Our Lips Are Sealed
By starlitestarbrite2
Disclaimer: I don't own anything about Cold Case, that is owned by the studios that make it. I own this plotline and I don't believe I have read a story with the same plotline or seen any shows with the same plotline. Any similarities are purely coincidental.
Author's Notes: Before I start, I'd just like to say that even though this story is set in 1989, the music comes from the 80's, so no nitpicking please. But it definitely is 80's music.
Synopsis:
Lilly and Scotty are called to re-open the brutal 1989 murder of a popular head cheerleader.
Chapter 3:
Scotty came back from the counter with 2 takeout boxes.
"So, Burgess, do you think he could have done it?" he asked Lilly, placing the boxes on the table.
"Scotty, he's harassing Melody. The poor guy's obviously still upset about it." Said Lilly, picking up her chopsticks and shoveling some rice into her mouth.
"That doesn't answer my question." Said Scotty in a teasing tone.
"No, I don't think he did it. I think he was too in love with Dawn. Kind of sad when you think about it." Said Lilly. Her eating was disrupted by the ringing of her cellphone.
"Rush." She said simply.
"Hey Lil, Jeffries and I are going to the parents house, we've just been researching the file." Said Vera.
"OK. We're headed to the school geek's house, a Mr. Melvin Burgess." Said Lilly.
"He's our harasser?" asked Vera.
"Yep. But not our guy." Said Lilly.
"OK, we'll be going now. See you back at HQ later." Said Jeffries.
Lilly flipped her phone shut. "They've gone to see the parents. We'll have to go now too, we don't want to be late back tonight."
"But I haven't finished lunch!" protested Scotty.
"We'll eat in the car." Lilly shrugged carelessly.
"But I'm driving."
"Oh, what do you know? Looks like I'll be the only one finishing lunch today then."
"Mr. and Mrs. Rivers. Detectives Nick Vera and Will Jeffries." Said Vera, as he and Will showed the couple their badges.
Mrs. Rivers looked worn, 20 years on her perfect honey blonde hair was more on the grey side and her blue eyes now looked grey and hollow. It was amazing what the loss of a loved one could do to you. She said nothing, letting her husband do the talking.
"Come in." said Mr. Rivers gravely, letting the two policemen in.
They sat at a couch. All over the walls were pictures of Dawn, the perfect blonde-haired blue-eyed All American Girl.
"Why are you reopening our daughter's case?" asked Mr. Rivers.
"Melody Timbs, Dawn's best friend. She's being harassed by someone who is accusing her of murdering Dawn." Explained Jeffries.
"Who?"
"Melvin Burgess."
"I've never heard of him." Said Mr. Rivers, frowning slightly.
"He was a student at Columbus. Infatuated with your daughter." Said Vera, trying to jog the father's memory.
"They were all infatuated with Dawn." Said Mrs. Rivers finally speaking up. She wore a sad smile. "And why not? She was beautiful."
"I couldn't tell you the amount of times I met boys who wanted to be with her, telling them they had to get her home on time." Said Mr. Rivers.
Jeffries smiled. "Do you know anyone who could have wanted to hurt Dawn?"
"Do you know how many times we've been asked that question?"
"How do you usually answer it?" asked Vera.
"No. Everyone loved our Dawn." Said Mrs. Rivers.
"If you remember anything, please contact us." Said Jeffries, handing Mr. Rivers a card.
Vera and Jeffries left.
"I strongly doubt everyone loved Dawn." Said Vera, getting into the car.
"Why do you say that?"
"Oh, come on, she was a cheerleader for crying out loud." Laughed Vera.
Jeffries smiled. "Way to be stereotypical."
"I bet you anything she was nasty as all hell." Said Vera. "Twenty dollars that's what Lilly says."
Jeffries shook his head. "I'm not a gambling man. If you prove me wrong I'll be disappointed."
"Why? Because I'll be right?" smirked Vera.
"No. Because sometimes there's just no good in people."
"Melvin Burgess? Rush and Valens, homicide." Announced Valens as he and Lilly were greeted by a 33 year old tall and thin man with sandy blonde hair. Lilly envisaged him as the 17 year old lanky teenager with unkempt hair and Chuck Taylors.
Melvin opened the door wide and gestured for them to come in, shutting the door behind them.
"I'm guessing this is about Dawn." He said, folding his arms across his chest.
"Yeah, that and you harassing Melody Timbs." Said Lilly, staring him down.
"What?" scoffed Melvin.
"She says you accused her of murdering Dawn in 1989 in the supermarket recently, in front of her children." Said Scotty, as he, Lilly and Melvin sat down on plastic chairs in the kitchen.
"Accusing her? Hell no. I was reminding her." Said Melvin coldly.
"You were in love with Dawn." Said Lilly.
"A part of me always will be." Admitted Melvin, staring into his cup of coffee.
"You obviously don't like Melody." Said Scotty. "What did she do?"
"Humiliated me. She humiliated everybody."
"Well, from what we hear, Dawn was the ringleader."
"No." said Melvin. "No, she wasn't. She was beautiful and smart and—"
"Out of your league?" interrupted Scotty.
"NO!" said Melvin, slamming his fist into the table. Lilly jumped. "I had her… once."
FLASHBACK
Her hair is Harlow gold, her lips sweet surprise
Her hands are never cold, she's got Better Davis eyes
Dawn walked outside into the balmy August air. She held onto the railing to steady herself. She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at her reflection in her small handheld compact mirror. No mascara smudged, no evidence of her fight with Brad.
She and Brad had been going out for 6 months now. And things had been perfect between them, when Brad was sober.
Dawn touched the bruise on her wrist tenderly. She was as good as Brad now, as drunk as him and as low as him. Her vision was blurred, and she couldn't really think straight.
She'll turn the music on you, you won't have to think twice
She's pure as New York snow, she got Bette Davis eyes
"Whoo! Don't these keg parties rock?" asked Melody drunkenly, running up to her, her high heel shoes slung over her shoulder.
Dawn tugged down the wristband of her fingerless lace glove. Back to the pantomime. Everyone thought that when Dawn was drunk, she was the wildest party animal that ever lived. No-one knew that she went home the nights she got wasted and cried herself to sleep.
"Totally!" Dawn cried enthusiastically.
"Oh, you know what, I don't feel so good." Said Melody. "Be right back, K?"
Dawn inhaled deeply. She heard someone on the deck. "Brad, I don't want to-"
It was Melvin Burgess, a guy from school. He looked really embarrassed. "Hi."
"Oh, hi, Melvin." Said Dawn. They'd spoken only a few times before and it was always awkward. If she weren't a cheerleader, she might've been friends with him.
Melvin could feel himself going red. He'd had a massive crush on Dawn ever since elementary school. She was his princess with the golden hair, even if she didn't know it. He caught the glimpse of a welt underneath her glove.
"What's that? Injure yourself at practice?" he asked. It was lame, but he knew he had to start somewhere.
"Yeah. Pyramids, you know." Said Dawn laughing softly. Ordinarily she would be walking off and leaving him on his lonesome but tonight she just wanted to be with Melvin. And he was a kind of sweet guy.
She looked inside the party, where Brad was wrestling with one of his friends. A pained expression took her face. Melvin followed her eyeline and realization hit him.
"I'll kill him." He muttered angrily, starting towards the house.
"No, don't." said Dawn pleadingly, tugging his jacket sleeve.
"You deserve better." He said, looking into Dawn's eyes. He started towards the door again.
"No!" said Dawn, a little louder this time. She looked up at him. "Just stay. Please stay."
She stepped towards him.
And she'll tease you, she'll unease you
All the better just to please you
She's precocious, and she knows just
What it takes to make a pro blush
She got Greta Garbo's standoff sighs, she's got Bette Davis eyes
Melvin's breath grew slower as he became sucked in by those blue eyes. She was crying again, but she made no noise. The tears headed down towards her soft pink lips.
She'll let you take her home, it works her appetite
She'll lay you on the throne, she got Bette Davis eyes
She'll take a tumble on you, roll you like you were dice
Until you come out blue, she's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll expose you, when she snows you
Hope you're pleased with the crumbs she throws you
She's ferocious and she knows just
What it takes to make a pro blush
All the boys think she's a spy, she's got Bette Davis eyes
Everything seemed to freeze as Dawn kissed him. He reciprocated. They had something in common, they both knew how to be outsiders.
And she'll tease you, she'll unease you
All the better just to please you
She's precocious, and she knows just
What it takes to make a pro blush
All the boys think she's a spy, she's got Bette Davis eyes...
"Dawn?" asked Melody, coming back outside again. She paper cup she dropped seem to fall in slow motion.
Dawn and Melvin seemed to come to their senses. Dawn began to shake this time as she began sobbing more loudly.
"I'm sorry. I can't do this. I have to go." She said.
Dawn tore out of the house and ran away into the night, tears streaming down her face.
END OF FLASHBACK
"What happened after that?" asked Lilly gently.
"Nothing changed. She wouldn't talk to me, and if she did, it wasn't good. I knew it was just to cover though. Dawn was too proud to admit her real feelings. She wasn't that strong. She stayed with Brad, he hit her when he was drunk, I couldn't do anything to stop it." Said Melvin.
"What makes you think Melody did it?"
"She was less than supportive of anything Dawn did. She made it clear to Dawn that she had to stay with Brad. She hated Dawn to bits. I think she just got sick of Dawn having all the limelight. And she killed her."
"Generally with accusations you have carbon proof."
"I hated Melody Timbs. She was a bitch. Come on, can you blame me? But I'd had a bad day. I just lashed out." Said Melvin, looking guilty.
"You'd better watch that temper of yours, as well as that mouth. Or you're going to get charged with defamation. Do yourself a favour, OK? Don't go near Melody Timbs." Said Scotty.
"Thank you for your time, Mr. Burgess." Said Lilly.
She and Scotty left.
"Well, what do you think now, Scotty?"
"There is no way in hell that guy killed her."
Author's Notes: I hope that chapter was a little longer. I realize this (song lyrics) goes against policy, but I'm only doing this to make it more like Cold Case. I hope no-one minds. That song, btw, was by Kim Carnes.
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! I'M BEGGING YOU!
;)starlitestarbrite2