Disclaimer: SVU and its characters are not mine. Veronica, Natalie, Ted, Madeline, and Nikki are. This story is written for fun and not for profit.

KARMA

Chapter One: Visitor

16th Precinct

Manhattan SVU

3:24 P.M., March 15, 2006

Munch saw her first, as he was turning away from the coffee maker, a tall, willowy beauty with a creamy complexion and full, red lips. Her auburn hair, such a dark red it was almost brown, framed her serene face in shining waves like a glamorous movie star from the forties and set off her vibrant green eyes so dramatically that they almost seemed to glow. Her dress was a little out-of-date, but very elegant, made of a soft, floaty chiffon that almost seemed to dance because it was so light that even the faintest breeze would stir it. She smelled of lavender.

John stepped forward. "May I help you?" he asked.

"I'm looking for a detective," she said in a low, musical voice that made him smile.

"Detective John Munch, at your service," he informed her with a schoolboy grin.

She cupped his cheek with a soft, cool hand and said, "You're a very kind man, very chivalrous, and very sad, but you're not the one I'm looking for."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had someone specific in mind," Munch replied frowning. Most of his friends knew him as a Gloomy Gus, but how had this stranger read him so easily? "Who is it you're looking for?"

"I don't know his name," she said, obviously a bit embarrassed. Then she opened a small leather portfolio that he hadn't noticed her carrying and handed him a thick, creamy sheet of paper. "But this is he."

John looked down and gasped. There in his hands was a pen-and-ink drawing of Elliot Stabler, sleeves rolled up, hands on his hips, mouth slightly open. It was rendered in almost photographic detail, right down to the suggestion of two small scars, one on his chin and the other on his forehead. The mischievous twinkle in his eye gave the sketch such a lifelike quality that Munch could almost hear his colleague's voice as he made some smart-ass comment.

"I'm sorry, he's been in court all afternoon," John informed her.

"Then you must get him back here right away," the woman said intently. "His life is in danger."