Cold Case 8-2: The Company (Part 2)

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

“The next night, he went out, and he never came back.” Jimmy whispered.

“Did you ever tell anyone about this?” Kat asked. “To you mom, maybe?”

Jimmy shook his head. “I never told anyone before today. I’ll never forget that look on her face. She just looked so disappointed. I guess she thought he was something different than what he really was too."

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

Cold Case Soundtrack: "Forever Blue" www.youtube.com/watch?v=es66B6MU5XU

Lilly walked about of Observation, which Stillman and Cavanaugh had already left. When she caught up to them, they were standing around Scotty and Jeffries, a phone in his hand.

“Dispatch just got a 911 call from a guest at the motel where Bonnie was staying.” Jeffries said “A woman matching her description was just abducted outside her room by two men in a black van, five minutes ago”

Stillman shook his head. “Garrison’s tying up loose ends before he makes a run for it.”
“If we don’t get to them before they stop, she’s dead.” Cavanaugh said.

“We get a make on that van? Which way they were headed?” Stillman asked.
Jeffries nodded, handing him a pad.

“We gotta go now,” Lilly said, glancing at the writing on the pad. “We don’t have much time.”

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

“Black van spotted heading north on 352.” The police dispatcher said.. “Possible hostage, Caucasian female, mid-forties.”

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

Thick trees lined the road, where Cavanaugh’s SUV pulled to a stop as the saw the van. Lilly and Cavanaugh drew their guns and hurried over to check inside the van, already knowing it would be empty.

“Over there.” Lilly said, pointing to a hint of footprints leading into the woods on the right side.

Cavanaugh took a quick glance back at the road. Back-up would be here in a few minutes, but Bonnie almost certainly didn’t have that long.

“Come on.” Lilly said, giving Cavanaugh a nod before hurrying into the woods.

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

“Please, please!” Bonnie sobbed as Moreno and the other mercenary dragged her through the forest.

“Shut up!” Moreno hissed, taking a quick glance behind him before moving forward.

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

Lilly could hear Cavanaugh signaling their location on the radio, but didn’t look or slow down. She wasn’t even sure if they were still headed in the right direction, but adrenaline wouldn’t let her slow down. Ignoring the branches that brushed against her, she ran deeper into the forest.

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

As they emerged into a clearing, Moreno threw the still-pleading Bonnie to the ground. He gave a quick nod to other mercenary, who stood over Bonnie, blocking her path. Moreno then raised his gun, directly at the back of her head.

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

The jarring sound of the two gunshots forced Lilly and Cavanaugh out of their run. Lilly’s eyes widened as she looked at Cavanaugh. Neither said a word, but hurried forward in the direction of the gunshots.

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

Lilly emerged into clearing and immediately saw Bonnie.

She was on her knees, trembling and breathing heavily. Beside her on the ground were the unmoving bodies of the two mercenaries, each with bullet wound in their chest.
Lilly looked over to see Sharon no less than fifty feet away, her gun still raised, a police scanner peaking out of her jacket pocket, and a solemn look on her face.
While Cavanaugh checked the bodies, then Bonnie, Lilly walked over to Sharon, who lowered the gun.

Sharon said nothing but glanced over at Bonnie with a hint of disgust, then turned back to Lilly and let out a sigh of relief.

Lilly set the cup of coffee down in front of Bonnie in the FBI field office’s interview room. Bonnie, looking exhausted and pale, didn’t touch it.

“So, you ready to tell us what happened?” Lilly said, as she and Cavanaugh sat down.
Bonnie said nothing, only giving them a defensive glare.

“Bonnie, we know about that misunderstanding at Jeff’s house.” Cavanaugh said.

“Between that and wanting to get in good with your boss, you’ve got motive. Jeff would’ve still trusted you enough to come to the park that night. Maybe you even pulled the trigger yourself.”

“I didn’t do that!” Bonnie suddenly.

“Then tell us who did.” Cavanaugh continued. “You do that and tell us where Garrison is, we’ll tell th D.A. you cooperated.”

Bonnie looked at Cavanaugh, then Lilly, uneasily.

“We talked some of your co-workers at the CIA.” Cavanaugh said, looking over the file folder in his hands. “Apparently, you were a real up-and-comer there back in the day. Then you hitched your wagon to Bob Garrison, and he turned you into a glorified secretary, while he gets a promotion.”

“What happened in the woods there, that’s how Bob Garrison rewards loyalty.” Lilly said, leaning closer. “He uses people, and the second they stop being useful, they end up dead. Ray Martin, Jeff Royce, Ethan Moore, you.”

Bonnie shifted uncomfortably, as her face looked pained.

“Jeff believed in you.” Lilly said.

A tear rolled down her cheek. “He always told me what a good agent I was.“

Lilly smiled slightly. “So prove him right.”

Bonnie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “There’s a private airfield two hours north of the city.” She shook her head. “He wasn’t even worried about me telling anyone about it.”

Lilly looked over at Cavanaugh, who was already standing, and heading towards the door.
“Talk about what happened the night Jeff died,” she said, turning back to Bonnie.

Bonnie swallowed hard. “Jeff called me and told me Ethan had called to meet him at the park. Steve had overheard some phone call between Ethan and Garrison and thought it was too dangerous, but Jeff thought he should go and find out what they knew. He thought he’d be safe as long as I was his eyes and ears.”

“He didn’t know.” Lilly said.

“I… I was just so upset about what happened before,” Bonnie said, starting to shake. “And Garrison confronted me when I got back to the hotel. He said my career was at stake, that I could have a future working with him, or throw it away.”

“So, you had to make a choice.” Lilly said, looking thoughtful.

“I thought I made the right one,” Bonnie continued. “Garrison said he’d just talk some sense into Jeff, that maybe Jeff would even thank me one day.”

“Garrison was there that night?” Lilly asked.

Bonnie nodded. “It was the only time I ever saw him get his hands dirty…”

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

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

“Bonnie, I need those heat signatures.” Jeff whispered into the earpiece.

“Okay, I’ve almost got it.” Bonnie said, sitting in the van, her eyes nowhere near a computer screen. “All right, I’ve got movement sixty feet away at five o’clock.”

“That’s gotta be Ethan.” Jeff said.

“Yeah, probably.” Bonnie said, before turning to Ethan, who was sitting next to her in the van, with a nervous look.

Jeff slipped around the bushes, towards the signature Bonnie had given him. If he was careful, he should be able to get the drop on him.

As he moved into the clearing by the walkway, however, he couldn’t find any trace of Ethan, or anyone else.

“Drop the gun,” the voice behind him said.

Jeff spun around to see Bob Garrison pointing a gun at him.

Garrison gestured to the park bench beside the walkway. “Come on, Jeff. Set it down.”
Jeff frowned and stared for a moment before setting the gun down on the bench.
Garrison smiled. “Why don’t you give me that earpiece too?”

Jeff’s eyes narrowed, before he pulled out the earpiece and tossed it to Garrison, who caught it with his free hand, and raised it up to his mouth..

“Good work, Bonnie,” he said, causing Jeff’s eyes to widen.

“Yeah, don’t be too surprised.” Garrison said with a frown. “Bonnie’s a smart girl. She knows which one of us can give her a future.”

Jeff looked at the earpiece for a moment, then spoke.

“Bonnie?”

“Jeff,” Bonnie said through the earpiece. “Jeff, I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right, Bonnie. It’s all right.” Jeff said glumly. “You’re a good agent.”

In the van, Bonnie blinked back tears, as Ethan touched her arm.

“It’s gonna be okay.” Ethan said, trying to sound reassuring. “Jeff’s… he’s a smart guy, you know? He’ll do the right thing.”

Bonnie could only swallow.

“All right. Enough of that.” Garrison said, putting the earpiece in his pocket. “Where’s Omar?”

Jeff shrugged. “Omar’s dead. I told you that.”

“I’m not in the mood, Jeff.” Garrison said quietly. “I’m telling you to give him to me right now.”

“I don’t work for you anymore. I would’ve thought your boys would’ve told you that after what happened.”

“You’re not leaving here without telling me where he is.”

“This was never about national security. This was about saving your own ass.”

“Where is he, Jeff?”

“You know, if you’d left him alone, he probably never would’ve said anything to anyone. All he wanted to do was forget everything that happened, start over here. But you just couldn’t stand the fact that someone had something on you, that something was out of your control.”

“I’ve spent nearly thirty years protecting American lives,” Garrison hissed. “I don’t have to justify myself to you. Now you better decide if some camel jockey’s worth it, Jeff, because you’ve got a lot more to lose than I do.”

“You don’t scare me. Anything happens to my family, they go missing, have an accident, I’ve made arrangements to have everything come out.”

“Where is he?” Garrison repeated, raising the gun.

“And just for the record,” Jeff said with a hint of a smile. “He’s more of an American than you’ll ever be.”

“Where is he!?” Garrison shouted.

Jeff shook his head. “I’m not giving him up to you, and you’re not gonna find him. You’re not that smart.” Jeff took a step forward. “Now, if you’re gonna shoot me, then do it already. Otherwise I–“

The sound of the gunshot nearly caused Bonnie to jump from her seat. She covered her mouth and looked up at the monitor in time to see Jeff slump to the ground. She could see Garrison stare at Jeff’s body for a moment, before crouching down to pull Jeff’s wallet from his jacket.

“Well, that didn’t go like I hoped.” Garrison said dryly into his own earpiece. “All right, Bonnie, Ethan, I need you to access Philly PD records. There’s something I need you to find.”

Tears were still rolling down Bonnie’s face, as she typed in the information, interrupted by sobs.

As the record printed off, Ethan, still looking in shock himself, tore the sheet from the printing roll and handed it to Bonnie.

As he did, there was a knock at the van doors. Ethan reached over to open them revealing Garrison, still holding the wallet.

“Did you find a match?” Garrison asked Bonnie impatiently.

She only sobbed in response.

“Bonnie!” Garrison snapped, causing her to jump.

Breathing heavily, Ethan took the paper from Bonnie’s hands and gave it to Garrison.
“Uhhh, yeah. Yeah, we did.”

Garrison looked over the page for a moment, then nodded.

“Yeah, okay, this one should do.” Garrison pulled a cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number. “Moreno, it’s me. Yeah, it went down like you said it would. Listen, there’s someone I need you to find.” His eyes scanned over the page. “His name is Oscar Torres.”

Bonnie could only look up to Jeff’s body on the monitor and stare…

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

Bonnie looked down at the table. Lilly nodded and slid the pad and pen over to her.

“Okay, thanks.” Cavanaugh said into the phone, hanging it up as he noticed Lilly walking out of the interview room holding Bonnie’s confession. “FBI Tac team picked up Garrison and the rest of his men on the way to the airfield. They’re bringing them back here now. We can take them all over to central booking when they get here.”

“Good.” Lilly said, nodding, but looking somewhat distracted.

“I got something else that might interest you.” Cavanaugh said, picking up a file folder off the desk next to him. “William Phillips, civil rights leader in Mississippi, shot in his driveway in ‘62, the day after the riots at Ole Miss. The murder weapon just turned up, belonged to some old Klansmen who’s still shooting his mouth off. Anyways, there’s been some pressure on the Bureau to reopen the case, so once everything’s finished up here, I thought maybe we could head down there, see what we can find.”

Lilly looked at him for a moment and sighed. “I don’t think I’m gonna be able to that.”
Cavanaugh looked at her curiously. “Something wrong?”

“Just not sure if I’ve thought this through. I’ve just been thinking about what I’m leaving behind.”

Cavanaugh shrugged. “From what I’ve seen of Valens and the others, they can handle themselves.”

Lilly shook her head quickly and smiled. “I’m not just talking about them. You know, my dad wasn’t around since I was a kid, my sister was off God knows where, and my mom could barely take care of herself, so I got pretty used to being on my own.”

She took a breath. “Then the last couple of years I’ve been reconnecting with my dad and his family. My sister’s got a kid now. I think she’s actually trying to get her act together. I mean a couple of years ago, I would’ve jumped at this, but the first time in a long time I actually feel like might be letting someone down, you know?”

Cavanaugh smiled and shrugged. “I’m lucky if I see my folks at Christmas. I got nieces and nephews I haven’t even met yet, so yeah, I get it. Kinda sucks, but I get it.”
He looked away for a moment, then looked back at her. “What if there were a way to have both?”

“What do you mean?” Lilly asked.

“Well, we’re able to deputize local law enforcement sometimes, like we did on the Quinn case. You could stay here, and maybe every few months, if I got a lead on a cold job somewhere, you could come out and help me with something, have your cake and eat it too.”

Lilly’s eyes narrowed, but she kept her smile. “Can you do that?”

“My boss owes me one. I think I could sell him on it.”

Lilly thought for a moment then nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Okay.”

“Well… I’d better get Bonnie ready to go. You’ve got the rest of them to get ready.”

“Yeah, I’m on that,” Cavanaugh said with a nod, before heading to the exit.

“Hey, Cavanaugh,” Lilly called.

Cavanaugh spun around and looked at Lilly, who was giving him a sly smile.

“Don’t be a stranger.”

REM
“Man on the Moon”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3CR_CxhIeE

Cavanaugh smiled and headed down the hall.

Still smiling herself, Lilly turned and headed back towards the interview room…

The rain was coming down fairly heavily by the time the cars pulled up to Central. Lilly, Cavanaugh, and several other officers opened the doors and led Bonnie, Garrison, and the half-dozen mercenaries, all in handcuffs, out of the cars, though the heavy crowd towards the doors.

Garrison, wearing a permanent scowl, recoiled at the various reporters’ microphones being pointed at him. He noticed Steve in the crowd, giving him a smug grin and immediately turned away. He turned his glare to Bonnie, who only frowned back.

Bonnie looked over to see Sharon and Jimmy in the crowd. Her gaze softened as she gave them an apologetic look. Sharon only gave her a dull stare while Jimmy looked back at Bonnie in disappointment.

Lilly, leading Bonnie by the arm, looked to the left and caught a glimpse of Ethan in the crowd. He looked back at her and Bonnie with guilt for a moment, before lowering his head and fading away.

Garrison, being escorted by Cavanaugh, looked over to see Omar, being escorted by Scotty into the building. Omar gave Garrison a hard stare, then headed inside.
Lilly handed Bonnie off to a uniformed officer, then turned around and gave the building a look over, letting the rain fall on her as she did…

Sitting in the interview room with a microphone in front of him, Omar began to speak, as Scotty, Stillman, Cavanaugh, and nearly two dozen officials from almost as many agencies looked on. Omar looked up at Scotty and Cavanaugh, who both gave him an approving nod and smile, before he resumed talking…

At his cabin, Steve brought the axe down hard on the piece of wood, chopping it neatly in two. He looked around at the tranquil surroundings and took in a breath of mountain air. Satisfied, he let out a long sigh and resumed chopping…

Sharon walked across the front yard of her house to see Jimmy standing there, staring at the driveway. After a moment, Jimmy noticed Jeff on the street walking towards the house. Sharon walked over and put her hands on her son’s shoulders, as they watched Jeff look at them with a wistful smile, before fading away. Sharon and Jimmy looked at each other with a hint of relief and resignation, and headed back inside…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5UjqRme9EU

Leaning at his desk in Homicide, Scotty stared at his phone uneasily, before he looked up to see Louie waving him and Kat over. The two detectives shrugged and walked over to look at the phone Louie was holding up, showing a picture of him, apparently at an animal shelter, proudly holding a small Daschund puppy. The two gave each other looks as Louie excitedly told them about his newest dog…

In storage, Stillman placed Ethan’s case box on the shelf with the others, then picked up Jeff’s box, now with the word CLOSED written on the side of the lid, set it down in the next row, then walked off…

Lilly stepped into the doorway of Homicide, immediately receiving an acknowledging nod from Vera as he walked by. As she stepped inside, Kat walked past, giving her smile. Jeffries looked up at Lilly from his desk with a knowing nod as she passed by. She looked over at Stillman’s office, where she could see him watching her from inside, looking pleased.

In the corner of the squad, she saw Scotty sitting, taking notes as Maria Trejo explained what she knew of her daughter’s death, handing him a picture of her.

Lilly walked over and gently took the photo from Scotty. Scotty looked up at her with a wide smile, which she returned, before she sat down to hear Maria speak.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHd7937I7SQ

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

I recently learned how to create audio presentations in PowerPoint, and thus have decided to convert all of my Cold Case Virtual Season 8 stories into audio PowerPoint Slides. Unfortunately, the PowerPoint files are too large to attach here. If anyone is interested in these audio recitations, please send me a private message with your e-mail address.

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

So, it seems demand for these audio presentations is not exactly skyrocketing. Let me state here once and for all that I do not charge for these presentations. I make no money off of the Cold Case Virtual Season 8; I never intended to make money off of this. This is just a passion that I have had for several years because I thought the show deserved a better ending. Even if I wanted to make money off of this, I would most likely face serious copyright claims due to the amount of music and background audio that I use.

The audio presentations consist of my slightly adlibed narrations of the five acts of each episode. Flashback sequences also play featured music just like in the show or I use selections from the Cold Case Soundtrack. I also treat listeners to a brief commentary after each episode. I suppose I could just post those After the Show segments here as messages, but I just thought the audio component would be a nice addition.

I thought about learning how to post these presentations on YouTube, but, once again, copyright laws.

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

AFTER THE SHOW:

As I have stated several times, the first five episodes of Cold Case Virtual Season 8 are not my creation. As much as I would like to take credit for this insane two-part beginning, I can't do that. What's more, I don't even know the author's identity except to say that they must have had some police or military experience in order to put this level of detail into an episode; that is definitely not me.

This was, however, what made me take this project seriously, and I was somewhat surprised at the fact that the original season died after only 5 episodes. I had always felt that the show got a raw deal at the end, and I had several ideas that I thought would have made good episodes for Cold Case. I honestly think I could have kept it going with a season 9, but I will cross that bridge whenever I happen to get there as I do not even know how I would end a season 9 at this point.