A/N: well, now that the majority of the out-door painting is done (I was painting my front steps and sidewalk with cement paint) I'm hoping I'll be able to get in a few more chapters before school starts on the 2nd of next month. Thanks for your patience and your reviews, as always.

Chapter 28

Eric and Calleigh's examination of Amy's journals revealed a lonely young woman who had entered law school under pressure from her family. Her grades were okay and she had friends at school but she wasn't happy there and didn't want to be a lawyer; she wanted to be a nurse.

Unfortunately for Amy, in the Holmberg family it was law or nothing. Anything other than a career in law was considered unthinkable. After all, Amy's father was a prominent judge, her mother was a tough-as-nails prosecutor, her brother was a Navy JAG officer, and her two sisters were either lawyers or, as in the case of Mary, married to a lawyer.

That wasn't the life Amy wanted and she knew it.

The journals also revealed that Amy was modeling on the side for Mickey Dupree, a friend and a gifted photographer who was working his way through college. Amy enjoyed the sessions but knew that if her family ever found out what she was doing, they would, to quote her, blow a gasket. Her mother had once called a similar model 'trash' and 'just shy of a hooker'. She had made it very plain that she would not associate with anyone who did that kind of work, ever.

The journals indicated very clearly that there was no sexual relationship between Amy and Mickey for one good reason; Mickey was gay. Their relationship was built on a strong bond of friendship and respect for each other. Mickey knew Amy was unhappy and constantly encouraged her to leave law school, leave her family, and strike out on her own. He had even offered to give her a place to stay until she got back on her feet and in one of her last entries she mentioned she had been seriously considering his offer.

Mickey Dupree was brought in for questioning and he basically confirmed what the journals were saying; that Amy had been his freelance model and that they had been close friends. He knew she was having problems at home, that she wanted out of law, and was actively looking at nursing schools, despite her family's protestations. He also confirmed an argument Amy had mentioned in her journals between her and her mother.

Apparently Amy's mother, Sophia, had threatened to disown Amy if she ever went against her family's wishes and set foot inside a nursing school. Amy had thrown back the fact that the family was big on looks and social status, nothing more, making them look shallow and petty and the argument had gotten worse from there, ending in Amy storming out of the house.

Mickey also confirmed that Amy had mentioned a meeting between her sisters the day she died, having spoken to him about an hour before the meeting. She was supposed to call him back after the meeting because they were supposed to meet up for another photo session.

"She believed in me," Mickey said, tears pouring down his face as he stared at a photograph of him and Amy together, laughing at the camera, one of his favourites. "She believed in my work when I didn't believe in it myself. She said that if she had her way, I was gonna be big and sought-after and she was gonna brag how she knew it all this time. I used to tell her, sure, and when I make it big, I'm gonna make damn sure the whole world knows who my muse was. I was gonna make her as famous as me and we'd travel the world together." He sniffed, taking a swipe at his eyes. "But that's not gonna happen now."

"What are you going to do now?" Frank asked, feeling genuinely sorry for the young man.

"I'm gonna take my collection of photographs and I'm gonna put together a book for her, show the whole world just how beautiful she was, show her parents what they were missing out on by pushing her into law school and all that crap," Mickey said determinedly. "I'm gonna show those Holmbergs just what they were missing out on."

"Any idea who might have wanted to hurt or kill Amy?" Frank asked.

"Not that I know of and not that Amy ever mentioned to me," Mickey said honestly. "It's funny, you know. Amy thought she was the black sheep of the family for wanting out, but I thought she was the strong one for wanting to make her own choices."

"Have you met the rest of her family?" Frank asked.

"Nope, and I don't want to," Mickey said. "Based on what she told me, though, of the four Holmberg kids, her older sister, Mary, was very dominant, while Judy pretty much went along with everyone else."

"What about Mary's husband?"

"Michael? She thought he was a wimp, always caving in to Mary and her demands."

"Could he kill Amy if Mary made noise about it?"

"With him, who the heck knows? Like I said, Amy thought Michael was a wimp and once quipped that she knew who wore the pants in that relationship and it sure as heck wasn't him," Mickey said, grinning. "She was tempted to buy the guy a skirt for Christmas one time."

"Ouch."