KarMel Scholarship 2005
|
Best Fictional Story “Law & Order: SVU – True Love” By
Shannon Perry - CA |
Desciption of Submission: “An episode of Law & Order: SVU where
a lesbian couple is killed and the detectives must find out why. Suspects include the parents, boyfriend, and
boyfriend’s mother.” -
Why Karen and Melody Liked
It: It was a very well
written episode of a Law and Order. Very
realistic to an episode of Law and Order.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
In the Criminal Justice system, sexually based offenses
are considered especially heinous. In
Two
girls around the age of sixteen were found dead in a park by a mother playing
with her kids. They were nothing alike. One was white, tall, with light blonde
hair; the other was short, with frizzy black hair and dark skin that could have
been Asian or even Hispanic.
They
were found each with a gunshot wound to the head. The smaller one, identified
later as Courtney Nguyen, was lying face-down on the
ground with her pants around her knees. Roxanne, the blonde, was lovingly
positioned on top of her with the murder weapon in hand.
Signs
of a fight were present, though none of the girls had any marks other than the
bullet holes. Blood was found in Roxanne’s mouth, though no bite marks were
found on either of them and no cuts were visible on her lips.
Agents
Benson and Stabler enter the crime scene and immediately start asking questions
of the officers already present. “How do they know each other?”
“Picture
of Courtney, or rather Court as is written on the
picture, in Roxanne’s wallet. Nothing but her name and a date
on the back. Also a picture of a boy named Jack who looks to be about
eighteen with ‘All my love until the day we die’ written on the back.” He hands
the wallet and pictures over to Stabler who grabs the closest officer with an
evidence bag and drops the things inside.
“Is
there any sign of physical abuse?”
“It
looks like Courtney was shot first by Roxanne, then she turned around and shot
herself after she saw what she did. It’s weird the way she landed though, like
she had to be lying like that when she pulled the trigger, or else she would
have just fallen straight down.” He got called away and Benson and Stabler were
left alone to search the surrounding areas for any clues when they were
confronted by Dr. Warner, the Medical Examiner at the scene.
Agent
Benson asks her, “What have you found?”
“Signs of sexual trauma. I’ll need to check further, but it
looks like by the gun. I’ll know by tomorrow. Give me some time.” She heads off
to go to the morgue where she will further conduct her search.
“She
raped her and shot her with the same gun. Now that’s true-love.”
[CURTAIN]
All
of the SVU detectives are in the squad room discussing the case. Captain Cragen
is asking questions to try and catch up to the others. “Have you contacted the
victim’s family yet?”
Detective
Munch answers, “Called the provided phone number and the answering machine says
the family was on vacation.”
“Go
by and see if they’ve returned yet.” Cragen turns to Benson and Stabler and
asks, “Have you heard anything else from Warner?”
“She
rushed the results of the prints on the gun and the blood in Roxanne’s mouth.
Said we should drop by later today.”
“Go
check it out.”
Office of the Medical Examiner
Friday, September 21
The
two girls’ bodies were lying on tables in the morgue with blue blankets over
them. Warner just finished her examination and started telling the detectives
what she found. “She was definitely raped by the gun. There’s no question there.”
Stabler
asks, “Was Roxanne the one holding that gun?”
“At least at one point. I don’t know if she’s the one that
raped her. The amount of force that was used seems like it would be too much
for someone of her stature. She didn’t do this either.” Warner puts an x-ray up
on the screen showing Courtney’s skull and the tops of her shoulders. She
points to a place near the front that was nearly shattered inward. “She didn’t
die of a gunshot wound like everyone thinks. She died of a contusion to the
head by a large, heavy object. The degree of the wound signals extreme force
was used. That tells me this person was very angry.”
“Were
there any other wounds on the body we overlooked?” Benson asks while searching
the x-ray.
“Two
of her fingernails on her left hand were ripped off, black nail polish and all.
The nails came off postmortem, just like the bullet wound. My guess is the
perp. took the nails as souvenirs, raped and shot Courtney, then Roxanne got
mad, bit him, and so he killed her too. He put the gun in her hand, wiped off
his prints, positioned them so it looked like a lovers’ quarrel, then fled, thinking he’d done the smartest thing ever and
that no one would catch him. If you get him, I can match his prints and DNA to
that of the blood in Roxanne’s mouth and a partial print I found on the gun.”
“Are
you sure we’re looking for a man?” Benson asks, “It couldn’t be a strong girl.
I mean, if they were dating and another girl was in this triangle . . . ?” She
trails off, not wanting to finish her sentence.
“You
would have to find me a really strong girl. But my instincts tell me a boy. Probably a smart one. No one saw the gash on the front of
Courtney’s head. He’s no average perp. I’ll give him that.”
Residence of Mr. And Mrs. Nguyen
Friday, September 21
“Whom
did you leave Courtney with while the two of you went on vacation?” Detective
Munch asks Mr. Nguyen.
He
solemnly answers, “We considered bringing her with us, but she said she needed
to go to school. We thought she’d be fine. She was always so mature, and such a
good student.”
“Did
she stay home alone then?”
“No,
she stayed with her friend Carl Wong for a week, and with Roxanne Doyle for a
week.”
Detective
Tutuola turns toward Mrs. Nguyen and asks her, “Were Courtney and Roxanne
friends then?”
“Not
just friends.” She turns away in shame.
Overhearing
the question, Mr. Nguyen adds, “They were dating.”
“You
didn’t approve?” Munch interjects.
“Of
course we didn’t approve. Courtney was so smart. She just threw her life away to be with that
bimbo. She was going to go to college.
She even got a scholarship! That twit didn’t even know what she wanted.
Did you know she had a boyfriend?”
“Roxanne
had a boyfriend?”
“Yeah,
at the same time she was dating Courtney. I don’t even think he knew.”
“Do
you know his name?”
Mrs.
Nguyen looks to her husband before answering. When he nods, she says, “Um, I
think his name was Jack. Jack . . .
Stone?”
“Thank
you. You’ve been a big help. Do you have the address of either Jack or Carl?”
Mr.
Nguyen answers when Mrs. Nguyen can’t remember. “Carl lives just around the
corner in the black building. Apartment G. And I don’t
know about Jack. All I know is that his father is in marketing down by Madison
Avenue.”
Residence of Carl Wong
7002 2nd Street Apartment G
Friday, September 21
“Yeah,
Court was my best friend. We met at an art contest when we were seven and never
really stopped talking. We lived across town from each other, so didn’t hang
out much. But when my mom wanted to move here last year, we started walking to
school together and it just grew from there.” Carl lives in an apartment with
his mother. He is sixteen and a sophomore at the same school as Courtney and
Roxanne.
“Mrs.
Nguyen said you and Court dated for over a year. Is that true?”
“We
both knew we were gay then, but couldn’t tell our parents, so we told them we
were dating. It got them both off our backs.”
“Tell
us about Courtney and Roxanne’s relationship.”
“They
were great together. You never saw one without the other. They would often come
here to be alone. My mom works a lot, so she’s not home enough to notice.”
“Did
the people at school know about Roxanne and Courtney?”
“Oh no. Court’s mom was paranoid about all of this. She’s
from some remote Asian country that no one’s ever heard of where all the women
get married at sixteen and every relationship is straight, or so Court told
me.”
“Can
you give us any reason why you think Roxanne could have killed Courtney?”
“Roxanne
didn’t kill her. She couldn’t do that.”
“Why’s
that?”
“She
loved Court. There’s just no way.”
Detectives
Munch and Tutuola exchange looks of disbelief.
SVU Squad Room
The
detectives are exchanging information on the victims and the suspects while
Captain Cragen gives them instructions. They have hung pictures of all the
people on the wall and are trying to connect them together.
“What
have you found on this Jack kid?” Cragen asks Munch who has been doing all the computer work.
“There
is more than one Jack Stone around here. The only one that
fits the age group and has a dad who’s in marketing goes to the same school as
the others. He has no prior convictions in the computer, but his mom is
in there for filing for child support four years ago. There’s only one address
and it’s on Madison Avenue.”
Benson,
thinking that location for a house is odd, asks, “They live on Madison Avenue?
How does that work?”
“Go
check it out,” Cragen tells Benson and Stabler. He turns to Munch and Tutuola
and says, “Go to this school that they all attend and see what you can get.”
Everyone exits.
Office of
Marshall Keith Stone
Monday, September 24
“Do
you have a son named Jack?” Benson and Stabler are at the provided address of Jack
and Marie Stone, which is really the marketing office of Marshall Stone.
“Yes.
Jack is my son and Marie is my wife. What does this have to do with?”
“We
just need to ask Jack some questions about two of his friends who died
recently. Do you know where we can talk to him?”
“Sure,
here’s his home address,” he hands Benson a piece of paper. “Why did you come
here looking for them? No one lives here.”
“This
is the address Marie put down as her home address when she filed for full
custody of Jack. Do you know why she would do that?”
“She
probably didn’t want anyone to know who she really is.”
“What
is that supposed to mean? She filed her name and her social security number.
Doesn’t she think someone could track her pretty easily if they wanted?”
“You
see, my ex-wife thinks she’s this really big actress because she’s acted in a
few plays on Broadway. Really, no one even knows her name. Her
real name. That’s why we got divorced in the first place. She’s not
entirely stable and she won’t admit that she’s not some world-famous celebrity.
Has either of you ever heard of the famous actress Joan Johnson?”
Both
detectives shake their heads.
“Even
if you had heard it you wouldn’t remember. Johnson’s her maiden name, and one
of the most common last names in
The intercom beeps and Mr. Stone checks his
watch. “My
High School for the Arts
Monday, September 24
“I
didn’t even know Roxanne and Courtney knew each other.”
“Their
friends say the two girls were dating. Did you know about this?” Munch and
Tutuola arrived at the school and located the principal. He hasn’t been giving
them the answers they were hoping for.
“Roxanne?
No, she’s not like that. Our school is very small and I know all
of the students well. Roxanne had potential. She was one of the best
singers and one of the best actresses this school has ever seen. The only thing
that could have gotten in her way is that Jack Stone. She spent a lot of time
with him. I never saw her with anyone else.”
“And what about Courtney? Who does she hang out with?”
“Mainly just Carl. I’ve seen her with some other people
before, but definitely Carl more than anyone else.”
“Can
we speak with Jack Stone? It won’t take long.” Principal Stripe leads the
detectives to another office and calls for his secretary. “Judy, will you
please call in Jack Stone. He’s a sophomore. Tell him it will only be a
minute.”
Judy
exits. When she returns, Jack is in tow and she and the principal leave the
detectives to question Jack alone.
“How
are you doing today?” Detective Tutuola decides to start Jack off with an easy
question so he doesn’t get frightened or riled up.
“I’m
a little shaken up about Roxanne. I can’t believe someone would murder her.”
Jack won’t look at the detectives, and they assume he has tears in his eyes.
“How
much about this have you heard?”
“Not
that much. Only what I’ve seen on television and what my mom has told me.”
“How
did you know it wasn’t a suicide. That detail hasn’t
been released yet. Do you have some information on this?” Munch asks this
indirect question because he knows that if he asks Jack straight out, Jack will
not give them any more answers without an attorney present.
“Roxanne
was happy. She wouldn’t kill herself. Does anyone know why she killed that
other girl? I’ve never even seen them together.”
Detective
Tutuola’s cell phone rings and he excuses himself to take the call.
“Well,
we were hoping you could tell us that. Other sources say they hang out a lot.
You’ve never seen them together?”
“No.
Well, I guess I knew they were acquaintances.
Everyone knows everyone at this school. But Roxanne only hung out with
me. She didn’t even know that girl.”
Detective
Tutuola comes back into the conversation and asks Jack instantly, “Were your
mom and Roxanne good friends?”
“Sure.
We would all three go places together. Roxanne was always interested in my mom
and her job as an actress. Why?”
“Our
other detectives just called to tell us that your dad says Roxanne was a raving
fan of your mom. Her only fan. Is that true?”
Jack
laughs a little nonchalantly and answers, “I guess. They did spend a lot of
time together.” He laughs again, seeming to forget his sullen demeanor from
earlier. “They would even go out to lunch without me sometimes. I wasn’t mad though, just happy my mom had someone to talk to. She got
lonely sometimes.”
There’s
a knock on the door and Judy comes in quietly. “Um,
Detectives? Jack’s mother called saying Jack has an appointment, and
when I told her you were questioning him, she got a little mad and she said she
was going to come down here.” She exits just as quietly as she came in.
Munch
looks at Jack and says, “Perfect. We were meaning to talk to her anyway. But we
think our precinct would be better. Don’t you?”
SVU Squad Room
Ms.
Johnson is a tall and thin woman with slightly graying hair that she has tried
to cover up with cheap henna, brown eyes made blue with contacts, an excessive
amount of makeup, and unladylike muscles made while doing manual labor to pay
the rent sticking out of her pink lycra jogging outfit three sizes too small.
She speaks with a deep, husky voice. “What do you want with me? I just came to pick up my son and you bring
me back here like I’m under arrest or somethin’.”
“Oh,
you’re not under arrest, Ms. Johnson. At least not yet.
It is Ms. Johnson, right? Joan Johnson? Why use the name Marie Stone when you
have such a beautiful name already?” Detective Munch was already using his
methods of deception on Ms. Johnson because he felt she could be broken down
easily. He sensed she had something to hide.
“I
didn’t want my fans crawlin’ all over me bringin’ the press with ‘em. Some
people will do just about anythin’ for an autograph.” She leans back and places
a cigarette in her mouth. She doesn’t get a chance to light it because Fin
promptly pulls it out and points to a no smoking sign.
“Wow.
You must be really famous. How many Broadway shows have you been in?”
“Two.
Look, I got fans, okay? There may not be a million of ‘em, but the one’s I
have, they’re loyal. Can I go now?”
“Just
stay seated. We’re not done yet.”
“Where’s
Jack? His school is just about out. He should be coming down here as soon as he
can find a ride.”
“When
he gets here, we’ll let ya know. Okay?” She just glares at them and reaches for
another cigarette, which Tutuola does not take from her.
“Ms.
Johnson, can you tell us about your relationship with Roxanne Doyle?”
“Yeah,
sure, that girl was great. She was always asking me questions about my life on
Broadway and what it was like to perform, stuff like that. It’s a shame someone
capped her.” She took a puff on her cigarette and blew it toward Fin with a
smug look on her face.
“Do
you know who killed her?”
“No.
Look, I don’t own a gun, don’t look at me. And I know Jack didn’t do it. He was
home all night.”
ADA
Alexandra Cabot and Captain Cragen are looking in on this interrogation from
behind the two-way mirror and analyzing the situation.
“We
have her saying she doesn’t own a gun when no one knows the victims were shot,
and we have her saying someone killed her, when the public was made to think it
was a suicide. That should be enough for a search warrant,” Cragen says.
“I’ll
see what I can do.”
Jack
Stone arrived at the SVU precinct demanding to know where his mother was.
Detectives Benson and Stabler ushered him into another interrogation room where
they could find out his side of the story.
“Where
were you on the night of Thursday, September 20?”
“My
mom and I went out to dinner and then back to the apartment where we stayed in
playing board games until it was time for bed. We were in for the rest of the
night.”
“Can
anyone else vouch for that?”
“Um,
we went to the Paper Moon around 9:00. Maybe there?”
Detective
Benson leaves the room when there is a tapping on the mirror.
Cragen
asks, “A family living in a one bedroom apartment where the mother does manual
labor at a construction site all day can afford to go to the Paper Moon?
Where’s the money coming from?”
“I
don’t know, but he’s definitely covering up for someone.”
Detective
Munch enters the room behind them and speaks before anyone even notices him,
“So is his mother.”
They
all turn around at the sound of his voice and Benson asks, “You think they’re
co-conspirators?”
“I
think they got paid. And paid well. Probably
in advance. It explains the clothes she’s wearing. We should check out
their apartment. I bet we’ll find all kinds of new and expensive stuff.”
“Consider
it done,” Alex says and she leaves the room.
Residence of Joan Johnson and Jack Stone
320 5th Street Apartment 17a
Wednesday, September 26
Detectives
Benson and Stabler, along with a handful of other officers, enter the apartment
of Jack and Joan and find it poorly furnished. The carpet is very old and
stained, and one of the windows has a crack in it. It is in a very bad part of
town and no one expected much better.
“Hey!
What are you doing here? Get out of my house!” Ms. Johnson is sitting on her
moth-eaten couch with a cigarette watching a 34" plasma TV.
“Nice
place you got here. I especially like the out-of-place electronics. I hate to
tell you, but that’s a little ninety’s.” Benson refuses to take any crap from
Ms. Johnson and throws the search warrant at her while heading straight for the
only bedroom.
The
bed is very old, made of wood and slightly tilted to the left. There are two
dressers against the wall. One is the same wood as the bed and just as old,
while the second is made of mahogany with beautiful engravings along the legs
and drawer fronts. Inside are Cashmere blouses and more lycra
outfits. Some of the clothing still has its price tag on, and one skirt cost
$400 at the nearest Abercrombie and Fitch.
The
bathroom was meticulously cleaned, in contrast to the rest of the house. When
Benson entered, the other officers were already using luminol to check the
shower for traces of blood. The light showed up blue around the drain, so they
swabbed it to be tested.
Stabler
comes up behind Benson and says, “Maybe we’ll find out where that blood that
was in Roxanne’s mouth came from.”
Office of the Medical Examiner
607
29th Street
Thursday, September 27
“The
blood from the drain is the same as the blood from Roxanne’s mouth.” Alex,
Benson, and Stabler were all at the morgue learning about the findings in Jack
and Joan’s house. “I’d say you have yourself a very convincing case. Who else
can the blood come from?”
“Invite
them in for coffee one more time. See if you can break him.”
“See
if you can get one more warrant, one for their blood. That way we have
something to bargain with.”
Friday, September 28
“The
blood matches that of the boy, Jack. I figured since the blood was his, so were
the fingerprints on the gun, but they weren’t. The prints on the gun belong to
Ms. Johnson. You got them. Go arrest them and find out why.”
They
all leave and are back in the precinct within an hour. Jack is with Benson and
Stabler, while Mrs. Johnson is with Munch and Tutuola. Captain Cragen is
watching the interview with Mrs. Johnson, but she refuses to talk until her
lawyer gets there. A lawyer who will cost her over $100,000.
“Keep
her comfortable. I think Benson and Stabler can break the boy, Jack. He seems
to be breaking a little already.”
“Why
did you tell us you went out to dinner with your mom around 9:00, when the
waitress and maitre d’ tell us you two were of their earlier parties, arriving
around 6:30? Your alibi doesn’t exactly check out.”
“I
don’t know, I guess I got the times mixed up.”
“Would
you mind showing me your shoulders, and maybe your upper arms?”
“Why?
I don’t have to show you that.”
“True,
very true. You don’t have to show us. But if you’re not guilty, what do
you have to lose?”
“Look,
I’m not showing you, so just drop it.”
“Why
is that?”
“I
don’t want to, that’s all.”
“Are
you sure that’s all? Are you sure it’s not because there’s a large bite mark
there? A bite mark you got while murdering Roxanne Doyle and Courtney Nguyen.
Could that be why you don’t want to? Is that it?” Detective Stabler got a
little too mad and Benson had to pull him off the suspect before a police
brutality charge was brought against them.
“NO!
That wasn’t what happened! My mom and I were playing board games all night.
Just ask her, she’ll tell you.”
“Your
mom’s not saying anything. She’s leaving this all up to you. Just tell us. Why
did you do it? Why did you rape and kill Roxanne and Courtney?”
“I
didn’t!”
“Jack
. . . .”
“She
raped them with the gun! I didn’t do it! Don’t blame me for something I didn’t
do!” He breaks down in tears while the detectives look at each other.
“Why
did your mom kill them then?”
“We
needed the money.”
“Someone
paid you to kill them? That explains the fancy furniture.”
“Mrs.
Nguyen. My mom said that one of the times she and Roxanne went out to lunch
together, Roxanne accidently told her she had a girlfriend. When my mom
wouldn’t let up, Roxanne finally told her it was Court. What she didn’t know is
that my mom and Mrs. Nguyen were friends from way back. They had even tried
setting us up once.
“Mom
knew Mrs. Nguyen’s culture didn’t agree with that. And that the Nguyen’s had a
lot of money. Ever since my mom started working for the construction company
and started losing her looks, money has been tight.”
“Tell
us exactly what happened.”
“Mrs.
Nguyen told us she overheard Court says she would be meeting Roxanne in the
park and then they would walk to Carl’s together. So Mom and I waited in the
trees for them to show up. When they did, we each went behind one of them while
they were kissing and grabbed them so they couldn’t scream.” Jack wipes his
eyes on the end of his sleeve before continuing. He is still crying, but not as
bad as before.
“My
mom took Court because she was smaller and I took Roxanne. My mom was supposed
to use the muffled gun to shoot them so no one would hear. But when Court took
the gun from my mom and had it pointed at me, telling me to let go of Roxanne,
Mom grabbed one of the bricks from the fence, and threw it at her head with
everything she had.
“Court
hit the ground and didn’t move. Then my mom pulled down Court’s pants and
started raping her really hard with the gun. At first I couldn’t understand why
she was doing it, but I just assumed it was part of the plan to make Roxanne
look guilty. I didn’t watch for very long, but it caught me off guard long
enough so Roxanne could jab her elbow in my ribs and bite my shoulder when I
tried to get her back. She ran over to my mom and kicked her as hard as she
could. The gun was just lying there, so I took it and pointed it at Roxanne.
“They
both froze and my mom said to give it to her. She said she didn’t want me to be
a murderer. Then she turned around and shot Roxanne in the head.” Jack starts
crying really hard again, and it takes him a minute before he can go on.
“Mrs.
Nguyen said to shoot both of them, but Court was dead and we didn’t shoot her.
So Mom shot her. Then she fled and I was left all alone. I tried to pull up
Court’s pants, but it was too hard. Roxanne was lying a few feet away from
Court, and I knew she loved her more than she could ever love me, so I moved
her. I put them the way I thought they would like to be.
“That’s
when my mom called for me and I ran away as fast as I could. I put the gun in
Roxanne’s hand like Mrs. Nguyen said. I don’t remember anything more.”
Alex,
Cragen, Munch, and Tutuola are all watching this scene. When Jack breaks down
for the final time, they all turn away simultaneously. Alex is the only one who
can speak.
“Go
pick up Mrs. Nguyen. I can get her for murder and rape easily. I can maybe bring
it down to manslaughter for Jack, but probably not for Johnson. I’ll talk to
the DA. See you in court. I mean, in the courtroom.”
Executive Producer
S H A N N O N P E R
R Y
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