Intersecting Lines – The Trial
Part 16 – Retribution
In Court
Alex's viewpoint
It was the fifth day of Humphries' testimony and I was intent on bringing down the curtain on her turn in the spotlight, I'd had enough of her posturing and it couldn't come soon enough.
"Let's talk about your habit of murdering people, oh I'm sorry; what was the term you preferred?" I smiled nastily. "Oh that's right, dispensing justice"
New York 1PP
In her office Casey Novak sat back, rested her elbows on her chair's arms and interlaced her fingers in front of her, a smile gracing her lips.
She'd worked enough prosecutions with Alex that she could tell when Alex was about to unleash on a witness or suspect; it looked like Humphries turn had finally arrived and given the circumstances Casey couldn't have asked for a more deserving target. She leaned back and nodded slowly.
"Give her hell Alex"
In Court
I looked Humphries over, today she was wearing a dramatic black and white skirt suit with matching pumps that certainly matched her world view, she might have been a psychopath but I had to admire her sense of style, she knew how to dress to impress if nothing else. Idly I wondered if that was where the money from Sinaloa had gone before dismissing the irrelevancy and getting back to the case, cheerfully noting her dark frown at the way I'd kicked us off this morning.
"Let's for the moment put to one side those people that a Mexican drug cartel paid you to kill, for the moment anyway, and those two young women you murdered to retrieve the money you had paid to have fellow officers killed, instead let's look at those other people you 'dispensed justice' to" I put it in finger quotes, seeing Humphries eyes narrow as I mocked her." Your comments here in court have helped the LAPD better understand a series of previously unsolved crimes" I looked over at Andrea who was running the laptop. As I read a series of names off a sheet of paper she called up each image on screen, revealing their DMV photos, more than a dozen victims, eleven men and three women.
"Each of these people had three things in common; they were drug dealers, you were responsible for their deaths and each had their cocaine supplies stolen when you killed them, is that not true?" Humphries shook her head.
"They were criminals, preying on their victims, as a vigilante I preyed on them" I raised an eyebrow, one hand resting on my hip as I swept my hand towards the images on the big television screen.
"You weren't some vigilante looking for justice though were you? If you were, an unlikely suggestion at the best of times, then you would have 'preyed'…" I emphasised the word. "…on criminals of all kinds, murderers, rapists, child molesters and the like, but you didn't, did you?" I glanced at the jury, seeing them following my words closely, even the two I'd tagged as possibly sympathetic to Humphries' 'vigilante' claims. "Instead you restricted your homicidal activities to two types of criminal, those you were paid to kill and those who had what you wanted, which was cocaine"
"Like I said Cabot, I was taking the worst of the dealers off the street" she stated, drawing a shake of my head as I demolished that argument.
"I think not, rather you were just an addict looking for a fix who decided that killing dealers to get it was cheaper and easier than paying for it, so you killed them for your next fix"
"Objection Your Honour" It was Humphries' public defender. "What relevance does this have to the charges being heard in this court?" I shrugged and turned to Craven, anticipating his question with my answer.
"Your Honour, the defendant seems to believe, well they have consistently asserted anyway, that she acted as a vigilante, that her actions while being paid by Sinaloa were consistent with this worldview" I shook my head for the camera. "The People wish to demonstrate that supposition to not be the case; that in turn involves closer attention to the crimes undertaken and admitted to by the witness in this court" I held my hands out wide. "The witness is not on trial for these additional crimes, that is true, however those crimes establish a pattern of behaviour that we believe informs the decisions that she made when acting on behalf of Sinaloa" Craven thought about it for a few seconds, then nodded before looking at Humphries' defender, Peter Bentley I'd learned his name was, and turning him down.
"Objection denied. Prosecution, continue"
"Thank you Your Honour" I looked back at Humphries. "So you selected drug dealers, very specific drug dealers in fact, those who sold cocaine and who were operating in locations where you could safely hunt them down, kill them and take their cocaine, not to 'dispense justice'…" I put it in finger quotes, openly mocking her. "…but to ensure your regular fixes continued without the bother of actually paying for them" I raised an eyebrow at her. "That is what you did…isn't it?" Humphries scowled at me but I ignored her. "So let's not have any further talk of dispensing justice shall we?"
New York State Supreme Court Building
In her chambers Judge Liz Donnelly sat back with a satisfied smile, she knew Alex Cabot well enough to recognise the oncoming avalanche that was about to descend on Humphries head and this was going to be well worth watching.
Humphries had been soaking up the limelight for days now; the woman was an obvious attention-seeker and the focus on her as she gave evidence had made her overconfident.
Now though Cabot was going to bury Humphries deep and her so-called vigilante posturing's along with it and, quite frankly, Liz couldn't wait to see it.
In Court
I turned to the jury, looking them over and then starting again.
"Thanks to the statements of the witness over the past few days, the LAPD has managed to identify these people as being victims of the witness" I turned back to the screen where a composite image of all the victim's was visible; Buzz had done a great job in a really short space of time pulling all the images together and resizing them to suit the screen as I made a mental note to particularly thank him.
"Each of these people was killed with the same handguns, one of two separate nine millimetre pistols; the ballistics of which match the Beretta and SIG pistols which were retrieved by investigating LAPD officers from a safety deposit box held in Miss Humphries' name and which bore the witnesses' fingerprints. In addition each of the witnesses' victims was found with their supply of cocaine missing. Given the witness was a cocaine user, there is an extremely high probability, approaching certainty, that the deceased were victims of the defendant" I paused then continued.
"Additional charges amounting to fourteen cases of homicide will be brought against the witness at the conclusion of this trial" I smiled. "Mind you, an ongoing investigation is currently underway to try and connect the witnesses' actions with many further deaths, given they were kind enough to admit to having killed well in excess of forty people, and that is in addition to her activities as a paid assassin for Sinaloa" I shook my head as I turned from the jury to address a scowling Humphries, her jaw clenched in anger as I smiled. "You have been a murderous little psychopath haven't you Miss Humphries?" Her voice was short and clipped with repressed fury.
"That's Detective Humphries, Cabot" I smiled nastily at her as I replied.
"I think not, that is an honoured rank and title that is earned and you have, through your actions, dishonoured that title and proven yourself unworthy of laying claim to it" Humphries sat back, crossing her arms over her chest and staring balefully at me, not that I cared. "Miss Humphries will suffice for now, until it's replaced by a new title, your California Corrections Department prisoner number"
"Watch it Cabot" I smiled a little wider at her growled threat.
"Or what exactly Miss Humphries? I hardly think you're in any position to issue threats, in fact I fully expect that in short order your ability to do anything beyond whatever the prison warders order you to do will vanish like smoke in the wind"
New York NYPD Central Crime Lab
Mack Taylor sat back at his desk and watched the trial, a growing smile on his lips. He'd been waiting to see Cabot unleash on someone and it looked like Humphries was going to be the unfortunate target. He'd spoken to people here in New York's legal profession and they'd all told him that when Cabot let loose, it was something worth watching.
Now thanks to the cable coverage, he had a ringside seat, something he was anticipating with relish.
In Court
"So please, let's have no more idle threats" I spun on my heel to face the jury. "This one is no vigilante, despite her self-serving claims to the contrary, the witness is instead a self-confessed murderer, preying on others for drugs and money to feed her lifestyle and cocaine addiction and a serial-killer with well over 50 deaths on her hands, again self-confessed' Humphries voice came over my shoulder.
"I was taking dealers off the street, doing what the drug squad manifestly wasn't, making sure they couldn't ruin any more lives" I shook my head as I turned to face her.
"And helping yourself to their supply of cocaine as well I note" I shrugged and turned back to the jury. "Miss Humphries here, after her arrest for murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder, was placed into holding, however within 24 hours of her arrest she began to exhibit psychotic tendencies, symptoms and behaviours consistent with an addict entering withdrawal. Tests undertaken in the prison hospital that she was quickly transferred to revealed that the witness was in fact addicted to cocaine, and in addition to her obvious withdrawal symptoms was showing long term side-effects of the drug" I turned to the bench and continued. "The People wish to submit as evidence the medical report prepared by the California Department of Corrections doctor and the addiction specialists who treated the witness, attesting to the withdrawal symptoms the witness was demonstrating and their findings regarding the evidence of long-term cocaine addiction"
New York 1PP
Sitting in her office Erin Reagan smiled. She knew Cabot casually; they'd met a few times over the years, usually at conferences and branch meetings and the like, though they'd covered different beats. Cabot had spent much of the past few years working SVU, something Erin was happy to leave to her; prosecutions of normal criminals were bad enough, the vile scum SVU dealt with even were worse. Over the years she'd heard the rumours about Cabot's sexuality and her relationship with one of her SVU detectives, rumours now proved beyond doubt here, but she didn't think it determined how you did your job, and sure as hell didn't warrant the excess attention the Defence had been placing on it. Thankfully though that Smithsonian escapee of a judge had finally remembered enough about his job to shut the Defence up about that, even if he'd let them get away with it for too long.
With that out of the way Erin had watched Cabot and Humphries back and forth over the last few days and quite frankly she'd been surprised at Cabot's restraint, honestly she didn't think she'd have put up with Humphries as long as Cabot had, now though it seemed that Cabot was slamming Humphries hard, something that was long overdue.
She picked up her cup and sat back, a smile on her face as she anticipated some quality entertainment.
In Court
Andrea got up and walked a copy over to the bench as I pushed on.
"So no, ladies and gentlemen, the witness was not a vigilante, no matter her self-serving and quite frankly delusional claims to the contrary" I shook my head. "In fact I would describe the witness as a highly functional psychopath, seeing the world only in terms of what she might take from it" I looked her way and shrugged. "So far, to the best of the knowledge of the investigating officers given what they have been able to definitively confirm so far, this witness has taken at least 24 lives in addition to many kilos of cocaine and many tens of thousands of dollars in drug cartel money, all to support her addiction to cocaine and an expensive lifestyle" I glanced Humphries' way once more then back to the jury as Andrea passed me on her way back to her seat, giving me a quick wink and a smile as I nodded and pressed on. "Though I have no doubt many more people died at her hands, given her previous statements, all to feed her ego and her addiction"
"You keep leaving out the fact they were low-life drug-dealing scum Cabot, scum I cleaned off the streets"
"Yes you did, didn't you" I shook my head then turned to the jury. "A very specific target list I have to confess. The witness killed three types of people, those she was paid to, by the Sinaloa drug cartel, at twenty thousand dollars a time, those who had what she wanted, which was cocaine, taken from the dead bodies of drug dealers, and those women unfortunate enough to be in the premises when she came to retrieve the money she had paid street gangs to kill fellow officers"
"That's BS Cabot" I turned to see Humphries shaking her head. The people I killed were dealers and murderous street gangers"
"Leaving aside your convenient forgetfulness when it comes to your attempts to have your fellow officers killed…" I turned back to the jury. "…the witness also conveniently forgets that the people she killed, drug dealers it's true, dealt in only one drug, cocaine. She did not target all drug dealers, those selling heroin, or meth, or ecstasy or any of the myriad of other drugs that are dealt on our streets, oh no" I shook my head. "By a remarkable coincidence, our witness, a cocaine addict herself, only struck at dealers of cocaine, all of whom had two things in common, they were murdered and their supply of cocaine stolen"
"Dealers off the streets Cabot; remember that" I looked over my shoulder to Humphries and shook my head then looked back to the jury.
"What you call vigilantism, the People call first degree homicide, but you already knew that didn't you Miss Humphries, you murdered those people so you could steal their stash of cocaine, a cheap fix, is that all they were to you?"
"Criminal scum was what they were" Looking at Humphries again I saw her with a slight smile on her face, almost as if she was pleased with the back and forth between us, maybe she thought it reinforced her vigilante credentials, maybe for other reasons. After all the media had been featuring her heavily in the trial coverage and her imagery was all over the news, particularly given the clothes she'd been wearing; for the attention-whore she was turning out to be she probably considered this all a more than satisfactory result.
As Maura had commented over a coffee last night, Humphries had no doubt determined that, based on the overwhelming evidence against her and her co-conspirators, she was going to pay for her crimes so she had obviously determined that the focus and spotlight would be on her, heaven knows the woman had milked the spotlight for every possible moment, something that had irked me to no end. Now though her 15 minutes of fame were going to come to an abrupt end. I shrugged at her and turned back to the jury.
"Given some of the statements the witness has made, it appears there was an element of thrill-killing involved in her actions, certainly she passed up opportunities to quickly and cleanly kill her victims, instead choosing to demonstrate her own cleverness and bravado through her choice of method of killing those who crossed her path" I looked to Humphries, seeing her staring watchfully back at me through hooded eyes as I continued.
"Poison in a drink at the bar, seducing and accompanying victims back to their home so that she could kill them with their own weapons, stabbing a victim through the heart, garrotting a woman in a public toilet, sitting next to them in a car and shooting them in the head, it seems the witness was driven to kill her victims in a manner that demonstrated, in her own twisted worldview, that she was smarter and more deadly than those who she murdered, or those police investigating her crimes"
Quantico Federal Bureau of Investigations Behavioural Analysis Unit
"Not a bad summation actually" Jennifer Jareau turned at Emily's words and nodded.
"Simplistic, but effective" She pulled a face. "Definitely psychopathic personality, I'd like to get a copy of the LAPD psyche profile, both the one done when she entered the academy and a more recent one, look to see any patterns of behaviour that might establish a baseline" Emily nodded.
"Not a bad idea, maybe help develop a tighter screening process for police departments generally" She paused then continued. "Be interesting to see what family environment she grew up with"
"I might ask Ana if we can get copies" Emily grinned at Jennifer's comments.
"Just make sure that's all you want from Ana, we don't need her fiancée getting all territorial again" Emily took a certain, slightly malicious amusement in reminding JJ that Ana and Natalie were engaged, something neither had known before Natalie had made that clear to a nationwide audience. Jennifer shrugged airily, unconcerned.
"I have no idea what you're talking about" Emily's laughter was quick, as was her retort.
"Keep telling yourself that girl, denial ain't just a river in Egypt"
"Say what?" Smiling at having got a rise from Jennifer, Emily waved back at the television.
"You heard me, anyway, be that as it may, this one's not killing anymore victims" They shared a look and a smile at that.
In Court
"The witness, Humphries, has betrayed her oaths to the Los Angeles Police Department, turned upon her fellow officers and upon the citizens of this city, contemptuously killing those whom either stood in her way, had something she wanted or in some way threatened her lifestyle" I raised an arm and pointed at Humphries in the box. "At least 24 dead confirmed so far and it was only by their skill and training and some good luck that a dozen more did not join that number in the targeted attacks and ambush that she orchestrated and paid for" I dropped my arm and faced the jury. "No vigilante, this woman is a remorseless murderer, an unrepentant serial killer and a desperate cocaine addict, one that stands before you and piously proclaims that she is misunderstood" I shook my head. "The only issue here is that, unfortunately for her, we understand her and her motives all too well"
Washington DC
Serena Southerly picked up her cell, barely flicking a glance at the caller ID before answering as she watched the trial.
"Hi Abbie" Her friend's voice came through clearly from her office in the Attorney General's building.
"Hey Serena, are you watching the trial? Cabot's going off" Serena nodded as a smile spread.
"Oh hell yeah, it looks like she's on a roll, this could be one of her epic ones"
"Not before time, that blonde bitch has had it coming" Abbie said, drawing a wider smile from Serena.
"And we get to watch it live, life's good" At her words Abbie couldn't help but agree.
"It sure as hell is"
In Court
I looked from one juror to the next and the next, making eye contact with each then continued.
"Julia Humphries is a remorseless and cold-blooded psychopath whose only crime, in her eyes, is that she got caught" I turned to face Humphries, seeing the rising anger in her eyes and smiled mockingly at her as I continued. "She has played the femme fatale, the vigilante, and even tried to purport to be the victim here but we know the real victims, some 24 of them at least so far. The only role she will play from now on, is one as a prisoner on death row for the rest of her life, a role she is entirely well-suited for"
"Bullshit Cabot" I shrugged, ignoring Humphries' outburst as I tipped my head to regard her as I continued.
"The witness may claim to acting out of some sort of vigilante impulse but we know better" I turned back to the jury. "She callously slew anyone who crossed her path that had what she wanted, money, cocaine or a price on their head. She was pitiless, even killing a young mother as her baby lay in a crib nearby, stole what she wanted and walked out, leaving the child, now orphaned at her hand, helpless and alone. In fact if it not been for the chance arrival of investigating officers, that baby would have starved to death, dying alone with only her dead mother to bear silent witness" I watched the jury almost as one turn to look at Humphries, their faces hardening at that pertinent reminder as I pushed on.
"The evidence and the witnesses own testimony have made it clear that she is not only incapable of remorse but clearly beyond redemption" I paused, looking from the jury to the camera's and back again, making them wait on me. "The witness is a coldly calculating killer; she has laid claim to having slain dozens and made it clear she would have continued to murder people for years to come, hiding behind the veneer of respectability she received as a police officer" I shook my head. "The witness is a murderous psychopath, by her own admission"
"Fuck you Cabot!" Humphries was leaning forward in the witness box, her voice rising in anger. "I don't give a shit what you say or do; I'll find you and fuck you up!" I gave her a mocking smile as I replied.
"Just like you did Shaylene Phillips and Cristina Rocha, walk in and shoot me dead like you did them?" I shook my head. "Or will you poison my drink with cyanide as you did to Carlos Serrano or perhaps strangle me with a garrotte and leave me sprawled dead in a nightclub toilet cubicle like you did Liliana Flores? I don't think so Miss Humphries" Humphries was working up a good head of steam and anger.
"You'll end up dead you bitch, dead like them, like everyone else who's crossed me, you fucking hear me, dead!" I shook my head at her ravings.
"I think not, you will kill no one else, not from where you will end up"
"You think you can hide from me?" she snarled, drawing a shrug from me, unconcerned by her threats; after all it wasn't like I hadn't been threatened by criminals before.
"Not at all, in fact I won't have to, given that you will spend the rest of your life in jail for the cold-blooded murder of at least 24 people, to fester and rot with no hope of parole, so your threats mean nothing, not to me, not to anyone" I smiled happily, for the moment unconcerned if the jury and audience here and across the nation saw it. "I, together with the rest of our civilised society, will be on one side of the bars and you will be on the other, locked away from those you would threaten" I stood in the middle of the court, where the jury, Craven, Humphries and equally importantly, the cameras, could see and hear everything I was saying.
"You will remain there, caged like the vicious animal you have proven to be, for the term of your natural life. Securely locked in a place where you cannot kill people, given you calmly state you have killed dozens of people in cold blood and then make the self-serving claim that you were doing society a favour, when in fact you were simply feeding your habit and attempting to claim the ends justified the means" I shook my head as I continued, noting Humphries face darkening with unconstrained rage. "You are an atavistic throwback to a dark time, when might made right and the brutal, the callous and the uncaring held sway over the population" I shook my head again and pressed on. "We, well most of us anyway, have left those dark times where they belong, in the history books, the dark ages, the inquisition, the dark times of the Communist revolutions and the Nazi state, when the callous and unhinged preyed on the people, taking what they desired without pity or remorse" I rounded on the jury, pointing at Humphries. "This woman is a pitiful reminder of those dark times, which the rest of us have left far behind"
"Fuck you too!" I ignored her outburst and kept going.
Los Angeles LAPD Central Morgue
Jane Rizzoli settled back in her chair in Maura's and sipped her coffee, together with Maura they'd been watching the storm descend on Humphries, they'd waited long enough to see her bury Humphries and it looked like it had finally arrived.
"Kick her ass Alex" she murmured, getting a glance from Maura.
"A sentiment I find myself in total agreement with" she said as they exchanged smiles before turning their attention back to the trial coverage.
In Court
"The witness is a self-confessed serial killer and assassin for hire, happy to end lives for cash or cocaine" I looked from one juror to another. "She acted as judge, jury and executioner, not out of some twisted idea of justice, oh no. That is a justification that the witness cooked up for your consumption and the consumption of the people watching this trial, a smokescreen designed to hide the real motivations behind her actions, access to what she considered easy money and easy fixes, paid for in the fresh blood of her victims"
"Criminals Cabot, you keep leaving that out" Humphries angrily interjected, drawing a shrug from me.
"Criminals like Shaylene Phillips and Cristina Rocha? Murdered because they happened to be in possession of something you wanted? Criminals like your fellow law enforcement officers, because they were investigating your crimes, I don't think so…Miss Humphries"
"You don't have a fucking clue what you're raving on about Cabot" At her interjection I turned my head to look over my shoulder at Humphries.
"I know that you are guilty of murder, repeatedly. I know that you will kill no more. I know that you will spend the rest of your life waiting for the state to reinstate the death penalty, which given that is not likely at this time, means you will die of old age in prison, unable to kill any more as you have so many others" I looked back at the jury. "The witness here is 32, assuming she lives to 80, not unlikely in custody, that equates to just two years jail for each of her dead victims, the ones we know of at least. Hardly a fair and equitable sentence but it's the best we can do, even if it is far better than she deserves" I shook my head.
"Even double that is inadequate, but by then she will be answering to a higher authority for her crimes, though I rather suspect her final destination lies somewhere else" I looked back at the jury and made a swiping away gesture.
"Until she burns in hell, let her rot in a cell"
New York NYPD 16th Precinct
There was quiet jubilation in the 16th Precinct's SVU as Finn smacked one meaty fist into another.
"Boom, headshot, mic drop, walk away" Finn crowed as Munch let a wintery smile spread across his face then looked to Amaro and Rollins as he spoke.
"Now that's what I'm talking about" He looked back at the screen and smiled a little wider as Finn backed him up.
"That's my girl" Hearing Finn's words Amaro nodded slowly
"Fuck yeah"
In Court
Humphries sprang to her feet, shaking her fist at me.
"Fuck you, you stuck up dyke cunt! Fuck you all!" Craven started banging his gavel, calling for order over and over as the two County Sheriff's Deputy's headed towards Humphries who was already moving to get out of the witness stand, I noticed both Liv and Mikki moving as well, I spotted Liv vaulting the barrier into the court, moving to get between her and me. The deputy's got to Humphries first, blocking her from going anywhere, or at least they tried, as the first one reached for her he got a fist in the throat, sending him reeling, choking and coughing. The second deputy grabbed for her taser but got a vicious swipe across the face from Humphries', fingernails opening her face up as blood flew, she fell back, hands to her face, leaving Humphries with a clear path to me, so or she thought until Liv's familiar and welcome presence appeared between us and spoke, the menace in it easily heard.
"You want her, you're going to have to go through me" Humphries shook her head, her eyes fixed on me as she stalked my way even as another voice came from my right.
"And me" It was Mikki, walking into view with her pistol held aimed in both hands as Humphries ignored them both in her anger, focusing on me as I heard screams and cries from the jury and audience, her voice still easily heard.
"You're dead Cabot, I'm gonna kill you" Mikki was unimpressed.
"Last chance Humphries, on your knees or I'll shoot" Liv held her hand up.
"Let me handle it Mik" I saw Mikki nod once though her pistol didn't waver. Liv beckoned Humphries forward, her voice calm. "C'mon, you want her, come and get her" Humphries leapt forward, only to run straight into some block, grab, throw martial arts move, it was so quick, one second Humphries was coming for me, the next she was face down on the carpet and scrambling to get up as the crowd gasped.
New York NYPD 12th Precinct
"Oh shit!" Kate ignored Castle's surprised reaction and just nodded at the scene on his 'phablet' with grim satisfaction as she ignored the network's talking head who was excitedly telling everyone what they were already seeing for themselves.
"Kick her ass babe" she said, unconsciously mirroring Jane's earlier comment.
In Court
Humphries scrambled back to her feet then, setting herself, started moving to the right as Liv circled left for a few steps before Humphries dropped and tried to scythe Liv's legs out from under her with a leg sweep, only for Liv to catch the leg in both hands and contemptuously toss her backwards, sending her sprawling as she spoke, brutally mocking Humphries.
"Is that honestly the best you can do? You might as well give up now and save yourself some humiliation on national TV" Liv shook her head, her voice full of contempt. "You're not doing your rep as a ruthless vigilante any good sitting on your ass looking stupid"
I saw her brutal barb sink home as pure unadulterated rage flooded Humphries face, she came up off the floor spitting angry, both hands out in front of her as she lunged at Liv, nails outstretched as she went for her face. Liv barely seemed to move as she waited, one second she was standing there, the next she'd leaned to the left and wrapped Humphries's arm in both hands, then sort of twisted to the right and fell, only Humphries was under Liv when they hit the ground, with one arm trapped underneath her, the other twisted behind her back with Liv pinning her down.
Humphries tried to twist and writhe out of Liv's grasp but even I could see she didn't have a chance; Humphries was fit but Liv was a mass of muscle and training and had leverage, for a few more seconds Humphries tried to escape then paused, breathing heavily before she started screaming obscenities. Liv was unmoved as finally Humphries wound down while Craven banged his gavel and urgently called for more deputies, Humphries staring up at Mikki standing there with her gun in hand and snarled at her.
"Shoot me then, c'mon shoot me, fuck you!" Mikki's smile was almost as cold as her voice.
"And give you a ticket out of the next fifty years behind bars?" she shook her head. "Not a chance perras, you'll serve your time, in jail and in hell" That set Humphries off again as she struggled to get out of Liv's grip, futilely as it turned out, leaving her to scream abuse.
"Fuck you, I'll kill you all you useless fucking cunts…" Holstering her pistol Mikki dropped to her knees next to Liv and pulled out her cuffs; in seconds Humphries was restrained and they dragged her to her feet. I should have said nothing but seeing the mad fury in her eyes I shook my head.
"Attacking well trained, capable officers is nothing like murdering unsuspecting victims in the dark, is it?" She stared at me then shook her head as she started raving.
"I'll find you Cabot, find you and fuck you up, then you won't be so high and fucking mighty" I smiled a little wider as I replied, seeing more County Sheriff's Deputy's piling into the court in response to the alarm and Craven's calls.
"I somehow very much doubt that"
Washington DC The Pentagon
"Nice one" Sarah Mackenzie nodded to herself, admiring Cabot's composure, given she'd had a psycho go after her, though the woman who'd taken Humphries down hadn't been mucking around either, she was obviously strong and well trained.
"Now finish it"
In Court
I stood there impassive, watching her continue to rave as Craven banged his gavel and futilely called for order as Liv turned her over to the fresh deputy's while the injured ones were seen to. Finally she wound down and was moved, well half-dragged really, back into the witness box again though I noted the new deputy's replacing the injured ones didn't move very far away, keeping a watchful eye on her.
Los Angeles LAPD Major Crimes
Andy Flynn nodded at the imagery from the court on screen.
"Nice takedown by Benson" He smiled, a little cruelly. "Made it look easy and Humphries a fool too" Khan nodded.
"It is obvious that Sergeant Benson has had very extensive training" Provenza smiled, a little grimly, noting Jane wasn't in the room but keeping his voice down anyway.
"Humphries is lucky it wasn't Rizzoli there, given she sent those gangers after the Doc and then set up the ambush, Rizzoli's still pretty pissed about that; she wouldn't let Humphries get away with anything less than a few broken bones, at the minimum" Khan nodded.
"I understand that she too is very competent" Flynn grinned at that.
"That's an understatement, Rizzoli and Romanov are both shit hot hand to hand fighters and they both despise Humphries, all in all she got off easy from Benson" Provenza looked over at him.
"Maybe, but Cabot's summing up was pretty brutal" Flynn nodded happily.
"That it was, pretty much set Humphries up for life with that one" They all shared satisfied smiles at that.
In Court
"I will have order in my court, is that understood?" Craven looked to Humphries. "Another outburst like that will see you removed from this court and tried in absentia, you will be able to follow proceedings from your cell; do you understand me?" Humphries subsided into a sullen silence as he looked my way. "Prosecution, your witness" I smiled and spoke, all without looking away from Humphries.
"Oh we're well and truly done with this witness Your Honour; we have no more questions for Miss Humphries" I locked eyes with Humphries, seeing the bitter hate there and smiled a little wider for it, taking that as a sign that I'd done my job right. "I don't think she has anything further to add to this case" I let a little insolence drift into my voice. "Though I am sure she will become all too familiar with the inside of court rooms in the future as she stands trial for the 14 other individuals that she murdered that do not form a part of this case"
I saw her temper flare again before spinning on my heel and striding back to sit by Andrea, even as Humphries launched into another foul diatribe, ignoring Craven's attempts to get her back under control as she raved on, before eventually winding down, I exchanged a fist bump and a satisfied smile with Andrea before turning to watch as Craven called on the defence to undertake their cross.
We looked over to the defence table to see Peterson and Bentley exchange a miserable look that said volumes before Bentley shook his head; Peterson nodded and turned to Craven.
"No questions for this witness Your Honour" Craven looked down to Humphries.
"The witness will be returned to their seat" We sat and watched, along with the rest of the court as the Deputy's pulled and dragged her out of the witness stand.
Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office
Kate Murphy sat in her office going over the usual admin paperwork, her mind only half on it as she listened to the case on the television in the corner. She looked up to see two County Sheriff's Deputy's escorting Humphries, still cuffed, from the witness box back to her seat with her public defender.
"Good riddance" Kate muttered, the woman was a disgrace to her badge and the profession. As far as Kate was concerned Humphries could rot in prison till the end of days.
Shaking her head she went back to authorising overtime forms, looking forward to wrapping up and heading home.
In Court
Humphries was escorted back to the table, still cuffed and with a County Sheriff's Deputy gripping each arm, back to where Bentley waited; the poor guy was probably wondering what damage this would have on his own career. If I'd felt charitable I'd have told him that he was on a hiding to nothing, Humphries had determined she was going out in a blaze of glory and nothing he'd said or done could have changed that. I watched as she sat down, noting that Liv was watching her closely from her location behind the barrier separating the audience from the courtroom, close to the Defence tables, just in case Humphries did something really stupid once more.
With Humphries seated and her hands re-cuffed in front of her Craven turned his attention back on us.
"Prosecution, call your next witness" Andrea stood, exchanging a smile and a nod with me before turning to look at Craven.
"Your Honour, that concludes the People's case" Craven peered our way, surprise evident on his face and in his voice.
"Really, I am under the impression…" He lifted a sheet of paper and skimmed it before dropping it on his bench and resuming. "…that you had a number of other witnesses still to be called" Andrea was cool with it, shaking her head with a smile.
"That we did Your Honour, however in light of the quite frankly incredible, illuminating and incriminating testimony from Mister Hernandez, Mister Osmond and particularly Miss Humphries, it is the Prosecution's firm belief that they could add little more to the People's case that has not already been explored at some length" She looked to the jury and her smile widened. "So in the interests of not dragging this case out any longer than absolutely necessary the People rest their case, though naturally we reserve the right to call witnesses should it prove necessary" Craven looked our way for a long moment then nodded.
"So noted" He looked to the Defence. "Defence, your rebuttal" Peterson looked around his team for a moment; they all looked a little nonplussed and then stood.
"Very well Your Honour" He glanced at his tablet then spoke. "As we were not expecting the Prosecution's decision to rest their case so early, we were not planning on calling witnesses this early. We would ask the court's indulgence to request a recess until tomorrow morning when we will have our first witnesses available" Craven thought about that for a bit then looked to Bentley.
"Counsellor, what are your thoughts?" Bentley rose to his feet.
"Your Honour, I support the position of my fellow defence counsel, and would also call for a recess until tomorrow as well" Craven nodded at that.
"That is understandable, therefore the request for recess is granted" He banged his gavel. "Court will resume tomorrow morning at 9 sharp" I looked to Andrea and smiled, getting one in return as we exchanged another fist bump.
"You did a good job out there" she said but I shook my head at that.
"No, we did a nice job out there" I meant every word, we'd got this far on the basis of the hard work of both of us, it'd been a truly joint prosecution. The smile we shared was a happy one as we waited for Mikki and Liv to join us. Tomorrow was another day but I was confident that all of them, Humphries included, were going to be convicted no matter whatever antics the Defence might try.
All in all that made it a pretty damned good day's work.
