A/N: Thanks everyone for the many reviews, they're what keeps me goin'. My my, everyone's already fond of the little baby. In case anyone's wondering, I'm in college and I took a course last summer about all kinds of different defects, diseases,medical conditions, etc.All right, here's chapter nine for y'all!

Straightening the Curves

Chapter Nine: The People Vs. Cooter Davenport

The courthouse was filled to the brink. The first day of the trial The People Vs. Cooter Davenport had not yet begun. Eve was seated beside her cousin, both dressed professionally. Cooter kept glancing around at the crowded room, tugged nervously at his collar, and wiped his brow. The jury in particular was making him sweat bullets. Eve was perfectly fine; she'd been in this very room dozens of time and she was used to the crowd. Luke was seated on the first row behind them. He was only there to try and get a basic understanding of what they were dealing with before attempting to try and find the real murderer.

At last, an officer announced, "Court is now in session! All rise for Judge Whitney!"

Everyone in the courtroom stood in reverence to the elderly judge, who was making his way out of his chambers and up into the podium. Once he had seated, the rest of the audience sat as well.

Cooter looked about ready to lose his breakfast. Eve gave him a small smile and placed a hand over his to calm him. She looked over at the prosecution, Nick Rogan, who smirked and gave her a wink. She glared at him and turned her head towards the judge.

The die is cast, she thought to herself.

Nick had a giant billboard that he was using to show the pictures of the late Summer Caskells—Article A. Like everyone had been saying, the girl's head had been wrapped in a plastic bag and then beaten with a hammer. There were even close-ups of the hammer prints embedded in her school. Cooter couldn't hardly look at them, but Eve didn't have a problem with it—she was used to observing pictures like those. She took a good hard look at the dead girl's face and made a mental note about something.

"As the jury can see," Nick was saying as he paced the floor. "The victim was caught, choked by a plastic bag, and then while still alive she was assaulted by force with the hammer." He glared at Cooter and pointed at him. "By that man!"

Eve stood up almost immediately. "Objection! Leading the jury without sufficient evidence."

The judge banged the podium with his gavel. "Sustained. Mr. Rogan, please try to control yourself."

"My apologies, your Honor. I have all the evidence I need to place Mr. Davenport at the scene," Nick continued, going to his desk and grabbing an envelope. "I'd like to bring this photo into court as Article B. Behold, the defendant carrying a hammer out of the hospital as caught by a security camera."

Everybody began to murmur about this new piece of evidence, although it wasn't new to Eve, Cooter, or Luke. Nick showed the picture to the judge.

"If I may show the jury up close, your Honor."

Judge Whitney nodded, allowing the action to be done. Nick handed the photo to the head of the jury who would then pass it on to the next person beside him.

"As you can see, members of the jury, the defendant is very much so at the scene, carrying the murder weapon. It is only obvious that he is the one that committed the crime."

The jury finished with the photo and then Nick picked it up to show it to Eve, knowing she'd be interested.

"Are you right or left-handed?" Eve asked him in a quick whisper after Nick pluckedthe pictureout of sight. Cooter twiddled the fingers of his right hand as a response.

"Mrs. Coltrane, do you care to call a witness?" Judge Whitney asked once Nick was done with his evidence.

"Indeed, your Honor. I call Detective Peter Yulch to the stand."

Yulch was seated in the witness seat, looking perfectly comfortable. Eve was pacing in front of him.

"You're the one that was in charge of investigating the Caskells murder, correct?" she began, remembering to use proper English and not use the lazy Southern drawl that she (and everyone else she knew) used a daily basis.

"That is correct."

"And these pictures of the deceased were taken by one of your men?"

"Correct."

"Can you look at these pictures and tell me which side of the face is the side the wounds are on?"

Yulch raised himself somewhat in his seat. "The left side-----or rather her right side."

"So you're saying the girl was beaten on the right side of her face?"

"I suppose so, yes."

Eve raised up her left hand. "If I were hit you with my left hand, I'd hit you on your right side of your face, correct?"

Yulch winced a little at the thought of the woman actually punching him. "Yes, that would only make sense."

"If I may involve the defendent in a short demonstration," Eve said to the judge.

"You may."

Eve walked to the desk grabbed an empty notepad, which she had to show the jury to prove that it was blank, then instructed her cousin to write his name with his left hand. It took about five minutes, be her got 'er done (although it was extremely sloppy) and Eve passed that around the jury as Nick had done with the photo.

"My client is a right-handed man," Eve began to explain. "He would have had a difficult time focusing his left hand and aiming it on someone's face with excessive force, wouldn't you say Detective?"

The detective didn't know quite what to say to that.

"Yulch, answer the question," the judge prodded.

"Yes, I'm sure it would."

Thank you, Atticus Finch, she thought cunningly to herself. Whoever knew that a childhood hero would come to her aid.

"No further questions." She glanced briefly at Nick. "Your witness."

Nick stood up, straightened his tie, and approached the bench. "Detective, you say the wounds were on the victim's right? Wouldn't it be possible that the victim were lying face up on the ground, suffocating, and the murderer kneeling behind her head in a way so that he would be able to strike her right side with his right hand? As if she were upside down to him?"

"Yes, it's possible."

Nick gave Eve a brief look as if to say, "Checkmate. "No further questions."

You damned dirty ape, she heard Charlton Heston scream in the back of her mind.

Eve pushed Cooter along the hallway, Luke right behind them. Court was over for the day and would continue in two days time.Eve looked up ahead and saw a large crowd of reporters swarming outside. Great, she thought.

"Stay close to me, both of ya," she said in a serious voice. "These people are like leeches, waiting to suck ya dry of information. If they ask ya anything, don't say a word. Let me do the talkin', of which I won't do any myself."

Before they even got to the door, the reporters began screaming the questions. Eve blocked them out. She'd learned that art her second year of work. Just ignore them and they seem to shut up and focus on someone that will talk. And if she knew Nick Rogan, he wouldn't talk either.

At last they managed to survive the crowd and rushed to get inside Eve's car, which sped off towards the hotel quick as lightening.