Deviance
Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine, I just like to dress them up and make them do what I say. Most things I write will contain the gay. If you are afraid of the gay then get yourself far away from me. I like the gay ... it stays. Sometimes it stays and wraps itself around me to keep me warm at night. I hope you enjoy and I hope you review; I'm just needy like that.
Chapter 2
Celine and Tom Brinks had a lawyer present before the two detectives arrived.
Olivia took in the couple -- older, both greying, and good looking. Celine was probably late forties or a young looking fifty. Tom appeared to be a decade her senior, but still handsome. They were both dressed casually, but in very expensive clothes. Tom had his arm around Celine and she leaned into him. Her eyes were slightly swollen, probably from crying.
They trust each other, she reflected.
Their lawyer was Matthew Bryniak, an modest looking junior partner in a small firm, who Olivia recognised as having worked for the D.A. a few years back. She and Elliot shook everyone's hand and they were shown to a private waiting room where they could all speak.
"The doctor has told you about your daughter's condition?" Olivia asked.
"Yes," answered the young lawyer, signaling to his clients not to speak, "My clients have been fully informed. As you can imagine, they are very distressed and are anxious to assist in your investigation in any way possible."
"Sure," Elliot snorted, "that's why you're here, to assist in our investigation." He rolled his eyes at Olivia.
"I assure you, Detective Stabler, that I am only here to ensure that my clients' rights and privacy are not undermined. We all want to find out what happened here."
"Well then, I'm sure Mr Brinks won't mind giving us a DNA sample to rule him out." Elliot paused, gauging the reaction, "Standard procedure," he added for good measure.
Mr Bryniak straightened his tie, "I'm afraid, Detective, that won't be possible without a court order. My clients value their privacy and feel that DNA should only be taken where there is reasonable suspicion of guilt. At the moment, you don't have anymore reason to suspect Mr. Brinks than you have to suspect Bruce Springsteen."
"However," the lawyer continued, "my clients are happy to answer any questions you may have, and they are happy for Collette to be questioned as well, in her own home, provided they are present. Obviously, they are concerned that this is traumatic for the child."
Elliot was not happy. Their lawyer was setting up roadblocks everywhere and dressing them up like gifts. He thought of a question.
"Are you planning to terminate her pregnancy?"
----
"Alex?" Olivia paced in the hospital corridor, trying to get better reception, "Alex, can you hear me?"
"Yes, Olivia, I can hear you. What's up?"
"Great, Alex, you're never going to believe the case we've caught..."
"The nine-year old? I'm on it. Cragen came to me after you left for the hospital. Have you questioned the parents?"
Olivia sighed, "That's just it, Alex, they've lawyered up. Matt Bryniak, remember him?"
"Matt Bryniak? Well, if that's what we're up against, we'll be ok." Olivia could hear the smirk in Alex's voice and it relaxed her considerably.
"Sure is suspicious they lawyered up so quickly. The father won't volunteer DNA on ethical grounds apparently, and they only want to let us speak to Collette at their home with them present." Olivia rattled off her frustrations to the A.D.A.
"Do you like him for it?"
"I'm not sure, Alex." Olivia became thoughtful, "he's got means and opportunity but motive? I guess he could just be a pervert; God knows we see enough of those, but," Olivia paused, "my gut says no, if that's any help." She laughed, knowing how ridiculous she sounded and how often she'd gone to Alex with something her "gut" told her.
"Well that's a change, Detective,"Alex chuckled, "your gut is normally far more suspicious than that. Anyway," Alex got back to business, "We don't really need his DNA yet. Once we have the products of conception, if the fetus's DNA is too close a match to the girl, we'll have reason enough for a warrant to compel DNA. When are they performing the termination?"
"That's just it, Alex, they're not."
----
"It's their right, Olivia!" Elliot turned to face his partner. "You can't force someone to have an abortion."
The partners were at each others throats while everyone else in the squad room watched, or pretended not to notice.
"Oh my God, El!" Olivia's eyes were on fire, "She's nine. God knows what a pregnancy would do to her body! And she didn't make the decision, her parents did."
"And if it causes her problems, they will take medical advice from there. The doc says she should be able to deliver by caesarian." Elliot was uneasy himself, but still sided with the parents.
"That's insane, Elliot! If she's not old enough to decide for herself, how is she old enough to have a baby?"
Alex cleared her throat to get the detectives' attention, "Did the doctor tell you how this could have happened? I wouldn't have thought a child that age could conceive, let alone carry a child."
"Most girls don't even start to menstruate until they are eleven or twelve, but," Olivia took a breath, "apparently a small number of girls will develop very early, and Collette has. Her mother said she began menstruating last year. The doctor said it's called 'precocious puberty' and usually has no underlying cause, nor is it harmful to the girl... "
Sargent Munch approached the group, "Lina Medina is the youngest mother on record; she was 4 when she got pregnant, and 5 when she gave birth in 1939. The baby was healthy too."
"So all these young girls are being abused and a handful," Elliot paused to overcome the nausea he felt rising, "get pregnant and that's the only reason we find out they're being abused. Great."
"Isn't humanity amazing?" Munch snarked as he walked away.
"So," Alex, tapped her foot, "what's the next step?"
"We're going to interview the parents again in their home, and they've told us we can interview the 'help' as well while we're there."
"And we have to talk to Collette," added Olivia. "They won't bring her here to be interviewed so we'll have to do what we can with her at her home."
"Let me know what you get, detectives. If you want that little girl to be questioned without her parents, I can probably make it happen. No point pushing for it though unless there's a good reason. This child has been traumatised enough."
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