Xavier
I'm in my office going over the Damian Cain case. There are files and paperwork all over my desk as I try to wrap my mind around this thing. My office is pretty crummy, considering I work at the DA's office, but it's all worth it to me because I think I'm on the right side of justice. I've always wanted to be a prosecutor and to fight for the underdog and I assume that's what I was doing here. I thought I was fighting for Emma and I was going to lock up whoever killed her for good. But now I'm questioning everything. After overhearing Jacqueline at the hotel suite I am for the first time in my career wondering if we have the wrong guy. The winds of litigation may change, but one thing always remains clear and that is that truth is at the forefront of my mind at all times. I don't care if I'm the opposing counsel, I'm not gonna fight to put an innocent man behind bars. That's just not what I do.
And so I've been pouring over paperwork. I stayed up most of the night and I'm trying to rewire this case in my brain and to see what I've been missing. I'll find the killer that's for sure, but at this moment I need to rework my strategy. I really need to talk to Jacqueline about this, but what am I going to say? "Hey, I was eavesdropping and . . ." That might not go over too well and so for the moment I keep my mouth shut. Besides, I've got Wolff coming in here in a minute and I'm going to run things over with him first.
"Knock, knock." It's Wolff.
"Perfect timing man, I was just gonna come find you." He comes into my shitty little office. It's the life of a public servant, but I could care less what my surrounding look like as long as I maintain that sense of integrity inside me.
"Well, I'm here now. What'd you got?"
"Hey, so I've been looking over everything we have on Damian Cain, and I'm not sure we have enough evidence to prove that is was him. After all, attacking his character in court may help tarnish his image, but we still have no proof of the crime."
"Listen, Xavier, you're working too hard on this thing. We've got it nearly wrapped up. And hey, you look like you haven't slept in a week. Why don't you take the day off and come in when you're fresh. I'll handle things here."
"Well, that's just the problem, Wolff. I think this case is not resolved."
"Xavier! Come on, relax. This case is a slam dunk. Cain has been burying his own grave in court with his outlandish behavior. We've gone this thing on our side."
"No, there's more to it. Cain may be entirely innocent. In fact, I have it on good authority that Emma may even have had other boyfriends."
The color drains from Wolff's face and he looks at me in a weird way. Was it something I said? Seems a little fishy that this news would affect him like that.
"Wha- What did you just say?" The words stumble from his mouth.
"I said that we haven't even checked the boyfriend issue. Cain was not her only guy. Why have the police not explored this?"
His sense comes back to him and he says, "Oh Xavier, didn't I tell you? Yeah, I looked into the boyfriend thing already. It was one of the first things I did for this case. I wanted to make sure Cain was the only guy in her life and he was, so, you needn't pursue this further."
Hmm, he seems a little sketchy. Why did Wolff never mention going over this potential evidence before? And why did he seem so odd when I brought it up? I decide to assuage him for now.
"Okay, Wolff. That's cool. I'll drop it and look into other angles." Of course, I have no intention of dropping it, but I'm going to have to look into it without the aid of my boss. I just need to get him off my back for now.
"I think that's really wise Xavier. You're doing the right thing. Just drop this issue and we can move forward with the case as planned in court."
"Okay, whatever you say. Just thought I'd run that by you."
"Well, I'm happy you did. You know you can come to me about anything. I'm here to help you and to steer you in the right direction. I've been doing this job a long time Xavier, much longer than you, and you just gotta trust me on certain things. You'll see. It will all work out in the end."
Gosh, he's just acting shady about the whole thing. Normally if I brought him a new piece of evidence he'd be all over it. He lets me follow my gut and even if it's something small, I normally pursue with Wolff's approval. I wonder what his deal is?
"Okay, thanks, boss. I guess I'll see you later."
"For sure." He taps my desk with his knuckles and then he makes his exit.
The second he leaves I'm on the phone dialing Jacqueline's number. I have to get to the bottom of this and I'm gonna do that by going straight to the source. I just hope she helps me out with information even though I'm technically the one she's fighting. As much as I want to talk to Jacqueline, though, I realize that my motivations are impure because I'm also fishing for a reason to go see her. I miss her and I want to be around her.