Law & Order Special Victims Unit s13e09 Episode Script

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.
What do you do if it goes to voice mail? - I leave a message.
- And? Text.
I can't believe I'm letting you go to school on your own.
Everybody else in fourth grade goes to school on their own.
Who? The Gentiles, the Jews? Those gadjos don't love their children.
Mom, I stick out enough as it is.
Can I go now? Your mittens.
What did your father tell you? Take the "G" train, then the "J" to Manhattan, two blocks up and one over.
I know, ma.
I love you.
I love you, too.
Dad, stop following me.
What did I tell you about crossing the street when you don't have a walk sign? Dad, I'm ready.
Let me do it, okay? Okay, big boy.
Good morning, Sarah.
How are you? Have a good day, today.
Hey, Nico.
Good morning.
Hey.
You tell fortunes, right? No.
Thought all you freaks did.
I do.
I see a long lifeline, a mansion, and-- what's this? Swimming pool.
Ryan.
See me after class.
Get to class, Nico.
He can be a jerk, sometimes.
Hey, you're flying solo today, champion? We practiced.
I know the way.
Ten years old, gipsy boy, Nico Grey his parents say he never made it home from Caswell Academy.
And you called Manhattan SVU because? Last time anybody saw the kid was on school property.
lower east side, Manhattan.
Your side of the bridge.
You know what, these people don't really trust our precinct.
Maybe they don't like being called, "these people" or "Gypsies" even.
Maybe.
If you ask me, the kid's not missing.
It's all just a con.
Oh, look.
The circus is here.
I wonder who called them.
Hey, detectives.
Any word on little Nico? Yeah, why don't you take, we'll take the parents.
He wanted to do it on his own.
Be a man, stand on his own two feet.
So this is the first time Nico goes to school on his own.
Yeah, we practiced for a week.
Which train to get on, what to do if a stranger-- you know, taught him a few moves.
Your boy should have been here by 4:00, but we didn't get a call by 7:00.
Yeah, I told my wife to call right away.
She said the police probably wouldn't care because of who we are.
He was wearing a light brown jacket, a tan scarf, and a backpack with a rabbit's foot.
It's his good luck charm.
We bought him a cell phone.
I--I keep calling, but he--he doesn't answer.
Okay, who was the last person to see Nico? His teacher, Mr.
Kandel.
Did you check with Nico's friends? Is it possible that he's with one of them? Nico doesn't really have a lot of friends.
At school, they bully him.
He tested real good.
He's a smart kid.
Got a partial scholarship to this private school in the city.
We wanted Nico to be with all kinds of different kids.
Not just Romani.
Mr.
Grey, how were things at home? Is Nico upset about anything late-- No.
He's a happy kid.
A good kid.
What about a favorite hangout? Some place he likes to go? You're in it.
We're all distraught, and Nico is such a sweet kid.
I remember seeing him just as he was leaving school.
Was he alone? He's always alone.
The kids tease him for being Romani.
Uh, we told them not to use the word, "Gypsy.
" Okay.
So what's your take on the parents? Different.
Do you think there's any trouble at home? Who knows? They keep to themselves.
Nico just wants to fit in, but he's caught between two worlds.
So you two are friends of Nico's? We just live on the same block.
Greenpoint.
He's kind of weird.
He's a Gypsy.
His mom's a fortune teller.
Think she would've seen this coming.
And your name is? Ryan.
I was just kidding.
Okay, Ryan.
Chill.
When's the last time you saw Nico? That morning.
You didn't see him on the train ride home? No, the "J" was down.
We took a taxi.
What about you, Ryan? When was the last time you saw him? I didn't.
I was in detention.
We can track him from school on his route to the subway.
Then he gets to the closed station-- and we lose him.
Time stamp is 3:37.
All right.
Well, that's 11 hours ago.
You did a full neighborhood canvass? We ran all the sex offenders in the area.
No witnesses, no leads.
And online? I mean, how about his computer? The kid doesn't even have one.
Doesn't have any social media accounts.
His father just bought him his first cell phone this week, so he could get back and forth from school.
Taru's trying to trace that, but there's nothing so far.
So they're not only old world, they're Romani.
After 600 years of being treated like pariahs, they don't trust outsiders.
Parents have a record? Tomas Grey was arrested for assault three months ago.
He got into an altercation with a co-worker, Alonso Hearne, at his bike shop.
Guy dropped the charges.
Well, maybe it's payback.
Check with the precinct in Brooklyn.
Tomas isn't in.
Family emergency.
You mean his son's missing.
Kid's not here.
Go ahead and check.
The fight you had with tomas three months ago-- what was that about? Tomas has trouble.
He brought this on himself.
Detective Dumas.
They call me, "Doom.
" Welcome to Brooklyn.
I heard you needed a tour guide.
Hey, Al.
Your friend here-- he's reticent.
I don't know anything.
Well, think harder.
And maybe while you're thinking, I'll go over every bike in here to make sure none of them got separated from a chain by accident.
Take what you want.
You people call us thieves.
We know you're thieves.
We wanna know if this is a scam.
Your friend, tomas-- did he steal his own kid? Last chance, Alonso.
Hey, you're not gonna even lie to us? This gotta be about the Rom Baro, isn't it? Is that who's got your tongue? What the hell is a Rom Baro? So this Rom Baro works for the king of the Gypsies? Right.
The king lives in Hungary or Serbia or Wherever-stan.
The Rom Baro lives here.
As the king's rep, he settles disputes, collects tithes-- And gets kickbacks.
Yeah.
It's good to be king.
And I'm betting the Rom Baro gets a little taste.
You're in trouble.
Your partner's pretty and smart.
Anybody ever tell you you talk too much? Where'd you hear that? Alonso? That guy just looks out for himself.
Look, if there's a chance that somebody took Nico to get back at you, we need to know.
Look, this got nothing to do with the Rom Baro.
Your son's missing.
And every minute you don't level with us, is another minute he's out there, scared.
And that's the best case.
You didn't pay.
You didn't pay! I knew something like this was going to happen.
What's going on, Mrs.
Grey? You tell them.
You tell them! We stopped paying our tithes so that we could pay for Nico's school.
The Rom Baro-- he said that-- that this would not stand.
That we had to be punished.
Can I offer you some păˇlika? No, thank you.
Do you know the Grey family? From Meserole Street.
You haven't found their son? Nico.
You know him? Bright boy.
When was the last time you saw him? The Greys-- they don't associate with the community much anymore.
How so? If the Greys want to be outsiders, that's where they are-- outside.
They'll find out what it's like without a family to protect them.
That sounds like a threat.
Are you using the kid to make them pay you? I would never hurt a child.
I don't know what you think, but NYPD isn't just going to look the other way because this kid's Romani.
We're going to find him.
Yeah, I know you would never hurt a child.
I'm hoping that we find him safe, and that this is just a family misunderstanding.
We thank you for your help.
You know, that's a happy ending I'd like to see.
Must be nice to believe in happy endings, but I can't help you.
Or the Greys.
Make sure they get an almond candy on the way out, Elba.
We brought up the Rom Baro with the Greys.
They're terrified of him.
He says the Greys are outcasts.
Is there any chance he took the kid? I wouldn't rule it out, but nobody in his fiefdom is going to go against him.
Detectives, he's alive! He's out there! Mr.
Grey, slow down.
You heard from Nico? We've been calling Nico's cell phone every five minutes, practically-- leaving tons of messages, begging him to call-- Hold on.
Did--did he call you back? No, listen to me.
The last time my wife tried to call, it said, "mailbox full.
" Just now, it went straight to voice mail.
He's been checking his messages, deleting them.
He is alive.
I got Nico's cellphone working his last call was to his father, he disappeared.
Phone's been shut off since that morning.
It's been shut off? Maybe it's not Nico checking his voice mail.
Maybe someone else is deleting them.
Why would they do that? They want to know what the family knows.
Is there any way to trace whoever's calling into his voice mail? Ooh, thank you, I never would've thought of that one.
Okay, the only problem here is that it's not coming from a phone number.
It's coming from an IP address.
Whoever's calling the kid's voice mail is doing it from a VOIP.
How about in non-geek? It means he's using the internet to call, Fin, not a phone line.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
From an account set up an hour after the boy was reported missing.
That's not a coincidence.
So where is this computer? It's gotta be a laptop.
He's been catching signals wherever he can.
Are there any other numbers that he's been calling regularly? You can look that up, right? Oh, a "please" would be nice.
Type.
Okay, only one other number once yesterday, twice today.
A 5-43, and boom.
There's your address.
You have an online ordering system? Yes.
What is this about? Look, we need to see your delivery records for tonight.
Thank you.
Here it is.
same address again-- it's 6-20--what? He ordered twice? No, he called to complain about the order.
Said the food was too spicy for his little boy.
I could hear the kid crying in the background.
Thank you.
Police! NYPD, search warrant! Get your hands up! Don't shoot, don't shoot! Don't make a mistake.
Put that kid down.
What the bloody hell is going on? Your hands up! Don't hurt my daddy! He's my son, he's my son! Stand down, stand down! It's not Nico.
Amaro, it's not Nico.
Get someone to watch your kid.
It's okay.
You're coming with us.
My client is a senior investigative journalist for The Ledger.
His home was invaded, his son was terrorized.
After he hacked into a missing child's voice mail.
Now we can either go to the feds with the wiretapping, or your client can cooperate.
You start by telling us if you know where Nico Grey is.
I don't.
Look, I'm trying to find poor little Nico just like you.
How does deleting his messages help you find him? I wanted to leave room in his mailbox in case anyone else wanted to call him.
Maybe someone related to his disappearance.
So you're not a scumbag who's trying to scoop the competition on a milk carton case.
You are one of the good guys.
Detective, you think that's funny? Mr.
Griscomb has been a journalist for 15 years.
Journalist? The Ledger? That's risible.
Excuse me, does he have to be here? Mr.
Griscomb, we're going to need the notes you have on the deleted messages.
That's covered by the first amendment.
Oh, so now you're trying to hide behind the first amendment? You led a family to believe that their son was still alive.
Obviously, that wasn't the point.
Okay, are we finished with this moral outrage, sergeant? We all want to find this missing little boy, and maybe, just maybe, my client has something to offer, so, sweetheart, do me a favor.
Why don't you call your boss? ADA Cabot.
You want a deal? Your client tells us what we want to know, and he does time.
And how much is up to you.
What Ledger would love nothing more than to have a test case involving first amendment and NYPD.
Please, go ahead.
Try us.
You three are playing this while there's a missing kid out there? Yeah, let's cut to the chase, Mr.
Exley.
Okay, Griscomb gives you everything he has on the missing boy's phone records, he gets full immunity from prosecution.
No, this is how it works.
Wiretapping is federal.
It's out of our hands.
He gives us something we can use, we'll mis-dee the felony eavesdropping.
Take a minute to think about it.
And by a minute, I mean 59 seconds.
The deleted messages were all from the parents.
I also tapped into their phones.
They don't know where he is.
You cut a deal for this? He's put a lot more in that rag of his.
The deal is conditional, Mr.
Griscomb.
Don't jerk us around.
Right, okay, so let me make this clear.
The feds do not hear what comes next.
I jacked into a few other phones in the neighborhood.
You're familiar with the Rom Baro? Keep talking.
This woman-- older-- she left the Rom Baro a voice mail, begging for his help.
She says, "people think our son took Nico.
" What's their name? She didn't leave one.
Did she mention her son's name.
Just Marc.
And she was spooked.
Like the villagers were gonna get the pitchforks.
What do you mean it's not Nico? So sorry.
It wasn't him.
Somebody hacked into his voice mail.
Why? Who would do something like that? We're dealing with that now.
We do have a name-- Marc.
And does that mean anything to you? Mrs.
Rajic.
Is your son, Marc, home? He doesn't live here anymore.
Where is he? You tell me.
Go away.
I'm watching my shows.
Back to the Rom Baro? Yeah, and tell him what? That a reporter hacked his voice mail? Excuse me, sir.
Do you live around here? Yeah, down the block.
Is this about the missing kid? Do you know the Rajics? They keep to themselves.
They? She doesn't live alone? She has a son.
Unfortunate.
Kid's brain stopped growing before his body did.
My daughter and her friends are scared of him.
She keeps him locked in the basement.
Um we heard he moved away.
If you mean last night.
I was walking the dog, and I saw his mother and two other Gyps-- itinerants hustle him into one of those handicap vans from New Jersey.
They come and they go.
They're Gypsies.
As long as they don't set fire to anything or panhandle, we leave them be.
A great place to hide somebody.
- Watch your back.
- Yeah.
Hey, folks.
How we doing tonight? Hey, friends.
We're looking for a Marc Rajic.
Anybody know him? Hey! Hey, out of the way.
Out of the way, now.
Rollins? Drop it.
Don't make me shoot you.
I want to go home.
Down on the ground, now.
What are you doing? I got this.
I got it.
I turn around, and you're gone.
How about a heads-up, huh? How about you keep up? I didn't hurt Nico.
So why'd you run? My mom said stay away from strangers.
That's good, Marc.
You listened.
You did as you were told.
My mom said not to talk to anyone.
Well, why do you think she said that? I can't tell you.
She'd be mad.
Well we don't want her to be mad.
Nico's mom is probably pretty upset right now, too.
So if you know where he is, tell us so we can find him.
And that way, nobody has to be mad anymore.
I saw Nico.
That's good, Marc.
When? Monday.
Okay, great.
And did you meet him after school? No, I don't go anywhere without my mom.
So did he come over to your house? My mom says I can't have people over.
But Hey, hey, hey, easy.
You're not going to get in any trouble.
Just tell us who you had over.
I can't tell you.
I did a bad thing.
Marc, you stop talking now.
Okay, we're almost done here.
You keep asking questions, after his attorney arrives, I'll get it all thrown out.
You're done, now.
Detective, you remember the Rom Baro.
He is also Mr.
Rajic's lawyer.
Wonderful.
Marc Rajic has the mental capacity of a child.
He may not even understand-- He understands plenty.
He knows the difference between right and wrong.
That will be decided by a judge at a capacity hearing, but it won't get that far.
Do you have probable cause to hold him? Well, then I'll be taking Marc home to his mother.
Psst.
We like Rajic for this? They hid him in the middle of the woods.
He ran when we came for him.
He's guilty about something.
We just-- we need to search the house.
Her mother won't let us in.
We'll need a warrant.
His tribe is circling.
If this guy is what he think he is, Nico isn't the only kid he eyeballed.
Hmm.
One of his neighbors-- not Romani-- said his daughter and her friends were spooked.
Well, see if they can get us to a warrant.
Excuse me.
Marc's kind of creepy, but I don't think he'd hurt anyone.
So why did you tell your dad you were scared of him? Well, he stares at the kids on the block.
I kind of worry about Marc.
Yeah? Why is that? I mean, what's he going to do when his mother dies? Hmm.
What about Nico and Marc? You ever see them together or? Yeah, sometimes.
Marc--he's creepy.
You ever seen Marc with Nico? I should have said something earlier.
What? But he scared me.
I was afraid he might come after me next.
Go ahead and tell me, sweetheart.
The night Nico didn't come home I saw Marc sitting on his front porch.
He was holding this rabbit's foot.
I'm not sure, but it looked like Nico's.
I don't want them in here.
We got a warrant, Mrs.
Rajic.
My Marc didn't do anything.
I keep him locked in the-- Shh.
Ana.
Let the police do what they do.
We've been harassed before.
I'll be right here the whole time.
He always locked in? Don't answer any questions.
This is my room! It's all right, Marc.
Come and wait with me while the police do their work.
Hmm.
Two Bridges Donuts.
It's over by East Broadway.
Is that near Nico's school? It's close enough.
Shh.
Looky here, Metro card.
That's not his.
My boy doesn't know how to take the subway.
Oh, we found him in the backwoods of Jersey, hiding in a pack of goats.
Your son gets around more than you think, Mrs.
Rajic.
Looks like your boy's luck just changed.
Called a guy at Two Bridges, thinks Marc looks familiar, but he's not positive.
Okay, MTA says that Marc's Metro card was last swiped Monday night, 8:00 P.
M.
, East Broadway Station.
So we're looking at East Broadway, that's five blocks south of where we've been searching.
That's by the Manhattan Bridge.
That's no-man's-land.
Tons of construction sites there.
Half of them abandoned since the market tanked.
All right, Fin, relocate the grid search.
Amaro, Rollins, head downtown.
I think we're looking at a recovery.
The stats don't look good for him.
Well, kids are tough.
You never know.
Lividity is fixed and appropriate for his position as found, the construction site where he was recovered is where he was killed.
We got a time of death? It's been pretty chilly, but rigor's passed through.
Signs of early decomp-- he was under that tarp at least 72 hours.
So he was killed the night he went missing.
- Mm-hmm.
- Cigarette burns? Dozens.
On the back of his hands, his thighs, and his scrotum.
He was tortured.
Ritualistic, maybe? I don't think so.
See the half-moon pattern on the burns? Whoever did this never let the lit end maintain full contact.
It's like they'd never done it before.
Now how much of it did he have to take? All of it.
Wounds show vital reaction, his clothes were soaked in urine, he was terrified.
This, on his neck, is that cause? Ligature strangulation with his own scarf.
Any biologicals or DNA on the body? No, but we may get a hit off the cigarette butts you recovered at the scene.
Hold off on that, Melinda.
The parents are here to make the ID.
Cover him up.
Just tell us when you're ready.
It's not him.
It's not my boy.
Do you see? Do you see? It's not Nico.
Baby, baby, please.
He's not my boy.
This is not his face.
His eyes-- Nico's gone, Nadia.
This--this isn't how you're going to remember him but we need to know.
It's him.
It's our son.
It's her fault.
You should arrest her, too.
She kept him locked up there in a cage! Nadia, that's enough.
Everybody knows that Marc killed our child.
Why haven't you charged him yet? We're building our case.
Mr.
Grey, we need to go back over every piece-- Rom Baro-- even the NYPD is afraid.
Only my husband is fool enough to defy them.
This isn't about him, but we do need your help now.
If there is any detail that you can remember about Nico's relationship-- Wh-wh-what--what? What is it? We don't say his name out loud.
He's-- he's dead.
His spirit won't rest.
I'm--I'm sorry.
I'm--I'm very, very sorry.
You didn't know.
Out.
Get out.
Get out of my house! - Get out, get out! - Nadia! My son! My son! Ah, those are very sweet, guys, but now's not a good time.
The kids at school are taking up a collection.
We're going to plant a tree for Nico.
Or something.
We want to tell them.
Are they okay? They're mourning.
They're probably upset you didn't arrest Marc yet.
Everyone else is.
Well, we heard Marc's kept locked in.
His mother doesn't let him out.
His mom doesn't know.
He can get out through the back.
Tell them.
Yeah, we've seen him on his roof at night, smoking.
Come on.
He had-- he had the rabbit's foot.
He had the Metro card.
But Marc's DNA isn't on those cigarette butts.
All right? He doesn't show up on any video, we have nothing that ties him to the scene.
We got nothing, but he has been locked in a basement.
Everyone in the neighborhood thinks he's a freak.
Yeah, okay, so he's touched, but, look, I don't make him for this.
He's a child.
No, he's a man-child.
That's it.
He's a man-child.
I mean, don't tell me you're actually buying this whole, "tell me about the rabbit's foot.
" - Yeah, yeah, actually I do-- - Oh, my-- That is enough, you two.
Well, the 6-5 in Brooklyn would love to make Nico's homicide a pro forma.
We're not going to let that happen.
So let's start from jump.
Just get me something that puts Marc or whoever at the crime scene.
Yes, sir.
Rollins.
What? Oh, my God.
Yeah, keep her-- keep her there.
We're on our way.
Nadia Grey just tried to set Marc Rajic on fire.
She doused him with gasoline through the window.
Tried to spark him.
Marc okay? Well, God looks after kids and idiots.
Lucky for him, he's both, right? We'll check on him.
Look, we're going to need to talk to Nadia before you take her in.
All right, hey, do me a favor? Next time someone tries to tell you how these people are, believe 'em.
Let's go.
Come on.
Nadia.
What happened? You had him.
And you let him go.
We were watching him.
He's an animal.
He burned my baby.
And you couldn't do anything to him? The Rom Baro will make sure that he-- He killed my son! This is justice.
Nadia, just now, you said, "burned.
" Why? With cigarettes.
He burned him.
Nadia, who told you that? I don't know! You know what I know? That my son is dead.
This is what I know.
It wasn't released to the press.
There's no way Nadia could have known.
Unless the parents did it.
The dad was at work.
Mom called the school All right, then who tipped her off? I mean, it can't be Marc.
He's been in the box, or locked in his basement.
The girls.
The girls.
And they've been tipping us off all along.
Courtney and Emma are 14 years old.
No, wait a minute.
Who are these people? Two little girls.
Nico's schoolmates.
They're always around, bringing flowers, asking questions about the Greys.
All right, look, I know we're all tired, but sleep is for closed cases.
Give me something.
There's nothing in juvie, no discipline flags at Caswell Academy.
They were at the school last night passing out fliers.
So were a lot of other kids.
Yeah, but they're the only ones that lied to us.
Remember, the girls told us that the last time they saw Nico, it was that morning, but look at this.
So this is the last image of Nico, time stamp, 3:37.
No Marc Rajic.
No, but there come our two girls, and it's just a few seconds later.
It is the route to their subway.
Or they did it.
And they stashed the rabbit's foot and the Metro card in Marc's room.
Why didn't he just tell us? Well, his whole life, his mother told him to stay away from people, not let anyone in his room.
He won't talk.
But there is someone who could get him to tell the truth.
The police on the side of the Romani? Forgive me if I'm skeptical.
This isn't a con.
We don't think Marc hurt Nico.
But we think he knows who did.
And if this is all a trick, you've already demonized him.
His own people want to kill him.
You've got two victims right now.
Nico Grey and Marc.
Just tell Marc that he can trust us.
Help us get justice for both of them.
The Rom Baro told us someone visited your room.
Who was it? They snuck in the window.
And I--I told them mom don't like it when strangers are in the house.
Who, Marc? The pretty girl, Courtney.
She has a nice dog.
And Emma.
Do you remember when? On Monday night.
They made me stop watching football.
Is that what Marc did? Burn Nico? That's horrible.
And you're sure that you didn't tell Mrs.
Grey about that? No.
She said I did? She's gone a little you know.
I didn't say anything.
Okay.
You've been very helpful, Courtney.
Oh, why are you guys talking to Emma? Right in here.
I don't know why we're here.
Please, have a seat.
My daughter doesn't know anything.
She told us about Marc.
'Cause he did it.
He's the one.
Yeah.
How are you so sure? 'Cause Courtney said Is there any chance you saw Marc following Nico after school? No, we didn't see Nico after school.
You sure? What did Courtney say? We know you're lying, Emma.
We have you on video following Nico.
Emma You remember that? What else did they do? I don't-- I don't want to say.
It's okay, Marc.
Your mom won't know.
Courtney touched me down there.
And I--I--I-- I told her it was wrong.
And Go ahead.
Stuff came out, and it felt funny, but nice.
Then they gave me a rabbit's foot.
And they told me if I didn't tell anyone, they'd come back and do it again.
Look, I don't know why you're asking me.
Marc did it, didn't he? He just told my partner you two were in his room.
Now do you want me to tell your mother what he says you did to him? No.
Detective, you're frightening my daughter.
Am I? Are you a little scared now, Emma? Being here? How do you think Nico felt? You think he was scared? Was he scared when you put out lit cigarettes on him? Emma, what is this about? Open your eyes, Emma! Look at him.
He was so scared, he wet his pants.
And what happened then? Did you laugh at him? Or did you burn him again? No, it was Courtney.
We were just playing around.
We pantsed him, but-- Courtney-- she wouldn't stop.
She lit a cigarette, and And you didn't say, "no.
" I tried to.
I told her to quit it, that we should just go.
But he was crying, and he said he was going to call his mom.
So Courtney grabbed his scarf.
And I was yelling, "stop, stop.
" And she said, "he's just a dumb Gypsy.
Who's going to miss him?" The stupid little bitch.
Courtney.
It was just a joke.
We were just fooling around with him.
And he started crying, and making like he was going to tell.
So, you made sure he wouldn't.
I shut him up.
And then you went to Marc's.
He snitched? I gave him the only fun he's ever had.
Okay, my daughter has a perverse sense of humor, but I think it's time to stop.
Now I'm calling my lawyer.
It's a little late, dad.
She's right.
Anything else? Yeah.
Why? Why not?