Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–…): Season 1, Episode 8 - Stalked - full transcript
An ADA who had worked on sex crimes is raped and murdered. The detectives suspect it may have been someone whom she had prosecuted.
In the criminal justice system,
sexually based offenses
are considered
especially heinous.
In New York City, the
dedicated detectives
who investigate
these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad
known as the
Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
- What are they?
- Those are birdwatchers.
There's a lot of them
in this part of the park.
Boring.
You get to sit down.
Grandpa, that's no fun.
This is!
Boy: I'll get it, Grandpa!
No. I don't want you going
off the path by yourself.
Boy: Did you find it?
I'll buy you a new one.
- (siren blares)
- Carlyle, Homicide.
Stabler, Special Victims.
My partner, Benson.
- Who's the brass?
- Honcho, One Police Plaza.
Said he wants the
perp arrested yesterday.
- He should talk
to HG Wells.
- (chuckles)
- Why the pressure?
- The vic was an ADA
named Karen Fitzgerald.
Found dead in the
bushes late this afternoon...
Raped, shot in the head.
I know her... I knew her.
She's my age. We had drinks
together a few times after court.
It's all yours.
CSU can tell you
what they've got so far.
(theme music playing)
I just got off the phone
with the mayor's aide.
He wants a suspect in this
Fitzgerald rape/homicide ASAP.
So where are we with this?
Benson: She'd been
an ADA for two years.
100 percenter. She took on
every case that was thrown at her.
Didn't care if it lowered
her win/lose average.
- You knew her?
- We were acquaintances. I wish we'd been friends.
She kept her head down and
tried to put the bad guys in jail.
Which meant a lot of them
walked. Most of them didn't,
but we're still talking about
a dumptruck full of perps...
People with a grudge.
Anything at the crime scene to
indicate she might've known the killer?
Jeffries: A lot of anger.
The guy beat her
with a rock, raped her,
and then took the time
out of his busy schedule
to shoot her... twice.
Anybody remember
the Labor Day rapist?
He raped someone on Labor Day?
There were probably 10
rapes on Labor Day, Jim.
The papers picked
up on this one,
put their collectively
creative heads together
and came up with that
moniker for the doer.
Anyway, it went down in
the Ramble like this one.
No homicide, but a
beating, same time of day.
- It's still open.
- You're saying
same perp then.
We've only been partners
a few months, but the man
is starting to think
like me, only slower.
Jeffries, Briscoe, break out the
Labor Day files, see what was missed.
I'd like to grab
someone from Forensics,
re-walk the crime
scene with Benson,
- get a feel
for what went down.
- Cragen: You got it.
Munch, Cassidy draw parallels
between Labor Day and yesterday,
then see if we got a rape that fell
between the two with the same M.O.
Armstrong: We're
assuming she was grabbed
and then hustled into
the bushes over here.
- What are
the round casts?
- Knees.
See the hand prints
in front of them?
- Perp made her crawl?
- We got...
no hand prints in front of these
knees. What do you make of that?
- She was begging.
- Begging not to be raped
or for her life?
Both.
So the perp picked up a rock...
We've got that at the lab with
her blood on it... broke her nose.
She was gushing blood. We found
it on her clothes, on the ground here.
Also found the condom wrapper.
So she's crawling away with a
broken nose, raped, begging for her life.
Then the guy shoots her twice.
We got spent rounds from a .44.
One went into her left eye,
lodged into the ground here.
The other one took
off part of her head,
and then ricocheted up there.
- Did you find a book?
- No. Why?
Her secretary said
she liked to come
to the Ramble to read
on her lunch hour...
Because it's so safe and serene.
No book.
What if she was
dragged from this side?
I need gloves.
"A Burnt-Out Case."
Murder mystery?
- I guess we screwed up.
- No, you didn't.
Okay, so, let's just say that
she was dragged from this side.
- That means she was...
- Grabbed from this side.
Probably off that bench.
Hey, hey! I'm losing
the Warbling Vireo, lady.
Benson... police department.
We'd like to ask you some questions.
The guy almost
pushes me off the bench.
- What time was that?
- I don't know, 3:30, 4:00.
I'd just spotted an
Eastern Wood-Pewee.
- Did he say anything?
- No.
- Did you?
- I'm not comfortable
talking to people.
That's why I watch
birds. I like being alone.
- Okay.
- What are you... what's this?
There are 20,000 known
sex offenders in our computer.
I've narrowed it down from
the description you gave.
So holler if you
see anything, okay?
- I'd be better at this
if these guys had feathers.
- Use your binoculars.
That's him! Upper
left hand corner.
Off the first six. Are you sure?
Pretty sure.
Nah. Yeah.
I'm gonna print him out. Why don't
we take a look at a few more, all right?
No, none of those guys.
Wait!
No.
- Any of these?
- That's him.
- Lower right-hand corner.
- So the first guy isn't
the guy?
Well, they both
look like the guy.
If I'm not doing this right,
you can get someone else.
You're our witness. We need you.
Can I have a Coke or something?
A Pepsi, Sprite.
Give me a Pepsi.
10 ID's.
Birdman ID'd 10 people.
- Larry Bird
and The Partridge Family.
- What's this?
I had the prosecutor's
office cross reference
the bird watcher's ID's
with all of Fitzgerald's cases.
They made two hits. One
of the first, Kenneth Maggio.
He was convicted
of forcible sodomy.
Did time in Elmira,
he's out on parole.
And we're gonna bang at Mr. Richard
White, another Fitzgerald case.
- Where does he land
on the atrocity bell curve?
- Date rape.
Copped a plea, did
no time, he's a realtor.
I was shocked to read
about it in the paper.
- Why?
- Nobody deserves
to die that way.
I actually felt for the woman.
Felt what?
Happy that the woman
who prosecuted you
on a date rape charge
wouldn't have the occasion
to prosecute you in the future?
Those charges were
reduced to sexual assault.
I pled guilty on
my lawyer's advice.
"A lot of gray area in a
'he said/she said," he said.
- I was innocent.
- So you were railroaded?
And her death made you
feel some kind of angst?
I tend to take an
objective view of things.
Fitzgerald was doing
her job. She was wrong.
I had no hard feelings.
She was doing what she
was hired to do. I forgive her.
Do you forgive
Louise Billings, too?
- Hmm?
- The person who accused you
of the date rape.
Louise was confused,
she didn't know how
the world worked.
Please, enlighten us.
She had invited me to dinner
a month after we broke it off.
One thing led to
another and we had sex.
Louise thought it
meant more than it did.
She got angry and filed charges.
Sounds like everyone
involved was wrong but you.
It happens.
Where were you yesterday between
the hours of 3:00 and 5:00 p.m.?
Astoria. I was
previewing a house.
Your story for yesterday,
can you confirm that?
Yes. I was the only
realtor out at the property.
I had to use the
lock-box to get in.
That information is
faxed to the listing agent,
who would be...
Krim Properties in Jamaica.
Can anyone else
corroborate your alibi?
Yes, my business
partner, Kimberly Phillips.
She knows where I was.
- Mr. Levin?
- You spoke to
a patrolman earlier?
Yes. I told him I'd help after
I'd finished my
studies in the Kollel.
This is about Labor Day?
The man I saw
running in the park?
You want me to look at pictures?
That's why we're here.
No.
No.
Detective Munch,
it's been two hours.
Must I keep looking at these?
- It would be a mitzvah.
- Are you?
Why don't you do 12
more. For the 12 tribes.
You are, aren't you?
Okay. 12 more.
Him!
That's the putz who ran into me
and called me a Jew
bastard on Labor Day.
You're sure?
These things, you don't forget.
Jean Dussault.
Canadian. Deported.
Cassidy, put a call into Canada
and see if this
guy's registered.
Anyone know the
area code for Montreal?
I've got to start walking
back to Riverdale.
Walking? I'll put
you in a squad car.
Shabbas starts in 10 minutes.
I can't be in a car.
God protects when you observe.
The Jews have kept the Sabbath,
and the Sabbath
has kept the Jews.
And the police will
drive you home.
I'm not going to let
you walk to Riverdale.
Even with God's help, you're not
gonna make it through the South Bronx.
- Farstey?
- Farstey.
Whoever invented
lock-boxes, I love him.
We hang one of these
on a house we're listing,
and any agent with a license can
get inside without us being there.
Do you have a fax for yesterday
coming from your property
at Newton and 28th Street?
I should have.
(cell phone ringing)
Do you do much business
with a Richard White?
- Stabler.
- Quite a bit.
We specialize in
low-income housing,
White-Phillips attract
low-income buyers.
I don't know why they're
based in Manhattan.
Probably gives their
clients an uptown feel
before they buy a
shell of a fixer upper.
Money pits, I love 'em.
White's alibi checked
for Labor Day.
Richard White was at that
property at 4:00 p.m. yesterday.
Is he in some kind of trouble?
Is selling money pits a crime?
- Munch, I got him. The Labor Day rapist.
- Oh, you got him?
- What are you
the Lone Ranger now?
- We got him.
I called Forensics. They'd never
matched the pubic hairs found
on the Labor Day vic to anyone.
So I gave them Dussault. The DNA and his
hair showed up on a prior record... bingo.
- And where is he now?
- I spoke to Canada.
- They're looking for him.
- That's great.
While Dudley Do-Right's out
searching the 10 provinces...
That's about four
million square miles...
Dussault could've come
back and done Fitzgerald.
- He's still a suspect.
- Go ahead, rain on my parade.
I don't just want to
rain on your parade,
I want to blow
up all the floats.
- Where are we going?
- Lower East Side.
I spoke to Kenneth
Maggio's PO. The sodomite,
he works in a donut shop there.
You got a Kenneth
Maggio working for you?
Maggio? Oh, the crook!
Works minimum wage.
He's baking in the back.
- These safe to eat?
- Best in town.
I'm not sure if that's a yes.
Police. Looking
for Kenneth Maggio.
- He committed sodomy.
- You trying to ruin my rep?
You beat us to that one.
Doesn't look like you're gonna get
that pastry chef
job at Boulet Bakery.
Would you look at
this. What a cliché.
He shaves his head to try to
make himself look different.
He just makes himself
look more and more ugly.
What's next, huh?
Fake glasses, fake nose?
- Does this turn you on?
- What do you want?
Isn't it a little dangerous for you to
be around all these helpless donuts?
Come on. What do you want?
Your alibi yesterday,
3:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m.?
- Home, I was home.
- You're not lying to us,
are you?
'Cause that would
be bad, very bad.
You'd better talk to us, 'cause
we're looking to you for rape/homicide.
- Right now.
- Fitzgerald?
- Yeah.
- The bitch
who prosecuted me.
Hey, hey, you can't
pin that one on me.
I was with my lover. A
guy named Frank Stern.
- Lives on Jane Street.
- You're saying you went over
to the dark side?
The love that dare not speak
its name? How convenient.
- Too gay to rape a DA, huh?
- You wanna know why?
I'll show you why, huh?
Here. See?! See?!
They gave me a
welcome bath at Elmira.
Soap and sulfuric acid.
I can't even rape
a freaking ant.
Guys, check this out.
Teddy Kennedy lands in the water
at Chappaquiddick on July 18th.
Neil Armstrong lands on the
moon July 20th. Thank about that.
- And?
- You don't find
that amazing?
- Nope.
- You're learning, Jeffries.
What's up with your
donut store guy?
Let's put it this way, the
guy will never be accused
of a crime involving penile
penetration. Wanna know why?
- Yeah, why?
- Acid on the scrotum.
- Oh!
- Does anybody look good
for Labor Day?
Yeah. Cassidy
helped Forensics nail
a guy named Jean Dussault,
who was deported to Canada.
Only Canada
can't find him, so...
they've got the dog sleds
out looking for him now.
Keep on him, because
Dussault's Labor Day MO.
Is very similar to
the Fitzgerald rape.
Now, your guy, what's his name?
- Richard White.
- Yeah, him.
- Where does he sit now?
- His alibi looks good
for Fitzgerald.
But I went through the
White trial transcript.
Fitzgerald lets him plea
down midway through the trial.
But not before just dragging
his ass through the mud.
- He had
to have hated her.
- All right.
John, I want you to talk to the
date rape victim, Louise Billings.
And Jeffries got a hold of
Fitzgerald's best friend, an attorney.
Joan Simon. She's
coming in this afternoon.
All right, you should get
some background there, too.
Let's get 'em.
Richard could be
a really sweet man,
but sometimes he'd get abusive.
He'd push me around,
make me do things...
sexually, that I really
didn't want to do.
Like Mr. Jekyll and Dr. Hyde.
I started losing weight
from the tension.
I couldn't sleep. I broke
it off after three years.
How did he react to that?
He was calm. He
said he understood.
And how did he react to that?
I kept on bumping into him.
We'd make a little small
talk, and then he'd move on.
It was more like talking to an
old friend rather than a lover.
How often did you run into him?
I don't know.
Two, three times a month.
Didn't you think all
these meetings were odd?
In a city this size, you accidentally
crossed paths how often?
My shrink says it
was a classic case
of cognitive dissonance.
So...
we ran into each other again.
Well, Richard was in a
particularly charming mood.
I invited him up to
my place for dinner...
For old time's sake.
He got drunk.
And then I was
looking at Mr. Hyde.
He grabbed me and threw me down,
and he told me to crawl to
him and beg for forgiveness.
And I did.
Probably saved your life.
And it wasn't weak to get the
courage to face him in court.
Karen Fitzgerald gave
me the strength to do that.
And after it was all over...
do you know what Richard did?
He sent me flowers with a note
that said, "No hard feelings."
How long did you know Karen?
Since law school.
We were very close.
They don't teach you self
defense in the New York law books.
Did she ever say she
was afraid of anyone?
Never. She was fearless.
Not trusting, not naive.
Fearless.
We'd go out to eat and
guys would hit on us.
She'd flash her ADA's
ID badge at them
and they'd disappear.
Can you think of any incident,
regardless of whether or
not you think it's relevant?
About a month ago
we were having lunch,
and there was a guy
sitting across from us.
He was smiling, staring.
I pointed him out to
Karen and she got rattled.
Instead of doing her ID thing,
she said that we should leave.
- Did she say why?
- No.
I asked her about
it a few weeks later
and she still said nothing.
Do you see him on this page?
That's him.
White sends flowers to one vic,
smiles at another
vic in a restaurant,
they get rattled.
What's your point?
He's stalking her.
Impossible. We don't have a
stalking statute in New York.
Ergo there's no
way to stalk anyone.
An Assistant DA's murder...
maybe they'll change the statute.
I got White's trial
transcript from Jeffries.
His partner, Phillips,
was a character witness.
Now she's corroborating his
alibi for the Fitzgerald rape.
She might be the weak link.
If you were clean, why would you
stay partners with garbage like White?
- Maybe she's afraid.
- Maybe.
See if that's what she says.
- Ms. Phillips?
- Is this the house Mr. White
was at 4:00 p.m. Thursday?
Yeah, it's all in
the broker's report.
I'm sorry, say that again?
It's all in the broker's report.
Here, I'll show you.
When I get the key, it
makes a record of my visit.
So now all of your information
is being sent to Krim Properties?
That's how it works.
How well do you
know Richard White?
Well enough.
I mean, he's my
business partner after all.
- For how long?
- Two years.
I met Richard when we
were at an open house.
He proposed that we
start our own company
and said that he'd
provide the seed money.
Just like that?
We'd been talking about the big realty
companies eating up our commissions.
So you basically went into
business with a complete stranger?
Well, actually, I said no.
I thought he was a little odd.
I kind of blew
him off initially.
What turned you around?
He did a really sweet thing.
He sent me flowers
with a card that said
his feelings weren't hurt,
or something like that.
He's persistent.
That's what it
takes in real estate.
We kept running into each
other at these open houses,
and, you know, he'd
pitched the idea to me...
and after awhile it started
sounding good, so I said, "Why not?"
And you've done well together.
Yeah, very.
Oh, I have a closing
in about a half an hour.
Does that answer your questions?
Yeah. If we need anything else,
- we'll just
give you a call.
- Okay.
- Great. Thank you.
- Yeah, bye.
- Well, she's holding out.
- I'm getting that, too.
So tell me why.
White's a suspect in a
rape/homicide investigation.
I would be afraid to talk
about him too, if I were her.
But if he's threatening her, she could
always come to us. Why cover for the guy?
Why did Louise Billings
let him into her apartment?
He controls.
Somehow, he controls.
I know you're fixed on White,
but let's not forget Dussault
is still a question mark.
Munch, Cassidy and Canada
are dealing with Dussault,
we're hanging on to White
until we have reason not to.
Fine. Assuming White's our guy,
you think Phillips
knows what he did?
No. But I think that he's
got something on her.
Enough to make
her do what he asks.
- You check her for priors?
- Yeah. Zero.
I understand this guy, Don.
He hates women who take control.
He always finds some
way of getting it back.
Louise Billings took control
by breaking it off with him.
White raped her to control her.
It's the same thing
with Fitzgerald.
She took control
by prosecuting him,
disparaging his
reputation in the courtroom.
We know what he did to
get control back from her.
So... bring him
in and talk to him.
What if he won't
come in voluntarily?
It sounds to me like he
would enjoy taking you on.
But if he won't come nicely, I'll
bootstrap a warrant for a parole violation.
What was it like before
you became a detective?
- What was what like?
- I mean, did you wear
a uniform?
You're still wearing
one now, although...
Come on. We're not
here to talk about me.
I get it. "Enough about me.
What do you think about me?"
Right. For openers, your
alibi for Fitzgerald is shredding.
Oh? Yeah, the lock-box...
It seems that anybody could've
used it if they had your code.
You didn't have to
be there. But I was.
See, this is what's weird, 'cause
your partner says you weren't.
She wasn't telling the truth.
- How can you be so sure?
- Because you're not.
Oh.
You dress down, but
you're very attractive.
Is this some of you're
famous charm, White?
Richard, Olivia.
- It's Detective Benson.
- I know.
A year and a half in
the Special Victims Unit.
A graduate of Siena College.
It's public record.
You can find almost anything
if you know where to look.
You know what
you are? A realtor?
- You're a Nosy Parker.
- And you're a bitch.
Did I hit a nerve?
I don't have any
nerves. How about you?
We'll see.
Look...
I got a quaint turn of the
century rat-hole to show.
- Unless you've got some
evidence to book me...
- Go with God, Richard.
You have to let him
back on the street?
You gave it your best shot.
It didn't work this time.
We're gonna get him back
here, and when we do...
We've got two things
for you. Dussault's dead.
Canadians found him
colder than a witch's boob
at a shack in Moosonee, Canada.
- OD'd on skag.
- Poor guy.
Poor guy? Yeah.
Imagine trying to score smack
in a place called Moosonee.
It must've been hell.
Easier to cop yak turds.
Okay, Dussault's dead.
- That leaves White
as our lead contestant.
- What's the other thing?
I know a guy on the Realty Board.
I had him look into White-Phillips.
They don't just sell
houses, they make loans.
- I thought that was legal.
- It is, but most of the people
are low income.
They don't read the fine print and
70% of the loans wind up in foreclosure.
The bulk of their income comes
from high interest and penalties.
The loan division makes much
more compared to the realty division.
They don't make out
selling off the foreclosures?
Only the loan division makes out
because they own the foreclosures.
Here's the rub... Phillips is
not a partner in the loan division.
So she pulls down
squat compared to White.
We just want to see Kimberly
Phillips' bank account,
and Richard White's
and the company's.
Would you like to open an
account for yourself while you're at it?
- Maybe get a free toaster oven?
- We could get a warrant.
Sounds like a good idea.
Well, it might not sound
like such a good idea
when you have detectives
swarming all over your bank.
- Looking for what?
- Russian mob, laundering
drug money, whatever.
Believe me, you
don't want to go there.
I'll punch them up.
Phillips deposits a paycheck
from White-Phillips Realty every
week, and she deposits cash.
- How much?
- Three grand in cash
every week.
Check this out. The
White Loan Company
withdraws three grand a week,
puts it under
miscellaneous expenses.
That's the perk Phillips gets for
non-ownership... tax-free income.
Three grand a week
under the table? Not bad.
I could send my
kids to private school
and still put away 50 bucks
a week for their college fund.
- (cell phone ringing)
- Stabler.
No Kimberly Phillips, huh?
You got any other names there?
- Thanks a lot.
- What is it?
Just got the printout from the
lock-box where we were with Phillips.
Does it work the way she
said? Is her name on it?
No. His name is.
She's carrying
around White's beeper.
Let's talk to her again.
We don't give a damn
about your financial dealings.
- That's for the IRS.
- And we don't give a damn
about the IRS
unless you're not
willing to talk to us.
The way I described the beginning of
the partnership wasn't totally accurate.
Okay, so what did you leave out?
From the start he told me that we'd
be dealing with low-income clients.
Basically finding a
legal way to rip them off.
That didn't sit well with me,
so that's why I turned him down.
Super, you've got
a conscience. So?
He didn't take my refusal
as easily as I'd said.
He got this really
frightening look in his eye.
I thought he was gonna hit
me in front of the other brokers.
Then he pulled himself together
and I got the
flowers the next day.
- And?
- He had no way of knowing
my home address.
That scared me.
Doesn't sound like the
beginnings of a beautiful friendship.
You're frightened and you
think he's following you?
The day I said yes
to the partnership,
he followed me to an open house.
I saw him in the
rearview mirror.
You could've called the cops.
(scoffs)
Well, they blew me off.
There's no law
against what he did.
There's some harassment
law that you have to say
you're afraid for your life or
that you've been threatened.
He was offering me a job.
And a job pays you a 150
grand per annum, tax-free.
I'm sure that took
the edge off your fear.
Yeah, okay.
He used the same
threat to get you to provide
an alibi for the
Fitzgerald rape.
He told you to use his beeper
to open that lock-box
that day, didn't he?
You knew his history.
You've been in the
courtroom with Fitzgerald.
You had to have
put it all together.
I did.
He threatened to kill
me if I said anything.
And I knew that he would.
I'm getting a
warrant for Mr. White.
Stabler: Two bags, please.
Have this developed, and run
this through the ESDA machine.
It'll pull up all the writing
that was on the page above it.
- Hey, hey,
check this out.
- Yeah.
A map of Central Park.
He circled the Ramble.
It's got dates and
times written all over it.
All the times are
approximately the same.
That date and time.
- The Fitzgerald rape.
- You got it.
Look.
All the other dates and
times are all prior to the rape.
I'm guessing she was there
and he was stalking her.
Thank you.
Munch: Chains and
sluts, whips and spikes,
whores on the rack.
This stuff makes de Sade
read like Beatrix Potter.
Fits his need to control.
You know, I should
have Forensics
into my house once a
week just to clean up.
I went through
all of his closets.
A lot of hangers, a few clothes.
I don't suppose you found a .44?
- Or evidence
that he owns one?
- Nada.
Just found a picture
of Louise Billings,
the date rape
vic, in his freezer.
- No food in the fridge.
- White knew we'd be here
eventually.
Practically dared us to
bust him at the station.
He's gone. He's gone for good.
I got a list of all the
White-Phillips foreclosures
that are still empty.
We got uniforms
looking at them now.
- Maybe he'll turn up.
- That's the idea.
- Hey, Benson.
- Yeah?
I hear you may be
in this guy's sights
the way you squared off
in the interrogation room.
He was just trying to mess with
my head. Nothing to worry about.
Yeah, well...
everyone at SVU
has got your back.
- Thanks, John.
- Need a lift home?
I'm just waiting for Elliot
to get back from Forensics.
It's just as well. I
didn't bring in my car.
Hey, John.
Electrostatic detection
apparatus report.
What the hell does that mean?
ESDA.
I never knew what
it stood for either.
It pulled up all the writing off
the pad we found at White's.
It didn't give us a
hell of a lot, though.
- What's it got?
- A list of places.
A gym, laundry,
pharmacy, grocery store.
I called them all to see if
Fitzgerald used any of them.
She didn't.
This is your gym, your laundry,
your grocery store.
(knocking)
- Who is it?
- Elliot.
One of your neighbors let me in.
- I was in the neighborhood. Thought I'd give you a lift.
- What's going on?
- Last night Munch offered
to give me a lift home.
- Munch did that?
That's not like him, is it?
Then this morning you're
offering to drive me to work.
- "In the neighborhood"?
- I was.
- You have
a sedan with you?
- Yep.
Which means that you
drove all the way uptown
from the Queensboro
Bridge, dropped off the car,
picked up the sedan, turned around,
all the way back downtown to get here.
- That's a lot
of neighborhood, my friend.
- Stop acting like a cop.
That's what Richard
White would like me to do.
Look, I appreciate
everyone's concern.
But we don't know that
White's coming for me.
- He may have gone
out of town.
- Okay.
I sure as hell wouldn't drive
to Queens to save your ass.
- Yeah, you would.
- (Cell phone ringing)
- That's only because
you have a wife and kids.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
Stabler.
We'll be right there.
Lopez, Homicide.
Benson, Stabler. What happened?
Neighbor heard shots
fired, called it in an hour ago.
We found one of your cards here.
We thought you
might want to know.
- Where is she?
- The bedroom.
This was cold. Ugly.
You know anything about
who might be involved?
Stabler: Right now your
guess is as good as ours.
You recover any spent rounds?
Not yet. Casings from a .44.
When you take the
casings and the rounds...
When you find
them... To Forensics,
check to see if they
came from the same gun
that did Karen
Fitzgerald in the Ramble.
- You got a perp in mind?
- Richard White.
He raped her a few months back.
We're waiting for an ME, but it
doesn't look like she was raped.
- You mind if we talk
to your witness?
- This way.
Mr. Cummings, I'm
Detective Benson.
This is my partner,
Detective Stabler.
What did you do after
you heard the shots?
Nothing at first.
You know the way you read in the
papers, "It sounded like firecrackers"?
It sounded like firecrackers. I
was about to go back to bed.
But you didn't? No.
After the shooting, I heard
a man's voice say, "bitch."
These walls are paper thin.
So I went to my front door
and I looked through
the peep hole.
What did you see?
Stocky guy, 40's maybe.
- Headed for the stairs.
- You saw his face?
Yeah.
He turned and looked
directly at my door
like he could see
right through it.
- That's him. Only...
- Only what?
Well, he don't look
so nuts in the picture.
- Okay, thank you very much.
- Thank you.
When you're through
here, give SVU a call.
- We'll give you
what we've got on White.
- Got an extra photo?
Plenty to go around.
We should have seen it coming.
White had a picture
of her in the freezer.
He wasn't waiting to thaw it out
for dinner. He was fixed on her.
- We're not seers.
- We couldn't have offered
her protection.
Isn't that our job,
protecting? Serving?
If there were
eight million of us,
we could protect
everyone in the city.
- Then everyone
would be able to sleep.
- Are you going to sleep?
Or are you going
to think about her?
There are uniforms. There is
Homicide out there looking for White.
So let's think about
cooperation for a change.
I mean total cooperation.
We don't need the glory...
We need White off the streets.
- Jeffries, Briscoe.
- Yeah?
Get some uniforms, re-check
those empty foreclosures.
There's a list at the sergeant's
desk. Munch, Cassidy.
I want you to help throw
up a wall around Phillips,
then keep at her. Maybe
there's some friend of White's,
or some enemy,
that she's forgotten.
If she gives you anything, you
leave people with her. All right?
Benson, you got a second?
What?
I don't want you
out there today.
- I need to be out there.
- No, come on.
You've really pissed this
guy off. He's focused on you.
If he is in the city, you
could be next on his to do list.
- I need to watch
my partner's back.
- We'll get him someone else.
Captain, when I first
came on board here,
you told me that I
don't get to pick the vic.
So what if I'm the
next potential vic?
The same rule
should still apply.
Let me do my job.
I want you back
here safe tonight.
Okay.
All right, everybody. Let's
move out. Come on, let's go.
- Is there
an Olivia Benson here?
- I'm Benson.
Two dozen roses. Your
boyfriend must really love you.
"No hard feelings."
Where do you work?
Oh, here we go. Charged
the credit card of Lila White.
Lila White?
- Are you sure?
- Yeah.
Credit card went through.
It was a platinum card.
Those bastards take a
hunk out of my profits.
- Have you got
an address on this?
- Sure.
Mrs. White, what time
did your son get here?
Around 9:00 a.m.
He looked disheveled, harried.
He also wanted to
borrow some money.
That's generally
when I see him...
When he wants to borrow money.
- He's a taker.
- Did he say why he needed it?
I assumed because he had none.
Richard's never been
good with money.
He learned from his father.
- Is his father here?
- He's dead.
- I'm sorry.
- I'm not.
Richard uses his
father's death to use me.
To play on guilt he thinks I feel
because his father killed himself.
- When did that happen?
- Five years ago last week.
His father was a taker, too.
Like I've been telling him
since he was a little boy.
- Told him what?
- I thought he needed to know
how the world worked.
That he needed to grab
control, take things for himself.
And yet, you still
give him money.
Well, he is my son after all.
Did your son say where
he was going when he left?
Back to Manhattan.
He was going to look up
some special lady friend.
A policewoman.
I told him he should drop her
before she started taking
from him... no offense.
But I understand that you
people don't make any real money.
And for that...
you get to deal
with filth all day.
All shapes and sizes.
I'll walk you in.
I know how to protect
myself. I'm not a civilian.
You're not a superhero, either.
Elliot, if I let White change
my life in any way, he wins.
- I'm not going to let him win.
- This isn't about winning.
- Yeah, it is.
- Blink your lights
when you get inside.
You're just going to sit here
all night until I do, aren't you?
- You stubborn
son of a bitch.
- Yes, I am.
Stabler: See you tomorrow.
(phone ringing)
(gasps, panting)
Oh God.
Benson.
White: Hi, Olivia.
Where are you?
I want to see you, talk to you.
I know you want to see me.
You've been trying all day.
Let's meet.
Where?
Somewhere you'll feel safe.
- The station-house.
- (Chuckles)
Funny.
Make it the Ramble.
A bench that brings
back fond memories.
You know the one. 7:00 a.m.
- Don't be late.
- Olivia, I'm not a fool.
If I see one cop,
we'll never consummate
our relationship.
- (screaming)
- Run, bitch!
Drop it, freak, now! Drop it!
Cragen: On the
ground, White, get down!
Benson: Just turn
over and shut up.
You lying, coward bitch!
- He wants to confess.
- All right, let's do it.
No. He wants to play my
reactions while he's doing it.
- He'll get off on that.
- Which is good.
He'll be thinking
with the wrong head,
- give you
the advantage.
- Okay. Hey.
The gun. He's gotta
cop to using the gun.
Got it.
Olivia, I was wondering. I
thought you stood me up.
Of course not. I just had a
few things I had to take care of.
Makeup, hair? You look nice.
Thank you.
So, you wanted to talk.
Yes.
I was wondering though,
how's your mother?
Fine. How's yours?
You met her.
The classic refrigerator mother.
About your mother,
though, Serena, isn't it?
Is she still carrying around
all those scars from that rape?
Is she still having nightmares?
Let's talk about
Karen Fitzgerald.
One track mind. Compulsive.
- Good for you.
- How'd it happen?
We had a history.
So did you, I hear.
Yeah, I knew her. She
was smart, competent.
Not really. Not like you.
She like to read in the Ramble.
Same time, same day, every week.
That must have
made it easy for you.
- Too easy.
- Too easy?
- Then why stalk her?
- Stalk?
That's sort of purple, isn't it?
We both happened to go to a place
we thought was safe, picturesque.
Filled with bird watchers
and "moes." Relaxing.
Do you relax?
Seeing what you see every day,
knowing how the world is,
how bizarre and ugly it is?
Yeah, I relax.
Bath?
Chanting?
Yoga?
So, she didn't hear me
sneak up behind her.
She struggled a bit.
It's hard to do when somebody's
squeezing your trachea.
It sounds a bit like...
styrofoam peanuts crunching.
That's very descriptive.
Thank you.
In the clearing, I
picked up a rock,
I showed it to
her, hit her with it.
She yelped. She didn't scream.
She yelped like a whipped dog.
I made her crawl to me
and ask me for my forgiveness
for what she did to me.
What did she do to you again?
In court she embarrassed me.
Oh, right.
She made a gurgling sound.
I took that for an apology.
I accepted.
Then I took her. I
think she liked it.
- What do you think?
- It doesn't matter
what I think.
It does to me.
You're still listening,
so there must be something
you're enjoying about my story.
Maybe something's lacking?
I know...
You want me to say I killed her.
You need that detail to kill me.
Did you kill her?
I had a knife...
and I cut her.
And I watched her blood
seep into the ground
taking her life with it.
He'll never say he used a gun.
He gets that detail wrong, he
could duck the death penalty.
He probably tossed
it in the Hudson.
You look disappointed.
What's the matter?
Cat got your tongue?
Just tell me once more,
how'd you kill her?
Thrill seeker.
No. I'm through.
Do what you can
with what you got.
I don't think you
can kill me with it.
Pity.
I'm fixed on you.
And until I'm dead,
I'll always be in your head.
Just like your mother
has somebody in her head.
We're joined at the
hip now, aren't we?
Detective Stabler,
how are Kathy and the kids?
(theme music playing)
sexually based offenses
are considered
especially heinous.
In New York City, the
dedicated detectives
who investigate
these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad
known as the
Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
- What are they?
- Those are birdwatchers.
There's a lot of them
in this part of the park.
Boring.
You get to sit down.
Grandpa, that's no fun.
This is!
Boy: I'll get it, Grandpa!
No. I don't want you going
off the path by yourself.
Boy: Did you find it?
I'll buy you a new one.
- (siren blares)
- Carlyle, Homicide.
Stabler, Special Victims.
My partner, Benson.
- Who's the brass?
- Honcho, One Police Plaza.
Said he wants the
perp arrested yesterday.
- He should talk
to HG Wells.
- (chuckles)
- Why the pressure?
- The vic was an ADA
named Karen Fitzgerald.
Found dead in the
bushes late this afternoon...
Raped, shot in the head.
I know her... I knew her.
She's my age. We had drinks
together a few times after court.
It's all yours.
CSU can tell you
what they've got so far.
(theme music playing)
I just got off the phone
with the mayor's aide.
He wants a suspect in this
Fitzgerald rape/homicide ASAP.
So where are we with this?
Benson: She'd been
an ADA for two years.
100 percenter. She took on
every case that was thrown at her.
Didn't care if it lowered
her win/lose average.
- You knew her?
- We were acquaintances. I wish we'd been friends.
She kept her head down and
tried to put the bad guys in jail.
Which meant a lot of them
walked. Most of them didn't,
but we're still talking about
a dumptruck full of perps...
People with a grudge.
Anything at the crime scene to
indicate she might've known the killer?
Jeffries: A lot of anger.
The guy beat her
with a rock, raped her,
and then took the time
out of his busy schedule
to shoot her... twice.
Anybody remember
the Labor Day rapist?
He raped someone on Labor Day?
There were probably 10
rapes on Labor Day, Jim.
The papers picked
up on this one,
put their collectively
creative heads together
and came up with that
moniker for the doer.
Anyway, it went down in
the Ramble like this one.
No homicide, but a
beating, same time of day.
- It's still open.
- You're saying
same perp then.
We've only been partners
a few months, but the man
is starting to think
like me, only slower.
Jeffries, Briscoe, break out the
Labor Day files, see what was missed.
I'd like to grab
someone from Forensics,
re-walk the crime
scene with Benson,
- get a feel
for what went down.
- Cragen: You got it.
Munch, Cassidy draw parallels
between Labor Day and yesterday,
then see if we got a rape that fell
between the two with the same M.O.
Armstrong: We're
assuming she was grabbed
and then hustled into
the bushes over here.
- What are
the round casts?
- Knees.
See the hand prints
in front of them?
- Perp made her crawl?
- We got...
no hand prints in front of these
knees. What do you make of that?
- She was begging.
- Begging not to be raped
or for her life?
Both.
So the perp picked up a rock...
We've got that at the lab with
her blood on it... broke her nose.
She was gushing blood. We found
it on her clothes, on the ground here.
Also found the condom wrapper.
So she's crawling away with a
broken nose, raped, begging for her life.
Then the guy shoots her twice.
We got spent rounds from a .44.
One went into her left eye,
lodged into the ground here.
The other one took
off part of her head,
and then ricocheted up there.
- Did you find a book?
- No. Why?
Her secretary said
she liked to come
to the Ramble to read
on her lunch hour...
Because it's so safe and serene.
No book.
What if she was
dragged from this side?
I need gloves.
"A Burnt-Out Case."
Murder mystery?
- I guess we screwed up.
- No, you didn't.
Okay, so, let's just say that
she was dragged from this side.
- That means she was...
- Grabbed from this side.
Probably off that bench.
Hey, hey! I'm losing
the Warbling Vireo, lady.
Benson... police department.
We'd like to ask you some questions.
The guy almost
pushes me off the bench.
- What time was that?
- I don't know, 3:30, 4:00.
I'd just spotted an
Eastern Wood-Pewee.
- Did he say anything?
- No.
- Did you?
- I'm not comfortable
talking to people.
That's why I watch
birds. I like being alone.
- Okay.
- What are you... what's this?
There are 20,000 known
sex offenders in our computer.
I've narrowed it down from
the description you gave.
So holler if you
see anything, okay?
- I'd be better at this
if these guys had feathers.
- Use your binoculars.
That's him! Upper
left hand corner.
Off the first six. Are you sure?
Pretty sure.
Nah. Yeah.
I'm gonna print him out. Why don't
we take a look at a few more, all right?
No, none of those guys.
Wait!
No.
- Any of these?
- That's him.
- Lower right-hand corner.
- So the first guy isn't
the guy?
Well, they both
look like the guy.
If I'm not doing this right,
you can get someone else.
You're our witness. We need you.
Can I have a Coke or something?
A Pepsi, Sprite.
Give me a Pepsi.
10 ID's.
Birdman ID'd 10 people.
- Larry Bird
and The Partridge Family.
- What's this?
I had the prosecutor's
office cross reference
the bird watcher's ID's
with all of Fitzgerald's cases.
They made two hits. One
of the first, Kenneth Maggio.
He was convicted
of forcible sodomy.
Did time in Elmira,
he's out on parole.
And we're gonna bang at Mr. Richard
White, another Fitzgerald case.
- Where does he land
on the atrocity bell curve?
- Date rape.
Copped a plea, did
no time, he's a realtor.
I was shocked to read
about it in the paper.
- Why?
- Nobody deserves
to die that way.
I actually felt for the woman.
Felt what?
Happy that the woman
who prosecuted you
on a date rape charge
wouldn't have the occasion
to prosecute you in the future?
Those charges were
reduced to sexual assault.
I pled guilty on
my lawyer's advice.
"A lot of gray area in a
'he said/she said," he said.
- I was innocent.
- So you were railroaded?
And her death made you
feel some kind of angst?
I tend to take an
objective view of things.
Fitzgerald was doing
her job. She was wrong.
I had no hard feelings.
She was doing what she
was hired to do. I forgive her.
Do you forgive
Louise Billings, too?
- Hmm?
- The person who accused you
of the date rape.
Louise was confused,
she didn't know how
the world worked.
Please, enlighten us.
She had invited me to dinner
a month after we broke it off.
One thing led to
another and we had sex.
Louise thought it
meant more than it did.
She got angry and filed charges.
Sounds like everyone
involved was wrong but you.
It happens.
Where were you yesterday between
the hours of 3:00 and 5:00 p.m.?
Astoria. I was
previewing a house.
Your story for yesterday,
can you confirm that?
Yes. I was the only
realtor out at the property.
I had to use the
lock-box to get in.
That information is
faxed to the listing agent,
who would be...
Krim Properties in Jamaica.
Can anyone else
corroborate your alibi?
Yes, my business
partner, Kimberly Phillips.
She knows where I was.
- Mr. Levin?
- You spoke to
a patrolman earlier?
Yes. I told him I'd help after
I'd finished my
studies in the Kollel.
This is about Labor Day?
The man I saw
running in the park?
You want me to look at pictures?
That's why we're here.
No.
No.
Detective Munch,
it's been two hours.
Must I keep looking at these?
- It would be a mitzvah.
- Are you?
Why don't you do 12
more. For the 12 tribes.
You are, aren't you?
Okay. 12 more.
Him!
That's the putz who ran into me
and called me a Jew
bastard on Labor Day.
You're sure?
These things, you don't forget.
Jean Dussault.
Canadian. Deported.
Cassidy, put a call into Canada
and see if this
guy's registered.
Anyone know the
area code for Montreal?
I've got to start walking
back to Riverdale.
Walking? I'll put
you in a squad car.
Shabbas starts in 10 minutes.
I can't be in a car.
God protects when you observe.
The Jews have kept the Sabbath,
and the Sabbath
has kept the Jews.
And the police will
drive you home.
I'm not going to let
you walk to Riverdale.
Even with God's help, you're not
gonna make it through the South Bronx.
- Farstey?
- Farstey.
Whoever invented
lock-boxes, I love him.
We hang one of these
on a house we're listing,
and any agent with a license can
get inside without us being there.
Do you have a fax for yesterday
coming from your property
at Newton and 28th Street?
I should have.
(cell phone ringing)
Do you do much business
with a Richard White?
- Stabler.
- Quite a bit.
We specialize in
low-income housing,
White-Phillips attract
low-income buyers.
I don't know why they're
based in Manhattan.
Probably gives their
clients an uptown feel
before they buy a
shell of a fixer upper.
Money pits, I love 'em.
White's alibi checked
for Labor Day.
Richard White was at that
property at 4:00 p.m. yesterday.
Is he in some kind of trouble?
Is selling money pits a crime?
- Munch, I got him. The Labor Day rapist.
- Oh, you got him?
- What are you
the Lone Ranger now?
- We got him.
I called Forensics. They'd never
matched the pubic hairs found
on the Labor Day vic to anyone.
So I gave them Dussault. The DNA and his
hair showed up on a prior record... bingo.
- And where is he now?
- I spoke to Canada.
- They're looking for him.
- That's great.
While Dudley Do-Right's out
searching the 10 provinces...
That's about four
million square miles...
Dussault could've come
back and done Fitzgerald.
- He's still a suspect.
- Go ahead, rain on my parade.
I don't just want to
rain on your parade,
I want to blow
up all the floats.
- Where are we going?
- Lower East Side.
I spoke to Kenneth
Maggio's PO. The sodomite,
he works in a donut shop there.
You got a Kenneth
Maggio working for you?
Maggio? Oh, the crook!
Works minimum wage.
He's baking in the back.
- These safe to eat?
- Best in town.
I'm not sure if that's a yes.
Police. Looking
for Kenneth Maggio.
- He committed sodomy.
- You trying to ruin my rep?
You beat us to that one.
Doesn't look like you're gonna get
that pastry chef
job at Boulet Bakery.
Would you look at
this. What a cliché.
He shaves his head to try to
make himself look different.
He just makes himself
look more and more ugly.
What's next, huh?
Fake glasses, fake nose?
- Does this turn you on?
- What do you want?
Isn't it a little dangerous for you to
be around all these helpless donuts?
Come on. What do you want?
Your alibi yesterday,
3:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m.?
- Home, I was home.
- You're not lying to us,
are you?
'Cause that would
be bad, very bad.
You'd better talk to us, 'cause
we're looking to you for rape/homicide.
- Right now.
- Fitzgerald?
- Yeah.
- The bitch
who prosecuted me.
Hey, hey, you can't
pin that one on me.
I was with my lover. A
guy named Frank Stern.
- Lives on Jane Street.
- You're saying you went over
to the dark side?
The love that dare not speak
its name? How convenient.
- Too gay to rape a DA, huh?
- You wanna know why?
I'll show you why, huh?
Here. See?! See?!
They gave me a
welcome bath at Elmira.
Soap and sulfuric acid.
I can't even rape
a freaking ant.
Guys, check this out.
Teddy Kennedy lands in the water
at Chappaquiddick on July 18th.
Neil Armstrong lands on the
moon July 20th. Thank about that.
- And?
- You don't find
that amazing?
- Nope.
- You're learning, Jeffries.
What's up with your
donut store guy?
Let's put it this way, the
guy will never be accused
of a crime involving penile
penetration. Wanna know why?
- Yeah, why?
- Acid on the scrotum.
- Oh!
- Does anybody look good
for Labor Day?
Yeah. Cassidy
helped Forensics nail
a guy named Jean Dussault,
who was deported to Canada.
Only Canada
can't find him, so...
they've got the dog sleds
out looking for him now.
Keep on him, because
Dussault's Labor Day MO.
Is very similar to
the Fitzgerald rape.
Now, your guy, what's his name?
- Richard White.
- Yeah, him.
- Where does he sit now?
- His alibi looks good
for Fitzgerald.
But I went through the
White trial transcript.
Fitzgerald lets him plea
down midway through the trial.
But not before just dragging
his ass through the mud.
- He had
to have hated her.
- All right.
John, I want you to talk to the
date rape victim, Louise Billings.
And Jeffries got a hold of
Fitzgerald's best friend, an attorney.
Joan Simon. She's
coming in this afternoon.
All right, you should get
some background there, too.
Let's get 'em.
Richard could be
a really sweet man,
but sometimes he'd get abusive.
He'd push me around,
make me do things...
sexually, that I really
didn't want to do.
Like Mr. Jekyll and Dr. Hyde.
I started losing weight
from the tension.
I couldn't sleep. I broke
it off after three years.
How did he react to that?
He was calm. He
said he understood.
And how did he react to that?
I kept on bumping into him.
We'd make a little small
talk, and then he'd move on.
It was more like talking to an
old friend rather than a lover.
How often did you run into him?
I don't know.
Two, three times a month.
Didn't you think all
these meetings were odd?
In a city this size, you accidentally
crossed paths how often?
My shrink says it
was a classic case
of cognitive dissonance.
So...
we ran into each other again.
Well, Richard was in a
particularly charming mood.
I invited him up to
my place for dinner...
For old time's sake.
He got drunk.
And then I was
looking at Mr. Hyde.
He grabbed me and threw me down,
and he told me to crawl to
him and beg for forgiveness.
And I did.
Probably saved your life.
And it wasn't weak to get the
courage to face him in court.
Karen Fitzgerald gave
me the strength to do that.
And after it was all over...
do you know what Richard did?
He sent me flowers with a note
that said, "No hard feelings."
How long did you know Karen?
Since law school.
We were very close.
They don't teach you self
defense in the New York law books.
Did she ever say she
was afraid of anyone?
Never. She was fearless.
Not trusting, not naive.
Fearless.
We'd go out to eat and
guys would hit on us.
She'd flash her ADA's
ID badge at them
and they'd disappear.
Can you think of any incident,
regardless of whether or
not you think it's relevant?
About a month ago
we were having lunch,
and there was a guy
sitting across from us.
He was smiling, staring.
I pointed him out to
Karen and she got rattled.
Instead of doing her ID thing,
she said that we should leave.
- Did she say why?
- No.
I asked her about
it a few weeks later
and she still said nothing.
Do you see him on this page?
That's him.
White sends flowers to one vic,
smiles at another
vic in a restaurant,
they get rattled.
What's your point?
He's stalking her.
Impossible. We don't have a
stalking statute in New York.
Ergo there's no
way to stalk anyone.
An Assistant DA's murder...
maybe they'll change the statute.
I got White's trial
transcript from Jeffries.
His partner, Phillips,
was a character witness.
Now she's corroborating his
alibi for the Fitzgerald rape.
She might be the weak link.
If you were clean, why would you
stay partners with garbage like White?
- Maybe she's afraid.
- Maybe.
See if that's what she says.
- Ms. Phillips?
- Is this the house Mr. White
was at 4:00 p.m. Thursday?
Yeah, it's all in
the broker's report.
I'm sorry, say that again?
It's all in the broker's report.
Here, I'll show you.
When I get the key, it
makes a record of my visit.
So now all of your information
is being sent to Krim Properties?
That's how it works.
How well do you
know Richard White?
Well enough.
I mean, he's my
business partner after all.
- For how long?
- Two years.
I met Richard when we
were at an open house.
He proposed that we
start our own company
and said that he'd
provide the seed money.
Just like that?
We'd been talking about the big realty
companies eating up our commissions.
So you basically went into
business with a complete stranger?
Well, actually, I said no.
I thought he was a little odd.
I kind of blew
him off initially.
What turned you around?
He did a really sweet thing.
He sent me flowers
with a card that said
his feelings weren't hurt,
or something like that.
He's persistent.
That's what it
takes in real estate.
We kept running into each
other at these open houses,
and, you know, he'd
pitched the idea to me...
and after awhile it started
sounding good, so I said, "Why not?"
And you've done well together.
Yeah, very.
Oh, I have a closing
in about a half an hour.
Does that answer your questions?
Yeah. If we need anything else,
- we'll just
give you a call.
- Okay.
- Great. Thank you.
- Yeah, bye.
- Well, she's holding out.
- I'm getting that, too.
So tell me why.
White's a suspect in a
rape/homicide investigation.
I would be afraid to talk
about him too, if I were her.
But if he's threatening her, she could
always come to us. Why cover for the guy?
Why did Louise Billings
let him into her apartment?
He controls.
Somehow, he controls.
I know you're fixed on White,
but let's not forget Dussault
is still a question mark.
Munch, Cassidy and Canada
are dealing with Dussault,
we're hanging on to White
until we have reason not to.
Fine. Assuming White's our guy,
you think Phillips
knows what he did?
No. But I think that he's
got something on her.
Enough to make
her do what he asks.
- You check her for priors?
- Yeah. Zero.
I understand this guy, Don.
He hates women who take control.
He always finds some
way of getting it back.
Louise Billings took control
by breaking it off with him.
White raped her to control her.
It's the same thing
with Fitzgerald.
She took control
by prosecuting him,
disparaging his
reputation in the courtroom.
We know what he did to
get control back from her.
So... bring him
in and talk to him.
What if he won't
come in voluntarily?
It sounds to me like he
would enjoy taking you on.
But if he won't come nicely, I'll
bootstrap a warrant for a parole violation.
What was it like before
you became a detective?
- What was what like?
- I mean, did you wear
a uniform?
You're still wearing
one now, although...
Come on. We're not
here to talk about me.
I get it. "Enough about me.
What do you think about me?"
Right. For openers, your
alibi for Fitzgerald is shredding.
Oh? Yeah, the lock-box...
It seems that anybody could've
used it if they had your code.
You didn't have to
be there. But I was.
See, this is what's weird, 'cause
your partner says you weren't.
She wasn't telling the truth.
- How can you be so sure?
- Because you're not.
Oh.
You dress down, but
you're very attractive.
Is this some of you're
famous charm, White?
Richard, Olivia.
- It's Detective Benson.
- I know.
A year and a half in
the Special Victims Unit.
A graduate of Siena College.
It's public record.
You can find almost anything
if you know where to look.
You know what
you are? A realtor?
- You're a Nosy Parker.
- And you're a bitch.
Did I hit a nerve?
I don't have any
nerves. How about you?
We'll see.
Look...
I got a quaint turn of the
century rat-hole to show.
- Unless you've got some
evidence to book me...
- Go with God, Richard.
You have to let him
back on the street?
You gave it your best shot.
It didn't work this time.
We're gonna get him back
here, and when we do...
We've got two things
for you. Dussault's dead.
Canadians found him
colder than a witch's boob
at a shack in Moosonee, Canada.
- OD'd on skag.
- Poor guy.
Poor guy? Yeah.
Imagine trying to score smack
in a place called Moosonee.
It must've been hell.
Easier to cop yak turds.
Okay, Dussault's dead.
- That leaves White
as our lead contestant.
- What's the other thing?
I know a guy on the Realty Board.
I had him look into White-Phillips.
They don't just sell
houses, they make loans.
- I thought that was legal.
- It is, but most of the people
are low income.
They don't read the fine print and
70% of the loans wind up in foreclosure.
The bulk of their income comes
from high interest and penalties.
The loan division makes much
more compared to the realty division.
They don't make out
selling off the foreclosures?
Only the loan division makes out
because they own the foreclosures.
Here's the rub... Phillips is
not a partner in the loan division.
So she pulls down
squat compared to White.
We just want to see Kimberly
Phillips' bank account,
and Richard White's
and the company's.
Would you like to open an
account for yourself while you're at it?
- Maybe get a free toaster oven?
- We could get a warrant.
Sounds like a good idea.
Well, it might not sound
like such a good idea
when you have detectives
swarming all over your bank.
- Looking for what?
- Russian mob, laundering
drug money, whatever.
Believe me, you
don't want to go there.
I'll punch them up.
Phillips deposits a paycheck
from White-Phillips Realty every
week, and she deposits cash.
- How much?
- Three grand in cash
every week.
Check this out. The
White Loan Company
withdraws three grand a week,
puts it under
miscellaneous expenses.
That's the perk Phillips gets for
non-ownership... tax-free income.
Three grand a week
under the table? Not bad.
I could send my
kids to private school
and still put away 50 bucks
a week for their college fund.
- (cell phone ringing)
- Stabler.
No Kimberly Phillips, huh?
You got any other names there?
- Thanks a lot.
- What is it?
Just got the printout from the
lock-box where we were with Phillips.
Does it work the way she
said? Is her name on it?
No. His name is.
She's carrying
around White's beeper.
Let's talk to her again.
We don't give a damn
about your financial dealings.
- That's for the IRS.
- And we don't give a damn
about the IRS
unless you're not
willing to talk to us.
The way I described the beginning of
the partnership wasn't totally accurate.
Okay, so what did you leave out?
From the start he told me that we'd
be dealing with low-income clients.
Basically finding a
legal way to rip them off.
That didn't sit well with me,
so that's why I turned him down.
Super, you've got
a conscience. So?
He didn't take my refusal
as easily as I'd said.
He got this really
frightening look in his eye.
I thought he was gonna hit
me in front of the other brokers.
Then he pulled himself together
and I got the
flowers the next day.
- And?
- He had no way of knowing
my home address.
That scared me.
Doesn't sound like the
beginnings of a beautiful friendship.
You're frightened and you
think he's following you?
The day I said yes
to the partnership,
he followed me to an open house.
I saw him in the
rearview mirror.
You could've called the cops.
(scoffs)
Well, they blew me off.
There's no law
against what he did.
There's some harassment
law that you have to say
you're afraid for your life or
that you've been threatened.
He was offering me a job.
And a job pays you a 150
grand per annum, tax-free.
I'm sure that took
the edge off your fear.
Yeah, okay.
He used the same
threat to get you to provide
an alibi for the
Fitzgerald rape.
He told you to use his beeper
to open that lock-box
that day, didn't he?
You knew his history.
You've been in the
courtroom with Fitzgerald.
You had to have
put it all together.
I did.
He threatened to kill
me if I said anything.
And I knew that he would.
I'm getting a
warrant for Mr. White.
Stabler: Two bags, please.
Have this developed, and run
this through the ESDA machine.
It'll pull up all the writing
that was on the page above it.
- Hey, hey,
check this out.
- Yeah.
A map of Central Park.
He circled the Ramble.
It's got dates and
times written all over it.
All the times are
approximately the same.
That date and time.
- The Fitzgerald rape.
- You got it.
Look.
All the other dates and
times are all prior to the rape.
I'm guessing she was there
and he was stalking her.
Thank you.
Munch: Chains and
sluts, whips and spikes,
whores on the rack.
This stuff makes de Sade
read like Beatrix Potter.
Fits his need to control.
You know, I should
have Forensics
into my house once a
week just to clean up.
I went through
all of his closets.
A lot of hangers, a few clothes.
I don't suppose you found a .44?
- Or evidence
that he owns one?
- Nada.
Just found a picture
of Louise Billings,
the date rape
vic, in his freezer.
- No food in the fridge.
- White knew we'd be here
eventually.
Practically dared us to
bust him at the station.
He's gone. He's gone for good.
I got a list of all the
White-Phillips foreclosures
that are still empty.
We got uniforms
looking at them now.
- Maybe he'll turn up.
- That's the idea.
- Hey, Benson.
- Yeah?
I hear you may be
in this guy's sights
the way you squared off
in the interrogation room.
He was just trying to mess with
my head. Nothing to worry about.
Yeah, well...
everyone at SVU
has got your back.
- Thanks, John.
- Need a lift home?
I'm just waiting for Elliot
to get back from Forensics.
It's just as well. I
didn't bring in my car.
Hey, John.
Electrostatic detection
apparatus report.
What the hell does that mean?
ESDA.
I never knew what
it stood for either.
It pulled up all the writing off
the pad we found at White's.
It didn't give us a
hell of a lot, though.
- What's it got?
- A list of places.
A gym, laundry,
pharmacy, grocery store.
I called them all to see if
Fitzgerald used any of them.
She didn't.
This is your gym, your laundry,
your grocery store.
(knocking)
- Who is it?
- Elliot.
One of your neighbors let me in.
- I was in the neighborhood. Thought I'd give you a lift.
- What's going on?
- Last night Munch offered
to give me a lift home.
- Munch did that?
That's not like him, is it?
Then this morning you're
offering to drive me to work.
- "In the neighborhood"?
- I was.
- You have
a sedan with you?
- Yep.
Which means that you
drove all the way uptown
from the Queensboro
Bridge, dropped off the car,
picked up the sedan, turned around,
all the way back downtown to get here.
- That's a lot
of neighborhood, my friend.
- Stop acting like a cop.
That's what Richard
White would like me to do.
Look, I appreciate
everyone's concern.
But we don't know that
White's coming for me.
- He may have gone
out of town.
- Okay.
I sure as hell wouldn't drive
to Queens to save your ass.
- Yeah, you would.
- (Cell phone ringing)
- That's only because
you have a wife and kids.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
Stabler.
We'll be right there.
Lopez, Homicide.
Benson, Stabler. What happened?
Neighbor heard shots
fired, called it in an hour ago.
We found one of your cards here.
We thought you
might want to know.
- Where is she?
- The bedroom.
This was cold. Ugly.
You know anything about
who might be involved?
Stabler: Right now your
guess is as good as ours.
You recover any spent rounds?
Not yet. Casings from a .44.
When you take the
casings and the rounds...
When you find
them... To Forensics,
check to see if they
came from the same gun
that did Karen
Fitzgerald in the Ramble.
- You got a perp in mind?
- Richard White.
He raped her a few months back.
We're waiting for an ME, but it
doesn't look like she was raped.
- You mind if we talk
to your witness?
- This way.
Mr. Cummings, I'm
Detective Benson.
This is my partner,
Detective Stabler.
What did you do after
you heard the shots?
Nothing at first.
You know the way you read in the
papers, "It sounded like firecrackers"?
It sounded like firecrackers. I
was about to go back to bed.
But you didn't? No.
After the shooting, I heard
a man's voice say, "bitch."
These walls are paper thin.
So I went to my front door
and I looked through
the peep hole.
What did you see?
Stocky guy, 40's maybe.
- Headed for the stairs.
- You saw his face?
Yeah.
He turned and looked
directly at my door
like he could see
right through it.
- That's him. Only...
- Only what?
Well, he don't look
so nuts in the picture.
- Okay, thank you very much.
- Thank you.
When you're through
here, give SVU a call.
- We'll give you
what we've got on White.
- Got an extra photo?
Plenty to go around.
We should have seen it coming.
White had a picture
of her in the freezer.
He wasn't waiting to thaw it out
for dinner. He was fixed on her.
- We're not seers.
- We couldn't have offered
her protection.
Isn't that our job,
protecting? Serving?
If there were
eight million of us,
we could protect
everyone in the city.
- Then everyone
would be able to sleep.
- Are you going to sleep?
Or are you going
to think about her?
There are uniforms. There is
Homicide out there looking for White.
So let's think about
cooperation for a change.
I mean total cooperation.
We don't need the glory...
We need White off the streets.
- Jeffries, Briscoe.
- Yeah?
Get some uniforms, re-check
those empty foreclosures.
There's a list at the sergeant's
desk. Munch, Cassidy.
I want you to help throw
up a wall around Phillips,
then keep at her. Maybe
there's some friend of White's,
or some enemy,
that she's forgotten.
If she gives you anything, you
leave people with her. All right?
Benson, you got a second?
What?
I don't want you
out there today.
- I need to be out there.
- No, come on.
You've really pissed this
guy off. He's focused on you.
If he is in the city, you
could be next on his to do list.
- I need to watch
my partner's back.
- We'll get him someone else.
Captain, when I first
came on board here,
you told me that I
don't get to pick the vic.
So what if I'm the
next potential vic?
The same rule
should still apply.
Let me do my job.
I want you back
here safe tonight.
Okay.
All right, everybody. Let's
move out. Come on, let's go.
- Is there
an Olivia Benson here?
- I'm Benson.
Two dozen roses. Your
boyfriend must really love you.
"No hard feelings."
Where do you work?
Oh, here we go. Charged
the credit card of Lila White.
Lila White?
- Are you sure?
- Yeah.
Credit card went through.
It was a platinum card.
Those bastards take a
hunk out of my profits.
- Have you got
an address on this?
- Sure.
Mrs. White, what time
did your son get here?
Around 9:00 a.m.
He looked disheveled, harried.
He also wanted to
borrow some money.
That's generally
when I see him...
When he wants to borrow money.
- He's a taker.
- Did he say why he needed it?
I assumed because he had none.
Richard's never been
good with money.
He learned from his father.
- Is his father here?
- He's dead.
- I'm sorry.
- I'm not.
Richard uses his
father's death to use me.
To play on guilt he thinks I feel
because his father killed himself.
- When did that happen?
- Five years ago last week.
His father was a taker, too.
Like I've been telling him
since he was a little boy.
- Told him what?
- I thought he needed to know
how the world worked.
That he needed to grab
control, take things for himself.
And yet, you still
give him money.
Well, he is my son after all.
Did your son say where
he was going when he left?
Back to Manhattan.
He was going to look up
some special lady friend.
A policewoman.
I told him he should drop her
before she started taking
from him... no offense.
But I understand that you
people don't make any real money.
And for that...
you get to deal
with filth all day.
All shapes and sizes.
I'll walk you in.
I know how to protect
myself. I'm not a civilian.
You're not a superhero, either.
Elliot, if I let White change
my life in any way, he wins.
- I'm not going to let him win.
- This isn't about winning.
- Yeah, it is.
- Blink your lights
when you get inside.
You're just going to sit here
all night until I do, aren't you?
- You stubborn
son of a bitch.
- Yes, I am.
Stabler: See you tomorrow.
(phone ringing)
(gasps, panting)
Oh God.
Benson.
White: Hi, Olivia.
Where are you?
I want to see you, talk to you.
I know you want to see me.
You've been trying all day.
Let's meet.
Where?
Somewhere you'll feel safe.
- The station-house.
- (Chuckles)
Funny.
Make it the Ramble.
A bench that brings
back fond memories.
You know the one. 7:00 a.m.
- Don't be late.
- Olivia, I'm not a fool.
If I see one cop,
we'll never consummate
our relationship.
- (screaming)
- Run, bitch!
Drop it, freak, now! Drop it!
Cragen: On the
ground, White, get down!
Benson: Just turn
over and shut up.
You lying, coward bitch!
- He wants to confess.
- All right, let's do it.
No. He wants to play my
reactions while he's doing it.
- He'll get off on that.
- Which is good.
He'll be thinking
with the wrong head,
- give you
the advantage.
- Okay. Hey.
The gun. He's gotta
cop to using the gun.
Got it.
Olivia, I was wondering. I
thought you stood me up.
Of course not. I just had a
few things I had to take care of.
Makeup, hair? You look nice.
Thank you.
So, you wanted to talk.
Yes.
I was wondering though,
how's your mother?
Fine. How's yours?
You met her.
The classic refrigerator mother.
About your mother,
though, Serena, isn't it?
Is she still carrying around
all those scars from that rape?
Is she still having nightmares?
Let's talk about
Karen Fitzgerald.
One track mind. Compulsive.
- Good for you.
- How'd it happen?
We had a history.
So did you, I hear.
Yeah, I knew her. She
was smart, competent.
Not really. Not like you.
She like to read in the Ramble.
Same time, same day, every week.
That must have
made it easy for you.
- Too easy.
- Too easy?
- Then why stalk her?
- Stalk?
That's sort of purple, isn't it?
We both happened to go to a place
we thought was safe, picturesque.
Filled with bird watchers
and "moes." Relaxing.
Do you relax?
Seeing what you see every day,
knowing how the world is,
how bizarre and ugly it is?
Yeah, I relax.
Bath?
Chanting?
Yoga?
So, she didn't hear me
sneak up behind her.
She struggled a bit.
It's hard to do when somebody's
squeezing your trachea.
It sounds a bit like...
styrofoam peanuts crunching.
That's very descriptive.
Thank you.
In the clearing, I
picked up a rock,
I showed it to
her, hit her with it.
She yelped. She didn't scream.
She yelped like a whipped dog.
I made her crawl to me
and ask me for my forgiveness
for what she did to me.
What did she do to you again?
In court she embarrassed me.
Oh, right.
She made a gurgling sound.
I took that for an apology.
I accepted.
Then I took her. I
think she liked it.
- What do you think?
- It doesn't matter
what I think.
It does to me.
You're still listening,
so there must be something
you're enjoying about my story.
Maybe something's lacking?
I know...
You want me to say I killed her.
You need that detail to kill me.
Did you kill her?
I had a knife...
and I cut her.
And I watched her blood
seep into the ground
taking her life with it.
He'll never say he used a gun.
He gets that detail wrong, he
could duck the death penalty.
He probably tossed
it in the Hudson.
You look disappointed.
What's the matter?
Cat got your tongue?
Just tell me once more,
how'd you kill her?
Thrill seeker.
No. I'm through.
Do what you can
with what you got.
I don't think you
can kill me with it.
Pity.
I'm fixed on you.
And until I'm dead,
I'll always be in your head.
Just like your mother
has somebody in her head.
We're joined at the
hip now, aren't we?
Detective Stabler,
how are Kathy and the kids?
(theme music playing)