Detectives Briscoe and Green were on their way to Kirsty's apartment, not knowing that she was already long gone, still when they arrived they were greeted by Kirsty's landlord.
"I can't believe your suspecting Kirsty of doing something this horrific." The landlord commented as she lead the detectives to Kirsty's apartment. "She's my youngest Tennent but I've never had any problems with her and she's always paid her rent on time."
"We don't suspect Kirsty of anything right now, she's just the only person who know what happened in that alleyway." Lennie explained as they followed the older lady and she nodded. "You do know Kirsty has a juvie record right?"
"She was up front about it when she moved in, she said that those days were far behind her." The landlord explained as she lead the detectives up the stairs. "And after two years of no complaints? I'm inclined to believe her."
"You said that she was up front about her criminal record, did Kirsty ever divulge what she was arrested for?" Ed asked and the landlord nodded.
"Shoplifting, drug possession, nothing that came close to murdering a police officer." The landlord responded as she lead the police officers down the hall. "And before you ask, no, she never said what drugs she was busted with, only that it was on a raid of her drug dealer's place."
"Wrong place, wrong time for her, right place, right time for the police." Lennie quipped and the landlord shook her head. "Did she ever go to rehab?"
"As soon as she got out of juvie, she did not want to risk that happening again." The landlady responded as she stopped in front of an apartment. "This is Kirsty's apartment do you want me to check if she's home?"
"Go ahead." Ed responded and the landlord started knocking whilst Ed turned to Lennie. "The more we learn about this girl, the more I think she's a reformed ex-con who's gotten in way over her head."
"Maybe, but that doesn't explain the blood on her clothes or the fingerprints on the knife." Lennie responded as he shook his head before the landlord turned to them. "Let me guess, no one's home?" Lennie asked and the landlord nodded. "Alright, let us in, maybe we can find out where she went."
"If you're looking for Kirsty, she's gone over to her boyfriend's place." A neighbour chimed in and the officers turned to him. "She asked me to look out for any mail and send it to his address."
"Can you give us his address?" Ed asked and the neighbour nodded before giving him the note that Kirsty had given him whilst Lennie got a call on the radio. "That's across town, she must've used the subway."
"Maybe, I've never understood what he sees in Mike anyway, he's a thug, she's a sweet kid who's made some bad choices." The neighbour responded with a shrug before Lennie tapped Ed on the shoulder. "Don't want to believe that she killed that cop but all the evidence is pointing at her."
"We'll know when the dust settles, but we'd better get going." Lennie responded before leading Ed down the stairs. "That was Van Buren, Serena just unsealed Kirsty's record for us, she got busted for shoplifting when she was twelve and drug possession at the age of fourteen, served two months for the first charge and a year for the drugs charge and got out on her fifteenth birthday."
"Like the social worker said, nothing violent and whilst the drug charge was the most serious of the two, if she didn't intend to sell then that would explain why she was never tried as an adult." Ed nodded in response as they left the stairwell and headed towards the car. "We still need to have a chat with her, the blood on her clothes and the fingerprints on the knife are too big to ignore."
"That's the other thing, that wasn't the only set of prints on the knife, latent's running the other set as we speak." Lennie responded with a frown as they got in the car. "For now let's check out her boyfriend's address." Lennie added before they drove off.
*elsewhere*
Kirsty had spent most of the day at Mike's apartment having straightened out her messy hair and ditched the bloody clothes, but that didn't mean she wasn't concerned.
"How am I going to explain this?" Kirsty thought as she laid back on the sofa with her hands behind her head. "I just so happened to trip over Rebecca's corpse and land in the pool of her own blood and I just so happened to grab onto the knife as I was pulling myself up? The DA will poke enough holes in that story that I may as well book my cell on Death Row now!" Kirsty thought before there was a knock at the door and she sat up. "Mike? Are you expecting anyone?"
"Only Justin and Ryan, we've got some stuff to discuss." Mike responded and Kirsty frowned before getting off the couch. "Can you let them in? I'm on the john."
"Sure I guess." Kirsty sighed as she shook her head before going to answer the door. "Mike's got a record as long as I'm short and the same goes for Justin and Ryan, Rebecca always said that I could do a lot better than him but it's a bit late now." Kirsty thought before she answered the door and was greeted by two tall, muscular guys. "Hey guys, Mike's just in the bathroom but he'll be out soon." Kirsty greeted them and the blonde guy nodded.
"Yeah, that's fine, we can wait Kirsty." He responded before Kirsty let the two guys in and closed the door behind them. "So, we heard that you got in a bit of trouble."
"If you mean me being on the scene of that recent cop killing then yeah, I am, otherwise I'd be back at my apartment." Kirsty responded as she shook her head and the two guys nodded. "Why are you bringing this up Ryan?"
"Because we know you didn't do it." Ryan responded and Justin nodded to confirm it. "But it would be a shame if something happened to a pretty little thing like you, wouldn't it?"
"Are you threatening me?! In my boyfriend's apartment?!" Kirsty demanded as she waited for Mike to come out and defend her, when he didn't he concern grew. "What the hell is going on?!"
"You don't need to know that for now baby girl." Justin, the only redhead in the room, responded as he shook his head. "We're just looking out for your health, that's all."
"Yeah, right! I get the feeling that I need to get out of here!" Kirsty thought as she swiftly made her way over to the door. "Err, I'm feeling hungry, you guys want anything from the deli?" Kirsty asked the guys and once they sook their head Kirsty quickly left the apartment and bolted down the hallway. "I thought I could trust Mike but he didn't even jump to my defence, what the hell is going on?!" Kirsty thought as she made her way down the stairs. "I have nowhere else to go though, maybe I should just hang out at Central Park for a few hours!" Kirsty thought before she left the apartment building.
*a bit later*
"You'd think someone would've seen this girl by now." Ed commented to Lennie as the two police officers drove down the street. "Her composite sketch was all over the evening news last I checked."
"Like anyone watches the news these days." Lennie scoffed as he drove down the street, then he stopped as he spotted Kirsty walking towards the car. "Hey Ed, is that is who I think it is?" Lennie asked and Ed looked up.
"She's straightened her hair out, but that's her." Ed responded with a nod before Lennie pulled over the car and the two cops got out. "Kirsty Mason?"
"Who wants to know?" Kirsty asked as she glanced up briefly, and then went pale when she saw their badges. "Shit! Now I really do need to get out of here!"
"Police, we just want to ask you a few….." Before Lennie could even finish his sentence Kirsty bolted in the opposite direction and Lennie sighed. "Questions, and my first one is "why do they always run?!"!"
"POLICE! FREEZE!" Ed shouted after the eighteen-year-old girl before he bolted after Kirsty with Lennie not far behind, Kirsty barged past several citizens as she tried to get away from the cops but the police weren't letting up.
"I can't go back to Mike's place, he, Justin and Ryan have their own records and that would just make this worse, ad my apartment is too far away from here." Kirsty thought before spotting a subway stairwell. "The subway, off course! Soon as I get on that train I'll leave them in the dust…."
Unfortunately for Kirsty she didn't notice that the couple who had found Rebecca's body happened to be nearby and Jessie tackled her to the ground before she could even get within walking distance. "I'd say that makes us even." Jessie commented as she held Kirsty down despite the teenager's best efforts. "She's all yours officer."
"GET THE FUCK OFF ME!" Kirsty demanded and whilst her request was granted, it was only so Ed could cuff her. "I want a lawyer, now!"
"You are entitled to one, and trust me, you'll need a lawyer." Ed responded as he slapped the cuffs on Kirsty and pulled her up. "Kirsty Mason, your under arrest for suspicion of murder and resisting arrest, you have the right to remain silent, anything you do say can be used in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney, if you can't afford one, a lawyer will be appointed to you before questioning."
"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before!" Kirsty responded as she rolled her eyes before glaring at Jessie. "And when are you going to arrest this bitch for assault?!"
"We're not because she helped in your arrest, now keep quiet until you talk to a lawyer." Lennie responded before they dragged Kirsty to their patrol car.
*sometime later*
"Kirsty's legal aid lawyer is on the way, but that seemed a bit too easy to me." Van Buren commented as she glanced at Kirsty in the interrogation room. "You two just happened to spot her walking down the street?"
"Don't know what else to tell you LT, we saw her, approached her, and when we IDed ourselves as police she took off in the other direction." Ed responded as he shook his head and Van Buren nodded. "And aside from cussing me and the girl who tackled her out, she hasn't talked much."
"And that's what concerns me, I don't want this potential case being thrown out because a civilian helped you arrest her." Van Buren responded with a frown before shaking her head. "In other news, the victim's ex dropped by whilst you were out, he confirmed that the victim was his ex-wife and said that her parents would be down later to help out in any way they can."
"Just what we need, a little old lady going over our evidence." Lennie scoffed as he shook his head. "I just hope that her legal aid lawyer gets here soon so I can give her a piece of my mind for making me run."
And almost on cue the door behind them opened and a female lawyer stepped in. "Rochelle Benjamin, legal aid, I'm here to represent Kirsty Mason?" The red head lawyer asked and Van Buren nodded before she motioned to the interrogation room. "Why is my client handcuffed?"
"Much a I'd like to say that it's because she made me out my running shoes on, your client is the only suspect in the murder of a police officer." Lennie explained and Rochelle nodded before she got her files ready. "Her fingerprints were on the murder weapon and she had blood on her clothes, clothes that we are still looking for but other than that, it seems like a slam dunk."
"Well soon see detective, for now, I want a word with my client." Rochelle responded before Van Buren lead her into the interrogation room.
*inside the interrogation room*
"Little girl? Your lawyer just arrived." Van Buren said as she led Rochelle into the interrogation room. "Better hope that you have a good explanation for all the evidence against you." Van Buren added before leaving them alone.
"Okay Kirsty? I'm not going to lie but this doesn't look good for you." Rochelle said as she sat next to her client. "I might be able to plea down to murder two, but this is a cop killing so we'd better hope that we catch McCoy on a good day."
"I'm not pleading down to anything because I won't admit to something I didn't do." Kirsty insisted as she turned to her legal aid lawyer. "I wasn't even there when the cop was stabbed, she was already dead by the time I got there."
"I want to believe you but all the evidence points to you being her killer, if this goes to trial and you're convicted you could face the Death Penalty." Rochelle responded as she shook her head and Kirsty let out an exasperated sigh. "Their main pieces of evidence are your fingerprints on the knife and the blood on your clothes, if we had those clothing items that would help."
"Those are back at my apartment but I do have an explanation for both of those things." Kirsty sighed as she looked at the ceiling. "Probably the lamest excuse you've ever heard, even for a legal aid lawyer."
"Try me." Rochelle responded and Kirsty proceeded to tell her about how she apparently tripped over Rebecca's corpse and had grabbed onto the knife accidentally as she pulled herself up. "First homicide case and this is what I get stuck with, great!" Rochelle thought with a look of disbelief on her face. "Look, I'll try as I'm required to do as your attorney, but that story will be a hard sell for the jury, never mind McCoy, I hope you understand that."
"Told you it was a lame excuse." Kirsty responded with an annoyed sigh and Rochelle just shook her head.
*outside the interrogation room*
"So far we've only got her for resisting arrest." Van Buren explained to Serena Southerlyn who had just showed up. "But without the clothes she wore that night, we don't have a lot to tie her to the crime scene."
"Jack and Nora are about ready to move on with the case against her, with her fingerprints on the knife we have a strong circumstantial case that we might be able to get past the Grand Jury." Serena responded with a nod before the door behind them opened and they turned around to see Ed behind them.
"So, I got some bad news and some better news, the bad news is I looked back at Kirsty's arrest report from the drug bust on a hunch." Ed explained as he showed the two women the report. "And look who happened to be one of the arresting officers."
"Rebecca Gallagher? You mean to tell me that the victim was the one who arrested Kirsty for drug possession three years ago?" Van Buren asked and Ed nodded in response. "Who was her partner on that bust?"
"James Aldridge, he retired from the force a year ago, Lennie's tracking him down as we speak." Ed responded before letting out a deep breath. "Here's the better news, a concerned citizen just showed up with the bloody clothes Kirsty wore that night, apparently he's her boyfriend and had access to her apartment."
"The same boyfriend who one of Kirsty's neighbours described as a thug?" Van Buren asked with a sceptical look on her face and Ed nodded. "Put him in a separate interrogation room, I want his story straightened out before we move on the girl! In the meantime get the girl's clothes down to forensics."
"The clothes are already on their way down to forensics." Ed responded with a nod before leaving to go get Mike.
*give minutes later in another interrogation room*
"You've been a busy guy, haven't you Mike?" Ed asked Mike as he sat across from him, Mike was a tall, muscular guy with neck length brown hair, matching eyes and a goatee and he scoffed when he heard that. "Two counts of assault, one with a deadly weapon, robbery, how did a girl like Kirsty end up falling for you?"
"Hey, what can I say? All girls want bad boys." Mike responded with a laugh and Van Buren barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes at that statement. "Look, I know that if I get busted with a felony charge again I'll be going down for life, I just wanted to come clean for once, you know?"
"No, we don't." Van Buren responded as she shook her head. "Why don't you start from the top? How did you know about Kirsty's bloody clothes?"
"The crazy little bitch told me, that's how!" Mike scoffed as he leaned back. "The night that cop's body was discovered Kirsty called me from her home practically bragging about how she went to town on some cop with a knife, she asked me to get rid of her bloody clothes after explaining that she left the knife at the scene of the crime and I agreed."
"And yet, here you are snitching on your girlfriend." Ed responded as he shook his head and Mike frowned. "So why the change of heart?"
"When I heard that Kirsty resisted arrest, I figured it was best to come clean about it." Mike answered with a shrug and the cops shared a look. "Hey, I'm telling you the truth here!"
"Are you? Kirsty only has a couple of convictions to her name, shoplifting and drug possession, you have a history of violent crimes, if I were on that jury, I'd be more inclined to believe her side of the story over yours." Edd explained and Mike's demeaner took a sharp downturn as it dawned on him. "How do we know you didn't kill that cop?"
"For one thing? None of my clothes are bloody, besides? I'm 6ft 5, Kirsty's 5ft 4, do you really think I'd fit into any of her outfits?!" Mike pointed as he shook his head. "But if your going to suspect me after I brought that evidence in for you? Then maybe it's time I got a lawyer of my own!"
"That is your right, but it would be much simpler to just tell us everything you know now." Ed responded as he stood up and walked towards the door. "We've left Kirsty alone with her legal aid lawyer, I bet she's ready to tell us all about how your connected to the crime."
"Like I said, I want a lawyer now." Mike echoed and Ed and Van Buren left his interrogation room where Serena was waiting for them.
"Well, we have Kirsty's bloody clothes, but her lawyer will try to get them tossed out the moment she learns that Mike brought them in." Ed commented with a frown as Lennie walked up to them. "Did you manage to get through to Aldridge?"
"Yeah, and things just got more confusing." Lennie responded with a frown on his face. "Aldridge said that Gallagher was a hard ass to everyone else they arrested on that drug bust but was almost motherly towards Kirsty, I asked if it was because Kirsty was the youngest person arrested at that drug den but even after I pointed out that she was at least fifteen at the time Aldridge said that Kirsty wasn't the youngest person they arrested during that raid."
"That's a comforting thought." Van Buren responded with a frown on her face. "Did he reveal why?"
"According to him, she never explained how she acted, but she apparently paid for a DNA Test comparing her DNA to Kirsty's." Lennie added and the others shared a look. "Now, if we could speak with the dead, we wouldn't be here trying to figure out which of these criminals killed that cop, but Aldridge did give me the name of the firm Gallagher used."
"I don't understand it, we were told that Gallagher had no kids, just one ex-husband, I know Kirsty looks a lot like Gallagher but that was to be a coincidence." Ed responded with a frown before he remembered something. "What did the social worker tell us about Kirsty's mother?"
"She was a high school kid who got knocked up and opted to give her baby up for adoption rather than get an abortion, why?" Lennie asked before it dawned on him. "You don't think? Gallagher was thirty-four at the time of her death, Kirsty's eighteen, the ages make it plausible but you'd think someone might have told us."
"Without any proof we don't know what to expect, give me the name of the firm and I'll have a paralegal chase up this lead." Serena instructed Lennie and he nodded before giving her the name. "And I think it's time you had another talk with Kirsty."
"You read my mind." Ed nodded before they went over to Kirsty's interrogation room.
*five minutes later*
"About time!" Kirsty deadpanned as the police officers joined her and Rochelle in the interrogation room. "I was beginning to think that you had forgotten about me!"
"Sorry about that, I was catching my breath from the workout you gave me." Lennie responded with his trademark snark as Ed closed the door behind him. "And frankly? You have bigger things to worry about, your boyfriend just showed up with the clothes you wore to the scene of the crime, with the victim's blood on it."
"Evidence turned in by a guy with a rap sheet almost as long as my arm? Give me an hour and I'll have a list of ways to ensure that that evidence never sees the light of day at trial!" Rochelle scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "My client does have an explanation for how her clothes got bloody and her fingerprints got on that knife."
"What? Did you just happen to fall into the victim's blood and she just happened to grab onto the knife's handle as she was pulling herself up?" Ed asked with a sceptical look on his face and Kirsty nodded readily. "Oh, this is just rich!"
"I'm serious!" Kirsty asserted and the cops shared a look. "You've seen my record, you know I'm not a violent felon, why would I kill Rebecca?!"
"You still resisted arrest and there's a first time for….." Lennie trailed off he heard the last bit. "Wait, what did you just call the victim?"
"Shit! Me and my big mouth!" Kirsty realized as he eyes widened. "Err, I caught her name on the evening news after the crime was reported."
"Officer Gallagher's first name was never revealed to the public, the only ones who'd know her first name were those who she worked with, her family or those she was on a first name basis with." Ed responded with a frown as he leaned forward. "Where do you fall there Kirsty?"
"My client has said enough." Rochelle quickly interjected as she motioned to Kirsty to keep quiet right before the interrogation room door opened and Van Buren stepped in with a forensics report in her hands. "And without much to hold her on, I think it's time she headed home."
"I'm afraid your client will be staying with us a little longer." Van Buren interjected as she handed the report to Lennie. "Because that blood you just so happened to trip into? It was a perfect match for the victim's."
"And that's music to my ears." Lennie responded before he walked over to Kirsty. "You're under arrest for the murder of Officer Rebecca Gallagher."
"No, no! This has to be a mistake!" Kirsty insisted as she was dragged out of the interrogation room. "I had nothing to do with her death, I swear!" Kirsty added as her voice grew more panicked by the second and Lennie shook his head.
"You have the right to remain silent, please exercise it before I get a headache." Lennie added before they lead Kirsty out of the interrogation room.
