Title: Ghosts, Chapter 1

Author: Sorsha711
Pairing: Munch/OFC, others implied
Rating: M, for language and references to violence; some adult situations
Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to Dick Wolf. A quick check of my bank account should prove I'm not making anything off of writing my stories. Sigh!
Summary: A woman with a tragic past holds the keys to solving a series of brutal killings. Munch centric with heavy doses of the oh so sexy Fin

Ghosts, Chapter 1

"It's well documented fact, Detective Tutuola, that these large multinational corporations have a legacy of…" John Munch began.

Breaking into his partner's latest conspiracy rant, Odafin Tutuola pointed to the ringing phone. "You're up today. Are you going to get that or have you taken a job with the National Inquirer?"

Sending Fin a smirking grin, the lanky detective reached over to grab the phone. "Munch, SVU."

Grabbing up a pad, he began to jot down notes. "Yeah, go it."

Dropping the phone back into its cradle, Munch rose to his feet and pulled on his jacket. "Body found in a warehouse off the Westside Highway. I'll tell Cragen."

"Why us?" Fin asked, shrugging on his own jacket.

"Vic's trussed up to the rafters and has been tortured. First indications are he was also raped," Munch replied, draining the last of his morning coffee before walking over to his captain's office.

Knocking, he stuck his head inside. "Just picked up a call on a body across town. Fin and I are responding."

Looking up, Don Cragen ordered, "Got it. Keep me posted and let me know if you need backup."

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Munch took a deep, cleaning breath as he exited the warehouse. Twenty-plus years as a cop, the last eighteen in Homicide and SVU, had exposed him to horrors few could imagine. What they had found inside the warehouse left him struggling not to be sick, something he hadn't done since he was a rookie on the Baltimore force. It was no consolation that several of his fellow officers had not been able to resist the desire and had fled the building to vomit away from the crime scene.

Sadly, he was reminded that the old adage that 'he had seen it all' wasn't always true. He was still able to feel shock and revulsion. Knowing George Huang would tell him he should take comfort in the fact that he could still feel this way was a luxury he could not indulge at that precise moment; it was a weakness the investigation could ill afford. They had a monster, or perhaps monsters, to catch and he didn't have time to feel this overwhelming sense of horror and gnawing fear the scene in the warehouse had set loose in his heart.

"Damn, that is as bad as I can remember."

Glancing over at his partner, Munch nodded. "Yeah. I'm calling Cragen. This won't be an isolated case. Our perp will kill again and probably has already. The rage and brutality… We need to get someone looking for similar cases. This whole scene seems choreographed and my gut says this guy has done this before to get this proficient."

"I had the same reaction." Taking a deep breath, the younger cop turned to go back inside. "I'll see if Warner is about finished and check behind CSU. With all the splatter, they could overlook something and we don't want to miss anything that our perp might have left behind. I doubt he left us much of anything to work with."

"Yeah, it's not likely given the way the site was staged." Pulling out his cell phone, he keyed his commander's number. "Hi Don. Munch."

"This is a bad one. Warner can't tell us much yet given the state of the corpse. I've never seen torture like this. TOD appears to have been a few days ago given decomp. Hands are gone and the face is damaged beyond recognition… teeth and jaw smashed. This guy's own mother couldn't ID him from what the perps left us."

Pausing to listen to Cragen's response, Munch offered, "Don't know race or hair-color yet; this guy was flayed alive. There's nothing left but a pulpy mess."

"Yeah, he was raped… repeatedly. Can you get Liv or Elliot to start looking for cases with similar MO's? Our perp has done this before. Warner says the cuts… the flaying was almost surgical in precision."

"It's only a matter of time, Cap. Both Fin and I… this is just the beginning."

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