Title: Secrets
Author: Alison (alleyb178@yahoo.com)
Summary: This is a fanfic about two cases that the firm takes on at the same time. 
It involves Lindsay and Bobby's early relationship. That's all I'm going to say!
Disclaimer: These characters belong to David E Kelley and ABC. I take no credit 
for the characters and make no profit from writing this.

************************************************

Lindsay crept into the apartment, knowing that Bobby’s questioning eyes would 
be upon her as soon as she walked into their bedroom. It had been hours since 
she called to say she was on her way home, hours since he had said that he had 
something important to tell her. On the way home, concentrating so hard on 
Bobby’s words, she had unwittingly rear ended the car in front at a set of traffic 
lights, causing the enraged driver to exit his car hurriedly to give her a piece of his 
mind. It had turned out to be a past client who needed some legal advice in 
exchange for dropping the issue with the car. They had met at a local restaurant to 
discuss his matter.

Lindsay peered worriedly into the silent apartment; the bedroom was empty and 
an expectant hush blanketed over her in each room. A shiver ran down her back, 
remembering the last time she had been searching a dark room for Bobby, it was 
the time she had been stabbed. Panic washed over her body suddenly as she 
rushed to the front door to lock it and then to each room to turn the lights on. 
There were footsteps behind her, sending her heart into a frenzy. She screamed 
and turned to hit the person behind her, sure it was her attacker.

Bobby reached out and grabbed her arm as it swung towards him and pulled her 
close, feeling her heart beating against his chest. Her eyes were still dark with fear 
and she cried onto his shoulder with relief. They stood there until the tears 
subsided and Bobby felt his arms go numb, he pulled away from Lindsay, not 
having the heart to tell her his news. She was exhausted by the episode and when 
he lay her on their bed, she fell asleep immediately. He returned to the kitchen, 
turning off lights as he went and brewed some coffee, lost in thought about the 
strange phone call he had gotten that afternoon.

* * *

Lindsay woke the next morning feeling uncomfortable in the clothes she had slept 
in and her teeth felt fuzzy from lack of brushing.  She rolled over to kiss Bobby 
and apologize for the night before but his side o the bed was empty and looked 
suspiciously like it hadn’t been slept in at all. She wandered sleepily out of the 
bedroom and saw him asleep on the sofa, a law book in his hands. She sighed, 
knowing that she could only domesticate him so much into working normal hours, 
it was ingrained within him to work for a client without considering his own needs. 
She sat next to him on the sofa and kissed his forehead.

“Good morning,” she whispered into his ear, waking him up.
“Morning.”
“What were you doing all night?”
“Oh I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d get some work done.”
“You didn’t come to bed at all.”
“I fell asleep.”
“I noticed. Anyway would you like some coffee?”
“Yeah, thanks.”

She walked away to get some breakfast ready, totally oblivious to his speculating 
eyes following her back. He still hadn’t told her the news and he felt resistance 
within him to bear it to her. He followed her to the kitchen and wrapped his arms 
around her waist.

“We really have to talk, Lindsay”
“I’m meeting a client this morning, can’t it wait ‘til tonight?”
“No, it’s important.”
“Is this what you were going to tell me last night?”
“Yeah,” he paused. “Where were you last night anyway?”
“Do you remember Louis Benton?”
“Was he the one who was going around stealing people’s mail? You got him off a 
few months ago by saying that he was a middleman, not the leader of the 
operation. The jury felt sorry for him, so they let him go free.”
“That’s him. He’s gotten himself into more trouble by attempting to steal an ATM 
machine from a bank. They let him out on parole yesterday, but he’s fired his 
lawyer and wants new representation.”
“What did you say?”
“I had no choice. I sort of rear-ended his car last night on my way home. We 
exchanged my services for uh dropping the car thing.”
“You what!”
“Bobby, its not a big deal, so forget about it. What’s your news.”
 
Bobby thoughtfully sipped his coffee and watched her face, still not wanting to tell 
her.

“An old uh friend called me yesterday afternoon. We dated a while back, before 
you. She also needs a lawyer and wanted that person to be me.”
“What did she do?”
“It seems she’s been arrested for stabbing her fiancée. I don’t know the details, 
but I’m meeting her today at the arraignment.”
“Oh. Do you want me to come?”
“No, I’ll get Eugene to help. Hopefully we won’t have to go to trial.”
“I can’t remember this girlfriend, who was she?”
“We were pretty secretive, you probably never met her. We…we were engaged.”
“What!?”
“It was a long time ago Lindsay. It ended when we realized we couldn’t live 
together without fighting. I love you, you have nothing to worry about.”

Lindsay stared at him, unsure what to say.

“I have to go.”
She stepped forwards to kiss him on the cheek then thought better of it and rushed 
into the bathroom to get changed.

Bobby left the apartment an hour later still concerned about Lindsay's state of 
mind; she had rushed out of the apartment without so much as a smile in his 
direction. The concern was soon blocked from his mind when he saw his once 
lover and fiancée, Amanda Derry sitting at the defense table. 
"Bobby!" She purred happily to him, garnering the interest of the crowd of 
reporters, who readily snapped their picture. As he reached her she leaned 
forward to kiss him on the cheek. She looked even better than she had five years 
ago, her blonde hair framing her attractive face and the familiar scent of musk 
wafting his way. She had always been beautiful and now was no exception.

"Mandy, stop giving the media something to gossip about," commanded the man 
sitting in the front row of the gallery. Bobby turned to see who had made the 
demand and was met by the fierce stare of a man not large in size, but powerful in 
his manner.
"Bobby Donnell," Bobby introduced himself calmly.
"I know who you are," the man replied. "I'm Lance."
"Lance is…uh…my lover." Amanda revealed.
"Excuse me!?"
Amanda looked away, not answering his demanding stare. Lance stared at Bobby 
smugly.
"Case number 24345, commonwealth versus Derry for the charge of attempted 
murder," the Bailiff called.
"Bobby Donnell for the defendant, Your Honor. Waive reading."
"The defense will undoubtedly be asking for bail, we are opposed to that, Your 
Honor." 
Bobby was startled by the voice of Helen Gamble. He had been told that the 
ADA on the case would be a less prominent woman. The DA's office had 
obviously decided that this was an important case to win.
"We consider the defendant to be a flight risk." Helen continued, oblivious to 
Bobby's surprise.
"How could she be a flight risk? Your Honor, my client has lived in Boston her 
whole life and has seldom left the area, even for a holiday."
"She bought a ticket to Brazil and was preparing to leave when we arrested her.
Bobby was again surprised and looked at Amanda for confirmation of Helen's 
allegations. She lowered her eyes.
"No bail. Trial set for November 14th. Any problems with that?"
"No Your Honor."
"Next!" Bobby looked at Amanda again. I'll see you this afternoon, okay? Don't 
talk to anyone."

Bobby rushed back to the office. The other lawyers were all crowded around the 
coffee machine, laughing at Lindsay's account of Louis Benton's latest attempts to 
break the law. They looked up when Bobby walked in.
"Lindsay, in my office. The rest of you back to work!"
Lindsay frowned and followed him to his office silently. 
"Don't ever order me around like that again!" She yelled as the door closed behind 
them. Bobby looked surprised and then sheepish.
"Sorry. It's been a bad morning. How was your meeting with Benton?"
"A nightmare. We have no case so he's pleaded guilty. Sentencing on 
Wednesday."
"Can you second chair Amanda Derry's case then?"
"No."
"Why not?” 
“I don't want to."
"What have you got against her?"
"Oh gee, Bobby, I don't know," she replied sarcastically. "It could be that I don't 
want to be involved with your ex-girlfriends."
"Lindsay, you have nothing to be jealous about. This is just a client."
"I'm not jealous! I just don't want to spend the next month defending someone 
who I think is guilty."
"You've never even met her!"
"I don't need to! I know enough about the type of women you used to date to be 
a able to establish an opinion on them."
"What does that say about you then!?"
 "Excuse me!?"
"Nothing, I didn't mean that."
"You think I'm like them? Am I slut to you Bobby?"
"Lindsay…" Bobby said soothingly.
"How dare you!"
She turned away and quietly left the office. 

* * *

"Lucy, get me the police report for the Derry case!"
Bobby was stressed and running late. He had already created enough resentment 
in the others to cause a revolt against him. Lindsay had left earlier mumbling 
something about an appointment with the police.
"Say please," Lucy replied, knowing that she was tempting his anger to reach a 
new level.
"Lucy! Get them!" 
"Bite my head off! You know, if I quit you wouldn't survive one minute without 
me!"
Ellenor grinned. Lucy could always be counted on to stand up to Bobby, even on 
his worst days.
"Running late, Bobby?" She asked sympathetically, hoping to soothe his anger.
"I have a meeting in 5 minutes. It will take half an hour to get there so yes, I'm 
running a little late." Lucy handed him the report, raising her eyebrow expectantly. 
He saw it and responded obligingly.
"Thank you."
Lucy smiled, "You see, manners will get you anywhere."
"I'll try to remember that," he replied, already halfway out of the door.
"Bobby? Where's Lindsay?" Ellenor called after him, but the door shut behind him 
without a reply.
"Do you think they had another fight?" Lucy asked, always curious.
"No. Why do you say that?"
"He's always in a bad mood when they fight." She paused thoughtfully. Ellenor 
went back to work, glad for the silence.
"Do you know who Amanda Derry is?" Lucy interrupted again.
"No Lucy. Look, can we get back to work please?"
Lucy ignored her request, "She called for Bobby yesterday. She sounded like a 
slut."
"You can tell that from her voice?"
"Of course. Can't you?"
"No, I don't have that talent."
"Well, nobodies perfect."
"Thanks for the revelation."

*  *  *

Bobby listened impatiently to Lindsay's voice mail message on his car phone.
"Lindsay," he said at the beep. "Its me. I'm sorry about this morning. I'll be home 
at about five, we'll talk then, okay? I love you." He replaced the phone and sighed, 
thinking over their roller-coaster relationship. They had always fought, usually over 
styles and strategies in court, but sometimes over personal issues. Making up was 
always hard to initiate, but was well worth the effort. He felt terrible over this fight 
because he had resorted to name calling. It was something he had always tried not 
to do. He arrived at Amanda's apartment where he was to meet Mike the 
detective. Walking into the foyer, atone time so familiar to him, he now felt only 
resentment for the trouble it had caused his relationship with Lindsay. The elevator 
doors opened, revealing vaguely familiar faces.
"Bobby?" One of the faces asked hesitantly.
"Yes?"
Her face broke into a smile. "I thought it was you! Have you and Mandy started 
talking again?"
Bobby realized that the girl didn't know about the stabbing.
"Yes, sort of," he replied. Her friends shifted their feet impatiently.
"That is so great! Hey, maybe I'll see you around!"
"Maybe."
"See you!" She smiled and left with her friends. Bobby stepped into the waiting 
elevator, still unsure as to the girl's name. He couldn't believe that she had 
remembered him, but then again, his and Mandy's turbulent relationship hadn't 
been very private. He wondered what the friends were going to say when they 
heard about the stabbing.

* * *

Lindsay listened to her voice mail as she opened the door to Helen's apartment. 
Bobby's message almost caused her to turn around and go home, but she thought 
angrily of his stinging words and turned the phone off. 
"Lindsay! What are you doing here?" 
"Can't a friend come and say hello?"
"You'd never come here just to say hello. What's wrong?" 
"We're fighting again. Can I stay here tonight?"
"Sure. I'm going out on a date though. But I can cancel it if you want me to."
"No! Go out, I'll be fine."
"If you're sure?" Lindsay nodded.
"Well, I have to get ready. Make yourself t home."
Helen reappeared half an hour later in a sleek eveningdress.
"Wow! It must be some date tonight!"
 "I'll be home around midnight." Helen grabbed her coat and keys, pausing to 
regard Lindsay carefully.
"Lindsay, call Bobby. He'll be worried about you."
"Hmmm."
"Bye."
Lindsay reached for the phone when she left. It was6: 30, Bobby would be 
starting to worry.
"Bobby," she began when he answered.
"Lindsay, where-."
She interrupted him, "I'm at Helen's, I'll stay here tonight, but I'll see you 
tomorrow. I think we need to spend the night apart this time. Bye."
"Lindsay-."
She hung up the phone with tears in her eyes.

* *  *

Helen picked up the newspaper absentmindedly. Lindsay was still asleep, but 
Helen was still floating from the great date she had had the night before. Brewing 
her coffee, she glanced at the front page. 'Charges upgraded to murder' the 
headline screamed. The article explained that the fiancée of Amanda Derry had 
died in the night from his stab wounds and the large photo accompanying the 
article showed a smiling Bobby being kissed by a the defendant. So engrossed in 
the article, Helen didn't realize that Lindsay had entered the kitchen and was 
standing over her shoulder.
"Anything interesting?" Lindsay asked as Helen tried to turn the page. But she was 
too late, Lindsay's eyes fell on the photo, horrified.

* * *

Bobby arrived at work that morning to the curious stares of his colleagues. All had 
seen the front page of the Boston Globe, and all were probably assessing his 
chances at reviving his relationship with Lindsay, he thought glumly.
“Lindsay called,” chirped Lucy. “She said she’s not feeling well, so she’s staying at 
Helen’s today. She sounded really upset.”
“Thanks Lucy.”

Bobby closed the door of his office firmly and sat down with his head in his hands. 
He had tossed and turned all night, unused to Lindsay’s absence and then woken 
up to find the incriminating newspaper at his doorstep, to make matters worse, 
Lindsay had refused to come to the phone. It seemed that all was lost between the 
two of them.

* * *

Lindsay crept into the courthouse; hoping nobody from the firm would see her: she 
was never one for putting her feet up and relaxing the day away, even if she was 
feeling miserable. Truth be told, she was almost as bad as Bobby for being a 
workaholic; she’d never tell him that though.
“Lindsay.” Jean, the tall blonde ADA approached her. “We have a slight 
problem.”
“Oh, what now?”
“It looks as though your guy, Louis Benton, may be involved in something a little 
more serious.”
“Oh great, what has he done now?”
“Has he said anything to you?”
“You think our clients talk to us?” Lindsay joked, amused by the DA’s naivety.
“I’m just telling you the police want to talk to him about a couple of murders. If he 
goes to them first, it may be easier for all involved.”
“Okay. Thanks, I’ll talk to him. Don’t arrest him until I see him.”
“I can’t promise anything.”
“Just try.”

* * *

“I don’t’ know what they’re talking about!”
“Oh, come on Louis. I can’t protect you if you don’t tell me the truth.”
“I really don’t know, Lindsay. I didn’t do it, I swear.”
“Let’s start at the beginning. Why did you feel the need to steal an ATM?”
“I needed the money/”
“What for?”
“Just stuff. I plead guilty, it doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me!”
Ok, ok! Don’t yell. Rachel got into some trouble, started hanging with the wrong 
crowd…you know what teenagers are like.”
“Rachel…is that your daughter?”
“She’s my girlfriend’s daughter. Not mine.”
“Okaaaay…”
“She needed money fast. She pissed off some drug dealers and they were after 
her. I had no money…I had to do it.”
“Who were the people after her? Could they have involved you in a murder 
somehow?”
“I don’t know!”
“The police want to talk to you.”
“When?”
“Today.”
“I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Well maybe you should tell that to them. I’ll get them to question you here.”
“Okay.” He put his head down, totally dejected.

Lindsay left the conference room and sat at the desk, putting the call through to 
Jean the DA to organize the police to come. While on the phone, she looked up to 
find Bobby’s eyes on her. Their eyes locked for an instant and Bobby gestured 
her to follow him into his office. She finished the phone call, and under the eyes of 
everyone in the office, she followed him into his office.

“I didn’t think you were coming in today.”
“I wasn’t…Louis got himself into more trouble…I might need Ellenor on this with 
me.”
“Sure,” he looked at her searchingly. “Can we talk?”
“Not now. The police are coming to question Louis over a couple of murders.”
“Murder!?”
“Don’t ask…”
“Later then?”
“I don’t think we have anything to discuss, Bobby.”
“Please.” She heard the catch in his voice.
“When?”
“Tonight? I have a late meeting, so around seven, at home?”
“I’ll see you then.”
He watched her leave the office.

* * *

“Mr. Benton, where were you on the night of September first?”
“I…I don’t know,” Louis stammered.”
“Please think about it.”
“It was such a long time ago.”
“It was two weeks ago, Mr. Benton. Can you establish your whereabouts on that 
night?”
Louis thought about it for a long time.
“September first was a Saturday, right?” the policeman nodded. “I always go 
bowling on Saturday nights.” He said triumphantly.
“Do you have proof of this?”
“Well, I don’t know do I? You can’t just spring this on me and expect me to have 
everything ready. I’m no mindreader.”
“”Louis…” Lindsay said warningly.
“Mr. Benton, does the name Sid Rogers mean anything to you?”
“Of course it does. I go bowling with him.”
“We talked to Mr. Rodgers a couple of weeks ago. He said that you were heard 
to threaten Mr. Andrew Franklin, who is a social worker, because he wouldn’t 
help you with your daughter, Rachel.”
“She’s not my daughter.”
“Mr. Franklin was found dead, stabbed in the chest just once with a kitchen knife. 
Mr. Rogers was found I the dame way two nights ago.”
“What!?”
“Mr. Benton, don’t insult our intelligence. Did you have anything to do with the 
death’s of these two men?”
“NO!”
“Don’t say anymore,” Lindsay instructed to Louis. She turned to the detective. 
“Detective, I’m ending this.” He nodded and gestured to two waiting policemen.
“Louis Benton, you are under arrest for the murders of Andrew Franklin and 
Sidney Rogers. You have the right to remain silent…”

They led him out of the conference room. “I’ll see you at the arraignment 
tomorrow, don’t talk to them!”
Her colleagues looked stunned.
“I though he plead guilty?” Ellenor laughed.
“He did. This is for the supposed murders.”
“What!?”
“Want to help me on this one?”
“Sure.”
“Arraignment’s in the morning. I’ll talk to him after,” she paused despondently. 
“Why can’t I have a straightforward case for once?”
Ellenor laughed, “The cry of the defense attorney.”
“I’m glad you think its funny.”

* * *

Lindsay parked her car and approached Bobby’s apartment building. She felt 
immature for taking this so far and was not looking forward to admitting it. She 
could let Bobby take all the blame, she thought, but that would make her feel 
guilty. No, she decided, it was time to be adult about this relationship. With that 
resolve she opened the door to their apartment and stayed until she saw Bobby 
coming into living room to meet her.

“I may as well pick up some clothes while I’m here,” she told him, deciding she 
needed more time to forgive him.
“Can we talk first?”
“Okay.”

She followed him into the kitchen.
“Drink?”
“No thanks.”
He poured himself a large one and led her back to the living room.

“I’m sorry,” he began uncertainly. “I know you were hurt by our fight and by the 
news that Amanda and I were uh…engaged once,” he stared at her. “Is it really 
over? Because it doesn’t feel like it should be over to me.”

“Bobby…” she sighed.
“What?”
“I feel so immature for dragging this out. I’m not…I don’t…” she sighed again and 
looked at him. “I know when I agreed to marry you that you had a lot of things in 
your past that I didn’t know about, and I still don’t know about them. Its not that 
you were engaged and I don’t even care much about her now, but I hate that you 
kept it a secret from me.”
“Lindsay I didn’t think that it was important…nobody knew about it back then 
and I felt it was pointless to bring it up now. I’m sorry. I should have.”

Lindsay still looked slightly unconvinced, but seemed to accept hi apology.
“Is Helen expecting you tonight?” He asked.
“ No, she had another hot date tonight. Frankly, I don’t want to be there to pick 
up the pieces.”
“Good,” he smiled. “Then you have time to hear the rest of my secrets.”
“What!?”
“Kidding,” he said quickly.

* * *

“Okay, Louis, let’s start at the beginning.”

The arraignment had gone as expected. No bail was granted and trial was set for 
November 16th: two days after the Amanda Derry murder case was to begin. The 
office was going to be really busy, Lindsay thought.

“Who was Andrew Franklin?”
“He’s a social worker. He’s a rich prick that came into our neighborhood to tell us 
what we were doing wrong, you know?.”
“Try not to say that when you get on the stand,” Ellenor criticized.
“Look, I don’t know who you are, but why don’t you just shut up!” Louis 
grumbled.
“”All right! That’s enough!” Lindsay interrupted. She turned back to Louis, “Why 
did you want to talk to him?”
“He’s been trying to get the kids to stop joining gangs. I figured he could help with 
Rachel, you know? See if he really knew his stuff.”
“Go on,” Lindsay prompted.
“He was a the bowling alley – I’ve never seen him there before. He was kinda 
checking us all out while he had a drink, you know? Me and Sid, we just finished 
our game, you know? I figured, why not talk to him, since he was there and 
everything.”

Ellenor decided if he said ‘you know’ one more time she was going to strangle 
him. Lindsay gave her a warning glare, sensing her frustration.

“And?”
“The prick told me to get lost. He said Rachel was a silly bitch for getting involved 
and he wasn’t going to save anybody who was already half gone, you know? He 
didn’t care. All the time, he was lookin’ about, real nervous like, you know?”

Lindsay looked at Ellenor thoughtfully.

“Can you remember exactly what you said to him?”
“I said to him that he came to us, always preachin’ about gangs, but he never did 
anything about it. I told him if he didn’t help Rachel, he wasn’t going to be 
preachin’ no more.”
“And your friend Sid heard this?”
“He was agreeing with it. His son’s involved in one of the gangs too.”
“Louis I want you to think about why Sid would turn you into the Police. Did he 
have any problems? Don’t answer know, think about it. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Okay. You are going to get me out of here aren’t you?”
“We’ll try.”

Lindsay gestured to the guard to let them out of the cell. They were lost in thought 
as they made their way out of the prison.
“We’re going to need somebody to talk to his friends and Rachel.”
“Eugene and Bobby can’t, they’ve got the Derry case.”
“What about Jimmy?”
“Lindsay, I don’t think Jimmy is the right person to go traipsing around that 
neighborhood asking questions.”
“Give him a chance, Ellenor. We don’t have much choice otherwise.”
“Great, just great.”

* * *

“How did it go?” Bobby met them in the car park, after his meeting with Amanda 
that morning.
“It doesn’t look good, how about you?” Lindsay asked.
“I think we’ve got a chance.”
 The exchange between them was slightly rushed and uncomfortable, Ellenor 
thought. She watched quietly as the two of them tried to relax in each other’s 
company again. She decided that now was not a good time to say anything about 
kissing clients.

Jimmy and Rebecca were working quietly when the three of them arrived.
“Jimmy!” Bobby called. “We need you to do a little digging for this case.”
“What!? We need him!” Lindsay argued. “You have Eugene.”
“Okay, Bec? How about it?”
He turned to Rebecca who nodded in assent and followed him into his office for 
instructions.
“Why me, Lindsay?” Jimmy complained.
“Can you talk to a few people for us? We really need some help, and Eugene’s 
already busy.”
“I’m no good at that stuff.”
“People talk to you Jimmy, they like you. Please?”
“Okay. But I can’t spend all my time on this, I do have other clients.”
“Sure Jimmy,” Ellenor laughed.
“Don’t laugh at me Ellenor, my clients are just as important as yours.”
“I’m sorry. Lucy can I have the police report for the Rogers murder. It might be in 
Louis Benton’s file.” Ellenor asked.
“Also the Franklin murder. Please.” Lindsay added.
“Lucy,” Bobby called, coming out of his office. “Can you call Helen and ask if I 
could see her this afternoon. It’s about the Derry case.”
“Hey!” Lucy snapped. “I only have to ears and two hands. Believe me I would 
love to have more, but I don’t, so I can only do so may things at once.”
“Sorry.”

* * *

“It’s ten o’clock,” Lindsay said to Bobby, while smothering a yawn. They had 
spent the evening working on their respective cases in the living room of their 
apartment. Both felt relieved to be immersed in work again and were reading files 
and reports in silence. Lindsay held up a photo showing Mr. Franklin lying on a 
sidewalk somewhere with a knife firmly planted in his chest.
“Does this remind you of anything?” She asked. Bobby took the photo.
“Joey Heric,” he replied at once.
“That’s what I thought. I wonder if this guy was involved with anybody,” she 
mused, flicking through the pages.
“Ah ha!” she cried. Bobby raised his eyes from his work. “He was homosexual!” 
she cried triumphantly.
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope. I wonder what Joey Heric was doing that night.”
“I wonder what Lance was doing.”
“Who’s Lance?”
“Amanda’s…uh…lover.”
“She was having an affair while she was engaged?” Her eyes widened in 
comprehension. “Was she having an affair when YOU were engaged?”
“Never mind.”
“She was!”
“I said, never mind. Just look at this for a moment.” She looked at what he was 
holding up. It was another photo of a man with a knife in his chest.
“Who’s that?” She asked, trying to locate the photo of Sid Rogers’ death.”
“This is Amanda’s fiancée.”
“You’re kidding!”
“I’m not kidding.”
“We should call Helen. I can’t believe the police didn’t pick this up.”
“Lindsay, just because they were killed in the same way doesn’t mean they were 
killed by the same person.”
“But what if they were!? What if this Lance guy is a serial killer.”
“He’s not a serial killer. Actually I learned to day that he’s a social worker or 
something.”

Lindsay stared at him in disbelief. “A social worker?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing…never mind.”

* * *

“Louis, do you know a guy called Lance?” She asked the next day, the 
coincidence playing on her mind.
“Yeah, he used to go bowling with me and Sid, but I haven’t seen him in a while. 
Why?”
“Never mind.”
It’s time to talk to Helen, she thought.


“Helen!” Lindsay called in the busy hallway of the courthouse. Helen turned 
around and waited while Lindsay caught up.
“I need to talk to you about the two murder trials, can we go to your office?”
“Can it wait Lindsay, I’m kind of busy right now.”
“It won’t take long, I promise.”
“Tell me here,” Helen sighed.
“Did you investigate Lance Hale for the murder of Amanda Derry’s fiancée?”
“We looked into it, but he had an alibi. Why?”
“We were looking through the police reports and all three victims were killed in 
the same way. A knife found planted in their chest. Also one of the victims, 
Franklin, was a social worker. Lance is also a social worker. I think you’ve 
arrested the wrong person, or in this case, the wrong people.”
“Lindsay, you always think we’ve arrested the wrong people, it comes with being 
a defense attorney. It’s just a coincidence”
“Helen!”
“Can we drop this? I’m late for a date.”
“Same guy?”
“Yes.”
“Who is it?”
“I’ll tell you sometime. See ya.”
“Helen!” Lindsay complained as Helen walked away.

* * *

“So she won’t do anything?” Rebecca asked when Lindsay had given her account 
of the situation. They were all sitting around the conference table, discussing 
strategies for the trials that would begin next week. The only person absent was 
Jimmy who was still talking to friends of the two victims.
“No. She says it’s just a coincidence.”
They turned to look at Bobby who was thinking over the situation.
“They’re not going to drop the case this close to trial. We’ll just have to use the 
same argument as in the Vogelman trial. The police didn’t look long enough; there 
isn’t enough evidence to convict our clients so we have reasonable doubt. We 
could even Plan B Lance.”
“That might work for you, but there is no way the judge is going to let us have 
Lance testify. He has no bearing on this case, except that Louis knows him. And 
anyway, we have two murders in this case and no alibi for either of them. Louis 
looks a little more guilty than your client.”
“Why don’t you argue that-,” he was interrupted by Jimmy bursting into the 
conference room.
“I found it. I can’t believe I found it!” Jimmy yelled exuberantly. The others looked 
at each other and laughed. 
“Found what!?” Bobby asked.
“Let me guess, you lost your mind, now you’ve found it again,” Ellenor joked.
“That’s not funny Ellenor.”
“Sorry. What did you find?”
“I talked to so many people today, asking them about whether they knew Lance 
Hale. Lots of people know him or know of him. One lady, who works at the 
bowling alley, said that he used to go bowling with Louis. She said he came not 
too long ago and sat at the bar, having a drink. He looked like he was looking for 
somebody. She got all cagey when I asked if she knew who he was looking for. 
She finally told me that he was supposed to meet Andrew Franklin, there, but she 
told him that Franklin wasn’t going to turn up because last time he went, Louis 
threatened him and that guy Rogers was there. When he heard that, Lance got up 
and left.”
“So?”
“I think Franklin and Lance are in this together and maybe even Rogers was 
involved.”
“Jimmy, we can’t exactly argue that to the police. There’s no evidence.”
“I’m not saying you should argue it to the police. I think you should argue it to the 
jury.”
“The judge won’t let us argue that to the jury,” Lindsay objected.
“You never know, Lindsay. It might be worth a shot,” Ellenor contemplated.
“I agree with Lindsay on this, it’s too complicated and circumstantial,” Eugene 
argued.
“Murders usually are Eugene. Just because it’s complicated doesn’t mean it didn’t 
happen.”
“What do you think?” Eugene asked Bobby.
“I don’t know. We need more information. Jimmy, can you go and do a little more 
investigating? We can’t make a decision on this until we know for sure.”
“Bobby.” Lucy interrupted their meeting with a knock on the door. “There’s a 
phone call for you.”
“I’ll be right there,” he replied. To the other lawyers, he said, “Get more 
information. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

Lindsay followed him into his office and waited while he took the call. She 
watched him with a small smile on her face; he saw it and spent the rest of the 
phone call trying to figure what it was about.
“What?”
“Nothing,” she replied innocently.
“What?” he made his way to her side and put his arms around her. He felt her 
body go a little tense, instead of melting into him the way it usually did.
“Is something wrong?”
“No…its just…Lucy’s watching.”
“What!?” He spun around and saw Lucy rushing away from the door. He turned 
back to Lindsay, “Was that all?”
“Yeah…I wanted her to think that we were still having problems: She’s a more 
satisfied worker when she has some gossip on her mind.”
“So we aren’t having problems anymore?”
“No…I don’t think so. Unless you-.”
Nope,” he said quickly. “Everything’s fine with me.”
“Good!”
“Is that all?”
“I love you.” She said honestly. “I know that I haven’t said that much lately, but I 
don’t know what I would do without you.”
“I love you too.” He leaned towards her and under Lucy’s curious gaze through 
the door, they shared a soft, but loving kiss.

* * *

The week of the trial finally arrived, after much tension in the office. The week had 
been filled with screams from Lucy, demands from all the lawyers, countless 
discussions over strategies and arguments between the divided lawyers over which 
case was more important.

“Neither case is more important. Jimmy, let Rebecca use the copier, you can use it 
next.” Bobby ordered, reinstating a sense of calm throughout the office. The others 
were too busy to even notice the argument, immersed in work. The past two days 
had seen work hours which started at 5am and continued until midnight. They 
were all tired and stressed and worried and again didn’t notice the disruption of a 
pizza delivery. 
“What’s that smell?” Jimmy asked as Lucy handed over the money and took the 
pizzas from the boy.
“Anchovies…I hate anchovies,” Lindsay complained.
“Only one of them have anchovies,” Lucy snapped.
“Who ordered the pizzas?” Bobby asked, emerging from his office.
“Me. You guys haven’t eaten in days, I figured it was the least I could do.”
“Lucy, that is so nice!” Rebecca smiled.
“There’s beer and wine and coke here as well, I bought them this morning and put 
them on the office account.”
“We don’t have an account there,” Bobby mumbled through a mouthful of pizza.
“Now we do.”
“Lucy!” They all cried.
“What, with the stress of your job, I’m surprised you don’t have an account at the 
liquor store. You should be thanking me.”

They took their pizza and drinks back to their desks and continued working. 
Revived and in higher spirits, Lindsay organized to have a quick meeting with 
Ellenor and Jimmy to discuss finer details of the trial. They met in the conference 
room and were soon interrupted by Bobby, Eugene and Rebecca.
“We’re kinda busy in here, can you meet somewhere else please?”
“There’s nowhere else to meet,” Eugene complained.
“We were here first!” Lindsay responded.
“We go to trial tomorrow, you still have two days.”
“Our trial is much more complicated then yours.”
“Oh don’t give me that crap. All trials are complicated.”
“That’s enough!” Bobby ordered. In an effort to extinguish another impending 
argument, he led his group to his office, leaving the others in peace.

* * *

The first day of the trial began with the usual flurry of activity, all the lawyers at 
DYD&F were spurred on by the anticipation of an exciting battle. Lindsay, Ellenor 
and Jimmy helped wherever they could, all the while knowing that that in two 
days, it would be their turn.
“All set?” Lindsay asked Bobby as he sat in his office, mentally preparing himself 
for the trial.
“I hope so,” Bobby replied, his mind already going over his arguments. Lindsay 
saw that his mind was not on her and gave him a quick kiss.
“Good luck!” She said, when he didn’t reply, she quietly left the room.
He was soon threading his way through reporters, shielding Amanda from their 
prying cameras and questions. He ignored the, ‘Are you innocent’ questions and 
the ‘How do you think the trial will go?’ questions, but found it hard to block out 
the ‘Are you involved with the defendant?’ questions. Finally he snapped.
“I’m her lawyer!”
“But Mr. Donnell, is it true that you once dated?”
Bobby didn’t answer, but pushed his way through the crowd, resolving never to 
talk to the reporters again.

The opening arguments were short and sweet. Helen stood up and smiled at the 
jury.
“I always feel excited to have a new jury in front of me, waiting to serve justice. 
We have a simple case here; we have a dead man. His fiancée, the defendant, was 
sleeping with another man. The man was found in the defendant’s apartment. All 
the evidence points to her and only her.” Helen glanced at Bobby, almost daring 
him to Plan B one of the other witnesses. “All I ask of you is to carefully listen to 
the evidence and serve justice as it should be served.”
Bobby stood at the nod of the judge.
“When you read about murders in the newspaper or see the stories on the news, 
isn’t it always the spouse who did it? Usually one of them is involved with another 
person, then something happens and one of them ends up dead. Just because it 
seems to happen so often, does not mean that it is the case here. Like the DA 
says, we want you to listen to the evidence and serve justice.”
He sat down, with the jury only distantly interested in the case.

Helen called the detective as the first witness and the trial began.

* * *

“Well?’ Lindsay asked as the three lawyers arrived during the lunch break.
“The jury’s bored out of their mind with the forensics, but I think we’re doing ok. 
Eugene was great with the detective,” Bobby answered.
“Who’s up next?”
“A neighbor who heard arguing the night of the murder.”
“Can you diffuse her testimony?”
“I think so. Eugene, Bec: Let’s go to the conference room.”
They followed him to discuss the afternoon ahead.
“I don’t think we’ll have time for more then two witnesses this afternoon. I’m 
ready to cross the neighbor. Eugene, how are you on the victim’s mother?”
“All set.”
“Great. Now tomorrow, they’ll probably rest. I was thinking about putting up 
Amanda’s friend first.”
“We could surprise everybody and put Amanda up there. She seems innocent 
enough and it might be enough to convince the jury,” Eugene suggested.
“But what if she trips?” Bobby asked.
“Then we’ll put the friends and experts up to prove she couldn’t have done it,” 
Eugene replied.
“They’ll seem like they’re lying because their testimony would contradict what she 
said,” Rebecca argued. “Why don’t we do what we usually do and put up the 
friends, raise some doubt, then we’ll put her up to corroborate the story.”
“I agree,” nodded Bobby. “Then if necessary, we can out Lance up and raise 
some real doubt.”
“We can’t plan B him, he has an alibi,” Eugene pointed out.
“He was seen at a bar with some friends. They say that he stayed with them for 
the night. But what if they’re lying?”
“If they’re lying now, they’ll lie on the stand to protect him. Lets just stick with the 
case and use him only as a last resort. Okay?”
“Okay, lets go.”

* * *

The day went smoothly and as expected, the prosecution rested after the 
testimony of the victim’s mother, at this the judge adjourned for the day. Both 
Helen and Bobby felt the trial was going well, but the drama would happen the 
next day. It was another late night in the office, the frenzy increased for Lindsay 
and the group with the thought that they had just one day left and there was a 
sense of trepidation for Bobby as he realized that the outcome of the trial 
depended on Amanda and her friends. There was some detail he was sure he had 
missed: the trial seemed too straightforward for a murder case. Oh well, he sighed, 
I guess we’ll find out tomorrow. He turned off the light and prepared to go home

Bobby woke at the sound of the alarm and wordlessly, he and Lindsay got
up and went about getting ready for the day. They spoke only when
necessary and in monosyllables.

"Coffee?"
"Please."

Lindsay flicked throough the newspaper to see if anything had been
written about the trial. A small article mentioned the days proceedings
and she read it disinterestedly.
"What does it say?" asked Bobby, leaning over her shoulder.
"It calls you ruthless."
"Really?"
"Uh huh. It says that 'the prosecution appears to be waiting in
suspense for unorthodox tactics by ruthless defense attorney, Bobby
Donnell, from Donnell, Young, Dole and Frutt. A firm known for its
manipulation of the law."
"That's libelous."
"Almost."
"Anyhting else?"
"Not really. Nothing that we don't know already."
"Are you ready, then?"
"Yep. Let's go."

They picked up their briefcases and hurred out of the apartment. Bobby
was soon on his way to the courthouse, whilie Lindsay, Ellenor and Jmmy
prepared for the trial the next day. Jimmy was still intent on proving
his theory that LAnce was "in cahoots" with Franklin and was
responsible for the murders of Sid Rogers and Franklin himself. Ellenor
and Lindsay humored the idea and left him to it. He felt that he was
close to figuring ou the truth. His favorite theory was that Franklin
and Lance were somehow using the gangs for their own benefit and Lance
got greedy and hired Sid to kill frankliin. Maybe Sid threatened to
tell and Lance had to kill him too. Lindsay had laughed when he shared
this theory with her. She suggested he become a novelist t "put John
Grisham to shame". She wouldn't laugh when he found out the thruth
though, He just jad to find it.

***

"Amanda, tell us in your own words what happened the night that your
fiancee was murdered."

The friends had testified charmingly that Amanda was an upstanding
citizen who loved her fiancee very much. She was very much against any
type of uneccessary harm to human life, she cetainly couldn't have
killed her fiancee. Her priest told the jury that she was a regular
volunteer at the parish. "No sir!" he said vehemently at the suggestion
she could have been responsible for her fiancee's death. Helen decided
not to cross examine this witness. She had too much negative history
with dealing with priests in murder cases. 

"Well," Amanda said tearfully. "I have to be honest. We had a huge
fight that day...I mean we often fought, but this was much bigger than
usual. The stupid thing is I can't remember what it was about." The
jury nodded sympathetically, remembering their own fights which started
about some minor detail and exploded into a major argument.
"I left my apartment straight after the fight."
"What time was that?"
"About midday. I went shopping. I always shop when I'm upset. Whn I got
home, the door was unlocked. I thought he would have gone to work, but
I realized then that he mustn't have. When I walked in, the TV was on
really loud, but he wasn't there. I finally found him in the kitchen..
He...uh...had a knife in his chest." Amanda began to cry. "I've never
seen anyone dead before."
"Take your time."
She sniffed back her tears and slpwly continued.
"I didn't know what to do, but I called the police and they took
forever to come. I was so scared."
"In that time, what did you do?"
"I poured myself a drink and waited for them to come."
"A drink of what?"
"Tequila. I was shaking so hard that I spilled some on the rug."
"How much did you drink?"
"I don't know. The police said my blood alcohol level was 0.13. But I
can't remember drinking that much. I was really scared."
"They arrested you straight away?"
"Yes. They said I must have done it. My neighbor told them that she
heard us arguing. They wouldn't listen to me, they kept on yelling and
yelling."

The jury continued to look sympathetic. Helen was worried that by cross
examining Amanda, she would make the jury even more sympathetic to the
girl. But it was a risk she had to take.

"Amanda, who could have done this to your fiancee?" Bobby asked gently.
"I don't know!" She sobbed. "The police said that I must know, but I
don't!"
"Did he have nay enemies."
"Not that I knew of. He didn't say much about his work."
"Thanks you. That's all."
Helen stood and studied Amanda carefully.
"Your argument that day - you don't remember what it was about?"
"No."
"I find that strange. If it wass unusual to have a big fight, you'd
think you'd rememer it."
"Well I don't."
"Is it true that you were having an affair with another man?"
Yes."
"Are you still seeing this man?"
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I didn't love my fiancee."
"Did your fiancee find out about this affair?"
"Yes," she lowered her eyes and Bobby had the urge to cover his. He
mentally willed her to be strong.
"Could that be what the fight was about?"
"No! I don't remember what the fight was about."
"Sure," Helen said sarcastically.
"Objection," Bobby yelled.
"Withdrawn. Ms. Derry, you said you called the police. How long id you
wait before calling them?"
"I don't know!"
Just a guess. Approximately how much time passed between you seeing his
body and calling the police?"
"I don't know!"
Helen indicated to the bailiff to bring out the TV. He rolled it out in
front of the jury. Bobby stood, alarmed.
"Your Honor, approach?"
"Okay."
He rushed to the front bench where Helen joined him.
"I ahve no idea what she's about to show. We weren't given any video
tapes."
"Its the surveillance tape of teh defendant arriving in her apartment
building. We gave you a copy."
"That's a lie. We had no idea this tape existed."
"Lets go to chambers."

***

"This is a blatant attempt on the part of the DA's office to sneak this
into evidence. Why weren't we given a copy?"
"Is this true?" The judge asked Helen.
"No! We gave them a copy of the tape! They must have lost it!"
"You think we'd be that negligent as to lose a vital piece of evidence
before we watched it?"
"You're negligent enough to represent a woman you used to sleep with!"
"I regret a lot of my past relationships." He said pointedly. Helen
stood openmouthed at this insult. The judge took teh opportunity to
butt in.
"That's enough! They didn't get a copy, so you can't introduce it into
evidence. Lets go."

The jury watched as a furious Helen and a triumphant Bobby walked back
into the courtroom. THe bailiff rolled away the TV and Helen fumed that
the jury was able to see the obvious victory for the defense in this
argument. She collected herself and looked back at Amanda, now more
determined than ever to brak the innocent facade. She spent the next
hour asking for small details of the day of the murder. Did she buy
anyhting when she went shopping, where was the proof of purchase. Helen
knew full well that there wasn't any proof. Amanda had claimed to pay
cash for everything and had "lost" the receipts.

"Where did you put what you purchased?"
"I put it away."
"So you saw that your fiancee was dead and proceeded to hang up the
clothes and find places for the candles?"
"Yes. I didn't know what else to do!"
"Did you do this before or after you called the police?"
"After!"

Helen continued to drill her for detail. It was Bobby's turn to fume at
her tactics. He hoped the jury would be able to see this "fishing
expidition" for what it really was. Helen was trying to rattle Amanda
so that she could be caught lying or at least get angry enough to look
like she could have committed murder. Finally Helen paused from the
tirade and poured herself a glass of water. When she began to speak
again, the judge stopped her.

"Ms. Gamble, how long do ou wish to continue cross-examination?"
"Another hour, your Honor."
"I'd like to adjourn for the day and continue this tomorrow."
"I object to that!" she cried.
"Approach." The judge ordered.
Helen and Bobby again hurried to the front bench.
"If we adjourn now the jury will forget all they've heard so far! I
have a right to continue until I'm finished."
"Ms. Gamble, I seriously doubt that the jury was even listening for the
last 2 hours."
"That's my concern, not yours."
"You have half an hour. If you aren't finishedby then, I'll cut you off
and you won't be questioning her tomorrow."
"You can't do that!"
"I just did!"

Helen once again stood in front of Amanda.

"Ms. Derry, do you drink Tequila often?"
"Not often, no."
"How often?"
"Once a month."
"So why was you reaction to the murder to head to teh tequila?"
"I thought it would calm me down."
"Uh huh. So you poured yourself a drink after you called the police?"
"Yes."
You said you spilled some on the rug?"
"Yes."
"Did you spill any anywhere else?"
"Maybe. I don't know."
"We found some near the body in teh kitchen. If you were so scared, why
did you go back in to have another look?"
"I wanted to make sure that there was noone waiting for me in there.
Anyway, the alcohol may have been spilled another night."
"Uh huh. Somewhere here you have lied to us. You just told me that you
didn't drink often, now you are saying that you could have spilled the
drink on a previous night. You also claim that you were so scared, you
didn't know what to do. But you went back in for another look at the
body. Are you lying to us Ms. Derry?"
"No!" Amanda cried, oanic stricken.
"Were you celebrating the death of your fiancee with a drink?"
"No!" Amanda shrieked.
"No more questions."

Helen sat down, exhausted by the effort. Amanda was sobbing in the
witness chair, the sobs increasing as Bobby declined to re-question her
and as the judge adjourned for teh day. Bobby sat dejected at teh
defense table watching as people filed out of teh courtroom. Eugene and
Rebecca left quietly, greeting Lindsay on the way out. Lindsay had come
into the room halfway through Helen's cross examination of Amanda.

"Hey." Lindsay greeted Bobby softly as she sat beside him at the table.
"Hey."
"Do you want to get some dinner before we go back to the office?"
"Not yet," he sighed and loked at her lovingly. "That was a disaster,
Linsday"
"I know, I saw. she looked really guilty up there."
"Are you pleased?"
"No! Why would I be pleased?"
"You never liked her."
"No, but she doesn't deserve to go to jail, no matter what her history."
"How could Helen do that?"
"I bet she's wondering the same thing." Lindsay comforted him. He
sighed agin and started collecting papers that were scattered over the
table. He smiled at Lindsay, glad taht things were finally back to
normal between them.
"Lets go."

He took her hand and they strolled out of teh courthouse, each lost in
thought. It was a quiet taxi ride that took them back to the office for
a night of strategising. It was time to forget all about the day's
problems and concentrate on rectifying them tomorrow. The next day was
hinting to be an exciting time for the whole firm.

"The prosecution calls Detective Maguire to the stand," said Jean, the
blonde DA.

Opening arguments had taken up most of the morning and this was the
first witness for the prosecution. The jury had settled in, except for
one jury member who looked like he was so excited, he could barely sit
still. He had fidgeted his way through the instructions of the judge
and the opening arguments. Lindsay had wanted to strangle him: she
couldn't believe he had slipped through the jury selection. Jurors so
excited about murder trials were usually most ready to put the
defendant in jail: they were so excited about being a part of the trial
that they didn't listen to any of the testimony. The prim elderly lady
sitting next to the juror shifted uncomfortably and shot him dirty
looks. Lindsay sighed again and turned her attention to the detective
who had just taken his oath.

"Detective, lets go through the murder of Andrew Franklin first."
There appeared to be a uniform movement across the gallery as
spectators settled in for what looked like a long morning. Jimmy hated
these sorts of cases, where so much depended on forensics. There didn't
seem to be much of a motive for Louis to kill the two men, but the
prosecution was determined to show that he must have done it
regardless. The only benefit of a morning as boring as this one was
that it gave him a chance to think. He thought about his theories that
he still doggedly held on to. Lindsay doodled on her legal pad in front
of her. To the jury she looked like a conscientious attorney taking
note of all that was said and they never realized that she was as bored
as they were. Jimmy watched her draw a heart on her page and put an
arrow through it. She then wrote Bobby's initials on it. She looked up
and met Jimmy's eyes, beginning to blush slightly when she realized
that he had seen what she had drawn. She quickly turned her attention
back to the detective. It was going to be a long morning.

* * *

Across the hall in another courtroom, Eugene was questioning Lance.
They had decided the night before that their only option was to Plan B
Lance to raise some doubt among the jury. Although Lance couldn't have
physically done it, they were hoping to show that he had motive and
connections to organize for somebody else to do it. While Eugene was
interrogating Lance, Bobby was struck with another idea. There was a
problem in instigating it, but it could be done if he could find the
time. Eugene's voice began to rise in decibels, so Bobby turned his
attention to the proceedings.

"Do you love Ms. Derry?"
"Yes."
"And you'd do anything for her?"
"Yes."
"You're a social worker?"
"Yes."
"You work specifically with gangs in the inner city area?"
"Yes."
"You must meet some pretty nasty people on your line of work/ People
who would think nothing of a murder?"
"I prefer to call them mixed up. Kids who join gangs have a problem in
finding their niche in life. They join gangs to give them a sense of
belonging."
"Answer the question Mr. Hale."
"Yes, many of them have murdered before."
"Most people wouldn't know who to go to, to arrange a murder. Would you
know who to talk to?"
"Objection!"
"Sustained."
"Mr. Hale, did you organize for someone to kill Amanda Derry's fiancée?"
"Objection!"
"Overruled. Answer the question Mr. Hale."
"Of course I didn't."
"You had the motive: Amanda refused to leave her fiancee, is that
right?"
"Yes."
"Did that upset you?"
"Yes, but I wouldn't kill to change it."
"You had the motive," Eugene continued. "You also had the opportunity
and you had a rock solid alibi so that you wouldn't be arrested for the
murder. Did you consider Amanda in this plan of yours?"
"I didn't do it!"
"Of course you didn't Mr. Hale, that's the beauty of it, you got
someone else to do it for you."
"Objection!"
"Withdrawn, no more questions."
Helen paused before standing up. She gave Lance a sympathetic look and
tried to make amends.
"Mr. Hale, did you organize for someone to kill Ms. Derry's fiancée?"
 "I most certainly did not!"
"Thank you."
Bobby was surprised that she stopped at that, but in retrospect he
realised that she had made the right move: further questioning would
make her appear desperate to fix things. If she appeared desperate, the
jury would automatically put more weight to the Eugene's accusations.
It was a good move and Bobby approved. 'It was just a shame that she
was on the other side,' Bobby mused. He thought wryly of asking her to
join the firm once the trial was over. But he knew full well that she
would emphatically turn down the offer.

* * *

By luck the lunch breaks occurred at the same time for both trials and
the office bustled as all the lawyers returned from court. Their voices
rose as they all discussed their respective cases.
"Messages! Get your messages!" Lucy called over the noise. They crowded
around her desk and retrieved their messages. At the sight of his,
Jimmy rushed to his desk.
"Who's he calling?" Bobby laughed.
"Someone called with information about the Franklin murder."
"What?" Lindsay exclaimed.
"He sounded really edgy and wasn't going to leave his name, but I got
him to."
"Lucy everyone gives in to you!" Rebecca jibed.
"It's a gift I have." Lucy replied airily.
"Wee know," Lindsay agreed.
"Hey! That sounded like an insult."
"It wasn't, I was being nice," Lindsay complained.
"Well you show your nice side so rarely, I didn't recognize it."
"Funny."

Bobby left the group and Lindsay followed him into his office.
"How did it go this morning?" He asked.
"Jeans emphasizing the forensics, probably because that's their whole
case. How about you?"
"we accused Lance of doing it."
"And?"
"I don't know. He was fairly emphatic that he didn't do it, so I don't
know whom the jury believes. But I have another idea…you're not going
to like it."
"What is it?"
"I want to call Louis to the stand."
"Excuse me!?"
"Just listen for a minute, let me explain. I thought about how you were
thinking of calling Lance to the stand in your trial because the
murders were so similar. I could call Louis for the same reason."
"You'd jeopardize my whole case! If the jury heard that you were
accusing him of a third murder, they'd automatically assume he was
guilty of the other two. I'm not letting you do this."
"Lindsay, we're really struggling here."
"No, Bobby. It would be malpractice to call him. You have as much
responsibility towards Louis as you do Amanda."
The door suddenly opened and Jimmy burst in.
"What!?" Lindsay and Bobby yelled in unison.
"Whoa! Are you two fighting again?"
"Never mind," Bobby sighed.
"Can you leave for a minute Jimmy?"
"You don't have to yell Lindsay, I'm right here."
"I'm not yelling!"

At the commotion, the others came into the office.

"What's going on?" Rebecca asked.
"Nothing! It doesn't concern you," Bobby replied
"You say that, but it does concern us. Every time you two fight, we get
involved in it and I am sick of it!"
"What's going on?" Eugene asked calmly.
"I had an idea for our case but it may have ramifications on Lindsay's
case.."
"What is it?"
"I think we should call Benton and accuse him of doing it."
"It will jeopardize our whole case," Lindsay argued again.
"Bobby, you can't do that. W have a duty to Benton to give him the best
representation possible. Even if we weren't representing him, it would
be irresponsible to call him," Eugene argued.
"Thank you. That's what I said," Lindsay agreed.
"Ellenor?" Bobby asked.
"Come on Bobby, that's risky even for you."
"Okay, never mind. We won't do it."
"And anyway, Bobby," Rebecca added. "We just accused Lance of doing it.
If we call Louis and also accuse him, we'd look stupid."

Lucy interrupted them by announcing that they were due back in court in
ten minutes They rushed out and collected their things, discussing the
afternoon ahead.
"If Jean talks anymore about DNA, I'm going to scream!" Lindsay groaned.
"Do you think she'll finish with the detective soon?" Ellenor asked.
"I hope not. The jury's as bored as we are. Hopefully they stopped
listening a while ago."
Ellenor laughed and they headed out for another dose of forensics.
Jimmy had decided to stay at the office to continue his research.

* * *

"The defense rests recalls Detective Robinson,"
Helen looked up with interest, hoping that they hadn't discovered
anything new.
"You are still under oath, Detective," the judge reminded him as he
took the stand."
"Detective, you said that you arrested Amanda as soon as you had a
chance to view the crime scene?"
"Yes, we felt from our initial questioning and from the evidence at the
scene that she was responsible for the murder. The murder was committed
at her home, the knife had her fingerprints on it and she had no solid
alibi. That alone was enough to suggest she had done it."
"Did you think about investigating anyone else?"
"Of course we did, but neither Amanda or her fiancée's family were able
to come up with any enemies. We questioned her lover, Lance Hale, but
he had an alibi. There wasn't really anyone else to investigate."
"But shouldn't you have tried to look further?"
"There was no reason to. We felt and still feel that Ms. Derry killed
her fiancee."
"There is pressure, isn't there, both public and political, to convict
someone for a murder?"
"Yes," the Detective replied thoughtfully.
"So would that be enough to accuse someone of the murder primarily
because you have the best chance at convicting them?"
"No."
"but the public pressure is strong isn't it?"
"Yes," the detective conceded.
"Are you aware of another murder trial proceeding as we speak?"
"Yes. Detective Maguire handled that one."
"Can you tell us about it?"
"Two men were found dead in the space of two weeks. They were both
found dead with a knife in their chests."
"So they were killed in the same way as Amanda Derry's fiancée?"
"Yes."
"The defendant in that trial, did you investigate him for this murder?"
"No. The circumstances were different."
"So you arrested the first suspect you came across. You didn't even
consider this man?"
"We arrested Ms. Derry on very conclusive evidence."
"Of course you did, Detective. No more questions."
Helen immediately asked, "There was strong evidence to suggest Ms.
Derry is responsible?"
"Very strong evidence."
"Thank you."
The judge looked at Bobby for his next witness.
"The defense rests, your Honor."
Relief flooded through the courtroom as people suddenly realized it was
almost all over. The judge looked at his watch.
"We'll hear closing arguments in the morning. Adjourned."

* * *

"No more questions," Jean finally announced. She had been questioning
the detective all afternoon. Lindsay stood when the judge indicated her
to cross-examine.
"Your Honor, the defense asks for an early adjournment. There has been
a lot of information conveyed today, and we feel to be fair we should
be allowed to have an uninterrupted cross examination of this witness."
"We have no objections, Your Honor," Jean added.
"Fine. We'll continue in the morning. Adjourned."

"Do you think that was a good idea?" Ellenor asked Lindsay as they
packed up. "Now the jury will have this on their minds all night. We
should have instilled some doubt before letting them go home."
"Their bored. They're going home to their normal lives, they won't be
thinking about this case, they'll be trying to forget it."
"I hope your right."
"Me too."

They met Bobby, Eugene and Rebecca emerging from the courtroom across
the hall. The three of them were arguing once again.
"What's wrong?" Ellenor asked.
"He re-called the detective and asked about your case." Rebecca replied.
"You what!?" Ellenor and Lindsay turned to Bobby.
"I didn't say Louis did it, I simply brought to light the possibility
that someone else killed the fiancée and the police were wrong not to
investigate further."
"The fact that you brought it up is enough to convey to our jury that
Louis is guilty. How could you!?" Lindsay fumed.
"Lindsay, can we talk about this somewhere else?"
People were beginning to watch the group interestedly, including
members of both juries and prying reporters. Lindsay realized that they
had attracted an audience and agreed to argue about it later. They
headed back to the office for another night of work. It was becoming
normal for all of them to work 18-hour days. But there was only a week
or so left before things returned back to normal. Until the next case
anyway.


The office was dark and quiet, lit only by the lamps on the desks.
Eugene and Ellenor had just left, deciding that sleep was more
important than work. Lindsay glanced at her watch and yawned: it was
already 1 am. Bobby had remained in his office all night, practicing
his closing, going over arguments that might need to be argued, looking
for the angle that would convince the jury that Amanda Derry was
innocent. Always get the guy (or in this case, girl) off, do whatever
you have to do. He wracked his brain trying to come up with anything
that would ensure a not guilty verdict for his client. Lindsay wouldn't
approve of his thoughts, he decided and looked at his watch. 1am, ugh!

"I'm going home," Lindsay appeared at his door. "I'm tired and it's
going to be a long day tomorrow."
"Today," bobby corrected.
"Today. Lets get some sleep."
"I still haven't finished this," he said, holding up his summation.
"You're great at closings, you don't need to practice. Anyway, it will
sound better unrehearsed."
"Was there a coherent thought in that rambling?"
"Funny. I need some sleep, if I sound like that tomorrow, we are
certain to lose."
"I'm sorry about mentioning Louis' trial in my arguments. It was wrong-
I shouldn't have done it. But you have to understand that I had to."
"Anything to get the guy off?"
"Yeah, something like that."
"Sometimes I hate what we do."
"Sometimes?"
Lindsay sighed, "Yeah."
Bobby stood and stretched and leaned forward and kissed her softly.
"Is Ellenor still here?"
"No. She and Eugene left."
"There's no one hear?"
Lindsay smiled, understanding where he was going.
"Nope."
"Good." He kissed her again and she responded by kissing him back
hungrily. Their personal lives had been de-prioritized due to their
cases, but suddenly it was promoted through desperation to forget the
work they were involved with. It had been a long time since they had
made love on the sofa in his office but was well worth the wait, Bobby
decided as they collapsed onto it.

* * *

Lindsay woke when the light began to filter in through the blinds. She
was entangled in Bobby's embrace and squashed against the back of the
sofa.
"Now I remember why we don't do this very often," she mumbled.
"Morning," Bobby whispered. He had been awake for a while, enjoying the
peace as he watched her sleep.
"Morning," she replied somewhat grumpily.
She rolled around to face him and allowed him to kiss her suggestively.
"What time is it?" She asked, ignoring hi advances.
"Just after six."
"No wonder I feel so bad."
They picked up their clothes and other scattered items and quickly let
the office. After a quick shower, Lindsay was feeling refreshed and
this time more appreciative of Bobby's affection as he wrapped his arms
around her while she made coffee.
"What's happening in your case today?"
"I expect Jean will call a couple of family members. But I have to
cross the detective first."
They were interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Jimmy?" Bobby exclaimed as he opened the door.
"What are you doing here?" Lindsay asked.
"I spent the whole day checking this out. I have the answer."
"What answer?" asked Lindsay, sitting down.
"The answer to the mystery."
"Start at the beginning, Jimmy, Bobby ordered.
"It might take a while," Jimmy hesitated.
"Can it wait until lunch then? We're due in court in half an hour and I
have to finish my closing."
"And I'm crossing the detective."
"Okay…at lunch then. Do you promise?"
"Of course. Anything else?"
"No. That was all."

They all left the apartment and made their way back to the office.
"So what time did you guys go home last night?" Jimmy asked curiously.
"Late," Lindsay blushed.

* * *

Helen's closing argument was as passionate as ever. She hinted that the
defense was trying anything to take the juror's attention away from the
glaringly obvious fact that they had no case. They didn't dispute the
hard evidence, she told them, instead they accused the detective of
organizing a bad investigation. This was proof, she said, that the
defense was struggling to make their case.
"Look at the case before you," she said. "It's time that the defendants
in murder trials stopped placing the blame elsewhere. It's time to show
them that if they commit murder, they must take full responsibility for
their actions.

Bobby collected his thoughts before standing and then began pointing
out how circumstantial the evidence was. The fact that the police had
arrested Amanda without even looking for anybody else was enough to
doubt the police investigation. He pointed out how the detective
admitted that there was a pressure to convict someone in murder trials.

Helen listened to the spiel, reminiscent of the Vogelman trial. In
fact, she thought, the whole trial had been a lot like the Vogelman
one. They had argued the same "pressure from the public to convict" and
then accused someone else of committing the murder. The tactics were
almost exactly the same.

The jury looked a little awed Bobby's impassioned speech and barely
listened to a word of the judge's instructions.

Bobby watched the jury leave the room and made their way with Eugene
and Rebecca and many others to the courtroom across the hall, where the
Benton trial was proceeding. They entered en masse, much to the
surprise of the witness being questioned. She was the wife of Andrew
Franklin. Bobby smiled slightly as he watched Lindsay begin questioning
the lady: he always enjoyed watching her work. Lindsay saw the smile
and returned it briefly before returning her attention to the witness.
"Mrs. Franklin, your husband was a social worker?"
"Yes."
"And what sort of work did he do?"
"He worked with gangs, he was trying to clean up the neighborhood."
"Is it possible that somebody was against the idea of cleaning up the
neighborhood?"
"I suppose so, yes."
"You suppose. Did he meet with drug dealers in his work?"
"Yes."
"Convicted felons for, say, armed robberies?"
"I'm sure he did."
"Perhaps even murderers?"
"Quite possibly."
"Wouldn't cleaning up the neighborhood be against these people's
interests?"
"Yes."
"So I'll ask again, Mrs. Franklin, could one of these men have killed
your husband?"
"Yes."
"Then why did you testify that the defendant killed him?"
"The police told me that he threatened Andrew."
"Oh. Had you ever met the defendant?"
"No.'
"You don't know him, yet you were certain he killed your husband?"
"The police said he did."
"Oh the police. We know how they like to stick to the truth." Lindsay
commented sarcastically.
"Objection!" Exclaimed Jean.
"Withdrawn," Lindsay was about to finish when she had a sudden idea.
Ellenor looked surprised when Lindsay returned to her questioning.
"Mrs. Franklin, does the name Lance Hale mean anything to you?"
"Yes of course: he was a friend of my husband's." In fact they worked
together quite often; he was a social worker too."
"And Amanda Derry?"
"She is Lance's girlfriend. We were sworn to secrecy about the
relationship."
"Are you aware of the trouble Amanda Derry is in at the moment?"
"Yes, she was charged with murdering her fiancée."
"Could it be that Lance had something to do with the murder of your
husband?"
"No! He's a lovely man!"
"But his girlfriend is charged with murdering her fiancée and now hi
good friend is dead."
"Well maybe Amanda killed my husband then!"
"Thank you, Mrs. Franklin. I have no more questions."

The judge looked at his watch and decided it was time to adjourn for
luncj.

"Reasonable Doubt?" Lindsay laughed.
"I think we have it!" Ellenor replied. "But next time you have a hunch,
share it with me first. I almost ad a heart attack when I realized what
you were doing."
"I'm sorry."
Ellenor looked back at the emptying gallery and saw Helen looking
stunned. She saw Ellenor's stare and walked up to them.
"I can't believe you just did that!" She accused angrily.
"What?"
"Yesterday, Bobby hinted that your client might have been responsible
for Amanda's fiancée's murder and now you're accusing Amanda of doing
these ones."
"We had to Helen. Louis is innocent."
"That's crap! I am so sick of your tactics, these people are murderers!"
Helen!"
"Oh leave me alone."
Helen stomped away, pushing past a just as angry Bobby.
"Uh oh," Ellenor warned Lindsay. "Bobby's not happy, so I'll leave you
to it!"
She quickly left Lindsay's side and slipped past Bobby.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Bobby, calm down."
"I won't calm down, Lindsay!"
"Just leave it 'til we get back to the office."
Although the courtroom was now empty, yelling would attract the
attention of those gathered outside. They traveled back to the office
in silence and as soon as the door closed behind them, Bobby erupted.
"You told me two days ago that it would be irresponsible of me to use
your client in my trial. Then what the hell were you doing in there?"
"Your case is finished. I didn't accuse Amanda of the murder I just
suggested that there were other possibilities."
"My case isn't finished. The jury is still deliberating. What if they
can't agree tonight and go home. They'll watch the news and see someone
who knows Amanda say that she possibly killed another person. That's
malpractice."
"Bobby, I'm sorry. Remember we were talking about doing anything to
'get the guy off'? I had no choice."
"I don't care. If the jury sees that, and then thinks about the
testimony of Amanda herself, which didn't go too well, if you'll
remember, it will ensure a guilty verdict."
"Bobby!" Lucy interrupted.
"What!?"
"Your jury's back."
"What?"
"They're back. You have ten minutes."
Bobby grabbed his coat and followed the others out of the office. There
was enough time to hear the verdict before Lindsay was due back in
court. Jimmy met them as they emerged from the elevator.
"Where are you going?" He asked.
"Verdict," Bobby replied darkly.
"But what about our meeting?"
"It will have to wait."
"But it's important."
"Later, Jimmy!"
Jimmy sighed and followed them to the courthouse.

The jury filed back into the room and sat down. Amanda nervously played
with the buttons on her jacket and prayed that she would get off. The
judge went through the usual proceedings and finally the foreman read
the verdict.

"Commonwealth versus Derry on the charge of murder in the first degree.
We find the defendant, Amanda Derry…Not guilty."

Helen stormed out of the room after the departure of the judge,
refusing to talk to anybody. Lindsay watched her leaving, wishing she
could follow her and apologize, but she was due back in court. Bobby
refused to meet Lindsay's eye as he passed by her, congratulating
Amanda. She sighed and followed Ellenor and Jimmy out of the room.

Their return to court was the beginning of an uneventful afternoon. Lindsay was 
successful in discounting the testimony of the prosecution’s final witness: a sly 
neighbor who fidgeted throughout his time on the stand.
“Mr. Green, do you have a job?” Lindsay asked.
“”Yes,” he replied nervously, his eyes darting around the room.
“What hours do you work?”
“The night shift – from 10pm til 7 in the morning.”
“Uh huh. When do you normally sleep?”
“From 9am until about 5.”
“Yet you claim to have seen my client return at midday on the day of the murder.”
“I couldn’t sleep so I was in the kitchen looking out the window to see Louis 
return.”
“Oh. Are you on any medication?”
“No.”
“You don’t take any pills to help you to sleep?” Lindsay silently congratulated 
Jimmy for finding this out.
“Uh…” he looked to Jean for help, but only received a glare to continue.
“Yes Ma’am, I do. But often these have little effect.”
“How little? Do your eyed become heavy and do you find it hard to focus?”
“Something like that.”
“So through this haze of drowsiness you were still able to witness my client return 
to his home and I quote, “looking suspicious and nervous. His face was kinda 
flustered and he was clutching his briefcase to his chest.” End 
quote
. It is 
remarkable that you were alert enough to notice such detail.”
Mr. Green fidgeted , unsure as to whether to comment on Lindsay’s remarks.
“No more questions.” Lindsay declared. The judge looked to Jean for redirect but 
she shook her head in dissent.
“The witness may step down,” he directed.
“The prosecution rests, Your Honor.” Jean announced.
“We’ll adjourn until 9:00 tomorrow.”

The bailiffs took Louis away and Lindsay walked through the courthouse to 
Helen’s office.
“Helen?” She knocked softly on the door and pushed it open. Helen was sitting at 
her desk with her head in her hands.
“Go away.” Her hands muffled her voice.
“Helen-“
“Lindsay, go away.”
“I won’t go away.”
“What, did you come here to apologise?
“Sort of.”
“Don’t. I know what you’re going to say.” She paused and rubbed her eyes. 
“These people are murderers, Lindsay. I’m not even sure you get that.”
“They’re not murderers. Well, not all of them. But we have to do our best to 
defend them.”
“Oh don’t use that excuse on me.”
“I told you at the beginning that we suspected the murders to be linked. You 
didn’t believe me which is fine, but don’t condemn us because we used it as our 
defense.”
“Yes, I will condemn you Lindsay. Every day you go into that courtroom and you 
argue for the criminal. As a defense lawyer, that’s your job, but I am so sick of 
you taking pride in getting an acquittal at any cost. You torment witnesses, you 
accuse innocent people of atrocious crimes and you play the system for all it’ s 
worth.
“But if it prevents an innocent man from going to jail, then I’ll do it again 
tomorrow.”
“I rest my case.”
“Helen, I am sorry that you got caught up in all this. I am sorry you feel as if we 
have deceived you – it wasn’t our intent. But I have an innocent man who is 
looking at life in prison because he knew the victim’s. I’ll call you tonight, okay?”
Helen didn’t answer, so Lindsay closed the door behind her leaving Helen to 
ponder this in the cold silence of her office.

Lindsay unlocked the door of her apartment wanting to just kick off her shoes and 
forget about the days ahead. The day had both physically and emotionally 
exhausted her and she dreaded having to face Bobby when he returned home. She 
switched on the TV before reheating some leftover pasta and opening a beer. She 
sipped it as she turned her attention to the news. Her attention was piqued at the 
sound of her own name.

“’Defense attorney Lindsay Dole from Donnell, Young, Dole and Frutt took an 
extraordinary risk in Louis Benton’s trial by discussing the case of another of the 
firm’s clients. Witness and wife of one of the victims, Mrs. Lucy Franklin, was 
heard to accuse Amanda Derry of the murders of her husband and of friend, Sid 
Rogers. Amanda Derry, represented by Bobby Donnell also of Donnell, Young, 
Dole and Frutt, was today acquitted of the high profile murder of her fiancée. Ms. 
Dole’s tactics to introduce the details of Ms. Derry’s trial caused a great deal of 
shock throughout the courtroom and could have had a bearing on Ms. Derry’s 
trial had she not been acquitted at this time. Back to you Kaye.’”

* * *

“’…could have had a bearing on Ms. Derry’s trial had she not been acquitted at 
this time. Back to you Debbie.’ ‘Thanks Jim. Now Martin, how’s the weather 
looking for tomorrow?-‘”
Amanda sat staring at the screen horrified at the turn of events. Without thinking 
she flicked through her address book and left her apartment.

“The days have begun to heat up and this trend will continue over the next few 
days. There is a high pressure system on its way…” The voices continued to 
resound around the empty room., illuminated only by the light shining in the 
kitchen.

* * *

“Goodnight Bobby,” Rebecca poked her head in the door.
“’Night, Bec.”
“You should be out celebrating your victory – not working.”
“There’s so much I have to catch up on. I’ll be here for a while I think.”
“Well, don’t work too hard.”
“I won’t,” he lied. If he was going to be truthful, he was trying to avoid a 
confrontation with Lindsay. He was planning to work until she was sure to be in 
bed, where he could avoid another argument.

“Bobby, I know who did it.” Jimmy declared, not wasting time with a greeting. He 
was sick of being brushed off by everyone and being laughed at for his theories. It 
was time to tell them the truth and let them laugh at him later.
“What?” Bobby didn’t look up.
“I know who did it. I know who killed Franklin and Rogers.”
“Shouldn’t you talk to Lindsay about this. It’s her case.”
“I can’t find her. She’s not answering her phone. And anyway, it also concerns 
you.”
“Why me?”
“Because it involves Amanda.”
“Oh come on, now you’re starting in on her? Has Lindsay been talking to you 
about this?”
“No. I found it out myself.”
This had better be good.”
“Oh, it will be good. That is one thing I can assure you of.”

* * *

The phone had been ringing intermittently all night, but Lindsay was too tired to 
pick it up. However it suddenly occurred to her that the caller might be Helen, so 
with regret she dialled Helen’s number. It rang 15 times before Lindsay hung up in 
frustration. She decided that Helen must be on her way over to apologize, so the 
knock at the door came as no great surprise half an hour later.

“Helen, I’ve been trying to call-“ She stopped abruptly horrified at what stood 
before her. Her nightmares had come true, for the second time in her life, she was 
being confronted by a person with a knife. In this moment of terror a scream 
formed on her lips, the sound not coming out until the person lunged towards her.

Helen waited at the traffic lights feeling guilty. As she left her office the phone had 
rung and knowing that it was Lindsay, she had ignored it and walked out. She 
regretted her act all the way down the elevator and in her car, she decided without 
a further thought to go to Lindsay and Bobby's apartment.

* * *

"Ok Jimmy, what is your theory?"
"This is gonna sound kinda outrageous at first, but hear me out. I was talking to 
this kid on the street that knew Franklin and he hinted that Franklin's image of 
"cleaning up the streets" was a facade. This kid said that Franklin was more 
interested in getting himself a cut of the 
funds
 and so was helping to launder 
money, with the help of Lance who was also a social worker if you'll remember?"
"Okay..."
"Well I also talked to a friend of Amanda's and she said that Amanda was really 
angry at Lance because he was involved in something that would get himself in 
trouble. She didn't know what it was, but she knew it was illegal. Amanda went to 
see Lance at the bowling alley one night but the manager told her that he had left 
about 10 minutes earlier with Franklin. The manager told me that she looked really 
angry and she said to him that she was going to go and find him."
"It's not a crime, Jimmy for a woman to go after her boyfriend when she thinks 
he's in trouble."
"I know, but I haven't finished."
"Another guy at the bowling alley said that Sid Rogers approached her and offered 
to help her find him, as he also wanted to talk to Franklin. So they left together. 
Apparently Louis Benton left just seconds after them and the others thought that 
he was going to talk to Franklin too. They all knew his girlfriend's daughter was 
heavily into drugs and that he was really angry about it-"
"Hold it, Jimmy. Why didn't these people say anything about this to the police? "
"They did. They told the police that Benton left the bowling alley after Franklin and 
Sid had left earlier and that they assumed he was going to talk to Franklin."
"But they didn't mention Amanda?"
"No. I think some of Franklin's "business" was occurring at the bowling alley and 
the manager was getting a cut. Benton was being nosey and was threatening the 
whole deal, so they obviously didn't give it a second thought when the police 
accused him of the murders. Plus they all knew that Benton was angry about 
Rachel getting involved with drugs."
"There are a few things here that don't make sense, but keep going."
Jimmy took a deep breath and began to explain his assumptions.

* * *

The knife cut through the air as the person lunged for Lindsay, who fell backwards 
in an attempt to get out of the way. With a crash, the person landed on top of her 
- the knife clattering away behind their heads. The whole time she struggled to get 
free, time seemed to move more slowly, with an almost dreamlike quality. This 
can't be happening, she thought to herself, yet it was terrifyingly real.

* * *

"Come on, come on, come on," Helen muttered at the traffic lights, which were 
stubbornly staying red, with no other cars in sight. She watched the lights turn red 
going the other way and by the time hers were green, she was halfway across the 
intersection. For a reason that she couldn't explain, she was feeling a sense of 
urgency to get to Lindsay. It was ridiculous to feel it, as she was certain she'd find 
Lindsay watching TV or working on a case, but she couldn't help but feel anxious. 
She peered around the dark streets, no cop cars in sight, she thought to herself 
and pushed down the accelerator.

* * *

"Here's where I'm making a few guesses." Jimmy continued. "I think Amanda and 
Sid ran into Franklin, but not Lance. Amanda demanded to know what was going 
on, but Franklin wouldn't tell her. She left and went back home. Then another 
person approached Franklin and he gave her some money. They argued about it 
and she pulled out a knife and killed her. Sid was frightened and ran away, but 
Benton saw them at that moment."
"So who did it?"
"Benton's daughter Rachel."
"She's not his daughter."
"Ok, ok, his step daughter then. Louis then tried to pay Sid off, by stealing the 
ATM machine. He was going to bribe him to stay quiet. Rachel didn't know about 
this and took matters into her own hands and killed Sid too."
"Can you prove it? Benton isn't going to let Rachel take the blame for this, and 
other than his confession, there will be no way of finding the truth."
"I think you should talk to Amanda. She might have seen something."
"Ok, I'll call her. But I have two questions. First, why don't you think Amanda did 
it, and second, who killed Amanda's fiancée?"
"Amanda could still have killed her fiancée, I can't link Rachel to that murder. And 
the reason I don't blame Amanda for the other two murders is that last night, I got 
a phone call from Rachel. She called a few days earlier, but I couldn't get in touch 
with her. She knows that I'm asking questions about the murders. Last night she 
called and all she said was 'curiosity killed the cat'."
"And you didn't tell us!?"
"I didn't realize up until then that she was involved. I thought she was protecting 
Benton or something. But this morning I went to see a friend of hers, who said that 
Rachel was really pissed off at Franklin because he wasn't paying her enough for 
the work she did for him. This friend wasn't a friend anymore because Rachel 
overcharged her for some heroine, so she was happy to talk."
"I don't know Jimmy, it seems kind of farfetched."
"I know it sounds unlikely, but I'm sure she did it."
"Maybe we should talk to Lindsay about this."
" Let's go."

* * *

Lindsay finally seemed to be gaining the upper hand in the wrestling match. She 
shoved the person off her and jumped up - grabbling at a vase that stood on the 
shelf behind her. Happy to be armed, she raced into her bedroom and locked the 
door. Her hands were shaking until she heard the comforting voice of the operator 
at the other end. She was finally safe.

The rest of the apartment was silent as Lindsay waited for the police. Time 
seemed to drag, and she wondered whether the person had left. She heard the 
front door open and close again, and footsteps disappearing down the hall. 
Courage surged within her and she was able to open the door and peer out. There 
wasn't anybody in sight, so still holding the vase she crept out into the living room, 
her heart echoing in her ears. As she walked by the door, it opened again 
suddenly and someone reached through and grabbed her arm, pinning it behind 
her back.  They led her to the sofa and pushed her roughly onto it, still threatening 
with the knife.
"Haven't you heard the saying, curiosity killed the cat?" The person asked. "But 
where cats have 9 lives, you only have one. So I wouldn't waste it if I were you."
"Who are you?" Lindsay moaned.
"Hasn't your little boyfriend told you about me?"
"What has Bobby got to do with this?"
"Oh so you have two boyfriends, I'm talking about the little one with the big head. 
He's been asking questions in my neighborhood, trying to ruin my career."
"Jimmy?"
"That's him. Jimmy. I hope he's got 9 lives, because I'm going to see him after I'm 
finished with you."
"Who are you?"
"You might know of my mother's loser boyfriend. He thinks I'm the apple of his 
eye and for some reason, he's taking the blame for me. Who would have known? 
I should have used him earlier."
"Louis Benton?" She paused, then the truth dawned on her. "You're Rachel?"
"I thought Lawyers were supposed to be smart. That one sure took you a long 
time."
"You killed those men?"
"You think I'm stupid enough to confess to you? I bet the police are on their way, 
and when they burst through the door, you'll get down on your knees and tell them 
what I said. I'm not stupid."
"I didn't say you were."
"Everyone thinks I'm stupid. But I'm not. I'm smart, I've outwitted you all."
"Yes you have. And it would be easier for you if you left now. The police are on 
their way, if you don't go now, they'll catch you. Then they will have outwitted 
you."
"No one can outwit me." She boasted. She sat down next to Lindsay, and placed 
the point of the knife on Lindsay's chest. "The trick is to get the knife through the 
ribs and into the heart. That requires a lot of force. If I get it wrong, it takes longer 
for you to die. So you'd better not make it to difficult for me."
"She smiled at Lindsay, "I've found the place. Sit back and relax and enjoy the 
ride."
As she drew back the knife to plunge it in, the police burst through the door and 
opened fire. The knife flew through the air and penetrated the sofa, spilling foam 
stuffing onto Lindsay.

* * *

Bobby pulled up outside the apartment block, to see three police cars with lights 
flashing, blocking cars from going further. He jumped out and ran into Helen.
"Helen! What's going on?!"
"I don't know, I just got here."
An ambulance pulled up next to the police cars and paramedics rushed into the 
building with a stretcher. Bobby, Helen and Jimmy looked on in mounting anxiety 
as police moved in and out of the building. Helen finally approached one of the 
police and demanded to know what was going on. At that moment, the 
paramedics reappeared and loaded a covered body into the ambulance. Bobby, 
now sweating with fear for Lindsay, rushed towards the ambulance, running 
straight into Amanda.
"Is she ok?" Amanda asked fearfully.
"What?"
"Is Lindsay okay?  Rachel left a message on my machine today. She knows that I 
know who killed those men. She said that if anyone else finds out, she'll kill them. 
She said that your firm has been asking questions about her and she thinks she 
should kill you all."
"I don't know if Lindsay's ok. I don't know."
"Bobby! She's fine, we can go and see her." Helen took his arm and led him to the 
elevator. They saw her lying on the couch, with a knife pushed into the sofa above 
her head. Bobby took her into his arms with tears of relief.
"It was Rachel." Lindsay, said, still stunned form the ordeal. "It was Rachel."
"I know."

* * *

A week later…

"Lindsay, I really think it's time you went back to work. You've been moping 
around the place for a week now.  You did you're duty, you should be happy: you 
got Benton off the murder." Helen told her sternly.
"Yes, but Rachel is dead and all his hopes and dreams for her have died too. How 
could he have known she was the murderer and let her get away with it?"
"She was going to kill you, you shouldn't grieve her death."
"I'm not grieving her death, I'm grieving for Louis. He did everything he could for 
her and she still resented him."
"You did everything you could for him. Come on, I'll buy you lunch."
Lindsay pulled herself off the new sofa and followed Helen out the door. She had 
spent the week contemplating life. It all seemed much more colorful and real now, 
then it had been a week ago. Her fears had been revisited and she had survived 
the ordeal. Now she was filled with a new energy for life, knowing that she has the 
confidence to confront whatever it dealt her. It was going to be a good year, she 
decided. Her wedding ring sparkled as she closed the door behind her.


THE END