Chapter 20

"I'll be right back," Bobby assured Alex. "It might be good for Mr. Claret to cool his heels for a while…Have you interviewed him before?"

Alex shook her head. "The SVU guys and Huang have dealt with him…He's seen me…" She frowned. "Made me feel creepy every time he looked at me…"

Bobby quietly digested the information. "Ok…Wait for me."

"Tag team…got it." In spite of her nerves, Alex smiled at him.

If Bobby hoped to annoy Claret, his plan worked. Claret entered the interrogation room with an annoying smirk on his face. Alex watched his lawyer, considerably more nervous than his client, whisper to the big man. Claret gave an easy smile and leaned back comfortably in his chair.

"I'm getting really tired of that look," Olivia said wearily.

"Yea," Alex agreed. "And as worried as I am about all of this, I hope Bobby can wipe it off his face…"

As time went by, Claret grew increasingly restless. When his lawyer spoke to him, Claret snapped at him.

Ross walked up to Alex. "Where's your partner?" the Captain asked. "Claret's going to demand that he be returned to his cell…"

"I'll go look for him," Alex said with a touch of concern.

"And why would you want to do that when I'm right here?"

Alex turned and barely squelched a gasp; she felt Ross start slightly next to her. Bobby had appeared magically behind them. He'd changed from his worn jeans and shirt to one of his best midnight blue suits. He'd shaved; his hair was neatly combed; and he looked terrific.

"Wow," Olivia said.

Bobby smiled. "Exactly the reaction I hoped for," he said genially.

Stabler stared through the one way window. "Goren," he said, not taking his eyes off Claret. "I know you're one of the best in that room…but this guy is a nasty piece of work…Don't give him an opening…

Bobby's face was a mask, but Alex saw the gratitude in his eyes. "Thanks, Stabler," he said softly. He turned to Alex. "Ready?" His hand was on the door handle.

"As I'll ever be," she answered.

He opened the door.

Interrogation was not Alex's favorite part of the job. She enjoyed the trapping and dismantling of those who deserved it; she enjoyed the intricate dances with Bobby in the room. But even she acknowledged some of the perps were as sinned against as sinning, and she hated the shedding of innocent blood in the effort to capture the guilty. When the stakes were high—and they were in the stratosphere right now—the interrogation room felt like a high pressure cooker. Bobby, of course, seemed to thrive in the room. In the early days of their partnership Alex, with her fellow detectives, wondered if Bobby was entirely human. She soon realized that one of the reasons why he was so good in the room was because he was all too human. Interrogation exhilarated him; it also left him raw and bleeding. He frequently opened and exposed his deepest wounds; suspects occasionally found and opened the wounds without knowing about them. And some, notably Nicole Wallace, reveled in finding those wounds and pouring salt in them. Gregory Claret struck Alex as the type who could rival Nicole in his enjoyment of causing Bobby pain.

"And," Alex thought bitterly. "Claret may not have to look for Bobby's weak points…Bobby may just show them to him…"

Torn between admiration for his courage and exasperation at his willingness to sacrifice his health, Alex followed Bobby into the interrogation room. Claret glared at them as they entered, and Alex fought against the horrible uneasiness that rose in her. Claret's eyes rested on Bobby, and recognition flickered in them.

"Sorry," Bobby said apologetically. "We had to find some of your files." He sat across from Claret. "You have a lot of files, Gregory."

Claret frowned; he clearly didn't like the use of his first name. "Where are the others?"

Alex took her usual seat next to Bobby. She was grateful he occupied Claret's attention.

"They've decided," Bobby said casually. "The case really isn't of interest to them…"

Claret snorted. "They've found the person who really did this…"

"Yes." Bobby looked directly at Claret for the briefest moment. "They have."

Claret glared at him. "So, who are you? What did you do that you get this great job of harassing an innocent man?" His voice dripped with disgust.

""I'm one of the detectives who found the bomb at your farm," Bobby replied almost amiably.

"Not my farm," Claret said quickly and smoothly. "My family's…I've not been there for years…" He looked closely at Bobby. "You seem familiar…"

Alex sensed Bobby's brief hesitation. "No," she thought. She wanted to shout it out, to leap between Bobby and Claret, to protect her partner.

Bobby leaned forward. "You may have seen me at Carmel Ridge…" Alex watched as he walked in front of the rushing train. "Your mother once roomed with mine…"

Claret stiffened, and Alex saw a savage glimmer of fear and contempt in his eyes. She didn't dare turn to Bobby.

"Of course," Bobby continued calmly and smoothly. "I don't recall you ever visiting your mother…so maybe you never saw me."

"You don't know anything about my mother," Claret said. For the first time, an edge crept into his voice.

"I know she passed away recently…just before these killings started," Bobby said evenly. "I also know that the locks on the building where the older woman—Mrs. Czechowski—was found and the basement where Angel Corelli was found were very distinctive…very…" Bobby pulled out photos of the locks to display before Claret and his lawyer. "And you ordered those locks…" He pulled out a receipt. "And those locks are definitely the ones you ordered…Not someone else in your family…You…" Bobby shook his head. "Not very smart, Gregory…Not very smart at all."

Claret glared at Bobby; the fear and anger in his eyes were growing. "So, I put new locks on the doors…"

"Which means you have been at the farm…And you have the only keys…" Bobby's words hung in the air.

"No one can put me there…I've got family that will say that I wasn't there when these killings took place.

"Your family…But how much can you depend on them?" Bobby asked softly. "They abandoned you…left you with your mother…"

Claret shifted in his chair. Alex hated that Bobby was leading this attack and the line he was taking with it, but he was the first interviewer to break Claret's mask.

"Detective." Claret's lawyer attempted to justify his hefty fee. "We've been through much of this with the other detectives. As for those locks…"

Bobby scarcely acknowledged the lawyer. "There's the locks…There's also Mrs. Czechowski…"

Claret sneered. "Just another case you're trying to pin on me…I know how this works…Guy's too smart for you so you'll put it on the first guy you can…"

Bobby placed Mrs. Czechowski's photo on the table. "There's your mistake, Gregory," he said.

For a fleeting moment, Alex's fears for Bobby evaporated, and she almost felt sorry for Claret.

Claret stared at the photo.

"You were so afraid that you'd left one detail…one witness behind..." Bobby's voice was cold and controlled. "That you slipped up…"

"I…I've never seen this woman before," Claret recovered. He shrugged his shoulders. "She doesn't look like much…Someone did her a favor by killing her."

Alex felt cold anger at Claret's dismissal of the woman rise in her; she sensed the same flame of anger in Bobby.

"Oh, she's very important…Very much something," Bobby said quietly. "She's the final piece in our puzzle…"

"There's nothing to tie her to me…Nothing." Claret leaned forward in his chair. His lawyer made frantic and feeble motions to quiet him, but Claret ignored him. "You've searched everywhere and haven't found anything…"

"Yes…your car…the farm…the outer building…the wells…" Bobby ominously dropped the words.

Claret started. With a satisfaction she wasn't entirely proud of, Alex saw genuine fear in his eyes.

"And in one of those wells," Bobby continued. "A knife…a knife that many people saw you with…You showed it to people at work…" He dropped the photo of an elaborately decorated knife crusted in red and brown gunk on the table. "Did you know the well was dry, Gregory? Or that part of Mrs. Czechowski's scarf was near the well? Did you think it was so far away from the house and the barn and the other buildings that we wouldn't look there? Or that it was so well hidden? You were right about that, by the way." Bobby tilted his head and gave Claret a conspiratorial smile. "It was a bit of luck that I fell over that concrete slab covering the well when I checked the scene."

Claret's lawyer spluttered something about trespassing and unlawful search, but Alex shut him up with a withering look. Bobby had called and a warrant produced well before there was an extensive search of the well and a gathering of the new evidence. A terrible rage filled Claret's eyes.

"The knife," Bobby said quietly. "The blood is Mrs. Czechowski's…And the only fingerprints on it…Well, you didn't even wipe it off when you threw it away…They're yours…"

"Stupid, stupid old woman," Claret muttered.

"And the worst of it," Bobby said sadly. "She didn't see anything…She didn't know anything…"

Claret's head shot up. Any sign of the charming, smooth man was gone, and, in spite of her experience, Alex fell back.

"You…stupid police…you led me right to her…Let her get away…" Claret seethed.

"You made a mistake, Gregory…You're not that smart." Bobby's voice was calm and even, but Alex heard the tension in it. "But we've got you for the murder of Mrs. Czechowski…and the only motive for you to kill her…is to cover up the murders of the other women…" Bobby paused and stared directly into Claret's eyes.

The other man returned the stare. "You know why," he hissed. "They deserved it…Your mom…My mom…the same…Should never have had children…They would've destroyed their children…Just like they destroyed us…"

Alex's heart pounded. "We've got him," she thought. "Don't push it…Be careful, Bobby…Be careful…"

"The same?" Bobby responded quietly. "I don't think so…My Mom was never violent…And look at us…I'm free…You're not…I'm in a suit…You're…well, orange isn't your color…"

Claret's lawyer made a feeble sound of protest. "Shut up!" Claret snarled. "I'm not going to let this warped son of a bitch think he's any better than me." His eyes bore into Bobby's. "I know you…They talk about you at Riker's…Crazy cop…Crazy mother…She scared you…right? Twisted things so you didn't know what was real…"

"Not her," Bobby said quietly and firmly. "The illness…"

"Took everything away…" Claret still stared at Bobby, but he appeared to be disappearing more and more into his head. "I couldn't have friends…She drove my father away…"

"Was it her?" Bobby asked. "Or was it you? My father left because he didn't have the courage to deal with the illness…But he would've probably left anyway…Was that what happened to you? You were too weak…You couldn't help her…Or…" Bobby tilted his head. "You wouldn't? You couldn't be bothered…"

"She ruined everything." Claret's voice rose. "It's her fault…I couldn't be a real cop…So I could put these people away…"

"None of it is your fault…She hurt you…Kept you from being a great man…And you never got to tell her…To make her pay…" Bobby's voice was still eerily calm. "So you made woman like her pay…"

"Bitch." Claret was lost inside his mind. "Like all women…Those…just because of books…Think they know everything…" He sprang out of his head. "You know…you hate your Mom too…"

Bobby shook his head sadly. "I hate what she says and does," he said softly. "But that's not her…not all of her…I don't hate her…"

Claret glared at Bobby, and violently shook his head. For the first time in the interview, he registered Alex's presence, and a bolt of fear stabbed through her. He jumped to his feet and slammed the large table into Bobby and Alex with so much force that his handcuffs snapped free. Alex flew from her chair to the floor, her head bouncing from a side of the table. Claret, a stream of curses flowing from her, loomed over her. She couldn't move. Her last thought as his claws reached for her was, "Bobby…where's Bobby?"

End Chapter 20