Chapter 3:

After another wonderful date with Rick, Lilly walked into the squad room, fully prepared to take on the day. Scotty was already at his desk, a box open on his desk and he was perusing the file.

"Hey" Lilly said holding a cup of coffee out to Scotty; he took it looking curiously up at her.

"What's this?" he asked; his heart raced as their fingers touched.

"And I thought they made you a detective" Lilly teased "I thought I'd bring you a coffee"

He chuckled and took a sip, just the right balance of coffee sugar with a hint of nutmeg, perfect, just like her.

"Thanks" he said

"So we got a case?" she asked picking out a file from the box and flipping it open.

"Yeah, Missing persons got a tip last night about a cold case; CSU went to location and found some bones, Vic was shot, dental records ID him as Adam Kerrigan went missing two years ago" he replied "Was just about to go and talk to the family, you want to come?" he asked

"Sure" Lilly picked up her jacket and Scotty followed.

They made their way down to the parking garage and got into his car, Scotty turned up the heat to combat the cold.

"It's freezing out this morning" Lilly said looking out the window at the streets blanketed with a soft layer of fresh snow. Scotty looked down at her bare hands and chuckled "Maybe you shoulda worn gloves" he suggested.

"I left them at Rick's" Lilly said "Thought I had em when I left this morning but I didn't"

"Oh" was all Scotty could manage to say, if she'd left her gloves at his place, she'd obviously spent the night.

"Actually, was hoping we could swing by his apartment, I am worried if I have to draw my weapon it'll freeze to my hand" he chuckled uncomfortably and cleared his throat.

"Sure, we have some time"

Lilly gave him directions and Scotty drove, still fast despite the snow and they soon reached his apartment.

"I'll be right back" she said and he plastered his fake smile again as she ducked out of the car and ran up his steps. He watched as she knocked on the door and he answered, he wished he could hear what they were saying as she leaned in. He handed her here gloves and kissed her quickly, he watched as she blushed and kissed him back. Lilly turned back to face the street and Rick waved at Scotty which he returned uncomfortably. After another kiss on the cheek, Lilly was running back to the car, slipping into her gloves.

"Thanks Scotty" Lilly said "Much better"

"No problem Lil, what are partners for"

They drove the rest of the way in silence, Scotty trying to focus on the case, with increasing difficulty.


"Can I help you?" elderly woman asked looking slightly confused the two detectives standing at her front door.

"Mrs Kerrigan?" Scotty asked

"Yes" she answered

"Detectives Valens and Rush" he said indicating Lilly with a small gesture and holding up his badge "Philly homicide, can we come in?" he asked

"Homicide? Her eyes widened in shock. "What happened?"

"Please Mrs Kerrigan can we discuss this inside?" Lilly asked again, worrying if they told this woman they found her son's body the previous night she might collapse.

"Oh yes of course" she lead the two detectives down the hall and showed them into her small kitchen. "Please take a seat" she pointed to the small seats surrounding the table "Can I get you two a cup of coffee?" she asked

"No thankyou Mrs Kerrigan, we want to talk to you about Adam" Lilly began softly, she really hated this part of her job.

She inhaled sharply and sank down into the chair opposite them "You found my baby?" she asked

"I am sorry Mrs Kerrigan, we found him this morning" Scotty voice filled with compassion

"What...how...where did you find him?" The poor old lady looked across at Lilly

"They found him in an abandoned house in Kensington" she replied

"Did your son have any enemies?" Scotty asked "Anyone who he had a beef with?"

"No, Adam was a sweet boy" she said as tears filled her eyes "Everyone loved him"

"In the days before he disappeared did his behaviour change? Or was there anyone knew in his life?" Scotty asked.

"Well know that you mention it, he was acting different the last few weeks, and he asked to borrow money from me" she answered looking up hopefully

"Was that usual?" Lilly asked

"No he had a good job, he took such good care of me, he was so careful with his money"

"Did he have a girlfriend?" Scotty asked

Mrs Kerrigan sighed and shook her head "Detective, my son was gay"

Scotty shifted uncomfortably in his seat "Oh...well did he have a...boyfriend?"

"Yes, Mark Copeland, he is a corporate attorney with Bryce and Gordon" she says "I still have his number if you want?" she stood up and walked over to the notice board by the phone "Adam gave me it in case I wanted to contact him, I still see him every Sunday he comes over for dinner, just like they did when Adam was..." she handed the number to Lilly.

"Can you tell him that I am sorry" she said softly "He is such a nice young man, he really loved my Adam"

"We'll be in touch Mrs Kerrigan" Scotty said and they showed themselves out.


They arrived at the offices of Bryce and Gordon that afternoon and waited in the reception area for Mark. His secretary had told them that he was on a call and would be with them soon, Scotty choose to sit on the couch my the window and Lilly sat beside him, he stared down at his notes, when he knee came in contact with his he felt his heart beat harder and it felt like his skin was burning from the slight contact.

"Detectives?" Mark walked over to them and held out his hand, they shook hands and he showed them into his office. "Please take a seat, what can I do for you?" he asked

"Mr Copland, there is no easy way to tell you this, we found Adam's body this morning. I am afraid that it looks like he was murdered"

The entire colour drained from his face and he sank down on his desk "Oh my god" he said voice was barely above a whisper "What...what happened to him?" he asked.

"It appears he was shot" Scotty said "Did he have any enemies?"

"No, not really"

"What do you mean not really?" Scotty asked

"It's probably nothing, I don't wanna waste your time running down dead end leads" he said

"Mr Copeland..."

"Please call me Mark"

"Mark, anything you can tell us would help" Lilly took a step towards him.

"A week before he went missing, we were at a nightclub and he had a run in with Simon Johnson, accused Adam of stealing from him...which is a total lie, Adam wouldn't do anything like that" Mark got off his desk and walked over to the window.

"Do you have a number for this Simon Johnson?" Scotty asked his pen poised above his pad, waiting to write.

"No, but he hangs out at the Rampol, it's a gay bar in centre city"

Scotty and Lilly turned to go "Detectives"

Lilly turned around to face him "I want you to catch the guy that did this to Adam" he said

"I promise you we are going to do everything we can to bring his killer to justice" Lilly replied and they exited his office.


Back in the squad room Lilly and Scotty filled in the others about what they had found out from Adams partner and mother.

"Miller you and Valens go check out this guys story, Rush and Jefferies I want you to go talk to missing persons see where the tip came from" Stillman said and they filed out, leaving Vera to look in to Adam's background.

"So, how you doing?" Kat asked as they slipped into his car

"Me I am totally fine" he said and he put the key in the ignition.

"Really?" Kat asked and Scotty rolled his eyes

"Can you just drop it" he snapped "I just want to forget 'bout it"

"So you aren't gonna tell her how you feel about her?" Kat asked

Scotty pulled the car back out into the street and headed for centre city "No, I ain't, so just drop it" Kat took the hint and remained silent, hoping that her colleague would eventually come to his senses.

Twenty minutes later they pulled up outside their destination and got out. Scotty took a deep breath and walked towards the front door.

"This case gonna make you uneasy?" Kat asked

"Nah, let's just get this over with" he pushed open the door and they walked towards the door.

"Can I help you?" a skinny man behind the bar asked

"Detectives Valens and Miller Philly PD" Scotty said flashing his badge

"Hey I don't know what you've heard about this place but it ain't a brothel" the man snapped defensively.

"We ain't vice; we're homicide we want to talk to a Simon Johnson about the disappearance and murder of Adam Kerrigan" Kat replied

"Adam's dead" the man said putting the towel he was holding on the bar "Oh my god" he sank down on the stool.

"Sir, we need to talk to Simon Johnson" Scotty said again

"You are" he said "I am Simon"

"We have a witness that says you fought with Adam the day before he went missing" Kat began "You wanna fill us in?"

"That was two years ago detective"

"Do you remember what it was about?" Scotty asked

"He borrowed money off me, said he was gonna return it, never did"

"Did he say what the money was for?" Scotty asked

"No, he didn't say and I didn't ask, I lent it to him because he was an old friend"

"We have a witness that says you accused him of stealing from you"

"I did say that, he hadn't paid me back and I told him that if he didn't pay me back I was gonna call my lawyer, but that was it I wouldn't of hurt him, the guy was like a brother to me"

"When was the last time you saw him?" Kat asked

"The day he disappeared, he came to me and told me that he needed one more day and that he'd pay me the money back, the next morning he was gone. Mark told me that his mother had reported him missing two weeks later, thats all I know"


Across town, Lilly and Jefferies were walking into the west police department's missing persons unit.

"We are Detectives Jefferies and Rush from homicide, we wanted to talk to an Officer Connors about a tip he received last night" Will said

"Down the hall, third desk on the left" the man at the enquiries desk said without looking up. Lilly and Will exchanged a look and made their way to Connors's desk. The younger detective looked up as they approached and his eyes fell on Lilly, smiling slightly he stood up "Can I help you...?"

"Detective Rush, and this is Detective Jefferies were are from homicide we wanted to ask about the tip on the missing person you got last night"

"Oh right, sure what did you wanna know?" he asked

"Did the informant leave a name?" Jefferies asked

"No, says he wanted to remain anonymous"

"What did he say exactly?" Lilly asked

"I got the transcripts from the tip line here" he said and he shuffled through some papers on his desk, finally pulling a single piece from the bottom of a stack. "Here" he held it out to Lilly, his eyes still looking anywhere but her eyes.

Lilly snatched the paper out of his hands "Who was the last owner of the house that he was found in?" Jefferies asked

"Err that was a..." he searched through a few more of his papers "Yes here it is the previous owner was a Mark Copeland" Lilly looked at Jefferies; they had to speak to Mark again. They started to walk towards the exit.

"Wait detective Rush" Lilly turned back around

"Yes"

"Maybe you should give me your number, you know in case I remember anything" he said

Lilly smirked and turned to leave "If you think of anything you can call my lieutenant" and she and Jefferies left.

A/N: what do you guys think, review please. The more reviews the faster I write. Okay now it sounds like I am begging, I am not begging but since your already at the bottom of the page...