Ch. 3: Evidence
The end of the week came very quickly for Ed and Devon, considering that they had no leads to go with and no idea where Mathus was.
"Just don't bring it up," Ed said to Devon as the elevator door opened.
"What if he mentions it first?" Devon asked nervously.
"Then answer very briefly," Ed answered, knocking on McCoy's door.
"Come in!" his scratchy voice called from inside the office.
Ed opened the door and walked in, letting Devon follow him in. Jack looked up and gave a funny half-smile to the detectives.
"You filled Lennie's position already?" he asked, standing up.
Ed nodded. "Devon, Jack McCoy. Mr. McCoy,--"
"Devon Cavanaugh," she said, shaking the prosecutor's hand. "Nice to meet you, sir."
"Cavanaugh…that name sounds familiar," Jack said.
"Well, you--" Devon stopped. "It's a very common Irish name," she said, covering herself.
Jack smiled. "So, what do you two have for me?" he asked, sitting back down behind his desk.
Ed handed Devon the file. "Basically, we have a suspect we can't find," she said bluntly. "Eric Mathus. We have tabs on his credit cards and bank accounts. The other precincts have a picture of him just in case."
"We don't have any leads, though," Ed added in. Jack slouched back in his chair.
"I have a hunch," Devon said.
"Do tell," Jack said, throwing his feet up onto his desk.
Devon stood up and paced. "Ten years ago, a woman was murdered out in the country. Same M.O. as Jennifer Robbins; one massive blow to the back of the skull. Case went unsolved," she stated.
"Where are you going with this, Devon?" Jack asked.
Devon's eyes widened briefly. "Well, Mathus was dating Jennifer Robbins for two months. Maybe he dated this other woman for two months. Maybe he has a pattern," she explained. "Give me a day or two to talk to the girl's parents and see what they remember. Maybe they have a picture or something."
Jack considered it. "Go ahead. But I want to see results by Monday," he said.
"Thanks," Devon said.
~ ~ ~
"Who's this 'other girl' you're talking about?" Ed asked once they were back at the station.
"My sister," Devon said, sighing. "Mind if I borrow the car? It's only an hour drive to my parent's house."
"I'll come with you," Ed said. "Better than being stuck here with nothing to do."
Devon laughed. "I get to drive," she said, grabbing the key and heading back onto the sidewalk.
"Detectives!" an officer yelled, chasing them down.
"Yeah?" Ed asked, turning around.
"We just got a hit on Mathus. He's up in Boston," the officer explained.
"You go to your parents'. I'll take this," Ed said, hurrying back into the precinct.
"Good luck!" Devon yelled, and got into the car. She peeled away from the curb and drove off to her parent's house.
Every time Devon blinked, she could see blurry images of her mother and father. She saw the haunting images of brown eyes and a warm smile that she thought she had forgotten as a child. She hadn't seen her father since she was three. She shook her head and pulled into the driveway of her mother's house.
"Devon?" her mother asked, stepping out onto the porch. "What are you doing here?"
Devon smiled and walked up to her mother, hugging her. "I'm with the police, Mom. I'm a detective," she aid, showing her mother her badge.
"Oh really?" Devon's stepfather, Steven,
asked, stepping out onto the porch. "What
do the police want with us?"
"I'm actually here about
Jillian," Devon said.
"What do you want to know?" her mother asked.
"Was she dating anyone before it happened? They would have been going out for two months," Devon answered.
Her mother shook her head. "She never mentioned his name, but we found a picture of the two of them in her room. I'll go get it," she said, hurrying up to Jillian's old room and running back down with a black picture frame in her hand. "Here it is." She handed the picture to Devon.
Devon pulled the photo out of the frame and looked it over. Jillian was smiling, as usual. Eric Mathus was standing next to her, his arm wrapped around her. "Mom, can I borrow this?" Devon asked.
"Will I get it back?" Mom asked, following her daughter down the stairs.
"I don't know if you're going to want it back," Devon said, unlocking the car door.
"Devon, what's this all about?" Steven asked.
She sighed and leaned on the car. "We may be onto Jillian's killer," she said before getting into the car and driving away.
~ ~ ~
"He's not talking. He wants his lawyer," Ed was explaining as Devon walked back into the station. He looked up. "How'd it go?"
Devon held up the photo. "Look familiar?" she asked.
"Very," Ed replied, pointing through the mirror glass to the man sitting in the interrogation room.
"Freaking bastard should rot in hell," Devon cursed, handing the photo to Anita.
"Well, McCoy will have no trouble making sure that he does. He actually called here; wanted to tell you that he wants you to make a poster for him to see so he can understand where you're coming from with your hunch," Anita explained.
"Looks like I'm not going to have much of a weekend, huh?" Devon said sarcastically.
"Nope," Ed said, laughing.
Devon smiled. "Well, I need photos of Mathus, Jillian, and Jennifer, for starters," she said. "And photos of the fibers and hair found on both bodies."
"I'll get all that for you, Devon!" Tommy, an intern, called.
"Oooh, you had better run," Ed whispered. "You'll never see the end of that kid." Devon laughed.