Ch. 4: Court

          "Mr. McCoy?" Devon yelled.  "Its Detective Cavanaugh!"

          "Come in!"

          Devon pushed the door open and wheeled the bulletin board she had been working on over the weekend into his office on Monday morning.

          "Here's your poster," she said.

          "Care to explain it to me?" he asked.

          Devon nodded.  "This woman, Jillian, was dating Eric Mathus for two months when she was murdered by a single blow to the back of the head.  The case has been left open ever since," she said, pointing to the picture of her sister.  "Then, ten years later, Jennifer Robbins dies in the same way, linked to the same man for two months prior.  He was the last person who saw her alive."

          Jack stood up and walked over to the bulletin board.  "But what do the fibers and hair have to do with anything?" he asked.

          "Fibers and hair were found on Jillian; the same fibers and hair were found on Jennifer.  The fibers came from the jacket Mathus was wearing and the hairs came from him," Devon explained.  "It all adds up!  Mathus killed both of these women!"

          "Unfortunately, the statute of limitations ran out five years ago for Jillian," Jack said, leaning on his desk.

          "I don't care," Devon said.  "At least her killer will be put away."

          "Instead of you almost being put away?" Jack asked.

          Devon shot him a worried look.  "What?"

          "After you left on Friday, I checked through my files to see where I had heard the name Cavanaugh," he said.  "I prosecuted you ten years ago for the murder of your sister Jillian."  He pointed to the photo of Jillian tacked to the board.  "I'm not stupid.  I wouldn't be a prosecutor if I was."
          Devon could feel her palms start to sweat.  "And you trust me after all the crap you gave me about supposedly killing her?" she asked.

          "Obviously, if you're a cop, I have no reason not to trust you," Jack said.

          Devon let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.  "Well, that's just about all I have for you," she said.

          "Good work.  I'm going to need you to testify against Mathus next month," Jack said, going back behind his desk.

          "Grand jury included?" Devon asked, although she didn't know why.

          "Yes, grand jury included," Jack replied.  "I'll see you then."

          "You want me to leave this here?" Devon asked, pointing to the board.

          "If it's not too much trouble," Jack replied.

          "It was more trouble bringing it up here than it will be leaving it up here," Devon said, heading out the door.

(one month later)

          "Mr. McCoy? Would you like to call your next witness?" the judge asked.  Devon could feel herself tense up because she knew she was up after Ed.

          "Yes.  The people call Detective Devon Cavanaugh to the stand," Jack said, standing.

          Devon opened the gate and walked past Jack, stepping into the witness stand.

          "Please raise your right hand," the bailiff said.  "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

          "I do," Devon stated, trying hard not to roll her eyes at the 'so help you God'.  So much for the separation of law and religion, she thought.

          "Miss Cavanaugh," Jack said.  "You are a new detective at the 27th precinct, correct?" he asked.

          "Yes," Devon replied.

          "Just wanted to clarify.  Now, you made a large contribution to the evidence in this case, correct?" he asked.

          "Yes."

          "Would you please explain to the jury the poster you created to help explain what you discovered?" He handed Devon a pointer.

          "Sure," Devon said.  "Ten years ago, the 27th came across a case identical to this one.  Jillian Cavanaugh," she pointed to the photo of her sister, "was murdered in her bedroom.  One massive blow to the back of the skull caused severe bleeding, which killed her."  She moved the pointer over to the photograph of Jennifer Robbins and cleared her throat.  "A month and a half ago, Jennifer Robbins was murdered in her apartment."

          "And how was Ms Robbins murdered?" Jack asked.

          "A large blow to the back of the skull which caused severe bleeding.  Identical to that of Jillian Cavanaugh," Devon answered.

          "How did you figure out that it was the defendant who murdered these two women?" Mr. McCoy asked.

          "We found fibers and hair on the body of Jennifer Robbins that belonged to the defendant.  The same fibers and hair were found on Jillian Cavanaugh," Devon explained.

          "Thank you," the prosecutor said, turning around and taking his seat.  The defense attorney, Danielle Melnick, stood up.

          "Detective Cavanaugh, this is your first case with the 27th, correct?" she asked.

          "Yes," Devon said.

          "So how is it that you knew about the Jillian Cavanaugh case?"

          "I thought it would be a good idea to look for similar M.O.'s as the victim's.  So we checked back--"

          "But don't you normally check back only five years?" Miss Melnick asked.

          "Generally, but we checked back that far and found nothing.  We didn't really have any evidence at the time so we checked back further," Devon answered.

          The attorney nodded and leaned on the juror's box.  "Is Jillian Cavanaugh a relative of yours?"

          "Objection!" Jack yelled. "Relevance?"

          "Overruled," the judge said.

          Devon looked over and Jack, who nodded but seemed pissed off.  "Yes, she was my half sister," she replied.

          "Weren't you accused of murdering her ten years ago?"

          "Objection!"

          "Goes to credibility, Your Honor."

          The judge nodded.  "I'll allow it.  Answer the question, detective."

          Devon could feel her palms start to sweat.  "Yes, I was."

          "How is it that you're sitting here before us, then?" Miss Melnick asked, looking from me to the jury and back.

          "I wasn't convicted," Devon answered.

          "Why?"

          "The fibers and the hairs found on my sister's lifeless body because your client decided to kill her," Devon said, a stinging attitude in her voice.

          "This isn't a personal vendetta, is it, Detective Cavanaugh?" Miss Melnick asked.

          "Objection!" Jack yelled, practically jumping out of his seat.

          "Withdrawn." The defense attorney walked back over to her desk.  "No further questions."

          "You may step down, detective," the judge said.  Devon stepped out of the box and walked back to her seat, shaking and in dire need to hit something.