Law & Order Special Victims Unit s04e12 Episode Script
Risk
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.
All right, I got the pick.
I got the pick.
Switch! Switch! I got you.
What you got? What you got? Help me! Help me! Help me, please! My God.
Help me! Lynn, what's wrong? He's not breathing.
My baby's not breathing.
Tuck, call 911.
All right.
Hurry up! Jawan! Oh, my God! Baby's name is Jawan Hauser, 10 weeks old.
EMS brought him in a couple of hours ago.
How's he doing? On a respirator, his pulse is weak.
Kid was probably oxygen deprived.
We won't know the extent of the brain damage until he wakes up, if he ever does.
We talking shaken baby? Body scan's negative for healed fractures.
Head CT normal.
No bruising or retinal hemorrhaging.
So, you must have brought us in here for a reason.
I was concerned when he came in.
Elevated heart rate, shallow respirations, dilated pupils.
Sounds like an OD.
You're right.
Tox screen's positive for cocaine.
Someone doped this kid up.
Cocaine? And you think I gave it to my baby? We're not jumping to any conclusions.
Because I'm black, live in the projects, so I must be doing drugs, right? Why don't we calm down? That's not what we're saying.
My mother was a junkie.
I never touched that dope in my life.
I worked my ass off cleaning houses to keep me and Jawan in that apartment.
I need you to tell me exactly what happened.
I picked up Jawan from his daycare after work, brought him home.
I fed him, but he wasn't very hungry because he went right to sleep, so I put him in his crib.
When I checked on him, he was hardly breathing.
Is Jawan dead? No.
No.
No.
But the doctors say that the cocaine looks like it was mixed in with the baby formula.
Oh, God.
How did that happen? Well, we need to find out fast.
Where'd you buy the formula? At the store.
Which store? I don't remember.
Lynn, you gotta listen to me.
You do not want to be responsible for that poison being fed to another baby.
It was my fault.
I borrowed it.
From the people that you clean for? I was short on money, so I had to.
I swear, I was gonna give it back.
Oh, my God.
You have to call them.
They have a 4-month-old boy.
Thank God I got your message.
Tommy and I just got back from the park.
I was about to feed him.
Baby Growth is the brand we use, but you said someone poisoned it? I can't believe she would do something like that.
Well, we can't take any chances.
My God, if I had given it to Tommy I keep all the formula in here.
Mrs.
Pfeiffer, we're gonna need to do that.
Sorry.
Do you remember how many cans you had left? Six.
I buy it by the case.
I count five.
Lynn must have taken the missing can.
I never noticed.
Mrs.
Pfeiffer, it's urgent that we know where and when you bought this baby formula.
My husband got it a couple of days ago.
Gentry's Market on Columbus.
We took every can of formula off the shelves at Gentry's, tested each one.
All clear.
What about the ones in Pfeiffer's pantry? Four, perfectly normal liquid, and the other one had the same chemistry as the stuff fed to Jawan Hauser.
Cocaine-laced baby formula.
I wouldn't call it formula.
It's 90º/º pure liquid cocaine.
That purity probably came from south of the border.
I've never seen it smuggled this way before.
Take a look, solder plug.
That's where they drained the formula and refilled it with liquid coke.
Seal it up, glue the label back on, ship a couple of cases to los Estados Unidos, nobody's any the wiser.
They gotta have labs on both sides of the border to turn it into liquid, then back into powder.
And how'd this end up on some store shelf? I can't help you there, but the manufacturer can.
Baby formula's closely regulated by the FDA.
Each can has a lot number and expiration date on top.
You can find out where it was made and purchased.
I called the FDA.
They're gonna issue a Class I recall, highest priority.
All the FDA can do is ask the company to pull the product.
Not when it involves infant formula.
Then they have the authority.
How're we doing? Every can of Baby Growth in the market and every clean can at the Pfeiffers' was made at the Atlanta plant.
And the two bad cans? Lot numbers weren't even close.
Why? Because they were manufactured at the Baby Growth plant in Mexico.
Juárez.
Cartel country.
So, our friends get it down there, replace the Spanish language labels with ones in English, and then they smuggle it up here.
Yeah, the question is how did those two cans from Mexico end up in the Pfeiffers' closet? Well, what do we know about the Pfeiffers? She's home with the baby.
The husband's name is Derek.
He's a stockbroker, works at a firm called Chandler Hinton down on Wall Street.
Well, that wouldn't be the first time some big shot, hard up for cash, moonlighted in the drug biz.
Derek Pfeiffer sounds like our perfect candidate.
Credit report in the dumper.
Filing for bankruptcy when he miraculously erases $300,000 in debt.
Sudden windfall? Benson.
Yeah, like the kind you get from a big drug shipment.
Who says crime doesn't pay? Yeah.
That was the hospital.
Jawan Hauser died a half-hour ago.
That's depraved indifference murder for whoever smuggled that coke in those formula cans.
Go talk to Pfeiffer.
If you don't like what he has to say, bring him in.
I really appreciate you guys getting that stuff out of my house before something bad happened.
That's no problem.
We just gotta figure out how it got in your house.
That's easy.
I bought it.
Problem is, there wasn't another bad can in that store, which means the only two cans of liquid cocaine on the Upper West Side were in your pantry.
I wish I could help you guys.
Take any trips out of the country lately, Derek? Say, like, down Mexico way? I have clients all over the world.
That's okay, you don't have to tell us.
We can check with Customs.
I just got back from Mexico City on company business.
Look, it's not good for me to be seen here talking to you guys like this in the office.
What a coincidence.
We were gonna suggest that you come down to our office and continue this discussion.
I'm not going anywhere with you.
Sure you are.
Or you'll be seen wearing steel when we drag you out of here.
Is this really necessary? I have five client meetings this afternoon.
Believe me, that's the least of your problems.
Uh-oh.
What's the matter? I smell a rat.
Big time.
Sergeant Tucker, to what do we owe this visit from Internal Affairs? Don't forget to salute or you'll get a 30-day rip.
What are you doing? Standing here talking to a friend.
His name Derek Pfeiffer? What's it to you? Mr.
Pfeiffer's coming with me.
We got a dead kid on our hands.
That baby is no longer your concern.
Narcotics dime us? All you need to know is your captain signed off on it.
Mr.
Pfeiffer, my name is Sergeant Tucker.
You need to come with me, sir.
Our captain told you where we were? What's the deal with Tucker? Sergeant Tucker from IAB? Yeah, did you send him? Send him? What's going on here? Where's Pfeiffer? Tucker took him right out of our hands.
Said he had your okay.
Let's take a ride.
Captain Cragen, Detective Stabler.
How can I help you? You lying son of a bitch.
Now, it's not enough you go behind my back to steal our case.
Now you want my people thinking I'm in your pocket.
Get off me now.
You don't need what he can do to you.
Just relax.
I should lock you up.
Do it.
Then explain it to your bosses.
You need anger management, Captain.
And you need to kiss my ass.
Where's Derek Pfeiffer? We questioned him and let him go.
He's a suspect in a murder investigation.
Any of your people go near him, and you'll go before a trial board.
Good, and then you can explain why an infant died on your watch.
I want to know what the hell's going on here.
I don't have to tell you squat.
IAB investigating means a dirty cop's involved.
I want a name.
Go to hell.
So, now what's our next move? Pick up Derek Pfeiffer.
You really wanna take on IAB? Tucker doesn't tell us how to do our jobs.
Look, Elliot, you're following an order from your CO.
If it gets ugly, that's what you tell them.
If we hurry, we can catch Pfeiffer just leaving work.
Hey, Special Victims, what's up? Came in as a 34.
Suit, not breathing, in a bathroom on the 20th floor.
That's where Pfeiffer works.
Damn it.
It's Pfeiffer.
Somebody beat us to him.
Whoever killed Pfeiffer must've followed him in and got him before he closed the stall door.
Cable he was strangled with could've came from any office in this building.
Perp could've brought it in to make it look that way.
This is Keith Gerard.
He's Mr.
Pfeiffer's immediate boss.
Detectives Munch and Tutuola.
Sorry for your loss.
I don't know how this happens in a business like this.
Building's been locked down tight since 9l11, all visitors signed in and escorted by security.
Probably 10 other ways to get in, nothing's foolproof.
Possible one of Pfeiffer's clients had it in for him? If losing money were enough to set someone off, we'd all be dead by now.
Derek's desk.
Feel free.
Anything unusual about his behavior lately? Derek was under a lot of stress.
You mean because of the market going south? No, I mean he got demoted.
What happened? His biggest accounts lost millions.
The investors called for his head and they got it.
He used to run the floor.
And then you stepped in.
Believe me, that's not how I wanted it to happen.
You mind telling us where you've been for the last couple of hours? Sure.
Meeting with the managing partners.
Well, we're gonna need their names and a list of Pfeiffer's accounts.
I'll have my assistant get it for you.
This has gotta be a hit.
They knew Pfeiffer was talking to us and they shut him up.
That means his wife's a target, too.
Derek never would have been involved with drugs.
We think that your husband smuggled in the baby formula from Mexico.
No, you're wrong.
Did you know your husband was demoted at work? No.
Did you know he filed for bankruptcy? I knew we were in debt, but Derek said he paid everything off.
Bonus for closing a big deal, he told me.
Mrs.
Pfeiffer, did your husband ever talk to you about work? No, he said he didn't want to bring the job home because he worked so many hours.
Are all those hours at the office? He used to entertain clients, three nights a week, at the Bear and Bull.
Did you ever meet any of his business associates? No, I told you, Derek didn't want us in that world.
Why are you asking me all these questions? Mrs.
Pfeiffer, if your husband was murdered because of his involvement with drugs, the people who killed him may think you know something.
Oh, my God.
Are you telling me Tommy and I are in danger? Two detectives are on their way over here.
They're gonna stay with you.
It's for your own safety.
No.
No, we'll go to my sister's.
I'll feel more comfortable there.
Has somebody threatened you? Mrs.
Pfeiffer? After you were here, a man knocked on the door.
Said Derek sent him to pick up the formula.
I told him I gave it to you, and he got really upset.
I asked him how he got past the doorman, and he showed me his badge.
It's an IAB operation, and I warned you to back off.
Your detectives Were following my orders.
Now who else at IAB was in on this? Don't even try and pin this on me here.
Only five people in this squad knew about this case.
Three of us are here, and the other two are cleaning up your mess.
Now, I still got a few friends on this job who wear stars on their shoulders.
You wanna tell them how this went down, or should I? Twice, over the last year, Narcotics tried to infiltrate your baby formula cocaine ring.
Undercovers got made both times.
By your dirty cop.
Narcotics thought it was one of theirs.
That's why they turned it over to us.
And you have no idea who it is? We're not sure.
You're not sure about much, are you? You know, our D.
A.
Could've made a deal with Pfeiffer to give up your dirty cop if you hadn't crapped all over our case.
It's our case, Detective.
Not anymore.
Your people can't handle this kind of work.
My people do this kind of work every day.
A baby died of cocaine poisoning, and we're damn well gonna find out who's responsible.
Now, you wanna help us, fine, otherwise get the hell out of our way.
All right.
What do you need? Fake IDs, vehicles, drugs and buy money, for starters.
You don't make a move without telling me.
Checked everyone on the security log at Chandler Hinton.
All visitors accounted for and nothing useful from the canvass.
Pfeiffer's phone records any help? Well, the only thing that stands out is that whenever Pfeiffer was at the Bear and Bull, he always called home from a pay phone instead of using his cell.
Sounds like he doesn't want anyone to know who else he's calling.
Classic paranoia.
Could be where he does his other business.
Hey, there's plenty of drug activity down at some of those joints in the financial district.
Coke to fuel the high stress jobs.
You're the one with undercover experience.
I go looking to score in one of them Wall Street bars, I might as well put a sign on my back that says "cop.
" But Elliot here, he looks like the clean-cut corporate type.
Well, if that's a compliment, I'm game.
All right.
Olivia and Fin will ghost you.
Munch and I are backups.
We need to get you a cover story.
Baby formula scheme's down the toilet, so they're gonna be looking for a new way to bring in the product.
You wanna get their attention real fast, you gotta be the solution.
And I gotta be vulnerable.
Never flash your buy money.
If they offer to buy, you know the test.
Snow seals.
There's a quarter gram of coke in each one.
And take this.
What are you gonna do, page me? It's a wire.
If they frisk you, they'll never suspect it.
Got it from a buddy in TARU.
We got backup inside.
I'll be out here recording.
Cool? Yeah.
How's it going? What can I get you? Give me a beer, that last one on the end, and give the lady whatever she's having.
Scotch on the rocks? Yeah.
You got it.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
How you doing? I'm not bad.
How are you? Better now.
Here we go.
That'll be 12 bucks.
Sorry about that.
That any good? I'll tell you what, why don't you just take a little taste and you tell me? I can turn you on to something a little fresher.
Have a taste.
What's your name? Donna.
He's talking to somebody at the end of the bar.
Probably the resident dealer.
And he's coming back.
I'm good.
That's for you.
Gentleman down the end of the bar would like a word with you.
He interested? Says he'll make it worth your while.
He's following some guy into the bathroom.
Whoa.
This your idea of a conversation? You trying to sell this crap on my turf? Who the hell are you? Who am I? Yeah.
I'm the guy whose spot you're parked in.
And I gotta tell you, pal, I don't like competition, okay? Wait a minute.
This guy said you were interested.
This is a big misunderstanding.
Hey, I don't want a problem here, man, really.
So, what's your name? Here.
Greg Elliot.
So, Greg, where are you serving out of? Building where my office is.
And how much? How much How much quantity? Three hundred grams every two weeks, about.
That's That's impressive.
Yeah.
What are you paying your supplier? Ninety.
Ninety.
I'll tell you, Greg, my people could do better.
My customers like what they're getting.
The stuff I got, it's top quality.
Okay, I'm listening.
Good.
Good.
Why don't you meet me tonight at the entrance to the seaport, say, 8:00? And bring your money.
Who's he? Shut up.
Nice to meet you, too.
He's clean.
Still didn't answer my question.
You got the money? Wow! Wow, you wanna show me the product? It's a little better than mine.
Seventy a gram, introductory offer.
Then we renegotiate.
No, you gotta do better than that.
Why don't you taste it? Taste it, because they do random drug tests where I work.
I don't do this stuff.
All right.
All right.
All right.
Seventy a gram.
Permanent price.
Permanent price.
Done.
Hey.
Hey.
Take the money.
What're you doing? You guys, look.
Hey.
He's got a gun, Captain.
Wait a minute.
Everybody, hang tight.
Show me a badge.
Oh.
He's got a gold shield.
Look, guys, let's talk about this.
Now he's got Elliot's wallet.
What do you say? You gonna read me my rights? You don't got any rights.
Well, I guess we just found our dirty cop.
This doesn't look like any police station I've ever seen.
You think I'm gonna do business with some dumbass punk? Are we just gonna sit here while they beat the crap out of him? If they wanted to kill him, he'd be dead by now.
What is this? Some sort of initiation? The guy with the shield just wants to show he's the alpha dog, to mark his spot.
Your call, Captain.
You see a gun come out, move.
Don't wait.
I hope you didn't bring me here just to kick my ass.
Gregory Elliot, married, four kids, house in Forest Hills.
You still got that gambling problem, Greg? What's that? Your homework assignment? Director of Station Operations for Global Package Express.
What's that mean? I run our worldwide shipping stations.
What are you doing? Putting together my résumé? Must be a lot of travel.
Yeah, I do my share.
I think you're just the guy we're looking for.
Guys, I just sell the stuff, small quantities.
I don't move it.
You do now.
I'm telling you, I'm selling this for an old friend of mine, that's it.
You want loyalty, get a puppy.
I got you with enough blow for an A-1 felony.
That's life without parole.
You don't think my company doesn't have safeguards to prevent people from doing this sort of thing? Then you're gonna have to think outside the box, like they teach you in business school.
You got till tomorrow to decide.
Phone number's on there.
Who's answering? Call me Kendall.
Oh, one more thing.
Yeah.
That's for the attitude.
Can I have my wallet? How's the patient? Couple of scratches.
He'll live.
What'd you find out? Brad Kendall's got 13 years on the job, nine in Manhattan Narcotics.
He's got more decorations than you can hang on a Christmas tree.
Sounds like he was a good cop once.
Nothing lower than a commendation, even got a combat cross.
He walked in on a gas station robbery, perps shot at him and missed.
He killed them both.
Decade of watching drug dealers make the big bucks, guess he wanted a piece of the action.
If I had went Kendall's route, I could've been a rich man by now.
He matches Laura Pfeiffer's description of a cop who came looking for baby formula.
We know if Kendall ever made an appearance there before? I spoke to all the doormen in the building.
It was only that one time.
Which means Pfeiffer normally delivered the cocaine to him.
Probably at the Bear and Bull.
Okay, what about Kendall's butt boy? Frank Barry.
Thirty.
In and out of prison on a string of drug collars, mostly for possession.
Never carried enough weight to be charged with intent to sell.
Well, he and Kendall are soldiers.
There's no way they got the brains or the muscle to run an operation like this.
We don't even know how big this thing is.
But there's no way that Pfeiffer's their only mule.
Well, Kendall gave you 24 hours.
That means he's hard up for product.
If he doesn't get some soon, the people that buy from him are gonna cop from somebody else.
Get back to Kendall.
Turn up the heat this time, but meet in a public place.
We don't want a rerun of tonight.
Why here? This is where I do business.
You know, I don't remember us talking money while you were kicking my ass.
I'm letting you stay out of jail.
There's nothing to talk about.
Oh, no? Well, what's to stop me from going to the cops and telling them you're shaking me down? I'm a hero cop.
I mean, who do you think they're gonna believe? Then you must think I am some dumbass punk, huh? You know what I think? You're trying to stay in business.
What, you got a crystal ball or something? You need me so bad you're blackmailing me to work for you.
That smells of desperation to me.
I'll tell you what, hero cop, you're right.
Lock me up.
What do you want? A third of the profits of whatever I ship, after you tell me why I'm the answer to your problems.
What's the difference? It's business.
I don't do business with liars or screw-ups.
I'll take it to my people.
I don't know what that means.
What does that mean, take it to your people? What, you can't close the deal? I mean, doesn't sound like you're very high up in the food chain.
Maybe I should be talking to someone who has a little more juice.
No, you're dealing with me.
Okay.
Have it your way.
You go "talk to your people.
" See if they can afford me, and I'll let you know of my decision.
Try the veal, it's great.
Okay, I'll call you back with the details.
What do they want you to do? Bring in 10 boxes of terracotta tiles made of cocaine base.
Four kilos per box, each worth $80,000.
My cover story, I'm retiling my kitchen.
Where's it coming from? Mexico City.
Gotta find a reason to get me on down there.
Mexico's a little out of our jurisdiction.
Not to mention, out of our league.
Okay, you tell Kendall you can't make the trip on such short notice without arousing suspicion.
Somebody in Mexico City will make the pickup for you.
Where's the drop? My alter ego's house in Forest Hills.
Delivery company drops off the tiles, Kendall will come and pick them up.
We'll have to involve DEA.
They can get us a cover house and handle the pickup in Mexico.
Kendall could be working with DEA people.
Well, that's a chance we're gonna have to take.
That's the last one, sir.
Thanks a lot.
This is the most we've been able to bring in at one time.
I guess you're saying you're a satisfied customer then.
That'll be $267,000.
You wanna count it? I don't know.
Do I need to? Now let's move these.
Honey, are those the tiles? No, it's a mistake.
They're the wrong ones.
This guy's gonna exchange them.
He's got ours in his van.
Hey, this is my wife Dana.
Hi.
Hi.
How are you? Baby, you gotta get in the shower.
We have to be at Vanessa and Glen's in less than two hours.
Oh, are these the tiles? I don't want to go Hey, hey, hey.
What's he doing back here? Yo, I must've not signed for it.
He must've made a mistake.
I'll deal with this.
Son of a bitch.
Back off! Police, Kendall, freeze! Freeze! Drop the gun! Drop your gun.
Drop your gun.
Drop your gun! Drop it! Drop the You okay? Call the bus.
We got an officer shot.
We're at 643299th Street, Forest Hills, send a bus.
What happened? He turned around.
I had no choice.
The son of a bitch just turned on me.
Okay.
He turned on me.
Okay.
Take it easy.
He turned on me.
I had no choice.
He wanted me to shoot him.
Son of a bitch wanted me to shoot him.
Why'd he make me do that? Why? He didn't have the guts to do it himself.
Elliot, I need your gun.
I know the drill.
Upon realizing he was the target of our sting operation, Detective Kendall pulled his weapon on Detective Benson and myself.
What happened next? He ran.
I followed.
Alone? Detective Benson wasn't armed.
Undercover operation, it was her call.
But you were armed.
My call.
I didn't trust Kendall.
Are you sure you don't want your union delegate here? I've got nothing to hide.
Now how many more times are we gonna go over this? Detective Kendall never fired his weapon, but you did.
After I identified myself as a police officer and ordered Detective Kendall to drop his weapon, he turned and pointed it at me.
Just like I told you before.
And how many times did you fire your weapon? Two.
Because you saw him raise his weapon.
To shoot me.
There's nothing else I could've done.
I'm officially notifying you you're on modified assignment, restricted to your office until our investigation is completed.
You're not to make any arrests or interrogate any suspects until then.
Is that clear, Detective? The bastard makes me shoot him, and I'm the one under investigation.
Elliot, maybe you ought to take a few vacation days.
Not until I find out who bankrolled Kendall.
I killed him, I killed our only lead.
Elliot, the lab found dandruff flakes on the computer cable used to strangle Derek Pfeiffer.
Matches Kendall's DNA.
So Kendall whacked Pfeiffer to shut him up, probably on orders from the top.
With Kendall gone, we may never find out who that is.
Well, Kendall arranged that shipment of tiles somehow.
Anything on the phones? Just a few local calls to family members.
Nothing suspicious.
We also took a prepaid cell off him, untraceable.
What about his gofer, Frank Barry? We haven't found him yet, but he's too low on the totem pole to have access to the top guy.
Maybe Laura Pfeiffer can fill in the blanks.
How? We found the bad formula in her kitchen, we're thinking Derek brought it in.
But when I called customs to check on his trips to Mexico, we found out she traveled there, too.
When? In the last three weeks, five round trips with her baby, all on different flights than her husband.
Doesn't make sense they would travel separately every time.
It does if you're smuggling cocaine in baby formula cans and you wanna stay under the radar.
Mother traveling with a baby.
Customs wouldn't have given a couple of extra cans of formula a second thought.
No wonder she refused our protection.
She's the mule, not Derek.
But Derek's the one that got whacked, so he's gotta be in on it.
So question is, did he or his company arrange his business trips? Let's go ask his boss, Keith Gerard.
I'll go with you.
He was servicing a Mexican client, billionaire entrepreneur who's afraid to fly.
So we go to him.
Fax this to Chicago.
Yes, sir.
Do you usually send a guy to your billionaire clients who spends his day making cold calls? Look, Derek was the company's scapegoat against the bear market.
He shouldn't have lost his position, so I tried to throw him a bone.
You wanna tell me what this has to do with his death? Derek was smuggling cocaine on your time and your dime.
Running drugs? Are you kidding me? Along with his wife and son.
I knew it couldn't be true.
You're wrong.
And why's that? Derek and Laura don't have any children.
If Tommy isn't the Pfeiffers' child, then who does he belong to? Somebody who needs the cash so bad that they're willing to rent their kid out as a drug mule.
And Tommy, or whatever his name is, he can't be the only one.
So you're thinking whoever's running this has a ring of mothers with babies bringing the coke in.
Well, it's gotta be.
Even if Laura Pfeiffer brought in three cans on each of her trips, it's not enough of a profit to warrant the risk.
We know where she is? Yep.
She's staying with her sister, Denise Draper, out on Staten Island.
I can't believe they let him cry like that.
This must be the sister's.
The Pfeiffers don't have one registered.
Let's check around back.
Captain.
Glass is still on the floor, nobody cleaned it up.
Let's go.
You take him.
I'll check the rest.
Hey, hey, hey.
Sweetheart.
It's okay, buddy.
It's okay.
It's all right, sweetheart.
I know.
I know.
Let's go find your mommy.
Olivia, in here.
It's okay, buddy.
It's okay, sweetheart.
It's okay.
Come here.
Come here.
It's okay.
Neighbors hear anything? Nada.
CSU found the pillow the shooter used to muffle the gunshots.
Any chance this is Kendall's work? Unless it's his ghost.
M.
E.
Places time of death at four to eight hours ago.
Well, somebody's cleaning up the loose ends Kendall left behind.
If that had been the cartel, they would've killed everybody just to make a point, including the baby.
Guys, Tommy was Laura's nephew.
I found his birth certificate in the dining room credenza next to this.
Plane ticket to Mexico perhaps? Rio, one-way.
Probably so Laura couldn't be extradited.
This guy's one cold-blooded customer.
He killed this baby's mother, he'll do the same to the others.
So we're on borrowed time, and the perp's already two steps ahead of us.
Call Elliot.
Have him start checking every murder in the Tri-State since Kendall was killed.
We're looking for any victims with an infant.
Yeah.
Got it.
Can you tell me what time it happened? Whacking mothers with infants.
Right.
Right.
Are you sure Yeah, that's what I said.
Any children? Two victims.
No, I'm not kidding.
We think there's gonna be more.
I'm not trying to be difficult.
Thanks a lot.
Odafin Tutuola.
Tutuola.
You need me to spell it for you? Come on.
Call me when you find out.
Thanks.
Got another one.
Where? Mount Vernon.
Hooker.
Any kids? They don't have that yet.
What do you mean, they don't have it? Munch, I need information.
I'm stuck here.
You guys are the ones who are out there trying to find this guy.
You think I'm just gonna watch? You need to take a break.
You should call Mount Vernon back and find out if the victim had kids.
I brought you some dinner.
Now is not a good time.
You've got to eat.
I gotta find this guy.
It's after midnight.
Come home, get some rest.
Kathy, I can't leave.
Olivia, state police just found Kendall's sidekick Frank Barry.
Munch, wait a minute.
Hug the kids.
I love you.
Thanks for dinner.
Where? Body washed up on Jones Beach.
Same MO? One to the back of the head.
Olivia, grab your coat, we got another one.
Queens.
Hey, Donny, called your people as soon as it came in.
They're in the living room.
Olivia Benson, Lieutenant Philly Panzaretti, Queens Homicide.
Hey, nice to meet you.
What've we got? Two victims.
Francisco and Blanca Flores.
Lived here with their little girl, eight months old.
How's the baby? Screaming when patrol showed up, but otherwise, okay.
EMS took her to Elmhurst to make sure.
Shooter used a pillow to muffle the gunshots.
Looks like the same MO as the Staten Island murders.
Except the perp broke into that house.
There's no sign anyone forced their way in here.
So, whoever it was, the victim knew them.
Looks like somebody worked from home.
Mr.
Flores was a gardener.
His truck's parked out back.
Wife did his billing.
Judging from this place, Mr.
Flores wasn't making any extra money running drugs.
Or he just hasn't spent it yet.
What'd you find? An invoice made out to Keith Gerard.
Mr.
Flores landscapes his house.
That's no coincidence.
He's running this drug operation from that brokerage house, he's the top dog.
Renting babies from people like Mr.
And Mrs.
Flores who work for him and need the money.
And now he's gotta kill them all so they can't finger him.
Detective Benson, Captain Cragen.
We need to speak to Mr.
Gerard now.
I'm afraid he stepped out.
Do you know where he went? He said he was going to the corporate daycare center.
Where is that? Right downstairs on the second floor.
What's going on here? You listen.
Listen very carefully.
If Gerard calls, you do not tell him we're here.
You got it? There's Gerard.
With his next victim.
Drop your weapon.
Please don't hurt my baby.
Shut up.
Drop it.
Get back.
Get back now or she's dead.
It's over.
It's over.
We can all walk away from this.
I'm leaving the building with her and the kid.
You're gonna have to show us some good faith, all right? Just let them go.
Just let them go.
You're gonna watch her die.
This is between us.
What, you think I'm an idiot? Just don't hurt them and there's a way out.
A way out? Okay, all right, look, let them go.
You can walk out of here alone.
No cops? No cops.
Get off, you're hurting me.
Yeah.
That's tough.
I can make you both rich.
Yeah? You better save it for the fancy lawyer you'll need to appeal the death penalty.
D.
A.
's office isn't gonna drag you before the grand jury, and IAB cleared you.
In two days, how? Incentive.
Spare themselves the embarrassment in the press.
What did it cost you? Not nearly what it was worth.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Good night, Captain.
How'd it go? We got them all.
Ten other mothers.
Gerard paid each mother 20 grand to rent those babies.
Good job.
They making you see the shrink? Yeah.
You been there? Not yet.
I thought I was okay, too, when I shot that guy.
But even a lowlife like Kendall's gonna stay with you.
I gotta get home.
Thanks.
How long has that sandwich been sitting there? I got busy.
It's all yours.
You sleeping? Yeah.
Seeing that shrink, did that help? Not much.
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.
All right, I got the pick.
I got the pick.
Switch! Switch! I got you.
What you got? What you got? Help me! Help me! Help me, please! My God.
Help me! Lynn, what's wrong? He's not breathing.
My baby's not breathing.
Tuck, call 911.
All right.
Hurry up! Jawan! Oh, my God! Baby's name is Jawan Hauser, 10 weeks old.
EMS brought him in a couple of hours ago.
How's he doing? On a respirator, his pulse is weak.
Kid was probably oxygen deprived.
We won't know the extent of the brain damage until he wakes up, if he ever does.
We talking shaken baby? Body scan's negative for healed fractures.
Head CT normal.
No bruising or retinal hemorrhaging.
So, you must have brought us in here for a reason.
I was concerned when he came in.
Elevated heart rate, shallow respirations, dilated pupils.
Sounds like an OD.
You're right.
Tox screen's positive for cocaine.
Someone doped this kid up.
Cocaine? And you think I gave it to my baby? We're not jumping to any conclusions.
Because I'm black, live in the projects, so I must be doing drugs, right? Why don't we calm down? That's not what we're saying.
My mother was a junkie.
I never touched that dope in my life.
I worked my ass off cleaning houses to keep me and Jawan in that apartment.
I need you to tell me exactly what happened.
I picked up Jawan from his daycare after work, brought him home.
I fed him, but he wasn't very hungry because he went right to sleep, so I put him in his crib.
When I checked on him, he was hardly breathing.
Is Jawan dead? No.
No.
No.
But the doctors say that the cocaine looks like it was mixed in with the baby formula.
Oh, God.
How did that happen? Well, we need to find out fast.
Where'd you buy the formula? At the store.
Which store? I don't remember.
Lynn, you gotta listen to me.
You do not want to be responsible for that poison being fed to another baby.
It was my fault.
I borrowed it.
From the people that you clean for? I was short on money, so I had to.
I swear, I was gonna give it back.
Oh, my God.
You have to call them.
They have a 4-month-old boy.
Thank God I got your message.
Tommy and I just got back from the park.
I was about to feed him.
Baby Growth is the brand we use, but you said someone poisoned it? I can't believe she would do something like that.
Well, we can't take any chances.
My God, if I had given it to Tommy I keep all the formula in here.
Mrs.
Pfeiffer, we're gonna need to do that.
Sorry.
Do you remember how many cans you had left? Six.
I buy it by the case.
I count five.
Lynn must have taken the missing can.
I never noticed.
Mrs.
Pfeiffer, it's urgent that we know where and when you bought this baby formula.
My husband got it a couple of days ago.
Gentry's Market on Columbus.
We took every can of formula off the shelves at Gentry's, tested each one.
All clear.
What about the ones in Pfeiffer's pantry? Four, perfectly normal liquid, and the other one had the same chemistry as the stuff fed to Jawan Hauser.
Cocaine-laced baby formula.
I wouldn't call it formula.
It's 90º/º pure liquid cocaine.
That purity probably came from south of the border.
I've never seen it smuggled this way before.
Take a look, solder plug.
That's where they drained the formula and refilled it with liquid coke.
Seal it up, glue the label back on, ship a couple of cases to los Estados Unidos, nobody's any the wiser.
They gotta have labs on both sides of the border to turn it into liquid, then back into powder.
And how'd this end up on some store shelf? I can't help you there, but the manufacturer can.
Baby formula's closely regulated by the FDA.
Each can has a lot number and expiration date on top.
You can find out where it was made and purchased.
I called the FDA.
They're gonna issue a Class I recall, highest priority.
All the FDA can do is ask the company to pull the product.
Not when it involves infant formula.
Then they have the authority.
How're we doing? Every can of Baby Growth in the market and every clean can at the Pfeiffers' was made at the Atlanta plant.
And the two bad cans? Lot numbers weren't even close.
Why? Because they were manufactured at the Baby Growth plant in Mexico.
Juárez.
Cartel country.
So, our friends get it down there, replace the Spanish language labels with ones in English, and then they smuggle it up here.
Yeah, the question is how did those two cans from Mexico end up in the Pfeiffers' closet? Well, what do we know about the Pfeiffers? She's home with the baby.
The husband's name is Derek.
He's a stockbroker, works at a firm called Chandler Hinton down on Wall Street.
Well, that wouldn't be the first time some big shot, hard up for cash, moonlighted in the drug biz.
Derek Pfeiffer sounds like our perfect candidate.
Credit report in the dumper.
Filing for bankruptcy when he miraculously erases $300,000 in debt.
Sudden windfall? Benson.
Yeah, like the kind you get from a big drug shipment.
Who says crime doesn't pay? Yeah.
That was the hospital.
Jawan Hauser died a half-hour ago.
That's depraved indifference murder for whoever smuggled that coke in those formula cans.
Go talk to Pfeiffer.
If you don't like what he has to say, bring him in.
I really appreciate you guys getting that stuff out of my house before something bad happened.
That's no problem.
We just gotta figure out how it got in your house.
That's easy.
I bought it.
Problem is, there wasn't another bad can in that store, which means the only two cans of liquid cocaine on the Upper West Side were in your pantry.
I wish I could help you guys.
Take any trips out of the country lately, Derek? Say, like, down Mexico way? I have clients all over the world.
That's okay, you don't have to tell us.
We can check with Customs.
I just got back from Mexico City on company business.
Look, it's not good for me to be seen here talking to you guys like this in the office.
What a coincidence.
We were gonna suggest that you come down to our office and continue this discussion.
I'm not going anywhere with you.
Sure you are.
Or you'll be seen wearing steel when we drag you out of here.
Is this really necessary? I have five client meetings this afternoon.
Believe me, that's the least of your problems.
Uh-oh.
What's the matter? I smell a rat.
Big time.
Sergeant Tucker, to what do we owe this visit from Internal Affairs? Don't forget to salute or you'll get a 30-day rip.
What are you doing? Standing here talking to a friend.
His name Derek Pfeiffer? What's it to you? Mr.
Pfeiffer's coming with me.
We got a dead kid on our hands.
That baby is no longer your concern.
Narcotics dime us? All you need to know is your captain signed off on it.
Mr.
Pfeiffer, my name is Sergeant Tucker.
You need to come with me, sir.
Our captain told you where we were? What's the deal with Tucker? Sergeant Tucker from IAB? Yeah, did you send him? Send him? What's going on here? Where's Pfeiffer? Tucker took him right out of our hands.
Said he had your okay.
Let's take a ride.
Captain Cragen, Detective Stabler.
How can I help you? You lying son of a bitch.
Now, it's not enough you go behind my back to steal our case.
Now you want my people thinking I'm in your pocket.
Get off me now.
You don't need what he can do to you.
Just relax.
I should lock you up.
Do it.
Then explain it to your bosses.
You need anger management, Captain.
And you need to kiss my ass.
Where's Derek Pfeiffer? We questioned him and let him go.
He's a suspect in a murder investigation.
Any of your people go near him, and you'll go before a trial board.
Good, and then you can explain why an infant died on your watch.
I want to know what the hell's going on here.
I don't have to tell you squat.
IAB investigating means a dirty cop's involved.
I want a name.
Go to hell.
So, now what's our next move? Pick up Derek Pfeiffer.
You really wanna take on IAB? Tucker doesn't tell us how to do our jobs.
Look, Elliot, you're following an order from your CO.
If it gets ugly, that's what you tell them.
If we hurry, we can catch Pfeiffer just leaving work.
Hey, Special Victims, what's up? Came in as a 34.
Suit, not breathing, in a bathroom on the 20th floor.
That's where Pfeiffer works.
Damn it.
It's Pfeiffer.
Somebody beat us to him.
Whoever killed Pfeiffer must've followed him in and got him before he closed the stall door.
Cable he was strangled with could've came from any office in this building.
Perp could've brought it in to make it look that way.
This is Keith Gerard.
He's Mr.
Pfeiffer's immediate boss.
Detectives Munch and Tutuola.
Sorry for your loss.
I don't know how this happens in a business like this.
Building's been locked down tight since 9l11, all visitors signed in and escorted by security.
Probably 10 other ways to get in, nothing's foolproof.
Possible one of Pfeiffer's clients had it in for him? If losing money were enough to set someone off, we'd all be dead by now.
Derek's desk.
Feel free.
Anything unusual about his behavior lately? Derek was under a lot of stress.
You mean because of the market going south? No, I mean he got demoted.
What happened? His biggest accounts lost millions.
The investors called for his head and they got it.
He used to run the floor.
And then you stepped in.
Believe me, that's not how I wanted it to happen.
You mind telling us where you've been for the last couple of hours? Sure.
Meeting with the managing partners.
Well, we're gonna need their names and a list of Pfeiffer's accounts.
I'll have my assistant get it for you.
This has gotta be a hit.
They knew Pfeiffer was talking to us and they shut him up.
That means his wife's a target, too.
Derek never would have been involved with drugs.
We think that your husband smuggled in the baby formula from Mexico.
No, you're wrong.
Did you know your husband was demoted at work? No.
Did you know he filed for bankruptcy? I knew we were in debt, but Derek said he paid everything off.
Bonus for closing a big deal, he told me.
Mrs.
Pfeiffer, did your husband ever talk to you about work? No, he said he didn't want to bring the job home because he worked so many hours.
Are all those hours at the office? He used to entertain clients, three nights a week, at the Bear and Bull.
Did you ever meet any of his business associates? No, I told you, Derek didn't want us in that world.
Why are you asking me all these questions? Mrs.
Pfeiffer, if your husband was murdered because of his involvement with drugs, the people who killed him may think you know something.
Oh, my God.
Are you telling me Tommy and I are in danger? Two detectives are on their way over here.
They're gonna stay with you.
It's for your own safety.
No.
No, we'll go to my sister's.
I'll feel more comfortable there.
Has somebody threatened you? Mrs.
Pfeiffer? After you were here, a man knocked on the door.
Said Derek sent him to pick up the formula.
I told him I gave it to you, and he got really upset.
I asked him how he got past the doorman, and he showed me his badge.
It's an IAB operation, and I warned you to back off.
Your detectives Were following my orders.
Now who else at IAB was in on this? Don't even try and pin this on me here.
Only five people in this squad knew about this case.
Three of us are here, and the other two are cleaning up your mess.
Now, I still got a few friends on this job who wear stars on their shoulders.
You wanna tell them how this went down, or should I? Twice, over the last year, Narcotics tried to infiltrate your baby formula cocaine ring.
Undercovers got made both times.
By your dirty cop.
Narcotics thought it was one of theirs.
That's why they turned it over to us.
And you have no idea who it is? We're not sure.
You're not sure about much, are you? You know, our D.
A.
Could've made a deal with Pfeiffer to give up your dirty cop if you hadn't crapped all over our case.
It's our case, Detective.
Not anymore.
Your people can't handle this kind of work.
My people do this kind of work every day.
A baby died of cocaine poisoning, and we're damn well gonna find out who's responsible.
Now, you wanna help us, fine, otherwise get the hell out of our way.
All right.
What do you need? Fake IDs, vehicles, drugs and buy money, for starters.
You don't make a move without telling me.
Checked everyone on the security log at Chandler Hinton.
All visitors accounted for and nothing useful from the canvass.
Pfeiffer's phone records any help? Well, the only thing that stands out is that whenever Pfeiffer was at the Bear and Bull, he always called home from a pay phone instead of using his cell.
Sounds like he doesn't want anyone to know who else he's calling.
Classic paranoia.
Could be where he does his other business.
Hey, there's plenty of drug activity down at some of those joints in the financial district.
Coke to fuel the high stress jobs.
You're the one with undercover experience.
I go looking to score in one of them Wall Street bars, I might as well put a sign on my back that says "cop.
" But Elliot here, he looks like the clean-cut corporate type.
Well, if that's a compliment, I'm game.
All right.
Olivia and Fin will ghost you.
Munch and I are backups.
We need to get you a cover story.
Baby formula scheme's down the toilet, so they're gonna be looking for a new way to bring in the product.
You wanna get their attention real fast, you gotta be the solution.
And I gotta be vulnerable.
Never flash your buy money.
If they offer to buy, you know the test.
Snow seals.
There's a quarter gram of coke in each one.
And take this.
What are you gonna do, page me? It's a wire.
If they frisk you, they'll never suspect it.
Got it from a buddy in TARU.
We got backup inside.
I'll be out here recording.
Cool? Yeah.
How's it going? What can I get you? Give me a beer, that last one on the end, and give the lady whatever she's having.
Scotch on the rocks? Yeah.
You got it.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
How you doing? I'm not bad.
How are you? Better now.
Here we go.
That'll be 12 bucks.
Sorry about that.
That any good? I'll tell you what, why don't you just take a little taste and you tell me? I can turn you on to something a little fresher.
Have a taste.
What's your name? Donna.
He's talking to somebody at the end of the bar.
Probably the resident dealer.
And he's coming back.
I'm good.
That's for you.
Gentleman down the end of the bar would like a word with you.
He interested? Says he'll make it worth your while.
He's following some guy into the bathroom.
Whoa.
This your idea of a conversation? You trying to sell this crap on my turf? Who the hell are you? Who am I? Yeah.
I'm the guy whose spot you're parked in.
And I gotta tell you, pal, I don't like competition, okay? Wait a minute.
This guy said you were interested.
This is a big misunderstanding.
Hey, I don't want a problem here, man, really.
So, what's your name? Here.
Greg Elliot.
So, Greg, where are you serving out of? Building where my office is.
And how much? How much How much quantity? Three hundred grams every two weeks, about.
That's That's impressive.
Yeah.
What are you paying your supplier? Ninety.
Ninety.
I'll tell you, Greg, my people could do better.
My customers like what they're getting.
The stuff I got, it's top quality.
Okay, I'm listening.
Good.
Good.
Why don't you meet me tonight at the entrance to the seaport, say, 8:00? And bring your money.
Who's he? Shut up.
Nice to meet you, too.
He's clean.
Still didn't answer my question.
You got the money? Wow! Wow, you wanna show me the product? It's a little better than mine.
Seventy a gram, introductory offer.
Then we renegotiate.
No, you gotta do better than that.
Why don't you taste it? Taste it, because they do random drug tests where I work.
I don't do this stuff.
All right.
All right.
All right.
Seventy a gram.
Permanent price.
Permanent price.
Done.
Hey.
Hey.
Take the money.
What're you doing? You guys, look.
Hey.
He's got a gun, Captain.
Wait a minute.
Everybody, hang tight.
Show me a badge.
Oh.
He's got a gold shield.
Look, guys, let's talk about this.
Now he's got Elliot's wallet.
What do you say? You gonna read me my rights? You don't got any rights.
Well, I guess we just found our dirty cop.
This doesn't look like any police station I've ever seen.
You think I'm gonna do business with some dumbass punk? Are we just gonna sit here while they beat the crap out of him? If they wanted to kill him, he'd be dead by now.
What is this? Some sort of initiation? The guy with the shield just wants to show he's the alpha dog, to mark his spot.
Your call, Captain.
You see a gun come out, move.
Don't wait.
I hope you didn't bring me here just to kick my ass.
Gregory Elliot, married, four kids, house in Forest Hills.
You still got that gambling problem, Greg? What's that? Your homework assignment? Director of Station Operations for Global Package Express.
What's that mean? I run our worldwide shipping stations.
What are you doing? Putting together my résumé? Must be a lot of travel.
Yeah, I do my share.
I think you're just the guy we're looking for.
Guys, I just sell the stuff, small quantities.
I don't move it.
You do now.
I'm telling you, I'm selling this for an old friend of mine, that's it.
You want loyalty, get a puppy.
I got you with enough blow for an A-1 felony.
That's life without parole.
You don't think my company doesn't have safeguards to prevent people from doing this sort of thing? Then you're gonna have to think outside the box, like they teach you in business school.
You got till tomorrow to decide.
Phone number's on there.
Who's answering? Call me Kendall.
Oh, one more thing.
Yeah.
That's for the attitude.
Can I have my wallet? How's the patient? Couple of scratches.
He'll live.
What'd you find out? Brad Kendall's got 13 years on the job, nine in Manhattan Narcotics.
He's got more decorations than you can hang on a Christmas tree.
Sounds like he was a good cop once.
Nothing lower than a commendation, even got a combat cross.
He walked in on a gas station robbery, perps shot at him and missed.
He killed them both.
Decade of watching drug dealers make the big bucks, guess he wanted a piece of the action.
If I had went Kendall's route, I could've been a rich man by now.
He matches Laura Pfeiffer's description of a cop who came looking for baby formula.
We know if Kendall ever made an appearance there before? I spoke to all the doormen in the building.
It was only that one time.
Which means Pfeiffer normally delivered the cocaine to him.
Probably at the Bear and Bull.
Okay, what about Kendall's butt boy? Frank Barry.
Thirty.
In and out of prison on a string of drug collars, mostly for possession.
Never carried enough weight to be charged with intent to sell.
Well, he and Kendall are soldiers.
There's no way they got the brains or the muscle to run an operation like this.
We don't even know how big this thing is.
But there's no way that Pfeiffer's their only mule.
Well, Kendall gave you 24 hours.
That means he's hard up for product.
If he doesn't get some soon, the people that buy from him are gonna cop from somebody else.
Get back to Kendall.
Turn up the heat this time, but meet in a public place.
We don't want a rerun of tonight.
Why here? This is where I do business.
You know, I don't remember us talking money while you were kicking my ass.
I'm letting you stay out of jail.
There's nothing to talk about.
Oh, no? Well, what's to stop me from going to the cops and telling them you're shaking me down? I'm a hero cop.
I mean, who do you think they're gonna believe? Then you must think I am some dumbass punk, huh? You know what I think? You're trying to stay in business.
What, you got a crystal ball or something? You need me so bad you're blackmailing me to work for you.
That smells of desperation to me.
I'll tell you what, hero cop, you're right.
Lock me up.
What do you want? A third of the profits of whatever I ship, after you tell me why I'm the answer to your problems.
What's the difference? It's business.
I don't do business with liars or screw-ups.
I'll take it to my people.
I don't know what that means.
What does that mean, take it to your people? What, you can't close the deal? I mean, doesn't sound like you're very high up in the food chain.
Maybe I should be talking to someone who has a little more juice.
No, you're dealing with me.
Okay.
Have it your way.
You go "talk to your people.
" See if they can afford me, and I'll let you know of my decision.
Try the veal, it's great.
Okay, I'll call you back with the details.
What do they want you to do? Bring in 10 boxes of terracotta tiles made of cocaine base.
Four kilos per box, each worth $80,000.
My cover story, I'm retiling my kitchen.
Where's it coming from? Mexico City.
Gotta find a reason to get me on down there.
Mexico's a little out of our jurisdiction.
Not to mention, out of our league.
Okay, you tell Kendall you can't make the trip on such short notice without arousing suspicion.
Somebody in Mexico City will make the pickup for you.
Where's the drop? My alter ego's house in Forest Hills.
Delivery company drops off the tiles, Kendall will come and pick them up.
We'll have to involve DEA.
They can get us a cover house and handle the pickup in Mexico.
Kendall could be working with DEA people.
Well, that's a chance we're gonna have to take.
That's the last one, sir.
Thanks a lot.
This is the most we've been able to bring in at one time.
I guess you're saying you're a satisfied customer then.
That'll be $267,000.
You wanna count it? I don't know.
Do I need to? Now let's move these.
Honey, are those the tiles? No, it's a mistake.
They're the wrong ones.
This guy's gonna exchange them.
He's got ours in his van.
Hey, this is my wife Dana.
Hi.
Hi.
How are you? Baby, you gotta get in the shower.
We have to be at Vanessa and Glen's in less than two hours.
Oh, are these the tiles? I don't want to go Hey, hey, hey.
What's he doing back here? Yo, I must've not signed for it.
He must've made a mistake.
I'll deal with this.
Son of a bitch.
Back off! Police, Kendall, freeze! Freeze! Drop the gun! Drop your gun.
Drop your gun.
Drop your gun! Drop it! Drop the You okay? Call the bus.
We got an officer shot.
We're at 643299th Street, Forest Hills, send a bus.
What happened? He turned around.
I had no choice.
The son of a bitch just turned on me.
Okay.
He turned on me.
Okay.
Take it easy.
He turned on me.
I had no choice.
He wanted me to shoot him.
Son of a bitch wanted me to shoot him.
Why'd he make me do that? Why? He didn't have the guts to do it himself.
Elliot, I need your gun.
I know the drill.
Upon realizing he was the target of our sting operation, Detective Kendall pulled his weapon on Detective Benson and myself.
What happened next? He ran.
I followed.
Alone? Detective Benson wasn't armed.
Undercover operation, it was her call.
But you were armed.
My call.
I didn't trust Kendall.
Are you sure you don't want your union delegate here? I've got nothing to hide.
Now how many more times are we gonna go over this? Detective Kendall never fired his weapon, but you did.
After I identified myself as a police officer and ordered Detective Kendall to drop his weapon, he turned and pointed it at me.
Just like I told you before.
And how many times did you fire your weapon? Two.
Because you saw him raise his weapon.
To shoot me.
There's nothing else I could've done.
I'm officially notifying you you're on modified assignment, restricted to your office until our investigation is completed.
You're not to make any arrests or interrogate any suspects until then.
Is that clear, Detective? The bastard makes me shoot him, and I'm the one under investigation.
Elliot, maybe you ought to take a few vacation days.
Not until I find out who bankrolled Kendall.
I killed him, I killed our only lead.
Elliot, the lab found dandruff flakes on the computer cable used to strangle Derek Pfeiffer.
Matches Kendall's DNA.
So Kendall whacked Pfeiffer to shut him up, probably on orders from the top.
With Kendall gone, we may never find out who that is.
Well, Kendall arranged that shipment of tiles somehow.
Anything on the phones? Just a few local calls to family members.
Nothing suspicious.
We also took a prepaid cell off him, untraceable.
What about his gofer, Frank Barry? We haven't found him yet, but he's too low on the totem pole to have access to the top guy.
Maybe Laura Pfeiffer can fill in the blanks.
How? We found the bad formula in her kitchen, we're thinking Derek brought it in.
But when I called customs to check on his trips to Mexico, we found out she traveled there, too.
When? In the last three weeks, five round trips with her baby, all on different flights than her husband.
Doesn't make sense they would travel separately every time.
It does if you're smuggling cocaine in baby formula cans and you wanna stay under the radar.
Mother traveling with a baby.
Customs wouldn't have given a couple of extra cans of formula a second thought.
No wonder she refused our protection.
She's the mule, not Derek.
But Derek's the one that got whacked, so he's gotta be in on it.
So question is, did he or his company arrange his business trips? Let's go ask his boss, Keith Gerard.
I'll go with you.
He was servicing a Mexican client, billionaire entrepreneur who's afraid to fly.
So we go to him.
Fax this to Chicago.
Yes, sir.
Do you usually send a guy to your billionaire clients who spends his day making cold calls? Look, Derek was the company's scapegoat against the bear market.
He shouldn't have lost his position, so I tried to throw him a bone.
You wanna tell me what this has to do with his death? Derek was smuggling cocaine on your time and your dime.
Running drugs? Are you kidding me? Along with his wife and son.
I knew it couldn't be true.
You're wrong.
And why's that? Derek and Laura don't have any children.
If Tommy isn't the Pfeiffers' child, then who does he belong to? Somebody who needs the cash so bad that they're willing to rent their kid out as a drug mule.
And Tommy, or whatever his name is, he can't be the only one.
So you're thinking whoever's running this has a ring of mothers with babies bringing the coke in.
Well, it's gotta be.
Even if Laura Pfeiffer brought in three cans on each of her trips, it's not enough of a profit to warrant the risk.
We know where she is? Yep.
She's staying with her sister, Denise Draper, out on Staten Island.
I can't believe they let him cry like that.
This must be the sister's.
The Pfeiffers don't have one registered.
Let's check around back.
Captain.
Glass is still on the floor, nobody cleaned it up.
Let's go.
You take him.
I'll check the rest.
Hey, hey, hey.
Sweetheart.
It's okay, buddy.
It's okay.
It's all right, sweetheart.
I know.
I know.
Let's go find your mommy.
Olivia, in here.
It's okay, buddy.
It's okay, sweetheart.
It's okay.
Come here.
Come here.
It's okay.
Neighbors hear anything? Nada.
CSU found the pillow the shooter used to muffle the gunshots.
Any chance this is Kendall's work? Unless it's his ghost.
M.
E.
Places time of death at four to eight hours ago.
Well, somebody's cleaning up the loose ends Kendall left behind.
If that had been the cartel, they would've killed everybody just to make a point, including the baby.
Guys, Tommy was Laura's nephew.
I found his birth certificate in the dining room credenza next to this.
Plane ticket to Mexico perhaps? Rio, one-way.
Probably so Laura couldn't be extradited.
This guy's one cold-blooded customer.
He killed this baby's mother, he'll do the same to the others.
So we're on borrowed time, and the perp's already two steps ahead of us.
Call Elliot.
Have him start checking every murder in the Tri-State since Kendall was killed.
We're looking for any victims with an infant.
Yeah.
Got it.
Can you tell me what time it happened? Whacking mothers with infants.
Right.
Right.
Are you sure Yeah, that's what I said.
Any children? Two victims.
No, I'm not kidding.
We think there's gonna be more.
I'm not trying to be difficult.
Thanks a lot.
Odafin Tutuola.
Tutuola.
You need me to spell it for you? Come on.
Call me when you find out.
Thanks.
Got another one.
Where? Mount Vernon.
Hooker.
Any kids? They don't have that yet.
What do you mean, they don't have it? Munch, I need information.
I'm stuck here.
You guys are the ones who are out there trying to find this guy.
You think I'm just gonna watch? You need to take a break.
You should call Mount Vernon back and find out if the victim had kids.
I brought you some dinner.
Now is not a good time.
You've got to eat.
I gotta find this guy.
It's after midnight.
Come home, get some rest.
Kathy, I can't leave.
Olivia, state police just found Kendall's sidekick Frank Barry.
Munch, wait a minute.
Hug the kids.
I love you.
Thanks for dinner.
Where? Body washed up on Jones Beach.
Same MO? One to the back of the head.
Olivia, grab your coat, we got another one.
Queens.
Hey, Donny, called your people as soon as it came in.
They're in the living room.
Olivia Benson, Lieutenant Philly Panzaretti, Queens Homicide.
Hey, nice to meet you.
What've we got? Two victims.
Francisco and Blanca Flores.
Lived here with their little girl, eight months old.
How's the baby? Screaming when patrol showed up, but otherwise, okay.
EMS took her to Elmhurst to make sure.
Shooter used a pillow to muffle the gunshots.
Looks like the same MO as the Staten Island murders.
Except the perp broke into that house.
There's no sign anyone forced their way in here.
So, whoever it was, the victim knew them.
Looks like somebody worked from home.
Mr.
Flores was a gardener.
His truck's parked out back.
Wife did his billing.
Judging from this place, Mr.
Flores wasn't making any extra money running drugs.
Or he just hasn't spent it yet.
What'd you find? An invoice made out to Keith Gerard.
Mr.
Flores landscapes his house.
That's no coincidence.
He's running this drug operation from that brokerage house, he's the top dog.
Renting babies from people like Mr.
And Mrs.
Flores who work for him and need the money.
And now he's gotta kill them all so they can't finger him.
Detective Benson, Captain Cragen.
We need to speak to Mr.
Gerard now.
I'm afraid he stepped out.
Do you know where he went? He said he was going to the corporate daycare center.
Where is that? Right downstairs on the second floor.
What's going on here? You listen.
Listen very carefully.
If Gerard calls, you do not tell him we're here.
You got it? There's Gerard.
With his next victim.
Drop your weapon.
Please don't hurt my baby.
Shut up.
Drop it.
Get back.
Get back now or she's dead.
It's over.
It's over.
We can all walk away from this.
I'm leaving the building with her and the kid.
You're gonna have to show us some good faith, all right? Just let them go.
Just let them go.
You're gonna watch her die.
This is between us.
What, you think I'm an idiot? Just don't hurt them and there's a way out.
A way out? Okay, all right, look, let them go.
You can walk out of here alone.
No cops? No cops.
Get off, you're hurting me.
Yeah.
That's tough.
I can make you both rich.
Yeah? You better save it for the fancy lawyer you'll need to appeal the death penalty.
D.
A.
's office isn't gonna drag you before the grand jury, and IAB cleared you.
In two days, how? Incentive.
Spare themselves the embarrassment in the press.
What did it cost you? Not nearly what it was worth.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Good night, Captain.
How'd it go? We got them all.
Ten other mothers.
Gerard paid each mother 20 grand to rent those babies.
Good job.
They making you see the shrink? Yeah.
You been there? Not yet.
I thought I was okay, too, when I shot that guy.
But even a lowlife like Kendall's gonna stay with you.
I gotta get home.
Thanks.
How long has that sandwich been sitting there? I got busy.
It's all yours.
You sleeping? Yeah.
Seeing that shrink, did that help? Not much.