SAVING GRACES

Chapter Three

“Not bad,” Alex said quietly as she maneuvered the SUV through traffic. “One day back, and you’ve uncovered a series of disappearances.” She looked quickly at her partner. He sat in the passenger seat and stared out the window. “Bobby…really…great work today…Your interview with Flynn…Finding that patter of the missing boys…It was great work…”

Bobby turned to her. “It…it felt good…to be back at work…but…but…” He looked out the window again.

“Hard to deal with Flynn?” Alex concentrated on the road, but listened carefully to Bobby.

“Well,” he said ruefully. “He is the type that can push my buttons…Were you worried about me?”

Alex was slightly surprised by the bluntness of the question. “Yea,” she said after a beat. “But not just about the case…I am worried about your coming back so soon…But…you were great today.”

“Thanks,” Bobby said. “I…I gotta admit…This isn’t the case I would’ve picked to come back to…”

“Do you think they’ll keep us on the case? Maybe the Brass will realize that SVU can handle it?” Alex asked.

Bobby considered the question for a moment. “I…I don’t know…I’ve given up trying to guess the Brass’ thinking. And…and I’d like to stay with the case, but…but…It’s not the type of case either of us handles particularly well…”

“Yea,” Alex agreed.

Bobby shook his head. “The SVU people…They’re great…It must be really heard to do that job…And they were very open…”

Alex nodded her head. “I like Fin…You’re right…He’s a good guy and cop.”

“I’d like to work more with Huang…He know his stuff…Munch is an interesting guy.”

“Olivia Benson told me that Cragen is a great captain,” Alex said. “And he’s living up to that.”

“You know Benson well?” Bobby asked tentatively.

“Another good person and cop.” She smiled. “Interested, Goren?”

Bobby reddened slightly, and Alex felt a pang of shame. At this point in his life Bobby certainly didn’t need even the smallest bit of trouble. They occasionally teased each other about their respective romantic lives, but both Alex and Bobby fought mightily to keep their professional and private lives separate. In recent months, Bobby’s fight had been a failure, and Alex knew his romantic life was nonexistent.

“I…I…” he stammered. “She…she’s very nice…but someone like her…There must be someone…”

So, Alex thought. He is interested. “There isn’t anyone,” she said gently. “Olivia’s complained to me that she doesn’t meet a great class of guys in her work.” They were close to One Police Plaza. “I’m not teasing you, Bobby…She was checking you out.”

“Uh,” Bobby said. “Trying to play matchmaker, Eames?” He tried for a light tone, but couldn’t hide the yearning in his voice.

Alex drove carefully into the parking garage. “Maybe,” she admitted. “Be nice if two of my friends could find some happiness.” She eased the SUV into a spot. “But…I don’t mean to intrude, Bobby,” she said softly.

“It’s ok,” Bobby said. He shook his head. “I can’t imagine…If she’s heard anything about me…”

“Olivia’s not like that,” Alex declared.

“It doesn’t matter,” Bobby muttered. Alex could scarcely hear him over the loud echoes in the garage. “I can’t be interested in anyone…” He unbuckled his seat belt. “C’mon…we need to report to Ross…”

Alex again tried to subtly study Bobby during the elevator ride to the office. She hadn’t intended to intrude so far into his life, and was surprised he’d allowed her to get so far. Alex knew that Olivia Benson’s life wasn’t without its troubles, and vaguely hoped that Bobby and Olivia were two souls who might heal each other.

“Don’t,” Alex thought. “More like destroy each other…Even if…”

Ross met them at the Major Case Squad door. “George Flynn called the Chief of Detectives,” he began.

“Great, Goren,” Alex said. “First day back, and you’ve got the Brass on us.”

Bobby gave her a guilty look.

“Nothing like that,” Ross said smoothly as he walked with Bobby and Alex to their desks. “Whatever you said to him, Mr. Flynn was impressed by it. The Chief said he’s never seen a man’s attitude change so quickly. Keep this up, Detective, and the Chief will try to promote you.”

Bobby looked stricken.

“Don’t worry, Detective,” Ross said. “He’d have to fight me. Cragen also called me…Said you found a pattern of disappearances…”

“Yea,” Bobby said softly.

Ross studied him for a moment. “Cragen was very impressed by both of you…He’d appreciate your continued help with this…If you’re willing.”

Alex glanced at Bobby.

“You don’t have to do this,” Ross said quietly. “There’s plenty of work for you here…but…” He spoke to both detectives, but his words were clearly directed to Bobby. “I have to admit this is a high profile and priority case…”

“I…I’d like to stay with it…If I can be of help…” Bobby looked at Alex. “If Eames…”

“Don’t worry, Bobby,” Alex smiled. “We’re a package deal.”

“That’s understood,” Ross said.

“C’mon, partner,” Alex said. “Let’s get our stuff together and get back to SVU.”

He was terribly quiet during the drive.

“Bobby,” Alex said cautiously. “Remember…We’re helping other detectives…You’re doing a good job…”

He titled his head slightly, the only indication he’d heard her words. “I hope,” he finally said. “That I’m wrong…”

Both Alex and Bobby knew he was rarely wrong. As the day continued, it became increasingly and painfully clear that Bobby was right about the pattern of disappearances. Twelve to fourteen year old boys were missing from New York City and areas in New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York State near the city. The disappearances dated back at least twenty-five years and had escaped notice because of the fluctuating state of communications among law enforcement agencies. Several departments wrote the boys off as runaways. The boys on the list were all from Catholic families; all played baseball; and all of their families were in trouble. They all went missing in the late spring or early summer, just as the baseball season began. The boy who disappeared just before Michael Flynn was Anthony Morelli, fourteen years old, from one of Newark, New Jersey’s few finer neighborhoods, until recently a good student and an altar boy at a parish that shared his first name. Problems between his mother and father had led to recent slips in both his academic and religious devotion, but he remained faithful to baseball. He didn’t come home after a game in which he made several good defensive plays and went two for four at the plate. Before Anthony was Edward Quang, twelve years old, the son of a mother who went to Mass every day and a father who was something less than a saint. The family tensions had led to an angry split and an angry son. Edward never made it to his baseball game.

“It can’t be a coincidence,” Bobby muttered. “There’re too many similarities about these cases…”

Stabler raised his head from the witness interviews he studied. “I can’t argue with you about that, Goren. But where did these kids go? If someone is targeting kids like these, how is he finding them?”

Bobby rubbed his eyes. “I don’t know…”

Seated across the desk from Bobby, Alex recognized the frustration in his voice. “Bobby,” she said gently. “No one expects you to solve this at once.”

“Yea,” Olivia said in support. “It’s impressive enough that you uncovered this.”

Fin and Munch appeared in the squad room; they’d gone in search of the witnesses in the case of another boy, Patrick O’Neill, who’d gone missing some three years before.

“Not much luck,” Munch said darkly.

“We found the field where Patrick was last seen,” Fin said. “And one of his friends…He’s a volunteer with the Police League team…But he didn’t have anything to help us…”

“Police league,” Bobby murmured. “Police…” He reached for several papers. “These kids…the teams they were on…Sponsored by…” His eyes flew over the papers.

With a sense of dread, the other detectives read the reports before them.

“All of them,” Bobby said. “The games…the teams…They were sponsored by the local police…”

“It doesn’t mean that a cop is involved,” Alex said quickly, to calm both her colleagues and her own nerves.

“Could be anyone involved with the leagues,” Fin added.

Their words did little to dispel the tension in the air.

Bobby sat for several minutes in deep thought; his head rested in his hand, his elbow on the desk. “Not necessarily a cop…Couldn’t be just involved with a local team…” he murmured. He spun his chair to look for Alex and found not only her sympathetic eyes but also Olivia’s. For a moment he was stunned by the discovery that a cop other than Alex seemed willing to listen to him.

“What is it?” Alex asked. She recognized the signs of a Goren revelation and blamed the presence of other for his hesitation.

“If the baseball league is the connection,” Bobby said, leaning forward in his chair and waving a hand to press his point. “It would have to be someone in the upper levels of the organization…someone with ties to all of the local leagues where the boys played…Someone on a regional level.”

“Which means it might not be a cop,” Stabler said tensely.

“Yea,” Bobby nodded. “We need to check the records of the leagues and their administrators…See if any names are common to them…”

Olivia and Alex tapped on their computers even as Bobby spoke.

“And go back,” he continued. “With these cases…to look for this…and other ties…”

“Maybe a priest,” Munch suggested.

“I…I don’t think that’s it.” Bobby stood and began pacing. “They’re too scattered…Cover too many dioceses and archdioceses. I think that link would be clearer…We certainly want to check that angle…But the baseball one…It works…”

Cragen, looking as if several pounds of additional weight had been placed on his shoulders, emerged from his office. “George Flynn is on TV,” he said.

Munch turned on the TV to the local news channel. George and Maria Flynn faced a mob of reporters and cameras in front of their Upper West Side apartment. Maria Flynn was in the midst of uttering a fervent plea for her son’s return. For once, George Flynn appeared content to play a supporting role. Maria Flynn finished her appeal, and George Flynn made a few evidently sincere remarks in support.

“You may have reached him, Goren,” Munch commented. “He’s acting like a father, not a celebrity.”

The reporters unleashed a barrage of questions when Flynn ended his remarks.

“Keep your mouth shut, Flynn,” Stabler muttered. “Don’t blow it…”

Flynn turned to the cameras. “My wife and I greatly appreciate the efforts of the New York City Police Department and the FBI to find our son. I know that the best people are working on this case. The NYPD has placed Detective Robert Goren on it, and I am very pleased…” The rest of Flynn’s remarks were lost in the reporters’ shouts. The detectives turned to Bobby, who stood unhappily in the middle of the office. Alex moved instinctively closer to him.

“I…I…” Bobby rubbed the back of his neck with a large paw. “I’m sorry about that…I…”

“You don’t have to apologize, Bobby,” Alex said firmly. “You didn’t start or ask for this.” She looked around the room to accentuate her words.

Bobby’s obvious distress moved Olivia; she glanced around the room to see if her colleagues also saw it. “Yea…don’t worry about it,” she said. “We know you don’t want this kind of attention.”

“And since it’s coming from George Flynn, probably not the praise, either,” Finn added.

Gratitude shown in Bobby’s eyes. “Uh…yea…If you’re judged by your friends, I…I don’t think I want George Flynn to be one of them.”

Munch flicked off the TV. Cragen frowned as the screen went black. “This is only going to increase the pressure on us. Goren…this theory of yours…Will it help find Michael Flynn?”

Bobby rubbed the back of his neck again. “I honestly don’t know. But he certainly fits the profile of the victims and the pattern of the disappearances.”

“We obviously need more information…But I think Bobby has got something,” Olivia said firmly. Bobby turned to her, surprise and gratitude in his eyes.

“All right,” Cragen said. “Let’s get to work…The clock is ticking…”

“So,” Alex sighed and turned to Stabler. “Where do you guys order your Chinese food?”

Bobby barely touched the food when it arrived, even after Alex assured him that it was better than the usual fare brought to Major Case. It was late, and all of the detectives had already worked long, hard hours. The work continued as late night gave way to early morning. It was grunt work, requiring the checking of long lists against others and the examinations of old interviews and witness statements.

Alex yawned and stretched. “We still don’t have all the records we need,” she said wearily. “And we’re going to have to try to find some of the witnesses and interview them again.”

Olivia nodded sympathetically. “And we still don’t have all of the reports on the disappearances.”

Alex sighed. “And time is something we…and Michael…don’t have…” She rubbed her eyes. Michael Flynn was becoming more real and human to her as time went by.

“Eames…” Bobby’s excited voice rang in Alex’s ears. She recognized the tone that always heralded some discovery. “Look at this.” Bobby shoved several lists before her. The lists contained the names of official and administrators involved in the upper level of the New York City area’s police sponsored youth baseball leagues. Bobby had highlighted several names appearing on more than one list.

“I think,” he said, trying to temper his excitement. “This might be a start…If we can narrow down the names on these lists…And if the leagues and teams have websites…with pictures…”

Alex nodded. Olivia, who glanced over her shoulder, turned to gather the other detectives. By the time she returned with Stabler, Bobby and Alex were searching for websites. It was a start; they were still searching for a needle in a haystack, but now they at least knew what haystack to look in and what kind of needle to look for. But it was still hard, numbing, painstaking work. Cragen finally emerged from his office where he had also been examining files and records; he surveyed his ragged troops.

“I’m headed to the crib for a few hours of sleep,” he announced. “And I strongly suggest that you all do the same.”

Alex stretched and yawned.

“Just a warning, Eames,” Munch said as he passed her. “We don’t have the luxurious accommodations of Major Case.”

“You’ve obviously never seen the accommodations at Major Case,” Alex responded dryly. “C’mon, Bobby…Let’s get some shut eye.”

“H-m-m?” Bobby was lost in his study of the screen before him.

Alex strode to his desk. “Goren,” she said firmly. “Sleep…You know…you lie down and close your eyes and the world goes away for a while. Sleep…now…” She reached to shut off Bobby’s computer, but a large hand stopped her.

“Just…just a few more minutes,” Bobby pleaded. “I…I promise…”

Alex hesitated. She desperately wanted Bobby to get some sleep. Her body begged for it, and she could only imagine that he was in even greater need than her. She wanted to tell him that it was too soon for him to press so hard on a case, but she didn’t wish to challenge him in front of other detectives.

Cragen came to her aid. “Detective,” he said patiently. “You’re no good if you’re exhausted…Get some sleep…”

Bobby wiped a large paw across his face. “Just a few moments…I promise…please…Captain…Eames…”

Cragen glanced at Alex, who shrugged in defeat.

“All right,” the captain conceded. “But only a few minutes. Don’t make me order you to get some rest.”

The other detectives filed out of the squad room.

“C’mon, Alex,” Olivia said. “I’ll show you where the lavish girls’ locker room is.”

Alex hesitated. “Just a sec.” She looked at her partner. “Bobby…”

“I…I promise…I’ll get some sleep…I just want to check a few things.”

Alex sighed. Every cell in her body screamed for sleep; she lacked the energy to argue with Bobby. She had to admit that he was at the top of his form in this case. He seemed all right.

“Are you ok?” she asked, looking him in the eyes.

“Yes,” he answered immediately and calmly. “Better than I’ve been in some time, actually.” He looked away for a moment, and then returned to steadily meet her gaze. “But…thank you for…thank you.”

“All right,” Alex said reluctantly. “But if you don’t get some sleep…”

Bobby smiled. “I know. I’ll face the wrath of Eames.”

Alex followed Olivia out of the squad room. As the two detectives left, Olivia turned to look at Bobby Goren. The lights on his desk and from his computer were two of the few sources of illumination in the room. The pale light shone on his face. His face was as pale as the light, and his dark eyes shone in bright contrast. As exhausted as she was, Olivia still felt a dull ache in her heart. She wanted to wrap her arms around Bobby, to tell him that he wasn’t the only one responsible for saving the world, or even a small piece of it. She fought the impulse, and went down the stairs.

END Chapter Three