Notes: Betrayed

A missing husband case. You need both of us on this?"

Goren just glanced at her slack jawed like he had been punched in the face, with an expression she could easily read, Really? Now, I'm getting heat for working? What do you want me to do? I'm here to work.

"She's a friend of the NYPD and mine. She thinks something serious happened. I trust her instincts."

"So she's a…" Goren bent his head to the side in a questioning manner, "a good fri-end"

As soon as he began to utter a syllable, Eames was already rolling her eyes ans hanging her head back. Here we go. You really expect me to work with this. She rubbed her forehead with her hand before folding her arms against her chest.

"That's None of your business. That's not what this is about."

Eames arms crossed against her chest in her fuck off black leather jacket. Her defenses were up. Her attitude and anger painted on her face with the sharp edge that was her tongue. Although she wouldn't verbalize it, she was with Goren. Two of your best cops on a missing person's case for a friend. Yeah, I'm not buying it. As much as she was frustrated with Goren, his instincts were rarely wrong.

"Before Kathy was writing about crime, she was a cop. She knows the drill."

Goren looked into the room where Kathy sat. And she knows what we look for and what we'd ask. I don't trust her. I don't like that we are already ruling her out. The spouse is always the first suspect.

He turned to check in with Eames to make sure they were on the same page but she ignored his attempt pushing right by him. Not doing that right now. Let me just get through this case. Of course it's personal.

Goren was quickly left behind. I guess it's going to be a long day. I'm sorry. Okay, I get it. But, we still need to work.

"Sorry to pull you in so late." Kathy says while extending her hand to Eames to shake it. She doesn't wait for the questions just immediately supplies the answers.

"The last time I saw my husband was thursday morning. There was nothing odd about his behavior."

Her affect is wrong, her husband is missing and she's thinking like a cop beating us to the questions. It's too rehearsed. She's not emotional.

Eames wanted to get this over with. This shouldn't be a difficult case if the Captain didn't get in the way. She didn't buy it wasn't personal. She knew it was and she couldn't help but wonder where the difference was between Ross and Goren other than their rank. Had the police did this for Goren, would the two of them be in this mess? Hypocrites. It pissed her off even more.

After confirming her husband was young and a personal trainer, they received their first clue. "He drives a 2008 Range Rover White."

"Ah it's a nice car. Right?" Goren tries to communicate with Eames. "Was it a gift?"

"Yes, for our second anniversary."

"Lucky guy. 2008. It has a GPS?"

Kathy looked at them eyebrows furrowed questioning.

"There have been a string of SVU jackings along the upper west side, Hell's Kitchen," Eames finally connected where he was going.

It took her a little longer to follow his thinking with anger clouding her ability to connect with him. Goren picked up on that, spelling it out more than he normally would need to, with her.

"We will put out an all points to see if we can track his GPS," Eames supplied.

"Thank you, detectives."

Eames was the first one flying out the door leaving Goren behind.

"They seem a little out of sync." Kathy remarked to Captain Ross as she watched them leave and picked up on their nonverbals.

"He's coming off suspension. They are working it out."

Goren caught up with her at the desk. "Look, I get it you are still mad at me but we have to work this case together."

"The captain didn't need both of us on this case. Either one of us could wrap this up in our sleep."

"Still."

"Are you doubting my ability to be professional?"

"No." He shuffled his feet dropping his head slightly, then brigging back as he focused on the contents on her desk: the brown bagged pastry pushed aside with the coffee that didn't look touched at all. "I know you are a professional. Y-you didn't eat the muffin and coffee I brought you."

"I had a shake before I got here. Besides, we both know it will take more than pastries to smooth things over."

"I'm trying here."

"Not hard enough."

"What do you want from me?"

"You could quit." She bit her lip still angry but knowing he would never actually quit. No to quit, he would have to value me over the job and both know he doesn't.

"C'mon, Eames."

"Or don't." She shook her head. "Maybe, just ask for a transfer. We both know I deserve to be here and surely, I'm not the one who should have to do it."

"Is that what you really want? Or are you just talking out of anger? You want a new partner?"

She shrugged, "my current option isn't working for me anymore and I worked hard to get here."

"So did I."

"But it was easier for you. You wouldn't understand."

"What. Understand that the department is harder on women officers and you have to work twice as hard for the respect. Give me some credit, Eames."

"Do you know how hard I will have to work to undo all the mistakes you made? They didn't only blemish your records or reputation. The moment I hitched my wagon to you, It's been a downhill slide."

"So, our partnership...what was it then?"

"It was."

He bent close to her, and she didn't immediately recoil. He whispered, "I still care about you. Always will. Whether we are parners or not. In a relationship or not. That will never change."

His breath made goosebumps travel on her neck and she hated the way her body betrayed her. She wanted to close her eyes and relish in the feeling but she was wearing defensive armor for this very reason.

She still loved him that's why it hurt her. But she didn't want to think about that. She was still angry and now she had to work day in and out with someone who hurt her and ignited anger from her. If he leaves well that will help me move on. If he doesn't, well, it won't change anything. "Prove it," she dared

He stepped back and stared at her reading her eyes for a clue that she really wanted him gone. Did I hurt her that bad that she cannot even work beside me anymore.

Captain Ross's office

"No calls from Woody. Lots of calls from Kathy to Woody."

"She was up all night. Even when she's in trouble, she can't ask a favor. Anything from the GPS?"

"These are his movements from Thursday morning until 10pm when his GPS is turned off. Leaves Tribeca at 10 am, drives to his gym, stays there for 7 hours then heads Hell's Kitchen at 5."

"His car detours from there to the South Bronx."

"Where he makes 3 stops. Two on St. Anne's avenue. Then, at 9 drives out of range until he stops here."

"Industrial wasteland. Pass the Bruckner, off Locust avenue."

"Industrial Waseland"

"Broken tail light. Glass..from a car window?" Goren asks as he picks at sharp shards of varying glass.

"A hundred car windows. It's a chop shop transfer station."

They continued their search of the area. The lot was riddled with broken pieces of car scraps and lots of glass. There had to be pieces to over a hundred cars not to mention the different makes and models. Then, take into account touch dna. That would be impossible. They wouldn't be able to narrow a pool that large. No, they would need something undeniably specific something that would leave no doubt.

Just then, Goren sees a plate wedged under a piece of concrete. He pulls out a license plate with the vanity plate of "woodystoy" from under a big piece of cinderblock. The placemwnt was rather odd. It was as if done intentionally for them to find.

"Woody's Toy. So, Woody was jacked in the city. Drove his Roover up here, switched out the plates? That's a tough trail to follow."

"Let's go backwards." After he said it, he realized that phrase had been in his mind all morning. If only it was that simple to put it all behind them. It wasn't. Nothing ever was with him. "Woody's car made two stops in the South Bronx that night."

"Brand new white Roover on St. Anne's Avenue, somebody might remember that."

Bodega, St. Anne's

They entered a bodega in St. Anne's where the owner was being dodgy. "White Roover with a White driver. Hard to say."

Eames was getting annoyed and Goren was doing everything in his power to keep her from going down that route. Especially, when there was an easier way to get him to talk.

"Cat food, you got a cat?"

"Better than rats."

"Not according to the Health Department. Eames, we have multiple violations here." He points to a cat litter with feces and food stored on the shelf above it.

He flips the sign to close and slams it against the door.

"NYPD has nothing better to do."

Eames was already on the phone, "Not today. How about you?"

He points across the street where Woody went to pawn off valuables. It appeared abandoned and rusted over.

"They work odd hours."

"Drugs?" Goren asked as it wouldn't be the first time a rich white person would enter this type of area looking to score. Plausible

"Local ebay. Left his hoochita on guard inside."

"He had a girl with him, someone from the neighborhood?"

"Yeah, somewhere where the rich covergirls live."

Eames smiles.

Goren liked this guy only for a second before turning to jealousy. He managed to get a smile from her. He missed that smile. She had been tense and curt with him all day. The owner was fully animated now. Alex tended to have that effect on guys.

"I took at the garbage and smiled. She freaks, honks the horn until he comes back."

"Anybody else in the car with her?"

"Three would have been a crowd."

They investigate the neighborhood ebay and came up with empty watch boxes and jeweler's lube.

"So this devoted husband picks up a hottie in Hell's Kitchen, drives up here, pawns some jewelry and gets carjacked," Eames was trying to make sense of it and iron out the time line.

He shook his head. No Occam's razor. The simplest answer is usually the right one. "Maybe. Or maybe Woody just ran off with this other woman. Car jacking was a cover."

Eames nods thinking the same thing.

"Should we tell the Captain?"

"Let's confirm it first," Eames replies.

"You're exactly right."

Eames looks up at him taken aback by his words and deferance to her.

"No I'm just saying, you're right."

Eames understood he was acknowleging his wrongs in that moment. It broke her tough as nails facade just a bit. Of course that didn't change things but maybe it was a small start.