Disclaimer: Dick Wolf and NBC own "Law and Order". I don't.
A/N: Well, here you are, folks. I've done it again. In spite of being a second year grad student working on her thesis and taking a God-awful marketing class with the most insane professor on the face of the earth, I've done it again. I have churned out another fic—and a multi-chapter one, at that. Whew!
The title comes from the fact that nonprofit organizations, because they don't have stockholders and exist to serve the public and not to turn a profit, are driven by their mission statements. This fic features a nonprofit that I made up. And no joke—the bar I mention in this story is real.
is real, too. (And it's a very handy site, by the way.)
I have to say, this was a difficult fic to write. Being a crime fiction writer must be difficult as hell, so I really commend those who do it for a living! Writing this fic was NOT easy, and it's just a fanfic!
I hope you all enjoy what I placed between scenes. It's meant to be humorous. :-P
This fic is for Jeremy Sisto, Anthony Anderson, S. Epatha Merkerson, Linus Roache, Alana de la Garza, Sam Waterston, my sister Samantha, and June and Angie. –Xxxx Abby
Mission-Driven
Chapter One: Discovery
Two women and one man each hurried out of their respective apartments.
"I'm guessing you two heard it, too?" said one of the women.
"Yeah, I did," said the other woman.
"Are you two going to check on her? I am," said the man.
"Yeah," the women answered simultaneously.
They and the man went up to their neighbor's door, and the man knocked.
"Lucinda? You all right?" he called.
When no reply came, he knocked again.
"Hey Lucinda, it's just Rob, Jamie, and Adriana, we just wanna know if you're all right! You've got us really concerned!" he called.
The three of them waited, but there was no answer.
The man then knocked even harder.
"Lucinda, we just wanna know if you're okay!" one of the women called.
Again, they waited, but again, no response came.
"Do you think we should call her?" the other woman asked.
"I'll go get my phone," said the first woman.
She went into her apartment and hurried out a few moments later with her cell phone. She dialed their neighbor's number.
A few seconds later—
"Voicemail," she said.
"You think she might've left?" asked the other woman.
"I don't know," said the first woman.
"Try calling her again," said the second woman.
A few seconds later—
"Voicemail again," said the first woman.
"What is going on?" said the second woman.
"Hey, guys—the door's unlocked," said the man, who'd made his way over to the door and had opened it ever so slightly.
The women came over to where the man stood at the door. The three of them then exchanged looks, silently agreeing that they should go inside.
The man opened the door wider, and the three of them cautiously entered the apartment.
"Lucinda?" the man called.
No answer.
"Well whoever was here, he's gone now," said the second woman.
When the three of them reached the living room/den—
The second woman gasped.
The first woman said, "Oh my God" the same time the man said, "Son-of-a-bitch".
Lying sprawled across the sofa, like a morbid mockery of a rag doll, was their neighbor. She lay stock still and limp. Her eyes were open, but they were glossed over and saw nothing.
The man turned to the first woman.
"Call 911!"
***DOINK!DOINK!***
Detectives Cyrus Lupo and Kevin Bernard were at the crime scene, along with the usual band of CSU techs, paramedics, and officers.
Of course, the woman was declared dead on arrival.
Bernard left the victim's bedroom, carrying the victim's wallet.
"Lucinda Carlisle—New York issued state I.D.," he announced, holding up the I.D. card he'd gotten from the wallet before placing it back inside the wallet, which he then handed to a nearby CSU tech to bag.
"There's a fire escape out this window," a different CSU tech called to him from across the room. "Killer probably escaped that way."
"Mostly likely, yeah," Bernard called back. "Be sure and dust for prints there really well, all right?"
"Sure thing," the CSU tech replied.
Meanwhile, Lupo was speaking with the women and man who'd found the victim.
"So you three know the victim, is that right?" he asked.
"Yes," said the first woman. "My name is Jamie Masters. I live right next door."
"All right," said Lupo, taking that down on his notepad. "And you two?"
"I'm "Adriana Valdez, I live right across from here," said the second woman.
"I'm Rob Pierce, I live next door to Adriana," said the man.
"Okay," said Lupo, writing that down. "One at a time, could you tell me what you saw, heard, all that? Whatever you can tell us."
Bernard had come over and was listening, as well.
"I have to be at work by eight a.m.," said Jamie. "So I was in bed. But I woke up because I could hear muffled shouting through the wall. I couldn't understand what was being said, but it was obviously a very heated argument. Lucinda was arguing with some guy."
"Is that what you two heard?" Lupo asked Rob and Adriana.
"Yeah," Rob said as Adriana nodded.
"I'd just gone to bed, too," said Adriana. "I'm a teacher, so I have to be up early, too. The arguing woke me up, as well. I could hear the same muffled shouting Jamie could."
Lupo took her statement as she spoke.
"Okay, and you, sir?" he asked Rob.
"I get off work late, so I like to veg out in front of the TV for a little while before I go to bed. That's what I was doing. At first, I couldn't hear anything, but after a while, I heard it, too—the same muffled shouting. I muted my TV and just listened, thinking, 'What the hell?' I should've done something. I should've gotten off my lazy ass and come over here. I probably could've stopped the psycho from killing her," Rob said.
"You don't know that, sir," said Lupo.
"It's called the bystander effect," said Bernard. "Happens to the best of us."
"So have any of you seen this man before?" asked Lupo. "Can you describe him?"
"No," said Adriana, Rob, and Jamie at the same time.
"Have you overheard any other arguments between him and Ms. Carlisle, can you remember? Did she ever talk about him to you?" said Bernard.
Jamie shook her head.
"No," she said.
"Not to me, no," said Adriana.
"Or me," said Rob.
"Have you seen any suspicious-looking men hanging around this apartment? Any men that gave you weird vibes?" asked Lupo.
"Sorry, Detectives—no," said Jamie.
"Me, neither," said Adriana.
"Same here," said Rob.
"Around what time did you start hearing the fighting?" asked Bernard.
"I'd say around ten-thirty," said Jamie.
"That's about what time it was when I looked at my alarm clock," said Adriana.
"That's about what I'd say, too," said Rob. "I get off at ten, and I'd been watching TV for a little while before I started hearing anything."
"Okay," said Lupo, finishing up jotting down their statements.
"Here," said Bernard, handing each of them a copy of his card. "You think of anything else that might be helpful, you just give us a call down at the precinct, all right?"
"Sure thing," said Rob, taking the card he was handed.
"I will, definitely," said Adriana.
"So will I," said Jamie. "You know, there is one thing."
"Yeah?" said Bernard.
"This evening, she was just getting home when I was leaving, and she was on the phone with somebody she was very angry at. They were arguing," Jamie replied.
"Okay," said Lupo, writing that down. "Around what time was that?"
"It was between 5 and 6," said Jamie. "Before I left, I came over here and asked her if she was okay. She said she was—that she just got a, quote, 'very unpleasant phone call'. That's all she said. Obviously, she didn't want to talk about it."
"Okay," said Lupo. "Well, thank you all very much," he then addressed the three of them. "You've been very helpful."
"You have," Bernard agreed. "Again, give us a call if you think of anything."
As he and Lupo left the apartment/crime scene—
"I always love it when nobody can give a description," he said in a bummed-out, sarcastic tone.
"Homicides-r-us," Lupo quipped dryly.
***DOINK!DOINK!***
Office of the Medical Examiner
Manhattan, New York
Friday November 20
"And they say dead men tell no tales," Dr. Rodgers said in her typical dry tone. "Well this gal was talking pretty loudly. The cause of death is asphyxiation from manual strangulation. She has damage to her larynx, trachea, and to the arteries in her neck. X-rays show that he fractured her hyoid. That's a bone in your neck, right here," she said, pointing and using herself as an example. "But the dead giveaway may or may not be the red marks and bruises on her neck."
"I'm glad we always see each other under such pleasant circumstances," Bernard quipped.
"Yeah," Dr. Rodgers went along. "And I've got a date tonight."
"Is he dead or alive?" Lupo joked, smirking.
"Tee hee," Dr. Rodgers replied flatly.
As Lupo and Bernard left the room—
"Tough crowd," Lupo muttered.
Bernard snorted and shook his head, though he had a small smile on his face.