"Thanks for coming down here, Mr. Landis. We appreciate you coming back in to talk with us," said Lilly as she and Scotty escorted Rodney Landis into the interrogation. "I know the last time we spoke it didn't go so well."

"Oh don't worry about that, detective," replied Rodney. "In fact, I'd like to apologize for the outburst at my house. I know you were just doing your jobs. You just got to understand, Darnell was one of the best friends I ever had, and I just couldn't stand to hear anyone make such outrageous allegations about his conduct."

"Well we talked with Larry Tyler and it turns out you were right," said Scotty. "Darnell didn't do anything wrong at that party. As far as we can tell, Darnell was a very honorable and respectable man. In addition to what you told us, it seems like just about everyone who knew him spoke very favorably about him, even a few of the criminals he delt with on the job."

Rodney smiled. "I'm not surprised to hear that. Darnell was a very strict cop who generally did everything by the book, but all the same, he always did what he could to help everyone around him. Guys like me used to rag on him for it. I'd joke that he was on some quest to change the world. But he didn't mind. It's just the type of person he was."

"I see. Then I guess it must have been really hard to do what you did." Scotty replied.

Rodney sat up in his seat, surprised. "What are you talking about."

"You know, using the information Darnell gave you at that party to set him up and hiring three men to kill him. That must have been painstakingly difficult. Perhaps it was tough also knowing you would kill his partner too, but that was an acceptable loss, right?"

Rodney practically jumped out of his seat and slammed his hands down on the table upon hearing this, standing up so fast that he knocked over his chair. "That's absurd! I can't believe you still think I would have anything to…"

Scotty calmly cut him off. "But you know what the hardest part must have been? That hardest part must have been when you pulled the trigger on him yourself."

Rodney reacted to Scotty's statement with stunned silence. Then he spoke up. "Wait a minute. First you said I hired some men to kill him. Now you're saying I personally killed him. Which is it?"

"It was both." Scotty replied.

Rodney picked up his chair and quietly sat back down while Scotty continued. "You see Rodney, all throughout this entire investigation, we kept running into the same problem. We could never link any of the people we suspected of being the third shooter to the murder weapon. But then I thought of something his old partner told us. Laura said there was one thing about the crime that didn't add up. She couldn't understand how Darnell could have let the final suspect overpower him and murder him with his own weapon. Laura was sure Darnell was just too good and careful to let that happen, especially considering the fact that he had been in total control of the whole situation from the beginning.

"Well I agree that it seems unlikely, but it's far from impossible. I'm sure you've seen it happen to the best before." Rodney pointed out.

"Yeah that's what I thought at the time." Scotty continued. "But as the investigation went on and we were unable to link any of the potential third shooters to the murder weapon, it got me thinking of something else. What if there was someone else there besides the three shooters? What if the man who hired them went along himself, just to make sure everything went according to plan? That would certainly make the situation a lot more difficult, even for someone like Darnell, to handle handle on his own."

"I don't follow you detective," said Rodney. "What are you saying?"

"Simple. You didn't just hire the three shooters to kill Darnell. You also went along with them to make sure they did the job. You were hoping not to get involved the in the actual shooting, but knowing how good Darnell was, you had to be ready to do so just in case. And sure enough, Darnell and his partner proved too much for your men to handle, so when you got the opportunity to do so, you stepped in to finish the job yourself."

"I did no such thing! That's completely absurd!"

"Is it?" Asked Lilly. "Gerald Allen already told us how he brought you to his bar to coerce you into doing his dirty work. Only he didn't want you to kill anyone, just to get his gun back. Guess you didn't get the message."

"He's lying!" Rodney replied. "The man's a criminal and I'm sure the only way you got him to talk was to accuse him of the crime. He'd say anything to get himself off the hook. There is no reason to believe a word of it."

"That's true. But he has an airtight alibi to prove he wasn't anywhere near the scene of the crime that night. Do you?"

Rodney thought for a moment. "Well….no. I was home alone that night. I know that's not a real alibi, but that's just how it is. There isn't anything I can do about it."

"Oh but there is." Scotty pointed out. "You can give us a sample of your fingerprints and clear this whole thing up immediately."

"My prints? Why do you want them?"

"Because we can check them against the prints we found on Darnell's gun. If they don't match, then you're in the clear."

Rodney stared down at the floor for a second, desperately trying to think of something to say.

"Didn't see that coming, did you?" Asked Lilly. "Look Mr. Landis, we can get a court order for your prints, but why don't you just save us the trouble? I can tell that despite what you did, you still consider Darnell to be one of your best friends. Don't you think it's time to do the right thing? Darnell deserves justice. Besides, by coming clean, you can also help your son."

"David? What does he have to do with this?"

"You're a good liar, but you're wasting your breath," said Scotty. "We already know he was involved in the crime."

"No that can't be!" Said Landis with an expression of utter shock. "It's not true!"

Lilly smiled. "Oh, I see now. You didn't know."

"Didn't know what?"

"That your son was the one who made the 911 call that night."

"No! That's impossible!"

"I'm afraid not Mr. Landis. He already confessed to it." Lilly explained. "It all makes sense. You told Raynard Whitney to find someone to make the 911 call assuming he'd pick one of his criminal associates. But instead, he used David to do it. I guess Raynard figured that if you ever got caught, it would ensure that you would never rat him out, since he could threaten to expose David's role in the crime."

Rodney was getting desperate now. "Look, even if that's true. You can't charge David with anything. It wasn't his fault. I'm sure he didn't know what he was involved in."

"That appears to be true, but we could charge him as an accessory to murder all the same. However we've talked with the D. A. and they've agreed on a deal. If you tell us everything, they won't prosecute your son."

Before he could respond, Scotty cut in. "Come on Rodney, I can tell this must have been eating you up inside all these years. Deep down, you really want to come forward and put this matter to rest."

Rodney looked down and sighed. "Yes, you're right. You have no idea how hard it's been…..but.,..I..did what I had to do for my family. David was all I had left. I had to protect him."

"By doing this, you can," said Lilly. "You don't have to worry about David. Gerald Allen is just an old man living in a crummy run down apartment. His money and power are gone now. He can't hurt anyone else anymore. It's time to do the right thing."

Rodney smiled a bit. "Doing the right thing, justice, coming clean. You guys sound just like Darnell. Those are terms he used all the time, and he truly believed in them. He really lived by those principles, and all the way to the bitter end, he refused to give them up."

Several dozen yards away from the Westland jewelry store, Rodney Landis sat in his car, waiting for his plan to come to it's brutal conclusion. He had already followed Darnell from the police station to ensure his vehicle would be close to the store when the 911 call came in. Now hopefully, all he would have to do was wait for his men to do their jobs and drive them away. But knowing Darnell, the outcome was far from certain...

"Stanton, go after him, I'll handle things here!" As Laura took off after Eddie Ransen, Darnell moved up to arrest Whitney, his weapon in one hand drawn on the suspect while using his weak hand to call for backup on his radio.

Once he got close to Whitney, Darnell started to put his pistol away and reach for his handcuffs. But suddenly with lightning fast speed, Whitney sprung up off the ground and lunged at Darnell with a football style tackle, taking Darnell completely by surprise. The sudden move knocked Darnell off his feet and sent his revolver flying out of his un-snapped holster. For several seconds, both men wrestled along the ground, pounding on each other and trying to gain control with their bare hands. Eventually, Darnell managed to gain control of the situation by rolling Whitney onto his chest and slamming his head face first into the pavement as hard as he could. Darnell followed it up by pinning the man's arm behind his back and wrenching it up, causing Whitney to start wailing in pain.

"Are you done yet?!" Darnell angrily shouted as he continued to apply pressure on Whitney's arm. "If you want to keep fighting, we can stay in this position until backup arrives. And believe me, it might be a while."

"Okay okay!" Raynard groaned in pain. "I give up, just take it easy."

"Think you're pretty tough huh?" Asked Darnell, picking up his handcuffs with a free hand, while keeping control of Raynard. "You make be able to take a gunshot and keep fighting, but it's nothing compared to what's in store for..."

Before Darnell could apply his handcuffs or finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a clicking noise from behind him. It was a sound he was very familiar with: The sound of his own service revolver being cocked. This was followed by the sound of a gruff voice that seemed somewhat familiar. "Hands up cop. Get off him."

Darnell dropped his cuffs and slowly stood up with his hands in the air.

"H-hey man thanks for the save," said Raynard weakly. "Now let's..."

"Shut up, you worthless low life!" The unidentified man said from behind Darnell. "I can't believe you screwed this up so bad. You guys can't do anything right. Now get in the car and wait for me!"

"Look man, I don't know you guys were doing out here and I don't care, but whatever it was, it can't be worth killing a cop over it." Said Darnell to the man behind him as Raynard painfully limped away. "I havn't seen your face, so you have no reason to kill me. Just get in your car and get out of here."

"You may not have seen my face Darnell, but you know me all too well," replied Rodney.

Suddenly Darnell realized who the man behind him was. He turned around to see Rodney Landis pointing his own revolver at him. "Rod? You're involved in this? What the fuck are doing man?"

"Doing exactly what I said I would do." Rodney replied coldly. "I'm doing what needs to be done to protect David. I told you never should have messed Gerald Allen, but but you were too proud and full of yourself to listen."

"Allen? So he forced you into this because of my confrontation with him? Look man, you don't have to..."

"It wasn't about that, Darnell. It's about the gun you took from David. Allen's going to kill him over it, unless I settle this right now."

"That's what this is all about? Allen wanted you to kill me just for that?"

"No, he told me to get the gun back, but I knew that was a lost cause. There was no way I could get that from you, even if I told you what was at stake. You would just give some grand speech about 'doing the right thing' and try to use it to build a case against Allen. You're so obsessed with taking him down that you don't care who goes down with him. Me and David would just become acceptable losses in your crusade."

"Rod, this isn't you, man. Just give me the gun," Darnell replied, extending an arm out. "You've crossed a terrible threshold, but you don't need to take this any further. It's not too late..."

Before Darnell could finish his sentence, Rodney struck him across the face with the revolver in his hand, opening a big gash above Darnell's right eye. "Shut the fuck up Darnell!" Rodney angrily replied. "God you are unbelievable! Here I am with a gun in your face and you're trying to appeal to my good nature? Trying to 'save me'? Wake up man. That's not how it works in the real world. You gotta lookout for your own interests and the people you care about the most. Your noble ideals and dedication don't mean shit compared to that."

"Bullshit Rod. You're not like this at all. Allen's managed to scare the hell out of you, but he can't change who you are. I know that in spite of all you've done. And I know damn well you're not going to shoot me."

"Wanna bet?!" asked Rodney, extending his arm fully so the gun was pointed directly at his head. Darnell closed his eyes and waited for his life to end in an instant, but nothing happened. Surprised, he opened his eyes to see that Rodney has lowered the gun, although it was still gripped tightly in his shaking hand.

"See I knew you didn't have it in you. You're no killer. Now give me the gun," said Darnell, once again extending his hand.

But Rodney responded by taking a step back and raising the revolver again. "No! There's one thing that needs to be done before this ends. Now get in the car," he said, pointing to his vehicle in the distance.

"What do mean? What do you plan to do?"

"I'm willing spend the rest of my life in prison for this, and I damn sure wouldn't mind that scum you were fighting with going away either, but before I turn myself in, I need to make sure that gun disappears for good. You're going to take me to wherever you stashed it and we'll destroy it. It's only way to make sure David stays unharmed."

"No." Darnell calmly replied.

"What the hell do mean you no?" Rodney angrily asked.

"There's no way I'm going along with this." Darnell defiantly replied. "The only reason Allen would go this far to get that gun back is if it was used in a crime, probably a murder. I'm not letting him get a free pass on that. It's time to do what I should have done in the first place."

"Are you out of your fucking mind? Allen's going to kill David and me if you do that. He knows where we live and work and he's got officers on the take. There is no way anyone can protect us. Besides, you took that gun without turning it over to your department in the first place. You think they are just going to forgive you for that?"

"I don't give a damn anymore." Darnell replied. "This has gotten way out of hand and it's time to end it. I'm going to turn that gun in and David's going to tell the cops where he got it from. We can put Allen away for good."

"I can't let you do that." Said Rodney. "Even if David lives to take the witness stand, he'd have to confess to being a drug dealer. He could go to prison. We know he wouldn't last a week in there."

"That's just a chance we'll have to take. Now give me the gun," said Darnell, stepping closer to Rodney.

"Stay back Darnell! Don't come any closer" shouted Rodney, and once again raised it up, pointing it at Darnell's head.

"Come on man, it's over! Backup is going to be here any minute. Now give it to me." Darnell re-stated, continuing to advance towards him. One more step and he would be close enough to grab the revolver.

"No!" shouted Rodney followed by the booming sound the revolver going off. Time seemed to almost go in slow motion for Rodney as he watched the muzzel flash and the round strike his old friend directly in the face. Sending him tumbling backward. Rodney continued firing the weapon as Darnell fell to the ground until it clicked dry.

Stunned by his own actions, Rodney slowly released the revolver from his grip, letting it fall to the ground next to Darnell's body. For a few seconds, all he could do was stare, trying to fully comprehend what he had done. But suddenly he was alerted by the sound Darnell's radio, snapping him back to reality.

"Dispatch this is officer Stanton. I've arrested one male suspect. Send backup units and paramedics to my location immediately. He's in pretty bad shape."

Realizing he backup units would be there soon, Rodney ran back to his car, containing the wounded Raynard Whitney in the back seat. As he got in the driver's seat, he could already hear the faint sounds of police sirens in the distance. Rodney quickly started the engine and drove off under the cover of darkness, leaving no trace other then evidence of the horrific shootout behind and the panicked voice of Laura Stanton emitting from Darnell's radio.

"Prince, respond! Is everything alright? Dammit Prince answer me! What's going on Darnell, Darnell?"

("Shadows of the Night" by Pat Benatar)

Rodney Landis showed no emotion as he finished giving his statement and allowed the detectives to handcuff him. As they escorted him out of the interrogation room, he was surprised to see his son, David, waiting for him in the lobby. David said nothing, but his face contained an expression of utter shock and horror, realizing what Rodney had done. Rodney sighed and looked away. He knew his son would never forgive him for this, and perhaps it was best that way...

Surrounded by his fellow sailors, Marcus Rothman leaned against the rails of his ship as it pulled out of Norfolk on the way to a scheduled 6 month deployment at sea. While many of his fellow crewmen were not looking forward to the months of being away from their families and hard work ahead, Marcus was happy to be going out. His visit from the Philadelphia detectives had brought back some very unpleasant memories, and this would be just what he needed to clear his head. As he took one last look at the dock before it faded away in the distance, he saw the image of Darnell, standing on the dock looking at him with an expression that beamed with pride...

Gerald Allen sat at a seat in his old bar, watching a basketball game and gulping down shots. The place was no longer his, one of the many assets he was forced to give up after his 1984 conviction. Now it was just a place for him to go and forget his troubles and occasionally entertain other patrons with grand stories of his former wealth and power. But tonight he was in no mood for memories of better times. He just wanted to drink his troubles away. With a heavy sigh, he ordered another round. This was going to be a long night...

Filled with satisfaction at another solved case, Stillman carried the folder with the name "PRINCE. D", now marked "CLOSED" back into the records room. With all the effort it had taken to solve this case, and the fact that it involved one of their own, it felt particularly gratifying to put this one away. But there would be no respite for the Cold Case squad. Gerald Allen had given them the name of the man who killed Julia Sears, and just like that, the squad already had another case to clear. Stillman was pleased at the thought of something: even in death, Darnell was still helping the department solve a crime...

Byron Wilford sat at his desk in the Brinks building, desperately trying focus on the stack of contract forms lying in front of him. Amazingly, he had managed to get through this entire situation without losing his freedom or his job. But while trying to concentrate on his work, Wilford could not get his mind off the events he had set in motion. All this time he had managed to put his past behind him and avoid thinking about his old life, but it had finally caught up, and his conscience was not letting him off easy...

The students in Larry Tyler's firearms class, his own grandchildren among them, took their positions on the firing line and waited on his command. As he gave the signal, the area erupted with the sound of gunfire and over 20 guns went off at once. After the gunfire died down, Larry gave the order to holster weapons and the students moved up to check their targets. Tyler walked down the line, checking the targets of each shooter. By the time he got to his granddaughter's target, she was waiting for him with a look of pride on her face. She had put all of her rounds into the target's center mass, giving her the best grouping out of all the students. Trying not to show any emotion in front of the other students, Larry simply smiled back and ordered the shooters back to the line for the next phase...

Sitting in the bleachers next to her husband, Laura Stanton was nearly overwhelmed with emotion as she listened the speech at her son's high school graduation ceremony. There had been so many big events for her recently: her retirement from the force, preparing for her son to go out on his own, and now learning that after all these years, the incident that had haunted her for so long had finally been resolved. As the speech concluded, Laura joined the other parents in a standing ovation, trying unsuccessfully to hold back tears. She then turned to see the image of Darnell, in his police uniform, on his feet in the stands, silently clapping and looking at her approvingly. Laura remembered that expression well. It was something she had found reassuring during her difficult early days on the force, and as she looked on, memories of her 25 years of service came flooding back to her. As the applause died down and the people in the stands took their seats, Darnell smiled at Laura one last time before turning, his image fading and eventually disappearing as he walked away...

The End