A/N: Companion piece to 'Defeat'...the second round of 'Charm Bracelet' trials...LSM, two guesses who the second prosecutor is...as a hint, one of them is Casey...and SVU's not mine.
The cases had been thrown out in Baltimore. You remember it all too clearly. You'd been the primary on the case, and it was all you could do to find a lead, much less produce a suspect. After the second murder, the case had been made a red-ball. And the second shift had been pulled in to help. By the time you found the one responsible, twelve murders had been committed and six months had gone by.
This time, it's the same. Only, the cases haven't been thrown out. The trial proceeded. Your suspect is the same man he had been all those years ago. And he's still wearing that sadistic smirk on his face. The one he'd been wearing when he was acquitted. He keeps looking at you, turning back every now and then. It's all you can do to keep from saying something, to keep from drawing on him and shooting him right there in the courthouse. Somehow, you manage to keep your temper and your emotions in check.
The ones prosecuting the case are two you've worked with before. One of them is from Baltimore, someone you've known your entire life. The other is one you've known for only a few years now. But they're capable. You have faith in them. The Baltimore cases, all twelve of them, were admitted into evidence by some legal maneuver. Some of the families of the first victims have come to New York, to watch the trials. The criminal justice system failed them and their girls the first time around. But it won't this time. Sixteen murders in four months. That's how many your suspect committed this time around.
When you found him, you were told that you couldn't be in the interrogation room. It was evident to the squad how personally involved you were in it. So one of your old colleagues from Baltimore went in, with one from your current unit. You got a confession. Your suspect was proud of what he'd done and hadn't bothered to demand a lawyer. But once he was on his way to booking, he'd seemed to know what was coming. And even then, he didn't care. But you did. Your cases were closed, all twenty-eight of them. Justice had finally been served.
But that wasn't all. A silver bracelet devoid of charms had been thrown at the other figure from Baltimore. And the look on his face as the suspect blurted a name that neither of you had heard in years was enough to make you yell at the uniform standing there to get him the hell out of your sight. You know that name. And you know the bracelet's meaning. Your former rookie colleague's first red-ball has finally been closed. Now, the two of you sit in the courtroom, waiting. Closing arguments were read a few days before. It has taken the jury this long to deliberate. But they're back. They've made a decision. You're glad they haven't deadlocked like they did last time, giving an automatic walk. When they file in, it's all you can do to keep from standing, anxiously. Your colleague looks at you for a long moment before crossing his fingers and slipping his hand into his pocket. He always was like that. But you're not.
The judge asks if they've reached a verdict. The jury foreman answers that yes, they have, and as the charges are read off, an answer is given to each one. Guilty. On all sixteen counts. Your suspect doesn't look so self-satisfied now. You feel something on your face and realize that you're crying, crying because these cases and the Baltimore ones have been closed. Crying because you feel as if the weight you've been carrying all this time has finally been lifted off your shoulders. You walk up to where the two prosecutors are, and you can see that the one who prosecuted the first time around is crying as well. The first defeat had been devastating to both of you. But you'd somehow made it without losing it completely. And now…now the two of you are watching your suspect being taken into custody, exchanging glances as soon as he disappears. When the doors close behind him, You turn and shake her hand, because anything else would be called on, even though you two have always been closer than it might appear.
And together, the two of you leave the courtroom, both of you silently thankful for this hard-earned victory.