| Partners |
| When Fontana and Green got back to the 2-7, Van Buren waved them into her office. Ed recognized the two men sitting there from the SVU team.
"Detectives Munch and Tutuola, this is Det. Joe Fontana... and you already know Det. Green. You�re working this case together. I don�t have to tell you how important this one is to me � and to Capt. Cragen. Mike Logan was one of our own, and I damned well want to see whoever did this behind bars. So no shortcuts, no half-assed search warrants. Find this bastard, and MAKE IT STICK!� Her vehemence was impossible to miss. Munch was the first to speak up. �So what have we got?� Ed jumped in before Joe could. �We just got back from talking to Lennie � Briscoe, his old partner here, also my old partner. Apparently Logan had a bit of a rep with the ladies, different one every week. So he could have picked the wrong one and a jealous husband found out. Lennie didn�t know who the current crop included, suggested we try his current partner down in Staten Island, guy named Frankie Silvera. He also mentioned that Logan was pretty depressed over not getting a promotion he�d thought was coming.� Ed couldn�t help but notice the daggers in Van Buren�s eyes as she glared at Fontana; the guy was gonna have a complex by the time this case was over. // Breaks my heart // Ed thought sarcastically. Van Buren ripped her gaze away from Fontana and nodded. �OK. Ed, you and Joe go talk to Silvera. Munch, Tutuola, check out Logan�s apartment. I seem to remember he had a proverbial �little black book� � maybe that will lead us to his latest �conquests.�" She sighed; it pained her to be speaking like this of Logan. But this was the only way they�d find his murderer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed and Joe took the ferry out to Staten Island. Both of them were unusually quiet during the trip. Arriving at the precinct house, they asked the desk Sergeant for Det. Frankie Silvera. Much to their surprise, he pointed out a rather pretty woman sitting at a desk, looking decidedly shaken. Ed walked up to her desk. �Frankie Silvera?� She looked up. �Yeah? Who wants to know?� �Detectives Green and Fontana from the 2-7. We�re here about your partner, Mike Logan.� Frankie shuddered. �I was worried when he didn�t come in this morning. Just had a bad feeling � the Captain just told me what happened. You guys got the case?� Joe pushed in, determined to contribute somehow to this case. �Yeah. From the circumstances of the shooting, we think it may be related to his love life. You�re his partner; he say anything about who he�s been seeing?� Frankie grimaced at the thought of Mike shot like that. �Not really. He never said much except first names. Different chick every week, it seemed. Although �� When she hesitated, Ed prompted her. �Although what?� Frankie sighed. �Look, this is just a feeling, ok? I�ve just always had a sense with guys. Maybe I�ve seen too many �tough guys� on this job. Mike pretends to be one of them, you know, the real hard-core jerks who see women only as body parts. But he�s not really like that. There have just been too many times on the job when we�ve seen someone who �those guys� would have commented on. And he doesn�t even notice. I don�t think he�s just holding back �cause I�m a woman. I think � I think he�s gay." The detectives looked at each other, wide-eyed with surprise. This they hadn't been expecting. But it made a weird sort of sense to Ed. The very public revolving door of women as a smokescreen for what he was really doing. Frankie continued. "There's something else. A couple of months ago, he was up for a promotion, back to his old precinct, working Homicide. It's all he's ever wanted, as long as I've known him. When it fell through, it hit him hard. Since then, I've noticed a couple of things. Bruises on his wrists. Limping. Not all the time, but too often. I think maybe he got self-destructive. Got into the rough stuff. He's been real secretive lately, too. Especially the past two weeks. He was definitely hiding something from me." "Just for the record, we'll need to know what cases you were working on. It sounds like it's a non-issue here, but the murder could be job-related." Fontana pointed to her desk. Frankie shrugged. "Nothing real heavy right now. Couple of robberies, one hit-and-run assault. I'll copy the files and send them over to you. What precinct did you say?" "2-7." Frankie's eyes shot up at Joe's voice. "Mike's old precinct �" Ed cut in, realizing that Frankie was putting it together. "Yeah. Send it to my attention, ok?" He handed her his card. Frankie gave Joe an icy look, then turned to Ed. "Catch this bastard, Green. Mike was a good guy. He didn't deserve this." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Munch used the keys that had been found on Logan's body to unlock the apartment. It was always unnerving going through the home of a dead person, doubly so when the vic was a cop. "You've opened the wrong door. This is your place," Fin commented as they made their way through the apartment. Shabby furniture, very little decoration or artwork, not much to make the place a home. Munch gave him a sour look and headed back to the bedroom. It was as devoid of personality as the rest of the apartment. Just a bed, nightstand, couple of dressers. There was a combined TV/VCR sitting on one of the dressers, angled to be watched from bed. And a small desk with a computer and printer sitting under the window. As Fin followed him into the bedroom, Munch punched the 'on' button and the PC started booting up. After a few minutes the familiar music announced the arrival of the desktop. "Let's see what Logan liked to surf �" With a few mouse clicks, he launched the web browser and clicked on 'favorites.' His eyebrows rose at the list of bookmarked sites. "Whoa! Fin, check this out." His partner came and peered over his shoulder. "Huh! Thought Logan was a ladies' man!" Munch shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first one to hide behind that, would he?" Fin just shook his head. "They're all gay sites. And look, that one's a paid site. Let's see if he's got a password." Munch nodded, not having to ask just how his partner recognized the site names. He clicked on the link, and the page loaded. Photos of nearly naked men in 'artistic' poses surrounded the login box. Munch clicked on it, and sure enough the computer's 'auto fill' filled in the login information. The page changed to one with multiple webcam windows, each featuring two or more men doing a variety of 'interesting' things together. Munch shook his head. Lennie was not going to like this. He'd recognized the name of the vic even before Cragen had asked them to work with Van Buren's people on this one. He and Lennie Briscoe had developed an easy-going, non-demanding friendship since he'd moved back to NYC. At first he'd found it difficult to deal with knowing someone who'd slept with his ex-wife. But eventually they'd built a bond around it. He enjoyed going out 'not-drinking' with Briscoe, getting his ass kicked over the pool table. Learning something like this about your partner, somebody you thought you knew inside-out, was tough. He hoped he wouldn't have to be the one to break this to Lennie � He clicked the browser shut and powered down the machine. "The crime lab will find whatever else he's hiding on here." Disappointed at having the show cut off, Fin had moved on to rummaging through the dresser drawers. Mostly the normal collection of underwear, t-shirts, jeans, socks. Until the bottom drawer. "Uh-oh �" Buried under a stack of t-shirts, he'd found the collection. Sex toys. Bondage gear. A leather harness with a cock ring built into it. A variety of whips, floggers, riding crops. "Looks like he's into the kink stuff." Fin shook his head. Munch looked it over. "This stuff all looks brand new. Like maybe he just got into the scene?" "Let's hope he used it at least once. Might be some residual evidence if he didn't clean them too well." Munch sighed and nodded. "Have to get CSU out here." In the nightstand, they found the proverbial 'little black book.' Munch flipped through it. "Lots of names, mostly male." Fin was still rummaging in the drawer. He found a green ink pen. "Look for entries in green. Might be more recent." Munch continued flipping through the pages, noting only a few entries in green ink. One in particular caught his eye. "The Leather Rose," he called out. "Isn't that a kink club?" Fin looked up and nodded. "Around 42nd street, I think. It's in green?" Munch nodded. "Maybe he's been there recently �" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As they were leaving Staten Island, Ed's phone rang. Rogers had the autopsy results, wanted them to stop by. When they walked into the sterile examining room, the body was covered with a blanket. Rogers' face looked about the same shade of white. "You guys know who he was?" Ed realized that she knew, so he kept his voice very gentle. "Yeah. Lennie's old partner. You knew him?" Rogers nodded, suddenly blinking back tears. // Hold on just a little longer // she thought. But Ed's compassionate gaze was making that difficult. She spun away, unable to look at him. Joe gave her a minute to collect herself then pressed. "Doc, what did you find?" She took a deep breath and steeled herself. The stark, cold, medical mask slipped back into place. "In addition to the gunshot wound, the body shows signs of abuse; there are several partially-healed bite marks of various vintages, bruises on his wrists and ankles that seemed to indicate cuffs, welts on his back and buttocks that could be from a riding crop." She pulled back the blanket revealing his back and buttocks and the many bruises and scars. Ed had seen worse, but somehow the fact that this guy was almost 'family' made it seem worse. Fontana barely gave it a second glance. Just another dead body. "Anything else, Doc?" Rogers replaced the sheet. She really didn't want to tell them this. "Yeah. Signs of recent sexual activity, and semen present in his stomach and rectum. Lots of DNA for identification. Looks like he's been involved in some kinky gay sex." Joe nodded. "Consensual?" Rogers shrugged. "Impossible to tell." She looked up at Green. "God, I never would have believed it, Ed. You think you know someone �" She shook her head sadly. Ed nodded. "Thanks, Doc." He gently squeezed her arm. As they turned to leave, she grabbed his hand. �Get the sick, sadistic bastard who did this to him, ok?� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The two pairs of detectives met up at the SVU offices. A very stressed Donald Cragen greeted them. "Look, I've got the Mayor breathing down my back about the Councilman's daughter, but frankly at the moment we've got bupkes on that one. Please tell me you've got something here!" Each set of partners shared a glance, not wanting to be the ones to break the news. Fin took the bull by the horns. "Look, Captain, I know you knew him, but maybe you didn't know him as well as you thought �" Cragen's stare pinned him to his seat. Munch came to his partner's rescue. "Looks like Logan was gay, Captain. Plenty of gay porn on his computer, and a drawer full of kinky sex toys CSU's going over it all now." Fontana sat forward, interested. "Well, that plus the M.E's report seems to confirm Silvera's hypothesis �" As Cragen stared at him, Ed jumped in. "His partner said she had a feeling he was gay. And maybe getting into some rough stuff lately. Autopsy showed bruising and bite marks, and signs of gay sex." Cragen shook his head sadly. "Ah, Mikey!" he sighed. Logan had been like a son to him; why hadn't he come to him with this? He knew he'd been troubled. Abused by a Priest when he was an altar boy, beaten by his drunk of a mother. But he'd thought Mike had put all that behind him. Apparently he�d been wrong. Dead wrong � He pressed his fingertips to his forehead, trying to make the throbbing go away. Finally he looked up. �So what are we looking at?� Munch�s turn. �Still looks to be the same basic idea. Either he picked up somebody who was somebody else�s �property,� or dumped the wrong person, or something like that. Just narrows down the field a bit." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed cut in. "Silvera said he'd been kinda despondent since he lost out on the promotion. Maybe he hooked up with somebody rougher than he intended? Became somebody's 'property' and didn't like it?" At the reminder of the promotion issue, Cragen's eyes focused on Fontana. The temperature in the room dropped 10 degrees. Fontana fidgeted nervously. // Christ! He knows too � and blames me. // Hell, even HE was starting to feel responsible for what happened to Logan. And he knew better. It was really starting to piss him off. Sensing the growing tension, Fin took off in a different direction. "We found his black book. The most recent entries are in green ink, there was a green pen beside his bed. There�s a reference to a kink club. Thought we�d start there to see if anybody had seen him recently.� Cragen nodded. �OK. Green, Fontana, take the black book and see what you can get that way. Check it against his LUDs. Anything else?" Green jumped in. �Silvera said she�d send me their case files, but she said they didn�t have anything too crazy right now. We�ll check back a ways.� Cragen shook his head sadly. �All right, then, get to it.� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The car was ominously quiet as they drove back to the 27. Fontana was glad his partner kept it shut; at the moment he had enough to think about. Van Buren. Briscoe. Silvera. Cragen. They all were giving him the cold shoulder because little Mikey Logan went and got himself offed by a psychotic 'lover.' If you could call that 'love.' Which Joe didn't. Love didn't involve whips and chains and hurting people. And it sure as hell didn't involve more than one guy. But the point here was that it wasn't his fault. He hadn't asked to screw the guy out of a promotion. He'd never even heard of Logan. And he was getting pretty sick and tired of everybody acting like it WAS all his grand plan. In the precinct parking lot, he stopped Ed from getting out of the car. "Do you think it's my fault too? I'm getting really tired of everybody acting like it is! I'm sorry he didn't get the job he wanted, but �" The tension that had been building between them all day exploded as Ed cut him off. "But it's not your fault? And just how DID you get this job, man? Lieu says you were forced on her. Some political connection? You buy yourself this job with a campaign contribution? You certainly seem to have enough cash lying around! You buy your way into a plum assignment when a guy who's worked his butt off for years has already been promised it? That ain't right. It just ain't right." Ed's hostility caught Fontana entirely off guard. His own defenses dropped into place. "Now wait a minute! I did NOT buy this job!" Ed stared at him in disbelief and stormed out of the car. He headed straight to Van Buren's office, leaving Fontana behind, and pointedly closing the door behind him. She looked up at the sudden entrance. "Ed? What's wrong?" "Lieu, I need to know. How did Fontana get this gig?" She sighed heavily. "I'll be damned if I know, Ed. It should have been Mike. It was all set. I really don't know what happened, just one day I was told HE was coming. Is it a problem on this case?" Ed sighed. "It's looking like Logan was pretty despondent after the promo fell through. Maybe even self-destructive. Everybody who knew him � Lennie, Cragen, Silvera, they all think it wouldn't have happened if he'd gotten the job." Van Buren shook her head. "I have to agree with that assessment. How's Fontana handling it?" "We just got into it out in the parking lot. He's getting tired of the daggers everybody looks at him, I guess." "OK, I'll talk to him." She thought a minute. "Ed? What do you mean, self destructive?" God, he did not want to have to tell her this. "Look, Lieu, you know how sometimes when something like this happens, the family finds out things they didn't want to know?" She steeled herself. "Tell me, Ed." "It looks like Logan was gay. And recently, getting into the kink scene. You don't want to see what his body looked like �" "Mike Logan � gay? You've got to be kidding?" He shook his head. "The 'girl-of-the-week' routine is a common cover. His female partner had him pegged as not really being the 'tough guy' he pretended to be. And the porn collection Munch and Tutuola found at his apartment clinches it. Not to mention all the male names in that 'little black book.' And � the autopsy." Anita shook her head, dumbfounded. So, despondent over losing the Homocide gig, Logan throws himself into the world of really rough sex? Punishing himself? Green had been right; she would have rather not known. But they had to know, if they were going to find his killer. She looked up at Ed, seeing the stress of this day carved into his face. "You've had a long day. Why don't you knock off and pick up again tomorrow. Cooler heads and all that." Ed just nodded. "Thanks, Lieu ." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Half an hour later, Ed was in his car, driving. Once on the road, he dropped into 'autopilot' mode, and it wasn't until he was almost there that he realized he wasn't headed home, he was headed for Lennie's place. Ed climbed the stairs to the second floor apartment and hesitated before knocking on the door. This was not going to be easy. But he felt he owed it to his old partner. And besides, after this morning, he wanted to see Lennie � without Joe around. He knocked on the door, and was startled at the sight when Lennie opened it. It was hard to imagine it was the same guy who opened it this morning. That light in his eyes was gone. He looked old and beaten now. It broke Ed�s heart. Lennie's eyes darted around, looking for Fontana. Ed shook his head. "Just me, man. Off duty. You ok?" Lennie managed a feeble smile as he waved Ed in. "Been better." Ed nodded. "Yeah, I hear you, man. Not been one of my better days, either." "You want a soda or something?" Lennie asked as Ed sank into a chair. // Or something � // Too bad Lennie didn't have anything stronger. "Nah." He looked up at his old partner, saw again the lines that he swore hadn't been there two months ago. "Listen, Lennie, I � I 'm sorry, man." "Sorry? What for?" "For not coming over just to say hey. Shouldn't have taken a case to remind me to see how you're doin'. " Lennie shrugged. "You don't have to �" "Hey, we're friends, right? Just because you're retired doesn't change that!" The smile that lit Lennie's face was worth all the hassles of this day. "Thanks, Ed." Ed knew eventually they'd get around to Logan, but he wasn't ready for that just yet. Besides there was something else he'd wondered since this morning. "So, Lennie. Why'd you really quit the DA's squad?" Lennie sighed. "My first ex-wife died last month. Nothing spectacular, just 'old age.' I guess it made me realize my own mortality. I just didn't want to be surrounded by violence and death anymore." Ed chuckled. "Twenty-how-many years on the force and NOW you realize this?" It worked. The hang-dog expression melted into amusement. "Yeah, well, that and now that she's gone I actually get to keep my entire pension! First time in longer than I can remember with no alimony checks! So I figured I'd just get something part time so I can sleep in and enjoy life for a change." Ed grinned. "Man, I could go along with that sleeping in part. You know me and mornings. And Fontana's one of THEM." Lennie raised an eyebrow. "Them?" Ed grimaced. "Morning Person. In-your-face cheerful Morning Person. And damn it, even at 6AM, he looks better than ME!" Ed looked so put off by the whole thing that Lennie couldn't help laughing. Ed just glared at him for a moment, then realized the absurdity of the situation and joined in. Their laughter took on a life of its own until both were wiping tears from the corners of their eyes. "Damn, Ed, I haven't laughed that hard in years!" Lennie gasped out as they grasped at the fragile straws of control. As they calmed down, Lennie eyed his old partner. "So how is he?" Ed shrugged. "I don't know, man. I mean, he seems to know his stuff. But I just can't get a read on him. You've seen him � man's got money, he's got style. You should see his wheels! But I can't pick up on what's behind it. He just turns up out of nowhere. Lieu says he was pushed down her throat at the last minute. And he flashes the bucks but don't explain where they come from. We work together ok, I guess, but I don't think I'm ever gonna stop by his place just to say hey, you know?" Lennie smiled. He'd never admit it, but secretly, it pleased him that Ed had reservations about the new partner. And not just because the bastard had cheated Mike out of the promotion he'd deserved. // Aw, shit. Mikey � // The smile faded from his face as he remembered how this day had started. Ed watched as Lennie's expression changed, knew what he was thinking. "Yeah. And it don't help now knowing what it did to your friend Logan. I think I would have liked having him for a partner." Lennie managed a weak smile. "God, you two would have been a hell of a team. Although � you might have needed a referee. He's got �" Lennie stopped and swallowed, hard. "He had a hell of a temper. Just like you sometimes �" Ed could see the hurt in Lennie's heavy-lidded eyes. He gave a heavy sigh. "Lennie, I wish I hadn't had to give you that news this morning." Lennie shook his head. "No. You were right, Ed. I wouldn't want to hear it from a stranger." Ed nodded, wondering how to break the rest of the news. Remembering how Lennie always comforted the families of their victims, he reached out and gently placed his hand on Lennie's back. "Listen, man, we found some stuff today. It's not pretty. But I think you'd still want to hear it from me, right?" He could feel Lennie's back muscles tensing beneath his hand as the older man looked up at him. "Give it to me straight, Ed. Whatever it is." Ed bit his lip, the irony of Lennie's word choice not lost on him. "His partner down at Staten and Capt. Cragen both said they were afraid he'd gone kind of self-destructive after he didn't get the promotion. It looks like he was getting into some serious hard-core kink stuff, Lennie. Doc Rogers looked like she was going to fall apart after the autopsy. His body was a mess of bruises, bite marks, welts from a whip �" Lennie buried his face in his hands. "Mikey, no, why'd you do it?" Ed sat quietly beside him, not knowing what to say, just keeping his hand on Lennie's back. Finally the older man sat up. "It was all he knew, Ed. When he was a kid, his drunken mother beat him. He kept going from woman to woman, never even trying for a real relationship because the only relationships he knew were abusive." Ed shook his head. Now was the time. "Uh, Lennie � you're wrong about that. He didn't go from woman to woman � most of the names in his little black book were guys. And the autopsy found semen in the rectum and stomach." Stunned, Lennie looked up at him. "Are you tellin' me that Mike Logan was gay?" Ed forced himself to meet Lennie's eyes. His voice wouldn't work, so he just nodded. Ed's words hit Lennie like a ton of bricks. // We could have been together! If only I'd known � maybe I could have saved him from this �// "Ah, Mike!" Lennie couldn't stop the tears that poured down his cheeks, the great gasping sobs that wracked his body. Ed's arm wrapped around him, and he let himself be drawn in, turning to bury his head into the offered shoulder. As he held Lennie, Ed wondered why that last revelation had pushed him over the edge. Was it just the straw that broke the camel's back? Or was there something deeper? Would it have been so bad if Logan had been gay if he hadn't gotten himself killed? Ed found it hard to believe Lennie would be that much of a homophobe. He hadn't picked up any such vibe in the years they'd worked together. No, it definitely wasn't that. But there was something else here, his detective's instincts insisted. But for the moment he put it aside. Right now, all that mattered was helping Lennie through this. Eventually, Lennie's sobs quieted. He pulled away and stood up, his eyes averted, not even looking at Ed. "Sorry," he mumbled, staring fixedly out the window. Ed followed him to the window, for the moment keeping his distance. "Nothin' to be sorry for, man. He was your friend, your partner. It's ok to mourn." Lennie shook his head. "I shouldn'ta fallen apart all over you like that." Ed finally let his hand fall on Lennie' shoulder again. "Hey, what's a friend for, huh?" Lennie finally turned to look at him, his eyes red-rimmed now. "Are we, Ed? Friends?" Ed made a face. "Of course we are! Although I haven't been such a good one lately. And I'm sorry about that. In fact, I'm gonna fix it. How about we go to the Yankees game this weekend?" Lennie just shook his head sadly. "You don't have to do that, Ed � waste your time with an old fart like me." Ed cut him off. "I WANT to do it. Now are you comin' or do I have to kidnap you?" His eager intensity brought a ghost of a smile to Lennie's long face. "OK, ok, don't want to have to haul you in on charges. I'll come willingly." Ed smiled. "That's more like it." Their eyes locked and for just a moment acknowledged what the moment meant. Then it was over, and Ed moved away. "You gonna be ok, Lennie?" Lennie sighed. "Yeah. Somehow, I always survive. But I think right now I need some time to think." Ed nodded and headed for the door. He paused, turning to face Lennie. "We'll get him, Lennie. I promise you that." Lennie nodded. "I know you will. Thanks, Ed." Ed nodded, and walked out the door. Continue on to Chapter 3 Send me some Feedback Back to the Story Index Disclaimer: These characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just borrowing them for fun, not profit. |
| Chapter 2 |
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