Chapter 24
Five hours later, Fin and Munch were walking into SVU. They were heading to see Cragen but Fin stopped Munch when he saw Jamie at her desk. "Hey, hold on a minute. I wanna see Jamie before we see Cragen."
Munch nodded. "Sure thing, man. It'll give me time to find Nicole."
They walked into the bullpen. Jamie smiled when she saw Fin. She stood up and walked over to him. "I'm so glad you're back."
Fin smiled at her. "Can we go somewhere and talk?" he asked.
"Yeah, sure." They found an empty conference room and shut the door. "Is everything okay?"
"Jamie, I need to know, are you really pregnant? Because I don't wanna get attached to this baby and then find out that the test was false."
Jamie moved closer to Fin and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm really pregnant, Fin. My doctor performed an ultrasound and I saw for myself. There's really a baby in there." she said and moved Fin's hand to her stomach. "Our baby."
Fin smiled at her and then leaned in and kissed her. "I love you, Jamie."
"I love you, too, Fin. But we're gonna have to keep this on the DL because if the 'Rat' squad gets wind of it, one of us will have to transfer."
"Won't happen. But who does know about it?"
"Well, me and you, Nicole and I assume you told John?"
Fin nodded. "Yeah."
"Well, maybe we should keep this between the four of us for now. I mean better safe than sorry."
"Agreed. But I have to go see Cragen about this case. I'll see you later, okay?"
"You bet you will." Jamie smiled and then kissed him again.
/Chung Chung/
Munch found Nicole coming out of the locker room. "Hey, guess who's back." Munch said smiling.
Nicole smiled when she saw him. "Hey, when did you get back?" she asked hugging him.
"Just now, actually. Fin and I need to see Cragen but he wanted to talk to Jamie first."
"Did she call him up there?"
"Yeah. So, I take it you know about her being pregnant."
"Yeah."
Munch smirked. "I asked Fin who the daddy was."
Nicole playfully smacked Munch on the arm. "John! You're lucky he didn't punch you."
Before Munch could reply he saw Fin heading toward them. "Okay, here comes Fin, I'll see you later, okay?"
"Yes you will." Nicole smiled and hugged him again. Then she watched Munch walk into the bullpen with Fin.
/Chung Chung/
Fin and Munch were in Cragen's office filling him in. "It's all written in a pseudo military code." Munch said.
"He calls his accomplice 'the worm' and refers to himself as 'the eagle'." Fin added."It lists targets and ops dating back three years." Munch said handing the journal to Cragen.
"I assume the targets are the victims." Cragen said flipping through the journal.
"And the ops..." Fin said.
"They're torture and execution."
"He's killed entire families for their credit cards and ID." Munch stated.
"Even killed one guy for his cabin. A plumber from Brooklyn named Ernest Dillman." Fin added.
"And now that the operation's gone south he's come home to scoop up his accomplice and hit the road." Munch said.
"Any idea who this accomplice is?" Cragen asked handing the journal to Fin.
"We figure he's an Army buddy since they communicate using this military jargon." Fin replied.
"Kern was stationed at Fort Dix, according to his discharge papers, I know somebody at the 1-5 close to the C.O. Let me see if I can hook you up." Cragen said.
/Chung Chung/
At Fort Dix, Fin and Munch were talking to the C.O., Colonel Joseph Ramsey. "It's an elite group. Trained for specialized tactical operations." Ramsey said.
"Kern's outfit?" Munch asked.
"Mine. From the Gulf War. The closest Kern ever got to an operation of any significance was running to the cellar for a batch of potatoes."
"He was a cook?" Fin asked.
"He was trained as a weapons specialist but he spent so much time on KP we reassigned him to the kitchen on a permanent basis." the second in command, Major David Pierce stated.
"How'd he take to that?" Munch asked.
"He didn't. Kern had a problem with authority, which is why he had a problem with the Army."
"Why'd he sign up?" Fin asked.
"He suffered under the delusion we enjoyed killing things." Ramsey replied. "That attitude eventually earned him his discharge."
"Can you be a little more specific?" Munch asked.
"We had this squirrel, used to hang out behind the mess. Cooks would feed him table scraps, nuts. One day the dinner shift arrived to find Kern dumping strange meat into the stew pot. When they asked what the hell he was doing, he pointed out the window to a squirrel hide, laid out to dry in the bushes. Said he needed a new hat." Pierce told them. "One of the cooks jumped him, Kern threatened him with a butcher knife."
"He wound up in the brig where he under went psych testing." Ramsey added. "He was diagnosed with anti-social personality disorder and pronounced unfit for duty."
"So you kicked him out of the Army and unleashed him on the rest of us." Munch said.
"He did his time, we didn't have anything to hold him on."
"Did he have any friends? Anyone he hung with?" Fin asked.
"He pretty much stayed to himself. Except for a guy who made dried goods deliveries to the mess, they seemed to be on the same wave length." Pierce answered.
"Can we talk to this guy?" Munch asked.
"He doesn't deliver here anymore but I can give you the name of the company. Some outfit out of Brooklyn."
/Chung Chung/
They made their way to Magoo's Vending Company in Brooklyn and were talking to the manager, Roger Barton. "Oh, that's Marvin." Barton said.
"Marvin who?" Fin asked.
"Marvin Posey. He's one of my best guys. He's been with the company eight years. He took the job the same day Clinton took office."
"If you ever fire the guy, you better nail down the furniture." Munch remarked.
"Where can we find Marvin?" Fin asked.
"Well, he ain't working today. He's on National Guard maneuvers."
"Marvin's a weekend warrior?" Munch asked.
"Anybody notice today's Thursday?" Fin pointed out.
"Sometimes the maneuvers go all week. I don't mind. At least he's doing his patriotic duty. It's more than I can say for half the lazy slackers around here. Excuse me." Barton walked past Fin and Munch and up a guy standing around behind his delivery truck. "Hey, numbnuts! You gonna smoke that whole pack or do you think you might make your run sometime today?"
"How often does Marvin go on these maneuvers?" Munch asked.
"Once a month. Sometimes less, sometimes more."
"When did he leave this time?" Fin asked.
"Couple of days ago. I expect him back Monday if you want to talk to him."
"No, we need to see him before that. Do you have a home address?" Fin asked.
"Sure but he ain't there. He's out in the wilderness somewhere practicing survival skills."
"We're gonna need his address for our files." Munch said.
"He's not in trouble, is he?"
/Chung Chung/
Fin, Munch and the NYPD SWAT team surrounded Marvin's house. Fin and Munch posted themselves on each side of the door. Once everyone was in position, Munch nodded to Fin, who banged on the door. "Marvin Posey, NYPD, open up. We want to talk to you." Fin called out. No one was coming to the door so Fin banged again. "Come on, Marvin!"
Suddenly they heard the lock click open. Fin backed away from the side of the door and pointed his gun. As the door opened they stood there confused. It was answered by an old woman. "Hello, uh, Marvin's not here." she said looking around at all the cops.
"Where is he?" Fin asked.
"He left this morning. Are you friends of his?" she asked.
/Chung Chung/
Jamie walked into the station carrying coffee from Krispy Kreme. She walked into the bullpen and up behind Nicole, who was at her desk. She placed a coffee down in front of her partner. Nicole looked up. "Hey, thanks."
"No problem." Jamie replied.
"Hey, I talked to John. He said you called Fin while they were up North."
Jamie nodded. "I wasn't going to tell him over the phone but he sounded so worried I had no choice."
"How did he take it?"
"Pretty well, actually. I saw him when he got back and now I feel much better about everything."
"I'm glad. But I'm a lot happier that John made it back in one piece."
"Why?" Jamie asked and sat down at her desk.
"Well, when Fin told him about the pregnancy, John asked him who the daddy was."
Jamie almost spit her coffee across the bullpen. "He didn't?"
"Yeah, he did. I told him he was lucky that Fin didn't punch him."
Jamie started to laugh. "Yeah. But then it doesn't really surprise me that John asked that."
/Chung Chung/
Fin and Munch were now inside Marvin's house talking with his Aunt Mary. Munch was looking at a picture while Mary was making tea. "I hope you like Orange Pekoe, Marvin was going to pick up some Earl Gray from the store but he got called away." Mary said carrying a tray over to the table.
"Let me help you with that." Munch said, took the tray, placed it on the table and then sat down across from Mary.
"Friends stop by so seldom. I know he'll be disappointed he missed you." Mary said.
"You Marvin's mother?" Fin asked. He was now sitting beside Munch at the table.
"No, I'm his Aunt Mary." she said and started to pour the tea. "His mother died when he was just a child."
"I'm sorry." Munch said.
"His father beat his mother to death with an iron. He didn't like the way she did his shirts. Milk with your tea?" Mary asked.
"Um, no thank you." Munch said and took the cup from her.
"It's so hard on a child to lose a parent. That's why I was detemined to give Marvin all the love I could. Raised him like my own. Wasn't easy but we got through. He's always been a loving boy."
"Uh, Ms...?" Munch asked.
"Oh, call me Aunt Mary."
"Aunt Mary, it's very important we get in touch with Marvin." Munch said. "Do you know where he might be?"
"It's a secret. He's with the Green Berets." she said and pointed to a book on the table. "That's his scrapbook right there."
Fin looked at it and pointed. "You mind?" he asked.
"No, please." Mary replied and Fin started flipping through the pages. "Even when he hurt his leg on the last mission he just turned around and volunteered again."
"How can we get in touch with him?" Munch asked.
"He usually takes his cell phone in case of an emergency." Just then Fin held up the scrapbook for Munch to see the pictures on the page. "That's Marvin with his friend Darryl." Mary said pointing to the picture. "Do you know Darryl too?"
"You could say that." Fin replied. The picture was of Darryl Kern and Marvin Posey, aka the good samaritan Marty Potter.
Five minutes later, they walked out of Mary's house and down the front steps. "Damn! We had him. Right in our own house." Munch stated angrily.
"He wasn't trying to stop the 4x4, he was trying to get in." Fin said.
"How can we be so stupid?" Munch asked.
"We weren't the only ones, even Aunt Mary thinks he's a hero." Fin replied as his cell phone rang.
"Yeah, well, Aunt Mary's a few tea bags shy of a full pot."
Fin answered his phone. "Fin." he said and walked down the sidewalk a little.
Munch walked over to the car and opened the backdoor. Then he slammed it shut again. "Dammit! I should have seen it the minute he picked Peters out of the lineup. Get an APB out on Marvin and his Aunt Mary's Chrysler New Yorker."
Fin held up his hand. "Yeah, got it." he said into the phone and then walked back over to Munch. "State Police found Kern's Pathfinder at a shopping center outside of Walden Falls. They said a bald, clean shaven man got out of it and carjacked a mother and her kid in a blue Taurus."
"When?" Munch asked.
"This morning."
"What direction were they headed?"
"North."
"Canada. Damn!"
/Chung Chung/
Fin and Munch went back to SVU and filled in Cragen and Nicole. "Marty Potter is Marvin Posey." Cragen said holding a cup of coffee.
"No wonder Kern knew we were on his tail, his accomplice had the inside scoop." Munch stated.
"Well, the question is: Where is he now?" Nicole asked.
"State Police said Kern was alone when he jacked that Taurus." Fin said walking to his desk.
"New look, car, traveling companion, it's easy to slip through the perimeter." Nicole stated.
"Maybe even cross the border." Munch added.
"If he has, those hostages don't have much shelf life." Fin said.
Just then Jamie walked into the bullpen. "Got the LUDs on Marvin's cell phone." Jamie said and handed the sheets to Fin and then walked around the desk and handed a copy to Munch. "He received a call from Annie Tassler's cell the morning after the abduction."
"Kern." Fin said.
"And they've been exchanging calls at regular intervals ever since." Jamie stated.
"Marvin didn't leave until this morning. If they're meeting up on the road we could trace them through cell sites." Munch said.
"Call the service provider, get a trap on both numbers." Cragen ordered.
/Chung Chung/
Fin and Munch were with the service provider trying to get an approximate location on Kern. "The two blips represent calls exchanged between two cell phones over the past two days." the tech said pointing to screen, which showed a map of New York. "Now I've connected the blips of each phone to demonstrate how the signals been past from one cell site to the next, which basically represents their respective travel routes."
"Looks like Marvin's hauling ass." Fin said.
"Yeah and Kern's been hunkering down." Munch added.
"Cell phones converge in a cell site outside Fisher's Landing." the tech said.
"Just this side of the Canadian border." Fin observed.
Munch picked up the phone and dialed. "Give me the State Police." he said into the phone. Then he turned to Fin. "Pack the dramamine, we're heading north."
Fin sighed. "Jamie's not gonna like this."
"Yeah, neither is Nicole." Munch added.
/Chung Chung/
They were once again upstate and they met up with Gus Stone from the ATF. They got out of the squad car they arrived in and walked over to Stone. "We spotted a blue Taurus and Chrysler New Yorker in the driveway of a farmhouse about a half mile down the road." Stone reported to them.
"Anybody see the mother and kid?" Munch asked.
"No, we expect they're hold up inside the house." Stone replied. "There's a stand of trees lining the road, can't see us until we're in the driveway. Might be able to surprise him."
"It's your show." Fin said.
"All right, let's move out." Stone said.
/Chung Chung/
Everyone arrived at the farmhouse, piled out of the vehicles and took their positions around the house. Fin and Munch checked the Taurus, which turned out to be empty.
Stone and his team made their way onto the porch and when Stone gave the go ahead, an officer booted down the door.
Munch noticed a barn and approached it slowly. He braced himself against one of the doors and nodded to Fin. Then he slowly and carefully opened the other barn door. When he and Fin made their way in they stopped dead in their tracks.
"God!" Fin said.
They were looking at Marvin Posey, hanging from the rafters. He had both cell phones duct taped to his chest and he had been gutted.
Munch started flipping out and kicking the trash cans. "You son of a bitch! Son of a...!"
"John!" Fin said.
"He played us like fools!" Munch stated angrily.
"He still needs the mother and kid." Fin reminded him.
"But for how long?" Munch asked as Fin's cell phone rang.
Fin took his phone out of his jacket and answered it. "Fin." he said and walked away from Munch.
"We've got an APB out on the farmer's pickup. Customs and Canadians are on alert." Stone said. "We'll get him."
"How many more die before we do!" Munch asked.
"He's running out of steam."
"So am I."
"Guess what?" Fin asked walking back over to them. "That was Cragen. Canadians just arrested Kern for shoplifting outside an autoparts store in Mallory Town just across the border."
"Shoplifting?" Munch asked.
"The farmer's truck had a bad alternator."
"What about...?"
"Mom and kid are fine. They found them tied up in the back of the truck. Provincial Police are holding Kern until we get there on Cragen's request." Fin said. Munch sighed and Fin placed a comforting hand on his partner's shoulder.
/Chung Chung/
Fin and Munch made the trip to Canada and found Casey at the courthouse when they arrived. "Where is he?" Munch asked as they approached her.
"In a holding cell." Casey said standing up.
"What are you doing here?" Fin asked.
"Serving the extradition warrant. Which Kern's fighting, naturally." Casey replied.
"On what grounds? Serial rape and murder make book over shoplifting, don't they?" Munch asked.
"We still have to make our argument in Canadian courts."
"How are the hostages?" Fin asked.
"Aside from mild exposure, they're fine. At least physically."
"I'd like to talk to them." Munch said.
/Chung Chung/
Amy Michaelson was waiting in a conference room when she heard the door open. "Mrs. Michaelson? I'm Detective Munch of the NYPD. This is Detective Tutuola and Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak."
"How long will this take? I wanna be in the hospital when my daughter wakes up." Amy said.
"Just a few questions." Munch said walking toward her.
"I already told the police everything I know."
"Well, the Canadians have their own charges they want to investigate. We need to ask you about the time you spent with Kern before you crossed the border. Did he have a weapon when he abducted you and your daughter?"
Amy nodded. "A knife. He pressed it against my ribs and told me to move over."
"Where was your daughter?"
"In the backseat. He threatened to kill her."
"What happened when you got to the farmhouse?"
Amy sighed. "He held the knife to my back and he lead me to the front door. An old woman answered and he asked her for directions. When she turned her back... he... cut her throat."
"What about her husband?" Casey asked.
"He came running from the kitchen, before he could say a word Kern cut his throat too."
"Was his buddy there?" Fin asked.
"No, he came later. Kern said he had something to show him in the barn. I heard the most horrific screams, Kern came out covered in blood, he went into the house, changed his clothes and made us get into the farmer's pickup. Like nothing had ever happened. He said we were going to Canada and, uh..." Amy stopped and started to cry.
"Please, tell me." Munch said softly.
"He said he was going to kill me and Jenny just like the rest of them. He said the police were so stupid that they'd never find us."
/Chung Chung/
Fin, Munch and Casey left the room and stopped just outside the door. "Marvin was alive when Kern gutted him." Fin said.
"He might be laying the ground work for an insanity plea." Casey stated.
"He'll never admit to insanity." Munch said.
"We've got the journal and we're cross matching DNA samples from the bunker. But a confession would really strengthen our argument at the extradition hearing."
"Tell Provincials I want to be alone with him." Munch said.
/Chung Chung/
Munch walked into the interrogation room and found Kern sitting at the table in an orange jumpsuit. Kern just stared straight ahead. "Shoplifting. Kind of an undignified end to such an ambitious operation." Munch said and walked behind Kern. "Still it was masterful. You had us stumped for over a year, Darryl. Your operations manual reads like a textbook in tactics and resource management. I've offered it to the curriculum comittee at the academy. I think the next generation of cops will learn a lot from you. But these academics, they just wanna focus on your mistakes."
"What mistakes?" Kern asked still not looking at Munch.
"Sara Kimmel for example."
"Who?"
"The woman who escaped from the warehouse. Your first mistake."
"Oh, that was Marvin's fault. I had to leave to go to work. Marvin swore he'd be there in no more than five minutes. Half hour later I get a panic call, saying that the target had disappeared. I should have eliminated him then."
"Why didn't you?"
"He served a purpose. He hooked me up with Ernie."
"The guy who owns the cabin?"
"He was a friend of Marvin's. He used to yak that it was his perfect refuge from a loop of hords. Had him take me up there during hunting season, that's when I got the idea."
"He never saw it coming did he?"
"He was taking a leak in the bushes. I just walked up behind him, drew the blade across his throat, one clean slice."
"And Shangri La was yours. So, Ernie was just means to an end?"
"The trick was using the ID's and credit cards in different places that no one could trace them."
"Same story with the Cokely's?"
"Met him in a bar in Walden Falls, said he was passing through from Syracuse. Only problem was, he had his wife with him."
"So she had to go too?"
"Not right away. But after a few days."
"Why the bunker?"
"Didn't like to eat where I... worked." Kern smiled. "And it was more secure."
"How many?" Kern didn't answer. "We found eighteen of them."
"Oh, there's more."
"How many?" Munch asked again.
"That would be telling."
Munch got pissed and pushed the chair he was leaning on out of the way. "You pathetic piece of shit!" Munch yelled.
"Come on, Detective, you should be used to this by now. I've been one step ahead of you since you stormed the warehouse. Everytime I grabbed another target I thought about you. And when they were screaming for mercy, I had a little laugh at your expense. Like I'm having a little laugh right now because you think you've won."
"I'm gonna have my own little laugh when I watch them stick the needle in your arm." Munch said leaning forward.
"Canada won't extradite on Capital offenses unless you wave the death penalty. Or maybe they didn't teach you that at the academy."
/Chung Chung/
Munch stormed out of the room and found Casey in the hallway. "He said they won't extradite on Capital offenses?" Munch asked pissed right off.
"Canadian Supreme Court tightened their restrictions last year." Casey replied.
"So, he can flip us off from Canadian prison."
"Well, he can make the argument. It doesn't mean he'll win."
"He saves his neck, he wins."
"Look, I did not come all the way up here to go home empty handed. John, you did your job, now let me do mine."
/Chung Chung/
Casey was in front of the Superior Court Judge trying to get Kern extradited back to the United States. She was up against an attorney named Patrick Picard. "The Supreme Court was unequivical on its 9-0 ruling under the charter of rights and freedoms of the Canadian Constitution, concerning the matter of extradition on Capital offenses." Picard said.
"Mr. Picard, aren't you concerned that Canada might become a safe haven for criminals seeking to use our constitution as a shield from prosecution?" Judge Riley asked.
"I prefer not to speculate on hypothetical situations which may or may not result from the high courts ruling. I can only ask this court to interpret the law as written."
"Madam Prosecutor?" Riley said looking at Casey.
"While I do respect the high courts rulings in the matter of constitutional rights and protections, I would submit this ruling does not apply in this case for which the state of New York seeks extradition."
"Is not murder with special circumstances attached a Capital offense under New York law?" Riley asked.
"It is, Your Honor. However the People are not seeking extradition on the Capital offense. We are here on the sole charge of possession of stolen property."
"Your Honor, this is a blatant attempt to circumvent the laws of this land." Picard stated.
"Since the value of the stolen automobile exceeds five thousand dollars, it is my understanding this qualifies for extradition under Canadian law." Casey countered.
"Your petition sited multiple charges of murder and two counts of kidnapping." Picard said.
"It is true that Mr. Kern and his accomplice brutally raped, tortured and maimed their subjects before killing them. However, we have ammended our petition to reflect only the lesser offense."
"Your Honor, this is a cynical ploy." Picard stated. "We all know that once Mr. Kern crosses the border, he will be charged with the Capital crimes."
"Perhaps, Mr. Picard." Riley stated. "But this court prefers not to speculate on hypothetical situations which may or may not result from its ruling. Now, petition for extradition is granted."
Kern couldn't believe what he had just heard. He knew once he crossed the border he was going to get the death penalty.
/Chung Chung/
Fin, Casey and Munch were waiting to take Kern into custody. Canadian officials excorted him down the hallway and handed him over to the U.S. Marshals. They handed Casey a clipboard. She looked it over and then looked at Fin and Munch. "Detectives take custody of the prisoner." Casey said.
"Darryl Kern you're under arrest for the murders of Ernest Dillman, Arnold and Amanda Cokely and Annie Tassler." Fin said taking custody of him.
As Fin was leading him away Munch walked up to him and looked Kern right in the eye and smiled. "Welcome home, Darryl." As they lead Kern away, Casey walked up to Munch. "Thanks." Munch said.
Casey smiled, nodded and walked off.
/Chung Chung/
Back in New York, Munch made his way to Sara Kimmel's apartment building. He walked down the hallway and stopped outside her door. He knocked and then heard her unlocking all the locks she had securing her door. When the door opened, her head peered out to see who it was. Munch smiled when he saw her. "I just wanted to tell you, you can turn your lights out tonight." Munch said.
Sara smiled and sighed. Munch smiled back and then walked off down the hall. Sara watched him for a moment and then shut her door again. Tonight she would finally be able to have a peaceful sleep.
TBC...