Chapter 1

Elliot looked up at the young woman who had just entered the squadroom. She had shoulder length, almost black hair that suited her perfectly. She had dark glasses framing her soft chocolate eyes, and full red lips, all of which stood out startling on her ivory skin. She was wearing torn jeans and a baggy grey sweater with a stretched neck that had been pulled up on her right side so her left shoulder was visible. She was picking nervously at the frayed wrists of the sweater.

"Can I help you?" Elliot asked, walking slowly towards the woman. If she was here for the reason he suspected, she probably didn't want to talk to him.

"I'm looking for Detective Benson. Is he here?" Her voice was quiet and she had a soft English accent.

"She's not here yet, but she won't be long," he said, softly emphasizing the 'she'.

"Oh…sorry, I only knew her last name. Could I wait here for her?" Elliot nodded and lead her to Olivia's desk, where she sat down to wait.

Olivia arrived at work 20 minutes later, carrying a half empty coffee. Elliot lead her upstairs so they could talk in private. "Girl down there came in here looking for you."

"Who is she?" Olivia asked, taking a sip of coffee.

Elliot shrugged. "Dunno, she didn't say."

"I don't think I know her," Olivia said, glancing down at the girl. "Maybe I worked with her before?"

"I doubt it. She only knew your name; thought you were a man."

"Ouch," she said, finishing her coffee and tossing it in the garbage.

"She's pretty nervous about something," Elliot said.

Olivia just nodded and headed down the stairs. She walked over to the girl, who stood up quickly when she saw Olivia coming towards her. "Are you Detective Benson?"

"Yes. Let's go somewhere more private so we can talk." She led the girl into an empty room that they often used to talk to victims. They both sat down at the table. "My name's Olivia. What's yours?"

"Sheila," she said quietly.

"Why did you come here today?"

"My dad is missing and I'm really worried about him."

Olivia froze. This wasn't an SVU case. "Sheila…This is the Special Victims Unit, it's not our job to investigate missing person cases."

"I know, but my dad told me if I was ever in real danger here I should find you. He made me promise not to find you unless I really needed to, and I kept my promise, but now he's gone and I don't know where else to go."

"He told you to find me? Why?"

Sheila shrugged. "He said you were an old friend. Other than that he wouldn't say anything."

"What's your dad's name?"

"Uh…which one?"

"The one who told you all this."

"Well, they both told me. But Kyle is the one who's missing. My other dad, James, died years ago. That's why we came here when I was 16; Kyle wanted to start fresh."

Olivia was silent for a minute, staring out the window. Then she sighed and nodded. "When did you first realize he was missing?"

"I went to my dad's apartment and when I got inside…" Her eyes shone with tears. "My dog was killed with one of our kitchen knives. I tried to call my dad but I can't get hold of him. I left him a note saying I was spending the night at a friend's and that I had my cell, but he never called. I haven't heard from him for two days now. I went to my apartment to check my messages, but he hasn't called there, either."

"Did you touch anything in the apartment?" Olivia asked, quickly scribbling down brief notes.

"No," Sheila replied, wiping away her tears.

"Alright. I have to talk to my captain before I can do anything, you can wait in here if you'd like." Sheila nodded and Olivia left the room.

"We don't handle missing persons, Olivia, you know that," Cragen said.

"Captain, he's an old friend, a mentor. We've taken on missing person cases before, we can handle it."

"Missing children, kidnapping, SVU cases. This isn't our case."

"Captain, please, I need this case."

Cragen stared intently at Olivia for several minutes; she could almost see the wheels turning in his head. Finally he sighed. "I'll take care of it. Work with Elliot, I don't want all of my detectives tied up in this. Keep me updated on everything."

"Thank you," Olivia said, smiling. She walked over to Elliot's desk and explained the case to him.

"Why are we taking this? It's not an SVU case."

"Kyle's…an old friend," Olivia said.

"Just a friend?" Elliot asked, catching the slight pause.

"Yeah." It sounded more like a sharp exhale than an actual word and Elliot, having know Olivia so well for so long, knew she had no intention of telling him whatever it was she was hiding. He decided not to press the issue; at least, not yet.