KalaniKaloni: I'm Baaaa-aaack! Sorry for the long wait, I kinda tend to futz with chapters. And I didn't notice until I was halfway through the chapter that the whole picture thing was just like from the "Boy in the Box" episode. I swear!And DUDE! What is up with the new rating thing? The old one was just fine:becomes frustrated and starts throwing things:

Lilly: Uh-oh!

Scotty: I think she's gonna blow!

Lilly: I think we better start the story before anyone gets hurt!

KalaniKaloni: Oh yes! And thank you for all the nice reviews!


"Hey, Boss, what's this?" Detective Lilly Rush picked up the white envelope that had been lying on her desk. She noticed that there was no seal as she opened it. She reached in and pulled out a photograph of a little girl. The girl looked to be about six or seven years old, had darkish-blond hair covered by a dark blue newsboy cap, blue eyes, and an obviously perfunctory grin. She was wearing a humongus sweatshirt that was pulled over her knees so you could just make out that she was wearing jeans. She had on dirty white socks. She was sitting on the front steps of a house that was painted a remarkably ugly shade of brown. Lilly's eyes went to the bottom right-hand corner of the picture in search of a date: May 17, 1997. She flipped over the card and saw, what looked like, newspaper-clipped letters spelling out THE KID DIDN'T DO IT.

"Walked in this morning and discovered it on my desk. I thought you might be interested in this." Lieutenant John Stillman replied. "It refers to a '97 case in which that girl was accused of murdering her 36-year-old aunt. Oh, don't look so surprised, Lil," said Stillman in response to the look of mingled horror and disgust on Rush's face. "Death was like that girl's shadow. Grab Valens and take a look through the case box of Valerie Hinze."


"Name's Theresa May Williams. Born in a small town in Colorado, house burned down when she was six. Both parents died in the fire, only living relatives live in Philly. Father's sister Valerie, and her husband, Christopher Hinze." Scotty read the choice piecies of information on the mysterious seven-year-old girl who now had a name: Theresa.

"Night of June 13, 1997, Christopher Hinze goes over to a friend's house to have a few beers, gets a phone call from a neighbor who reports seeing someone prowling around outside. Hinze calls the cops and arrives home a few minutes after them. Both run into the house to see little Theresa standing over her dead aunt holding a bloody knife and her aunt's locket. Kid bolted, hasn't been heard of since." Lilly finished reading the report and tossed it back into the case box.

"So, she's not only a murderer, she's a thief too." Scotty haphazardly put the lid back on the box and began carrying it to the stairs, oblivious to the photograph that slipped out from under the half-closed lid. Lilly stooped and picked it up, examining the face of Theresa Williams before flipping to the back.

"But according to this, she's not a murderer."


The house had been repainted. Now it was a blaring white that hurt the eyes if looked at too long. Lilly and Scotty stepped out of the police car and walked up the front porch steps. Since there was no doorbell, Valens balled his hand into a fist and knocked loudly on the screen door. They waited a few minutes until Lilly turned to her partner. "Must not be home. C'mon, let's go." They had just turned about to head back to the car when a voice stopped them.

"Help you?" questioned a smooth voice. The two detectives turned back around and noticed that a man in his late 30's or early 40's had opened the wooden door, but left the screen door closed and locked between him and Rush and Valens. He had black hair that was just beginning to go gray, tanned skin, and glimmering green eyes. Lilly felt a sudden, instant dislike for Christopher Hinze. Maybe it was the smell; a smell like cigarette smoke seemed to hover about the man. Scotty seemed not to notice it.

"Police. Detectives Rush and Valens," recited Lilly as she and Scotty flipped open their badges. "We're reopening the case of your wife's death." She watched carefully for Hinze's reaction. He looked blank for a moment before emmiting a sigh. Wordlessly, he opened the screen door and invited them into the house.

"Why are you looking into this again? I thought it was all solved in '97. My niece killed my wife in cold blood and ran away. Nothing to it." Hinze led them into what was clearly the den. There was a fireplace along one wall, a TV and bookshelf along the next one, a couch along the one across from the TV, and a recliner positioned to where it can view the TV and the couch at the same time. Lilly and Scotty were shown the couch while Hinze took the chair.

"You said, 'cold blood.' What did you mean by that?" Lilly resisted the urge to lie back on the cushions and go to sleep. She had been having trouble sleeping for the past few days.

"What I mean is that my niece and my wife appeared to get along..."


"Where is she? Should be here by now. Go and check to see if the damn flight's been delayed." Hinze and his wife stand in the airport terminal, waiting for their niece's flight. Hinze taps his foot impatiently on the grimy airport carpet.

"Don't be hard on her, Chris. I mean, her parents just died and she has never been outside of her town." Valerie Hinze places a sheaf of brown hair behind one ear and struggles not to begin crying. Her brother and his wife's death has affected both her and her niece tremendously. Her niece had stayed with a friend while all of the legal affairs had been put in order. Valarie stares at the floor, biting her lower lip. She jumps when the terminal doors whoosh open and a flood of people begin pouring out. Behind an enormously obese woman and a stick-thin man with a hideous toupee trudges a six-year-old girl with a blue cap perched on her head. She hugs a dirty blue backpack to her chest with one hand while fingering a gold locket that hangs around her neck with the other. Valerie recgonizes it as her late sister-in-law's.

"Finally," Chris Hinze mutters under his breath. "That's it, right?" He snaps at the girl as she walks up to them, pointing at her backpack. She nods, while Hinze says, "Good, because baggage claim's too far away to walk to anyway." Valerie notices a single tear trickle down her niece's cheek.

"Come on, Tessa. Let's go home." She whispers softly while taking the young girl's hand. Tessa slides the backpack around so its hanging by one strap on her back. She uses her now-free arm to wipe her eyes as she looks timidly at her aunt and gives a shy smile.


"Tessa?" It said on the file that her name was Theresa." Scotty fidgeted on the couch with a confused look on his face. Lilly gave him a quick nudge. Now was not the time to ask stupid questions.

Hinze barked out a laugh. "Everyone called her Tessa. The only time I ever saw real emotion from her was when someone called her by her whole name; she'd go into a rage until they called her Tessa." A hard chuckle burst from his lips. "That, and the fear that she showed when we caught her standing over my dead wife."

Lilly flipped through the file she held on her lap. "It says here that in 1997 you said that Tessa stole the locket from your wife, but just now you said that she was wearing it when she arrived." She stared at the green-eyed man in the chair, hoping that some sort of clue was about to be revealed. Hinze made a face.

"A girl that young with something that valuable? Stupidest thing I ever saw. Made her give it to my wife; she at least would be able to take a little better care of it." He stood up, Rush and Valens following his example. "It's been great talking to you, but I'm due at a friend's house. But, before I go," he stared Rush in the eye, "I think that it's pointless to reopen the case. It's obvious my niece is a little murderer, and besides," now a wry grin spread across his face, "even if she is innocent, how will you find her?"


"Well, I found him to be a smarmy bastard," said Lilly as Stillman asked her and Valens how the interview went. "He had a good point, though? How do we find the girl? I mean, she could be anywhere. Could be dead for all we know."

"I'm afraid you're right, Lil. We'll just have to make do without her. Besides, she'd be about fourteen by now. Everyone knows that that's when those troublesome hormones kick in." Stillman sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "Oh well." He stared off into space for a few minutes before looking back at Rush. "I want you to go home now Lilly, you look like you need some sleep. Badly."

Lilly stifled a yawn and didn't bother to argue for once. "All right, Boss."


Rush was startled when she pulled up to her apartment. A teenaged girl was leaning up against the wall on her porch. It wasn't until Lilly parked and stepped out of her car that the girl turned and looked at her. She was wearing a stained black shirt, ripped and filthy jeans, white sneakers that really couldn't be called white, and black gloves; the kind with the ends cut off so that the top half of the fingers were free. She had blond hair, more brown than blond actually, pulled back in a high ponytail and blue eyes. In an instant, Lilly saw a trapped seven-year old girl, than the vision was gone. "Hello, Tessa." She spoke from the driveway.

The girl grinned. "Got it right. Must've talked to my uncle. Good old Uncle Chris." Tessa made a face. "Does he still smell bad?"

Lilly grinned back while beginning to slowly advance toward her porch. "Yes, he does. Tessa, may I have a word with you?"

Tessa tapped on the mailbox. "No." She thumped on the mailbox again, the tin making a muffled ringing sound. She stood up straight and surprised Rush by fakingly bowing to her, complete with flourishes. While Lilly stood gaping from her driveway Tessa vaulted from the porch. "Nice talking to you. What's your name?" She called from across the street. Rush was too tired to chase after her, and curious to see what the girl had left in her mailbox.

"I'm Detective Lilly Rush. Why don't you come in?" She knew that her offer was too stupid to fool Tessa, but she was too tired to think of anything else. She was right; the fourteen-year-old made another face from across the street.

"Do I look dumb to you, Miz Lilly? Ha!" She sauntered up the street until she was gone from Lilly's sight. Rush turned to the mailbox and opened it. Inside, nestled among her other mail, was a folded sheet of paper. Lilly opened it and read the words printed there:

This porch 10:00 PM tommorrow If you want me to talk BRING FOOD! and nothing nasty!

-Tessa

Lilly grinned as she unlocked her door. This girl knew what she wanted.