A/N: Thank you for all your lovely reviews on the Chapter 1. Here goes Chapter 2.
Olivia's usual graceful entrance into the squad room was replaced by a quick glance to see who was present and a direct line to Fin's desk.
"What've you got so far?"
"Well based on the timeline you gave me, which we'll talk through again later, I need to ask some follow up questions…", Olivia scowled at Fin but she knew it was inevitable he would have to ask more of her, given she was probably the last person to see Amanda before she disappeared. Fin sensed the need for a change of direction so diverted to the next point on his list of things to update Olivia on. It had taken her an hour to get Noah sorted and it had been the longest hour of her life.
"TARU tracked her cell as far as The Plaza Hotel and that's where they lost it. We have three squads there now searching the entire place. Weird thing is, it passed the same place twice in the space of twenty minutes, it seems like she went back the way she came. Katie called again to check in and say she'd take Jessy for the day." Olivia was nodding but Fin wasn't sure she was taking any of it in.
"There's been no purchases on her cards, and I rang Kim, she hasn't heard from her." Fin was reluctant to ask the next question but he knew if it wasn't Amanda he'd be asking it so he took a deep breath and spoke; "She's not gambling again is she?"
"I don't think so. Do you?" Olivia was almost afraid of what Fin was going to say next.
"Nah, I don't think she's even seen a game let alone bet on one since the little one was born." Fin's face was filled with concern not only for his partner but for her little girl as well.
"We're gona find her Fin." Olivia squeezed his shoulder to try and reassure him. But it wasn't even a reassurance she was sure of herself yet, so she doubted she relayed it confidently to the man she counted as one of her most talented colleagues and friends.
Fin nodded and reached for his desk phone when it rang.
"Uh-huh, yeah, ok…thanks"
Fin barely hung up as he started to speak, Carisi joining them with 3 cups of freshly made coffee.
"What's the latest?" he asked, keen as any of them to keep up to date.
"That was Johnson one of the uniforms at the Plaza. The night manager and receptionist didn't see anyone fitting Amanda's description in the building last night. Vasquez found a phone though, battery removed and smashed screen, matches Amanda's cell same blue cover. It's not turning on so he can't tell for sure but he's bagged it and is bringing it in to TARU now. It was wedged between two flagstones that were cracked, just to the left of the main door.
Fin needed to bring the details a few steps back, to get a clearer picture. In order to do that he knew he was going to have to question Olivia. Not in an official capacity, they would keep it off the record. But he still wasn't looking forward to it.
"Liv," he inclined his head towards her office "can we?"
Olivia looked down at her hands but nodded and rose to walk towards her office. Fin stalled for a moment to relay a few instructions to Carisi before following her.
Fin was confused for a second when he walked in, Olivia wasn't sitting at her desk. Then he saw her in the corner of the office on the sofa she kept there for when she needed 10 minutes sleep or a moment to think.
Fin sat down and cleared his throat not sure where to start but figuring the beginning would be best,
"So, she was at yours last night?"
Olivia nodded and looked straight ahead at a fixed point on the back wall of her office.
"What time did she arrive?"
"Around 9:30."
"Was there anything unusual about how she was acting? Anything seem wrong?"
Olivia shook her head then verbalised her answer with a quiet "No". The whole journey to the prescient she had been filtering through every last detail of the night she'd spent with Amanda. Had she said anything that raised a red flag? Was she freaking about what had happened between them? Was she in debt? Eventually Olivia was left with more questions than answers and was glad when she finally got out of the cab and arrived into the squad room.
"She was fine. We had a drink."
"Just one?"
Olivia nodded. "She didn't even finish the glass. It's still sitting on my living room table." Olivia intertwined her fingers and squeezed hard, trying to concentrate on anything but the tears that were threatening.
"How was she getting home?"
"I… she was… I was asleep when she left, a cab I presume?"
"You were asleep? So, you don't know what time she left at?"
Olivia shook her head and bit her lip. Fin could see there was something really wrong and he didn't want to push but he had to.
"Liv did something happen? Did you two fight?"
Olivia gave a small sad smile and turned to face her Sargent. "Think about the exact opposite of fighting. That is what we did."
It took Fin a few seconds to register what Olivia had said and although shocked, he hid it well.
"Right. So, you left things ok?"
Olivia thought about Amanda stroking her hair as she fell asleep. She touched the side of her head where Amanda had kissed her when she thought she had been asleep and then looked at Fin.
"Yes, things were good, really good." Olivia looked down at her clasped hands and felt a hand come to rest on them.
"This must be dragging up all kinds for you Liv, I can only imagine. But this is Amanda, this is our girl, we're gona find her." Fin pulled her into a quick, tight embrace and then stood.
"You ok?"
"Give me a minute and I'll join you." He simply nodded and left. Olivia gave herself 30 seconds to cry and 30 seconds to dry her tears. She knew this was not the time to be weak. She could either do her job and find Amanda or she could fall apart. Option two wasn't even remotely on her radar as she stood and made her way back out into the squad room to join Carisi and Fin at the evidence board where they were adding to a time-line.
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Amanda touched her neck and winced at the pain where her skin was broken from the ligature that had been tied around it. She knew she had passed out, she just wasn't sure for how long. She looked around the motel room she was in. She was tied to a chair with a length of rope around her waist, her ankles bound to the chair legs and her arms looped through the back of the chair with a wrist tied to each side of the frame.
It was daylight from what she could see through the closed curtains. They weren't lined so they let in most of the light. She heard a door slam and she would have screamed were it not for the rag stuffed into her mouth and duct-taped in place.
She tried to remember what had happened but her mind kept going back to the pain in her neck and the rope digging into her ankles and wrists.
As she swallowed she could taste blood in her throat. There was an overwhelming urge to close her eyes and fall asleep again, but she forced herself to stay awake.
The door to the room opened and a man entered.
"Welcome back princess. Wow you're a lot prettier when you're conscious. Amanda took in the man's physical appearance. He had about 100lbs on her and was about a foot taller. She wasn't going to fight her way out of this. She didn't have her weapon and she was at a disadvantage without it. She swore she was going back to the self-defence classes run in the local YMCA when this was over…. if…. no when. She shook her head, not letting the negative thoughts get in. She thought about all she'd learned in therapy; therapy Olivia had finally made her go to. Therapy she didn't think she needed. She was wrong and as she fought the negative thoughts she thought of Olivia, of Jessy, of Noah, of all she had to live for.
The man sat on the bed in front of her, a look in his eye that sent a shiver down her spine. She tried to stop herself showing any outward signs of fear but her heart was racing.
He put a hand on her leg and rubbed her knee. The look in her eyes made him realise any other touch would be met with anger and violence if he tried to touch her. Even restrained Amanda was not going to let this man touch her without putting up a serious fight. He stood and walked away and Amanda surmised this wasn't a professional. Someone who had done this before wouldn't have let a simple look scare him away.
"So, Amanda" Amanda noted the accent, it was Georgia through and through and that piqued the detective's instincts in her, "have you figured out why you're here yet? I hear you're a detective, I'm sure you're good at working shit out."
Amanda was making connections but there were a few missing pieces she needed filling in. She shook her head and the man realised she couldn't answer. "You promise not to scream if I take that off?" he indicated the gag.
Amanda nodded. Stepping close he ripped the tape holding the gag in place. She could smell cannabis and liquor on him. Amanda spat out the rag in her mouth.
She glared at him but didn't speak.
"They said you were the strong silent type"
Amanda had every intention of letting him keep talking. She'd dealt with enough perps at this point to know that guys like this liked to brag and most of the time they ended up saying something to incriminate themselves. So, she sat back and waited, uncomfortable, but safe in the knowledge that someone was missing her by now.
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Fin gave a curt nod to the young uniformed officer who had handed him a folder.
"TARU traced the GPS on her cell more definitively with times and exact locations and matched them to the tracker in the cab." Fin wasn't talking to anyone in particular but rather the room in general.
"She got in a cab outside…," Fin stalled for a moment but Olivia nodded her consent to share the information with those gathered. She had already told Carisi and Barba and right now she didn't care what anybody else thought; "Lieutenant Benson's apartment at 12:39 a.m. She'd booked a cab via the app on her phone. It arrived. We've checked with the driver, he confirmed picking her up, dropping her off at her apartment block, and going to his next job 4 streets over. We confirmed with the next fare that he picked him up around 1:20 a.m.
We checked CCTV outside Amanda's building, she can be seen getting out of the cab at 1:02 a.m.
Fin pressed the remote and pulled the still from the CCTV footage up on the TV screen.
Olivia gripped the pen in her hand tighter as she looked at the image on the screen. She had to look down at the folder Fin had handed her with all of info from TARU, not wanting to gaze to long at the last image of Amanda they had.
"So, she got to her apartment, and then what?" Carisi asked.
"Then she, well her phone anyway, did an about turn and started back towards where she'd come from," Fin answered.
Olivia momentarily wondered if Amanda had wanted to come back to her, to tell her she regretted what had happened between them?".
"Liv?"
"Sorry what?" She hadn't heard what Carisi had asked her.
"I said, she seemed OK leaving yours yeah?"
"Yes, she was… she was fine."
Fin stepped in to save the lieutenant from anymore awkward questions. "I've taken Liv's statement. We have the timeline…"
Olivia held up a hand and smiled her thanks to Fin. "Amanda was fine when she left. We were talking, it got late, I got tired. She left and I was practically asleep before my head hit the pillow. I heard her leave but that's the last thing I remember until Fin's text woke me."
"This is the last CCTV image we have?" Barba asked. Olivia appreciated him being there. He brought a different point of view to the cops in the room and it was sometimes helpful.
"So far yeah." Fin confirmed. "But I have two guys in Interview 1 reviewing footage from everywhere I could get it."
Barba nodded. OK I'm gona head out but if you need a subpoena for any more CCTV or there's any developments let me know?"
They nodded in turn, Carisi giving a brief wave, before they turned back to the evidence in front of them.
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"Say cheese." Amanda flinched as a flash on a phone camera blinded her.
"What the fuck?"
It was the first time she had spoken in a few hours.
"Just wanted a pic to remember my prettiest captive."
Amanda knew that was a lie straight away as she watched him send the picture to someone.
"Your Mom must be so proud."
Her captor's nostrils flared in rage. She had obviously touched a nerve.
"Shut it bitch."
"Who are you sending that to?" Amanda needed to find out what was going on. She was fed up of being held against her will, fearful of not knowing what was going on and beyond scared of not seeing her family and friends again.
"Santa, I'm gona tell him you've been a bad girl this year."
"Oh he knows already."
The mirthless laugh he emitted made Amanda think this man had little in his life beyond the task he was currently carrying out."
"So, who's the lucky guy that's into bondage getting a pic?"
"Not a guy."
"What?"
That mirthless laugh again. "I thought they said you were a detective?"
"They, who are they?"
As if sensing he had said too much he stood and walked to the window, phone in hand. The message tone beeped as he stood and partially opened the curtains.
"Who are they?" Amanda asked again, ire rising in her voice.
"You'll find out soon enough princess, in the meantime, shut up look pretty and don't even consider escaping, there's nowhere to run."
Amanda gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. This wasn't going to end well.
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Fin had insisted she go home after 16 hours with no real news. She wanted to stay but it she knew he was right when he said she would be no good to anyone exhausted.
She called Lucy as she left and asked her to drop Noah off at Amanda's apartment. She had already called ahead to tell Katie she would take Jessy that night and arrange plans for the rest of the week. When Katie asked how long she would be staying Olivia had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop the tears as she admitted that she wasn't sure but she would let her know as soon as she did.
Now in Amanda's apartment, she sat in the armchair watching Noah asleep on the sofa bed while Jessy lay asleep in her arms.
Tears fell as she gently kissed the top of Jessy's head humming a lullaby she'd forgotten the words too. She was wearing a hoody of Amanda's, hoping the smell would soothe the small girl in her arms.
"We'll find her, I promise baby we'll find her," she whispered against soft, wispy blonde hair, as the toddler shifted in her arms.
"We'll find her."
Her voice held a conviction her heart didn't feel.
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