| "Dreams Deferred" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 14.09 | → |
| Production number: 14010 First aired (US): 5 December 2012 First aired (UK): 12 February 2013 First aired (CAN): 5 December 2012 First aired (AUS): 28 February 2013 | ||
 | ||
| Written By Julie Martin & Warren Leight Directed By Michael Smith | ||
Summary[]
The Special Victims Unit joins the FBI in a manhunt when a prostitute from one of Detective Benson's old cases proves crucial to apprehending a spree killer.
Plot[]
A man named Craig Rasmussen is first seen drinking at a local bar. Then, he heads across town to his wife's house where he shoots his mother-in-law to death. After that, he goes over to his wife's workplace where he shoots her & two of her co-workers to death.
In the midst of his killing spree, Craig heads to a sketchy part of town to pay a visit to a middle-aged prostitute named Jeannie (with whom he has a history). Jeannie has no idea what Craig has done & gladly gets in the car with him. They drive away with a trunk that is full of high-caliber guns and ammunition.
In the SVU bullpen, Cragen gives the squad a rundown on Craig's killing spree. It is revealed that Craig is a former bus driver who was laid off nine months ago and the NYPD & the FBI are pulling out all the stops to catch him before he kills again.
The FBI knows that Craig has a long-running relationship with Jeannie and believe that she may be the key to finding him & they need to find her.
The SVU squad heads to Jeannie's stomping ground, a dark, seedy stretch of road crowded with prostitutes and drug dealers. After questioning a few pimps and prostitutes, Benson and Amaro learn that Jeannie got in a car with Craig hours earlier.
Jeannie arrives in a minivan seconds later, but the driver is not Craig. She tells the detectives that she accompanied Craig to a motel, but left without him.
The detectives head to the motel, but Craig is already gone. Unfortunately, he massacred three people in an adjacent motel room before he left.
Craig is in a new vehicle now and the motel manager didn't hear anything; the detectives have no idea where he might be.
When Benson tells Jeannie what Craig did, she agrees to help the detectives track him down. Craig calls Jeannie to arrange for a meet up. The detectives tap Jeannie's phone and give her a wire to wear as she arranges to meet with Craig again.
The FBI traces Craig's phone call to an auto shop, but by the time they arrive, Craig is gone, leaving another victim behind.
Before meeting with Craig, Jeannie goes to meet with her mother. Her daughter shows up as well with her grandchild, but it's clear that neither of them want anything to do with her.
Later, the FBI tracks down Craig's stolen car. He's long gone, but they find the body of a cab driver nearby. Craig is driving a taxi now.
Meanwhile, Amaro follows Jeannie while she stops into the church for confession. Jeannie tells her priest about the problems she's having with her family and how her mother and children don't want anything to do with her.
While they're waiting for Craig to call, Benson and Jeannie talk and Jeannie tells her about her son, who is currently serving in the military.
Amaro informs Benson that the FBI found the stolen taxi they have video of Craig stealing a town car and he heading to Jeannie's corner to find her.
As Jeannie works her corner, she gets a call from Craig. He's on his way. Moments later, a car pulls up.Craig points a gun at Jeannie and orders her into the car. The FBI and NYPD immediately swarm the vehicle.
In the car, Craig tries to explain to Jeannie what he did, but before he can finish, he is shot in the head by a sniper, splattering blood across Jeannie's face.
Later, Benson visits Jeannie at the hospital; she is shaken up, but okay. Benson tries convincing her to go to rehab and stop working on the streets, but Jeannie refuses.
Meanwhile, Fin talks to Angela, who initially refuses to have any part with her mother until Fin tells her that Jeannie was only doing prostitution to support her after her father ditched them.
Back in the squad room, the other detectives gather to go over options to help Jeannie and they come up with a plan. Benson and Amaro stop by Jeannie's apartment to place her under arrest for prostitution.
They bring Jeannie to the station and offer to drop the charges if she goes to a rehab facility. At first, Jeannie refuses, but then Benson brings in her mother, her guilty daughter, and her returning army son for an intervention. Her family pleads with Jeannie to get help and in the end, she agrees.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson
- Danny Pino as Detective Nick Amaro
- Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins
- Richard Belzer as Sergeant John Munch (credit only)
- Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
Recurring cast[]
- Bridget Barkan as Lisa Everly
- Gbenga Akinnagbe as Father Biobaku
Guest cast[]
- Patricia Arquette as Jeannie Kerns
- P.J. Brown as Craig Rasmussen
- Amanda Quaid as Angela Kerns
- Kenneth Franklin as Johnny Kerns
- Anne Meara as Irene Kerns
- Jason Gedrick as FBI Agent Cantwell
- Jasmine Carmichael as Yvette Jimenez
- Tyson Hall as Clarence
- Kendrick Reinsch as Twenty-Something Guy #1
- Ben Martin as Manuel
- Wendy Eaton as Beth Rasmussen
- Patricia Norris as Ramona Clegg
- Michael Mazzeo as Al
- Darren Lipari as Uni
- Ngo Okafor as SWAT Officer
- Anthony C. Mazza as ESU Cop
- Marc Raco as Bob Backerley
- Rebecka Ray as Ellen Macteal
References[]
Quotes[]
- Cragen: Before Rasmussen's cell phone went dead, he made two calls to Jeannie Kerns, a prostitute working Hunts Point. [to Olivia] Liv, you remember her?
- Benson: Should I?
- Cragen: '92, you intervened in a dispute between her and a john.
- Benson: When I was on patrol, Captain, I did that a hundred times.
- FBI Agent Cantwell: [about questioning Jeannie] My team will interrogate, ascertain if he shared any confidences or if he told her his destination.
- Benson: Hold on. With all due respect, I think that she would be more comfortable if we talked to her. We talk to sex victims every day.
- Cantwell: No, she's not a victim. She's a prostitute.
- Benson: Are you kidding me?
- Cantwell: It's FBI protocol. You have yours, we have ours.
- Benson: Take that attitude in there, I can promise you, you're gonna shut her down.
- Amaro: Look, she wants out as it is and we can't hold her.
- FBI Agent Cantwell: So arrest her.
- Benson: Arrest her? Well, forget about her cooperation.
- Cragen: Agent Cantwell, my people have a rapport with her. They'll get what you need.
- Jeannie Kerns: [to Olivia about Amaro] Does he always do what you tell him to?
- Benson: It's not like that, Jeannie. We're partners.
- Jeannie Kerns: Yeah, you're the boss.
- Father Biobaku: Can I help you? You're watching somebody.
- Amaro: I'm NYPD, Father.
- Father Biobaku: Jeannie. She in danger?
- Amaro: [shows him a picture of Rasmussen] Look, if you see this man, maybe following Jeannie, right? Just give me a call.
- Father Biobaku: That's the man from the news.
- Amaro: Yeah.
- Father Biobaku: I'll pray for his soul and his victims.
- Amaro: Thank you, Father.
- Benson: [to Jeannie] We can get you off the street.
- Jeannie Kerns: What else am I gonna do? What am I gonna write on my resume? Whore?
- Jeannie Kerns: [to Olivia] in the old days on a Saturday night, I could've made enough for the whole week. You should've seen this place back in the day. You should've seen me. I was fine. There'd be cars lined up four deep on East Bay Avenue. Oof, and there was so much money. Ooh, we had some fun.
- Benson: Fun? That include getting your teeth cracked and floaters in your eye?
- Jeannie Kerns: Oh, and those high-rollers. There was nothing that a pair of thigh-highs, a stretch limo and an eight ball couldn't fix. Now...
- Benson: Now? Come on, Jeannie. It was dangerous then. It's dangerous now.
- Amaro: [to Jeannie] All right, listen. You've been out on the street long enough, all right? It's time for you to come inside.
- Jeannie Kerns: You know what, papi? Oh, I like my job, okay? I'm my own boss. I get to make my own hours.
- Jeannie Kerns: [to Olivia] You got a place for me?
- Benson: I do, Jeannie. I do.
- Jeannie Kerns: Are they gonna let me smoke?
- Benson: Uh, you can ask, but it's not gonna be easy.
- Jeannie Kerns: Yeah, what is?
Background information and Notes[]
- This episode features the song "I'll Take Everything" by James Blunt at the start.
Episode scene cards[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
East Bay Avenue |
Yankee Motor Inn |
East 132nd Street |
| Previous episode: "Lessons Learned" |
"Dreams Deferred" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 14 |
Next episode: "Presumed Guilty" |