Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series)

Broken Rhymes (2016)

Kelli Giddish: Detective Amanda Rollins

Photos 

Quotes 

• Olivia Benson : A public bathroom of a crowded mall in broad daylight. This is a hell of a place to attack someone.

  Amanda Rollins : Or it's the perfect place.

  [showing Benson the vic's ID] 

  Amanda Rollins : Vic is transgender.

• Amanda Rollins : Where were you today between 12:00 and 1:00 pm?

  Logan Blake : [sardonic laugh]  Okay. I was here all day, since 8:00 am, in my office. I ran out for a quick lunch around noon.

  Amanda Rollins : Oh, great. Did you eat around here?

  Logan Blake : Yeah, a diner in Tribeca.

  Olivia Benson : Well, Eva's father said that... that you two were fighting last night.

  Logan Blake : It wasn't serious. I love Eva.

  Amanda Rollins : [sarcastic]  Yeah. Let me count the ways.

  [consulting her notepad] 

  Amanda Rollins : "I'm tired of your lies". "I'm starting to despise you". "I wish you'd disappear."

  Olivia Benson : I mean, I'd hate to see your serious arguments.

• Dominick Carisi, Jr. : Vic's legal name is Eric Carson. She's a twenty-four year old art student from Montclair, New Jersey. Seems like she goes by the name Eva these days.

  Olivia Benson : Parents?

  Odafin Tutuola : They're on their way.

  Dominick Carisi, Jr. : This is the nurse.

  Olivia Benson : Hey. What do we got?

  SANE Nurse : Rape kit showed forced penetration, severe tearing and bleeding, perforated colon. Significant blunt force trauma to the head and torso, as well. She's lucky to be alive.

  Olivia Benson : Okay. Semen? Is there any sign of... of intercourse?

  SANE Nurse : No.

  Amanda Rollins : Defensive wounds?

  SANE Nurse : Bruises on her wrists and arms. We're checking her nails for DNA.

  Olivia Benson : Thank you.

  Dominick Carisi, Jr. : [as the nurse leaves]  Okay. So a transgender art student from the suburbs gets beaten and raped with a pipe in a public restroom just months after New York State signs the gender neutral bathroom bill. Media's gonna be all over this.

  Olivia Benson : Yeah, for good reason. This is a hate crime.

• Olivia Benson : Do we have anything on Hype's past that suggests that he's good for this?

  Dominick Carisi, Jr. : One prior. Armed robbery. Plead it down to a misdemeanor, didn't do any time, but I listened to some of his music. It's hardcore.

  Amanda Rollins : You mean hateful. It's full of homophobic rants, gay slurs.

  Olivia Benson : So he may not be the spokesperson for the LGBTQ crowd, but it doesn't mean that he's good for the assault.

  Amanda Rollins : This might. Look at this.

  [turning her laptop around] 

  Amanda Rollins : "Look who I just ran into at Cypress market! #HypeRules." Posted yesterday at 11:54 a.m. I mean, that's twenty minutes before Eva's attack.

  Odafin Tutuola : Yeah, so much for being in the studio all day working on his rhymes.

  Olivia Benson : Let's bring him in. I want to find out what he was doing at Cypress market and why he lied about it.

• Odafin Tutuola : That's Cash Lewis. That's Hype's business parter and producer.

  Amanda Rollins : Well, he's got quite the rap sheet. Felony assault. Weapons. Narcotics. And gang affiliation for added measure.

  Dominick Carisi, Jr. : Okay, so Cash is hanging out with Eva behind Logan's back. Why would he beat and rape her?

  Odafin Tutuola : Lots of reasons.

  Olivia Benson : All we need is one.

• Dominick Carisi, Jr. : $50,000, payable to Eric Carson, aka Eva. We found it in a wastebasket in her apartment.

  Odafin Tutuola : Written on a 187 checking account.

  Olivia Benson : Okay, so why did she rip it up?

  Dominick Carisi, Jr. : I'm guessing out of principle.

  Odafin Tutuola : Cash the check first. Worry about principle later.

  Olivia Benson : All right. So Cash and Vincent Love try to bribe Eva. She says no. Then what?

  Odafin Tutuola : Well, Hype's worried about some transgender girl telling the world that she writes all his hardcore raps.

  Olivia Benson : Okay, that sounds like possible motive to me.

  Dominick Carisi, Jr. : Yeah, but for who? Cash? Hype? Vincent Love?

  Amanda Rollins : My money's on Hype.

  Olivia Benson : What do you mean?

  Amanda Rollins : I just spoke with the lab. They found his DNA under Eva's fingernails.

  Olivia Benson : Sit on his studio. I'll send Anti-Crime to the apartment.

  [to Fin and Carisi as she leaves] 

  Olivia Benson : You two, work on an arrest warrant. Now!

• Odafin Tutuola : The bartender at the Golden Goat says he remembers Hype. Says he's the first person in five years to order peach schnapps. Surveillance video show him there from 12:10 to 1:05.

  Olivia Benson : Okay, so if Hype didn't do it, then who did? The boyfriend, Logan, is in the clear, right?

  Amanda Rollins : Yeah. The office manager confirms he was at the doctor's office from 12:15 to 1:10.

  Olivia Benson : So if it wasn't Hype and it wasn't Logan...

  Dominick Carisi, Jr. : It's gotta be Cash.

  Olivia Benson : Okay, so get the mother and the daughter down here right away and see if they can ID him.

• Odafin Tutuola : Just got off the phone with the event planner. He says he doesn't know the name of the guy who got slapped, but he does know he was a guest of Vincent Love's.

  Amanda Rollins : Vincent Love, the rap guy?

  Odafin Tutuola : Yeah, the founder of 187 Music. He works with the biggest names out there.

  Olivia Benson : So I'm guessing that big-name rappers don't appreciate getting slapped by transgender models. All right. Let's find Vincent Love and find out exactly what happened.

• Olivia Benson : [about Hype]  Look, this guy's lying about something, so get his mug in a photo array and show it to the mother and the daughter.

  Amanda Rollins : They're in Boston until Wednesday.

  [checking her phone] 

  Amanda Rollins : Oh, and Hype's not the only one lying. Security video confirms Eva's boyfriend Logan left his law firm at 11:30 and didn't return until 1:45.

  Olivia Benson : That's not a quick lunch.

  Amanda Rollins : No, not unless you live in Italy.

• Dominick Carisi, Jr. : So Hype's in love with Eva.

  Odafin Tutuola : That's what he says.

  Amanda Rollins : And you believe him?

  Olivia Benson : He seems credible, but he's told so many lies. It's really hard to tell where he's coming from.

  Odafin Tutuola : That's what makes me believe he's telling the truth.

  Dominick Carisi, Jr. : How so?

  Odafin Tutuola : I mean, Hype's an up and coming rapper. Hardcore, at that.

  Amanda Rollins : So he's been lying to protect his image.

  Odafin Tutuola : His career. I mean, this style of rap is all about reputation. It's all about street cred. For him to tell his fans that he's in love with a transgender woman, they'd laugh at him. His whole brand would go up in smoke.

  Olivia Benson : It's 2016, for god's sake.

  Odafin Tutuola : Not for people selling gangster rap.

  Dominick Carisi, Jr. : Yeah, or some of my relatives.

  Amanda Rollins : Or mine, too.

  Odafin Tutuola : Look, this whole gender fluidity thing is coming out more nowadays, and that's cool, but the truth is it's confusing, and a lot of people can't make sense of it all. Me included.

  Olivia Benson : And our friend Hype.

  Dominick Carisi, Jr. : Okay, so let's... let's say we believe this guy, that he really does love Eva. That still doesn't make him innocent.

  Olivia Benson : Listen, I agree. All that denial and... and self hatred. Who knows? Maybe Hype did just crack and took out all his rage on Eva. Let's go back inside and see if we can learn anything.