Olivia blinked back what she realized were tears. It had been so long since she had seen the man that stood before her, but it felt like only days. There were so many thoughts running through her head she was finding it difficult to keep her mind on the main purpose for being there: the case. She tried to speak to him, to ask the questions she would ask any witness, but words caught in her throat.
"Mr. uh Stabler, I'm Detective Amaro, this is my partner, Detective Benson," Amaro broke the silence. Not knowing the situation, he could keep a clear head and work the case, much to Olivia's relief. She kept quiet and let her new partner take the lead, it made things easier. Amaro kept things professional and to the point as he began, "we understand you found the victim?"
Elliot took a sip of his coffee and nodded, it was clear to Olivia that his mind was flashing back to the scene she had just left; it had to be horrible to walk in on that after leaving the job. His face was lined more than it had been the last time she had seen it. His eyes looked dull and lifeless and dark circles underneath made him look years older. This was not the man that had stood by her side for 12 years; that man had been replaced by someone defeated by life. That was more horrifying to Olivia than any rape victim or crime scene ever could hope to repeat; the slow demise of the once great Elliot Stabler. He cleared his throat and tried to speak. The voice that came out sounded like gravel in a coffeemaker; another sign of what had to be horrible stress.
"Um, yeah, I was making my rounds at 7 and I noticed a shoe on the floor and some spilled coffee outside an office. I used my key and opened the door. I saw Amanda lying on the floor, barely moving. I called it in and stayed with her until the uni's and a bus arrived." He still sounded like he was giving a report as a cop, but there was even less emotion than Elliot ever kept as a cop. It was almost like he was in shock, which was understandable.
"How well did you know the victim," Olivia found her voice but she realized it didn't sound like she was talking to her partner, it came out more like she was addressing a perp. She cleared her throat and tried again, "you used her first name, was she a friend?"
"I wouldn't say friend, her dad and I served together in the Marines, it was just coincidence that we worked in the same building. I normally work the day shift, but I switched with a guy for the holidays so someone would be home with Eli while school's out." A smile crept over his face. He felt something for this girl, probably treated her like she was a daughter. She was older than Kathleen, his oldest, but that wouldn't change a paternal instinct in him. Olivia remembered when her partner went out his way countless times to take care of her. It was just his way.
"Eli?" Amaro raised an eyebrow at this. "Who's Eli?"
"My youngest son, he just turned 5. My wife's been working since he went to kindergarten and she can't switch her schedule. Sorry, I forget you don't know me that well. I worked SVU for 12 years. Liv was my partner." He looked to Olivia and smiled again. The shock was wearing off and he was beginning to look like the Stabler she remembered.
"Okay," Amaro acknowledged the shared look between the two but kept the momentum of the conversation professional and on track. "So, what time did you come to work today?"
"Seven, and I started my rounds at about 7:30." Elliot went back to his matter-of-fact reporting tone as he kept answering questions. "I'm supposed to check over floors 8 through 12 every three hours and then sit at the front while someone else checks four more floors. The building only has cameras at the entrances and the elevators so the guards have to walk around to make sure no one steals office equipment."
"So what was she doing there all alone, it's the holidays, isn't the school closed?" Olivia broke in, the thought just occurring to her. Why was the victim working on an empty floor during a holiday week?
"Only some departments take off for the break. The nursing college stays open and staffed between semesters. I guess she didn't have vacation time to take like some of the others. You'd have to ask her why, but I'll bet that's what she'll say."
"Have there been any reports of strange characters hanging around the school after hours?" Amaro was running through the witness playbook by the numbers, but he had a tone in his voice as if he didn't quite trust Elliot. Olivia figured she would ask him about it when they were alone, no sense in stirring up trouble now, they could lose the only potential witness they had.
"Not that I know of, but I've only been working after hours a week or so, but I could contact the head of security and the regular night guy to double check." He pulled out his cell phone to make the call, but stopped when he saw the room door open and a female doctor walking out. Elliot looked up and motioned to her so Olivia and Amaro would turn around.
Olivia turned to face a young female doctor exiting the room. The doctor had a pained look on her face, and her eyes looked worn. She sighed as she spoke, and it was unclear if the sighing was from exhaustion or the victim's condition or a combination of both. She began slowly, "Detectives, I'm Dr. Gibbons, I worked on Amanda. She has a severe concussion, a fractured cheekbone, three broken ribs, multiple contusions on her arms, back and thighs, and severe vaginal tearing. This guy beat her up and raped her for a prolonged period of time. Toxicology revealed she had a concentrated amount of alprazolam in her blood. She's pretty shaken up, but she's awake so you can go in, but tread lightly. This girl's been through a horrible ordeal and I'm not about to let you set her off,"
Olivia looked at the doctor and nodded, "we'll be careful. You said she had alprazolam in her system, that's Xanax, could that be from a prescription?"
"The amount she had would never be prescribed as a dosage. Average dose is 4 milligrams, she had the equivalent of 4 times that in her blood, and that was after who knows how long. No, this was given to her, probably as a way to induce amnesia. Xanax and Rohypnol are in the same class of drugs, and we're starting to see more Xanax induced rapes since it's easier to get legally and can be dismissed in a test as possible prescribed use."
"Any evidence from the rape kit," Amaro inquired, hoping that the scumbag that did this had left them a way to catch him.
"Some fibers from the rapists clothing and maybe hair, but there were no fluids and a trace of spermicidal lubricant."
"Bastard used a condom," Elliot responded as he would have if he were working the case himself. The doctor and detectives looked at him with looks of surprise on his face. Olivia knew it was probably just a slip of the tongue for him to respond that way, but she knew that it would bother her new partner. She gave Elliot a glare of disapproval and he raised his hands in submission.
"That would be my guess," Dr. Gibbons said looking back at the two she figured were detectives, "you two can go see her. Now that they are here, Mr. Stabler, I can stitch up that hand wound if you'll care to follow me."
Olivia looked down and Elliot's left hand and just under his thumb, she saw a bandage with evidence of blood seeping through. She gestured to it and laughed, "What, you getting clumsy in your old age, El?"
He looked down and almost shook it off. "No, when I tried to help Amanda she fought back and bit me. She thought I was the creep coming back for more. I didn't want to get it fixed until you guys got here so I could give my statement quickly."
"Well, thank you for all you given us," Amaro said, "Get yourself fixed up and if you can think of anything else, you know where to find us."
"I most certainly do," Elliot grinned and waved to Olivia. He looked to her as though he wanted to say more, but he stopped. Olivia figured it was too awkward to say goodbye, but she didn't have time to dwell on sadness as she watched him walk away. She turned and entered the room to talk to her victim.