Disclaimer: All characters seen or mentioned on COLD CASE belong to CBS and Jerry Bruckheimer and are used without permission. Sueing me would be a waste of time, since there's nothing you'd get out of this, because I don't make any money with this story.
If you don't like the idea of Scotty/Lilly, you should definitely leave. No sex, and maybe a tiny bit of romance in this part ... as usual. The juicy parts are yet to come.
ORPHEUS AND EURYDIKE
No. 5: The girl from my other life
by Dare
Then he saw the other face next to Lilly's. Female. Slightly darker skin. "Is he all right?"
"He is fine," Lilly Rush said as she helped her former partner to sit up. "Right?"
Eric Orson was still standing in the background, munching his goddamn cookies. The entire situation was so surreal to him – Lilly being the only ordinary thing in a place so out of ordinary like this.
"Right," Scotty managed to say. "Just peachy." He felt a bump develop at the back of his head. "Ouch."
"You already said that," Lilly said. She knelt beside him and held is shoulder. They eyes met. "Long time no see," she smiled.
"Yes." He grinned back and shook his head. "Don't get me wrong, Lil, but – what the hell are you doing here?"
"This is Pamela Sharma," she said, and pointed at the woman next to her. "She's with the FBI. When I told her what you are working on, she and some of her colleagues became – well, sort of nervous." She raised an eyebrow. "Apparently there is more behind this case."
"With the FBI on it – I guess so." He got up, straightened his posture and tried to un-wrinkle his suit, but with no success. "Doesn't explain what you are doing here."
"Pam is an old friend of mine – she asked me to come along since the case could benefit from my experience," Lilly said. Then she chuckled. "Stillman and Vera weren't exactly happy with it, but – well, here I am."
"Where is Chief Rydell? We should talk to him," Agent Sharma said. She was a good-looking woman in her mid-thirties with blue eyes in contrast to her milk-coffee-like skin, but the Frieda-Kalo-brow wasn't Scotty's type.
Speaking of the devil, Scotty thought. Rydell's door opened and he came out, carrying a box of files. "Tess? Where the fu --" Then he noticed Lilly Rush and Pamela Sharma. "Who the hell are you?"
Pamela Sharma raised an eyebrow at him. She exchanged glances with Lilly, walked over to Rydell and offered her hand. "I'm agent Pamela Sharma. FBI. Nice to meet you, Mr. Rydell."
"I seriously doubt that, Agent Sharma," Rydell said and shook her hand. Scotty watched Sharma's knuckles go white under Rydell's grip, but the woman managed to keep a straight face.
"And this is Detective Lillian Rush," Sharma introduced her company.
Rydell stared at Lilly and took in her appearance. "Though you might be taller," he greeted her and shook her hand, too. No white knuckles this time.
"Nice to meet you, too, Chief Rydell," Lilly said.
"So," Rydell began after he had ushered the entire group of four people into his bureau. He had closed the door with and audible Wham behind him, not without shouting: "No calls – tell them to go to hell, Tess!"
"Yessir," Tess answered with an mischievous smile and winked. Scotty couldn't determine what or the the aim of that wink was, but he stepped aside to let Lilly enter the bureau before him and shoot Tess a dark glance, something she acknowledged with a chuckle.
God, that woman was irritating, Scotty thought.
"You two," Rydell stared at Sharma and Rush, "are here to assist the boys.
"I wouldn't put it that way," Sharma said icily.
Rydell narrowed his eyes, while Scotty grimaced internally. He exchanged a glance with Lilly whi suggestively shrugged. Let the games begin.
"But I put it that way," Rydell stated. "This is our case. We work on it since 1987. You will help us or your status will be reduced to that of a bystander. Understood?"
"The FBI is as well interested in Diana Trent. I will co-operate, but if I think your detectives are impedimental --"
"You are the one who brought a Philly detective with you, lady," Rydell smiled way to friendly.
Agent Sharma looked as if she was about to snarl at him. "Detective Rush, being an authority on this kind of cases, is an exception."
Rydell cast her a patronising look. "Why don't you just start to work – and if there's any trouble, we continue this little argument. There are really other, more important things I have to do."
"He is the most arrogant, boastful, presumptuous, holier-than-thou --" Agent Sharma fumed the second she had closed the door behind her.
Several of the present detectives on their desks and some secretaries looked at her knowingly. Apparently lots of people left Rydell's office in a state like that.
"You'll get used to it – it can only get better," Scotty tried to clam her.
Sharma stared at him and composed herself. "Fine. Fine. Fine." She took a big breath and turned to Orson. "You."
Orson took a step back. "What about me?"
"I want all the files, all the information, everything you have on that case," she ordered him. "And I want it yesterday. Valens, I want you to inform Rush about everything you have so far. I suggest we meet after lunch and exchange ideas. Now move," she told Orson and shoved him away.
"She seems like a – nice person," Scotty mused. "A little bit – pushy."
"I saw her socially a few times and she has a wonderful sense of humour and is a great mother and a loving wife," Lilly said. "Difficult to imagine?"
"Very," Scotty nodded. He shifted his attention towards her once again. "Where do you stay?" he asked.
"I thought about staying at a motel," Lilly answered him.
"You could stay at my place." Scotty shrugged. "I have a guest room, a crazy neighbour and the currently the most messy apartment in all Seattle to offer."
"Sounds tempting," Lilly laughed. "Are you sure you want a room mate who will increase your chaos?"
"C'mon," he elbowed her lightly. "I cook, I wash, I don't use up all the hot water, I don't boast before Vera that I actually saw you in a pyjama."
"How kind of you." She had a stern look on her face, but her eyes sparkled. "But don't say I didn't warn you."
"Great. So," he looked around. "It's lunchtime – where's your stuff, so we can bring it over?"
"In the car," Lilly said. "Is it far from here?"
"No – just a few minutes." He lead her out of the building and wondered silently. Back in Philadelphia, they had never been like this. Sure, there had been jokes and sometimes even playful banter, but they had never acted like this – not even before Christina.
What was happening? He wondered. What the hell happened?
-C-C-C-C-
"Who are you?" a croaky, annoyed voice asked when Lilly opened the door to Scotty's apartment complex.
Scotty was quick to step up with his former partner, carrying two of the five bags she had brought. "It's okay, Miss McPhee," he groaned under the weight of his load. "It's okay. She's with me."
"And who exactly is she?" Miss McPhee asked and waved dangerously with her broom.
"Lillian Rush, Edna McPhee. Miss Edna McPhee," he emphasised. "Detective Rush is a colleague who currently helps me with a case. She will stay with me for a few days."
"You don't look like a Detective," Miss McPhee said suspiciously.
"And why do you think that?" Lilly asked with a smile.
"You are to skinny and too fragile," Miss McPhee said and turned to Scotty. "Is she good a her job?"
"Very good," Scotty said.
"Mhh-hm." The old Lady wasn't convinced, but decided to drop it. "Mr. Valens, I think this belongs to you." She took a little bag out of her pocked and handed it to him. "I found it in the cellar. Apparently in a moment of carelessness you stumbled over it and broke it and it fell down."
"How do you know it's mine?" Scotty asked, while dropping one of the suitcases he was holding and took it.
"I found some shards in front of you door," she answered. "Maybe you should be more careful in the future." She cast a pointed look towards Lilly. "Have a nice day." Then she was gone.
Scotty groaned, stuffed the bag with the shards in his pocket and grabbed Lilly's trunk again. "Meet my friendly neighbour," he said, while starting to climb the stairs.
Lilly grinned. "It's seems like such a nice place," she said. "There's always a catch, and even if it's only the neighbour."
Finally, after lots of groans from Scotty's side, they reached his door and he managed to open it and dropped the luggage inside. "Here we are. Just ignore the mess," he said and motioned towards the remaining cartons and boxes. "If you give me the keys for the car, I get the rest of your stuff."
"Scotty --"
"No, I insist. After all, you're my guest."
She sighed and handed him the keys, than he was gone. She listened to his steps. Finally, she looked around.
It wasn't as messy as Scotty had described it. Sure, there were some boxes standing around, but during the week he was in Seattle now, he had bought new furniture. Everything was a bit empty, but there were some pictures on the wall (She recognised a piece by Dalí and two by Chagall), a comfortable-looking couch and a really big TV that hadn't been installed yet.
"Oh, that stupid thing," Scotty said when he noted Lilly's look. "I tried to connect it with the DVD player, but it's just doesn't work." He wavered a bit, when he carried two suitcases into the guest room. "Here, this is your room. The desk was already in here and so were the shelves, but the bed I bought myself."
The bed looked like it was right out some catalogue. There were two big, red and yellow striped pillows on it and a large comforter, perfectly arranged.
"It looks nice," she said.
Scotty looked around. "Well – the bathroom is down the hall, and, yeah, just make yourself comfortable." He was about to leave, when she stopped him.
"Thanks for letting me stay," she said.
"Don't mention it." He smiled. "Welcome to Seattle."
She returned the smile and her blue eyes twinkled affectionately. "Thank you."
C-C-C-C
"All right." Agent Sharma handed out papers. "We have found another colleague of Edward Sykes, Tom Menetti, and the ex-girlfriend of James Tanaka."
"The man in whose apartment the necklace was found?" Lilly asked.
Sharma nodded. "Exactly."
"What's so interesting about the ex-girlfriend?" Scotty wanted to know. "If they had been together when they were twenty, what's the use?"
"James Tanaka and Anabelle Lewis have been together when he was seventy-nine and she was seventy-five," Lilly said. "That was during the time when Edward Sykes was working for James Tanaka. Maybe she knew him." She looked up at Pamela Sharma. "I'd like to talk to the old lady, if you don't mind."
"I don't," Sharma agreed. "Orson and I will talk to that Tom Menetti." She got up. "I see you later." They left Scotty's desk and he noticed with some amusement that Agent Sharma cast Eric Orson a rather dark glance when he took a Shoomoolan Cooky out of a plastic bag and started to eat it.
"Well, then. Let's move out," Lilly smiled.
Scotty followed her and grinned. Just like the old times.
C-C-C-C
Annabelle Lewis was a friendly, elder Lady who lived with her seven cats and two even older roommates in a giant house.
Scotty stared at her. She had been seventy-five years old during the time Diana Trent had died. And now, eighteen years later, she was ... ninety-three. He raised his eyebrows. She looked as if she was in her mid sixties.
She offered the two detectives cookies, and while Lilly took one, Scotty suppressed a grimace and shook his head. "No, thank you very much."
"What can I tell you about James?" she mused. "He was such a lovely man. I loved him very much."
"His body lay in his apartment for over half a year. Why didn't you notice his absence?" Scotty asked.
"When James died, I was in Europe for a year, looking after my sister, who wasn't very well that time," she explained. "I was very saddened when I heard about his death."
One of her cats, a big red, fat tiger jumped onto the couch and made himself comfortable on Lilly's lap. He almost seemed too large for someone as small-framed as Lilly. She smiled and crawled the cat.
Who is looking after your cats while you are gone? Scotty wondered, then turned towards Mrs. Lewis.
"Do you know anything about a man called Edward Sykes? He worked for James Tanaka."
"Eddy? Oh yes, he did Jamie's shopping," Mrs. Lewis said.
"I see. And do you remember something strange, something conspicuous during the year of 1987 about Edward Sykes?" Lilly asked.
"Everything about Eddy was strange, Miss Rush," Mrs. Lewis remembered. "He rarely said a word, always stared at you, even if you asked him a question. Sometimes I wondered if he had understood whatever I was asking him. Anyway, I remember something James told be about Eddy. When I came to visit James one day, Jamie was upset and unsettled. The night before, Eddy had come to him in a terrible state of mind, even for Eddy's standard." She frowned and her eyes got clouded, as she tried to remember. "Eddy said that he had done something terrible and that he had no choice. James told me that Edward behaved as if he had killed someone, but Edward insisted that someone else had killed someone." She shook her head.
"Edward Sykes told James Tanaka that someone had killed someone?" Scotty tried to clarify.
"Yes." Annabelle Lewis nodded. "That is what James told me. 'He killed her – and I have to take care of it now.' That's what James told me Edward had said to him. And I remember something else. When Edward left Jamie, he left something behind. It was a tiny, little something, made of gold. I saw it laying on the --"
Lilly moved the large cat carefully away and placed Diana Trent's necklace on table between them. "Do you recognise this?"
"The heart-shaped necklace!" the old lady exclaimed. "My God, after all that time." She touched the object carefully."Exactly. That's whatEddy left behind."
End #5.
Okay, that wasn't very dark, I have to admit. But I try in future chapters, I promise.
Thanks to Annica, XdareXDevilX, Becky Greenleaf, Chaimera, steph, AthenaIceGoddess, pealee, givemecookies, Mellie Erdmann, Abby909, kawaii-peach14, Tiantian Wang, Evangelina Lilly and Nix707 for their kind reviews. Thanks a lot, folks, you don't know how much I appreciate them. :)