A press conference was held about three days after the third murder. The sketch made from the information that Kayla McIntire had given us was made known to the public, which, if you asked me, wasn't a great idea. Our unit knew better than anyone that appearances could and often did change. The fact that we were starting to grow somewhat desperate for leads was really the only reason we'd released the sketch. But I still couldn't help thinking that by releasing it, we'd just screwed ourselves over.
"There, you see?" Abby asked, shaking her head in disgust at the television screen as the evening news came on. "Doesn't even look like him."
"Looks change, Abby," I said dryly, "You can't tell me you expected him to look the same."
"Why not? You do."
"Name one person you and I both know that looks the same as they did five years ago."
"Never mind."
"That's what I thought." Abby rolled her eyes and turned the volume on the television screen slightly up, expecting me to continue, but I didn't. Instead, I moved to sit beside her and sighed.
"This is getting ridiculous," I remarked. "We had leads by this point the first time."
"Tell me about it," said Abby, "Kinda makes you glad the other two are coming, doesn't it?"
"Honestly, I'd feel better if it were Kay and Meldrick, but yes, it does." Silence fell. The subject on the evening news changed and Abby switched it off.
"You never did answer me when I asked when they'd be here," I said.
"Tomorrow; I talked to Kay this morning," said Abby, "And for the record, we're not staying here."
"Why not?" I asked. "We've got room, Kai's at school back home…"
"Yeah, but it's the middle of the school year here, and I highly doubt Rowan's gonna want three cops and a State's Attorney turning this place into a makeshift squad room."
"Good point." I looked at the file that Abby had open on the coffee table in front of us. Beverley Wilkins smiled up at me, a forever nine-year-old face that would have been thirty-three two weeks ago. Abby noticed me looking and sighed.
"He'll slip," she said, probably more to convince herself than to convince me, "He did last time, and he will this time."
Silence fell again and lingered. The sound of a key turning in the front lock made us jump; a few seconds later, Rowan came into view.
"Anything yet?" she asked. Abby shook her head; I was too busy looking through Beverley's file again to answer. Footsteps told me that both women had gone towards the kitchen, but I ignored them. Abby wasn't really going to be needed until this thing went to trial…if it went to trial, and she knew it as well as I did. I didn't really see the point of her being there just yet, other than the fact that she'd somehow managed to get files that had been put away for God only knew how long. It was Kay and Meldrick that I really needed at the moment, the two of them and Bolander, but it was Kay and Tim that I was getting. Abby and I had both learned a while ago to keep our mouths shut when it came to this sort of thing, so I would…so long as the rest of the unit didn't give me hell about it. As of right then, Olivia was the only one that knew Abby had come; I'd asked her not to mention it to the other two and as far as I knew, she still hadn't.
Hiding Kay and Tim's appearance, however, was going to be another story. It hit me then as Rowan and Abby's conversation started floating towards me that if it was going to be the three of us alone handling the case, I was going to have to talk to the captain. With this in mind, I closed Beverley's file and reached for my coat.
"Where are you going now?" Rowan asked, looking up in time to see me heading towards the entryway.
"Precinct," I replied, without looking back at her, "I'll be back in a while."
Not surprisingly, everyone was still there when I walked in. I looked at my watch; it was nearing eight o'clock. I'd hoped they would all be gone, so they wouldn't hear what I was about to do, but since they weren't, there was a chance that they'd hear.
"Nice to see you've decided to grace us with your presence again," Olivia said dryly, without looking up. I glanced in her direction, taking off my coat and putting it on my chair.
"Forgot something," I said vaguely, bending down to open one of my desk drawers to make it look convincing. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her look up, a skeptical expression on her face.
"Funny, I didn't think you ever forgot anything," she said. I rolled my eyes.
"I don't need your sarcasm, all right?" I asked. "I just forgot something in my desk, and..." I pulled out a notepad that I knew was empty, and held it out in her direction. She gave me a look.
"You know, I could always tell the captain that you're up to something," she remarked. "Specifically bringing people from Baltimore up to work this with you."
"There is one person from Baltimore here, and she's not working anything. She's just an old friend of mine."
"A friend who happens to be a prosecutor. Is there something you're not telling us?"
"There's nothing I'm not telling you. All of you know everything I do, and I already said you'd be the first to know if something came up." The skeptical look still hadn't left Olivia's face, but this time, I ignored it and walked towards the captain's office. The door was open slightly; I got there just in time to see him hanging up the phone. A split second later, he noticed me.
"I need to talk to you," he said. "Come in here and close the door." I did so, and the sound of the door closing echoed behind me. Silence fell, and I couldn't help but wonder whether or not Olivia had said something. Even if she hadn't, Elliot or Fin probably had; the whole unit had noticed this sudden 'change' in me. For some reason, I couldn't fault them for being worried, if they even were, but at the same time, it was annoying.
"What'd you need to talk to me about?" I asked.
"Why is there a prosecutor here that I didn't know about?" Surprisingly enough, I wasn't startled by the question; rather, I was that much more irritated at Olivia.
"I didn't know she was here, either, until a few days ago," I replied, "And I had nothing to do with it."
"Nothing to do with a prosecutor coming up from Baltimore right when we're working one of the biggest cases we've had in a while?"
"Captain, I can honestly tell you that I didn't know ASA Williams was coming until she showed up. The fact that she's from Baltimore isn't exactly relevant."
I knew from the look that crossed Cragen's face after I said this that I was skating on thin ice, yet again. I cared, but then, I didn't. I'd come for a reason, and I wasn't leaving until I'd gotten it over with.
"I need you to take the rest of the unit off this case," I said, figuring that if I said it quickly, things wouldn't be as bad. Cragen eyed me for a long moment before speaking.
"You want to tell me why?" he asked. I didn't, but it wasn't as if I actually had a choice, so I sighed and leaned back against the office door.
"I need to know that none of this is going to leave here," I said slowly, and when he nodded, I went on.
"This case...it's happened before. In Baltimore. That's what ASA Williams is doing here...she was the prosecutor the first time around. I...I was the primary detective."
"You're telling me that you've done this before?" Cragen looked up from the paperwork that had been sitting on his desk, a startled look crossing his face. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"What was I supposed to say?" I asked, fighting to control my sudden frustration. "You think I want the others knowing that the only reason we're doing this now is because I couldn't put the guy away the first time?"
"Why should I pull them?" Cragen asked in reply. "ASA Williams can't help you with this investigation..."
"No, but she can help Casey when we bring this to trial...if we bring this to trial." I paused for a moment, more to gather my nerve than anything else, and then continued. "She told two of my former colleagues about what's going on up here...they'll be here tomorrow."
"That would explain why I just got off the phone with your old department." Cragen leaned back in his seat and sighed, shaking his head in my direction. "I'm assuming that at least one of them was with you the first time?"
"Kay Howard was," I replied. "Tim Bayliss didn't come along until a few years later, but he's been filled in on everything."
"And you think the three of you will be able to take this guy down?"
"I couldn't say one way or another. All I can tell you is that it might be easier to break this case if people that have handled it before are handling it again."
Silence fell after this, and I waited. What seemed like forever passed before Cragen finally spoke again.
"Are they all still out there?" he asked, motioning out towards the squad room. I nodded wordlessly, and he continued.
"Fine," he said, "I'll talk to them. But it's on you to explain all of this to them. I don't think they're going to take too well to being replaced."
"No one ever is," I said, feeling more relieved than anything else. "I'll explain it all to them."
"When exactly were you planning on having them pulled off of this?" Cragen asked, rising to his feet. I pulled the office door open and the both of us walked into the squad room. Silence fell almost instantly; Elliot, Olivia and Fin all looked in my direction, and I fought the desire to look away, knowing they were going to give me hell for what was about to happen.
"As of this moment, all of you are off of the Charm Bracelet cases except for Munch." I noticed that as Cragen spoke, he didn't dare look any of them in the eye, and it was just as well; they all looked as if they were half-ready to kill the both of us.
"Why?" Olivia demanded, an irritated look crossing her face as she looked at me. "Does he think he's going to close this himself?"
"I'll thank you not to talk about me like I'm not in the damn squad room," I snapped, "I asked for you all to be taken off this case for a reason." Cragen glanced at me for a brief moment before going to answer the phone in his office as it went off again. The door slammed after him, leaving me to face the squad.
"Mind telling us what that reason is?" Elliot asked sarcastically. I gave him an annoyed look, but nodded.
"I've done this before," I said, and before I could continue, Fin cut me off.
"What do you mean, you've done this before?" he demanded. "You know who this guy is?"
"Yes," I said. "We...we almost had him the first time I did this, but something...something got him a walk." Olivia shook her head, smirking.
"I can't believe you," she said. "We could've had this bastard nailed by now. Why the hell didn't you tell us before this?"
"Because I didn't want to," I retorted. "I didn't think I'd ever have to see this again, but now that we are..." This time, it was Elliot who cut me off.
"You're a real piece of work, you know that?" he asked. "First you hold back about this, and now you're asking for us to be taken off this case?"
"I told you there was a reason for it, and I'm giving you that reason," I shot back. "I don't need your help on this."
"You don't want our help on this," said Fin. "You go at this alone, what's to say you're not gonna end up dead?"
"I'm not going in alone." Here, I hesitated. It was obvious that the others were already pissed off at me; the last thing I wanted was to make it worse. Then again, at this point, I really didn't give a damn what they thought. They could think whatever they wanted; it wasn't going to change anything.
"What do you mean, you're not going in alone?" Olivia asked. "That prosecutor's not going to be able to help you with this..."
"You're right," I said, "She's not, and I don't expect her to, though knowing her, she probably will. Two former colleagues of mine are coming up."
"That's great," Elliot said dryly. "Nice to know you trust them more than you trust us."
"More than I trust you, maybe," I muttered sarcastically. "I know you all probably hate me for this, but I don't have a choice..."
"You had a choice, and you made your decision," Olivia said icily, looking back down at her paperwork. "You want us off the case, fine. We are, per Cragen's orders. But if you ask me, you should have at least had the decency to tell us to our faces that you wanted us gone, instead of going behind our backs."
There was a reason I hadn't wanted to tell any of them about Kay and Tim coming up...a reason why I'd regretted letting Abby answer my cell phone the day we got the news about the third murder. Had I known that the others were going to react the way they just had, I'd have taken myself off the case, but the truth was that I already felt like enough of a failure as it was. Taking myself off was really the last thing I needed to do.
When no one else said anything, I walked over to my desk, grabbed my coat and walked out of the squad room without looking back or saying anything. I made it halfway towards the precinct's exit when I heard footsteps behind me, and turned to find that Fin had walked out after me.
"What the hell do you want now?" I asked. "Thought you said your piece back there."
"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into, do you?" he asked in reply, choosing to ignore my remark .
"No," I admitted, sighing. "I don't. And I really don't want to. Things are already bad enough as it is."
"What happened the first time?" Fin asked. "Why couldn't you put him away then?"
"His attorney claimed we'd coerced his confession," I said vaguely, hoping that I wouldn't be pressed further, but the look Fin was giving me told me that wasn't a good enough answer.
"We were in the interrogation room," I said heavily. "Me, our guy, and the detective who was working the case with me. I don't know how long we were in there, but...basically what happened is that we beat a confession out of him, and it got thrown out before the trial could even start."
"Who's that prosecutor Olivia was talking about?" Fin asked in reply. I sighed, turning to face him as we reached the front of the precinct.
"Abby Williams," I said. "I've known her since I was a kid...one of the reasons she dragged herself up here when she found out what was going on. She...she was the prosecutor the first time around. Tried every legal trick she knew to keep that confession in, but none of it worked. He walked...left Baltimore...we didn't have any choice but to move on."
"So that's why you're working with them instead of us," said Fin, more of a question than the statement it sounded like. I nodded.
"When we went to arrest him the first time, he drew on us. Three of us were there...me, Kay Howard and Meldrick Lewis. Meldrick and I both ended up getting shot."
"That might happen again."
"I know. But this guy...he's more likely to shoot you, Olivia and Elliot because he's never dealt with you before. I don't want that to happen."
"When are those Baltimore cops supposed to get here?"
"Tomorrow." The precinct doors were pushed open suddenly; Fin and I moved backwards as two uniforms walked in, completely soaked by the rain. We waited until they disappeared before continuing our conversation.
"You guys need anything, just ask," said Fin. "I don't care what Benson and Stabler have to say about it, you're still my partner."
Silence fell between us then, which was odd...usually, our conversations ended up in some sort of argument. This time, it was different. Now I knew exactly why he'd sounded so pissed off back in the squad room, and I couldn't blame him for it, even though I'd have given him hell if it were any other situation. I looked at him then before pushing the precinct doors open again and moving to walk out into the oncoming storm.
"Thanks," I said quietly, starting to walk backwards, "You have no idea how much that means right now."