partners9

Partners

Anita Van Buren usually hated working Saturdays. But today was different. They finally had a good line on Mike Logan's killer. And best of all, it was looking like Mike had actually died in the line of duty; an off-duty officer responding to an emergency situation involving a previous victim.

She still had difficulty accepting that 'ladies' man' Logan had actually been gay, and involved in some disturbingly kinky stuff. It was good to know that it hadn't been the cause of his death after all. Once she'd given the team their assignments this morning, she planned to fill out the paperwork to get his death reclassified as 'duty-related.' It was too late for a funeral with proper police honors, but at least Lennie would get the double-indemnity payment on his insurance.

She wondered again why Logan had named his old partner as his beneficiary. They'd been close, and stayed friends all the years since Mike had been exiled from the 2-7. Knowing now that Mike was gay, she wondered if it had been more than just friendship? But she just couldn't imagine Lennie going along with that. But then she really couldn't imagine Mike as gay either, so that showed how good her gaydar was. Who knew for sure? And did it really matter?

Of course not. She decided to just forget about it and concentrate on finding this 'big shot' who was responsible for the death of an innocent young man, and a good cop named Logan.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. Munch and Tutuola entered at her wave, followed by Green and Fontana. The four detectives found various perches around her cramped office. She picked up a report from her desk.

"Well, we didn't get lucky with the sketch last night. They found several people who knew Rico, but everyone said they hadn't seen him since Monday. Obviously he knows this bodyguard type is looking for him and is laying low."

"Either that or they got him and we'll never find him alive." This from Munch, the eternal pessimist.

Anita couldn't help grinning. "Oh, no, our boy Rico is alive and well. If you wanted to hide from somebody on the street who wanted you dead, what would you do?"

They all thought a minute, then Fin let out a grunt of disgust. "He got himself popped for some misdemeanor, didn't he? 'Safe' behind bars?"

"You get the prize, detective. We got a match on priors for a known pimp named Alejandro Rico who matches Joey's description. Apparently he solicited an undercover cop, and with his record they weren't going to just slap his wrist and let him go. He pled to a 6-month sentence. Just long enough to stay out of harm's way. He's still over at Rikers. Why don't you and Munch go have a conversation with him?"

Munch grinned. "Our pleasure."

Anita nodded and turned her attention to Green and Fontana.

"You two start with the hotel Joey said this happened at. See who sponsored that big public event he was talking about. If our perp was one of the VIP's the sponsor may be able to help us find him."

Anita paused as her men nodded, then continued. "Then the last thing is finding the body of our first victim. The ME's office has 10 unidentified corpses classified as O.D's in the right age range from last week. They're sending me photos; I'll get them to Joey and see if he can ID any of them as this 'Ronnie' from the party. If we're gonna pin this guy for the boy's death, we need to have the body."

With that the party broke up and each team turned to their assignments. Anita reached for the phone; if she was going to deal with Joey, she knew who she wanted there with her �

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The doors clanged as the guard left after delivering the prisoner. Rico looked to be thirty-something, and as jaded as they came. He eyed these two new detectives suspiciously. "I ain't seen you two before. What you hassling me about now? You already got me in jail."

Fin rolled his eyes at the 'tough guy' act. "Listen up, Rico. Street-smart guy like you wouldn't make a mistake like you did, soliciting a cop. You did it on purpose to hide out from the guy who's gunning for you. The one who hired you to put together that little party last Monday night."

Rico didn�t even flinch. "I don't know what you're talkin' about, man."

Munch leaned in, getting into Rico's space. "Oh yeah? Well, here's a newsflash, pal. They didn't get Joey. We got him, and he sang like a canary. And later today he's gonna look at photos of all the dead John Does from this week, so we'll have the body of the kid who died. And Joey will place you on the scene."

Rico laughed. "Joey? You think a jury is gonna believe anything that junkie tramp says? Besides, he's chicken. He might say something to you now, but he'll wilt on the stand. He knows better."

Fin shook his head. "Joey's not feelin' so charitable toward you these days, Rico, since you put him in the hospital."

Rico barked another laugh. "Oh yeah? Well, you didn't see him pressing any charges, did you? He knows when to shut up. And anyway, who cares about who killed a junkie whore?"

Rico's smugness was getting on Munch's nerves. "Listen up, dirt bag. You think this is just about a dead hooker? So the case will just go away? Guess again. When Joey ran, he called his buddy Mike, one of our brothers in blue. Your 'client' killed a COP, Rico. Which makes this a Murder I case. And you're an accessory."

THAT finally got Rico's attention; for just a moment his eyes flashed fear. He subdued it quickly, but it was enough. "I ain't saying nothing else without my lawyer."

Fin sighed; he knew they had Rico, but he was gonna make them jump through hoops for it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Green and Fontana entered the lobby of the Hyatt Stanhope, a luxury hotel overlooking the east side of Central Park, just a block and a half from where Mike's body had been found. For once, Fontana's expensive wardrobe fit right in. The suited man behind the front desk smiled warmly at them. "Can I help you gentlemen?"

Joe ruined his day by flashing his badge. "We're trying to find out some information about an event hosted here last Monday evening."

The man behind the desk frowned. "I'm not sure we can give out that kind of information �"

Ed leaned over the desk. "Look, man, I understand, you want to take care of your rich customers. But this is a murder investigation. We can come back with a warrant �"

"Um, maybe you should talk to the Sales and Catering Manager."

Joe smiled. "Now that's more like it."

Fortunately, since weekends were when hotels did a lot of events; the sales manager was actually in on Saturday morning. They were shown into a tidy office, housing a petite woman in her mid-40's.

"Carolyn, these police officers would like a word with you," their guide said before darting away.

Joe spoke up, offering her his hand. "I'm Det. Fontana, this is Det. Green. We need some information about an event hosted here last Monday evening."

"Carolyn Snyder, Sales and Catering Manager. Do you know which event? We had a couple of things going on last Monday."

Ed jumped in. "Something that might have attracted some well-known people?"

She frowned. "We did have a political fundraiser. Is that what you're looking for?"

Joe got the impression she really didn't want to say much more. He put on his best charming smile. "That just might be it. What kind of fundraiser?"

As expected, she hesitated. Joe jumped back in. "Ms. Snyder, if it was a political event, it's a matter of public record. Everybody who paid to come has to be disclosed as a donor. So you're not violating anybody's privacy telling us."

She sighed. "It was a Republican Central Committee dinner. Most of the city's serving Republicans and many of the major donors were present."

Ed cocked an eyebrow. The conservatives usually weren't exactly gay-friendly. So if one of them was partying with a gay prostitute after the main event, it would look VERY bad for him. Maybe even worse than the fact that the prostitute died of a drug overdose. "Did many of them stay over in the hotel Monday night, or did most go home?"

She frowned. "The party was slated to run rather late; they did have a room block."

Joe nodded. "We'll need a list of all those who stayed."

"I'm not sure I can give you that, detective �"

Joe's charming fa�ade faded. "Look, Ms. Snyder, a cop was killed Monday night, and it's looking like it was related to something that happened here at the hotel after your big party. Now I can go back and get a warrant, or you can just give us the list. I promise we'll treat your clients with all due deference."

Ed bit back a chuckle. He knew just how much deference Joe felt was due to politicians. But after a few more seconds, hesitation, Snyder turned to her computer and generated a report. With a sour look, she took it from the printer and handed it to Fontana.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lennie waited on the corner watching the cars go past. Eventually, a police cruiser pulled up; he could see Anita Van Buren in the passenger seat. He quickly climbed in back. "Morning, Lieu."

Anita smiled; Lennie had been such a constant factor in the life of the 27th precinct, it felt good to have him around again. "Hey, Lennie. How're you doing?"

The retired detective shrugged. "Hangin' in there, I guess."

Anita could see his sardonic smile in the rear-view mirror. She knew this week had been hard on him. To learn about your ex-partner like this couldn't be pleasant. And yet he seemed to have some of that old spark back again. Taking Joey under his wing had given him a new purpose, and one which honored Mike's memory.

They chatted about old friends and goings on as the uniformed driver made his way to the clinic where Joey was staying. Once there, they were shown to a patient room. Since he was under police protection, and a talkative roommate could be a real security risk, Joey had the room to himself. His face shone with delight when he saw Lennie coming. Anita held back, waiting in the hallway.

"Lennie! You came!"

Briscoe grinned at the eager greeting. "Course I did, Joey. I promised, didn't I?"

The smile faded slightly. "Some people, promises don't mean squat."

Lennie sat down on the edge of the bed and gave the boy a quick hug. "Mine do. So how're you doing?"

"OK I guess � got through the night. They gave me somethin', made it easier than goin' cold turkey �"

Lennie nodded. "It's not gonna be easy, kid, but you can do it. I know you can."

Joey shook his head. "How come you believe in me, Lennie?"

Lennie gave him a sad smile. "Mike believed in you, Joey. That's enough for me."

Joey's eyes darted away, embarrassed by the intensity of the moment. Lennie decided that it was time to get down to business.

"Hey Joey, we need your help with one more thing on this case." He raised his voice so Anita could hear him in the hallway. "You remember Lt. Van Buren?"

Joey's eyes locked on her as she entered the room. He looked like he wanted to run away. She gave him her best 'motherly' smile. "Hi, Joey."

The boy looked up at Lennie, who nodded. "L � Lieutenant �" was all he could get out.

Lennie squeezed his arm. "Joey, before we can charge this big shot partier with Ronnie's murder, we need to have a dead body. The Lieutenant has photos of all the unidentified bodies we found this week. Do you think you would recognize Ronnie?"

Joey shook his head hesitantly. "I � I don't know. I mean, I just met him that night �"

Anita nodded and smiled encouragingly. "I know, Joey, but will you try?"

Another stolen glance at Lennie, and the boy nodded. Anita drew the photos out of a manilla envelope and handed them to Joey. "Just take your time, son."

Slowly, Joey made his way through the pile of 10 photos, some of them unfortunately gruesome. A couple of times he hesitated, but decided 'no.' When he was almost at the end of the pile, he stopped, frozen. "Oh, god �" he sighed softly and turned to bury his face in Lennie's shoulder.

Lennie held him. "Is that him, Joey? Is that Ronnie?"

The boy just nodded into his shoulder.

Anita retrieved the photo which had dropped from his hands and marked it before tucking it and the others back into the envelope. Finally, she reached out and touched Joey's back, the mothering instinct too strong to suppress. "Thank you, Joey. That helps a lot. We're gonna get the guys who killed him, and Mike. We've already got Rico."

That got Joey's attention. He pulled away from Lennie and looked at her. "You do?"

Anita nodded, smiling. "He got himself arrested for soliciting a known undercover cop, probably to hide from these killers. Figured he'd be safer in jail than on the streets. Detectives Munch and Tutuola are talking to him right now. He'll lead us to them, Joey."

Joey shook his head. "Not Rico. He won't say anything."

Lennie grinned. "With your testimony, we can tie Ronnie's murder to Mike's. Killing a cop is Murder One, Joey. Rico is at least an accessory to that; he won't want to go down alone. He'll plead out, don't you worry."

Anita looked at the frightened young man. "Joey, we need your testimony to make this stick. You gonna hold up through that?" The boy looked so fragile; he'd likely crack under cross.

Lennie's arm wrapped around him again. "You've got to, Joey. For Mike."

Anita was surprised to see the boy's back straighten, as if he was finding some inner resolve. "Mike was the first one who ever gave a damn about me � if I got to, I got to."

"That's the spirit, Joey!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at the 2-7, Ed straightened up and stretched. It was just about quitting time. It had been a good day � they FINALLY had some leads on Logan's murderer. The list the hotel had provided hadn't popped any recognizable names; apparently all the VIP's had their rooms reserved by their staffs. But it was something at least to work on. And hopefully on Monday, they'd have Rico's lawyer convinced that he was going down and he'd start singing. All in all, it was a good day.

He stood up and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. Fontana looked up at him. "Heading out?"

Ed nodded. "Yeah. It ain't voting season, so these political types can't be found on weekends. We�ll get 'em Monday. I for one am looking forward to a day off."

Fontana nodded. "You and me both. Got any plans?"

Ed grinned. "Goin' to the Yankees game with Lennie."

Joe did a double take. "Briscoe? Surely you can get a better date than that!"

The grin vanished. "Look, man. I know you don't like the guy. But he's my old partner � and my friend. And that means somethin'."

Fontana shook his head. "What about him and Logan? You sure he's not one of 'them?' He got Logan's insurance money � they HAD to be lovers."

Ed was actively frowning now. He couldn't blow Lennie's cover. "So what if they were, Joe? Does it really matter?"

Joe looked up, surprised at he partner's vehemence. The fury in Ed's eyes told him he was making a mistake, but he couldn't stop the words spilling from his mouth. "I sure as hell wouldn't want one of 'them' as my partner �"

More than anything, Ed wanted to put Fontana in his place. But caution won out. "Well, then it's just as well he's retired, ain't it? IF he's even gay, which you have no way of knowin' for sure. But I'll tell you one thing � Lennie Briscoe was one HELL of a good cop. I trusted him with my back out there on the street, no matter what. And that means more than who he sleeps with."

And with that, he spun around and strode out of the station.

Continue on to Chapter 10

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Disclaimer: These characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just borrowing them for fun, not profit.

Chapter 9