Chapter 4: From Roma Capitale to Staten Island

[Author's Note: Just a head's up, this chapter and part of the next will be a mixture of straightforward interview scenes and some of our characters reminiscing about the past.]

Johanna Lane
Prince's Bay, Staten Island
9:35 AM

An unmarked black 2021 Ford Expedition Police Interceptor pulled onto Johanna Lane in the Prince's Bay neighborhood of Staten Island. Lieutenant Dani Beck was behind the wheel, and Detective Elliot Stabler was in the front seat next to her.

"You seem to know this area pretty well," Stabler said.

"I should," Beck replied with confidence, "I was assigned out here for six years." She then grinned.

"Is that right?" Stabler replied.

"Mm-hmm," Beck said, "I got my Sergeant's shield in Two-Thousand-Ten and got back into uniform as a supervisor at the One-Twenty-One." She referred to the NYPD's 121st Precinct in Staten Island.

"It wasn't the assignment I really wanted at first," Beck continued, "I had to get up way early every morning in time to catch the ferry for work. But I eventually grew to like it. I met my boyfriend out here."

"What's he do?" Stabler asked.

"He's an investigator for the Staten Island DA's Office," Beck explained, "Maybe you might know him. His name's Adèlard Fontaine."

Stabler thought for a moment. "Is he a short French guy with brown hair?" he inquired, "Mostly works fraud cases?"

"Yep," Beck replied, "That's him. Handsome face, olive skin, and all. I collared a guy for real estate fraud back in Two-Thousand-Fourteen. Aldèard and I met at the courthouse during the trial. We started dating about six months after that."

Stabler smiled in response, pleased with his former flame's newfound happiness. "That's awesome, Dani" he said, "I'm glad you found your way."

Stabler's positive feedback caused Beck to experience a sudden and unprovoked moment of reflection. "Elliot," Beck said, "I know it's been a really long time, but I wanted to take the opportunity to apologize to you for how I left SVU back then. I was dealing with a lot of shit spinning around in my head. What with that troubled girl Eden almost burning down my apartment and my not dealing well enough with my trauma after Mike dying..."

Dani Beck was the widow of NYPD Sergeant Michael "Mike" Dooley. Sergeant Dooley was murdered on the job in November of 2002 when he was shot to death by a pair of teenage suspects whom he had pulled over in a stolen car. Beck had understandably struggled with her staggering grief in the years that followed, especially 5 years later during her temporary assignment covering for then Detective Olivia Benson in the Manhattan Special Victims Unit.

"...I just wasn't in a good place," Beck continued, "And then when I heard that Kathy died last year, I felt even worse, mainly because of that awkward moment when you were in the ER that day and she and your daughter showed up..."

"Dani," Stabler interrupted, "It's okay. Kathy and I moved past our problems and got back together. After our son Eli was born, we were finally able to put the past in the past, so don't worry too much about it."

Beck nodded and nodded toward a small, gray-colored Cape Cod-style house on the corner. "Is this the place?" she inquired.

Stabler momentarily looked down at the address written in his memo book and then looked out the windshield at the house. "Yep," he replied, "That's it."

Beck then turned into a small public parking spot just beside the house and parked the unmarked police vehicle. As they exited, the lieutenant visually noted the presence of a New York State Police cruiser in the driveway. A dark green 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee sat directly in front of the cruiser.

"Hmm," she said, "Looks like everybody's home."

The pair then walked up the front steps, and Stabler was just about to ring the doorbell when the front door abruptly came open. New York State Trooper Mark Hedley stood in the doorway, dressed in his full New York State Police uniform attire.

"Mark," Stabler said to him, "I don't know if you remember me. I'm Detective Elliot Stabler from the Organized Crime Task Force." He extended a hand to his brother officer.

Immediately recognizing him, Trooper Hedley shook the detective's hand firmly. "Oh yeah," Hedley said, "I do remember you. We met at the Nine-Eleven benefit at Gracey Mansion last year, right?"

"That's right," Stabler replied before motioning to Beck with his eyes, "This is Lieutenant Dani Beck from the Fifteenth Precinct."

Beck then reached into the inside pocket of the blue blazer jacket she was wearing, retrieved her Lieutenant's shield and held it up for the trooper. "Good morning, Trooper" she politely said to him, "We can see that you're on your way out, so I'll cut to the chase. We have a few questions for your stepdaughter, Perry, and we're trying to get ahold of her. Is she here, by chance?"

Trooper Hedley then became noticeably nervous, clearly gulping away anxiety. "Uh," he said, "No, not now. Have you checked her apartment or the Park Milano Hotel, where she works?"

Stabler nodded. "The manager at the Park Milano said that she has today off," he explained, "And unfortunately, her apartment's now a crime scene. That's why we're here."

"Perry's boyfriend, Enzo, was stabbed last night" Beck added, "He's in the hospital. He told two of our colleagues that Perry was at work at the time, so she's not considered a suspect yet. We just want to clear things up."

A woman's voice was then heard from inside the house. "Honey?' she said, "Is everything...?"

Barbara Gilbert-Hedley then appeared in the open doorway. She was a 5'6 long-haired blonde, white woman in her mid-40's, who was dressed in dark green scrub attire and white nursing shoes. An ID badge that hung from a lanyard around her neck identified her as a Certified Nursing Assistant at Staten Island University Hospital.

"Oh," Barbara said as she saw Beck and Stabler standing there, "I'm sorry. I didn't know we had visitors."

"No worries, ma'am" Stabler cordially replied, "I'm Detective Stabler and this is Lieutenant Beck, NYPD."

"Enzo was stabbed in the city last night, Barbara" Hedley blurted out, "They're here looking for Perry."

Barbara then became very anxious also. "I see," she almost breathlessly said, "Uh...Well, she's not here, I assure you both, and unfortunately, Mark and I are both due at work." The couple then stepped out onto the porch and began going down the steps toward their respective vehicles.

"Sorry we couldn't be of more help, guys" Hedley said as he should their hands before going down the steps behind his wife.

"If either of you guys do see or speak to Perry," Beck called, "You can feel free to call me at the Fifteenth Precinct."

"We'll do that!" Barbara called back as she got into her Grand Cherokee.

Stabler and Beck then watched the nervous couple back out of their driveway and drive off in opposite directions. The former of the pair then sighed with vexation. "Jesus," he said, "You think those two were nervous or what?"

Beck chuckled. "Oh, absolutely" she replied, "Something tells me that none of us are done with those two just yet."

Stabler then took a minute to take in the surroundings. "It's crazy how life turns out sometimes," he said, "Two years ago, I was working and living in Rome with my wife and kids. Now, I'm standing on a porch in Staten freaking Island."

The 2 investigators then stepped down from the porch, got back into their Expedition, and drove back towards Manhattan.

Just out of view, Perry Gilbert stood on a corner, having seen everything. The 5'1 dark-haired blue-eyed 21-year-old then walked her light purple 26-inch Classic Cruiser bicycle toward the Hedley Residence, parked it in the garage, and went inside.

Easy-Ex Store
East 8th Street
10:17 AM

Meanwhile, Detective Kat Tamin stepped out of a taxi on East 8th Street. She soon found Sergeant Ayanna Bell standing outside the storefront of an Easy-Ex parcel company store across the street.

"Hey Sarge," Tamin greeted, "Captain Benson said to meet you here."

Bell nodded in retort. "Thanks for joining me," she replied, "Zoe Harris supposedly works here."

The 2 officers then entered the store to find a veritable madhouse. There were seemingly 150 jittery people waiting in line for their various shipping, packing, printing, and copying orders. All this craziness seemed to have rested on the shoulders of the 2 young female clerks who manned the service counter stations at the front of the store.

Tamin and Bell traded looks before carefully wading their way through the bustling lines, showing their respective NYPD shields to move further and further forward toward the front.

"Hey!" the younger clerk called out to them, "Police or no police, you can't be cutting the line like that!"

It was then that Tamin got a good look at this young woman's nametag before turning her gaze back up to her face. "Zoe Harris?" she asked.

The now 19-year-old Zoe Harris was a 5'3 blue-eyed young white woman. She wore a customary gray woman's polo shirt with the Easy-Ex company logo embroidered on the right upper corner. Her braided black ponytail stuck out through the back of the visor she wore, which also bore the company logo, and she also wore a pair of black Cat's Eye glasses.

"Yeah," Zoe replied in a very apprehensive tone.

The women displayed their shields once again. "I'm Detective Tamin," Tamin said before motioning to the sergeant beside her. "This is Sergeant Bell," she continued, "NYPD. We need to talk to you."

Zoe sighed deeply before turning to her coworker. "Hey Sarah?" she said to her, "Would you mind if I took my break to talk to these ladies?"

"Sure," Sarah replied, "Just do me a favor and go grab Jason out of the back room. He can cover for you up here."

Zoe nodded and ushered Tamin and Bell behind the counter and toward the store's back office. After excusing herself and fetching her other coworker to cover her, she returned and sat down in a wheeled leather chair beside the security camera console.

Tamin and Bell, meanwhile, sat down in 2 folding chairs facing Zoe. "First of all," Bell began, "We're sorry to pull you away from work like this, but this shouldn't take too long."

Zoe nodded. "I'd just appreciate it if you ladies could please cut to the chase," she said very forthrightly, "I've only got half an hour and I'd still like to eat my lunch."

"I don't know if you've heard," Tamin said, "Perry Gilbert's boyfriend, Enzo Ricci, was found stabbed in their apartment over on Eighth Avenue earlier this morning."

"I read it in the news headlines this morning," Zoe replied, "But you must know I know nothing about that. I haven't had any contact with Perry Gilbert since she stabbed me when I was a kid. Our moms forbid either Mia or me from seeing her after she went away."

"True," Bell said, "But you guys are adults now. You're saying you've had absolutely zero contact with Perry at all? Not even an apology for what happened back then?"

Zoe put both hands up in response. "Hey," she said, "I couldn't give two shits less about any damn apology from her. That doesn't take away the scars I still have on my chest."

"What about your sister, Mia?" Tamin queried.

Zoe sighed once again, uneasy about potentially ratting out her older sister. "If you're looking for Perry," she finally said, "She might know where to find her. She talked to Perry after Perry came back here to the city, but you'd have to ask her about that."

Tamin and Bell traded looks and looked back to Zoe. "Okay then," Tamin said before setting her business card in Zoe's lap, "Thanks so much for your time, Zoe. We're all set for now, but you can feel free to call me if you remember anything else."

The pair then left Zoe to enjoy the rest of her lunch break and headed back outside the store. "She seems desperate to bury the past," Tamin said to Bell.

"Not that we blame her, right?" Bell asked.

"Right on," Tamin replied as she took her cell phone from the pocket of her leather jacket, "Fin texted me and said that he and Slootmaekers were on their way out to Brooklyn to find Mia. I'll give him a call."