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Chapter 2
The next morning, Scotty was up bright and early. He felt happy, he wasn't usually this energetic in the morning but last night was a good night. He glanced at the clock; it read 11:00 AM, not so bright and early then. He took a shower and noticed that Nick was still fast asleep with his clothes on. Scotty wore jeans and a black short-sleeved undershirt.
He went downstairs and found Will already sitting by the pool. "Good morning." Scotty said cheerily.
"Must have been a hell of a night for you to be polite and a hell of a woman to bring that smile on your face." Will said pointedly as he drank his coffee.
"Nah, I went out with Lil after the interview." He said. Scotty chuckled when the older man's eyes opened comically. "Not like that Will, get your mind out of the gutter."
"I don't really want to know." Will muttered under his breath.
"Did you have breakfast yet?" Scotty looked over the menu.
"I did, there was no point in waiting for you three. Vera got here an hour ago, he said you and Lil conducted the interview."
Scotty nodded, "he said something interesting about Laura Giffords. Apparently she's obsessed with him…" he related the interview to Will and soon both detectives looked into the restraining order story.
Lilly came down thirty minutes later, she wore another dress. "Looking good Rush." Scotty smirked and winked at her. Lilly slapped him in the arm.
"Thank you Valens. You don't look so bad yourself." She sat down next to him and grabbed his cup of coffee. She made a face once she tasted it.
"Cortadito, Rush, Cuban coffee."
"Too strong, no wonder you're so perky this morning." She said while she ordered regular coffee.
"Did we look up the restraining order story?" She asked Will.
"We did. Rodrigo's story checks out. He moved to Florida a few months after Linda's death. He's clean, no record, not even traffic tickets. The sister story seems to be true too. Jessica Mendoza, late twenties, med school lives with Rodrigo, and his family. He has two children, ages 12 and 7.
"This guy checks out and unlike Laura he actually cooperated with us. She is hiding something, why didn't she tell us that she moved to Florida looking for Rodrigo." Scotty mused and put his own hypothesis.
He leaned into the table, "Laura is ten and in love, she thinks Rodrigo is the love of her life. Linda is an obstacle, Rodrigo notices her, likes her because she reminds him of his little sister. Laura doesn't know the full story and thinks her best friend in the world is betraying her. She's our doer."
"We have motive but we still need the opportunity. We should thread carefully. This case is personal for Nick, he knew both the victim and the suspect." Will proposed and then said, "We'll ask her to go down to the precinct and then interrogate her."
The three detectives agreed and waited until Nick woke up to tell him the news. Will and Lilly got ready and went to the station; they would set everything to have the interrogation there. Scotty was in charge of letting either Kat or Boss the latest information.
He called Kat, "How's the Sunshine State treating Philadelphia's finest?" She laughed a little.
"I bet Veronica didn't even have a trip." He said accusingly.
He could hear Kat's chuckles, "Mendoza seems to be clean. His alibi checks out and he gave us more information on what might have been the motive behind Linda's murder." Scotty reported all the information they managed to get out of Rodrigo.
"We'll interrogate her this afternoon, with some luck we'll be back tomorrow or the day after tomorrow the latest." Scotty said.
Kat took down the information and then hung up. Scotty went back into the room and tried to wake Nick. "Nick wake up, we have to meet Lilly and Will at the station." He shook the sleeping detective who grumbled and tried to bat away Scotty's hand.
"Go away Valens." The detective ordered against his pillow.
"We have to go, Vera, we narrowed it down Laura." This information perked Vera up. He sat up and looked sharply at his colleague.
"That can't be, Laura couldn't have she was a kid. She was a sweet kid Scotty, it can't be her." Nick sobered up and dressed quickly.
"Mendoza checks out, he's innocent. Laura lied to us from the beginning. Nick we still have to interrogate her, maybe there's an explanation." Scotty said feebly, they both knew the younger man tried to lighten the situation.
An hour later they were at the station, Nick nursed a black cup of coffee and a tall glass of water with aspirin on the side. "Do we know when Laura is scheduled to be interrogated?" he was still poring over the files; to make sure that the woman was really implicated.
"6:00PM detective Rivera called her earlier and she agreed to come by at that time." Will sat back and read a book. They were pretty much done with the case, they needed to interview Laura and either get a confession or be back at ground zero.
They entertained themselves helping with the phones or checking over arrests until Laura arrived. It was determined that Scotty and Lilly would talk to Laura and get the confession they needed.
The redhead entered the station with her husband, a good-looking Latino. "Laura, this way please." Lilly led her to the interrogation room.
"Your husband is a very good looking guy. How long have you been together?" Lilly asked and sat in front of the young woman.
"Seven years, but we started dating eight years ago." Laura answered with a smile. "We're trying to get pregnant."
Lilly made an encouraging noise and smiled at her. Scotty entered the room, "Does he know that Rodrigo Mendoza filed a restraining order against you?" He slapped a folder in front of her.
"We talked to Rodrigo, is best that you cooperate Laura." Lilly told the woman.
"I was silly, I admit it. I thought I was in love but I was 18 years old. It was stupid and my husband doesn't know. I didn't think it was important to tell him about that." She said nervously.
"You attacked a pregnant woman, that's not a silly mistake. That's assault, almost sociopathic behavior." Scotty remarked harshly.
"I don't understand what that has to do with Linda's death." She stated firmly.
"It has everything to do Laura. You were in love with Rodrigo, that's why you came to Florida. You tracked him down because you loved him and wanted to be with him for the rest of your life." Lilly looked sympathetically at her.
"That's why you attacked Linda, you wanted Rodrigo but he never paid much attention to you. I bet he didn't even know who you were when you came looking for him." Scotty was cold and calculating. "But he remembers Linda, he liked her, they had something back in '87."
Laura became agitated, "No they didn't. Linda didn't even like him. Why did he have to be in love with her? It was supposed to be me. I was prettier and actually wanted boys to notice me."
"What did you do to her Laura? We know you went back to the pool, Rodrigo saw you sneaking back." Scotty bluffed perfectly.
Laura fell for it she looked at Lilly for support. "It's time Laura, you need to tell us what happened to her."
The woman looked pleadingly at Lilly. "I was so mad at her. We fought, it got out of control; I called her awful names and she said I was crazy. She said I was pathetic that Rodrigo would never pay attention to me. I saw red, I grabbed her head and just dunked her underwater until she didn't fight anymore."
"He wasn't in love with her, Linda reminded him of his little sister." Scotty put the confession papers in front of her and she signed them tearfully.
Lilly handcuffed her and led her out of the interrogation room. Nick shook his head; Linda couldn't even make eye contact with him. The husband looked crushed, he tried to get to her but Will stopped him.
Scotty clapped Nick on the back. "I'm sorry man." He said quietly. Nick nodded; he still looked shocked to the core. Fifteen minutes later Lilly came back from the cells. "We are done. The Miami police will take her back to Philly. I left her with the husband. He was devastated. They're talking now.
It was 8:00 PM; Vera called Boss and let him know that the case was closed. At least they got good news out of it. Stillman arranged for them to be back to Philly the next day on a plane, their car would be used to transport Linda. They were to leave Miami in the early afternoon.
Nick still was pretty upset about Laura, "Nick you never told us about your wild night in town. Will tells us you got in early morning." Scotty teased him.
"Nothing especial, I think I might go back and try to get back with Toni." Lilly shook her head. She didn't think Toni would take him back. It was hard to maintain a family life when you were a homicide detective. Kat and Curtis didn't work out and she was still very much single. Scotty wasn't dating at all, Will was very private but she thought he wasn't seeing anyone and well her… it was safe to say she wasn't even trying to get back to dating. That would change though. Lilly promised to herself to try dating once she got back to Philly.
"Let's hit the town tonight." Will proposed, since he stayed back yesterday and he wanted to lift Nick's spirit.
"We should go back to Rodrigo's club, tell him we got Linda's murderer." Nick said, it also happened that he had a date with one of the women he met the night before.
The Philadelphia detectives took the rental car and went back to the hotel. Lilly went up to her room and decided on what dress to wear. She chose a little black dress, one of her favorites. She took a shower and dried her hair. She wore little mascara and her hair down; it had been years since she wore it down like that. She was glad she packed the black stilettos. Lilly checked her cell phone three missed calls from Scotty. She groaned, men were always impatient, especially Scotty.
Three detectives waited patiently or at least two of them did. "I don't understand why it takes her this long to get ready. It's been a hour and fifteen minutes for god's sake." They wore their regular suits, the younger man kept complaining.
"I don't get it Scotty, you should be used to the wait by now. I mean you lived with Elisa didn't you?" Vera asked, he thought that Elisa was safe to bring up and it was Scotty realized years ago that he had to remember his dead fiancé for what she was a vibrant young woman who loved him. He loved Elisa and made peace with her death. "She was always ready before me." Scotty said simply.
"Well she was the exception pal, all the women I've been with take more than an hour to get ready, Julie, Megan, Toni. You name her, they will always make you wait."
"But isn't it worth it." Will remarked and Vera nodded with a smile on his face.
"I'm calling her again, she's bound to pick up sometime." Scotty took out his cellphone from his pocket.
"No need Valens, I'm ready." He turned around and saw her. He smiled at her, "you look gorgeous."
"I'm getting used to the dresses. Don't lose them Lil." Vera stood up and took her arm.
She laughed and they walked out to the club. They were joking around until they got in. Scotty noticed that more men paid attention to his partner and leaned close to her. He didn't like some of the stares she got, or the fact that some of the men blatantly flirted even when he put his arm around her waist.
They met the old bartender by the bar. Scotty and him had a whole conversation in Spanish; Lil heard a lot of Cuba and oyeme. She sipped on her drink and talked to Will and Nick who observed the people on the floor dancing. "Scotty is a pretty good dancer." Lil teased her partner who kept talking in perfect Spanish to the bartender.
Nick snorted, "I bet." He drank his mojito and laughed alongside Will. Lil laughed too and Scotty winked at her. Lil dissolved into giggles after that. "The Latin lover charm doesn't work on me Valens. I know you too well to fall for that." Lilly smirked at him playfully.
"That's because I haven't really tried Rush." He came close to her ear and whispered something really close to her ear in the foreign language. Lilly felt a burst of electricity but recovered quickly and laughed along with Nick.
Soon they were having drinks and enjoying themselves, although she wished Kat was here. She went to the bathroom and came back to find only Nick and Will trying to communicate with the bartender. "Hey, where's Scotty?" She smiled when Nick pointed to the dance floor. Her partner was dancing with a pretty brunette. She tried to keep smiling but the fact was that she didn't like how closely they were dancing or the fact that the woman was obviously coming onto him. "Looks like our boy is not sleeping at the hotel tonight." Nick commented to Will.
Lilly quieted the ugly voice in her head that wished that woman wasn't touching her partner's back or moving her front against him. She saw him smiling at the stranger, and it wasn't the usual smile he gave strangers. This was one of the full watt Scotty smiles. The one he reserved for his close friends and family. She drank her shot and continued torturing herself by watching him touch that woman. He placed his hands or her hips and swayed to a fast beat. They were having fun, she smiled provocatively at Scotty and he smiled and pulled her closer. "Kid's got some moves. I didn't know he could dance that way." Will remarked happily. No one would have guessed that she was tense; in fact the only person who could pick the subtle cues on her Ice Queen mask was busily dirty dancing with a pretty brunette.
Lilly watched the couple dance for fifteen more minutes until they came to the bar. Before they got there a man stepped in front of Scotty. They glared at each other. Lil and the other two detectives were ready to back up their colleague when the two men broke in smiles and hugged each other. The trio talked in rapid Spanish, suddenly as if remembering the squad Scotty called out. "Margarita, Jorgito, these are my colleagues." He pointed to the two male detectives, "Nick and Will" he turned to Lil and winked at her. "This is Lilly Rush, my partner." Scotty said quickly.
The Brunette was the first to introduce herself, "Margarita Sandoval." She kissed Nick and Will. She smiled at Lilly and then kissed her too.
"Jorge Sandoval." The big man shook hands with the men and then kissed Lilly on the cheek.
Nick spoke up, "Let's get us a table." They all agreed and settled down away from the dance floor.
"So how do you know each other?" Lilly was dying to know what type of relationship they shared. It was obvious that this couple knew Scotty pretty well. She didn't want to admit it but she also wanted to know what was the deal with Margarita and Scotty.
The woman smiled and kissed Scotty's cheek, "we go way back Scotty and I." She said teasingly.
"Really." Will said eyeing the young detective. "Not like that Jeffries." Scotty smiled and made a face at Margarita.
"They're cousins." Jorge answered, "She was a Valens a couple of years ago." He kissed Margarita.
"So this is the famous Jorgito, the one who works for ICE." Will laughed out loud.
"Hell no man. I'm an immigration lawyer." Jorge said while glaring at Scotty.
"I used your name during an interrogation. Nothing more, I thought you guys were still in Canada." Scotty started and soon it became a Valens catch up conversation. Lilly smiled more and dropped the Ice Queen glare she gave Margarita once she understood her relationship to Scotty. "Are you sure you don't want to stay over at uncle Juan's house? It will be more comfortable." Margarita insisted. She and her husband were staying with friends until they got back to Canada.
"Nah, Maggie you know how he is and aunt Luisa." He rolled his eyes, "She'll start talking about babies and the fact that I'm still single. She'll try to set me up again." Margarita winced, "You're right." She said quickly. Lilly laughed.
"Don't laugh Lilly. You might think it's funny but you haven't met this woman. She is absolutely relentless. She's been trying to find wives for Scotty and my brother for at least seven years. She has it down to a science. "I had to go through horrible blind dates she set up for me." Margarita explained.
Louder music played, Scotty's cousin got up and pulled Scotty with her, "Come on Valens, let's teach my husband some moves." She laughed and dragged Scotty back to the dance floor.
The detectives and Jorge watched as the cousins danced and laughed. " Man, I have to ask you. Aren't you in the least jealous? They are dancing too close." Nick stammered and looked closely at the Hispanic man. Jorge laughed uproariously, "The Valens are the most catholic family I've ever met. Margarita's mom threw a fit when she learned that I was atheistic. They would never get together, and Scotty had Elisa since I met him."
Lilly and the others nodded, "You know about Elisa right?" Jorge asked a little nervously.
"We do." Lilly answered quietly. "How's he doing? We moved to Canada right before it happened. We don't exactly keep much contact. Scotty is always busy with work."
"He's doing fine." Will stepped in.
"Elisa's death, I think it destroyed him, he was never the same but I think he's better. He seems happy now. Is he doing ok?"
"Jorge he's fine now, it took him a lot of time to accept her death but he's doing better now." Lilly was touched by the worry she saw in his eyes.
Scotty and Margarita came back when the slow songs started playing. "Come here Rush." He grabbed her hand and led her to the dance floor. "I don't want to dance Scotty." She smiled when he pulled her close. "It doesn't matter Lil, we're dancing now. I want to dance and I don't think Jorgito would appreciate Margarita being this close to me."
"Are you flirting with me Valens? I told you it won't work." She said really close to his earlobe.
Scotty smirked, "What if I am Rush?" he said teasingly and his fingers danced across her back. Maybe something would have happened then, they certainly had a moment but they were both very much scared and after two seconds of looking into their eyes they smirked to each other. They continued dancing close to each other and Lilly actually inhaled deeply and kissed the side of his neck and cheek. Scotty kissed her jaw too. They were too scared to acknowledge that their relationship was shifting.
Five years ago they were just partners, their relationship was strained because of the Christina debacle, as Scotty called it. Three years ago he was there for her when she was shot and her mother died. A year ago he was there for her when Christina and Rebecca needed them. Scotty found a real friend in Lil. She was there for him when his mother was raped. It was because of her that he didn't do anything stupid. The thought of not seeing her on a daily basis hurt him. He thought that it was because Lilly Rush was like his family, like a sister, but you don't want to kiss and touch your sister. He realized in that moment at the dance floor that he wanted Lilly Rush. Once he felt her lips on his skin he knew he wanted her. "Don't do anything stupid Scotty. Think before you do." He chanted in his mind. He wasn't about to lose his best friend just because he was attracted to her. Intellectually he understood that Lilly Rush was a beautiful woman. He would be lying if he said otherwise but in almost eight years of partnership the thought of having her did not make a conscious appearance on his mind. Now it did, it was there; taking roots and growing like a weed.
Lilly's coping mechanism was denial and distraction. If she didn't confront it then it wasn't there. Out of sight, out of mind. When that didn't work she used distraction. Her job provided her with plenty of it. She was always busy, reading files, conducting interviews, and doing paperwork. If she ignored the fact that having Scotty so close to her excited her, that the way his hands traveled across her back didn't send an electricity current down her spine she could make it. She would go back to Philly and immerse herself on work and date someone. If she had an outlet, these complicated Scotty feelings would go away.
The partners went back to their table and saw their colleagues smirking. Lilly ignored them and Scotty engaged Jorge in a conversation in Spanish. Jorge winked at Lilly. She wasn't sure what the conversation was about but Scotty looked nervous and wouldn't look at her at all. The evening wore on, the detectives talked to Rodrigo; he smiled at them and wished them a safe trip. Scotty and his cousins said their goodbyes.
