Law & Order Organized Crime “Lost One” brought Stabler and Benson back together again to work on a case of a missing child who happens to be the daughter of Jessie Santos, one of the Brotherhood. It was simply an excuse to get the two of them together; there could have been several other ways to bring out the fact that Donnelly robbed Ulrich (and by default, Webb) and that Stabler is being set up to take the fall. As SVU cases go, it was rather dull, and as an OC case it was even duller. There are only two episodes left this season and it felt like this episode was a waste. Adding to the wastefulness is bringing Detective Velasco from SVU to help the case, and frankly, he was nothing more than window dressing here.
Jet and Malachi/Adam and the limited edition sneaker story? Another waste of time.
Bell and Jet break into a house without announcing they are police, and then they’re shocked that the occupant decided to hide and then run? Bell called out his name, but never said she was NYPD. That’s almost asking to be mistaken as a burglar or gang member and get shot these days.
Stabler liking or admiring Donnelly is hard to swallow. He knows the guy is dirty. Why even highlight that Donnelly is loyal like it's a positive trait, and then basically admit Donnelly is only loyal to himself? Stabler says people can be complicated but I don’t see anything complicated about Donnelly.
An error: Donnelly and his wife state they are naming their new son after Elliot, calling him Frank Elliot…and they added JUNIOR. One can’t be a junior unless the first and middle name are the same. If they’re calling him Junior, his middle name would already have to be Elliot, so they wouldn’t really be doing anything to honor Stabler.
Here is the recap:
At the office of the Organized Crime Task Force, Stabler asks Bell what she has for him. She explains she spoke to Nova who said if Webb doesn’t get his money back, he’s going to make some heads roll, specifically Stabler’s. Stabler says they haven’t made any progress on tracking the stolen cash, and Bell says it hasn’t been put in circulation. She adds they did receive this, motioning for Jet to show Stabler a photo from the agency of the man – Raymond Moss - who rented the van used to rip off Ulrich. He used Stabler’s driver’s license and whoever targeted Stabler had access to his ID without him noticing. Stabler says that means they are close and they will find him and get Webb off his back. Benson enters and apologizes for interrupting. Stabler said he was waiting for her call and she explains she thought it would be better in person. Jet leaves, saying she will leave them alone. Benson states a little girl went missing this morning from a bodega – Sara Santos, age 9. It is Jessie Santos’ kid. Stabler says they have him in custody for robbing a jeweler. Benson explains her mother was shopping and she turned her back for a moment and the little girl was gone. Bell asks if there are any leads, and Benson explains her team is there now, collecting security footage. Stabler comments she has stage 3 leukemia, and Benson says it is worse; she suffers from asthma which was exacerbated by her chemo which means at any moment she could be triggered into a fatal asthma attack. Stabler asks where is her inhaler, and Benson explains it was in her mother’s purse. Bell says, “Jesus.” Benson adds if they don’t find Sara soon there is a very real possibility they will have a dead child on their hands. Stabler asks how does she want to work this, and Benson asks him to tell him who in Santos’ world could be responsible for this, and Stabler explains Santos is part of the Brotherhood and they’ve pissed off plenty of bad guys. Bell adds like Preston Webb, who is definitely a person of interest; he runs the Marcy Killers. Stabler explains Santos as information on the Brotherhood that could put Frank Donnelly away for years. Benson wants to combine forces on this one - SVU, OC – work this case together. She looks to Stabler and says, “What do you say, partner?” He smiles.
With the whole OC task force, Benson shows them a video of Sara’s abduction from a neighborhood bodega where a woman uses a dog to lure her and then a man abducts her and forces her into a car. Facial rec can’t get a read on the woman’s face, but the abductors are aware of security cams and there is no license plate on the vehicle. Bell will talk to Nova to check out the Marcy Killers and Bell will put pressure on Webb as he does think Stabler stole a million dollars from him. Stabler will talk to Donnelly about it and gauge his reaction. Bell tells him to put a tracker on his car for backup. Benson informs them that she asked her Detective Velasco to join the team as he is more than equipped to handle cases like this. Bell tells Jet that she and Velasco should look at everyone in Sara’s orbit. Benson says stress is an asthma trigger and without her inhaler, Sara is in trouble. Stabler adds the clock is ticking, adding “Let’s find this kid.”
Later, Bell enters Cassandra Webb’s gallery with more police to make a showy search for Sara. Cassandra is outraged and angry and Bell holds her ground. When nothing is found, Bell tells her to have a nice day and Cassandra, with a forced smile, says she hopes they find her. Cassandra tells the people in the gallery that they made a mistake.
Meanwhile, Benson and Stabler speak with Mrs. Santos who do not recognize the kidnappers. She doesn’t know who would want to do this to her baby and explains her illness. Benson tries to console her, and asks for an unwashed piece of clothing or a hairbrush that they can take with them.
At the task force, Bell introduces herself to Velasco and he explains Jet found something. Jet explains Ted Taylor is a janitor at Sara’s school and hired by an agency that didn’t do a background check. Velasco says he has two counts of statutory rape and he took a deal for a reduced sentence. His wife stayed with him through both rapes and arrests and they wonder if she is the accomplice. Bell takes his photo and sends it to Benson.
Mrs. Santos gives Benson Sara’s bear. Benson gets a call and steps away. Mrs. Santos turns to Stabler and blames him and his Brotherhood, adding he took Jessie from her. She yells at him that he did this and she slaps him then beats on him, saying it his is fault. He holds her as she cries. Benson returns and shows the photo to Mrs. Santos who knows he is the janitor at the school and says he is friendly with all the kids.
Later, Bell and Jet break the door into Ted’s home with guns drawn. She does not announce they are police. Bell finds a kid’s bracelet and children’s underwear in a dresser drawer. Jet sees Ted trying to flee out a side door and she calls out. Bell cuts him off near the front of the house and Jet tackles him. Bell asks where is Sara and he doesn’t know what they are talking about. Jet asks why he ran and he explains they broke into his house. Bell arrests him.
At the task force, Benson and Stabler question Ted and he says the kids things in the box were things he found at the school when cleaning. Stabler reminds him he is a sex offender who took a job at an elementary school and that will get him 10 years minimum He says three week ago he was emptying the garage and saw a guy lurking outside the school. Jessie Santos walked up to him and they started talking and things got heated. The guy beat Jessie up. He describes the man, saying he had a tattoo of flames going up his neck. He tried to help Santos but he pushed him away. Jesse would not let him call the police and slipped him a Benjamin to forget he saw anything.
Afterward, Stabler tells Jet to call the school administration to see if Ted worked there this morning. Stabler doesn’t think Ted is their guy but mentions he witnessed Jessie’s beat down. Maldonado brings in video from SVU of a deli showing the woman was waiting for Sara an hour before the abduction. There is still no good view of her face but Jet recognized the limited editions sneaker the woman wears and knows someone who knows where they are sold.
Jet enters Malachi’s apartment who tells her he was going to call but he got a new freelance gig. She explains why she is there about the sneakers and he says they were sold out. He gives her the info on the store. She explains why she needs the info and said she tried calling him 4 times. He asks to take her out to dinner to make up for it but she says she has to go and races off.
Meanwhile, Stabler visits Jessie Santos and asks him about the beat down. Santos says it was a gambling debt and said he paid it off, it has nothing to do with this and he paid it off. They discuss options and says he wouldn’t keep anything. Stabler gets a message and says Donnelly needs to see him, and Santos wonders if Donnelly has anything to do with it. Stabler asks if he does, then tells him to think on it and let him know.
Later, Stabler talks with Donnelly about the kidnapping and that his old partner Benson has taken the lead on the case. Donnelly asks why she came to him, and Stabler explains he is working out of the 3-7. Donnelly asks if he should be worried, and Stabler says he should be glad because she trusts him so any time she goes sniffing around places she shouldn’t be, he can redirect her. He told her everything he knows about Santos and the abduction, which is nothing so he has to ask Donnelly, does the Brotherhood have a beef with anybody who would resort to doing something like this? Donnelly replies not that he knows of, but he can’t account for Santos and everything he may have been up to. Stable mentions the diamonds and Donnelly said that was only a side hustle. Stabler tells him to keep his ears out…Donnelly’s wife enters and Stabler wishes her a happy mother’s day. They talk about the baby and that they named him Frank Elliot, Junior. Stabler says he is honored. She said Donnelly looked at his son and said he hopes he’s a good man like my partner. Donnelly said it was his wife’s idea and she said don’t believe a word he says, Donnelly is all cotton candy inside, and lots of beer.
As Stabler leaves the house, he and Donnelly talk about Santos’ reckless behavior and Donnelly thinks he had this coming. Stabler pretends to drop his keys and when he bends down to pick them up he puts a tracker on Donnelly’s car.
Meanwhile, Bell and Jet go to the store where the sneakers are sold to get the buyer’s credit card receipt. Jet takes a store computer to get the detail quicker and spots a pair of the sneakers on display. Bell gets a message and tells Jet Donnelly is on the move.
Benson and Stabler follow the tracker and discuss Donnelly. Stabler explains Donnelly is complicated, charming, likeable, scheming and manipulative. Get between him and a dollar bill and you do it at your own peril. He admits he likes him and even admires him, he works the gifts he’s got to get what he wants. He’s loyal and named his kid after him. Benson is surprised and he explains he took his wife to the hospital for the birth. Benson worries they are getting close but Stabler says he has no illusions about what or who he is. Stabler admits the older he gets. he is beginning to understand that people are complicated. Benson comments “Ain’t that the truth.” Benson lets out a heavy sigh. Stabler tells her he thinks his father staged a shooting when he was on the job and Benson says that’s a lot. Stabler comments he was a lot but he always admired him as a cop. Benson asks if he has evidence, and Stabler replies not yet, but he knows where to get it. He sees on the tracker that Donnelly is headed to the Santos house. Benson comments that can’t be good.
Parked outside the Santos house, they watch Donnelly leave. Afterwards, Stabler and Benson are at Mrs. Santos’ front door and when she opens it, Stabler asks what Donnelly was doing there. She is evasive at first but then quickly admits that Frank is not the problem – he brought the money to pay off a ransom they received an hour ago with a video from an unknown number for $100,000 to get Sara back and they would kill her if she went to the police. She asked Frank for the money. Benson says they will need to see that video. They watch as Sara, with a gun to her head, asks for help, as she struggles to breathe.
Later, back at the task force office, the team watches the video and Jet explains she can try to find the location. Bell explains from the sneaker shop receipts, only 10 customers bought the shoes worn by the woman in the earlier video, one was Stacy Gennaro and her credit card is linked to a pet shop where she bought the dog in the video. He last known address is her mother’s house in Bushwick. Bell takes Cho and Maldonado.
Bell, Cho, and Maldonado are at the house and speak to Stacy’s mom and explain why they are looking for her daughter, showing her the image from the video. She thinks the other person is Ramon, her boyfriend. He is part of a gang, and goes by the name Smokey. She shows them a photo of Smokey.
Back at the task force, Jet identifies a possible location from the video metadata. Bell contacts Stabler and sends him the photo of Smokey and he fits the description of the man who beat up Santos. Bell tells Stabler to find out which gang he belongs to, and Stabler gives the details to Jet. She finds Ramon Sosa, a member of a Dominican street gang, the Rebenga Cartel. They are into drugs, mainly heroin. Jet says they launder their money through real estate. Stabler tells her to get the addresses of the properties and she finds 10 addresses, 7 that fall into the radius of the metadata. Stabler sees a star of David in one of the building’s windows. This helps narrow down the location.
At the Steinmann Center for Judaic Studies, Stabler and Benson arrive, Bell says she is 10 minutes out and tells him to stand down and ask for backup. Benson comments that Santos has a beef with the Rebenga Cartel and Stabler says it is either Santos or the Brotherhood. Benson wonders if it is the Brotherhood, why slap down such a small timer. Stabler replies he can’t answer that. He looks at his watch and says it’s been 6 hours since this kid went missing, and they decide to head in without waiting for backup. Stabler pries the door then kicks it in. He announces they are NYPD and they search for Sara. They hear a noise upstairs and cautiously go up the stairs. Stabler calls out again he is NYPD and shouts for them to show their hands. A man opens a door and steps out, his hands up. When Stabler asks where is Sara, the man says he doesn’t know what he is talking about. He says he is Eddie Alvarez and they continue to press him but he says he doesn’t know where Sara is. He says he works nights and is never home. He says squatters and transients live there. They find a space that used to be a kitchen for commercial space, and Benson flicks the switch for the breaker and a light shines from a covered door. Eddie tries to flee but Stabler disables him. Benson rips away the wood covering the opening and they find Sara. Benson hands her the inhaler and says she is okay now. Someone comes from up the stairs and shoots at Benson and Stabler and Stabler fires back, hitting him. Benson races off to apprehend another person fleeing the house.
Later, Stabler is carrying Sara out and tells Bell that there are three of them inside, one of them he shot and he’ll need a bus. Benson tells Bell Sara’s breathing is okay. As the EMT’s tend to Sara, Bell and her team enter the house. Stabler takes the crowbar from Benson and they head to the car.
At the jail, Santos thanks Stabler and Stabler says he would do the same for him. He asks Santos why he was covering for Sosa bur Santos said he thought he was going to kill his daughter. He says Sosa is a monster and he is out of his mind. Donnelly ripped off the Rebenga Cartel’s heroin. He didn’t know anything about it until Ramon showed up and to him, all the Brotherhood was the same. He thought Donnelly would clean up his own mess, but Stabler states Donnelly only cares about Donnelly and he is going to get them all killed. Stabler says he doesn’t know what to do, and Santos says he wants to wear a wire to get him to talk,. Stabler says that is risky but Santos said that is the only way to get him off for good and as long as he is out there, none of them are safe.
Later, sitting in Benson’s car:
Benson: So how'd it feel working an SVU case again?
Stabler: Thought this was an OC case? - [Benson chuckles] It's always good to work with you, Liv.
Benson: And how's your search for the truth going?
Stabler: What's that?
Benson: With your dad.
Stabler: [sighs] Long, complicated, painful. [He sees Donnelly walking by] Hey.
Donnelly: Well. - Ain't this a treat.
Stabler: Yeah.
Donnelly: The indomitable Captain Benson at the lowly 3-7.
Benson: Oh, I'm just playing Uber driver for my old partner.
Donnelly: Hey, gotta personally thank you, both of house for doing such a hell of a job bringing Sara Santos back home.
Benson: Well, we were just doing our job, and I'm just glad that we could help out a fellow cop.
Donnelly: Yeah, well, I sleep a lot better at night knowing somebody like you is in charge.
Benson: [laughs] Ha ha. Well, I gotta tell you, I'm a little jealous because Elliot here tells me that you're the second best partner that he ever had.
Donnelly: Really? I have to work on changing his mind about that. See if I can't make myself number one…'Night, kids.
Benson: ‘Night
Benson takes a breath and she and Stabler look at each other with relief and concern.
The next day, Jet arrives at Adam’s (Malachi’s) with a box but he doesn’t answer his door. She leaves the box there and then walks off. After she leaves he opens the door and sees the box with a note saying “thank you” and the special sneakers inside.
Back at his childhood home, Stabler sees a sign saying it is sold and he climbs over a gate and heads to the back. He recalls shooting the gun into the tree in the back yard. The tree is much bigger and Stabler gets a knife and digs out the bullet. A woman calls out asking if he set a date for the demolition, thinking he was part of the construction. The woman doesn’t recognize his name and tells him they are tearing it all down. She asks if it’s changed a lot and he explains more than she can imagine. He gets a call from Bell.
Meanwhile, Cassandra bitches to Preston Webb about the police entering her gallery, the press, and how hard she worked to build her business and get respect, He says he doesn’t care what these other people think about …and she says SHE cares and people in her world care. He says he can’t help it if the police break into her…and she says he can’t help it, really? She adds it’s funny, the police never used to be a problem. He says he is going for a ride, and she says the man she married would have never allowed this to happen. She adds first people steal two million dollars from them and he just lets that slide, and then the cops show up and try to intimidate her, in her gallery, and it doesn’t even occur to him to stand up for her? He walks out without saying anything.
As Webb moves away from the room, he calls Nova, saying it’s time.
Stabler returns to the task force office and asks Bell what’s up? Jet says the cash Donnelly gave to Rosaria – Cho was logging it and the serial numbers match the money that he and Donnelly dropped at Ulrich’s. Stabler looks dumbfounded. Bell says Donnelly robbed Ulrich and he is setting Stabler up to take the fall. Stabler stares off, saying nothing, as we cut to black.
