L&O:CI – I own nothing but the OC. Law&Order and it's characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC.
I'm pretending events in CI happened a few years earlier so that Bobby's only 40 during S6. Why? Because I feel like it….so b/c of that and the fact that I might mess with the time line later, I'm saying it's AU. You don't like, then stop reading:0)
I have most of the story written but I'm fixing some parts. Hopefully it won't take long to post the whole thing up here. Italics are generally thoughts.
Reviews welcome as long as they're constructive and not mean.
An Italian couple walked down the street, talking. The man had his arm around the woman.
"Yeah and next time David, if we get there earlier than we can actually get some seats."
"I know, I know, next time I'll just shut up and do as you say. If you tell me to get ready when I get home then I will."
"Right."
"What, you don't think-" He stopped, hearing a man scream from nearby.
"What was that?"
He took his arm from his girlfriend's shoulder. "Hold on." He went around the corner. In the parking lot across the street a man ran around, waving his arms and screaming, on fire.
"Jesus!" David pulled out his phone and dialled 911.
Detective Alexandra Eames came back from talking to the couple and headed over to her partner.
Detective Robert Goren picked up a tiny white piece of fluff from the victim's burnt shoe and studied it. "It's not cotton…" He tilted his head, thinking. "Maybe cashmere?" He felt a pang of sadness remembering the day when he was 10, when he got home from school and found his mom at home burning a cashmere sweater of hers in the sink. She had thought it was crawling with germs.
It wasn't a pleasant memory but now that's all he had left of her. As of 9 days ago, she was just a memory. This was Goren's first case back. No one could talk him into taking more time off.
He needed a distraction and solving a puzzle, which was his job, always helped.
Eames shook her head. "Looks more like angora or chenille…it's hard to tell."
He dropped it into a plastic evidence bag and told the CSU. "Test this." The CSU officer nodded and brought the bag over to the other evidence bags. Goren stood up, over the charred body and looked around. He pointed. "Cameras."
"I'll collect them." Eames volunteered and headed towards the office across the street. Goren walked around the rest of the crime scene, checking under the car for any clues. He didn't find any.
Later that day…in the coroner's office...
"Autopsy confirms, our vic died by fire. His throat closed in an attempt to prevent smoke inhalation but he then affixiated…time of death between 10:30pm and 11:30pm."
"Any…injuries aside from that? Signs of a struggle?" Goren asked though he hadn't seen any at the crime scene.
"No, nothing."
"He was probably caught by surprise." Eames said. "What was the accelerant?"
"Good ole fashioned gasoline."
"That'll narrow down our search." Eames sighed.
Back at MCS...
"You don't see too many of those." Ross said interested.
"Well fire…fire's generally used to represent a cleansing o-or…retribution from above…"
"And rage." Eames added.
Goren nodded, closing his eyes briefly. "That too…as for the killer. He's likely male...female arsonists aren't as...common...and they tend to use...nail polish remover."
"Traditionally...that doesn't mean women still use that as often. There's plenty of chemicals a woman could use aside from that."
"You're not on the same page?" Ross asked curiously.
"I think we have every reason to believe this is simply payback. Nothing suggests anything else."
"Yes but…i-if it was revenge there are...other ways to do it….easier ways. Why fire?"
"A good question…go find out." Ross told them then picked up the phone that was ringing.
Goren and Eames left the office and went into the interview room where a bunch of the boxes were of Judge Edmund Ellison's cases. They started going through them.
"Ellison was a family court judge…what would be the most emotional cases?"
"Child Abuse cases."
"Or...custody cases...divorces."
They started taking out all those files and stacking them on the table. They were still left with an overwhelming number of cases to go through.
Goren hung up the phone. "Mrs. Navatni's alibi checked out….next on the list is…" He put her folder into the box next to him and took the next one of a stack of 100 left on his desk, Eames handling other folders as well on her desk. Each case had just enough given to the women in divorce cases that made it look almost fair, though most of those were possessions rather than any financial support. "Hannah Winters…sent in several different appeals…" he flipped a couple pages and skimmed a letter. "And a…diplomatic plea for more financial assistance from her ex."
"Maybe it's the fact that these are all the hate letters and problem cases but it seems like there's a bit of a theme."
He nodded. "They got the r-raw end of the deal…maybe…maybe this is his punishment? The killer sees himself as a…vigilante?"
"You know, it's possible the killer's a woman." Eames offered. "If she was one of the scorned women then she'd have the rage to fit the bill."
"I-I suppose it's possible…just improbable."
They both got up, Goren slipping the file into his folder and they left.
Since it was the middle of the day they knew Miss Winters would be at work.
Hannah showed the couple the indoor fountain which was in the middle of a circular room that had gardens all around the glass walls. "This area's generally used for cocktails but if you prefer using it for a sitting area or if you would like the gift table and the guest book in here that's easy to arrange." She gave the information package to the future bride.
"What are the flowers that grow outside? What will we have when I walk down the aisle?"
"If you decide on May you'll have Azaleas, bluebells, tulips, crabapples, rhododendrons, tree peony, irises, and lilacs. If it's in June, it'll be English marigolds, yarrow, love in a mist, lindens, California poppies, columbines, violets and roses. There's a booklet with pictures and descriptions of each flower for each month that we're open, inside your package."
They smiled, pleased.
"Do you have any questions?"
"Oh…no. We'll call and let you know what we decide."
From experience Hannah could tell she won them over. They shook hands and the couple left.
Hannah was unaware that behind her, in the doorway , the two detectives had been waiting, so as not to disturb her with the client. She leaned over and drew in the scent of the white orchids for a second. That was a perk to her job. Being around so many flowers. She couldn't deny the fact that she loved flowers. She was a sucker for them.
"Miss Winters?" Eames asked as they started towards her.
Goren's heart raced as they walked towards Hannah. He felt like everything was moving slow and he suddenly felt dizzy. 'Something about her…' He thought. 'She is so…'
Right off he could tell she wasn't the career type. She had on a very feminine short sleeved pink peasant blouse and a dark brown skirt that came to her knees. Once she and the clients came inside she had taken off the long white winter jacket. Her hair was long and had two barrettes, one on either side. Her jewellery was a set of pink, purple, and blue glass beads hanging on fishing wire so they appeared to be floating.
She was not at all wearing anything inappropriate, but she wasn't exactly wearing the boring suits like the other people they often talked to who worked at one business or another. In Goren's experience the career driven women preferred suits rather than something what Hannah was wearing. Her outfit was a little more casual and eclectic. But then again that was generalizing. There was no other way to put it except that she dressed cute.
He swallowed the lump in his throat and found his mouth unusually dry. She was absolutely gorgeous which didn't help matters. However, she wasn't 'gorgeous' in the sense that she had legs to her neck and a bony body. She was thin but healthy looking and toned, and her hourglass figure…well he found it quite appealing. She was about 5'5" in height and had more of a classic beauty, but her emerald eyes also made her look more exotic. Of course it was her face he was taken in by first. Everything in him made him want to touch her and just see if her skin was as soft as it looked. Or to see if her lips felt as good against his as he imagined they would be.
'She probably already has a boyfriend, or is remarried.' Goren thought to himself.
Hannah turned to them and smiled softly. She found it difficult to hear past the booming of her heart. "With one look I knew I was going to marry your father and that I would love him for the rest of my life." When she was little, before her parents had died she had believed her mother's words. But after their death she had learned that love wasn't like that.
Now, at 30, she was a believer again. She tried to seem calm.
"Yes? What can I do for you?"
"We're detectives Goren-" Eames motioned to her partner then herself. "-and Eames…we have some questions for you."
She frowned. "Are my kids-"
"They're okay." Goren said quickly, noticing the relief wash over her instantly. Her eyes were very expressive he noticed.
Eames added, "We're here about Judge Ellison. He was the judge for your divorce and custody proceedings?"
She nodded, wondering what that had to do with anything. "Yes."
Goren smelled some of the flowers around him and couldn't help but want to see if Hannah smelled anything like them.
"In your file it says you've appealed 6 times the decision the judge made concerning your kids. Why so often?"
Goren opened his notebook and returned his attention back to Hannah. He watched her seriously as she spoke.
"At first, because our house was in my husband's name. It didn't matter that I was the one that paid for most of it. It was after the third appeal that he finally changed his mind about the house."
Goren tilted his head. "The file…it said your husband is a…corporate attorney?"
She nodded, pushing the feeling she felt in her gut away. "Why are you interested in my divorce?"
"Judge Ellison was killed three days ago."
She flinched. "Why? What happened?"
"He was murdered."
She couldn't hide the surprise on her face.
"Just to…for procedure…we need to check…w-where were you...Monday night?"
"At home with my kids…all night."
"We'll have to verify that."
She nodded.
"Do you get a lot of weddings here?" Goren motioned, smiling.
She blinked at him, her face softening. "Yep. There's usually four or five a month. More in the summer."
He crossed his arms over his binder and leaned forward. "And w-why did you keep putting in... appeals if you got the house?"
"Oh…" she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "My ex husband wanted partial custody of the kids. I wanted full custody…well the judge granted him partial custody but because I got them during the week he decided against granting me alimony and the child support…well I thought I should get more."
Goren tilted his head while Eames looked at her confused. "Alimony? You weren't making a lot?"
She shook her head. "At the time I was working in a clerk in a bookstore…it didn't pay much."
"There's a notation in the file…UBC…w-what do you think that means?"
"UBC?" She asked confused.
Goren read what was written in the judge's handwriting. "'Miss Winters' medical bills will not be required to be paid by Jake Moore. The UBC's effect on her is not of Mr. Moore's doing."
She frowned. "Unborn Child…I was pregnant at the time…it was a lot of stress. I fainted a few times."
"You were pregnant…so you thought…you were going to lose your house and you had medical concerns…you couldn't have worked then?"
"Right." She tucked her hair again. "The judge didn't see it that way."
Goren gave a little nod. "Okay…" he took a card out of his binder and gave it to her. "If you think of any reason…remember anything…about judge Ellison…or anything…" he pointed to the card.
Eames raised her eyebrows, smirking at him. He fidgeted more than normal.
Hannah nodded and watched them go.
Goren smiled, glancing at Hannah over his shoulder when they reached the doorway. She was studying his business card.
"You can roll in your tongue now." Eames smirked at him.
He looked at her surprised and serious now. "Uh…" he blinked and shook his head. "Her uh…case." He blinked again. "The…c-child support." He looked in his binder again. "It says she's supposed to get $400 a month…"
"That's not even enough to pay for food…she got screwed alright. If I had two kids to take care of and that's all I was getting it'd make me want to kill too."
"But I don't think it's her. She's too…" he waved his hands, searching for the right word. "Anxious." He glanced at Eames, then back at the doorway they just came out of. She didn't get what he was saying. "The way she played with her necklace…she's got little…nervous habits. The killer doesn't. He's direct and determined." He pointed behind him, at the door. "She didn't get angry when we spoke of the judge's decision…just…upset…and she had an alibi."
"Who were her children."
Bobby sighed, hearing the warning in Eames voice as she said the last part. It was a subtle way of saying, "remember the last woman you fell for on a case?" He did. Nelda had been a suspect and still Bobby had found himself growing to care for her, even when he knew she could be the killer. Part of him had wanted to believe otherwise, so he did. Then he discovered that she was in fact a murderer. Falling for someone he was meant to protect innocents from broke his heart and gave him even more trust issues to deal with.