Disclaimer: Me not own nothing, not even the base idea for this fic since it was a challenge ;) So don't sue, you won't get any money anyways

Author's notes: This story is the first piece of fanfiction that I've written for over two years now (and my first fantasy fic ever) so if it sucks it's due to me being out of practice. Also halfway though this fic my computer crashed and I lost all I've had written so far *grr*. It's my response to Pari's challenge for a fantasy/lawyer fic with a no-happy-ending (requirements below).
All my knowledge about trials and juristic stuff comes from watching Perry Mason, so I try not to go into too many details on that account. It's also a bit of an experiment in storytelling, I will be changing the POV's and ways of storytelling through the fic, something that is characteristic for my style of writing and then I'll take it a step further. Hopefully you'll like it. The chapters might be a bit short but I try updating as often as possible and chapter length depends on the segment. It was inspired mainly by the last requirement of the challenge and the rest went downhill from there ;) Also my first language is not English, it's German so for any mistakes with the language, blame all the countless fics I've read over the years, they improved my English better than my English teachers could but it still lacks perfection ;)

Challenge requirements:
-fantasy fic
-Ro's a lawyer, trying the case of her close friend's murder Jean
-Lo's a juror in the trial and Jean's ex-lover (yup, he lies about having a connection to the case)
-They have to do what is not allowed and interact, investigate Jean's murder on their own and work together
-they must at least kiss
-can't have a happy ending, come on that's been overdone


Dedication: As always my RoLo fics are dedicated to my dear friend Pari and so is this one, my first fic after a long abstinence of writing. Hope you like it babe.

Trials and Error

by Belladonna

Prologue
the first thing to do...

This is Kitty Pryde with a live report from Westchester courthouse where today will be the beginning of one of the most spectacular cases in the history of this city. It is the trial of the murder of one of Westchester's most respected lawyers, Jean Grey-Summers who was found dead in an alley four months ago, brutally murdered by a then unknown assailant. The public had been shocked by the brutality of the murder and demanded a quick solution to the matter at hand. For the police the investigation of the murder of Jean Grey-Summers was not just another murder investigation but it turned soon into something personal since the victim had close relations with and within the department.

After a thorough investigation of the case, witness statements and evidence, the latter led directly to the victim's husband Scott Summers, who is a professor at the Westchester University for the Gifted, one of the country's most elite faculties for the creative arts. Two weeks ago Professor Summers was arrested for the murder of his wife, despite claiming his innocence. All the evidence points at him and the district attorney has an eye witness who's apparently seen the gruesome act in completion.

Today now the trial opens after last week the jurors have been called in and chosen for jury duty. It's a pretty mixed jury so we don't know yet whether this is going to turn out in favor for the defendant or against him. What makes the case even more interesting is the fact that Ororo Munroe, a very acclaimed defense counsel and senior partner in the lawfirm that Mrs. Grey-Summers belonged to as well has chosen to defend Professor Summers in the trial. She claimes that Professor Summers has been framed by somebody else, falsely accused of the murder and she is very determined to prove it.

Today's opening of the trial will start with the reading of the accusation and the opening pleas from both sides. We'll keep you informed as the trial progresses. This was Kitty Pryde, live from the Westchester Courthouse for Channel 5 News.

summary/disclaimer/notes: see Prologue
AN: I apologize for the delay but some personal troubles kept me from writing. Hopefully the next chapter won't take that long. Thanks ToughSpirit for the review, I hope you still like it, I'm getting warmed up for the story ;)

Trials and Error

by Belladonna

Chapter One
...let's kill all the lawyers

Usually on a night like the one in question the inhabitants of Westchester slept soundly in their home and the few nightcrawlers out for clubbing were rushing down the streets from one bar to the next one, seldom staying long in one place. The ones that needed to work late were either going home from work or getting there. Everything was like it had been for countless nights before and yet this night was different. It wasn't the fact that it wasn't raining like it had been for the past weeks or that the moon shone its pale light down towards earth, giving the small alleys a bit of an eerie glow where the shadows of the larger buildings didn't shroud everything else within darkness.

The main street of Westchester was filled with people and so were the countless back alleys, just like the one directly next to Harry's Hideaway, a popular bar that was often frequented by the students of the near University. Inside the alley the large shadows looming from the surrounding houses cast everything into deep blackness. But that wasn't what made this night stand out from the others before or the ones coming afterwards, that special night of the 14th . All the other things had been like it had been the nights before. And still, this night would prove that it only needed one tiny detail to change things, to make a statement that would be lasting and whose outcome would have an impact on more than the one life that would be ending soon in that alley.

A woman’s scream rang through the night, piercing the silence that had laid itself upon this part of town, far away from the noises of the nightlife. If anybody heard her, they kept ignoring the noise, either because of being used to it or they simply didn't want to become involved with anything that might go down to have caused the screaming. She ran, as fast as her feet would manage and it still wasn't fast enough. The woman kept looking over her shoulders, to see if he was still behind her. Somehow deep within she knew that there wasn't any possiblity of her outrunning him. But she would be damned if she hadn't even tried to. Barely avoiding to fall down on a slippery bit of the asphalt she kept going, her way leading her further into the dark alley her stalker had so carefully herded her to. The stalker knew exactly what he was doing, he had gone through this scenario so many times in his mind, it almost seemed that he had only waited for trying it out for real. Like all the times he had rehearsed it inside his head had only been that, rehearsals for the big event. A cruel smile was forming on his lips, curling them to give him the impression of an animalistic predator out to hunt for his prey; which probably wasn't that farfetched.

As he walked down the dark street, he took his time and still maintainted a certain closeness to his intended victim to remind her he still was behind her, to make her feel his presence. He thought he could smell her terror, a sweet scent in the cool night air and it excited him, aroused him more than anything he'd done before. But he'd played for long enough, now it was time for him to finish it. Time for him to get his prize.

The woman ran further, every two steps looking over her shoulder to see if she'd outrunned her stalker, only to see that he still was behind her. She barely had time to stop her frantic running before she slammed into the wall at the back of the alley. The impact had knocked the breath out of her lungs and the fear was overwhelming her. Somehow she knew with perfect certainty that she wasn't going to get out of this alley alive. Surprisingly enough knowing that didn't scare her as much as she thought it would; on the contrary, it calmed her down a bit. And with nowhere to run, she had no other choice but to accept her fate.

At the end of the alley she saw her stalker closing in on her, a predatory smile on his lips and a, evil glint flashing in his eyes. He felt that the moment had come, that perfect moment when he would follow through with his plan and end it. Right here in that alley at that moment. He grinned, still slowly walking towards her, maintaining eye contact with his prey and making sure that she truly had nowhere to go. If possible, her heart beat even faster than before and if felt like it would burst right out of her chest and the fear that was clutching at her for the last hour pushed her further into the wall behind her. She knew that there was no escape for her but the moment she saw his face, recognized him finally the only thing that was on her mind was – why?

The hunter came forward, closing in on her and he took a deep breath, savouring the exciting scent as her fear and sweet perfume mingled with the cool night breeze. It was perfect, he knew it and what made it so much worse, was that she knew it as well. For a moment the alley was cast into complete darkness as the clouds shielded the moon's silvery light and the hunter knew it was the time.

It didn't last long but when the clouds gave the moon free, the pale light shone down on the cold asphalt and gave a perfect view on the alley. The woman that lay there in her own blood, her throat slashed open and her eyes unseeing and blank. She still had the look of frozen terror on her face when she'd recognized him as being her excutioner, a man she'd never expected to kill her.

The body was found on the next morning and the alley was swarming with police officers and crime scene technicians to collect as much evidence as they could to solve this horrible crime that struck so close to home for many of them as soon as they recognized her. The murder in the alley made it real quickly to the news because of the victim's identity, Jean Grey-Summers, one of the city's most renowned defense lawyers.


tbc...