A.N. Please read and review. I want to know if I should keep going….and I just love reading reviews.
Happy Valentine's Day
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No matter how she looked at it, Allison Morris was screwed. She sat in her car, seething, as she tried to drive it out of the snow bank again. She had thought for sure that she had cleared enough snow away to move, but no matter what gear she shifted into, her wheels still spun.
"Shit!!!!" she bellowed, pounding her fist into the steering wheel, successfully breaking her New Year's resolution and hurting her fist at the same time. "Of all the times you could have gotten stuck, you choose to do it on a Friday night when I'm all alone. Nice!!!" she scolded her car.
After a few more bad words and angry thoughts, Allison decided that she might as well try again. There wasn't anything in the model home she worked at that would help her and all of the crew's construction tools were locked away. For the third time that night, she sighed, popped the trunk of her Volvo S80, and pulled out her shovel.
As she dug around the front passenger wheel of her car, she sensed someone standing behind her. Holding on to the shovel handle tightly, she slowly turned around and saw the familiar Oakwood Construction logo sewn into a sweatshirt. As she looked further up, she saw the usual winter uniform of an Oakwood Construction employee: heavy work boots, well fitting, water resistant pants, an Oakwood Construction hoodie, a heavy vest, and a ski mask.
Although the voice was slightly muffled by the ski mask, Allison heard him when he addressed her. "Madam," he said politely. "I came back to get my thermos and noticed that you're stuck. Can I help?"
Allison's brain raced to catch up with her as she opened her mouth to respond. "Allison," her mind pleaded, "You're not sure you know him. You don't recognize him. Please don't be an…."
"Sure, I'd really appreciate that," she responded and stepped away. The man bent down and began digging in the spot Allison had been working at. "See, brain," she said to herself. "He's a good guy who's willing to help me…"
Allison was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't notice the shovel heading toward her head until it was too late. Her startled screams went unheard in the empty development as she was shoved into her own car, the mystery man quickly coming in quickly behind her.
Randy and Monica's Apartment
"Beep," bellowed the microwave, announcing that the popcorn was done. Randy Adams quickly opened the door and took out the popcorn bag, pouring it into a bowl.
"Hey sweetheart," his fiancé Monica shouted from the living room, "Which do you want to watch first: House or The Family Guy?"
"The Family Guy," he responded, looking around inside the fridge for a bottled water for her and a beer for himself. Successful, he walked out of the kitchen and into the living room of their apartment, smiling at Monica's attempts to make the TIVO work. Chuckling, he tapped her on the shoulder and said, "Mon, let me see the remote. You get started on this popcorn. We have to expose this child to the finer things in life: The Family Guy, popcorn….you get the idea," he said, smiling as he rubbed his fiancé's pregnant belly and starting last week's Family Guy episode.
"Whatever would you do without a man around, my love?" He teased, bending over to kiss her.
Monica gave him an amused smile as she responded, "Well, let's see, without a man, I wouldn't be pregnant, I wouldn't have to go look at hundreds and hundreds of wedding gowns, I wouldn't have to choose between all my friends to get bridesmaids…" Randy gave her a mock-sadness face. Tired of teasing him, she said tenderly, "And, I also wouldn't be enjoying the best three years of my life."
Randy paused the TIVO and brought Monica closer to him. "That's more what I wanted to hear," he murmured with a smile, bending over to kiss her.
All of the sudden, their phone rang, causing them to jump up in surprise. Sharing the same annoyed look, they both reached over to get the phone. Randy got to it first, "Hello?"
He listened intently and then handed the phone to Monica. "It's for you Mon."
"Who is it?"
Randy sighed, "NYPD."
Willow Hills
Building Oakwood Construction hadn't been an easy task for Warren Licota, no pun intended. First, he had to find employees he could depend on. Then, he had to form alliances with various companies so that he could continue to get supplies and assistance. The biggest struggle of all had been competing with big name national construction companies and getting some business.
After five years of profit and recognition due to be featured on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Warren had believed that his company's biggest problems were behind him. The most he thought he would have to deal with ever again would be stupid employees or a shortage in building materials.
Never in his wildest dreams had he thought he'd have to deal with this.
As he threw his F-250 pickup truck into park and climbed out, he quickly spotted his top foreman, Monica Alexson slowly easing her pregnant belly out from behind the wheel of her Volkswagen Touareg. The guys and Warren had really teased her when she traded her Chevy Silverado in for that Volkswagen; after all, it wasn't a "construction car". Tonight, though, even the thought of that couldn't make him smile. He came to her door and opened it a little wider to give Monica more room to move. Monica noticed and gave him a sad smile. "Thanks, Warren," she said quietly.
"You're welcome, Mon," he said, giving her a sad smile back. He hadn't expected having to come back here until the next morning; he had actually been out to dinner with his wife when he got the phone call. He dropped his wife off at their house and sped back to the site. Looking at Monica's damp hair and sweat pants, he realized that she had also been settled in for the night with her fiancé, Randy. He sighed quietly and decided to try to make conversation with his usually very talkative foreman. "So, Mon," he said, as they quickly walked over toward two people that police officers were calling detectives, "Did you get any information from those detectives?"
Monica looked at him, and for the first time ever, Warren saw fear in the young woman's eyes. "No, they didn't," she whispered, "And, I'm almost afraid to find out."
Warren understood her honesty and nodded at her, "So am I, Mon, so am I."
They tightly squeezed each other's hands and let go as they approached Detectives Elliot
Stabler and Olivia Benson.
"Detectives?" a male voice called out. Elliot and Olivia quickly turned around and noticed a middle aged man walking with a young woman walking toward them. "I'm Warren Licota and this is my foreman for this site, Monica Alexson. What happened?"
One of the uniformed officers called for Olivia, so Elliot took them off to the side. "Is Allison Morris the real estate agent your company hired to show off your model home at this site?"
Warren quickly pulled out his overstuffed binder of all things related to Willow Hills, the development they were standing at. "Yes," he confirmed, pulling out his copy of their contract.
Elliot nodded solemnly. "Well, according to Allison, her car was stuck in the snow when someone in a Oakwood Construction sweatshirt approached and offered to help her. However, instead of helping her, he threw her into the backseat of her car and assaulted her. Once he was done, he got into his car and sped away. That's when Allison called 911."
Warren could hear Monica's sharp gasp and her quiet tears; he was also struggling to keep his emotions in check. "Was she…raped?" he asked quietly, as Monica stood sniffling by his side.
"We're not sure," Elliot responded. "Allison's been pretty hysterical since we've arrived. We haven't really got much information out of her yet. She has agreed to a rape kit, though, so hopefully we'll be able to get some DNA."
"Was it someone from the construction site?" Monica said, willing herself not to start crying again. Warren put a supportive hand on her back.
"Allison said that all she knew was that her attacker had an Oakwood Construction sweatshirt on. As much as it could have been one of your employees, it could have also been anyone else with access to an Oakwood Construction hoodie," explained Elliot.
Detective Olivia Benson returned to their circle and tapped Elliot on the shoulder. "Hey Elliot, I'm going to the hospital with her."
Elliot nodded and said, "I'll stay here and wrap this up. As soon as the crime scene is secured and Ms. Morris's car is towed, I'll be there. Hour, maybe hour and a half tops."
Olivia nodded and began walking over to the ambulance. Elliot turned back to the two people in front of him. "I think that's all we need for right now. Why don't you two go ahead and leave. Will you both be here in the morning?" Monica and Warren nodded vigorously.
"Alright, well, hopefully by then we'll know something and will be able to start our investigation. It was very nice to meet you both, except I wish it was under different circumstances," Elliot said, shaking their hands and giving them each a business card.
"Likewise," Monica responded, as she and Warren turned to walk away.
The walk back to their cars was pretty quiet, as Monica and Warren were both lost in their own thoughts. As they reached Monica's Touareg and Warren's F-250, Monica looked up at him and said, "What's the first thing you're going to do when you get home?"
"Lock the door behind me and hug Sarah until she says it hurts. What about you, Mon?"
"Same thing," she whispered. "To a tee."