Okay, so I'm a very mean person and need shooting. I really don't know what you people have done for me to neglect you so badly. I've decided to try buying my muse back with gifts of chocolate and sweets but I think the good old coffee got her back in the end. I checked all of your reviews and it's been decided. Who remembers who? Read and find out…

COLD CASE

"Mom!"

Alex practically threw himself at his mothers waist, and the exchange seemed to scream out that they didn't see much of each other.

"Hey kiddo. What are you doing here? Mandy can you cover me for a second?" She made a move from behind the checkout, thankful for the slow pull of the day.

"Sure hun, something' wrong?"

"I don't know, what's wrong Alex? Where's Jill?"

She lead the boy to a wall nearby, concern in her carved features.

"Right here. Hey Lil'."

"Mom, I got to ride in a police car. But it didn't look like a police car."

"A police car? Jill, what's wrong with that sentence?"

"Hey, they're more your friends than mine."

"Just because I was in the academy for a while, doesn't mean I know them."

"Remind me why you quit that again."

"You know why."

Valens and Kelly had hung back on Kelly's notion that an observatory position would help them to understand these people better. Sometimes, Scotty wondered why he became a cop instead of a psychologist.

"Mam, I'm Detective Kelly, this is detective Valens, I was wondering if we could have a word with you."

It looks as though he's got all the information he needs, Scotty mused. Maybe the academy thing threw him.

"Sure, what about?"

"They think you had something to do with the Michaels', well…" Both looked towards where Alex was standing. "You know, M-U-R-D-"

"He can spell, you know."

"Oh, right, yeah, well."

"Where were you on October 17th 1997, Mrs. Adams."

"Who?" The boy spoke up, confused.

"It's Rush, we're both Rush." She said, holding her son close to her side, protecting him from whatever it was she found threatening in his question. And I was home, with my baby and my mother."

"Can your mother corroborate this?"

"I doubt it."

"Why's that?"

"Most of the time she's too drunk to remember her own name. Besides, she's a little crazy, drugged up to the high hills."

"What about your husband, sorry, ex-husband?" Kelly immediately corrected, after the glare had reached his eye. Scotty wondered once again if he were checking out some sort of psychological mumbo jumbo.

"I wouldn't rightly know where he was. Our divorce wasn't finalized, but we went our separate ways before I gave birth."

"And why was that?"

"Because he was cheating on me. Jeez. Have you not got anything in there about my statement eight years ago?" Her annoyance was obvious, and not lost on either detective. So far, Scotty had let Kelly ask the questions, but she seemed familiar to him in some way.

"Do you work at Warners?"

"Excuse me?" The sense of familiarity towards her, made her hold on her son increase in protection, just slightly. This action was not lost on Brian.

"Lily Rush right?"

"Do we know each other?"

"I came in your bar a few months back."

She looked blank.

"I was getting engaged. My girl accused you of working with me." He thought a more friendly approach would help her hostility be put to the side, but she hadn't the faintest idea for who he was.

"Brown hair and a bit eccentric."

"Yeah, I know who you're on about, but how the hell do you remember me?"

"I'm a cop. It's what I do. Is that why you didn't finish the academy? Wrong thing for you?"

"No. It was great. Just, I switch off sometimes. Working in a bar, people start to look the same." She gave a weak excuse for a smile.

"So why did you split?" Kelly asked.

"I got pregnant." She shrugged. Feeling her son's posture shift some, she ruffled her hand through his head. "But I wouldn't change that for the world. So how is she anyway?"

"Who?"

"The woman you were with. Alsa? Anna?"

"Elisa. And, we're sort off…on a break…for a while."

"I'm sorry to hear that. She seemed like a nice girl."

"Yeah…But, back to why we're here. We have a new lead in the case. One implicating you-"

"Are you serious? That part of my life was all confusing and hard, and to top it off you people come thinking I could've done something like that. My mind was on three people: Alex, my mom and Patrick."

"We have it on good authority that you were having relations with Henry."

"Relations?"

"I told them how ridiculous it was Lil'."

"You were there Jill. Tell them. It was a guy. Do I look like a guy to you people?"

"The fact remains, that if you two were friends, then it gives doubt as to whether one would cover for the other." Kelly intersected again.

"Well, remind me next time to have no fiends." She said spitefully, grabbing her purse. "Mandy, tell Boss that I felt ill will you."

Mother and son hurried from the store, neither looking back. Scurrying alongside his mother, Alex looked up to his mother with worried eyes. The last time she was this agitated, was when that strange looking fellow came to her door, late that night. His concept of time included days or ages. This wasn't so far as ages, and mom said things usually came in threes…

COLD CASE

Okay people, so vote time. I've decided that this time it will be on who the third agitation will be, and although the next chapter will not include them, the one after will, so you people have a little more time to decide, because I'm planning on getting the next chapter up soon to make up for me deserving to be shot. And of course the three choices are:

Patrick.

Christina.

Child services.

Thanks if you stuck through and forgave me enough to read this. ¦-D Forever grateful.