Chapter 7: Avenues of Investigation

Munch rang Kseniya Smith's doorbell at seven o'clock in the morning.

A man answered the door. "Can I help you?"

"Mr. Smith? Is your wife here?"

"Who are you?"

Munch showed him his badge. "Detective Munch."

"Honey, there's a cop here to talk to you," he called over his shoulder.

"Tell him to drop dead!" Kseniya shouted back.

Mr. Smith gave Munch a look that was either apologetic or very politely irritated.

Munch talked loud enough for Kseniya to hear. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry about what happened to your mother. I think she's innocent."

Mr. Smith backed away as Kseniya came to the door. Her eyes could have been her mother's, except they were smoldering with anger. "If you believe that, then why is she in prison?"

"Because I have no proof," he replied.

"I thought the burden of proof is supposed to be on the prosecution. You know, that 'innocent until proven guilty' crap."

"We try to catch the guilty, but sometimes innocent people get caught with the same net."

It was the wrong thing to say. Her face hardened and she moved to slam the door.

"But I'm trying to fix this," Munch said quickly. "And I'm hoping you can help me prove she's innocent and get her out."

Kseniya hesitated. "How?"

"I think someone your mother knew in Russia was behind this. Did she ever talk about any enemies?"

"No." She smiled wryly. "Mother was always careful not to bring work home."

"Why did your family leave Russia?"

"I don't know," she answered after a moment. "I think it was a case my mother was working on. My father became very nervous. One night, in the middle of the night, he took Temir and me to a truck that was waiting outside. We didn't even have a chance to pack anything. We drove all night and for hours the next day, most of the way off roads. We didn't stop until we were out of the country. Even after Mother joined us, they never told us why. We never discussed it. I'm sorry." She began to ease the door closed.

Munch handed her his card. "Call me if you remember anything."

She took the card and nodded.

As Munch turned back toward his car, he frowned. Another dead end.

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Munch stood with Cragen, Olivia, and Fin as they watched Dr. Huang interview a seven-year-old boy who had been kidnapped only to be returned physically unharmed three days later. Though a medical examination was inconclusive, his parents were sure the child had been sexually assaulted. Unfortunately, the boy wasn't talking.

"Do you like to draw, Kyler?" Huang asked conversationally.

The boy shook his head in a vigorous negation. He sat with his knees pulled up to his chin, his big blue eyes downcast.

"Really? What kinds of things do you like to do? Do you play sports?"

Kyler lowered his head and shook it slowly, almost shamefully.

"Do you watch TV?"

"Yeah," he whispered barely audible.

"What's your favorite show?"

Kyler kept his head down, but glanced up at Huang. "A cartoon called Batman."

Huang nodded sagely. "Did you watch Batman where you went last week?"

Kyler looked down again and didn't answer.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing."

"Did someone tell you to say that?"

"No."

The boy's mother, watching this with the detectives, sighed angrily. "He's getting no where. What's taking so long? You're supposed to be figuring out who abused my son!"

"We will, Mrs. Conway," Cragen assured her. "You have to be patient."

Dr. Huang came out. "I'm not picking up any fear from him. I don't think he was threatened; I think he was taken by someone he cares about: a relative or a close friend."

"Who would do that to him?" the mother asked.

"Unfortunately, the majority of sexual abuse is perpetrated by an acquaintance of the victim," Huang said sympathetically. "Fin, I think you should talk to him."

"Me?" Fin said in surprise. "You know talking to kids ain't exactly my thing."

"He was betrayed by someone he trusted. He feels vulnerable, so he's trying to act tough. I think he'll see the qualities he's striving for in you and respond to them."

"I'll give it a shot," Fin agreed.

When he walked in the room, Kyler glanced up quickly, then down again.

"Hey kid. How you doing?"

"Fine," he answered quietly.

"I hear you like Batman."

"Yeah. He's cool."

"What do you like about him?"

Kyler raised his head a little. "He fights bad guys."

"Yeah, that is cool. You know, Kyler, I fight bad guys, too."

Kyler scooted forward, his interest suddenly piqued. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Cool!"

"You know, some bad guys don't look like bad guys; sometimes they look like sweet old ladies. They can even be people you know, like a teacher or a friend."

Kyler retreated a little bit. "I guess so," he agreed.

"Hey, do you want to help me catch a bad guy?"

They boy sat up straight and looked excited. "Yeah!"

"There's someone who's been stealing little kids from their parents and hurting them, then sending them back. Do you know anything about that?"

"She didn't hurt me!" Kyler insisted.

"Who didn't hurt you?"

"She told me not to tell. She said it wouldn't hurt; she just wanted to hold me. She let me eat whatever I want, and watch TV all day."

Fin hesitated. He wasn't sure if he should push it, or how much he should ask, but he knew Huang was watching and would rush in if he took the interview in the wrong direction. "Did she touch you?"

Kyler looked down. "Yeah. But she said it wouldn't hurt."

"Did it hurt?"

Kyler dropped his chin to his chest and pulled his legs back up. "Not really," he said, barely audibly.

"Okay, okay. Let's talk about something else, 'kay kid?"

"Like what?"

"The woman who took you, you ever see her before?"

"Yeah. She's my babysitter."

Mrs. Conway gasped. "Lisa! I'll kill her!"

Cragen tried to calm her. "We don't know for sure that's the right person. If you give us her address, we'll investigate."

"Of course."

Cragen led her away to get the information. He sent Olivia and Elliot to talk to the babysitter.

"Good call," Munch congratulated Huang. "I wouldn't have guessed he'd open up to Fin."

"Thank you," he said. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure," Munch replied uncertainly.

Huang took his arm and led him aside. "Your colleagues are concerned about you. You haven't been taking as much interest in your work as you used to. You seem distracted."

"It's the Petrov case," he admitted. "I know Serim Araizhanova is innocent."

"You sound pretty sure about that," Huang said. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you know something you're choosing not to tell anyone."

"George, if you consider me your friend at all, you won't ask that question."

Huang nodded. "You held something back, and now you feel guilty. A lot of investigators go through something like this. If you don't come clean, or find some other way to prove her innocence, it's going to hurt your confidence in your abilities as an officer, and ultimately your abilities themselves."

"But there's nothing I can do. I'm sure the answer is in Araizhanova's past in the Soviet Union. Her family was smuggled out of the country, which was a dangerous and difficult thing to do. But the only ones who know why are Petrov, who's dead, and Serim herself, and she won't tell me."

"Really?" Huang thought for a moment. "I might know someone who can help you. He works for the CIA; they may have something on Petrov and Araizhanova."

Munch looked at him, wondering what repercussions accepting the offer could have. "How can I get in touch with him?"

"You can't. I'll set up a meeting. But you have to accept that, whatever you're hiding about this case, the fact that you're still investigating is going to come out, and people might start speculating."

"That's a risk I have to take."

"I'll arrange the meeting," Huang said.