COLD CASE:

PRETTY, PRETTY PRINCESS

With serious health issues looming, Will Jeffries is contemplating retirement when the body of a teenage girl that had been missing for fifteen years suddenly surfaces.

PREVIOUSLY ON COLD CASE:

Vera and Jeffries were out walking the street. “You said your yearly physical is next week?” asked Vera.

“Don’t remind me. Talk about a pain in the ass, literally,” Jeffries replied.

“Well, I wouldn’t bring it up at all, except I could have sworn your yearly physical was last month. Is something going on?”

Jeffries stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. “Nobody else knows, but I have to go in for more tests. The doctor found something on my chest x-ray; it’s probably nothing, but at my age they like to be cautious. I say I’m already old; why waste the time I have left?” They started walking again. “I don’t want anyone else to worry, so don’t say anything.”

“Have it your way,” said Vera.

“Nick, I’m serious. I don’t want anyone to know until I know what I’m facing,” insisted Jeffries.

“Will, they’re asking about you at work. I don’t know how much longer I can keep covering for you; especially if you don’t show up,” Vera added.

“I’ll be in tomorrow, but Nick, I need you to keep silent about this for now. As far as I’m concerned I’m still strong enough to work, but if John finds out he’ll force me to retire and I can’t yet. I still have loose ends to tie up,” Will insisted.

Vera could only shake his head and sighed. “I always said they would have to bury you under your desk.”

“I appreciate what you’re doing for me, Vera. You’re a good friend,” said Will.

“Then as your friend I’m telling you to retire. There’s enough ways for a cop to get killed without him doing it to himself,” insisted Vera.

“I’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry about me,” Will replied. Nick, realizing there was nothing he could do, turned and left Will to his jazz record.

1

The following story is fictional and
does not depict any actual person or event.

Jill Sobule
“Supermodel”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqxxJaKqw9I

October 12, 1996

An Afro-American girl of 13 years, Julie Garret stood about 5 ft. 2 in.. Her mother Maurine, who was standing behind her, stood nearly five inches taller. Both were dressed in blue-sequined gowns with matching heels as the white light of the spotlights above reflected off of them.

At that moment they were sharing a stage with four similar pairings: one pair in red, another in black, a pair in white, and a pair in pink. Julie and her mother were second from the left side of the stage. She didn’t recognize the young girl to her left, but she flashed a hopeful smile at the girl to her right who she knew from her neighborhood.

A woman seated in the center of three judges at a small, metal table in front of the stage stood up. “Ladies, the judges have finished adding up the scores and we have a winner. But first let me say that there are no losers on this stage today. All five mothers and daughters have performed admirably to make it this far; I wish I had a crown for all of you. However, we only have one set of crowns to give out, and the judges have decided that, after what was obviously a very bold and from the heart speech, the winners of the 35th annual Miss Philly Queen and Princess pageant are… Maurine Garret and her daughter Julie!” The small crowd that filled the hall cheered as the woman placed two silver tiaras on their heads and the other two judges presented mother and daughter with gold “WINNER!” sashes.

Cold Case Soundtrack: “The Window” www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrNTyVbCDDI

Julie Garret did not feel so triumphant, however, when she was fighting for breath against the hands around her throat later that night. She didn’t even live long enough to see the shovel load of dirt that would cover her head.

Will Jeffries parked his faded black car on the street next to the house with the back yard currently being sectioned off by yellow crime scene tape. Nick Vera, John Stillman, Scotty Valens, and Lilly Rush were already present and examining a large hole in the ground. Vera was the first to approach him. “Will, you’re actually here.”

“The call came in over my police scanner earlier. I had to see it for myself,” insisted Will. “Boss, what do we have?”

“What we have is Janet and Kevin Johnson’s youngest moving to Penn State earlier this fall. With the kids gone the couple decided they didn’t have much use for a pool anymore, so they decided to downsize and have it removed. One of the workers was digging and spotted a piece of blue cloth; that lead to the discovery of the body of a young girl. He’s off giving a statement to one of the uniformed officers now,” John explained.

“She definitely looks young. I’m assuming there’s no ID,” added Lilly.

“The medical examiner estimates that she was somewhere between twelve and fourteen years old when she died. Kat Miller is running the database at the office for missing children reports that fit this description to double check, but when I heard the phrase ‘silver tiara’ I pretty much knew who it was,” explained John. “Do any of you remember Julie Garret?”

“Missing girl from 1996,” Jeffries informed.

“If it’s her, she’s not missing anymore,” insisted Scotty as he dropped to his knees for a closer look. “Ligature marks on the neck; someone choked her. Scratches on the left side of her face and the left sleeve of her dress is partially torn,” Scotty explained.

Lilly dropped to her knees and examined the right hand of the body. “I think I see traces of blood here under the nails.”

“Sounds like defensive wounds to me; our girl put up a fight,” said Vera.

“Wait a minute. Something is buried under the burial,” added Lilly. She slowly lifted the right side upward and came back up with a piece of paper.

“Someone sent Julie a letter?” asked Scotty.

“I don’t know. There’s some kind of partial design on the upper left corner. It looks more like something you would see on a company letterhead,” Lilly explained.

“What is that, an E turned on its side?” asked John.

“I’m not sure. The rest of the ink is too faded; I can’t even read the address,” Lilly replied.

“Bag it and send it down to Questioned Documents. Maybe they can do something with it,” added Vera. Then he scanned the body one more time before arriving at her feet. “Here’s a better question; her feet are all torn up. Where the hell are her shoes? I don’t know too many girls that get all dressed up just to walk around barefoot.”

“They’ve been searching the area for them, but nothing has turned up yet. Well, I don’t think there’s anything more for us here,” insisted John. “Let’s load her up and get her to the morgue. We need the family to identify the body.”

Will stared down into the makeshift grave at the body as John walked off to make his call. “What are you thinking?” asked Vera.

“The mass on my lung is not going away. I’ve been thinking about what you said, and I’ve been looking for a sign to tell me that it’s time to hang up my badge,” said Will. “I guess she’s it.”

“So you’re saying Julie Garret is—“

“The loose end.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaw9Vpa0JDM

2

At the station the crew huddled around detective Kat Miler who was seated at her desk staring at a file. “Julie Garret, daughter of Maurine and Willis Garret. According to this file Maurine and her daughter had just won the Miss Philly Queen and Princess Pageant. Mom told police in 1996 that Julie went out after the pageant with ‘a friend’ to celebrate her win, but she reported her missing the next day when she didn’t come home.”

“No name for this friend?” asked Lilly.

“No, nothing much else to go on here… except the address. Where did you say the body was found?”

“318 N 10th St. in the Ludlow district,” added John.

“That’s what I thought. According to these records Julie’s family lived at 315 N 10th St. in Ludlow back in 1996,” insisted Miller.

“It also says a city-wide APB was issued for Julie. To think she was practically in her own back yard the whole time,” insisted Lilly.

“I interviewed a few neighbors back then; it amounted to a whole lot of nobody seeing nothing. Obviously somebody lied to me,” insisted Will.

“Here’s a really stupid question; what about the family that lives in that house now?” asked Scotty.

“Irrelevant. Property tax records indicate that the Johnsons didn’t move into that house until 1998,” informed John. That’s when the phone in John’s pocket went off. He answered,”Stillman. … Yeah, I’ll let him know. Will, you wanted to know when Maurine and Willis Garret arrived. That was the morgue; they’re here.”

“Right, time to face the firing squad,” said Will.

“Hey Will, I’ll back you up,” added Vera.

The city morgue was a cold, sterile, white building two blocks down from the police station. “Vera, you really don’t have to follow me. I’m still capable of walking two blocks,” insisted Will.

“Will, I get it; missing kid cases are a bitch. But what I don’t get is why you think this case is worth killing yourself over,” said Vera.

“We potentially kill ourselves every time we put on a badge. How is this any different?” asked Will.

“The difference is that last week you basically told me that you were living on borrowed time. We don’t see you at the station for days, and yet this case brings you out of hiding. So, out of all the missing kid cases in this city, what is so special about Julie Garret?”

Jeffries was about to open the solid metal door. “Nick, have you ever heard the phrase timing is everything?”

“So, we’re here because of bad timing?” asked Vera.

“Julie Garret was the daughter of a construction worker and a waitress; a working class black family from Ludlow, North Philly. When she went missing local media ran the story for about a day and then just dropped it when we didn’t have any new leads. I can’t count how many times her mother called me looking for updates, and I just had to keep telling her that we didn’t have anything. Then two months later a rich little white beauty queen by the name of JonBenét Ramsey becomes national news. After that, she just stopped calling; figured nobody cared about poor trash from Ludlow,” Jeffries explained.

“But they never figured out what happened to JonBenét either. Even when that one guy confessed DNA ended up clearing him,” replied Vera.

“If you were to pick a bunch of people at random, how many of them do you think would remember Julie Garret? How many of them do you think would remember JonBenét Ramsey?” asked Jeffries. Vera had no response; his blank stare seemed to say it all. “So, in answer to your question there was nothing special about Julie Garret, and that is why I have to see this through.” Then he opened the door and stepped through.

Inside, Vera and Jeffries saw Maurine and Willis Garret standing before a window while an attendant lifted a white sheet off of a body. Maurine had aged some since Jeffries had seen her last. Her hair was much shorter now than it had been, and her face showed distinct frown lines caused by years of worry. Willis had lost his hair since then and he wore thick glasses now. “Yeah, that’s Julie; I’d recognize that blue dress anywhere. I bought it for her,” Maurine said in somber tones.

“She was found like this. Do you know what happened to her shoes? That’s really bugging me,” asked Vera.

Maurine shook her head and sighed. “No, I’m sorry. I don’t. I remember they were these blue wedge heels, but if they’re not here I can’t tell you anymore than that.”
“Mrs. Garret—“

“It’s Miss Lucas again! I dropped all things that belonged to him twelve years ago!” insisted Maurine.

“Everything but my house and one third of my paycheck every week!” Willis shot back.

“Okay, let’s not go down this road!” Jeffries intervened. “Do either of you know anyone who may have wanted to hurt your daughter?”

“So this is the game; you find a body and suddenly you care? Do you ever think maybe if you had asked a few more questions Julie might still be alive?” Maurine shouted.

“Maurine, don’t even try to blame this on them! This is all you!” replied Willis.

“Willis, don’t!” said Maurine.

“No, let’s tell them the truth! Let’s tell them about how I warned you how bad things happen to kid performers every day; especially when you make them up the way she did!” Willis responded.

“She looked nice!”

“She looked like a call girl!” replied Willis.

“I take it that you didn’t want her in the pageant,” added Vera.

“You’re damn right I didn’t want her in the pageant! Hell, I didn’t even know if Julie wanted it half the time with the way those two argued!” informed Willis.

“Did you two argue a lot?” asked Jeffries.

“He makes it sound a lot worse than it was; I prefer the term ‘creative differences’…”

Los Del Rio
“Macarena”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY42eOzVBsI

“You know how all beauty pageants have a talent contest? That was what our last disagreement was about. We were in Julie’s bedroom trying to rehearse dance steps and I was correcting Julie’s timing. ‘No Julie, it’s right hand out palm down, left hand out palm down, right palm up, and then left palm up! All of our movements have to be in synch for this to work!’

“’Okay, I get it!’ Julie insisted.

“’Julie, this isn’t a dance I grew up with! If anything, you should be teaching me!’ I told her. Julie took a step back from me, walked over to the window, and sat down on her light orange bed. ‘Yesterday, you had this down. What’s really going on, Julie?’

“’I don’t know. ‘The Macarena’? Don’t you think that’s a little lame?’ she asked.

“’What’s lame about it?’ I responded.

“’It’s hardly original; everybody at school knows it,’ Julie explained.

“’That’s why we’re doing it; everybody knows it including the judges. If we go up there doing something that nobody recognizes, they’ll laugh us out of the contest,’ I told her. That’s when I noticed the brightness of the sun through Julie’s window. “Julie, why are these curtains open?’

“’Because it’s the middle of the day,’ she said.

“’Rosa’s window looks directly into yours; she could have been spying on us this whole time!’ I informed.

“’Rosa and I are friends! She wouldn’t do that!’ Julie said.

“’Really, look for yourself!’ I said.

“Julie looked out the window and saw Rosa also doing ‘The Macarena’. ‘That doesn’t prove she’s rehearsing; her mother isn’t even with her!’

“’Girl, do you want a repeat of what happened last year?’ I asked as I closed the curtains. Julie just shook her head. ‘Then we’re not taking any chances, and we’re coming up with a plan B!”

“Who was Rosa?” asked Vera.

“Rosa Betista, a girl who lived across the street from us. I should have known; ‘The Macarena’ was a Spanish song. Of course Rosa was going to do it,” said Maurine.

“What happened between Julie and Rosa the previous year?” asked Jeffries.

“That actually didn’t have anything to do with Rosa. That was another girl, Kelly Pressman, who sang the exact same song that Julie was planning to sing. We had no backup plan and it completely killed Julie’s chances that year,” Maurine explained.

“Thank you for your time,” said Vera as the pair left the building. “If Julie thought she might be upstaged again, that might have lead to something ugly.”

“Plus Rosa’s house was next door to where the body was found. Let’s call the station and see if they can find her,” added Jeffries.

Rosa Betista was wearing a red leotard as she walked across the gym floor of the Water Tower Recreation Center of Philadelphia. She was surrounded by children attempting to perform handstands and cartwheels on blue floor mats. Lilly and Scotty stepped from the hall into the class. “Rosa Betista,” said Scotty.

Rosa turned around to face them. She looked like she had grown a full eight inches since her pageant days. “The adult classes don’t start until 7:00 P.M.”

“We’re not here for class. Philadelphia Police, we’re here to ask you some questions about Julie Garret,” said Lilly with badge in hand.

Rosa blew the whistle around her neck before calling out, “Everyone takes a break until I get back!” She followed the detectives out into the hall. “Are you really here about Julie? That life seems like forever ago.”

“Well, it’s about to become more current for you; we found Julie’s body this morning,” Scotty informed.

Rosa stepped backward. “So, Julie’s dead.”

“You don’t exactly sound surprised,” said Lilly.

“It’s been fifteen years. After awhile you just face reality,” Rosa explained.

“Rosa, Julie was buried right next door to where you used to live,” Lilly informed.

“I don’t know what you are suggesting, but Julie and I were friends. I would never have hurt her,” insisted Rosa.

“Not intentionally maybe, but we know you were planning to do the Macarena for that pageant just like Julie. We also know Julie was upstaged the previous year by someone who ended up doing the exact same song that she was planning to sing. So maybe Julie comes to your house, a fight breaks out that gets out of hand, and next thing you know your hands are around her neck,” Lilly explained.

“You have that all wrong lady. Julie was the singer; I relied on a very different talent,” insisted Rosa/

“Gymnastics?” asked Scotty. Rosa jumped upward and did a series of back flips up and down the hall. “Impressive, but we’re still going to need a DNA sample in order to rule you out.”

“Take all the DNA you want; you’re wasting your time on me. You should be looking at the bitch who stole her song, because you got one thing right in your story. Julie had good reason to be paranoid,” Rosa explained.

“You mean about Kelly Pressman. We’re trying to track her down too,” insisted Lilly.

“What exactly happened between them?” asked Scotty.

“Believe me, it was no coincidence that Kelly ended up doing Julie’s song that night. I’m sure you know what sports dads are,” Rosa informed.

“You mean parents who start fights with umpires at their kids’ baseball games,” Scotty replied.

Rosa added, “Just trust me when I tell you this; pageant moms are not exactly tame…”

Des’Ree
“You Gotta Be”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugrd-Gob1BA

“We were both in the ladies’ room of the building where the pageant was held. We were standing in front of a mirror surrounded by a pink tile wall putting the last touches on our hair. I remember I was wearing a red dress, and Julie was wearing yellow and singing ‘You Gotta Be’ by Des’Ree.

“Julie got up to the line ‘Try to solve the puzzles in your own sweet time—' when we heard a flushing toilet behind us as a woman in a light green dress opened the stall door. ‘Oh, hello Mrs. Pressman.’

“’Good evening, Julie. Was that you singing? You’re not bad; we might have some competition this year,’ she replied.

“’Thank you, Mrs. Pressman,’ said Julie.

“That’s when the main door opened and Kelly, in a matching green dress, stuck her head in. ‘Mom, the evening gown competition starts in five minutes. Are you ready yet?’ she asked.

“Mrs. Pressman glided over to her daughter whispering, ‘I’m more than ready, honey. The other shoe just dropped. I just figured out what your talent should be.’ Then they both left leaving Julie with a puzzled expression.”

“Then, as luck would have it, Kelly went first that night and did Julie’s song. When it was Julie’s turn to perform she froze because she had nothing ultimately knocking her out of the pageant,” Rosa explained.

“So, Kelly’s mother was spying on Julie,” said Lilly.

“That’s kind of an odd phrase, ‘the other shoe’. I don’t suppose you know what that meant,” added Scotty.

Rosa let out a sigh. “I can’t speak to the truth or falseness of this, but rumor has it Kelly’s mom bribed a judge to get them into the finals that year. You see, they won the title in 1994 and everyone knew they were desperate to defend it after that.”

“Did they succeed?” asked Lilly.

“No honey, I won that year. I guess all the bribes in the world couldn’t hide the fact that Kelly had a voice like a bag of sick kittens,” insisted Rosa.

“It’s a good story, but we still need that DNA sample,” said Scotty.

“I understand,” Rosa replied. “Detective, you said the body was found next door to my old house. Did you mean 314 or 318 N 10th St.?”

“What’s it to you?” asked Lilly.

“Well, if it was 318, that was Kelly’s old house,” added Rosa.

“You’re telling me that all that time three pageant rivals lived within walking distance of each other,” said Jeffries to Rush and Valens when they returned to the station. “How the hell did I miss that in 1996? I should have seen it.”

Stillman spoke up. “Will, you didn’t know she was dead back then. You treated her as a runaway; you made the best decision you could with the information you had—“

“I should have seen it, John!” yelled Will. He slammed a fist on his desk and stormed off.

“Seriously, what the hell is up Will’s ass lately? I haven’t seen him this broken up over a case since that triple shooting at that restaurant seven years ago,” asked Scotty.

“I don’t know, Scotty, but this won’t make him any happier. The DNA results from the blood under Julie’s nails came back from the lab too. It didn’t match Rosa; it matched Julie,” John informed.

“The blood was hers. How does that happen?” asked Lilly.

“It’s hard to say what someone will do when an adrenaline rush kicks in. Maybe she thought she was clawing her attacker and got herself by mistake. In any case, DNA won’t help us here,” insisted Stillman.

“No, but this might,” insisted Vera as he dropped a series of papers on the desk. “Miller and I have been digging into Rosa’s story. According to those tax records you mentioned earlier in 1996 318 N 10th St. in Ludlow, Philadelphia belonged to Carolyn and Francis Pressman.”

“Rosa was telling us the truth,” said Lilly.

“When that part of the story checked out I did a little more digging,” Vera replied as he shuffled the papers. “These are bank records for Carolyn Pressman. According to these statements Carolyn wrote a check out to a Ben Glassman for $300 on October 7, 1995,” said Vera.

“And that name means something?” asked John.

“According to the Miss Philly Queen and Princess website October 7 was a week before the pageant that year,” insisted Miller.

“This thing has a website?” asked John.

“Boss, everything has a website nowadays, and lucky for us this website had archives with lists of past competitors, winners, and judges. Guess whose name came up on the judging panel in the mid 1990s. Ben Glassman,” informed Miller.

“There’s your bribe,” said Lilly.

“But there’s one more thing. On October 5, 1996 Carolyn writes another check to Mr. Glassman only this time it’s for $500,” explained Vera.

“Inflation,” said Lilly.

“She really wanted that crown. Maybe Mr. Glassman knows just how badly,” said John.

3

Ben Glassman was working with a customer at the GAP Outlet on Chestnut St. when Will Jeffries and Kat Miller approached him. “Ben Glassman!” Jeffries shouted.

“I’ll be with you in a minute, sir,” said Ben.

Will reached into his coat for his badge. “You’ll be with us now. Detectives Jeffries and Miller, Philly PD, we have some questions for you.”

“What the hell? My psycho boss called the cops! For Pete’s sake, it was a couple of sweaters for my grandchildren and I said he could take it out of my check next week! Where’s the shoplifting here?”

“Actually, we don’t know anything about that. We’re homicide, and we would like to ask you about Julie Garret,” insisted Miller.

“Julie Garret, I think I remember her from my younger days; she won the last beauty pageant I ever judged. I heard she went missing after that though,” said Ben.

“She’s not missing anymore. We found her body a few days ago,” Miller informed.

“Ben, do you remember Carolyn Pressman?” asked Jeffries.

“I think she was one of the mothers who participated in the pageant. Blonde lady, right?” asked Ben.

Will pulled a folded paper from his coat. “These are copies of cancelled checks signed by one Carolyn Pressman and made out to you. So I’ll ask again; what was your relationship with Carolyn Pressman?”

Ben threw his hands up in the air. “Okay, she tried to buy my vote in the pageant. But is it really a bribe if you don’t do what the other person wants?” asked Ben.

“Is that why she upped the offer a year later?” asked Miller.

“Only this time, maybe she’s a little pissed off, and really wants her money’s worth!” demanded Will.

“I don’t get your meaning, detective,” said Ben.

“Have you ever heard of Tonya Harding?” asked Will.

“You think I attacked that girl! I voted for that girl in 1996; she gave a very passionate interview speech that year! I swear, I didn’t even keep the money she gave me! That first check, I gave it to a homeless shelter that I volunteer at a few times a month!” Ben responded.

“What did you do with the second check?” asked Will.

“I cashed it, but I swear I didn’t spend it. I intended it more as a ceremonial thing,” insisted Ben.

“Ceremonial how?” asked Miller.

“I went to Carolyn’s house a few nights before the pageant to tell her off. In fact, I think I saw Julie that night…”

The BoDeans
“Closer To Free”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpgQxYHZDnI

“I pulled up to the Pressman house in my red Toyota. I didn’t know what to make of the house at first when I saw that a good section of the back yard had been torn up, but I walked up the porch steps and rang the bell. I could hear Carolyn’s voice through the door before she opened it. ‘Kelly, would you turn that down? We have someone at the door!’

“’Okay!’

“’Did I interrupt something here?’ I asked. I remember that Carolyn was wearing a white robe as if she was about to go to sleep for the night.

“’Just ‘90210’ and ‘Party Of Five’; my daughter’s must see TV night. Is there a reason for this visit?’ she asked.

“I took five $100 bills out of my left pants pocket and fanned them out in front of her. ‘I guess, speaking of five, I have five reasons for being here. One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Take your damn money back lady! Put it towards that grave or whatever the hell you’re digging back there!’

“’We’re putting in a pool,’ said Carolyn.

“’Get this through your thick skull; this bribery crap doesn’t work on me! I didn’t even vote for you two last year; I voted for that Mexican girl Rosa and her mother! Seriously, if you’re going to try this on another judge, you might want to pick a talent for your daughter that she can actually do! She certainly can’t sing! Do you know how it would have looked if I had voted for you two after that crappy song she did last year? Forget it! I’m not for sale!’ I threw the money on the ground and turned to my car. I must have really laid into her because she didn’t even move to pick it up.

“Anyway, as I was approaching my car, I saw Julie coming out of a neighbor’s house with some boy. ‘I just don’t know what to do, Brent. All these rumors about your mom, and now this thing with Rosa,’ she said pointing at the house, ‘I don’t even know if I want to do this stupid pageant now.’”

“’Then get out,’ Brent told her. ‘Seriously, if it’s a stupid pageant, why do it? You’re thirteen, you can make some choices for yourself, and as far as I’m concerned, not being paraded around on stage like a trained seal is the right choice. I wish my sister would take that advice. Speaking of which, I should get home. I have a big French test tomorrow.’”

“I turned the key and started to drive off, but not before I saw that Brent kid turn and walk into Carolyn’s house.”

“And that, detectives, was the extent of my interaction with Julie Garret,” insisted Ben.

“Kelly had a brother,” said Jeffries.

“An older brother by the looks of it. That part always looked off to me; that kid had to be at least four years older than Julie. Last I checked, teenage boys don’t usually date backwards,” Ben explained.

“Thank you for your time, Mr. Glassman,” said Miller as they left the store. “Obviously Julie did that pageant.”

“And it sounds like this Brent had a real axe to grind with pageant girls,” added Will.

“It was his back yard. Let’s go find him,” insisted Miller.

Carolyn Pressman no longer lived in Philadelphia, but rather she had an apartment outside of the city. She was heavier now and her hair was a bright white. “My children should be here soon. They check in on me a few times a week.”

“That’s pretty convenient, for all of us. But I guess right now I’ll start with you,” said Will seated next to Kat on the white couch. The entire living room was white with the exception of a blue throw rug under an oak coffee table in the center. “Mrs. Pressman, we’ve been talking to some people associated with the pageant. We have reason to believe you engaged in some questionable activity with one of the judges.”

“The bribes, Mrs. Pressman,” added Kat.

“So, you’ve been talking to Ben Glassman. Look, It’s not like those bribes actually worked; he certainly let me know that they wouldn’t,” Carolyn informed.

“We’ve heard, but after all that work trying to guarantee a win only to have it fall through you must have been angry. Maybe you went looking for revenge,” said Jeffries.

“Do I need a lawyer? I didn’t touch that girl,” insisted Carolyn.

“So then it’s just a coincidence that her body turned up under a pool that was part of what was once your back yard,” added Jeffries.

The knob on the apartment door started to turn. “We’re back with your grocery order,” said a male voice as a pair of individuals entered the apartment with a series of Target bags in their hands.

“Brent and Kelly Pressman?” asked Will.

The pair dropped the bags on the floor at the sound of the strange voice. “Yes, who the hell are you?” asked Brent.

“Detectives Jeffries and Miller. We’re here to ask some questions about Julie Garret,” said Jeffries.

“Julie Garret, there’s a name I haven’t heard in awhile. I’m a second grade teacher now; those pageants seem like a lifetime ago,” said Kelly.

“Good riddance I say,” added Brent.

“Brent, it’s been fifteen years. Please don’t start ranting and raving about this again,” insisted Kelly.

“Actually, I would appreciate honesty from everyone here,” said Jeffries.

“Perfect, I’ll be honest. I don’t understand the point of beauty pageants; especially the ones that feature underage girls made to look like strippers,” informed Brent.

“I think that’s a little exaggerated!” Kelly replied.

“I think it’s completely accurate!” Brent responded.

“You sound a little bitter, Brent,” insisted Jeffries.

“Well, it’s the hypocrisy that gets to me! Parents make their daughters up to look like they’re 25, they get rewarded for it, and then people are actually shocked when something bad happens to one of them! That’s why I wanted to go away to school so badly, so I could move out and not have to hear about that stupid pageant anymore!” Brent explained.

"It does seem like a lot of craziness for a little silver crown," said Jeffries.

"It's more than just the crown, detective. It's $1,000," Kelly added.

"$1,000?" asked Jeffries.

"Well, a $1,000 college savings bond, but still, there's some money involved," Kelly explained.

“Where did you go to school?” asked Miller.

“I applied at Texas A&M but I didn’t make it. So I ended up getting my engineering degree from one of the state schools, Shippensburg University. Either way, I got to move away from the princesses,” Brent informed.

“Sounds like you wanted nothing to do with those girls. That’s interesting because we have a witness who says they saw Julie with you at a neighbor’s house a few nights before she disappeared,” explained Jeffries.

“Brent, they claim Julie’s body was buried under our old swimming pool,” Carolyn informed.

Brent shook his head. “Seriously! Well, I know how this is going to sound, but it wasn’t me. It could have been anyone in the neighborhood. Everybody in a one block radius knew we were getting a pool.”

“Who puts in a swimming pool in the middle of fall?” asked Miller.

“Nobody, that’s why we did it. We got the work done for half price,” Carolyn explained.

“Fair point, but it doesn’t exactly explain why you were seen at a neighbor’s house with Julie Garret and telling her she should quit the pageant,” explained Jeffries.

Brent threw his hands in the air. “Yeah, I met Julie a few times. We had someone in common; her friend Rosa Betista.”

“You had someone in common with a thirteen-year-old girl,” added Miller.

Brent shook his head. “No offense detective, but get real. I was four years older than Rosa. No, my motive was a little different; her mother was paying me for tutoring.”

“Tutoring?” asked Jeffries.

“Yeah, believe it or not, this pageant actually has academic requirements. The daughters are required to maintain a ‘stellar’ C average in order to be eligible, and at the time Princess Rosa was failing Chemistry. That’s where I entered the scene,” Brent explained. “Ironic really, since she was so good at applying Chemistry to her everyday life.”

Will’s head turned. “You’re saying Rosa was using drugs?”

“Well, nothing illegal, but it was nonetheless dangerous. Detectives, have either of you ever heard of Fen Phen?” asked Brent.

“The weight-loss drug?” Will replied.

“The potentially lethal weight-loss drug,” added Brent. “Rosa was taking it, and Julie found out…”

TLC
“Unpretty”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTYso26LDho

“I walked into the front door of Rosa’s house; a light-blue carpet lined the steps up to the main floor. As I climbed up the steps I called out, ‘Rosa, it’s Brent! You better have your book with you today!’

“Rosa’s room was the second door on the left as you came up the steps. I heard voices coming from that room; it sounded like two girls arguing. AS I slowly approached the door I could hear more clearly. ‘Leave me alone!’

“’Rosa, I thought we were friends; I’m just trying to help you! You’re putting yourself in real danger!’ Julie yelled.

“’You’re not trying to help me; you’re trying to scare me out of the pageant! Now get out of my way and let me do this!’ Rosa yelled. From where I stood I only had a partial view. but I could clearly see Rosa shove something out of the way, open a dresser drawer, and pull an orange pill bottle from it.

“At this point Julie came into view. I watched her get up in Rosa’s face. ’Oh, come on, I thought you knew me better than that! You think I’d lie about something this serious just to win a stupid pageant! It’s all over the news; that Fen Phen stuff has been known to kill people!’ Julie replied. ‘Does your mother know about those pills?’

“’Who do you think gave them to me? It’s her name on the prescription genius!’ Rosa replied as she took a step back. ‘Gees Julie, I never thought you would resort to these pathetic scare tactics. Nice try, but I feel perfectly fine, and I intend to win again this year. So if I were you, I’d back off!’.”

“Did you ever tell anyone about what you saw?” asked Jeffries.

“Who could I have gone to? If Rosa’s mother was really giving her the pills, that wouldn’t have done any good. And I couldn’t exactly go to the cops; Fen Phen was legal at the time. Anyway, Julie started to storm out after that, but not before she saw me. We talked a few times after that, and for awhile I really thought she would quit the pageant,” insisted Brent.

“But instead I guess she thought she could bring it all down with that big speech of hers,” said Kelly.

“Speech?” asked Jeffries.

“Beauty pageants have a section where judges interview the contestants. Julie was asked what being the next Philly Princess meant to her, and she goes into this rant about not winning at all costs and girls using dangerous drugs to get an edge in the contest. The speech was largely credited with winning her the pageant,” Kelly explained. “Back then it made no sense to me, but now hearing this information… it kind of changes things.”

Jeffries turned to Miller. “So Julie wins a crown off of a speech that basically outed Rosa as a drug user. That had to sting a little.”

4

Back at the station, Jeffries and Miller were about to enter one of the holding rooms. “Will, you know they give cops partners for a reason.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Jeffries.

“I’m talking about how you completely dominated the interview with the Pressmans,” said Miller.

“I didn’t exactly hear you chiming in,” Will said shortly. “We have Rosa in the box. Are we doing this or what?”

The pair entered the gray holding room and Will threw down a file in front of Rosa. “Have you ever sued anyone before?” asked Will.

“What?” asked Rosa.

“We’ve been talking to your friends the Pressmans, and after that we did a little research on you,” Will added as he opened the file. “These are your bank records; they indicate that you have been receiving structured monthly deposits from a trust since early 2001. This trust was set up by a company called Wyeth Pharmaceuticals to compensate people who experienced the highly dangerous side effects of a weight loss drug called Fen Phen. But I’m thinking you already knew that.”

Rosa shook her head. “Yes, in October, 2000 I lost my mother due to complications from primary pulmonary hypertension, a side effect of Fen Phen use. But I don’t see what that has to do with Julie.”

“Rosa, drop the act! Brent Pressman told us everything! He told us how he tutored you in Chemistry, he told us how you used your mother’s pills, and he told us how you threatened Julie when she found out!” Will shouted.

Rosa threw her hands up in the air. “I was angry; I thought she was just trying to scare me. My mother took those pills for years with no problems. She didn’t receive the diagnosis of PPH until 1999. Maybe I should have listened to Julie after all.”

“But back then you didn’t believe her! She tried to warn you; that failed! So then she kicked it up a notch and made a speech at the pageant exposing your little habit to an audience!” Will replied. “Is that why you did it, payback for embarrassing you?”

“I don’t understand; I thought DNA cleared me!” Rosa insisted.

“Actually, the blood sample we found was a match for Julie; it’s looking like she clawed herself by accident during the attack! But I’m guessing you already knew that!” insisted Will.

“I didn’t kill Julie! I left after that pageant was over; I wasn’t really in the mood to see Julie again after that point!” insisted Rosa.

Will slammed the table in front of Rosa into the wall scattering the papers across the floor. “STOP WASTING OUR TIME!”

“Will, what are you doing?” asked Miller.

But Will didn’t hear her. “You were in the perfect mood; you wanted revenge! You had motive, means, and opportunity because you knew that the Pressmans were putting in a pool next door and all you had to do was dig that hole a little deeper to bury your handiwork forever!”

“I didn’t kill Julie!”

“NO MORE LIES! YOU KILLED HER! JUST CONFESS! YOU KILLED HER! WE KNOW IT WAS YOU! CONFESS! ...”

The door flew open and soon Will found himself being dragged out by Vera and Valens. He thrashed and threw a few elbows along the way, but they extracted him from the room all the same. “What the hell was that?” asked Scotty.

“Doing my job!” Will responded.

“That’s doing your job! What the hell is up your ass lately? You don’t show up for days at a time, then you do show up and spend all your time snapping at everyone, and now this meltdown in the interview room! We’ll be lucky to get anything out of her now!” yelled Scotty. All eyes were on the scene now.

“Like you’ve never had to go hard on a suspect before! What about that Russian convenience store clerk from your first year, Scotty? Or you Vera, let me ask you something, does the name Joe Don Billingsley still ring any bells?” Will shouted.

“Hey Will, I’ve been on your side this whole time! I’m about the only one here who doesn’t want to kick your ass right now! If you want to keep it that way, shut up!” Vera spat back.

“So you want to fight me? Go ahead, because I’ve got a royal newsflash for you! I’m the only one trying to—“

John slammed his hand into one of the metal desks. “That’s enough!” A hush fell over the office. “Rush, get in there with Miller and see if you can salvage this interview. Nick, Scotty, back to your desks. Will, my office.”

Everyone scattered. Scotty returned to his desk. “Jackass,” he muttered under his breath.

Vera approached Scotty’s desk. “You know, you might want to ease up on Will.”

Scotty shook his head. “Sorry Vera, but I’m all out of sympathy for that psycho.”

“Look, I don’t blame you, but I’ve been talking to Will recently. He swore me to secrecy, but I think you need to know. Will is thinking about leaving…”

Lilly entered the interview room where Kat was attempting to reassemble the scattered papers. Rosa stood statue-like in the middle of the room. “I’d like to revisit the concept of suing someone please!”

Lilly picked a chair up off the floor and took a seat. “I can assure you that detective is being read the riot act as we speak. I don’t know what’s gotten into him, but he’s really taking this case personally.”

“Well, I’m not confessing just to make his life easier. I didn’t kill Julie; I’m telling you it was that bitch Kelly Pressman,” insisted Rosa.

“But we talked to that bitch Kelly Pressman and she put it all on you,” explained Miller.

“I’m not surprised, you can’t trust a word she says,” Rosa replied.

“Tell us about the speech Julie made; the one that Kelly says exposed your drug use to the world,” said Rush.

“That’s exactly what I am talking about; that girl doesn’t tell the whole story. For starters, she didn’t technically expose me; Julie had enough sense not to use names. Secondly, I am not the only one Julie took a piece out of that night…”

Mariah Carey
“Hero”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLFfXTwdVbY

“I remember how all of the girls were lined up on stage. One of the judges called Julie’s name and she stepped forward. ‘Julie Garret, your question is this. What does the title of Miss Philly Princess mean to you, a young lady of the 1990s?’

“For a moment Julie didn’t say anything; I thought we were about to have a repeat of the previous year. But then she finally moved her lips. ‘That’s an interesting question, and one I’ve actually given a lot of thought to recently. I could just tell you that it would mean the world to me if I was named the next Miss Philly Princess, but the truth is I’m not really sure if this pageant means that much to me anymore. I started doing this because I just thought it would be fun for my mom and me to play dress-up for one night a year, and I once thought that I'd do anything to wear that sparkly silver crown. But I’ve come to realize what the word ‘anything’ truly entails. Over the few short years that I’ve been doing this I’ve heard rumors of money changing hands between contestants and judges, I’ve been a victim of espionage, and most recently I have witnessed a fellow contestant taking a potentially lethal weight-loss drug just because she thought it would make her more beautiful and give her an edge in the contest.’ The audience was stone silent; I don’t think they blinked for the entire length of this thing. ‘I won’t tell you who; I’m not doing this to get anyone in trouble. I’m doing this to get people’s attention, and to let everyone know what really goes on behind the scenes. Furthermore, as much as I like dressing up like this, if things do not change this will be my last pageant.’

“A slow clap started to develop from the stunned audience as Julie went back to her place beside Kelly. That’s when I heard Kelly whisper in Julie’s ear, ‘If I was you, I’d watch your back when this is over.’.”

“The irony is she won because of that speech. I guess they had to give it to her or risk an audience riot,” Rosa explained. “I have a daughter now; my first decision as her mother was that I was going to put her in sports; I figured that would make her strong and brave like Julie. I tried to interest her in gymnastics of course, but at the end of the day she prefers basketball. Whatever, either way, I’m just glad she’s not into beauty pageants.”

“The long and the short of this story is that Kelly threatened Julie that night,” said Lilly. “That still sounds fishy to me. Kelly blames you, and then you blame Kelly. How do we know you’re not lying to us?”

“I can prove it. I have boxes of my mother’s old things at my house; one of them has a video of the pageant my aunt Celia made for us. I can bring in this tape, and then maybe you will trust me,” Rosa informed.

John closed the glass door to his office and sat across the desk from Will. “What the hell is going on, Will? I’ve seen you get crazed over cases before, but not like this. Then added to it is your taking multiple personal days in a row. You’ve never done that before. Explain this to me, Will,” said John. Will didn’t even move; he just gave John an icy stare. “Will, I’m your lieutenant. Please do not make me threaten you. We’re the old dogs of this unit; we go back a long way. I think that entitles me to some honesty.”

Will leaned in and put his elbows on the desk. ‘The truth is I’m sick, John. I got the medical report; all signs are pointing to early stage lung cancer. I’ve been thinking of leaving. On some level I know I probably should, but then I heard this call come through my police scanner: ‘young girl, blue dress, silver tiara,’ and I knew who it was and I just feel like I should see it through.”

John started scratching his chin. “You realize that with what you just told me; I shouldn’t let you stay on anymore.”

Will shook his head and stood up. “I will start packing my desk.”

“Sit down, Will,” insisted John. Will returned to his seat. “Here is how we’re going to proceed. I did not hear this; as far as anyone here is concerned you are perfectly healthy. Julie Garret is now your only case. You can stay on until the job is closed or until I feel that you are no longer physically fit enough for duty. At either point I will put into the city for your retirement. If, however, you blow up like that at anyone else again, the deal is off the table and I will be forced to terminate you without benefits. Is that clear?”

Will stood up. “Alright, that sounds fair.”

John extended his hand and Will shook it. “You’re a good cop, Will, and you’ve been around almost as long as me. If anyone deserves a cheesy gold watch and a crappy pension, it’s you.”

“Thank you, John,” said Will as he left the office.

Later that night Rosa entered the station waving a VHS tape in the air. “If you have a machine that will play this thing, here’s your proof.” The group of detectives led Rosa to an A/V room. Scotty plugged a VCR-inclusive television into the wall and inserted the tape.

John held the remote for the television. He kept fast-forwarding through the tape until Rosa called to him, “There! That’s the start of Julie’s speech!”

The group listened intently to the tape. “Well, the speech is practically word for word what Rosa told us,” said Lilly.

“Freeze it!” yelled Rosa. John paused the tape on a frame that featured a girl in a white dress leaning into Julie. “That’s Kelly in the white dress.”

“It does look like Kelly, but we can’t really make out what she’s saying,” said John.

“I’m telling you, I was there. She threatened her. I’m just glad I got out of there before the cat fight started,” insisted Rosa.

“Now you’re saying they fought?” asked Vera.

“I had just finished gathering my things and was about to leave through the back entrance when I saw Kelly get in Julie’s face. I don’t know exactly what went down, but Kelly definitely had the claws out because I could hear screaming as I walked away,” Rosa replied.

“It’s a good story. But there’s only one person who can verify it, and we can’t exactly trust her either,” Lilly informed.

“I don’t know, there might be one way to get her to talk. Tomorrow is a school day right?” asked Scotty.

Lilly and Scotty arrived at the entrance of James R. Ludlow Elementary early the next morning. They entered the school and saw Kelly in the center of one of the halls. “Bobby, no running in doors! I’m not going to warn you again!” Lilly and Scotty flashed badges in front of her. “Detectives, I’m kind of busy here. My family and I already told you everything.”

“We wouldn’t be here if that was true. We talked to Rosa; she gave a tape she had of the pageant. We saw Julie’s speech, and you conveniently left out the part where she exposed you too. She talked about how you and your mom spied on her and took her song, and she talked about how your mom tried to bribe that judge,” insisted Scotty.

“I just realized something. I don’t have to talk to you,” insisted Kelly.

“Well, you might want to because Rosa’s talking. She’s telling us all about how you and Julie got into it after she won,” Lilly responded.

“And we already know that you’ve been withholding information which is a criminal offense. So you can either cooperate with us now or we can arrest you in front of your kids, and I don’t think either one of us wants that,” Scotty added.

Kelly shook her head. “I thought small when I was a kid. That pageant was my whole world, and I thought Julie was taking that away from me. I’m not proud of what I did that night, and yes, the truth is that I was pretty angry and I don’t know what I might have done if Julie hadn’t left when she did.”

“So, you did fight, but Julie got away,” Lilly explained.

“More like someone pulled her out of the fire…”

Collective Soul
“The World I Know”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl0J0K-Tjlc

“It was backstage after the pageant. I went behind the deep red curtain and saw Julie leaning against the back wall wearing her ‘WINNER’ sash and crown. I lost it. I charged up to Julie screaming at the top of my lungs, ‘I hope you’re proud of what you did!’

“’You mean winning this stupid crown. Not really,’ Julie said.

“But I of course didn’t believe her. I just kept on shouting, ‘I was actually talking about your little speech destroying my life! Let me ask you something miss perfect, do you actually have any proof of what you said! I didn’t think so!’

“’Maybe not, but I do now!’ said Julie.

“’What?’

“’You’re doing an awful lot of barking at me for someone who’s innocent! I wasn’t sure of the rumors at first, but now it’s like the truth is screaming in my face!’ Julie yelled. ‘For the record, I was trying to save a life with my speech!’

“’Oh, what? Your little ‘contestant on drugs’ bit! Yeah, what was that all about anyway?’I asked.

“What Julie said next didn’t fully sink in right away. ‘Oh, how can you not know that? Don’t you ever talk to your brother? He—‘

“’You blew my shot at the crown!’ I shouted.

“’Then take it! If this stupid prize means that much to you then take it! I don’t want it anyway; this ‘beauty’ pageant is nothing more than an ugly sham! So take my crown, because, now that I think about, you deserve it a lot more than me!’ Julie told me.

“’I don’t want your sympathy!’ I yelled. That’s when I lunged at her with my nails out and ripped a hole in Julie’s left sleeve.

“That’s when her mother came out of the ladies’ room. ‘What’s going on out here?’ she asked. We split apart and Mrs. Garret got a good look at my work. ‘Jealous much? Julie, let’s go home; I’m getting you away from this psycho!’ She took Julie’s hand and they walked out the back entrance.”

“Julie had guts and called me out on all of my crap. But I swear all I did was rip that stupid hole in her dress; that’s a far cry from killing her,” insisted Kelly.

“That would explain the mystery of the torn dress,” explained Lilly. “You said Julie left with her mother that night.”

“She told police back then that Julie went out with friends to celebrate her victory,” said Scotty.

“Well, let me ask you this, how many friends do you think Julie had after all of that?” asked Kelly.

Maurine Lucas stood back as Jeffries and Miller lead a team of uniformed officers into her house. “You can’t just let these people trash my house!” she yelled as she walked backwards into her blue-carpeted living room.

“I’ve got a warrant that says I can. Back off lady; if I were you, I wouldn’t be crying foul right now,” insisted Jeffries. “You told me in 1996 that Julie went out with friends, but we have a witness who says they saw you leave with her that night. It used to be that cops never suspected parents in these cases. Now they’re the first people the cops question, and after this I can see why.”

“You’ve got it wrong! I didn’t kill Julie!” insisted Maurine.

“Will, you might want to see this!” Miller called out.
Jeffries walked to the back bedroom where Miller was standing holding a shoebox. “A shoebox?” asked Jeffries.
Miller opened the shoebox and showed him the contents. “Blue wedge heels, and they look a little too small to be Maurine’s.”

5

Will Jeffries had Maurine Lucas in the box back at the station. “You know Maurine, I’m practically the oldest member of my team; people are saying I should retire. It’s not like I haven’t considered it. I have been thinking a lot lately about time; time I’ve wasted to be more specific. To think I wasted fifteen years feeling sorry for you.”

“You should retire. If you think I killed Julie, you must be losing your mind!” insisted Maurine.

“You lied to me Maurine! At the morgue you said you had no idea what happened to Julie’s shoes, but you’ve had them the whole time!” Will informed. Then he pulled out a file and opened to a series of papers with highlighter marks on them. “I’ve done a little research on you. Do you recognize this?”

“Yeah, it’s my name on a list,” said Maurine.

“The Miss Philly Queen and Princess Pageant has a website with archives of past contestants. This is your name on multiple lists of past contestants going all the way back to 1971. It’s alongside your mother Deborah Lucas. You competed in the pageant when you were younger, but you didn’t win did you? According to this the closest you ever came was a runner-up in 1974,” Will explained.

“I did the pageant as a kid. So what?” asked Maurine.

“So I’ll bet the happiest day of your life was when you found out you were going to have a daughter; it gave you a second chance at glory!” insisted Jeffries.

Maurine let out a sigh. “Maybe I was doing a little vicarious living through my daughter. But it’s not like I forced her hand; she wanted to dress up and do the pageant with me. Anyway, we got crowns that night! Why would I get mad at my daughter for winning?”

“Not winning, quitting! That’s what she threatened to do in her big speech, right! But you couldn’t let that happen; it would put an end to your glory days!” insisted Will.

“You’re wrong about that!”

“I’ll bet you got really mad over her quitting! You argued when you got home, didn’t you? Things got heated; it got physical—“

“No!”

“But the real genius was burying her in Kelly’s backyard! Even if someone did find her, you still had the perfect patsy because you saw them arguing backstage!”

Maurine shook her head. “No! … Had I known then what I know now I would have understood where that speech was coming from!”

“Really, and what do you know now?” asked Jeffries.

“A few months after Julie disappeared I went to visit the Betista house; I thought maybe they would remember seeing something that night that might be helpful. As luck would have it, there was this news report on the television about this diet pill called Fen Phen. It talked about the dangerous side effects, how it was killing people, and the movement to get it taken off the shelves. Rosa came clean about how she and her mother were using it; suddenly what Julie did that night made a lot more sense. Then years later I saw an obituary in the paper for Rosa’s mother. My idiot ex-husband was right; that pageant was everybody’s undoing,” Maurine explained. “I didn’t get mad about Julie quitting. What I did was a lot worse.”

Jeffries leaned in. “It’s truth time, Maurine. What did you do?”

“At the time I thought that speech was a stunt to win over an audience. This is going to sound really naïve, but I competed in those pageants as a kid. The most devious thing I ever saw was a girl stuffing her bra. I never saw half the craziness Julie was talking about. You hear stories, but you don’t always believe something until you see it. I just didn’t see it,” Maurine responded. “You said we argued when we got home; the truth is we didn’t even make it that far….”

Oasis
“Wonderwall”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7I1nCcwJP0

“I was driving us home. I had just turned onto Girard Ave. to get back into Ludlow; that’s when our last conversation started. ‘I can’t believe that psycho girl tore your dress. I’ll call Grandma Lucas; she should be able to fix it,’ I said.

“’It’s okay, really,’ Julie told me.

“’Don’t let that girl get to you. That’s your victory dress; you earned it with that speech. Granted, I would have appreciated some notice if you were planning to adlib, but whatever. It worked; you had that audience eating out of the palm of your hand, Threatening to quit like that was a stroke of genius,’ I told her.

“Julie didn’t respond right away. For a moment she just stared at her hand; I didn’t know what to make of it. Then she spoke up, ‘It is a nice dress. Nice nails too; they’re good and sharp.’

“That’s when Julie just started digging into the left side of her face. I actually saw blood; that’s when I pulled off the road and we got out of the car. ‘Girl, are you crazy? That’s blood! You’re scratching yourself raw!’

“’Good! I hope I get a big jagged scar so I won’t be pretty anymore!’ she yelled.

“’This isn’t you, Julie! What’s going on? You’re not making any sense!’ I shouted.

“Oh right, just like my speech didn’t make any sense to you! After all, who would want to quit this wonderful pageant?’ Julie yelled.

“’Julie—‘

“’You think I made that up just to win a stupid crown! You think I’m as bad as Kelly! Well, you got your crown, and here take your shoes! I’m done!’ she shouted as she threw her shoes down on the hood of the car.

“I should have known that I had stepped on a landmine, but it all just sounded like rambling to me. ‘Kelly? … Well, where do you think you’re going in your bare feet?’

“’You called me a liar! I’m going to prove that I’m not! And don’t worry, I know how to get home from here!’ Julie yelled. Then she just ran off.

“’Julie, get back here!’ I tried to chase after her, but heels aren’t exactly meant for running. I kept up with her for about two blocks. Then she turned a corner, and I lost her in the white hot light of the streetlights. I didn’t know what else to do, so I just started shouting, ‘Julie! Okay, I get that you’re angry! Just come back and we’ll talk about this! … … JULIE!’

“I went back to the car and waited for about a half an hour. When she wasn’t there, I just drove home. I figured she would come back once she cooled down, but then morning came and… she didn’t. That’s when I knew I had to call the police,” Maurine explained.

“Why not just tell me this in 1996? There might have still been a chance that I could have saved her!” insisted Will.

“That’s just what I wanted to do back then, relive my crowning achievement as a mother. Julie was trying to get people’s attention, and I called her a liar. I didn’t believe her and it cost me everything,” Maurine replied. “Do you want to know the sad part of this story? Somebody else must have believed her.”

“How do you figure that?” asked Jeffries.

“When you apply to join the pageant you have to give them your address, and they put that address on a mailing list. I didn’t take our names off of that list right away; I guess I kept hoping that Julie would come home and everything would magically go back to the way it was. Anyway, we received information from the pageant about six months after Julie disappeared regarding new rules as of 1997 requiring mandatory weigh-ins and drug screenings for all contestants. I guess she got someone’s attention after all,” Maurine informed.

Nick Vera stuck his head inside the interview room door. “Will, we’ve got something.”

Will stepped out into the hall. “I guess that explains the missing shoes and the scratches on her face; I don’t think she’d lie about witnessing something like that. Maurine said Julie ran off looking for proof; she had to be running to Rosa’s house. That’s the only real evidence she had.”

“The question is did she get there, and I’m not so sure. Do you remember that letter we found with Julie’s body?” asked Vera.

“Questioned Documents finally did something with it?” asked Will.

“After I broke the record for the longest chain of curse words ever, yes. It turned out part of the reason that it took so long was that they had to send it to trace because they found fluids on it,” said Vera.

“Well, that makes sense. It was buried under a pool for fifteen years,” added Will.

“I mean saliva, Will. The lab ran tests on it, and it’s a DNA match for Julie,” Vera explained.

Will looked puzzled. “How does that happen? You lick an envelope not a letter.”

“Either that or someone really shoved it in her face. Secondly, they were able to restore most of the document,” Vera said handing Will a piece of paper. “For your reading pleasure.”

Will started to read aloud. “’Texas’… ‘We regret to inform you…’ … Okay, how the hell did Julie get this?”

“Do you recognize this letter, Brent?” asked Vera of Brent Pressman. They were in the box with Jeffries.

“Where the hell did you get this?” asked Brent.

“Let’s just say it was buried under some stuff,” said Vera. “It was pretty faded too, but we were able to restore it. You see when you right with a pencil it leaves an impression on the paper. Even if you erase it the impression is still there and able to be read. I don’t understand all the technical stuff behind it, but apparently it’s the same with printer ink.”

“Well, I don’t see what this has to do with anything. Besides, I already told you I didn’t get into Texas A&M,” said Brent.

“That’s what I thought too, but you need to read a little further down. That’s not a rejection letter from the school; it’s a rejection letter for a scholarship from the school. You see, I’m just trying to figure out why somebody would apply for a scholarship from a school that turned them down,” added Jeffries.

“I applied for the school and the scholarship at the same time. One rejection followed the other,” said Brent.

Will shook his head. “Brent, we may not have engineering degrees like you, but we’re not stupid. We called the school! The registrar’s office checked their records; you got into Texas A&M in 1996!”

“But I couldn’t afford it without the scholarship so same difference,” Brent replied.

“Do you know what? Let’s stop beating around the bush! The letter was found under Julie’s body in a hole in what was once your backyard! How do you explain that, Brent?”

“I got frustrated and threw the letter in the dirt. The killer must have dumped Julie’s body on top of it,” said Brent.

“That’s possible. I’d say you missed your calling as a criminal lawyer were it not for the fact that dead girls don’t spit! How did her saliva get on the letter?” Jeffries asked.

“Saliva?”

“That’s right genius! The letter tested positive for saliva; it was a genetic match for Julie!” Jeffries yelled. Brent froze trying to think of his next move.

“You don’t believe us. That’s fine, here’s a copy of the DNA report,” said Vera as he placed another paper on the desk. “Being a big shot scientist, you’d probably understand it better than me anyway. But I got the long and short of it; the bottom line says ’99.9% match with Julie Garret’.”

Brent put his hand to his chin. “They tell you all the time as a kid that if you work hard and get good grades good things will come from it. I was an honor student right up until I graduated from high school. I had a 1400 SAT score. I thought I was set, but what the fairy tale doesn’t tell you is that you’ll be going up against 1,000 other kids with the exact same grades and the exact same SAT score and the chances of you actually seeing any money are slim to none!”

“But Julie got money; a $1,000 dollar college savings bond,” Vera added.

“Yeah, she got money, and for what? Having nice hair? Looking good in a dress? You tell me how that’s fair!” Brent yelled.

“You’re right, Brent, it’s not fair. But, then again, neither is a mother outliving her child. You see, that’s the thing that nobody thinks about in the heat of the moment,” said Vera.

Brent sighed. “Damn it, why couldn’t she just read that letter? That’s all I wanted. I wanted her to see how, while she was playing supermodel all day, a good person who wanted to actually contribute to the world was getting screwed to the wall!...”

Cold Case Soundtrack: “The Professor” www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zB1_5RKKE8

“Julie walked by my house that night as I was about to go in. I shouted to her, ‘Well, if it isn’t the new princess!’

“’Get out of my way, Brent. I need to see Rosa,’ she said.

“’I don’t think Rosa wants to speak to you right now!’ I told her.

“’Maybe not, but I need to see her,’ Julie said.

“’Why? So you can dig up more dirt you can use against everyone! Kelly came home in a fit over what you did! She even said how you told her to ask me about it!’ I screamed.

“’Fine, stand here and yell. I’ll just find another way around,’ Julie said.

“Julie went behind my house and I chased after her. ‘You said you were done! You lied to me!’

“Julie turned to me. ’What?’

“’You said you were quitting, but instead you used the information you had to win! That’s what you spoiled princesses do; you use people to get what you want!’ I said.

“’Why do you care so much about what I do? You’re going away to school next year; you’ll be able to put this nonsense behind you,’ she said.

“’No, I’m not. Read this letter if you want to know more.’ I pulled the letter out from my coat pocket, but Julie wouldn’t take it.

“’What happened?’ she asked.

“’If you really want to know, read the letter! I haven’t been able to put it down all day!’ I yelled. ‘I didn’t get the scholarship; I’m not going to Texas A&M next year!’

“’That’s impossible! You’re the smartest guy I know; you said you had a 1400 on your SAT!’ Julie said.

“Well, I guess I needed a 1401! But you got money tonight, didn’t you, princess?’ I replied.

“’I’m really getting sick of that!’ Julie yelled.

“’You don’t look sick of it to me; nice crown princess!’

“’Stop calling me that!’

“’Why? It’s an honor; you’re an American princess! You’re a pretty, pretty princess, and we’re just the peasants who serve you!’ I yelled.

“’Shut up, Brent!’

“’That’s what’s wrong with this country; everybody is obsessed with looks! Nobody wants to pay attention to anything not pretty! ‘More fighting in the Middle East today, but who cares! We have a bigger crisis to report; Michael and Lisa Marie might be splitting up!’,’ I shouted. ‘Read this letter!’

“’No!’

“’Read the damn letter!’

“Julie tore the letter from my hands, threw it in the dirt, and spat on it. ‘Get away from me, Brent!’

“’You are such a spoiled little princess just like the rest of them!’ I shouted. I finally snapped. I wrapped my hands around her prissy little neck and squeezed and squeezed, and squeezed… until she went limp in my arms.

“When I cooled down I realized that this girl was dead; I had to do something. They hadn’t poured the foundation for the pool yet, so I took a shovel that one of the workers left behind and dug the hole a little deeper.”

John Stillman stood in the middle of the office. “Everyone, can I have your attention! As some of you may know; Will Jeffries has decided that this was his last case! It’s a decision he agonized over for a long time, but he has finally decided to retire! As of tomorrow, Will Jeffries is no longer a member of the Philadelphia Police Department! We’ll miss you, Will!”

Sarah McLachlan
“I Will Remember You”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxoEpVDGvPE

Lilly and Scotty stood outside Rosa’s gymnastics class with Rosa. They explained to her about the final moments before Julie’s death.

Kat Miller had the task of doing the same with Kelly Pressman. She explained that her brother was most likely going to be charged with second degree murder, but, because he was still a minor when he committed the act, they might be able to get him tried as a juvenile.

Back at her home, Maurine Garret sat on the edge of her bed. She held her old pair of blue heels in her hands and stared at the wall. She was startled for a moment when she saw a shadow on the wall. It was Willis. He joined her on the bed and for a moment they briefly saw the ghost of their daughter parading about the room in her blue pageant dress before she faded from view.

Back at the station Will Jeffries put Julie’s blue heels in a white file box. John handed him a felt-tipped marker and Will marked the box CLOSED. He then put the things from his own desk, the last of which being a picture of his late wife, into a brown box. He shook Vera’s hand before he picked up the box and walked out of Philadelphia PD one last time.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHd7937I7SQ

Audio PowerPoint slides now also available.

AFTER THE SHOW

This episode marks the beginning of some serious changes for the cold case team. I am sure some might question my decisions as a writer here; you might ask why I chose to get rid of the black guy first or why I chose to get rid of the old guy first ... That is really just how I saw a season 8 playing out; I felt this would be the time to change things up. I had a plan for most of the characters for how a season 8 would play out and it did involve losing some people. I also have a new detective arriving on the scene soon. Also, technically I just retired him for now. I have not made up my mind weather or not to actually kill him yet.

Will Jeffries deserved a decent send off; I knew that much going into this project. All of the characters on this series had cases from their pasts that haunted them for years; Will Jeffries had more than most. Thus, it only seemed natural to me to end his career on an unsolved case from his past.

The case itself came to me after I saw a documentary on the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping. There was a scene in the film where they featured a press clip of someone else who had a child go missing and they made a point of stating that everyone knew who Elizabeth Smart was but nobody knew his kid because his family did not have the resources to garner nationwide support and press attention. This reminded of the suspicious death of another rich girl, JonBenet Ramsey in 1996, and her world of child beauty pageants. That same year, the dangerous side effects of the weight loss drug Fen Phen were also starting to come to light, and I knew this fit in well with the eating-disorder-riddled world of modeling and pageants. I felt I needed to create a less well off version of JonBenet that would make Will go so far as to risk his health to solve her case.

I also know that I messed up the music again, although not as bad as the last one. TLC's "Unpretty", I don't believe this song was released until 1999. Someone brought up Aqua's "Barbie Girl" to me after I showed them this case; if only I had thought of that sooner. I started the episode with Jill Sobule's "Supermodel" as I felt her sarcastic undertones depicted what could be the hidden ugliness of the beauty world (and based on what little of this stuff I have seen on television, I probably watered this episode down a lot). I ended with S a r a h McLaughlin's "I Will Remember You" in part because I felt that parts of it could apply to the Garrets, but also I thought it was a good send off for Will. I seriously hope I did Will justice here.