CHAPTER 1

Squad Room – NYPD Special Victims Unit

This case is really starting the wear him down. It is the worst case of his life but the drive to solve it is more than anyone can understand. It has been 4 days since she has gone missing. No leads, no tips, nothing that will help him find her. He hasn't slept, hasn't eaten, since she disappeared. He has only stopped searching for her long enough to shower and change. The entire precinct is on the case yet he feels lonelier than he ever has in his entire life. She is all he had. Kathy left him and moved back to New Jersey by her mother. She couldn't stand the fact that he would rather spend his time with her than with his own wife. Elliot knew the marriage was over. It had been over for years. Neither one of them ever wanted to hurt the children, that is why no one ever took that step, that giant step, to leave. None of that matters to him now. Kathy came by yesterday to tell him she filed for divorce, he didn't care.

As Elliot sits at his desk, looking over at her empty chair, his mind starts to wander. Where are you? Are you ok? Who has you? These are the questions that continue to go though his mind continuously. He can't stop thinking about her…for more reasons than one. He is brought back to reality as he hears someone call his name.

"Elliot. Elliot. Elliot! STABLER!"

It's Fin from across the squad room.

"Wha? What? " Elliot responds, still in his semi-daze.

"Get over here. You gotta see this."

As Elliot looks at the board where Fin has placed the pictures of recent parolees, he sees one that he is all too familiar with.

"There is no way in HELL he got out! How could this have happened?" Elliot exclaimed, more as a frustrated statement than an actual question.

"He got out for good behavior. Rikers is overcrowded. Had to make room for the "real" criminals." Fin states as he makes air quotes with his fingers.

"This is him! I know it. I feel it. We gotta find her Fin. We gotta get her from him…before it's too late."

"Stabler man, you can't think like that. She's a smart cookie. Smarter than he knows. We'll get her back, safe. Let's go man. We got work to do!"

Elliot and Fin started working on this incredible lead. They both knew in their hearts that he had her. Now all they had to do was find her and prove it.