Master Key (Season 26, Episode 10)
Premise: The search for a missing 16-year-old from a group home leads to a dead locksmith, a string of lies and the caseworker who was supposed to protect him.
- Air date
- Season/Episode
- Season 26, Episode 10
- Starring
- Capt. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), Det. Joe Velasco (Octavio Pisano), Det. Terry Bruno (Kevin Kane), Det. Kate Silva (Juliana Aidén Martinez), Capt. Renee Curry (Aimé Donna Kelly), ADA Dominick “Sonny” Carisi Jr. (Peter Scanavino)
- Guest stars
- Ricky Garcia as Anthony Reed, Zach Appelman as Michael Strickland, Monnae Michaell as Aurora Miller, Ben Fine as Colin Clark, Natalie Liconti as M.E. Libby Wagner
- Director
- Norberto Barba
- Writers
- Story: David Graziano & Julie Martin & Gabriel Vallejo; Story & teleplay: Nicholas Evangelista
Summary
“Master Key” begins with 16-year-old Anthony Reed gone from the West Harlem Boys’ Home. On probation for hitting a boy at school, he wears an ankle monitor; his father was murdered and his mother died of an overdose. His roommate saw him get into a gold minivan with a mustached older man who seemed to hug him. Silva and Bruno find the monitor cut off at a fast food restaurant, and an AMBER Alert goes out. His CPS caseworker, Michael Strickland, assigned to him since he was 11, says Anthony never mentioned such a man. Cameras identify the van’s owner as Colin Clark, 56. The van turns up at an East Harlem motel where Clark is the locksmith, and the squad finds Clark shot dead in an empty room and Anthony nearby with the gun. He is talked into giving it up.
Anthony claims Clark abducted him at gunpoint and that he grabbed the gun and shot Clark in bed. The medical examiner finds Clark was kneeling with an arm raised and was moved to the bed after death, and the lab finds a partial print from a third person. Texts on Clark’s laptop show the pair planned to start over in California, and Anthony admits he went willingly but still says he fired. The brass weigh a murder charge. The group home’s director, Aurora Miller, reveals that an older foster brother abused Anthony, something Strickland drew out of him, and a CPS official mentions complaints that Strickland spends too much time with children. Strickland admits the print is his but says Anthony called him to the motel and fired after a struggle.
Numbers on Anthony’s phone belong to out-of-state men whose phones were in the city during big events, and a Craigslist ad showing a younger Anthony carries a number traced to Strickland, who has been selling dozens of children in CPS care. Told that other children in his home were victims, Anthony tells the truth: he met Clark on Craigslist, got himself put on probation so the monitor would keep Strickland away, and phoned Strickland from the motel in a panic. Strickland forced Clark to his knees, put the gun in Anthony’s hand, squeezed the trigger with his own hand over Anthony’s and moved the body to the bed.
Spoiler, the ending: Strickland is arrested at the group home for child sex trafficking and claims the men were couples hoping to adopt. Carisi expects his lawyer to seek a deal, which would spare Anthony from testifying; no outcome is shown. Benson visits Anthony, whose roommate has been adopted, tells him the system is broken but can be repaired, and he apologizes for lying to her.
Why it stands out
- Seen by 4.76 million viewers on its first airing, the largest audience of any Season 26 episode.
- Medical examiner Libby Wagner (Natalie Liconti), who rules Clark’s death a homicide, returns later in the season in the crossover “Play with Fire Part 2.”