Law and Order: SVU
Story Title: No One Lives To See Something There
Storyline: Detectives Benson and Stabler protect a witness to a rape/murder of a young teenager only to find a deadly consequence after solving the case.
Disclaimer: I don't own the charcters from the show's creator and the new character (witness) is totally fictional.
Chapter 1: The Body
It's night time in lower Manhattan. Cars are roaming from one place to another and shops are filled with activity on both sides of the streets. People are mingling outside local bars and cafes enjoying coffee and late night dinners. A couple in their early 20's are walking down the street all dressed up after attending a party. The gentleman wore a blue overcoat and tuxedo. He was tall with blonde hair and brown eyes. The lady was medium height with dark hair and blue eyes. She wore a green dress and heels. Her purse was hanging on her shoulder.
"I have no clue how bored I was at the party you dragged me to Jim," the lady said.
"Sweetheart, it was just a business get together party. I wasn't bored and not only that a deal was made from the office. I'll make it up to you..." Jim replied and paused looking at the ground.
They stopped and saw blood leading to the alleyway a few feet ahead of them.
"What is it Jim?" his wife asked.
"I think I see something. Looks like a hand," Jim said covering his mouth because of the smell of garbage.
Jim picked up a stick from the ground and poked the bags as a hand popped out. Jim's wife shrieked and he called the police.
Fifteen minutes later, the area is a crime scene and sealed off by several units. Detectives Benson and Stabler pulled up as an officer greets them.
"Dead body found in the garbage pile. Couple over there found the blood trail as they were walking home. Husband pokes the bag and boom a hand pops out. Examiner will brief you on more details," the officer informed them and pointed.
"Not a good night to be walking out alone eh Olivia," Elliot mumbled.
"The city isn't safe anymore Elliot. What you got for us Warner?" Olivia asked M.E. Warner the Medical Examiner.
"Dead female with multiple stab wounds to her thighs and hands. I estimated the time of death to be early evening and body probably has been dead for almost seven maybe eight hours. Victim was struck hard with a blunt object with a sharp end and your victim was raped before she was killed. No murder weapon was found. Victim is in her teens. Killer might have thrown or hidden the weapon," Warner said.
"Elliot, look at this," Olivia said pointing to something on the body.
"Looks like a mark of a square on her thigh," Elliot observed. "Killer hates round things or likes to torture his victims before killing them."
"Hey Warner, any chances for finger prints from the victim's body?" Olivia asked.
"It's hard to tell. Killer might have left prints after he attacked her. I won't know until I get an autopsy done on the body," Warner replied.
"Any motive for the murder?" Olivia asked Elliot.
"Killer lures victim to the alleyway and finds opportunity to attack her. She struggles and killer hits her with a sharp object. She falls down and he rapes her. Then he cuts her up a bit and then leaves," Elliot guessed.
"I think she struggled and scratched her face. I noticed blood under the fingernails. We get the blood sample to the lab for DNA analysis," Olivia suggested.
"Olivia, I think someone witnessed the attack. Look at the footprints on the ground," Elliot said and pointed.
"Let's get a shot of this and get this back to the lab," Olivia said. "Judging by the shoe size looks like our witness has big feet."
Chapter 2: Witness Revealed
Elliot and Olivia head back to the station house where they meet up with Finch and Munch. Capt. Cragen came out of his office with a look on his face.
"Okay everyone what's the scoop on the dead body?" he asked.
"No ID on the victim and she had very little money on her," Finch reported.
"Victim was walking home late at night or decided to take a short cut through the alleyway," Munch added.
"Multiple stab wounds on the victims thighs and hands. She put up a struggle and killer silenced her instantly," Elliot added.
"Any reports of missing teenage girls pop up in the system?" Cragen asked.
"We're still looking and it's possible we have a witness who saw the attack then fled. Bloody footprint found at the crime scene," Olivia reported.
"Find this witness and start combing the area before this guy strikes next," Cragen said.
"What if we don't find this witness?" Elliot asked.
"Find the witness Elliot. We need the witness to push a case to the prosecutor," Capt. Cragen replied.
"We'll start at the crime scene," Olivia said and grabbed her coat. Elliot followed.
"Munch and Finch, I want you to head to the lab and find out if there are any prints on our victim," Capt. Cragen said to them.
"No problem sir," Fin said and left his desk.
Olivia and Elliot rode down to the crime scene and looked around. Elliot pulled out a flashlight and poked around the alleyway where the body was found. Olivia looked at the blood found on the ground.
"Hey Olivia, I think I found something," Elliot said pulling out an object with a glove on.
"The murder weapon," Olivia said bagging the object. "Still no other clues on our witness. Think the person is scared to death?"
On the other side of town, a young boy about sixteen-years-old walks home nervously looking over his shoulder and checking every move he makes. He knows what he saw that night. His name is Gil Burnett a high school student at Manhattan High. Gil saw the murder of a girl on his way home from studying with friends down the block. He couldn't forget the scream of the girl and how she snapped off a piece of skin from her attacker. What should I do? I can't go anywhere else. Gil thought. He pulled out his keys and walked up to the apartment building. Gil opened the door and went inside. Gil lived by himself. His parents were killed in a car wreck years ago and Gil took care of himself for awhile. He placed his coat on the chair and his backpack on the couch. Gil sat on the sofa and worried about his life. What if I'm next? I have to tell someone about what I saw. Gil thought. He picked up the phone and dialed 411 asking the number to the NY Police Dept. Gil slowly dialed the number and heard the phone ringing. The desk clerk answered the phone.
"I need to talk to someone about a murder I saw. Please this guy might kill me next," Gil said.
"I'll transfer you to a detective in Special Victims Unit okay," the clerk said.
"Okay," Gil said nervously.
Finch was at his desk when his phone rang.
"This is Detective Finch, how can I help you?" he answered.
"My name is Gil and I saw someone murder a girl last night. I'm scared to death that he might kill me if he gets caught. I was walking home from a friend's house and heard this scream. This guy was..." Gil explained.
"Listen Gil, are you willing to come down to the precinct and talk? I know you're scared, but I can make sure this guy won't hurt you if you tell us what happened," Finch said.
"Can someone pick me up? I'm scared to walk down there by myself," Gil said. "My address is 2205 42nd St. Apt. 17 on the 2nd Floor. Knock on the door twice so I know its you. Please sir, I'm scared."
"Okay, I'll come down there and pick you up okay," Finch said hanging up.
Capt. Cragen entered the area.
"What do we got Finch?" Cragen asked.
"I just got a call from our mysterious witness. He saw the killer and rape happen. The witness sounded like a young kid. Captain, he's scared to death. He wants to talk," Finch replied.
"Okay, if you got his address down then you and Munch go pick him up," Capt. Cragen said.
"I think I'll talk about this theory I had..." Munch said to Finch.
"Munch, save the theories for later. We got a witness to pick up," Finch suggested.
Gil waited in the apartment for the detectives to showed up. He paced and waited. He had his coat and sat on the sofa. Gil looked out the window and saw a car pulled up and two figures walking towards the building. He heard a knock twice on the door.
"Who is it?" Gil asked nervously.
"Detectives Finch Tortuola and John Munch from the police station," Finch said introducing himself.
Gil looked through the peep hole and saw Finch flashed his badge. He unlocked the door and opened it.
"Are you Gil?" Finch asked.
"That's me," Gil replied. "Am I going to a safe place?"
"We're taking you to the station house and you'll be safe there. I promise," Munch said.
Finch pulled out his cell phone and called Elliot to tell him the good news.
"Stabler," he said on the other end of the line.
"Elliot, we found a witness to the murder. Meet us back at the station house," Finch said.
"Finch said a witness came forward on the murder," Stabler said to Olivia.
An hour later back at the station house, Olivia and Elliot are in one of the conference rooms talking to Gil. Gil is sitting at one end of the table nervously. He looks around him wondering what will happen to him.
"Gil, my name is Detective Olivia Benson and this is my partner Elliot Stabler. Tell us what you saw," Olivia said.
"I was walking home from a friend's house around 9:30pm and I heard this scream in the alleyway. I was scared, but I saw this man come running out with blood on his hand. When I got to the alleyway, I saw a body. It was a girl. I think I knew her from school. I got a good look at the guy. Tall, dark hair, wearing a coat and brown boots. He saw me and I ran for my life. I was scared. I didn't know what to do and I feel like it's my fault," Gil said trying not to cry.
"Gil, what you did wasn't your fault. We're going to nail this guy for what he did. You witness the murder/rape of this girl. He's the bad guy not you. I know you're scared. When we catch him, we need you to testify against the guy who did this," Elliot said. "Do you have any other family you can stay with?"
"No sir," Gil said wiping his face. "There was one thing I noticed when this guy ran. I saw a square mark on his left hand."
Capt. Cragen and Casey Novak the ADA were outside the conference room watching.
"Well counselor? Do we figure out who this guy is and go after him? We have a witness, but no evidence," Cragen said.
"Without evidence captain, I can't pull the strings on the puppet. There's no ID on the victim and your witness could only describe what the killer looked like," Novak said.
"We're still searching the missing persons data bank and a list of guys who got out of jail recently that might be linked to the murder," Cragen suggested.
"Look, get me some evidence, the killer and a witness testimony and I'll get a case going," Casey said walking away.
"It's not going to be easy counselor," Cragen muttered.
"Gil, I know you're scared," Olivia said.
"I'm scared of everything now. I have to look around my back to make sure I'm not being followed and check every corner to see if that killer is waiting for me," Gil explained. "Couldn't you guys protect me or something until I testify?"
Capt. Cragen signaled Olivia and Elliot out of the room.
"Listen, this witness is only a kid. What does he know?" Cragen asked.
"He saw the rape and the killer running from the crime scene. Captain, he's scared for his life. Protective detail until a trial?" Olivia asked.
"Whatever is necessary Benson. Elliot, we need to catch this guy and fast before he does this to someone else," Cragen said.
"Captain, Gil is in shock still on what he saw. Should I get Dr. Wong on talking to Gil? I'm thinking it might help him a little better on getting through this," Olivia said. "Gil is so shocked he's checking every corner he sees when he walks to school and home. He's afraid of the perp that did this."
Finch walked in and handed Olivia a rap sheet of a guy who got out of Rikers Island more than a month ago.
"Olivia, got a lead on a perp who raped nearly twelve girls and served only five years," Finch reported. "And get this, he's got a square mark on his left hand. This could be our guy."
Olivia and the others headed to a secluded apartment building on the uptown section of the city. Guns in hand they approached the first apartment door on the left. Elliot knocked on the door loudly.
"Who is it?" the voice asked.
"Police, we have a warrant for your arrest," Elliot said.
"I didn't do it. I swear," the voice replied.
"Yeah, we'll see it when we believe it pal. Open up the damn door or we'll break it down," Olivia snarled.
There was silence. Elliot signaled for Finch to ram the door down.
"FREEZE! DON'T MOVE DIRTBAG!" Elliot screamed running in and pointing his gun.
Olivia and the others secured the room. Munch found something in a drawer and pulled it out. It had blood and prints on it.
"Found the murder weapon and blood. I hope you can explain all that to a judge pal! You're under arrest for the murder of a 16-year-old teenage girl," Elliot said placing the cuffs.
"Who said curiosity doesn't hurt much?" Munch muttered.
Chapter 3-The Suspect Interrogation
"What's the guy's story Olivia?" Capt. Cragen asked.
"Edwin Susiski, convicted of multiple rape charges dating back to 1981 and sent to prison. He got out again and now we know this is the guy who raped and killed that teenage girl," Olivia replied. "Get this, the mark he left on his victims was a square mark."
"Get a confession out of him and I can get a jury to give the death penalty," Casey said.
"First thing's first Casey, we need to nail this guy on murder charges then go for justice for the victim," Cragen said.
"Okay, let's get this guy to talk," Olivia said opening the door to the interrogation room.
She approached the suspect and sat down at the table. Edwin gave her a mean look.
"I'm not talking to you. You can smack the hell out of me if you want, but I'm not saying shit," Edwin snarled.
"That's fine," Olivia said. "We can get prints off the dead girl you murdered and raped Edwin. The lab will find DNA samples from you on the body."
"Let's make this easy for you Edwin," Elliot said with a grin. "Just tell us what happened and we can make your life easier for you."
"Okay, I was on the corner of 50th Street near Fred's Deli for a few minutes and saw the girl go in. I followed and started a conversation with her. She brushed me off because she knew I was older. I got angry and grabbed her. I took her to the alleyway and hit her with something. She was out cold, but I didn't mean to kill her after I raped her," Edwin confessed.
"You make me sick you goddamn son-of-a-bitch! Tell that to her parents," Elliot yelled. "You killed an innocent teenage girl just because she wouldn't have sex with you! You're lucky I don't kill you myself. I got a witness that puts you at the time of the murder/rape. He's scared of you because he's only a young kid who witness something like this and that will haunt him for the rest of his life!"
"I didn't know someone had saw me after I turned around to see that kid standing there, but he took off before I could get him," Edwin added.
"Killing a witness to a crime is a no-no Edwin. You'll be going to jail for a long time," Olivia said shoving him.
Casey watched after she listened to the conversation.
Olivia and Elliot leave the interrogation room.
"Well counselor, do we got enough to convict him?" Elliot asked.
"You got the suspect, murder weapon and a confession. I think we got enough for the jury to hear. Defense has no chance," Casey assured him. "Judge will nailed this guy for this crime. With Gil's testimony on identifying Edwin as the killer, then there's no way nothing can go wrong. Gil places Edwin at the scene of the crime when he committed the murder."
"Match, set and game counselor," Olivia said.
Casey Novak went back to her office. She knew that she was going to win. When she got there, Olivia and Gil were waiting. Gil sat in the chair wiping sweat from his forehead.
"I'm nervous Detective Benson," Gil said. "I keep having nightmares about the murder. I can't do homework. I isolate myself from people. I get jumpy."
"Gil, you're going to do okay at the trial. Just tell the jury what you saw, but the defense lawyer might ask you some questions about the crime. Remember to be truthful and don't sweat it," Casey said. "It's late and we have court tomorrow. Detective Benson will take you home and there will be some officers guarding your building. You're going to be okay, I promise."
"How will I face my friends at school when this is over Detective Benson?" Gil asked. "I'm scared he might come after me."
"That's something for you to do on your own Gil," Olivia said patting him on the shoulder.
"Okay, I know I can do this," Gil said and took a deep breath.
He got up from the chair and waved goodbye smiling. Olivia walked him to the elevator and they got in.
Chapter 4-Tragedy Strikes
Five hours later, Olivia got a phone call and rushed over to Gil's apartment. The officer who was at the scene tried to hold Olivia back.
"What happened! Is Gil okay?" Olivia asked.
"Got a report that your suspect escaped from Rikers and was on the loose for your witness. Shots fired and the two officers watching the building went in to check it out. They shot the suspect, but I'm sorry detective the kid didn't make it. He lost a lot of blood, when the officers got to him. We did find this though. He was shot three times while he was sleeping. Killer went through a back door," the officer said and handed the item to Olivia. It was an envelope with her name on it.
Elliot came out of the building before Olivia could enter.
"Olivia, it's not pretty. Gil's dead," he said. "He goes to jail for two murder charges, but we got no witness now."
"Novak's not going to like this Elliot," Olivia said. "We just killed the case we had on this guy."
To Be Continued...
This is the end of the first one. Its my first fanfiction story of Law and Order: SVU.