9. Keep On Truckin'

[r2k]

Here is the latest fan fic. Be warned that the music will have a late 1970s country theme to it.



Keep On Truckin' (1978)
Rush reopens what was ruled an accidental death in 1978 of a truck driver. Johnny Butler drove his semi off the road and crashed into a tree. The truck exploded on impact. Now, a woman claiming to be a girlfriend comes in claiming a private investigator came to her place a week prior to the accident. As Rush dives into the case, she uncovers a long list of women the man also entertained. She also discovers some men who hated him as well.

August 2, 1978
“Kiss You All Over” by Exile plays in the background.
-A young man and woman are in bed kissing each other passionately. Thunder can be heard outside and the rain. There is a big storm going on.
-The man has brown hair that is cut short. The woman is blonde with straight hair.
Johnny: (With a country boy accent.) I love you Charmaine.
Charmaine: (With a strong country accent.) I love you too trucker boy. You bring a little pleasure to my place every so often.
Johnny: I wish I could be here more often.
Charmaine: I wish you could be here forever.
Johnny: You know that can’t happen. Not now at least.
Charmaine: Remember dear. I’m not getting any younger.
Johnny: Neither am I. But when we are together finally these years won’t be wasted.
Charmaine: Why wait?
Johnny: It’s complicated. My job. I’m on the road all the time.
Charmaine: Why not settle down with a job that doesn’t force you to travel.
Johnny: What could I do?
Charmaine: You can do anything.
Johnny: You think so.
Charmaine: Yes. I do. I love you Johnny.
The two kiss again under the covers. A loud rumble of thunder is heard.

Later, a truck crashes and explodes of the road. Johnny’s body is burning.
In the Case File Room, his box is being filed away.

Aug. ‘78
J. Butler
Accident

-The Present
At Lily’s desk. Charmaine is sitting there waiting. Lily approaches her as she comes into work.

Lily: Charmaine Dell?
Charmaine (Images flashes to 1978 when she was 25 and back again to the present at age 52.) Yes. I was told you can help me.
Lily: I got your message last night. They told me you called after I left. What have you got?
Charmaine: His name was Johnny Butler. Truck driver. Came around every so often.
Lily: Nice man.
Charmaine: You betcha. Good lover, kind man. Generous.
Lily: A truck driver with class.
Charmaine: That comes around but once in a lifetime.
(Vera joins in.)
Vera: Well trucks have only been around a lifetime.
Lily: This is Detective Vera. He will be helping me out on this one.
Charmaine: His death was ruled an accident. Thing is, and I never mentioned this to anyone. A private investigator came around a few days earlier.
Lily: What did he ask you about?
Charmaine: Johnny.

Flashback to 1978
-No Music in this Flashback
Charmaine answers her door.
Charmaine: May I help you?
Jack: Yes you can. Jack Pearson. Private Investigator. I want to ask you about a man. Johnny Butler.
Charmaine: Yes. What about him?
Jack: Has he been around here?
Charmaine: Why do you want to know?
Jack: Beats me. I just investigate. People have paid me good money to look into this. Has he been here?
Charmaine: I don’t think I’m going to answer that question. You won’t tell me what this is all about. You can leave now.
Jack: Fine. But I’ll find out somehow so you may as well share the information with me now.
Charmaine: Good day sir.
Jack: Same to you. But it is nighttime. So goodnight to you.
-She signals him to the door. He obliges. She shuts the door behind him.

Return to the Present
Charmaine: Thing is Johnny was a good driver. That accident was always suspicious to me. And for the P.I. to come in a few days before. I’m thinking someone tried to kill him.
Lily: What would make you think that?
Charmaine: He was truck driver and he came to see me whenever he came around. I’m not stupid. I know I’m not the only one. Or wasn’t. I was hoping you might look into it for me. I loved that man despite being one of many. But I understood that going into it.
Lily: With all those other women. That definitely is a reason to look at this accident. You don’t love that many women to meet with an accident.

Opening Credits

[r2k]

In the Case File Room, Lily and Vera are going through the file. Scotty joins them.
Vera: Welcome.
Scotty: What have we got today?
Lily: Truck driver from ’78. Johnny Butler, 29, drove off the road. August 9, 1978. Ruled an accident but a girlfriend thinks otherwise. Charmaine claims a Private Investigator came asking about him a few days before he died.
Vera: Charmaine isn’t listed in the official report.
Lily: Nor any other woman except a Jesse Butler.
Vera: A wife. HoooBoy. Charmaine isn’t going to like this.
Scotty: Maybe the Private Investigator knows something. He was following him.
Lily: Sounds like a plan. Nick, why don’t you see if you can contact this Jesse and get her story. Scotty and I will locate this Investigator.
Vera: So I get the girl. You’re a doll.
Lily: Charmaine lives south of Philly. Jesse lived in Virginia. Jack Pearson’s whereabouts remain a mystery.
Scotty: He wasn’t in the report either.
Lily: we need to find this Private Investigator.

-In the main office. Jeffries has located the Private Investigator
Jeffries: Jack Pearson. Private Investigator. Started in ’71 and still going strong. Lives in Norristown.
Lily: That was easy. So we know whoever hired him lives here in Philly.
Scotty: Definitely narrows the field.
Vera: What about Jesse?
Jeffries: She still lives in Virginia. Apparently, that is where Johnny called home. There was no mention of parents in the report. We’re assuming they’ve passed away. I didn’t dig that far. Figured the wife was the one we needed to talk to.
Vera: Possible she found out about the various stops?
Lily: That would give her motive.

-Norristown. Lily and Scotty are knocking on a door. Jack Pearson opens the door. He is 68 years old. His image flashes back to 1978, when he was 41.

Lily: Jack Pearson?
Jack: Yes. You need a job done.
Lily: No, actually, we’re detectives too. Detective Rush.
Scotty: Detective Valens. Legit.
Jack: I’m legit. I work for clients. But I’m still legit.
Scotty: Sorry.
Lily: We want to talk to you about a man you may have been hired to look at. ’78, his name was John Butler.
Jack: Oh man. I remember that one. Charming truck driver. Rugged, yet young looking. Ladies loved him. He loved the ladies right back. And I mean he loved them. Over and over and over….
Lily: (Interrupting him.) We get the point.
Scotty: Thing is, one of these ladies claims you came around asking about him.
Jack: Yes. I was hired to trail him around. I was to follow him and report his activities. And I think I know which girl you’re talking about. She was defensive. Kicked me out. I followed this guy around during his various stops.
Scotty: You were paid to watch live porn.
Jack: I only looked at what I needed. It was my job, remember. But if you want to call it live porn, go ahead. I wouldn’t.
Lily: What do you mean?
Jack: Have you ever seen porn?
Lily: I have my TiVo set to it. (annoyed) What kind of a girl do you think I am?
Jack: I didn’t mean it that way? What this guy was doing wasn’t porn. Many men have affairs for excitement. Not this guy. He was a truck driver. On the road all the time. He needed love. He found it wherever he was. These women were always treated nicely. I felt bad about having to report what this guy was doing.
Lily: Do you remember who hired you to spy on him?
Jack: My client’s files are confidential.
Scotty: Did you know this guy died a few days after you came to this one girl’s door?
Jack: What? He died. I had no idea.
Lily: Can I jump in a moment. You were hired to follow him, spy on him. And you have no idea he was killed.
Jack: I thought you said he died.
Lily: Yes. He drove his truck off the road.
Scotty: Originally ruled an accident.
Lily: But now we know you were hired to follow him.
Scotty: And you trailed him everywhere except where he was murdered.
Jack: I didn’t kill him. He was my paycheck. There was plenty more trailing to do.
Lily: How much more?
Jack: My job was to record his activities from when he left to his destination up north. Then, I was to follow him back home to Virginia. Thing is, I lost him on the way back. I went down the road a bit later. Nobody knew what happened to him.
(Scotty and Lily look at him with distrust.)
Jack: Oh, what’s the point. Of course I knew he was dead. I did lose him. But when I caught up with him later, he had already crashed.
Lily: So you left the scene.
Jack: Not so easy. Police and ambulance were already there. I just drove by like I had no idea. It was a stormy night. Crazy. I shouldn’t have been out there with my car.
Lily: How lucky someone called it in first?
Jack: Statute of limitations has worn off if I had done anything wrong in the way I handled that. Besides, if you found the wreckage of a truck belonging to a guy you were hired to follow, what would you do?
Lily: (without hesitating) The right thing.
Jack: Oh please, are you for real?
Scotty: We’re going to need to know who hired you to track him. Oh and yes, she is for real.
Jack: I guess it wouldn’t hurt. I’m ready to retire soon anyway. What can they do to me? Her name was Buckner, Lily Buckner.
(Scotty grins. Lily notices.)
Jack: She came to me in early July of ’78. This woman was determined.

Flashback to 1978. “It’s a Heartache” by Bonnie Tyler plays in the background. Lily Buckner is talking with Jack Pearson in his office.
Lily Buckner: I know he’s cheatin’. He told me I was special and beautiful. I thought I was the only one. But I know there are others. There have to be.
Jack: So you want me to follow him around.
Lily Buckner: I want to know it all. He leaves for a trip on August 2. He’ll be here for a day or two. Follow him, take pictures. I want details. Many details. When I’m through with him, no woman will ever want him. Trail him from start to finish. And I want names of the women.
Jack: So, I trail him from start to finish.
Lily Buckner: (Looks at Jack seriously.) No. Trail him from start to finish. Then, follow him all the way back home. He might see other women at different times. And to help encourage you to do a quality job, I’ll tell you what. I see him on his way up north and south. On his visit with me south, I’ll give you a show you’ll never forget. And when this is all over, you’ll let you have the ride yourself.
(Jack gulps.)
Jack: I’ll do my best. I’ll do the best.
Lily Buckner: Good. Because, out of all his little floosies, I’m the best. Be glad I’m the one hiring you.

(Return to the present.)
Lily: Did you get your bonus?
Jack: He died while I was following him. She didn’t take his death very well. Let’s just say the surveillance job was on the house. I never charged her. I did get to see her show. Now that was wild.
Lily: We don’t need those details.
Scotty: Did you give her all the details of your investigation?
Jack: No. She was so heartbroken. She said she should just let it go. She asked me to hold her for a while. After an hour or so she told me her husband would be home soon and that I’d better leave. She smiled and said goodbye. I drove off. I felt so bad. So bad for her. Thing is, despite how mad she was at him, she seemed to still love him. I find it hard to believe she would kill him. I figured she would have wanted to see my findings.
Lily: How many women did he see on his trip?
Jack Pearson: There were many. I actually started trailing him a little early. Just to get a feel. I had a little time between jobs so I thought I’d see a little. I followed him around on an earlier trip. Thing is, there weren’t many on the last trip. I wish I had kept notes on the earlier trip. More women there. He only saw Lily and Charmaine on the last trip.

[r2k]

-Meanwhile, in Virginia, Vera and Jeffries are getting out of their car at Jesse’s house. A woman comes out of the house. She is 50. Her image flashes back to 23 and returns to 50.

Vera: Jesse Butler? (She has a southern accent.)
Jesse: Jesse Preston now. I’m married. Can I help you too?
Jeffries: Detective Jeffries, Philadelphia homicide.
Vera: Detective Vera. We’ve reopened your first husband’s murder case and would like to talk to you about it.
(Jesse looks confused and then realizes.)
Jesse: No, you’re mistaken. Johnny was my brother, not my husband.
Vera: (giving that look that says, “oops”) Sorry, Ma’am.
Jesse: That’s okay. I guess the report failed to mention that.
Jeffries: That it did.

-Inside the house.
Jesse: That can’t be right. Johnny was not that kind of guy. We weren’t raised that way. Our parents brought us up to fear God. Johnny was a good boy.
Vera: According to this woman, he was in love with her.
Jeffries: Someone had a private investigator following him. So there may have been others.
Jesse: He always went off on his trips. I never imagined anything was wrong. He would bring some kind of gift back for me to put in the house. He was always in church praying. All this time he was living a lie.
Vera: It looks that way.
Jesse: Then he’s not with Mom and Dad. They died a few years earlier. 1973. Dad had a heart attack. Mom went soon after to be with him. I had Johnny left. Then he died. I married soon after. Kept the house. My husband didn’t mind. I had four kids. One is still here. The others went off the college and come back whenever they can. (Starts to cry.) How could he do this? Mom and Dad raised him right. What went wrong?
Jeffries: Sometimes no matter how good you do raising your kids, they eventually choose their own path.
Jesse: I remember the last time I saw him before he left on his last trip. Before he died.

(Flashback to 1978. “Freebird” by Lynyrd Skynrd plays in the background. Johnny is packing up his semi for his next run. Jesse brings him a backpack full of snacks.)

Jesse: Here Johnny, in case you need something to eat on the road.
Johnny: Jess, you’re too sweet. (Looks in the bag.) You packed those goldfish crackers again.
Jesse: I know how much you love them. You call me a few times to let me know you’re safe.
Johnny: I will. You know, you’re gonna make a good wife to someone someday. I hear that Eric guy in town likes you.
Jesse: Eric Preston. He’s asked me out.
Johnny: Well?
Jesse: I’m interested. But I’m gonna wait until you get back before I say yes. I want you to be here in case something goes bad.
Johnny: Look. Go out with him. If things go bad, I’ll come back to give it to him good. Look I better go. Gotta a long drive ahead of me.
Jesse: Drive carefully.
Johnny: Don’t I always? (Hops in the truck and drives away.)
“Let Your Love Flow” by the Bellamy Brothers plays in the background as
Johnny drives away. He drives a little as the song plays.

Return to the Present
Jesse: That was the last I saw of him.
Vera: How many times did he call you?
Jesse: Only once this time. Funny too.
Jeffries: How so?
Jesse: Well, he usually called before getting out of Virginia. He did that. Nothing after that. He was killed south of Philly. He should have at least made one call to me by then. He always called me before entering Pennsylvania. But he didn’t this time after he got into Pennsylvania. I looked up to him. On the outside, he seemed like a perfect gentlemen. It hurts to know the truth.

Back at the station.

Lily: Jack was hired by this Buckner woman to follow Johnny around everywhere.
Vera: Call her by her first name
Lily: I’d rather not.
(Vera giggles.)
Lily: Seems like she was upset by Johnny’s womanizing ways.
Stillman: What did you two get from the wife?
Vera: Well, that she’s not his wife, she’s his sister.
Jeffries: And she was in the dark about his activities on the road.
Vera: She was devastated when she learned he had many women in his life. This was a churchgoing family.
Jeffries: And Johnny ruined the family tree.
Lily: Any possibility Jesse might have known and done something about it.
Vera: Not likely. This woman wasn’t capable of murder.
Scotty: Those are the ones you’ve got to look out for.
Stillman: Lily and Vera. Go see this Buckner woman. Find out what she learned about Johnny and if she did something about it.
Lily: Sure boss.
Stillman: Scotty and Will, stay back and analyze the truck route. Use the files Jack Pearson provided to match the women on the route. We may be able to find something.
Jeffries: Sure thing.
-Jeffries walks over to another table to get the files Pearson provided on his search. Scotty looks at the truck route. Stillman stays with him.
Stillman: How are things?
Scotty: Okay. Still hard.
Stillman: I hear you’ve pulled Elisa’s file a few times.
Scotty: Yeah. Well, I feel better looking through it. Even if nothing comes out of it, at least I have some control over it.
Stillman: For the first time in a while, you actually look better.
Scotty: Really. For a while, I wasn’t sure.
Stillman: It’ll get better. I’m glad you decided to talk to the counselor.
Scotty: Well, after that mishap with the lead, I realized I had no choice. But I still don’t know how Lily is about all this.
Stillman: Don’t worry about her. She’ll come around. You’re not still seeing Christina.
Scotty: No. I had to stop that. For Lily’s sake. But I still don’t understand why Lily hates her so much. But with the New York detective coming around and her disappearing. Perhaps Lily was right.
Stillman: There are a lot of things about Lily we don’t know. She’s a mystery. Occasionally, a piece comes off and is revealed. Enjoy those brief moments. And remember them. The puzzle will be finished some day.

[r2k]

-Meanwhile, Lily and Vera arrive at Lily Buckner’s place, south of Philly. The house is out in the middle of nowhere of an interstate.
Lily Buckner: I remember Johnny and the P.I. I hired to investigate that low life scumbag. (Image changes to 33 and then returns to 60.) Johnny and I met great. There was passion.
Lily: Then what?
Lily Buckner: It just hit me one day. He came in, treated me like a queen. He flattered me, said things like, “You’re the one I want.” It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. I mean, you people may not think much of us folks out here in the country, but we’re not that dumb. Johnny was good. Excellent lover. The times we had.

Flashback to 1978. “Right Time of the Night” by Jennifer Warnes plays in the background. Johnny and Lily Buckner are in bed. They’ve finished and are talking.

Lily Buckner: I love you Johnny Butler.
Johnny: I love you Lily Girl. You make me so happy. I love you more than anything in the world.
Lily Buckner: Then stay with me. Get a job right here. We can be together forever.
Johnny: I wish I could. But I’m a trucker. It’s in my blood. I love that open road.
Lily Buckner: Then take me with you. We can share that road together.
Johnny: Maybe I should take you up on that offer.
Lily Buckner: Speaking of taking, take me again. Take me now.
Johnny: I already have you.
Lily Buckner: And I’m already taken. If Brent ever found out about you. He’d kill us both.
Johnny: Where is ol’ Brent tonight?
Lily Buckner: He’s out getting drunk somewhere. Probably won’t be back until morning. Stupid drunken idiot. You know when he gets real drunk, he’s afraid of his own shadow. (Starts laughing)
Johnny: What? You’re kiddin’
Lily Buckner: No, I kid you not. He tries to run from it. One night, he was running around the yard and then he tried to step on it to kill it. But it didn’t die. (Laughs)
Johnny: Tell me again why you married him.
Lily Buckner: I wish I could remember. Kiss me.

(Return to the Present.)
Lily Buckner: (Laughs) Good times.
Vera: At your husband’s expense.
Lily: Thing is you hire this P.I. because you were suspicious of Johnny cheating on you. But you’re cheating on your husband with Johnny.
Lily Buckner: My husband was a husband in name and well, court document only. He cheated on me dozens of times. After a few years I figured he owed me a little.
Vera: Did you get a P.I. to follow Brent around?
Lily Buckner: You haven’t figured it out yet, have you. I loved Johnny. I wanted to keep Johnny. I wanted to whip Johnny’s cheating butt into shape. Besides, everyone in the area knew what Brent was doing to me.
Lily: So you intended to keep Johnny.
Lily Buckner: Johnny was a rare gem. He truly loved life and well, romance. I guess I could understand why he had all those women. Over the three years we knew each other, the heart grew fonder. He began to love me.
Lily: How do you know? There’s another woman who seems to think he loved her.
Lily Buckner: In his eyes girly. In his eyes.
Lily: I’ve looked into a man’s eyes. Honey, eyes can lie.
(Lily and Vera begin to leave. Vera asks Lily Buckner something.)
Vera: Hey. I notice you’re still wearing your ring. Still with Brent.
Lily Buckner: Of course. Where else would I go? Nobody leaves Brent. All that’s in the past now.
Lily: How so?
Lily Buckner: Brent found out about us. But when he took a good, long, look at himself he realized the error of his ways. I may not have been happily married back then, but things changed. People changed. Funny thing is I always loved Brent. And I loved Johnny. But it wasn’t Johnny I loved. It was what Johnny gave me at the time that Brent wouldn’t. When Brent started loving me again, Johnny’s death just kind of washed away. Until you two came here, I had all but forgotten him.
Lily: And what of the memories?
Lily Buckner: Brent had his women and I had my man. I wouldn’t expect him to forget them completely. He wouldn’t expect the same of me.
Lily: It’s funny. You refer to Johnny as a scumbag at the beginning of our conversation. Now, he’s Prince Charming.
Lily Buckner: Detective. I don’t know what to say about that. You had to know Johnny to figure that out. But he’s dead now.
Lily: Perhaps I can relate.

Back at the station
Lily: So Lily B. is cheating on her husband.
Vera: Who is also cheating on her. But she becomes suspicious that the man she is cheating with his also cheating on her.
Jeffries: And this is the reason she hired a P.I. Now if we can figure out who is the pot and who is the kettle…..
Vera: (Finishing Jeffries statement.) We may have something.
Stillman: Were you able to get in touch with the hubbie.
Lily: No. He was at work. Lily B. is going to talk to him. Try to get him to come in tomorrow.
Vera: Drop the B. Lily.
Lily: You’re just obsessed with the same name thing.
Vera: I had a hard time following the conversation.
Jeffries: Too many Lilies?
Lily: You know, I think I’d rather spend the afternoon with Kite.
Vera: Or maybe you’re prisoner of love. He still writing letters.
Jeffries: Which prisoner? There are two.
Vera: We know about James. Who’s the other one?
Lily: Okay, I’m out of here (smiling as she walks away to work on something.)
Vera: Come back, we’re sorry. We promise to stop.
(Lily waves back as she walks on.)

[r2k]

-The next day. Brent Buckner is at the station at Lily’s desk
Brent: There was a big surprise. I spent so much time trying to keep her from finding out about my affairs. All the time she knew and was having a little fun of her own.
Lily: That must have been really disappointing and painful.
Brent: I guess I deserved that. Look, it was a long time ago. Lily and I are happy now.
Lily: But at one time there was a man having an affair with your wife. Now, his accidental death may possibly have been a homicide.
Brent: I didn’t kill him. I wouldn’t kill anybody.
Scotty: That’s right. Jealous husbands never kill the men banging their wives.
Lily: What were we thinking? Us stupid cops. What would lead us to that conclusion. Clearly, Scotty, you pulling my tail.
Brent: I didn’t know about him until after he died. I never would have killed him. I couldn’t have. And if I would have, it certainly wouldn’t have been like that. I drove a 4X4 truck back then. There’s no way I could have done that. Running a semi off the road is not easy to do without getting hurt yourself.
Lily: And you know this how?
Brent: I know cars, trucks, tools, motors, stuff like that. I’m a race car fan. I know what I’m talking about. Anyway, four shotguns in my shed. Any one of those would have been a fine choice to do away with that man. Funny thing is, I did know that Johnny Butler. He came by the bar a few times. We knew he was ladies’ man. Never imagined my wife was one of them.
Lily: Too busy having fun.
Brent: I do remember him getting into it with another truck driver. Now that truck driver was evil. Someone told me about it.
Lily: Does this truck driver have a name?
Brent: I think his name was Henry something. It’s been a long time. This Henry was kind of a womanizer too. Thing is, this Henry hasn’t been around lately. He used to come around all the time. Picked on other truck drivers. Harassed the women.
(Lily and Scotty look at each other.)
Lily: Stay right here. I’ll be right back.
(A few minutes later. Lily shows him a picture of Henry from “The Hitchhiker”)
Lily: Is this Henry?
Brent: Yes. Still looks evil.
Lily: You’ve helped us more than you’ll know.
Brent: Look. I probably would’ve just roughed this Johnny Boy up a little. I wouldn’t have killed him. I loved Lily. I still do. I’m grateful she gave me a second chance.
Lily: Well, there is a reason this Henry guy hasn’t been around much. He is in prison for murder and was sentenced to death.

-Brent leaves.
Lily: What really scares me is this Henry guy may be responsible for more murders.
Scotty: And the fact if he got the death penalty means he may already be dead.
Lily: Let’s hope he’s appealing it. We need to talk to him.
Scotty: Good thinking.
Lily: You know what Scotty. I think I want to take Vera with me on this one. He missed out on Henry the last time.
(Vera joins them.)
Vera: Henry who?
Lily: The truck driver from the Matt Mills case. Turns out he may be involved in this one. I’m going to head to Jersey to find out.
(Stillman and Jeffries join in.)
Stillman: Good idea. Besides, we still need to finish the truck route. See if there may be any other girls. We have the P.I. report. Well, Scotty, let’s work on that together. See if we can find something.

[r2k]

-A prison in New Jersey. Henry is sitting in a room. Lily and Vera enter.
Lily: (with a smile) We have to stop meeting like this.
Henry: Well if it isn’t sweet….
Vera: (Stopping Henry) Don’t finish that sentence.
-Henry stops.
Lily: You’re name, dead people, and truck routes always seem to appear in the same sentence. And guess what. Today’s your lucky day. We’ve linked you to another.
Henry: Really.
Lily: (smiling) Really.
Vera: You remember a guy named Johnny Butler?
Henry: And what if I do?
Lily: Either you do or don’t.
Henry: Is there anything in it for me?
Vera: What do you want?
Henry: What do you think I want?
Lily: Well I’m not sure we can do anything. You got the death penalty. That’s serious.
Henry: So am I. You had the evidence, I confessed. They still gave it to me. I may as well killed that other kid.
Lily: Is there a part of you at all that is interested in doing the right thing?
Henry: Don’t give me that crap. It’s been done time and again.
Lily: Well, I do know that you don’t want to die.
Henry: Who does?
Vera: We may be able to do something. But you know you’ll never get out of prison.
Henry: I’ll deal with that. Ask for a deal.
Lily: Now, the deal involves a little condition. You provide us with the information we need. If it helps lead us to the killer, then you will have your sentence reduced from death to life without parole. That’s what we’ll ask for. Can’t promise we can do this. Oh, and if turns out to be you the deals off too.
Henry: I’ll accept the conditions.
(Lily twirls around, just like he asked in “The Hitchhiker”. Henry smiles, but not in an evil way.)
Lily: Is that a friendly smile.
Henry: Maybe.
Lily: Why Henry? Why did you do it?
Henry: I don’t know.
Lily: You need to think about some things. Life in prison is a long time. I hope that in the end you’ll be able to know why.

(In the warden’s office.)
Warden: I checked. They’ll allow the deal. They’re faxing the papers right now.
Lily: Good. I feel bad about having to do this. But if this truck driver was murdered and this guy knows something about it.

(Back in the room with Henry.)
Lily: Acceptable.
Henry: Yes. Okay. I remember Johnny Butler. (Image flashes back to 25.) He and I both had the same hobby on the road.
Lily: So you had women you stopped by to see.
Henry: I had many.
Lily: Yes. I remember meeting one the last time when we investigated those men you killed. But it seems you weren’t quite the gentlemen like Johnny was.
Henry: He had his style. I had mine. He loved them. I wanted them.
Lily: Did you and Johnny have any women in common?
Henry: Oh yes. That’s where the fight started.

(Flashback to 1978.) “We Just Disagree” plays in the background. At a bar South of Philly, Johnny is having a drink with a few truck drivers. Henry is playing pool in the background)

Johnny: I am so tired. Been driving all day.
Debra Pressler (waitress): What’s the matter? Working too hard behind that wheel.
Johnny: Not as easy as it looks.
Debra: Really. I always thought you truck drivers were super strong.
Johnny: Well, we are.
Debra: Does that strength apply to other areas.
Johnny: What areas are you interested in?
Debra: Below the belt. Inside my blouse.
Johnny: (interested) Yes. It does apply there too.
Debra: Bar closes soon. I know this motel down the road. Why don’t you go and get a room. Make sure there are flowers on the nightstand. When I finish cleaning up here I’ll be there. Don’t fall asleep.
Johnny: I won’t.
(Henry comes up.)
Henry: I’ve seen you around. You know a girl named Cindy.
Johnny: What?
Henry: Cindy Driscoll. Lives in New Jersey. You’ve been seeing her.
Johnny: What about it?
Henry: She’s my girl. You better stay away from her.
Johnny: She never mentioned you. You must be mistaken.
(Henry grabs Johnny,)
Henry: I said stay away from her.
Johnny: Or what.
(Henry punches him good. Johnny falls to the floor but is not unconscious. Henry walks away. Everyone backs away as he walks out. Johnny gets up and looks at Henry as he leaves.)

Return to the Present
Lily: People were afraid of you from the beginning.
Henry: And it got worse as time went on. I never realized how bad I was getting.
Lily: Until you killed the two hitchhikers.
Henry: Yes.
Lily: So prison has had an effect on you.
Vera: Where does this Cindy Driscoll live?
Henry: On the same route as you came in on. New Jersey.
Vera: Write it down for us.
Lily: Let’s hope you’re not being naughty this time. It might seal your fate. Or it may secure it.
(Henry gives her a kissing gesture. Lily looks at him like it doesn’t bother her one bit.)

(Outside the prison.)
Vera: You didn’t buy that crap he was giving you.
Lily: I don’t know. But if he helps us he’ll have plenty of time to think about his crimes. Now let’s talk to Cindy.

[r2k]

-At a house off the road in New Jersey.
Cindy Driscoll: I got the bad end of that deal.
Lily: What do you mean?
Cindy: I was seeing Henry. Well, Henry was seeing me. We met. Saw each other a few times. But I couldn’t break it off with Henry.
Lily: He kept coming back.
Cindy: He was scary. He’s been coming back ever since. Until he was busted for killing those kids. I’d like to thank the one who found out.
Vera: You’re talking to her.
Cindy: Really!!! I love you. (She hugs Lily)
Lily: (blushing.) It’s nothing. Anyway. Henry continued to come into your life. When did Johnny enter the picture?
Cindy: It was late 1977. Henry had knocked me around a bit. I was at a restaurant eating alone when Johnny came in.


-Flashback to 1977 “Right Time of the Night” by Jennifer Warnes plays in the background
-Cindy is sitting at a table at a restaurant alone crying. Johnny comes in. While waiting to be seated, he sees her and walks up to her.
Johnny: Are you alright?
Cindy: No, not really.
Johnny: You look to sad to be alone. Can I join you?
(Cindy looks into Johnny’s eyes and realizes he is a good guy.)
Cindy: Yes. Please. Sit down.
Johnny: Thank you. I’m passing through on my truck route.
Cindy: I live here. Not much to do.
Johnny: You order yet.
Cindy: No. I was just sitting here. I didn’t bring any money.
Johnny: Well, don’t worry. I’ll take care of you. You’ll feel better after you’ve eaten.
Cindy: Thanks.

-After dinner, they walk out of the restaurant.
Cindy: Stars look so beautiful. I used to count them when I was a little girl.
Johnny: There are a lot. Want to count them now.
Cindy: Where.
Johnny: Come with me. I know a place where you can see them. Over by that hill.

-At the hill, they are looking up at the sky, counting the stars.
Johnny: I don’t know if I can keep this up.
Cindy: Me neither. You got a place to stay.
Johnny: I sleep in the compartment in my truck.
Cindy: Got to be rough.
Johnny: You get used to it. Sometimes I stay in a hotel.
Cindy: I have an idea. Come back to my place. Let’s see where this goes.
Johnny: Where what goes?
Cindy: Us.
Johnny: Okay.

Return to the Present
Cindy: I have to admit. Johnny was nervous. But I managed to break him in. After that, his visits were more fun each time. He was getting good at lovin’ me.
Lily: And Henry.
Cindy: Well. I figured Henry was a constant in my life. He was the devil. I felt I needed a man who would appreciate me. Johnny was the angel. That he was. He was constantly bringing me gifts. I had to hide them all because of Henry. But after Henry was arrested, I finally got them all out. There here on the mantel.
-On the mantel is a collection of knick knacks Johnny had picked up for her.
Lily: They look nice. Did you know Henry found out about Johnny?
Cindy: Yes I did. Henry beat me really bad for it. I never saw Johnny after that. I feared the worst. But I never truly knew anything bad had happened to Johnny. I loved Johnny. He was a great guy.
Lily: Cindy, this may be difficult for you to hear. You weren’t the only one. Johnny had many others.
Cindy: No, he didn’t! (seems stunned and disappointed.)
Lily: Yes, he did. There were three others we’ve identified so far.
Cindy: But he said I was special. Why would he say that?
Lily: Because you were. There’s more. Johnny wasn’t just having a good time. He loved these other women. He also loved you. From what we’ve learned so far, he loved all women. Treated them nicely.
Cindy: It doesn’t make sense.
Lily: It makes perfect sense. He was on the road all the time. Perhaps he needed love and bit off more than he could chew. But he truly loved you all.
Cindy: It does make sense. I always felt he loved me. Always.
Lily: Did a private investigator ever come around?
Cindy: No. I never saw one.

[r2k]

-Back at the station, Scotty and Jeffries are going over the truck route.
Scotty: He left Virginia here up this interstate.
Jeffries: Where he met up with Lily.
Scotty: He drove through Philly and went east to meet up with Charmaine.
Jeffries: And on to Jersey.
Scotty: He dropped off his load there and came back. Thing is, we only know of a few ladies.
Jeffries: I don’t think we’re going to find them all.
Scotty: Maybe there weren’t that many. Jack Pearson’s file only mentions the three. He claimed this guy was a player.
(Lily and Vera enter)
Lily: We have one more girl, Cindy Driscoll.
Vera: Henry gave her up.
Scotty: How’d you manage that?
Lily: We had to deal a little.
Scotty: How little is a little?
Lily: He’s off death row if his information helps us find the killer.
Vera: Actually, as long as it doesn’t lead us back to him.
Lily: She said the P.I. never came to her door.
Scotty: This guy stinks. Some investigator.
Lily: Well, he had to follow a truck driver around. Not necessarily gramourous. Thing that gets me. This young man is sleeping with all these girls. Not one of them can stay mad at him.

-A woman comes in. She is 46. Her image flashes back to age 20 and then returns again.
Vera: That must be Debra the waitress.

-At Lily’s desk.
Debra: I remember Johnny. He had it all. Good looks, not too tough. Rugged, yet sensitive. Came into the bar all the time. Met up with a woman named Charmaine.
Lily: We met her.
Debra: Lucky girl. He loved her.
Lily: He seemed to love many. Including you.
Debra: Me. No. I tried one night. It just didn’t work out.
Lily: He got beat up that night.
Debra: One punch. The man who did it was feared by all. Johnny didn’t let it bother him. But that night I wanted him. Charmaine was so happy with him I wanted a piece of the action.
Scotty: So you put the moves on him.
Debra: If you were a woman you wouldn’t be able to resist him. There’s something about him. It’s hard to describe. He was ready to go. But at the last minute he couldn’t go through with it.
Scotty: Did he explain why?
Debra: No, he just got nervous about it and left. He was ready to go before the fight. After the fight, something changed. I never saw it as a rejection because, if you saw the look in his eyes, you could tell he was mad that he said no. He wanted to. But you know, a part of him looked ashamed. It’s like what that man did was a wake up call.
Lily: You mean like he realized something.
Debra: Yes. He walked out of the place. He stopped at the door and took a look back. He looked at the place like he never intended on ever coming back. Like he was leaving it behind.
Lily: When was this? Do you remember the date?
Debra: Not sure. It’s been a while. If memory serves, I remember him crashing a few days later on his way back.
Lily: Did you notice anybody following him?
Debra: Someone did kind of leave right after him. Older man. From the city, I think. Can’t be too sure. Never saw him before and never saw him again.
Lily: We thank you for your time. If you remember anything, please call or come in.
Debra: I will.
-Debra walks out of the main area. Scotty comes up.
Lily: There was something new.
Scotty: What do you mean?
Lily: Debra witnessed the fight Johnny and Henry had. But she noticed something. He changed. That incident had an effect on him.
Scotty: I don’t follow.
Lily: He was sleeping with all these women not because he was a womanizing pig. He really loved them and knew they needed love as well. But something changed. He realized he couldn’t love them. Johnny got a taste of pain. Mean and sadistic as Henry may be, he was obviously hurt by what Johnny did. Johnny figured that out right then and there.
Scotty: So what was going on?
Lily: Johnny was feeling guilty.

-At Jack Pearson’s office.
Jack: He was growing a conscience. Hardly. He was a lover to the very end. I should know, it’s all in the file.
Lily: You sure about that. Because you mentioned that in this trip he didn’t stop off at too many places occupied by women.
Jack: I’m positive. I was trailing him.
Scotty: Thing is, something ain’t right.
Jack: Check my file. I gave it to you. Haven’t you looked at it?
Lily: We’ve looked at some of them. Listen, we’re not accusing you of anything. We just think you might have seen something and are nervous about it. If your scared of that truck driver Johnny had it out with, don’t be. He’s on death row. Well, unless his information helps us. Then, it’s life. He won’t get out. Ever.
Jack: I don’t know what happened to Johnny. Thing is, I should be the one to know. I was supposed to follow him. Had I been doing my job, I would have been there. Perhaps I could have stopped it.
Lily: (pauses and uses a calming tone.) There probably wasn’t anything you could have done. You might have been killed with him.
Jack: Yeah, well I blame myself. He was not a bad guy. His heart was in the right place. He meant well. You were right. He was changing. Right on that first trip out. After the fight. He’d already met with Charmaine.
Scotty: Hot and heavy night.
Jack: That was the last time he was hot and heavy like that. He didn’t make any stops in New Jersey and I knew there was someone there.
Lily: Are you sure?
Jack: Positive. He stayed at motels alone. He met nobody. Dropped off his load and headed back to Virginia.
Lily: But he never made it.
Jack: That other truck driver was capable of killing him.
Scotty: Funny thing, Jack. We noticed in your report, you wrote less and less and in the end, nothing at all.
Jack: I lost him. Plus, he wasn’t making his usual stops. Then he died. Lily wanted details about his sex life, not the boring stuff. I’m not sure attending a church service was high on Lily’s need to know list.

-At the police station.
Lily: Now that we know the suspects and ladies, we need to know who has the motive. Henry obviously has a track record of killing people on the road.
Scotty: I still think the P.I. knows something.
Lily: Possibly. But we have four women. Each with a reason to kill him.
Vera: Why would Charmaine come forward?
Lily: Remember the case we did on the mother and unborn child. The husband’s mistress tried to pin it on him.
Jeffries: And then we have the professor last year who tried to clear himself of murdering his student.
Vera: But both of those people had a clearly orchestrated plan. They wanted something. This Charmaine girl. She didn’t want anything special.
Lily: Just closure. She wanted to know who killed him.
Scotty: He meant something to her.
Lily: And she meant something to him. He loved her. Plus, his attending a church one Sunday is very interesting.
Jeffries: Jesse will be glad to hear that. She seemed worried he had strayed from the walk.
Lily: Let’s call her in. See if she can come in tomorrow.
Scotty: I’m on it.

[r2k]

-Later at the station. Charmaine is at Lily’s desk.
Charmaine: I’m sorry I kept that from you. It’s taken me twenty-seven years to come in.
-She shows Lily a ring.
Lily: Johnny picked that out for you.
Charmaine: (Starting to cry) He gave it to me the night he died. He proposed to me. It was so out of the blue. He had changed.

-Flashback to 1978 “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” by Crystal Gayle plays in the background. Johnny comes in after Charmaine opens the door.
Charmaine: You hurt yourself. Did you get in a fight?
Johnny: I’m okay. It was last week. Look, I need to tell some things.
Charmaine: What is it?
Johnny: I need you to listen to everything first.
Charmaine: Sure baby.
Johnny: I get so lonely on the road. Never have time for a wife. So I get my love where I can get it.
Charmaine: What are trying to tell me?
Johnny: (Buries his head.) You’re not the only one.
Charmaine: What? (Starts crying)
Johnny: You weren’t the only one. But I want you to be.
Charmaine: (Raises her head and pauses as she looks at him.) What do you mean?
Johnny: The bruises on my face. It was the boyfriend of one of the girls. He knocked me around pretty bad.
Charmaine: How bad?
Johnny: So bad I didn’t fight back. I deserved it. But all I could think about was you. Look. I’m a scumbag. If you don’t love me anymore I’ll understand and I’ll walk out that door. But in my heart, I know you love me. And I know I love you. This whole thing started out as loving all those girls. But I began falling in love with them all. As time goes on, I find myself loving you. I needed someone to love and to love me. I now know you’re the one who loves me. Really loves me. (looks into her eyes.)
Charmaine: I do, Johnny.
Johnny: I want to spend the rest of my life with you.
Charmaine: I want you to spend the rest of your life with me.
Johnny: (Takes out a diamond ring and gets down on his knees. He takes her hand.) Will you marry me?
Charmaine: Yes. I will marry you.
-Johnny puts the ring on her finger and rises
Johnny: I love you. I love you. Can’t believe it. You were right here all this time.
Charmaine: I knew you would pick me. I kind of knew I wasn’t the only one.
Johnny: I knew you would say yes. But I was still nervous.
Charmaine: I know. That’s what you get for sleeping with all those girls. Probably good thing you picked me. Look, a private eye was here last week asking about you. I told him nothing but he knows what you’ve been up to.
Johnny: I’m not worried. I’m going to break it off with the others. Look, there’s more. I want this marriage to start off right. I’ve gone through some other changes. I was raised in a churchgoing family. I feel like I’ve drifted away from that. I want a family and all that good stuff. In fact, I’ll just forget about them. I don’t want to deal with them anymore. I love you.
Charmaine: I love that idea.
Johnny: I’m going to quit driving the truck. I want to be with you as much as possible. Besides, this job is the reason I’m so lonely. With you, I need a job close by.
Charmaine: I love you Johnny. Forever

-Return to the Present
Charmaine: He left quickly that night. Was killed a short time later. I had to mourn alone. Nobody ever knew the pain I felt.
Lily: And you never loved again.
Charmaine: Hard to love again when you’ve met a man like Johnny. Every now and then when I’m inside I can still hear his horn when he would arrive at my place. I would run up to the window and see his truck pull up. But when I run to the window, it’s not his truck. It drives by. Sometimes it is just part of my imagination of what I hope could have been. I still wait for him in my dreams and memories.
Lily: And you’re hoping that finding the killer may help you find closure.
Charmaine: I feel like I’m waiting for Johnny to come and take me away. Now, I want to know what happened.
Lily: We will find out what happened. In the meantime, I need for you to come back tomorrow. Johnny’s sister, Jesse is coming in. I think she might want to meet you. Bring the ring.

[r2k]

-The next day, Jesse is sitting at Lily’s desk. Lily is with her.
Lily: There’s something you should know about Johnny.
Jesse: I’m not sure anything you’ll say to me will make a difference. He fell from grace and never got back up. My parents raised us right. Johnny chose to reject those teachings.
Lily: That he did. But what you don’t know is what happened in the middle of his last trip out. It’s important that you listen. Your brother wasn’t perfect. Nobody ever is. But he meant well. And in the end, he picked himself off the ground and asked the girl he loved to marry him.
Jesse: And what did she say?
Lily: She said yes. But he never got a chance to tell you.
-Lily takes her hand.
Lily: He changed. He saw the error of his ways and decided to make a life with someone. The girl he asked. She’s coming here. She wants to meet you.
Jesse: He was the only family I had. When I married, there was still a void. Silly, I guess. He was only my brother. But we shared a bond over the years that you can never really break.
-Charmaine walks into the area. Lily looks up. So does Jesse. Charmaine walks up to Jesse.
Charmaine: Hi Detective. Jesse. So you’re the sister Johnny spoke so fondly of.
Jesse: Lily tells me you and Johnny were in love.
Charmaine: Yes. We were. It started off as a romance. He eventually told me about the other women. He wanted me to know and understand what he was going through. But he wanted more than them. He wanted a love that would last forever. He saw that in me. We saw that in each other. For a few hours, we were complete. It’s a wonderful feeling when you discover what love is. Then, he died. And that feeling was gone. Johnny wasn’t just out for a thrill. He wanted love. He needed love. He just tried to get it everywhere. He finally learned he could get it in one place. With one person. I will always be grateful he chose me. There were other women in his life. In the end, he saw me as the one who would love him. But he also loved me the most. He was caring.
Jesse: Thanks. When I heard what he was all about I was afraid. I’m glad he saw the light before it was too late.
-Jesse and Charmaine hug each other, both crying. Lily watches as Vera walks up.
Vera: We were able to make an accounting of Johnny’s final trip.
Lily: Good. You two want to look.
Jesse: Yes.
-Charmaine nods yes.
-A few minutes later.
Scotty: He left Virginia and went up this interstate. First, he met up with Lily B. (being polite to Lily)
Lily: Thanks.
Vera: (looks at Scotty) Traitor.
Scotty: Then, he drove up south of Philly. Met up with you (looks at Charmaine). After his meeting with you, he drove forward. Later that evening, he stopped at a bar.
Lily: Got into a fight with Henry.
Scotty: That’s when he began to change. We located the church Johnny stopped off at.
Jeffries: We called it. Luckily, the minister was still there. He’s on his way. Should be here any minute.
Scotty: Anyway, he continued on through New Jersey until he reached New York. Then, he came back. Thing is, he met up with Lily B. and you (Charmaine). After the fight, he didn’t make any stops.
Lily: That was a break in normal routine. Henry stopped it.
Scotty: There may have been other women out there we may never know about.
Lily: Maybe Johnny confided in the minister.

-Later. The minister is talking with Lily, Scotty, and Vera.
Alan Davis: I run a congregation upstate. Johnny came in one day. I remember him. He was kind of out of it. Sort of frantic. He came in before the service and just sat there in the back. He noticed him. Kept an eye on him until the service was over.
Lily: Then what happened.
Alan: The people left. He was still sitting down. I walked over to him.

-Flashback to 1978. “You Light Up My Life” by Debby Boone plays in the background
-Alan walks up to Johnny.
Alan: What’s troubling you young man?
Johnny: Nothing. (He turns away.)
Alan: Sometimes talking about it can help.
Johnny: I’m too ashamed to say it out loud.
Alan: Have you talked to God about it?
Johnny: I’m afraid to.
Alan: There’s nothing to be afraid of. Besides. God already knows. He knows what you’re thinking. So you may as well tell him.
Johnny: I have sinned. Badly.
Alan: How so?
Johnny: I was almost killed because of some guy who got angry at what I did.
Alan: What did you do?
Johnny: I slept with his girlfriend.
Alan: That can hurt a man.
Johnny: I feel so bad. My mother would be ashamed of me right now.
Alan: You’re feeling guilty. And you don’t want to. There is a way.
Johnny: A way.
Alan: To feel better.
Johnny: I’m on the road all the time. It gets lonely. I wanted someone to love. Just like a husband. But I was never in the same place. I have women all over the place.
Alan: How many?
Johnny: 11.
Alan: That is a lot of women. You must have been lonely.
Johnny: Thing is, I know only one girl would do.
Alan: Well then, you need to think long and hard. Is there one of these girls you love the most?
Johnny: Yes. There is a girl. She was the last one I saw. Her name is Charmaine.
Alan: That’s a nice name. She seems nice. But look what you have done to her. You’ve fallen and so has she.
Johnny: I don’t want God to be mad at me. I feel he is mad at me.
Alan: I wouldn’t be too sure about that. Right now, he’s very pleased with you.
Johnny: He is?
Alan: Yes. You’re realizing how wrong you were. He knows that. He’s helping you on the right path. And you need to go to this girl. You need to tell her the truth. If she still loves you and forgives you, then you need to tell her how you feel. You obviously love her. You came here and stayed the whole time. Your head was buried but you were not sleeping. You’re a good guy deep down inside who strayed a bit.
Johnny: I think it was a little more than a bit.
Alan: Well, you have a point. But it’s all in the past. God will forgive you. Now, you need to go to her.
Johnny: Well, I have to finish my trip to New York. I drive a truck.
Alan: You’re the guy with the truck. Finish the trip. You have a checkbook.
Johnny: Yes. Got plenty of money. Don’t spend much.
Alan: Buy a ring and on your way back propose to Charmaine. She’ll love you. If she’s smart, she’ll know what she’s got.
Johnny: (Looks up at Alan) Thank you Reverend.
Alan: Don’t mention it. That’s my calling. You feel better.
Johnny: (Pauses) Yes. I do.
Alan: Now go.

-Return to the Present
Alan: I never imagined he was killed.
Lily: Did he come back on the way home?
Alan: No.
Charmaine: I don’t think he would. He came back to me on the way back on Friday night. He proposed to me that night. He didn’t stay this time.
Jesse: He only called me once the last time around.
Lily: The fight definitely interrupted his normal routine.
Scotty: We’re still no closer to figuring out who killed him than we were before.
Charmaine: What about the P.I.?
Lily: There’s not much there. He lost Johnny before the crash.
Charmaine: That doesn’t make sense. The P.I. stopped at my door after Johnny left. There’s no way he could have found Johnny. Johnny was gone for at least an hour when this P.I. arrive at my door.
Lily: Jack Pearson claimed he lost track of Johnny the night he died.
Scotty: You know what this means?
Lily: He knew Johnny’s route the whole time. Remember, he told us he trailed him a bit on an earlier trip.

[r2k]

-Jack Pearson is in the interrogation room
Lily: Well Jack, turns out you knew his route before you started following him.
Jack: I don’t follow.
Scotty: It’s simple. You knew where he was going. There is no way you could have lost him. That story about you rushing to catch up to him was bogus.
Jack: Even if I know the route, which I did because I knew the destination, I would have lost him.
Lily: We have a picture of his truck. In the file. That truck is easy to spot. Here’s the picture. You have it in your file as well. Plus, you told us you followed him earlier.
-Jack looks at a picture of Johnny in front of his truck.
Jack: Your point.
Lily: Point is, eventually, you would have come across his truck because you knew his stops.
Scotty: Thing is, you needed to keep up with him. His normal routine was broken and keeping up with him was harder than usual.
Lily: Did he spot you? Did you get too close?
Jack: I don’t like this.
Lily: Neither do I. And neither did Charmaine. He proposed to her. And his sister. You killed him because he figured out you were following him.
Scotty: Which meant no money. You couldn’t risk that.
Jack: That’s wrong. I never took any money. Either way, I would lose. So it would be a waste to kill him. Besides, my little car against his truck.

-Outside. Lily, Vera, and Scotty talk while Jack waits in the interrogation room.
Lily: We don’t have anything.
Scotty: I know.
Vera: Wait. I have an idea.
-Vera walks into the interrogation room.
Vera: Hey Jackie boy. Got a question. You mentioned you drove a Mercedes in 1978.
Jack: Yeah.
Vera: When did you sell that car?
Jack: I can’t remember.
Vera: Come on. A fancy car like that. Guys remember their cars. Maybe we can get a warrant on those records.
Lily: Unless you want to tell us something.
-Jack says nothing. It finally hits Lily.
Lily: Vera. Why don’t give Jack and me some time to ourselves.
Vera: Sure thing. I’ll be outside.
Lily: Thanks.
-Vera walks out.
Lily: Jack. I figured it out. And if you’re smart, you’ll go with me on this. There’s no way you’d risk your car to kill Johnny on purpose.
Jack: That’s what I was trying to say.
Lily: But the thing is, Johnny’s death was an accident.
Jack: All this for a conclusion that was already reached 27 years ago.
Lily: You caused the accident, Jack. Didn’t you.
Jack: No. I didn’t do it.
Lily: Your car was damaged.
Jack: No. I outgrew it.
Lily: Not true.
-Vera comes in.
Vera: Thought you might want to know this.
-Lily looks at something. Vera leaves.
Lily: We just pulled your auto insurance records. Seems in 1978 your car suffered some damage. Care to explain it.
Jack: What’s the point? You know the truth.
Lily: I know you didn’t mean to kill him. Detectives were probably so quick to assume this was an accident they never checked to see if a car had crashed into it.
Jack: (Starting to cry.) Why did I leave? I wasn’t drinking. It was a storm. They would have understood. I hadn’t had a client in weeks. I needed the job.
Lily: That’s why you never collected the payment.
Jack: How could I? It all happened so fast. I never meant to kill him.
Lily: (taking his hand.) I know.
Jack: Forgive me.

-Flashback to 1978. Jack is racing to catch up to Johnny. The storm has gotten worse. Jack’s windshield wipers are not working very well. Johnny is driving in his truck. Jack pulls his car up in the rain. He doesn’t see Johnny’s truck. His car bumps into Johnny’s truck on the left side. Johnny feels the bump and looks back though he can’t see. A flash of lightning hits. Jack’s car loses control and he goes into the other lane. Johnny is distracted by the flash of lightning. He turns to the left and sees Jack’s car. It startles him and he jerks the steering wheel to the right. The truck goes off the road and down the slope. It crashes into a tree and explodes. Jack slows down. He sees what has happened. He gets out. Looks at the wreckage. He then gets back into his car. Inside the car, he starts to cry. He covers his face with his hands. He then drives away.

“Here You Come Again” by Dolly Parton plays in the background as Lily pats Jack on the shoulder. He is still crying. She leads him outside where Vera takes him to booking. Charmaine and Jesse look on as their images flash back to the way they looked in 1978. Jack’s image flashes back as he looks at them with a sorry look on his face. Jack’s image flashes back to 1978 and returns again. The girls seem to understand and give him a look of forgiveness. Lily Buckner reads the article in the paper and shakes her head. Her husband is with her. Their images flashes back to 1978 and returns to normal. They smile at each other. At the prison in New Jersey, Henry sits in his cell. His image flashes back to age 25 and then returns to normal. Debra is the bar she still works at. She sees a young trucker come in. It is not Johnny but it makes her smile. Her image flashes back to age 20 and then returns to 47. In New Jersey, Cindy Driscoll looks at her knick knacks Johnny has purchased for her. She smiles at them as her image flashes back to the way she was in 1978. Alan Davis leads a sermon at his church while his image flashes back to 1978. Lily is with Charmaine at her home. She shakes Charmaine’s hand as she walks away. As Lily goes to her car, she sees a truck drive up. The horn honks. It is Johnny’s truck. He smiles as he drives by. The truck’s image fades as it drives away. Lily looks on before she gets in her car. At home, Lily sits in her living room, with her cats. She looks at a picture of a young man. She then puts it down and pets Olivia.

Next Episode: Greek Tragedy

Rush receives an anonymous e-mail from someone who claims he helped cover up and rape and murder in 1995. The victim, 19 year old Colleen Larimore, was found in a dumpster outside her dorm at a local university. Her neck was broken and there was evidence of rape, though no DNA was recovered. The e-mailer won’t identify himself but gives Rush clues to solve the murder. Meanwhile, Stillman discovers that a business belonging to a killer in a previous cold case is still in operation and becomes annoyed. This brings him face to face with the killer’s son, who is not pleased with what has happened to his father.

[Tati]

Another great fic R2K! I could never guess who the killer was. Very nice!

[TVFan]

Nice job R2K. You kept me guessing until the end.

[r2k]

This one wasn't easy. I kept changing my mind on how things were going to go. Glad you both liked it. I had this one finished before the site was temporarily being upgraded. So I'm halfway through the next fan fic. I'll try to finish it tonight while CSI: Miami is on.