Notes on an Aftermath
Chapter Three: Jigsaw
Casey had nearly forgotten about her meeting with Jack McCoy, that after falling asleep and getting in a much needed nap. The moment she woke up, she realized that she was completely late, and it made her cry. She spent another twenty minutes in her bathroom trying to compose herself and swallowing four Pepto-Bismol caplets to calm her stomach.
Now she is rushing down the hallway of the DA's office to Jack's office, and before she gets there, she stops and takes out her mirror, checking her appearance. She is pale and her eyes are red and bloodshot. She blinks a few times then she pinches her cheeks to put some color back into them then she pockets her mirror. She takes in a deep breath and she knocks on the door to Jack's office.
He is hunched over his desk, writing something on his legal pad, and she knocks again.
He looks up and then he waves her in.
Casey opens up the door and steps in, closing it.
"I'm sorry I'm late," she sighs, combing her fingers through her hair. "I had a rough morning and-"
"Spare me the excuses, Casey," Jack interrupts harshly.
Casey is taken aback by his stern tone, but then again, he has always been a stern man so she quickly realizes that her reaction to him is unwarranted.
"Would you care to explain to me why you tried to bury evidence in a high profile rape case?" He asks.
"I didn't try to bury evidence," she sighs. "I-I know that the reports were dated and stamped but I just…wanted to be absolutely sure. I wanted it to show that it was Crane's DNA. Crane was guilty, Jack."
"Whether he was guilty or not at the time, you denied Detective Crane his civil liberties by withholding official evidence from the defense," he says, getting up from his desk. He begins to pace around his office. "You do realize that your career is in jeopardy, don't you?"
Casey combs her fingers through her hair and she nods. "Yeah. But I'm not sorry for what I did. Crane deserved to rot and to be perfectly honest, I'm not sorry he's dead. To hell with him and Kralik."
Jack looks at her solemnly. "I share your sentiments, Casey, I really do. But this time you've let your personal feelings allow you to cross too far over the line, and you can't possibly expect everyone else to bend over backward for you to make sure that you keep practicing law this way."
Casey nods. "I met Kim Graylek this morning. I hope she's good."
Jack sits at his desk again.
"At first I wanted Kim to sit second chair," he says. "You were getting spread a little too thin, and I thought that Kim would be perfect for you. She specifically asked for SVU. She used to legislate for-"
"The Office of Violence Against Women," Casey finishes. "I know. She told me as much."
"She's got some impressive stats," he says. "I believe that she's the best person to maintain the integrity of her office, and she's passionate, like you. Before all this, I had no plans on ever replacing you…but now that you're compromised…"
Am I ever, she thinks to herself, inadvertently placing her hand on her abdomen.
"Don't worry," she assures him. "I'm not going to cause any more trouble for this office…I know I'm going to have to resign my position as ADA."
Jack nods.
"I hate that you're leaving this way," he laments.
"Me too," she sighs.
With that, she walks out.
She quickly exits the building and gets to the parking garage, feeling cold and more alone than ever.
She makes it to her car and she gets in, sighing and resting her head back against the head rest. She puts her hands on her abdomen and rubs over it.
She and Chester are about to make a life and a family together.
That is the reason why she so strongly believes that Chester didn't commit murder. He wouldn't just throw it all away just to kill a man who surely would have gotten his just desserts one way or another. And since she believes that, it also leads her to believe that he is covering for someone. He has to be, and all she needs is just to have a glance at the photos from the crime scene so that she could perhaps force his hand in telling her the truth.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Fin walks into work with a couple of boxes. Munch gets up and begins to help his soon-to-be former partner pack up his desk. Elliot doesn't know what to say now since they are not talking. He has tried to apologize to Fin once before, but it wasn't well received, not that he expected it to be in the first place.
He wants Fin to realize that him pulling his phone records wasn't personal. He was actually trying to protect him. If he were to find something off, then at least he would be the first to know and not anyone else. He is not sorry about the way he went about it because he had expected that if he asked Fin, he would have gotten angry, so he was screwed with Fin's reaction either way.
There is tension in the squad room, and if Fin chooses to go through with his transfer, Elliot doesn't want him to leave on a such a bad note.
Elliot gets up and approaches Fin.
"I got nothing' else to say to you Stabler," Fin says coldly as he opens up the drawers to his desk.
"Fin, c'mon," Elliot says. "Look, I didn't mean to offend you. That wasn't my intent and it wasn't personal, you have to believe that. I'm sorry I didn't just ask you straight up."
"That was all you had to do, Elliot," Fin huffs. "But instead you went behind my back. No…the fact that you even thought I would tip Lake off is pissing me off. I was trying to help him, yeah, but you knew I wouldn't help him run."
"I know," Elliot says. "I just had to be sure."
"That's the problem," Fin says, stepping closer to Elliot. "Eight years I've been working this unit and you weren't sure about whether I'd help one of our own run? You weren't sure about me? Tell me how you really feel, Stabler."
Elliot sighs. At any other point in time, he would have been frustrated, angry, and would have just given up on the matter and let it fester, but he no longer seeks refuge in his pent up rage. Becoming a father again, reuniting with his wife and family, and working on being the person he used to be has caused him to try and sustain the friendships and relationships he has taken for granted for some years now.
"Fin, you know that I have nothing against you," Elliot says. "And all I can do is ask you to forgive me. Whether you do forgive me or not, that's on you. I just don't want you to leave, that is, if you are leaving, like this."
Fin just shakes his head and continues to pack up his things.
Olivia walks in and she notices the tense scene and the solemn look on Elliot's face. His eyes communicate that things are still on shaky ground with Fin, and she sighs and mouths, 'He'll come around.' He nods and sits down at his desk.
Olivia takes off her coat and drapes it over the back of her chair.
"Fin, why don't you at least take a couple more days to think about this?" She asks.
"It's okay Liv," Fin says. "I'm cool. It's time for a change anyway, been doin' this for too long."
"Are you going to come back?" She asks.
"I don't know Liv," Fin says as he packs up his desk. "All I know is I can't stay here."
Olivia sighs. She hates that there is a feud brewing between Elliot and Fin. She knew that Elliot was just trying to do his job and avoid any more trouble that might have come their way. Elliot is not the sort of man to do things to a friend out of spite, he felt like he was protecting Fin by him being the first one to see Fin's phone records. Even though he'd only wanted to give Fin a heads up, Olivia still thinks that he should have just asked Fin to his face if he helped Lake run. She told him to make things right, and Elliot swallowed his pride and tried to patch things up.
Now the ball is in Fin's court, and it doesn't seem like Fin will be in a forgiving mood for a while to come.
Cragen comes out of his office to bid Fin farewell and let him know the status of his transfer.
Fin finishes packing up the last of his things from his desk then he walks over to Cragen.
"I sent out the paperwork," Cragen explains. "I should be getting a response from the higher ups in a few days, and when I do, I'll give you a call, let you know of your options. Until then, you are free to use the vacation time you've accumulated."
Cragen extends his hand and Fin takes it and they give a firm shake.
"You've put in some good work here, detective," Cragen says. "If you ever do decide to come back, there'll be a place for you."
"Thanks Captain," Fin says appreciatively.
"Are you absolutely sure this is what you want to do?" Cragen asks.
"Yeah," Fin says.
"Good luck to you," Cragen says, putting his hands in his pockets.
Fin nods then he goes over to his desk and picks up the box.
"See you around guys," Fin says.
"I'll walk with you," Munch says, then he and Fin walk out of the unit.
Cragen goes back into his office and closes the door.
Elliot rubs his hand over his face.
"I'm such a bastard," he huffs as he sits down at his desk.
Olivia shakes her head.
"That's not true," she says. "Fin knows that you didn't mean to go behind his back. You did the right thing by admitting that you were wrong, now you just have to move on, El. You have to understand that Fin is angry at himself too because of Lake."
"Speaking of Lake," Elliot says discreetly.
"What?" Olivia asks.
"You know how it came up that once a month Chester's been taking off for Philly for some kind of cold case meeting?" Elliot asks.
"Yeah, so what?" She asks.
"Well these meetings are sponsored through the cold case and missing persons units in Philadelphia," he explains. "It was started about fifteen years ago by three retried detectives. They have a website, and out of curiosity, I looked it up."
"What'd you find?" Olivia asks.
"They post their guest book online…" He begins, gesturing for Olivia to come have a look when he pulls it up from his history bar. "I found something interesting."
She comes over and looks at the online guest page.
"Okay, I see Lake's name up there," she says, peering at the screen. "God, I need glasses."
He chuckles. "You're getting old Benson.
"Well, if it isn't the pot calling the kettle black," she smirks
"Anyone else's name look familiar?" He asks.
Olivia scans over the list and then her mouth goes agape.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Kim is in her office doing some paperwork, trying to ignore the growling in her stomach for some lunch. She puts her pen down and she sighs.
At thirty four years old, she likes to think of herself as accomplished, even though she left Washington, D.C. in a cloak of shame and headed to New York for a new start and hopefully, new allies because as of the last two years, she's made too many enemies to count, one of them being her own husband. Even though she left in shame, she still feels that she did what she had to do to protect people.
Apparently, Jack McCoy found that admirable, and requested that she sit second chair for Casey Novak, the ADA for Manhattan SVU. Kim jumped at the chance eager to meet Casey.
She knows that she has some big shoes to fill.
So far, next to Alex Cabot, Casey Novak had been the most aggressive ADA and Casey also holds the highest closure rate than any other ADA in the borough. Casey's stats intimidating.
All she has to do is wrap up the murder case she is handling, which is mostly being run by IAB at the moment, so she literally has no information and she'd been lucky that there had even been an arraignment. Ironically, she is prosecuting one of the detectives from Manhattan SVU, Detective Chester Lake.
Ever since earlier in the morning, Casey Novak's presence and obvious intimate connection with Detective Lake struck her as odd.
When she exited the courtroom, she saw Judge Elizabeth Donnelly speaking with Casey and Casey looked pretty upset.
The whole case just doesn't seem right to her, and she is even thinking that she may just forgo a trial and offer Chester Lake a deal. He is refusing counsel, but he will get a court appointed one very soon anyway.
Kim wonders what the hell she got herself into.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Mila and Ham stroll along the grounds of Hudson University to look for Gregory Crane. They got word from one of his dorm mates that his favorite studying spot would be along the grounds.
"I wish I'd chosen Hudson," Mila sighs as she looks around.
"Where'd you go to college?" Ham asks.
"Michigan State," Mila explains. "I followed my best friend there, but by the end of the first semester, we grew apart. I was the supposed lesbian jock and she was the frilly sorority girl."
"At least you got to experience the 'college life,'" he laments. "I went to community college."
"Community colleges aren't that bad," Mila shrugs. "At least your parents aren't up to their eyeballs in debt like mine are. Student loans are a bitch."
"I paid my own way," he says. "By then, Lilly and I were already married and she was working two jobs and going to night school. Money was tight then."
Mila shrugs. "The coed experience is so overrated."
Ham spots a young man matching Gregory Crane's picture.
"There he is," he says, pointing out the nineteen year old to Mila. "Head buried in a book just like they said."
The approach Gregory.
"Gregory Crane?" Mila inquires, and he looks up.
"Yeah?"
"I'm Mila Fischer, this is my partner Robert Hamilton," Mila introduces. "We're from the Internal Affairs Bureau."
Gregory closes his book, and then he takes off his glasses.
"You here about my dad?" He asks.
"Yeah," Ham says as he sits down on the bench next to Gregory. He notices his textbook. "Ah, you're studying forensics…pretty good field."
"Yeah, um," Gregory says solemnly. "My dad wanted me to be a cop like him but…I'm a geek. I prefer the science of it all."
"We're very sorry for your loss," Mila says.
Gregory nods. "I heard he was shot by another cop…"
"Well, we have some other evidence that leads us to believe that there might have been a third person there," Mila explains. "There were footprints made by a woman's shoe…size six Jimmy Choos."
Gregory shrugs and shakes his head. "And that means what to me?"
"Well, your dad's commanding officer told us that you and your dad were close," Mila says. "And since you two were close, we wanted to ask you if your dad might have been seeing someone. Did he have a girlfriend?"
Gregory sighs. "No. After he and mom split, he never dated. I don't think he ever just hooked up with anyone."
"Did he have any close female friends?" Ham asks.
Gregory shakes his head. "Not that I'm aware of."
Ham sighs. "We know about your gambling addiction…"
"Yeah, and I'm going to gambler's anonymous," Gregory huffs. "I'm working two shifts to try and pay off the debt. My dad used everything he had to pay off my first debt…I wish he hadn't because I know I was a fool and I was willing to take whatever punishment the bookies would dish out."
"What bookies are you dealing with?" Mila asks.
"Armenians," Gregory sighs. "They're not as brutal or strict as the Russians or the Italians…I'm lucky because I'm not what they call 'in blood' yet."
"What does that mean?" Ham asks.
"It means that if you cross an Armenian, they have a system," Gregory says. "It's like their own personal code of justice. If you're caught cheating, stealing, if you're not making an effort to try and pay back the money or you hurt a woman or a child, you're in blood."
"Has your dad ever come in contact with the Armenians the first time he paid off your debt?" Mila asks.
"Yeah," Gregory says. "But it was only to pay off the money. He didn't hurt anybody. Please, don't go looking into the Armenians. They find out I told you about them, I'm dead."
"We're not going to talk to the Armenians," Ham says. "We're not interested in them."
"Do you know if your dad might have maybe…hired a hooker?" Mila asks.
"He was a cop," Gregory says angrily.
"Cops have vices too, Greg," Ham says.
Gregory looks at his watch. "I gotta get to class."
With that, he gathers up his books and his bag and heads off.
Ham stands up.
"Okay, I'm guessing this mystery woman angle is a dead end," he sighs. "The next best thing is to talk to Detective Lake about what happened."
"Not yet," Mila says. "We can talk to Lake later…I don't believe for a second that Crane didn't have at least one female friend…"
"Look, maybe a pro tried to court him and he turned her down before Lake showed up," Ham shrugs. "The place is a popular spot on the hooker stroll, like you said before."
"Nah," Mila says. "There's something very odd about this whole thing, I just can't put my finger on it."
"So what?" Ham says. "You think Lake might be innocent?"
"I don't know," Mila sighs. "There's just something not right..."
/\/\/\/\/\/\
O'Halloran takes the weapon used in Thomas Crane's murder and begins to inspect it further. In an investigation, the slightest bit of evidence can make or break a case. That is why Ryan is always thorough with every case that he gets. It is part of the thrill for him to find something that people would normally miss and he feels like a detective himself.
He pulls the barrel of the gun back, and he turns it over, inspecting its underside.
What he finds is interesting.
"Hey Smith," he calls.
"What?"
"Can you bring me an evidence bag and a pair of tweezers?"
"Sure."
Smith retrieves the items from the supply shelf then he comes over and hands the tweezers to O'Halloran.
"Thanks," he says as he carefully removes a slightly bloodied small piece of cloth from the gun.
"What have you got?"
"Something good, I hope," Ryan says.
Smith opens up the evidence bag and Ryan places the piece of cloth into the bag.
"What do you think that's from?"
"I don't know," Ryan says, grinning a bit. "But there's blood on it, which means this is good for Detective Lake."
"How is that good?" Smith asks.
Ryan takes the bag.
"I'm going to Warner."