"Captain Rizzoli, you are charged with the murder of Dr. William Praetorius, Mr. Paul Matthai, and Mr. Levin Coppens," the magistrate named Aiden Acosta read from the file that Andrew Kline had sent him shortly before. "The district attorney's office has filed an application for an arrest warrant against you."

The judge was a friendly man with nothing disconcerting in his manner. Several times a day, he had to decide in court hearings whether the accused had to be taken into custody or could be set free. His working day could have been more spectacular. Aiden Acosta made decisions based solely on the case file and his personal assessment of the accused.

"You don't have to say anything," he routinely explained to Elizabeth. Then he looked at her defense attorney, who had rushed into the courtroom just seconds before the trial began. "Three out of four eyewitnesses identified Captain Rizzoli in a lineup."

Vaughn took another deep breath before elaborating, "In the descriptions obtained by BPD, the person in question was described based solely on clothing and hairstyle and other outward appearances. There is no further elaboration on details from the court in the transcripts of the interviews."

Elizabeth sat in the dock and felt the eyes of her wife Maggie, her daughter Nikki, her friend Mike, and Nick's gaze on her back without even turning to look at them.

"All of the participants in the lineup were dressed in the style described by the eyewitnesses," Acosta countered.

"But only my client's face has been presented in every news program related to this case since the morning hours."

Acosta took note of the lawyer's explanation. Then he turned back to Elizabeth: "You're a captain in the Boston Police Department. If the allegations against you are well-founded, there is a risk that you could use your knowledge, connections, and skills to manipulate the results of investigations or influence colleagues. In addition, you are wealthy; therefore, it cannot be ruled out that you might evade trial by fleeing due to the seriousness of the charges. The charge is serious. If you are convicted, you could face a life sentence. In a nutshell, I see plenty of grounds for imprisonment. So, the only thing left is examining the urgent suspicion. And I can't see much to exonerate you based on the investigation. Would you like to say something about that?"

Elizabeth sat in her chair, eyes downcast. She blinked a few times and licked her lips with a frown. "If I were you, I would issue an arrest warrant," she replied stoically to the judge.

Acosta just nodded mutely and was about to turn to the court reporter when Rosalyn Vaughn stood up in surprise and spread her arms, albeit a little too theatrically. "Your Honor, please excuse me, but I haven't spoken with my client. There's been a turn of events that I only found out about shortly before our appointment. That's why I was here so late."

"A twist?" Acosta repeated with raised eyebrows. "Well, let's hear it then."

"I've suspended a witness; he's waiting outside the door. I request to hear him, Your Honor."

Elizabeth turned to her defense attorney in surprise. "What kind of witness?" she asked, puzzled.

Vaughn leaned close to her client's ear and whispered, "This is your only chance. With the evidence, the warrant has to go out --"

Before Elizabeth could ask any more questions, the judge followed the defense attorney's request. A constable opened the door to the hearing room and asked the witness to come in.

"Are you out of your mind?" Elizabeth whispered indignantly to her lawyer as she saw Caleb enter the room.

Maggie sat next to Nikki and craned her neck as the boy entered the courtroom; her eyebrows furrowed as she noticed her wife's reaction.

Jane also furrowed her eyebrows and looked questioningly at Maura, who shook her head and pulled down the corners of her mouth to indicate that she didn't know what the boy was about.

Nikki exhaled loudly and slumped her shoulders. She knew that her mother couldn't avoid explaining what was going on with the teenager.

"Quiet!" Acosta controlled the situation and then asked the student to sit in the witness box.

Vaughn rose from her seat after Caleb was sworn in. "What's your name?"

Caleb took a deep breath and licked his lips. "My name is Caleb Hayes Junior, and I'm fifteen. I live with my mother, Gabriele Hayes, and Caleb Hayes Senior in Danbury, Connecticut."

Elizabeth closed her eyes momentarily as her heart nearly jumped out of her chest.

Vaughn nodded slowly, satisfied. "I assume you're still in school?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Are you related to the defendant by blood or marriage?"

"No, ma'am."

Now, Judge Acosta turned to his court reporter. "Well, the witness is a minor; the court does not appear to lack the requisite maturity of mind," the presiding judge dictated matter-of-factly before addressing Caleb directly. "I must admonish you to tell the truth here. False statements will be punished! So, young man, what do you have to tell us?"

"Nothing!" Elizabeth shouted as she jumped up, looking like she wanted to run out of the courtroom. Then she looked at Caleb with an exasperated expression. "Just go home, Caleb!"

"I can't do that," the student replied. "It couldn't have been you!"

While Vaughn dealt with her client, Acosta spoke up again. "All right, let's have some peace and quiet! The witness has the floor. Even though there's a lot at stake here, I have to warn you to pull yourself together, Captain Rizzoli."

After the captain had sat down again, shaking her head, Caleb finally continued.

"I've heard that Elizabeth, Captain Rizzoli, murdered those people on Wednesday mornings. But that's not possible."

Vaughn looked at the boy again and cleared her throat. "And why isn't that possible?" she asked.

Caleb hesitated momentarily, looked at Elizabeth, and took a deep breath. "Because I was camming on Wednesday morning. I remember my parents were at work, and I didn't have to go to school until the second period."

Vaughn sauntered around the table and cocked her head to one side with interest.

"So, cammed in the sense of chatting via Facetime," Caleb expanded on his statement, fearing the judge and the lawyers might not have understood him.

Vaughn smiled kindly and nodded. "Yes, the modern forms of communication. I'm aware of them. When exactly were you camming with Captain Rizzoli?"

Caleb pulled his smartphone out of his pocket and called up the app. "From 7.18 a.m., for over an hour. Here it is." With that, he handed Judge Acosta his phone.

"You didn't delete that?" Elizabeth was stunned.

Caleb lowered his eyes bashfully. "I forgot about Facetime. Because we usually text. I do it automatically, but it's not in my head when I'm camming."

"Now, be happy!" Vaughn whispered to her client.

"All right," Acosta retook the floor. "The data on this smartphone shows a connection at the time of the crime, but you can't see where the call was made or who was on the other end of the line."

"Elizabeth was at her house; it was her day off," Caleb said with almost touching concern.

Acosta looked over the edge of his reading glasses at Caleb and frowned. "You do realize that a false alibi can have serious consequences?" he asked in a deep voice, staring into the teenager's eyes. "If it turns out in the investigation that the accused was the perpetrator, you will automatically be convicted of making a false statement. You would be brought before a juvenile court and receive a criminal record that could destroy your future career. Do you realize that, young man?"

Caleb didn't even bat an eye as he replied, "I'm telling the truth, Your Honor. She was at home. She was walking through her house during the chat, guaranteed."

Vaughn now turned her attention back to the teenager. "Well, Caleb, if Captain Rizzoli was in her house at the time in question, she couldn't have been in victim Paul Matthai's apartment. When I think of the distance she would have to travel from her house to the victim's apartment, along with the time-consuming things that were done to Paul Matthai, it doesn't seem to me to be possible in terms of time."

"That's how it looks!" the student confirmed slightly too flippantly.

"All right," Judge Acosta then summarized and then dictated to his court reporter: "The suspicion is based mainly on fiber traces found in the apartment of the victim Paul Matthai, as well as on the fact that the defendant is said to have rented a car with papers from the apartment of Mr. Matthai and a second person. The testimony of the witness Caleb Hayes Junior is available, according to which the accused could not have committed the murder of Paul Matthai. There are no grounds for arrest for urgent suspicion, and the prosecution's application for an arrest warrant is rejected."

While Caleb and Rosalyn Vaughn breathed a sigh of relief, Elizabeth was obviously heartbroken about the trial's outcome.

Once again, Acosta looked at the teenager. "What is your relationship with Captain Rizzoli?"

Caleb had expected this question. "She's ... uh... well, how can I put it --" he stuttered uncertainly.

Elizabeth shook her head and closed her eyes for a second. "It doesn't matter now!" she finally released him. Then, she looked at the magistrate and explained in a firm voice. "Caleb is my boyfriend. We love each other."

Vaughn turned to her client, wide-eyed in surprise, while a murmur went through the courtroom.

"What the hell --," Jane whispered in surprise, her gaze landing on the back of her daughter's head.

"That can't be true," Maura murmured, equally surprised.

Maggie, on the other hand, couldn't say anything. She could only stare wide-eyed at the back of Elizabeth's head while she shook her head open-mouthed, seemingly stunned.

When Nikki heard her mother's words, she unconsciously held her breath and almost closed her eyes in slow motion.