Chapter 9
"We're looking for Mike Logan," Olivia asked the bartender. She and Amanda had walked into the bar that the now retired detective partially owned. Neither one knew what made him retire in two thousand eight, but they hoped he would be willing to talk about Bartoli.
"Booth in the corner," the older man pointed it out to them. They noticed that the booth couldn't be seen from the door and it had a sign on it that said "Reserved". Thanking him, they moved over to the aforementioned booth.
"Mike Logan?" Olivia asked.
"Who's asking?" He looked up from the paperwork he'd been doing.
"Captain Olivia Benson. Detective Amanda Rollins. NYPD, Special Victims Unit," the older woman announced.
"In all the gin joints in all the world, why would SVU be knocking on my door?" Mike raised an eyebrow but offered them a seat on the other side of the booth anyway. They gratefully took it before Olivia answered his question,
"Phil Bartoli."
"Last check I heard he was dead. What would a hitman for the Masuccis have to do with a sex crime?" Mike was thoroughly confused. He took a sip from his drink before
"His fingerprints were found inside our vic's apartment. Before you ask, she cleaned her apartment," Amanda spoke up.
"So, you think our supposed dead guy visited your vic in say… the last week? Well, I'm not sure what you're looking for. I last encountered that piece of work was about seventeen years ago," Mike said.
"You took down Kirkoff, who shot him. We heard the case was a bit of a mess," Olivia pressed.
"It always is when you have dirty cops and the mob," he told them.
"Why would Bartoli fake his own death? Most of the Masuccis were dead or locked up," Amanda pointed out.
"Bartoli and his buddy, Tommy Delano, kidnapped and killed Joe Long based on bad info that Kirkoff gave them. In order to cover up what had happened, Kirkoff and his partner, Mark Virgini, lured Bartoli and Delano to a meet. There they killed Delano, but Bartoli got away. Barek and I had to track down Bartoli. We managed to convince him to testify against Kirkoff and Virgini. The DA let him walk and, at first, I was pissed. I mean Bartoli killed the son of an NYPD patrolman. On the other hand, we rooted out two bad cops. I was never told but I'm willing to bet that Bartoli squealed on more than just our two dirty cops," Mike figured.
"So, he fakes his own death, so he can disappear," Olivia nodded.
"Wouldn't he have gotten protection from the Marshals? I mean, I would think someone on the inside of the Masuccis organization would have had a lot to flip on," Amanda was surprised.
"The way he faked his death, seems like the Marshals, but two years later? Someone must have figured something out or he got paranoid," Mike said. Olivia nodded.
"Why hang around New York if he thought he was being followed or threatened?" Amanda wondered.
"Unfinished business. It's always something and that is usually what gets them killed," Mike had been in the business long enough to know. He had a question though.
"How'd your vic die?"
"Stabbed to death after she was assaulted," Olivia told him.
"Doesn't sound like the mob but that doesn't mean Bartoli wasn't covering for someone. Could be why he came out of hiding," Mike figured. Olivia's phone buzzed and she excused herself.
"Benson,"
"Hey Liv," it was Fin.
"You talk to Mr. Davidson?" She asked.
"Oh yeah. We're bringing him back to New York," he said.
"How'd you swing that with the Chief?" Olivia immediately grew concerned.
"Didn't have to. We told him that we were trying to find out who wouldn't have wanted his ex dead. Then he just confessed to stalking her online. Says he might have footage of our killer. He's a creep Liv. I mean he broke up with her via text and then he's stalking her," Fin told her.
"Bring the creep. We'll have a chat," she said.
To Be Continued…
