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Missing Love	By : SisterWine Category: 1 through F > Cold Case Views: 1032 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Lilly Rush and the Cold Case team belong to Meredith Stiehm. I make no money from this nor do I wish any harm or slandre against this series. The OCs, including the ME and Tom Cort, are my own inventions. THIS WORK IS FICTION

Chapter List
- 1-One
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-Ten
- 11-Eleven
- 12-Twelve
- 11
- 12
Cory dragged himself over to where he had seen his sister's remains and touched what was left of the small, pink floral dress she had worn. "I'm sorry, I couldn't save you, Cady. At least, we're together, again." He gasped and flinched as the pain from breathing through broken ribs and a sore back only worsened with each movement and shallow breath he made. He lie on his stomach, beside her and tried to see her through the dark of the basement. He shivered as the room temp dropped, as the night wore on. Closing his eyes, he rejoiced at seeing his sister again but the moment was bittersweet as he never expected to have his father keep her, as if she were a memento, along with his own family.
"Cory...?"
Shifting as gently as he could, Cory looked around the lightened room to see who had said his name. Finding Carolyn on the steps, he groaned and gasped as another twinge of pain hit as he turned his body to sit up and look at her. "He'll kill you if he finds you here."
Carolyn stepped down the remained five steps and shone her small flashlight around the room. "I..." she paused on the grouping of remains, along the far wall, "dear God, what is this place?"
"Some place I told my boys never to go down to." Vince stepped slowly down the stairs, from standing at the entrance and stopped just behind Carolyn, at the bottom. He kept his focus on Cory let himself blink over the decayed remains, Cory sat in the middle of. Nodding over to the three skeletons he had lined up, he pointed to his sister. "Bernadette, my little sister, had an 'accident' and couldn't walk. I took care of her. Watched my Pa rip her from me and toss her over the balcony. He and my worthless Ma just bitched at each other. So, they had to learn a lesson. I loved her more than anything." He nodded to the woman beside his parents. "Charmaine," Vince laughed to himself, "managed to get curious after I told her no. She could have been the mother of my boys but,... that damn curious-streak all bitches have. Then, that bitch Erin. Now, my own son." He paused to see the pained look on Cory's face as the youngest shifted a broken leg. "You won't be lonely long, boy. Soon as your Mama gets here, we're gonna have a 'come to Jesus' meeting."
Cory started to shake.
Turning around in shock, Carolyn stared at Vince. "You're not leaving him down here, are you?" Her jaw dropped at the admission Vince gave.
"He ain't learned his lesson, yet." Vince deadpanned as he met her eyes. "Get upstairs." He grabbed her arm and yanked her back towards the stairs.
Cory shifted again. "Pa, please. I won't do it again, I swear. Leave Ma outta this." Cory's breathing had become ragged as he stared up at his father's silhouette.
Carolyn paused just after she passed him on the stairs and turned to see Vince still staring at Cory. She met eyes with Cory and glanced down at the heavy, aluminum flashlight in her hand. "I'm not going down for murder." She said under her breath and swung the flashlight to hit Vince in back of his head, causing the man to lurch forward and fall to the floor, disoriented, before she turned and ran back up the stairs. She screamed in fright as Vince grabbed her left ankle and held her from moving any further. She lie against the stairs and turned back to see Vince crawling his way towards her. With her free foot, she kicked him with her heel, in the groin, hearing a satisfying groan and then turned herself around and kicked him in the stomach as he stood up.
A long, low growl as Vince landed on the cement floor.
Groaning to his own pain, Cory worked himself to stand and limped slowly over to where his father now stood, again, at the bottom of the stairs. He shoved Vince forward and slammed Vince's head against the edge of the stair as he slowly made his way up to see if Carolyn was alright. "Come on. We have to get out of here." He hooked her arm around his shoulders and grabbed her waist as they both slowly climbed the stairs.
After pausing a few steps up, Carolyn switched positions and cradled him, helping him to the top of the stairs. "You're hurt worse than me."
"CORY! Get your ass back here, boy!" Vince called up to them as they had reached the top of the stairs. His nose broken and bloody and his voice gurgled as he struggled to get to his feet. Reaching behind him, he removed the small pistol he had tucked into the waistband at the small of his back and crawled on his hands and feet up the stairs.
Carolyn led Cory over to set him down in Vince's chair before she turned to look for the shotgun, Vince kept close by. Scooping it up as it lay on the floor, beside the chair, she fidgeted with it, trying to get the safety off so she could fire, when she heard Vince's growl from the basement entrance. She screamed and aimed the barrel at him, hoping he would back off. But, he hadn't.
"I'm getting real tired of not being listened to." Vince held up the gun and aimed it at her.
Shaking her head and trying to keep her aim steady with the heavy weapon was proving difficult but Carolyn refused to lower the barrel. "I'm leavin', Vince. You have a crypt in your basement?! A-and, you were gonna just leave your son down there! This is really too much. So, I'm taking Cory and we're gonna go." Carolyn backed up until she stood in front of the chair Cory sat in.
Vince laughed. "After all those fancy letters, to me and my boy, saying how you wanna have my babies and that you ain't complete without me. Now, you've had a change of heart. Sorry, little girl. You're in it as deep as we all are. But, if you wanna keep him company, I reckon we can accommodate that." He glanced down at Cory, in the chair, who watched him with unease. "Boy, get over here." When Cory didn't move, he reiterated. "I said move! Don't you make me come get you." He growled.
"Cory, don't you move." Carolyn swallowed. She fidgeted again with the safety and panted in satisfaction as she felt the switch shift and unlock the trigger.
Laughing again, Vince stepped closer. "You think you're gonna kill me and save your boyfriend." He smiled a moment and then dropped all expression. "You won't shoot me. I mean so much to you." He mocked.
Carolyn started to panic. "I will if I have to." She squeezed the trigger and closed her eyes as she fired. Her aimed shifted and she raised the barrel to fire into the rotting ceiling, sending a loud echo reverberating through the cabin. She opened her eyes to see she had missed Vince altogether and only made him more irate. She steeled herself against the chair's arm, as the blast nearly knocked her over, into Cory's lap, and screamed as Vince steadied his aim and fired back at her, hitting her in the right shoulder. Carolyn fell over with the force of the hit and landed at Cory's feet, dropping the shotgun, in front of her.
~~~
Stillman's car stopped in front of the dilapidated front entrance to the compound and shut off the lights and engine. They had heard the blast from the shotgun and hurried up the dark road to make it there before another was fired.
Shannon sat in the backseat with a uniformed woman, who helped her into the vest before hooking the wired tape recorder to the underside. She started to panic as the second shot rang out. "Cory." She whispered under her breath.
Turning around in her seat, Lilly looked at Shannon's terrified expression and wished she could go in her stead. She sat in the passenger seat and gave directions to the other cars that followed behind them. "We'll be listening on the earwig. If you don't feel comfortable with the situation or if things get worse, use the duress word we talked about and we'll be at the door. Okay? Try to stay calm and it will be just fine."
Glancing into the rearview mirror, Stillman added, "Shannon, if it looks too dangerous, you just get out. We'll do the rest."
Shannon shook her head. "I'm not leaving without my son." With one last check of the equipment, Shannon's hand shook as she opened the back passenger door, behind Stillman and stepped out, into the dirt and leaves. She pushed the door to and glanced down at Stillman, in the driver's seat as he nodded to her. With one last deep breath, she slipped on her overcoat and stepped forward, making her way over to the entrance. She shivered as she made her way over to the steps of the porch and shakily climbed them. She had slowed her pace as she made it to the porch and now walked over to the door.
Cory still sat in the chair and paled as he saw his mother standing in the doorway. "Mama?"
Shannon looked around the dark room and didn't see any sign of Vince. With another glance around, she hurried in to check on Cory, who sat holding his ribs. "My baby. Are you alright?" Her eyes filled with tears at the sight of his injuries. As he nodded, she asked where Vince was.
"He took Carolyn to the basement. He shot her." Cory was trying desperately to stay conscious and lucid. He had started wheezing as it was hard to breathe and he grimaced as he shifted in the chair.
Cautiously glancing over to where the basement door was, Shannon turned back and moved to help him to stand up. "C'mon. We need to get you out of here before..." She was cut off by another voice, nasally and gravelly.
"Before what, Shannon?" Vince stood at the basement opening and watched her help Cory from the chair. "You're late, woman." He glared at her from the shadows. His eyes narrowing to thin little slits as he watched her stand defensively in front of her son.
Her breath caught as Shannon turned to see him standing there. "I'm taking Cory out of here, Vincent. You can do anything you want to me but you will not harm our son, again." Shannon's voice lost all stammer as she stared down her kidnapper.
Vince growled and stepped closer, aiming his pistol at her. "He ain't finished his punishment, yet." Glaring at Cory, he kept careful watch on Shannon, noticing the strange vest under her coat.
Shannon balled her fists as Vince stepped even closer. "I'm warning you, Vincent. Stay back."
Struggling to push himself up from the chair, Cory slowly managed to stand behind his mother. He waited until Shannon once again put herself between Vince and Cory before he moved to grab the shotgun that Vince had placed against the wall, to Cory's right. Aiming it at the floor holding onto his mother's arm, he guided her over to the door. "Mama and I are leaving, Pa. Let us go."
"The Hell you are." Vince also sidestepped over to the door, gun still aimed at them. A twig snapped outside and caught his attention, giving Shannon just enough time to lunge forward and struggle with Vince to point the gun he held, away from them. Though it was now pointed at the ceiling, he had managed to squeeze the trigger and fired a shot into the crossbeam.
Cory groaned as he raised the barrel of the shotgun and called for Shannon to get out of the way.
Vince wrestled with her and eventually managed to shove Shannon out of the way before bringing the barrel of his own gun up to meet Cory's. "You think so, boy? Kill yer own Pa?"
Landing hard on the floor and turning around to see the standoff between father and son, Shannon's breath caught. "Cory!?!"
A sudden twinge of pain hit as the shotgun's report sounded throughout the cabin.
~~~
Police cruisers, one right after the other, stormed into the compound; their sirens wailing and lights flashing to announce their entrance. Vince Parker lay sprawled on his back, dead on his dilapidated porch. Six uniformed officers hurried out of their cars and ran up the stairs, guns drawn and surrounding the body.
Cory and Shannon huddled close together as they stood, shaking and numb, in the doorway of the overgrown house. He winced in pain and stared through the bright haze of red and blue lights to catch the face of Detective Rush and Lieutenant Stillman. At an officer's insistence, they shuffled forward and down the steps to meet Lilly. Another officer, who walked with them, removed the shotgun from Cory's hand and then guided he and his mother apart. Without a word, Cory let himself be handcuffed and listened to his rights being read before he stared calmly at Lilly and spoke. "I couldn't let him hurt my mama, again."
Lilly looked up, at the porch, and empathised with him.
"You know," Cory panted, "I tried to help them but, the ones I couldn't only sat in court and said the most awful things about me. I always wondered what I did so wrong that made a state, a country I never knew existed, hate me so much. I can't-- I can't undo it. Maybe, I shouldn't have tried at all." Tears ran down his ashen cheek as he shivered and panted, in shock of what had transpired. He silently pleaded with Lilly to believe him as the officer beside him carefully helped him over to sit on the tailgate of a Forest Ranger's truck while the medics were called in to look at his injuries.
Shannon sniffled and wiped at her own tears, shivering uncontrollably from shock. "Please, I did it. I killed Vince." She begged Stillman, falling to her knees in front of the stoic man.
Stillman shook his head and softly spoke. "I'm sorry, Ms. Livingston. Cory was caught with the gun in his hand. I have to arrest him for murder."
"Please!" Shannon wailed. She was pulled to her feet by the man who wrapped a thick blanket around her shoulders. "Let me do this for him. My life stopped in 1959. Cory's never had the chance to live; to be happy. Please let me do this for him. Vince stole my soul. Cory was just protecting his Mama." Grabbing onto his jacket, she begged again before bursting into tears and sinking to crumple on the ground as the Medics wheeled a covered body to the back of the ambulance that had followed the swarm of cop cars in.
As Cory was loaded into another ambulance, with Police escort, he mouthed the words, "I love you" to Shannon, just before the doors closed and the ambulances pulled away, one carrying the body of Vince while the other one carried Cory and a somewhat conscious Carolyn to hospital.
~~~
The next few months had been grueling and painful once again for them. Cory was hailed a hero but the title was bittersweet as he was once again confronted with the families of the victims that never made it out alive, from the compound. He was also given the task of therapy for killing his own father and living through another traumatic ordeal. His injuries had healed slowly and once released from hospital, he was able to lay his sister and extended family, to rest in a nice, well-kept cemetery, close to home.
Justin had received five more years for kidnapping his own brother and plotting to kill Shannon but was given chance to be released early for his help in rescuing his brother and bringing down Vince. Stillman had been true to his word and made a few calls to help Justin's case for the better and Justin had been grateful to have the chance at a somewhat normal life, after prison.
The verdict was quick and to the point. Tom and Karen Cort had made themselves attend the trial but refrained from lashing out as Cory clearly hadn't needed more strife but, instead, rallied around to support him and Shannon in their time of need. As the verdict was read, the jury was thanked and dismissed and the judge adjourned the session, they stood hugged Cory and Shannon before turning to leave. Karen's breath caught as, standing in the doorway, to one side of the crowd filing out, stood Tessa, wearing the same bright clothes she wore that morning before making her way to the mountain.
Tessa only smiled and nodded to her parents, and with an attendee passing in front of her, she was gone.
With help from Cory and Shannon, the other families were also given their chance to say goodbye to the missing girls and a memorial was placed in the local cemetery to honour those taken by the Parkers. Erin's twin sister, Emily, made the trek from Arizona to see its unveiling and console Carla as they both hugged and placed flowers at the foot of the memorial. Emily teared up as she caught a glimpse of her twin, standing in the shadow of the wreath, donated by the Cort family. Erin blew a kiss and a smile to her sister and friend and with a wink, she was gone.
By the next summer, Cory and Shannon stood over the graves of Cady, Birdie and Vince's parents. They each placed small bouquets of roses and mums in the small pedestals and comforted each other. Cady danced playfully around them, catching their eyes and smiling before twirling her favourite pink dress dropping to the ground in front of her marker and disappearing. Cory sniffled and wiped at his tears that fell freely down his cheeks. His attention was called away as Jessica and Julie approached them, with their own bundles of flowers, for the graves.
Jessica took a deep breath and warily introduced Julie to her father and grandmother.
Julie had been relieved to know that Vince was not her father but still somewhat uneasy that she was of Parker blood. Yet, she smiled brightly and offered them each flowers and hugs.
Jessica then guided them to the small picnic table, under the tall oak that stood in the middle of the field, and briefly shared a comforting nod to a fading Daisy as they spent the afternoon with newfound family.

End.
- 11
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Missing Love