Chapter 2: Clink, Clink, Clink

Olivia could hear each step she took as she walked out of the elevator and to the door of Alex's apartment. It wasn't everyday that she wore heels and a dress. She clutched the small gift wrapped box in her left hand as she reached up and knocked on the door.

The door swung open, and Alexandra stood there in a stunning red dress with a delightful smile to greet her. "Come on in." Alex said and stepped to the side to let Liv through.

Lots of guests had already arrived and were mingling about with drinks in their hands.

Olivia stepped through and then handed the small box to Alex. "I wasn't sure exactly what to get you, but I hope you like it."

Alex examined the expertly wrapped gift box with a gold bow tied on top and grinned. "You didn't have to get me anything." She blushed and then added, "You being here is gift enough." With a twinkle in her eye, Alex turned to place the gift on the bar to be opened later. As much as Alex wanted to rip off the packaging, she retained her composure and then walked back over to Olivia.

One of the other guests meandered over to where Alex and Olivia were standing. He stuck out his hand to Olivia, "Hi, I don't believe we've met."

Alex rolled her eyes, but then made the proper introductions. "This is Deputy District Attorney Jim Steele, he used to work for me when I was Bureau Chief." Then she turned to Jim and introduced Olivia, "Jim, this is Detective Olivia Benson."

"Ah," Jim shook Olivia's hand, "I've heard so much about you; nice to finally meet you."

Olivia raised her eyebrows and looked to Alex who shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well it's good to meet you too; I hope everything you heard was good."

"Of course, maybe we could . . ." Jim was cut off midsentence when Alex took Olivia by the shoulders and started to lead her away.

"It's about time for dinner." Alex said to Jim and as she led Liv to the seat next to hers at the table, she whispered under her breath, "He's only here out of necessity."

The other guests joined Alex at the table and began to dissect their dinner. The night went smoothly, but when it came time for dessert, Olivia's cell phone rang. It was Cragen's ring tone.

Olivia excused herself and let Alex walk her to the door.

"I wish you could stay longer, but duty calls." Alex stood outside her apartment, with the door slightly cracked for privacy.

Olivia pursed her lips and looked at Alex, "I'd much rather spend the rest of the night with you."

"You can take a rain check." Alex suggested expectantantly.

Olivia grinned at the suggestion, "I think I'll do that."

Alex smiled and nodded as she watched Olivia walk back to the elevator and then she rejoined her dinner guests for the rest of the evening.

*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/

It had started to drizzle outside when Olivia reached the crime scene. She pulled up close to the yellow tape behind the bar. A bar tender stood talking to a detective under the overhang that hung over the back exit of the bar's door.

As she got closer to the body, a glimmer of recognition flashed. She knew this girl.

One of the detectives walked over to Olivia, "The bartender over there saw her leave out that door and not but five minutes later, he heard one shot go off and found her like this."

Olivia bent down to get a closer look at the girl. She laid on her back with one leg fully extended and the other one bent halfway and crossed over her opposite knee. Her upper body was turned so that one shoulder stood off the ground and her arm slumped over her body. Olivia removed a tendril of curly black hair off her face.

Liv clenched her jaw and felt that knot in her chest grow. She looked at the bullet hole between her eyes, expertly placed, but no residue. And with the placement of her body, it was obvious that she had tried to run, but never got the chance.

Despite her grief at having known the victim, even only briefly, she remained business like. She stood and faced the detective that was still standing there. The rain had picked up and it was now sprinkling harder. She could feel the drops as they dripped over her face and down her arms and legs. "There are no signs of a sexual assault."

"No," the detective said, "But, we found your business card in her wallet. Did you know her?" The detective asked, but seemed to already know the answer.

Olivia looked back down at the girl, still in her mid twenties, and sighed before she turned back to the detective. "Her name is Lisa Maria. I met her last year when her sister, Yvonne, was raped, but refused to press charges." Her heart still heavy, she continued, "Yvonne was arrested three weeks later for possession of a controlled substance; it was her third strike."

The detective seemed to be more empathetic than other homicide detectives. Perhaps he was just new on the team. He put away his notebook that was catching more rain than notes and said, "We found evidence of a blood stain on the neckline of her shirt." He pointed to the spot and then continued, "We had our analyst rush a sample before the rain washed everything away."

"It could be the shooters." Olivia said hopefully.

The medical examiner's techs pulled up close to the body. They unzipped a black body bag, and prepared it for Lisa Maria.

The rain began to fall harder, but the detectives weren't yet ready to leave the scene. Red, yellow, and blue lights continued to spin, illuminating the darkness behind the alley.

The detective began again, "The blood belongs to Shelly Rodriguez, the recently paroled cell mate of the girl you were talking about, Yvonne."

Olivia's eyebrows went up. This was not coincidence.

"We've got an APB out for her, but we thought you'd like to be the one to question Yvonne."

Olivia looked down, an imperceptible look of terror filled her, but she regained her equanimity and shook her head in agreement.

The other detective said goodbye and proceeded to get out of the rain. The ME Techs had taken the body, and the bartender and other detective had both left the scene. The lights of the police cars had disappeared. The previously bustling noise of the detectives, techs, and sirens were now replaced by the constant hum of the rain hitting the pavement.

Everyone had had left; Olivia stood there, alone in the rain. She let it wash over her; her dress lay heavily against her body, and her hair became matted. She willed her body to keep from shivering. She could feel her heart beating heavily inside her chest. She closed her eyes, but all she heard was the clink, clink, clink of a riot stick glazing across prison bars. To interview Yvonne, she would have to go to Sealview.

*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/

Alex closed the door behind her last guest to leave for the evening. She slumped up against the back of the door and sighed as she gazed around at her apartment. Most of the mess would have to wait until the next day, but she did grab some dishes and took them to the sink.

She let them clatter together as she dumped them in the sink. It had been a long night. She enjoyed the company of her friends and coworkers, but the mess afterwards had always given her reason to stray away from these types of parties. She had held out hope however that Olivia would have been able to stay the whole night, and perhaps, maybe, just maybe something more could have become of their friendship.

She turned off the running water and looked up to see the gift that lay unopened on her bar. It was the one from Olivia. She poured herself another small glass of red wine and then took the gift from its nesting spot.

Alex wandered into the bathroom and laid the present and wine down on the edge of her jacuzzi tub. She started the warm water and then pulled her hair up into a clip. She slowly slipped out of the red dress she was wearing and kicked off her heels.

She lowered herself down into the tub and when the water had more than halfway engulfed her, she reached up with her toes and turned off the faucet.

She took a sip from her wine glass and then gingerly picked up the present. She clasped the ribbon between her fingers and pulled at the bow. It easily came united. She lifted the wrapping paper off and uncovered a box. She opened the lid and was startled to see a wire wrapped, garnet teardrop swarovski suspended from a silver chain. The red of her birthstone was dazzlingly bright, and daring. It matched the dress she had been wearing earlier that night.

Alexandra placed the necklace around her neck and clasped it together. She leaned back against the tub and closed her eyes. She would have to go personally thank Olivia tomorrow. And, if she could muster the courage, ask her out on a real date.

A/N: Who is the mystery shooter? Are the two crimes correlated? What does it have to do with Sealview, if anything… Could drugs be the deciding factor? And, will Alex be able to ask Olivia out? I love to hear what you think!