We got the call today. The jury's returned a verdict against Logan. We make a few frantic phone calls, to Amanda's father, Julie's mother and Nora's mother and partner and head down to the courthouse.
Nora's partner, Sara Reyes stops Elliot and I, outside the courtroom. "However this turns out," she begins, her eyes dark and hardened. She and Nora were close. "I don't blame any of you. You work one hell of a tough job - you just can't win 'em all." Sara straightens her shoulders, dressed in her blues and adjusts her black ponytail.
We walk into the courtroom and sit behind the prosecution's table, as usual. I catch Kevin's icy look, as he sits beside his attorney, Langan. Don't ask me how a piece of scum like Logan could ever afford a high-priced pain in the ass mouthpiece like Langan. Karen's there - she turns and looks at me, for a minute, as we trade nods. Another familiar head turns - it's my old boss, Lieutenant Stevenson. "Lieu." I nod.
He returns my nod. "Benson."
We let the families have the front row, of course, out of respect, but there are at least a dozen cops, all of us dressed in our formal uniforms. It makes a nice sight.
Petrovosky settles in her chair. "Will the defendant please rise?"
Kevin and his annoying lawyer both get to their feet. I keep my fingers locked in my lap, watching as the judge turns to the foreman of the jury. "Have you reached a verdict?"
"We have, Your Honor." He nods, a sheet of paper in his hand.
Elliot's hand is on my shoulder. He squeezes, lightly, then lets go. He knows this one hit home.
"On count one of the indictment, Murder in the First Degree, how do you find?"
"We find the defendant guilty."
One count down, four to go, I think, remembering what was on the indictment.
"On the second count of the indictment, Murder in the First Degree, how do you find?" Petrovosky's still talking to the jury foreman.
"We find the defendant guilty."
"On the third count of the indictment, Murder in the First Degree, how do you find?"
Again, the foreman responds: "we find the defendant guilty." Three counts of Murder One. He's eligible for the death penalty. No. He doesn't deserve to die quickly. He deserves to have to live out his life in the cold, grey surroundings of a prison.
"On the fourth count of the indictment, Rape in the First Degree, how do you find?"
Another guilty verdict. Our fourth victim, the one he didn't get to kill was just a waitress from a coffee shop on my block. I hardly knew her and he put her through hell. I think he was just using me as an excuse to attack. He probably had it in him from day one.
"On the fifth count of the indictment, Assault on a Police Officer, how do you find?"
A fifth guilty verdict. Not that it matters. With three counts of Murder One, he won't see the outside world ever again. Novak isn't ready to cut him any slack.
I accept a few hugs from people, here and there - Nora's and Amanda's mothers and the husband of the waitress that he raped. But I just want to get out of here. I'm not in the mood for a press conference today. I'm happy to let Casey have the spotlight.
Elliot and I part ways, outside. He's got to go and pick up the twins for the weekend and I have to go finish up some paperwork.
"Detective Benson."
Goddamned reporters. I've never liked them. Why do we have to be cursed with annoying, meddling reporters? Aren't there enough annoying people in this world? I turn around, looking at another annoying person. Trevor Langan.
"What do you want, bottom-feeder?" Fin once called him that and it's the truth. I don't know how a defense attorney can defend some of the people we try to put away. I don't know how they sleep at night.
Langan steps toward me, briefcase in hand. "I was going to ask you if you'd have dinner with me."
I step back. "Langan, you just lost your case. What the hell are you doing?"
"Work aside, I see you - you're"-
"Cut the crap." I shake my head. "You just want something for your client. Get lost."
"Detective"-
"It's Olivia. Real smart, asking a girl out when you can't even call her by her first name there Trevor."
"So is that a yes . . . . Olivia?"
"No. You're a scumbag and a bottom-feeding son of a bitch. Do you know what you defend?" I question, raising an eyebrow.
"Everyone deserves a defense."
"Idealism. Doesn't the modern world beat that out of most people?"
He shakes his head. "Put the work aside. Have dinner with me."
"No. Your client murdered one of my best friends, Langan. Choked her to death. And you're just looking to dig up dirt you can use for later. I know you - you have way too much fun taking me apart on the stand. And I'm seeing someone. So do me a favor? Get lost." I brush my bangs out of my face.
"I was just offering."
"Yeah. You know what? I don't know how you sleep at night and I don't want to know."
"I don't know how you sleep, either." He responds.
"I put 'em away. I don't cut 'em loose to do more damage." I turn my back and walk away.
Later on, when I'm at home, on the phone with Elliot, I tell him about my exchange with Langan. "Son of a bitch!" He growls, fiercely and I can tell he's pissed that someone made a move in on his girl. "What the hell does he think he's doing?"
"El, nobody knows about us." I point out, trying to calm him down. "It was innocent enough, really."
"So? What did you do?"
"Turned him down. He's a bottom-feeding little prick. And more than likely, he wasn't really looking for a date - he was looking for dirt to use against me, when he gets stuck cross-examining me. How are the kids?"
"Good. They're in bed, now. You wanna come out here - they'd like to see you."
I sigh. "I don't wanna butt in, El. And I'm no substitute for their mother. I don't want them to feel like you're trying to replace Kathy with me."
"Hey." He cuts me off. "We don't have to tell 'em, yet. I'll just tell 'em you were bored and came out to hang out with us for the weekend."
"I don't want to lie to them, either."
"We won't be. You'll get bored there, by yourself. Come on, Liv. And maybe you can teach Lizzie some of those tricks I saw you use when we played basketball against the bucket boys last year. You're not half bad on the court."
I sigh. A weekend with him and his twins. It's better than a weekend here alone, watching seriously lame movies on cable. "You got me. Give me a half-hour?"
"If you don't show up, I'm coming to look for you." I hear him chuckle. "So I'll see you."
"Un-huh." I end the call and throw a few things into a bag. But there's one thing Elliot hasn't figured out, but I have. Kids are not as stupid as their parents seem to believe. They're actually pretty damned smart. We'll just have to make things look as normal as possible.
I shake my head. Funny. I don't have kids and I figured that out. He's got four and he hasn't figured it out, that kids pick up on stuff really quickly. I check my locks, turn out the lights, grab my keys and leave, locking the door behind me. He's right. This will be better than hanging around in my apartment, on my own.
I don't know why his kids like me so much. Who the hell am I? Their dad's partner. Big shit. Elliot's had a bunch of partners, probably. But this will make things go a little easier, when we decide to tell them about us. I'm not some stranger trying to invade their lives and take their mother's place. They know me.
I've seen relationships after a divorce go horribly wrong, when there are kids involved. The new partner tries to force themselves into the kids' lives, taking the place of the other parent, making the kids resent them. I'm not going to let that happen. I can never take their mother's place and I know that. I need to kind of slowly work my way into things, with his kids.
But I think it's going to work out. I hope. I need him by my side. I can't love anyone else, after this. I glance up, as Harry shows me out. He stops me, with a grin. "Miss Benson - I bet you didn't know you were still growing coins in your ears."
With a flourish, he produces a quarter that he supposedly pulled from my ear. It's the same trick he did when I was a child. I laugh, quietly and make my way to the car. I glance up at the sky and silently say a prayer. Not for me, not for Elliot - for Nora's kids. Without a mother and a father that the courts can't let them go back to, those kids have got a hard struggle in front of them. I made up my mind that I'm going to be involved. I feel somehow obligated to help them.
I crank the key in the ignition and sigh. Finally, all this crap is over and I can get back to normalcy - until the next call comes in, of course.
