"Mrs. Wright, what kind of relationship did your son have with the defendant?"

The dead man's mother stared down Donald Harmon, then answered crisply, "They used to be friends, until Katherine started dating Jarrod. Then every day Jarrod would get a call from Tony, asking where he was taking his sister, why he hadn't taken her to this place or that. Finally Jarrod had it; he was going over to break it off with Katherine. The next thing I know.my son is dead, and his best friend is in jail."

At that point A.J. saw the Judge lean forward as if wanting to say something, then the defense attorney nodded. "That will be all, Mrs. Wright. Thank you."

The woman turned and inclined her head at the judge, then allowed the bailiff to help her off the stand.

Judge Mason looked at the prosecutor. "Do you have any further witnesses to call, Mr. Lopez?

"No, your Honor. The prosecution rests."

He glanced at the defense attorney, and A.J. could almost swear the jurist was glaring at Harmon.

"In view of the hour, we will start court at 9 am tomorrow with your first witness, Mr. Harmon. Court is adjourned."

As the gavel came down, A.J. saw Tony Gibbs walk past his sister, then pause and…wink.

Not believing what he saw, the younger Simon made his way out of the jury box. He watched as Katherine Gibbs smiled back at her brother, before hurrying out of the room flanked by reporters.

"Ready to go home, A.J.?"

Rick was leaning against a column in the corridor, and A.J. gratefully smiled.

"Yeah, remind me never to complain about sermons in church again! Father Capa might be long-winded, but Lopez…."

"Yeah, I was ready to start snoring until I got an evil look from Nixon over by the door, I told him he was just jealous 'cause I was sitting and he wasn't." Rick smirked.

As they drove to A.J.'s condo, Rick sensed something was bothering A.J..

"Okay, spill it, little brother. What's up."

"Just a feeling, Rick. I think Judge Mason's involved somehow with the Wright family. He's very wound up about this case, and the way he acted when Gibbs' sister put the crying act on yesterday, something's up."

Rick frowned. "You think that might be why he was so adamant about…nah. Mason's too professional to get involved in a case."

"I don't know, but maybe you could talk to Ron…" A.J. caught himself, then shook his head as he heard his brother's snicker.

"A.J., for a guy who didn't want to serve on a jury, you seem to care an awful lot."

"I guess, old habits die hard." He sighed, then felt Rick's hand on his shoulder as they pulled up in front of A.J.'s.

"No, just an honest man wanting to see justice. I'm proud of you."

The brothers looked at each other, then A.J. hugged Rick.

"Thanks, and thanks for looking out for me. I know sitting and listening to the bore is above and beyond."

"I know, that's why next time Mom makes chicken, I get the last drumstick!" Rick chuckled.

As the two Simons parked Rick's truck, Linda opened the door, a puzzled look on her face.

"A.J." she reached for him and he hugged her carefully, seeing her wincing.

"Linny, how do you feel?"

"Ready to have our baby, honey. I'm so glad Laurie was here, she's insisted on doing everything. I have enough trouble just getting out of my chair." His wife smiled faintly, then kissed Rick on the cheek.

"Rick, thanks for going with him. I just had a call for you from Judge Mason, he wanted you to call him. Isn't he on A.J.'s trial?"

"Yeah, that's weird." He looked at A.J., who shrugged.

Just then three voices sounded in the hallway, then Ricky, Ceci and a very excited Robin barreled into the living room. "Dad! Daddy! Papa!"

A.J. lit up then pretended to let them tackle him as Laurie followed them then teasingly held out her arms.

"What about me?"

Rick smirked, then grabbed her up in his arms and kissed her.

"Have you been a good girl today?" he asked, wriggling his eyebrows.

"Oh, yes, I've been very good. I think I'm about to be better." She giggled, then cuddled up to him as he sat on the sofa.

Linda laughed "Good, huh! Rick, my sis has been teaching the kids how to cook! To think that when I first met her, all she could make was salsa!"

"Linny, I haven't done that much. All I showed them how to do was a few things, like how to make sandwiches. Ricky's the real star!" she pointed out, then blushed as her nephew bragged,

"Yeah, Auntie Laurie showed me how to make the Simon Special. She wouldn't tell me all the ingredients though, Uncle Rick."

A.J. chuckled. "That's because one of them is very special, son. Speaking of which, while I change, why don't you three set the table for dinner."

As the three children eagerly went to the kitchen, Rick grabbed the extension with one hand while holding his wife with the other.

"Let me see what the old guy wants, darlin', then I'm all yours." He winked as she grinned and put her head against his shoulder.

"Mason here." Rick was surprised at the jurist answering his own phone.

"Uh, Judge, it's Rick Simon, returning your call."

"Oh, yes." Rick heard the closing of a door, then the other man clearing his voice.

"Good of you to call, Simon. I'll make this brief. You've been asking questions around town regarding the Wright case, I'd like to know why."

Rick was dumbfounded; how did the judge know?

"Judge Mason, uh, pardon me for asking, but how did you hear about my asking questions? I just was curious about something, the situation's all wrong." Rick fumbled, cursing himself for being in awe of the man.

"I have my ways, I want to ask a favor, Rick." Mason sounded about as unsure as Rick had been.

"I have my doubts about this case, but it would be a conflict of interest if I was to become involved. You technically are in the clear as far as finding out information, and I don't think anyone will suspect you looking for clues."

Rick frowned. "What if I find out hard proof, either way."

"Then you let me know, and we'll end your search. I'm willing to pay your standard fee." The older man said.

"All right, sir. But only if we find hard proof." Rick let out a breath.

"Fair enough, Simon. I'll meet with you before court in my office. 8:30 AM. Sharp." The judge wished him a good evening, then ended the call.

Rick hung up the phone, then glanced at his wife's face. He could see the concern in her eyes.

"Rick, Judge Mason wants to hire you?"

"Yeah, he doesn't feel right about this case, still, there's something missing from all this…." He muttered, then relaxed as a kiss landed on his ear.

"Then you need to help him. I wonder….didn't you and A.J. say he was very deferential to Mrs. Wright, the dead man's mother?" Laurie asked, turning and starting to knead the tension from Rick's neck and shoulders.

"That's right." Rick sighed as she touched a sore spot, then he chuckled as she started kissing each spot she worked on.

"Sweetheart….I won't be able to concentrate if you, oh, that's good….." he stopped talking as her lips reached his shoulder. "Hmmmm"

"Uncle Rick….dinner's ready!" a voice sang out, and Laurie gave a soft giggle as Rick opened his eyes to see his namesake laughing in the doorway.

"We'll be right there, son." He said, shaking his head at the bad timing. He grasped Laurie's hands in his, and kissed them, then pulled her face to his and dipped his mouth into hers.

"After dinner, love." She gasped, embracing his neck, as Rick stood up then set her on her feet.

"Promise?"

"Promise, darling." She whispered, then took his hand as they went to join the others.

The next day Rick got their friend Ron Johnson to let him look at pictures of the crime scene. As he saw the photos of the body, then of the defendant in custody, he saw nothing that looked out of place.

"Rick, I don't need to remind you this information stays unofficial, 'kay?" the chief reminded him, as Rick handed them back.

"I never saw anything, pal." He replied, then saw Ron frown.

"Sorry, Rick. It's just since I took over from Branson, everything is under a microscope now. I hate to agree with you, tho'; something just doesn't feel right here. Why would Jarrod Wright turn into an abuser with a couple of drinks, then still expect Gibbs to think hitting the sister was okay?"

"Wait a minute." Rick got a flash of memory, one of the pictures he had seen…..

"Ron, let me see the picture of Wright and the so-called "murder weapon".

As the chief pulled it out of the folder, the older Simon scanned it quickly, then whistled.

"There it is, pal. Look at the marks on the guys' head. Those were not made from his head hitting the floor."

As Ron peered at the photo, he blanched. "My God, Rick, you're right. That's more like a stick or…what's that in the background?"

Both men stared at the picture, then said in unison…."A pool table!"

Ron leaned over to his intercom. "Olson, I need the rest of the file from the Wright case. Do we have the scene investigator's report?"

A moment later the message came back. "Yes, except we're missing the evidence and photo list. It went missing after the file was copied for the defense."

Rick shook his head. "Okay, that sounds weird. We can still see if a cue stick was examined in the report."

As the two men waited to review the paperwork, A.J. listened attentively as the defense attorney made his final summation.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it's true Tony Gibbs was wrong to strike his sister's assailant. Heck, " he flashed a brief "I know you" smile at the jury, "If my sister was being attacked, I might lose my cool also. But he did not mean to kill his best friend, and I ask that you find him not guilty of all charges. After all, a man should not be condemned for coming to the aid of a loved one, but commended. Thank you."

With a satisfied look pasted on his face, Donald Harmon sat down, rubbing his right hand nervously. Katherine Gibbs was sitting next to him and A.J. realized she was staring at Harmon as if she was worried at his actions. Glancing at the Judge, he saw his eyes narrowed at the defense attorney.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I will give you your final instructions tomorrow morning at 10 am. Please be prepared to be here until 4 pm unless otherwise decided." Judge Mason explained after a moment. Acknowledging with a nod the panel, he stood up and quickly left the bench.

As court adjourned, the older man on the left side of A.J. shook his head. "We're going to have a lot of work to do, son. Make sure you get your rest."

A.J. nodded and smiled as the young woman on the other side of him contradicted the other juror.

"I don't think so, it seems pretty cut and dried to me, I'm going to let my boss know I should be in soon." she said decisively. As he watched the other jurors leave, A.J. shook his head.

"God, I hope we find some evidence soon, otherwise somebody's going to walk." He thought worriedly.

As the two brothers met outside of the courthouse to compare notes, Rick noticed the down look on A.J.'s face.

"A.J., is something wrong? Is it Linda?"

Startled, the younger Simon looked at Rick's concerned expression. "No, I don't think so. Oh, boy… I can't believe it. This trial, I've been thinking about it so much, I never even thought today about my family."

Rick steered his brother to his truck, then got in and faced him.

"A.J., that's what you're supposed to do. You won't be good to anyone if you stew about Linda and the baby. Besides, we're talking about a murderer and his accomplice getting away with, well, murder."

"You've got something?" A.J.'s blue eyes lit up as Rick nodded.

"Remember the coroner testified that the fatal blow to Wright was his head hitting the wooden floor? Well, that's not exactly true. Ron had his forensic team take another look at the marks on the guy's head. Guess what delivered the fatal blow?"

A.J. thought back to the courtroom displays, the blown up pictures, then he got it.

"The blunt object wasn't the floor, Rick, it was a stick, a .."

"Pool cue". Both brothers said in unison. A relieved smile covered A.J.'s face.

"And I have an idea who wielded that stick, Rick. Did you know Catherine Gibbs has been watching Harmon like a hawk, like she's afraid he's going to make a mistake?"

Rick cocked his head, then replied archly, "Did you know Catherine Gibbs was dating Donald Harmon before she took up with Jerrod Wright, and if her brother is convicted, she gets control of the family business?"

The two men broke into grins, then Rick put the truck in gear.

"Ron's going to chase down one more piece of evidence, then he's going before the District Attorney before court tomorrow. In the meantime, let's go let your wife know tomorrow it's a done deal!"

Pulling up to their condo, A.J. beamed as his oldest son opened the front door, then hollered, "Mom, Auntie Laurie, they're home!"

As the relieved Simons relaxed after dinner, the phone rang, and Rick picked it up, seeing a familiar number on the display.

"Judge Mason."

"Mr. Simon." There was an edge to the man's voice. Rick picked up the extension and went into his brother's study, motioning A.J. to join him.

"I have some news for you, Sir. Barring any problems, I believe we have reason to believe the wrong man was put on trial." Rick tried not to sound too pleased with himself.

"I know that, Simon. But I thought you were working for me… instead of the police." Now the judge sounded definitely irked.

Rick was dumbfounded. "Judge, Chief Johnson and I discovered the evidence together. I needed to look at the crime scene photos myself, and he was able to pull some missing information to prove Tony Gibbs wasn't the killer."

There was silence on the other line, then a sigh.

"I apologize. I didn't think that information was going to be that crucial….."

At once Rick knew. The Judge was the one responsible for the unaccounted for evidence and photo lists.

But why?

"Sir, uh, maybe you'd like to explain?" he managed, then signaled his brother to hit the speaker.

Puzzled, he sat down as the Judge said, "I guess it's time to come clean. I'll have to excuse myself from the trial of course. But I couldn't carry on and watch my grandson's killer get away with his murder."

"Jarrod Wright was your grandson?" A.J. stared at Rick.