Repercussions

Fin leaned against the wrought iron fence outside the King Arts and Technology High School. In the emerging crowd he spotted a gangly, red-haired kid with camera hanging around his neck moving toward him. He elbowed Munch.

"You Damon Miller," Fin asked, holding out his badge.

"Yeah."

"We've got a couple of questions about Amy Stockwell," Munch said, moving to the kid's other side to cut off any escape route.

Damon hitched the strap of the portfolio he was carrying up onto his shoulder.

"What about her? Is she OK?"

"You take these photos of her and Jeff Erickson," Munch said, flashing the 8x10s Amy had given them.

"Jesus, could you not show those around!"

"You embarrassed by your handy-work Damon," Fin asked, moving into the boy's personal space. "It's fine to give out pictures of her rape to the victim but you don't want anyone else to know you werere, re, that it?"

Damon expression shifted, giving him a slightly green tinge.

"Rape? No, it wasn't like that!"

"Then tell us what it was like," Munch said, putting the photos into the manilla envelope he'd drawn them out of.

"I've been friends with Jeff since we were like, I dunno, eight maybe. I met Amy two years ago when I transferred here. We started to hang out. Then she met Jeff. Then the three of us started to hang out."

Damon hitched up the slipping portfolio again.

"Look, I'm not dumb, OK? She wanted him and I got to spend some time with her while she tried."


Despite his dark-gray suit and power tie, Joss Graydon looked younger than his 33 years. He motioned Elliot and Olivia past floor to ceiling windows which showcased a bustling view of Times Square to the couch in the sitting area in his office.

"I was so sorry to hear about Janet. She was a nice woman. You can't think Roger had something to do with this."

"We just need to rule out every possibility," Olivia said, leaning back against the butter soft leather of the couch and crossing her legs.

"You knew Janet Markum well," Stabler asked, pulling out his notebook.

"Not well, no," Graydon said, taking a seat opposite the couch and mirroring Olivia's position. "Mostly from company functions. They were an odd pair."

"How so?"

Graydon crossed his legs the opposite way.

"Don't get me wrong, Roger is a fabulous architect. He's good with the clients, says all the right things in the right places, but if you watch him closely, over time, it seems...well, rather hollow. Janet was more...genuine."

Olivia shot Elliot a look that fairly screamed "I told you so."

"Has Roger mentioned any sort of financial trouble recently?"

Graydon recrossed his legs.

"Mr. Graydon, anything you can tell us might lead us to Janet's killer," Olivia said leaning forward to look directly into Graydon's eyes.

"A couple of months ago Roger came to me for an advance on the commission we expect to get from a client he brought in this summer. He got slammed on margin calls when the dot com bubble burst. Everything they had left except the house was in Janet's name. And she's a much more conservative investor."

"And he wanted to play the market some more," Stabler said.

Graydon nodded.

"Rogeinksinks that if the market's down the time is right."

Olivia glanced at her partner.

"Can you confirm that Roger was at the retreat, Mr. Graydon?"

"Well, he was at the 8am. That lasted until 9:45am. There was 20 minutes of break time and then at 10:05am he was supposed to be in the first team-trust building group. He didn't show for that."

"Do you know where he was," Stabler asked, scribbling some notes.

"Probably off sulking somewhere, I can't say for sure. I didn't see him again until dinner. When I asked him where he was he told me he thought the exercises were crap and that he'd used his free will and skipped them."

Olivia rose from the couch. Graydon mirrored her.

"If there's anything else I can do to help..."

"Actually, if we could get a copy of Roger's client meetings for the past couple of months. We just want to make sure that no one was following him, trying to get a pattern on when Janet might be alone," Stabler said, closing his note book and replacing it in his inner coat pocket.

"We'd also like to talk to some of your other employees, see if anyone else saw him at the retreat center that morning."

"Schedules should be easy. We've got a centralized appointment calendar that's used by all the firm's architects. I'll get my secretary to show you around for your other interviews."

Graydon moved to his desk in the corner. He lifted the phone's receiver and dialed.

******

Elizabeth Donnelly knocked once on Alex Cabot's door before opening it. Alex held up her hand in acknowledgement as she listened to the caller on the phone.

"If he's not displaying them there's nothing I can do. I understand that, Don. If I have to, I'll come down and explain it myself. OK."

Alex hung up the phone and turned her attention to her boss who waited in the doorway.

"Eaten yet?"

"Actually, no."

"Join me then, and don't make me insist as your boss."

"I'd love to."

******

Cragen gave Elliot and Olivia the news about Amy Stockwell's case. Olivia couldn't control the disbelief in her voice.

"She's kidding, right?"

"The girl says it was consensual, and the photographer and the boys she gave up to you back her up, and she's confirmed the ecstasy use. We've got no complaint. Munch and Fin are going to fill out their DD5s and then this is closed. What have you got on our latest hotel rape victim?"

Elliot opened his notebook and found the right page.

"Husband admits to sex with her the morning she died. We're still waiting on DNA results to find out of there were any other donors to the sample they found when they did the rape kit."

"In the meantime, we've got the tapes from the hotel," Cragen said. "See who else besides the husband did an in-and-out from her room."

Cragen turned and walked back into his office. Olivia followed him and shut the door.

"Isn't there something we can do about Amy Stockwell?"

"Not according to Cabot. Why is this one bothering you so much? The girl made a free choice to do what she did. It might not be a choice you agree with but she made it."

"Right, but what she didn't choose is how people are going to perceive her now: 'the girl who screwed eight guys at a party.' Do you think she consciously chose that label and everything that goes with it?"

"We'll never know, but there is no crime here. Let it go, Olivia. I need you concentrating on other things. Come in," Cragen said, responding to a sharp knock on the door.

Elliot pushed open the door and stuck his head through the crack.

"DNA's back on Janet Markum."

******

"Detective squad trying to tell you case law are they," Elizabeth Donnelly asked as she dug into her Caesar salad.

"A girl's mother found explicit pictures of her and a boy she knows in the girl's room. The girl admitted to Detective Benson that she'd engaged in consensual sex with the boy, and sal oal others, at a party."

"How old was the girl at the time?"

"Seventeen. Since the photographer isn't displaying or selling the photos, and the girl was legally able and consented to the acts there is no complaint."

"You're right on with the law. There's no complaint."

Alex took a few bites of her own salad.

"Olivia's taking this one hard. I'm not sure why."

"How's your relationship?"

Alex maintained firm control over her facial expression.

"With Olivia?"

"With her, with the squad in general."

"Good, I think. There are bound to be some disagreements among passionate people. I try to leave the police work to them, and I hope they'll do the same for the legal side with me."

Alex broke her roll in half, buttered one piece, and took a bite. "Passionate...just tell her all about the dream you had this morning," she thought.

"When I had your job it was rare to run into a female detective period, much less one working this bureau. It's got to be difficult for her swimming around in the testosterone soup."

"I think Olivia can hold her own," Alex said with a grin. "She's done her best to make me feel welcome."

"Indeed," Liz thought. "How's your personal life? The job isn't affecting that too much I hope."

"Mostly the job is my life. You know what my case load is like, Liz. It can't have been any better for you."

"It's difficult to find the time, and then to find someone who understands the hours, the commitment. Datingop, op, that would be tricky. You'd get the understanding but watching out for the conflict of interest would be a constant battle."

Alex's stomach did a slow roll as Liz took a sip of iced tea and speared a slice of cucumber in her salad.

"For the right person, though, it might be worth it," Liz said, crunching the cucumber slice.

******

"That's all really nice, but it doesn't tell us a thing about these photos," Munch said, brandishing the envelope.

"Look, you have to promise not to get my mom into this. She'll kill me if she finds out."

Fin glanced at his partner who gave a slight nod.

"Alright, spill."

"Jeff scored some X off his brother this summer while he was home from college."

"Ecstacy?"

"Yeah. He brought it to this 'endless summer' party over Labor Day weekend. A bunch of us started with a half. It was a nice buzz, everybody was happy. A few beers later, after Amy sticks her hand down the front of Jeff's pants, I find out I'm the only one that started with a half and there's none left."

"So they started going at it and..." Munch prompted.

Damon held up the camera dangling from the strap around his neck.

"I hid behind this. Just like I always do."

"Amy said Jeff wasn't the only guy she was with that night."

"Maybe six, seven other guys in the room. I ran out of film."

"But not you?"

Damon just shook his head.

"I...I thought she'd say no. I didn't want to get laughed at."

"She ever say no to any of these other guys," Fin asked.

"Not that I heard. Jeff was the first one and the last one with her."

"You have a web site where you show your work," Munch asked.

Damon hiked up the slipping portfolio strap.

"The only place my work ever goes is into this. And I'm sure not going to put those photos into my portfolio. One, I'd get kicked out of school. Two, I'd have to explain how I got them. My mom finds out ok eok ecstasy I'll be grounded 'til I'm your age."

"So if you can't show them to anyone why'd you keep taking photos," Fin asked.

Damon's facrnedrned a beet red.

"It's the closest I'm ever going to get to having sex with her myself."

******