Tarnished

Chapter Twelve

1-6 Precinct

SVU Squad Room

9:45 AM Wednesday

It was a rainy day, and Elliot and Olivia came in bearing coffee and doughnuts.

"Ah, look who decided to show up," John said, by way of greeting. "Lovely day we're having?"

"Shut up John," Olivia, Fin, and Elliot said in unison. "Hmm, you're awfully cheery compared to most days," Olivia commented.

"My dear, the day I'm cheery is the day that the GOP finally concedes that the war in Iraq is a cloak and dagger for the-"

"John!" The rest of them say in unison, and he holds his hands up in surrender.

"If you must know, I had a date last night and it went surprisingly well," he explained.

"We're very happy for you John," Fin said sarcastically as he picked up a doughnut. "And we're yet praying for your woman."

Olivia and Elliot just shook their heads as they settled in.

"So, the happy couple here yet?" Elliot asked as he took a bite out of his doughnut.

"Nope, but Dad's mad again," Fin sighed. "I don't know what about, but I hope you all dotted your I's and crossed your t's 'cause I don't feel like getting yelled at today."

Olivia shook her head.

"You know, that stuff'll kill ya," a familiar voice said from the entrance to the squad room.

Olivia turned around and she gasped.

"Andy?"

Andrew Eckerson gave her a once over and grinned. "Well, except you."

"What are you doing here?" Olivia asked.

"The Barlow case," Andy explained. "You guys keep busting hell wide open. This is Agent Sanders."

Cragen came out of his office. "Gentlemen, detectives, in my office."

Once everyone was in Cragen's office, Don closed the door and he went back over to his desk. "Now, would you two care to explain why you let us get this far on a federal case without notifying us? We have now compromised the lives of other potential agents, and this time it's your asses, not ours. Talk."

Andy spoke up.

"Captain Cragen, we apologize for not getting involved at the beginning, but it was too risky," he explained. "Agent Sanders here was an inside man, and when Marissa was killed, we pulled him, and two other agents out before anything else could happen."

"Wait a minute," Elliot interjected. "You knew about Marissa Barlow?"

"Yes, she was a field agent," Sanders began. "A very inexperienced one. She's a US Marshall for the Treasury Department, and we only put her in because she was book smart…literally. We knew that if she got the position, that she'd have access to all accounting and financial files on hand."

"You put an inexperienced field agent in with the big boys?" Cragen asked. "What the hell were you guys thinking?"

"I know," Andy sighed.

"Well, now, four people are dead because of you guys' mistake," Olivia huffed.

"Four?" Sanders asked. "I thought it was just Barlow and Ms. Lewis and her two kids?"

"Marissa was fifteen weeks pregnant with Franklin Sadler's child when she was killed," Elliot explained.

"Shit," Andy said. "We don't even know how she got involved with Franklin Sadler. Two days before the murder, we told her that we had the wrong target and to get the hell out of dodge."

"Who was the target then?" Cragen asked. "What the hell were you guys doing?"

"We were initially investigating Christian Sadler for tax evasion, but we dug a little deeper and struck gold," Sanders explained. "We got a credible lead from a CI that there were some dirty dealings with black market weapons dealer in the Ukraine. Sergei Yosevek has been linked to at least a dozen anti-American and British terrorist cells in eight different countries, including Colombia. We've been given contracts, documents, and even withdrawals from Optimal Securities and Insurance Associates. Franklin Sadler is the one doing the dealings, and Marissa wouldn't hear of it. I don't know how she got sucked in, but we had to get her out of there, unfortunately, it was too late."

"And now a mother and her two children are dead as well," Cragen said solemnly. "Who's your informant?"

Andy and Sanders looked at each other then back at Cragen.

"If we tell you, you're going to need to protect her," Andy said.

"Who?" Fin asked.

"Josephine Sadler," Andy divulged.

"Great, back to the happy couple," Munch groused.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sanders asked.

"Well, Josephine Sadler has been risking life and limb," Olivia snipped. "Christian Sadler has been beating the hell out of her almost on a daily basis. No wonder she and Marissa hit it off. Marissa probably told her about the discrepancies, and, because Josephine loves her husband so damn much, she'll do anything to get him off the hook. She's known about her father-in-law the whole damn time."

Cragen sighed.

"We need to get them down here now," he sighed. " Benson, Stabler, you go pick up the Sadlers, Munch, Fin, you go with Sanders and Eckerson to Optimal Securities and pick up Franklin Sadler."

Everyone nodded and headed out.

Sadler Estate

Saratoga

10:35 AM

Franklin Sadler sat in his office drinking a glass of sherry, lost in thought. His thoughts derailed when Josephine came bursting through.

He turned to face his daughter-in-law.

"Josie, it's always a pleasure," he said with a cocky grin. "How's your eyesight?"

"So so," she commented, not biting. "Why did you kill her? Why were you about to let your son, my husband, go down for something you did?"

Franklin stood up and approached her. They stood nose to nose then he slapped her and she fell to the floor.

"How dare you come into my house and accuse me of murdering that filthy whore!" He yelled.

"That's the wrong one, dad," Christian said as he entered. "Josie, are you alright?"

"Yes," she said as he helped her get up.

Christian got into his father's face.

"Your on your own dad," he said. "Burn in hell all by yourself."

"I'll make sure of that, Christian," Josephine said as she approached Franklin once more. "I know all you dirty little secrets, and I'm telling everyone what a son of a bitch you really are."

Franklin stared them down.

Sadler Residence

Upper Manhattan

11:20 AM

Elliot knocked once again on the front door of the Sadler residence. No one was answering.

"You think they skipped town?" Olivia asked as they rushed back to the car in the rain.

"Couldn't have," Elliot doubted. "With her eyesight and his injuries, they couldn't have gone anywhere fast."

"Detectives!" Josephine called.

Olivia and Elliot hurried back up the steps. "Judge Sadler, we need for you and your husband to come to the stationhouse, it's very urgent," Olivia said.

"Okay," she said. "Christian is just now getting dressed."

"Well, if you don't mind, we'd like to escort you to the station," Elliot said.

"Okay," Josephine said.

1-6 Precinct

SVU Squad Room

12:50 PM

Christian and Josephine Sadler sat in Cragen's office. Josephine had some of her eyesight back, but she would need glasses for sure. Christian was recovering well, and the couple held each other close. Olivia felt sad for the both of them now. They had so much hurt and guilt to wade through that she wondered if they would ever be able to move on from this.

She was walking down the hall with some bottled water and some crackers in hand.

She entered Cragen's office and handed them the water and crackers.

Andy and Sanders walked in and closed the door and Josephine recognized them.

"Agent Eckerson, Agent Sanders," she said. "What are you doing here? What's going on, really?"

"Josie, you know these men?" Christian asked, confused.

"Maybe you should start from the beginning, Judge Sadler," Cragen advised.

"Jose?" Christian asked again, and she leaned in and kissed him softly. "I'm sorry, Chris, but all I wanted to do was protect you. I became an informant for the agents about a year ago, when I met Marissa. She told me about the money, and the contracts and she said that Chris was involved. I knew that it couldn't have been true. So I started getting documents, phone calls, everything from Marissa. When I found out that Franklin was the one, I tried to tell her, but she wouldn't believe me. It all went downhill when she became pregnant."

"When she told me she was pregnant, I told the agents, but she refused to get out," Josephine explained further.

"Well, we're going to put you and your sons under protective custody," Sanders explained. "We're going to arrest Franklin Sadler and we're going to need you to give a full statement and testify in court."

Josephine nodded.

"Judge Sadler, you did a very brave thing," Andy commended. "Now it's time for us to protect you."

The Sadlers nodded.

Just then, Munch and Fin walked into the office.

"Captain, we got a problem," Fin said.

"What now?" Cragen asked.

"Franklin Sadler's been killed," Fin said.

Christian and Josephine both sighed and she hugged her husband as he began to break down.

"CSU is at the Sadler Estate," Munch said.

"Well, we'll never know now if he killed Marissa Barlow," Cragen sighed. "This murder should have been solved by now and this never would have happened."

"I know who the murderer is," Josephine admitted quietly. "And if you don't hurry, there might not be a chance to ever get justice."