-:-

Chapter 2: Temporary

adjective
1: lasting for a limited amount of time
2: impermanent

-:-

Fin stood as Benson and Stabler entered the SVU bullpen. Their grim expressions told him everything he needed to know, really, but he heard himself asking anyhow. "I take it that didn't go well."

"Understatement of the year," Stabler muttered, tossing his notebook onto his desk.

"How did you think she was going to react?" Fin snapped. "You go accusing her partner of raping her, beating the crap outta her. You think she'd take that well?"

"Fin," Olivia said, "we handled it with a bit more finesse than that."

"I'm sure you did, Olivia." He glanced at Stabler from the corner of his eye. "It's your partner's methods I'm questioning."

"You know what I'm questioning?" Stabler asked, taking a step toward Fin. "I'm questioning why you're so gung ho to be carrying Goren's water on this."

Fin wasn't intimidated. He calmly crossed his arms over his chest. "Because I know Bobby Goren, and I know he didn't do this."

"With this much evidence against anyone else, you'd be first on board, Fin, and you damn well know it. Just because he's your friend--"

"Exactly!" Fin announced, pleased that Stabler had made his point for him. "This much evidence against anyone else, and I'd buy the whole package. This much evidence against Bobby... no, sir, it ain't right."

"I'm not following," Olivia said. "You think he's innocent because of the evidence against him?"

"Hell, no. I know he's innocent because I know him. There ain't no way he did this. The evidence just supports my belief." He stopped and took a calming breath. He was going to have to spell it out for them. "Look, what's Bobby's reputation in the department?"

"You mean that he's eccentric? Quirky? To put it politely."

Fin shot Stabler a look that he hoped expressed everything he was thinking, then looked to Olivia for help.

"He's a boy wonder," she filled in. "His intuition is almost supernatural. He sees details no one else does. Picks up on clues everyone else misses."

"Right," Fin nodded. "In short, he knows his stuff. All this so called evidence? It ain't Bobby. Not the Bobby Goren I know."

"You're saying he's too smart to leave behind so many clues." Olivia, at least, seemed to be on the road to reason. "He wasn't himself, Fin..."

"Don't matter. Bobby could no more turn off his brain than you or I could stop breathing."

"He offed himself," Stabler pointed out. "He wouldn't have exactly been concerned with covering his tracks."

Fin shook his head. He was wasting his time, there was no way to make Benson and Stabler, Stabler in particular, understand anything about Bobby Goren. They didn't have a history with him. Hell, they'd likely never met anyone like him before. They couldn't possibly know how a brain like that worked. He gave it one last shot.

"Bobby wouldn't 'off' himself."

"Not even if he'd come back to reality and seen what he had done, was about to do to his partner?" There was heavy skepticism in Olivia's voice.

"No, not even if -- and he didn't, because he did-not-hurt-Eames!" How much plainer could he put it? He was quickly losing the tentative hold on his patience. "Bobby's sense of responsibility is as strong as his brain. Years of taking care of his mother taught him that, not to mention the backlash he suffered because of his father's complete lack of any sense of it. I know this about him, Olivia, and if you can't let your own sense of fair play keep your mind open to the possibility, then trust me. I wouldn't go out on a limb like this unless I was completely sure. And I am."

For a long moment, there was only the sound of Fin breathing heavily in the wake of his passionate defense of his friend. Elliot was the first to break it.

"Look, Fin, I respect you for going to bat for your friend, but how many years has it been since you worked with Goren? Can you really say for sure what he would or wouldn't do, given the right set of circumstances?"

"All I'm asking is that you keep your mind open, Elliot." He looked at Olivia. "Both of you. Just don't convict him yet."

"It don't think it'll matter how open or closed our minds are," Olivia said. "Looks like Alex wasn't raped, so it's likely Cragen will bounce the investigation over to Major Case. I hear they're chomping at the bit to get hold of this one."

Stabler turned toward the captain's office. "Let's go find out."

Fin watched them go, his mind sifting through possibilities and ideas until one took hold. He searched the squad room for his partner, finding the lanky man exiting the break room, a sandwich in one hand and a coffee in the other.

"Dinner," Munch said, approaching. "Gonna be another long night."

"Maybe not," Fin said, grabbing his coat. "Eames wasn't raped."

"One bright spot in this whole ugly mess."

"Olivia and Elliot are in with the captain now, filling him in, but it looks like Major Case might get the case after all." Making a sudden decision, Fin grabbed his coat from the back of his chair. "Look, I got something I gotta do. If I'm wrong and the case stays here, gimme a call, okay?"

He was out the door before Munch could reply.

-:-

Fin knocked and waited until he heard the summons before opening the door and entering the office. The slim, gray-haired man behind the desk watched him in open curiosity.

"Captain Deakins? Odafin Tutuola."

James Deakins stood and rounded his desk with his hand extended. Fin shook the hand, then stepped back, not yet relaxed. He'd jumped through plenty enough hoops last night and again this morning, but all of that would be for naught if the man standing before him, openly studying him, withdrew the welcome sign.

"I just hung up with the Chief of D's less than five minutes ago. I didn't expect you quite so soon."

Fin shrugged one shoulder. "Time is a precious commodity in any investigation."

"True," Deakins said, noncommittally. "Have a seat." He waited until Fin sat to continue. "This is more than a bit unorthodox. You must have called in every favor you have to get the brass to agree to this transfer."

"Temporary transfer," Fin pointed out, "and yeah, I did. I pulled every string there was, and used up a lifetime's worth of favors."

"This case is that important to you?"

"Bobby Goren is that important to me."

Deakins leaned back against the edge of his desk and crossed his arms over his chest. "Why?"

"Let's just say I owe him." Fin leaned forward in his chair. "Can I be frank with you, sir?"

"I wouldn't expect any less," Deakins said, a sly smile lifting one corner of his mouth.

Fin figured his reputation for bluntness had preceded him. "I doubt there are many, if any, around here who believe in Bobby's innocence. I'll even go so far as to say most of them have already tried and convicted him in their own minds, if not in the water cooler courts. I just wanted to be sure there was someone on the investigating team who'd give him a fair shake, balance it out."

Deakins expression took on a sharp edge, though his tone remained neutral. "Are you saying we can't conduct a fair investigation without you here to keep us honest?"

"No, sir, that's not what I'm saying. I just want to make sure someone is looking out for Bobby's interest, and like I said, I owe him."

"My detectives might have formed their opinions by now. Hell, I'd be surprised if they haven't. That's what cops do in every case, like it or not. It's that gut instinct that helps solve cases. I guarantee you, however, Detective Tutuola, that they all know better than to see what's not there, or read more into a situation than there is. Goren will be given a fair shake. All any of us want to do at this point is get to the bottom of what happened. For the department's sake, for Eames' sake, and for Goren's sake."

Fin accepted the mild rebuke with a nod.

Deakins studied him in silence for a minute. Finally, the captain said, "You used to work with Bobby."

"We did a couple of undercover operations together when we were with Narcotics."

"You knew him well?"

"Know him, yes, sir, I do," Fin answered, emphasizing the present tense of the word.

For the first time, Deakins' carefully neutral expression wavered. Something unidentifiable flashed in his eyes. His tone, however, revealed nothing. "You think he's still alive?"

Fin considered his words carefully. "I think it's possible, and I'm not willing to think otherwise until I see his cold, dead body for myself."

"He went into the river," Deakins pointed out, not unkindly.

"Maybe, maybe not. Ain't nobody found his body yet."

Deakins sighed, uncrossing his arms to run a hand through his white hair. "It should have shown up by now, I'll grant you that, but it could still wash up somewhere further down river. We haven't given up on finding it."

"Assuming he really did go into the river," Fin added.

"Evidence says he did. You thinking otherwise?"

Fin shrugged. "I'm just trying to consider all the possibilities."

"Despite the bloody handprint on the pier and the 911 call?"

"All that handprint tells me is that he was on the pier, not that he jumped in. I'm telling you, Captain Deakins, I know Bobby Goren, and there ain't no way in hell he committed suicide, I don't care what might have happened to drive him to it. Bobby did not kill himself, and no one will ever make me believe otherwise."

"And the 911 tape?"

"I don't know yet, but give me time and I'll find an answer for that, too."

Deakins stared at him a minute longer. A ghost of a smile played across his lips, and Fin got the distinct impression that some invisible hurdle had just been cleared, though he wasn't sure what. Neither did he care, so long as he got what he wanted -- to be a part of this investigation.

Deakins straightened and crossed to the door, opening it and sticking his head out. His eyes searched the squad room until he saw what he was looking for. "Waine!"

Fin sat back in his chair, finally allowing himself a breath of relief. It hadn't been an easy sell. Hell, the Chief of D's had been might near impossible to convince, not to mention Captain Cragen, but it was beginning to look like it might have been worth the fight.

Deakins sat down at his desk, and a few seconds later, a tall, athletically built young man entered the office.

"Yes, sir?"

"Come in, Waine. Have a seat." Deakins leaned back in his chair, letting it rock a bit. "This is Detective Odafin Tutuola, your new temporary partner. Tutuola, meet Detective Theodore Waine."

"Ted," the man said. He extended his hand readily, though his smile was guarded.

"Make it Fin." In the space of time it took to complete the handshake, Fin had sized the man up. Too young, though not as young as he'd first thought. Likely new to the rank of detective, judging by his overeager air. Every blond hair in its place, close shaven, perfectly groomed, with an immaculate, well tailored suit and shoes that were so shiny Fin knew without looking that he'd be able to see his reflection in them.

"Temporary, huh?" Ted said, moving to the chair, but not sitting. "Something I need to know?" He looked to Deakins with the last question.

"Detective Tutuola is on loan to us from the Special Victims Unit. He's here to help with the investigation into the attack on Detective Eames."

"And Bobby Goren's disappearance," Fin added pointedly.

Deakins nodded. "Of course."

"So, it's true then, what I heard. Eames wasn't... you know..."

"Raped?" Fin supplied. "No, she wasn't."

"That's good news, but I imagine it's not a lot of comfort to her... considering the rest of it." He rubbed the palm of his right hand on his pant legs as he spoke. "Are you saying we've got the case?"

Deakins laced his fingers across his stomach. "Detective Tutuola will be taking lead, and since you haven't been assigned a partner yet, I'm putting you with him on it. He'll bring you up to speed on what SVU's turned up so far."

"Thank you, sir. I know every detective out there," Waine gestured toward the busy squad room, "wants a piece of this case. I appreciate you giving me a crack at it. I won't disappoint you."

"I don't expect you to." Deakins leaned forward, signaling the end of the meeting. "And Waine," he pinned the young detective with an intense gaze, "don't assume this case is open and shut. I want it treated with the respect both of those detectives deserve." He spared a quick glance to Fin, before looking back to Waine. "Let's find out exactly what happened before we make any judgments. You got that?"

"Of course, sir."

Fin nodded his thanks to the captain before rising to follow Waine out of the office and into the Major Case bullpen.

Waine led the way to a desk on the far side of the room. Fin followed, nodding to the few Major Case detectives he recognized. He let his eyes rest briefly on the two empty desks in the middle of the room. Everyone seemed to be giving the desks a wide berth. Bobby's and Eames', Fin surmised. He resisted the urge to detour to them. There'd be time enough to check them out later.

Waine stopped before a pristine desk. Fin couldn't help notice that it was the polar opposite of every other desk in the room. Hell, it was the opposite of every cop's desk Fin had ever seen. Not so much as one paper was out of order, and there were no personal effects visible. If he had to guess, Fin figured the drawers were either empty or perfectly arranged.

"Been with Major Case long?" Fin asked, wondering if the man had just transferred in, and more than a bit peeved that Deakins would partner him with a newbie.

"A couple of months." Waine looked at him. "Look, if you're worried about my abilities, don't. I didn't get this promotion because I sat on my ass in Homicide. My arrest and conviction rate led the department the whole three years I was there."

"I didn't say anything about it."

Waine laughed. "No, but I guarantee you were thinking it. It's my baby face." He waggled his fingers in front of his face. "It's a curse. Not only does everyone think I'm younger than I am, but it makes me look inept. How old do you think I am, Fin?"

Fin didn't want to play the game, but figured it was easier to give in than waste time arguing. "Thirty-two."

Waine's eyebrows crept toward his hairline. "Not bad. Guess they didn't make you a detective for nothing. Thirty-four, actually, but most people guess much lower."

"Not with three years in Homicide," Fin pointed out. "Let's get started. There some place we can talk? Go over what we got so far?"

"Sure, conference room over there." Waine pointed off to the left. "There's an empty desk over there," he pointed over his shoulder. "I'll see about getting someone to move it over closer to mine, if you want."

"Don't bother." Fin headed toward the conference room, speaking over his shoulder as he walked. "I don't plan on spending a lot of time sitting around in the squad room."

-:-

"It's pretty damning."

Fin pursed his lips, but didn't reply. It was nothing more than the truth, and there was no denying it. Bobby's blood at the crime scene. Bobby's fingerprints at the crime scene. That damned -- and damning -- 911 tape. Not to mention the handprint on the pier.

"I know I promised to keep an open mind, but..." Waine trailed off.

"You saying you can't do that now?"

"No, no... that's not... I'm not saying I've condemned Detective Goren already, but Christ, man, admit it. It doesn't look good for him."

"Maybe not," Fin admitted, "but we're going to finish this investigation with the assumption of innocent until proven guilty, and that beyond any shadow of a doubt."

Waine leaned back in his chair. "You knew him before, didn't you?"

"We've worked together."

Waine nodded. "I understand why you would want to try and clear his name. People who know Goren, hell, all the guys around here, they like him. He's a likeable guy. I admit I haven't known him long, but I'm having a hard time believing he could just snap like that, especially on Eames. Hell, even I've seen how close they are, how well they understand each other."

"Sounds like you got your mind made up."

Waine stood and paced to the far wall, then turned back, pushing back his suit coat to plant his hands on his hips. "Look, Fin, I know why you're here. You're Goren's friend, and you don't want to see him railroaded. Fair enough. I get that, and I guarantee you that if it was one of my friends, I'd feel the same way. I'd do everything in my power to make sure he's treated fairly. So, that's cool, you know, but I've got to be the other side of the coin. I've got to make sure that you don't overlook the obvious just because that's not what you want to see."

Fin let his expression answer for him.

Waine sighed. "Okay, I get it, you're assuming Goren is innocent--"

"I'm assuming that the man I know would never hurt his partner."

"Are you sure you know him as well as you think you do?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, for instance, did you know that for the past few weeks Goren has been... well, moody, might best describe it. Did you know that he's nearly taken off Eames' head in the squad room in front of everyone on more than one occasion?"

"So what? My partner and I go at each other all the time."

"Maybe I don't know Goren all that well, but the other guys do, and from what I've been told, it's not like him. They say he's pretty easy going and mostly even tempered. The depression--"

"Okay, now, which is it? Was he moody? Or was he depressed?"

"From what I saw? Both. He was up and down like an elevator. But mostly depressed... morose."

Fin sat on the edge of the conference table. If anyone had reason to be depressed, it was Bobby, but the man Fin knew didn't give in to it. He'd perfected the art of keeping his personal and private lives separate.

He looked up, finding Waine studying him. The other man dropped his gaze when their eyes met, turning away to pace across the floor again. "How long had this been going on?"

Waine stopped. "A few weeks, I think. But I'll admit, I don't know him well enough to have really noticed."

Fin stood and headed for the door. "Let's go."

"Where?" Waine asked, hurrying to follow.

"To talk to someone who does know him well."

-:-

Fin rapped softly on the door and waited for a summons. It was almost a full minute coming. He pushed the door open and entered the room, his eyes going immediately to the tiny woman in the hospital bed. She was awake and had the head of the bed raised so that she was almost sitting up. She was alone. Her battered face carried the tell-tale signs of recent tears. It was clear he was intruding on a private moment and that gave him pause.

"Detective Eames? I'm Detective Tutuola."

"Yes, I know. We've met before."

Fin smiled. "I wasn't sure you'd remember. It's been a while."

She dabbed at her nose with a damp wad of tissues. "Hey, Ted."

"Is this a bad time?" Fin asked. "We can come back..."

She looked up. "No, it's fine. I'm fine."

"Are you, Alex?" Ted asked, moving to the bedside. "You look like you're having a rough go of it."

She tried to smile up at him, but it was a miserable attempt. "No, I guess I'm really not fine. Not yet."

Fin planted himself beside Ted. "I think I can understand some of what you must be feeling."

She lifted red-rimmed eyes to meet his. "You do, don't you? You and Bobby..." Her voice cracked ever so slightly. "You were friends."

"Yes, we are. That's why I'm here, to tell you the truth. I've been temporarily reassigned to Major Case. Ted and I are working this case now."

"Major Case... not SVU?

"Well, there was no rape, and your captain was anxious to get the case, so the brass reassigned it."

"And sent you over to work it?" Her brow wrinkled.

Fin smiled slyly, looking down at his hands. "Well, it wasn't exactly that easy. I pulled so many strings I feel like that old dude in Pinocchio."

"You did that for Bobby?"

"I owe him." He cleared his throat, looked up at her. "Detective Eames--"

"Alex," she said. "Please."

"Alex," he acknowledged with a short nod, "I know you don't remember the attack."

She closed her eyes. "No, I don't." Her voice was filled with bitterness. "I can't remember a damned thing about it."

Ted placed a hand gently on her shoulder. "That might not be such a bad thing, Alex, considering what you obviously went through--"

Her eyes snapped open and she pinned him with a withering glare. "Not a bad thing? Are you serious, Ted? My memory could be the key to clearing Bobby's name! I have to remember!"

Ted gave her a small, sad smile. "That's not likely to happen, Alex. Rohypnol messes with your mind. It's not likely those memories will ever return."

Fin cleared his throat again, drawing both sets of eyes to him. "Ted is right that you probably won't ever remember everything that happened that night, Alex, but that's why I went to the trouble to get myself on this case. I fully intend to find out what happened, both to you and to Bobby, and I will clear his name. I give you my word on that."

Alex's eyes brightened with moisture. Her voice was just a whisper. "You don't believe he did it." It wasn't a question.

"No, I don't." He shot a look to Ted, daring the younger man to dispute his words. "And I have every intention of proving that, but it's gonna be a tall order, given the evidence we're working with."

"Why?" Alex said, straightening in the bed. Fin didn't miss the wince that accompanied the movement. "Why do you think he's innocent? Olivia and her partner..."

"Stabler," Fin supplied.

"They seemed pretty convinced Bobby attacked me," she took a deep breath, "and then killed himself. Everyone I've talked to seems convinced. Is there something else? Something I don't know?"

"I got my gut, Alex," Fin replied. "I know that ain't much to go on, but I learned a long time ago not to ignore it. My gut tells me ain't no way the Bobby Goren I know attacked you."

"Alex," Ted interrupted with only the briefest glance at Fin, "we actually came here to talk to you about Goren's behavior before the attack."

"What?" Confusion wrinkled her forehead. "His..."

Fin frowned at Ted. That wasn't exactly the way he'd wanted to approach the subject. "Word is Bobby had been depressed lately. Is that true?"

"He's been a little withdrawn the past few weeks, but that's not all that unusual. He's always gone through spells of that, especially if there's something going on with his mom."

"This was nothing worse than those previous spells?" Ted asked.

Alex closed her eyes for a brief second, and when she opened them again, Fin saw an emotion he couldn't identify. "He was depressed, okay? And yes, it was a little more than usual."

"Did you ask him about it?" Fin asked. Alex made a rude noise. "I learned several years ago that you don't ask Bobby Goren questions like that. You have to wait for him to come to you, and he will eventually, if it's something he needs to share. That's just his way."

"Did he?" Ted pursued. "Did he say anything about what was bothering him?"

"No, nothing."

"How long ago did you notice the change in his behavior?"

Alex frowned at Ted. "I didn't notice a change in his behavior. I noticed he was a little down. That's it. And that started a couple of weeks ago."

"I'll call up to Carmel Ridge and see if anything's going on with his mom," Fin said. "Someone needs to tell them something anyhow."

"Oh, God, his mom!" Alex exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hands. "Does she know? Has anyone thought to tell her?"

"Don't worry about that, Alex. I'll take care of it." Fin was already planning just what to actually tell Mrs. Goren. God only knew how the mentally fragile woman would handle the news, but he wasn't going to worry about that until he had to, and unless and until they found her son's body, Fin didn't figure they had to tell her the whole sordid tale.

Fin pulled a small notebook out of his back pocket and opened it to a blank page. "Alex, what can you tell me about the case you and Bobby were working last week?"

Alex blinked at him, seemingly unprepared for the line of questioning. "The case...?"

"Yeah," Fin hooked a toe around a nearby chair and pulled it closer, noticing Waine's curious glance in his direction. "I just wanna make sure I'm covering all the bases. Captain Deakins told me you were investigating that string of murders near the river. I know it's been in the papers, but I've been covered up with other cases, so I haven't followed it as close as I probably should have."

"Prostitutes," Alex supplied. "Four that we know of, but we were running a search of cold cases to see if any matched the M.O. The last one we have was found nearly three weeks ago, well, four now. There was one the middle of last month, and two in the month before that. You'd have to check Bobby's notebook for the exact dates." She glanced up. "Bobby's notebook... do you have it? Was it found?"

Fin glanced at Ted, who shook his head. "It wasn't at the warehouse," the younger detective said "Nor the station or Goren's apartment. We're still looking."

Fin looked back at Alex. "Anything about this case unusual?"

Alex laughed, a short, humorless sound. "Everything about this case was usual. The dead women were absolutely immaculately clean, right down to their fingertips and toenails. Their hair had been freshly washed, and all four were dressed in brand new, generic clothes."

"The perp's handiwork?"

"The scrubbing was all pre-mortem, but I can't imagine that all four of them decided to bathe, wash their hair, get a manicure, brush their teeth and change into brand new clothes right before they were murdered. That'd be an awfully big coincidence."

"Any suspects?"

"No. Bobby had some theories about the psychology behind it, but we didn't have anything solid. This guy is good. He covered his tracks like a pro." She stopped, her gaze turning inward for a few seconds.

"Something else?" Fin pressed.

"I think Bobby might have had some ideas he hadn't yet shared. That's the way he works," she explained. "He gets these wild ideas -- or what would seem like wild ideas to anyone else, and he lets them percolate. When they get to a point where he feels like it's something worthwhile, he shares. And he's not often wrong."

"So you think he might have been onto something?" Ted asked, moving closer to the bed.

"I don't know. Maybe." She lowered her head. "I guess we'll never know what he was thinking now."

-:-