Disclaimer: All Law And Order: Special Victims Unit characters and namesakes are the property of Dick Wolf / NBC.
Author's Note / Warning: This story contains an original character that plays the love interest of Casey Novak. The story deals with the relationship between Casey and my original character, and it is told from both of their perspectives. I had a very specific storyline in mind that I felt could not be realized by pairing Casey with an existing SVU character, thus the creation of Det. Seth Bauer. This is not intended to be a Mary Sue story, and I can only hope that from the writing and characterization, this proves to be true.
A/N/W: From Chapter 7 on, the themes become slightly more adult in regards to violence and sexual content. Nothing explicit enough to warrant an M rating, but just a heads up to readers all the same.
Chapter 8: Gomez Pallarzi
December 13th, 12:22 PM
"This guy's a real psycho," Stabler said standing in front of the glass bulletin board in the SVU squad room. He pointed up at a picture taped to the board, tapping it with the back of his finger. The photo showed the angry face of a Hispanic man around the age of thirty-five. He had dark skin and short, nappy black hair. His upper lip was pulled back in a sneer, revealing a gold-capped tooth. There was a visible scar running from his forehead to his left cheek through one of his empty, soulless eyes. The name under the photo read 'Gomez Pallarzi' in bold, black typeset.
The entire SVU crew had gathered in front of the bulletin board for an update on the case. Don Cragen stood across from Elliot on the left side of the board, Munch and Fin to his right. Olivia stood directly across from her partner, and Dr. George Huang was leaning against a desk just behind her. Casey and Seth stood next to one another to Olivia's left, across from the center of the board.
Casey studied the board intently, making several mental notes as Elliot spoke. Seth glanced at Casey, watching her thoughtful expression. He knew she was gearing up for an eventual meeting with Pallarzi, and it made his stomach feel ill. There was just something about the case that made Seth very uneasy, but he couldn't figure out exactly what it was. He dealt with killers and rapists day in and day out, as did Casey, but this case was different somehow. Seth had an especially bad feeling about the investigation, and Elliot calling Pallarzi 'a real psycho' certainly didn't help. Seth reached up to the small bandage on the bridge of his nose, touching it lightly and wincing in pain. Casey noticed and turned to him, making a sad and concerned expression with her face. She reached over with one hand and rubbed Seth's arm. So far, it hadn't been a great day.
Gomez Pallarzi had raped and murdered two women they knew about, and he was suspected of attacking and killing at least three more. Pallarzi was a real sadist, torturing the women before they died, and then butchering their bodies afterwards. Although the SVU squad had not gathered enough evidence for an arrest warrant, they had decided to bring Pallarzi in for questioning all the same. Benson, Fin and Bauer had gone to pick Pallarzi up, after tracking his movements to an old, abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city where he had been holed up for some time. When the SVU detectives had entered the building, Pallarzi had booked out the window into the alleyway. Seth had pursued on foot, tackling Pallarzi before he could turn the corner of the building. They had rolled into the street, falling on top of one another. Pallarzi had smiled venomously, grabbing Seth by the collar, head butting him and almost breaking his nose. Blood had poured down from the bridge of Seth's wounded nose, filling his mouth with a warm copper taste. Seth had responded quickly, drawing his gun and jamming it against Pallarzi's left temple. Within seconds, Olivia and Fin had joined Seth, surrounding Pallarzi on both sides. Gomez Pallarzi had beamed viciously up at the circle of guns pointed at him, his hands in the air as Seth lay on top of him.
"You all right?" Olivia had shouted at Seth.
Seth had spat a wad of blood out onto the pavement, still pointing his gun at Pallarzi and standing up. "Yeah, I'm okay," Seth had said, wiping the bridge of his nose with one hand. "Ow – damn it!"
After Pallarzi had been taken into custody, Fin had driven Seth to the hospital to have his nose checked out.
"Damn, rookie," Fin had said on the drive over, "ain't nobody ever told you how to take down a suspect wid'out getting your ASS kicked?"
"Hey, we caught him, didn't we?" Seth had said through his aching, puffy nose.
Fin had smiled, shaking his head in disbelief. "You keep that stuff up, and maybe next time you'll be lucky enough to get your ass shot. B'lee dat, rookie."
At the hospital, Seth had received three stitches for the deep laceration on the bridge of his nose. Luckily, it wasn't broken, but it hurt like hell all the same. When the nurse had placed a piece of white medical tape across the bridge of his nose to cover the stitches, Seth had nearly screamed. By the time he and Fin had returned to the station house, there was some slight purple discoloration between Seth's eyes, but the swelling had gone down. He and Fin had walked back into the squad, where the rest of the group was situated, awaiting their return.
"It ain't broken," Fin announced as he and Seth had walked through the doors of the squad room.
Elliot and Olivia had looked up from their desks, both seeming concerned. Captain Cragen emerged from his office at the sound of Fin's voice, and he had walked towards Seth, placing a hand on his shoulder. "That was a gusty thing you did out there, son," Cragen had said in his best 'concerned father' voice. "You be more careful next time."
"I will Captain. Sorry," Seth had said, feeling proud nonetheless.
Munch had been next to come by, patting Seth on the back. "Better you than me," Munch had joked, grinning. Seth had nodded and chuckled, his nose crying out in pain as he did. Olivia had followed suit, smiling her tender smile at Seth and rubbing his shoulder. After she had turned and walked back to her desk, Seth had looked up and Elliot had been standing before him. Elliot's hands were behind his back, his head sunk back into his shoulders, in what Seth had always thought of as Elliot's 'military stance'.
Elliot had breathed in deeply, a serious expression on his face. "Does it hurt?"
"Yeah," Seth had replied. "That son of a bitch nailed me pretty good."
Elliot had nodded his head in agreement, moving closer to Seth."I know, believe me. I've had the same thing happen to me more than few times. It's gonna hurt even worse in the morning."
"Great," Seth had said sarcastically.
Elliot had shuffled his feet, looking at the floor. After a moment, he had looked up and said, "I'm glad you're okay."
A surprised expression came over Seth's face, but he had felt genuinely touched all the same. As Elliot turned, joining Olivia back at their desks, Seth had smiled. "Thanks Elliot."
Just as Seth had turned to walk over to his desk on the other side of the room, Casey had come bursting into the squad room. She had a panicked look on her face, scanning the room with her wide and frightened eyes. As soon as Casey spotted Seth, her brisk walk turned into a run, and she had nearly knocked him over rushing to his aide.
"What happened?" Casey had shouted, her voice sounding young and afraid. "I got a call from my office saying you had been injured during Pallarzi's arrest!" Casey was fawning all over Seth, and he had put his hands up, trying to calm her. Casey's hands had gone immediately to his face, her fingertips gently caressing his cheeks. Seth had winced at her touch, pulling back. Casey had studied his face, gasping audibly. "Oh my god! Your nose! Seth, are you all right? Oh no, you poor thing!"
Seth had looked around, slightly embarrassed. The other detectives in the squad had been gawking at them, smiling. Cragen had smiled as well, shaking his head and going back into his office.
"Um, Casey?" Seth had said softly.
"Is it broken? Did you go to the hospital?"
"Casey," Seth had said more forcefully, motioning around the room with his eyes. "I'm fine. It's not broken. But thanks for the concern...mom."
Casey had suddenly realized everyone was staring at them, and she had lowered her hands, taking a step back. "Well, yes," she had said, trying to somehow sound more formal. "It appears like you're all right. I'm glad." Casey had motioned towards Seth, lightly brushing some lint off his shoulder with her hand, still looking at him with her scared doe eyes. "Sorry!" she had whispered through clenched teeth, raising her eyebrows in an 'oops' gesture.
After Casey and Seth had moved out into the hallway, the other detectives in the squad had looked around at each other, smirking. "I don't think I've ever seen Novak totally lose her composure like that," Elliot had said to Olivia in a low voice.
"I think it's sweet," Olivia had replied, smiling. "They're a cute couple." Elliot had simply rolled his eyes, standing up. After grabbing his coffee mug, he had walked towards the machine for a refill. He and Olivia were going to be getting first crack at an interview with Pallarzi, and Elliot had wanted to make sure he would be alert and on the ball. Pallarzi was just about as sick and evil as they came, and it had looked like he would be a tough egg to crack.
Almost an hour later, Benson and Stabler had returned to the squad room after getting almost nowhere with Pallarzi. The rest of the squad had gathered around the bulletin board, joined by Dr. Huang, waiting to see what Elliot and Olivia had to say. Liv had taken her place across from Elliot and the bulletin board, letting her partner do the talking. After making the obvious indication that Pallarzi was a complete psychopath, Elliot continued.
"The guy's like a friggin' stone you can't move. He's just got this vacant stare going on, and we can't budge him on either of the rape homicides. He hasn't asked for a lawyer yet, but he's having his fun with us in there, that's for sure. He knows we don't have enough evidence yet for an arrest on the multiple rapes and he's totally dickin' us around. I'm telling you Captain, I almost decked the guy a few times."
Cragen stuck his hands in his pockets, speaking to Elliot and the group at the same time. "Okay people, let's not resort to fisticuffs just yet. Olivia, what did you get off of him? Anything?"
"Nothing more than Elliot did," Olivia said with a sigh. "Like Ell said, the guy is a total head case. He thinks he's in control in there, and with the evidence we have, I'd say he might be right. I know one thing's for sure – he hates women."
"But can we use that against him?" Cragen asked.
"I don't know," Olivia continued. "Every time I ask him a question, he doesn't respond. He just gives me this evil look...like he's imagining what it would be like to stab me to death."
"Maybe having a woman run the interview isn't the best idea," Huang interjected. "Pallarzi thrives on being in control, especially when it comes to women. He sees them as objects to 'play with'. This is why he tortures his victims before killing them. And the mutilation that takes place afterwards is a sign of his contempt for ALL women, not just the ones he's killing. It's his way of showing how deep his hatred for women truly is. Normally we would see these types of postmortem mutilations when the perpetrator knew the victim personally. Where it seems Pallarzi didn't know any of the women and chose his victims at random, I'd say this makes him especially dangerous. He mutilates his victims as an indication of how personally betrayed he feels by women as a whole. His actions may seem haphazard, but there are very individual and sincere motives behind them."
"Well, what do you suggest then, Doc?" Cragen asked matter-of-factly.
"For starters, see what you can find out about his past relationships with women, especially the relationship he had with his mother. This is not the average sociopath we are dealing with here. Pallarzi cares very much about what he does to his victims, that's why he takes his time with them. For now, I'd also advise that Olivia stays out of the room. Her presence is only going to make him feel more in control. Send the male detectives in and see if they can 'make friends' with him. Pallarzi has an incredible ego, and he may be willing to open up if you appeal to his more narcissistic side."
"Heh, you should let me in there with him. I can think of a few ways to get him to talk," Casey blurted out from the back of the crowd. Seth could tell by her tone that she was still very angry about what Pallarzi had done to him, and she couldn't wait to get 'ole Gomez in the hot seat.
Huang raised an eyebrow, giving Casey a curious look. "I wouldn't recommend that either. Until we know for sure that Pallarzi is going to cooperate, I don't think he should know that the prosecuting A.D.A. is also female. In fact Casey, you may want to see if your office can have a male colleague handle this one."
Casey pursed her lips, making an insulted expression. "My office isn't going to reassign the case just because Pallarzi has a problem with women. This is my case and I'm going to make sure that Pallarzi stays behind bars for a very long time." Huang could sense the defiance in Casey's voice, and he didn't push the issue any further.
Casey continued, her tone becoming less defensive. She spoke to the group. "We need to get an indictment against Pallarzi for the rape homicides. Now that he knows we're after him, he's definitely going to be a flight risk once he makes bail on the assault charge. I can't ask for remand on that charge, so see if you can get a confession out of him before he lawyers-up." Casey gave Seth an affirmative look, and he again had that uneasy feeling in his stomach.
"All right troops, you heard her," Cragen said, motioning to the group. "Munch, Fin. I want the two of you to start digging into Pallarzi's past, like the Doc said. Find out anything you can about past girlfriends, as well as any female relatives, starting with his mother." Munch and Fin both nodded, moving for the door. "Stabler. I want you to go back in there and start playing to Pallarzi's good side. If that doesn't work, maybe Bauer can join you, and the two of you can see if using Pallarzi's attack on Seth will pump up the guy's ego. In the meantime, Seth, Olivia, I want you two to start going through Pallarzi's cell phone records. See who he's talked to in the past few weeks and if there's any connection to either of the victims. And if something comes up with the other three vics we suspect him of raping and killing, call me immediately. Let's go people, the clock's ticking on this one."
The group began to scatter in different directions, following the Captain's orders. Seth and Casey held back for a moment while Dr. Huang studied the bulletin board.
"What is it?" Casey asked Seth, looking into his eyes.
"I don't know, Casey," Seth said. "I just have a bad feeling about this guy."
Casey moved closer to Seth, holding his arm and speaking softly. "Is it because he hurt you?" she asked in a caring voice.
Seth was surprised by the question. "No. Nothing like that. I've taken my share of hits on the job, so that's nothing new. The guy's just totally psycho, like Elliot said. I don't like all this talk about his 'vicious hatred' towards women. And I especially don't like how eager you are to get yourself alone in a room with him."
Casey took a more serious tone with him, almost sounding insulted. "Hey, I'm a big girl, Seth. I can take care of myself." She paused, giving Seth a dubious look and lowering her voice. "I mean, we've talked about this...about keeping the job separate from our relationship."
"Well, you didn't do a very good job of that this afternoon when you came in here and starting pampering me in front of everyone," Seth argued.
"That's different!" Casey countered, sounding slightly exasperated. "I was upset that you were hurt and I wasn't thinking about anything else. But I would still never stop you from going out there and doing your job. Now don't you stop me from doing mine."
Seth sighed. Casey could be especially willful at times and it drove him nuts. "Look, that's not what I meant. I just think that you're really upset about what happened to me during Pallarzi's arrest and it's affecting the way you're handling things. I think you're making this into a personal issue with the guy, and like Dr. Huang said, he's dangerous." Seth sighed again, collecting his thoughts. "I just don't want you to go on some crusade on my behalf, Casey. Just handle this like you would any other case and don't go out of your way to piss the guy off."
Casey's expression changed, becoming less irritated. "I'm not going to do anything stupid...do you think I want to blow the case just to get a rise out of this jerk?" Casey paused, lowering her voice again. "And I don't think Dr. Huang is totally right about keeping Olivia and I out of the room...but that's a whole other issue. Look, if you're that worried, then I promise I'll be careful with the guy. You just make sure you guys get something that I can use against him in court."
Seth could tell he wasn't getting through to Casey, and he didn't know what else to say. Her defiance was usually a real asset in her line of work, but in situations like this, Seth saw it as a definite detriment. Casey didn't seem to be grasping what he was really trying to say, although Seth knew he wasn't doing a very good job of communicating his feelings. She was speaking to him rather dismissively, as if he was only trying to play the 'big, strong protector'. Although that was hardly the case, Seth could see it was becoming a moot point.
"Yeah, all right," Seth gave in with a sigh.
Casey smiled at him, satisfied. She snatched up her briefcase, turning for the door. "Give me a call when you guys have something," she said. "And you take those painkillers the doctor gave you!" she added in a lower voice.
Seth watched Casey exit the squad room. Dr. Huang stood by the bulletin board, looking at him. "Am I crazy to be so concerned about this?" Seth asked the doctor.
"I don't think so, Seth," Dr. Huang replied. "But Casey's got a mind of her own and you have to let her make her own decisions."
"Yeah, I know."
"But balancing your jobs with your relationship is difficult?" Huang inquired, already knowing the answer.
"Well, yeah, of course. I think that's a given. But it really hasn't been an issue until now."
Dr. Huang nodded his head in agreement, not saying anything.
"But this is different, somehow," Seth continued. "I'm sensing that Casey has a personal vendetta against this guy on my behalf, and I think that can only lead to trouble." Seth motioned towards the bulletin board. "This whole thing - it doesn't sit right with me. It hasn't since the beginning."
"Well, I'm sure you realize that as a detective dating the unit's lead prosecutor, it's only natural that these kinds of feelings will sometimes come up during the course of an investigation. This has been a very difficult case for everyone. The brutality of these crimes is unusual, even for the Special Victims Unit. As much as you and Casey attempt to keep your relationship separate from work, you're not always going to be able to, particularly in a case like this."
"I know," Seth agreed with the doctor. "We've talked about this, and we both realize it's a tricky situation. Normally, I wouldn't feel this way. It's just..." Seth's words trailed off.
"If you're concerned about Casey, maybe try giving her some space. She may just need some time to calm down. Try talking to her again later and see if she's more receptive."
"Yeah, I think I'll do that," Seth said, still worried. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Dr. Huang said, turning for the exit. "Let me know if I can be of any more assistance in the case."
Dr. Huang took his leave of the SVU squad room as Seth continued to stand by the bulletin board, looking at Pallarzi's ugly mug. A moment later, Olivia came up behind him.
"We should get to work on the phone dump," she said.
"Right. Sorry."
The afternoon moved slowly ahead as Seth sat across from Olivia, the two of them going over Pallarzi's phone records. Elliot came back from the interview room a few hours later, saying that although he had managed to get on Pallarzi's good side, he hadn't been able to get any new information out of him. Shortly afterward, Munch and Fin returned with some better news. They had been able to uncover a history of violence against women throughout Pallarzi's past, beginning when he was in grade school. Munch, Fin and Olivia began trudging through the list of names they had gathered concerning Pallarzi's alleged previous attacks on women. But as the list grew shorter and shorter, no new leads were established and it seemed like the squad was approaching another dead end. After calling the last name on the list, Olivia hung up the phone and sighed heavily.
"Well, she was no help either," Olivia said to the other detectives. "She had the same story as everyone else – Pallarzi likes his sex rough, but is a decent enough guy. I'm telling you, these women are terrified of him. No one wants to talk because they feel lucky just to still be alive."
"Wait," Seth said still combing through the last few pages of Pallarzi's cell phone records. "There are a bunch of calls here to the same pizza place...it looks like almost every day for two weeks, some calls twice on the same day. Then nothing for a week or so...then they start up again, before ending all together."
"So?" Cragen asked as he joined the others, approaching Seth's desk.
"Well, you can't tell me this guy likes eating take-out that much." Seth paused thoughtfully. "Did either of the victims work at a pizza shop?"
Olivia grabbed her page of notes on the case, scanning the paper with excited eyes. "Yes, the first victim worked at Demitri's House Of Pizza, twenty-sixth and third."
"Same place," Seth said with growing fervor, looking at the phone dump. "Why haven't we interviewed the owner yet?"
"Because according to this, she quit working there almost two months before her death," Olivia continued. "It didn't seem relevant until now."
"There's gotta be a connection there," Cragen said. "Olivia, you and Seth go talk to the owner and any recent employees, and find out why our first victim left her job at this pizza place."
"You thinking Pallarzi was stalking her before he attacked her?" Seth asked the Captain.
"Could very well be. If we can connect Pallarzi to her through the pizza joint, it just might be enough for an arrest. You two get going, and let me know what you find."
Olivia and Seth gathered up their things and headed for Demitri's House Of Pizza. After speaking with the owner and several current employees, they were finally able to catch a substantial break in the case. An hour later, they returned to the station house with their newly discovered evidence. Olivia went back to her desk while Seth and Elliot laid everything out for Pallarzi, placing him under arrest for the first rape homicide. Sensing that the end was in sight, Pallarzi lawyered-up, shutting down the interrogation. Pallarzi's exterior remained cool, and after requesting his lawyer, he ushered the SVU detectives out of the interview room. He spoke only once more as Bauer and Stabler exited the room.
"I should've taken your gun and shot you dead, pig," Pallarzi said to Seth, giving him a twisted smile. "You lucky I only smash your face in."
"Hey Gomez," Elliot fired back, both of them stopping in the doorway. "You might wanna melt down that gold tooth for cigarette money. Where you're going, it'll be about five minutes before you're somebody's bitch."
Seth said nothing. He just stood there staring into Pallarzi's dead eyes. Pallarzi sneered and stared back even more intently.
"Come on," Elliot said, tugging at Bauer's arm. "We're done with this douche bag."
Elliot and Seth walked into the hallway. "Somebody better call Novak," Elliot said. Again, Seth didn't reply and Elliot gave him a strange look before walking away. Seth stood in front of the interview room's two-way mirror, still looking at Pallarzi. Pallarzi stared back, somehow knowing Seth was just beyond his side of the glass. It was getting dark out and Seth had that tight feeling in his stomach again. A few small beads of perspiration stood out on Seth's forehead and his hands felt clammy. Soon, Pallarzi's lawyer would arrive and Casey would sit down with them to talk about any deals A.D.A. Novak had in mind. Yet somehow, Seth knew Casey wouldn't be in the dealing mood tonight.
"Bauer," Munch called from behind him. "We've got a body in a dumpster over on eighty-first. Possible sexual assault prior to death, but we won't know until we get there. Warner's over there now checking things out. The Captain wants you riding with me."
Seth turned and looked at John. He was making a jabbing motion to the side with his thumb, his eyebrows raised. Seth followed behind Munch, giving Pallarzi one more quick glance through the two-way mirror. Pallarzi still had a wicked grin on his face, but he was no longer looking up in Seth's direction. He just sat unmoving, staring straight ahead, his hands folded politely in front of him on the table, waiting for night to fall.
