"You want to what?" Van Buren asked.
"I'm dropping the charges against Toni," Rey told her.
"Detective, she just tried to kill you!"
"She was upset, Lieu, you have two boys, can you imagine what they might do if they saw you being hauled off in handcuffs?"
Anita huffed and said, "Alright, I think you're crazy, but alright…now what about her father?"
"Well he hasn't had anything to say since we got them in the car," Lennie said, "It doesn't look too good for him but there's something we haven't considered yet. If we subject him to a residue test and he comes up negative, then we look like a bunch of idiots."
"You go talk to him about it," Van Buren said, "I'll go talk to the girl."
Toni turned around when she heard the door open. Anita stepped into the room and closed the door behind her, "Miss Keller, do you remember me?"
"Yeah, you're the nice lady from last night," she said.
"I came to let you know that Detective Curtis isn't going to be pressing charges against you," Van Buren told her.
"Well I didn't mean to jump him," she said.
"I know…I can appreciate how devastating it must've been to see the police arresting your father."
"He didn't do it," Toni insisted, "My father didn't shoot Jack."
"Why would I shoot a lawyer?" Tony asked, "Especially that guy? Do you have any idea what he did for my daughter?"
"Nobody's saying it was your own idea, Tony," Lennie replied, "But you have to admit, things aren't looking too good for you right now."
"Why?"
"For one thing we can't corroborate your alibi. A threatening message was left on McCoy's answering machine shortly before the shooting, and whoever called has a voice much like your own. The day after the D.A is shot, you come into some money and buy a new car, and pay for it all up front and in cash. If somebody paid you to fire that gun, you need to tell us so we can help you."
"I didn't shoot anybody," Tony insisted, "And I wouldn't!"
"You have to admit it does look a bit suspicious on his part," Anita said, "The morning after McCoy was shot, your father supposedly comes into some money and buys a new car and gives the dealer 17 grand up front."
"You think that's what that is about?" Toni asked, "That my father shot him for money?"
"I know it's hard to comprehend," Van Buren said.
"It's ridiculous is what it is!" Toni replied as she shoved her chair back and got up, "My father never shot a person in his life and he sure as hell wouldn't be taking potshots at the D.A. He did come into some money, in Vegas…we went there a month ago and he won $20,000 at the craps table. He doesn't believe in banks so he never deposited the money, he kept the cash. I can't believe you'd think he's the one who shot at Jack just for something like money."
"There's more than that," Van Buren told her, "Mr. McCoy got a death threat on his answering machine last night and the caller's voice matches with your father's."
"You'd better believe I won every last bit of that money at a casino in Vegas, and I paid the government every last dollar in their blood money too, so you can't hold me for that either."
"It's just a little odd, you have the money a month and just now do something with it?" Lennie asked.
"Toni just finished school, I was going to buy her a car for a graduation present, I wanted to wait until we were back in New York and settled before I did that," Tony explained, "I know people in the dealership here, I also know a reputable insurer."
"Alright, Mr. Keller," Lennie said, "If you want to cooperate with us, there is a way you can clear yourself from this."
"What's that?"
"Last night your daughter submitted to a nitrate test…if you would be so kind as to do the same, we can clear up this whole mess right now," Lennie said.
"Why the hell didn't you suggest that earlier?" Tony asked.
"I would've but you didn't give me the chance to," Lennie replied.
"Big Keller's out too," Lennie told Rey and Anita, "They both tested negative."
"So where does that leave us?" Van Buren asked.
"Well, this is just off the top of my head," Rey said, "But I think there's too many coincidences here to just be coincidence. First we thought it was the daughter, then we thought it was the father, based on the evidence that we found."
"You think somebody set them both up for the murder rap?" Lennie asked.
"That's the way it's looking to me," Rey said, "Somebody seems to have gone through a lot of trouble to make sure that's where we look first."
"I wonder if they've managed to pick up any enemies in the short time they've been back in New York," Lennie said.
"Well I wouldn't expect them to be forthcoming with us about that after everything that's gone on," Van Buren said, "Call Detective Stabler in SVU and see if he can get any answers out of them. In the meantime I suggest we find out what we can about anybody Tony Keller might've known in Rikers. If anybody he was acquainted with in prison is out now, we start looking there immediately."
The next day, Elliot went over to the Kellers' home; he got out of his car and went up to the front door and beat on it a couple of times. He didn't hear any noise from inside but after a few seconds, the door opened and there stood Toni dressed in a set of pajamas and a robe.
"Elliot," she said, "Will you shut up? Daddy's sick and he needs to sleep."
"What's wrong with him?"
"I think he got some kind of flu that's going around," she said, "What's going on?"
"Can I come in and talk to you?"
"Sure."
She held the door open and he stepped in. He followed her out of the hall and they passed by the living room where he saw Tony sleeping in a recliner.
"My room's down this way," Toni took him down another hall and opened the door on the left wall and Elliot followed her in.
"You'll have to excuse me if I doze off…I think I picked up the flu too…so what is it you wanted to talk about?" she asked.
"I heard you guys had another run-in with the police," Elliot said.
"Oh that, it was a big misunderstanding, they let us come home yesterday," she said.
"I know…but Toni, they're thinking that whoever shot Jack is trying to set you two up for the murder."
Toni just laughed as she sat on the edge of her bed, "Now that's stupid, who would want to do that?"
"You tell me," Elliot said, "Have you or your father made any enemies lately?"
"Of course not."
"Don't lie to me."
"Come on Elliot, I would tell you if I knew anything," Toni said, "Have the police looked to see if anybody Jack put away has gotten out recently?"
"They're looking into it, so far nothing," Elliot said.
"Okay…what about the guys my father knew in prison? Have they looked to see if any of those bastards have gotten out?" Toni asked.
"We didn't think of that," Elliot told her.
"Well now you have something new to consider," Toni said, "And what about what they were talking about last night? Is it possible that the guys Jack was prosecuting in the last trial are behind this?"
"Jack doesn't think so," Elliot explained.
"Hmmm…he is going to be able to get out of the hospital soon, isn't he?" Toni asked.
"If you don't mind my asking, Toni," Elliot said, "Why are you so concerned about Jack's wellbeing?"
"Well I haven't been able to get back to the hospital yet to see him for myself," she told him.
"Well why would you need to?" Elliot asked.
"I figure it's the least I can do," she said.
"Why? Because he kept you from going to prison?"
"No Elliot, because he came to see me every night when I was in the loony bin."
"He what?"
"He never told you?" Toni asked.
"No he didn't. Toni, when they had you in Bellevue I came every night to see you, I never saw Jack."
"That's because he always came after you left…about a good hour after you had gone," Toni said, "After that, I figure I owe it to him to visit him until he can get out of that place."
"I don't get it," Elliot said, "Why did he come to see you? What was Jack coming to Bellevue every night for?"
She didn't answer. Elliot looked and saw that she'd fallen asleep. He drew the covers up on her and showed himself out; then he got in his car and headed for the hospital.
Jack looked up from his book and saw Elliot enter the hospital room.
"I'm going to guess you found something," Jack said.
"Why did you go to see Toni at Bellevue last year?" Elliot asked.
Jack blinked, "Excuse me?"
"I just came from her house, she told me that when they had her in the psyche ward, you went to see her every night, is that true?"
"I fail to see what business that is of yours," Jack said.
"Then it is true!"
"Of course it is," Jack responded, "Why would I lie about something like that?"
"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Elliot asked, "How come you always made sure you arrived there after I left every night?"
"Well despite your charming personality, detective," Jack said, "I wasn't going there to see you."
"Why were you going to see Toni?" Elliot asked, "Is there something going on that I don't know about?"
Jack started to laugh, but restrained himself and said, "There's a joke in that somewhere, but I'm not going to say what I'm thinking."
"Why were you seeing her every night?" Elliot asked.
"Because I figured she could use the company," Jack answered.
"What?" Elliot said, "You're not serious."
"Morbid curiosity got the better of me," Jack told him, "After she was committed, I decided I had to go to Bellevue and see what it was making this young woman tick. Pandora's Box opened and I fell down the rabbit hole."
"She has a tendency to do that," Elliot replied.
"Before I realized it, I was pouring my guts out to her, about my life, about my father…I've never told a person that I wanted to kill my father, that I still do…but I told her…why the hell did I tell her?"
"Why were you telling her about your life?" Elliot asked.
"Because I didn't figure she'd want to relive all her own memories after everything she'd been through," Jack answered, "I was surprised. I've seen people who after being through so much torment are dead inside but still walking around," Jack shook his head, "That wasn't her…she was still alive…"
Elliot tried to think of how to say what he had to say, "Had you ever met Toni before she came to us about Tobias Wentworth?"
"No," Jack answered with only a single beat between Elliot's question and his response.
"Okay," Elliot said, "Because…the police are taking into consideration the fact that somebody has gone through a lot of trouble to make she and her father look guilty for your shooting. We're trying to figure out if there's a connection between the Kellers and you."
Jack shook his head, "I never laid eyes on her until she was in court."
"And afterwards?"
"I went to see her once…to find out what she was…I found myself going back every night until they released her. I talked about my life because between the two of us, I really didn't think she'd have any interest to talk about hers. One night I stayed six hours and listened to her talk about everything that had happened to her." He saw the inquisitive look on Elliot's face, a look that simultaneously said he had to know, and that he didn't want to know. "I don't know if she was raped…I'm not even sure she knows…but listening to her explain it, you'd think she was forecasting the weather, she couldn't have cared less about it."
"I have to ask," Elliot said, "Can you think of anybody who would want to make Toni or her father the fall guy for your attempted murder?"
"I don't know…anybody can find out about what happened when Tobias Wentworth was murdered…from there they can probably put two and two together…but when I add them up, I'm getting five. Why would anybody figure Toni Keller would be a likely suspect for this? As far as I know, neither she nor her father has any grudge against me."
"How well do you know her father?" Elliot asked.
"I confess, not too much, but I figure if he had a problem with the way I handled things, he would've let me know before now," Jack responded.
"We're looking into people you put away, people he knew in Rikers, so far we're not coming up with anything," Elliot said, "We can't connect anybody to this."
"Needle in a haystack," Jack said, more to himself than to Elliot, "How do you find it? How do you find the needle?"
Elliot looked at him, "Burn down the haystack."
"You've taken the Kellers out of it already…but you better make sure nobody's throwing matches at them yet," Jack said.
Elliot's eyes opened a bit wider, "You don't think…"
"If the police have already ruled them out as suspects, whoever's behind this may also know it and decide there's no use for them now," Jack said, "I hope I'm wrong, but you better make sure of it."
Elliot left the hospital and sped back to the Keller house. When he got there, he rushed out of the car and up to the front door. He beat on the door and received no answer so he showed himself in. Tony Keller was still asleep in the recliner in the living room and completely oblivious to the world around him. Elliot grabbed the man up and shook him and slapped him to wake him up.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Tony asked when he finally regained consciousness.
"Where's Toni?" Elliot asked.
"I don't know," Tony's head swayed to the side and he squeezed his eyes shut for a second, "She was going to take a bath at…" he looked at the clock, "An hour ago."
"Where's the bathroom?" Elliot asked him.
He followed Tony through the house and they came to a room near the back. Elliot banged on the door a couple of times and there was no response. He kicked the door open and both men saw Toni in the tub, unconscious, and starting to sink below the surface. Elliot raced over to the tub, grabbed a towel and put it around Toni as he pulled her up and out of the tub. He tried to wake her up but it was to no avail; he carried her over to her room and put her down on the bed and opened the windows.
"She have a robe or something?" Elliot asked.
"Yeah," Tony replied.
"Get her in it and get her outside, now," Elliot said, "I'll call the fire department."
"Fire department?" Tony repeated as he wrapped Toni up, "What for?"
"Carbon monoxide poisoning?" Tony repeated what the firemen had told him, "How did that happen?"
"Toni said you guys had gotten the flu," Elliot said, "How long have you had it?"
"A couple of days," Tony answered, "What's that got to do with anything?"
"Carbon monoxide poisoning is often mistaken for the flu because the symptoms are the same," Elliot told him, "A couple days ago…that's right after Jack was shot."
Tony didn't seem to be paying much attention; he looked over at his daughter who was on a gurney by the ambulance, with an oxygen mask on her face which she was trying to remove.
"What do you make of it, Lennie?" Elliot asked.
"Well maybe it's me, but I seem to recall a case from a couple years ago, this woman was found dead in her home, her skin was bright red, that was an extreme case of carbon monoxide poisoning. The guy Jack was trying had worked on her heater a couple weeks before. However, that's not what happened here. These guys were being poisoned gradually, in which case if this was an attempted murder, will be very hard to prove because these sorts of things happen all the time."
"Mr. Keller," Rey said, "Have you had your water heater checked lately?"
"What lately?" Tony asked, "We only moved in a couple weeks ago."
"Who lived in the house before you did?" Rey asked.
"Hell if I know," Tony said.
"Is there anyway somebody could get in and get access to your water heater, your stove, something that could cause the leak?" Rey asked.
"I," Tony started to answer, then something came to him, "Well one of the cellar windows was broken when we got the place, I haven't gotten anybody to come out and fix it yet…I suppose somebody could crawl in through that. Excuse me, I have to see how my daughter's doing."
The detectives followed behind him. Toni had gotten the oxygen mask off and was fighting with the paramedics.
"How're you feeling, Miss Keller?" Lennie asked.
"Oh swell, I always like the whole neighborhood to see my business," she said as she pushed down the bottom of her robe, "Especially when it's so damn cold out!"
"She's feeling better," Elliot said.
"Mr. Keller," Lennie said, "Until we can determine what caused the leak, I don't think you two should stay here. Is there a place you can go, a friend, a relative's?"
"No, there's just us," Tony said, "We can go to a motel."
"This might be an attempted homicide," Rey told him, "Maybe you'd better let us escort you to a place where nobody will find you."
"No thanks," Toni said, "Nothing personal, but you guys don't have the best track record for protecting your witnesses."
"No offense taken," Lennie replied, "But assuming that this wasn't an accident…"
"It wasn't an accident," Toni shook her head.
"What makes you say that?" Rey asked.
"Somebody's been calling the house," she said as she tightened her robe, "He said if I talked to the police, they'd kill us."
"Did you recognize the voice?" Lennie asked.
She nodded, "Sure…it sounded like my dad, and Elliot."