Disclaimer: I do not own "Law and Order," or its characters. They are property of Dick Wolf and NBC Universal.
"With Apologies to Lennie Briscoe"
By TwilightSparkle3562
Jack McCoy sat in his office following the sentencing of Robert Telford, who was convicted for allowing his eldest son, John, to possess weapons that were used to kill a young pre-teen. However, with all that is said and done, there was still one matter that needed to be addressed and it was a matter that involved his friend, Detective Lennie Briscoe.
"You don't seem to excited, Jack," said Abbie Carmichael, his ADA as she placed the case file in the collection of completed cases. "Is there something on your mind?"
After a moment, Jack stopped his train of thought and turned back towards Abbie with a look of worry on his face.
"As a matter of fact, Abby, there is something on my mind," he said, taking his tie off. "I can't help but think of how upset Detective Briscoe was when James Granick was berating him about Cathy's death and how he claims that it was Lennie's fault."
"I agree," replied Abbie, sitting down on Jack's couch. "When the judge said that we were pushing the envelope, I wanted to just scream at them both. We weren't pushing the envelope, Granick was and the judge was allowing it."
It was at that point that Jack knew that something needed to be done. He knew Lennie for several years and after Cathy was murdered by Danny Jones, the drug dealer that she was romantically involved in, Lennie frequently turned to Jack for support, along with Detective Rey Curtis, Briscoe's partner who had retired from the 27th Precinct not too long ago to care for his wife, who had MS.
"Abbie," said Jack, sitting back in his chair. "I want you to call Mr. Garlick and tell him that I need to talk to him on a personal matter regarding the case, however don't mention anything about what happened with Detective Briscoe. That is something I need to do."
"I'll do it right away," said Abbie, getting up from the couch.
So, the next morning, Defense Attorney James Garlick was called to Jack's office, thinking that Jack was going to say that evidence turned up that would prove Mr. Telford's innocence. However, when he stepped into the office, Garlick was not prepared for what he was about to see and hear.
"You won your case, Jack," he said, shutting the door behind him. "Are you trying to gloat about the fact that Mr. Telford is going to spend a good part of his life in prison or was there any evidence that the detectives overlooked that would prove he is innocent?"
But, Jack just sat at his desk in silence for a moment and then after a few moments, he broke it with a very personal question.
"Do you have any children, Mr. Gralick?" he asked, raising his voice slightly. This made Granick disgusted at what he had just herd.
"Excuse me?" he asked huffingly. "Why would you ask me such a question? Let's stay in the business of what we do here, all right? If you asked me to come here, so that you can waste my time…"
"I didn't ask you to come here just so that I could waste your time," replied Jack, rising to his feet and walking over towards Gralick, who had a look of shock and embarrassment on his face. "I invited you here because of a matter concerning Detective Briscoe, a very good friend of mine that you upset during the trial."
Mr. Gralick just stood there in disgust, thinking that he was being reprimanded for doing his job as a Defense Attorney.
"Are you trying to tell me that I pushed the envelope when I really wasn't, Jack?" hissed Gralick, throwing his briefcase on Jack's couch. "You were trying to get me to not show an example to the court of bad parenting."
"Detective Briscoe did his best to try and keep his daughter out of trouble," replied Jack, trying to defend Briscoe. "And it is a very sensitive matter that he doesn't like to talk about. This isn't about the Telford case anymore, James. You pushed this trial over the line."
Garlick wanted to leave Jack's office and was just about to leave, when he saw that Abbie was right outside, blocking the door. He had no other choice but to stay and wait for the storm to break.
"I didn't push this trial over the line, Jack and you know it," snapped Gralick, who was now pacing around the room back and forth. "I was just doing my job as a defense attorney. Sometimes, I don't want to prosecute people that I think are innocent. But, it was Mr. Telford's son that was the guilty party in this, not Mr. Telford himself. You know that sometimes I have to get personal with witnesses in order to prove the innocence of my clients. What do you want with me, Jack?"
Jack just stood there for a moment and then motioned to Abbie to step away from the door. Gralick thought that this was the moment for him to leave Jack's office and resume his job as a defense attorney.
"I want you to personally apologize to Detective Briscoe for talking to him like that at the trial," said Jack, sternly. "I could sense the tone of your voice where you wanted to get him upset on the stand during the Telford trial. You wanted to break him for what he did just so you can get your client acquitted and you can make a quick buck. There is a big difference between getting a client innocent and breaking into someone's personal matters."
But, before Gralick could speak in protest, the door to Jack's office opened and Detective Lennie Briscoe walked into the office as Abbie followed and shut the door behind her.
"What do you want to say to me, Mr. Gralick?" asked Lennie, giving the defense attorney a strong stare as the tension continued to rise in Gralick's mind. Here he was, a defense attorney for over 20 years being forced to apologize for doing his job.
"I have nothing to say to you, detective," Gralick hissed down at the NYPD detective. "You were irresponsible in helping your daughter and that's all there is to it."
This caused Lennie to grow anger inside of him and he leapt up to his feet and pushed Gralick against a wall. Both Jack and Abbie watched in surprise and shock as Lennie was showing his angry side to them.
"I tried to help my daughter, you poor excuse for a defense attorney," roared Lennie, his voice rising. "The only one she couldn't help was herself and yet, you blame this all on me. She fell into the wrong crowd and I tried to save her. So, you should have thought about that before you decided to question me on the stand."
All Gralick could do was gulp nervously as he was now beginning to realize the severity of doing his job. Lennie released his grip on him and sat back down in the chair while Gralick attempted to compose himself.
"Now, you see the damage you done, James," remarked Jack, standing behind his desk. "I only asked Detective Briscoe to testify to explain the investigation that he and Detective Green oversaw. Instead, you were trying to use him as an example of bad parenting."
"Of course I was," cried Gralick, still startled by what Lennie had done to him. "Defense Attorneys are supposed to do whatever it takes to prove their client's innocence. You know that, Jack, as do I. Your objection was overruled because I was doing my job."
"Well, you and that judge deserve each other," snapped Lennie, bitterly. "You probably never experienced the loss of a child like I have. How would you feel if I put you in the interrogation room and demoralize you on the loss of your child? Tell me that, Gralick!"
The room was silent for a few moments and once Gralick found the words he needed to say, he turned his attention to Briscoe and for the first time, he let his guard down.
"As a matter of fact, Detective," replied Gralick. "I did lose a child to drug dealers, a son. That's how I became a defense attorney because the one who went prison didn't even kill him. The other one was eventually caught and I saw his real killer be sent to prison. Whatever happened to the one who killed your daughter?"
"He accidentally overdosed on drugs," said Lennie, slightly emotional. "When I heard what happened, I thought to myself that he'd rot in hell. I promised myself to never talk about Cathy's death to anyone or even bring it up. But you were insensitive to me, Gralick and caused me to break down on the stand, a stand that I sat in many times. You treated me like a scumbag parent and not as a police officer."
For the first time in his life, Gralick knew that he needed to do something that he had never done before in his career.
"Well, I normally don't do this, Detective," sighed Gralick, letting his guard down. "But, I know now that I am sorry for what I had done."
But, rather than shaking Lennie's hand, Gralick made his way towards the door and as he opened the door, he gave Lennie and McCoy a look of regret and then made his way out of the room.
"You must have gotten through to him, Lennie," said McCoy, but Lennie didn't respond and shut his eyes, trying to hold back tears for his daughter, a girl he had tried to save, but failed.
It seemed for now, that a huge burden was lifted from everyone in that room and that Cathy Briscoe would rest in peace once again.
Abbie then walked over to Jack's desk and took the Telford Case file and handed it to him, storing in his case files.
The case of the Telford Family was now properly closed.