The Stress Fracture, Chapter 10: The Grand Master (10. ) The Stress Fracture, Chapter 9 (9. ) The Stress Fracture, Chapter 8: The Serpent Tattoo (8. ) The Stress Fracture, Chapter 7: The Criminal Profiler (7. ) The Stress Fracture, Chapter 6: The Woven Threads (6. ) The Stress Fracture, Chapter 5: The Second Body (5. ) The Stress Fracture, Chapter 4: The Urban Legend (4. ) The Stress Fracture, Chapter 3: The Stress Doctor (3.. ) The Stress Fracture, Chapter 2: The Autopsy Report (2. ) The Stress Fracture, Chapter 1: The First Body (1. )

Author Notes: Copyright: BenMac 2015 Content Rating: R Disclaimer: Most characters belong to IC and Showtime; DW and NBC; TG and TNT; PP and ABC; others are completely invented by the author! Author's Note: This is my experiment with a crime novel using a crossover/mash up of Law and Order: SVU, The Fosters, Rizzoli and Isles, and TLW. Bette and Tina are the main characters while Olivia and Alex from SVU, Stef and Lena from The Fosters, and Jane and Maura from Rizzoli and Isles are all supporting characters. I have also incorporated much of the structure from SVU and some of the other characters from that drama as well and a handful of some of your favorite characters from TLW. But a TRIGGER warning is in order. Although there is a romantic subplot between Bette and Tina, the main plot is a dark story. There is murder, violence, and references to sexual assault of both women and children. I won’t apologize for the misandry of the characters. It’s what drives them and makes this crime drama a twisted tale. So fair warning: this novel is disturbing and may not be appropriate for the sensitive reader. Therefore, every chapter is rated R for references and allusions to sexual violence. In addition, staying with the style of many works of crime and detective fiction, the story is told in third-person objective. While the actions and dialogue of all characters are available, their thoughts and feelings are not. At first, you may find this renders the characters shallow. However, in order for you to solve the mysteries, it will require you, the reader, to pay attention to what each character says and does. Yes, there is more than one mystery. If you discover the answers earlier than revealed, please don’t post spoilers in the comments. One other thing, Bette faces a moral dilemma. Using third person objective allows you (the reader) to decide if her actions are ethical without me (the narrator) pushing you in one direction or the next. Thank you for reading and commenting.

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Brighton Neighborhood

Boston, MA

8:38am, Tuesday, January 23rd

Mid-January in Boston presented a landscape of packed, dirty snow. The sky was overcast and the air icy. At the moment, snow was coming down in a constant sheet of white. The setting, under normal circumstances, was not what most would find ideal. But this day, the conditions were perfect, for they kept the smell of decomposing human flesh at a minimum even with the body wrapped in heavy plastic and sheltered between alleyways.

Lieutenant Olivia Benson stood overseeing the forensic team’s careful investigation. She was bundled in a thick floor-length pea coat and a knit hat pulled down around her ears. Steam from her paper coffee cup mixed with the mist she blew from her nose and mouth as she breathed.

A uniformed officer approached her.

“Cyril Martin. Forty-seven years old, recently paroled, registered sex offender, did five of twenty for two counts of assault and rape.” Officer Stefanie Foster handed Olivia a clipboard. On it, the dead man’s driver’s license, sealed in an evidence bag, was clipped in place along with a printout of his rap sheet.

“How many weeks out?” Olivia asked.

“Two and a day.”

Olivia nodded her head as she watched a crime-scene photographer kneel in the snow and take a close-up of the man’s head. The rest of the body remained partly covered in plastic sheeting and snow.

“Have a wallet?” she asked.

“No,” Stef answered. “ID was rolled in his clothes tucked under his head.” She held up another evidence bag. “His phone was in the bundle, too.”

“Any idea how long he’s been here?” Olivia asked.

Stef shrugged. “Hard to tell. Garbage truck driver saw him when he lifted the bin and disturbed the snow. He’s frozen as solid as a Thanksgiving turkey, though. We’ll have to wait for the autopsy.” She turned to Olivia. “You think your rookie is up for this?” Her uniform’s heavy outer coat bunched around her shoulders and displayed the two inverted chevrons of a corporal on the sleeve. Stray bits of blond hair poked out at the corners of her winter service cap.

“She’s hardly a rookie, Stef. She’s been working vice in L.A. for the last eight years,” Olivia replied.

“You think she’s seen this sort of thing working vice?”