A/N: As always, I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I am so glad you are enjoying this story! :- )
Disclaimer: I don't own Cold Case
A while later, I'm back at my desk at Central trying to figure this all out. For some reason Miss Rush and I were the targets of a Private Investigator. I was certain it had something to do with this case but I had no idea what. I managed to track down the business address of this Nick Vera. It was a little office on the edge of town. I did a little digging and it turns out that Vera lost his licence about a couple of years ago due to reckless endangerment. After the way he started taking pot shots at us the other night it was clear this guy was a loose cannon. But why would he be trying to kill us? Was it a personal grudge? Or maybe he was unofficially back in business? Either way, I had to find out before someone wound up dead.
That afternoon I was getting ready to pay a visit to the former PI's office when a uniformed officer comes over to me and hands me a letter. "What's this?" I asked looking at the small white envelope that simply read 'Detective Valens'.
"Some guy dropped this off just now, said to give this to you." He said.
I nodded and as soon as he was gone, I open it. It read:
The caged bird is hiding something, he has a buried secret. You reap what you sow.
What the hell? I thought. I read it again. Caged bird? Could they be referring to Windsdale? But why not come out and tell me, why the cryptic letter? A buried secret? It felt like a practical joke but part of me knew I couldn't take the chance, but after staring at the letter for ten minutes and getting nowhere I decide to take a walk to clear my head.
It was a sunny afternoon and I took a stroll around the block. This whole case was not making much sense. Just who could have sent that letter and what the hell did they mean by 'you reap what you sow'? Was that a veiled threat against Winsdale's life? Maybe Maria Garner was right about him after all and someone else had proof. He was safe as long as he was in lock up at least. I stop by a bench near the park and sit down as I start to feel my head begin to hurt. I noticed some daisies growing nearby and before I could stop myself, my thoughts begin to turn to Miss Rush and how I would like to pick a handful for her. Get a hold of yourself Valens! I say quietly to myself. I am suddenly pulled out of my reverie by a moment of inspiration. "He has a buried secret. You reap what you sow!" At that, I almost run back to my office. A short while later and me, my partner and a handful of uniformed officers are searching Winsdale's house. "Search the garden!" I tell them. Sure enough, there behind his shed was a gun buried in the dirt. CSU carefully bagged it and took it back to the lab.
...
The sun was beginning to set by the time we got back to the station. I decided to pay another visit to Mr Windsdale. "Well, we meet again Mr Winsdale." I say to him. He looks at me, exhausted. "You look like hell!"
"Didn't sleep too good. I need to get outta here."
"And I need a million dollars, but we seldom get everything we want! But if you tell me what I want to hear, maybe we could cut a deal?"
"What kind of deal? What do you wanna know?"
"You tell us why you killed David Garner and maybe I could persuade them to take the death penalty off the table?"
"Death penalty! I didn't kill David, I didn't kill anyone!"
"Then why is it that we found a gun buried in your backyard, your fingerprints all over it? The same kind of gun that shot Garner?" I could feel my patience waning.
"Okay, okay, look, a couple of weeks ago I went home and found this gun in my gym bag. I freaked okay! I didn't know how it got in there but it isn't mine! The only thing that I wanted to do was get rid of it, so I buried it."
I smirk at that. "How stupid do you think I am?" I tell him.
"Look you gotta believe me; someone's trying to put this on me. I don't know why but I had nothing to do with David's death. God, he was my best friend!"
I was about to fire off another round of questions when my partner opens the door and says "Scotty, phone call for you. Says it's urgent and he needs to speak to you right now. Won't take no for an answer! I can take this from here."I nod and leave the room and head for my desk.
When I get there, I pick up the phone. "Valens."
"Detective, if you know what's good for you you'll keep your distance from Miss Rush!"
"What? Who is this?" I demand.
"Stay away from her! She's mine!" he then hangs up the phone, leaving me speechless. Suddenly I am filled with a sense of dread. Miss Rush could be in danger!
I race out of the station and drive as fast as I could to the bar. Once I get there, I ask Jeffries where she is. "She left here about ten minutes ago. Think she went home."
"Thanks," I tell him and then hurry back to my car and start driving again.
...
It's a half hour drive from Jones' Tavern to her apartment. I drive as fast as I could but I hit traffic about five minutes in. I curse under my breath and turn on the sirens. Suddenly I'm making progress again. I finally hit a stretch of open road and hit the accelerator harder. I could feel the adrenaline course through me. It was only then that I start to feel that something wasn't right. I look in the rear view mirror and notice that someone's following me. It was same car from the other night. It had to be Vera. With one hand, I reach for my gun just in case he decides to start shooting again. He does. The first shot is nowhere near my car but the second shot hits the left wing mirror. When I get the chance, I roll down the window and fire off a couple of shots in his direction. I don't think I did much damage though, as the bastard's still chasing me. I quickly pull myself back inside the car as he fires of a few more bullets, but now there's something very wrong. I'm having trouble keeping control of the car. He must have got my tyres. I feel a surge of anger grow within me as I return the favour. One, two, three bullets are fired from my gun and two of them hit home. He begins to lose control of his vehicle and I can see him swerve off the road. I take silent pleasure in my victory but this is quickly replaced by a searing pain in my shoulder. I take a look and am shocked to see my own blood seeping through my shoulder. "Shit!" I curse but keep driving as fast as I could. I was only a couple of minutes from her place, I had to keep going. I finally reach Miss Rush's apartment and I see her outside talking to someone. I stagger out of the car and walk towards her. "Miss Rush!" I call but then feel my knees buckle. Then everything goes black.
...
When I wake up I'm lying down on a bed somewhere. I don't recognise the room, but my vision is a little blurry and my memory hasn't fully recovered. The last thing I remember was…driving, really fast. Then calling out to Miss Rush, she was in danger. "Miss Rush!" I shout, at least, I mean to shout but my voice comes out more as a hoarse whisper. I cough and suddenly there's a throbbing pain in my shoulder. I try to sit up but I can't even manage to get halfway there, as my arms give way and I fall back down again.
"Shhh you shouldn't try to sit up, you've lost a quite a bit of blood." An angelic voice says. I blink and when my vision clears, I see her. Miss Rush is sitting beside me on the bed. I can feel her soft hand on my face and for a nanosecond I think I may have died and gone to heaven.
"How did I get here?" I ask her as I notice the dressing on my shoulder.
"My neighbour helped me carry you here. It's a good thing I was talking to him when you arrived."
It was starting to come back to me now. The phone call, the case, me being shot in the shoulder. "We have to get outta here, you could be in danger. I think someone is trying to hurt you." I tell her, as my voice starts to return to normal.
She laughs a little at that. "I think you have that backwards Detective!" She says and then points to my shoulder.
I finally manage to pull myself up into a sitting position. "Miss Rush, I have good reason to believe that your life may be in danger. We have to get you someplace safe." She pauses and looks at me for a few seconds, as if she's considering something.
"What?" I ask.
"Nothing," she smiles, "you just seem determined to be my knight in shining armour!"
"That's my job, I'm a cop. It's what I do." I tell her.
She bites her bottom lip and smiles again and I can feel my pulse rising. "If you say so Detective." She gets off the bed and walks out of the room. She then returns soon after, holding a glass of water. "Here, drink this." She says, and I do. She sits down again and now it's my turn to look at her.
"What do you know about this PI, Nick Vera?" I ask.
"Nothing, why?"
"He lost his licence a few years back. I was wondering if this is a personal vendetta against you? Ex-boyfriend or something?" I say in a joking tone but I was only half-joking.
"No, I don't know anyone by that name." She tells me and she sounds sincere.
I paused for a minute before saying, "Miss Rush, I have to tell you, we found the gun that killed David Garner today. It was buried in Windsdale's apartment, with his fingerprints all over it."
She took in a stunned breath and I could see her eyes widen in surprise. "No...there has to be some mistake! James didn't kill him. He wouldn't...he couldn't!"
"He gave me some lame excuse about how someone is trying to set him up but..."
"That must be it!" she interrupts me, then looks me in the eye and holds my hand tightly, "Detective, when James was working for Stilman, he must have made a lot of enemies, he and his friend David. It could be one of them?" she paused and then said, "or maybe it's this private investigator that's trying to set him up?"
I thought about that for a while. Given the reasons behind him losing his licence it may have been possible. Could Vera have murdered David Garner? Maybe that's why he was trying to kill us. Perhaps he was trying to stop me from learning the truth. My head began to pound again. I look at her and could see the sadness in her eyes. "You really care about him, don't you?"
"Yes." She whispered, "He's been my friend for so long."
"Just a friend?" I ask.
"I told you before Detective, we aren't a couple."
"That's not what he seems to think, told me you were his girl."
She pauses, "we would...get together sometimes, when he feels lonely. He's been through so much. He just needs someone to be there for him."
"And what about you?" I ask her and she looks up at me. "What about when you feel lonely?" I'm speaking much more softly now.
She holds my gaze and I can feel shivers down my spine as our eyes lock. "Why are you so concerned about my love life, Detective?" she teases.
"Oh, just doing my job, making sure I get all the facts." I'm teasing her back and the rational part of my brain is screaming things at me, but at that moment, all I could think of was how much I hated Windsdale for using her like that. I also notice she is still holding my hand.
She smiles and tilts her head slightly, "you're very through Detective."
I lean forward a little and whisper, "oh, you have no idea Miss Rush."
"Just do me one favour, call me Lil? Everyone else does."
"Lil," I love the way her name feels when I say it.
"What are you called Detective?"
"My name's Scott, but everyone calls me Scotty." I tell her. Her smiles widens and it takes all the strength I have not to reach out and touch her face. There was no use in denying it any longer. I was falling for her. And for the first time in years, I don't want to fight these feelings.