Who Shall Miss Me When Im Gone

[Disasterfreak]

Hehe... don't pressure her, you guys. A writer's muse has to be treated fondly. Oh... btw, Schaf (I was in a pet before so I wasn't posting, sorry ;D), I'm from 1978. So we're somewhat close in age. But I'm afraid I'm the older far_

[schafferius]

:smile32:

Hey guys....Well I have the next chapter. Sorry it has taken so long. Going through a seperation at the moment, so its a little hard. Blah, blah. Anyway, here is the story.......

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Humiliation. That was to be Lily Rush’s first lesson. It was not one of which she expected. Not the way it was to be carried out anyway. Had she not been humiliated in front of this crazy man in the first place?

The young man had led her through the basement door to what looked to be yet another dark and musty basement room. There was more light in this room than the one before and it smelled a little better. Not much, but a little. The walls were painted black and the only thing in the room was a chair placed up against the far wall.

“Sit down,” he stated.

She walked towards the chair slowly. He grabbed her around the waist pulling her closer to him very tightly. “What the @#@# did I tell you woman. You respond with what?”

“Yes Sir,” she whispered, gritting her teeth, “I respond with Yes, sir.”

“Now that’s better ain’t it?” he asked.

“Yes Sir,” she replied.

He let go of her, giving her a small shove towards the chair. She turned around and sat down.

“Now I want you to listen. And a want you to listen good. The last thing you are going to remember is this room and what I have said to you inside of it. When you wake up, whenever that may be, you will keep your mouth shut like a good woman does.”

A sense of urgency past across her. What was he going to do? Wake up? Why would she be asleep in the first place?

“And for god’s sake stop thinking would you. Women don’t think and when they do, that’s when the trouble starts,” he interrupted.

“When you wake up you are to keep your mouth shut. You have no idea of the connections I have. You talk about anything and I’ll know,” he continued “This is your first test. Pass this and there may be no more. But if you should speak one @#@#ing word to anyone then you will find yourself right back where you started and that last lesson we talked about will become the ending to every lesson……………………..”

He had a perverted look in his eye. Looking her up and down as if he were imagining just how much enjoyment he would gain from that lesson. She felt disgusted at the mere suggestion.

“You are to leave the department, like I instructed in the first place. Do not give any explanation whatsoever. Do you think you can do that Miss Rush?”

Lily just stared at him. Her eyes threw daggers into his very soul. She wondered whether he was giving her another chance at redeeming herself. Could he be that stupid? She thought. “Yes……Sir,” she stated.

To some extent he had broken her. But Lily Rush was strong. Very strong. You cannot rip away in two nights what took decades to create.

He pulled a cloth from his pocket which stank of some sort of chemical and placed it forcefully over her mouth. A muffled whimper escaped before her head dropped between her legs and she fell into unconsciousness.



Stillman, Jeffries, Vera and Valens returned to the station. The car ride back had been filled with complete silence. Each detective lost in his own thoughts regarding their fellow detective Lily Rush. The image in the photograph burned into their minds as they all tried so hard to forget.

Stillman was the first to speak upon arrival. “We don’t actually have anything do we at this point.”

All detectives thought for a moment before Vera stated “No boss. The blood from her pillows has gone in for analysis. But chances are it I going to come up as Rush’s.”

“Prints were found. They are being run through right now. But I have the feeling that they aren’t going to be the perp’s,” Jeffries continued “He seems to have done a pretty good job in covering his tracks.”

“Okay. Well what about Lil’s demeanour. Anyone noticed anything different lately?” Stillman asked.

Scotty being the one who had spent the most amount of time with her thought for a moment. “Not really boss. You know Lil. She usually keeps things to herself pretty darn well.”

“Yeah. I suppose you are right Scotty,” Stillman agreed.

“The only viable option, it seems, is that it may have something to do with the case,” Jeffries stated “I mean she doesn’t seem to have a hectic home life or anything.”

Stillman thought for a moment then stated “Well look. Let’s assume for now that it has got to do with the case. I want everyone on it. Try to find Mr Phillips. Lets hope when we find him, we’ll find some info on Lily.”

“Right boss,” Scotty replied almost running out of the office, followed closely by his two collegues.

Once the detectives had left his office, Stillman closed the door. It was something he had never done before. He closed the blinds also. He sat down in his chair and looked towards the ceiling for a few moments before placing his head in his hands.

[sonny]

Awesome chapter! Is Lilly gonna do it? Will she keep it all to herself? So much I wanna know. Your'e doing really good here, well done. Sorry to hear about your separation Take care.

[Disasterfreak]

Oh, interesting!! Lilly just might do it too--not because he said so, but because it's her nature to shut up about things that are hurtful or humiliating to her. I don't want her to suffer through the aftermath of this alone... ... but it's very in-character. Good job as usual!

I'm really sorry about your separation. Obviously you have more important things to stress about than this story, so take your time. *Hug*

[longislanditalian2]

Great Job, I am enjoying reading your story .......

[schafferius]

Thanks for the kind words.Well I have the next chapter....Sorry if people think this story is a bit dark. One thing just led to another.....Hope you all enjoy =)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

That night in Philly was an extremely cold one. Jeffries and Valens had traveled back to Mr Phillips bar in the hope that he had seen his son. But Phillips senior had not heard a peep from his eldest son.

They were becoming desperate. The mere thought of Rush out there with that crazy lunatic sent shivers down their spines. Jeffries suggested that they talk to the bartenders in the hope that they had seen Phillips Junior. Scotty agreed that it was a good idea.

The man behind the bar seemed quite nervous. Scotty had the feeling that he knew something. Maybe not everything, but something. And they were grasping for anything.

“I’m Detective Jeffries. This is my collegue Detective Valens. We were wondering if you had seen Mr Phillips in the last 24 hours?”

“No. No I haven’t. Haven’t seen him in ages,” he replied.

He seemed like a weedy sort of kid. Young and naïve.

“Mr Phillips Senior know you got a record?” Scotty asked.

“Yeah. Yeah he does.”

“Right. Well you wont mind if we ask him the details then,” Scotty carried on.

Jeffries looked towards Scotty to see what he was getting at. Immediately, he knew that Scotty had sensed something from this kid and was pushing him. Jeffries gave Valens a smirk and turned around with him, heading back to the kitchen.

“Wa….Wait. Look just wait a second,” the boy yelled.

Jeffries and Scotty gave each other another smirk and turned around to face the boy.

“So….You gonna tell us where this Mr Phillips is…..or do we have to go speak to ya boss about the record,” Scotty stated smartarsedly.

“Look. I dunno if he’s there now. All I know is that, sometimes, he stays with his Aunt up on Forty-Fifth street somewhere.”

“You got a name with that son?” Jeffries asked.

“No. Sorry. No name. Look he’s probably not even there. But I swear that’s all I know.”

“Thank you,” both detectives replied exiting the pub.

As soon as they had both entered the car, Scotty called Stillman to get the exact address.

“Yeah Scotty. We are one step ahead of you. Vera and I tracked down the Aunt after a lead Johnson phoned in with. Mr Phillips is already here. Thought you might like to conduct the interview.”

“Sure thing boss,” Scotty replied “See you in ten.”

Jeffries and Valens headed straight back to the station. Both were ecstatic that Phillips was now in custody, hoping the lead would get them closer to finding Rush.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000


The first things she noticed was the stinging in her wrists, the noise and the smell of fresh air.

The sound of a bustling city echoed in Lily Rush’s eardrums. Cars, music, people chatting and the distant noise of a plane coming in for a landing.

The numb feeling in her body hit like a sledgehammer. She was cold. So cold in fact that she could hardly feel her body. She felt naked and very exposed to the elements around her. Slowly her eyes began to open. Her vision was somewhat blurred and yet she seemed to be blinded by the bright lights.

Gradually her vision came back and confirmed her worst fears. She had been dumped in the middle of Philly with only the bare essentials of clothing clinging to her. She was tied to what seemed to be a pole by her hands, the pressure once again being placed upon her wrists. Her feet were not able to touch the ground. She was suspended in mid air, her back pressed against something hard and long.

“Hey. Hey you alright Miss?” a stranger seemed to appear from nowhere.

He ran onto the street, yelling for help.

Soon after another man joined him, shocked by the pale, slender and partially naked woman in front of him.

He grabbed her by the waist, holding her close to his body, while the first stranger untied the rope which held her wrists to the power pole.

The second stranger lay her down on the pavement, covering her with his jacket. “It’s going to be alright Miss” continued the first “The ambulance will be here soon.”

Lily didn’t know what to say or think. She was barely conscious and did not even possess enough energy to support the weight of her own head.

[sonny]

Ahhhhhh, poor Lilly, how humiliating!
Another excellent chapter, and two in one day, I feel totally spoilt. Thanks. This story is so great! ;D :smile49: :smile4:

[TVFan]

I can't wait to read more! That scene with Scotty and Jeffries at the bar was spot-on! It was like I was watching an episode of CC. Love this story!!

[longislanditalian2]

I really love this story , excellent storyline you are a great writer

[Disasterfreak]

This is just so good, I can't get enough of it. I particularly like how you go straight to the point--very nice! Poor Lilly--he just dumped her in the middle of the city? After all that threatening? Or is he planning to go back for her? *shivers* Doin' a great job there, Schaf.

[longislanditalian2]

Poor Lilly, bad things always happen to her .. Just on thing , what's her mental state like now

[schafferius]

:smile57:

Hey guys....Thaks alot for your comments. They really keep me going. :smile75: If we all lived in the same city I would take you all out for beers and pool :smile73:

LII - Will give you what Lily is thinking in the next chapter or the one after. Please don't freak out mate, hehehehe, .....All is not what it seems with this chapter.......will be updating in the next couple of hours again too......


CHAPTER SEVENTEEN



Upon interrogating Mr Phillips, they found that he had indeed killed the four tourists. The chair Scotty had thrown across the room at him may have had something to do with it, along with all the evidence pointing towards him and the fact that they were accusing him of a kidnapping that he had, in fact, not committed. The detectives had gone through countless jugs of coffee leading to quite a few leads being uncovered. Mr Phillips senior’s car was found to match the one sighted by a witness. After much threatening, the current bartender had admitted to seeing Phillips junior talking to at least one of the women.

Phillips had given no motive as to why he had killed them, only stating that he saw foreigners as a delicacy right here at home. Stillman had shaken his head behind the interview screen knowing that this piece of trash would obviously be pleading insanity and thus receive a lighter sentence than what he was entitled too.

Normally the office would be in a much lighter mood after they had solved such a terrible case. Unfortunately, however, the end of this case had brought the end of hope of finding Lily. They had nothing. So, after a sixteen hour shift Stillman had sent them home.


XXXXXXXX

Scotty opened the door to his apartment. It had taken him several minutes to fit his key properly into the front door, a task which usually took only seconds. He and his fellow detectives had worked a sixteen hour straight day, yet he was in no mood for sleep. He had seen cases like this. After all, he had worked in the homicide department. He knew the drill. Victims of kidnappings that provide no leads end up dead. It was as simple as that. How he wished Mr Phillips had kidnapped her, then there would still be a chance.

He strolled over to his kitchen and opened the refrigerator. He was not hungry either, but could not help starring into it as though he was starving. Several minutes passed before he realized what he was doing. He closed the fridge and headed to his couch to watch television. He couldn’t imagine doing anything ever again while his partner was somewhere out there suffering.



XXXXXXXXX

Stillman had decided to stay in his office. If any news came through, he wanted to be the first to hear. He was seated at his desk. In his hands he held the photograph that had been sent earlier. Exactly how much earlier it had been sent, he could not remember. He could not help but stare at it in the hope that Lily would smile out of it at him and tell her that she was okay. The longer he stared, the more disappointed he became when the smile never came.

Suddenly, the phone rang. He jumped with fright, taking only milliseconds to answer it.

“Stillman.”

“Detective Stillman?” asked a voice on the other end of the line.

“Yes.”

“It’s Johnson, from homicide,” Stillman’s heart sank. If Johnson was calling it meant only one thing.

“I don’t know how to tell you this. But it looks like we may have found Detective Rush’s body.”

There was silence for a few seconds before Stillman replied “Well have you or haven’t you Johnson?”

“Yes sir. We have.”

There was an even longer pause of silence “Right…….Okay….where are you?” he asked.

“23rd Avenue,” replied Johnson.

Stillman hung up the phone. His hands were shaking, his jaw dropped. He contemplated for a short while as to whether or not he should ring his detectives and let them know. After all, they had had a very long and tiring shift. Placing himself in their shoes, however, he chose otherwise. One by one he made the worst call imaginable to his detectives, the news of a fellow officer’s death.

[schafferius]

Hey again guys......Well I have the next chapter as well.......Had to do it for you LongIslandItalian.....couldnt have ya scared for the poor girl for another 24 hours.....hehehe......

Well it is 2:45am here. I have been drinking coffee as though it is going out of fashion.....so I am going to call it a night.....Please forgive me if this chapter is crappier......like I said I have had loads of coffee and am getting the shakes........hope u all enjoy!!!!!!

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Stillman called Vera and Jeffries. Both had very similar reactions to the news, just plain old pure disbelief. Vera was very skeptical “If I haven’t seen the body Boss, then it hasn’t happened.”

Jeffries, on the other hand, was shocked and could not say a word. Both had stated that they would meet him at the crime scene. Stillman sat at his desk contemplating exactly how he was to tell his youngest detective that his partner’s body had been found. Part of it was nerves and part of it was procrastination in order to avoid going down to 23rd Avenue to see something he really did not want to.

The phone rung for what seemed like an eternity, before a groggy sounding voice answered on the other end. “Yeah…ah Scotty….Valens here……”

“Scotty. It’s Stillman,” he stated “I………..I’m ringing…” His voice caught in his throat. He could not bring himself to say it.

“What? Is everything alright? What’s happened? They found something?” Scotty, on the other hand, could not stop talking.

“Lily’s body has been found. I’m sorry Scotty. Were meeting down at the crime scene at 23rd Avenue now. I can understand if you don’t want to be there,” Stillman stated with restraint.

There was a longer than usual silence. “Scotty…….Scotty……….you there?”

He wasn’t. Upon hearing the address, he had dropped the phone and headed straight for the door.


XXXXXXXXX


All four detectives seemed to arrive at the same time fifteen minutes later. All were lost for words. Stillman led the walk to Johnson who was standing at the entry to an alleyway.

“Johnson,” he said giving a nod “Where is she?”

“Right through there,” he pointed towards a motionless figure on the alleyway ground several metres away.

Stillman walked slowly towards her, his detectives following closely. Her body was in quite a distorted position. It lay face down in a pool of bloody water. Her hands and feet tied together at her back. The blonde hair was now red with blood stains. That perfect suit was now torn and stained with what seemed to be oil and blood.

Jeffries kneeled beside her body. He placed one hand on the ground, the other he balled into a fist and placed in his mouth.

Scotty could not keep still. He proceeded to pace. Back and forth. Back and forth. A million thoughts going through his mind.

Stillman just stood there as if he were made of stone, taking it all in.

Vera turned to Johnson and asked “This how you found her?”

“Yeah. It is,” he replied.

“Have you touched the body yet?” Vera asked

“No. Crime Scene haven’t finished processing yet,” was Johnson’s confused reply.

“To hell with crime scene,” Vera stated, kneeling down next to the body and turning it onto it’s side.

The other detectives looked away quickly, not wanting to see their collegue in such a position. Their gazes were pulled back by the sound of Vera cursing.

“You *$#@ing piece of s*** Johnson,” Vera grabbed Johnson by his coat slamming him against the alleyway wall “This ain’t her. Since when do you tell victim’s families bulls*** like this. It ain’t her dammit.” He pulled Johnson off the wall and pushed him onto the ground.

“What the hell are you talking about? It looks exactly like her. Same shape, same hair and it’s her bloody suit.”


Stillman looked at the face, expecting it to be Lily’s. But it wasn’t. From the back the body was a dead ringer to Lily’s. And it was her suit. But from the front, it most certainly was not Lily.

“It ain’t her…………….. It ain’t her” Vera whispered before walking out of the alleyway. He walked several metres further before sitting on some steps a few houses up.

Stillman watched Vera walk off, before turning his gaze to Johnson. A look of disbelief was strewn across his face. Johnson just shrugged not knowing exactly what to say.

“Detective Stillman?” a young police officer asked. He received no reply, Stillman could not take his gaze off of Johnson. “Detective I believe you should take this call. It’s West Philly Hospital.”

Stillman grabbed the phone off the young officer, breaking eye contact with Detective Johnson. “This is Stillman.”

“Ah Detective. I am ringing to inform you that just a little over an hour ago a woman by the name of Lily Rush was brought here in an ambulance,” the nurse stated.

Stillman was still in shock and now skeptical due to his recent experience. “And how exactly can you be so sure that it is my detective?” he asked.



The nurse replied “Because, sir, she awoke not long ago and told me.”


;D ;D ;D ;D

[sonny]

Ahhhhhhhhh, so good. The guys are gonna be so relieved she is okay!
Great chapters :smile49: :smile49: :smile49:

[TVFan]

Awesome chapters!! I love how you ended each of them. I can't wait to read more. Get some sleep first, though.

[Disasterfreak]

Gosh, I can't gush enough about these last 2. They were absolutely classic. I dunno about you, but what you did there--it's what I THOUGHT they'd do in The Woods when I first watched the trailer and saw Stillman and Scotty bending over the dead girl's body. I thought, "George is makin' them think it's Lilly" and I was so excited!!!! You made it come to life. ;D

What can I say? Great. Stillman's reaction, Scotty's reaction, Jeffries' reaction and ESPECIALLY Vera's were to the dot. I loved Vera--he totally flipped. Wouldn't expect less from him.

[schafferius]

Thanks again for the comments guys..................here is the next chapter......Sorry LII taking a little longer to give Lily's POV. Will have to wait until she is home from hospital. If she ever gets home that is........Wahahahaha. Kidding. Anyway, this chapter is a little shorter.....will try and write another for you guys tonight.



CHAPTER NINETEEN

Stillman was the first to arrive at West Philly Hospital. He walked up to the emergency counter and introduced himself to the lady who had spoken to him just ten minutes earlier on the phone.

“Hi. I spoke to you earlier in regards to one of my detectives,” he stated.

“Ahh yes. Detective Stillman. Miss Rush is sleeping at the moment, but you may see her. She asked me to tell you to wake her up. She is in Room 9B,” the nurse replied.

“Great,” Stillman stated as he headed towards Lily’s room.

He arrived at Room 9B, Lily’s room. He hesitated for a brief moment and considered the fact that this may not be her, once again. He wouldn’t be able to handle it if it was not her. Turning the handle to the door, he popped his head inside, sighing with relief. It was her. His hardest working Detective was there before him lying on the hospital bed fast asleep.

He placed his hand over hers “Lil’. It’s Stillman.”

Her eyes opened very slowly. Her eyelids weighed several thousand pounds, or at least that is what they felt like.

“Hi boss,” she whispered.

“You okay? Is there anything I can get you?”

Lily’s eyes were drawn to the window leading into the hallway. Stillman turned around and followed her gaze. Vera, Valens and Jeffries were standing in the window, their faces were filled with a mixture of shock, relief and concern.

“Yes,” she whispered softly “Please close the blinds?”

Stillman knew the type of person Lily was. She did not want to have people worrying over her. He nodded and walked towards the window, mouthing “sorry” to the detectives behind the glass. He closed the blinds and sat back down next to Lily.

“There is one more thing boss,” she continued, her voice shaking “I need to give you something but I do not want any arguing or further talk on the matter.”

“Anything,” was his reply.

“I need you to take this and accept it,” she stated handing him an envelope.

Stillman began to open it before Lily placed a hand on his and stated “Not now. Please wait until you’re back at the office.”

“Okay Lil’.” He folded the envelope in two and placed it into his pocket. “Can I send Scotty in to see you? I’m sure he would like nothing more than to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m sorry boss. But I can’t. I would prefer to be left alone for the time being,” she replied, turning her head to the side.

Stillman nodded, taking it as his queue to leave. He wasn’t going to poke around asking questions at this point when he knew Lily was not in the mood to share. “I’ll be back to check up on you tomorrow.”

Lily just nodded in confirmation and watched as her boss left the room. If she had anything to do with it, she thought, she wouldn’t be here tomorrow.

Stillman left the hospital room walking down to the visitor’s area where Scotty stood, hands on his hips, waiting for an explanation.

“So can we go and see her?” he asked.

“Sorry Scotty. She doesn’t want to see anyone,” was Stillman’s reply.

Scotty shook his head “But….”

“Sorry Scotty, no buts. That’s how she wants it……….. Now that we know she’s going to be okay, how bout we all head home for some rest.”

“See you in the morning Boss,” each replied as they left.

[longislanditalian2]

what's going to happen next?? You are such a great writer always keeping us in suspense

[Disasterfreak]

And the plot thickens. Resignation, is it? That means there's more to come. Because that sadistic sob isn't done with her yet. But Lilly will fight back. Once again, schaf--beautifully in-character. You've either got these guys down perfectly, or just you and me perceive them alike. Thumbs up.

[sonny]

Great chapter and very Lilly like to say as little as possible and just want to be on her own. Ahhhhhhhh, I'm feeling so sad for her