Back for Good
Chapter 1
I guess now it's time for me to give up, I feel it's time
Got a picture of you beside me
Got your lipstick mark still on your coffee cup, oh yeah
"Good you're up." Alex said walking into the apartment that she'd once called her own and parking herself on the sofa before Maddie had a chance to respond. "You will not believe the night I've had." She added before getting up and putting the kettle on.
"Do you realise what time it is?" Maddie asked with a yawn, she was exhausted following a case she'd just finished and she had only really recently fallen asleep. Alex simply looked at the clock before apologising and offering to go. "No, you don't just come around and wake me up then realise the time and go." Alex appeared to think for a moment as the kettle boiled and kept Maddie waiting as she made herself a cup of tea, not bothering to ask Maddie if she wanted one.
"Well," Alex said taking her drink to the sofa and inviting Maddie to join her there, however before the younger woman could sit down her mobile rang. Maddie left to go answer it and returned 5 minutes later fully dressed carrying her shoes and gun. "What you got?" Alex asked knowing it can't have been a social call.
"Body been found, possible link to the case I'm working on." Was the response. "Rain check on the reason you woke me up." Alex nodded and yawned. "Spare room's made up, and you know where things are." Maddie finally said as she grabbed her car keys and made her way out of the door.
"Unidentified female found at 3.40am." Munch explained as Maddie arrived at the scene to meet him.
"What made them call us?" Maddie asked following him to where the body was found.
"I'm guessing that." Munch replied looking at the markings over the body which had come to be almost familiar. The same series of doodles on the arms and legs of women and men under the age of 21. The fourth body in 4 weeks in the case that was giving SVU headaches, victims were drugged, sexually assaulted and suffocated before being left in back alleys that had no CCTV footage. So far the 1-6 team were really drawing a blank on where to look as none of the victims so far appeared to have any connections.
"I'm not holding out much hope but hopefully the killer left some evidence behind this time." Maddie said with a sigh before going to talk to the person who'd found the body.
9 hours later the team had managed to track down a name for the latest murder victim. Felicity Pressman, a student at NYU there on a fine arts scholarship. From what Maddie had managed to find out from friends she was very talented and very well liked, just like the previous 3 victims nobody knew of anyone with a reason to hurt her or dislike her.
"Come on! One of these has to have something wrong with them, or something or someone in common. Nobody is that perfect; you can't go through life as a normal person and not make any enemies." Maddie exclaimed in frustration after spending a large part of the afternoon scouring through files on all 4 victims hoping to spot something that they'd missed previously.
"And I thought you were perfect Detective." Alex said with a smile walking into the room carrying a tray of hot drinks and a bag of doughnuts, she guessed her cousin would appreciate the sugar boost.
"Never said I was counsellor. You here for an update because we can't offer much of one." Maddie admitted taking a drink and a large doughnut.
"Actually I came to cash in on the rain check and apologise for waking you up." Maddie rolled her eyes as Alex wasn't known for her apologising. Maddie told her she was listening so Alex went on to explain that she'd ran into an old friend of hers from out of town and they got talking about old times and acquaintances and the DA's office and who was and wasn't working there. Maddie had to suppress a yawn so Alex decided to get straight to the point. "I happen to have a current address of a former ADA who you might happen to know and possibly want to see." Alex sat there in anticipation of a huge thanks or some form of happiness from the younger woman but it never came. The response was simply an 'oh' before the detective returned to the file she was reading. "Gee Alex thanks for telling me that, or thanks Alex for finding this out. What's wrong with you here?" Alex questioned momentarily forgetting that she was in a police station surrounded by detectives who'd cottoned onto what she was talking about.
"I never went anywhere, I'm still here same office, same apartment, even the same phone number Alex. It wasn't my choice in the end and it still isn't now." Maddie responded grabbing her coat and heading out of the office leaving Alex sat at her desk.
"I thought she'd be pleased given how miserable she's been these past few months." Alex told Olivia as the pair of them sat chatting after Maddie had stormed off.
"You should know better than anyone that Maddie likes to do things her own way, when she's ready she'll make the move. But right now she's hurting." The younger woman reasoned to her blonde friend. "And I hate to say it but she had a point, she's not gone anywhere so why should she have to make the effort." Alex glared at the wise detective but Olivia returned the glare and Alex conceded defeat.
"I just want her to be happy, she deserves that much at least. Given everything she's gone through all I want is to see her happy" Alex said with a sad sigh.
There was a banging on the door, Maddie squinted to take a look at the time and grimaced when she realised it was 4am. Her first thought was that something was wrong with her family but it took a second for her to realise that they'd have rung. Unsure of who it could be she pulled her dressing gown on and made her way to the door ready to give the person waking her up a piece of her mind.