Notes on an Aftermath
Chapter Five: Verdad
Mila and Ham walk into the morgue that after receiving an urgent call from her in the middle of their lunch break.
"I hate Tuesdays," Mila laments. "I'm tired, I'm hungry…"
"Ah, get over it Fischer," Ham says.
"How can you say that?" Mila argues. "You've got enough fat stores to last two winters. I, on the other hand, am at an ideal weight and not anorexic. I need sustenance. I need some chocolate and a big, juicy burger, and some salty fries."
Ham looks at her. "It's that time of the month, isn't it?"
She punches him in his arm and he chuckles. "I barely felt that, what with my fat stores and all."
"Shut up."
They walk into Melinda's office and she gets up from her desk.
"What have you got?" Mila asks.
"First off, I have some bad news pertaining to the Hernandez case," she begins.
"That case is closed," Ham says.
"Well, now there's a reason to re-open it, at least for murder," Melinda explains as she takes them over to the display. "Just out of curiosity, I took a fresh DNA sample from Thomas Crane to compare it more closely to the sample from the rape kit ten years ago…for the most part, some of the DNA is a match, up until the last three lines right here, see?"
"You're the expert doc," Ham says.
Mila takes a closer look. "Yeah, I can see the difference…so what does that mean?"
"Well, judging from the sample, I'd say that Thomas Crane was innocent of rape, at the very least," Melinda says.
"Shit," Ham huffs. "Then who are we looking for?"
"I'd say there's a close male relative you should be looking for," Melinda says. "You see, the samples have different mitochondrial DNA, so they have different mothers, but they do have the same father."
"Great," Mila sighs. "So Lake might have killed an innocent man. That-that's just wonderful."
"Well, since you're in the mood for more bad news," Melinda says. "I can tell you right here and now, that Detective Lake did not kill Thomas Crane."
"Well, if he didn't, then who did?" Mila asks.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Dave Foster looks around the diner for Bill Janssen. He was supposed to be here thirty minutes ago, and he wonders what the hold up is because he's got to get back on his shift. He looks at his watch and decides that if Bill doesn't show up in the next five minutes, he will have to cancel.
Just as he nervously looks at the clock, Bill walks into the restaurant, and Dave waves him over.
Bill approaches him and sits across from him in the booth.
"You better make this fast," Dave says. "My CO's already on my ass about my tardiness…"
"I'll be brief," Bill says. "Look, I need you to do something for me."
"Anything," Dave says.
Bill Janssen and Dave Foster have been best friends since the academy. They are practically like brothers, and Dave's level of loyalty toward Janssen has gotten him into his share of trouble, but each time, he thinks that Janssen deserved his loyalty. Bill, on the other hand, is friends with Dave, but he admits that he takes advantage of Dave's staunch loyalty.
"I need you to make a call to Riker's," Janssen instructs. "I know a CO in there who owes me a favor."
"What kind of favor?"
"The permanent kind," Bill says.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Fin looks around the cafeteria at Hudson University, feeling rather uncomfortable at the sight of all the caffeine addicted, snack-monster kids crowding the academic institution. Fin didn't go to an expensive, four year university. In fact, as a kid, the thought never crossed his mind. He grew up in a poor neighborhood, around bad influences, and for a while in his teens, he got a little caught up in the fray. But he decided to straighten himself out. Went to trade school, then the police academy.
He's made mistakes along the way; abandoning his wife, not being a good father for his son, among other things. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knows that it is too late to try and recapture those moments he missed when Quasi (now Ken) had been a child. When he reconnected with his son, he knew that it would be futile to try and recall his son's childhood, to try and conjure up those images to fill the void. He just focuses on the present and he's proud of his son for becoming a responsible, goal-oriented young man.
Fin looks at his watch, yet he doesn't know why, considering that he's taken some time off from work. He doesn't know where he will transfer too, but wherever he goes, he's sure that it will be better than SVU at the moment. With Lake going to prison, and just the guilt over not taking the time to get to know his semi-new partner, he feels that if he had known Chester Lake, then he probably could have stopped what is currently happening now.
"Dad."
Fin looks up and he sees his son sitting down in the chair across from him.
"Hey," Fin says, not really knowing what to say.
"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" Ken asks, looking at his watch. "And, this has gotta be quick, I've got to haul ass to my class to start the final exam on time."
"I won't take up too much of your time," Fin says. "I've just uh…been having a rough few weeks. Made me think about you. How've you been doing?"
Ken sighs. "I'm good, dad. I got a place of my own."
Fin chuckles. "Got yourself a tricked out bachelor pad now, huh?"
Ken grins and shakes his head. "Nah, more like a geek lair. I've got two roommates to help with the rent. We're all science nerds who keep to ourselves and keep the place clean."
"Sound's like a real hot spot to get down," Fin teases.
Ken shrugs.
"So…how's everyone at the job? How's Liv?"
Fin has never been able to understand why Ken attached himself to Olivia. Perhaps it is just her motherly presence, because sometimes, it even permeates him.
"Liv's doing okay," he says. "She asks about you a lot. Everyone else…pretty good. But um…Ken, I'm transferring out of SVU."
A look of shock crosses Ken's face.
"What?"
"There's some bad blood between me and Stabler right now," he explains. "And the last case I had took a lot out of me. I'm ready to go."
"Are you kidding me?" Ken asks a bit angrily. "Yeah sure, Stabler's an asshole, but you can't just leave."
"Ken, I've already put in the papers," Fin says. "I've been on that unit eight years, man. And this isn't the first time I've thought about leaving. This is just the first time I've actually turned words into actions."
Ken sits back in his chair.
"You not leaving because you feel it's time to go," he says. "You're leaving 'cause someone pissed you off, and that's never a good reason."
"That's not the only reason," Fin says.
"Don't lie, dad," Ken says.
"Well it's my job, my decision."
"Whatever…you know," Ken begins. "When I was a kid, and you and mom argued, you would always tell her she didn't understand, that she didn't get you, or the job. I always hated when you said that because I knew kids whose parents were cops and they all managed to get home on time. I never believed that you bustin' drug dealers and crack heads was from some noble or moral obligation. You did it to get away from us because you were angry just like mom and I were angry. For a long time, I hated you for it."
Fin looks down at his hands, feeling heartsick at the thought of his own son hating him at one point or another.
"But when you joined SVU…" Ken continues. "Seeing you helping victims, taking down the pervs, and people who hurt kids…your job meant nothing to me until you went to SVU. I…I saw you, dad. Who you really are."
Fin sighs.
"Face it," Ken says. "You're leaving because Stabler pissed you off…especially since pissing people off is Stabler's second job, everyone knows that. It's a poor excuse. You're punkin' out dad, whether you want to realize it or not. You're punkin' out and disappointing me."
With that, Ken looks at his watch. "I've got to get to class."
"Okay," Fin says.
"I'll see you."
"Alright. I love you, son."
Ken nods, then he turns and heads on his way.
Fin gets up and he heads out to the parking garage.
His cell phone rings and he answers.
"Hello?"
"Hey Fin, it's me."
"Hey Liv," he says. "What's up?"
"I need your help with something," she sighs.
"With what, exactly?" He asks.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Casey checks the piece of paper containing Hector Hernandez's apartment number on it one more time. She confirms that the address she has from the court documents is correct and then she walks down the hallway and she knocks on the door.
She steps back and she waits for a couple of minutes.
The neighborhood Hector lives in is a pretty nice one and the building he lives in is old, but well taken care of.
The door opens and she sees Hector.
"Ms. Novak?"
"I um-is this a bad time?" Casey asks.
"No," Hector says, opening the door wider. "Please, come in, Ms. Novak."
"Casey, please," Casey says as she walks into his apartment.
He closes the door then he gestures his hand to the sofa and she sits down. His apartment is tidy, small, but quaint. He is a religious man, she can tell because of all the Catholic paraphernalia. Seeing the different crosses and the candles makes her feel strangely more at peace in this moment than she has been over the last few weeks.
"I have heard on the news about Detective Lake," Hector says as he sits down on the loveseat. "I am so sorry."
Casey sighs.
"Mr. Hernandez," Casey begins tentatively. "I don't believe Chester killed the man that helped kill your daughter."
"They why has he been arrested?" Hector asks.
"Because he did confess," Casey explains. "But I know in my heart that Chester is innocent. I believe that he confessed to protect someone else…"
Hector immediately understands what she is talking about and anger crosses his features.
"What are you saying?" He asks. "Are you accusing me?"
"Where were you the night Thomas Crane was murdered?" She asks.
Hector stands up. "I want you to leave right now."
"Please," she says. "You can't let an innocent man go to prison for what you've done."
Hector goes over to the door and opens it. "This is not a police state, Ms. Novak. You can't just accuse people of anything."
Casey stands up slowly.
"Is there something, if anything, that you know about that night?" She asks, making a last ditch effort.
"I did not kill that man," Hector insists. "I was at immigration with Cecelia, trying to extend her visa to keep her from being deported. It took all night to get her out. Now please go."
She nods and then she walks out of the apartment.
She is inclined to believe Hector Hernandez because he's been an open book, honest about everything, so she believes him when he says he didn't kill Thomas Crane, which makes her outlook on Chester's entire situation very bleak. She knows that Chester didn't kill Crane, she now knows that Hector Hernandez didn't kill Crane, so she is wondering who did. She can't think of anyone else that could possibly have a motive to kill the man.
She bites her bottom lip and sighs. She now knows that Chester's attempts at protecting Hector Hernandez from going to prison had been misguided at best, and she now needs to inform him of that. Perhaps that will convince him to admit that he isn't the one who killed Crane. Only, him retracting his confession will look quite suspicious. He doesn't seem to have an alibi, at least not one that will help his case. Not even she knew where he was in the hours after the trial ended. She tried to call him, but he wouldn't pick up his phone.
Casey wishes that she didn't care anymore, but she just can't stop caring.
Instead of going home, she had gone to Chester's apartment, feeling the fatigue take over again.
She lies down on the couch and she covers herself with the throw blanket.
This morning, she'd managed to keep her morning sickness at bay long enough to take a shower and get dressed. But when she began her drive into the city, she had to vomit. She'd taken a plastic bag with her, to ensure that she wouldn't make a mess all over herself. Now her stomach is more queasy and she needs to rest.
Before going to Hector's apartment, she'd gone to her office to clear out all of her personal effects. She never thought she would be performing that task so soon.
She closes her eyes and she remembers the first evening Chester brought her over to his apartment.
They'd gone out to dinner, and then she expressed her wanting to see his apartment. It had been nothing like she expected it to be; she naturally thought that it'd be like a typical bachelor cop's apartment: empty takeout boxes on the coffee table, sparse furnishings, clothes and junk scattered about…so it was surprise to see that Chester's place was neat and organized and clean. Honestly, it completely turned her on for some reason.
She's spent a lot of nights with him at his apartment and he's spent time at her home with her. She supposes now that they should have talked about moving in together, just so that they could come home to one place instead of commuting back and forth between each other.
Being in his apartment makes her miss living in the city. She'd bought herself a house in a nice area of Queens a few years back because she felt she needed a suburban retreat. Little did she know that she would be missing her simple little studio when she found herself having to worry about maintaining a yard and a garden planted by the previous owners, homeowner's association fees, worrisome neighborhood kids, and ironically, a whole lot less privacy than she did living in her apartment building.
She misses Chester, and she can't imagine how she will be when this feeling increases in magnitude if things don't turn around now.
Feeling a flush of heat, she pulls up the sleeves of her sweater up her arm. She stops suddenly, a realization hitting her as she stares at her sleeve.
"Oh my God."
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Olivia and Fin hear the familiar buzzer and the cell door slides open.
Chester walks through, looking between the both of them.
"What are you two doing here?" He asks.
Olivia stands up. "Look, we really need to speak with you."
"What about?" Chester asks. "You know you guys can't sniff around the case. Don't put your asses on the line like that."
"Believe me, it wouldn't be the first time," Fin says, a bit agitated. "Sit down."
Chester goes and sits at the table across from them.
"How're you holding up?" Olivia asks.
He shrugs. "About as okay as a cop in prison can be. They're holding me in isolation until the other inmates get over the fact I'm a cop. I don't know how long that'll be."
Olivia nods. "What is going on, Lake?"
"Olivia, I can't talk about it with you," Chester says. "The both of you shouldn't even be here."
"Well we're here now," Fin huffs. "Get over it. For a guy that doesn't even agree with the death penalty, you sure as hell adopted quite a double standard."
"I was angry," Chester says.
"We all were," Olivia says. "But I'm starting to think that there's more to this whole thing than you're telling and the worst part of this whole thing is that you dragged Casey into it."
Chester looks at Olivia.
"Casey had nothing to do with this," he says firmly. "Leave her out of this."
"It's too late for that, Lake," she says. "Casey told me about the two of you, your relationship."
Chester sighs and looks away.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Fin asks. "I mean, I didn't think you stood a chance, man."
"Because I don't bring my private life into work," Chester explains. "And even if I did tell you, you guys would never let me live it down. My private life is my business."
"And Casey is my best friend," she says. "I've known her for six years."
"That doesn't mean she has to bear her soul to you," Chester says. "The point is that our relationship is none of anyone's business."
"She made it my business by telling me," Olivia says. "She put her career on the line for you, and this is how you repay her? By not letting her or anyone else help you? She believes that you're innocent, Chester. She's the only one in your corner right now and you're pushing her away."
"I love Casey," he says. "I told her that I'm sorry for putting her through all this. I shouldn't have let her take my case. I never wanted this to happen to her, so that's why I'm trying to keep her getting even more involved. I don't want to hurt her anymore."
With that, Chester gets up and heads to the gate.
"CO," he says.
Olivia didn't want to do this, but she knows she has to make a split-second decision.
"You're an even bigger bastard than I thought," Olivia hisses as she stands up and Chester turns to her.
"Olivia-"
"Casey's pregnant."
Chester looks at her, a look of shock on his face.
"What?"
"Casey's pregnant," Olivia repeats. "She's pregnant, scared and going out of her mind over you."
Fin takes Chester's collar into his fist.
"What do you know, you knocked her up knucklehead," Fin says as he takes Chester back to his chair and shoves him into it. "Congratulations, you're gonna be a daddy."
Chester runs his hands over his face. "Jesus…I-I didn't know. Why didn't she tell me?"
"Because-" Olivia begins, but she is interrupted by Fin.
"Is this how you wanna treat the woman you love?" Fin asks. "You really want to leave Casey alone to raise your kid by herself? She believes that you're innocent, and I'm starting to believe that myself. Quite frankly, you don't deserve her for treating her like this, Chester. So fine, if you want to spend the rest of your life in this hell hole, be my guest, I'm not going to shed any tears over it. But you think about Casey. You think about her, and the child she's carrying and you decide if this whole thing is worth more than her."
With that, the CO opens up the gate and Fin and Olivia walk out.
They get out to the front of the prison and get into her car.
"Thanks for coming with me," she says.
"No problem," Fin says, looking forward. "Ken asked about you."
She smiles. "Oh. How's he doing?"
"Fine," he says. "I know you called him, Liv."
"I didn't, I-"
"Don't lie to me," he says. "A few hours after I get home, I hear a message from Ken. He's still dealing with his own stuff. If anything, I call him. He's pretty good, acting surprised at my decision to leave the unit."
"Fin, I just want you to reconsider," she says, looking over at him.
"I've told you before to stop interfering with me and my son," he huffs.
"Look, I care about Ken because I care about you," Olivia says. "I mean, what? Are you going to leave a unit every time someone pisses you off?"
"That's not the point Liv," Fin says.
"It is the point," she says. "I've been working with Elliot for nearly ten years…and God knows I've taken more crap from him than you, Munch and Cragen combined. Yeah what he did wasn't right, but he had his reasons. At the end of the day, Elliot Stabler will always and forever be Elliot Stabler, and if you haven't gotten used to that by now then…I guess you should leave. But it's not going to change anything about him."
Fin looks straight ahead again.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Tucker sighs as he lays the case file out on the table in the evidence room. He begins to pace and he shoves his hands into his pockets. Mila and Ham are both sanding on the opposite side of the table, both of them wondering what Tucker is going to say now.
They've gathered up all of the evidence for the case, and they have just put the pieces together.
"Explain all this to me again," he says.
"Okay," Mila begins. "Detective Lake didn't kill Thomas Crane. Whoever this woman is with the size six Jimmy Choos, she's our killer."
"How do we know that?" Tucker asks.
"Because CSU found a small fiber wedged inside the gun under the barrel," she says. "And that pieces of fiber had blood on it, and so did the underside of the barrel."
"There's only one explanation for that," Ham says. "Slick back. That means that the last person to use a gun wasn't a cop because a cop knows how to handle a gun and certainly wouldn't give himself a slick back."
Tucker sighs and nods.
"So you are absolutely, completely sure that Detective Lake didn't kill Detective Thomas Crane?"
"Yes sir," Ham says. "But we don't know who the mystery woman is. There were no hits on the DNA in the system or on any database. Whoever this woman is, she's a ghost."
Tucker sighs. "Alright…I want you to present this evidence to the ADA, and then work on getting Lake released from Riker's."
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Corrections Officer Will Lohman is on his lunch break when his cell phone rings. He sighs as he puts his sub sandwich down onto his plate and he picks it up, thinking that it might be his wife complaining about one of their three kids. He flips it open without looking at the number.
"What, Noreen?" He asks.
"Will Lohman?"
"Who the hell is this?"
"Dave Foster. I'm a friend of Bill Janssen's."
Will sits back in his chair.
"What do you want?"
"I'm calling on behalf of Bill Janssen," Dave explains. "He says you owe him a favor."
"I'm listening," Will says, wiping his mouth of mayo.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Kim slams the phone onto the receiver, now furious at her soon to be ex husband. She doesn't know why she lets him upset her so, because she wants nothing more to do with him. She's already gotten over the depression, the anger, and the feeling of her life being over. She is ready to move on, but she also wants something, anything that they've acquired during their marriage. He is stubbornly and hatefully refusing to budge on anything, and it leaves her at a loss because she's had to start completely over.
She's in a new city, with new people, and living in a two story house all by herself.
It is sparsely furnished, considering the fact that her husband won't give her a dime nor any furniture from one of their two homes. He also won't send her prized cooking utensils and appliances to her for her kitchen. She hasn't cooked a meal from scratch like she likes to in months.
His unwillingness to not give her a thing, is what hurts her and infuriates her the most.
This divorce has turned them into the worst kind of enemies, and she never thought that could be possible because once, she did love him passionately.
There is a knock on the door to her office and she looks up.
Mila and Ham walk in.
"Well, aren't you two a sight for sore eyes," she says. "Can I actually see the case file this time?"
Mila tosses the case file onto Kim's desk.
"Lake is innocent," she reports. "How soon can you get him out of Riker's?"
"That depends," Kim says. "Give me time to look over the report. Are you certain that Detective Lake is innocent?"
"One hundred percent," Ham says. "The killer was a woman."
"Well, do we have another suspect?" Kim asks.
"Not at this time no," Mila says. "But we need Lake out of prison, pronto. We're thinking he might be connected to our mystery woman."
"What if he's an accomplice?" Kim asks. "I mean, we should keep him on ice in case he's protecting whoever this woman is."
"We don't think that's the case," Ham says. "You've seen the report, Lake's not the guy, so get him the hell out of Riker's."
Kim looks between the two of them.
"Alright," she sighs, picking up the phone. "I can try and have him out by tonight, if not, it'll be tomorrow morning after nine."
"Good," Mila says, then she and Ham walk out.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Chester is sitting in his cell, thinking about Casey.
She's pregnant, he thinks to himself. I can't believe she didn't tell me.
It hits him.
She was trying to tell him, but at the last second changed her mind because he wasn't listening.
He shakes his head. I was listening, but I wasn't hearing what she was trying to tell me. Casey's pregnant with our baby…God, I can't imagine what must be going through her head right now.
Chester rests his head back against the wall.
Casey being pregnant explains her moodiness, for one thing. She always has her emotions pretty much in check, but lately, she's been irritable, snippy, and sometimes, just plain mean. When he thinks back now, there are several little things that at the time, he didn't really pay much attention to, like her eating bananas. She absolutely hates bananas and anything banana flavored.
Another thing that he didn't even remember until now was how she'd almost gotten sick at the sight of jelly when he took her to Philadelphia with him. He'd never seen her react so strongly to a piece of toast slathered with berry jam, her favorite. She paled and gagged at the sight and he thought that was completely weird.
He wishes that she'd told him she is pregnant. He wonders when she found out.
His cell opens up and Frank comes in.
"I've got some good news for you," Frank says. "Well, at least as good as it's going to get for you."
"What?" Chester asks as he follows Frank out.
"You're being moved into the general pop," Frank sighs as he puts Chester in the line to chow. "The warden wants to mingle you in tonight during chow to see how you do."
"Great," Chester says flatly.
Frank takes Chester into the larger cafeteria of the prison and he gets him in the chow line with the other prisoners.
Will Lohman walks in some other prisoners from E-Block and one of the prisoners, a lifetime criminal Preston Cruz looks up from his tray at Will.
Will winks and Preston nods ever so slightly.
With just a quick shift to the right, Will gets close enough so that Preston could elbow him rather roughly.
"Son of a bitch!" Will yells, preparing to play a role he knows how to play very well.
He takes out his night stick and he puts it on Preston's neck, pretending to choke him and he takes him down and begins to hit him just right.
The thing about setting off prison fights takes just a split second decision; the timing has to be just right so that the real target is in place.
Before long, the entire cafeteria has become a battlefield with trays being broken and used as weapons, food being thrown as well as punches. In the fray, Chester gets accosted by two guys behind him in line and he begins to defend himself to the best of his ability. He feels a fist come in contact with his jaw, and then he feels a foot in his stomach. He grabs the foot of the other guy and manages to knock him off balance, then he elbows the other man attacking him in the nose.
Lohman quickly leaves Preston, who then goes somewhere else, and Lohman pretends to try and regain control of the prisoners, all the while approaching Chester.
Chester finds himself busy fighting off another guy, who he takes down rather quickly, avoiding being stabbed by broken plastic.
When there is an opening in the chaos, Will makes his move and he hits Chester in the back of his head. Chester falls to the floor and he turns round and Lohman grabs his collar and drags him up, slipping into the kitchen.
He slams Chester against the wall of the freezer then he throws him to the ground and puts his night stick onto Chester's throat and begins to apply pressure.
Chester's heart is pounding within his chest, and he is struggling against Lohman. He is lightheaded now, and he is reaching for something to be able to defend himself, but he is grabbing at nothing but air. He feels his world closing in on him.
Lohman can hear the commotion calming down a bit, and he looks at a struggling Chester.
"Shit," Lohman growls. "Die, you bastard."
Chester grunts, trying to stay alive.
He punches Lohman in his jaw, but he doesn't budge, and then Chester goes for his ribs, and that causes Lohman to weaken his hold. Chester get Lohman in his ribs again, this time harder and Lohman growls in pain and the force causes him to finally get him off Chester. He gasps for life saving air, as he slowly gets up and goes over to a table to lean against for a few seconds as Lohman gets up quickly, drawing his gun and aiming it at Chester.
He is still lightheaded, and his head is throbbing from the blow he received minutes earlier. He sees the gun being trained on him, and his mind is telling him to move, but his body is frozen. He is thinking about how determined this stranger is to kill him right here in this hell also known as Riker's, he is thinking about Casey, and how he failed her, and he is thinking about the baby she's carrying that he'll never see. He's experiencing what people commonly call 'life flashing before your eyes' and he knows that his reflexes are faster than this, but the shock of it all is paralyzing him.
Lohman focuses his vision, that after being dizzied after two sharp blows to his ribs.
He finally has a shot and he takes it.