Friday 25th June
Major Case Interview Room 2
Behind the observation glass, Captain Don Cragen watched Goren check and double check the tape he had loaded into the machine, but with the sound inside switched off he heard nothing of the conversation between him and Eames. It was interesting to see how relaxed they were in some aspects of their preparations for what he knew was going to be a very carefully planned interview. They had the luxury of more time today than you often got, but few others equalled their reputation for this aspect of the job. He turned as the door opened and Elliot Stabler walked in.
"You sure you're okay with this Elliot?"
"I am" he replied which was a coded way of telling his boss his partner was less so.
Benson was poking her head round the interview room door to tell them their guest had arrived and Cragen found it mildly amusing to see "his" detective slip his jacket off just as Goren put his on. Different interrogation styles, different training with most of Goren's coming when he wore khaki and Stabler's when he wore blue.
When she stepped through the door, Olivia had that slightly dyspeptic expression on her face, Cragen knew very well. Whether she resented the fact Major Case were going to tidy up a few loose ends on one of hers or felt it might reflect badly Cragen didn't know. If there was "blame" to be apportioned some of that rested with the DA's office in the form of Mark Matthews accepting simple solutions. He was a problem Cragen would save for another day.
Elliot flicked the switch for the sound as Elizabeth Huntingdon walked in with her lawyer, still wearing black and smiled as Goren went into an overly unctuous routine of settling them down and apologising for having to use this space. Only they were somewhat crowded out with this other business. Before a slight dig of the knife as he sat down, saying of course she would know what he was talking about and why.
Then smooth as silk Eames took over on the matter of the bagged wad of cash that sat on the table. They were right so far. The prospect of getting that back would be enough incentive to get her to 1PP the day after she buried her husband and it was true that there were certain formalities to go through.
"It's as much as she can do to stop herself snatching it off the table and stuffing it in her purse" said Stabler softly.
"Her Chanel purse please Elliot" said his partner.
The three of them watched as Goren and Eames played out the strategy of first asking the routine questions she was at ease answering and then briefly introducing a note of discomfort with some observation or fact. Which made her out to be withholding information if not outright lying. Like when Eames, who had the bank records, commented on certain cash withdrawals she had made over a period of time that added up to the thirty thousand dollars taken from the safe at home. That forced her into a fairly obvious lie about why they had that much money at the apartment and stirred the lawyer to ask the relevance. When his client withdrew her own money from the bank and how much they usually kept at home was irrelevant.
Whether they anticipated that or whether Goren was a much better liar himself, the three observers didn't know. But he almost had them convinced he was genuinely concerned that perhaps Mrs Huntingdon or her late husband had been subject to some kind of extortion for longer than they had confided to the police.
But it was then they moved on, for the official record and being able to clear this into the crime statistics, to the relationship between her family and the Parkers. The killers motive and by alternating the"good cop/bad cop" roles they back footed both her and the lawyer who were never sure where trouble was going to come from next.
So one minute Eames was seeming to admire her for holding together her marriage and the next asking if there was ever any written agreement between them and the Parkers to drop the claim to paternity and intellectual property theft. And if so could they have a copy? Then Goren asked a series of questions about the telephone conversations she answered before he suddenly threw in "Did your husband have a vasectomy when he was 24 to avoid fifty thousand dollar trouble like Helen Parker again?"
That did make her mad and the lawyer told him to mind his own business and stick to what was relevant. So they did. Eames first pointing out it was odd how Parker used the Riverside project as threat since there was no "morality clause" on that made it a serious one. Her partner following through with it must have been a lucky guess on Parker's part that Ralph's design made the short list. Because they double checked and that wasn't announced officially, except to the companies on the long list, until an hour after his first call.
Maurice Kessler was quick to see how things were going and advised his client to say nothing. That was when Eames revealed their doubts that she was totally telling the truth about there being no contact between them down the years. Her lack of surprise how like Ralph young John Parker turned out to be, her seeming to know Helen was killed on 9/11 and a final fact. They had a witness who would say they saw her and her husband's killer three months ago, coming out of a coffee shop on Broadway.
It was Kessler asked to step outside to speak with his client, which they briefly did. It was the first major break through and sure sign they had her and the lawyer "on the run". The three SVU detectives knew that. Admit to certain "little white lies" now in the hope that would satisfy the cops. Give them the victory of knowing they got something right whilst keeping the big lie a secret and hope they would then give up.
When they returned Mrs Huntingdon stiffly admitted she had bumped into John Parker quite by chance about that time. Passage of time, wounds healing, being polite and so on and they had exchanged news. Or more accurately he did, including of his own illness, his daughter's death and that of his grandson. And they would understand perhaps she might have some natural curiosity how the boy turned out. Parker had a picture in his wallet he showed her. She didn't mention it to her husband since there was no need. But on reflection and as things turned out perhaps the man wasn't as forgiving as he seemed? Went away and brooded and saw the chance to make some more money?
Then they went for her on how she didn't then recognise a voice she only heard three months ago and why was a linguistics expert saying that second conversation was highly artificial. And incidentally lasted almost exactly the time she had been briefed to keep the man talking.But most of all, if Ralph was insisting over her misgivings he go pay this man off with some of the cash, why didn't she call to alert them to what was happening? Which might have saved his life?
Kessler gathered his papers "Enough Detectives. Now unless you are about to Miranda my client we are leaving"
"Not today" smiled Eames. "We still have more investigations we want to carry out. Perhaps the rest of the money you were asking about earlier Mrs Huntingdon will turn up somewhere interesting?"
Goren picked her purse off the floor as if to hand it to her but then took it across the room with him.
"There is one…um…one other thing you could do to help our colleagues Mrs Huntingdon. And perhaps your son as well"
He switched the tape onto play, which showed Ray with another of the Kessler's, Stabler and Benson at SVU. The sound was off.
"We have this" said Goren looking faintly ridiculous holding onto a small purse "Because of the other business…I'll just…um…" he flicked it forward and then stopped it.
"Oh yes here it is. We noticed your son chews his nails. See? I understand why he must be quite anxious here but our impression is it's a long term habit" he handed her back the purse and held out his own hands. "I was a nail biter as a kid. My Mom tried everything but puberty seemed to cure me. Girls didn't much like boys with chewed nails…"
"I'm sure this is very interesting Mr Goren" said Elizabeth Huntingdon. "And yes Raymond has always badly bitten his nails. I'm always telling him about it. Now does that help you and more to the point my son though…"
"Yes I think it does" said Eames opening another folder.
In the observation room Cragen turned to his detectives. "I have to go but I think Captain Ross might like to see the rest of this if he's available don't you?"
To be continued…
