Authors note: hey everyone, so sorry for the long wait, I've just been so busy, with stuff and juggling two other fanfics, that it took a bit longer then I expected. Hopefully this will tide you all over, cause I dunno when I might be able to continue another chapter, hopefully soon, when my schedule has cleared up.
"Seems Calvin's been busy developing quite a rap sheet for himself after high school" Stillman said as he gazed at Ridge's sheet "two counts of grand theft auto, three for driving under the influence, both alcohol and drug related, three years of total jail time for assorted robberies, and to top it all, five different incidents of illegal gun holding, including one when he was in school".
"Sounds like a real winner" Scotty said, "They didn't happen to say what kind of gun he was carrying at the time of Parker's death?"
"Nope" he replied "but lets just say it wasn't the first time he had a 9mm on him, or a shotgun or a magnum for that matter".
"Liking him already" he replied.
"So I did that check on Adam" Jeffries said, walking over to the two men "apparently, he's done pretty well for himself. Man now runs his own advertisement firm up in Northeast Philly, one of the largest in the city today. Married for five years to his wife Mary Baker, two kids between them, nice fancy house, no criminal record, pretty much what you expect from the star high schooler".
"Once you gloss over a few facts" Stillman remarked "what about on Calvin, we got some sort of address for him?"
"According to this" Scotty said, "his last official residence was about three years ago for an apartment up north. Since then he hasn't settled down any where else, so I say he's either hustling on the streets or bunking with a friend"
"Okay then" Stillman replied "Scotty, why don't you and Lily go and have a visit with Baker. Jeffries, see if you can track down Ridge for us".
Just then, there was a knock on the office door. The three men turned their heads to see a Vera at the door, a woman standing next to him, her short cropped hair dyed a shockingly bright purple wearing a black and white striped shirt, and Technicolor pants, wrist adorned with many neon colored wristbands.
"Sorry guys" he remarked, "This here is Lydia Townsend". Her whole image flashed back to when she was sixteen years old, when her hair was still brown and long, face lit up with her enthusiastic smile, and clothes a more simpler style of pastels. After a brief moment, she flashed back to her current self.
"She was a friend of Parker's" he continued "heard about us re-opening the case, wanted to come down and see if she could help".
"Oh" Stillman said, a bit surprised by this announcement "all right then. Uh, Scotty, if you don't mind".
"Not at all" he said.
"And speaking of which" Vera said "Scotty, there's someone here who wants to talk to you as well".
"Wow, place is really rocking today" he commented as he headed out the door.
"So, I'll leave the two of you to it" Nick said before closing the door, leaving Stillman alone with the woman named Lydia.
"Ms. Townsend, if you would have a seat" Stillman said.
"Certainly" she replied in a bright voice "I'm sorry if this is so sudden. I wasn't sure if I should have called first but I just had to come here as soon as I heard about it. Wait, it is true right?"
"About us opening Parker's case, that's right" he replied "do you happen to know something that might help us?"
"As a matter of fact, I do" she said "as I'm sure that you've figured out by now, those shooting victims, not exactly pure saints right?"
"You can say that" he replied, "Why, you think they might have deserved it?"
"In a sense" she said, "I wouldn't have gone so far as to go and shoot them but, obviously someone did".
"So now that we got that settled" Stillman said " hows about you tell me the true reason you came down here for".
She sighed, "Well, it isn't something I'm exactly proud off. Shoot, if I had said it the first time, maybe his case would have been solved then and there".
"That's pretty big" he commented, "What was it?"
"It happened…bout a week or so before Parker got killed" Lydia began "It's a day that still haunts me after all this time".
("Even Flow" by Pearl Jam)
"So ticket sales have been great," Lydia said, Parker leaning against a nearby locker as she got out her stuff "way better then last year".
"Well no duh" he said "after last years epic disaster, plays could only get better".
"So true" she said, closing her locker, books in hand as they headed off for class. Off in the distance, she spotted the policemen stationed near one of the school's exits, both of them shaking down a student.
"Swear, those cops give me the creeps," she said.
"Why? There only here to help" Parker said.
"But it ain't like they've been doing a good job at it" she commented "three more attacks after Ridge and their nowhere near finding the guy who's doing it. Mark me words, if they don't find the guy doing all this, there will be killings next, mark my words".
"Oh, I wouldn't think he go that far" he said.
"Why not?" she asked.
"Cause usually with people like this, they always follow a specific formula" he began "their modem opus, so to speak. From what I've heard, this guy never intended to kill any of them, just enough to make them nervous, sort of teach them a lesson".
"Is this some sort of psychology crap?" Lydia asked.
"Maybe" he replied in a devilish tone.
She rolled her eyes "you and that freaky deaky pysch stuff".
"What's the point of learning something if your not going to use it?" he asked.
She was about to argue, but stopped "touché, my friend".
"And plus, ain't like they'll do much good" said Parker.
"Why's that?" she asked.
"Haven't you notice that all the shootings occurred after the school hour?" he said "and those guys get off as soon as the final bell rings. I think the only reason their here is to make the principle not look bad, give people a sense of security".
"Well that's bull," said Lydia.
"I know" he replied, "oh wait, do you mind if we stop at my locker for a bit? Just need to pick up a few things".
She looked over at the clock "yeah, we got time".
Stopping at his locker, he quickly dialed in the combination and opened, Lydia noticing something drop to the floor.
"Hey, what's that?" she asked.
"What?" he asked.
"That" she pointed to the ground "it just fell to the floor".
Parker knelt down, picking up a folded piece of paper, gazing at it curiously "odd" he said "oh well, first time for everything right".
He unfolded the paper, eyes quickly scanning the words that Lydia couldn't see. Looking at his face, she saw his brow furrow, eyes going wide, teeth biting on his bottom lip.
"Everything all right?" she asked after a moment.
"Yeah" he said quickly, folding the letter up "just fine".
"What it say?" she asked.
"Nothing" he said quickly "look Lydia, I really have to go, I'll talk to you later. Promise me that you won't say anything about this".
"Well what's so bad?" she asked, "what did it say?"
"Please Lydia" he said in a frantic voice "just promise me you won't say anything".
"I won't, I promise!" she replied, growing more anxious by the minute.
"Thanks" he said, giving her a hug "I'll talk to you later all right?" and he let her go, quickly running down the hallway without a second glance back.
"Hey, wait!" she called as he began to head down the hall "what did the letter say? Parker? Parker!"
"I kept my promise," said Lydia "just like he said. Lot of good that did, huh?"
"Do you ever find out what was written on the letter?" Stillman asked.
"Nope" she said, "never saw of it again. I assume whatever was on it was something bad. Who knows, it might have been the shooter, leaving one of his messages behind. What was it he always said…I Balance? Is that it?"
"Yeah, that's it" he replied.
"Beat myself up over it everyday" she said "maybe if I would have told someone sooner, he may still be alive today".
Outside, Lily was just returning from storage and spotted Scotty talking to someone, a woman, and by the looks of things it was getting pretty heated.
"Hey" she said to Vera "who Scotty talking to?"
"No idea" he replied "just showed up at the department, asks to speak to him, nothing else".
Looking back, things only seemed to get worse "you think its some old flame?" he asked.
"I don't think so," she said, just as he began to walk away from the woman "and its over".
Walking over, Scotty began to rub his forehead "hey, anything wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing" he said quickly "boss wants us to check on Baker, figure we better go".
"Alright" she replied, slightly put off by the rapid sentence "you sure-"
"Its nothing, all right?" he said harshly, before walking off on her.
She turned to Vera "don't look at me," he said.
Feeling it was best to let the subject go, Lily and Scotty drove in silence up to Adam's business, catching him just as he was about to go into a meeting.
"Can we make this quick" said a teenage Adam, cocky attitude on his face, still dressed in his football jacket, the whole image vanishing to an older Adam, now in a business suit but cocky attitude still in tack "I am about to close a very important deal and don't want to jeopardize it for taking to long".
"Well we wouldn't want that to happen," said Lily, barely hiding the sarcasm "we just want to ask a few question on Parker Westby. Name ring a bell?"
"He was the kid in my grade who got killed by the Fairmount shooter" he said "so what?"
"Witnesses have told us he had real a grudge against you," said Scotty "wanted to get revenge after what you did to Liz".
"That was settled a long time ago," said Adam "I never touched her. She was just some desperate bitch looking for attention. If that's all you are here for-"
"Oh trust me, that's not it," said Lily.
"Then what else is there?" he asked, "I was a victim just like he was".
"That still doesn't rule you out as a suspect" said Scotty "for all we know, the Fairmount shooter may have had nothing to do with his death. And even if that rape charge wasn't true, it still gives Parker a pretty good reason to try and get even with you".
"I was nowhere near the kid when he got murdered" he said "I had football practice till five and then I hung out with my friends for the rest of the day. So unless you have some real proof besides these wild accusations, I really must get going".
"Fine then," said Lily "but don't think this is the last you'll hear from us".
Giving them a curt nod, he walked of down the hall, not even giving them a second glance.
"That went well," said Lily.
"Well as to be excepted," replied Scotty "maybe Valens and Kat were able to get something out of Ridge".
She nodded, the rest of their way to the elevator in silence. With the doors closing and them being on the top floor, she decided to go for it.
"So are you not going to talk about what happened at the station?" she asked.
"I already told you, its nothing to worry about" he replied.
"Doesn't sound like nothing" she said.
"What are the odds of you letting this go?" Scotty asked.
"Pretty slim" she replied.
He gave a laugh, hand rubbing his forehead for a moment "alright, if you must know" he said, "her name is Mariah. She's my youngest sister".
"Didn't know you had a sister," she said, having only met one of Scotty's siblings "what did she want?"
"Help, all she ever asks for whenever she tries to contact me" he replied, voice growing bitter.
"What did she want?" Lily asked.
"Needed some money" said Scotty "pay of her rent. Or so she told me".
"What other reason could there be?" she asked.
"Dunno" he said "but it can't be good".
"And you don't think you should" Lily said.
He was silent for a moment "no" he said coldly, the elevator doors opening as they reached the bottom floor, Lily getting the hint that the conversation was now over.
"You sure this is the right place?" Kat asked as they walked down the derelict apartment hall.
"Not really" Jeffries replied "but this was the last place that Ridge was said to be staying at. We just have to hope he hasn't moved on to better places".
"What and leave this fine establishment" she commented, noticing a cockroach scramble past her.
Arriving at the door number 34, Jeffries gave two loud knocks on the door, a small scuffle heard from behind.
"Who is it?" came a woman's voice.
"Philly PD" he replied.
The door opened a crack "what do you want?" asked the same woman.
"We need to speak to Calvin," said Jeffries "he wouldn't happen to be home, would he?"
She narrowed her eyes, shutting the door and unlocking the latch. He heard her yell out his name, the two of them only having to wait a few minutes before the door opened again, a man now standing at the entry way, dressed in a grimy wife beater and tattered pants, blonde hair unkempt and five o'clock shadow across his hard face.
"Calvin Ridge?" Jeffries asked.
"Yeah" he replied, flashing back to his younger self, still locking as washed up as before "what's up?" another flash and he was his current self.
"Here to speak to you about Parker Westby's murder" said Kat.
"I thought that thing was closed years ago," he said.
"It was, now its been reopened" she said.
"We hear you've got a real thing for guns" said Jeffries "magnums, handguns, any you can name and you've owned".
"My dad was a hunter" he said "grew up with it my whole life. So what? And last I remembered, Westby was stabbed".
"Ironically by a hunting knife" replied Kat.
"After all, using a gun would be far to suspicious" said Jeffries "considering your history and the fact a serial shooter was on the loose".
"What exactly are you implying?" Calvin asked.
"Maybe your little attack wasn't all that coincidental" said Kat "after all, better to be a victim then a suspect".
"And then Parker uncovered your little secret" Jeffries said "so you decided to take him out before he blabbed your secret".
"Whoa, whoa, whoa" said Calvin "that's completely not true! I never killed anyone!"
"Convince us otherwise," replied Jeffries.
"I did not kill Westby" said Calvin "and I didn't shoot any neither. In fact, maybe you should concentrate more on him then me".
"Why?" asked Kat.
"He knew something" he replied "something that he didn't want anyone to find out about".
("Rusty Cage" by Soundgarden)
Calvin was slumped against the wall, busy puffing his last smoke before he had to go to class. From beyond the corner, he could hear two people arguing. Curiosity getting the best of him, he leaned forward to get a better look. It was Westby and that blonde chick he hung out with so much.
"How could you?!" she said "how could go along with this plan?"
"In case you haven't noticed," he replied, "it seems to be working pretty nicely".
"But through fear?" she said, "your no better then he is! What happens if they catch you?"
"They won't, I've made sure of it," he said.
"What if your wrong?" she asked, "Jesus Christ Clark, this is exactly how things happen!"
"But it won't" he said simply "I've thought it through".
"No you haven't!" she yelled, throwing her hands up in frustration.
"Well then what Liz?" he asked "what would you do then? From what I remember, your plan ended up with you getting squat and Baker walking free".
"Don't you dare" she said in a dangerous voice "this has nothing to do with him. What you are doing is dangerous! And the police, do you know what the police will do? You could go to jail! Or worse!"
"Don't be so overdramatic Liz" he said.
"I am not, I'm being realistic," she said "stop this, now, while there's still time".
"There's no going back" he replied grimly.
Liz was silent "fine" she spat "if you won't tell, I will".
"You wouldn't," he said.
"I would".
Both of them were silent, glaring at each other, before Liz gave a huff and began to walk off, leaving Parker standing there.
"he knew something" Calvin finished "and with that argument, it just confirmed my suspicions".
"When did this occur?" Kat asked.
"A few days before he got killer" he said.
Jeffries phone began to ring, quickly digging into his pockets and pulling out his phone, talking for just a few seconds before hanging up.
"That was the boss" he said "needs us to come down to the department immediately, says its urgent".
"Am I done here?" Calvin asked.
Kat nodded curtly, she and Jeffries taking off before he could close the door.
"Well, what's the urgency" she asked.
"Wouldn't say".
Lily hurried up to the top floor, the elevator doors barely opening before she could squeeze out and rush into the department, Scotty right behind her. She saw everyone gathered at one of the desks, Mrs. Westby sitting nearby.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Mrs. Westby" said Stillman.
She nodded, picking up a black bag from under her chair and setting it on the table "I was looking through Parker's room" she began, voice cracking slightly "I found this hidden under a floor panel. I swear, I had no idea".
Stillman opened the bag, picking it up and dumping the contents onto the desk, one of which resounded with a heavy thud. There were only two items. One was an old black ski mask…and the other was a 9mm handgun.
"Never did catch the guy who did it" Scotty said.
"Now we know why," said Lily "he was already dead".