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tried to get their clients set free when the evidence was stacked against them, and their guilt was obvious.  Some defense attorneys looked for every little loophole they could find, more interested in a win then in serving justice.  Annie knew the firm where Noura worked wasn't like that.  Still, it aggravated her that this kind of mistake could happen.
    Annie liked her work as a Detective in the Robbery/Homicide Unit of the Kern County Sheriff's Office, and she did a good job.  Fortunately, the case at hand was a robbery, not a murder, and the statute of limitations - in this case four to six years for robbery depending on the particulars of the crime - would most likely expire before enough new evidence could be gathered to bring the case to trial again.
    What really annoyed her about this day in court was Jesse Greyeyes, the Deputy District Attorney who was prosecuting the case for the People.  When he called her to the stand to testify about the chain of custody of the State's evidence, he would barely look at her or let her explain what happened.
    "Was there a break in the chain of custody of the evidence, Detective?  Was there a time when no one knew exactly where the evidence was located?" Jesse said.
    "Yes, there was a period of time when we needed to produce the evidence and it couldn't be immediately located in the evidence room.  That doesn't mean . . . "
    Jesse cut her off.  "A simple yes or no will be sufficient, Detective Avants," he said, as he turned his back on the bench and the witness chair.
    "But, the evidence . . ."
    "Yes or no, please."
    "Yes, there was a gap in the chain of custody of the evidence."
    "Thank you, Detective, that will be all," Jesse said, turning back around to face the bench.
    Annie couldn't believe his attitude.  He was questioning her like a defense attorney, not a prosecutor.  She could tell he was upset.  She knew his office put in a lot of hard work on this case, but that was no excuse to be so rude.
    As she left the stand, she glanced over at the defendant, sitting smugly at the defense table.  She wanted to walk over and knock the smirk off his face.  She knew he was a member of the Southside Bakers gang that hung out in the area south of Ming Avenue, by the Fairgrounds.  He was guilty as sin, and she knew it, but now there was nothing physical to tie him to the scene of the crime.
    When the jury returned a verdict of not guilty, Annie left the courthouse and returned to her office.  She didn't even stop to speak to Noura, because she was too frustrated.  She felt a headache coming on and all she wanted to do was get back to her desk.  She wasn't looking forward to telling her partner the outcome.  He worked just as hard on this case as Annie.
    This was a continuing problem throughout law enforcement and Annie needed to make certain that it didn't happen with one of her cases again.  It wasn't good for her career, it wasn't good for the department, and it definitely wasn't good for the victims of the crimes.  Moreover, what really got her dander up was the fact that the media loved it when this happened.  It almost seemed like they gave it more coverage than a conviction.
    Nope, she wasn't sure what she could do, but she would talk to Tom and make sure they were on guard so this didn't happen in the future.

* * *
    Noura Zapata slowly began to gather up her Trial Binders and put them in the storage box she used to lug them back and forth to Court.  Their law offices were in the Bank of America building just across the street from the Kern County Superior Court.  She watched as her boss and his law clerk grinned and accepted congratulations from their peers in the Courtroom.
    She turned and looked towards the doors that led to the main corridor out of the Courtroom in time to see Annie push the doors open and storm out.  She could tell that her friend was upset by the tight way she held her body and the jerky way she moved.  She knew Annie, Tom and Jesse