Old Wounds
Authors Note: This is my first Law and Order fic. If I get anything horribly wrong, don't yell at me, Especially years, dates, and areas, since I'm not from New York.
Read and review please!
Albany New York, July 12th, 197
"Jody, where's Kevin?" asked Eric Trigiani, a defense lawyer from the Bronx.
"Kevin's in bed. Jenny is doing her homework, and Alex is drawing in her bedroom," said Jody Trigiani, one of the homicide detectives from just outside the Bronx.
"And Jondi?"
"Jondi is asleep in the attic in her sleeping bag."
"Why does she do that?"
"She's five years old. She's so excited that Grandma will be here when she wakes up."
"Why can't she come with us?" asked Eric.
"Because she can't. We'll be away for two weeks. She'd get bored. Next time we'll bring her," said Jody; "Your little Jonacia Diana will be safe."
"I'm so glad your taking a break. It hurts me to see you have to deal with the scum I defend."
"Thanks Eric," said Jody, kissing her husband on the cheek.
"So how's Lennie's wife?" asked Eric.
"Not good," said Jody, "They may break up."
"Not good."
"No. Lennie doesn't strike me as the marrying type."
"Don't they have a child?"
"Yeah. Newborn. Don't know her name."
"Ah. For some reason I thought she was the same age as Jondi."
"Why?" asked Jody, undoing her hair in front of her bedroom mirror.
"I don't know."
"You underestimate Jondi."
"I guess I do."
"Don't. She's a bright little Kid."
"I know," said Eric, "She's four years old, and she already wants to be a cop, just like her mommy."
"I know," said Jody.
"I love her so much," said Eric, and the phone rang. Jody picked it up, but the phone died.
"Odd," said Jody, "The phone just died."
"I'll go check the kids."
"Thanks," said Jody, sitting down on her bed. She was an attractive woman of 37. She had been working for the NYPD for ten years, starting out as in central Booking and working her way to Homicide. She had decided to take her family to Italy after she had to investigate a murder involving the entire family of a bookie being killed. It bothered her.
Twenty minutes passed, and Eric didn't return. Jody figured something was happening, that her kids were going to surprise her. She walked quietly down the stairs, and heard a rustling on the second floor. She walked down the hall, and saw Eric dangling from a noose from the Chandelier. She looked down the hall, and saw Jondi peeking out the door of the bathroom. Suddenly, from behind, Jody heard heavy breathing, and felt a gun being put to her back. She motioned with her hands for Jondi not to make a sound. Jody had taught all her children hand signals, since one of her children, Alex, was deaf. Jondi watched as the Man took a knife, and slowly brought it across Jody's stomach, spilling her innards onto the floor. He looked around, and not noticing Jondi, ran down the stairs and out the door.
As soon as the door slammed, Jondi ran forward to her dying mother.
"Mommy!" she said, "Mommy please! What's happening."
"The man was bad Jondi."
"Mommy, I'll get him."
"No Jondi. Only the Police like Mommy and Lennie can get them."
"Mommy!"
"Please, Jondi, go to the Allens house down the street.. Be very careful, don't let anyone see you till you get to it. Tell them to call Nine One One."
"Mommy," said Jondi, "Mommy, are you going to be okay?"
"Yes Honey. I'm going to go on a long vacation. You won't see me again until you're an old lady whose lived her whole life."
"Mommy," said Jondi, her eyes welling up with tears, "Daddy is going too?"
"Yes."
"That man is so bad."
"Yes Honey."
"He was so ugly."
"You saw him?"
"Yes."
"Go now Jondi, before he comes back."
"But he could let me go with you."
"No honey. You can't go. This is just like Italy. Only we can go, but you'll come some day."
"Mommy."
"I love you honey. Go."
"Mommy," said Jondi, running down the stairs, sneaking out the back door, and running through the night to her best friends home, where she knocked on the door and was let in, safe.
*+*+*
"Lennie," said Marie, Lennie's wife, "Lennie, the Precinct just called. They said you need to go to 631 Bright-Haven Court."
"What?" said Lennie, rather upset at being woken up in the middle of the night, "Why? Did they say?"
"No, but I'm going too."
"Why?"
"Think about the address you idiot."
"What?"
"That's Jody's home. I think something happened to one of her kids."
"Christ," said Lennie, getting up and following his wife, who was holding his daughter, to his car.
"Turn on the Radio," said Lennie, "There may be something on whats happened. We better hurry, Jody's bound to be frantic. She's so devoted to her kids."
*+*+*
Head of Police, Craig Grundle, looked around the house on Bright Haven in terror. He was a hardened cop, but he didn't want to see Jody dead. He had known Eric all his life, and met Jody when she was a pencil pusher in Central Booking. He didn't want to be there when they cut Eric down, or pulled the slug out of Jody.
Lennie ran up to him in a hurry, looking out of breath and distraught.
"Where's Jody?" he asked.
"There," said Craig, pointing to one of the five body bags being brought out.
"No," said Lennie, "They can't have gotten Jody."
"Jody Trigiani was stabbed in the back, after having her stomach torn open. We have the weapon, no prints. Eric Trigiani was hung from the Chandler. Nothing on the rope. Kevin Trigiani had his throat slit. Same knife as Jody. Alex Trigiani was raped and had her heart torn out. We found it a few feet away. Jenny was bludgeoned to death with one of her ballet Trophies. We know which one it is, but it's gone. The Corernor said that it was just not a good day. Not a single clean kill."
"The entire family…"
"No. Jonacia Diana Trigiani is alive and mentally disturbed. We have a witness. She's alive."
"Only Jondi?" said Lennie, "Oh god, she saw?"
"She saw the bad man hurt her mommy," said Craig, "I got her statement before my wife got her."
"The grandmother?"
"No," said Craig, "She 'fell' down the stairs a few hours ago. Broke her hip. She'll never walk again."
"Did she see who did it?"
"The grandmother is almost deaf. She tripped on a rope tied to her stairs. Someone made her fall, but we don't know who."
"Damn it," said Lennie.
"I know this is tough," said Craig, but we gotta find this guy. We'll find someone with a problem with either Eric or Jody. We can assume it's one of them."
"Still… Why didn't the kid scream if she saw the guy kill her mother."
"Alex was deaf. Jody makes the sign for silence, Jondi is silent."
"Damn it all to hell!" said Lennie, "She was a good cop."
"We'll find him Lennie. And if we don't, someone will."