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.
Since Cold Case never had a Christmas episodes, I'm not sure about Christmas parties and stuff... I just made a note about that.
Megan is Nick's former girlfriend. They really bonded in episode 7x20 "Free Love".
Nick moved away and observed the Christmas decorations that he had put on the ceiling. Megan smiled, walking into the living room from a near by kitchen.
"Thank you once again for coming over", she said sweetly.
He chuckled. "No problem. I'm glad to help." They both sat down on the near by couch. There was a nicely decorated Christmas tree near by, close to the TV. "Though I have to be back to work soon. Lunch break ain't last long."
"Listen... I've been thinking..."
"Yes?"
Megan ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know if you have any plans, but... would you mind dropping by... here... on Christmas?", she asked, her breath hitching.
Nick looked at her for a few moments before smiling brightly. "No problem."
Megan smiled back, chuckling as she did.
#
Lilly coughed, following Scotty to the workroom as he carried the box full of still dusty items toward his desk.
"The police work with Stephen's phone records seemed a bit thin", he explained. " I did some more research and found out that he received many phones from a cheap motel located in the same neighborhood like "The Walters' Diner", matching to the dates when he remembered Danny had called him." "I called them and found out that somebody was signed as a guest there from December 10th to December 24th. Mark Dickens."
"Real original", Lilly commented.
"He didn't return following December 24th. Two days later, his room was cleaned out and given to another guest." "His stuff were stored in the storage and remained there till this day."
"How considerate", Lilly commented sarcastically.
"I hope we find some lead soon", he said, trying to sound casual. "Christmas time and all..."
Lilly glared at him briefly, but quickly turned her attention back to the computer.
"I'm going to spend it with my mom, of course", Scotty said, going through the victim's things. He chuckled. "I heard some talks about somebody setting up a Christmas party here... we are probably one of the few department that don't normally host those."
"Maybe there is a reason for that", Lilly snapped, and Scotty gulped. He decided to let the matter drop for some time. Luckily, Kat peeked into the work room at about that time.
"We got a tip about the case", she informed them.
Lilly stood up immediately. "Already?", she exclaimed.
Kat nodded her head. "Yes. A woman named Tracy Miller claims she met the victim sometime prior to his murder."
#
The soup kitchen where Tracy Miller worked consistent of about fifteen wide tables, five to seven chairs placed in front of them. Almost all the spots were occupied, with people, mostly senior citizen and youths, eating their food hungrily. Tracy Miller, a young, petite African American woman, adjusted her gravy stained apron before walking over to the two detectives. "I remember him. He volounteered here for about a week. Real dedicated." "I recognized him as soon as I saw the photograph on the news. I often wondered what happened to him." She sighed. "Now I know."
"You think it may be related to this place somehow?", Lilly asked.
"Not really, but I guess any help is necessary. We did have some cases of theft and vandalism that year. I reported it to the police, but I don't know if anything came out of that. It stopped after Christmas. There must be a report on those somewhere."
"Did he ever get in trouble here?", Kat asked. "Tell you something about the problems that he might have had?"
Tracy shook her head. "I didn't notice anything suspicious. And he didn't talk much about himself. Kinda secretive." She sighed. "But he was polite, nice. He worked hard. I was sad when he stopped showing up." She looked away. "Now I know why."
(All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey)
Tracy helped an eldery woman move to her seat, glancing at Danny as she did. Danny put the plate full of chicken soup on the counter in front of an eldery man in a scuffy coat. "Here you go", he said, smiling warmly. The man thanked him and went to sit on one of the few remaining spots left.
Tracy was about to carry a bucket full of potatoes to the kitchen when she tripped and dropped it. Potatoes landed all over the floor.
She groaned, bent over and quickly began picking them up, putting them back in the bucket. Seeing that there were no other customers to serve, Danny immediately rushed over to help her.
"You don't have to...", she said.
"It's OK."
She didn't even notice that a CD box had fallen out of her pocket too. Danny picked or up and observed it for a moment. Tracy stopped, noticing that.
"10 Mile Stereo, huh", he read, his face lightening up. He looked up at Tracy. "I like them", he commented before handing the CD back to her.
Tracy blushed, pulling the box down her pocket. "They're great."
They just finished putting the potatoes back in the bocket. Danny stood up, the bucket in hand. "I... I heard that they have a concert in... the city the next year." "Are you planning on going?"
Tracy smiled. "I don't know. Maybe."
Danny smiled back. "Good to know." He looked around, almost shyly. "I'll take this into the kitchen", he commented, walking into the room near by.
Tracy smiled, looking after him, before noticing a young man just walking in.
"I was pretty busy these days. Didn't really catch much much that case." She sighed, a sad look appearing on her face. "I guess, after some time, everyone stopped talking about it."
"Do you know anyone else we may talk to?", Lilly asked, in a hopeful voice.
"Maybe Alan Summer", Tracy answered after some thinking. "He lives a few blocks away. He drops by occasionally. Donates some food, sometimes volounteers. He was here a few times that year too."
Lilly and Kat thanked her, then left. They made sure to leave some money in the gift basket near the door on their way out.
#
Alam slowly climbed off the ladder, having just finished putting the Christmas lights on his house. "Yeah, I've been there a few times", he admitted. "Like I do every year. But I don't remember that guy, sorry."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah... that was kind of a hard year for me. A lot of pressure on the job, my daughter moving out... lots of stuff."
"Can we talk to your wife?"
Alan's face fell. "She passed away from cancer. Ten years ago."
"I'm sorry."
Alan just nodded his head, looking down at the ground. He seemed to be trying to sort his thoughts. "Now that I think about it...", he eventually said. "That year, I've been seeing some suspicious guy near that soup kitchen."
Kat raised her eyebrows. "Near?"
"Yes. Alleyways, cafes... sort of lurking around, chatting up teenagers, homeless people."
"You didn't report him to the police?", Lilly asked.
"I had a few times before, with other guys, but unless you actually witness a crime or there's evidence..."
"Can you describe him?", Kat asked.
Alan frowned. "In his twenties, African American. Kind of short." He grimaced. "I don't remember much else, sorry."
#
Keith definitely looked older than he did on the latest mugshot. He was sitting on the bench in a park, underneath the oak tree, and only glanced at Scotty and Nick once they stopped approaching him, having stood mere inches away.
"Hey there, Keith", Nick said, flashing his badge. Scotty did the same. He sat down on the bench, left to Keith, while Nick did the same on the right side.
"Watcha want?", Keith asked, obviously unpleased to see them there.
Scotty pulled out the photograph of Danny and showed it to Keith. "This guy got killed late in December. 2005. Likely in this neighborhood. You ever saw him?"
"Nah", Keith replied. "Why have you come to me in the first place?"
"We re opened the case and did some research", Scotty explained. "No suspicious reports in 2005, but in 2007 you were arrested on multiple drug charges. Some dating back to 2005. You just recently got out on probation."
"We have a witness who saw the person matching your description near the soup kitchen where the victim volounteered", Nick explained. "Multiple times."
"Many people live there, walk there. Many people look similar to me."
"Maybe the trip to the precinct will refresh your memory", Scotty suggested. "Of course, we will have to search you first."
Keith stared intently at him, then at Nick, before sighing and leaning back against the bench.
"Look, I never saw that guy", he said. "But something weird happened on that Christmas Eve..."
Keith was standing in the corner, looking around. Slow night. One would think that there would be a lot of depressed, lonely people in a need for a high in this time of a year, but still...
He flinched. He thought he heard something.
There it was.
Footsteps approaching.
He turned around and saw a petite young woman, with very light brown hair, approaching him.
He smirked.
Even in the dark, he could see it.
Pupils dialeted, arms shaking, almost no color to her face... there it was.
She stopped mere inches away from him, smiling awkwardly. "Hi."
He decided to cut to the chase. "What do you need?"
"Cocaine... just one package, please."
Keith frowned. "How much do you got?"
The girl turned even more pale than she already was. She shivered. "I... I don't have any money... yet."
Keith grimaced, feeling rage beginning to boil inside of him. He clenched his fists. "Get outta here!", he hissed.
But the girl didn't leave. "Come on!", she cried. "I will pay you back first thing tomorrow, I promise."
Keith couldn't help but chuckle. "Is this some kind of a joke?"
"I'm serious", the girl said sheepishly. Keith mumbled something and looked away.
And once again, she didn't leave. Instead, she rubbed her eyes and adjusted her hair, trying to appear calm. The next thing he knew, her body was leaned into his. "Come on", she whispered, trying to sound seductive. He felt her hot breath against his lips. Her hand stroked at his stomach. He shuddered. "There must be other ways... I can... earn it", she mused before placing a gentle kiss at the side of his neck.
"Leave", Keith growled, pushing the gurl away so hard that she hit with her back against the walk. She groaned.
The next thing he knew, the gun was pointed at his head. The girl looked at him with watery eyes, her hand shaking, her teeth gritted. "Just... one... package", she managed to say.
Keith grinned, his hands raised slightly despite of himself. "Come on, girl. Put that away until you injury yourself."
"I need it!", she screamed, taking a step closer.
Keith saw his opportunity and grabbed it. He gripped at the girl's wrist and pushed himself against her, putting all of his body strength into that struggle. He slammed her with her back against the wall once again. She tried to kick him with her legs, with her other hand, but couldn't.
Neither could grab the gun either. It fell out of the girl's hand and landed into a near by gutter.
She instantly leaned over and reached for it, yelling in desperation.
Keith kneed her into the stomach. She cried out and fell down on the ground, instantly curled into a ball. Just in case, he kicked her in the ribs. She cried and covered her face with her hands.
Keith searched her pockets but found nothing. He looked down at her with contempt, then ran away.
"You're a swell guy, Keith", Nick commented sarcastically.
"She was alive when I left", Terrace claimed. "That was self defense. And once again, I never even saw that Santa Claus guy!"
"Do you remember what kind of the gun that girl owned?", Nick asked.
Terrace grinned. "Sweet piece. Caliber .45."
Nick and Scotty exchanged a look.