Fic: Cold Case
Not Ruling Anything Out
Author: JR Boone
Rating: Coasting T the whole way through.
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or anything having to do with it. I wish I did. LOL that would be awesome. It would be like The L Word only musical.
Author's Note: I am like Rachel Berry whereas she needs applause to live, I need reviews to write. So you review I go faster with this. Awesome huh?
Author's Note: Inspired by the t.v. show Cold Case.


March 24, 2036

Ellie let out a contemplative sigh as she looked at the two video monitors sitting on the table in front of her. Behind one sat Judy Fabray, behind another sat Hiram and Leroy Berry.

The three parents had just been delivered the news that CSI had confirmed that the skeletons in the shallow grave discovered were indeed their daughters and they all looked visibly shook up.

The sheriff had suggested at first telling the three together but Ellie had quietly told her to separate them.

She needed this. She needed to see their reactions when they were given the news, and she needed to see it unaffected by anybody else.

Both of the Berry men had doubled over in grief, falling into each other's arms and crying unabashedly.

Judy on the other hand while obviously upset had remained rigid in her seat, her face not impassive, but not heartless.

Taking a sip of her stale coffee before tossing it into the garbage Ellie quickly swept a file off of the desk and walking into the Berry's room quietly.

"Hiram, Leroy, I'm FBI Special Agent Ellie Carson," she said softly walking up to the men and sitting across from them at the cold metal table.

"FBI?" Leroy asked quietly, his arms wrapped around his still distraught husband.

"Yes sir, I'm from a new department that deals specifically with cold cases," Ellie explained as she sat her file down.

"Oh," Leroy said softly, her brow furrowing as he softly rubbed his husbands back.

"You'll find out who did this right?" Hiram asked raising his head and looking desperately at the woman.

"I can assure you I plan to do my best," Ellie said carefully as she observed the two men. They had both aged considerably in the last two decades. The picture in the file had shown two middle aged men vibrant with life standing either side a seventeen year old Rachel Berry, all three of them in gaudy Christmas sweaters.

Hiram the shorter one, had balded completely in the years since and his face was a mass of wrinkles. Next to him propped up against the table was a brown cane that Ellie noticed he glanced at it every few minutes as if to make sure it was still there. Leroy's hair had turned a fine silver and his eyes, once sharp in vibrant in the picture had dulled considerably. Ellie supposed cataracts.

"I just can't believe it," Hiram cried letting his head fall back into his husband's chest. "All this time our baby girl was so close."

"I'm very sorry for your loss," Ellie said softly looking down at her file and taking a calming breath before steadying herself. "Do either of you know of anyone who would do this?"

"God no," Leroy said shaking his head sadly. "Our Rachel was a sweet girl, a driven girl. She had trouble at school with the other kids…but it was just high school stuff mostly."

"Mostly?" Ellie asked raising a brow.

"Well there was one time when it got out of hand," Leroy said softly.

February 2010

"Daddy I just can take it any more!" A fifteen year old Rachel Berry shouted storming into the living room throwing her bag against the wall in anger.

"Sweetheart what happened," Leroy said quickly jumping up from his seat and striding over to his daughter.

"He lied to me Daddy!" Rachel cried falling into the man's arms. "He lied to me! And everyone knew! This whole time they've been laughing behind me back!"

"Princess what are you talking about?" Leroy asked wrapping the girl tightly up into his arms.

"Finn…he slept with Santana. And instead of telling me the truth I had to hear it from her," the brunette whispered. "I had to hear it from her shouted in front of everyone all because she wanted to hurt me. Why would she do that Daddy?"

"I don't know Baby Girl," Leroy said softly petting the girl's hair.

"Why did he lie to me Daddy, why does she hate me so much she would do that?" Rachel cried trembling in her father's arms.

"I'm sure she doesn't actually hate you Baby Girl," Leroy said releasing the girl and pulling her down to the couch.

"Yes she does," Rachel whimpered leaning on her dad's shoulder and crying harder. "She's horrible to me all the time. I mean Quinn is mean to me, but Santana goes out of her way to make me feel like a failure." The girl managed to get out before breaking down again in her Daddy's arms, cries of "why" slipping out between sobs.

For his part Leroy just rocked the tiny girl in his arms, asking himself the same question. "Why his daughter?"

"So," Ellie said blowing the hair out of her face as she jotted down the scene in her papers. "This Santana girl was a bully?"

"Oh of the worst kind," Leroy said shaking his head sadly. "My daughter might have been a handful at times but Santana was just too much."

"And what did Quinn have to do with this?" Ellie asked leaning back in her seat.

"I'm not too sure," Leroy said carefully. "I know that they had a rocky relationship but Rachel didn't talk about her too much. I got the impression that it was mostly rivalry over boys they were dealing with. And…and before they disappeared they had become friends."

"Quinn had problems with Santana too," Hiram said sitting up in his chair and wiping his eyes sadly. "I remember about a week before the girls…before it happened Quinn was fighting on the phone with the girl."

"Tell me about that," Ellie said leaning back over her papers.

December 27th 2010

After kissing his daughter on the head Hiram drug himself up the stairs, thinking happily of a nice long shower when he heard an angry voice coming from his daughter's room.

Brows pinching in confusion he walked quietly towards the door and pushed it open to see Quinn pacing back and forth on her phone.

"No Santana I don't want to talk about this," Quinn growled out pinching her brow.

"Because I just don't okay!" The blonde said angrily.

"I really don't care what you think! I've made up my mind about this. There isn't any other option so stop pushing it!" Quinn shouted flipping her phone closed and falling onto Rachel's bed in tears.

"What happened after that?" Ellie asked, her brows pinched in confusion.

"I don't know," Hiram admitted. "I thought it was rude to eavesdrop so I just left."

"You left a girl crying on your daughter's bed?" Ellie asked plainly.

"I figured it was something about popularity," Hiram said defensively. "Either way it wasn't my place. I barely knew the girl."

"And this occurred the week before they disappeared?" She asked clicking her tongue thoughtfully.

"Yes," Hiram nodded sadly.

"Okay," Ellie said shaking her head before standing up. "Thank you for talking to me. I'll contact you again soon and update you on the case."

"Thank you detective," Hiram said pulling his husband tightly against his chest.

Looking back at the elderly couple Ellie sighed before ducking out of the room and staring back at them through the out dated one way glass. "They moved out of town about three months after the girls disappeared," Grace said suddenly appearing at her side with a fresh cup of coffee.

"That's surprising," Ellie murmured. "Usually in these types of cases the families stay where they were in hopes that their loved ones will come back."

"They caught a lot of flack from the town. I think after a few months of no new leads and little to no coverage about their missing daughter they just lost hope," the Sheriff explained softly, her voice slightly tinged with bitterness.

"I got a feeling they weren't too fond of Quinn Fabray," Ellie said as the two women began walking towards the room holding Judy.

"They probably weren't," Grace said thoughtfully. "I know that Quinn and Rachel had become close friends by the time they disappeared, but before that Quinn was one of Rachel's main bullies. As parents it must have been hard to accept her into the house with open arms."

"What can you tell me about Judy?" Ellie asked looking into the room where the aforementioned women was staring exhaustedly into a cup of lukewarm coffee.

"Noah always told me that she was real cold with Quinn," Grace said sadly.

"How so?" Ellie asked turning to the sheriff.

"Well Russell was a shit piece of work but Judy just stood back and let it happen. She stood back and watched when Russell though Quinn out because of the baby, and then when she had a chance to make it up to Quinn she let the man back into the house," Grace explained shaking her head.

"God that's horrible," Ellie said feeling disgusted as she tried to imagine herself in Quinn's shoes, pregnant and out on the streets.

"Like I said," Grace said morosely. "Lima is always thirty years behind on the times. Judy was the typical subservient house wife." With that the sheriff sighed before walking away.

Ellie took a moment to collect her self before walking into the room. Judy looked up at her from the table and the agent smiled warmly at her before taking a seat across from her. "Hello Miss Fabray, I'm FBI Special Agent Ellie Carson," she said opening up her badge for the woman to see.

"It's nice to meet you," Judy said glancing at the badge before staring back into her coffee.

"I'm very sorry for you loss," Ellie said, as she shuffled around the file in her hand and took a moment to study the women in front of her. The years had been kind to Judy.

The picture on file had been of a smiling Fabray family; Russell standing regally beside a smiling Judy with Quinn and her sister Francine, standing in front. In the years since that night Judy's hair had turned from blonde to dignified silver but her face still maintained her youthfulness. Only someone has trained as Ellie was in details could notice the darkness that seemed to swirl behind hazel eyes.

"I am as well," Judy murmured pulling Ellie out of her observations.

"Miss Fabray I need to ask you some questions about your daughter," Ellie said pulling out her pen and pad and opening up to a new sheet.

"I'm afraid I won't be of much help," Judy said frowning slightly as she leveled her gaze at Ellie. "Quinn and I weren't very close due to my bad decisions."

Ellie nodded in understanding before looking down at the pad. "Anything you can give me would be greatly appreciated."

"I'll do my best," Judy said sitting up in her chair and sweeping non-existent bangs out of her eyes.

"Did Quinn have any enemies?" The agent asked pointedly.

"Oh no," Judy said shaking her head. "My Quinnie got along well with most people. She was a very sweet girl."

"Really?" Ellie said leaning forwards as the thought over her next words carefully. "I have been told that she had problems with Santana Lopez?"

"Oh yes," Judy said sighing slightly. "The girls competed against each other for a number of titles. They butted heads but it was High School."

"Were there ever any instances of this butting heads that got your attention?" Ellie asked carefully.

"Well," Judy sighed staring off into space. "There was one."

March 2010

Russell Fabray's face was a dark red color as they power walked down the hallway of the high school, between them their daughter Quinn. "I will not let you embarrass this family Quinn," Russell growled as they made their way out of the doors.

"But Daddy I swear she started it," Quinn begged, her eyes downcast as they marched to the car.

"I don't care who started it. We are Fabray's meaning we do not fight in the hallways like common criminals, especially not little spics who don't know their places," Russell growled pushing his daughter into the car.

"I had to leave work and your mother had to leave her bridge meeting because you can't keep yourself under control," Russell ranted as Judy sat down silently in the passenger seat and looked back at her daughter's black eye.

For a second mother and daughter met eyes and the teenager looked to be pleading with her. Sighing as they pulled out of the parking lot Judy began contemplating ways to calm down her husband for Quinn's sake.

"So they got into a physical fight?" Ellie said leaning forwards eagerly.

"Yes," Judy said nodding sadly. "Quinn had a black eye and Santana had a busted lip."

"What was the fight about?" Ellie asked making notes.

"I believe it was about Cheerleading. Quinn had just been reappointed as the Head Cheerleader which demoted Santana," Judy offered up quietly.

Ellie made a small sound to tell the woman she had gotten it before capping her pen and looking up at Judy. "What can you tell me about her relationship with Rachel Berry?" Ellie asked curiously.

"To be honest I did not know they were friends until after they disappeared," Judy murmured, her eyes beginning to mist up. "Agent Carson?"

"Yes," Ellie asked as she began to gather her papers.

"Is it possible for you to know…did she suffer?" Judy asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"It is still early on," Ellie explained softly. "But the medical examiner believes that Quinn most likely died instantly from her wound."

"And the other girl? Rachel?" Judy asked her eyes downcast.

"We believe that she did suffer for a short amount of time," Ellie said sadly.

At this Judy just nodded mutely before staring back down at her drink. Sighing to her self Ellie slipped out of the room and headed towards the Sheriff's office.

"What can you tell me about Santana Lopez?" Ellie asked walking into the room and sitting opposite Grace.

"I didn't know her that well back then but I know her pretty well now. She took over as Principal of the high school ten years ago and her wife, Brittany Pierce is the Coach of the Cheerios," Grace said leaning back in her chair and rubbing her face from obvious exhaustion.

"How did she react after they disappeared?" Ellie asked leaning forwards in her chair and glancing down at her notepad.

"It was kind of strange," Grace murmured. "Everyone was frantic trying to find them except for Santana. I know my brother and her fought about it. Their whole Glee Club spent months looking for them except for Santana, she was very…I hate to say it but she was blasé about the entire thing. You don't think she had anything to do with it do you?" The Sheriff asked carefully.

"I'm not ruling anything out," Ellie said sitting back. "But both the Berry's and Mrs. Fabray have said there were problems between their daughters and Ms. Lopez."

"But that was just High School stuff. A popularity contest, you don't think she would kill the girls over it," Grace said shaking her head.

"Like I said," Ellie said standing up and shoving her notepad into her pocket. "I'm not ruling anything out. For now I think I'm going to go have a talk with Ms. Lopez."

"She'll be at the school right now," Grace said shaking her head, obviously disturbed by the notion that someone she thought she knew might have something to do with this tragedy.

"Could you call her and tell her to expect me?" Ellie asked checking her sidearm over.

"Of course," Grace murmured staring down at her phone.

Taking a deep breath to ground her self Ellie nodded her thanks before slipping out of the room, her mind filled with notions of what popularity meant in a town like this.