CRAGENS OFFICE

Both Elliot and Olivia looked stunned. Elliot was speechless, frozen. Olivia sunk into the chair infront of her.

"But, ah, it, it can't.." Olivia struggled to find the words. "It can't be. Are you sure?"

Cragen looked like he'd lost a million dollars. He nodded. "Warner was stunned when she got the results so she had them run them a second time. It's definitely a match to Cassidy."

"Bloody hell." Elliot shook his head, having found his voice. "He's a good kid. He wouldn't do anything like this."

"Well at the moment the DNA says otherwise. We need to find him, sort this out." Cragen sighed heavily. "Now, do you wanna tell Munch or should I?"

"We will." Olivia rose from the chair. "He's not gonna believe it though."

They moved towards the door.

"Wait." Cragen stood up behind his desk. "Are you guys gonna be able to handle this, or do I need to give the case to someone else?"

"We can handle it, Captain." Olivia opened the door and walked out of the office. Elliot began to follow.

"Elliot? Keep an eye her, okay?"

Elliot nodded. He walked out of the office and back towards Fin and Munch. Olivia was already back at her desk. Munch eyed him closely as he walked back to the group.

"So you going to tell us what happened?"

Elliot looked over towards Olivia. She motioned for him to tell them.

"The DNA Warner got from the skin under the fingernail was a match to Brian Cassidy."

Munch exploded. "WHAT!?" Cassidy was like a little brother to him. He grown quite fond of him during the few months they'd worked together. "No! No way in hell did he have anything to do with this." He was pacing the room quite furiously by now, shaking his head. He refused to accept the possibility that Cassidy was involved in the murder of the girl.

Fin looked slightly confused. "Cassidy? He's the kid who worked here before me, isn't he?" The other three detectives all nodded. "Is it possible that he was involved in this?"

"NO!" Munch spun to face Fin, his face full of anger. "He is not capable of something like this."

Fin looked surprised. HE had never seen Munch this angry.

"He's a good kid, and a good cop." Elliot crossed his arms, still struggling to get his mind around it. "I hope to hell he's not involved but the evidence places him with the girl. He definitely had contact with her at some point."

Back in his office, Cragen stood by the window watching his four best detectives. Olivia was at her desk, staring blankly across the squad room. He always got the impression that she cared a lot more about Cassidy then she let on. Elliot was standing next to his desk, his arms folded tightly across his chest. He had been speechless when Cragen told him. Nothing ever made Elliot speechless. Munch was stilling pacing the room, burning a hole in the floor. This had hit him harder than the other two. He adored the kid, although he would deny it to anyone that asked. Then there was Fin. He hadn't known the kid, so at least he had one detective focused on the case. Cragen sighed and went back to his desk. Maybe there was an explanation to this. Maybe the kid wasn't involved.

--

NARCOTICS UNIT

Early the next morning, Elliot and Olivia knocked on the door of the captain's office in the narcotics division. They hadn't gone after Cassidy the night before; they all, bar Fin, had been in shock, and Cragen thought it would be best if they proceeded slowly, especially as it was a cop they were investigating. A deep, booming voice invited them into the office.

"Captain." Both detectives greeted the captain, shaking hands over the desk. The captain motioned for them to sit down.

"What can I do for you, Detectives?"

"We're here about one of your detectives, sir." Cragen had told them to inform the captain before arresting Cassidy.

The captain looked surprised. "Really? Which one?"

"Brian Cassidy. We have reason to believe he was involved in the rape and murder of a woman early yesterday morning." Olivia could hardly believe the words coming from her own mouth.

The captain looked shocked. "Cassidy!? He's a good kid. I can't believe he'd be capable of something like that. Especially after working SVU. Are you sure?"

Elliot leaned forward in his chair. "We have evidence suggesting he was with the woman before she was attacked. Is he in today?"

"He's supposed to be, but he didn't come in today, or yesterday for that matter. No one's heard from him."

Olivia and Elliot just looked at each other. Another sign of a guilty man?

--

CASSIDY'S APARTMENT

Elliot rapped his knuckles hard against the door. "Cassidy? Open the door." No answer. He turned to Olivia and nodded his head. They both pulled their guns from their holsters. Elliot shifted his weight to his back foot then threw himself forward into the door. His shoulder collided with a thud, slamming the door open against the inside wall. Both Detectives entered the apartment, their guns held out infront. Elliot headed towards the bedroom. Olivia scanned the living room and kitchen.

"Clear, El." She lowered her gun to look around. The apartment was messy, a typical bachelor pad, but nothing to suggest that Cassidy had taken off.

"Liv?" Elliot called from the bedroom. "You better have a look at this."

Olivia left the living room and entered the bedroom. She crossed the room to the ensuite, where Elliot stood in the doorway. Looking into the bathroom she saw the blood. A pile of clothes formed a pool of blood on the floor. Olivia peered into the sink. The soap sat over the drain, both it and the sink spattered with blood. She looked back at Elliot. He could see the pain in her eyes.

"Sorry, Liv. The evidence is stacked against him." He pulled his phone from his pocket as he turned back into the bedroom, leaving Olivia staring around the bathroom.