Here's case 2! I'm finishing up the third case so it might be a few days before that one's up, but until then enjoy!

Disclaimer: Law & Order: Criminal Intent and all of its characters do not belong to me. However, Det. Val Johnson's mine.

The call came in around eleven in the afternoon. The tall, blond, nudist woman sitting at the reception desk answered it, then paged her boss, "Mr. McCloud, your son is on the phone... Something about missing his baseball game?"

She heard him sigh into the speaker, "Our land lord just got here... Fine, what line is he on Lisa?"

"Line two Sir."

In his office Mr. McCloud picked up his phone, "Mark, I'm sorry. I got caught up at work..."

His son's little ten year old voice came through the phone, "But dad, you swore that you would come to this one! I hit a home run! Mom's not too happy though, I got a grass stain on my chest..."

McCloud laughed, "Well she should be thankful that you didn't have a team uniform to get dirty. Look buddy, I've got to go for now... I love you." he hung up the phone and turned to the man that had been waiting in his office, "Ah, Sam... Still wearing clothes I see?"

The man sat down, "Still hanging out with the nudists? Chris, you could've hit the big time..."

"I don't need this lecture every time you come here Sam, I'm happy here... More free. Now I know you didn't come here to reminisce with me. What's going on?"

Sam sighed, "I have to drop all of my cases... I'm being forced to give up the deed to this building as well... Everything is gone. I'm so sorry. If there is anything I can do to help with the move, or getting your business back off the ground, let me know."

"Sam, why? Why is it gone? What did you do?" McCloud asked, trying not to sound desperate.

"The judge is tired of seeing me on trial... I lost my practice, my wife, everything... I've been sued too many times, and you know I can't give up gambling..."

McCloud stood up, "How long do I have?"

"Till the end of the week. I'm sorry." Sam left the room.

McCloud sat back down and looked around him, "Son of a bitch."

Sam walked down the hall of the building, but stopped when he heard someone calling him, "Sam! Sam you freak! What the hell is wrong with you? You can't give up one night of cards and beer for the people you know depend on you?" Sam turned around in time to see McCloud's secretary yelling at him.

That was enough to distract him while a hooded figure grabbed him from behind and forced him through the factory door. Sam tried to struggle, but was over powered. He was knocked unconscious.

When he came to, his head was over one of the heating bins with a silvery, boiling material inside. With every breath his lungs filled with the material, which immediately started cooling. He couldn't move, his arms and legs were tied up to the handles on the bins. Within minutes, his lungs were filled, and he suffocated.

Eastern Smelting Company

Wednesday, February 13

Ross called his detectives in to the crime scene around six in the morning. Goren and Eames had arrived together, leaving Johnson to arrive a few minutes later.

Ross was waiting there with a middle height blond man in his mid twenties, "Morning detectives... Johnson, this is Stephen Meirhofer, your partner." Johnson opened her mouth to argue, but Ross cut her off, "Now this is his first case with us, but he has had enough experience to get him here. The victim has been identified as a Mr. Sam Truman. He is the owner of this building this factory is located in, but he was going to lose it soon..." He lead them into the room where the body lay, "He's been sued for numerous things too many times, his wife just divorced him, and combine those two with his gambling addiction, he is in debt up to his ears. He's been dead for a few hours. Mr. McCloud, the owner of this factory, said that Mr. Sam here left his office around eight last night. He was found dead around five forty-five by the cleaning crew."

Goren automatically went to the body, gently lifting the victim's head up, "There are signs of the flesh being melted here... Hold on, there's something up his nose." Goren got some tweezers from one of the CSU team members and pulled a piece of the metallic object out, "It's aluminum." he stood up, looking around, then kneeled back down, looking at the victim's arms, "He was dragged, he's got a fresh rug burn on his arms... There is some bruising here on the upper arm. He fought back."

Eames took the file from Ross and looked it over, "Who was on this floor around the time of the murder?"

"According to McCloud, he and his secretary were the only ones on the floor after Mr. Truman left his office that is."

Johnson, who had been examining the surroundings for anything the murderer could've left behind, "What about security footage?"

Ross nodded to the CSU, "They're checking that out right now."

Goren turned to Ross, "Captain, where is the nearest door to the smelting room?"

"Uh, down the hall, first door to the right." Ross replied, looking over the floor's layout.

"Thanks." Goren left the room.

Eames, Meirhofer, and Johnson turned to follow him, but Ross stopped them, "Eames, Meirhofer, you can go. Johnson, can I talk to you?"

"Um, sure..." Johnson said as she watched the two walk out of the room.

Ross walked her out into the hallway, "Valerie, what's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"You just now told Goren about his son? It's been eleven years! I know if I had gotten a divorce before we knew my ex-wife was pregnant and then she didn't tell me about my son, I'd be furious."

Johnson looked down at the floor, "I... I didn't find out that I was pregnant until after our divorce was finalized. I wanted to tell him, I even called that son of a bitch... He never came."

Ross gave her a blank look, "The thing is you waited eleven years to tell him. Eleven years! You should have called him again!"

"I know. There isn't a day that I don't regret it. He does know who his father is..."

"Then why didn't you tell the father who his son is!?"

Johnson looked up at Ross, trying not to let her emotions escape, her words coming out even angrier than she intended, "Captain, put yourself in my shoes eleven years ago and you'll see. Now, can I get back to helping with the case now? I'd like this killer to be put to justice A-SAP."

Ross looked at her, "Don't take that tone with me detective. I can have you pulled off of this investigation. As for Goren, you are going to let him meet his son?"

"Yes, sir. I wouldn't want anything else for my son, or Bobby."

"Fine, get back to the investigation. Don't always hide your emotions detective. That just might get you into trouble one day."

Johnson bowed her head, "Yes, sir."

"Goren, what are you looking for?" Meirhofer asked as they followed Goren around the smelting room.

Goren opened one of the containers, "There has to be something that would heat up to 2467

degrees Celsius, that's the boiling point for aluminum... but still small enough to put the body in such a position that wouldn't melt the whole body, just parts of the face... That's the only way he could've gotten aluminum that far up, and coating, mind you, his nose."

Eames put her hand on his shoulder, "Lovely. Bobby, your stressed, is this about your son and what Johnson did to you? Look, she was confused and worried about how you'd react. Her heart was in the right place, but..."

Goren stopped for a moment, "Alex, I don't really want to talk about it right now, could we get back to the case?"

"Alright, but I'm there for you whenever you need me." Eames opened another container, "What's this?"

Goren put on some rubber gloves, "Looks like solid aluminum... We need to get the CSU in here to dust for prints. There's a mask on the floor over here, the workers are suppose to put them over there... Probably what the murderer used to protect himself from this..." he walked over to one of the large heating bins, "There's the boiling aluminum in here,"

Meirhofer handed Eames a mask that the workers use to cover their face to cover hers. She put it on and Goren set up the recreation of the crime, "The murderer had to of tied him up, then somehow hoisted him up so he would stay over the bin..." He picked Eames up and put her face over it like the murderer might have done, "Then once Mr. Truman was dead, he cut him down and dragged him to the lounge," Goren explained, and put Eames down.

She took off the mask, "Where he dumped the body..."

Johnson walked into the room and Goren stiffened, "We've got the security tapes from last night, but someone had moved the camera. The one for the smelting room door was pointed down the hall, and the ones between Mr. McCloud's office and the lounge were turned to the walls."

"No chance of catching them on tape then." Meirhofer said with a sigh, "Wait, what about the cameras near the entrance?"

Johnson shook her head, "The same as the ones here. What have you three found out?"

Meirhofer put the mask back onto the wall where he had found it, "We've got the possible murder weapon, we'll have to wait until Rodgers runs her autopsy to see if this killed him or not, and a mask with possible prints."

"Let's start the questioning." Eames said, trying to lighten the air. The tension in the room was thick, and Eames was caught in the middle. Meirhofer had no idea of what was going on around him.

Goren sighed, "Let's go. As much as I'd like Johnson to get to know you, Meirhofer, I need to talk to her. Could you ride with Alex?"

He looked at Eames, who shrugged, "Uh, sure."

"I want the whole truth. Why did you keep something this big from me? Didn't you stop to think that I might want to know that I'm a father?" Goren asked as Johnson shut the passenger door on his car and fastened her seat belt.

She looked at him with sadness in her green eyes, "Robert, I didn't know what to tell you. I called but... After all of the blame, I just thought that you'd say that I just got pregnant to keep you, or it wasn't worth doing anything because I'd just have another miscarriage. I didn't even notice until a month after we ended it. I was until I was chasing a suspect through the north side passed out."

Goren stared at her in disbelief, "Yeah, five months you never thought to check for the signs. You went five months without a period and you never noticed!?"

Johnson let her stress out, "You're not a woman! You don't know how easy it is to forget when your last one was when you're stressed!"

Goren just looked at her, thinking, "Five months... That was the longest you'd ever gone without a miscarriage."

"That's why I was ordered to stay in bed until after the delivery."

"So who does he look more like? You or me?"

Johnson relaxed a bit, "He's got his daddy's eyes and his stubborn personality. He is looking forward to meeting you; he's so excited."

Goren almost smiled, "He knows about me?"

Johnson nodded, "Everything. He also wants to meet his grandmother. I told him everything that you told me about her. I told him it's up to you if he can or..."

Goren cut her off, flinching, "My mother died a few years ago..."

"Oh Bobby, I'm so sorry. I didn't know..."

"No, it's okay... Let's just get to the office and start questioning."

Johnson nodded sympathetically, "All right."

Major Case Squad

Wednesday, February 13

Chris McCloud was seated at Goren's desk when the detectives showed up. Goren pulled up some chairs, "Now Mr. McCloud, you're sure that you and Lisa Fields were the only two on your floor when Mr. Truman left?"

McCloud nodded, "Yes, we sent the workers home early, it's the night before Valentine's Day and the guys would like to get presents for their girls. Everyone in this business is close enough to be family..."

Eames cut in, "You'd have to be; you're all nude."

"You become accustomed to it fast. Once you go nude you never want to put clothes on again." McCloud said smiling.

"And yet you're wearing a robe right now." Meirhofer scoffed.

McCloud shook his head, "No, you see, I'm obliged to help in this investigation. They wouldn't let me in here with no clothes on."

Ross called over Johnson and Eames. They excused themselves and joined him in his office. Ross nodded toward the door, Johnson closed it.

"Detectives, we just got some helpful information from Truman's secretary. Apparently Truman was about to be sued again, this time for reveling confidential information to an ex-spouse of a patient."

Johnson looked at the papers the secretary had brought over, "You think he could've had anything to do with the murder?"

"Right now, anything is possible. Eames, you and Johnson go over to Mr. Compton's house and get all the information you can press him for without a lawyer present. He refused to talk to any male detective we have, and I hate to do this to you, but one time or another at least one of you will have to go undercover in this colony..."

Johnson looked disgusted, "Undercover? That's hardly any cover at all!"

"I know, but it will have to be done. Some of the people that are in this colony dislike anyone who doesn't walk around in their birthday suits."

Eames was uncomfortable, "Yeah... Let's see how long that lasts."

Compton's Residence

Wednesday, February 13

"Yes, I was suing Truman. Last month my wife and I filed for divorce and I got Truman to be my psychiatrist, you know, to help me deal with the pain and such. Well, my ex went to him and got notes on everything that I said to that man, and used it against me in court. I lost custody of my children and the visits with them are so short, my daughter changes every time I see her."

Eames and Johnson sat in a small, hardly furnished apartment across from a well built, but balding man. Johnson was, as always jotting down detailed notes as Eames was questioning.

"So what did you say to make the judge award your ex with your children?" Johnson asked as she turned to another page in her small notebook.

The man shrugged, "I said a lot of stuff... Mostly just venting I suppose."

"Mr. Compton..." Eames started.

"Jon, call me Jon."

"Sorry. Jon, did you know that Mr. Truman owns a building that holds a smelting company? He must have a lot of patients to afford that. Did you ever get bumped to another time slot?"

Jon shook his head, "No, I heard that he only has three to four patients at a time... That money's probably from those big checks he gets from selling confidential information to people. Look, does this have anything to do with my lawsuit against him? Because if that rat is trying to get out of it..."

Johnson looked up from her notes, "No, Mr. Truman is dead..."

"And you think that I killed him?"

Eames shook her head, "No, we just need to get some ideas of how people felt about him, and why they might have a motive for murder. Where were you last night?"

Jon stood up, "I was with my brother. I'm sorry, but you have to leave now. If you have any more questions, direct them to my lawyer."

The door was shut behind the women. Johnson put her notebook away and pulled out her phone, "I'll call Bobby and see if he can get a list on anyone else that might have it out for this guy. Even though I don't like to jump to conclusions, Jon's on the top of my list."

Eames nodded her phone in hand as well, "That's a good idea." she opened a text from Goren, "Looks like McCloud's secretary, Lisa, won't help us... Ross was right, some of these nudists are hard core. The other three patients are nudists and are taking Lisa's lead... Ross says it's either you or me..."

Johnson snapped her phone shut due to the lack of signal, "To do what?"

"Undercover work." By now the two were in the car, Johnson in the passenger seat again. Eames pulled the car out of its parking space and out onto the road, "Goren refused..."

Johnson rolled her eyes, "Of course he would... I've got a body that I'm never going to show to again. I can't seem to get rid of these stretch marks or scar..."

Eames laughed, "Oh, and my stretch marks are totally gone?"

"What if we get a consult to get her statement for us...? Or can't we just hold her in contempt of court?"

Eames turned the wheel, "Ross said that it's a possibility, but it's easier if we just do it apparently... He said if neither of us is willing, all of us have to go."

"Great, that's the last thing I need."

Goren walked into Ross' office where Johnson and Eames were already seated as Ross stood up and motioned for him to shut the door. Goren did, and then sat between the women.

Ross looked at them, "Detectives, I am sorry, but there are so many people in this colony we have to interview and if we hold them in contempt, they won't talk. At least one of you needs to go."

Johnson shifted in her chair, then crossed her arms, "Captain, I know we need these people's statements, but I have to draw the line at a nude cover."

Goren sighed, "If this is the only way to get the statements," he shifted his chair, "I'll do it."

Ross nodded, "You deserve a raise. I'll get you three a hotel room in the colony..."

"Excuse me, captain... You said three..." Eames said, worried.

Ross nodded, "Yes detective, all three of you need to go. I'm sorry. And Johnson, your partner, because he is a rookie, can't go undercover here just yet... After you come back from the colony, he'll be here. I'll make sure he's up to par."

"Right, we three have to do the dirty work while he sits on his butt. Some partner I have..." Johnson spat sarcastically to Eames and Goren as they left the room, "I'll go get the autopsy results from Rodgers tomorrow; she said she'd have it done by lunch..."

Eames nodded, "I'll start looking for the address of the other three patients. Might as well be ready when we are dumped stark naked in the middle of a colony. Thank god I shaved above my knees this morning..."

"Jon, they are coming for me... What do we do?" Lisa asked as she pulled the covers up around her neck.

Jon kissed her on her cheek, "Don't worry... As long as they can't put us together we won't get caught. As far as they know, you are a hard core nudist, and I never mix with nudists."

Lisa returned the kiss, "You put everything into perspective!"

"Just stick to the plan and we'll be fine. This will be the easiest crime that we've ever pulled off."

Office of

Medical Examiner

Thursday, February 14

"I'm sorry to bother you, but have you gotten to Mr. Truman's autopsy yet?" Johnson asked Rodgers who had just started her lunch break.

Rodgers sighed, then set her sandwich on one of the exam tables, "Don't say it detective... All of you are the same; you come in asking for the autopsy, and then make some remark about my food being too close to the bodies. At least you were polite..."

Johnson looked a bit confused, but shook it off, "I know you're on your lunch break, but Ross wants us in the colony a-sap."

Rodgers picked up Truman's file then handed it to Johnson, "Died of suffocation. Inhalation through the nose and mouth lining the throat and lungs. There was enough aluminum in them to make at the least five aluminum cans."

"Jeez. Anything on his arms other than the rug burns?"

Rodgers uncovered the body and picked up his arm, "There are bruises running from the shoulder to the elbow and definite indentions from the ropes that held them up on his wrists. I found some tissue under his nails. I'm running the DNA through the system now."

"So Robert was right, he was held up by his arms." Johnson said, looking closer at the wounds.

Rodgers narrowed her eyes at her, "Robert? The only time I hear Goren called that is when someone is pissed at him."

Johnson looked up, "It's a little weird to call my ex by my old last name... When you get a match on the DNA, call us."

Rodgers smiled, "Good luck with the colony."

"Thanks..."

"Rodgers found skin under Truman's nails. She's running the DNA through the data base right now... Any luck with the prints on the mask?"

Goren picked up the notes from the lab and looked over them, "There were no prints visible on it, but they did pick up a blonde hair."

Meirhofer sat down on a desk, "Isn't the secretary a blonde?"

Ross nodded, "Yes, but so are half of their workers'... Both male and female."

"Can we get a list of workers who might hold a grudge?" Johnson asked, taking the notes from Goren.

"I can put in a request, but Truman didn't reveal that he lost the building until the night that he was murdered. I need you three in the colony tonight. Your hotel room is booked for two nights. You will start with Mr. Clark Gosford. He's willing to talk to you at the hotel. He and Lisa are the only two that know you for being cops. For the others you need to stay undercover and get all of the information you can."

Goren nodded, "Fine... You said room; as in singular..."

"Detective, we don't have much time to run this case. I have to have this in court by Monday; there wasn't enough time to get more than one room."

Johnson stood up, "I'll take the roll-away. It'll be like when I was in Germany."

Eames glanced at Goren, "They made you sleep on cots?"

"Nope, just the ones who aggravated the captains got the cots, the rest of us got the nicer beds." he answered, smiling.

Eames and Ross both stared at Johnson who shrugged, "Hey, one of the officers in our force had her eye on Robert... I had my eye on him as well, she got pissed and tried to break me because I was the only one she could get her hands on. Bobby might've tried to impress that girl by reading the Qur'an, but I still won. Simple as that."

"I think I have a slightly different perspective for you now..." Ross laughed.

Eames stood up, adjusting the gun on her hip, "So can we carry bags around for our guns and badges, or is that not normal?"

"You can be the judge of that."

Mickey's Hotel

Thursday, February 14

Eames, Goren, and Johnson all entered the hotel a little pervious, as expected. As promised, there was a room for the three of them where they immediately became even more uncomfortable. Goren sat on one of the beds, "Look at the lengths we go to stop a murderer."

Johnson sighed in agreement. Eames joined Goren on the bed, "So when do we meet this Mr. Gosford? And do we have to go naked?"

Johnson tried an optimistic route, "I guess it can't be worse than the prostitution cover I had for a month."

Goren looked horrified, "Having sex? You posed as a prostitute while our son was growing up!?"

"No, not having sex. And Gosford is expecting us in forty-five minutes. Unfortunately, we have to be nude. He wants to keep his social status..." Johnson's cell went off, "Hello?" she put the phone on the loud speaker, "Yeah, we're all here Captain."

Ross' voice rang through the room, "Detectives, I've just word that Mr. Jacobs is in the bar at your hotel. Strip down and start questioning."

The phone on the other end was hung up and the three stared at each other. Eames stood up and walked to the bathroom, Johnson and Goren just stared at each other, "Well... This couldn't get any more awkward."

Eames walked out of the bathroom in a robe, "Let's get this over with, and try not to make eye contact for at least a month."

Johnson and Goren both agreed, then Johnson hit the bathroom. Eames sighed, "Oh Bobby, what have we gotten ourselves into?"

"I don't know Alex, I don't know."

The detectives spotted Mr. Jacobs at once. They pushed off their discomfort and Goren led them over to the bar. Eames and Johnson sat to his right, and Goren sat down to his left, setting his leather folder down in front of him. Jacobs looked flustered, tired, and drunk. Goren started to talk to him, "Hey, I'm Bobby. Are you alright?"

The man looked up, "I'm alone, in a bar, on Valentine's Day, how do you think I am?"

Goren slapped Jacobs on the back, "Let me buy you a drink."

"Thanks, I guess."

"Say, would you happen to know of a good therapist in town?" Goren asked, waving the bar tender over, "Two beers please."

Jacobs was unresponsive for a while, "The bastard doesn't help with anything. I paid for him to help me get through the divorce; I swear he leaked information to my ex-wife."

Goren acted disappointed, "That's the last thing I need, my wife is leaving and I'd like to keep my kids, but I have a tendency to lash out..."

"As do I, but that was only half of it..."

"How so?"

"I don't think I want to discuss that right now. Thanks for the drink." with that, he got up and left, his beer untouched.

Eames and Johnson pulled their chairs closer, "So Jacobs had a problem with him as well? My best bet is the other two don't like him either."

The bar tender walked up to the detectives, "Can I help you two now?"

They had about thirty-five minuets to kill, so Eames ordered the usual vodka martini, double, easy on the vermouth, Goren already had his beer, and Johnson just stuck with water. The bar tender gave her a dirty look as he handed it to her. She rolled her eyes as he walked away, "It was easier when we had badges on us."

"It would probably be easier if you just ordered a drink that he can be paid for." Goren said sitting back in his chair, then realized what he was doing, then sat back forward.

Johnson took a sip of her water, "Yeah, like I'm going to let my guard down while I'm naked. Are you two ready to go? I think those guys are looking Bobby up..."

Goren glared, "Funny."

Hotel Room 203

Thursday, February 14

"Mr. Gosford, thank you so much for agreeing to do this." Johnson said as she sat down on the bed in the room. Clark was kind enough to see the detectives discomfort and, after they were in the room, he handed them robes.

Goren, after everyone was as comfortable as they could get, started asking questions, "If you are so afraid of your status in this community being destroyed because of talking to us while we are fully clothed, why did you go to see a fully clothed therapist?"

Clark sighed heavily, "I was ordered to see him. No one knew about him but the judge and my ex. Thankfully, my ex doesn't hate me enough to spill to the community."

"What was Truman like during the sessions?" Johnson asked as she borrowed a pad of paper from the desk.

"He listened, but it was hard to get him to answer a question..."

Eames looked out the big window, "Did he ever give examples of what his life was like to help you get through your pain?"

"No, he just listened."

Goren pointed to a picture of two children on the night stand, "These are your kids?"

"Yes, I'm proud of the both of them."

Goren stood up and started pacing, "Could you think of any reason why anyone would want to kill Mr. Truman?"

Clark shook his head, "I've heard that he was a leak... Everything a patient had said confidentially would be given to his ex to use against him in court."

Johnson wrote one last note down, "One last question and we are done for now. Where were you on the twelfth around eleven pm?"

"I was here working on my speech for my company."

Eames sighed, "And I suppose that no one can vouch for you?"

"Like I said, I was alone."

Eames and Johnson entered their hotel room and threw on their pajamas. Goren had gone down to the hotel front desk to check the key records. Johnson crashed on her cot, "Well, it looks like anyone that knew this guy had it out for him."

"Well, we still have to see Lisa tomorrow... Let's see what her perspective is."

Johnson flipped through TV stations like there was no tomorrow, "I still don't know what Ross is trying to do... Hiring a rookie for a huge case like this and not even let him go under cover..."

"I said that about Goren the first time I met him... Now see how well we get along?" Eames asked taking the controller that Johnson was handing her.

"It's just; I really don't see this ending well for either of us. I read his file last night and I've trained people like him... Is that Ross' whole point, for me to train another one?"

Eames shrugged, "Ross is different from any captain I've ever had... You just have some major things on your plate right now, Goren for example. How is that going anyway?"

Johnson sighed heavily, "Really slow... I thought I'd bring Bobby by after we get out of this place."

"Did you ever think about telling him how you really feel?"

Johnson scoffed, "Who Robert? Yeah, and have him laugh in my face? I think not."

Eames rolled her eyes, "Look, I can get a hotel room for tonight and let you two sort this out if you need me to. It's Valentine's Day... Perfect night for reconciliation."

"No, you are not leaving me to reveal something like that!"

Goren entered the room with a few papers loose from his binder, "Gosford's alibi checked out. He entered his room at seven and his door wasn't opened again until six the next morning."

Eames took the papers, "Looks like we hit a dead end."

"Not necessarily, turns out the man at the reception desk knows Truman's last patient. The receptionist didn't know about the murder, but gave his buddy an alibi. There are pictures from a photo booth around the time of the killing. He's going to have him come in tomorrow after we're done with Lisa. He just might have some ideas."

Johnson grabbed her phone, "Great, I'll call Meirhofer. Hopefully I can start to train him like Ross wants."

As she filled Meirhofer in on what they had found out and Goren had gotten clothes back on, Eames started to go over the security footage from the company again using the VCR they had borrowed. "Look at this..." Eames said as she paused the film and pointed to the time code, "Lisa Fields had to have seen the person that turned the camera... It was turned as she was sitting at her desk."

"I can't wait to hear her explanation for this..." Goren said as he sat down on his bed, binder laying open in front of him.

Interrogation Room

Major Case

Friday, February 15

"Lisa, I just need to know what happened on Wednesday after Truman left the office."

Lisa looked at Goren, "I didn't see anything at all. After he left, I went into Mr. McCloud's office to work on some papers."

Eames cut in, "Did you see anyone in the hallway? The last tapes that actually showed the hallway were time-coded around ten thirty."

"No, I didn't see anyone. I was on my coffee break then."

Goren stood up from his chair, "Well, the footage we have says otherwise."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

Eames motioned toward the mirror to bring in the TV, "I guess it's a good thing that we can refresh your memory then."

Johnson pushed the cart into the room and cued up the tape. Fields watched in horror as the tape did show her at her desk when she claimed to be gone, "I swear I didn't do anything..."

"Just like you swore you weren't there. What happened Lisa?" Goren asked, getting in her face.

Lisa glared, "I want a lawyer."

The detectives left her in the room, going into the observation room where Meirhofer and Ross were waiting. Meirhofer stepped forward, "I've been interviewing the family members of the four patients that Truman had... Did you ever get a statement from Jon Compton about where he was the night of the murder?"

Eames looked over their findings, "Um, he claimed to be with his brother."

Meirhofer looked at the papers and smiled, "What brother?"

Ross looked through the glass at Lisa, "Get him in here."

"Mr. Compton, I need you to come with us. We left too many loose ends from the last time we talked!" Johnson called through the front door. Meirhofer, Goren, and Eames were waiting out of sight of the window. There was no response from the inside of the building, so Johnson joined them to get their plan into action. Meirhofer was quiet, ready for anything. Johnson however was giving last minute pointers to him, "Stay out of range, it's more than likely he has a gun."

Meirhofer nodded, "Alright."

Johnson stood up, "I'm going in... I need all of you to cover me," she turned back to Meirhofer, "but don't let him know you or the others are here. No matter what happens, stay quiet. Things here at MC are a lot different than what you are used to, trust me."

A team of cops had just arrived, surrounding the house. Johnson walked up to the door, "Compton, I'm still here... Can I talk to you?"

The door opened a crack; She pushed it open a bit further and stepped inside. Thankfully, Compton wasn't in this room anymore or he would've seen her letting Eames, Goren, and Meirhofer slip inside behind her. She followed the hall into a dining room where Jon sat, a gun to his head. Upon seeing her, he turned the gun on her, "What do you want?"

"I need to know what happened the night of the murder. What made you do this?"

He cocked the loaded gun, "Have you ever found who you thought to be 'the one', then gotten a divorce from them?"

"Yes, I have... But..."

Jon fired the gun at the wall behind her, plaster showering her back, "THEN YOU ARE NO DIFFERENT FROM MY WIFE!"

Johnson shook her head, her voice wavering a bit , "What happened the night of the murder?"

Cocking the gun again, Jon smiled a crazy smile, "That bastard ruined my life... Oh, I got him back. Lisa and I would've never met if it wasn't for our hatred of him..."

Johnson could see Goren, Eames, and Meirhofer in the door way behind Jon, telling her to keep interrogating, "Jon, you know Lisa? When did you two meet?"

Jon lowered his gun a bit so it was no longer pointed at her head, but her arm, "The night before we killed him."

"Did you adjust the cameras?"

Jon grinned, "Yep, and I hung that ass on the bin, that was all me. Lisa just distracted him."

"Jon, can you put the gun down? We can get you some help..."

Jon stood up so fast, his chair was knocked over, "I DON'T NEED NO STINKING HELP!!!" he roared. The next few minutes went by in a flash, Johnson reached calmly toward him to get the gun, but was shot in the left arm in the process. A colorful array of German swear words filled the air as Johnson fell back, grabbing at the wound.

Meirhofer saw this and panicked, "SOME BODY CALL A...Oof!" Goren threw his hand over his mouth to stop him from doing anymore damage, but it was too late, Meirhofer was shot in the stomach by Jon, who immediately turned back to Johnson,

"You broke my heart and took my world you bitch!" He made to pull the trigger again, but Eames blind-sided him and Goren grabbed the gun.

Eames stood him up, slapping cuffs on his wrists, "You're under arrest." She passed him off to a nearby SWAT member, "How much you wanna bet he makes for an insanity plea?"

Goren shook his head as paramedics carried Meirhofer out on a stretcher, "He was just a rookie..."

Johnson walked over to them, her arm blood soaked, with an EMT following her, trying to soak it all up, "I'm so getting fired after this. He was my responsibility..."

The EMT looked up at Johnson's face, "Ma'am, I need you to come with me. This bullet needs to come out."

Goren and Eames watched as she left with him, "Bobby, promise me you won't end up like Jon."

"I'm more together than he is." Goren replied, unloading his gun.

"They have Jon doing twenty-five to life in an institution where he can get the help he needs." Ross said, taking a seat at his desk.

"And Lisa is doing the same at a maximum security prison up in the Bronx. Turns out, it was her skin under Truman's nails." Eames said, taking a chair next to Mr. McCloud.

He smiled, "I can't thank you detectives enough... Even though that man could be a total ass, he was still a close friend."

Goren watched as he stood up to leave, "So what are you doing with your business now that your building is gone?"

"You didn't hear? We got a new lease on the place... I'm still in business!"

The three smiled at him as he left. Goren turned to Ross, "Captain, what are you going to do with Johnson?"

"I talked to Meirhofer this morning after his anesthesia wore off. He told me everything. I still have to stick her on probation, but she's still staying."

Eames nodded, standing up and walking to the door, "Bobby, I think there is someone here to see you."

Goren stood and looked out the window, Johnson was standing out by Goren's desk with a handsome eleven year old boy, who truly did have his father's eyes. He immediately left Ross' office and went to them. The boy threw his arms around his father for the first time, a huge grin on his face.

Eames walked up to Johnson, "I thought you weren't suppose to drive?" she teased, pointing to the sling on her left arm.

"I took a cab."

Eames noticed a small tear on Johnson's cheek as she watched the young boy talk excitedly, "You did the right thing. I'm glad Bobby is connecting with his son. This can be a good family picture, just talk to him."

She nodded sadly, "I know I should, but for now, I'd just like to be the one cut off by the frame."