Michael Jackowicz, the District Attorney for Suffolk County, handed her the compliant form and a pen.
"I told Jack it was your choice, Brooke. Technically, you're just shy of the statue of limitations expiring. I'll personally argue the case at trial with Clint in the second chair, if you want to go forward on the rape charge. Without a rape kit, you know the odds of a conviction, but I've got to trial with less and you are a credible victim. If nothing else, we can give the SOB a run for his money while Manhattan nails down an indictment on the Mills murder."
Malinowski read the form over and slowly she shook her head. It came as no surprise to her that her boss for almost two decades would throw the full support of his office behind one of his own. Support that, although she deeply appreciated, she knew would only result in one more district attorney finding his career on the line.
"We both know it's too little, too late," she said while tearing the form in half. "Let's keep the focus of this office on cases we have a chance of winning and victims that need our help. Tying up the DA and two senior prosecutors for months with an unwinnable case won't serve the people's interests."
The Santa like figure handed her the file in front of him.
"Jack faxed the Manhattan SVU report to me this morning. Maybe you'd like to hold onto that yourself. I hate to let this go Brooke. What that man did was-"
"I know. But the focus needs to be on the Mills girl now. Hopefully my statement gave Jack enough probable cause to get a warrant to search John's place"Brooke said as she stood to leave."That's a start."
Jackowski stood as well and walked with his ADA towards the door.
"You know, the three of us...we go back a long way. We both know this has to be killing Sam. You also know beneath that soft spoken country boy charm of his is a man that wouldn't think twice about doing real time, if he thought going after his brother would help to make things right for you."
"Yeah, I know that. I spoke to Danielle Melnick...Sam's girlfriend...this morning. I promised her I'd talk to Sam tonight, when I get back to Manhattan."
Malinowski had been surprised to receive the call on her way to the train that morning. Although she and Melnick had gotten on well the few times they had been thrown together since Melnick had started seeing Sam Prescott, the two were far from confidants. When Melnick told her of Prescott's angry visit to the Congressman's townhouse the night before, Malinowski blamed herself for not anticipating such a reaction.
"Sam's girlfriend," the DA repeated softly. "My God, times really are a changin', aren't they?"
Malinowski shrugged her shoulders.
"Come on Michael, you show your age when you start quoting song lyrics that are older than Cohen," she said with a chuckle.
"All right," the Jackowski said with a chuckle, while opening the door. "If you can crack wise, I suppose you'll survive or at least hold your own, in court this afternoon. Do me a favor and come see me before you head back to the city."
"Sure thing. Maybe I'll have some good news after closing arguments," she said as she walked through the door way and into the arms of Sam Prescott.
Malinowski smiled awkwardly at her estranged husband as they both took a few embarrassed steps back from each other. She bit back an amused greeting once the look on Prescott's face registered.
"'Mornin' Mal. Jake tells me your calendar's free until twelve. You mind givin' me a few minutes?"
Malinowski took the arm he offered and walked him passed her office towards the main door. After briefly ducking her head into her assistant's office to tell Cohen her whereabouts for the next half hout or so, the pair walked out the double doors and towards a bench just outside the building.
As she sat beside him, Malinowski gave her husband a discreet appraisal. His appearance was disheveled. The pale dress shirt, black dress trousers and matching vest all looked like they'd been slept in. The light brown locks were matted and mangled. His eyes drawn and darkened by the circles underneath them.
"Samuel Emerson Prescott you look like absolute hell," she said softly as she opened her arms to offer him a hug.
"I can't believe you can stand the sight of me, much less are willing to..." he began, as his voice started to shake.
"Sam, don't be an idiot,"she said tenderly, as she put her arms around him."Come here and stop talking nonsense."
"Darlin' I'm sorry I failed you…again."
"And here I thought I failed you," she replied sadly as she ran a hand through his hair."I should have told you, when I started to remember. It just…it took so long to remember anything. When it started to come back, I didn't want to believe it. For a long time I didn't believe it. I thought between the heat and the liquor I'd just passed out and maybe dreamed it. But Jake...he knew. He knew before I put it together."
Prescott nodded, unsurprised. During the time they had been married, Prescott had seen the bond between his wife and her assistant only grow stronger. Prescott had compared the connection to that of twin siblings.
"I swear, if Jake hadn't been living with Kevin, I'd have accused you two of having an affair," he said with a chuckle.
"If Jake had eyes for the ladies, you'd never have had a chance with me. But alas, Jake and I weren't meant to be,"she said with a wink.
"Maybe you would have been better off with Jake,"he responded as leaned back and rubbed his eyes.
"Sam, we'd both be better off if you'd tell me what's hurting you so."
Malinowski knew Prescott was the kind of man who would see any harm that came to the woman in his life as a failing on his part. Something was his job to prevent. But, studying the hollow face, she could see there was something more. Something she couldn't put her finger on, something that was tearing him up inside.
She lifted his chin with her hand until his eyes were level with hers.
"I know you and John were separated after your parents died. You went to Georgia and he went to live with his mother. You always talked like it was the distance when you were younger that started the rift between you. That later the ethical compromises he made as a politician deepened the rift as you two moved in different directions as men."
"Well, that's not entirely true," he said with a heavy sigh. "It took the authorities almost a year to locate John's mama. My aunt finally hired a private detective after… she only did that after she realized how troubled John was. She'd been a single gal all her life. She had her hands full lookin' after me. John was too much…just too much...after he got into trouble."
"After he got into trouble,"she repeated softly,as she held his pain filled gaze.
Asking what kind of trouble seemed reduntant: They both all ready knew the answer. Malinowski chose to ask a more important question.
"Who'd he rape Sam," she asked softly.
"When we moved to Atlanta I didn't make a very smooth adjustment," Prescott began as his eyes drifted away from her."Going from life in a one horse minin' town to life in 'The New South' was pretty overwhelming for a fourteen year old. Little girl in my math class... Felicity Faraday...she'd just lost her father in a car accident. When she heard about my parents dyin', she took me under her wing, so to speak."
"High school sweethearts," she gently prompted.
Prescott shook her head, as he smiled faintly.
"Aw hell Mal, I was so shy back then, it was all I could do just ask a girl for a pencil at school without stammerin' for twenty minutes. Until Filly. We we're alot like you and Jake are. We had our little secrets... had our secret hidin' places too. If my aunt couldn't find me for dinner, all she had to do was send John over to the Faraday place and nine times out of ten we we're busy doin' nothin' in her playhouse out back. She was a few years older... the classes were based on ability not age and I was pretty sharp with figures back then… sixteen years old and she still loved that old playhouse."
"She sounds like a real sweet girl Sam," she said taking his hand.
Malinowski had interviewed enough family members and witnesses during her rotation in the sex crimes division that she knew the quickest way to get Prescott through his story was to let him tell it at his own pace. She tried to keep him moving forward with gent prodding and reassurances.
As a woman who knew the misery opening up such a deep and painful memory would bring him, Malinowski felt almost ashamed by her deliberate attempts to keep him from faltering. As a prosecutor and as well as a victim, she knew she had to do whatever she could to get the murdering predator off of the streets as quickly as possible.
She gave his hand a squeeze, causing his gaze to return to her, and carefully wiped the tears from his eyes.
"John knew how special she was to you, didn't he?"
"You know that's why he did it," he said bitterly. "That why he went after you,too. That's why he… he was always so damned jealous. Not that I ever understood why. He was older...almost eighteen...when he hurt Felicity. Tall, handsome... he always seemed so confident…"
"You know how it is when a kid is abandoned Sam,especially when a mother leaves. You told me yourself how obsessed he was with your Mother."
"Yeah, he loved Mama," he said as he rubbed his eyes. "Just adored her. Used to spend hours up in the hills findin' wild flowers for the bouquets he used to make her. Maybe if Mama and Pa had …maybe if I hadn't come along-"
"When John attacked your friend, you were fourteen. Honey, none of this is your fault. Felicity didn't blame you either, did she Sam?"
Prescott squeezed her hand as he gave her a knowing look.
"I wasn't fourteen when he hurt you. I wasn't fourteen a few months ago, either."
Malinowski did a double take, as her eyes widened in surprise.
"A few months ago," she asked, mystified by his remark. "Sam, if you're talking about the settlement…your wanting to keep our house… It was natural for you to want to hold on to as much of the past as you-"
"I manipulated you and we both know it," he said averting his eyes from her. "When I told you about my second marriage, I could see you howconfused you were. I never should have…God, how can I condemn John when did the same thing-"
"Sam, you didn't drug me! You sure as hell never raped me," she said in disbelief.
"We both know you'd made your decision about me and the marriage weeks before," he in a whispered, his voice hoarse and halting. "I heard you call out for Jack, but I didn't care. I wanted what I wanted and I never stopped to think about what it would cost you."
Malinowski stared at her former husband hearing his words, yet unable to comprehend them. Although the circumstances surrounding her decision to make love with him had been emotional and ill thought out, she had blamed only herself for letting it happen.
"Sam, I was still your wife-"
"You were my wife, not my possession. I'll never forget the look on your face afterwards. What I did was worse than anything John could ever do. It was worse because I was your husband."
"You act as if I had no say. Sam, I mourned you for years," she said as she took both his hands in hers. "Yes, I love Jack. But, I'd be less than honest if I didn't admit part of me wanted to be with you again. Yes, I was a mess because I let it go too far…I felt like I had used you and betrayed Jack...but I never blamed you."
"Well, maybe you should have," he said as he abruptly stood and started to leave.
"Oh, no you don't," she snapped and she dashed to catch him."Don't you dare make me feel like more of victim than I already do!"
Prescott swung around looking as if he'd been slapped in the face.
"We're all responsible for the choices we make," she shouted, ignoring his stricken expression. "Are you saying I didn't have free will? That I didn't know what I was doing? That I'm so unstable that I can't think for myself?"
"'Course I'm not sayin' anythin' like that, I just meant-"
"I know what you meant and you are not the criminal here,"she said impatiently."I know you feel like hell about that day and so do I. But Sam, what we did we did as willing participants. Neither of us can change what happened between us, but you have the power to give Lori Mills and maybe women like your freind Felicity some closure, if you're willing to focus on the real crimes that have been comitted and not our personal drama."
A smile slowly formed on Prescott's lips and he shook his head.
"You can take the wife out of the prosecutor, but you can't take the prosecutor out of the wife," he said with a low laugh. " I guess I am beatin' around the bush aren't I, girl? 'Be gentle, but firm. Always keep the witnesses movin' forward?' Guess that rotation you did in sex crimes taught you a thing or two."
"Sorry," she said with a shrug. "I know it's not an easy story for you to tell."
"Not an easy one for you to hear either, darlin'. All right, there had been some less obvious incidents back in West Virginia. I gave Jack a list of those this mornin'. With Felicity…well, John managed to convince me I was needed at church. That Aunt Krystal had asked him to come find me to help move some heavy items for the church bizarre that weekend. It was a five miles ride on the bike. He knew I'd be gone long enough…he knew Filly was waitin' for me. He knew her mama was with my aunt at church. He brought her some 'special lemonade," Prescott said, spitting the words out as if they were bitter fruit. "She was a nice little church girl. She had no idea she was drinkin' liquor."
"No one pressed charges?"
Prescott shook his heads impatiently.
"It may have been the "New South" down in Atlanta, but the old double standardwas alive and well. Besides, any good defense attorney would have broken her on the stand. She was so out of it…when she came too she couldn't remember much. Couldn't be sure when John left…whether he was the one that actually… He of course, made sure there wasn't any physical evidence."
"Sounds like his M.O. But Sam, if there wasn't…if your aunt didn't know for sure John was Felicity's attacker... why did your aunt send him away?"
For a brief moment the misery in Prescott's face was replaced by a look of satisfaction.
"My Aunt Krystal had a heart as big as the Atlantic. She wanted to do right by John. But, that woman was sharp. she was sharp and knew when to cut her losses. Krystal Jamerson didn't need DNA evidence to know a scoundrel when she saw him. I just wish she'd still been alive when I met you, Mal. Aunt Krystal would have seen to it I didn't make the same mistake twice. She's of seen to it you were never alone with that son of a bitch, I call a brother."