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The Devil You Know	By : SisterWine Category: G through L > Law & Order Views: 3166 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Law & Order, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-The Devil You Know
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Part 6
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-Ten
- 11-Eleven
- 12-Twelve
- 13-Alternate Scene
- 14-Alternate Ending 2
- 2
- 3
- 4
Arraignment
Wednesday, 24 Octobre
9:00 AM

Judge Cathy Marsden stared over the tops of thin-framed reading glasses at the counsel before her. She then blinked at the smug expression of the man in question. "How does your client plead, Mr. Matthews?" She had been an older judge, well placed on the bench for about 20 years. She had been, in no way, a frail old woman as her mind and judgment had been as sound as a tack. She dealt with Erik on a constant, almost monthly basis and tired of his client's constant shenanigans.

Erik had looked less pale and fragile, as he had the day before. "Not guilty, your honour."

Combed black hair and wearing the same clothes from the day before, black khakis and a pin-striped white shirt, rolled at the sleeves, Jacob Martinelli looked very pleased with himself. Hazel eyes reflected complete calm, oblivious to the day before's events. With his hands in his pockets and an occasional glance to his right, where his lawyer stood, he had become well-known in the courtroom and looked around as if looking on happier moments. Jake had shaved the day before but would have preferred better hygiene standards than what was offered, in lock up. Jake was the type of man who felt as if he were above the rest, his father and grandfather being two men who co-founded one of the top law firms in the state. Though a distinguished-looking man of 43, Jake didn't believe in acting any older than a man in his 20s.

"Your honour, Mister Martinelli fled from police when they merely wanted to question him about his whereabouts during a murder investigation. Of which, his name had appeared as knowing the victim." ADA Alexandra Cabot stood across the aisle and offered the rest of the story.

Erik looked over his shoulder and studied the woman before turning to focus on the judge. "My client has completed rehab program with exceptional points and has been working on several Community Service routines in which he has signed up for, to help our city's youth. The substance confiscated was neither on his person or in his possession at the time of arrest." He had liked how professional Ms. Cabot was and admired her calm confidence. Her hair had been done up neatly and her glasses gave a delicate touch to her milky complexion. He had heard about her from some of his other co-workers and knew what he was getting into but, as much as he was supposed to despise her, he admired her.

Alex looked over at opposing counsel and then back to the judge. "Mister Martinelli ran from detectives upon approach, leading them to believe he was not following law-abiding protocol. He fled from officers and when they caught up to him, he was subsequently cuffed, Marandised, searched and booked."

"Your honour, my client was arrested in a known drug-related part of Midtown. The report states the bag in question was found on the ground beside him and not on his person. He is neither a flight risk or convicted drug dealer. His prior associations with the substance have only landed him in rehab, not jail." Taking a glance over at his client, he could feel the smug smile the older man wore. His stomach began to knot.

Judge Marsden stared back at Erik, unamused in his argument. "Your client should have thought of that before deciding to run from police, Counselour. Bail is set at $15,000." With the bang of her gavel, the case was ended and the bailiff was called to take Jake into custody. "Short recess."

Erik hung his head as Jake was lead away. He could hear Alex talking to Benson and Stabler but the voices seemed to meld together as the room had started to spin. He felt overly warm in his clothing and had started to sweat but couldn't force himself to move. A small groan escaped him as he closed his eyes. He knew it had been too soon to get back to work but had no other choice. He swallowed and shifted his stance.

"You feeling alright, Counselour?" Elliot had noticed the small groan and had been watching the lawyer carefully. "Counselour?"

Erik nodded. "Fine." Brushing past the two detectives, he made his way to the door, briefcase in hand.

"He took that well." Olivia's tone had been more of concern than chiding as she watched the young lawyer make his way out of the courtroom.

Medical Examiner's Office
10:34 AM

"Tox screen came back with unusual levels of Hydroxyurea, or more commonly, Droxia." Warner handed her findings over to Olivia, who skimmed the three-page report as Elliot read over her shoulder. She had finished her autopsy on Aaron Jasper and was now in the process of explaining clearer markings and wounds on his body.

Olivia looked confused. "Cancer drugs?"

Warner nodded. "More specifically Myelocytic Leukemia." She had pulled several samples of Aaron Jasper's blood and tissue to show her findings. "Aaron Jasper showed no signs of bone marrow degeneration, vomiting, tissue or muscle swelling, prior to having the drug introduced, before time of death. There is also no evidence of CML, which is Chronic Phase Myeloid Leukemia. The killer most likely has CML or has access to the Droxia."

Elliot's brow furrowed. "What about the condom from Jasper's trash?" He looked across the table at the Medical Examiner as she shook her head.

"Trace of soap residue suggests they had sex in the shower and discarded the condom found in the trash. Seminal fluid inside the condom was Jasper's." Meeting eyes with Olivia, Melinda turned her attention back to the body of Aaron Jasper, lying on the table, behind them. "He did have some pre-mortum bruising on his forearms. Someone held him down as they raped him." She pointed out the hand pattern on Jasper's upper forearms, indicating that he was held down while lying on his back.

"Consensual sex in the shower but not before being murdered?" Elliot took the report from Olivia, that Warner had handed them, and looked it over, once more. "Any idea what type of cord was used to strangle him?" He looked from the paper to Aaron's neck and the thin bruising that wrapped around, just under the jawline.

"Aggressours tend to lack impulse control. The night might have started out as just another, romantic evening but then turned sour. It could have happened during or after the sex in the shower, or hours later, while getting dressed." Melinda paused and stared down at the young man, on the table. "The type of cord used to strangle him was an oxygen tube. Used mainly for portable machines. The attacker wrapped the cord completely around his neck twice and pulled, as if pulling shoelaces before tieing them. Lividity indicates he was lying on his back."

Olivia shrugged. "So, we have nothing to go on. No DNA, no trace from the perp?"

Elliot turned away to answer his phone before turning back to his partner, after ending the call, and informing her of another lead. "Captain says Matthews bailed Jake out and wants us to pick him up, for questioning."

SVU Interrogation
Room #1
11:45 AM

Elliot sat in a chair, across the metal table from Matthews while Olivia leaned against the viewing wall, behind Elliot. "Should we try this one again? Your name came up, on a list, of possible dating matches for Aaron Jasper. How well did you know him?" Watching Jake's expression change from indifference to glib, Elliot also glanced over at the man's attourney, who sat patiently and waited for the answer, as well.

Sighing with a smirk, Jake shifted positions, in the chair, and blinked back at the detective. "We had a few... evenings... together."

"How many 'evenings' were you two together?" Olivia studied Jake's body language.

Jake sighed again but didn't answer right away.

"Jake." Looking over to his client, Erik's tone was almost a whisper.

Running the tip of his tongue over his top front teeth and ignoring his lawyer, Jake shifted again. "We had three, maybe four dates. Not exactly dates, though." He smiled as he recalled an image that only he had been privy to.

Clearing his throat, Elliot sat up from his relaxed position and leaned on his left arm, on the table. "Why's that?"

"We were mostly in bed, fucking." From the corner of his eye, he caught Erik's dissatisfied expression but made no move to acknowledge it.

Olivia pushed off of the wall and took a few steps closer to the table. "So, the match was a mutual agreement?"

"Yea."

"How long before it turned sexual?" Elliot narrowed his eyes at the man. He watched Jake closely and made countless mental notes on the tiniest of details.

Jake smirked and contained a laugh. "About as long as it took for us to get naked."

Erik inhaled and shifted in his seat. "Where is this going?" His gaze focused on Stabler as the detective acknowledged him. His calm demeanour had begun to fade as he had been forced to listen to his client's unabashed escapades. He felt tired and bored of taking care of the spoilt brat of a man his client had become.

Olivia sighed and sat down beside Elliot. "Aaron Jasper was murdered after having sex. Possibly with one of his matches from Just Right Dating Service."

Blinking slowly and looking from Elliot to Olivia, Erik sighed again. "You know this for a fact?"

"Know, but can't prove." Elliot answered for her. "Jasper only had one other caller, at the time of the murder." His eyes never moved from Jake's placid expression. He could feel Erik's eyes on him but didn't move to meet the man's gaze. Instead, he sat back in his chair and folded his arms, in front of him.

A wide, smug smile formed on Jake's lips. "I told you, I was with my lawyer."

Nodding, Olivia shifted. "Did you know Aaron's other dates, from the service?"

"Nope."

"Do you or anyone you know of take cancer medication?"

Erik raised an eyebrow and turned to see his client's expression before the man answered. He did his best to hide his concern and knowledge of the offered tip. He had been thankful the two detective were paying close attention to his client and not his mannerisms. Yet, he wanted to hear the answer to the question, as well.

Jake didn't flinch, only shook his head and answered, "nope."

"Did Jasper ever mention anyone, friends or family, who might have had cancer?

"No."

Expressionless, Erik stared at his client for a long moment. "If there aren't any more questions or proof of guilt, my client and I will be leaving now." Taking a breath and standing up, he was halted as Elliot cleared his throat.

"Just one. You said you were mainly in bed, with Jasper, on your 'dates.' Your place or his?"

"Whichever was closer."

"We're done." Erik locked eyes with his client, silently scolding him.

Jake scoffed and stood up, following behind Erik as they left the precinct.

SVU Squadroom
3:53 PM

Fin and Munch strolled in and stopped in the walkway between desks. "Medical Board came back with the names of the patients taking Droxia. There's about 100 or so people with that specific type of Leukemia, in Manhattan, only about 30 take Droxia." Handing the findings to Elliot, He leaned against the side of his desk while Munch busied himself with a fresh cup of coffee.

"So, we'll run that against the list of matches to Aaron Jasper's dating profile, see who turns up." Olivia sat at her desk and stopped writing notes from the call she had taken five minutes prior, concerning another case. Leaning back, in her chair and toying with the pen, in her hand. She looked from Fin to Elliot and then over to the clear board they used as a timeline. "So, of the five people on the list of matches, only three alibi out. First match, married, two kids, lives in Ithaca. Second, considered too young, never met up. Justin Paxton, was 30,000 feet in the air, on his way back to Manhattan, at the time of death." Putting the pen down on the desk, she stood and made her way over to the board, staring at the enlarged photo of Aaron Jasper. Her brow furrowed as she studied the differences between Jasper's driver's license photo and the crime scene photo. "El," tapping the crime scene photo, taped next to his license photo, she turned to look at her partner, "who does that look like to you?"

Elliot looked from the list of names to the photo she pointed at. "That would make more sense to this, guess who's name is on the list for being prescribed Droxia."

"Matthews?" Olivia's brow furrowed and she moved over to where Elliot stood to read the name, herself. "They lied to us. That makes Matthews an accessory. But, why would he implicate himself?"

Fin shook his head. "Martinelli's too much of a son of a bitch to stay out of trouble but, what do they get out of killing an innocent kid?"

"Maybe Matthews wanted in on the little hook-ups and Jake said no?" Olivia stared at the name on the paper in puzzlement.

The captain had been listening to the bull session from the doorway of his office and stepped forward to offer his input. "Question Matthews about the cancer drug. And re-question him about the whereabouts of his client, on Sunday night. Meanwhile, have Alex get a warrant to search Matthews home."

Law Offices of Caldwell & Jameson
123rd Street
4:45 PM

"You lied to me, Counselour." Elliot called to Matthews from a few feet away. He had waited for the young lawyer to leave work before approaching the man that just hailed a cab. Approaching the curb as a yellow cab pulled up, Elliot showed his badge to the driver as he bent over to call to the woman driver, "he'll catch the next one." As the cab pulled away, Elliot stood up and came face to face with the unamused attourney. "When I asked if you were ill, in the men's room, you said you weren't."

Erik sighed and shoved his hands into his pants pockets. "I omitted facts. I didn't lie to you."

Elliot listened intently to the words. "When we asked your client if he knew of anyone taking Droxia, you tried not to show it but your expression registered knowledge of it. Out of the 30 people, in the city of Manhattan, your name was on the list for prescribed patients."

"Thinking of arresting me?" Erik paused. "You asked my client the question, not me. A twitch, a flinch, an eyebrow raised is not proof of guilt and therefore, inadmissible in court. If you're thinking of arresting me because I take Droxia, be my guest," he smiled as he held out his wrists to be cuffed. "However, that will never stand up in court."

Nodding, Elliot shifted. "Are you sleeping with your client, Counselour? Or, is he just a roommate?"

Erik flinched at the question. "We were.... together..... for a time, yes. I did tell you, he wasn't always my client."

"Just wanted to be clear." Keeping eye contact with the attourney, Elliot moved on. "How long have you been ill?"

Erik turned his head and stared at the street. He didn't answer but, instead, stared at the passing cars. "About four years." When he finally looked back at the detective, his eyes revealed the hidden pain and desperation he had worked so hard at concealing. "And, to save you the trouble of asking, the relationship ended a year later."

"So, you two are no longer intimate but you have occasional sleep overs?"

"I never said I was the one that ended it." Erik's tone flattened. "Jake mainly stays at his brother's brownstone, in Yonkers. My place is closer to where he works."

Again, Elliot nodded and listened. "Inner-city youth."

Erik sighed. "He owns a contracting business in Queens." Checking his watch, he added, impatiently, "Detective, either arrest me on suspicion of murder of a man I've never met, or find something else to solidify your claims. Either way, I'm late for an appointment. If you'll excuse me." Hailing another cab, the two men parted ways.

Continued.
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The Devil You Know