Falling Stars

[Tati]

“Falling Stars”

Summary: In 1992, an upcoming actress was stabbed to death. The case was never solved, but it’s now reopened after the murder weapon is recovered.

Rating: PG

Pairings: None.

Major characters: It's ensemble with a small focus on Lilly.

Genre: Mistery/Crime/Drama

Spoilers: 2x22 “Best Friends”

Author’s note: This case file is based on a real murder that happened here in Brazil in 1992. I’ll be sticking to real facts and dates as much as I can, but some people and facts will be added for entertainment purposes. After the fic is finished I’ll have an extra chapter about the real case (which never went cold). Most important, this is a pre-The Woods fic. I chose to go this way because the events of that episode are too big, and I want to deal with other personal stuff here (expect more than one personal storyline in this fic). Now, enough with the babbling. Enjoy, and please, review.

Thanks: to my beta-reader, Disasterfreak.

XXXXX

Chapter 1 – The Case

Philadelphia, December 28th, 1992

A young woman is leaving a theater. She walks down the street to her car. She gets in and drives for about two blocks. She’s about to go into a gas station when she realizes it’s closed and starts to back away, but a red car is blocking her. She honks, but the car remains in place.

Next thing, she’s being violently taken out of her car and thrown into the one that was blocking her. The car drives away.

In a forest we hear several screams as she’s repeatedly stabbed in the chest. Her cry for mercy is sharp and helpless.

The car that brought her there drives away. The night is already dark and a second car is driving by, almost unnoticeable.

The woman’s body is lying in the forest, covered in blood. Her lifeless eyes remain open, like still begging for a chance.

Later, in a basement at Police Headquarters, a box is labeled and filed:

Hannigan, J. Dec. 28th, 1992.


XXXXX

Philadelphia, July 2005

It’s early afternoon and detectives Lilly Rush, Scotty Valens, Nick Vera and Will Jeffries are sitting at a small restaurant near the Philadelphia Police Headquarters. Their burgers and fries are already on the table, but they haven’t been touched. The detectives are waiting for their boss, Lieutenant John Stillman, who’s talking on his cell phone outside the restaurant. They watch him through the window.

“You think the boss is gonna take too long?” Scotty asks, looking back from Stillman to his lunch.

Lilly laughs. “You can’t hold yourself together for a couple of more minutes, Scotty?”

“It’s already past 2 pm,” Scotty says, like it’s the obvious explanation. “And our burgers are getting cold.”

“You can relax, Scotty,” Nick says, smirking. “Boss is coming.”

Stillman walks to the table and sits down with them. “Sorry about that.” He picks up the burger, being immediately followed by Scotty. Lilly, Will and Nick shake their heads, smiling, and then pick up their burgers as well. “The call was from the CSU unit,” Stillman starts, the detectives paying close attention. “Yesterday they got an anonymous call about drugs being buried in a forest up North.” He picks up a couple of fries, and goes on. “They went to check it out. The police dogs didn’t smell any drugs, but they did pick up some bloody and rusty scissors.”

“And it matched a cold job,” Lilly states.

Stillman nods and goes on. “A big one. Jill Hannigan, 1992.”

Their reaction shows the name is familiar to them all. “The actress?” Vera voices their surprise.

Stillman nods. “You four better get ready for some newspaper and TV interviews.”

“Was the murder weapon recovered from the same place where she was found?” Lilly asks.

“Yes.” Stillman answers. “The CSU people believe it was buried deep back in 1992 but time and rain brought it slowly back to the surface.”

“We didn’t get lucky enough to find any prints on those scissors, did we?” Scotty asks, but his face shows he knows it’s a long shot.

“Apparently nothing came up on the first tests,” Stillman says. “But CSU is running more detailed tests to see if they can pick up any leads.”

Scotty nods as he chews on the last bite of his burger, while Lilly, having already finished her much smaller burger, looks at him impatiently. “What?” he asks, his mouth half-full.

“Are you planning on finishing this anytime today?” she asks back. “We do have an investigation to work on.”

“I haven’t finished my soda yet,” Scotty protests.

“Well, take it with you,” she says, starting to get up.

Scotty gets up and glares at Stillman. “Next time, please wait until we’ve finished lunch, Boss.”

Stillman, Nick and Will laugh. “I have a court appointment in 20 minutes, so I’m staying,” Stillman says. “You go and get started, you can brief me about it when I get back.” The four detectives nod and leave the restaurant.

XXXXX

At Police Headquarters, having retrieved the case file from the storage room, the detectives are now going through the old statements and reports.

“There’s nothing useful here,” Vera begins. “The original investigation found nothing. All possible suspects had good alibis.”

Lilly leans forward from her desk. “Maybe someone lied. Or they never interviewed the right person.”

“I don’t mean to kill the excitement here,” Scotty says, “but maybe it was just a random crime. In her statement, Jill’s mother said Jill had the habit of going out alone late at night.”

“Not a very wise habit, even 13 years ago,” Nick adds.

“No.” Will shakes his head. “You’re overlooking the fact that this girl was killed with 18 scissors stabs to her chest. It’s personal.”

Lilly decides to cut the speculation short before they lose focus. “Let’s see what we know for sure.” She picks up a piece of paper and picture from her desk. The picture shows a young and very beautiful woman, clearly in her early 20s, with pale skin, long, curly dark hair and big black eyes. Lilly passes the picture around and starts reading. “Jill Hannigan, 22 years old. Upcoming actress, starring in a successful play written by her mother. She didn’t have any known enemies or money problems, but...” she pauses for a while. “2 years before her murder, she checked into a rehabilitation clinic for substance abusers.”

“Now, this is interesting.” Scotty says, sitting up in his chair. “Was she ever arrested?”

“There’s nothing here about that,” Lilly says. “Probably not.”

“I’ll check into it anyway,” Nick says.

“She was married, wasn’t she?” Will asks.

Lilly nods. “Yes. She had been married for a year to actor Peter Campbell.”

“The guy from the chicken soup commercial,” Nick points out. “Talk about an all-star case.”

“Well, shall we get started or should we wait for the boss?” Scotty asks.

“It’s still early in the afternoon. I think we can pay our first visits today.” Lilly says, glancing at her watch. “We could visit Jill’s mom, and Nick and Will could go see the husband.” The other detectives nod in agreement.

“Boss will probably be out of the courtroom soon. Let’s walk there and tell him about our plans,” Will suggests. The other detectives pick up their coats and leave.

XXXXX

Outside the courthouse, the four detectives are talking about the case as they wait for Stillman. They’re so immersed in their discussion that none of them notices Stillman walking towards them, along with ADA Kite and another man.

“Hello.” It’s Kite who brings the detectives’ attention to their presence. “How are you all doing?”

“Hey. We’re fine, thanks.” Scotty is the one who answers. “How was court?”

“Oh, easy. It was a solid case, with a solid investigation.” Kite answers, smiling discreetly every time he glances at Lilly. He then realizes the other man hasn’t been introduced. “Sorry. This is DA Kenneth Brown. He’s just been transferred from Pittsburgh.”

“Nice to meet you all,” says Brown, who’s a tall, blond man, apparently in his late forties, clearly a very charismatic figure. He shakes hands with all the detectives.

“Welcome,” Lilly says. “And good luck here in Philly.”

“Thanks,” Brown says, displaying a detergent-commercial smile. “I’m actually a Philly native, so this is a great opportunity for me.”

“DA Brown has some special plans for the DA’s office.” Stillman says, not looking pleased.

“My plan is to restructure the work routine between the Police Department and DA’s office, actually.” Brown says. At the detectives’ lack of reaction and slightly open mouths, he goes on, “I want more integration between us. To avoid any slip-ups once we reach the courtroom phase.” The detectives just nod, smiling faintly. Neither of them is eager to see the DA’s office interfering with their job.

Stillman is the one to wake them up from their day-nightmare. “You guys came down here because...”

“Oh,” Lilly begins. “We wanted to fill you in on our investigation plans for this afternoon.”

“I see. Excuse us,” Stillman says to Kite and Brown, walking away with Lilly.

“Sorry, Lil,” he says, once they’re out of earshot. “I can’t stay and talk about the case right now. Brown has just invited me out to lunch. He wants to discuss his ideas.” He sighs. “Just do what you gotta do, and we’ll talk about it later.”

“OK, Boss.” Lilly nods. “Should we expect trouble around the corner?”

“Maybe, I don’t know yet.” He answers seriously. “But we have to be careful. Brown has friends in high places, and he can get us in real trouble if he wants to. That’s why I’m having two lunches today.”

They walk back to the group. “We’re going now,” Lilly announces, addressing everyone. “We’re starting a new investigation today.”

“Oh, too bad. I was thinking of inviting you to join us for lunch. But good luck to you,” Brown says, smiling as always.

“We can do it some other time, right, guys?” Kite asks.

“Sure,” Lilly answers, remembering what Stillman had just said.

“We should get going, then,” Scotty says, a bit puzzled by Lilly’s rapid acceptance of the invitation. He had never taken her for a political person.

“See ya, Rush.” Kite waves to Lilly before fading out of sight. Lilly rolls her eyes as they start heading back to Police Headquarters for their cars. She avoids looking at Scotty, Nick and Will on the way, because she knows they’re not successful at hiding their know-it-all smirks.

XXXXX

To be continued

[r2k]

I like it, Tati. However, it is similar to my latest fan fic. Mine involves an up and coming supermodel. Let's see how similar ours end up being.

[Shorty]

i cant wait for you to update ;D ;D ;D its awesome!!!!! :smile49:

[Disasterfreak]

Tati, THIS IS THE BEST FANFIC EVER!!!

Ok, so I'm not being quite objective here. Anyway, you know I always like your fanfics and especially the real case behind this one. R2K, I sure hope it doesn't end up being exactly like yours. That would be no fun. Are you planning to have yours up any time soon?

[Tati]

Thanks guys!

R2K - I sure hope my fic doesn't turn out to be like yours. I doubt it will, though - I have a very complicated plot on my mind and it'd be very weird if your turned out to be the same, lol. Just for the record I have been working in this idea for a couple of months (even before I finished my latest case file).

[ruda]

very very very very good beginning ;D

[TVFan]

This is very interesting so far Tati. You have me hooked! I'm also quite interested in the new structuring with the DA's office. It's a very good idea, and I can't wait to see how it plays out.

[Tati]

Thanks TV Fan! I'm glad you're enjoying.

btw, I love my new title. ;D Thanks for the mods for giving it to me.

[Tati]

Well, here's the next chapter. Thanks to Disasterfreak for beta-reading!

“Falling Stars”

Chapter 2 – The Mother

Lilly and Scotty reach the parking lot at Police Headquarter and claim their car in silence. They’re both still digesting the meeting they just had with the new DA. A new DA had been expected for a couple of months. The last one, DA Dean Cassidy, had just retired after 15 years on the job, thus leaving big expectations about his replacement. This new guy might be too enthusiastic for their comfort. Not that the Police didn’t enjoy change and new ideas, but the DA’s office loved sticking their nose into their work, and the past had showed dangerous sparks can ignite from these situations.

“So, what do you make of this new DA?” Scotty asks, as they start driving away.

Lilly shrugs. “He’s new, so he’s full of new ideas. He’ll get disillusioned soon,” she says, looking out the window.

“Don’t you think he’ll bring us problems?” Scotty insists, not buying Lilly being so cool about the possibility of someone intruding.

“He might send his pupil to pry into our work, but it probably won’t last,” Lilly answers, figuring it better to keep Stillman’s concerns to herself for now. She turns her gaze back to Scotty. “Don’t worry, Scotty.”

“Oh, I’m not worried.” Scotty says. “At least not about myself, I don’t have a history with the DA’s office,” He adds, with a smirk.

“So, that’s what this is all about.” Lilly rolls her eyes. “You know, I can keep my business life and my personal life apart.”

“Really?” Scotty half-asks, gazing at Lilly as he drives, and she can’t tell whether he’s being ironic or not.

“Let’s focus on the case, OK?” Lilly says, hoping to drop the subject.

“We’re almost there,” Scotty says, realizing he’s crossed the line of their new found peace. He wasn’t going to insist, but he wasn’t about to spare her, either. “Here it is. Arden Theatre.”

“Alice’s rehearsing her new play here,” Lilly comments as they exit the car.

“Yeah, the new play is all over the Philly newspapers,” Scotty says, watching the huge and imponent building. “Well, it’s great she kept working, her work is excellent.”

Lilly looks at Scotty incredulously. “Scotty, I never took you for a theatre expert,” she mocks.

Scotty smiles, opening the front door for her. “Well, I wouldn’t call myself an expert, but I’m certainly deeper than I give away.”

XXXXX

Lilly and Scotty reach the stage. There’s a rehearsal going on. Three actors – two female and one male – work their way through a scene that talks about love and betrayal. Down in the seats, there’s a man and a woman walking from one side to the other, firing heated instructions to the actors.

“That should be Alice Hannigan,” Lilly says, pointing to a woman in her mid-sixties, whose face resembled Jill’s, only with lighter hair and a much more tired and sad expression.

“Alice Hannigan?” Lilly asks, approaching the woman, who’s now in deep discussion with the man.

“Yes.” Alice greets them, “You must be the detectives who called earlier.”

Lilly nods. “Rush and Valens,” she says as she and Scotty flip their badges.

“Excuse me, Charlie,” Alice says to the man she’d been talking to; a tall, elegant man, slightly older than Alice, with dark green eyes and dirty blond hair.

“Is this about Jill again?” Charlie asks Alice. He lowers his voice but Lilly and Scotty can still hear him clearly. “We’re in the middle of a rehearsal.” The actors have finished their scene and patiently await new instructions.

“Detectives, this is Charlie Vaughn, my director,” Alice says, ignoring this remark. “Charlie, these are Detectives Rush and Valens.” Charlie gives them a hint of a smile. Lilly and Scotty just nod in a way of greeting.

“Now, I’m going to talk to them about Jill. You’ll be fine without me, Charlie,” Alice replies. From their tone of voice and expressions you can tell those two have known each other long enough to go straight to the point, without fear of stepping on each other’s toes. “You’re always complaining about how the writer shouldn’t be butting into direction, aren’t you?” she finishes, half-kiddingly. Then, turning her gaze to Lilly and Scotty, “Please, let’s go somewhere private,” she says, leading them away.

XXXXX

Alice takes them into an office, where they sit on a couch, Alice facing Lilly and Scotty. Lilly begins, “As we talked, Ms. Hannigan, the murder weapon’s been recovered, so we’re reopening the investigation.”

Alice smiles. “People always felt sorry for me, but I knew there was hope for justice.”

Lilly smiles back and asks, “Ms. Hannigan, what can you tell us about Jill’s last days?”

Alice’s eyes shine with sadness and pride at the same time. “The play was doing incredibly well. Jill was finally getting her break. She was happier than ever.”

“How was Jill’s relationship with her husband?” Scotty asks.

“As far I knew, perfect,” Alice answers. “I never saw those two fighting. And Jill would tell everyone how happy and fulfilled she felt.”

“And you, Ms. Hannigan?” Lilly asks, paying attention to Alice’s every reaction. “What was your opinion of Peter?”

Alice seems somehow offended. “I think Peter is a great man. He could have never hurt my daughter, if that’s what you’re getting at,” she answers, a bit angrily.

“We’re not pointing fingers at anyone, Ms. Hannigan,” Lilly replies sharply. “But we’re not sparing anyone either.” Alice doesn’t say anything.

“With all this success, it’s possible Jill angry some people,” Scotty says, thinking it’s better to take this cue and send the conversation some other direction. “Is there anyone who could have had something against Jill?”

Alice thinks for a moment. “Well, there were lots of girls who were jealous of her working on the same play. But murder... I don’t think so,” she explains, the shine in her eyes completely gone by now.

“Of all those jealous girls, which ones were closer to Jill?” Scotty insists, feeling there’s something else in this.

Alice sits back on the couch. “I’m not sure this is of any relevance...”

“Anything can be relevant, Ms. Hannigan,” Lilly states.

“Paris McDonald,” Alice answers, without even thinking. “She had a supporting role in the play.”

“What happened between her and Jill?” Scotty asks. He and Lilly are fully concentrated, knowing they’ve reached a great spot.

“Like I said, I don’t know if this is relevant,” Alice repeats. She sighs, and goes on, “A couple of weeks before Jill’s murder, I overheard a conversation between them.”

Flashback to 1992

Alice is walking down a corridor backstage. As she goes by one of the dressing rooms, she hears loud voices. Recognizing one of them as Jill’s, she stops to listen at the half-open door.

Inside the dressing room, two girls are talking. One of them is Jill – long and loosely curled brown hair, dark eyes, medium height and an angelic face. The other, a taller and sexier blue-eyed blonde with long straight hair down to her waist.

“Knock it off, will you, Paris? I know you don’t have anything against me,” Jill says calmly, combing her hair.

“Oh, yeah,” Paris says, sitting on a chair next to Jill. She goes on, in an ironic tone of voice, “Saint Jill can do no wrong.”

“I’m no saint,” Jill retorts seriously. “I’ve screwed up quite a bit, but there’s nothing everyone hasn’t already heard about.”

“I’ll give you some time, Jill,” Paris replies, with a fake, plastic smile. “Think your life through.”

“This isn’t high school anymore, Paris.” Jill raises her voice, getting up. “You’re not the most popular, you’re not the most successful, you can’t have any guy you want.” She pauses, and goes on in a lower voice. “Quit playing these games.”

Outside the room Alice is listening closely, even if her face doesn’t show too much concern. She’s suddenly caught by another young woman, apparently the same age as Jill and Paris, standing in front of her.

“You need something, Ms. Hannigan?” a sweet voice asks. There’s nothing sweet about the girl’s looks, though – natural blonde hair filled with red locks framing a baby face that sported both a nose and an eyebrow piercing.

“No, thank you, Kelly,” Alice answers, searching for an excuse for her presence there. “I was just… just remembering I left my glasses in my car.” Kelly smiles, and Alice quickly adds, “Excuse me.” Alice leaves, and Kelly enters the dressing room.

Back to 2005

“At the time, I figured Paris and Jill were just reliving their high school days,” Alice explains. “I felt they never got over that period anyway.”

“Was there a lot of rivalry between them in high school?” Lilly asks.

Alice laughs. “Oh, plenty. But just the usual things you see in every school. Popularity battles, fights over boys... nothing serious, as far as I know.”

Scotty glances up from his notepad. “What about that girl that ran into you? Who was she?” he asks.

“Kelly Simpson,” Alice answers. “Lovely girl. She went to high school with Jill, too. She was our make-up artist.”

“Was she close to Jill?” Lilly asks.

“Oh, yeah. Inseparable,” Alice answers. “If you want to find out anything about Jill, you should ask her,” she adds, with a smile. “Actually, I’d like to know where she is, too. Haven’t seen her in nearly ten years.”

Lilly and Scotty glance at each other, knowing they won’t get much more from that conversation. “Thank you, Ms. Hannigan,” Lilly says, getting up. “Don’t hesitate to call us if you remember anything else.” They shake hands.

As Alice takes Scotty and Lilly back, they find Charlie still rehearsing with the actors. “Sorry about Charlie’s behavior earlier. He’s completely anti-social, but a great director, that’s why I keep him around. And he gets upset by the memories of Jill’s death,” Alice says.

“He was director in the play Jill was doing, wasn’t he?” Scotty asks.

“Oh, yes,” Alice answers. “Besides that, Charlie and I have known each other for almost forty years. He saw Jill grow up.”

“Well, we’d like to talk to him, too,” Lilly says. Immediately after this, they hear Charlie yelling at one of the actors, and not using the most polite vocabulary available.

Alice smiles embarrassedly. “I don’t think this is the best time, Detectives.” She starts leading Scotty and Lilly outside. “But he’ll talk to you. I’ll make sure of that.”

“OK. Thanks.” Scotty says. “Have a nice day, Ms. Hannigan,” he adds as they head towards the exit.

XXXXX

“So, when do you want to come back for Charlie?” Scotty asks Lilly, once they’re out.

“I think we should go to Kelly Simpson first,” Lilly says, thoughtful. “She could give us closer insight into Jill, it seems.”

“Unless…” Scotty starts, with a smirk. “Charlie seems pretty close to the family.”

Lilly laughs incredulously. “No, Scotty. Alice Hannigan didn’t strike me as the kind of woman who’d stand having a relationship with such an obnoxious man.”

Scotty shakes his head, still smiling. “I don’t know, Lil. There were some weird vibes in there.”

Lilly rolls her eyes, still laughing as her cell phone rings. “Rush.” As she listens to the person on the other side, her smile slowly fades away. Her face is fully serious when she says to Scotty, “Scotty, let me drive now, please.”

Scotty tosses her the car keys. “Sure, Lil.”

“I need to stop somewhere,” she says, opening the car door. “Is that OK with you?”

“Of course. Something wrong?” he asks, worried.

“I’ll explain on the way,” she says, as they get into the car and take off at full speed.

XXXXX

To be continued...

[Shorty]

I LOVE IT!!!!! :smile49:

the complaint- i think suspense is going to be my cause of death

write more before they perform the autopsy

[Disasterfreak]

This case rocks, Tati--as I've told you before. I followed the real case back when it happened... but thankfully enough it was so long ago I don't remember whodunit. So I'm not entirely spoiled.

[TVFan]

The suspense at the end of this latest chapter is killing me! I'm dying to know who called Lil and what they had to say. Great chapter Tati . I'm looking forward to your next.

[Tati]

Thanks Shorty and TV Fan. And a big thanks to Disasterfreak for beta-reading and helping with the medical stuff. Here's the next chapter:

“Falling Stars”

Chapter 3 – The Husband

While Lilly and Scotty are visiting Alice Hannigan, Nick and Will drive to the suburbs to talk to Peter Campbell, who now owns an acting school. As Will drives, Nick observes the houses, which get more and more sumptuous by the block. “If Campbell’s students are from this neighborhood, he certainly shouldn’t have any problems with payments.” After a while, he shakes his head. “I think I chose the wrong profession.”

Will laughs. “I have serious doubts your face would sell nice on TV.”

“I’m not necessarily talking about show business,” Nick replies. “But I think I could’ve made it there.”

Will smiles as he shakes his head. “If that thought gets you through the day...” Nick just glances at Will and doesn’t answer.

A couple of blocks away, they finally reach the address they were looking for. It’s a huge house, old but very well taken care of. Its outside is newly painted in a perfect white color, which, lit up by the bright summer sun, is almost blinding. A small sign reads: “The Peter Campbell School of Acting.”

The front gate is open, so the detectives go in. The beautiful front garden is decorated with roses of all colors. Three steps lead up to the front door, above which there’s a sign that says, “We're actors - we're the opposite of people.”

“Deep,” Nick mouths to himself as Will rings the doorbell. The door is opened by a tall, blond man, with big hazel eyes and apparently no older than forty.

“Peter Campbell?” Will asks. The man nods and the detectives flip their badges. “Detectives Jeffries and Vera, Philadelphia P.D. We’re here about Jill Hannigan.”

Peter’s face is suddenly struck by a wave of sadness. He’s speechless at first. “OK. Please come in,” he finally says, composing himself. Peter then leads the detectives into the house, which is beautifully furnished and sports several pictures of artists and play promotion posters on its walls.

“I hope this isn’t a bad time,” Nick says.

“No, I have until the next group comes,” Peter answers. They finally reach what looks like a waiting room. Peter points out the couch to them. As they take a seat, a baby starts crying loudly in a room nearby. “Oh, excuse me, detectives,” Peter says, leaving the room. Less than a minute afterwards, he comes back, carrying a baby boy in his arms. “Sorry about that. My wife traveled to Maine this morning and he already misses his mommy,” he explains, sitting down with the baby still in his arms.

Nick nods and begins. “Well, Mr. Campbell, we’re here because the investigation of Jill’s murder has been reopened.”

“Really?” Peter asks, surprised. “What happened?”

“The murder weapon was recovered,” Will answers. “Why the surprise, Mr. Campbell?” he asks, slightly suspicious.

“Don’t get me wrong, Detective,” Peter answers, serious. “It’s just that after all this time, I never thought anyone would still want this case cracked.” At Will and Nick’s puzzled expressions, he explains further, “You know, a whole city can live off a myth like this.”

Nick and Will exchange a glance as Peter’s unusual point of view sinks in. Nick goes on, “So, Mr. Campbell, what can you tell us about Jill’s last days?”

Peter sighs. “To be honest, Jill and I weren’t very close during her last weeks. She was really busy doing the play and seNickl magazine and TV interviews. And I had a lot going on too.”

“But you had a role in the play, didn’t you?” Will asks.

“Yeah, a small one.” Peter nods. “Only because Jill insisted. She thought it would be a chance for us to be together,” he explains, while trying to distract his son, who’s pulling on his father’s shirt’s sleeve. “Stop it, Josh,” he scolds, holding the little boy’s hand.

Nick smirks at the kid, and asks Peter, “Jill’s idea didn’t work out?”

Peter shakes his head. “No. I only had one scene in the play, so Alice and Charlie said I didn’t even need to show up for rehearsals.”

“What did you make of Jill’s murder?” Will asks, leaning forward on the couch. “Can you think of anyone who might have had a motive to kill her?”

Peter reflects for a few seconds. “Honestly, no,” he replies. “But, on the other hand, Jill kept a lot to herself. After doing a lot of thinking about her death, I came to the conclusion that the reason of her murder is something only she and her killer will ever know.”

“That sounds like a whole lot of resignation,” Will notes. “Are you living off her myth too?”

“Not at all, Detective,” Peter answers. “And you have no idea how much it pains me to say what I’ve just said.” His direct look into Will’s eyes makes the detective back down.

“OK, Peter,” Nick says. “You don’t have the big scoop. But this is your wife we’re talking about. You gotta know something.”

Peter sighs. “OK. There’s something that might be able to help you out.”

Flashback to 1992

At the theater, the play is being presented, and Peter is on stage. He finishes his scene and leaves, heading to the dressing rooms. Suddenly, he hears a voice behind him. “Hey, Campbell.” It’s Charlie and he sounds irritated. “I need to talk to you, now.”

Peter stares at Charlie for a couple of moments, impressed by the harsh tone of his voice, but, nevertheless, follows him into one of the offices down the hall. Once they’re inside, Charlie quickly shuts the door. “Peter, Alice told me you’re in negotiations with some LA producers,” he says, waiting for a confirmation.

Peter nods, still puzzled at what’s going on. “Yes, I am. I might get a role in an upcoming soap opera.”

“You can’t take Jill away from the play,” he states, in dictatorial mode.

“What are you talking about?” Peter asks, beginning to get annoyed by Charlie’s interference.

Charlie sighs impatiently. “Don’t waste my time, Campbell. I know she’s thinking about following you to LA,” he blurts out.

Peter finally understands Charlie’s apprehension and is definitely surprised by it. “She what?” he asks, almost laughing. “No, she’s not, Charlie. Where did you get that?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Charlie answers, in a calmer tone but still suspicious. “But I don’t believe for a minute she’s OK with you going.”

“She’s not,” Peter replies. He pauses, not sure whether to go further, but then goes and says it anyway. “That’s why she left me.”

Charlie looks truly shocked. “Oh. I didn’t know that...”

“No one does,” Peter interrupts. “We’re trying to keep it quiet until we work it out, to avoid bad publicity.”

Charlie nods. “OK. I understand. But, remember, if Jill leaves the play, there’ll be trouble.” He jerks his head toward the door, signaling for Peter to leave the room, which he does.

Back to 2005

“He threatened you?” Nick asks, all interest.

“I’m not sure,” Peter answers. “To be honest, it didn’t feel like a threat.” He pauses, thoughtful; bites his lip and goes on, “It was more like he was afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” Will asks.

Peter shrugs. “I have no idea. But from the beginning it was clear he was completely invested in that play, like it was somehow more special to him than any of his other work.”

Nick glances from this notepad to Peter. “The play was successful, right? He might not have wanted to risk his profits.”

“Yeah, that’s my guess too, but you see, I don’t think this problem was so... personal,” Peter says.

“What do you mean?” Nick asks, starting to get the feeling they weren’t going anywhere with this.

“The public sees only the pretty part of a theater production,” Peter explains. “They don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. The relationship between directors, writers and producers can get really ugly sometimes.”

“You think he was having problems with the powerful ones?” Will asks.

“Yeah, I can’t think of anything else,” Peter answers.

“But then, wouldn’t he have had this problem every time?” Will remarks. “What made this one so special?”

Peter shakes his head. “I don’t know, Detective. Charlie and I were never friends, and I didn’t even know him long.”

Nick stares at Peter and asks directly, “You think he’s capable of murder?”

Peter laughs. “Charlie was certainly capable of murder.” Then, getting serious, “But he could never be capable of murdering Jill.”

XXXXX

Nick and Will leave the house. “Seems like we have a suspect,” Nick comments.

“Maybe, but I’m not sure we’re talking about the same person,” Will replies, facing ahead.

“You didn’t like the guy much, did you?” Nick asks, laughing.

“I just think he knows more than he’s giving,” Will replies as his cell phone rings. He talks shortly to the person on the other side of the line. After hanging up, he says to Nick, “Boss needs us in the office. We have to locate a person that came up in Lil and Scotty’s interview.”

“Why can’t they do it themselves?” Nick asks, a bit miffed, as they reach the car.

“Seems like Lil had a personal emergency and they had to make a detour,” Will answers. “You think it’s the sister?”

Nick shakes his head. “No, this is something else,” he answers, getting worried in turn. They silently climb into their car and head back to Police Headquarters.

XXXXX

Lilly drives in complete silence. She looks like she’s fully into herself, and certainly not from concentrating on the traffic.

“Lil, maybe you should slow down,” Scotty offers, hesitantly. She had promised to disclose what the phone call was about, but so far, ten minutes into their drive, she had said absolutely nothing. Considering he’s not quite sure their relationship is on safe ground yet, he chooses not to ask anything.

“It’s my mother, Scotty,” she blurts, as way of reply. She’s nervous, but still in full control of herself. “She’s ill.” Each of her sentences is followed by a pause, necessary for gathering new courage and strength. “That call was from the home she’s staying in.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, Lil,” Scotty says, stunned. “How bad is it?”

Lilly keeps on driving, never looking at Scotty as she speaks. “She’s having a crisis. It happens every once in a while—it just seems this one is pretty bad, so one of the nurses called me.”

Scotty notices Lilly’s discomfort and obvious shame as she addresses the subject, but still, curiosity wins him over. “What sort of illness does she have?”

“It’s a mental illness,” Lilly answers, glancing at Scotty for a split second. “Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.” She peeks at him again, and on seeing his puzzled but interested look, realizes she’ll have to go further. “It’s a disorder that causes loss of some brain functions, such as memory.”

“Sounds pretty serious,” Scotty says, at loss of better words.

Lilly nods. “I had to have her admitted into this home a few months ago. But it seems like she’s gotten worse since she left home,” she sighs, sadness coursing through her voice.

XXXXX

After over half an hour of driving, they park in front of a nice big house. The beautiful front garden and yellow painted walls give it a warm, welcoming look.

Scotty, however, hardly has time to appreciate any of this, following Lilly as she rips into the house. The doorman lets her in, no questions asked, probably remembering her from previous similar situations.

The house, which could actually be called a mansion, has a huge living room where many of its elder inhabitants are watching TV, talking or playing card games. Some of them are alone, and their empty faces clearly show they’re already lost. As they reach the living room, one of the nurses runs to Lilly. “We took her to her room,” she explains, a little nervous. “We couldn’t control her, she keeps screaming your name and your sister’s.”

Lilly sighs, “Ok. Thanks.” She turns to Scotty. “You can wait here, Scotty… or outside. It’s fine.”

“Don’t you think you might need some extra strength in there?” he asks, worried Lilly’s mother might hurt her. Truthfully, he had no idea what sort of breakdown the woman was having.

Lilly nods. “Yeah, I might.” Her voice is low, and again, she’s ashamed. The nurse leads them to Mrs. Rush’s bedroom. They don’t need to get too close to hear the screaming. The nurse opens the door, motioning for them to go in. Lilly sighs, and steps into the room.

“Get off me!” Mrs. Rush is screaming. “I want to go home! You can’t keep me arrested, I did nothing wrong!” She tries to free herself from the nurses—a male and a female--who are trying to subdue her.

“Mother,” Lilly calls, firmly but softly. Her mother is so out of it, however, she doesn’t even hear her. Lilly signals for the two nurses to leave, which they do at once.

Mrs. Rush paces around the room, her head in her hands, her face soaked in tears. She gazes around, lost. “Mother,” Lilly calls again, and this time Mrs. Rush raises her head. Scotty can see who Lilly takes after, regarding the delicate face structure and piercing blue eyes. Mrs. Rush, however, seems torn apart, her face disturbingly bony, huge dark circles below her eyes. He had expected Lilly to engulf her mother in a tight embrace, as he would in a similar situation, but Lilly’s careful tap to her mother’s arm reminds him the Rush family, for better of for worse, was never predictable.

“Lilly!” Mrs. Rush exclaims, clearly relieved to see a familiar face. “Thank God you’re here, they were trying to tie me down, give me a shot.”

“The shot is your medicine. You need it,” Lilly replies, coaxing her mother down on the bed.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me to the young man with you?” she asks, with a smile and abrupt change of expression, like what happened a minute ago had just flown out of her mind. She seems better, but her hands are shaking violently.

“Sure.” Lilly nods. “This is Scotty Valens, my partner. Scotty, this is my mother, Ellen.” Scotty simply nods, not sure whether he should shake Mrs. Rush’s hand or something. She seems ok with it and keeps offering him a smile. “Mother, I’m going to tell the nurse to come give you your medicine, ok?”

Mrs. Rush nods. “OK, dear. Don’t take long.”

After the nurse gives her a shot with the much needed medicine, Lilly makes her mother lean back down on her bed. Mrs. Rush pays no mind to the shot this time, because, after making Scotty sit by her beside, she becomes completely involved in telling him a story. “So, you should have seen Lilly in her high school graduation clothes. Her hair was so long and it draped down her back. I was so proud! Then, when she went to her prom, she was the most beautiful girl ever. Her dress was red and long, and, from what I heard, all eyes were on her,” she kept babbling, eyes shining. Scotty glances at Lilly, trying to keep from laughing.

Lilly watches the scene from the foot of the bed, smiling. “OK, Mom. Scotty and I need to go back to the office.”

“Of course!” Mrs. Rush exclaims. “I don’t even know why you came here in the middle of a workday.”

Scotty looks stunned, but Lilly is already at the door, so he simply follows her.

They’re almost out the door when the head nurse beckons to Lilly. “Miss Rush, I need a minute with you about your mother.”

“I’m sorry about today,” Lilly offers, embarrassed.

“It’s OK, but this can’t go on forever,” the nurse says, her face stern and serious.

“What do you mean?” Lilly asks.

“There are institutions, Miss Rush,” the nurse continues. “That offer more specialized care than us. They even have one nurse for each patient. I believe that’s the kind of care your mother needs. Her disease is progressing and we no longer feel we’re offering her the best treatment available. Not to mention the risk we place our other patients in every time she has an outburst like this.”

“I can’t take my mother out now,” Lilly says, clearly near desperation.

“We know that. That’s why we’re giving you two weeks to find another home.” She hands Lilly a paper. “These are a few places I’d recommend.”

XXXXX

Lilly and Scotty walk back to the car in absolute silence. “I’m sure you’ll find another place for your mother, Lil. The nurse gave you lots of different numbers,” Scotty offers encouragingly. “Who knows, it might even be better in the end.”

Lilly nods. Scotty notices her eyes are glistening, but not from happiness, more like there are tears dancing around in them. “Oh, Lil, don’t be like that... your mom looked like she was getting better. She was telling anecdotes and everything.”

Lilly laughs ruefully, shaking her head. “My mother never went to my high school graduation, Scotty. And she never saw my prom dress, either.” Scotty looks startled, so Lilly goes on, “Confabulation. That’s one of the symptoms of her disease. She makes up stories.”

“I’m sorry, Lil,” Scotty says, the lump in his throat nearly choking him. “Why didn’t she go?”

“For the same reason she was sick today. Because she’s a careless drunk,” Lilly says bitterly, opening the car door. “Let’s get back to the office, we have work to do.”

XXXXX

To be continued...

XXXXX

[TVFan]

Another great installment Tati. You wrote Lilly's mother exactly how I would have pictured her. Lilly's reaction was dead on as well. I really liked the conversation between Lilly and Scotty after they left Ellen. It was very true to the series, characters, and moment. Nice work! :smile39: I'm looking forward to reading more.

[Tati]

Thanks TV Fan for reading and Disaster for beta-reading (and putting up with my writer's crisis). Here's the next chapter:

“Falling Stars”

Chapter 4 – The Director

After the detectives walk back to Police Headquarters, Stillman is left outside the courthouse with DA Brown and ADA Kite. Being a man of few words but straightforward actions, he makes a special effort to gather all the inner strength he can to put up with this politics bullpoo poo. Adulation, favors and small (but hardly innocent) talk are his worst enemies, so the upcoming lunch with Brown and Kite is hardly an attractive prospect.

“Say, Lieutenant. Shall we go to lunch? My treat,” Brown asks, a smile plastered to his face.

“Well,” Stillman says. “I actually already had a snack with my detectives, but I’ll be more than pleased to join you.”

“Then please do,” Kite says. “Have a drink, at least.” While Stillman doesn’t know exactly what went on between Kite and Lilly, the indirect offer of friendship doesn’t make him comfortable.

“Of course,” Stillman says. It’s not like he has much of a choice, anyway.

XXXXX

The place chosen was a nice, slightly uptown restaurant not far from the courthouse. It was filled with men and women in suits, indicating it was a place famous among business people.

The three men get a table and sit down. A waiter comes to their table, handing them the menus. “Can I get you drinks, gentlemen?”

“Two scotches for us here,” Brown answers, pointing to him and Kite, who nods, and then to Stillman. “Lieutenant, you join us?”

“I’ll have water, please,” Stillman says to the waiter. After the young man leaves to get their drinks, Stillman explains, “Still on duty.”

“Of course, Lieutenant,” Brown replies. “I always forget that days in Homicide don’t exactly have a schedule.”

“Shall we begin discussing your new plans for routine work between the Police and the DA’s office?” Stillman cuts straight to the point.

“Oh, yes,” Brown begins, taking a sip of his scotch. “You see, Lieutenant – may I call you John?” Stillman nods, and Brown goes on, “You see, John, the biggest problem the DA’s office has been facing is the weak investigating. Evidence leading to reasonable doubt, witnesses whose accounts don’t match... that sort of thing.”

“Well, it’s the ADA’s job to prevent these cases from going to trial, isn’t it?” Stillman asks, remembering Kite’s reaction at the outcome of the Lincoln case a few months earlier.

“We’re not saying we’re not going to do our jobs, but some cracks only show up in court,” Kite answers, and Stillman is sure he got the point.

“What we want,” Brown cuts in. “Is an increase in efficiency. Cases with solid investigations have easier and quicker prosecutions.” He pauses, raising his glass to take a drink. “And, above all, we need to stop useless investigations.”

“What do you mean?” Stillman raises an eyebrow, suspicious.

“John, don’t take this the wrong way,” Brown begins. “But your cold case team is the best spot a detective could ask for.” He laughs. “I mean, time isn’t a problem—there are no reporters breathing down your neck and most physical evidence is already gone, so what’s the hurry?”

Stillman takes a few seconds to choose the words he’ll use in this moment. “I think you’ve got it all wrong, counselor. Every day that passes with those cases still unsolved, is one more day of Police inefficiency, one more day we’re letting a murderer get away.” His blood is boiling, but he’s completely under control. “Time is our worst problem.”

Brown now goes off friendly mode. “I need your detectives to work on the line 90 of the time, at least.”

“70,” Stillman offers immediately, knowing he’ll need to compromise if he doesn’t want to lose the battle.

“Ok,” Brown replies, but Stillman knows there’s more to come. “But all investigations for cases 3 or more years old will need to be approved by the Chief Inspector.” Stillman is stunned, and preparing an answer, when Brown quickly adds, “The Deputy Commissioner has already given his approval of this policy. I discussed it with him earlier.”

Stillman looks Brown right in the eye. “I reserve my right to discuss it with him as well.” He gets up from the chair, not allowing Brown to hold him back. “Excuse me, gentlemen, I’m needed at the office.”

DA Brown and ADA Kite are left at the table, not exchanging a word. Brown looks satisfied, while Kite has a shadow of discomfort across his face.

XXXXX

About half an hour later, Stillman storms into the office, where the detectives are sitting around waiting for him. His way of storming in, however, is completely Stillman-like: serious, tense, heavy footsteps, but no sign of emotional commotion. “Sorry for leaving you guys on your own today,” he says as way of greeting.

“So, how was the lunch with the new DA, Boss?” Lilly says, offering him the best smile she can – which right now is not a very convincing one.

“We discussed a few things, but most topics still need to be ironed out,” Stillman answers, and that sentence is enough to make the detectives understand the subject is to be left alone for now. And to leave them with a knot in their stomachs. At the detectives’ silence, Stillman goes on, “How were the interviews today?”

“Fine,” Lilly begins. “Scotty and I talked to Jill’s mom, Nick and Will saw Jill’s husband.”

“Any promising leads?” Stillman asks, sitting on the edge of Scotty’s desk.

“The mother says Jill was a big hit, and had a lot of envious people around her,” Scotty answers.

“Did she point out anyone specifically?” Stillman asks.

“Yeah, one of the supporting actresses on the play,” Scotty answers. “Paris McDonald. Alice overheard her threatening Jill a couple of weeks before she was killed.” Stillman nods, and Scotty adds, “But the mother claims she didn’t think the whole discussion was a big deal. She doesn’t seem to know much about what went on with her daughter.”

Stillman, Lilly and Scotty turn their attention to Nick and Will. Nick takes his cue and begins, “Husband told us some pretty interesting things. Seems like the director was terrified with the possibility of Jill leaving the play.”

“She was thinking about leaving?” Lilly asks, surprised, remembering how Alice talked about Jill’s success and her satisfaction with the play. It seems she really didn’t know much about her daughter – or she was hiding something.

“That’s rather unclear, actually,” Will answers. “Her husband had a job offer in L.A., but he claims she wasn’t going with him.”

“They were going to split up?” Scotty asks.

“According to him, they already had,” Vera says.

The detectives digest the information for a few moments. Lilly and Scotty are surprised Alice didn’t mention the possibility of Jill leaving the play. “Did the husband say why the director was so worried about Jill leaving?” Lilly asks.

“He believes it was sponsor pressure, but he has nothing to support that opinion,” Will answers.

“Let’s hold on here. We still have too little to go on to make any assumptions,” Stillman points out. “Who’s next on the list?”

“We’re not sure yet, Boss,” Lilly begins.

“Lilly wants to visit Jill’s best friend first,” Scotty cuts in. “I think the director is promising enough for a visit as soon as possible.”

“Jill’s mother said the best friend knew everything about Jill,” Lilly defends her point. “The girls knew each other since high school.”

“This best friend is the person you asked us to locate, Boss?” Vera asks, searching for a piece of paper in his desk.

“Yeah, Kelly Simpson,” Lilly answers, interested, walking up to Vera.

“She lives in Maine now,” Vera says, reading from the paper, “In a town called Hampden.”

“Never heard of it,” Scotty says.

“It’s in the middle of nowhere, it seems,” Vera replies, with a smirk. “And she left Philly 3 months after Jill’s murder. Pretty interesting, if you ask me.”

“Maine?” Will cuts in, looking thoughtful. The other detectives turn to him. “Peter Campbell said his wife traveled to Maine this morning.”

“Could be just a coincidence,” Scotty shrugs.

“Or not,” Stillman says. “Nick, Will, you look into what Campbell’s wife is doing in Maine. If there’s something more than a coincidence there, we’d better know before visiting Kelly.” Nick and Will nod, and Stillman says to Lilly and Scotty, “You go visit Charlie Vaughn tomorrow.” He sighs, and says to the detectives, “But all tomorrow. We’ve had enough for today. Good night.” The detectives nod and start picking up their stuff. Lilly is interrupted by Stillman, who says, “Lil, I need to see you in my office before you go.”

XXXXX

Lilly follows Stillman into his office. The other detectives have already left, all curious to know if Stillman would spill anything about his talk with the DA to Lilly. The nature of their talk, however, is very different. “What’s up, Boss?” Lilly asks, entering the room. Stillman sits the down and points a chair, so Lilly sits down as well.

“What happened today?” Stillman asks.

“My mother,” Lilly answers, looking down. “One of those emergencies. But everything is under control now.”

“I’m not scolding you, Lilly,” Stillman replies, with a paternal smile. “But I need to know what’s going on.”

Lilly sighs. “I have to find her a new home. A more specialized one.” She pauses for a few seconds. “She had an outburst today, and they won’t keep her anymore.”

Stillman nods. “Do you already have any places in mind?”

“Yeah, the head nurse gave me a few recommendations,” Lilly answers, faking a reassuring smile. “It’s no big deal.”

Stillman notices she’s dying to cut the conversation short. “You know you can take all the time you need.”

Lilly nods. “Thanks, Boss. But I won’t need to take any time off work.” She gets up. “Anything else?”

Stillman shakes his head, “No, good night.”

“Good night,” Lilly answers, and Stillman is sure she was lying. How could she expect him to believe this wasn’t a big deal? She had never taken off for two hours for a personal emergency before...

XXXXX

Early the next day, Lilly and Scotty go off to visit Charlie Vaughn. They had called him and he had grumpily agreed to talk to them in a cafeteria near the Arden Theatre, but it had to be immediately. “I wonder why this guy is so cranky when it comes to this investigation,” Scotty says.

“From what I hear, he’s cranky about everything,” Lilly replies. “Plus, I heard he was the one who had to make all the funeral arrangements for Jill, because Alice had an emotional breakdown. Maybe it gets to him. He saw the girl being born and grow up.”

Scotty laughs, “Well, so did her mother. And I’m sure their connection was way stronger.”

Lilly shrugs. “Let’s find out then,” she says, as they enter the cafeteria. Charlie is already there.

“Thanks for meeting us, Mr. Vaughn,” Lilly says, as they sit down in front of him.

“Don’t worry,” Charlie answers, always in a vexed tone of voice. “I know you need to do this, and I don’t want to stand in your way.” He takes a sip of his coffee. “Don’t want you to think I have something to hide, either.”

“That’s good, Mr. Vaughn,” Scotty replies. “Thanks for your collaboration.”

“Let’s go straight to the point,” Lilly begins. “Peter Campbell told us you were extremely worried at the possibility of Jill leaving the play.”

“Yeah, Alice told me Peter had gotten a job offer in L.A.,” Charlie relates. “A soap-opera role, I believe. And that she was worried Jill might leave Philadelphia to go after him.” He pauses, and goes on, “Now, I have no idea if Jill actually told her she was leaving, or if it was just an impression. Either way, I was worried.”

“Why?” Scotty asks.

“I don’t know if you’ve read any newspapers from 1992,” Charlie begins. “But Jill was just... everywhere. The public had fallen completely in love with her. She was very charismatic.”

“Was there any pressure from the sponsors to keep her on the play?” Lilly asks, testing Peter Campbell’s theory.

“No,” Charlie answers. “Our sponsor wanted profits. Full house. Whoever was responsible for drawing the public, they didn’t really care.”

“Why all the stress, then? Was Jill irreplaceable?” Lilly asks.

“Not to my eyes,” Charlie answers sarcastically. “But to her mother’s eyes, surely.”

“So Alice was pressuring you?” Scotty asks, surprised with the revelation.

Charlie sighs. “How confidential are these talks?” he asks.

“We don’t disclose our sources unless it’s completely necessary,” Lilly replies.

“Fine,” Charlie says. “Anyway, I don’t care anymore.”

Flashback to 1992

Charlie is in one of the theater seats, reading a script and making notes. The theater is empty and silent, and Charlie seems concentrated on what he’s doing. Alice walks up to him, worried. “She’s leaving us, Charlie,” she blurts out.

“What?” Charlie raises his head.

“Peter got a job offer in L.A. I heard it through some friends in the TV networks. It’s the job of a lifetime, he’s certainly taking it,” Alice explains, pacing the corridor between the seats.

“How do you Jill is going, too?” Charlie asks, still not making a big deal out of the situation.

“Everything fits,” Alice replies. “She has been distant lately. Full of secrets with Kelly, making phone calls and hanging up whenever I go near.”

“If Jill was really planning to take off, she wouldn’t leave us in the dark,” Charlie says, shaking his head. “Besides, it would be a very stupid move, career-wise. She’s not famous outside Philly, and I’m sure she doesn’t want to live in Peter’s shadow.” He turns back to his script.

“Charlie, you have to talk to him,” Alice orders. “Peter can do whatever he wants, but Jill has to stay. I can’t get involved because Jill would never forgive me, but you can.”

“Alice,” Charlie says, starting to get irritated. “I can’t tell your daughter what to do.” He gets up, knowing he won’t get any more work done now. “Besides, you know I think Jill is too technically immature to play a leading role.”

“She’s doing a good job, you acknowledged that,” Alice replies.

“Yeah, for a girl in her first acting job,” Charlie retorts. “But there are people in this cast who could do better.”

“Look, Charlie, we’re not having this discussion again,” Alice says. “And, in case I haven’t made myself clear, what I want is for you to tell Peter Jill isn’t going to L.A. with him.” She pauses, eyeing him sardonically. “Or do you want me to tell every producer in L.A. how you took money from my plays’ profits for over 10 years, to support your gambling problems? No other employer would have been as understanding as I was.”

“You were understanding because you knew I had a serious problem,” Charlie replies, stunned that Alice could be using that against him. “And I have paid you back every penny.”

“Whatever, Charlie,” Alice says, leaving the room. “Just take care of it.”

Back to 2005

“And so I did,” Charlie concludes.

Lilly and Scotty share a glance, knowing Charlie can’t possibly be the victim he’s making himself out to be. “So, this was all Alice’s doing,” Lilly says to Charlie.

“Look, I’m no saint,” Charlie replies quickly. “I did what she wanted because I had to. But the truth is, I didn’t think she had anything to worry about.”

“You said you didn’t think Jill was the best choice for the lead,” Scotty points out.

“Yeah, I thought Paris McDonald was a much more skilled actress,” Charlie says. He reflects for a second, and adds, “On the other hand, she had no real passion for the art. It always seemed to be something personal between the two of them.”

“You ever hear Paris threatening Jill?” Lilly asks.

“No,” Charlie shakes his head. “But I wouldn’t doubt it. You see, Jill, Paris and that other girl – Kelly Simpson - they had known each other for years. Even if Jill and Kelly couldn’t stand Paris, they frequented the same circles.” He finishes his coffee. “You probably know from your files Jill had some wild years.”

“How much do you know about that?” Scotty asks.

“I had to bail her out of trouble a couple of times. But I chose not to get involved much, even though I cared about the girl,” he answers. “I know this may sound harsh, but I had my own problems. And she did seem to pull herself together afterwards.”

“Why do you think she was killed, then?” Lilly asks, sure this guy knows something he’s not giving away.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Charlie shrugs. “There was one thing Alice said that I agreed with, though.” He pauses, wondering if the detectives will pose the obvious question, but their direct looks are enough. “Jill was hiding something. She was worried about something way more serious than moving to another city.”

XXXXX

To be continued...

[Tati]

Also, an extra - here's a character list with everyone that has appeared or been mentioned so far. It's spoilerish if you haven't read the 4 chapters. I'll update as the fic progresses.

Chad O'Reilly - the reason of Paris and Jill's rivalry. Dated Jill in high school. Even after the breakup he stayed friends and hanged out with Jill, Paris and Kelly. Worked as a model. *(added on chapter 5)

John Graham - actor. Jill's co-star in the play. He was also investigation Jill's personal life and seemed to have some important informantion about her. *(added on chapter 5)

Characters from the casefile

Jill Hannigan – murdered in Dec 28th, 1992. At the time of her death, she was the star of a successful play written by her mother. Had a drug abuse problem a couple of years before.

Alice Hannigan – Jill’s mother, is a successful play writer.

Peter Campbell – Jill’s husband, also an actor. Had a minor role on the play, but was mostly a TV actor. He currently owns and teaches in an acting school in Philadelphia. He has remarried and is the father of a baby boy.

Charlie Vaughn – The director of most of Alice Hannigan’s plays, including the one Jill starred, and the current one. He has worked with Alice for nearly 40 years.

Kelly Simpson – Went to high school with Jill, and remained her best friend until her death. Was a make-up artist at the play Jill worked. Currently lives in Maine.

Paris McDonald – also went to high school with Jill. The two girls had some sort of rivalry since that time. She was seen threatening Jill a couple of weeks before her murder, claiming to know a dark secret from Jill’s past.

Others (non case-related)

DA Kenneth Brown – new DA assigned to work with the Central Police Headquarters. He’s influent and is bringing some problems to the cold case team.

ADA Kite – our already known ADA is back, and his intentions are still unclear.

Ellen Rush – Lilly’s mother. Currently living in a mental institution, the seriousness of her mental illness is becoming a source of problems for Lilly.

EDITED for update in the character's list.

[TVFan]

Wow, a lot happened in your latest chapter Tati, and all of it left me wanting more. I can't believe this new DA wants Stillman and Co. to get all their older cold cases approved before they investigate them! That sounds like something that would happen in real life, though. Government offices are always having cut backs it seems. I can see them considering a cold case squad an expendible service (even though we all know it's not!).

I liked the scene with Lilly and Stillman. I love how you captured the father/daughter relationship they seem to share. I can tell that underneath all of Stillman's anger about the changes, is concern. He's also deeply concerned for Lilly and what's she's going through with her mom.

It seems that everyone wants to place the blame on someone else. Every time they narrow it down to a suspect, he/she seems to give good reasons why someone else might be to blame. I love the suspense! Update soon.

Thank you for the character list. It helps a lot!!

[Tati]

TV Fan: thanks! It was funny that you said that a lot happened on chapter 4, because I was feeling that I was walking around in circles. Oh well, glad you liked. I think you're going to hate the new DA a lot more after this new chapter.

Here's chapter 5:

“Falling Stars”

Chapter 5 – The Supporting Actress

That same morning, after Lilly and Scotty left to interview Charlie Vaughn, Nick and Will stayed in headquarters doing some research, getting ready to meet Paris McDonald. They had scheduled to meet at her office - she no longer worked as an actress, but as the head of her family’s company – Sun Advertising.

Nick gets off the phone and says to Will, “Just talked to Sun Advertising’s Public Relations. Turns out they’re huge art sponsors.” He smirks. “Guess what play they were sponsoring in 1992.”

Will smiles knowingly. “Alice Hannigan’s “Body and Soul”. Nick nods in confirmation, and Will goes on, “Paris was second-best in the play her daddy was paying for.”

“I doubt the McDonalds were happy about this,” Nick adds. “You got her file?”

Will nods. “Yeah. She also had a substance abuse problem, same period as Jill had hers.” He leans back in his chair. “Either Paris helped Jill go down, or they were actually good friends and playing everyone.”

“Why?” Nick asks, not really grasping Will’s theory.

“22-year-old girls,” Will replies. “Who knows what they were after.”

Stillman comes out of his office. “How are things doing?”

“Fine, Boss,” Nick answers. “We’re about to leave to talk to Paris McDonald.”

Stillman nods. “She was Jill’s nemesis, wasn’t she?”

“So far, that’s what it seems,” Will says, getting his overcoat. “We’re leaving now, Boss.” Having worked with Stillman for a good share of years, Will can tell he’s worried about something and avoiding the subject. “Anything else you need, Boss?”

Stillman takes a few seconds to answer. “No, no.” He shakes his head. “Go ahead. And good luck,” he says as he watches the detectives leave the office.

XXXXX

Nick and Will park the car in front of Paris’ office building. Sun Advertising is set in a beautiful, glass-walled skyscraper in downtown Philadelphia. According to Nick’s findings, Sun Advertising occupies half of the building’s sixty floors. “How does an advertising agency need thirty floors of a building?” Will thinks out loud, as they wait for the lobby receptionist to get in touch with Paris’ secretary and authorize their access.

“Seems like they not only create the ads and commercial campaigns – they also produce all the TV commercials and printed ads, outdoors and such,” Nick says as he paces the lobby.

The receptionist notices his impatience and says, with the enticing smile of all receptionists, “Sorry to keep you waiting, Detectives, but we have high-security procedures. You two can already go up. Please take the elevators on your right to the 60th floor.” After she finishes she hands them their visitors’ access cards.

“High-security,” Nick grunts. “I guess we should understand, we’re the Police after all,” he says sarcastically.

Nick and Will reach the 60th floor. Once the elevator doors open, they’re stunned by the modernity and sumptuosity of the office. All the furniture seems to be latest fashion. Strong and vivid-colored couches, chairs and carpets feast their eyes. No one working there seems less than twenty-five years old.

The detectives are greeted by a beautiful young woman, who introduces herself as Paris McDonald’s secretary. “Miss McDonald has been waiting for you,” she says, leading them to Paris’ office at the end of the hall. As they enter the room, Paris is talking on the phone, seemingly with one of her clients. She signals for them to take a seat and continues her conversation. That gives the detectives time to analyze the woman they’re about to interview.

If she were to be described in one word, the word would be “classy”. Very elegant in her white shirt and light purple, knee-length crepe skirt, topped off by discreet make-up and a nice, a little above-the-shoulder haircut, Paris oozed professionalism. A couple of minutes later, she hangs up and greets the detectives with a smile. “Sorry, things are crazy today. Nice to meet you.”

“It’s our pleasure, Miss McDonald,” Will says. “I’m Detective Jeffries, this is Detective Vera.”

Paris smiles. “I have to admit, I never thought anyone would come back to ask me about Jill again. Jill and I weren’t exactly friendly, as you probably know, but I’d like to help anyway I can.”

“You put all your past grudges behind you?” Nick asks, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“The ones regarding Jill, certainly,” she says, leaning back in her chair. “Looking back, everything we did to each other seems so petty and stupid.”

“You do understand your rivalry makes you a suspect, don’t you?” Nick shoots.

Paris nods. “Of course. And I wouldn’t be surprised if you had an eye-witness willing to swear I threatened Jill. I did threaten her, and I made up so much stuff to make her look bad,” she calmly relates. “But I certainly did not kill her.”

“Can you tell us the reason for all this antagonism between you two?” Will asks, picking up his notepad.

“It’s not just one reason,” Paris begins. “But the beginning of it dates back to our sophomore year in high school. There was this guy – Chad – that I was just crazy about. You know, stupid teenager lovesickness,” she confides, eyes blazing.

“And Jill snagged the guy,” Nick offers, starting to get the picture.

“Not immediately,” Paris replies. “But eventually, yes. We were never friends, but the way she did it... it was just to hurt me, you know? Because I was way more popular than she was.” Slight traces of old-time bitterness creep into her voice. “Even then she was always craving for attention.”

“That hardly seems enough to justify a rivalry that went on for so many years,” Will notes.

“Certainly.” Paris nods. “But she made it her life mission to annoy me every chance she got. She didn’t even like Chad. Just played him and threw him in the garbage when he stopped being fun.”

“Still, you girls seemed to hang out together a lot during your late teenage years,” Nick points out.

“Yeah, we had lots of mutual friends. As high school progressed and our tastes, uh…” She hesitates for a second. “Narrowed down, in the end it was just me, Jill and Kelly.”

“By tastes, you mean drugs, right?” Nick asks. “I read your file and I must say, you girls had some pretty wild years.”

Paris looks uncomfortable. “That’s true. Kelly was just a casual consumer but Jill and I hit rock-bottom pretty hard. Jill got out faster than I did, though. At the time the play was being produced, I wasn’t entirely myself yet.”

“Speaking of the play,” Will begins. “Why did you quit acting?”

“To be honest, I was never really into it,” Paris explains. “It was mostly about competing with Jill. And, of course, all the fun being in such an environment can provide.” She smiles. “A lot of people told me I was good, better than Jill, even. But after she died, I just didn’t feel like doing it anymore.”

“Your company sponsored the play back them,” Nick states. “Ever try to use that against Jill?”

“Of course!” Paris exclaims. “In my little, still-stuck-in-her-teens mind, my Dad helping pay for all that meant I should be the star. But it never worked.” She shakes her head.

“As you said earlier, we do have a witness who claims you threatened Paris in one of the dressing rooms at Arden Theatre,” Will says. “You said you knew something about Jill’s past.”

Paris can’t help laughing. “Well, I didn’t really know anything.” She catches hold of herself. “Not at that point, anyway. I was doing some heavy investigating, though.”

“Investigating?” Nick asks, with a smirk. “And what did you turn up?”

Paris sits straight up in her chair and begins, “It all started one night, about two months before she died. We were having a cast reunion at Charlie’s house – he liked doing that, to make us bond. Anyway, we were just leaving when I realized I had forgotten my scarf and went back to get it...”

Flashback to 1992

The whole cast is at Charlie Vaughn’s house. They’re at the end of what it seems to be a perfectly acceptable social gathering. All the actors and actresses, mostly young, are being shown to the door by Charlie. Paris is with them, but suddenly notices she’s left something inside. “I’m going back to get my scarf,” she tells one of the other actresses, running back into the house.

Everyone had left their coats, purses and such in one of the guest bedrooms, right across the hall from Charlie’s office, both on the second floor. Every time they’d been there, Charlie had warned them to keep out of his office, since that was where he kept his work notes.

Paris reaches the guest bedroom. She grabs a scarf off the bed and begins to leave. As she’s closing the door, however, she catches desperate murmurs coming from the other side of the half-open office door. Paris tiptoes to the door crack, realizing the person on the phone – Jill – has her back to it, so as long as she keeps quiet, she can eavesdrop all she likes.

Leaning her head into the door, Paris dedicates the conversation her fullest attention. In the office, Jill wails, “Please, I can’t take it any longer.” Brief pause as the person on the other side speaks. “Is it more money you want? I’ll give you whatever you ask for,” Jill blurts out, and Paris notices her voice is choked from holding back tears. Another brief pause, and Jill finishes the conversation. “OK. I’ll wait another week.” She hangs up the phone, and Paris leaves the house, wondering about what she’d just heard, a devilish smile on her face.

Back to 2005

“I figured there had to be something juicy behind that conversation,” Paris says. “So I started in on my own investigation. I didn’t turn up anything interesting, though; except that I wasn’t the only one digging into her dirty laundry.”

“Who else was interested in Jill’s alleged secret?” Nick asks.

“This other actor in the play,” Paris replies. “John Graham. He was a little uh, weird, I’d say. I never could figure out what his real intentions toward Jill were.”

“How did you find out he was tailing Jill?” Will asks, both he and Nick taking careful notes.

“He came to me one day, saying that if I was looking for something to pin against Jill, he might just be able to help,” Paris explains. “He asked for money and I gave him some, but he kept putting off the information.”

“And you never demanded your end of the deal?” Will asks.

“Well, I was going to,” Paris replies. “But then Jill was killed, and I figured whatever secret she might be carrying was better off in the grave with her.” She shrugs.

“What interest could this guy possibly have in Jill’s personal life?” Nick asks. Paris’ story is sounding quite plausible to both of them, but they still can’t be sure she’s not just leading them somewhere safer for her. She is an actress, after all.

Paris reflects for a while, then answers, “At that time, I thought he carried a torch for her. Sometimes I’d notice these weird moments between them.” She rests her elbows on her desk. “But near the end, Jill was weird toward everyone.”

“How so?” Will asks.

“You know that time, when I threatened her?” Paris begins. “She didn’t care at all.” Noticing the detectives are not grasping her message, she goes on. “She was completely out of it. Like she had bigger fish to fry elsewhere. Which only reinforced my theory that she was in some kind of trouble.”

“That guy you two used to fight about,” Nick throws in. “Did he and Jill kept in touch?”

“Chad? Oh, yes. We became friends eventually. He was a constant presence at the events and parties we went to, being a model and all. Maybe you’ve heard of him: Chad O’Reilly.”

“Not really,” Vera shakes his head. “I’m afraid my jet-set knowledge is limited.”

“Miss McDonald, do you think you could give us an exact date on that phone call you overheard at Charlie Vaughn’s house?” Will asks.

“Not right now, but I can get back to you on that,” she answers. “It wasn’t more than 3 months before she died – that I can guarantee.”

The detectives nod. They get up and Nick hands her his business card. “This is my card. Please call us back with the date, and anything else you might remember.”

Paris nods. “I will. Good luck, detectives.”

XXXXX

It’s now 2 p.m. and Nick and Will are stuck in a huge traffic jam on their way back to Headquarters. Nick is driving. He’s banging his head on the wheel, nearly crazy with impatience, when Will’s cell phone rings.

“Hey, Lil,” Will answers. Since Nick and Will weren’t supposed to take so long in the interview, they’re starting to get worried about them in the office.

“Well, we’re stuck in traffic; don’t think we’ll be arriving anytime soon. There’s a nasty accident ahead of us,” Will explains. “But there is something you guys could get on to.” He explains the main topic of their talk with Paris McDonald.

XXXXX

Back in headquarters, Lilly hangs up the phone. Scotty and Stillman are wandering around, waiting for her to finish the call. “That was Will,” she informs them. “They’re stuck in traffic and it’ll take them a while to get here. But he gave me some info about their interview.”

“Anything interesting?” Scotty asks, sitting on the edge of his desk.

Lilly nods. “Yes. We need to subpoena Charlie Vaughn’s phone records during the three months previous to Jill’s death. It seems that Paris overheard Jill talking on the phone in Charlie’s office, and that conversation might lead us to someone with a motive.”

“What was the conversation about?” Stillman asks.

“Since Paris only heard Jill’s side of it, it’s not that clear,” Lilly replies. “But apparently it involved Jill paying someone off.” Scotty and Stillman nod, both agreeing this bit could go places. “Also, he gave me a name to look up – John Graham.”

“Who’s that?”

“Another actor in the play. He made it clear to Paris he held some juicy tidbit on Jill’s private life.”

“Get on it. Let me know when Nick and Will arrive,” Stillman says, stalking back into his office.

XXXXX

It was around 7:30 p.m. when Lilly left. The day had been quite productive, investigation-wise. They’d managed to add a couple of pieces to the puzzle – it was clear Jill was hiding something, and they had already found out the means and people necessary to get the full story. Also, two more characters – John Graham and Chad O’Reilly - had been added to the picture, widening their scope of possible suspects.

Lilly was walking down the deserted parking lot, musing about all the possibilities this new information could bring them, as well as the trip she and Scotty would be taking to Maine to interrogate Kelly Simpson. Stillman had set it for the night after tomorrow, thus leaving Lilly little time to deal with her mom’s transference to a new home. She makes a mental note to go to Ellen’s current home and make the final arrangements, since she had managed to find a place that seemed suitable. In the midst of all these thoughts, she’s suddenly called back to Earth by a harsh voice calling out, “Detective Rush!”

She turns to find a familiar face – DA Brown. She’s surprised, and secretly not at all pleased he’s gone after her for a little private chat. “Good evening, Mr. Brown,” she greets him warily.

“Good evening, Detective. I’m glad I was able to catch you before you left,” he says, his tone smooth and polite, as appears to be his trademark.

“What is it?” Lilly asks, wondering what he could possibly have to talk about that’s so urgent.

“It’s about the subpoena request you issued this afternoon,” he began. “You know, Charles Vaughn’s phone records.”

“What about it?” Lilly asks, suddenly worried. The DA’s only interfered in that sort of request when there was something suspicious about it. And her request had been perfectly legal and plausible, or so Kite had assured her. “As far as I knew, the judge had signed it, and Mr. Vaughn was about to be summoned.”

“Oh, yes, he’s been summoned,” Brown replies. “That’s why he called me.” A threatening smile begins to curve at his lips.

Lilly needs only a few seconds to tie the loose ends together. Charlie, that son-of-a-b*tch, playing cooperative - of course he had to have connections. “You know Mr. Vaughn?” she asks, taken aback by the revelation.

Brown nods menacingly. “Since I was born. He’s my uncle. My mother’s own little brother.” He admires the effect his words have on Lilly – she disguises it well, but it’s clear she’s shocked and uncommonly dejected. “He resents being treated like a suspect by the Philadelphia Police.”

Lilly sighs. “As you probably already know, the records were only requested because the victim was seen making a relevant phone call in his office,” she explains, giving Brown a withering look. “He’s not a suspect. Not yet, anyway.” She resumes her walk toward her car.

Brown falls into step with her. “Couldn’t you just have picked up the phone and politely asked for the records? My uncle was obliging when you talked to him earlier today, wasn’t he?”

Lilly chuckles sarcastically. “Well, if he had really meant to be obliging, he wouldn’t have gone running and whining to you.”

He takes a sudden step ahead of her, blocking her way. “Listen, Detective Rush. You better watch your tone. It might get you in trouble.” Lilly just stares at him. She judges it better not to answer, but she’s not backing off either. “Just some friendly advice: be careful when it comes to my uncle.”

“What, you’re going to obstruct justice now?” Lilly asks, getting into his face. Brown’s eyes shoot about, making sure no one is watching them.

“One thing I gotta say about you, Detective. You’re bold,” he retorts with a grin. “If life hadn’t put us in the places we are today, we might have had something interesting together.” He raises his hand to touch her face, but he doesn’t – just lets his fingers dawdle around her chin and cheeks. “But don’t flatter yourself too much. My advice still goes.”

Lilly smiles ironically. “Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of your dear uncle. If he’s innocent, he’ll have nothing but wonderful memories of us.”

Brown mirrors her smile, getting out Lilly’s away and sauntering back to where he came from. “Enjoy your game while you can, Detective Rush.”

Lilly remains still as his words linger in the air. By the time she turns around, Brown is just a foggy image in the distance. She has no idea what he means by that threat – but she’s sure this isn’t the last she’ll hear from him.

XXXXX

To be continued...

[TVFan]

I can't wait to find out who Jill was paying and why! Great chapter, Tati. You had me glued to my computer screen, and I was hanging on every word in the last scene. This new DA is trouble with a capital "T." I'm worried about his intentions with the cold case unit. I love how Lilly just dished it right back to him. Great scene!

[Tati]

Hello everyone!! I have decided to resurrect this fanfic. I hope there is someone still interested in it.
As I publish this chapter I have already written all the remaining chapters, so this time this fic will be completed.

I must remember that this is a story set in 2005. Please forget everything that happened in the season 2 finale and after.

Thanks for reading, and please review!

BTW, this is also available at fanfiction.net:

www.fanfiction.net/s/2467400/6/Falling_Stars