Captain Olivia Benson now has a piece of information that could come back to haunt her. At the end of the latest Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode, “Bend the Law,” Benson had a heart-to-heart talk with trial division chief Lorraine Maxwell, whose husband was caught in a sex trafficking scandal. Maxwell came very close to making a shocking admission. If it ever comes to light that Benson knew the true story, Benson’s position as captain of Manhattan SVU could come into jeopardy. Spoilers follow!

The main case in “Bend the Law” was a sex trafficking ring at a gentleman’s club. When a man’s wife arrives with a shotgun to shoot off her cheating husband’s genitalia, she discovers a room full of men with half-clothed 15-year-old girls. Maxwell’s husband, Roger Briggs (Tom Irwin) is among them. This makes the case more difficult for the SVU team, especially since Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Maxwell (Betty Buckley) have become friends in recent years.
(Photo: Scott Gries/NBC)
One of the other club members identifies Roger as playing a key role in bringing the underage girls to the club. Roger comes up with a half-assed reason for the man to blame him, but that only makes it more clear to Maxwell that he really is involved. Maxwell begged Roger to take a deal with ADA Sonny Carisi (Peter Scanavino) to avoid going to trial. He continued to insist on his innocence, even as the evidence continues piling up, and is sure a trial would end in a not guilty verdict.

Since this is all going on during Maxwell and Roger’s seventh wedding anniversary, he made a last-ditch effort to get on her good side. Late in the episode, as it became more clear that Roger would never take a plea deal, Maxwell came home to find Roger set up a romantic dinner. Maxwell wasn’t impressed with his efforts and said she would never support him. Roger started choking on his food, leaving a stunned Maxwell to watch. She moved very, very slowly and didn’t call an ambulance until after it was clear that Roger was dead.

The next day, Carisi told Benson he felt something was up because the timing was just too perfect. Benson didn’t want to believe her friend could kill someone, so she met with Maxwell. She told her it sounded as if she did everything she could. But then… “You checked the call log?” Maxwell asked. “I did,” Benson replied. The wheels began turning in Benson’s mind. An autopsy could prove that Roger died before Maxwell called 911. Benson also knows there is no evidence disproving the official story. Benson reminded Maxwell there still has to be a formal investigation though.

(Photo: Scott Gries/NBC)
“Should your investigation come up with anything other than what I’ve told you…” Maxwell began.

“You’ll be the first to know,” Benson said.

“So we have an understanding?” Maxwell asked.

Benson took a beat. “Justice may be blind Lorraine, but it’s not entirely heartless,” she said. “However, you will see how heartless I can be if this conversation comes back to haunt me.”

Elsewhere in this week’s Ice-T-free episode, Velasco (Octavio Pisano) and Churlish (Jasmine Batchelor) drove up to Maine where Velasco’s childhood friend Chilly Suarez (Joseph Castillo) is now an elementary school teacher. Velasco got Chilly on tape admitting to murder, which finally got Velasco back in Benson’s good graces. SVU airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, between Law & Order and Law & Order: Organized Crime.