anyone picking on him that day."
"Thanks Dave, if you think of anything else, anything at all give me a call," Clare tells him giving Dave her card. He can always find her at the station, but her business card has her cellphone number on it.
"Yeah, I will. I'm glad someone's looking into Wes' case again, I mean really looking into it. I look through the file every so often, but I could never find anything to reopen the case. Wes deserved so much more than to be thrown into the ravine like some trash," Dave laments before getting out of our car. He walks to his patrol car again and I look at Clare.
"Well that wasn't much help. So, where to now partner?"
"Bardell, school should be over soon and Wesley's uncle is a science teacher there still."
"Drive on," I reply leaning back into the seat. I feel bad that Wesley died, I usually feel bad for the murder victims, but this is an old case and we haven't found any new leads. So far all we know is that the kid was smart, very smart, and a geek, and he got picked on. No one was super vicious with their bullying, and no one saw Wesley getting picked on that day. We have a fresh case we could be working on and I feel like we're wasting our time. Most homicides are solved in the first 48 hours and we're spending that time looking into a case that's seven years cold.
Clare drives us to Bardell High, we might be in a plain car but when we pull up it's pretty obvious that we're cops. School just let out and all the kids watch us as we walk inside. We go to the administration office and the secretary gives us a look when we come in. It's a look we're used to, not many people are happy to see cops come around.
"We need to speak with a teacher, Bettenkamp. He teaches science," Clare tells the secretary.
"Yes, Mike Bettenkamp, he should still be in his classroom," the secretary tells us and then gives us directions to his classroom.
"Mike Bettenkamp?" Clare asks knocking on the doorframe of the entry to his classroom.
"Yes?" He asks looking over at us. He's thin with angular features, short cropped dark wavy to curly hair. He looks like one of those teachers I would have liked in high school, a teacher that makes learning fun.
"I'm D.C. Edwards, this is my partner D.C. Baker."
"Mary told me she was going to try and get the case reopened. We appreciate you taking the time to look into it. Mary's a good woman, when she and my brother split and he moved away I really filled that father figure role for Wes. I always liked Mary, we've remained good friends. I wish she had told me when she first started feeling ill," he says with a regretful tone.
"Can you tell us anything about the day Wesley disappeared? Was there anything unusual that day? Anything odd about his behavior or anyone else's behavior that day?"
"No, not at all, he was so happy before he disappeared. I was at their house for dinner the night before, Wes was excited for summer and talking about all the things he wanted to do with Hannah. In the middle of dinner we got a phone call, Wes had won a science contest, the prize was a ten thousand dollar scholarship. He was stoked and left the table to call Hannah. The day he disappeared he was still riding on the wave of bliss from winning that scholarship, he was excited to tell his friends. He didn't have a class with me that semester, so the last time I saw him was lunch. He was eating with Hannah, both were smiling and happy. It wasn't until almost eight that night when Mary called that I knew something was wrong. Mary said Wes hadn't come home, he wasn't at my place, Hannah's, Connor's or Dave's. We called the cops and they searched, after a week though they thought he was a runaway, until his body was found."
Wesley's uncle looks away and wipes some tears from his eyes. Clare's been taking notes, she usually takes notes when we interview people, she's faster and neater than I am. Clare gives him a moment before continuing with her questions.
"It sounds like you were very close to Wesley, did he ever confide something to you he maybe didn't tell his mom?"
"We were very close, Wes did confide in me a lot, but nothing that would explain his disappearance or death. Things about girls, schoolwork, Wes was a good kid, studious, he never got into trouble, neither did his friends."
"Was anyone acting strange after he went missing?" I question.
"We all were, all of us that cared about him anyway. We were all afraid of what may have happened to him. Even people that didn't care about him, when Wes was missing and found dead everyone was acting strange. At least, it seemed that way. I just remember being so worried, every day that passed more and more people were worried. When his body was found it seemed to get to everyone one way or another."
"Thank you Mr. Bettenkamp, if you think of anything else please give me a call," Clare says handing him her card.
"Of course," he nods taking her card, "thank you for looking into his case again."
Clare smiles and we leave the classroom, walking out of the school and still getting stares from students and staff as we leave.
Where to now?" I ask Clare when we're back in the car.
"Back to the office, there are other people to interview but I haven't located them yet."
We drive back to the office in silence, Clare parks in the garage and we go upstairs to homicide. I walk ahead of Clare, I'm still not happy about taking this case.
"Are you two really looking into a seven-year-old case when we have a fresh one?" Spin asks as we're locking up our service weapons.
"Yes," Clare replies simply.
"I need to talk to the boss," I tell her as she sits at her desk.
I'm sure Spin and Sean will bug her more about working this old case. I knock on the door to Simpson's office, he looks up from his paperwork and waves me in. I make sure to close the door all the way before speaking.
"Boss, about this case Cl…"
"I gave Clare 48 hours Baker," Simpson cuts me off, "that doesn't give you a lot of time left to find something and get the case reopened. Your partner wanted this case that means you're on it Luke. Stick by your partner, if you don't find any new evidence the case stays closed and you help Sean and Spin on the fresh one."
"Yes Sir," I nod before leaving the office. When I get back to the bullpen area I notice my partner is missing. "Where's Clare?"
"She got mad at us for giving her grief about working on the old case. She's transcribing statements in observation," Sean tells me.
"I'm not thrilled either, but if we don't find anything by end of shift tomorrow we'll be back to helping you two. Any leads?"
"Nothing, haven't heard back from forensics yet, but right now it looks like a robbery gone wrong," Spinner tells me.
"Usually is with those kinds of cases. If you want help with anything just holler, not much I can do on this case right now," I comment.
I spend most of the afternoon catching up with old paperwork because I honestly don't know what to do with a case so old. A little before the shift ends Clare emerges from observation, she says goodnight and leaves without even taking her service weapon. I walk out with Sean and Spin, Simpson is talking with the nightshift sergeant.
"You want to get a drink?" Sean asks.
"Sure," I nod. I feel like I could use a beer today. We walk down to Blue & Gold Barand sit at the bar, it's a cop bar mostly and it's mostly cops in here as usual.
"Hey Owen," we all greet the bartender. Owen owns the bar and works as the bartender most nights. He's a good guy, he's around my age and bought the bar a couple years ago from a retired cop. That's why it was a cop bar, even though Owen was never a cop it's still a cop bar.
After we order I text Jenna that I'm having a drink with the guys and I'll be home soon. I spend a couple of hours sipping a couple of beers and chatting with Sean and Spin before deciding to go home.
"Hi Baby," I greet my wife when I come in the house.
"You look beat, why don't you go into the living room and I'll get your dinner warmed up," she says.
"Thanks, you're the best," I grin.
"Better go say hi to Davey first, he's in his room," she tells me.
I smile and walk back our son's room, he's playing, but looks over when I knock on the door.
"Daddy!" Davey grins running over to me.
"Hey Sport, what are you doing?" I ask hugging him tightly and setting him down again.
"Playing soldier," he says pointing to his action figures on the floor.
"Looks like fun, I'm going to go have dinner, but I'll be back in to read you a bedtime story," I tell him tousling his hair.
"Okay, Daddy," Davey smiles and runs back to his toys.
I leave his room going out to the living room again and sitting on the sofa. I turn on the TV and find the game, watching for a few moments before Jenna comes in with a plate for me.
"Thanks Honey," I smile kissing her gently. She sits on the arm of the sofa and kisses my temple.
"Welcome. Rough day? You seem to have something on your mind," she remarks.
"Just thinking about this case Clare dragged us into," I sigh after taking a bite.
"How did Clare drag you into a case?" Jenna inquires.
"It's a cold one, seven years old with no suspects still. A high school kid, he went missing for a couple weeks and was found dead in the ravine. The mom came in today, she's dying and she wants her son's case solved. I feel bad for the kid, I feel bad for the mom, but there was no evidence seven years ago and there's none now. Meanwhile Sean and Spinner got a fresh case, a young waitress that was just killed, and they could use our help. I can't understand why Clare wanted to take this old case."
"Luke," Jenna exclaims smacking my arm, "I'm ashamed of you! A boy was killed in high school and his killer never brought to justice. Now his mom is dying and all she's asking is that someone finds the person or persons that robbed her of her son. What if someone killed Davey and the case was never solved? Would you ever rest until his killer was found? Would you let anyone rest until you'd brought your son's killer to justice no matter how much time had passed?"
I hang my head in shame, she's right, I know she's right and I've been looking at this all wrong. "No, no I wouldn't. Clare's been trying to drill that into my head all day," I admit to my wife.
"Well, I keep telling you to listen to your partner, Clare's very bright," Jenna grins.
I set my plate next to me and pull my wife into my lap, she giggles and our lips join together. When we break from the kiss I rest my hand over hers on her belly.
"How do you feel?"
"Good, very little morning sickness and Davey's a good help. Have you told Clare yet? Or Simpson for that matter?" Jenna asks.
"No, not yet."
"Luke, I'm almost four months along, you can't hide it forever. I'm starting to think you're not excited about the baby."
"I'm thrilled about the baby, you know that. I'm just not ready to tell them, they'll treat me different, I don't want them to. Believe me I can't wait to be a father again," I assure my wife capturing her lips once more.
Hope you enjoyed the first chapter and are enjoying their first case. I will update soon picking up the same night in Clare's pov, and she and Luke talking with Hannah. The next story to be updated is Just a Bite.