A/N: I don't own any of the Cold Case characters and I am not making any money from writing this.
Please forgive any minor spelling or grammar mistakes, English is not my native language.
They were all in the main work room within an hour. Lilly and John were standing in front of the board, plastered with crime scene photographs and forensic reports. Others were sitting at their desks, studying the case files. John was the one to start the summation.
"No surviving family. His parents died in a car accident when he was twenty four, in 2004. His younger sister committed suicide in 2005." He turned his attention back to the board. "He worked as a news editor for a car magazine from 2001 to 2005." In December 2005, a month after his sister committed suicide, he quit his job and took off. Nobody has seem him since. But he was only reporter missing on December 27th, by his friend and a former colleague, Stephen Parker."
"Emptied his bank account, apparently disposed of his cellphone too", Will read.
"The water ruined all of the possible evidence", Lilly explained. "But the forensics managed to recover small traces of heroine on Danny's costume."
"Jolly ol' Santa", Nick commented.
"However", Lilly said, glaring at him, "tox screens didn't reveal any drugs in his system."
"No usable shoe prints or tyre tracks found near the crime scene", Kat read. "They couldn't tell for sure, but they always suspected that the river was a secondary crime scene."
"The robbery could have been the movie", Scotty concluded. "A red plastic tripod was found in the ditch near by. But no money."
"I doubt that a mugger would bother with such a cover up", Will objected.
Lilly pointed at one of the crime scene photographs on the board, showing two wrinkled, still wet paper receipts. "They found this in his pocket", she explained. "Two receipts from a boot twenty miles away. One for the coffee and pie, issued on December 24th 2005, and the one for coffee issued the day prior, both in "The Walters' Diner". All of the employees claimed that nobody matching the description has ever frequented it."
"Let's go see will this refresh their memory", Nick decided, standing up, the case file in hand.
#
Stephen Parker was looking down at the floor, his hands pressed against his temples and his elbows on his knees. He was in his apartment, in the living room, sitting on the couch, opposite to Nick and Kat, who were sitting on the sofa. He still looked pretty much the same he had five years ago, only with a lighter hair and a bit thinner.
"I just can't believe it", he said silently before looking up, his eyes watery. "Even after all these years, I still hoped..." He stopped, taking a deep breath and rubbing his eyes.
"Do you know if Danny had any enemies?", Kat asked gently.
Stephen sighed, leaning back in his spot. "No, not that I know of." He smiled sadly. "Though I haven't seen him much... in December."
Nick leaned over, pulling a notepad and a pen out of his pocket. "It would appear that Danny quiting his job was quite... sudden."
Stephen clasped his hands together. "To some. But I guess I should have seen it coming..."
(Do You See What I See by Carrie Underwood)
Stephen rushed over to his friend's desk, having just heard the terrible news and still not being able to believe it. He shuddered, seeing Danny cleaning up his desk slowly.
"Danny!", he cried, rushing over to him. Danny stopped and turned to face him, a mixture of indifference and some slight sadness on his face. "I just heard that you are quitting", Stephen sighed.
"Well, you heard well", Danny answered calmly.
Stephen looked at Danny with wide eyes, feeling himself shiver. "What the hell, man?", he cried. "You've been here for four years!"
Danny looked back at him, putting his hands on his hips. He remained in that position for some time, silent, like he was trying to think of what to say, or actually wanted to say something, but he couldn't. Eventually, he sighed, turned around, picked up his box and started leaving.
Stephen looked at him, baffled, before grabbing him by the forearm. Danny stopped with a groan. "How are you going to live, man?", he asked silently, looking Danny in the eyes.
Danny gulped, a pained look appearing on his face. "I have some savings. And I don't need much. Not anymore."
"You should have told me!"
"I needed time to finally decide too... remember our talks. And once I have, I didn't want to reconsider it all again." He tried to smile. "This is for the best, believe me." He patted Stephen on the shoulder. "We'll be in touch."
Stephen exhaled and looked around. He loosened the grip on his friend's forearm. "Come on, man", he whispered. "You're not a quiter."
Danny nodded his head. "You're right, I'm not." He smiled sadly. "But I just can't do this anymore."
Stephen took a step closer, furrowing his eyebrows. "Jenny made a choice...", he said softly.
Danny turned red in the face, his jaw clenched. He pushed Stephen away, taking a few steps backwards right away. "We'll stay in touch", Danny promised. He took one more look at his baffled best friend. "I'm sorry", he said, then turned around and walked away.
Steven was looking after him longingly, still feeling that he should stop him. But he didn't know how.
"Jenny, his sister?", Kat questioned.
Stephen nodded his head. "Yes." He took a deep breath. "I always had a feeling that Danny felt responsible for her suicide... he almost flat out admitted that to me a few times."
Nick frowned. "Why would he feel that way?"
Stephen rubbed his eyes. "He was working hard, trying to support both himself and Jenny, to secure her a good future. But she missed her parents, she was suffering from a depression, and he didn't notice."
Nick and Kat exchanged a look. Stephen was looking down at the floor, breathing heavily. "Did you hear from him since?", she asked.
Steven chuckled briefly. "Yes... last time being a few days before Christmas. He would tell me about the motels he would stay in, all those charities... I told everything to the police the first time around."
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "Please find the person who did that to him", he managed to say.
#
Bruce glared at Scotty and Lilly, sitting at the table in his office. He had put some weight since 2005, and his hair was messier, but he otherwise looked the same. Tge office was pretty crowded: two closest at each side, filled with paperwork, TV on the cupboard in the corner, calendar and several framed photographs on the walls. The two detectives eyed him suspiciously, waiting for him to answer their question.
"Look, I don't know what to tell to you guys", he said. "If everyone said that they didn't see him, then that's it."
Scotty frowned. "He had two receipts in his possession, issued from the diner owned by you", he pointed out.
Bruce scratched his head, shifting in his chair. "Look, we are always busy on holidays. Not many customers remember each other. I certainly can't remember everyone!"
Lilly crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you sure that this apparent amnesia isn't caused by you... I don't know... trying to save at least some of your reputation? Maybe you... encouraged your employees to do the same?"
Bruce gulped, gripping with his hands at his desk. "I have no idea what are you talking about", he whispered.
"We did some research", Lilly explained calmly. "From 2007 to 2009, there were some break ins into your place... it would sure suck if somebody would link it to murder in any way. Especially around Christmas time."
"Do you seriously think that I would interfere with a police investigation in order to save a few bucks?", Bruce scoffed.
"Any of the people who worked there at the time... do any of them still work here."
Bruce sighed. A short silence ensued. "No", he admitted. "But I can give you their names if it's necessary."
#
Amy's bakery was actually almost as big as Bruce'a diner. There was a big glass case that served as a counter, filled with cakes and many different kinds of cookies. Shelves near by were covered by small wooden baskets, containing many different kinds of bread and bagel. The ones in the opposite corner mostly contained muffins. Scotty breathed in the smells, smiling as he did. He noticed Lilly looking around, with a slight smile on her face. There were Christmas ornaments in the bakery too, but Lilly seemed to be trying not playing attention to them.
Amy put her hands on her hips as she walked closer to Scotty and Lilly. They both noted that she barely changed all since 2005. She was wearing a pink T-shirt, white apron and jeans, all three articles stained with flour.
"I worked there from 2003 to 2005", she said matter of factly. "Real pain."
Lilly smirked. "I imagine."
"He makes the waitresses do pretty much everything." She groaned. "Especially Christmas time 2005. The other waitress was sick most of the time, so I had to do most of the work."
"Is that why you couldn't remember a young man in the Santa suit?", Scotty asked.
Amy flinched. She said nothing.
"It is really hard to solve a murder case with little to no leads", Lilly said softly. "Especially after five years have passed. So anything can be of use to us."
"We finally identified him", Scotty added. "Danny Morgan. So..."
Amy coughed silently, running a hand through her hair. "Now that you mention it... now I think I remember... the person matching that description... frequting that diner... a few times, that year, around that time." She sighed. "And I think his name was Danny."
Lilly and Scotty exchanged a look before turning to face her.
"Do you know if he had any enemies?", Scotty asked. "Did he get in fight with anyone there."
Amy shook her head. "Not that I noticed. And he didn't talk much about himself." Ahe sighed. "He looked kind of sad."
"When was the last time you saw him?", Lilly asked.
"On Christmas Eve."
(Christmas Lights by Coldplay)
Amy eyed the petite brunette sitting in the corner of the booth suspiciously. The girl had been sitting there for half an hour, alone, just sipping her one mug filled with tea and looking as jumpy as ever. She hadn't seen her before either. Something just felt off.
She decided not to think about it and walked over to Danny. He was sitting at the counter again, just finishing his slice of pie and coffee. He looked more relaxed and Happy comparing to the last time he was there.
"So, you are leaving tomorrow?", she questioned carefully.
"Yes", Danny answered calmly. "But I'm planning on getting back here someday."
Amy smiled. "That's nice." She frowned. "You have a family... in the city?"
Danny swallowed hard, his smile disappearing. "I guess you could say or that way", he muttered before draining his mug of coffee.
Amy looked at the young couple sitting at the near by table. They looked like they could use some more wine. She quickly faced Danny, a smile still on her face. "Well, Merry Christmas", she greeted.
Danny smiled shyly and put the money on the counter. "Merry Christmas."
As Amy stored the money in the cash box, Danny stood up, adjusted his costume, put his hat on, and walked away, closing the door behind. He put the bag back on the, picked it up, and started walking down the street.
The brunette was looking through the near by window for some time. She then put some money on the table and left in a hurry.
Amy looked at her, feeling that something was "off", before walking over to the table to pick up the money.
Lilly frowned. "So, that "cute brunette girl" followed him outside that night?"
"Well, I can't tell that she really followed him, not for sure", Amy clarified. "I only known that, when he left, she left too."
Scotty sighed. "And that was the last anyone has ever seen him alive."