Intersecting Lines – The Trial
Part 15 – Rebuttal
In Court
Alex's viewpoint
Another day, the fourth spent cross examining Humphries. I'd come to first dislike then detest the woman, now the best word to describe my feelings towards her was disgust. I considered her a loathsome excuse for a human being. To be honest the speed of my reaction to her had surprised me but day after day of sparring with her, getting an up close and personal insight into the mind of a 'psychotic nutbag', to use Jane's crude but accurate description, had just amplified my distaste towards her. Now…I couldn't wait to put her away for good.
"Y'know Cabot, you're not that stupid, so why don't you tell me why I'm wearing these clothes?" She'd dressed nicely once again in a tightly-fitted black leather high-necked mid-thigh length sleeveless dress I found myself admiring; she'd matched it with a gold chain-link belt and a set of polished black patent-leather knee boots with spiked gold-heels, if anything she looked a bit of a dominatrix, all she was missing were the gloves and the whip. There was no doubt she was attractive and she certainly knew how to dress to impress, to make the most of her looks, but all the nice wrapping did little to hide the ever more obvious fact that the mind inside the pretty package was as cold and cruel as a reptile.
At her question I tipped my head to regard her and played along.
"Because you're aware that you won't be wearing them ever again once this trial is over?" She smiled a little as she spoke.
"Pretty much, and do you know why?" I assumed the question was rhetorical and let the silence speak. Her smile turned a little crooked. "Because you and Hobbs, these idiots..." She waved in the jury's direction. "...and a corrupt system are going to send me to a place where I'm gonna be killed" She shrugged. "If it isn't state sanctioned murder, then the guards will turn a blind eye while I'm shanked by the other inmates, either way I'm dead" She shrugged and looked to the camera. "The state of California may have cancelled executions, but sending me to prison is a death sentence, just carried out a lot messily than it used to" She flicked her hair back and stared at the camera. "This is judicial murder, pure and simple" Humphries turned from the camera, looked to me and smiled again, so cold it chilled me. "Might as well go out with a bang, looking my best"
New York NYPD 12th Precinct
"What the hell?"
Kate looked over at Rick's disgusted tone; he was sitting in his usual place besides her desk in the 12th Precinct's Homicide area, watching the trial on his 'phablet'. Wondering what had set him off, she spoke up to catch his attention.
"What's up Castle?" He shook his head in disgust.
"Some of the media outlets are calling it the 'Battle of the Babes" Kate frowned, 'what?' At her obviously perplexed expression he explained. "One fashion blogger started comparing Alex with Humphries, their outfits in court I mean, looking at it from a label and cost perspective and comparing the two. Unfortunately media's picked up on it and run with the concept, now they're calling it the Battle of the Babes" Kate frowned then spoke, her voice easily carrying her disdain.
"That's like comparing apples with cauliflower; Alex is nothing like that murderous bitch" Rick nodded emphatically as he replied.
"I know, believe me I know, but media are running side by side photos of Alex and Humphries and getting people to vote on which outfit looks best and who was the better looking on the day" he held the 'phablet' out so she could see as Kate ran her eyes over today's outfits, the images laid out side by side for easier comparison.
Alex was wearing rimless spectacles and a sapphire blue skirt suit, perfectly-tailored to her figure she looked the epitome of professional chic, with just a little of the sexy showing through with her choice of no blouse and nude stiletto heels, but still totally professional. Not so for Humphries, her outfit today was an above the knee tight black leather sleeveless dress teamed with a pair of knee-high shiny black boots with four-inch high chrome-heels. Noting Humphries was running away with the votes Kate shook her head slowly and sadly as she looked to her partner.
"Just when I think I've seen it all, the media finds a new way to lower my expectations" Rick nodded slowly, taking the phone back then started tapping the screen furiously. "What are you doing?" she asked, causing him to look up in surprise.
"I'm voting for Alex of course, no way is Humphries going to win, not if I can help it" Kate just shook her head and buried a proud smile as she went back to her paperwork, that was her man, he might be like a child on a sugar rush sometimes but he was loyal to a fault to his friends
In Court
I knew I shouldn't be looking forward to this as much as I was, but honestly, while Humphries' evidence had guaranteed that we'd send her and the rest of them to jail for the remainder of their miserable lives, her arrogance, her self-delusional and self-serving nature and her obvious contempt for everyone around her had rubbed me the wrong way for long enough. Now though I was looking for some overdue reckoning.
"The witness has attempted to justify her actions by claiming to be acting against cartel members and drug dealers as a self-described vigilante" I shook my head slowly. "The fact that murder under any circumstances is illegal seems to have not bothered her in the slightest" I looked to Humphries to see her looking back at me blandly. "Even if one was to accept her self-serving assertions, which the People most assuredly do not and which you should not, let us now come to her employment of others to undertake murders for hire, on the police investigating the crimes of her and her coconspirators"
"The witness paid not one but two street gangs to carry out murders on her behalf" I shook my head a little. "Apparently she was happy to sub-contract assassinations to these gangs, possibly because she was rushed or perhaps couldn't be bothered doing it herself" I raised an eyebrow at Humphries, getting no response. "Or perhaps she deemed her targets to be too dangerous to go after herself" I shrugged. "Be that as it may, she contracted with a street gang, Los Lobos del Muerte, to do her dirty work" I strolled a little further round then waved to the screen as Andrea pulled up surveillance video of the attempted drive by on Brenda and Sharon.
"Two of the investigating officers, Deputy Chief Johnson and Commander Raydor, were leaving LAPD headquarters when they were ambushed. I'd ask you to direct your attention to the screen" For the next minute or so the video played, showing the initial drive by, the gangers getting out of the car to finish the job and the shootout with Sharon and Brenda taking cover behind a concrete bench, resulting in both gangers sprawled out on the road as their stolen SUV sped away. As the first police to arrive on the run appeared in the video Andrea paused it as I continued. "As you can see, this was more than just a drive-by, the perpetrators exited their stolen vehicle and tried to make sure of the job, it was only through good luck and good marksmanship on the part of Chief Johnson and Commander Raydor that they emerged unscathed" I shook my head, all theatrics, and pressed on.
"At roughly the same time as that attack, a second vehicle, another stolen SUV, was identified in pursuit of the car driven by Doctor Isles, fortunately she was able to evade their pursuit, for it was a pursuit, undertaken at high speed through the streets of Los Angeles, before responding LAPD vehicles were able to cut the pursuing vehicle off" The screen changed, now showing video from a LAPD helicopter, it was a little distant but it showed what I was describing as I continued. "The occupants of that silver SUV, also Los Lobos del Muerte gang members, chose to shoot it out with the LAPD rather than surrendering, resulting in two dead and one wounded ganger" The screen changed under Andrea's direction to show another SUV parked by the side of the road.
"Also at approximately the same time another SUV, stolen in a similar manner to the others, was sitting close to LAPD headquarters. It is strongly surmised that this vehicle and their occupants were waiting for two more of the investigating team, Special Agent Romanov and Miss Dearing, to exit headquarters and walk to the nearby car park where their vehicle was parked. Fortunately, with the failed attempt on Chief Johnson and Commander Raydor, the area was saturated with police officers and the vehicle departed rapidly, as can be seen" The video showed it roaring away. "That vehicle, like the other two, had been stolen; it was later recovered, burnt out where it had been dumped later that evening" I turned back to the jury.
"Investigating officers were able to identify the attackers as members of the Hispanic street gang Los Lobos del Muerte, the 'wolves of death' apparently. Further investigations led to investigators to discover that the wife of the leader of that gang had been killed later that same night" I smiled at the jury. "Please keep that detail in mind as I explain the relationship to the witness" I saw members of the jury glancing between me and Humphries as I spoke.
"Several days later there was an all-out ambush and assault on the investigating officers and their protectors. Many of you will have seen the footage but for those of you who have not…" I turned to Andrea and smiled. "If you would be so kind…" Andrea smiled in return and a composite video of the ambush that Buzz had stitched together from a traffic cam that covered the intersection and then from cell camera footage posted to YouTube, started playing on the screen. It ran for about 90 seconds all up, I have to say the violence up there was terrifying; so many dead and wounded in such a short space of time. As it came to an end I turned to the jury and grabbed their attention once more.
"That attack was carried out by a street gang, the Barrio Bangers. This gang had previously crossed paths with members of the Major Crimes team led by Chief Johnson however that was not why they had attacked the investigators of the crimes undertaken by the defendants" I looked to Humphries, seeing her sitting there with a slight smile on her face and then turned back to the jury.
"They had been paid by the witness to carry out that attack. How can we be so sure?" I smiled. "Because a member of the gang, who witnessed the meeting between the leader of the Barrio Bangers and the person paying them, identified that person, initially from images and then later picked them out of a line up. That person will be heard from later in this trial but they definitively identified the person who commissioned that attack as the witness, Julia Humphries" I started pacing back and forward in front of the jury as I continued.
"That eyewitness explained that the Barrio Bangers had negotiated a fee with the witness here for the ambush and attempted murder of the investigating officers and their escorts, twenty five thousand dollars down payment with the same again to follow if they succeeded" I paused and glanced at Humphries who was watching me calmly, then commenced pacing again "Of course they were not successful, losing six members of the Barrio Bangers in that failed ambush, one of whom was the gang leader. That left the surviving Bangers in possession of the initial twenty five thousand dollars in blood money" I shook my head. "The witness determined that they would retrieve that money, the same way they had after the failed attack by Los Lobos del Muerte, by seeking out and retrieving the money from whoever possessed it" I paused and looked at the jury.
"You may ask how she could locate that money?" I smiled. "Investigators later discovered that the money had been passed across in a metal attaché case, one that also carried a concealed tracker. The witness was able to track the case's location and seize the case and the money it contained, from the Los Lobos del Muerte and then from the Barrio Bangers, in each case killing the women into whose custody the money had been passed" There was a sudden tap of Craven's gavel.
"Counsel will get to the point, the witness is here to be cross-examined counsel so get to it" I nodded.
"Yes your honour" I turned back to the jury.
"That money had been left in the possession of the girlfriend of the Barrio Bangers leader, one Shaylene Phillips. Miss Phillips was found dead with two shots from a 9 millimeter pistol to the chest" Andrea brought up the crime scene image as I continued. "Shaylene Phillips baby daughter was found on site, she had lain uncared for since her mother was callously murdered next to her cot" That got a lot of reactions as heads swung to face Humphries who didn't react at all as I pushed on.
"The attaché case, containing the money and the radio tracking device, plus the actual tracker itself and a 9 millimeter pistol and silencer, together with rubber gloves, were found in the boot of Julia Humphries' car after her arrest. Forensic examination tied the pistol not only to the murder of Miss Phillips, but also to another woman, Cristina Rocha, the wife of the Los Lobos del Muerte's leader, who was living in the premises where the money Humphries paid to the Los Lobos del Muerte had been hidden. Unfortunately for her, Miss Rocha was home when Julia Humphries came to retrieve her money, and paid for that with her life"
With another click the crime scene image showing Rocha's corpse appeared on the screen, she'd been shot once in the back of the head, killing her instantly. I gave that a few seconds to sink in, watching Humphries but she was looking to the jury, her face bland.
"Later analysis of the tracker's data memory showed that the case had been in several locations, in particular the sites of Miss Rocha's and Miss Phillip's murders, as well as Julia Humphries home and car" I turned back to the jury. The evidence is circumstantial I grant you, but compelling"
Washington DC The Jeffersonian Institute
"Too smart by half" At her husband's words Temperance Brennan looked up from the screen in her office and nodded.
"I agree, but from all we have seen it looks like Humphries is completely uncaring of anyone around her, at least those who are of no use to her" She shook her head. "The moment those gangs missed their targets, they became useless to her and in her mind I would suggest she considered them failures in possession of 'her' money, something to be corrected immediately and woe betide anyone standing between her and the money" Booth's voice was grim.
"Thank god they caught her, she was already a serial killer; a smart one who could hide behind her looks and a badge, if they hadn't caught her there's no telling how many people she'd have ended up killing. She's been at it for a decade, she could have gone on for decades more" Brennan looked up to her husband.
"Including potentially the murder of other officers, both the investigating officers and, according to that former cartel member, other LAPD officers Sinaloa wanted dead"
They exchanged a glance that said all either had too about that before they turned their attention back to where that prosecutor, Cabot, was building her case against Humphries.
In Court
"So Julia Humphries, not content with having personally killed, by her own admission, some several dozen people, sub-contracted out the murder of six law enforcement personnel, plus the people who were working desperately to keep them alive" I shook my head and turned to Humphries. "Detective Humphries, what possessed you to attempt to have your fellow officers killed?" Humphries was unfazed, looking at me with a small smile on her face.
"Finally, I was wondering when your monologue was going to end Cabot" Craven tapped his gavel.
"The witness will confine themselves to answering the questions put to them" Humphries, not surprisingly was unimpressed, dismissing him with an airy wave.
"Yeah, what…ever" I carefully buried a smile at that, given I'd desperately wanted to say much the same thing to Craven innumerable times during this trial and pushed ahead.
"Why did you seek to have your fellow officers murdered Detective?"
"They were getting in the way of what I was doing" she shrugged and looked to the jury as she continued. "I was dealing with drug dealers and cartel members permanently; a damned sight more effectively than the drug squad ever did"
"But these were fellow officers…" I tried, only to be interrupted.
"No, some were; the others were hangers on. Isles wasn't a cop, neither was Dearing, and Romanov was a Fed, all too prissy to get their hands dirty. Dearing struts around in front of the camera's like she's some Hollywood slut when she's just a paid whore, prostituting it up in front of a camera, turning tricks for the media in hopes of making Pope and the force look good" She shrugged. "Isles is some rich bitch playing at hanging with the cops, it makes her feel good about herself, to try and convince herself that she's not another of the 1 percenter parasites, that she's actually not a waste of oxygen and that she can ever be as good as the cops who do the real work" She shrugged carelessly as I desperately stamped down on the anger I was feeling at the slurs she was throwing at my sisters. "As for Romanov, well we've heard how she was too incompetent to be an agent, which given how useless most Bureau types are, takes some real doing"
"So the fact that they were not LAPD officers somehow excuses your actions, is that it?" I asked, keeping a tight rein on my voice, not that Humphries cared, shrugging as she replied.
"Why not? You've heard the evidence, they got their jobs through the help of the LAPDs prize dykes, Raydor and Johnson, so they hang out together, protect each other and make sure they look after each other" I went to say something when she cut across me. "That's how you're here isn't it, because you're a dyke and they pulled strings to get you in LA and prosecuting, same as Hobbs, you're here because you owe them and because you dyke's stick together" I decided to ignore that irrelevancy and came back to what she'd done.
"What about the LAPD officers you tried to have killed?" Humphries obviously didn't care about them either.
"Raydor and Johnson may have been cops, but they'd both slept their way to the top, everyone in the LAPD knew that, and that was before they started fucking each other, plus Raydor was an IA rat, not a real cop. Johnson was Pope's former piece on the side, everyone knows she got the job because of it" I stood there stunned, this woman's worldview was either the biggest pack of lies or she really was that delusional. "As for Rizzoli, she was a blow in from Boston, Isles' tame cop fuck toy, she turned up and tried to be a real cop, but we all knew how she got her job, by being another of that lezzie clique that's infesting the LAPD" She shrugged. "None of them were real cops, not like me"
Los Angeles LAPD Major Crimes
Every eye had turned to Jane as she sat there stunned; it was Provenza who broke the silence first.
"The woman's a delusional nutcase Jane" Jane looked away from the screen
"Is that sort of attitude common, I mean I haven't seen it here obviously but Maura and Nat and the others…?" Flynn shook his head.
"There's always going to be people who gossip and some of that's going to be pretty bad, but the majority of the force, they either don't know you and don't have an opinion, or have heard of you and their opinion's pretty much spot on, you're all cops doing a good job" Khan nodded and chipped in.
"The ravings of a psychopath are not to be taken seriously" Jane nodded slowly then looked round, taking in Provenza, Flynn, Khan and Buzz where he was leaning in the doorway to the media room.
"Thanks guys, it's good to be here and to know you guys have our back" Flynn nodded once as he replied.
"Anytime Jane"
In court
"So because these officers and law enforcement personnel didn't measure up in your opinion to what you had privately decreed was acceptable standards for LAPD officers, you determined that they could be killed?" Humphries was a picture of nonchalance.
"They were getting in the way of what I was doing, if they interfered they were an impediment, they had to go" I nodded slowly.
"Yes, I suppose they did, after all what were another six or twelve dead on your conscience when you already had so much blood on your hands?" She waved me away, much as she tried to do with her words.
"Fuck off Cabot, the ends justified the means; I'd cleaned Los Angeles out of dozens of criminals, in a way that the whole LADP, DA's office and the criminal justice system hadn't" She snorted. "I'd arrested the same punks two or three or four times over the years, only to see them get off with barely a slap on the wrist or community service or a light or even suspended sentence, only to see them start all over again, each time more vicious and dangerous than before" She looked to the jury. "They went from petty larceny to break and enters to armed robbery to killing people over gang and drug turf wars, all because no one would do what was necessary" I stared at her coldly, unimpressed by her diatribe.
"So you took it upon yourself to be judge, jury and executioner, what gave you that right Detective, who anointed you as the chosen one, to determine who lived and died?" Humphries smirked at me, totally unconcerned.
"Me Cabot, just me" She looked to the jury and continued. "No one else had the balls, someone had to and no one else would, or could, so I did" She looked across from the jury to the camera and directed her next words there, as Nat had suggested, she was playing to an audience beyond this court. "I took those criminal's off the streets permanently, ensuring that there's people out there on the streets today who are alive today because those violent criminals aren't there to attack them, their kids won't get dragged into gangs and the drug dealers aren't there to feed poison to those kids" She looked to the jury. "That was me, because of me those scum aren't fucking up lives right here in Los Angeles" I stood there for a few seconds, taking it all in then, as everyone's attention turned to me, I slowly folded my arms and let the disgust and disbelief I was feeling bleed into my voice.
"Our very own modern day Punisher, killing criminals that crossed your path or so you'd like us to believe. Unfortunately the fact that you were being paid by a Mexican drug cartel, paid in cash and cocaine does somewhat undercut your narrative Detective" Before she could speak I kept going. "As does your actions in paying street gangs to attempt the murder of you fellow law enforcement personnel"
"Criminals off the street permanently Cabot, that's what I achieved; off the street for good instead of destroying lives" She shrugged. "The end justify the means"
Miami MDPD Crime Lab
Horatio Caine sat back and watched Cabot and Humphries go head to head. Humphries was trying to hide what she'd actually done behind a screen of supposed vigilante motivations, something Cabot wasn't having a bar of.
"Still watching the trial?" As the voice of Calleigh Duquesne came from the door he turned and smiled.
"Yeah, it's a train wreck; you can't really look away from it happening in front of you. Humphries is claiming to be some kind of vigilante and that she killed criminals to make LA safer" Calleigh wandered in a bit further and turned to watch the television, then glanced his way.
"I take it you don't believe a word of it?" He shook his head.
"No, the woman's a terminator, no remorse or conscience; she just kills to get what she wants. I've put people like that behind bars; we all have, it's just really sick to see a cop like that" Calleigh nodded. She could understand the superficial attraction, but at the end of the day that way led down the same hellhole that parts of Mexico and elsewhere in Central America had turned into, a dog eat dog, survival of the fittest nightmare where normal people lived and died at the whim of the violent.
"At least they caught this one and she's going to death row which must count for something" Horatio looked up at her and nodded slowly as he replied.
"Yeah, score one for the good guys I guess"
In Court
"Your unsuccessful attempts on the lives of the investigating team, while futile, did lead to a further string of deaths" Humphries looked blandly back at me, saying nothing as I pressed on.
"There were the three members of Los Lobos Del Muerte who died in shoot outs with police, either at the drive by shooting attempt on the lives of Chief Johnson and Commander Raydor or at the pursuit of Doctor Isles which led to a shootout with responding police. Then there was Cristina Rocha, the wife of the Los Lobos del Muerte's leader, who was unfortunately in the location where the deposit you had paid the gang was being stored. You turned up, walked inside her apartment when she answered the door and you shot her; killed her so you retrieve the money that you had paid them for the attempted murder of Commander Raydor, Deputy Chief Johnson and Doctor Isles" Humphries was silent, instead regarding me with something like disdain or even scorn as I continued.
"Then there was your attempt to have the Barrio Bangers do your dirty work for you, resulting in an ambush and a wild firefight on the streets of Los Angeles. A firefight that saw six members of the Barrio Bangers die and two members of Talisman Protective Services wounded as they fought alongside the investigating officers to protect the team from your attackers" I shrugged. "Their lives obviously meant little to you, as later that evening you made your way to the location of the money you had paid the Barrio Bangers to do your dirty work for you. It was during your actions to recover that deposit that you shot and killed Shaylene Phillips, leaving her dead from two shots to the chest" Seeing Humphries unmoved I hit the key points again.
"Eleven more dead; their deaths are on you detective, you may have been the one who pulled the trigger on Miss Phillips and Miss Rocha, but you are equally culpable in the deaths of the nine other victims that you arranged" Humphries smiled and shrugged before responding, ignoring me to look to the cameras.
"The ends more than justify the means Cabot, that's nine gang members that won't be on the streets anymore" Humphries moved in her seat and looked to the jury. "They were vicious street punks, the Muerte were well known for their history of violent crime while the Barrio Bangers had a big rep for gun running, bringing in the weapons that the gangs use to terrorise the streets" She smiled and looked back at me. "Where the hell do you think the AKs they were using came from?" I dragged us away from her justifications and back to the point
"You claim that the nine dead deserved it because they were dangerous gang members, what about the young women you gunned down in their homes, were they dangerous too?" Humphries obviously didn't give a damn, as her next words proved.
"They were part of the gangs too Cabot, they weren't innocent victims so stop trying to make them out as ones; both of them had gang tats and were the gang leader's sluts so stop suggesting they were angels, they were as much a part of the same street gangs as the others were" I shook my head.
"So in your view the end justifies the means, no matter how many die?" I stated, getting a smile from her.
"Yeah, that's eleven fewer gang members on the streets, thanks to me" I turned to the jury, appalled. For a moment I paused as I dealt with the truth about Humphries, she was a truly amoral psychopath.
Boston BPD Division 1 Homicide
"That woman is a mental case" At Frost's brutally accurate summation Riley Cooper nodded.
"Totally" She grimaced. "She's playing to the jury and the cameras as a vigilante but she's a self-centered, self-absorbed psycho, it's all about her and screw everyone else"
"Doesn't matter" It was Korsak. "Those ADA's out there are going to send her to jail for the rest of whatever's left of her bitter and twisted life" He smiled coldly. "Let Humphries enjoy her moment in the spotlight, her 15 minutes are just about up and she'll be packed off to die, unremembered and unremarked, in prison" He shrugged. "Unless someone shanks her first" He looked from Frost to Cooper. "Live by the sword, die by the sword" Cooper nodded as Frost replied.
"Amen"
In Court
I turned to the jury, sitting there watching us.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the witness is not denying their culpability, far from it. Instead they are reveling in their role in the deaths of so many and their hand in attempting to kill her fellow law enforcement members" Humphries chipped in at that.
"They were trying to stop me from dealing with the scum on the street Cabot, you keep leaving that bit out" She shook her head, a mirthless smile on her face. "Sorry if that doesn't fit your narrative Cabot but that's the truth" I shook my head and set myself, facing the jury and one of the cameras, two could play that game.
"It is obvious in the words of the witness herself, she has no remorse for any of the deaths she was responsible for, not the criminals she killed, the police and security people she tried to have assassinated or the young women she so callously murdered" I shook my head slowly. "She is apparently totally without remorse for her action, instead demonstrating a complete lack of moral centre, living in her own world where the ends justify the means, no matter who dies"
"I was effective Cabot, I took criminal scum off the street permanently, something the LAPD wasn't" At Humphries commentary I shook my head without looking at her, continuing to address the jury.
"And that apparently justified repeated attempts to have your fellow officers killed" Humphries couldn't leave that alone.
"Like I told you, they weren't real cops, not like me" At that I smiled, I let a cruel smile out and turned to face her.
"Yes, I suppose you're correct. They're nothing like you, in every respect. They don't murder people for drugs, or cartel money, they don't pay street gangers to kill people they deem a threat and they don't kill young women just because they have something that you want" I shook my head slowly. "Yes, those officers are nothing like you, but in one thing they're not just different from you but better, far, far better"
"Like hell they are" At her interjection I removed my glasses, holding them in one hand as I spoke.
"For all your supposed intelligence and cunning, your subterfuges and experience, you proved to be no match for them"
"Bullshit!" I gave her my best mocking smile.
"They caught you"
