Disclaimer—I own zilch.

11—Rambling Man

Lilly poked Carl with her foot as Scotty searched the kitchen for a cup or pot—anything that would hold water.

"Having any luck, Valens?" asked Lilly.

"The man's a pig. I can't find shit over here," called back Scotty irritably. Lilly narrowed her eyes and walked over to the kitchen area. She quickly grabbed a pot from the sink and filled it with water. Scotty followed her back to the still form of their newest suspect. Lilly dumped the water on Carl and threw the pot down beside him.

"I didn't do it!" screeched Carl sitting up straight. He glanced at Lilly and his eyes widened in surprise once more. Scotty grabbed Carl by the scruff of his robe and pulled the shaking man up to meet him eye to eye.

"Don't go fainting anymore or else I'll kick your ass and lock you up for a few days with no food or water."

"We have some questions for you, Carl, and I'm pretty sure you have the answers we want." Lilly shot the trembling man a bright smile.

"May…maybe," stammered Carl as Scotty let him drop to the floor again. Carl quickly motioned towards the sitting area and crawled on hands and knees after the two detectives.

Lilly took a seat beside Scotty and flashed Carl another winning smile before speaking. "Rumor has it, Carl, that you weren't very faithful to Laura."

"Something along the lines of you doing Laura's mom," added Scotty grimly. "Why don't you tell us about that?"

Carl gulped and slid a shaky hand through his greasy hair. "Laura wasn't very faithful either."

"We know."

"I…I couldn't help it. I was a fool—a complete fool for thinking Laura would be loyal working in Victor's brothel. When I found out she was cheating on me…with Victor of all people, I…I broke down. Wanda, Laura's mom, she was there for me. Our love just…blossomed. She was the perfect woman. It didn't matter that she was older, she was an angel. A beautiful angel."

"Uh-huh." Lilly raised her eyebrows in question. Carl glanced over and hung his head in shame.

"Laura was amazing and treacherous at the same time. She made everyone fall in love with her. She lived for attention. She…Laura was brainwashed from the day she was born. Her parents made her believe she had been born to become a wife and make babies. Wanda would never defy Paul—he's one scary sonofabitch. But because he took on more and more wives he spent less time with Wanda and the kids. So she began to instill shame for their lifestyle. All three rebelled. Victor started his brothel because he figured he was already screwed in life; Laura was pissed and wanted everyone to go to hell with her, which is why she went after Victor; and Megan, Meg was just like Laura, but she wanted to be better.

"After she gave birth, Laura snapped—"

"Wait a second," said Lilly, "Laura gave birth?"

"Yeah." Carl let out a deep breath. "She had run away after she learned she was pregnant for the second time. She had a baby boy that she gave up."

"Whose baby was it?" demanded Scotty suspiciously.

"Victor. He doesn't know where the kid is though."

"Where is he?" asked Lilly.

"Angela adopted him. Paul's trying to raise him. The kid ain't…he's…retarded. But after he was born, Laura wanted out and she wanted to destroy her family for what they had done with her. She was messed up real bad. Laura went to the feds. She claimed she was sexually abused by both male members in her family and she claimed that her mother beat both her and Meg."

"Did Wanda abuse the girls?" Scotty edged closer to Carl for the whispered answer.

"Never."

"But that didn't matter to Laura, did it?" questioned Lilly with a frown.

"No. Laura had lost her mind. Her own baby wasn't normal…her brother wanted to marry her…her sister wanted her dead…her dad wanted her to be obedient…her mom wanted her to follow her heart. Laura wanted it all to end.

"Wanda was hurt. Victor was pissed. Megan was scared. Paul was angry. Angela was irritated. Even I felt betrayed."

"Carl," started Scotty cautiously. "Do you know who killed Laura?"

Carl nodded.

Lilly sat back with a shake of her head. "What happened that night?"

"Laura found out that she was pregnant again. It was undeniable proof for the feds to raid her family. Wanda was freaked. She came to me for help…but what could I do? Wanda had nowhere to go—she doesn't like to appear needy or helpless to strangers. She liked the high life she lived. She would have lost everything in Laura's need for revenge.

"I brought her home to talk some sense into Laura. When we got there…" Carl broke off into a loud sob, "…there was blood everywhere. Oh, God, it was horrible! I live every waking hour just thinking about it. Laura was…she looked like an angel, even with all that blood.

"It was a freak accident. Victor and Laura had been arguing when she came in with the knife. She was raving and foaming at the mouth. That's how upset she was. No one would ever have guessed she was a beauty—she looked like a lunatic!"

"Who had the knife, Carl?" hissed Lilly.

Carl looked into Lilly's face. Years seemed to lift off his haggard face. He had returned to the past. "I'm sorry, Laura. I should have stopped her, but I froze."

"Carl," warned Scotty. The man shook his head and returned to the present.

"Megan thought she'd be sent to a foster home. She and Laura had argued the night before. Laura had told Meg she couldn't take care of her after their parents were jailed. Meg tried to kill her, but Victor wrestled the knife away. And then it happened…Victor turned around to stab her…and Laura got in the way. The guy just wanted to kill Wanda for not killing them at birth. For making all three of them…Vic, Meg, and Laura who they were. But Laura…she had a moment of clarity and regret. She stepped in front of Wanda and…she…"

Carl sobbed as Lilly and Scotty eyed one another sorrowfully. Their murderer was indeed the MIA, but now at least they had a key witness talking.

Scotty stood up and started dialing Stillman. The case was solved. Victor Glenrose had killed his sister, and living with the bitter truth all these years.

Hours later Carl Green, Wanda Glenrose, and Megan Glenrose were each giving their first hand accounts of Laura's murder. Stillman was on the phone with the F.B.I. filling them in. As he hung up sirens could be heard across town. The feds were bringing in Paul Glenrose for sexual abuse and tax fraud. Apparently he had been reaping hoards of money in fake names claiming the many kids he had.

Lilly and Scotty were sitting across from each other in silence when Angela Ford entered the department pushing a young teenage boy in a wheel chair. Behind her was Corrina Fay. The two women huddled close to the Glenrose women in tears of relief and renewed sorrow. Carl glanced at the detectives and gave them a grateful smile.

Scotty smiled and sighed as he looked over at his partner. "We gonna talk?" he asked.

"Do we need to?" shot back Lilly wearily.

"Yeah, I think we do. Last night—"

"Shouldn't have happened. It was a mistake."

"Lil, don't push me away. Drunk as we were—last night went two ways. You wanted it just as much as I did."

"We're partners, Scotty. We can't have anything between us. It would get in the way of our jobs."

"I think you're afraid to get close to me. Afraid to fall in love."

"With you? Don't hold your breath." Lilly shook her head. "Love has nothing to do with it, Scotty."

"Doesn't it though? Then why won't you listen to your heart, Lilly? Give us a chance. We'd be good together—I know it!"

"But I can't."

"You need to start thinking about someone other than yourself, Rush. Your job won't always come first in your life."

"Right now it's all I have…and all I want."

"Is that it? So no us?"

"No us."

"Ever?" Scotty pressed nervously.

"I…I don't know. We have skeletons in the closet, Scotty. Right now isn't the best time to try and sort them out."

"Then when?"

"I don't know anymore. I honestly don't know." The two lapsed into an awkward silence. Luckily Vera and Jeffries motioned for them to join them in Stillman's office.

"What's up, boss?" asked Scotty stretching his arms.

Stillman groaned and took off his glasses. "Victor."

"MIA," muttered Lilly.

"Exactly. We need to find him—and soon. The Mayor isn't too happy that a murderer is on the loose. No one's heard from him since yesterday."

Vera cracked his knuckles. "The bastard is probably still in town."

"He left that note at Lilly's. He thinks she's Laura reincarnate," agreed Jeffries solemnly.

"Funny thing too. I'm older than Laura," mumbled Lilly rubbing her eyes.

"No kidding," whistled Scotty. Lilly glared at him as the others chuckled at the joke.

"So what do we do, Chief?" Vera looked over at Stillman, ready for an answer.

"Flush him out."

"And how the hell are we doing that?" demanded Lilly.

Stillman simply picked up a paper from his desk. It was a tabloid with Lilly on the front cover.

A/N—I know it's been a while, but I had to debate who the killer was going to be. I'm almost done with this one, so bear with me. Other than that I hope you guys like this chapter. Enjoy!