Welcome to my new story. In 1954, a woman named Marilyn Sheppard was murdered in Cleveland, OH. Her murder was the basis for the 1960's TV series, "The Fugitive." The TV series spawned the 1993 movie, "The Fugitive" which starred Harrison Ford. This story is based on that movie. They own all rights. At times this does follow the movie closely. A very special thanks to Eva for her friendship and brilliant beta skills. Also a special thanks to another lovely lady, Kate, for the amazing cover art. This story is written in its entirety. I am moving soon so I may be unable to update till I have internet installed in my new home. Hope you all enjoy.

Turning to face the jury box, he asks, "Have you reached a verdict?" The jury foreman nods. "Please hand the verdict to the bailiff." After silently reading over the verdict, Judge Garber hands it back for the jury foreman. "Please read the verdict Mr. Jackson," instructs the judge.

"We, the people in the above entitled matter, find the defendant, Dr. Damon Salvatore, guilty of Count One in the complaint of murder in the first degree."

The stunned gasp in the courtroom soon erupts into pandemonium. My knees begin to weaken. I grip the defendant's table with such intensity that my knuckles turn white. "We'll appeal," states my attorney while gripping my forearm to offer support.

"Order! We will have order, do I make myself clear?" Judge Garber yells aloud. He turns to face me. "This court has found you guilty of the murder of Katherine Pierce-Salvatore. You are hereby remanded into custody to await your sentencing hearing."

I stand there in shocked silence, unable to move, too stunned even to speak.

"Dr. Salvatore, do you understand what's happened here today?" Feeling dizziness about to weaken my knees even more, I can only nod. Immediately thereafter, the guard steps over to me, shackles my wrists and leads me from the courtroom to an awaiting jail cell.

13 months ago:

My wife, Katherine Salvatore is mingling with the crowd at a hospital charity event she helped organize. I flirt with her from across the room. She is stunning tonight in her black cocktail dress and heels. Even though our marriage is riddled with problems, I can't deny that she is a beautiful woman. At one time, I was so very much in love with her. Despite everything, we're still friends and will form a united front for events such as this.

"Damon, it's good to see you." A familiar voice causes me to turn around in surprise.

"Stefan, how the hell are you buddy, it's been much too long."

Stefan nods before reaching around to grab his companion. "Damon, I'd like you to meet Logan Fell. He's a research fellow for "Biometric Pharmaceutical Ltd."

"It's quite the honor to meet you Dr. Salvatore," he states, reaching for my hand. Shaking it firmly, he continues, "Dr. Lang, I mean Stefan as he tells me to call him, has been participating in clinical studies for our company's new cardiac ACE inhibitor."

Just then the three of us were interrupted by a warm voice saying, "Hello Stefan."

"Katherine, you look lovely as always this evening," Dr. Lang compliments her, while looking at my wife appreciatively.

"Thank you Stefan. You always did know how to charm the ladies, but I've come to steal my husband."

Katherine and I mingle with guests for a couple of hours before saying goodnight to the other guests. We walk into our home after the gala. "Damon, I had other plans for tonight but I'm just exhausted after everything. Would you mind terribly if I just went to bed?"

"No. Of course not Katherine. We do need to talk though and soon," I tell her gently but firmly. "I'm going to watch tv for awhile."

"Goodnight then, I'm going to shower and just go to sleep." she says, kissing me on the cheek. "Thank you for tonight. I had fun."

"Sweet dreams Katherine," I tell her as she ascends the stairs. Despite our problems, I still care for her deeply. I have no doubt we'll still be there for each other even after our divorce becomes final.

Sometime later, a crash sounds upstairs startling me awake. I'd fallen asleep on the couch while watching a movie. I jump up and race up the stairs. Hearing Katherine scream my name, I run into our bedroom where I'm immediately greeted by a fist to the jaw and another to the solar plexus causing me to literally see stars.

As soon as I can shake off the haze of the punch, I race after the man who is trying to procure his getaway. I catch up to him and grasp onto his left forearm which is unnaturally hard. It's a prosthetic. The guy lands another punch before escaping through the open bedroom door. I chase after him down the stairs but it's too late as the man is already out the front door. I rush back upstairs to check on Katherine. Blood is everywhere. She's covered in blood, her body sprawled face down on the floor next to the bed. Unable to feel a pulse, I quickly dial 911 before commencing CPR.

Soon there is banging at the door as police and ambulance personnel arrive to flood our home. "Police," I hear a voice yell.

"Up here, my wife is up here," I yell frantically. Emergency personnel take over CPR for me. They insert an airway and use an ambu bag to ventilate her. The other throws the defibrillator patches on her chest to ascertain if she has a shockable heart rhythm. Devastatingly, help arrives too late. Katherine is pronounced dead at the scene. Immediately the police start gathering evidence, dusting for prints and taking photographs of the crime scene.

Before I can even begin to process what happened tonight, I find myself at police headquarters facing harsh interrogation. They are bombarding me with question after question that I had no answers for. "I understand your wife is quite wealthy. Are you the beneficiary of that wealth?" I nod, in shock.

"There is no sign of forced entry," Detective Marx said glaringly. That question jolts me from my stupor to keen awareness.

"Are you accusing me of killing my wife, of beating her to death? How dare you! I tried to save her. Yes, we are having problems but I would never hurt her. You find this man. I fought with this man! He only has one arm. His left lower arm is prosthetic. You find this man and you'll have Katherine's killer."

"Dr. Salvatore. There is no real evidence of a struggle. None. Are you aware that she was pregnant?"

"Pregnant? She couldn't be. We haven't been together in that way in a long time. We've talked of divorce but neither of us had done anything concrete about it yet. That means she was sleeping with someone else. Find the father and maybe you'll find her murderer."

Present day:

The guard leads me into my cell. After collapsing onto the cot, I drop my head into my hands, raising my eyes only to watch as the guard closes and locks my cell door. I'm left to wonder if Katherine's real killer will ever be brought to justice?

I hope you enjoyed chapter one. Please hit that review button and let me know what you think. Also follow along if want to see how this mystery plays out for Damon and Elena. Stay tuned for 'My Favorite Wife' which will begin posting soon. For your reading pleasure, be sure you check out stories written by 'Florencia7' She writes DE like no one else. And also 'Short on words' Her stories are very compelling too. Until next time...