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The Devil You Know	By : SisterWine Category: G through L > Law & Order Views: 3165 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Law & Order, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-The Devil You Know
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Part 6
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-Ten
- 11-Eleven
- 12-Twelve
- 13-Alternate Scene
- 14-Alternate Ending 2
- 10
- 11
- 12
Rikers
3:53 PM, Saturday
Jake sighed as he walked into the cage set aside for consultations with lawyers. Rolling his eyes as he stared at Alex Cabot, on the other side of the table, and his own lawyer, who stood next to her. "Figures, you'd come crawlin' to me. What's a matter? Erik still whining and crying about how he misses me?" His gray jumpsuit had toned his skin a pale white and his face seemed to look older, since being in his current surroundings. Taking the chair across from the two women, he slumped against the back and resolved to a bored expression.
"Actually, we're here to offer you a deal." Alex sat up in her seat and folded her arms on the table.
Scoffing, Jake looked from the attractive woman, across from him, to Ms. Craig. "What kind of deal?"
Alex shifted. "Give up whose idea it was to murder Aaron Jasper and then dress him up as Erik Matthews and I'll take lethal injection off the table." She sat very stoic and watched him closely.
Jake was silent for a long moment and then started to smile and laugh. "Erik put you up to this, didn't he?" He looked pointedly at Cabot but glanced up at his own attourney as the woman leaned over the table and cleared her throat.
Shaking her head, Alex clarified. "Mr. Matthews can't help you, now. This is going to trial with both you and Justin Paxton as murderers and co-conspirators or, you can give us proof Paxton acted alone, in his murdering of Aaron Jasper and spend the rest of your life in a cushy cell."
Jake's face drained of his jovial expression. "Did somethin' happen to Erik? Is he..... okay?" His breath caught as neither woman answered the question. Worry set in about the younger man. Instantly, he was hit with a multitude of regret for his snide behaviour towards Erik and complete disregard for Erik's health and well-being. He had loved the young man and came to enjoy his company.
"Jacob, we know you really care for him and secretly want what's best for him. But, right now, he needs you to tell the truth." Linda sighed and verbally pressed her client for help.
Nodding, Jake sat back. "I want it in writing. I roll and you take the death penalty off the table."
"Man One, twenty-five to life."
Another scoff from the prisoner. "That's it?"
"Mr. Paxton's lawyer will go after you about your prior run-ins and lifestyle. Your record reflects previous misdemeanours and arrests where double jeopardy does not apply. Which means, he can and possibly will enter the death of one, Brent Paxton. Erik can't help you, there. But, maybe, you can keep yourself out of Death Row long enough to make amends with him." Alex's voice was stern as she grew impatient.
With a final look upward, to Ms. Craig, Jake sighed and shifted in his seat, sitting forward and leaning on the table. He was silent for a long moment, wrestling with himself over the knowledge of Brent, a lost lover, he had been suspected in the murder of. "I only wanted to get back at Erik for gettin' sick. So, I had Aaron wear a suit of his and pretend, for awhile. Justin hated Erik for always being in the middle. You've seen the pictures. They could be twins!"
"Was that why Justin came up with the plan to murder Aaron?" Alex questioned.
Jake looked away and swallowed the lump in his throat. "I didn't know he was going to sink to murder." He paused and wiped his eyes. "I just wanted Erik to get jealous. So, I hooked up with Justin on the site and then Aaron came into the picture. It was like I was the rope in a tug of war between Justin and Aaron. Then, Justin started getting really kinky. Sex games and pretending and role playing. He didn't know about Erik until Erik called me, one afternoon. Justin asked about him and the next thing I knew, Justin was following him, everywhere. Aaron was just in the middle."
"You knew Justin was following Erik?"
Jake nodded.
Alex sat back. "You'll testify to that, in court?"
"I'm not doing 25, or lethal injection. I didn't kill Aaron."
Linda came to stand beside her client and stare down at Alex. "Fifteen, with good behaviour."
Alex stood and gathered her file that she had brought with her. "Your client was a willing participant in the events that lead up to the ruining of one man's career and health and played a key factor in the death of another. Twenty-five is the lowest I will offer. If Erik wishes to put in a kind word for him, that is up to him."
Linda dared Jake to say another word against the current standing. "Deal."

Trial Part 34
8 April, Monday
9:53 AM
Jake sat on the Witness Stand, once more, this time he had been asked to recount the last day of Aaron Jasper's life and how Justin Paxton figured into the situation. He thought about the question he had been asked by Ms. Cabot and took a breath as he stared calmly back at her. "It was my idea to play dress up. So, I borrowed a suit of Erik's and pretended." He paused as the door opened and Erik silently slipped in and sat down, in the back, next to his father and brother. A small smile tugged at the corners of Jake's mouth, for a second, and then went slack as his attention had been recalled to Ms. Cabot's question.
"Has Aaron Jasper ever seen Erik Matthews?"
"No. Not in person, only photos." Jake shifted in the chair and sighed.
Nodding, Alex glanced over at Justin, sitting in the Defense chair, next to his attourney. "What about Justin Paxton? Has Justin Paxton ever seen Erik Matthews?"
Jake lowered his head and nodded. "Yes. Yes, he became obsessed with Erik."
Alex moved closer, from standing behind her table. "Why do you say he was 'obsessed' with Mr. Matthews?"
Jake stared at her for a long moment and then extended his stare to the back of the room, where a patient Erik still sat. "Every time, we would do it, he'd ask how Erik liked it. Or, when we could do it in Erik's bed." He flinched as Erik's jaw opened slightly, out of shock.
"How often did that happen?" Alex came around to lean against her table and fold her arms in front of her.
Feeling a little more nervous than he had been, when on the stand, Jake shifted again. "Once or twice. Mainly, it was other places in Erik's home." Quickly covering any trace of remorse, Jake cleared his throat averted his eyes from Erik's.
Nodding again, she shifted. "How did Mister Paxton react to knowledge of your dating him and Erik, at the same time?"
"Objection. Where is this line of questioning going?" Mr. LaRue sighed and stood up to ask his question to the judge, who sat in her chair, wondering the same thing.
Alex looked from Jake to the judge. "Establishing a timeline, your honour."
Blinking, Judge Wyatt sighed and gave a bored look in Alex's direction. "Ms. Cabot, you have a strange way to get to the point. Please make a direct route."
Alex turned back to Jake. "Mr. Martinelli, how did you meet Justin Paxton?"
"I went on a dating website, one night. Erik and I had a fight so, I thought I'd get back at him with going out with someone else. Justin tagged me, for a date, and we went out." Shifting and brushing imaginary lint off of his left thigh, as it had been crossed over his right, Jake quietly cleared his throat and waited for the next question.
Brow furrowing, Alex moved back to her table and opened a file containing her notes and other various papers for the trial. "This was before or after you and Erik broke up?" She paused on a page with Jake's initial statement and skimmed the page.
"Before."
Sighing, in thought, Alex reread the paragraph and nodded before looking back up to Jake. "Mr. Martinelli, how would you classify your relationship with Mr. Paxton? Good? Bad?" She had decided to question him about the motive behind forwarding his mail to Erik's office and changing his place of residence to Erik's home. Mentally noting the small indication of shock that played on his face, she blinked and waited patiently for the answer.
Jake raked his bottom lip with his top front teeth. He didn't answer.
"Shall I repeat the question, Mr. Martinelli?"
"No." Jake shifted and scratched an assumed itch on his right thigh. "At first, it was fine. We had supper a few times, wine, sex, then he'd talk about building some house, in Boston, so that we could move in together. After knowing me a month, he wanted me to move in with him." He stopped and blinked to see Erik's reaction, at the back of the room, only to find the younger man had sat, expressionless, watching with internal heartbreak. He had known Erik long enough to understand that the young lawyer had rarely shown emotion, even when he was beyond angry with Jake.
"Given your current standings with Mr. Matthews, at the time, was that something you were considering?"
A look of unease filtered across Jake's face as, watching Erik's expression, Erik had shifted and tilted his head as if nonchalantly being intrigued by the forthcoming answer. "No. And when I told him no, we had a fight." A side glance to Justin told him that the defendant hadn't felt any remorse or care that he was being prosecuted for murder.
Looking over the statement, in front of her, Alex thought about the phrasing of her next question. "Was that before or after you changed your mail location and place of residence to Mr. Matthews office?"
"Before."
Ms. Cabot moved from behind her table to make her way back to the middle of the floor, blocking Jake's view of Erik. "What was the reasoning behind the transfers?" A lock of hair fell across her forehead and the shift of her stance caused mute sounds in the material of her gray skirt and azure top. The sleeves had been rolled back, from her slendre wrists.
Jake seemed slightly annoyed at not being able to keep eye contact with Erik but, cleared his throat and focused on the woman in front of him. "He was mad at me for saying no and not giving a reason. Then, he showed me the photos of Erik that he had taken of him, like it was a stakeout, or something. He told me Erik was too good for me and that I'd better 'count my blessings' for knowin' him." He could still hear the voice of an angry Justin, in his head.
"How did you meet Aaron Jasper?"
Sighing and pressing back, against the back of the chair, Jake closed his eyes and prayed Erik would leave the courtroom. "Erik and I had a fight, one night and Justin was unavailable so, I tried the dating site again and found a kid that almost looked like Erik. We messaged back and forth for a bit and then it was on."
"You're a fucking liar!" Justin stood up and screamed at Jake, not paying any attention to the gavel banging or the two armed guards standing behind him and grabbing his arms to make him sit back down.
The gavel banged loudly on the desk, a few more times, before Judge Wyatt spoke sternly to Justin's lawyer. "Control your client, counselour."
Mr. LaRue nodded to the judge and leaned over to whisper for Justin to be silent.
Alex stared at Jake's expression and gave a moment of silent before continuing her questions as if the outburst hadn't happened. "How did Paxton and Jasper meet?"
Jake swallowed. "I introduced them."
"And then what?"
Jake shrugged and smiled, smugly. "We did what every gay man wants to do; have sex. And sex. And sex."
"Nothing further."
Justin's lawyer stood up and sighed inwardly before making his way around to the Witness Stand to start his questioning. "You moved back to Manhattan from Brooklyn eleven years ago. Is that correct?"
"Yea."
"Would you mind telling the court why, Mister Martinelli?" LaRue came to a stop a few feet away from the stand and held a sheet of paper, in his hands.
Jake cleared his throat and shifted. "Family business." Eyeing the paper in the man's hands, his stomach began to churn.
LaRue nodded. "Family business. Are you sure it wasn't because you were a prominent suspect in the death of your previous lover, a young man by the name of Brent Paxton?" Raising an eyebrow at Jake's astonishment at hearing the name he had never wanted to hear again. LaRue smiled and stepped forward, showing the photo to the judge and then moving to stand in front of the jury box. "Exhibit A, your Honour; Brent Paxton of Brooklyn, New York." When Judge Wyatt glanced over her bifocals and nodded at the photo of a clean cut young man with light brown hair, he turned and showed the jury and Cabot before placing it in front of Jake. "Do you remember him?"
Jake sighed. "I wasn't charged with anything." Glancing back to where Erik sat, he watched the younger man's expression and tried to read what Erik was thinking of the new knowledge.
Nodding again, LaRue tilted his head in question and then looked back at his client. "It never dawned on you, the last name of this young man and my client? Or, the striking resemblance they had to one another?"
Alex Cabot stood and called an objection to the relevancy of the questioning.
"Sustained. Counselour, where is this going?" Judge Wyatt looked less than interested in the man's questions.
Mister LaRue turned to the judge and inhaled. "Establishing a connection between my client and Mister Martinelli, your honour."
"Establish a little faster, counselour." Wyatt warned.
Mister LaRue was silent a moment and then turned back to Jake. "How long were you and Brent Paxton dating?"
Jake shrugged. "About a year, I guess."
"Who called the relationship off?"
"I did."
"Why?"
Jake ran his front teeth over his bottom lip. "He lacked a 'take-charge' attitude." His eyes looked from the lawyer, in front of him, to Erik's. They stared at each other for a moment before Erik broke the gaze to look down at his lap at something Jake couldn't see.
Mister LaRue turned his head and looked in the direction of Jake's stare. "A trait you saw in Erik Matthews, correct?" He pointed to the young man, at the back of the room and turned back to see Jake's expression as he singled the man out.
Jake watched as the jury and some visitors, in the gallery, turned to stare at Erik. Feeling possessive over his ex-lover, he cleared his throat loudly and drew the attention back to himself. "Yes." Glaring at the lawyer, in front of him, he forced himself to relax and remember where he was.
"But, you ended your relationship with Mister Matthews after finding out he had a life-threatening disease and promptly started a relationship with Aaron Jasper, a young man -as you put it- 'was a casual fling of sex and more sex.' That didn't strike you as strange? I mean, you cut Brent Paxton loose for being too inexperienced, only to start dating Erik Matthews -a young man, also but one with a steady goal and then, you cut him loose because he's dying from something he can't control, only to fall back into a rut of immaturity, with Aaron Jasper. Have I got it all, Mister Martinelli?" He paused to see the anger rise, in Jake's face. "Once Aaron becomes boring, you start a relationship with my client, who you don't recognise as your first lover's brother. I'm seeing one Hell of a vicious circle, Mister Martinelli."
Jake slammed his fist on the banister. "NO!"
Ms. Craig stood up from her spot at Alex Cabot's table. "Objection. Badgering."
"Withdrawn." Mister LaRue held his hands up to show he had backed off from questioning and added, "nothing further" before sitting back down.
Judge Wyatt checked her watch and sighed. "This court stands in recess. We'll resume this hearing at one o'clock." The gavel banged loudly before she stood and made her way back to her chambers, for lunch.
As the courtroom emptied, Erik remained sitting and watched as Jake and Justin were both lead away, in handcuffs. A shiver raced down his back as his brother sat down beside him, on the bench. With his hands trembling, in his lap, Erik refused to let his brother see the hurt that wanted to loose itself. "Leave me alone, Aleksei. I'm not in the mood for your 'I told you sos'."
Shaking his head, the detective turned himself to face Erik and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I'm not going to say that, to you."
"Good. I don't need to hear it."
Alex stared at Erik's profiled face, silently admiring his younger brother's collectiveness. "How about we get something to eat? Pop says you have medications to take."
Erik shook his head. "Not hungry."
The detective sighed, inwardly. "That wasn't a suggestion, Erik. You need to eat something. Those medications are--" He was silenced as Erik finally turned his head to stare at his brother.
"Those medications are what, Aleksei? Keeping me alive for another day? Making sure I live to see the end of this damned trial just so that I can die knowing what my boyfriend and that other guy did to that poor young man who was supposed to be me? I need to stay alive for this? Why? Tell me, why?" Erik had finally let his anger seep into his words and he glared at his brother's calm expression. He had sat through the first half of the trial, debating to himself of why he was there, in the first place. He had wanted to stay away and spend the day anywhere else but where he had ended up and now, he regretted his decision of not getting up and walking out, once the testimony had taken a turn for the worse.
"That's not what I was going to say, Erik. I meant, those medications might help you beat this. You don't have to die from this.... thing." Alex knew the words but hadn't wanted to use them, in an attempt to boost his brother's hopes.
Erik sighed, annoyed at Alex's wording of his condition. "Cancer. It's called, Cancer. And, if you can't handle that word, try 'Chronic Myelocytic Leukemia'. Or, how about CML? Has it sunk in, yet, Aleksei?"
Alex remained silent as he stared at his brother, the hurt in Erik's eyes biting him.
They stared at each other for a long while before he finally won the silent argument. He stood and helped Erik to his feet. Putting his arm around Erik's shoulders, they walked out of the courtroom and down the hall to the lift, where Captain Anders had been waiting.
***********
Trial Part 34
8, April, Monday
1:38 PM
Mr. LaRue stood behind his table and paused before starting his line of questioning to his client. "Where were you, when your brother, Brent, was killed?"
"I was in Nashville, giving lectures to a few college classes about Architecture and Design." Justin sat in the chair and folded his hands on his right leg as he crossed it over his left. Clean shaven and a pressed gray Armani suit told the court he had the money to expense his rich tastes, even from a jail cell. Expensive loafers shined to perfection had cost little more than his wristwatch. He wore a smug expression that became mute with each question from his lawyer.
"How did you hear about your brother's death?"
Justin bowed his head and sighed, thinking back to the day a cop from New York came to see him. "I had just finished a lecture and a Homicide detective stood up, from the front row and pulled me aside to tell me my brother was found in the Hudson." He paused to brush off an imaginary piece of lint from his right knee. "He started asking me all kinds of questions that I had no idea what to tell him."
Mr. LaRue nodded and moved to stand closer to the Witness Stand. "Did you know your brother, Brent, was gay?"
Clearing his throat and shifting uneasily, Justin nodded. "Yea. I knew. He'd been that way since fifth grade." Glancing at Jake, he sighed again and straightened in his seat.
"Did you ever meet Mr. Martinelli, or hear of him, from Brent?"
Justin shook his head. "No. Brent was very secretive with his boy toys."
Mr. LaRue nodded. "Did you know anything about Mr. Martinelli, before you met him, online?"
"No."
Erik noticed Jake had straightened from his slouched position, as if being kicked in the seat by extreme force. He then watched as Jake leaned over and whispered something to his lawyer.
Mr. LaRue stepped closer to Justin. "So, how did you come to know Jacob Martinelli was Brent's ex-lover?"
Justin sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I came across some old photos of them together, while cleaning out his room."
"Nothing further."
"You found some photos with your late brother and my client, while you were cleaning out your brother's bedroom. Correct?" Ms. Craig stood up and walked around to stand in front of her desk.
Justin smirked. "That's what I just said, yes."
Nodding, Ms. Craig leaned against her desk and braced her hands on either side of her. "How did you find out my client's name? You said your brother kept everything private but, yet you seemed to know who he was."
Looking at the woman, Justin glanced over at Jake before looking back to answer the question. "His uh, his name was on back of one of them."
"How long afterwards, did you decide to make the trip to Manhattan to find him?"
"Almost a year."
Again, Ms. Craig nodded. Sighing and pushing off of the desk, she stepped closer. "Why?" Her brow furrowed as she stared at him. "Why did you wait a year to track down the boyfriend of your deceased brother, a boyfriend you had no prior knowledge of?"
For the first time since he sat down, Justin was beginning to look nervous. "I just wanted to talk to him about Brent. Talk to someone else about my kid brother and see who was important in his life." He knew where this was headed and Justin didn't like it. Clearing his throat, nervously, and shifting in his seat, he fought to control his demeanour and movements.
"Were you dating anyone, at the time of Brent's death?" Ms. Craig shifted from her left foot to her right foot.
Mr. LaRue stood up and addressed the judge. "Objection. Your honour, counsel is putting my client on trial for what? Murdering his own brother all the way from Tennessee?" He had sat and listened to as much as he cared to hear and know about a case that wasn't even in their jurisdiction and had grown tired of wasting his client's time by bringing up old memories.
"Your Honour, I am merely ironing out the wrinkles in the timeline, prior to my client meeting Mister Matthews. There are some noted inconsistencies that only Mister Paxton can clarify."
"Approach." Judge Wyatt covered the microphone on her bench as the two counselours walked up to stand at the desk. Looking down at Ms. Craig, she stared at the woman over top of her glasses. "I'm not understanding your tactics, Counselour."
Taking a deep breath and blinking up at the judge, Lindsay cleared her throat and explained her line of questioning. "Brent Paxton's murder remains unsolved. Brooklyn Homicide has no leads other than Jacob Martinelli." Glancing over at Mr. LaRue, she clarified. "A fact your client has known for 12 years. Mister Paxton is on trial for the murder of Aaron Jasper, a motive I am trying to establish." Finishing her statement, she glanced back up at Judge Wyatt's unamused expression.
Wyatt sighed deeply. "Establish a little faster, Ms. Craig. Step back." Uncovering the microphone and watching the two counselours return to their places, she nodded over to the stenographer. "Objection sustained. Get to the point, Ms. Craig."
Lindsay stepped closer to Justin and placed a hand on the banister between them. "Before you left for Tennessee, you were dating someone. Correct?" She reiterated.
"Yes." Justin blinked. His tone and expression had flattened as he hadn't wanted to answer anymore of her questions.
"Male or female?"
Justin ran his tongue over the underside of his top molars, on the left side. "Female."
Ms. Craig nodded. "So, before you came to Manhattan and hooked up with my client, you were straight. Weren't you? Not only straight but engaged to her, as well. Correct?"
Justin's mouth filled with the bad taste he had put out of his mind since moving to Manhattan. "Yes."
"So, why the many changes of lifestyle, if you just wanted to talk to my client?"
Justin's eyes moved from the woman in front of him to Jake, who sat that the desk behind her. "Brent went on and on and on about this 'gorgeous Adonis' from Manhattan. He wouldn't tell me his name or anything like that. Just said he had lots of money. That was the last conversation I had with him. So, I figured I'd meet him, perhaps find out what he knew about my brother's death, that Brooklyn PD wasn't telling me and finally put my baby brother to rest." His stare went cold as his eyes narrowed on Jake. The two men stared at one another in icy contest before Ms. Craig broke the silence.
Ms. Craig nodded and walked back to her desk, opening a file folder of evidence photos of Aaron Jasper. "But, when you got up the nerve to come to Manhattan, you found Jake had already moved on. Didn't he?" Looking up from the top photo and back to Justin, she waited for an answer. "Mr. Paxton?"
Justin's law trembled slightly. "Yes."
"He was already in a relationship with Erik Matthews. Wasn't he?"
A slight nod. "Yes."
"Then, what happened?"
"I found him on a gay dating site. Apparently, his new little toy couldn't get it up." Smirking, Justin moved his gaze to the back of the room and took much delight in Erik's ashamed expression. "After that, it was all too easy."
"What was?"
Justin's eyes fixed on Erik's. He watched as the young man swallowed and stared calmly back at him. "Tearing his life apart, the same way he tore my family's lives apart. So, we devised a threesome. Played a little game, here and there. Then, it got serious. Jake wanted more and more and more."
"Who involved Aaron Jasper into the games?" Lindsay could tell Justin was becoming annoyed with her questions.
"I did." Justin blinked from Erik to Ms. Craig, who stood between the desks. "But then, Jake dumped both of us and wanted to go crying back to that BITCH Matthews!" Justin shook his head, fuming. "I couldn't let him do that. I was so close to getting him to admit that he murdered Brent. I couldn't let him do that to someone else's little brother."
Lindsay took a small step closer. "So, you decided to dress Aaron Jasper up as Erik Matthews, seduce him and frame my client with Jasper's murder. Is that it?"
"No!" Justin angrily shook his head. "Aaron just got in the way. Tried to win back Jake by dressing up as Erik." His voice began audibly calming down as he spoke. "Erik Matthews was the target all along." His mouth twisted in an evil grin and an evil laugh was just barely heard. "But, I never had the chance to get him alone. I wanted to make Jake pay for taking my little brother away from me. For breaking my mother's heart and forcing my dad to have a stroke. I guess the joke was on me. That bitch Erik's already dead."

Continued
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The Devil You Know