Working with Ghosts

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

Chapter 11 (One Abuser, Two Stalkers)

Jade tapped her fingernails on her desk and studied the elevator door with narrow eyes. The ballistic reports on David's gun were not a match, but she was still holding out the possibility of a hired hit.

Every gun had its own signature: A bullet shot from the barrel of one .45 caliber gun, for example, would have different markings shot out from the barrel of a separate .45. The markings would line up like a signature, and for the ballistics report, the signature was much different. David's gun was not the murder weapon.

"This is going to be one of those cases." An exhale left from her nostrils, and her body sank in the chair. It was difficult to make a case without a murder weapon, especially cold cases. Lindsay would often say prosecutors want to see a weapon, if not, then they had to work extra hard to get a conviction. "I guess I need to pay a visit to the crime scene."

Her eyes rolled to the right and her teeth clenched together. After all these years, the apartment would different, there was no doubt about that, but there was one thing she was sure of that she saw happen in most crime scenes: Evidence could still be present many years later.

If there was any evidence still left over after all these years, it would be a miracle. The apartment had not been handed from owner to owner, since for the first years of the investigation it was largely unused. The scars of the murder were evident, from what the landlord spoke, and many tenants wanted to avoid they stigma of living in a place where a gruesome murder took place.

"Not going to enjoy going back there."

The elevator doors opened up and Freddie entered the station with a buff looking man in tow. Jade smirked at the pair while picking up her coffee mug. "About time."

The man was Marcus, Trina's first and abusive boyfriend. He stood at about five foot five, was overweight, and had stubble that reeked of beer.

Jade sipped her drink slowly and slanted her eyes at the report on her desk. Marcus had a record of battery charges and had been in jail multiple times for domestic violence. Although he was fourteen when he dated Trina, just a year older than the girl, he clearly never out grew his aggressive ways.

"This is going to be fun." She set down the mug and motioned for Freddie to lean the man into the questioning room. Freddie had a firm hold on Marcus's right arm. Marcus's wrists were handcuffed, and his body was jerking away from Freddie in vain.

The officers that up with Freddie took Marcus to the questioning room, and Freddie approached Jade with an exhausted sigh. "That didn't go as I expected it would," he remarked, "The officers I was with had to subdue him."

"What happened?" Dispatch received a call about domestic violence, and when they learned it was someone they had to question, Freddie went out to intercept. "It should have been a simple process."

"He took a couple swings, so he'll be in jail for assault on an officer." Freddie cracked his jaw and shook his head. Jade looked to the elevator doors and frowned when a woman came through the doors.

This woman had short blond hair curling around her ears, and a soft face that was covered in ghastly bruises. She was looking around frantically. "I take it that's Marcus's wife?" Jade's stomach turned over when the woman's tearful and puffy eyes connected with hers.

Freddie confirmed her question and Jade set her mug down on her desk. "I see." She'd seen this many times before, and each time, it broke her heart.

The system stopped calling it "battered woman's syndrome" after a long time when it was finally taken into account that men were abused as well. It was usually a nasty case, and the abused would so often latch on to their abuser in hopes of defending them.

"Where's my husband?" The woman rushed towards Jade and clasped her hands together. "Please. I didn't mean to call the police on him, he's going to be awful sore with me when he comes home."

"Oh he'll be sore all right," Jade replied, "Assaulting a police officer is a hefty charge." As was domestic violence nowadays. It was no secret that the criminal justice system had become much more stringent over the years, but Jade considered this a good thing. "Have a seat ma'am, and I'll get one of the women around here to talk with you."

"Wh-What's going to happen to Marcus?"

"Well, it's hard to say." Jade ran her hand over the back of her neck and looked towards the door leading into the observation and interrogation rooms. "Since this is the eighth time he's been brought in on domestic assault, and he struck an officer, he's probably going to be in a fit of legal trouble. That, and I need to question him regarding a homicide."

"Homicide?" The woman's eyes widened and her hands flew up to her mouth. "Marcus would never-"

"He beats his wife on a regular basis," Freddie announced bluntly. His eyelids fell halfway and his lips stretched into a thin line. "I wouldn't question what he is or is not capable of at this point of time."

Jade entered the interrogation room and approached Marcus with her head held high and a confident smirk. The man looked up at her and scowled when she threw her folder down in front of him. "I know my rights," Marcus growled, "I've done this dance before. I'll just be going home if you don't mind."

"We'll see, that all depends on whether or not I think you're involved in this murder case." The man's eyes widened and his aggressive demeanor was replaced with fear.

"Murder? I don't know nothing about no murder."

"Ah the uneducated diplomat. Of course." Jade crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. "You're the perfect kind of person that likes to slap a woman around. Teach her a lesson or two, am I right?" She circled him as a shark might, hungry for blood. "A coward in his own right. There's a very angry man sitting in the California State Prison that I know would just love to meet you…"

She referred to Ross, of course, but Marcus didn't need to know that information. He was trembling already, and his hand was up over his mouth. "What do you have?"

"Well. Let's see what I know about you already, stop me if I'm wrong. You've been arrested eight times for attacking your wife." He dropped his eyes to the table and shrugged. Jade leaned down and narrowed her eyes. "You attacked my friend, so that's assault on a cop. You've also been known to be a bruiser since childhood, getting into fights at school and pushing your girlfriends around."

She leaned upright and tapped her chin inquisitively. "You dropped out of high school in your senior year. Have I missed anything yet?"

Marcus grumbled and muttered incoherently. "No." His fingers curled inwards and his eyes fell to the folder in front of him.

"Do you remember a girl by the name of Katrina Vega?"

"Why? She supposed to mean somethin' to me? Never heard of her."

"No?" Jade opened the folder, revealing the crime scene photo of Trina. Marcus covered his mouth, gasping into his hand as a flicker of recognition glinted in his eyes. "How about now, Marcus?"

She had this man pegged well. He didn't like a strong, dominant woman that he couldn't control. She needed to make sure he knew he held no power here. "This is my party, Marcus, and you're in my crosshairs. So I'll ask again…" She leaned over his right side and slammed her palm down on the table. "Do you recognize Trina Vega?"

"S-She's dead?" He dropped his hand and cleared his throat. "We may have dated in middle school."

"Yes, she was the first girl you pushed around. Put your hands on her, beat her and talked down to her, until her father got his hands on you. Am I right?" He closed his eyes and began to tremble. "Seven years later she and her sister turn up dead. So here's what I'm thinking. Do you want to know what I'm thinking?"

"What?" He crossed his arms and sneered. Jade walked to the other side of the table and looked sadly at the picture.

"I'm thinking you were pissed with her father. Stewing over his attack on you." While it was true that Ross bore the worst beating of anybody that hurt one of David's children, Marcus had still been gruesomely injured by the man.

He was the first person to hurt one of the girls in a bad way, so Jade had to read up the report the investigating officers pushed away. David blackened Marcus's eyes, beat him beyond recognition and broke several bones in the man's body. It was a brutal and devastating attack that shocked Jade to her core.

"Maybe you gathered the courage to find her and get a little revenge on her and on her father. So you gunned her down like the 'bitch' you made her out to be." Marcus cried out in protest and slammed his fist on the table.

"I didn't kill her! I was upset after her father beat the shit out of me, yes. It took a long time to recover, and I never did fully heal…but I didn't kill her. I had nothing to do with that family."

"Let's say I believe you, Marcus. Where were you December 13th, 2013?" Marcus buried his head in his hands, then pushed one hand over his head

"Sitting in a jail cell for beating my girlfriend at the time." His hands fell down and Jade bowed her head. She was surprised with how quick he was able to remember his crime, so quick that she wanted to doubt his answer. "She would probably confirm that, and so would the officer that took me in."

After the interrogation, she let the officers in the station take Marcus to holding. Not for murder, since she was likely going to clear his name. It was unsettling, but she didn't get a vibe of guilty off him.

The next person to deal with was Mitchell, and Freddie handled him. It was simple, the man lived in South Florida, so the best they could do was call him. "Tell me you got something." She leaned over his desk and threw her palms down on the surface.

Freddie hung his arm over the chair and his expression fell flat. "There's nothing. He wasn't even in California in 2013." Mitchell was a high school senior when he dated Trina, who was a freshman. "After David threatened him for stalking his daughter, guess what?" Freddie tapped his right forefinger onto his temple.

Jade felt the air in her lungs deplete as her heart sank into her gut. "What?"

"Just like Ryder Daniels, he went one the straight and narrow. Went to college in Miami and started a new life for himself. His wife also gave me an alibi for him. They met at a dance party taking place that night in Key West."

Her hands closed and her head fell. They were now nowhere closer than they'd been when they first started. "Great. None of the exes check out, David's gun doesn't match the shots fired."

"I did make another discovery that may interest you, Jade."

"Unless it's the name of our killer…"

Freddie began typing on his work computer and pulled up a file. It was a face Jade knew all too well. Her heart leapt into her throat and a smile grew. "Freddie, I could kiss you if I wasn't married."

"Thanks, but no thanks." He smirked back and focused his attention on the screen. "Robert Shapiro. We finally found him. He's doing time in a Nevada prison. Las Vegas, of all places."

"Prison?" She hurried around to his side and set her hand to the back of his chair while leaning over his shoulder. "What for?"

"Murder." Her jaw fell open and Freddie leaned back. His hands came to rest behind his head. "So here's our other stalker of the Vega girls. In prison for stalking and the murder of the girl's boyfriend."

Jade pointed at the screen, sliding her fingers across the words she was reading. "He shot the guy!"

The crime scene was a puppet store that was owned and run by Robbie himself. According to the record, the boyfriend entered the store to tell Robbie stay away from his fiancé. Robbie then pulled as shotgun from under the counter and fired a shot into the man.

Freddie smirked and looked up to Jade. "He claimed self-defense, but forensics show the man was leaving the store and made no attempt on Mr. Shapiro's life."

"Well then. It looks like we're going to Nevada."

"Let your husband know, we're going on a trip."

"He won't miss me," she laughed, "Beck's taking the kids on a hunting trip with his father this weekend." Beck was taking his handgun with him so he could use that to teach the kids how to shoot.

Freddie spun his chair around and raised an eyebrow. "You alright with them handling a gun?"

"Yeah, Beck knows what he's doing. His dad took him hunting nearly every weekend growing up, so he won't let anything happen." Jade leaned upright and remembered the talk she had with Beck before. "Oh, Freddie, I'd like to look someone up when we have time."

"Alright."

"Lisa White. I want to see how she's doing."

"Lisa?" He raised an eyebrow and curled his finger over his chin. His eyebrows moved together and confusion flickered in his eyes. "Isn't she the girl you said he cheated on you with?"

"Yes, I just wanted to know how she's been."

"Sure. I'll run her name through the system tonight. See if we can find anything on her. I hope you're not planning to actually contact her though. That might be a bad idea…"

"I won't bring up old wounds." She turned her eyes to the computer screen and studied the mugshot of Robbie. "Unlike some people. Wounds will come."

So many things in this chapter. Marcus and Mitchell are crossed off, but it looks like Robbie falls into position as a person of interest in this investigation. He's already in prison for murder, could he be responsible for the Vega murders? You do know what his motive could have been, as he was a stalker. Time will soon tell.