"Yeah…I knew Danny Carrera," Anais Van der Hooten said as her maid poured coffee for her, and her visitors, Detectives Lennie Briscoe and Rey Curtis.
"He was a good man," she continued. "Never a bad word for anyone."
She doesn't look like a cold-blooded killer, Rey Curtis thought to himself.
She was short, with styled copper-red hair, and wide-lensed glasses that were slightly out-of-date.
"So you have no idea why anyone would want to kill him?"
"None at all, Detective Briscoe. What's going on here?"
"We've found evidence that might link you to Carrera's death."
"Me?" Van der Hooten out her coffee cup down. "That's ridiculous. Why would I want to kill him?"
"If you would join us at the station," Curtis put in. "We would be glad to continue the discussion there."
"Provided my attorney can join in too," Van der Hooten spoke dryly. "I would be delighted."
"There you go…" Briscoe scoffed. "Bringing lawyers into it. You know what that looks like?"
"Yes!" the woman snapped. "It looks like an intelligent woman defending her rights."
She picked up her phone, started dialing.
"He can meet us there," she added.
…..
27th Precinct
Interrogation One
"He's your attorney?" Lennie Briscoe stared in absolute disbelief-not to mention an extreme sense of dislocation-at Anais Van der Hooten's attorney.
Ben Stone.
"He's an old family friend," Van der Hooten explained.
Damn…
Stone shrugged slightly, a boyish smile gracing his features.
No doubt, he, too, was reflecting on the irony inherent in the situation.
"I thought you were traveling in Europe!" Briscoe accused.
"I came back last month, Lennie," Now, Stone was all business. "What's this about my client having a reason to kill the victim?"
"Carrera had a Life Insurance policy worth two million."
"If he did, it would have been for his wife," Van der Hooten interjected. "Danny loved her to pieces. They already had a little girl, and another one on the way. If he had a policy, it would have all been for her, and the kids."
"You sure about that?" Rey Curtis asked.
"Yeah… Danny was always showing us photos of his wife and his little girls. He was also completely excited about having another child."
"That's interesting," Briscoe sat back. "But the policy we found name you as the beneficiary."
"What?" Van der Hooten stood, in obvious shock. "That's…impossible! He loved his wife and kids. If he had any such policy, it would have been for them!"
Briscoe regarded Van der Hooten.
"Again…are you sure?" he prodded.
"She's sure," Ben Stone answered for her. "She has no need for whatever the policy paid out."
"You mean she'd turn her nose up at two mil?"
Van der Hooten snorted, shook her head.
"A whole two million…that much eh?"
"Well…it's not exactly something to sneeze at."
"Look, Detective Briscoe," she leaned forward. "Anais Van der Hooten is a pen name. It's not my legal name."
So…what is your legal name?"
"Carolyn Edgewood."
"Uh…From the Boston Edgewoods?"
"Yes, Detective Briscoe. That Carolyn Edgewood. So, as you can see, I really don't need an extra two million."
Damn…
Carolyn Edgewood was one of the richest women in the world; with an estate worth upwards of twelve billion.
"We'll provide her financials to the DA's Office this afternoon," Ben Stone stood. "Are we done here?"
"Yeah," Briscoe stood too. "Guess we are…"
In more ways than one.
Well…
Back to the drawing board…
…..
"Ben!" Adam Schiff stood, arms out for a hug. "Heard you were back."
Jack McCoy hung back, let the reunion take its course.
"Heard you torpedoed my case," he finally said over scotch in Adam Schiff's office.
"My client's liquid assets list in the billions," Stone spoke reasonably. "She has no need for an extra two million. Secondly, I'm told that the Insurance check was made out to Anais Van der Hooten; and that's not her legal name. She wouldn't have been able to cash it anyway. To me, that suggests something else entirely."
"Yeah…" McCoy sighed over his scotch. "It does…"
Someone killed a man to frame her. Someone who doesn't know that Anais Van der Hooten was only a pen name.