Disclaimer: Not mine, but let's all save up and buy Munch so he can have more airtime.

CHAPTER SEVEN DOINK-DOINK

"How's Hayley?" asked Elliot as Munch returned to the station.

"She's surprisingly fine," said Munch.

"Was she drugged, too?" asked Olivia.

"She said the guy tried to shove the pills into her mouth and she held them there, then spat them out later. We got hold of them and are waiting to see if there's DNA on them, too. Caroline stayed with her and they'll be here soon to take her statement."

"Well, we're going to plant Caroline at Fluffy's tomorrow. I talked to the boss guy and he said this one man paid an awful lot of attention to Antonia all the time. He's a regular. Shouldn't be too hard to track down," said Fin.

DOINK-DOINK

Caroline sat in Fluffy's Bakery late the next night, sipping a mochaccino and reading a book called "Jewish Literacy". She wore her hair down today, her soft curls framing her face attractively, and as opposed to her usual dark slacks and button-down blouses, she had opted for a flowy white skirt and short-sleeved blue shirt. Munch and Elliot sat in the car just outside, trying not to look like cops. Caroline had her cell phone on in case they needed to contact her.

"See anything yet?" Cragen's voice sounded over the radio.

"No. Wait, yes. Elliot, you see him?" said Munch, pointing at a man in a red shirt.

"Yeah. I'll get Caroline to ask about him," said Elliot, dialing Caroline's phone.

"Hello?" said Caroline.

"It's Elliot. Ask Steve if that's the guy, and if so, leave, and see if he follows you."

"Yeah, I think I left it at Mrs. Brownstein's. See if Jennifer wants to go later. I'll call you back, okay?" Caroline seemed to enjoy speaking in code.

"If it's him, buy a donut. If not, just sit back down."

"Okay. Bye!"

Caroline hung up and tucked her hair behind her ears. She crossed over to Steve and he leaned across the counter at him.

"Is that the guy?" she asked softly. Steve nodded. "Okay. Could I get a cream donut to go, please?"

Steve bagged a donut for her and Caroline left. Munch and Elliot got out of the car, keeping a good distance between them, and saw the man leave and start walking after Caroline.

"Now?" said Elliot, ready to pounce.

"Not yet," said Munch. "Wait until she's gotten into the apartment."

A very cooperative owner of an apartment building near the bakery had offered a recently vacated apartment for them to use as a set-up. They had quickly moved furniture into the living room in case the perp got a look inside, just to make it more realistic. Caroline went into the building and called Munch on his cell.

"I'm inside. Is he going in?"

"Not yet. Wait a few minutes."

Elliot kept walking past the building and took a sharp right, going into the alley behind it. He climbed the fire escape to Caroline's "apartment" and waited there, ready to climb inside in case of any incident.

Munch looked through squinted eyes at the man in the red shirt. He had stopped outside of the building, rooted through his pockets, and took something square out. Munch didn't have to wonder what it was. The man went right into the building, since it lacked the usual security system.

"Elliot, he's in," said Munch over the radio he and Elliot were wired with.

"John!"

Munch turned to see Fin making his way toward him.

"He's in. Go."

Fin ran inside to stop the perp. Munch followed, though more slowly. Elliot, still looking through the window, saw Caroline pacing back and forth. He rapped on the window and she jumped, then ran to him.

"Why isn't he inside yet?" she asked.

"I don't know," said Elliot. "But stay calm. We'll take care of it."

Caroline suddenly looked terrified.

"What?"

"There's a knock at the door," she whispered.

"Go answer it," said Elliot.

Caroline crossed slowly to the door. "Who is it?" she called. There was no answer. She looked through the peephole and saw a man standing there, holding a badge up to the window. She nodded to Elliot.

Fin rounded the corner and grabbed the guy, knocking him to the ground. Caroline opened the door and pulled her gun, aiming it at the guy, who was holding his hands up in submission, looking absolutely terrified.

"What's your name? What's your name?" Caroline shouted a few times. The man looked right at her, but didn't respond. Fin smacked him upside the head. "What's your name?"

"Jeffery," the man mumbled in a throaty voice. "Hodges."

"You're coming with us, Jeff," said Fin.

DOINK-DOINK

Munch and Fin left the interrogation room after only a few seconds in there. Caroline, who still seemed slightly shaken from the evening's goings-on, looked at them in amazement. Cragen stood up.

"Unless all he said was 'I did it', I want to know what the hell you're doing out of there so fast. Lawyer?"

"He's deaf," said Munch. "And he has no tattoo. Hayley and Stephanie both said their attackers had a tattoo on his forearm."

"He had a badge," said Caroline.

"It was yours," said Fin. "You dropped it on your way out of the bakery."

Caroline took the badge slowly and looked as though she'd just been tossed into a bucket of ice.

"So our guy's still out there?" she said.

"Yeah," said Elliot, who had just returned. "And apparently, Fluffy's wasn't the connection. I just got off the phone with Steve who apologized for lying about the guy, but he just hoped you'd be able to catch someone."

"Prick," Caroline mumbled.

"But there is something. Apparently, Antonia was a student at an ESL school on the Upper West Side. We could talk to the students and staff there. She was in the beginning program."

"I thought she'd been here for years?"

"Yeah, but she'd never bothered to learn English until then."

"Fine. We can go tomorrow."

"One problem," said Elliot slowly. "The only students she'd probably know there are in the beginning program, meaning they probably can't give us any information in English. At least not very easily."

Caroline suddenly smiled. "I knew I came to the right place."