13 June
Main entrance to the
SVU Squad Room
7:23 p.m.
Olivia Benson arrived at the squad room door just as Otten, Sofarelli, Munch, and Cragen were leaving his office.
What's happening here? Heads are turned, chairs spun so that no one's facing them as they go by…are we all being shunned now? Cragen's walking like he really hurts…compared to him, John's bounding across the room—son of a bitch! Someone clocked John good…I must have missed something big… Judith looks naked without her shoulder holster and she's moving like she's on autopilot… Couch is close by, but he's scowling and she just gave him a really worried glance…damn shame, all the shit she's in, she needs the support of her partner right now….
The four entered the hallway. Munch, third out, greeted Benson first.
"Welcome to the land of the unemployed."
"Huh? What happened?"
Cragen let the door to the squad close behind him before answering.
"When Tommy finds out John decked his lieutenant, I'm sure he'll join the suspended list. How's Eristoff?"
Olivia ignored the question to stare at Munch. He responded to her attention with a profile pose that displayed the bruise in all its purpling glory.
"I think it makes me look dashing, " he said, giving her a come-hither leer.
Without your glasses, you look like a myopic meerkat—sorry, but it's not that appealing.
"Purple," she said, "doesn't look good on either of you."
Cragen cleared his throat. "Eristoff?"
Olivia swallowed a chuckle before answering.
"According to his doctor, out until mid-morning. Taylor and Atkins are sitting on him. They'll call you if anyone moves him. Have you eaten?"
Cragen nodded. "We're meeting in the Observation Room for an update."
He, Munch, and Otten headed left down the hall. Before Olivia could follow, Couch's voice halted her. He slouched against the door frame as though his legs could not hold him upright, tie loose around his neck, his mouth compressed into a frown.
"Do you know the whole story about what happened today?"
She nodded. "Cragen filled me in via cell phone on his way back here."
"Can you explain something to me?"
"Sure. What?"
"We just spent the last thirty minutes planning to bring down the Chief of Department. I don't understand why we're doing this. I asked John earlier and he gave me a diatribe against The Man. It sounded silly coming from a thirty-year veteran."
It's both silly and typical….
"Don't let the neatly knotted tie fool you," she said. "John's an unreconstructed hippie. I sometimes think he's here only to undermine the establishment."
Olivia's humor served only to deepen Couch's worried frown.
"Okay, but what about everyone else? Why are they so willing to go against Chief Sullivan?"
"Willing? Sullivan forced us into it. Someone has to stand up to…."
Olivia bit off the rest of her rant.
He's not looking for a stirring speech…he wants to know why his team, a bunch of people he barely knows, are risking their careers over this….
She settled against the wall next to him.
"Maybe some history will help," she said. "About fifteen years ago, Peter O'Farrell, Chief of Operations and Cragen's rabbi, went dirty. IAB and the D.A.'s office leaned on Cragen until he wore a wire and trapped him. That left a bad taste in some important mouths. Everyone knows that Don Cragen is a great captain: he understands the system and how to work it; he sticks up for his people like no other C.O. I know. His units' close rates are always high. Despite that, he'll never be promoted because he did the honest thing—not the blue thing—and brought down a Chief.
"Now, it's happening again. Sullivan didn't want Cragen and your partner to catch crooked rats; he doesn't want justice for those murdered cops. He only wants to embarrass Chief deMichelis and force him out as head of IAB. That really offends Cragen. He and Sullivan are old friends, but he's pissed about being used and he's not taking it lying down this time. He's on the attack."
She paused to choose her words carefully.
"We're willing to join him in this because we trust him and because SVU isn't like the other detective squads. Over the years, we've faced the same choice over and over—do the right thing or do the blue thing. We've learned that helping the victims is more important than loyalty to dishonest, self-serving people.
"That's why Fin and Elliot are disobeying a direct order from Chief Sullivan—they trust our captain and they see Sullivan's actions as illegal and corrupting. John, too—he did what he did because, under all that cynicism, he still believes in doing what's right. Their decisions put them all in the same canoe without a paddle floating down the same shit stream. If I have to, I'll be there with them, too."
Couch's eyes narrowed as he looked away.
I know what you're thinking... is this really worth your job? Wish I could tell you it is, but you have to decide for yourself...
"Nothing here is black or white," she continued, "and I can't swear that everyone will live happily ever after. If this makes you uncomfortable, no one here will blame you if you sit it out. We all know how risky it is."
She peered closely at Couch.
"Does that help any?"
He mulled her words for a few moments and nodded.
"Sort of, but you didn't mention Judith."
Olivia swallowed hard.
I could play you…tell you that Judith can handle this easily…you'd believe me and go home and I'd have someone to work tomorrow with me…but you can't build a team on lies….
She bit her lip and considered her words.
Might as well be blunt…Judith would be….
"Judith shot one of us. That Lau was crooked and the shoot was line of duty doesn't matter; it's going to cloud her mind and twist her gut like no other shooting can. But remember—someone always pays when a cop gets killed. Fin thinks Sullivan will dump it on Tucker. However, Judith's over fifty, female, just cut herself loose from all her bunkies in Brooklyn…"
Couch interrupted. "...and everyone here who should be in her corner has troubles of their own…except me."
"Yeah."
His gaze slid from her face to the floor. Olivia counted to nine before he jerked his head up and spoke.
"I'd better go see how Judith's doing."
He turned toward the Observation Room; Olivia fell into step next to him.
That had to be a hard decision...they've been together only a few weeks and his trust in her took a big hit this week...I'm not sure I'd have stuck by Elliot if this had happened to us my first month here...
Couch held the door for her, closing it behind him after he entered the Observation Room. He went to join Judith, who was standing next to Tucker.
Elliot looks like hell, but he's back safe… John's hovering behind Fin…given how worried we were earlier about them, I certainly understand…very thankful we're back together and mostly in one piece….Tucker hovering at the edge of our group…he looks as dragged out as Judith does….
Elliot was catching them up on the interrogation. He paused to give her a nod in greeting as she walked to his side.
"Wilkerson," he continued, "barely blinked after learning that her accomplices are dead—"
"—or pronounced dead by Elliot," Fin added.
"She admits to everything that happened today," Elliot said, "but we haven't touched on Delgado and Henry yet. What's new on the Sullivan front?"
Cragen stepped into the center of the group. He cradled his cast with his right arm; Olivia had never seen him so drawn and worn. Casey leaned close to her boss and whispered something. Beale nodded and she left the room.
"Two things, the first I think is good. Duty Chief Verbeck is spitting mad over Sullivan's handling of the investigation. She's planning to protest it at tonight's meeting."
"How do you know that?" Fin asked.
"Helena Katz told me," Cragen answered. "I know her from the Anti-Corruption Task Force; now, she works with Verbeck. According to her, Verbeck has drawn up a list of problematic directions and orders given by Sullivan. It will be part of her report to Commissioner Richardson."
Munch added, "We also have Ken Saunders, who leads the team investigating Lau's shooting. Sullivan told him outright how to report the shooting—Tucker scores, Otten gets the assist. Saunders didn't want to be the only one speaking against the official report. When I told him that Verbeck also planned to stand up, Ken promised to tell Chief Richardson about the pressure from Sullivan."
"That's two," said Cragen. "We're still out-gunned, but at least we're not alone."
"What about Chief Conrad?" Elliot asked. "He helped Fin and me out; that might count for something."
Fin shook his head. "He didn't say or do anything 'til Sullivan left. He had plenty of chances to speak up and he let them all slide."
"Well, we'll see how that goes when it goes," Cragen said. "The second item shows us what we're up against. Judith?"
Judith had been staring at the floor. At his words, she straightened and glanced in Tucker's direction.
"Yeah, go ahead," he told her. "I know you already listened to them in the captain's office."
She reached into her slacks pocket and pulled out his cell phone. After some button-pushing, his messages began to play over the phone's speaker.
Unidentified Voice #1: You killed one of our own, Tucker. Next bullet better go into your cocksucking mouth.
Judith saved the message.
Unidentified Voice #2: Ed, I just heard you volunteered to take down Greg. What the fuck do you—"
She cut that one off to play the beginning of the next two messages.
Unidentified Voice #3: Sid told me that you shot Greg to keep him quiet. You really in on this with him?
Unidentified Voice #4: You come in tomorrow and Stoller will have to tell Joan you aren't coming home—"
Judith closed the phone and handed it to Tucker. He gripped it as though he would rather fling it against the wall before he clipped it to his belt.
"Stoller's my lieutenant," he said. "Joan's my wife."
"Then that's a death threat," Olivia blurted, her stomach churning at the thought. The faces around her mirrored her shock.
Sullivan set up Tucker, turned his own people against him…another part of making IAB look out-of-control or a warning to us?
"I'm the one they should be threatening." Judith said, her words so soft they could have been thought, not spoken.
"How do you know?" Couch asked.
"The shots to Lau were center chest, center chest, outside left jaw, and left shoulder above the collarbone. Martinez had our last range scores; he said that Ed barely passed."
Judith winced then turned her attention to Tucker.
"Sorry, Ed. I shouldn't have let that one slip."
"S'okay. None of us are hitting on all cylinders right now."
"We'd better be," Cragen said, his tone harsh and firm. "We need a confession out of Wilkerson. Any suggestions?
"She seems eager to tell us something," Fin responded, "but she's waiting for us to find the right question. We ask it and everything's gonna pour out."
"The key to this has to be financial," Elliot said. "It's the one thing that makes her stand out from her partners. She didn't take any money from this."
Beale nodded toward the interrogation room door. "So let's figure out how to ask her; see what she says."
Elliot glanced at Fin and Tucker. "You guys ready?"
Fin nodded. Tucker shrugged. Beale ambled over to Elliot and the four of them began to discuss tactics.
The hall door opened and Casey returned with a wooden stool. She set it between where Cragen was standing and the one-way glass.
"In case you want it, Don," she said before joining the group discussing Wilkerson.
Olivia watched Cragen stare at the stool.
Like a thirsty dog eyes a water bowl just out of reach…you're not leashed—go ahead…don't be proud for us….
From where he was leaning against the wall, John called out, "If you don't sit down, I will."
"Rank before age, John." Cragen sat with a grunt and a sigh.
In the opposite corner, Couch and Judith were talking together.
"Yes, but the damage has been done," Judith said. "Ed always will be 'the guy who killed one of ours.' It doesn't matter how this is smoothed over; it's impossible to work where you're hated."
Olivia glanced at Munch, who was staring idly through the one-way glass at Wilkerson.
Don't tell me you're not listening… your head's tipped in her direction…every word she says pertains to her, too….
"Now, go do it."
Beale's command signaled the end of the tactical discussion. Fin and Tucker entered the Interrogation room while Elliot headed to his partner.
She greeted him with "It's been a hell of a day."
"Yeah. You still clear of all this?"
"So far."
That got her the first grin she'd seen from him all day.
"Good. You can catch up my paperwork while I'm on suspension."
"Like hell I will."
He shook his head, the grin melting into a wry smile.
"Some partner you are," he told her then he joined Fin and Tucker, closing the door behind him.
Warmed by the compliment and cheered by his joking, she moved next to Cragen and Beale to watch her partner demolish Sgt. Diane Wilkerson.
13 June
Interrogation Room
They'd shifted positions for this round. Tucker straddled a chair to the left of Wilkerson, just behind her range of view. Elliot had directed him to throw in facts and comments when appropriate. Fin sat across the table from her to observe any tics or expressions that Elliot might miss as he roamed around the room.
A legal pad and two pencils on the table, brought in by Fin, showed their willingness to accept a voluntary statement.
Wilkerson called a polite "Good-bye" to the policewoman who had been watching her. After the officer left, she turned her attention to Stabler, who was standing behind Fin with his arms folded across his chest.
"Sgt. Wilkerson, we did the math," he told her. "You were blackmailing approximately thirty people and bringing in over $300,000 a year. That's a nice payment for some research, a meeting with the victim to set things up, and then the monthly collections."
"They weren't victims," she informed him. "They were self-selected. Had they kept their uniforms buttoned, they wouldn't have met my criteria."
"Yours or yours and Eristoff's?"
She nodded. "Mine. I determined the selection parameters and Chuck found the subjects. There's fewer personnel assigned to Staten Island, so we focused on the other boroughs."
"So," Tucker said, "Chuck, Greg, and Bill did the work and you ran the operation?"
Wilkerson twisted in her chair, resting her arm over the back of it.
"Well, it was my idea, Ed. I brought Chuck in because I couldn't evaluate all the potential subjects by myself. When the subject pool became too large for us to handle, Chuck suggested we recruit field associates to do the scutwork. It wasn't hard to find two who needed additional income; nowadays, overspending is the norm. I've listened to you complain about Joanie's spending enough."
Tucker leaned forward, a wistful smile on his face.
"So why didn't you come to me? I wouldn't have minded a few thousand extra a month coming in."
She flashed her crooked smile at him. "You're a friend, Ed. You wouldn't have been clinical enough."
"Clinical?" asked Elliot, walking over to stand by Tucker.
"Yes, clinical. I needed a good sampling of uniforms, detectives, and brass with a broad spectrum of ethnic types. I even included two gay couples and one lesbian pair."
"How long did these couples stay together after they became subjects?" Fin asked, emphasizing 'subjects'.
She turned around in her chair and placed her hands folded on the table. "Not long, maybe two-three months at the most. That didn't matter; what was important is how their careers ran after they started paying us. After all, they had to stay on the job for everything to work."
Fin's mouth twitched, the only sign he gave of his surprise at Wilkerson's explanation.
Yeah, I caught that. Everyone they blackmailed broke up after two months, but Delgado and Henry had been paying for nine months when they were murdered in bed together...what's that about?
Elliot took a quick look at Tucker. He had gone pale and was swallowing rapidly.
Hold it in there, Ed…just because you may be right about their murders being set up doesn't mean you can upchuck on our perp….
"Let's talk about the 'subjects'," Elliot said. He perched on the end of the table and kept his voice calm and friendly. "You started with how many of them?"
"Thirty-six."
"How many did you have now?"
"Twenty-nine."
"What happened to the seven?"
Wilkerson unfolded her hands and used them to shrug. "Five left the department. It's hard to make people pay a fee when the inducement to pay is no longer there. I told them that they were good only if they didn't demand an investigation. We stay clean; they stay clean."
"And the other two?"
She sighed. "Murder-suicide was the official determination. A shame, really. It came at an awkward time for me."
Tucker jerked in his chair, gathering himself to bolt to his feet. Elliot straightened his fingers, hoping he would recognize a signal to stay still and quiet.
"For you?" he asked. "Why was it awkward?"
"I needed thirty people for a good sample and one had just resigned. Those deaths dropped my count below minimum and necessitated my finding another couple."
Wilkerson glanced around at the three detectives and sighed again.
"Which is why I am here. Captain Cragen and Detective Otten had us all fooled. My compliments to them both."
"They'll be thrilled."
I didn't know that sentence could be spat, but Fin managed…and without shifting his sneer…that's real disgust in action….
He tapped on the table next to Fin and nodded at Tucker. The three detectives followed him to the far corner by the hallway door.
"Anyone else getting the same vibe I am?" he asked.
"You mean the 'I'm a scientist and they're my lab rats' one?"
Tucker gave Fin's comment a sharp nod. "Yeah—me, too. It sounds more like a social experiment than extortion."
Elliot leaned nearer to Tucker. "Could it be true?"
Tucker stared at Wilkerson. "You mean is Diane doing all this to test a theor—oh, shit!"
His eyes went wide.
"She mentioned something a while ago. I need to make a phone call. Does that door open?"
Elliot nodded. Tucker yanked it open and let it swing shut behind him.
Fin stepped closer. "What's he up to?"
"Don't know. He's got the history with her, not me."
He glanced over his shoulder.
No taps on the window…we must still be good….
At the table, Diane Wilkerson watched them for a second then her attention wandered to the pad and pencils before her.
How about writing it all out for us? End the suspense and give us a chance to get out of here before more shit lands on us….
"She's a piece of work, isn't she?"
Fin grunted in reply. Elliot blew out a breath and shifted his weight from one foot to the other then back again.
C'mon, Ed…hurry it up…As if listening, Tucker returned. His face was florid and his hands shook on the doorknob.
"Don't let me near her," he whispered to Elliot. "I'm not kidding. Let me stay over here."
"Why? What did you find out?"
"About two years ago, she proposed to Chief deMichelis that we stop firing cops who were screwing on-the-job. She said it was a waste of their training and experience. She proposed fining them—make them pay a 'blue sex' tax on their affairs. The chief filed it in the circular file where it belonged."
My turn to choke back vomit…this really was an experiment…three dozen subjects…Cap beat to hell…two people killed…all to prove a point…."Got more like her on the Rat Squad?"
Tucker flinched under Fin's sarcasm. "God, I hope not."
"Okay, let's nail this down. Tucker, Fin—you want point?"
Tucker stepped back, hands up to fend off the question. Fin jerked his head sideways.
"I don't want to talk to her. I don't even want to look at her."
"Then let's make this quick."
As soon as the two detectives were back in their seats, Elliot resumed his perch on the table.
"Subjects, samples, clinical—you make this sound like an experiment. Was it?"
Wilkerson rewarded his question with a nod of approval and a big smile.
"Exactly. I wanted to prove to my CO that it was more cost-effective to keep adulterers on the job than to fire them. He wasn't interested in my estimates so I had to produce actual data."
"Which was?"
"Of the thirty-six subjects over the course of a full year, five left the force, one was promoted, two earned commendations, and nineteen had no change to their duty status while paying for the privilege of having an on-the-job affair. The department could have made over $300,000 dollars and saved the tremendous cost of hiring and training their replacements. I don't see how deMichelis can ignore this now; my findings are that obvious."
Fin tensed. Behind the sergeant, Tucker looked ready to strangle her.
Steady, guys…"You said $300,000. Where is that money now?"
"I had to pay Chuck, Greg, and Bill for their participation in my project. Of course, once Chief deMichelis takes over, the income from the fees will go into departmental coffers."
"How much did you give them?"
"About six thousand a month each."
"What about you? Did you take anything for your troubles?"
She shook her head firmly. "My share went to the projects supported by my church: our nuclear disarmament task force, Stop Handgun Violence Now, our drive to end the death penalty in this country, the local soup kitchen, and the Girl Scouts:."
"The Girl Scouts?"
"Yes; I'm a troop leader."
Elliot slid from the table and took a step back.
"Lady, I wouldn't let my daughters anywhere near you."
She blinked at him in confusion. "Why not?"
Tucker stood up and mouthed, "Let me." Elliot stepped behind Fin and waved Tucker over to take his place.
"Because you either participated in or arranged the murders of Officers Joseph Delgado and Karen Henry. Why? Did they threaten your precious experiment?"
Wilkerson sat upright and stared right at Tucker, her lips drawn, jaw clenched. The sudden appearance of anger in her face after all her calm surprised Elliot.
"Yes," she spat. "They did. Joe informed me that he and Karen were arranging a meeting with their borough chief. He said he was going to tell him everything. He wanted to steal my project and take the credit. I'd worked so hard to get the program up-and-running. I couldn't let him ruin it."
" 'Steal your project'?" Tucker shouted at her. "Delgado couldn't keep paying your demands!"
Wilkerson's anger vanished, replaced by the professional coolness she had showed them earlier.
"Then he should have said so," she said calmly. "How can I set reasonable fees if I don't get valid feedback from everyone involved?"
Tucker drew his fist back. Fin jumped up and blocked him.
"Don't, man. She ain't worth more trouble."
Elliot put a hand on Tucker's arm and guided him away from the table.
Wilkerson called after him, "Ed, you didn't understand when I first mentioned this, but it should be obvious now. My way is a much more efficient system—"
Elliot spun back to face her.
"—that left two officers dead, not to mention some rats."
"Field associates," she corrected him. "Lau and Stanton are field associates."
Shit, lady...you sicken me, you sicken Fin, you even sicken Ed and he's a friend of yours...it's time to hit you with the fact that you're one freaked-out bitch...
He braced one hand against the table, one on the back of her chair and leaned into her until they were nose-to-nose, eyes scant inches apart.
"I said 'rats' and I meant rats. Not IAB rats—we can live with them—but black-mailing, murderous, scum-sucking rats who ruined the lives of thirty-six fellow officers and then murdered two of them."
Wilkerson leaned away from his fury, but the calm, righteous set of her jaw never wavered.
Don't go self-righteous with me...you hurt Cap...tried to hide behind him as your hostage...you'd have ruined him and Judith the same way you ruined all your other 'subjects'—not a clean firing, but a long slow torture by blackmail...just to prove your idea is better...
"You tell me," Elliot demanded, "you tell me how you got two armed police officers to strip naked and crawl into a motel bed so you and your rat-fink experimenters could make it look like murder-suicide."
"I did no such thing! That would be—it would be…."
Her voice trailed off as she sought for words. Elliot waited for her to continue.
"Greg planned it," she finally said. "He sent text messages to the two of them arranging a meeting at the motel. He and Chuck planned to make it look like an argument that got out of hand. When they found Joe and Karen in bed, they went with the Romeo and Juliet scenario instead."
"Did you know about it?"
"Of course."
"Did you okay it beforehand?"
"Yes. I didn't like it, but it was necessary."
Fin shoved the legal pad across the table.
"Write it down," he told her, his voice tight with disgust. "You know the drill."
Elliot stepped away as she picked up a pencil and put the date at the top of the paper.
"Ed," she said as she started to write, "you'll see that Chief deMichelis gets the results of my work, won't you?"
Tucker stood up. He walked past her and left the room without answering. Fin caught Elliot's attention.
"I'm outta here, too."
Sounds good to me….all I want now is her in Rikers and a long hot shower...
In the Observation Room, Tucker slumped against the wall, his head shaking slow as if denying what his friend had just admitted. Fin stood just inside the room, blocking Elliot's path. His body was taut as he stared at the only person watching the interrogation—Bureau Chief Beale.
What the hell...
Elliot pushed past Fin to confront Beale.
"Cap, Liv—where are they?" he demanded. "Where's everyone?"
"Sullivan came through here like Sherman through Georgia," Beale answered. "He wants you in Don's office—now."