Crash (The End)

[stillmanfan]

This story is set sometime in the 7th season after the episode ‘Free Love’. For this story, Scotty’s mom was not attacked.

Dan Brady, Michelle Cunningham, Henry Cunningham, Mistina Hart, Bethany Donnelly, Brandon Langston, Marsha Peavy, Margaret Johns, Gwendolyn Williams, Candice Brandsburg, Joe Cuomo, Joe Mainsheim, Chelsea Hildebrand Mainsheim, Jerry Black, Andrew Earnest belong to me.

I do not own Cold Case

I do not own the songs, they belong to the singers.
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January 24th 1986:

[Burning Hearts by Survivor and sound track from Rocky IV plays

Two worlds collide
Rival nations
It's a primitive clash
Venting years of frustrations
Bravely we hope]

Michelle Cunningham was a beautiful girl, with shoulder length black hair, slender build, medium height, and hazel eyes. In her senior year at Immaculata High School, she attended the winter dance, where several girls got to compete as finalists for Ice Queen, and the guys got to compete for Ice King. Mistina Hart had short blonde hair, green eyes, and was also slender built. She was also a very competitive girl who had to get her way; if she didn’t, she would have revenge on anyone who beat her.


[Against all hope
There is so much at stake
Seems our freedom's up
Against the ropes
Does the crowd understand?
Is it East versus West
Or man against man
Can any nation stand alone]

“I’m going to win Ice Queen because I deserve it,” Mistina said as she growled at another girl who was running against her and Michelle.

“Mistina, you can’t win everything. I guess your parents forgot to tell you that,” Michelle said as the other girl looked on quietly.

[In the burning heart
Just about to burst
there's a quest for answers
An unquenchable thirst
In the darkest night
Rising like a spire
In the burning heart
The unmistakable fire
In the burning heart]

“We’ll see about that!!”

Then the announcement was made for Ice Queen and Michelle won. She looked very excited as she received her crown and got a picture with Ice King, Frank Gillespie. Mistina was very angry towards Michelle and did not congratulate her after her win; instead she turned around and stormed off angrily as a few onlookers noticed.

[In the warriors code
There's no surrender
Though his body says stop
His spirit cries - never!
Deep in our soul
A quiet ember]
***

One night Michelle was found in her car; it had crashed into a tree off W. Evergreen Avenue in Chestnut Hill. She was slumped forward with blood on her forehead from hitting the steering wheel.

[Know it's you against you
It's the paradox
That drives us on
It's a battle of wills
In the heat of attack
It's the passion that kills
The victory is yours alone]

A detective put the date, “Feb. ’86” on the side of the box then on the front, “Cunningham, M”, and the reference number to the case.

April 12th, 2010 2pm—

Detectives Lilly Rush and Kat Miller were out of the squad room doing an interview, while Scotty Valens interviewed a witness the interrogation room. Lieutenant John Stillman was in the adjourning viewing room, observing Scotty. Nick Vera was at his desk when Will Jefferies walked in the room, sat down, and they both chatted.

“So Nick, are you and Megan dating again?” Will asked.

“No, the divorce isn’t final yet but they both have filed and it will take time.”

“C’mon Nick!! You are still going out with her right?” Will asked suspiciously with a sly smile.

“No!!”

“What about Roy? Is he still going out with Shelly Hewitt, the woman who he was having an affair with? The same woman who was in his house wanting to throw herself at him the night the robbery happened?” Will asked.

“Well, I heard he was still going out with her,” Nick said then Will laughed.

“Oh jeez, Nick. Don’t wait for the divorce to be final, just go out with Megan,” Will said.

“Are you the anti -Dr. Phil or something?”

“No,” Will said as he stifled his laughter.

“Just stay out of my love life!”

Will laughed.

A few minutes later, Scotty led the arrested non-cooperative witness to a holding cell as John walked out of the viewing room and followed Scotty.

“He refused to cooperate then confessed,” John said after he came back. He went to get the paper work in his office and Nick went to the mailroom to get his mail, walked back to his desk, and sat down.

Will and John had left the squad room when Nick came back to his desk. Nick opened a letter then started to laugh as he read:

‘I know you did it. You know what I’m talking about. I’m giving you 48 hours to confess.’

Nick continued to laugh when Will came back to his desk and he noticed his friend was laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

Nick continued to laugh but as he read on, he stopped laughing and looked very serious.

‘If you do not confess, you will have the same fate as Michelle Cunningham did.’

“What’s wrong Nick?” Will asked worried.

“Uh, nothing,” Nick said. He got up and left, leaving the letter and envelope on his desk.

“Nick?”

Scotty walked back to his desk just as Lilly and Kat came back from their interviews and sat at their desks when they noticed Will looking on Nick’s desk.

“What are you doing?” Scotty asked curiously.

“Nick was laughing as he read this letter, then stopped laughing, put the letter down, and just walked away.”

“What does it read?” Kat asked as John walked in.

“Depending on how this Michelle Cunningham died, this is a death threat.”

“What?” Lilly asked as she got up and Will started to write a report on the letter.

“Who is Michelle Cunningham and who is being threatened?” John asked.

“Don’t know who Michelle is, but she must have something to do with Nick getting threatened and he just left,” Will said.

John went to check some files in his office about Michelle Cunningham then sent Kat and Scotty to look for the Cold Case box. The letter was sent for processing to the lab to have it checked for prints while Will and Lilly anxiously went to the box room to check on the progress.

After a few minutes they gathered back in the squad room to talk about the case, while Nick was on the balcony watching the cars go by.

“Wow, two boxes of information and Detective Black is still alive. Michelle’s mom still lives at the home, Michelle’s father died in ’91 of a heart attack,” Will said, looking up from his computer.

“Her brother, Henry, still lives in Germantown with his wife and three kids. He works as an assistant to the councilman,” Lilly said, turning back around in her chair.

“Weather was ruled not a factor. Brake line of Michelle’s car was tampered with and she was killed instantly even though she was driving a bit fast; the accident happened on February 15th,” Scotty noted as he closed the folder.

“M.E.’s report states she had some sort of blunt force trauma to the back of the head but I don’t see anything on Detective Black’s report about that,” John said.

“Looks like Mistina Hart was interviewed; she lost out on being Ice Queen to Michelle a few weeks before Michelle died, and knew where she lived. It was thought Mistina tampered with her car since a witness said she had sworn to get revenge,” Kat said.

“Did they have a suspect?” Will asked.

“Yes, they did,” Scotty said.

“Who?” Kat asked as everyone looked at Scotty.

“You will never guess, and it isn’t Mistina either,” Scotty said sadly.

[stillmanfan]

“Do we know who?” Kat asked sarcastically as everyone looked at Scotty.

“Yep,” Scotty said, sadly.

“Our Nick?” Lilly asked shocked.

“Yep.”

“Why?” Will asked astounded.

“Apparently Michelle dumped him the day she died. He gave her a locket. His name is on here a lot, so much that apparently his family got a lawyer,” Scotty said.

“Come on Scotty!!” Lilly said exasperated.

“Hey, it’s here in the report, okay?” Scotty defended himself.

“I see a search warrant for Nick’s house a few weeks after she died but they turned up nothing. I also see a report from the lieutenant stating he took Black off the case and here is a copy of an apology letter to the family,” Kat said, holding the apology letter.

“Probable cause being…?” John asked confused.

“Um… it says here suspicion of murder, but to me, I don’t see any hard evidence for a search warrant,” Kat said apprehensively.

“Oh crap,” John said.

“I seem to remember Nick getting a visit from Henry Cunningham a number of years ago, outside the department but I can’t remember why. This file on Henry just reminded me of that incident and I recognize him,” Will said.

“Do you think Nick might remember it?” Kat asked.

“I don’t know. I do remember he was excited before the reunion, then two days later, he comes in and doesn’t want to talk about it,” Will said.

“I remember that. He was upset about something but did get over it, eventually. Scotty and Will, you talk to Rhonda first and see what she says. Kat you talk to Detective Black, while Lilly and I will go talk to Nick. Obviously Nick won’t be doing this case, but let’s be very careful what we say about this case when Nick is in the room,” John said then continued, “Let’s get to work,”

“Okay, Boss,” Lilly said then the Cold Case squad went to do their interviews.

Lilly and John went to talk to Nick, who was outside on the balcony getting some fresh air. They invited him back to the office to talk.

At Rhonda’s house. April 12th 4:30pm—

After the doorbell rang, Rhonda let the detectives in after they introduced themselves; they sat down on the chairs while she sat at the couch. She was medium built, with hazel eyes and shoulder length black hair.

“How can I help you?”

“We are re-opening the case of your daughter’s death,” Will said.

“We got some new information on the case,” Scotty said.

“What information?” Rhonda said shocked then continued, “Is Detective Black still on the force?”

“We can’t discuss the new information. Detective Black retired 11 years ago. Why?” Scotty said then asked.

“I think he messed up the case when he went after poor Nick because he dated her. Just because he gave her a locket doesn’t mean he’s the killer, and I liked him the best out of her other boyfriends. I told Detective Black about other boyfriends she went out with. I know my son, Henry, didn’t like Nick dating her because he had someone else lined up for her. A few weeks after her death, my late husband, Mark, told me he referred some lawyers to Nick’s father, then I found out he did get one.”

“Do you remember what the locket looked like?” Will asked.

“It was blue with gold tinting on it. I do have some pictures of Nick and Michelle together and she has the locket on in them. She wasn’t wearing it when she died and I assumed she gave it back to Nick. But she wasn’t wearing a ring Andrew, her ex-boyfriend gave her either, and I couldn’t find it in her room, so I figured she gave it back to him.”

“Do you remember what the ring looked like?” Scotty asked.

“It was a red ruby with a blue diamond in the middle, the ring was yellow gold, and on the back had an inscription MC.”

“Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt Michelle?” Will asked.

“I can think of Mistina Hart. Michelle told me after she won ‘Ice Queen’ Mistina was very upset and pretty much wanted revenge against her.”

“Can you write down the names of the guys who Michelle once dated, that you remember or caused her any trouble?” Scotty asked as he gave Rhonda a pad and pen.

“Yes. I still have her yearbook and some pictures of her with her friends, did you want that?” Rhonda said then asked.

“Yes, we would,” Will said.

After a few minutes they left to return to the squad room.

At John’s office--

Lilly and John got information from Nick about the case. Lilly sat next to Nick, with her chair turned towards him, as John sat at his desk while they continued to talk.

“What did you do the day she died?”

“She went to my house that morning and my parents weren’t home.”

“What did she do there?” John asked.

Nick sighed, “She told me she wanted to go out with other guys and in fact had been going out with a few over the last month.”

John sat up as he wrote down what Nick had said.

“What happened then?” Lilly asked.

“I asked her for the locket back, and she told me she left it home. But I never got it back.”

“Where were you the night she died?” John asked.

“I was at Joe Cuomo’s house. He had some friends over and they were trying to make me feel better about being dumped.”

“Do you remember what color the locket was?”

“I do remember it being blue with gold tinting and if you open it, it has pictures of me and Michelle in it.”

Was there anyone you knew of who hated her?” Lilly asked.

“I know Mistina took the loss of ‘Ice Queen’ very hard because Michelle was worried Mistina would go after her. A week after the dance, Mistina followed Michelle on the freeway, and made a last minute lane change, almost causing Michelle to wreck her car. I was in the passenger seat. She was so scared that I had to drive her car but we never made a report or told anyone. There were some ex’s who didn’t like the fact they were not dating her anymore.”

“Anything else you can think of?” John asked as Lilly gave him her pad and pen to write the names down.

“Yeah, there are two things, one of which you probably know already about Detective Black being a pain in the ass and my family got a lawyer then he backed off. I heard that my dad went to Mark Cunningham, who knew and referred him a lawyer. The final thing is, well I don’t…”

“What is it?” Lilly asked apprehensively.

[stillmanfan]

“She told me a month before she died, she was pregnant.”

“Well, the ME’s report stated there was no ring or locket found on her and the report does confirm she was pregnant. Since the department already has your DNA sample, we can submit it for a paternity test,” John said as Lilly looked at him angrily, even though she knew it was the right thing to do.

“I don’t know, Boss. I mean my ex Julie and I couldn’t have kids, and now that she is with another man, she has kids. I just think I wasn’t meant to be a father. I think I got some pictures stored away that I can find. ”

“I would like that,” John said.

“I still have a hard time with the fact she wasn’t faithful to me,” Nick said sadly.

“Do you know who has it out for you?” Lilly asked.

Nick laughed, “Henry and anyone who was a guy and wanted to date Michelle.”

[Flashback]

[Beat It—Michael Jackson’s Thriller CD]

April 27th, 1985--

Henry, Nick, and Michelle were present at a party, along with some uninvited guests. Nick was very skinny at the time, and had brown wavy hair. He and Michelle were in the living room when she left his side to see some friends and Henry approached him.

[They told him don’t you ever come around here
Don’t wanna see your face, you better disappear
The fire’s in their eyes and their words are really clear
So beat it, just beat it]

“I guess my sister must really like you. Let me tell you something, I don’t want you going out with my sister and when she dumps you, she will go out with Andrew Earnest and I hope she marries him.

[You better run, you better do what you can
Don’t wanna see no blood, don’t be a macho man]

“Henry, you can’t tell your sister who to date or what to do. I’ve told my own sister who to date and she smacked me. I love your sister and she is wonderful, smart, and beautiful.

[You wanna be tough, better do what you can
So beat it, but you wanna be bad]

“Let me tell you something Nick, I think you are just going out with her just to get in her pants and I don’t think you should do that,” Henry said. Unbeknownst to Henry, the party started to quiet down as they heard them arguing and Michelle heard what Henry said as she stood behind him.

[Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right]

“What about the other guys? Don’t you think they might want to get in her pants too?”

[Just beat it, beat it
Just beat it, beat it].

“No. I think you are the only one who...”

[Just beat it, beat it
Just beat it, beat it]

“HENRY!!” Michelle yelled at her brother then continued as both men backed away from each other, “What the hell is wrong with you? I will date who I want and you don’t tell me who to go out with!!” Michelle then smacked Henry on the arm.

[Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it]
[Song Ends]

“I’m sorry about my brother. He just doesn’t know when to back off.”

“Well, from a brother’s perspective, I can understand him being very protective of you. I’m protective of my sister, Stella.”

“Glad you understand, Nick.”

[End Flashback]

“Sounds like one controlling guy,” Lilly said.

April 16th 9am—

While Nick was out doing interviews for another case, the squad talked about the Cunningham case and looked through the yearbook Rhonda gave them. Rhonda and Nick brought in the pictures so the team looked them over as well. They made notes of the ring and locket Michelle wore as well as laughed over how Nick looked back then as compared to now. They also looked up the list Rhonda and Nick gave of the friends and acquaintances.

“Kat, what did Detective Black say?” John asked.

“He said some friends of Nick’s and Michelle’s refused to do the interview and suggested the search warrant was the right thing to do. But I got the sense he had it out for Nick and told me he still thinks Nick is the one who did it.”

“Well, of course they didn’t want to talk, I mean once he had it known he wanted Nick, they probably didn’t think they could even change his mind,” Scotty said mockingly.

“Well, I guess we don’t need to talk to him again,” John said.

“Background check on those who dated Michelle and four of them have a record, two of them are in jail right now. Andrew Earnest, incarcerated for a recent DUI in 2008, also a robbery conviction in ’87, and an assault in 1990. Randall Flores was convicted of murder in 1990. Edward Gore had been in and out of prison since he was 15 and was incarcerated when Nick and Michelle dated, still there when she died but has been clean since 2000. Dan Brady, jailed for tampering with his ex-wife’s car back in 1990, where his ex-wife was driving and had an accident. Turns out the car had a tampered brake line and Rhonda wrote his name down but he was never interviewed. Grant Thoms was killed in a hunting accident in 1997.” Lilly said while she gave them the files.

“Dan Brady, Joe Mainsheim, Chelsea Hildenbrand, Joe Cuomo, Bethany Donnelly, Andrew Earnest, Brandon Langston, Marsha Peavy, Margaret Johns, Gwendolyn Williams, and Candice Brandenburg were not available for the interview. Detective Black was told by the parents if he came back, they would call their lawyers,” Kat said, holding a piece of paper that had the names of those who refused to interview.

“Interesting,” John said.

“Guess we’ll have a chat with Andrew,” Scotty said.

“Well, I will be out of the office most of the day since I have something to take care of,” John said as he went into his office and got his trench coat.

“Okay, Boss,” Kat said as John left the room.

Diane Yates was an FBI agent on bereavement leave since her mother had fallen very ill, though later she was suspended due to tricking John’s squad to falsely peruse a sniper. John had visited Diane in the hospital so she could have a shoulder to cry on when her mother died, and he had left work to attend her mother’s funeral with her.

While Lilly and Will went to talk to Randall, Scotty and Kat went to talk to Henry Cunningham, who was at the councilman’s office.

“Hello, how may I help you?” a woman at the desk asked.

“We’d like to speak to Henry Cunningham,” Scotty said as he and Kat held out their badges.

[stillmanfan]

A few minutes later, Henry came out and they spoke in a conference room; he sat across from Scotty and Kat.

“How can I help you?” Henry asked. Henry was tall, had short black hair and no longer needed glasses.

“We have reopened the case of your sister’s car accident,” Kat said.

“You are? Is Detective Black doing the case?” Henry asked confused and troubled.

“Yes, we are looking into it. No, Detective Black retired a few years ago, so he will not be near this case. We got some new information,” Scotty said.

“Glad Detective Black isn’t doing the case; he was a jerk, to put it mildly. What do you want to know?” Henry said then asked.

“We understand you didn’t like some of Michelle’s boyfriends at the time,” Scotty said.

“No. I liked Andrew Earnest for her because he was such a cool guy and when she dumped him for Nick Vera, I was upset. After she died, I found out some things about two of her boyfriends I didn’t really know and it seemed Nick was the only one who was nice to her.”

“What did you find out?” Kat asked.

“I was at a party a few weeks after she died, I overheard some guys, Grant Thoms and Andrew Earnest, talking in an adjacent room.”

[Flashback]
March 8, 1986

A young Andrew Earnest had very short brown hair, slender build, and was medium height. He was drinking while talking to Grant Thoms who was black, with an afro and was of medium build.

“Hey Grant, did you hear about Nick?” Andrew asked.

“No, what?”

“Joe Mainsheim told me that Nick killed her in a rage and caused her to crash. I should have been dating Michelle, not Nick. Michelle was one special lady,” Andrew said

“Well maybe it was really Joe. I heard that Joe Mainsheim went out with Michelle, too, and I went out with her a couple of times as well.”

“You and Joe went out with her? Nick never knew we’d hooked back up. I had sex with her a few weeks before she died and since Nick is said to have killed her, they have to believe the baby is his,” Andrew sneered.

“How are they going to think the baby is his? And isn’t Henry your friend?”

“Henry thinks I’m perfect and let me tell you something, I did a lot of things to Michelle that he will never find out about,” Andrew said.

“You better hope he never finds out.”

“Just watch, the cops haven’t talked to me yet but I’m gonna steer them in Nick’s direction and we shall see Nick confess,” Andrew said with a devious laugh.

“But, I thought she was killed in a car crash.”

“Of course she was killed in the car crash,” Andrew said.

“Well, how did it happen?”

Andrew laughed, “Nick made her swerve by turning the steering wheel and covering her eyes, then when she wasn’t looking, she hit a tree. But I do know that Michelle didn’t stay faithful to Nick. She hooked up with several of her ex-boyfriends while she was dating Nick,” Andrew said.

“Does Nick know that she went out with other guys?”

“Stupid fool just doesn’t believe it, but he knows and I bet he knows about the engagement ring and locket she wore the day she died,” Andrew said.

“Who proposed to her?”

“I actually did, but I guess Nick did too,” Andrew said in laughter.

They both laughed.

[End Flashback]

“So that’s when I realized that Nick was getting railroaded,” Henry said.

“Did you tell Detective Black?” Kat asked.

“Yeah, I did but he was so sure it was Nick.”

“Did you ever find out who the father was?” Scotty asked.

“No, I didn’t know for sure other than hearing what Andrew said. But then, he was sounding like smartass.”

“Thank you for your time,” Kat said as she and Scotty got up.

“Anytime. Let me know if you need anything,” Henry said as they walked out of the conference room.

“If you think of anything, give us a call,” Scotty said as he gave Henry his card.

“Thanks again.”

After Kat and Scotty left the councilman’s office, they chatted in the car.

“Sounds like someone didn’t tell me everything. I did have the sense Detective Black really had it out for Nick and only cared about Nick,” Kat said.

“I don’t think I saw the report about that incident Henry told us or the engagement ring. Let’s have Lilly and Will meet us at the car storage area.”

Lilly and Will finished their interview with Randall, who didn’t give them much information. The four detectives briefed each other about their interviews, then looked at Michelle’s car. Since the case was re-opened the car was retested for fingerprints and fibers that were still being processed in the lab.

“Well, the front of the car is smashed,” Scotty said.

“I’m just not sure the person in the car would have been killed. The crime scene photos do show she was wearing her seat belt but she was going at more than 35 miles per hour and there was no precipitation either,” Will replied.

“I would think she would have survived that accident,” Kat said.

“That’s what I’m thinking too. And fingerprints were taken just on the doors of the car. The seats and belt buckles have been tested for fingerprints for the first time. It wasn’t done back then.” Lilly said then continued, “David?”

“Yes?” David, the CSU tech asked as he walked up to Lilly.

“Is there a report on the testing of the car after the accident?”

“Yes. In fact after the prints were taken, I finally found this file that showed the car was tested for any problems in ’86.”

“That would explain why there was no record of the car being tested for any problems in the box,” Scotty said.

“No mechanical problems or any seatbelt issues either, the brake line looks to have been poked by a small cylindrical object, perhaps a nail on all four tires,” David said, as Lilly’s cell phone rang and she picked it up.

“Yeah? Okay, we’ll be there.”

“What’s up?” Scotty asked a bit nervous.

[stillmanfan]

After the gang arrived, they saw Nick grumble past them as John walked up.

“What’s with Nick?” Scotty asked.

“He’s upset that the case has to be re-opened and wishes the person who accuses him of killing her would just face him.”

“Yeah, poor guy,” Lilly said solemnly.

“Mistina Hart is in the conference room since she got one of your cards on her door.”

“Thanks, Boss,” Lilly said.

Once Lilly and Kat walked in, they introduced themselves. Lilly leaned against the table and Kat stood beside her while they began the questioning. Mistina sat in a chair facing the detectives. She had aged since high school, but retained her shoulder length blonde hair. She was still slender built, and wore glasses.

“How well did you know Michelle Cunningham?” Lilly asked.

“Not well, but we did interact, I wasn’t very nice to her at all.”

“We heard you lost out to her in the 1986 ‘Ice Queen’ competition,” Kat said.

“Yeah. My reaction was terrible and now that I look back on it, I realize that I shouldn’t have treated her like that.”

“Did you do anything to get back at her?” Lilly asked.

“Yeah, but I’m not proud of what I did and I’m afraid I might get charged for it.”

“Well, what did you do?” Kat said.

“I didn’t kill her but I almost made her get into a wreck, and she had a passenger with her, too. I don’t know if that person said anything.

“It’s likely the statue of limitations has run out on whatever you did, anyway,” Kat said.

“A week after the dance, I drove erratically and tried to cause her to get into an accident by making an unsafe lane change on the freeway,” Mistina said sadly.

“But she didn’t crash?” Kat said.

“No, but I’m glad she didn’t cause we made amends a week before she died.”

“You did? Where?” Lilly said.

[Flashback]
February 8, 1986 at Michelle’s house.

Michelle made herself a snack when she was interrupted by the doorbell; she went to get it and was surprised to see Mistina at the door.

“Hi,” Mistina said sorrowfully.

“Hi. What are you doing here?” Michelle asked in surprise.

“Can we talk?”

“Sure. Come on in,” Michelle said happily even though she noticed Mistina wasn’t happy.

Mistina sat on the couch in front of the window while Michelle sat on the love seat near an end table.

“How are you doing?” Mistina asked.

“Good. Can’t wait till I graduate and go off to college,” Michelle said.

“Next year I graduate, can’t wait. Have you decided where you go to college or what you will major in?” Mistina asked nervously.

“I’m staying in Philadelphia but haven’t made up my mind about what college but I want to be a firefighter,” Michelle said.

“How exciting! It would be nice to let the guys know we can do what they can do.”

“That’s so true,” Michelle said as she noticed Mistina was a bit anxious then continued. “What are you majoring in?”

“I want to be a dentist assistant.”

“Good luck.”

“Thanks, you too,” Mistina said.

“So what brings you here?” she said as she smiled.

“Well, I’m sorry for the way I acted towards you after you won ‘Ice Queen’. I shouldn’t have acted that way. I’m also sorry for trying to run you off the road, too,” Mistina said anxiously as she didn’t know how Michelle would react.

“Apology accepted,” Michelle said.

“Thanks.”

“I do wish you luck for next year and just don’t party too hard,” Michelle said as they both got up and walked to the door.

“I wish you the best of luck as well,” Mistina said.

“Thanks,” Michelle said then they said their goodbyes.
[End Flashback]

Mistina had told them she and her parents were visiting relatives in Lancaster the night Michelle was killed, which was later confirmed. Mistina left after a few minutes of chatting with the detectives then the detectives went to the table to talk about the case. They found out Randall suggested a friend of Michelle’s, Joe Mainsheim, who Randall stated was in love with her.

At the Mainsheim home

After John and Scotty introduced themselves, they were let in and sat on the couch as Joe came from downstairs and he sat next to Chelsea. Chelsea once had long strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, and was medium built, but now her hair was short and she was a little chubby. Joe in high school had a perm, brown eyes, and was very skinny, but now he, too, had put on weight, and had short curly brown hair.

“We are here about Michelle Cunningham who was killed in a car crash in 1986,” Scotty said.

“Oh well you see, we don’t know her and I thought I heard it was just an accident,” Chelsea said.

“It was made to look like an accident,” John said.

“Sorry we can’t help you, we don’t know and never met her,” Chelsea said as Scotty made notes and she looked at Joe.

“Well, we have been told differently and have evidence that you and your husband knew Michelle,” John said as he showed them a few pictures.

“Did you know Michelle?” Scotty asked as he looked at Joe.

“No, I didn’t,” Joe said.

“You didn’t? Not what we heard,” John said.

“Well, you heard wrong,” Chelsea said defensively then continued. “So did Mistina Hart, Joe Cuomo, and Bethany Donnelly. But you need to look at Nick Vera, he’s the one who did it,” Chelsea said as Joe looked at her and held her hand.

“So, is there anything else you’d like to ask?” Joe asked as he and Chelsea stood up annoyed.

Scotty opened his mouth and closed it when John spoke, “No. Thank you for your time.” The detectives left for their car and drove away.

“Someone is lying,” Scotty said.

“I think so too. And notice, they mentioned Nick, I wonder how much Detective Black told them if anything about the case. Nick did tell us about Joe Cuomo and Bethany Donnelly.”

“Let’s see what Andrew Earnest has to say,” Scotty said.

[stillmanfan]

April 24th 9am at the prison where Andrew is—

Will and Lilly arrived in a conference room where Andrew Earnest sat with chains on his legs, but no chains on his wrists. Andrew had shoulder length brown hair, and was of average build. He was in the prison diversion program and was trying very hard to get sober.

“What brings you two here?” Andrew asked.

“Michelle Cunningham’s car crash,” Will said as he and Lilly sat across from Andrew.

“Can you answer this for me first?”

“What?” Lilly asked.

“Is Detective Black doing the case, too?”

“No, he has since retired. Can you help us?” Will asked.

“As long as that fool of a detective is not on the case, yeah. Accident happened a long time ago and I want to have my sentence reduced if I help you and why are you so interested in her crash, anyway?”

“We can tell the judge you have helped us provided what you say is true. I can’t promise what the judge will do. We’ve received new information on the case,” Lilly said.

“What do you want to know?”

“We understand you told a friend at a party that you know who killed Michelle and that you know how it happened,” Will said.

“Yeah, I was just bragging that I would tell the cops stuff that wasn’t true but never did talk to them because my parents told Detective Black to go see their lawyer,” he said remorsefully.

“Oh?” Lilly asked.

“Seems word got around that Nick was pretty much harassed and our parents were looking out for us.”

“Yeah, we did notice that. Is there anyone you can think of that might have wanted to hurt Michelle?”

“Joe Mainsheim is a friend of mine and I always thought he loved Michelle as he quietly dated her, but he had a girlfriend who was very controlling. After Joe went out with her a few times in the weeks before she died, he bragged that he loved her and wanted to dump Chelsea. When Michelle died he didn’t talk about her at all when he was around Chelsea but he really changed.”

“How did he change?” Will asked.

“Before Michelle died, Joe was a fun, outgoing, caring, very open guy, but after she died, he became very withdrawn, quiet, and it seemed he had something taken away from him that hurt him bad. Last time I saw him which was a few years ago, he was still sad and told me he still goes to her grave on her birthday and said another guy goes there too. My opinion, I think maybe he was talked into killing her or his girlfriend, Chelsea, did it.”

“Who was this girlfriend?” Lilly asked.

“He married her, Chelsea Hildebrand.”

“Interesting ‘cause he says he doesn’t know her at all and neither did Chelsea,” Will said.

“Did you talk to them together? He won’t admit to knowing her, with his wife in the room, but I don’t know if he would admit it if she wasn’t in the room. Nick Vera and I do have a few friends who still talk to Joe and he says that Joe still talks about Michelle when he’s away from his wife.”

“What are their names?” Lilly asked as she gave him a pad and pen.

“Joe Cuomo, Robert Engstrom, Marsha Reynolds, Gwendolyn Sparks, and Dan Brady. Marsha and Gwen are both married, Marsha used to be Peavy and Gwen used to be Williams. But make sure you tell them Detective Black isn’t doing the case and they might talk. I know some friends who did speak to police back then and realized Nick was the main target and made some calls to other friends who decided not to talk.”

“Okay, we’ll check it out,” Will said.

“Did you find the ring I gave her?” Andrew asked.

“No. What did it look like?” Lily asked.

“It was a red ruby with a blue diamond in the middle, the ring itself was yellow gold, and on the back had her initials.”

“She never gave it back to you?” Will asked suspiciously.

“No,” he said sadly.

“We’ll get back to you,” Lilly said then they both got back to the squad room.

Back at the squad room-

After they got back, they noticed Nick at his desk working on a different case, so they went in a conference room to talk about the current case. John was in his office and after a few minutes they left the room. Kat and Scotty approached Nick while Lilly and Will went to do more interviews, and John stayed in his office.

“Nick?” Scotty called out to him.

“Yeah?”

“Do you know Chelsea Hildebrand?” Kat asked.

“Yeah. She’s someone you don’t want to mess with since I’ve heard a lot of things about her. I don’t know what is true.”

“What kind of things?” Scotty asked. He pulled Will’s chair and put it near Nick’s desk as Kat sat on the side of Will’s desk, facing Nick.

“I know she is very controlling, has a temper, and is selfish, but I don’t know all the details about the fights she got into in school, and I’m not sure how they really started. I’ve heard she beat a student to death in junior high even though no one was willing to talk. Another time she got into a fight in her sophomore year. Her fighting got worse after that, but never got expelled. I also heard she has foster parents who beat on her and she came to school with bruises a few times. It seems her brother had disappeared completely.”

“Did you hear any rumors after the two fights?” Scotty asked.

“The first fight, the student was taken off life support where she’d been after the beating. It happened because the poor student called Chelsea’s mom names as well as talked down to Chelsea. The other incident happened because she cut in front of Chelsea in the lunch line so they kicked her butt. Chelsea lost the fight but after that, she got revenge on that student.”

“What happened to that student?” Scotty asked.

“Nothing has pointed her to killing that student herself, but the student was beaten to death and the perpetrators were caught. They knew who Chelsea was.”

“How about Joe Cuomo?” Kat asked.

“One hell of a friend and I still talk to him. He noticed Joe Mainsheim’s change in behavior after Michelle’s death. Cuomo feels Chelsea isn’t right for Joe, but there’s some reason they’re together, it’s weird.”

Scotty and Kat asked Nick about a few more people then went back to work on the case.

1:30 pm—

Nick went to see his girlfriend, Megan, at her home for lunch. He took the unmarked car to her house and they talked while they ate.

“So we went to court the other day and looks like the judge will fast track the divorce and it will be approved in 6 months and I will be an official divorced woman!!” she said, taking a bite of her sandwich.

“Good,” Nick said happily as they both gave each other a kiss.

“So Nicky, how are you doing?”

“Great. But it seems that someone still thinks I killed Michelle Cunningham and sent me a letter pretty much asking me to confess.”

“Did you tell your partners?” Megan asked worried.

“Yes, I did. They are working on the case now but I gotta tell you, I’m just dying to ask them about any leads and look at the evidence. I know they won’t tell me anything since I am a witness in the case.”

“You can’t?”

“I could but, it wouldn’t be right. If they find out who caused Michelle to have that accident, I can’t wait to just shove it up Detective Black’s ass. He was such a jerk to me and there were things I wish I hadn’t told him but I did.”

After they cleaned up the kitchen, they decided to go into Megan’s room and lie on the covers of the bed and talk some more. Twenty minutes later, they had fallen asleep but were awakened by the doorbell ringing. Megan looked out the window and saw Will was at the door. Nick tucked in his shirt and fixed his tie quickly. Megan went to the door and let Will in.

“Hi,” she said to him.

“Hi. I would like to ask you about Michelle Cunningham,” Will said as he noticed Nick walking into the living room; he looked like he had woken up but he looked presentable. Will continued, “Nick, I’ll see you in the squad room.”

“What? I wasn’t doing anything!!”

“Get out of here,” Will said as Nick left through the front door and drove away.

A few hours later back in the squad room--

Nick and Will chatted in the conference room about what he was doing, then Will left to go home, while Nick went to get his mail then sat at his desk. Kat was in the squad room looking up witnesses for the Cunningham case on the computer. Scotty and Lilly went home for the day, and John was in his office. Nick saw an envelope in his mail that he recognized from before, then opened it.

“Crap. Another one,” Nick said then continued, “What the hell?”

Kat looked up, turned her chair and dragged it over to Nick as she asked, “What’s wrong?”

[stillmanfan]

“Got another phantom letter writer again,” Nick snarled. Kat filled out another report and got an evidence bag for it, Nick continued. “Hey, there’s a ring in here, but no locket.”

“Well, we’ll check the ring for prints. What does the letter say?”

“I assumed she took off the ring and locket but never got the chance to give them back to me or Andrew,” Nick said then read the letter out aloud as John walked out of his office. He heard what Nick was reading.

‘Nick, the deadline has passed. This is the ring Andrew gave her. I know your license plate and what your car looks like and you should not go around telling the cops about this and giving them pictures. You idiot.”

“Damn it!! Have you been showing pictures to everyone?!!” Nick angrily asked.

“You know we can’t disclose the information we get.”

“Shut up, Kat!!” Nick said in anger as he got up and rubbed his hair in worry.

“Let’s talk to Rhonda and Henry again. Nick, we will find out who wrote these letters, and who killed Michelle,” John said in a calm voice then he left for home.

“I’m sorry, Kat,” Nick said.

“It’s okay, Nick,” Kat said as she took the evidence to have it processed then she and Nick went to their homes for the night.

At Rhonda’s house May 2nd—

John and Kat arrived with a search warrant; they were let in by Rhonda after they introduced themselves with the CSU unit.

“I’m sorry for intruding like this but we have a search warrant to get some evidence concerning her death,” Kat said.

“Oh, sure, go ahead but I do need to get the key for her room.”

“Okay,” John said with a confused look. She came back and led them to Michelle’s room.

“I always kept it locked in case some friends’ kids or their grandkids or my grandkids when they were growing up went in there,” she said as John asked for the key to unlock it. Kat and the CSU team went in and John guided her in to the living room and sat on the couch.

“Did anyone talk to you about this case?”

“Detective Black called and left a message after your detectives left saying that he thought there would be enough evidence to get Nick for the car accident. And my son, Henry, told me the case was being re-opened and that hopefully whoever caused her death would be brought to justice,” Rhonda said

After twenty minutes the CSU unit finished the room then Kat walked into the living room.

“We got everything we need,” Kat said as the CSU team left the house to process the evidence and Kat sat next to John.

“Is Nick working on this case?” Rhonda asked.

“No, he is not doing this case at all and is not privy to evidence we have,” John said.

“Did Detective Black mention Nick’s name when he questioned those who knew Michelle?” Kat asked.

“Yes. It was like, did Nick do this or do that; he was obsessed with Nick. I just hope you guys aren’t bugging him, either.”

“No, we aren’t bugging Nick and he has been helpful in this investigation. Do you know where the ring and locket are?” Kat asked.

“No. I assumed she gave it back to them.”

“Thank you for your time,” John said as they got up and walked towards the door.

“Let me know if you need anything.”

A few minutes later John and Kat got into the car and drove back to the squad room as Kat called Will to give some updates before he and Lilly went to talk to Henry.

“Boss, I can see how Nick was the main suspect but that Detective Black never mentioned blunt force trauma to her head, only that she died as a result of the accident. I really don’t know how this case will survive a trial or even go to trial.”

“I know. Nick’s been more forthcoming than Jerry Black has. After we get back to the squad room, I’m going to check the IAB reports and other police personnel files of Jerry and see what we got.”

Meanwhile at a gas station—

“I don’t believe this!! I filled this tank up two days ago,” Nick said angrily as he got out of the car and pumped the gas in the car.

After he finished and paid, he got back in the car, and went to the grocery store to buy some food. After he got in his car, he noticed his gas gauge was a little less than full.

“What the hell? I haven’t even driven that far!! And this has been happening the last few weeks,” Nick angrily said then he drove home.

At Henry’s house on May 7th—

Henry opened the door, Lilly and Will introduced themselves, and he let them in. They sat on the couch as Henry on the chair.

“Detective Jefferies, you look familiar to me because I seem to remember a guy of your stature walking out of the police department with Nick many years ago.”

“Yep, I was. I remembered the incident when I heard your name mentioned and saw your picture in the files,” Will said then continued, “If you don’t mind, what were you guys talking about?”

“He didn’t tell you?”

“Nope. There was something bothering him but he wouldn’t tell,” Will said.

“What happened?” Lilly asked.

“Well, you see…” Henry started.

[stillmanfan]

[Flashback]
June 22nd 1996 at the reunion for Immaculata High School class of ’86.

An hour after the guests arrived at the reunion, Nick and his wife, Julie, ran into Felix Jackson, his wife Brenda, and Joe and Chelsea Mainsheim.

“Well, well, well, look who’s here.” Chelsea slightly slurred her speech.

“Yeah, nice to see you all,” Nick said nicely even though he had a feeling that they were not happy he was there.

“So, who is your girl?” Chelsea sneered.

“Julie, we’ve been married for 2 years.”

“I guess Megan wasn’t good enough for you, huh?” Chelsea said.

“She found someone else and I hope she is happy.” Nick said nervously as he got the sense they didn’t like him.

“Shouldn’t even be here, murderer,” Felix said as Chelsea laughed a bit. Brenda and Joe looked nervous and embarrassed.

“I loved Michelle and I never hurt her,” he defended himself as he felt angry but didn’t show it.

“Hey everyone, look who’s here!! The man who murdered Michelle Cunningham!!” Felix said as everyone looked at them.

“Riiiiight. We know what you did to her car and boy, you sure did a number on it,” Chelsea said.

“I did nothing to her car.”

“Hey Felix! Hey Chelsea! I’m a lawyer and let me tell you, you have to have actual evidence to be charged, let alone go to trial, not a bunch of hot air,” a man said then everyone roared in laughter.

“Felix!!” Brenda said angrily then continued, “I came here to have a good time, not act like idiots, like you are doing. Stop now or we are leaving, got it?” she pulled his ear and it made him grimace.

“Okay. I’ll leave him alone tonight,” Felix said.

“No!! You will just leave him alone, PERIOD!!”

“Oooo!! Hey Felix, you better watch it or you will be on the couch tonight!” another man yelled and everyone laughed.

Felix and Brenda left for another part of the room and they left Nick alone for the rest of the night.

“Hey b*tch!! Why the hell are you talking to Joe?” Chelsea yelled at a woman who was just talking with Joe.

“Come on, let’s dance,” Joe said then when he danced, he mouthed to the woman he was sorry and she nodded.

[End Flashback]

“I just told him that I heard about the reunion, that my mom and I didn’t think he caused any harm to Michelle, and that I wished there was a way to find out who killed her. When we do invite Nick, we make sure to invite those who don’t mind having Nick there so he and we could have a good time.”

They both talked for a few minutes then Will and Lilly left for the squad room.

“That would explain Nick not wanting to talk about the night of the reunion awhile back,” Will said as he drove and Lilly sat on the passenger side.

“Yeah. We need to talk to Chelsea and Joe separately in the interrogation room.”

“No, let’s talk to other friends first, Bethany Donnelly and Joe Cuomo.”

May 7th, 2010—

Lilly, Kat, Scotty, and Will talked to John in his office with the door closed since Nick was in the squad room.

“Well, I got the IAB and police reports concerning Jerry Black and it seems he has been a harsh cop and had 20 complaints filed against him by suspects or witnesses. He has even botched several cases where the DA has been unable to press charges due to his breaking protocol and revealing too much information to witnesses.”

“Wow,” Lilly said.

“The results of the first letter came and no finger prints and it seems they used water to seal it. I’m not expecting any prints for the second letter to Nick and it appears the ring was wiped clean and the inscription is still there. Also for the retesting of the car, just Nick’s, Andrew’s and Michelle’s inside the car but there are a few fingerprints on the brake lines,” John said.

“Do we know who the prints belong to?” Kat said.

“Not yet,” John said as he and Kat noticed Nick seemed upset on the phone.

“Let’s do some more interviews then,” John said as they left his office. Kat walked up to Nick after he got off the phone.

May 10th, at the lawyer’s office--

Bethany Donnelly worked as a receptionist at a lawyer’s office and she noticed the two detectives walk in.

“Hello. How can I help you today?” Bethany asked with a smile. She had short blonde hair and was a little overweight.

“I’m Lieutenant Stillman and this is Detective Jefferies. We are re-investigating the Michelle Cunningham case.”

“I heard that Detective Black has retired and hopefully this case can finally be solved. What do you need to know?”

How well did you know Michelle?” John asked.

“Pretty well. I feel like she was like a good sister to me.”

“Do you know who may have wanted to hurt her?” Will asked.

“Probably a few guys who didn’t want her dating Nick or wanted to hurt Nick. Maybe Chelsea Hildebrand who is now Mainsheim.”

“What did you hear about Chelsea?” John asked intrigued.

“That she has gotten into fights, beat up a student in junior high who had to be on life support and then died, she even snapped at a woman for talking to Joe at the reunion.”

“Do you recognize this ring?” John asked as he showed her the ring in a bag.

“I do actually. Andrew Earnest gave her that ring. I’m not positive about this but I remember Chelsea wearing that kind of ring after Michelle died, but maybe it’s just a coincidence.”

“Thank you,” Will said as he turned and saw a man walk in. John turned towards the door and recognized the man as John watched him walk towards Bethany. The man looked at John then John turned his head then left.

The man then walked into the lawyer’s office. The lawyer stood to shake the man’s hand, then they both sat down on opposite sides of the desk.

“So, how can I help you?”

“Well, you see I’ve been sending threatening letters to a cop. I was involved in a crime years ago and they have re-opened an investigation on an old case.” the man said apprehensively. He was clearly scared.

[stillmanfan]

May 12th, 2010 9am—

Kat and Scotty were out doing an interview, Lilly was at her desk, Will was out of the room, and John was in his office. Nick walked in, put his gun in his locker, and slammed it which caused everyone to look his way and notice Nick was in a bad mood. He walked away from his locker after locking it, stopped, and sighed as he saw John in his office with the door open.

"I guess I better get this over with."

Nick walked over to John's office; he knocked and John allowed him in.

"What's going on Nick?" John asked as Nick sat on the chair in front of the desk.

Nick sighed, "Well Boss, um…"

"Is someone involved in the case harassing you all of a sudden?" John said as he took off his glasses and looked at Nick with concern.

Nick looked up and wondered why John was asking if he was being harassed all of a sudden.

"No, Boss. But I think someone concerning the case did something to my car."

John stood up as he shouted concerned, "What? What happened?"

"I think my gas line has been cut."

"When did that happen?" John asked.

"I think a few weeks ago, maybe after I got the second letter but I didn't put 2 and 2 together till just now. I had to fill up the tank again, the second time in 4 days."

John had the CSU unit take Nick's car for a check up and to check for any fingerprints as well as check the whole car for any other tampering.

Meanwhile at Joe Cuomo's house—

Joe Cuomo had short curly black hair, blue eyes, and was a little skinny. He walked to the door.

"Hi. Come on in," he said happily then Kat and Scotty introduced themselves and flashed their badges.

"Happy to see us?" Kat asked.

"When Henry called to tell me that Michelle's death was being re-investigated and that Detective Black was not on the force anymore, I was really happy. I just want to know who caused her to die because I know that Nick really cared for her even though there were other guys who liked her, too. What do you want to know?" he said then asked as they sat at the kitchen table.

"How well did you know Michelle?" Kat asked as she started writing notes.

"I knew her pretty well and saw her have fun at parties with Nick and he had fun, too."

"Do you know anyone who hated Michelle?" Scotty asked.

"Probably the guys who didn't like her dating Nick, I know Mistina Hart was really upset about losing out to 'Ice Queen', and for some reason Chelsea Hildebrand."

"Why do you say Chelsea?" Kat asked.

"She seemed to be controlling. Before Michelle died, some of the girls would talk to Joe in a chatty manner, not flirtatious or anything, and Chelsea would get upset over that. Even after Michelle died, she got more controlling of Joe and Joe even changed."

"How did Joe change?" Scotty asked.

"He used to be a really happy, outgoing, caring, and compassionate guy before Michelle died. He even talked about going out with her which he did for several months till she died. After she died, he was quiet, shy, stopped caring about things, and talked about Michelle a lot. He even went to her grave site every year on her birthday and put flowers."

"Did you know she was going out with other guys?" Kat asked.

"Yeah."

"When did you find out?" Scotty asked.

"Two months before she died."

"Did you tell Nick?" Kat asked. Joe laughed then asked, "Did I tell Nick?"

[Flashback as the Love on the Rocks play—Neil Diamond]

December 1985-

Joe had shoulder length wavy black hair and was skinny. He knocked on Nick's door. Nick answered the door.

[Love on the rocks

Ain't no big surprise

Pour me a drink

And I'll tell you some lies]

"Hey Nick. How are things going with you?" Joe sat on the couch.

[Got nothin' to lose

So you'll just sing the blues all the time]

"Good! I just came home from seeing Michelle and we are going to a dance tonight," Nick said happily.

[Gave you my heart

Gave you my soul

You left me alone here

With nothing to hold

Yesterday's gone]

"Glad things are going well."

[Now all I want is a smile]

"What's wrong?" Nick asked as he sat on the chair and noticed his friend seemed down.

"Well, I saw Michelle with Andrew Earnest yesterday at the track meet and they were kissing," he told his friend then continued, "A few days ago, I saw them holding hands in the sandwich shop."

[First, they say they want you

How they really need you

Suddenly you find you're out there

Walking in a storm]

"What? Are you kidding? She would never do that to me! You are just jealous," Nick said as he got up from his chair.

"No I'm not and I don't want to see you get hurt."

[When they know they have you

Then, they really have you]

Nick walked over to the door, "Get out of my house!"

"Come on man, I am just looking out for you."

"Shut up!" Nick said angrily as Joe left the house and Nick closed the door and closed his eyes.

[Nothing you can do or say

You've got to leave, just get away.]

[End song]

[End Flashback]

"And you guys are still friends after that?" Scotty asked.

"Nick saw for himself when he saw her with another guy. He asked her about it and she told him that she had been seeing other guys."

"So did Nick ever apologize? When he talked about you, there were no suggestions of anger and he never mentioned this," Kat asked then said.

"Yeah, he apologized and I forgave him a few weeks later."

"Do you know where Nick was, the night she died?" Scotty asked.

"I had some friends over with Nick and we were trying to help him get over the fact he was dumped. We watched TV."

They talked a few more minutes then went back to the squad room.

Back at the squad room 12:00pm—

Nick was out doing another case, Scotty went to talk to Andrew Earnest while Will, Lilly, Kat, and John made decisions about the current case.

"It appears our letter writer has struck Nick's car since his fuel line was tampered with and there are prints on the gas line that are being processed," John said.

"That might explain Nick's behavior the last few weeks," Kat said concerned.

"Fuel line? I thought the letter said he would suffer the same fate as Michelle?" Lilly asked confused.

"Yes, they did," John said then continued, "so either it's the same person or they didn't want to kill him. We should have the fingerprints back pretty soon."

"I've been looking at the pictures Nick gave us and I see Michelle wearing a ring and a locket. The recent pictures necessarily are after Michelle died; I see several pictures of a different woman who is wearing the same kind of ring," Kat said.

"But she can easily say there are thousands of rings like that out there," John said then continued. "Got the paternity test results back and Andrew Earnest is the father," John said.

"He was pretty sure he would be the father," Lilly said then continued, "Let's go talk to Chelsea then."

"No," John said.

"Boss?" Lilly said as Kat and Will looked at him confused.

"When Will and I went to talk to Bethany, I saw Joe Mainsheim walk into his lawyer's office last week. I think we should wait till he comes in with his lawyer," John said. Twenty minutes later Scotty came back and confirmed the ring Andrew was shown was the one he gave to Michelle.

Squad room 2pm—

John got a call then walked up to Nick.

"Doing any interviews today, Nick?" John asked as he looked at Nick.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, we want to interview a few persons of interest in the case, I'd rather you not be here. Since you got a new fuel line, how is your car running so far?" John said then asked.

"Oh sure, Boss. The car is running great and I notice the fuel gauge needle hasn't moved." Nick said then got some files and continued, "Call me when you are done? Or can I call you if I need anything?"

"Sure," John said. Nick left with the case files and did interviews.

Joe Mainsheim and his lawyer, Victor Greene, walked in the squad room, talked to John, then a few minutes later they went into the interrogation room. Scotty watched in the observation room while John and Lilly talked to Joe and Victor. Will and Kat went to the Mainsheim home to execute a search warrant while Chelsea was at work using the key Joe had given them.

"My client is willing to admit to writing the letters and he called someone to tamper with a cop's fuel line, and wants to make a deal," Victor said.

"What kind of a deal?" Lilly asked.

[stillmanfan]

“My client asks to not be charged for threatening a police officer. He does not want to be charged in the death of Michelle Cunningham in return for information on Michelle’s accident and where you can find the locket Detective Vera gave her and other information that was not known at the time of her death.”

“Not charge your client for trying to kill Detective Vera?” Lilly asked annoyed then continued. “Are you serious?”

“My client has some information concerning Detective Vera and his car but he is bound by marital privilege. You should talk to Dan Brady, he is the one who tampered with Detective Vera’s car but it was not to kill him,” the lawyer told them.

“We can tell the DA your client has been very helpful but I can’t promise you that they won’t charge him for what happened to Michelle that night,” John said

Joe looked at Victor, who nodded.

“What I said in the first letter is this: I know you did it. You know what I am talking about. You have 48 hours to confess. If you do not confess, you will have the same fate as Michelle Cunningham did,” he said then continued, “With the second letter, I sent a ring she used to wear that Andrew Earnest gave her. It was a red ruby with a blue diamond in the middle and the ring itself was yellow gold.

“There are lots of rings that are red with a blue diamond in the middle,” Lilly said.

“But there is an inscription on the back of the ring, MC.”

“How about the second letter?” John asked.

“I wrote that the deadline has passed, I know your license plate and what your car looks like. She was scared and cried for you and you know that because you were there.”

“But he wasn’t there, was he?” Lilly asked as she sat down.

“No.”

“Where is the locket?” John asked.

“It’s in a small box, in the dresser drawer on the right side in the master bedroom and with an extra car key I made for Chelsea from an impression of Michelle’s key.”

At the Mainsheim home--

[Kat found the box, opened it, and saw the locket as Will looked at her. The locket was put back in the box and bagged for evidence. The key was also found next to the box and bagged for evidence.]

In the interview room—

“Anything else?” John asked.

“Also, in the closet on the shelf is a shoe box, there should be a gun that was used to make her give up the ring and locket.”

At the Mainsheim home—

[After Will got the call from Scotty about the gun, Will looked on the closet shelf and saw a shoebox. He opened it and used a cloth to pick up the gun and take it out then put it in evidence as well as the shoebox.]

Into the interview room—

“Then what?” Lilly asked.

“I had Michelle meet me at a café’ on Germantown Avenue as Chelsea hid in the backseat of my car while Michelle and I went inside for a soda. Since Chelsea had the extra key, she got in Michelle’s car and hid in the back seat. Michelle and I came out, we went in our own cars and left.”

“So, she was okay with you going to meet Michelle at a café’?” John asked suspiciously.

“Yes. When we left the parking lot, I told her I wanted her to follow me and she did. I was in front of Michelle and I stopped the car in front of her on West Evergreen Avenue and got out to make her stop in an area that was dark then she stopped. Chelsea surprised Michelle by putting the gun on her and made her give up the locket and ring.”

“So, what did you do?” Lilly asked.

“Nothin’. Got back in my car once Chelsea got the ring and locket. She stayed in the back seat and made Michelle drive. I left the street but stayed nearby,” he said as tears started to well up.

“Okay,” Lilly said as a knock on the door was heard. Scotty opened the door so Lilly and John left the room and Scotty closed the door.

“Can we go pick up Chelsea now?” Lilly asked.

“No. We got us a situation, Kat got an arrest warrant for Dan Brady since his fingerprints were on the fuel pump on Nick’s car and he has himself holed up with a gun and wants to talk to Nick.”

“Have you called Nick?”

“No, but I’m not sure we should Boss. I mean what if it’s a trap?” Scotty asked as Lilly nodded.

“Call Nick. Tell him to get to Mr. Brady’s house,” John said as he and Lilly left the squad room to Dan’s house and Scotty made a phone call.

Ten minutes later at Dan’s house—

Nick arrived to see Kat behind a squad car with Otis Chapman, who was the SWAT captain, who noticed Nick walk up.

“I’m Detective Vera,” Nick said as he and Otis shook hands then Kat nodded at him and he nodded back at her.

“Put this bulletproof vest on, go inside and talk to him.”

“Okay.” Nick slowly walked up to the door then continued, “Dan, I’m outside and I am not holding any weapons!”

“Hi Nick,” Dan said as he opened the door ajar and saw Nick with his hands up.

“Can I come in?” Nick asked then Dan let him in.

“Hi,” Dan said as he held the gun to Nick then they walked over to the living room.

“What do you want to talk about?” Nick asked as Dan lowered the gun and put it at his side. Outside the home, John arrived and wasn’t happy to hear Nick had gone in.

“Michelle. Why are those cops looking into it now? I mean Detective Black said you were his main man and thought you did it. Is he still on the force?”

“The police have new information that I cannot disclose and Detective Black is not on the force anymore.”

“Let me tell you something, I never believed you did it even if that dumb detective had his sights on you.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate that.”

“Something else, too I was asked by Chelsea Mainsheim to cut your brake line.”

“What?!” Nick shouted as he stood up angrily.

“Yeah.”

“So did you do it?” Nick rubbed his hair as he walked around the living room, trying to cool off.

“No. Joe overheard what Chelsea told me over the phone then a day later he called me and told me to cut something else that wouldn’t kill you. Joe didn’t want you to die, but Chelsea did.”

“Son of a b*tch!”

“I cut your gas line.”

“YOU DID WHAT?”!! Nick shouted as he started to run towards Dan.

“I didn’t want to hurt you! Wait, stop!” Dan said worried as he started to run since Nick was chasing him.

A loud thud was heard.

[stillmanfan]

“Freeze! Police!!” a SWAT officer yelled as he and his comrades burst into the home since John decided to go in, after seeing Nick chase Dan.

“I want a lawyer,” Dan shouted.

“Nick! Stop!” John yelled as Nick stopped. Dan was being handcuffed.

“I want to talk to Chelsea!” Nick said angrily.

No. Nick, I can’t let you do that. You need to let us handle this,” John said then continued when he said something to another officer. “Take him to the northern division holding cell and let him call a lawyer.”

“Yes sir,” the officer said as they left.

“I want her, Boss,” Nick said angrily.

“Nick.” John gave Nick an angry stare. Nick calmed down.

After a few minutes, Nick and Kat went to the northern division to write out their reports while John went back to the squad to join Lilly. John wanted Kat to stay with Nick so he didn’t try to find Chelsea even though Chelsea was being interrogated by Lilly.

In the interrogation room--

Lilly walked in while Will and Scotty were in the observation room, watching.

“Hi. Got some information on your background. You have been in and out of foster homes, and you beat a student to death.”

“Why, does your life seem better?” Chelsea sneered.

“Because my father ran out on me when I was 6, my mom was an alcoholic who couldn’t stop drinking, and I went to school without money or breakfast. What happened with the student you beat to death?”

“You can’t ask me about the student because I was a juvenile.”

“There is no statue of limitations on murder. I can ask you whatever the hell I want,” Lilly snapped back.

“What the hell do you want?” Chelsea asked angrily.

“I want to know about Michelle Cunningham.”

“I don’t know who she is and your detectives already asked me and Joe that a few weeks ago,” Chelsea said annoyed. She was seated at the side of the table and Lilly was on the other side.

“Well, we’ve heard different and that you knew her. Also we have witnesses who say you accused Michelle’s ex-boyfriend of murder at the high school reunion,” Lilly said.

“I don’t know who Michelle is. Nick Vera is lying about that!” She shouted.

“I didn’t say the witness’ name other than it happened.”

John walked in the observation room.

“Have you seen this before?” Lilly put a picture on the table that showed the ring that was sent to Nick.

“No.”

“There are pictures of you wearing this ring after Michelle’s death.”

“So, there are many like those. You are wasting your time and you need to look at Nick Vera, he is the one who did it,” Chelsea sneered, stood up, and pointed to the door. She then sat back down.

“There is an inscription of MC on the ring. I bet we can check for your DNA on that ring.”

“Well, you are not getting it,” she said.

“We have the ring and we will get a court order.”

“Get a court order then,” she sneered.

“You took an auto shop class just 6 months before Michelle was killed. Three of her ex-boyfriends also took shop, but they had alibis. Nick had one, too even though he didn’t take an auto shop class.” she said then continued, “We got information you were upset Michelle was dating your boyfriend Joe, and that you told some friends you were going to get back at Michelle.”

“No!! Let me tell you something, Mistina Hart is the one who did it, she told me what she did.”

“Mistina Hart has an alibi, too. Did you write any letters to anyone involved in the case?”

“No, why would I do a dumb thing like that?”

“It says here your fingerprints were found on the gas line of Detective Nick Vera’s car.”

“What? That can’t be right!! I told Dan Brady to cut his brake lines, not his gas line since I wanted Nick Vera to die!! That dumbass!!” Suddenly Chelsea realized what she had done. “poo poo—“

In the observation room—

“Gotcha,” Scotty said with a smirk.

In the interview room—

“Oh, I’m sorry. I meant the brake lines of Michelle’s car since your fingerprints were all over it,” Lilly angrily said.

“Damn bastard!!” Chelsea said upset as she banged on the table.

“And you know what?” Lilly asked.

“What?” Chelsea said.

“We have a search warrant for your home and once we find the locket, we got you for murder.”

“I can’t take it anymore!!” she cried.

“Oh?”

“I made Joe come with me so I can put holes in her brake line while he was inside with Michelle at a café in Chestnut Hill. Since I made Joe give me the extra key that was made, I used it to get in her car and hide in the backseat. She never saw me till we were on W. Evergreen Avenue.”

“Then what?” Lilly asked as she wrote everything Chelsea said down.

[Flashback]

[A View To a Kill by Duran Duran on the James Bond soundtrack.

Meeting you, with a view to a kill,
Face to face, in secret places. Feel the chill.
Nightfall covers me,
But you know, the plans I'm making
Still over see.
Could it be the whole earth opening wide
A sacred why? A myst'ry gaping inside
The weekends; why? Until we

February 15, 1986—

Joe drove near the end of W. Evergreen Avenue as Chelsea hid behind the back seat in Michelle’s car. Michelle realized she was driving a bit fast then hit the brakes, but they quit working as she was heading for some trees and panicked.

Dance into the fire,
That fatal kiss is all we need.
Dance into the fire
To fatal sounds of broken dreams.
Dance into the fire;
That fatal kiss is all we need.
Dance into the fire.

“Oh no! I can’t stop! Nicky I need you! I can’t stop!” She cried.

The choice for you is the view to a kill.
Between the shades, assassination standing still.
The first crystal tears
Fall as snowflakes on your body,

As she got closer to the trees, she was still going too fast then the seatbelt was unbuckled.

First time in years,
To drench your skin with lover's rosy stain.
A chance to find a phoenix for the flame,
A chance to die, but can we


“What the hell!! Oh no!!”

Dance into the fire,
That fatal kiss is all we need.
Dance into the fire
To fatal sounds of broken dreams.

Chelsea undid the seatbelt as Michelle was about to hit the trees and the loud crash was heard. Chelsea carefully put the seatbelt back on, wacked her on the back of the head, very hard, carefully got out of the passenger side, looked around to see if anyone was coming, then ran off. She ran towards Joe who waited for her, then she got in Joe’s car and they drove off. Michelle had a bad cut on her head as she was bleeding and was very weak.

Dance into the fire;
That fatal kiss is all we need.
Dance into the fire,
When all we see is a view to a kill.

[End song]
[End Flashback]

Lilly stood up along with Chelsea while Scotty opened the door from the squad room. He watched Lilly put the cuffs on Chelsea then she was led away to a holding cell.

John called Nick on his cell phone.

“Nick, we got Chelsea for the murder and we found the locket you gave to Michelle.”

“You did, Boss?” Nick asked as he sat in his car as Kat patted his shoulder.

“Sure did, Nick.”

“Thanks, Boss,” Nick then hung up and took a few deep breaths as he wiped away tears that started to fall.


[I’ll Be Over You --sung by Toto]

Will and Scotty packed up the box, put the evidence they just collected inside, as well as the files in the file holders then they both walked down to the storage room. Will set it on the table, wrote the word closed on the side of the cover, then set it on an empty shelf then both men walked up the stairs.

At a Northeast division holding cell, Dan Brady was in a conference room with his lawyer talking about the deal he is about to make.

[Some people live their dreams
Some people close their eyes]

Joe Mainsheim was in a holding cell, where he saw Chelsea being arrested and led into an adjacent cell.

At a party for some co-workers, Bethany Donnelly chatted as they laughed about stuff and she drank her tea as she looked at the TV.

[Some people's destiny
Passes by]

At the jail Andrew was at, he was talking to some prisoners in an alcohol rehab group while he thought about Michelle.

Joe Cuomo finished up some yard work when Felix Jackson walked up to him and they walked inside, sat on the chairs, and talked.

[There are no guarantees
There are no alibis]

At Rhonda’s house, she looked over the pictures of Michelle in the photo album as Henry sat next to her and put his arm around her back as they both smiled.

Jerry Black walked in, shook hands with John, then they walked over to Nick. Nick turned his chair around, looked up, saw Jerry and stood up. Jerry said something while he brought out his hand and Nick shook his hand and nodded.

[That's how our love must be
Don't ask why]

Mistina Hart talked to her kids as she folded laundry and watched them leave the room as she smiled.

Nick and John paid Rhonda a visit as they gave her the locket back as Nick felt she should keep it. Nick and Rhonda hugged each other as they saw Michelle’s ghost appear, then as she turned, she faded away.

[It takes some time
God knows how long
I know that I can forget you]
[End Song]