fandomhigh | Criminal Justice: Wednesday

Gibbs breezed into the classroom just as the bell rang. "Sit," he ordered everyone in the classroom. "No talking."

He took a long sip of coffee as he waited for the class to settle in. "Last week you 'caught' the bad guy. Today we talk about interrogation. There's two categories of interrogation. The first category is strictly about gathering information. Here you interview everyone. Friends. Family. Co-workers. If the damn cat can talk, you get a statement. When you do this pay attention to their answers. Ignore nothing. Someone uses a funny word choice? Make a note of it. Someone makes an off-hand comment? Note it. After you're done with these interviews? Verify everything. Why? Because people lie and usually they're pretty crappy about covering it up."

He took a breath and another couple of gulps of coffee. "The other type of interrogation is the kind you always see in cop shows. When you have evidence on a person of interest you get him or her and bring him into a room. Then you let that person sit and stew for a bit. Unless the person is a sociopath, this is usually the best way to loosen 'em up. Then you go in and you be intimidating. You're not the friendly guy with notepad taking a statement. You have evidence. You line it up in front of him. You tell him you think he's guilty and you nail him to the wall with it. Doesn't matter if the evidence is shaky. He doesn't know that. Even if that person isn't guilty he or she might let loose a bit of information that'll help with the case. If you make them cry and they are innocent? Too bad. The case is what matters."

Gibbs then gestured at his students. "Pair up. Time to see what you got and if you paid attention."

[~~Wait for the~~ OCD is up]

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Dinah made a quick note of that, too, and said, "I couldn't say, ma'am. Too early in the investigation." She gave Rachel a speculative look, smile peeking out. "So the two of you discussed children? Did he say anything about his relationship with Ms. Kerr, after they began dating?"

"Yes, that was the catalyst for our parting," Raven said. "He wished to have children, and I did not. As to his new relationship, no, we did not speak of it."

No way to prove anything about motivation, or opportunity, from the DNA evidence. That Rachel freely admitted knowledge of the pregnancy and the baby's father would give them a concrete angle while interrogating 'Kevin Holt'; but it didn't and couldn't shake her story about knowing and not caring. But. Dinah felt like she had to try just a little harder....

One last shot, then. "I think you're lying. I think it hurt that he dumped you for someone who wanted his child right now. I think Mr. Holt will tell us that when we talk to him. Are you sure you don't want to make it easy on yourself and confess? Was it an impulse? Did you just want to talk to her, then get into a fight in the restroom?"

Raven's training on Azarath helped her remain calm in the face of the accusations. She shook her head. "I did not harm her, nor did I wish to see her come to any harm at another's hand."

Well, crap.

Dinah tried to look sinister and said, "We'll be in touch. Don't leave town."

... then grinned brightly at Rachel. "Well, at least I got some information out of you."

"I did well then?" Raven said, smiling back. "I am unused to this roleplaying."

"You did great! Were you innocent, or guilty, or other?" Dinah asked. "My instincts were saying innocent, but maybe you're just really cool under pressure."

"I was innocent," Raven said. "But to be fair, I have been trained to control my emotions."

"Soooo, maybe if we'd done a background check on you, we would've turned that up, and maybe the interrogation would've been approached differently," Dinah surmised, then looked curious. "Really? Meditation, or something else?"

"Meditation was and is a large part of it," Raven said, nodding. "I do so at least once a day, more often if something distresses me." She'd spent a lot of time meditating the past weekend.

"I use it too, but mostly to work on my abilities. If I get stressed, I go out and exercise," Dinah said, then grimaced. "Last week had me in the gym and the pool and running around the island a lot."

"Your abilities?" Raven asked, suddenly even more interested. "And you were affected by the increase in displays of affection as well?"

Dinah looked around, then held out her hand for the bottle of Diet Pepsi she'd stored in her bookbag. It floated to her hand, and she grabbed it, waggling it at Rachel. "This. And I'm a touch-telepath." She watched the other girl, hoping she wouldn't get freaked out. She'd seemed curious, though, not judgmental. "And yeah, last week was heavy on the hormonal with a side of embarrassing."

Raven wasn't freaked out at all, but she did make a note to lock up any thoughts of her demonic heritage should she ever touch Dinah. "I understand how you feel," she admitted. "I am empathic. I could feel the...enjoyment others were having all too clearly."

"Oh, wow," Dinah said, sympathy coming to the fore. Rachel and Emma had it worse than she did, although it sounded like Rachel had ways of coping. "God, I would've moved out and camped on the beach by Friday, if it'd been me. People were way too ... buzzed." To pick a word. "I got a flash from someone who I know thinks of me as a little sister that was waaaay too much information. I'd hate to have felt that from everyone else for the whole time."

"I almost made a fool out of myself," Raven said, blushing just a little as she remembered being a "pervy door fancier," as it had been said on the radio. "But fortunately my friend Joan was able to stop me and walked me to the beach to get away from the dorms."

Dinah had listened to Radio, but never took it too seriously. "I'm sorry. That was cool of Joan, though. I've met her a couple times, she's cool." She gave Rachel a sideways smile. "But Sunday must've been a huuuge relief."

"Oh yes," Raven agreed. "I can shield myself from the emotions of others, though it is harder in a large group of people. But the desires were so intense that I could not block them out. It is good to meet someone who understands just what that is like."

Given how hard Dinah had worked at keeping her own shields up against a casual accidental touch, Rachel must have wanted to sleep for a week by then. "It is, isn't it?" she grinned at the other girl. "I'm getting better at it. Professor Atreides is training me. But the telekinesis is easier. Not so personal. Easier to figure out when it works."

"Professor Atreides?" Raven repeated. "Joan is planning to introduce me to Professor Skywalker to help me, but perhaps Professor Atreides would be willing to aid me as well?"

"Maybe? I don't know how many people she has in private tutoring right now," Dinah said thoughtfully. "I've heard good things about Professor Skywalker in this kind of training too. Professor Atreides has office hours later in the week, I think? You could ask."

Raven nodded. "I will speak to both of them," she decided. "I thought I would be able to deal with all the emotions here, but it is proving more difficult than I thought, even without the bizarre increase in lust and desire. I would welcome any assistance in keeping out other's emotions, and controlling my own."

Criminal Justice: Wednesday

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