Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns and will continue to own every SVU character. Maybe he'll lend them to me for my birthday?
Author's notes: I hope you guys are enjoying this. Maybe another two or three chapters…we'll see. This is a relatively short chapter. But I'm sure you'll forgive me. It gets very interesting from here. Enjoy! Picks up where chapter 3 left off.
"Detectives, right on time," the secretary greeted them as they entered the foyer, "Mr Bertrand can see you now."
"Like he had a choice," Elliot whispered to Olivia as they approached the office door. It opened, and handsome man in his forties gestured for them to come in.
"Detectives. I'm Oliver Bertrand, how can I help you?" He asked jovially, shaking their hands as they passed him. The stale smell of tobacco still lingered, but it wasn't like Bertrand hadn't tried to mask it; the aroma of aftershave that filled the room as they approached his desk was almost over-powering. They sat in the chairs he offered opposite his desk as he made his way to the seat behind it.
"I'm sure you know why we're here?" Elliot asked, crossing his legs.
Bertrand reclined in his chair slightly, "I can guess"
Elliot smirked, irked by this guy's flippant attitude, "we heard you found out about Zoe's intra-work relations."
Bertrand's eyes darkened and he sat forward slowly, "I heard about what happened two weeks ago. She merely confirmed it yesterday afternoon when she told me"
"You got angry", Olivia said, narrowing her eyes; it wasn't a question.
Bertrand nodded, measuring Olivia up, "At first," he conceded, "she betrayed our trust; and it obviously hurt."
"Until you got rid of the problem," Elliot replied in a clipped tone.
Bertrand raised his eyebrows, "I didn't kill the bastard. I thought about it, I'll admit it. But last night I put my energy into something else."
"Meaning?"
Bertrand rubbed his temple with his fingers, exhaling loudly, "I spent the night at Kitty Galore on Broadway."
Elliot snorted before he could stop himself, "a strip club? How original."
Bertrand folded his arms, "not that I have to explain myself to you, but it's not just a strip club. Maybe to the poorer man, but for those with money, you can have all your desires realised," he finished, raising his eyebrow suggestively.
Olivia fought the urge to roll her eyes, "when did you get there?"
Bertrand drew his lip in thoughtfully, "around 6pm. Didn't get home until after 1am. I didn't kill Dennis, but he got what he deserved."
Olivia and Elliot rose from their chairs, "we'll keep in touch," Elliot said, hoping it sounded something like a threat.
"I look forward to it," Bertrand quipped, rising from behind his desk and following them to his office door, "oh, detectives!" Bertrand called out. They turned at the hallway entrance, "tell Foxy I said hi."
His door snapped shut, and Elliot and Olivia began down the long hallway. Olivia voiced her disgust, "What is it with this place and the jerk-offs that work here?"
Elliot laughed, "I don't know. But I can't wait to tell John that he and Fin get to canvass a strip-club."
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"I hate these places," Munch whined, as he and Fin negotiated their way through the crowd of rowdy men.
"Who you wanna talk to first? The cop or the nurse?" Fin asked sarcastically, gesturing the strippers writhing on the podiums. They turned their attention back to looking for a hallway that would lead to the manager's office.
"Can I help you gentlemen?" A voice to the Detective's right, belonging to a man dressed sharply in a suit, got their attention.
"Do we look so much like cops?" Munch asked sardonically.
The man in the suit gave a smile that failed to reach his eyes, laughing nervously, "we aren't doing anything illegal here Detectives."
Munch realised his unease, "we never said you were. And we're not from Vice."
The man visibly relaxed, "I'm Mr Zachary. I own this club."
Fin pulled out the photo of Bertrand from his jacket pocket, "you recognise this man?"
Zachary took the photo, and nodded, "that's Mr Bertrand. One of our best clients" He handed the photo back to Fin.
"When was he here last?" Fin asked, putting the photo back into his pocket.
"Wednesday night." He gestured for them to follow him into his office, "he was here from around 6pm. He had his last drink well after midnight."
"Is there anyone else who can verify that?" Munch asked.
Zachary pulled a book from a shelf behind his desk. He opened it, running his finger down a list of names.
"Keeping tabs?"
Zachary looked up smirking, "gotta protect my girls," he went back to the list, "…Bertrand. Here we are. He spent the night with Foxy and Renee."
"They here?"
Zachary nodded, "Foxy's with a client, but Renee's out back getting ready for her act."
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"Yeah, that's Oliver Bertrand. Great tipper." Renee said, adjusting herself in her maid's uniform.
Fin put the picture away, "what time was he here?"
Renee pursed her lips as she applied lipstick, "well Foxy was done with him at about 8, then I took over. Kept him happy til about 1 in the morning," she answered proudly.
Munch and Fin shared a weary look, "thanks for your help."
She turned from the mirror, "you're not staying for the show?" she pouted at them.
"Uh, no," Munch said uncomfortably, "but thanks for asking."
They exited the building, avoiding the even rowdier crowd that had gathered at the base of the stage. The lights dimmed, just as they got out the door.
Munch finally gave into Fin's piercing glare, "what?"
"Thanks for asking?" Fin exclaimed incredulously, "what are you? 12?"
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Friday, 8.30am
"One tall coffee; black and one tall herbal tea. Two sugars in each," Elliot recited to the man behind the portable coffee cart.
"Five dollars buddy," the man said happily, rubbing his hands from the cold.
Elliot dug through his pocket for the money, "keep the change," he said, scooping the orders from the bench. He joined Olivia who was waiting for him to the side.
"Mmm," Olivia moaned, inhaling the scent of her tea, "just what I need."
Elliot put his arm around her shoulder and pouted, "I thought I was what you needed?"
Olivia laughed, sipping from her cup, "yeah, I need you to buy me my tea."
Elliot chuckled, taking a sip from his own cup.
"You jealous of the relationship I have with my tea?" Olivia asked cheekily.
Elliot pretended to think about it for a moment, before shaking his head, "no, not really"
They side-stepped two children running down the path, "not really?" Olivia replied, sounded almost indignant.
Elliot smiled, before leaning down and kissing her softly, "because it doesn't get to do that."
Olivia's smile widened, "no, it definitely doesn't."
His laughter filled the air as they made their way to the precinct.
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"Where's ours?" Fin asked, as Elliot and Olivia settled behind their desks.
"Where's your what?" Elliot asked, winking at Olivia. She smiled as she turned on her computer.
Elliot leaned back in his chair, resting his outstretched legs on the edge of his desk, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
Fin scowled, "you leave me with this sludge and you go ahead and buy good quality," he turned to Munch, "I've been your partner almost eight years and you never buy me coffee."
Munch frowned, "I resent you calling it sludge. It's just the brand we've got. And what's stopping you from going out and buying coffee yourself?"
"I'm poor John, you know that"
"And I still pay alimony to all my ex-wives. You can buy a cup of coffee."
The opening of Cragen's door stopped the argument before it could continue. He strode towards their desks, "Morales has come through. Elliot, Olivia, get to computer crimes," he turned to Munch and Fin, "Casey needs you two in court, so settle the differences and get moving."
"Maybe Casey'll buy you some coffee Fin?" Elliot teased as he and Olivia rose from their chairs.
Before Munch could respond, Cragen pointed to the door, "Go."
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"Hey," Morales said, looking up from his computer as Elliot and Olivia entered the room, "I have something that might help you."
He led them towards the back of the room to where a large computer screen was set up, "we got the security tapes from the store next door."
Elliot came up behind Morales' right shoulder, "what does it show?"
"Take a look," Morales said, moving to the side to allow the two to watch.
The night-vision of the camera was directed at the entrance to the store, and invariably showed the alley between the building and hotel, as well as the hotel's entrance. At the moment, all it was recording was an empty street, save for a cat that wandered slowly out of frame and into the alley. It remained that way until a male came into view. Elliot and Olivia unconsciously moved closer to the screen. The man was facing away from the camera and tripped on a raised bit of concrete, forcing something to fall out of his grasp.
"Is that a gun?"
Morales nodded, "It's the gun."
They watched as the male retrieved the weapon, shoving it into his pocket before darting down the alley.
"Do we get a look at his face?"
Morales remained impassive, "just keep looking."
Not ten minutes later, the man came back out from the alley, before turning directly towards the camera and running down the street. Morales rewound the tape, pausing it on the man's face.
"About five minutes later, your hooker comes out of the hotel entrance in tears. That's your guy," Morales said, pointing at the stilled image on the screen.
"Look familiar to you?" Olivia asked Elliot.