Author's Note: If you want to read the most recent chapter/update, while on the main page with all the other Law & Order: CI and SVU crossover stories, click on the arrow that's to the right of story's title. I'll alternate between addressing the characters by their first and last names. Please review, follow or favorite!

During the drive to Pamela and Benjamin's Shaw apartment, Lupo and Bernard discussed what happened at the dump site of Brie and Jeff's bodies.

Lupo stopped at a red light, "So, was Thea Ma in Internal Affairs with you?"

"No. However, they investigated and arrested her father but that was long before I got there," he calmly stated.

"All right, how dirty was he?"

"Very. He was in the pocket of a couple of drug dealers. He intimidated and assaulted witnesses, destroyed evidence and gave those dealers a heads up whenever narcotics was on their case. And he had no sob story to justify his actions. Apparently, he liked hitting Foxwoods whenever he could and that's not a cheap habit."

Lupo dryly commented, "Well he sounds like a real boy scout."

"That's not all. Although he was never charged, he also beat his wife, Sambath, and Thea. His wife refused to press charges because she was terrified but Thea agreed to work with IA to take him down. She did it during her first year as a patrol officer. She got them a lot of evidence including a confession so much that he took a plea deal. After his third night in Sing-Sing, they found him hanging in his cell. He left a suicide note where he blamed Thea."

He took in Bernard's words and was in disbelief as he asked, "And there are still cops who defend him and see Thea as a rat?"

Shrugging, he answered, "There are always gonna be cops who stick by trash like him."

"Clearly Goren and Eames chose the right side…is she in Major Case with them?"

He shook his head, "She's in SVU."

"How do you know this?"

"I heard Rubirosa and Cutter mention it once when I came by to give them a file. In fact, they were talking about going to her Halloween party."

Curious, Lupo nodded then asked, "Wait, are Connie and Mike…together?"

"I don't think so - but it wouldn't surprise me. Those two got something going on.."

There was a hint of a smile on Lupo's lips, "Could you blame him?"

"No, in fact, I can't think of a bad looking woman who works at the DA's office…damn." He said with a small chuckle.

Lupo thought about his statement, "Neither can I."

Just then, Bernard's phone pinged; he read a text message, "It's from my cousin. He's thanking me because I was able to get his son this…it's supposed to be the most wanted toy this Christmas."

He looked at the photo, "Really? He wants that?"

"Come on Lupes, the kid's ten! He changes his mind every week and this week he's into creepy crawlers."

"For me, I went back and forth between Transformers, ThunderCats and Super Friends."

He smiled, "I was all about the Super Friends!"

Lupo remarked, "With us and SVU being reassigned to Major Case, it's like we're having our own crossover."

"I guess that makes me Batman...but sorry Lupes, you're clearly Aquaman."

He chuckled, "Yeah, keep telling yourself that, B. We both know you're Robin."

The junior detective retorted, "That makes me 'The Boy Wonder' while you're just a guy who hangs out with fish."

Elliot and Olivia approached the lavish brownstone where corporate attorney Kenneth "Kip" Erlich, his wife Debra, their 11-year-old son Redding and recently murdered 17-year-old daughter, Emma, call home. After ringing the doorbell three times, Olivia knocked on the front door only to have it open inward.

She and Elliot shared the same concerned look as they took out their guns and cautiously entered the home. They had cleared most of the first floor until they heard a banging from the kitchen's pantry. Olivia nodded her head at her partner before she opened the pantry's door. He aimed his gun but lowered his weapon at what he saw before him. A redheaded woman who was in her fifties was dressed up in a gray and white maid's uniform. She was on the floor bound and gagged.

The detectives helped the woman get onto her feet and brought her to the kitchen's island to sit her on a stool. After they carefully removed the scarf from her mouth and cut the cable ties from her heads and feet, she spoke.

"Oh thank god you're here! My name is Greta, last night someone broke in and attacked me from behind! Emma! Is she still here?"

Olivia shook her head, "No, that's why we're here she…she was murdered last night."

Greta cupped her mouth and then said, "Oh my God! I should have fought more!"

Elliot placed a comforting hand on Greta's shoulder, "Greta, it's not your fault and I know this is hard but you need to tell us what happened last night."

She nodded, "Um, OK...it was around 10:30 last night and I was cleaning up the kitchen. And just as I was walking out, someone must have come out of the basement because I was walking by when it happened. I felt a prick on the back of my neck and then he covered my eyes and mouth with his hands as he pulled me into the pantry as everything went dark."

"Did you see what he looked like?" He asked her.

Shaking her head, she answered, "He had big hands like a man's and he was wearing black gloves. He um, he smelled like pine and charcoal."

Olivia and Elliot looked at one another, Munch and Thea's victim had the same scent.

She asked Greta, "Where were the Erlichs when this was happening?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Erlich are in California celebrating their wedding anniversary. Their son, Redding, he's down the street at the Beaumonts' home. His friend is hosting a sleepover. Emma was upstairs in her room watching a movie...I'm staying here because my husband caught that bug and I can't afford to miss work. But the Erlichs, they're good people. They were paying me overtime for staying and keeping an eye on Emma until they return on Monday. I can't believe this is happening! The security system was on last night but it didn't go off!"

Olivia called for EMTs, backup and CSU on her phone while Elliot continued to question Greta. Shortly before the EMTs arrived, Olivia walked upstairs and went through each room until she came upon Emma's. The victim's room was in disarray and there were blood stains on the queen size bed. She then went to the adjoining bathroom where the toilet seat was up. There was some vomit in between the toilet and sink. When Olivia walked over for closer inspection something poking from underneath the clawfoot bathtub caught her eye. It was a knife with a blue blade, a shiny black handle and an emblem of a red daisy with blue gem center was at the top of the hilt.

After Olivia put on her gloves, she took photos of the bathroom and of the knife. There was dried blood on the blade and she was carefully inspecting the weapon when Elliot joined her.

He spoke as he walked over to her, "I guess we found our crime scene, at least for Emma's murder. What do ya got?"

"It looks like the murder weapon…this is really unique." She commented.

"Yeah, you can't just buy this anywhere, it looks custom made."

At Carnegie Hill Academy Goren and Eames were sitting in Headmistress Martha George's office. She was reluctant when asked by Eames if Abby had any enemies at the school.

Goren spoke as he stood up and tilted his head to the right catching the headmistress's attention, "This is a murder investigation. So..if you don't tell us what you're holding back, then we'll get a subpoena and go through ALL of your files. It could take days…probably weeks."

Eames added while she smirked, "The press will become very curious and the parents here will just love being put under a microscope along with…"

Martha blurted out, "Ophelia Simmons! OK? Abby and her friends played a prank on her during PE and it got a little out of hand…"

He asked, "Why did they target her?"

"…Abby was dating Landon Pennington but he broke up with her after he and Ophelia became lab partners. Abby is the Queen Bee of this school, she did not take it well when - Landon started dating Ophelia. What makes it worse for Abby is that Ophelia is here on a full scholarship. Her mother is a waitress and her father is a truck driver."

Eames stood up, "Of course, she's from the other side of the tracks. So, what did the Queen and her little worker bees do to Ophelia?"

Martha rubbed her temples, "They held Ophelia down in the locker room and-and shaved her head."

Goren and Eames shared the same look of shock and disgust.

With her voice full of loathing and anger, Eames commented, "That's not a prank it's assault!"

"Well, we handled it internally and there was a settlement between the girls' families…"

He spoke to her and barely contained his abhorrence, "This is probably hard for someone like you to believe…but money doesn't fix everything! We want Ophelia's address, now."

She sighed as she typed on her computer, "Her parents informed me this week that she's living with the Penningtons' because they're sick and contagious. They're staying at a relative's home."

After they received the Penningtons' address the detectives quickly exited the school.

Goren and Eames walked up to the Penningtons' upscale limestone home and were politely greeted by Patrick and Linda Pennington before being led into the living room. When the detectives told them the reason for their visit, the couple looked at one another.

"We should really call Ophelia's parents first…and perhaps our lawyer?" Linda asked her husband.

Ophelia walked in and adjusted her red headscarf, "No! I'm not afraid to talk to them because I didn't kill Abby. I hated what she did to me but I wouldn't murder her over it."

Landon appeared by her side and held her hand, "Ophelia didn't do this. She was here with us the entire night and this morning."

Mr. Pennington chimed in, "Don't just take our word for it. You can check with our home security system and the guards they hired to patrol our neighborhood. Hell, I'll call them myself and give them permission to give you whatever you need."

Eames nodded, "That would be helpful," she handed him her card, "Tell them to send it to this address; we're on the eleventh floor."

Goren turned to Abby, "Can-can you think of anyone else who would want to hurt Abby?"

"Most of the kids at school are-were too afraid of her to do anything," Ophelia shook her head.

Landon remarked, "They don't have to be anymore."

Pamela Shaw and her husband, Ben, were seated in their living room as they tried to process the devastating news that detectives Lupo and Bernard just told them. Jeff, their only child, had been murdered last night. She wept but still managed to speak.

"How-how did this happen? Were he and Brie mugged?" She asked the detectives.

Lupo told her, "It doesn't look like that way. The evidence suggests that he and Brie were targeted."

Her mouth dropped open, "What? They are…were both good kids. I know that they were young but they were truly in love. And Brie's parents, they've always been so kind to us and the community."

Ben added, "Jeff's one of the few scholarship kids at Appleton so we were worried when he started dating Brie. But Pamela's right, Brie and her parents, they've been great to us. I can't think of a reason why anyone would do this to them or us."

Lupo nodded, "We found his and Brie's bodies at the Taft Housing Projects. Does he know anyone there?"

Ben answered again, "No. All of Jeff's friends either live in the neighborhood or they go to school with him and Brie at Appleton."

She stated, "And um, last night, he told me that they were going to Bess's Burgers and then watch a movie at the Starlight Theater. After that, Jeff was supposed to come straight home and text us. And he did. He also gave her an early Christmas present, a beautiful silver charm bracelet, he texted me a picture of her wearing it, see?" She handed Bernard her phone.

The African American detective looked at the photo, his brows furrowed, "Mrs. Shaw, we didn't see this bracelet on Brie."

"Someone took it? How…why would they do that?" She asked them.

Lupo tried to reassure her, "We're gonna try and figure that out, Mrs. Shaw."

After leaving Headmistress Martha George's office, Logan and Barek walked through the halls of Carnegie Hill Academy. They were heading towards the library where senior Brett Uhl and a few other students were tutoring underprivileged children. An enormous bulletin board was mounted on the north wall next to the library's double doors; it caught Logan and Barek's attention.

According to Headmistress George, Brett and Jackson had been academic and athletic rivals. Their rivalry came to a head when Brett had exposed Jackson and his friends for plagiarizing short stories for their language arts class. The following night, Brett's mother had been physically assaulted and her van's tires had been slashed as she left her second job. The day after, Jackson and his friends taunted Brett about his mother's attack. Brett almost punched Jackson but a teacher intervened.

After they entered the vast library, they looked for Brett.

"Brett Uhl?" Barek asked.

A tall, muscular raven haired teenager turned around from a table where two young boys were doing paperwork, "That's me. How can I help you, detectives?"

Logan and Barek gave him the same curious look.

"My uncles are cops. I can spot you guys a mile away." Brett explained.

Logan said, "Good, then you can probably guess why we're here."

He nodded and spoke to a blonde student "Krista, please fill in for me, I'll be right back, OK? Thanks."

The three of them walked into the hallway.

"I'm gonna be upfront with you two, Jackson was an asshole, a real dick… but I didn't do this to him," Brett told them.

"OK, where you were last night?" Barek asked.

The teenager sighed, "I know it makes me look suspicious but honest to God, I worked from five to nine last night at Deckard's Diner and then I went home. And yeah, I was alone but I called my girlfriend, Bella Toretti and we talked on Skype for two hours. At one point I spoke to her mother. "

Logan said, "Come on, you gotta know how this makes you look."

"You can check with Bella and Skype. They gotta keep records, right?"

Barek remarked, "He has a point, Logan."

Brett reached into his pocket to get his wallet. "Here's my metro card, you can check where I went last night and this morning. So….am I under arrest or can I go back?" The teenager asked them.

He pointed at the young man with the metro card, "Don't leave town, kid."

Brett playfully held up his hands as he backed away, "I ain't got nothing to hide and nowhere to go."

Lupo and Bernard were riding the elevator to the Major Case's squad room. They spoke as the lift traveled upwards.

"Have you ever worked with Major Case?" Bernard asked Lupo.

He replied, "Never had the chance, until now. You?"

"Nope. It looks like we're both first-timers."

"I remember Lieu telling me how you're sitting at Mike Logan's old desk. After he punched a councilman, he was shipped off to Staten Island for ten years and then three years ago he was transferred here."

"So, you're saying that's there's hope for us, Lupes?" He teased.

After the elevator doors opened, they turned the corner walking past the pay phones and the vending machines and entered Major Case's bullpen. They were struck by the slate blue walls, offices with glass walls and how much bigger it was compared to their squad room.

Lupo's eyes went to his right where he saw an older lanky gray haired man with glasses wearing a dark suit; he was seated at a desk. Sitting on his desk was a young Asian woman who was laughing at something he said. The dark bootcut jeans and red long sleeve top with a boat neckline she wore hugged her subtle hour glass figure.

Bernard looked at his partner and saw the younger detective's eyes slowly take in the Asian woman before them. A small smirk came to his lips.

"That must be Thea Ma," he quietly said to Lupo, "Is it just me or are detectives getting young and younger?"

"Uh, yeah…and that's gotta be her partner."

"Well that's the most May-December partnership I've ever seen."

Logan walked up to the pair and held out his hand, "Hey, you must from the 2-7, my old house. I'm Logan."

Bernard shook his hand, "I'm Bernard and this is Lupo. Van Buren says 'Hello'."

Thea stayed on the desk but turned towards them, "That reminds me, Logan, have you ever thanked Van Buren for getting you this job?"

Logan pulled his head back a bit, "This is news to me…and how do you know about it?"

"Sometimes, Deakins and Cragen go fishing together. Anyway, during the Brooklyn Fed case, he called Van Buren when you showed up here wanting to confront Goren over him questioning Gina and well, Van Buren, she talked you up."

"Huh, then I'll just have to thank the lieutenant in person," Logan said with a little grin.

"She still likes key lime pie.." Bernard suggested.

Logan nodded, "From a certain bakery in Greenpoint. It's nice to know that some things don't change."

She offered her hand to the detectives as her smile brightened her caramel complexion, "Hi, I'm Thea Ma, SVU and this silver haired gentleman is my partner, John Munch."

Lupo grasped her hand first; he was surprised at her strong grip and soft skin, "It's nice meeting you, Thea."

Bernard asked her while he accepted her hand, "What he said and forgive me, I don't mean any disrespect but…how old are you, exactly?"

A little scoff came from her full lips, "I get that question all the time. I will be twenty-nine next month."

Munch chimed in as he shook their hands, "But my lovely partner here clearly looks much younger than her years. By the way, it's a pleasure making your acquaintance."

Bernard asked, "Likewise and how did you two become partners?"

She answered, "The boring version is that I transferred from Bronx - Vice and I was assigned to Munch because there was an opening but - his version of events is much more entertaining."

Munch grinned, "Well, they are. After several years together and out of the blue, my partner ditched me for a younger partner. So, I did what most men my age do…I went out and got myself a much younger and far more attractive partner!"

Everyone chuckled at his comments.

Barek introduced herself then asked, "So, which one of you has Logan's old desk?"

Her partner explained, "It's the one closest to the door."

Bernard lifted a finger, "That would be me."

Barek glanced at Thea, "All right, according to Thea it takes a really long time to get rid of his ass indentations from his chairs."

"Well it does! It took me almost five minutes and I managed to barely make a dent."

The detectives laughed while Logan spoke with obvious annoyance in his voice and eyes, "You two are real crack-ups. The next time you need to get something from a high shelf, don't ask me to get it."

Barek rolled her eyes before Thea retorted, "That shows what you know, Logan. As two petite but also really cute women men are always willing to help us out."

With a nod of agreement, Barek said, "She's gotta real point there, Logan."

Just then, Goren, Eames, Stabler and Benson entered the squad room. They walked over and introduced themselves.

"Did ya keep my seat warm, Munch?" Eames teased.

"More like temperate, my bony ass can only do so much," Munch answered.

A light laugh came from Eames.

Bobby smiled at Thea, "Tomorrow morning came sooner than we thought."

She smiled back, "Indeed it did, Bobby!"

Captain Ross emerged from his office while speaking on his mobile phone. When the detectives noticed his presence they stopped their conversation and turned towards him.

"Detectives that was just the Chief of D's, he wants to know where we're at? Goren and Eames, catch me up?" Captain Ross asked.

Eames answered, "Jack and Theresa Dreston are in California for his Stanford reunion but their neighbor, Beverly, was home and we got their number from her. Due to the forest fires and bad weather, they should be here by tomorrow maybe tonight but we did go to Carnegie Hill Academy."

"Are any of the staff or students suspects?" He inquired.

Goren spoke, "There's one student, Ophelia Simmons. Her boyfriend Landon Pennington used to date Abby. So, Abby and her friends attacked Ophelia in the locker room by pinning her down and..and shaving her head."

Groans of disgust and shock came from the detectives.

"And I thought my high school was hell." Olivia commented.

Captain Ross's eyes briefly widen, "Well that's definitely a strong motive."

Shaking her head, Eames spoke, "Except Ophelia might have a strong alibi. She's staying with Landon's family so we interviewed their neighbors and the homeless people who live on the block, along with the patrolling security guards and none of them saw Ophelia and Landon leave last night or this morning."

Goren added, "And the Penningtons gave us permission to go through their home's security system logs and video footage. We should be getting them in a few hours."

His partner shared, "Ophelia is a scholarship kid, despite the horrific attack on her; my gut is telling me that she's not good for this."

He agreed with her, "And these murders, they seem too sophisticated and organized to be done by a teenager or even a pair of teenagers."

Their captain nodded, "All right, Barek and Logan?"

Barek replied, "I agree with Goren. There are also different distinct scents on most of the victims. A teenager wouldn't think of changing his scent after killing several different people in one night."

Logan spoke, "That does make sense but we do have a potential suspect, Brett Uhl. Like Ophelia he's a scholarship student from a blue collar family and he and Jackson hated each other. There wasn't any evidence or witnesses but it looks like Jackson and his buddies attacked Brett's mother. They next day they rubbed it in his face and Brett almost decked him but he was stopped by a teacher. And he doesn't have a solid alibi for last night."

"But we did talk to his girlfriend and her mother. He talked to them both over Skype late last night until midnight. We also spoke to Skype and they agreed to cooperate. We also checked Brett's metro card, it matches up with his story including this morning when he used it to come into the city, at 7 a.m. He would be exhausted if he had kidnapped, murdered and raped Jackson because it took time and real effort to not only do these crimes…but he had to also transport Jackson's body to the dump site. And to me, he looked really well rested and not at all nervous when we spoke to him this morning. He was also pretty forthcoming."

Captain Ross nodded, "So…we keep him on our suspects list just not at the top of it. Benson and Stabler, you found the actual crime scene for Emma's murder and rape along with the weapon?"

Stabler nodded, "CSU is still processing the scene but we did take photos."

Olivia showed the captain her phone, "The killer used a switch blade, it's a custom made knife and there was blood on it. It was under the bathtub but it was barely peeking from the bottom so it looks like the killer dropped it or it slipped out of his pocket."

Elliot then stated, "He might have left something else behind too. There was vomit in Emma's bathroom."

"How about the maid?"

Olivia replied, "Greta said the killer attacked her around 10:30 last night and the home alarm didn't go off. We checked with the security company, someone typed in the code at the basement's entrance at 10. And it wasn't Emma; she was watching a movie when the code was used. Greta didn't get a look at who attacked her but he did smell like charcoal and pine."

The captain responded, "All right, so this killer is technologically savvy and has a things for certain smells. Munch and Ma, how did your chat with Congressman Bennett go?"

Munch said, "We spoke with his security team, there were no credible against him or his family. We'll get to speak to him and his wife when they return from Boston, weather permitting."

Thea chimed in, "But we did get to speak to his primary opponent, Andrew Morse. Although it was a contentious campaign and he lost to Bennett by only one point, he has an alibi. Last night he and his fellow animal rights activists were protesting a restaurant that serves shark fin sandwiches and soup. Things got a bit rowdy and they were arrested at 11 last night and were released at 8:30 this morning. So, he couldn't have murdered and raped Liam."

Munch explained, "Liam was staying at a friend's house, Billy Lido. Now Billy, he's one of the scholarship kids at Liberty Prep. So, his apartment has no security, it would be easy to break into especially since Liam asked his parents to give his bodyguard off for the weekend. Anyway, they went to sleep around 1 a.m. Mrs. Lido checked in on them at 1:30, she came home after working a double shift, they were both there sleeping soundly. Billy says that the lock to his window has been broken for months and that the super has been slow to fix it. CSU is still at his apartment."

"OK, check back in with me when they get back to you. Lupo and Bernard, got anything for me to tell the Chief?"

Lupo stated, "We have a timeline of when Jeff and Brie were taken. They went to Bess's Burgers at 7:05, stayed until 7:40. Jeff texted his mother to let her know that they were gonna catch a movie at the Starlight but they never made it."

Bernard interjected, "We went to the Starlight and we spoke to all of the employees and watched video footage. Jeff and Brie weren't there last night and they were regulars and were well-liked by the employees."

Lupo spoke, "Roger and Sarah Breckeridge are in Miami for a business trip. Their neighbor, Iris, she was in charge of checking in on Brie. She's done it dozens of times before without any issues. According to her and Brie's phones, they were texting each other until Brie-the killer claimed to have come home at 11 last night. Iris had no reason to suspect that anything was wrong. Brie also received a silver charm bracelet last night from Jeff as an early Christmas present. We didn't find it on her or anywhere near the dump site."

"And we put out an alert to all the pawn shops, so far, there hasn't been any hits," Bernard stated and continued speaking, "we also spoke to the Shaws. They're a working class family and Jeff had no enemies. He also has no connection to the Taft Projects."

"He and Brie had been dating for over a year. They both attend The Appleton School," Lupo added.

Olivia said, "Emma went to Pemberton Ridge Prep."

Eames interjected as she sat down at her desk and opened her laptop, "Abby went to Carnegie Hill Academy just like her father, according to Headmistress George."

Barek spoke, "Jackson went there too."

Logan said, "So did his old man."

As Eames typed she told them, "Let's see here…well, will you look at that, the victims, save for Jeff Shaw, attended the same elite private schools as their parents and grandparents."

Goren nodded, "They're legacies."

The gears in Barek's mind were turning while she spoke to everyone, "With the exception of Jeff Shaw, the victimology fits for five of the victims. They're all from prominent, wealthy and powerful families. But their bodies were left by housing projects and in poor neighborhoods. The killer left them in public places…he wanted to humiliate them. To tell their parents and world that it doesn't matter how much money and power they have, they're not safe and they're worthless," she looked at Goren, her fellow profiler.

Goren shared his insights, "Except for Jeff. His death was a gunshot wound to his head. It was quick and almost painless. He…he wasn't stabbed, he wasn't strangled and so far, there are no signs of sexual assault. His body was on its side and he was lovingly covered in a blanket to protect him from the cold weather. He was valued by whoever killed him…Benson, Stabler, what scent did your victim have?"

Olivia answered him, "Emma smelled like Coffee and rum…I went through her and her parents' rooms and bathrooms, I couldn't find that scent as cologne or soap…"

Barek spoke, "There were also hesitation marks on Jackson, two of them"

Elliot nodded, "Emma had shallow cuts too, about three."

Lupo shook his head, "The cuts were deep on Brie."

Munch chimed in, "The same goes for our victim."

Goren turned to his captain, "The victims were of different genders, four of them had distinct scents, they were kidnapped, raped and strangled. That's-that's a tall order for one person to do in one night. This took weeks, probably months of planning. We're dealing with a pack of killers and rapists."

Barek agreed, "Goren's right. These perps, they knew exactly when to take these kids when their parents were away and their kids were home alone. They also knew how to bypass their home security systems. And it takes a lot of strength to carry bodies and to strangle one victim let alone five in one night."

Ross processed his detectives' observations, "….All right, I buy it. I'll update the Chief. I gotta take this call." He held up his mobile phone while walking towards his office.

Goren leaned down towards Thea and placed his hand on her shoulder as he spoke to her, "These scents, there are very unique. You can't just buy them anywhere…"

Elliot noticed how close Goren was to Thea and then he felt Olivia lightly slap his forearm. Lupo and Bernard gave each other a curious look when they noticed how comfortable Thea seemed around Goren.

The young detective's bee stung lips formed into a grin, "Custom made scents..just like the ones I ordered," she spoke while walking over to her temporary desk and began typing on her laptop.

"Got anything?" Munch asked as he followed her.

"Yes, there's only one store that has those specific scents. It's called, Have Some UnCommon Scents," she wrote down the address.

Munch spoke to Eames, "If the captain asks where we went catch him up?"

"I will, I hope it works out for you two," she nodded.

Thea took her black coat off the rack as she talked to Bobby, "I'll see ya later - you Italian Bloodhound."

He chuckled and Eames raised an amused eye brow while she stated, "Well that's new a one…it works."

Munch and Thea arrived at the bath and body boutique and headed for the register where assistant manager, Tessa Jones greeted them. The pink haired twenty-year-old listened to their request and complied. As she looked through sales records on the store's desktop computer, Munch spoke to his partner.

"This place smells like a mix between an English garden and a bakery…please tell me that you don't shop here?"

"I don't but I'm always looking to support local businesses and artisans. I also like having a unique aroma."

Tessa interjected, "Sorry, I can't find any sales receipts that featured those scents being bought a bundle or in any kind of combination. I also looked to see if customers have one of those scents autoshipped every month or every three months to them and I still didn't get any matches."

Thea nodded, "Thanks for helping us anyway."

Tessa then removed a business card from the clear plastic holder by the computer, "But since you're into custom made scents, you should give us a try. My boss Maggie and her small team, they're amazing at making these scent combinations."

"Sure, I'll give this place a shot," Thea accepted the card and read its information before placing it in her wallet.

As soon as Munch and Thea returned to Major Case's squad room, their peers were pinning photos of the bodies on two large rolling bulletin boards.

Olivia's dark eyes widen with realization as she looked at the photos, "El, look at the strangulation marks, we've seen this before."

Elliot stood closer to her and slowly nodded, "Yeah, the Spevak case!"

She explained to their fellow detectives, "Emma Spevak was a nurse and one of the ways she murdered her elderly victims was by strangling them with a rock climbing rope. The angles of the strangulation marks helped prove our case because it showed the height differences between Spevak and her victims."

Elliot removed his tie, "We'll show you. Thea, you're what? About 5'6"?"

"I am and damn proud," she playfully joked.

He grinned and said, "And Lupo?"

"I'm 6'2."

"Good, now you try to choke Thea," he handed Lupo his tie.

"All right.." Lupo accepted the tie and stood behind Thea.

She held up her hand in front of her neck as Elliot instructed, "Try it."

Lupo obliged and caught the lovely rich and fruity scent of Thea's shampoo and perfume when her body leaned against his.

Olivia pointed at the tie, "See, the angle is upwards. And if Thea were to strangle Lupo-"

Bernard remarked, "Then the angle would be downward because of her height."

Barek said, "That does support our theory of multiple perps."

Thea offered, "Unless there's one guy who can control his size with a special super suit like.."

In unison, she and Lupo said, "Ant-Man."

They both smiled as she placed her hand on his shoulder, "Thank you Lupo! I'm no longer the only geek here!"

He chuckled and shrugged, "Collecting comic books and graphic novels, it's a hobby of mine."

Bobby's eyes zeroed in on their interaction and Eames definitely noticed.

Logan uttered, "Great, now we have three nerds…"

Thea rolled her eyes, "Whatever Logan, being geeky is mainstream now."

Bernard ignored their exchange and walked over to the photo of Emma and pointed at her neck, "There are two ligature marks, one's downward but it's very light but the higher one, it's deep."

Goren joined him, "That's odd…unless, two killers tried to strangle Emma and the taller one succeeded."

Olivia grabbed a file off her temporary desk, "Emma was 5'11 so if Goren's theory is right, the first killer has to be really short."

Nodding, Barek said, "The smaller guy, he was either too cowardly to go through with it or was physically unable to.."

Eames answered her desk phone and started to write in her memo book.

Goren surmised, "My money's on the latter. The taller killer, he used a lot of force on Emma while the shorter guy, his mark is barely visible."

Eames got up from her seat, "Goren, that was Rodgers. She was able to find a match for the rope used to strangle our victims and which store sells it."

"Let's go," he grabbed his leather binder off his desk and followed her to the coat rack.

Goren and Eames entered Henric's Hardware store and made their way towards register where Frank Bailer was typing on a desktop computer. The 52-year-old gray haired man greeted the detectives. After they introduced themselves Frank questioned them.

"I though uh, that Detectives Moretta and Bryant were handling my case?"

Eames curiously tilted her head, "Why? What happened?"

"About six weeks ago, someone broke in and took a couple of things. They stole about $900 dollars' worth of tools and supplies."

Goren nodded, "Like what?"

"Duct tape, a couple of hammers, screw drivers, lashing straps, hand trucks, and rope."

Goren reached into his leather binder and showed Bailer a photo, "This kind of rope."

"Yep, that's the one. It came out on the market seven weeks ago and it's only sold in Henric stores. We're the only store in New York, my cousin runs the one in Everton, it's outside of Boston."

Suddenly, Goren received a phone call, he excused himself and walked into a nearby aisle to get some privacy.

Eames said to Bailer, "That specific rope was used in several murders recently."

His blue eyes widen, "Aww geez. So, you probably want the sales records for it?"

"Yes, we would. Are there any suspects for the robbery?"

He shook his head as he typed, "Nah, the other detectives think that the robbers are professionals. They knew when to hit my store because two days later we were supposed to install security cameras and an alarm system. Got it, damn."

"What is it?"

"The people who bought the rope, they all used cash and it was before the robbery so I don't have any video footage."

"How about online sales?"

"I'll check those right now…"

An employee in his twenties with short hair and a beard walked up to the register.

Bailer spoke to him. "Hey Grant, Mr. Kaman just made this order," he handed him an order form.

"I'm on it, Boss." Grant nodded as he took the order form and headed into the plumbing aisle.

"Sorry detective, there hasn't been any online orders for that rope."

"All right, thanks anyway. If anything comes up, you can contact me at this number," she gave him her card.

"Thanks and here's one of the detectives' card," he gave her Moretta's card.

"From the 99th precinct, thanks." She nodded before walking towards the aisle where Goren was still on the phone.

After he hanged up, he said to her, "Sorry, it's a personal thing..for Christmas. I would've turned it down but it really is important."

"It's all right Bobby and besides, this turned out to be a dead end. We need to drop by the 9-9 to see how where they're at with the robbery."

"OK, maybe we'll catch a break?"

After five minutes of driving they found themselves caught in traffic due to a 5-car accident.

Goren looked at her, "So…you had dinner with Munch last night."

She waited a beat, "Thea told ya this morning?"

"She did…but you defended her against Bernard this morning. What changed?"

Eames briefly touched her forehead and looked into his eyes, "Bobby, I-I never hated her, OK? I hate to admit this…but it was hard to watch you get along with her without any trouble and she warmed up to you pretty quick. It hasn't been like that between us lately and it definitely wasn't like with you and Bishop."

Goren took in her comments and explained himself, "Of course it wasn't. Bishop, she-she…she was intelligent, professional, organized and efficient. But, she was also inflexible, humorless, closed-minded and she shackled herself to conventional thinking. That's not you and that's definitely not Thea."

She exhaled, "Yeah but they both really love paperwork to the point where they get giddy over it, like nerds."

He grinned, "Well, I-I find that endearing about Thea."

"Of course you do, you're a big nerd too!"

They both chuckled and a fair amount of tension dissipated between them.

"Bobby…I can't believe I'm admitting this, but I liked being the only one who could work with you. To quote Munch, 'It's a unique honor and sometimes, a major pain in the ass.'"

His laugh was loud and hearty then cleared his throat, "I know I can be and when I um, when I went undercover to get Testarossa and Stoat, I was only thinking of myself and getting my job back. I hurt you Eames, I didn't mean to but I did. And it was stupid, because you are one of the few people in my life who cares about me and puts up with my shit. You're my family; I can't afford to lose you. I apologize for everything I've put you through and I won't keep anything from you….ever again."

The sincerity in his words and eyes moved and stunned her. She slowly nodded at him, "Thank you, Bobby. That really does means a lot to me."

His lips briefly curled up, "I should have said that to you much earlier."

"Yeah but you just did and it wasn't too late. So…you told Thea everything?"

"I did and she was entirely on your side."

She smiled, "Well, she's a smart woman, of course she would be."

"She also thought that you weren't the type of person who likes getting fruit baskets."

Eames scoffed, "That further proves my point - but I will eat a couple more of your lunches and then Bobby, we'll be even."

"That sounds more than fair." He grinned.

A Latino uniformed officer walked into the Major Case squad room and went into Captain Ross's office. A few seconds later the officer approached Elliot and Olivia handing them folders filled with crime scene photos of the Erlich home. With a small packet of peanut M&Ms in his hands, Logan was walking towards his desk when Elliot opened a folder; he stopped when a photo caught his attention.

Logan pointed at the picture, "Hey, that's a Kalleton knife."

Elliot gave him an intrigued look, "Kalleton, that's who made this?"

He nodded, "It's a family business they make and sell custom made knives, swords, and other weapons. Bill has a store in Staten Island; he helped me close a case when some psycho used one of his daggers to kill his neighbor. His brother, Jack, he owns a store on 9th. He's helped me out a few times too."

Elliot nodded, "Thanks for info. Liv, it looks like we might have a lead."

"That's good; you go and tell me how it turns out?" Olivia said as she looked through the Erlichs' financial records…"

"Really? It's not that cold outside."

"Oh but it's sooo much warmer in here," she smirked.

Logan interjected, "I'll go with you; I really need a change in scenery."

"OK, I'll drive." Elliot took his coat off his chair and put it on.

"Try not to miss me, Barek." Logan said with a sarcastic voice and face to match.

Barek looked up from stack of the Malicks' financial records. She tilted her head and her eyes narrowed, "…Who are ya again?"

Logan rolled his eyes, "Hilarious."

Olivia chuckled as she and Barek watched their partners leave the room.

"Benson, Stabler's Irish Catholic, right?"

"Yep, just like Logan except he still goes to church regularly, why?"

"I just realized that car is gonna be filled with lot of testosterone, authority issues and smartass remarks. No offence."

Olivia grinned, "None taken and that's the perfect description. If the heat breaks, their anger will keep them warm."

They shared a genuine laugh before returning to their work.

After Logan finished talking about the Kalletons, Elliot stated what was on his mind, "So, you've been in Major Case for 3 years now; what's your take on Goren?"

Logan waited a beat, "I'm not exactly fully on board with profiling but uh, it's helped me and Barek solve a couple of cases. She and Goren, they got a decent track record. And he used his skills to save my ass when we were at Brooklyn Federal Prison."

His brows crinkled, "How's that?"

"My girlfriend at the time, Gina, she was a nurse there. Guys who hadn't been charged with a crime, were being held there and they were being kept off the books; secret prisoners. They were being beaten, raped and tortured by a group of guards. Gina knew but…she didn't tell me. She was too scared. But Goren and Eames, they figured out that she was holding out. They were investigating these guards because they killed one of their own to cover it up."

Elliot was shocked at what he just heard, "Really? Shit. I can't believe I missed that."

"Unfortunately it didn't make the front page of The Times or The Ledger. Anyway, these assholes were afraid that Gina would talk. They triggered a lockdown and were gonna kill her. Goren and I were with her but – they outnumbered us, we had no weapons and we were cornered. Goren talked down three of the guards and got one to walks us out the front door. They all confessed and made deals with DA."

Elliot slowly nodded, "That's pretty…unbelievable."

He shrugged, "It is but I'm grateful that it played out that way or else, I would have never been transferred to Major Case and I wouldn't have met Casey. Look, I know what guys say about Goren that he's too in his head, a whack job and rat because he doesn't hesitate putting dirty cops away Sure, he's offbeat, kind of awkward but he's a really smart guy, he's got a code and he's a damn good cop. Also, when someone saves my life, I tend to give them a break," he smirked.

A little grin came to Elliot's lips, "I get it. So, he seems pretty close to Thea."

"Yep, they're really good friends and she assures me, that's all they are."

"Yeah…She gets along with most people. My daughters are friends with her and my son Dickie-"

Logan scoffed, "Oh he really likes Thea and he wants to be more than just her friend."

Elliot laughed, "Oh yeah, he's completely head over heels."

"Even though she's like family to me, I can't blame him for trying…We're here."

Jack Kalleton proved to be very helpful. The knife was a part of an online order that was made a few months ago. In total, there were five knives with blue blades, black shiny hilts but the emblems differed. There were three knives that a red daisy emblem with a blue gem center. The two other knives had red lilies with blue gem centers. Jack gave them the customer's contact information, his name was Ned Baldrige. Logan and Stabler drove out to the Queens address. When they knocked on the home's front door, a middle aged blonde woman answered. She introduced herself as Edie. They explained who they were and asked about Ned Baldridge.

"He's right in here…" She led them into the living room.

The detectives followed her lead and stopped once they arrived at their destination. They were confused and stunned by what they saw.