Author's Notes: That's right, you're all getting a double drop this week! Please review, favorite or follow this story, I truly treasure your feedback and support. Also, this is the only story of mine that doesn't have a review. Stan Shatenstein, Rita Calhoun and Les Gomez are lawyers in the Law & Order universe while defense attorney Diane Slater is my original character.

When Goren, Eames, Logan and Barek arrived at Bess's Burgers, they pulled into the parking lot and watched the Byrnes from their cars.

"We got lucky. The unis we brought along won't have to weed through everyone else's garbage." Eames said when she saw an employee remove a full garbage bag from the trash can.

Goren saw Grant grab a handful of fries from Rodney's basket then gave his shoulder a hard shove as he laughed. Rodney rubbed his shoulder and looked down at the table, "Well, it looks like Grant is the alpha of the group. While Rodney is his punching bag even though he's older than Grant."

Logan observed the Byrnes, "As a kid, I used to wonder what it would be like to have brothers..from what I see from this motley crew, I'm not missing much."

Barek disagreed, "Oh come on, not every sibling acts like Grant. There's uh, a difference between harmless lighthearted teasing between siblings and being a sadistic bully."

"Maybe. At least Eddie is the neat freak, he's gonna make things easier for the unis." Logan commented as he watched Eddie gathering everyone's trash.

"They're finishing up and-" Barek stopped talking once she saw an employee trip and accidentally spill a chocolate milkshake onto Grant's face and chest, "that's not gonna turn out pretty. Let's go!"

Logan followed her lead, "Wow, he's really making this easy for us."

Goren looked at his phone when he received a text, "Thea's in Grant's bedroom, he has charcoal and pine cologne, deodorant and-"

Eames cut him off, "We gotta get in there before Grant demolishes that kid!"

Bobby looked up and saw chocolate milkshake dripping from Grant's face as he was punching a male teenage employee in the jaw.

The four detectives and two uniformed officers rushed into the burger joint. After they separated the Byrnes from the employees who were protecting their co-worker, they began reciting the Miranda rights as they lined up the Byrnes. When they searched the Byrnes they found the Kalletons' daisy and lily knives, except for Rodney.

Logan heard a jingle come from Rodney's pocket when he searched him; he reached in and pulled out Brie's silver charm bracelet, "You just had to keep a souvenir. Aren't you supposed to be the smart one?"

Grant glared at Rodney and yelled out, "Everyone keep your mouths shut! We want lawyers!"

Goren stated as he slapped the cuffs on Grant, "That's probably the smartest thing you've ever said, Grant."

Barek spoke as she handcuffed Jason, "That's your right but you can't invoke for your brothers."

Jason told her, "Well he speaks for all of us; we're not saying anything until we get our lawyers."

Eames sarcastically commented as she arrested Eddie, "Of course, thanks for making this so damn easy."

Meanwhile, Munch and Thea were talking to a brown-haired 42-year-old single father named Peter Mason. He lived across the street from the Byrnes. They were standing on his front porch with his dog by his side.

Peter hugged his medium build as he spoke, "I can't say I'm surprised that they're involved with something shady."

Thea bent down and petted his Yellow Labrador retriever's back, "What makes you say that?"

"Well, Rodney and Eddie are nice guys and Eddie, he's real protective of Rodney. But it's pretty obvious that Grant and Maggie run things in that household. Jason only acts decent when he isn't around Grant and his mother.

Last summer, I was gonna go on vacation with my 12-year-old daughter. And Rodney said yes when I asked him if he could look after Trusty at my house because he and Trusty get along well. But this was during our Fourth of July block party so Grant was nearby. He quickly shut that down and called Trusty a mangy mutt!"

"But he's a total sweetheart!" Thea said as began itching Trusty's chest, he leaned into her touch.

"He is and he really likes you."

"Well, he likes my dog. He definitely smells Milo on me."

Peter waited a beat and said, "So, this other time Grant came home completely wasted and he drove his van into his neighbor's-Henry's, front lawn running over his flower bed. Henry comes out and he's understandably pissed off. But Grant pulls out his lug wrench from his trunk and starts swinging at Henry! He threatened to bash his head in and Henry ran back inside. Henry and his wife moved away a couple of weeks later."

Munch asked, "Well Grant sounds like a real boy scout. So, was anything going on at their house on Friday night?"

Peter nodded, "Yeah, I have insomnia and I take meds for it but I forgot to refill my prescription so I was having one of those nights…They left at 6:00 that night, all five of them. I took Trusty on his walk at 7:30 and they still weren't home. They didn't get back until 3 a.m. That's not normal for them."

"What is normal for them?" Thea inquired.

"They're usually home by 6 or 6:30 and then they're done for the night."

"All right, thanks for helping us out, Mr. Mason," Munch said.

"No problem, detectives. Have a nice day." He smiled as he watched them return to their sedan.

Bernard and Lupo were at Bobbi's Buffet and Grill waiting for assistant manager Mallory Holden to join them in the booth. A petite auburn-haired 24-year-old joined them.

"Detectives, I'm Mallory, my manager told me that you wanted to see me?" She asked.

Bernard said, "Yes, we heard that you used to date Grant Byrne?"

Her medium complexion became pale, she lowered her voice and inquired, "Do we really have to talk about that? I mean, what did he do wrong?"

Lupo told her, "We've arrested him and his brothers for several sexual assaults and murders."

Mallory cupped her mouth with both hands, "Oh god…all right. I'll um; I'll cut to the chase. I was going through a bad boy phase when I was with Grant. We only lasted ten weeks."

Leaning forward, Lupo asked her, "What happened between you two?"

She looked around and spoke again, "I'm bi and sexually adventurous. So, Grant suggested that we, along with Eddie, find another girl to join us in bed."

Both detectives had the same shocked expression on their faces; Bernard spoke, "Um, so, did you find uh, a willing participant?"

"Yeah, we went on this website, people use it to have affairs but it's also for swingers, couples in open marriages and people like me. I've used it before. So, we found this girl named Chessa and the next night we went to a hotel. At first it was um, really fun but then…Grant kicked me and Chessa out of bed."

Bernard brushed his hand against his mouth as his dark eyes became huge, "So, it was just him and Eddie while you and Chessa were on the sidelines?"

"Yep and he was loving it but Eddie - it was the first time for him and he was crying and begging Grant to stop. He didn't. Eddie's crying seemed to egg him on. Afterwards, he grabbed Chessa and I by our throats and threatened to kill us if we ever told anyone. He called me the next day but after that…I haven't seen or spoke to him since that night. Is that all?"

"Um…do you have Chessa's contact information?" Lupo asked.

"I do, it's in my phone which is in my locker." She stood up.

"We'll be right here," Bernard told her.

After she walked away the detectives spoke to each other.

"Rodgers did say that the male victims were sexually assaulted, save for Jeff Shaw." Bernard said.

"And when we were in their house we matched up the scents to each brother, Grant's is charcoal and pine while Eddie's is cedar and orange. Grant raped Liam while Eddie raped Jackson."

Bernard nodded, "And Rodgers also said that the rapists used Alurex brand condoms which we found in their bathrooms. If this is how a typical SVU case plays out…that explains why most detectives only last two years. I mean, I love my baby brother but there's no way in hell I'm ever sharing my girl with him! And I don't wanna get into what Grant did to Eddie, his own family!"

"Yeah, it adds another meaning to brotherly love. Let's hope there aren't any more twisted surprises waiting for us."

In the Baldridge home Edie covered her mouth and gasped when Bernard and Lupo showed her photos of the Byrnes.

"That's Eddie; he goes grocery shopping for us. A few months ago, he was driving by when I was taking out groceries from my trunk. He helped me and then offered to shop for me because he wanted to be neighborly. He really stole my grandpa's credit card?"

Lupo nodded, "We found it in his bedroom just a few minutes ago."

She sighed, "And he's involved with those rich kids being killed?"

Bernard answered her, "Yes, his whole family is."

"God, he seemed so nice and caring…"

Lupo told her, "Some people are really good at putting on a certain face to the world."

The detectives were gathered in the squad room deciding what interrogation strategies they should use.

Thea pointed at Logan, "He's really good with bad moms. Right Barek?"

Nodding Barek confirmed, "Oh horrible mothers just love, Logan. They can't get enough of him."

"Gee thanks, ladies." Logan's tone was wry, "but I wouldn't mind taking a crack at evil June Cleaver."

Goren said, "Grant's an, he's an alpha. He doesn't like to be challenged or contradicted but he also believes he's the smartest person in the room and he's really cocky."

Eames placed her hand on her partner's upper right arm and smirked, "Bobby, it looks like we found you your dream date."

He frowned at his colleagues chuckling at his expense; Thea's laugh was the loudest. As he folded his arms, he shook his head at her but his lips twitched upward when she grinned at him.

Barek interjected, "Rodney's the weakling. We found the medications certolizumab pegol and methotrexate in his pockets. He used to being abused and being the scapegoat. Now, he could respond to someone who's aggressive like Grant and his mother but," she turned to Munch and Thea, "I think he'd open up to someone who is empathetic and closer to his age."

Munch uttered, "OK, I'll be the quirky understanding uncle while you're.."

"The sweet older sister he never had." Thea said as she nodded.

Munch then took out his mobile phone, "I have an idea. I'm calling Nando."

Just then, ADA Connie Rubirosa and EADA Mike Cutter entered the squad room.

Munch lowered his voice as he looked at the approaching and very attractive attorneys, "I swear, the DA's office could double as a modeling agency."

Bernard replied, "You're not wrong about that, Munch."

Cutter looked around the squad room and shared his thoughts with Connie, "This has to be the nicest squad room I've ever been in. It actually looks like it was built during this century."

She quirked her perfectly plucked brow at him, "It's Major Case Mike, city hall is a bit looser with the purse strings when it comes to NYPD's most prestigious unit. They're not gonna skimp on its interior design budget."

"Well excuse me for being impressed, Connie. So, how about a friendly wager? We have five perpetrators whoever gets the most to flip will be rewarded by dinner at Virdi's courtesy of the loser."

Clearly intrigued, she replied, "All right, but if we tie then we both pay for each other's dinners at Alejandra's."

The corners of his lips slightly curved up as he nodded at her, "You've got a deal. But I'm warning you, when it comes to Indian food I really go to town."

She teasingly shot back, "Oh Mike, you're gonna regret being so cocky."

In Interrogation Room C, Elliot and Olivia were talking to Jason Byrne. Elliot was leaning next to the two-way mirror while Olivia was seated across from Jason and his lawyer, Denise Slater.

"You have nothing on my client, detectives. Why are we even here?" Denise asked.

Elliot tipped his head from left to right, "That's not exactly true, he just lied to us about his and his brothers' alibis."

"My partner's right, we know that you weren't home on Friday night from 6 to 3 a.m."

Denise rolled her eyes, "Let me guess, the witness is some junkie who roams the streets at night."

Elliot pushed himself off the wall and began walking, "Actually, he's a well-liked, credible and reliable member of your neighborhood. He just happens to have a serious case of insomnia which sucks for you."

Jason shrugged and puffed out his chest, "So what? Just one witness? That's not enough to pin this sick shit on me and my brothers. We're not psychos."

Olivia opened the folder in front of her and took out one of Redding's sketches, "We have another witness, who saw you and your brothers walking out of Emma Erlich's house at 1 a.m. He's also a very talented artist. He really captured you and your brothers so well."

Jason's eyes went to the sketches, his voice faltered, "This-this is a trick…"

She said to him, "You also left your scent, mint and sage on Abby. And the strangulation marks on her, they match perfectly with your heights."

Jason shook his head, "No, this is bullshit."

Elliot leaned closer to him, "Really tough guy? Rodney already told us everything. He said it was you who screwed up and almost let Jeff escape. And that he had to clean up after your mess just like those other times because you were afraid of pissing off your big brother Grant. Hell, you barely managed to rape Abby because you weren't man enough-"

He snapped, "That spineless lying piece of shit! He's the one who didn't tie Jeff's hands tight enough and he has some balls talking about me not being 'man enough'. He threw up like a little bitch after he screwed Emma! And I made sure he knew how I felt about it! At least I went the whole nine yards with Abby! He couldn't even strangle Emma on his own! Like always Grant had to do it himself!"

Denise groaned as her eyes went to the table while Elliot and Olivia grinned.

Munch heard Jason's confession through his ear bud. Thea and EADA Mike Cutter were in Interrogation Room D with Rodney and his lawyer, Stan Shatenstein.

Cutter and Thea were sitting at the table while Munch was slowly walking around the room.

Cutter confidently spoke to the nervous pairing as he opened a folder filled with documents, "We have the most evidence against your client. For starters, his DNA is a match to the vomit in Emma Erlich's bathroom along with traces of the medications he takes. His knife was also found in her bathroom with his fingerprints and Emma's blood. Traces of his custom made cologne were found on her body. A witness saw him and his brothers coming out of the Erlich's home on the night of the murder. And of course, he had Brie Breckeridge's custom made charm bracelet in his pocket when he was arrested. Christmas clearly came early for us this year, Mr. Shatenstein."

The anxious attorney gulped then ran a hand through his short dark hair as he looked through the documents, "So, um, this is gonna be a first degree murder charge which means that he's facing life without parole…right?"

Cutter blinked before his blue eyes grew large. He had heard stories about Stan's incompetency from other ADAs but he thought they were exaggerating, "Correct, Mr. Shatenstein. And this being the holiday season, I'm feeling generous. So, Mr. Byrne here has two options, he can either rot behind bars or turn on his brothers and mother. If he does the latter, he'll get out of prison before he ends up in diapers. His choice."

Rodney shook his head, "No, someone is framing me."

In an empathetic tone, Thea leaned forward and pointed to Rodney's left wrist, "That scar, it's a cigarette burn, it looks new and I'm guessing that…Grant gave it to you, right?"

The shame on his face and him pulling his arms off the table answered her question.

"Rodney, we all have scars, some can be seen while others can't. Those scars, they're only a part of us; they don't have to define who we are, that's up to us. I know what it's like to grow up with a monster. It was hell but I'm still here and so are you. You're a survivor and you can be more, if you help us by doing what's right and telling us the truth."

Munch was unfazed by her admission but Cutter looked at her with surprise and sympathy.

"I-I can't. They're my family," his voice quivered, "they protect me, I need to do the same for them."

Munch spoke up, "Sorry Rodney, but when it comes to your brother Jason, that's a one-way street. Before we came in here, he told Detectives Benson and Stabler that you did all of the rapes and murders. In fact, he bragged about how he called you 'a little bitch' after you threw up that night. Then he told us how you tried to help Jeff escape but then Grant caught you."

Rodney's jaw dropped then he shook his head, "No! I didn't kill Emma, Grant did! And I didn't help Jeff; he got out of those ropes on his own! I didn't wanna kill him but I had no choice! He-uh, he wasn't even supposed to be with Brie that night…if he stayed still and waited until we were done, we would have let him go. But-but then he got free and he saw my face….I had to do it…for my brothers and my mom."

Stan looked at Cutter, "He's…he's clearly cooperating."

"He is...but does he have anything else that implicates his brothers and mother?"

Thea reached out and gripped his forearm, "You can help Jeff now. His mother and father, they deserve justice, please?"

Rodney looked down at her hand then slowly nodded.

In the viewing room, Lupo and Bernard watched Munch and Thea successfully get Rodney to confess. They looked at each other and already knew that Thea wasn't lying to Rodney. Thea then entered the viewing room and handed Lupo the folder filled with the evidence against Rodney.

"Here ya go." She gave them a small grin.

Lupo nodded, "Thanks and um, good work in there."

She shrugged, "It's not the first time I've used the empathetic approach and it won't be the last."

Bernard replied as a hint of a smile was on his lips, "We work with what we got and you're doing pretty well with what you have."

"Thanks, Bernard. Good luck with Eddie." Thea nodded.

"You're welcome Thea. Come on, Lupes."

As they headed into Interrogation Room B, Bernard placed Rodney's statement in his folder along with the other evidence against Rodney. Eddie and his lawyer, Rita Calhoun were waiting for them.

Ms. Calhoun was sitting straight up, "Detectives, my client has a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why he had Ned Baldridge's credit card."

Eddie remarked, "He loaned it to me as an early Christmas gift. He gave me a spending limit and told me to take it home and give back when I was done buying what I wanted. All my brothers knew that I had it but we also had a plumber come over for a couple of days and weren't hovering over his shoulder the entire time."

Both detectives knew he was lying and remained standing.

Lupo told Eddie, "That's not gonna fly with a jury but it doesn't matter. We don't really need you anyway. Rodney's been a big help."

Eddie had a puzzled look on his face as he asked, "What? What do you mean?"

Bernard said, "We have the most evidence against him," he handed the folder to Ms. Calhoun.

She opened the folder and showed Eddie, "They're right, this is substantial."

Lupo said, "He's also taken responsibility for all the rapes and murders."

His jaw went slack, "No way! This isn't right, he didn't do this alone!"

"Well according to the evidence and what he told the other detectives, he did." Bernard explained as he shrugged.

Shaking his head, Eddie commented, "This is just like them, always blaming him because he's sick and the smallest! I'm not gonna let them do this to him, not again"

"Eddie, we can't stop Rodney from taking the-" Lupo was cut off.

Eddie then blurted out, "I have the ropes that we used to strangle them! They're in the basement on the right side, second shelf in the Best Buy box! OK? I knew…I just knew that they were gonna try to make Rodney the scapegoat again. My mom, Grant and Jason they've been doing it to him ever since we were kids. Well it ends today!"

An aggravated expression formed on Ms. Calhoun's face as she deeply exhaled, "Since my client seems eager to cooperate, what is the DA offering him for it?"

Bernard glanced at Lupo then locked his eyes with Eddie, "Christmas is around the corner so they're feeling generous…but we need something else from you, Eddie."

In the viewing room Connie Rubirosa and Captain Ross watched Goren and Eames enter Interrogation Room A where Grant and his lawyer, Les Gomez were waiting.

Eames started off by sitting on the desk in front of Grant, "I must say, as the oldest sibling in my family I think you're amazing. I mean, you're the youngest but you have all of your brothers on a short leash. How do you do it?"

His lips curved into a cocky grin, "They respect me because I look out for them. They know that I always have their backs and they have mine."

Goren nodded, "I get that. I have a big brother too but I've-I've had to take care of him ever since we were kids. Even now, I still have to clean up his messes. Because out of the two of us, he's the screwup, just like Rodney is in your family. My brother is weak-willed while Rodney's body is frail and fragile. If it weren't for us dragging them along, they would've been dead a long time ago."

Grant agreed, "It sucks but it's what brothers do for each other."

Les Gomez spoke up, "Detectives, what does this have to do with my client's arrest for assault? I also fail to see how this relates to the murders and rapes of those rich kids."

Goren held up his left forefinger, "We'll get to all of that in a minute, counselor."

Nodding, Grant uttered, "Yeah, we're having a nice conversation here, between brothers."

Goren politely grinned, "We are. We're commiserating. Although my big brother can be a burden…but I never once," Goren said as he removed a photo from his leather binder, "burned him with a cigarette. And I've never used a foursome involving my girlfriend as a way to rape him like you did with Eddie!"

Grant's jaw clenched, "That little shit burned himself and Eddie is lying about that, he's sick!"

Eames chimed in, "No, see, we contacted Mallory and Chessa. They gave us all of the gory details including how you kicked them out of bed so it was just you and Eddie. He begged you to stop but you didn't; you loved raping your own brother!"

Goren interjected, "Mallory and Chessa they-they also told us about the port wine stain you have on your outer right thigh just like your father's, Jack Dreston."

Les held up his hand, "Detectives you are both crossing the line-"

Grant shouted, "Those bitches are lying, I'm not some sicko who rapes his brother!"

Looking into his blue eyes, Goren cocked his head to the right, "Yes, you are Grant. And you've continued raping Eddie because you're a sadist and you only feel powerful when you're dominating, violating and humiliating someone else whether it's Rodney at lunch or in Eddie's bedroom! Because you're pathetic and weak just like your father!" He slapped the table then pointed at Grant's face.

Cackling Grant yelled, "I'm nothing like him! He's a rapist; a fraud and a coward who always had his rich daddy clean up after him! I'm a real man who takes care of himself and his family!"

"Really? Like how you had to strangle Emma because Rodney was too weak and sick to follow through with it."

Shaking his head, he replied, "No, that wasn't me! I had nothing to do with those murders!"

Eames opened her folder and handed Les a sheet of legal paper, "According to Eddie's statement you raped Emma, Brie and Liam and..."

Les cut her off, "This statement means nothing without corroboration and evidence that implicates my clie-"

"I wasn't finished, counselor!" Eames reached into her folder again, "Rodney saved all the condoms that you and your brothers used on the victims. He also kept the condoms you used from all those times you raped Eddie!"

Goren pointed at Eddie's statement, "That's his handwriting, look at it."

His blue gaze went to the sheet of paper; his eyes became big with realization and shock.

Goren leaned in closer to him, "Eddie followed Rodney's lead and he saved the ropes you used to strangle the victims. It was in the basement on the right, second shelf in the Best Buy box. Right now, they're behind that mirror and they're just reveling at your defeat."

Grant's face turned serious and he started to seethe.

Moving closer to him, Goren said, "All those years of bullying, abuse, humiliation and degradation…and you thought they'd never turn on you. But they did, and they got you, they got you real good!"

Grant furiously jumped out of his chair and ran towards the glass, "You ungrateful assholes! I should have killed you for almost letting Jeff escape! I'm gonna rip you both to shreds!"

Officer Cordova and Goren pulled Grant back right before he could reach the two-way mirror.

Connie flinched and looked at an unfazed Captain Ross, "Is this par for the course here?"

"Pretty much," he said in a flat voice.

Maggie Byrne placed her purse on the table and said, "Grant has a short fuse but he always atones for his mistakes. But my boys had nothing to do with these murders. They were out with me that night; at six we left home and had dinner at Bess's Burgers then we decided to catch a movie. I saved the receipts and ticket stubs. We got home at 10:30 that night."

Barek's mouth barely curled up, "It's wonderful to see a mother have such a close relationship with her sons especially as adults. But that's still no excuse to lie for them."

"I'm not lying, Detective. Like I said, I have proof."

Logan interjected, "Except we have a witness who says that you and your boys didn't come home until 3 a.m."

"Well, this witness is lying."

Barek removed a photo from her folder, "Tell me Mrs. Byrne, how did Rodney get this cigarette burn? He doesn't smoke, only Grant does."

Maggie shifted in her seat, "Rodney is very sensitive much like his late father. He asked out a lovely young woman at his work and she turned him down. He didn't take it well."

"All right, can you tell us why a witness saw Rodney, Eddie and Jason coming out of the Erlichs' home around 1 a.m.?" Logan showed her Redding's sketches.

She shook her head, "There's a resemblance but this is a case of mistaken identities."

"Well you just have an answer for everything, Mrs. Byrne." Barek said.

"The truth is on my side, Detective Barek."

Just then, Captain Ross walked in holding a folder, he strolled over to the detectives and showed them what was inside. He placed it on the desk before he left the room; they resumed their questioning.

Barek asked, "Mrs. Byrne, are you sure you wanna stick with your story?"

"It's not a story, it's what happened," there was some bite in Maggie's tone.

Logan showed her the photo of Jeff's body at the dump site, "The person who handled Jeff's body cared about him. He was wrapped in a blanket, in a way that only a loving mother would know how to do."

"From what I read in the newspaper, it sounds like he was a good boy. His death is unfortunate but I and my boys had nothing to with it or the other murders."

He sighed, "He was but your boys aren't…you have one last chance to come clean."

"You failed to protect Rodney and Eddie from Grant but you can help them now by telling the truth." Barek told her.

"Detectives, we're all innocent."

Logan shook his head as he removed a photo from the folder, "Think again. This is the sex toy you used to sexually assault all five victims. Your fingerprints are on it, we got them off the coffee cup you were using when Detectives Benson and Stabler picked you up at the coffee shop. Rodney saved this very sick souvenir because he's had enough of you letting him fry."

Her face dropped as she looked at the photos.

Barek spoke up, "Your other son, Eddie, he saved the ropes you all used to strangle the victims. It also has your fingerprints and their DNA."

Taking out another photo, Logan explained, "In those gift boxes you sent us, there was a paper daisy with a blue gem center, that's you. And there was also a patch from a couch from the Stratton Country Club. It was labeled as number 2. It was where you were gang raped. Rodney admitted to adding those things in at the last minute because he wanted us to know that you are also a victim."

She looked away but after a beat, Maggie said, "I was wrong."

"About?" Barek inquired.

She sat up straight, "Two of my sons are just as weak as their father. It's not their fault…but I should have done more for them. Now, I want a lawyer."

Logan and Barek had the same looks of disappointment and irritation.