Chapter 1
Chapter 1
"Hi, can I help you?" Stabler approached the young woman who had just entered the squad room. She was looking around, seemingly nervous, but otherwise she seemed fine.
"I need to talk to Olivia Benson," She said, still looking around, barely acknowledging Stabler's presence.
"She's busy upstairs. Are you here to report something? I'm a detective, you can talk to me" Olivia was actually asleep in the crib, but he didn't think it would sound good to say 'she's sleeping'.
The woman shook her head, "No, I have to talk to Olivia Benson. If she's busy, I'll wait."
Stabler told her to wait at Olivia's desk, then went to the crib. Olivia was asleep on one of the cots. He hated to wake her up, she'd just closed a tough case and deserved her rest, but Elliot knew she would want to help this woman if she was a victim.
"Liv" She started awake at the sound of her name. She rubbed her eyes, which were still heavy with exhaustion, and ran her fingers through her hair, which was messy from hours of tossing and turning. "New case?" she asked. Elliot shrugged, then left the room.
Once she was fully awake, Olivia led the woman, who said her name was Sarah, into an empty room where they could talk privately. They sat down and Olivia waited for Sarah to say something, but she didn't. Finally Olivia asked if Sarah had been raped.
"I don't know," She said, looking at the table rather than Olivia.
"Were you attacked?" She asked. Sarah didn't have any visible cuts or bruises, but Olivia knew that didn't necessarily mean anything. Something could have been slipped into her drink at a bar and she'd never remember a thing.
"I don't know," She repeated.
"Sarah, why did you come here?" Olivia said in her soothing voice.
Sarah reached into her pocket and pulled out a key ring with a business card attached to it and handed it to Olivia. Her eyes widened when she realized it was one of her own cards, with a hole punched in it for the key ring. One the back there was a large number 1 written in black marker.
Sarah began to tell her story. The last thing she remembered was putting on her pajamas and curling up on the couch to watch a movie. She didn't even remember watching the movie. The next thing she remembered was waking up in her bed, wearing different underwear and pajamas then she had been wearing before, and her head throbbed painfully. All of her clothes were strewn across the floor and on her furniture, but otherwise nothing in her apartment had been disturbed. When she looked at the door, she saw her keys hanging on the chain lock. The key ring with Olivia's business card had been left on her key chain. She had to report what had happened anyway, and the business card said Olivia was a detective, so she decided to visit the precinct.
"Sarah, you should let a doctor do a rape kit. If you weren't raped I won't be able to help you. I can give you a ride if you'd like." Sarah agreed and they went to the hospital together. The doctor confirmed Sarah had trauma that was consistent with rape, but there were no hairs or fluids.
Elliot joined Olivia at the hospital just as the doctor was leaving. Before Olivia could say anything, Elliot said, "Another woman just came to the squad room asking to talk to you. She had this." He showed her an identical key ring and business card as Sarah had found. The only difference was a large number 2 written on the back.
Both victims had the exact same story. They woke up wearing something other than what they'd gone to bed in (even though they didn't actually remember going to bed), all of their clothes strewn everywhere, and their keys hanging from their chain lock with the business card on it. They both had trauma consistent with rape, but there was no other evidence.
"Well, it's official, nobody saw anything. Checked surveillance and nobody suspicious went in or out at the time of the rapes. Maybe it's a good thing they don't remember anything." Munch said, flopping down at his desk.
"You guys get anything?" Fin asked Olivia.
She shook her head, "Neither vics remember anything. They wouldn't even have known they were raped if they hadn't found my business card."
"We got any leads on that?" Cragen asked, his hands in his pockets as usual.
"Nothing. No prints other than mine and the victim's. He could have printed hundreds of them from anywhere."
"Have we checked out the revenge angle? Someone with a grudge against you?"
Olivia shrugged, "Could be any perp I've ever collared or any of their family or friends."
"Case is cold, cap," Elliot said, hating to admit it.
Cragen nodded, "Elliot and Olivia, check out anyone who might have been vocal about getting revenge. Fin, Much, you can get working on the Marks case. The case may be a dud, but we can't let a serial rape case drop without exhausting all the possibilities."
"Excuse me, I'm looking for Detective Olivia Benson." Olivia looked up to see the young woman looking nervous and a little sick. She was holding a set of car keys with a business card attached to it. On the back, the number 5 was visible.
