Wow, it is so nice to be back! Thanks for all the kind words.

Special Victims Unit Headquarters/ December 3/ 4:51 PM

Don Cragen stationed himself in front of the one-way window looking into the interrogation room, where Zack Colliver sat calmly behind the table, his arms crossed and his face relaxed. "Forget it," he said to Munch. "I've been through this before."

"Yeah, we got that already," replied Munch. "Why don't you tell me about the last time, save yourself a little trouble?"

Zack chuckled. "Yeah, right. You brought me here because you have no real suspect and I'm the only guy around who's got the kind of history you're looking for."

"And by history, you really mean rape," interjected Munch pointedly.

Zack shook his head. "It didn't really happen the way everybody's thinking," he replied. "But believe me, I learned plenty from that whole mess. You're just going to have to be patient and wait for my lawyer." He looked at the ceiling.

Cragen sighed – Munch was many things, but patient wasn't one of them. Nobody in his department seemed to have a surplus of that particular virtue. Just then, Huang slid into the room and peered through the window as well.

Cragen studied Zack's boyish face, his freckles and shaggy strawberry blonde hair. Was he playing them? Plenty of deeply violent criminals didn't look the part. Was this clumsy college kid the sick bastard who had ripped Nina Pressman apart and left her to bleed to death?

Huang seemed to read his thoughts. "I need to hear more from him. Once his lawyer gets here we can get him to say a little bit, hopefully at least how he really feels about Lacey Goldstone."

"The apartment and the neighborhood are still being canvassed," said Cragen. "We might still get some DNA, and we've got enough motive to get a sample from Zack."

Both turned back to the window, where they saw Munch in an uneasy stare-down with Zack. "That lawyer better get here soon," muttered Cragen.

Fin stuck his head in the doorway. "Just got off the phone with the police upstate who handled the sexual assault case – and it isn't what you want to hear, Captain."

Crap. "What'd they say?"

"Apparently, it wasn't much more than a small-town prom night party gone awry. Our boy Zack left the party with a cheerleader who regretted it in the morning. She said rape but she pretty much changed her mind later and the charges were reduced. He got a deal real easy – probation, which he was done with before he even got to the university."

Huang shook his head, and Cragen knew what he meant immediately. Whether or not Zack had really raped the cheerleader, it was a colossal step from that to the beastly violence inflicted upon Nina. It wasn't impossible that something or someone had triggered such a change in Zack, but the captain's gut was telling him that the young man staring confidently back at his detective was not the monster they were in search of. It was time to tell Munch what they'd learned.

When Zack's upstate lawyer finally rolled in, she let loose immediately. "It's atrocious that you're targeting my client just because he's convenient! He served his probation and accusing him of raping a five-year-old girl is preposterous. What are you going to do, arrest every Hudson University student who's ever had a run-in with the law?"

Pursing his lips and eyeing her, Munch gave the lawyer a few moments to make sure she'd run out of steam. "No, we just want to talk to the one who's been screwing the five-year-old's father's girlfriend."

At this, Zack scoffed. "Lacey is so not Pressman's girlfriend. Come on – she's just been doing him to pass that stupid class."

Munch squinted at him. "And that makes you real jealous, is that right, Zack?"

The lawyer held up her hand. "Zack, you don't have to answer that."

Ignoring her, he rolled his eyes. "You know what, I was pissed when I first found out. Because it's totally rank that she'd be boffing an old nasty guy like that. He's gotta be, like, past forty. Which is disgusting."

Forty was disgusting? Munch fought to remain expressionless.

Zack went on. "But to tell you the truth, I finally figured out that Lacey totally gave me an awesome excuse."

"For what?"

"To break up with her and not have it be my fault." He sat back proudly while the lawyer regarded him, speechless at last.

Munch thought quickly. "And it would be your fault because … Lacey's not the only one cheating?"

Zack shrugged. "Well, I've sort of been seeing someone a little bit." He couldn't help but grin. "In fact, that's where I was last night while Lacey was out to dinner with Pressman."

Which would give him an alibi if it turned out to be true. "Oh, really. And who is your special someone?"

He actually blushed a little bit through his freckles. "Okay, well, this is totally going to ruin my whole plan, but … it's Lacey's sister, Nicole. I can give you her number if you want." He started digging around in his pockets for his cell phone.

The lawyer's jaw dropped.

Munch recovered first. "Lacey has a sister at Hudson?"

"Uh huh. She's a junior." He shrugged again, then smirked. "What can I say? They look a lot alike."

Thoroughly revolted, Munch rose from his chair and went to speak with his colleagues in the next room. "Did you get all that? It's like Peyton Place with these people."

"Unbelievable," agreed Cragen.

"There's no way he raped Nina," Huang pointed out. "He's like Eric Pressman – he's a cheater and a liar, but he's no criminal."

"That Lacey Goldstone sure knows how to pick 'em," said Fin as he went to his desk to answer his ringing phone.

He returned momentarily. "Captain, all the dumpster diving they've been doing in the Pressmans' neighborhood looks like it might've paid off. Forensics wants us to come take a look at what they've got."

TBC