Cragen
Eighteen hours. Eighteen long, god-awful hours. While Casey usually didn't help out during interrogation, she and her newly outed boyfriend, Silas Shag, tag teamed on a suspect, who was a lawyer and also a fantastic liar.
Just the kind of perp the two could take on for eighteen hours.
Good ADA bad fed, Good fed bad ADA, they tag teamed, took him solo, tried every trick in the book. Cragen remembered watching the intense interview…
"Mr. Ranch, do you know why you're here?" Casey asked, her voice frosty.
"Your friend over there told me that I'm being charged with rape and murder." Brian Ranch leaned back with a smile. "But I both think we know that's not true, Ms. Novak."
"Well, DNA evidence doesn't lie, Mr. Ranch." Silas informed him. "Your DNA was found inside Kelsey Rivers."
"And we all know there's only one way for that to get there…" Casey said with a click of her tongue.
"We had sex!" Ranch arched an eyebrow. "Consensual sex. Last I checked, that wasn't a crime."
"Yeah, but you were the last person to be seen with her, alive." Silas leaned in close to Ranch. "We have witnesses."
Ranch smiled coolly at Silas. "If you had more than witnesses, I'd already be in jail, wouldn't I?"
Outside looking into the interrogation room, Cragen sighed; this was going to be a long interrogation, but if anyone could break this guy, it was Casey and Silas.
Finally, as it felt like time was slipping away, the two of them finally cracked him.
"Listen Brian, we know you did it!" Silas shouted at Ranch. "I can see the satisfaction all over your face!" He grabbed the back of Ranch's head, and forced him to look at the pictures of the crime scene; Silas could see the look of pleasure and satisfaction on Ranch's face, but like Casey told him every single day "Microexpressions aren't admissible in court."
Casey glanced at her watch; They only had about three hours left.
"I did not kill that girl!" Ranch told Silas; Ranch was sweating a bit now and Cragen knew that it would only take a little bit more to push him over the edge. "I was at a bar!"
Casey paused, and looked at the window for a second, then at Silas. "You were at a bar?" Casey asked quietly.
"Yes! That's what I said, damnit!"
Emerald eyes locked with sapphire, then both glared down at Ranch. Cragen smiled, knowing they had him.
"You said you were at home on the other side of town…"
Ranch paled, realizing his mistake. "I was at a bar right down the street…"
"What was the name of the bar?"
"Uhh… the… Red Tail…"
"Really?" Casey asked in mock surprise. "Because the bar where our witnesses said they saw you with Kelsey was called the Blue Tail."
"That can't be just a coincidence, can it Ms. Novak?" Silas asked.
"I've been doing this job long enough to know that there are no coincidences, so no, Mr. Shag," Casey leaned in and stared Ranch right in the eye. "This isn't just a coincidence."
Ranch backed up. "You can't prove anything." He stammered.
"We can't?" Silas said with a smile. "We have a picture of a man leaving the bar with Kelsey that looks a hell of a lot like you, we have witnesses who have IDed you, we have your DNA, and now we have this gaping hole in your story."
Ranch looked from Casey to Silas and back. "I want to make a deal. Man-one, fifteen to life possibility of parole."
Casey smiled. "I'll talk to the DA."
As Fin took him down to central booking, Silas let Cragen know that he and Casey were going to take a quick cat-nap in the crib.
They had disappeared for about five hours; since Casey had arraignment in a few hours, Cragen decided to go and check on them. He peeked into the widow on the door and smiled.
Casey and Silas were squeezed onto one bed, the fed's body curled around the young ADA's, his coat wrapped around her. Casey looked sound asleep, her head pressed into the crook of his neck.
Silas on the other hand was awake, his hand running over her back, his nose buried into her strawberry-blonde hair.
Out of the corner of his eye, Silas saw Cragen and gave a nod.
He gave Casey a soft shake, and pressed a kiss to her forehead, whispering something into her ear.
She stirred and snuggled closer to him, pulling the jacket up over her face.
He whispered something else in her ear, and Casey's green eyes shot open. She threw the jacket off, jumped out of bed, said something to Silas, and quickly left the room, brushing past Cragen with a quick "Good morning."
A few minutes later, Silas walked out, suit rumpled a bit, black hair sticking up in every which direction.
"How'd you manage to get her up and out that quickly?" Cragen asked.
Silas smiled. "Told her if she didn't get her ass down arraignment soon, Donnelly would cut my balls off for not getting her up in time."
Cragen chuckled. "Well that would be bad."
Silas nodded. "Well, I'd better get down to my office, or my boss'll cut my balls off."
Cragen put a hand on Silas' shoulder. "Nice work, Agent. Let Casey know too."
Silas gave Cragen a small smile, as he walked off. Cragen had to admit, he liked how they were all on the same side now.
XXX
Well, I'm glad at least SOMEONE likes this story enough to review it… Now, I'll have to get nasty; I want more reviews or I take the next chapter hostage, mkay? I know there are more of you reading this! Got it? Good. NOW REVIEW! DO IT! DO IT NOW!
