A/N: Hello, and thanks for the reviews! Only three more chapters after this, then it'll be off to the next sequel! Hope y'all enjoy :)

Straightening the Curves

Chapter Seventeen: Further Developments

Balladeer: Back in Atlanta, someone's butt was gettin' kicked, but it wasn't just Eve that was doin' it. Nick Rogan was doin' some of his own as well. They were both meetin' with Judge Whitney in his chambers for a private meeting, discussin' the most recent events.

"I say we pin both murders on him in just one trial!" Nick argued, his arms crossed angrily. "We've got enough evidence now, plus we have the murder weapon to tie them both together!"

"But he's innocent!" Eve insisted, her temper rising by the second. "There's a look-alike out there that's responsible for both crimes, an' he's gettin' further an' further away the more we waste time trying to blame my client!"

"Look-alike, schmook-alike," Nick mocked, rolling his eyes. "Don't pull the evil-twin thing outta the hat, Eve."

"Stop callin' me by my first name, Mr. Rogan!"

"Now, now, both of you settle down," Judge Whitney said in a calming voice as he sat at his desk. "Let's hear what Evie has to say."

She smiled lady-like at the judge then shifted her eyes over and scowled at Nick, who sneered back. "A few of my . . . associates, have been doing a little digging for me and they have found that there is a man out there that could almost pass as my client's identical twin—Elijah Moore."

Nick looked a little pale when she said the name, but then he forced the color to come back to his cheeks so no one would notice.

Balladeer: Uh-huh, what's his part in all this?

"He dated both victims up until a month before their murders—that's a motive. The victims' families have pictures that prove it."

Nick cleared his throat. "Uh—your Honor, I can explain."

"You had better," the judge glared. "Why didn't the prosecution investigate into this Elijah Moore character?"

Nick glanced at Eve and then focused back on the judge. "We did, that's what I'm trying to say. The client, Mr. Davenport, was simply going by an alias, a false identity."

"You are unbelievable," Eve growled. "What proof do you have that they are indeed one and the same? My own husband saw the killer escaping the crime scene last night, although at the time we thought it was just Mr. Davenport."

"Your husband's here?" Nick squeaked.

"That's right, an' if ya lay one finger on me while he's here, he'll break it in half," she bit.

Balladeer: She's got a lot of spunk, don't she?

The judge raised his eyebrows. "Well, that is an interesting story you have there, Evie. But I'm interested in if you have any evidence that this Eli man exists. The jury might not buy the story of a look-alike stranger unless you have cold-hard evidence."

"I'm workin' on it, Judge. I just need a few more days."

"We've already wasted enough time as it is," Nick argued. "Let justice do its duty an' let's get on with it."

"What is your problem!" Eve exclaimed, putting her fists on her hips. "At least give me a few more days to get what I need!"

Judge Whitney seemed a little baffled. Eve began to beg, "Please, I'm askin' you as a friend. I just need a few days to get what I need. I've got something here. Please."

Nick rolled his eyes and said something under his breath. The judge sighed and answered, "All right, I'll give you forty-eight hours to get your evidence. But after that, we're going to finish this trial."

"Oh, thank you so much," Eve smiled. "I owe ya one."

Rosco was outside in the hallway, waiting for Eve to finish with her meeting. She hadn't wanted to come alone, so he agreed to stick around a little longer before he had to go home. At last she showed up from around the corner, scaring him a little bit.

"Hey, sweetie," she told him, giving him a quick kiss and putting her arm around his. "Thanks for waitin' on me."

"Sure thing. How'd it go?" he asked as they started walking off.

"I got forty-eight hours to get the evidence needed to get Cooter off the hook," she replied.

Nick came up from behind them. "An' you'll be wasting all forty-eight of them."

Eve turned around and glared at her ex-husband. "Back off, I have nothing further to discuss with you."

"I'm just warnin' ya," Nick shrugged. "Givin' you the heads up so that you won't be too disappointed when your precious cousin winds up getting stuck with the needle."

"When I win this case, don't go home cryin' to your momma."

Rosco was glancing back and forth between the two of them, wondering what in tarnation was the deal here. Nick reasoned out that he was her husband and smirked. "Hey, Evie. You look nice with your hair down. Why didn't you ever wear that way for me?"

Eve's eyes flashed, remembering how Nick always made her wear it up at all times, let out a, "Why you little—" and would've jumped to strangle him if Rosco hadn't caught her by the waist to keep her place.

Nick chuckled. "Yeah, you keep reined in like that. It's the only way to control her." He tipped his hat. "Good day."

Eve counted to ten in her head to try and calm down as Nick walked out of her sight. Rosco felt her ease up so he slowly released her. "Was that who I think it was?" he asked quietly.

Eve sighed. "Yes, baby, that was him." She put a palm to her forehead. "I'm sorry I didn't tell ya that he was on the case too, but I didn't want you worryin' about me. I got enough to worry about as it is, I don't need to be worried about you bein' worried."

Rosco wrapped his arms around her and placed his head in the crook of her neck. "It's all right, honeypie. I'm not worried 'bout that jerk."

Balladeer: On the other side of the city, Ali led Luke to the Mockingbird Condominiums that Bill Kent had said Eli Moore lived. When they got there, they asked the administration if they still had him down as a resident.

"I'm sorry, folks, Mr. Moore hasn't lived here in over a month," an overweight man in a blue-checked suit told them as he knocked the ashes off his cigar into a small silver tray. "Left without even sayin' good-bye, the ol' dog."

"Do ya have any idea where he might've gone?" Luke asked, determined not to hit a dead-end. "Any friends he might be with? Anything?"

"Now that I think about it, I believe I heard him talkin' 'bout some fella several times—Rogan I think it was. Some ol' drinkin' buddy of his, some guy named Rogan."

"Nick Rogan?" Ali asked, her eyes getting big. She recognized the name, of course, since her sister had been married to him once upon a time.

"That's it," the cigar man noted. "Nick Rogan. Never met the guy, but as much as Moore talked about him they seemed like good friends. I'd be lookin' for him if I were you."

"Thanks, mister, you've been a big help!" Luke thanked him, grabbing Ali's hand to rush out the door to get to the nearest payphone.