Chapter 5: A Day of Work
SVU Squad Room – Thursday 8:45am
"What time is the Andrews arraignment?" Cragen asked, peering at his two female detectives.
"It's in another hour," stated Olivia, looking at her watch.
"We'll get some paperwork done before we leave, Captain," said Faith.
"John and Fin will finish the paperwork for you so you two can leave and beat the mid-morning traffic," said Cragen.
Faith nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Okay, that will be fine." She and Olivia gathered their things and approached John and Fin at their desks.
"Cap is offering you guys some paperwork," said Faith, leaning forward on Munch's desk.
"Where are you guys going?" asked Fin, looking up from his computer.
"The Andrews arraignment," replied Olivia, grabbing her jacket and keys.
"Oh yeah, that is today," quipped Munch.
"See you guys later," said Faith. She and Olivia walked out of the squad room.
Munch turned to Fin, "The new girl is so cute. Maybe she's friendly or she likes to flirt."
Fin glared at his partner, "I don't think Faith would see you as her type, my friend. She may already be dating someone and she is probably just being friendly since she's the new cop in the unit."
"She's just cute." Munch shrugged his shoulders and started on the paperwork that Olivia and Faith had left.
-En route to Manhattan Courthouse-
"So, are you planning to go to the Fourth of July annual picnic?" Olivia asked.
Faith looked up from polishing her lip gloss. "I'm thinking about coming. What about you guys?"
"Yeah, we're coming. Elliot wants to come, of course, so he can see some of his friends from neighboring precincts. His kids will be there so you'll get to meet them and Kaitlyn."
Faith nodded, "I can't wait to meet the whole family."
"Do you have any family here?" asked Olivia.
"My dad lives in Connecticut and my mom and sister live in Brooklyn. Mom keeps my eight-month-old daughter, Jacqueline, during the day. After I found out that I was pregnant with her, my husband was killed in a motorcycle accident and since then, she, my mom, and sister have been my light of hope to live. Jacqueline is one of the reasons why I wake up every morning."
Olivia really liked Faith. She was a great person and they had things in common. Most of the time, they talked about life in general and how their babies had changed their lives. Meanwhile, Olivia pulled into the parking lot and quickly found a spot. She put the car into park and took the keys out of the ignition. Both of the women got out and walked towards the courthouse.
"I'm bringing Jacqueline with me to the picnic," said Faith. "Maybe she and Kaitlyn will get acquainted with each other."
Olivia laughed, "Kaitlyn loves the big kids and the babies. I can't wait to see their reaction."
They walked into the courtroom where Casey met them at the front. Faith hadn't met Casey yet, so Olivia introduced them.
"This is our A.D.A., Casey Novak," introduced Olivia. "Casey, this is Faith McDowell."
"Nice to meet you," said Faith, shaking hands with Casey.
"Likewise."
The arraignment was about to begin so Casey went and took her place up front while Olivia and Faith took a seat in the middle row. Judge Lena Petrovsky came in the chamber and started the process. Ricky Andrews, the suspect, made eye contact with Petrovsky as she discussed his charges while his attorney Trevor Langan argued that his client wasn't responsible for his actions.
"Your Honor, my client is a good father who volunteers at his daughter's school. He has also coached the softball team that she and her friends were on last year," he argued. "He couldn't have exposed himself to his daughter's friends.
"Save it, Mr. Langan," Petrovsky turned to Casey, "Ms. Novak."
"Mr. Andrews does have a good, clean record; however, while his 10-year-old daughter's two friends were over at his house for a sleepover, he exposed himself to the girls."
"Your Honor," began Langan, but Casey continued to talk about Ricky Andrews.
After hearing both sides, Petrovsky made her decision and asked the defense to stand.
"Alright, Mr. Andrews, we're setting bail at $50,000. You are scheduled for a trial date next month. The date and time will be announced. Everyone is dismissed." Judge Petrovsky banged her gavel and people started making their way out of the courtroom.
SVU Squad Room – 1:30pm
After lunch, Olivia and Faith came back from the D.A.'s office. They had decided to visit with Casey after the arraignment and have lunch with her. Casey really liked Faith and thought that she made a great partner for Olivia. They reached their desks and Olivia checked her messages.
"Sandoval called while I was gone?" she asked Munch and Fin.
"Yeah, it was something about his mother, Rosa," replied Munch.
Olivia nodded, "Oh yeah, his mother keeps kids at her house on the Upper West side. I've got to call her." Elliot had talked to Sandoval about finding someone to keep Kaitlyn when Mike had mentioned his mother. He talked to Olivia about meeting Mrs. Sandoval.
Olivia picked up the phone and dialed the number to the Queens SVU. "Yes, this is Benson from Manhattan SVU. I need to speak to Det. Mike Sandoval."
While she was on the phone, Cragen came over and asked Faith about the Andrews arraignment.
"It went well," she said. "Petrovsky set his bail at $50,000 and a court date will be scheduled next month."
"I told you she's a good judge," said Munch.
"He will probably be out on bail by tomorrow," piped Fin.
"Well, this is what we're going to do," began Cragen. "Faith, you and Liv go get the girls and interview them. John and Fin, talk to some of the neighbors and find out if Ricky Andrews may have more victims."
Munch and Fin grabbed their things and walked out while Faith motioned for Olivia, who was still on the phone, that they had a job.
Olivia hung up the phone and stood up from her chair and turned to Faith, "What's going on?"
"Cap wants us to get the daughter's two friends out of school and interview them."
The rest of the day consisted of the investigation on the case and interviewing the girls. In the end, it had all turned out that their mothers had coerced the girls into telling the detectives that Ricky Andrews exposed himself to them. The story wasn't true after all. Ricky was a free man and didn't do any harm to the two girls.
The detectives all stood in Cragen's office thinking about why these women would do this to their girls. Maybe they didn't like Ricky Andrews. They would never know. They were all too pissed off to even think about itbecause it was a waste of their time and a case. 'What a long day,' the four detectives thought. 'A very long day.'
TBC
