Author's Note: This is my first story under Law and Order: SVU. Open to constructive criticism. No flames, please.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot of this story.
99
Blood Ties
By: Velocity37
Stabler walked up behind the police officer and tapped him on the shoulder. "You rang?"
He turned around and nodded his head. "Yeah, we got a vic over there. Looks like rape and murder and I immediately thought of you."
Stabler smirked. "Thanks! Good thing I'm already married. That's not exactly a line that would get me a lot of dates. Where is she?"
He pointed his finger to the alley. "She's under the sheet. You can't miss her."
Stabler nodded and walked over to the lifeless body. He pulled the sheet off and a chill ran down his spine. He had to turn his head away for a few seconds before he could look at the body again. "Hey, don't call anyone else. I can handle this case myself."
"Too late; I already called a Detective Benson. Sorry," The officer said.
"Damn!" Stabler mumbled to himself.
99
Stabler was analyzing the wounds on the body when Benson's car pulled up. As she was getting out she yelled, "Hey, you starting the party without me?"
Stabler ran over to her. "Hey, I told them not to call you but it was too late. I can handle this one."
Benson continued to walk near the crime scene. "Why? We always handle cases together."
Stabler blocked her way and view. "You don't want to see this one."
Benson was getting alarmed. "Why?" she questioned slowly.
Stabler looked down at the ground. "You don't want to know. Believe me."
As usual, curiosity triumphed over fear. She moved around him towards the covered body. She looked back at him and he wasn't moving behind her. He was frozen in his spot and couldn't stop her. She leaned down and pulled the cover off. Her face turned white. She realized what she saw. She saw the picture of her mother years ago when she told her she was raped.
It all came flooding back to her mind like waves of the ocean flowing over her brain. Like now, she had to see what her mother went through. She was obsessed with finding out all she could, although her mother protested. She had told her to let it go, but she couldn't. She wanted to bring him to justice, but she never could complete that to give her mother piece of mind. The nightmare has plagued her for years and here it is again.
She jumped back and put her hands over her mouth. "It's him!" She whispered barely able to speak. She started shaking. "It's him. He's returned."
Stabler grabbed her to keep her from falling. "It can't be Olivia. He's in an institution, remember?"
She was getting louder. "No walls can hold that monster! It's him! I can feel it. No one else would know how to do something this evil to another human being."
Stabler twirled her around to look at him. "Listen to me! This can't be your father. He's locked away in an institution. He can't hurt anyone now."
Benson's eyes were wild with fright. "He did this to my mother. Who else would know these exact wounds? Marks? Who??"
He was desperately searching for an explanation that would calm her suspicions. He couldn't find one. The death was an exact portrait of how Olivia's mother was found years ago in an alley after she was raped, beaten and left to die.
"You're forgetting one thing, Olivia. He didn't kill your mother. He...whoever did this made sure she was dead before they left.
Olivia shook her head violently. "No, he didn't kill her because he heard someone coming and couldn't finish the job. This is his work. I know it...and so do you."
Stabler didn't know what to say. Part of him really believed it was him. He had to calm her down. Her emotions were running too high to do her job correctly. "Let's start at the station. You don't need to keep looking at this," he told her firmly.
As he guided her to her car, she looked back one more time. "I see it every night in my dreams."
99
Cragen was waiting in the doorway when they got to the station. He didn't look happy. "Go in and sit down Olivia. I need to talk to Elliot."
She gave him a wary look but did as she was told.
When she was out of sight, Cragen asked, "Why was she at the scene?"
Stabler watched her sit down and put her head in her hands. "It was too late. They had already called her. They didn't know."
He put his fingers on his forehead. "Well, she shouldn't be on this case."
"Try and stop her," Stabler said darkly. "She wants to know who did this. She has to put her mind at ease."
Cragen looked over at her with a troubled look on his face. "Why? She knows it's not him. He couldn't have done this."
"Can you tell her for sure after seeing the details and the vic?"
"No," Cragen said defeated, "All we can do is get this solved quickly. She's been through enough. To have to keep reliving it might put her over the edge."
The two men walked over to the others in the room. "Do we have a name for the vic?" Cragen asked hopefully.
Munch tapped his pen on the table. "The ID in her wallet said Samantha Brown."
Cragen waited for more. "And??" he prompted impatiently.
Munch threw his pen down on the table. "And what? That's all we know."
Cragen waved his hands in the air frantically. "Then why are we all just sitting here looking at each other? Let's get out there and see what we can dig up on this girl. I'm sure she had family—friends. I don't need to tell you how important this is. We need to solve this yesterday."
Everyone looked over at Benson and made their way for the door. Tutuola stopped to put his hand on her shoulder. "Well get this guy. You'll see."
Benson slowly stood up breathing heavily. "I hope so...I hope so."
99
Munch and Tutuola knocked on the door of a neatly manicured brick home in the Manhattan District. Munch noted, "You don't see anything this neat in New York very often. This looks like a picture for a postcard."
Tutuola snickered, "You wouldn't see my stomping grounds on a postcard—most likely America's Most Wanted."
A woman with sandy, blonde hair answered the door. "Can I help you?"
Munch pulled out his badge and showed it to her. "I'm Detective Munch and this is my partner Detective Tutuola. We need to ask you some questions about Samantha Brown. Are you Lily Brown?"
A dark look came over her face. "Why? Has something happened to her?"
Tutuola interjected, "May we come in?"
She opened the door wider and they stepped inside. "Come in here, please"—she motioned to the living room—"I'll just be a moment. I need a drink of water."
They sat down and waited for her to return. When she sat down, Munch cleared his throat. "Do you know her?"
She clasped her hands. "Yes, she's my sister."
Tutuola started where Munch left off. "She was raped and murdered in an alley last night and we need..."
She dropped her glass and it went crashing to the floor. "Murdered? It can't be. I just talked to her yesterday morning!"
Munch rose up in his chair. "Did she tell you where she was going for the day? If she was meeting anyone?"
She sighed, "She said she met a man, but didn't say who. We were going to meet for lunch tomorrow. I suppose she might have told me then. All I know is she had to run some errands."
Tutuola studied her intently. "Did she say where?"
"I don't remember. The grocery store—the bank."
"Where does she shop?" Tutuola questioned automatically.
"Just down the road from her home." She was getting nervous. "How did you all find me?"
Tutuola pulled out her address book. "We found this when we searched Samantha's home. Any of these names sound familiar to you?"
She took the book and thumbed through the pages. "I really didn't know any of her friends. We don't get together much—different lives.
Tutuola sat back in his chair. "You had to be somewhat friendly. You get together for lunch."
She shook her head and threw the book on the table. "We don't get together often because we end up arguing. She hangs around a rougher crowd than I do. I always knew this life of hers would catch up with her but she wouldn't listen. Now, she can't listen." She began to sob. "Why wouldn't she listen? Oh, Sammy, why didn't you listen?"
Munch handed her his card. "If you think of anything else, please call me. We will do what we can to find out who did this."
As they were leaving, Lily called out to them, "Wait, she used to hang around with a girl named Elaine...Elaine Dover. She lives on the East side. She might know more about her life." They nodded and closed the door behind them.
99
Stabler walked through the doors of the medical examiner. "OK, doc, what have you come up with so far?"
She laughed, "Nice to see you too, Stabler."
He chuckled, "Sorry, this case has got everyone a little crazy."
She put her utensils down carefully on a clean table and walked over to the cadaver. "I found traces of marijuana in her system but she doesn't appear to be using anything stronger. If she did, it's been a while."
Stabler looked on her arms for any needle marks. "Her arms are clean. So she would have been alert to her surroundings at the time of the attack?"
She moved further along her body. "She should have been as far as I know. I really don't think it would have mattered. As viciously as he attacked her, she would have ended up here either way."
They both were silent for a moment. He didn't want to ask the next question nor did she want to answer it. Stabler was the first to speak. "So...is there anything similar to any past murders?"
She looked him right in the eye. "It would be easier to tell you what isn't similar."
Stabler leaned against the wall. "I'll take what I can get."
Silence.
"That much, huh?"
She covered the corpse and walked towards a stack of papers. "It's identical to the rape and beating of Olivia's mother: The wounds—the size of the wounds—the cuts—the bruises—everything. It gave me an eerie feeling as I read over the notes of her mother's rape. I could swear it was him doing this all over again. Are you sure he's still locked up?"
Stabler shifted his weight to his other foot and looked into the distance. "We're not sure of anything right now."
99
Please review and let me know if you enjoyed reading it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot of this story.
99
Blood Ties
By: Velocity37
Stabler walked up behind the police officer and tapped him on the shoulder. "You rang?"
He turned around and nodded his head. "Yeah, we got a vic over there. Looks like rape and murder and I immediately thought of you."
Stabler smirked. "Thanks! Good thing I'm already married. That's not exactly a line that would get me a lot of dates. Where is she?"
He pointed his finger to the alley. "She's under the sheet. You can't miss her."
Stabler nodded and walked over to the lifeless body. He pulled the sheet off and a chill ran down his spine. He had to turn his head away for a few seconds before he could look at the body again. "Hey, don't call anyone else. I can handle this case myself."
"Too late; I already called a Detective Benson. Sorry," The officer said.
"Damn!" Stabler mumbled to himself.
99
Stabler was analyzing the wounds on the body when Benson's car pulled up. As she was getting out she yelled, "Hey, you starting the party without me?"
Stabler ran over to her. "Hey, I told them not to call you but it was too late. I can handle this one."
Benson continued to walk near the crime scene. "Why? We always handle cases together."
Stabler blocked her way and view. "You don't want to see this one."
Benson was getting alarmed. "Why?" she questioned slowly.
Stabler looked down at the ground. "You don't want to know. Believe me."
As usual, curiosity triumphed over fear. She moved around him towards the covered body. She looked back at him and he wasn't moving behind her. He was frozen in his spot and couldn't stop her. She leaned down and pulled the cover off. Her face turned white. She realized what she saw. She saw the picture of her mother years ago when she told her she was raped.
It all came flooding back to her mind like waves of the ocean flowing over her brain. Like now, she had to see what her mother went through. She was obsessed with finding out all she could, although her mother protested. She had told her to let it go, but she couldn't. She wanted to bring him to justice, but she never could complete that to give her mother piece of mind. The nightmare has plagued her for years and here it is again.
She jumped back and put her hands over her mouth. "It's him!" She whispered barely able to speak. She started shaking. "It's him. He's returned."
Stabler grabbed her to keep her from falling. "It can't be Olivia. He's in an institution, remember?"
She was getting louder. "No walls can hold that monster! It's him! I can feel it. No one else would know how to do something this evil to another human being."
Stabler twirled her around to look at him. "Listen to me! This can't be your father. He's locked away in an institution. He can't hurt anyone now."
Benson's eyes were wild with fright. "He did this to my mother. Who else would know these exact wounds? Marks? Who??"
He was desperately searching for an explanation that would calm her suspicions. He couldn't find one. The death was an exact portrait of how Olivia's mother was found years ago in an alley after she was raped, beaten and left to die.
"You're forgetting one thing, Olivia. He didn't kill your mother. He...whoever did this made sure she was dead before they left.
Olivia shook her head violently. "No, he didn't kill her because he heard someone coming and couldn't finish the job. This is his work. I know it...and so do you."
Stabler didn't know what to say. Part of him really believed it was him. He had to calm her down. Her emotions were running too high to do her job correctly. "Let's start at the station. You don't need to keep looking at this," he told her firmly.
As he guided her to her car, she looked back one more time. "I see it every night in my dreams."
99
Cragen was waiting in the doorway when they got to the station. He didn't look happy. "Go in and sit down Olivia. I need to talk to Elliot."
She gave him a wary look but did as she was told.
When she was out of sight, Cragen asked, "Why was she at the scene?"
Stabler watched her sit down and put her head in her hands. "It was too late. They had already called her. They didn't know."
He put his fingers on his forehead. "Well, she shouldn't be on this case."
"Try and stop her," Stabler said darkly. "She wants to know who did this. She has to put her mind at ease."
Cragen looked over at her with a troubled look on his face. "Why? She knows it's not him. He couldn't have done this."
"Can you tell her for sure after seeing the details and the vic?"
"No," Cragen said defeated, "All we can do is get this solved quickly. She's been through enough. To have to keep reliving it might put her over the edge."
The two men walked over to the others in the room. "Do we have a name for the vic?" Cragen asked hopefully.
Munch tapped his pen on the table. "The ID in her wallet said Samantha Brown."
Cragen waited for more. "And??" he prompted impatiently.
Munch threw his pen down on the table. "And what? That's all we know."
Cragen waved his hands in the air frantically. "Then why are we all just sitting here looking at each other? Let's get out there and see what we can dig up on this girl. I'm sure she had family—friends. I don't need to tell you how important this is. We need to solve this yesterday."
Everyone looked over at Benson and made their way for the door. Tutuola stopped to put his hand on her shoulder. "Well get this guy. You'll see."
Benson slowly stood up breathing heavily. "I hope so...I hope so."
99
Munch and Tutuola knocked on the door of a neatly manicured brick home in the Manhattan District. Munch noted, "You don't see anything this neat in New York very often. This looks like a picture for a postcard."
Tutuola snickered, "You wouldn't see my stomping grounds on a postcard—most likely America's Most Wanted."
A woman with sandy, blonde hair answered the door. "Can I help you?"
Munch pulled out his badge and showed it to her. "I'm Detective Munch and this is my partner Detective Tutuola. We need to ask you some questions about Samantha Brown. Are you Lily Brown?"
A dark look came over her face. "Why? Has something happened to her?"
Tutuola interjected, "May we come in?"
She opened the door wider and they stepped inside. "Come in here, please"—she motioned to the living room—"I'll just be a moment. I need a drink of water."
They sat down and waited for her to return. When she sat down, Munch cleared his throat. "Do you know her?"
She clasped her hands. "Yes, she's my sister."
Tutuola started where Munch left off. "She was raped and murdered in an alley last night and we need..."
She dropped her glass and it went crashing to the floor. "Murdered? It can't be. I just talked to her yesterday morning!"
Munch rose up in his chair. "Did she tell you where she was going for the day? If she was meeting anyone?"
She sighed, "She said she met a man, but didn't say who. We were going to meet for lunch tomorrow. I suppose she might have told me then. All I know is she had to run some errands."
Tutuola studied her intently. "Did she say where?"
"I don't remember. The grocery store—the bank."
"Where does she shop?" Tutuola questioned automatically.
"Just down the road from her home." She was getting nervous. "How did you all find me?"
Tutuola pulled out her address book. "We found this when we searched Samantha's home. Any of these names sound familiar to you?"
She took the book and thumbed through the pages. "I really didn't know any of her friends. We don't get together much—different lives.
Tutuola sat back in his chair. "You had to be somewhat friendly. You get together for lunch."
She shook her head and threw the book on the table. "We don't get together often because we end up arguing. She hangs around a rougher crowd than I do. I always knew this life of hers would catch up with her but she wouldn't listen. Now, she can't listen." She began to sob. "Why wouldn't she listen? Oh, Sammy, why didn't you listen?"
Munch handed her his card. "If you think of anything else, please call me. We will do what we can to find out who did this."
As they were leaving, Lily called out to them, "Wait, she used to hang around with a girl named Elaine...Elaine Dover. She lives on the East side. She might know more about her life." They nodded and closed the door behind them.
99
Stabler walked through the doors of the medical examiner. "OK, doc, what have you come up with so far?"
She laughed, "Nice to see you too, Stabler."
He chuckled, "Sorry, this case has got everyone a little crazy."
She put her utensils down carefully on a clean table and walked over to the cadaver. "I found traces of marijuana in her system but she doesn't appear to be using anything stronger. If she did, it's been a while."
Stabler looked on her arms for any needle marks. "Her arms are clean. So she would have been alert to her surroundings at the time of the attack?"
She moved further along her body. "She should have been as far as I know. I really don't think it would have mattered. As viciously as he attacked her, she would have ended up here either way."
They both were silent for a moment. He didn't want to ask the next question nor did she want to answer it. Stabler was the first to speak. "So...is there anything similar to any past murders?"
She looked him right in the eye. "It would be easier to tell you what isn't similar."
Stabler leaned against the wall. "I'll take what I can get."
Silence.
"That much, huh?"
She covered the corpse and walked towards a stack of papers. "It's identical to the rape and beating of Olivia's mother: The wounds—the size of the wounds—the cuts—the bruises—everything. It gave me an eerie feeling as I read over the notes of her mother's rape. I could swear it was him doing this all over again. Are you sure he's still locked up?"
Stabler shifted his weight to his other foot and looked into the distance. "We're not sure of anything right now."
99
Please review and let me know if you enjoyed reading it.