She watched the news. She didn't know why, because all it seemed to be was a continuation of the ongoing case and trial. It wasn't particularly late, by her standards, considering, but she could already feel her eyes starting to close. Flipping channels, Anna blinked, trying to concentrate, and heard the door open. A few seconds later, Jack appeared, looking about as tired as she felt.
"How is she?" she asked. He sighed and came to sit beside her on the bed.
"Tired, a little bit disoriented," he replied. "She asked me to thank you for letting her stay here."
Anna shook her head and slid an arm around his waist, leaning on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it," she said. "She can stay as long as she'd like and so can you. I doubt either of you want to be in Manhattan right now."
Jack gave a mirthless laugh. "No, I don't suppose we would," he said. There was a long silence and then he went on. "I think she's afraid to sleep."
"Do you want me to go in there with her?" Anna asked, but he shook his head.
"If she needs anything, she'll let us know. She was already starting to drift off when I left her room."
"That's good." Anna trailed off for a moment and then turned the television down. "Are you all right?"
"I'm not sure." Jack looked at the television and then at her. "She's…well, she asked me to keep the lights on, and it just…I don't…she hasn't done that since she was seven."
"Can you blame her?" Anna asked, and he shook his head again.
"No," he said. "No, I can't, and it bothers the hell out of me, because I can't help thinking that this is my fault. If I'd just been able to convict that…that woman…the first time…none of this would have happened."
Anna switched the television off. "Don't think about it," she told him quietly. "Just don't. It'll only drive you up the wall and that isn't going to help. She doesn't need that right now and neither do you."
He gave her an amused look. "And I suppose you do?" he asked. Anna rolled her eyes.
"No," she said, "I don't need it either, but I'll put up with it. You, on the other hand, need to at least try and relax. Now that you're not over there playing the prosecutor…"
"I have nothing to take my mind off anything," said Jack, finishing her sentence. "Maybe I shouldn't have left the office."
"This might come out wrong, but I'm almost convinced that it's a good thing that you did, considering," said Anna, quietly. "You'll have time to…deal with all of this." "
She had a point. He did have time, for once, to deal with the little issues. In all honesty, Jack was surprised that Rebecca hadn't chosen to stay with Kelly rather than with him, considering.
"I know," he said, finally. "I know. I just wish I didn't have to, because…she…this shouldn't have happened to her."
"And what happened to you shouldn't have happened, either, but it did," said Anna. "I know you don't want to hear this, Jack, but sitting here and wallowing in this isn't going to help anyone, least of all her."
"A degree in psychology or whatever, then, along with the law degree, no?" he asked, only half-joking, and Anna shrugged.
"My sister's a shrink," she told him. "She's also about ten years older than me, so I got a lot of her psychobabble when I was a kid. She still thinks she can analyze me. It's almost funny now that we're older."
"I would imagine so," said Jack, and then, "You didn't have to turn the television off, you know. I didn't mind."
"I know," said Anna, "But I did mind, because you looked like you wanted to talk and we can't very well do that with the television on, now can we?"
Another point she had that he didn't want to admit to. "Sometimes I wonder about you, Anna."
"Sometimes I wonder about you, too, but I guess things are turning out all right." Her head was still on his shoulder, her arm still around his waist. "Are you sure you're all right?"
"A little bit better," said Jack, "Now that we've talked, that is. But it's late, you should sleep. One of us still has to work in the morning."
"Actually, Trevor told me to take the day off, so I'm home all day. I can stay up as late as I want to."
"You looked like you were already about to fall asleep when I walked in here a few minutes ago.
"Yeah, well, I've got my second wind now." Anna shifted so that she was sitting closer to him and went on. "I'm serious when I say that if either of you need or want anything, let me know."
"I would say that we've imposed enough, except for the fact that the circumstances have made it so that I don't really mind imposing." He leaned in to kiss her and she grinned up at him.
"Funny, I don't particularly mind, either."
She woke up to the sunlight hitting her in the face through the open window and the sound of her cell phone vibrating on the bedside table. Opening an eye, she fumbled for it, and glanced at the tiny screen. A new text message. She slid up and leaned against the headboard, drawing the covers up with her as she went to the phone's inbox.
"Fallon's looking for a deal already. Fellowes isn't ready to deal yet, and Branch isn't likely to let her, even if it gets to that. Any thoughts on this, so Jack and Rebecca are at least represented here?"
It was from Connie. Anna scowled, slightly, and wondered if this would ruin her day, and then decided that it wasn't going to as she sent a text message in reply.
"Tell Fellowes that if she deals, she'll have hell to pay, because Galinet is the last person in the world that deserves a deal. If it gets to that, you had better damn well make sure she tells you everything, and if she doesn't, then no dice."
She could feel Jack stirring beside her and flipped her cell phone closed as he opened an eye to look at her.
"Morning," he said, drowsily, "Work?"
Anna sighed. "It was Connie," she said. "Fallon's looking for a deal, and Fellowes is playing hardball. She sent me a text message to ask if I had any thoughts so you and Rebecca would have a say."
"I hope you told her that there'll be no deals," said Jack, suddenly wide awake, and Anna nodded.
"Yes, of course I did," she said. "I want that woman to go to prison for the rest of her life as much as you do, and she will."
"Considering a switch from defense to prosecution yet?"
"Honestly, yes. Considering the way things are right now, if I'm playing prosecution I technically can't be your so-called voice in this."
"I'd honestly rather have you as my voice than anyone else. I don't want to have to deal with this directly at the moment, and I refuse to subject my daughter to any more of it."
"Some kind of pillow talk, no?" Anna asked, a faint attempt at humor that Jack didn't miss and instead, smiled at.
"I suppose you could call it that," he said. "But it does need to be talked about, so we might as well do it now."
Anna slid back under the covers, shaking her head as she buried her face in the pillows. "It's supposed to be my day off," she muttered, her voice muffled by the fabric. He sighed.
"I know," he said, and reached over to rub her back, "I know. And I also know that this is a pain in the ass to have to deal with, but I'm glad you are."
"I want justice, as cliché as that sounds," said Anna, keeping her face in the pillows. "I want the system to actually work for once, damn it."
"You know, this almost makes me wonder why either of us became lawyers in the first place," said Jack, and Anna peered up at him.
"Honestly, the only reason I actually did it was because in high school, some idiot tried to tell me that girls couldn't make it as lawyers."
"What happened? Did you punch him or something?"
"No. He ended up becoming my ex-husband, and when I found out he was cheating, then I punched him."
Jack laughed. "That sounds more like you," he said, and then, "I only really did it because of my father."
"Well, that's original," said Anna, looking amused. "What'd he have to do with anything?"
"Suppose I could say that he forced me into it; my original intention was to become a cop, but that never happened, obviously. Always used to say I'd be better than him, but I'm not so sure."
A lull came in the conversation. Jack continued on with his task at hand, and Anna shifted beneath him. "That feels good," she remarked. He laughed again.
"I can imagine," he said. "D'you have any plans for today, or are you going to just lay around here?"
"Well, I was thinking we could just lie around here, but that wouldn't be productive, now would it?"
"We could make it productive."
"I'll bet." Anna's phone buzzed again and she flipped it open to see another text message.
"I let Fellowes know. She says she agrees completely. Also wants to meet up with you and Jack later today. Rebecca can come if she'd like to, but if she doesn't want to, she doesn't have to, just having you and Jack there will be enough."
She sighed and looked up. "Connie says Amanda wants to meet up with you and I later on today, if that's all right with you?"
"She sent you a voicemail or something?" Jack asked, and Anna shook her head.
"Text message," she said. "You want me to tell her it's all right, or no?"
"Yeah. Tell her we'll meet up, but she shouldn't expect Rebecca to come, I doubt she's going to want to leave anytime soon."
"That's fine. I went grocery shopping, there's food, the television, computers, anything she wants, she can use."
"I don't know how we're ever going to thank you for this," Jack remarked, quietly, as Anna rolled out of the bed and wandered to the closet in order to get dressed. She looked out again and shook her head at him.
"You're not going to thank me for this for one reason," she said, "And that reason is that I love you, and I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't, so leave it be."
"I can't just leave it be," Jack started, but she cut him off.
"Yeah, you can," she said, "And yeah, you will, because I'm asking you to. I don't want you to worry about any of this. When it goes to the courtroom, I will handle what needs to be handled concerning you and Rebecca, unless Kelly decides she'd like to step in, at which point, I'd be more than happy to let her. She is Rebecca's mother, after all."
"I think Kelly's more afraid of handling this than you are, considering the fact that she's seen what her former client is capable of. I'm just hoping Erin sees it in time."
"Well, hopefully, she will. If she doesn't, well, then, maybe she'll just have to learn it the hard way."
"The police have turned Galinet's place upside down, and they've found nothing. We think she had Rebecca somewhere else."
Connie walked into Amanda's office and shook her head. "And Galinet's still not talking. She won't tell us anything."
"Good, then she isn't getting the damn deal she's looking for, because she's not going to take without us giving something," said Amanda, flatly. "She might be wanting to make this shorter than it has to be, but I'm taking this to trial."
"Can't say I don't agree with you," said Connie. "Anna finally text messaged me back, she says that she and Jack will meet up with us, I just have to give her a time."
Amanda sighed, and motioned for the younger woman to sit down. "Imagine that," she said. "Four lawyers, three prosecutors and one defense attorney and for once, we all get along."
"We all have the same goal in mind," said Connie, "To see Tara Galinet exactly where she belongs, rotting in prison for all she's done."
"This is almost making me wish McCoy hadn't left, we could really use him on this," said Amanda, shaking her head. "As it is, I can see why he did. I nearly resigned myself once upon a time, but, then, sometimes work is the only way to get through a crisis."
"He wants to be there for his daughter," said Connie, "I can understand that, even if I don't have kids, and I'm sure you can, too."
"Of course," said Amanda. "I'm just hoping this office can do right by him considering the major screw up that happened last time. I won't let it happen again."
"Branch is looking to make you the new head of the Homicide Bureau," said Connie, slowly, and Amanda nodded.
"He is," she said. "I spoke to him this morning, and he told me that Jack was the one who said I was the most qualified to take his place over here. I can't say it's not a compliment, because it really is."
"Jack doesn't give compliments easily, or so I've heard," said Connie, a faint smile coming through her face. "If he says you're the most qualified, then I don't doubt it."
"Nice to see that for once my second chair supports me; sometimes I can't stand the ADA's Branch likes to pair me off with."
Silence, and then both women laughed. It was almost nice to be able to do something as normal as that, considering all that had happened between this point in time and the trial before this one.
"So," said Amanda, finally, "Around one for lunch, then? You'll let them know that we'll meet up, won't you?"
"Sure will," said Connie, "Do you want to choose the place or should we let them do it?"
"Let them, but I'll buy," said Amanda, "I have the feeling he'll be more comfortable in a place where he's more familiar. Wherever he and Anna want to go is fine with me."
"I'll let them know, then," said Connie, and started out of the office again. "I'll keep you updated as to that and to where the police are with the evidence."
"Thanks, Connie, I owe you one," said Amanda, but Connie shook her head, and left the office, closing the door behind her.
"You don't have a choice but to talk to us now," Nina said flatly. "You either give us the answers to our questions to the best of your knowledge, or we lock you up as an accessory."
"I don't know a damn thing." Taylor Galinet, Tara's older brother, glared defiantly at both detectives that stood before him and shook his head. "Tara never said nothing to me, and I didn't ask, because I didn't want to know."
"Don't lie to us," Ed retorted. "All that's gonna do is get your ass in even more trouble than it's already in. We know you were talking to her, we pulled the damn phone records. The dates all match."
"You're reading it wrong. Tara and I hardly ever talk as it is, what the hell makes you think I'm gonna help her try to screw over some idiot lawyer?"
"Because you're her brother, and you have a history of getting her out of trouble. Don't you dare sit there and think that we're stupid, that we don't know you're the one who paid for Kelly Monahan to defend her in the last trial she faced."
"Just because I paid for her damn lawyer doesn't mean I'm going to help her with this mess. You all are on something, because I sure as hell had nothing to do with this."
"You're not convincing us with the hostile attitude, y'know," said Ed, shaking his head. "You don't even know what your sister did, do you?"
"I know what you think Tara did, and it's a load of crap if you ask me. She's not violent. She wouldn't do anything like this."
"Then why the hell was she on trial for murder before?" Nina demanded, slamming crime scene photos from years long past down on the table. "You see this? Evidence pointed to her, but Monahan's smooth talking got her out of trouble and now she's taking it out on everyone who tried to put her where she belongs!"
"She doesn't belong in prison!" Taylor shot back. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about."
"Sure we don't," said Ed. "We know that she did these latest murders because she confessed, and if she gets convicted, and we don't take the death penalty off the table, then we can stick a needle in her arm. You want your sister to die?"
"You don't scare me. Your lot doesn't have a damn thing, and you're pulling it all out of your ass to save McCoy from getting what's coming to him."
"You're gonna get what's coming to you if you don't learn to cooperate," Nina snapped. "Don't think we don't have enough to put you away for a while."
"If you did, you would've already done it by now, but we're still talking, which tells me that I'm not a suspect and that you're just fishing for information that you're not going to get. I don't have to tell you anything."
"Yeah, and you don't have to go back to your family tonight, either," said Ed. "The way you're going, you're giving that prosecutor outside the window more than enough to hold you. D'you want that to happen?"
"Threatening me will get you nowhere."
"We're not threatening you," said Nina. "We're serious. Dead serious, if you will. Your little sister murdered a cop, among other things, and if you think we're gonna sit here and let it slide…"
"How do you know it wasn't really McCoy, anyway? I know what the news has been saying, all the evidence pointed to him."
"Until your sister opened her big mouth and confessed, and then had one of her lackeys kidnap McCoy's daughter. If you believe for one minute we're gonna think he had something to do with this after that, then maybe you're the one that's got issues."
Silence. Nina glared at the figure she'd just somewhat told off and then left the interrogation room. Ed followed her. In the observation room, Connie waited, and shook her head when she saw them.
"He's not going to give us anything," Ed remarked, before either of the women could speak. "He knows this game too well."
"From the first time around, or because he's had experience with the criminal justice system himself?" Connie asked wryly. "Does he have a rap sheet?"
"As a matter of fact," said Nina, glancing down at the other manila folder that had been in her hands. "Not as extensive as his sister's, but he's been collared for at least two violent crimes."
"Those being?" Connie asked. Nina opened the folder.
"Two counts of aggravated assault on separate occasions. Pled out, did the time, and hasn't really been in trouble since."
"And we have the evidence that he was in contact with his sister while the first part of this was going on?"
"We do," said Ed, "Only problem is that we don't know what was said. All the calls were longer than two minutes, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything."
"It means he spoke to her and that we can reasonably assume he was an accessory to whatever she was doing, but until we find more conclusive evidence, we can't really hold him," said Connie. "I'm sure he knows that already. We don't exactly have a choice but to let him go."
"True, but it was worth it telling him that we could hold him just to watch him squirm, the pathetic idiot," Nina muttered. "Do we want to put a detail on him?"
"Tara's allowed visitors, but all visits are monitored, so anything we need, we can probably get," said Connie, looking slightly disgruntled. "I'd prefer that she wasn't allowed any visitors, but then, we can't exactly deny people their basic rights, now can we?"
"If there's one person I'd like to skip due process with, it's her," Ed remarked. "So, we don't need the detail?"
"Probably not," said Connie. "I'd like to think we've thrown him enough that he won't try anything stupid."
Nina shook her head. "I wouldn't be too sure of that if I were you."
