Disclaimer: I own nothing affiliated with any "Law & Order" show.
Chapter 4
Susan Kellerman, a tall brunette in her early twenties, with porcelain skin and delicate features, opened her apartment door, allowing Olivia and Elliot to enter. She looked worried and frightened, unsure of what was going on. "Detectives, what is this about?"
"Do you know an Anna Levis?" Olivia asked softly and Susan nodded. "You might want to sit down."
"I'll stand." Susan said more aggressively than she meant to.
Olivia bit the inside of her lip and squinted, wondering if Anna and Susan were romantically involved. Bearer of bad news again...twice in one day. Jesus. "Susan, Anna was attacked last night just six blocks from your apartment building."
"Oh my God." Susan gasped, immediately collapsing onto her couch. Tears sprung to her eyes. She covered her mouth with her hands for a moment, trying to process. Suddenly, her head snapped up at Olivia. "Is she all right?"
"I'm afraid not. Anna was murdered."
"Oh MY GOD!" Susan screamed, covering her face with her hands, sobbing. Elliot stood back once more, feeling his breath hitch in his throat. He hated seeing women cry. There was something about women crying that always hit him where it hurt most. Even female perps who used crocodile tears to get what they wanted. Those were tough. He had to really push his feelings back when they cried to him.
Olivia looked around the room, taking in various pictures displayed throughout. There were a few on the fireplace mantle, on the lamp table, the coffee table...wait! There. There was a picture of Susan and Anna standing in a park, holding each other's waists. Susan was smiling brightly, her dark brown hair blowing in the wind. Anna was holding a hand over her eyes, undoubtedly shielding them from the sun, her blonde hair blowing in the same direction as Susan's. They looked happy.
They gave her a few minutes to collect herself, Olivia handing her tissue after tissue as she sobbed heavily. They felt bad, but obviously, they couldn't be there all day. "Susan, were you and Anna in a relationship?"
Susan looked up at Olivia and nodded gravely. "Yes. She is my girlfriend. Was...oh fuck. Where is she? I have to see her." She started to get up but Olivia put a hand to her shoulder and pressed down a bit, making sure that Susan got the message.
"Not so fast. We have a few more questions, okay?"
Susan looked up at Olivia, at first wanting to tell her where she could go, but there was something in the woman's eyes that made her sit still. "Okay." She whispered.
"When is the last time you saw Anna?"
"Last night. S-she was going to stay over..." Susan trailed off, nervously wringing her hands.
"But?" Olivia pried.
"We got into an argument and she left. God...it's all my fault." Susan covered her eyes with a hand, crying hard.
Olivia sat down next to Susan and put a hand on her shoulder. "Susan...what did you argue about?"
"About Stephen."
A red flag raised in Elliot's mind. "Stephen Hutchinson?"
"Yeah. Stephen asked Anna out on a date and she told him she'd have to 'think about it.' Why would she say something like that?" Susan looked at Olivia, who had no answers. "She told me and we fought about it. I told her I wouldn't be his girlfriend's girlfriend. She thought I was blowing things way out of proportion. I mean...she told me she loved me last week, and now she's accepting dates from men? Why would she do something like that?" Susan's voice sharpened for a moment before returning to it's previous shaky state.
Olivia shook her head. "Susan, why did you call in sick today?"
The brunette shuddered a sigh and sniffled. "Because...because I couldn't face her after that argument, and I couldn't face Stephen either. I...I just needed a day. I almost never call in sick...but I just needed a day." She shook and sobbed, putting her head in her hands again.
Elliot coughed uncomfortably. "Okay, thank you for your time."
Olivia pulled out her card. "I'm going to leave my card with you. Again, we're sorry for your loss."
Susan only nodded as Elliot and Olivia showed themselves out.
"Okay to leave her alone?" Elliot whispered as Olivia closed the door to the apartment.
"Let's hope she doesn't do anything drastic."
Elliot agreed and they started down the apartment stairs when a door opened. "Are you the police?" A voice called behind them.
Elliot and Olivia turned. An elderly woman, small and hunched, with blindingly white hair pulled back into a tight bun, and oversized pointy-rimmed glasses hanging on the edge of her nose was standing behind a barely opened door. One of Susan's neighbors. "Yes Ma'me." Elliot answered, walking back upstairs with Olivia in tow.
"Real shame about that girl." Her voice was strong and held the hint of a Southern accent.
"Who?" Olivia asked, curious now. How does she know?
"That...lesbian." The old woman seemed to choke on the word. "I told those girls time and time again that living in sin will getcha the devil, and God as my witness...I was right." The old woman nodded, seemingly proud of herself. "How'd she die?"
Olivia bristled at the woman's zealot behavior, but didn't show it.
"I'm afraid we can't divulge that information to you Ma'me, but...how did you know that she was dead?" Elliot inched closer and the woman inched back, closing her barely open door further, as if hiding behind it.
"These walls are like paper. I heard everything you said."
"Oh yeah? Did you hear the argument Ms. Kellerman had with her girlfriend last night?"
The woman shook her head. "No sir. When I hear something like that, I just turn my t.v. up."
But you won't pass up the opportunity to hear about a murder, huh? "Okay, well, thank you for your time." Olivia said, and Elliot looked at her as if to say, "What are you doing?"
The woman nodded. "You're welcome. May the Lord shine upon your day." Then, she closed the door.
Elliot shook his head in confusion. "What's up Liv?"
"I didn't come here to listen to the ramblings of an over zealous, nosy old woman."
"Who can probably hear every word you're saying." Elliot added, grabbing her arm and walking down the stairs. "You don't think she has anything for us?"
"Probably not. Besides, what could she have? You think the Susan did that to her girlfriend?"
Elliot shook his head. "No, but she was the last person to see Anna alive, and we need to know what took place during that argument to make Anna leave."
"You heard what happened. They had a fight about Stephen. Susan either kicked Anna out or Anna left, what else is there to know?"
"We don't have much Liv. I'm grasping here."
Olivia sighed. "Okay. Well, Susan's too distraught to talk at the moment. Maybe we can come back tomorrow. Then we can schedule a sit-down with Mrs. Beasley in there."
"Mrs. Beasley?" (Note: Look up "Family Affair")
"Did you see her glasses?"
"That goes way back." Elliot laughed.
"You like that, huh?" Olivia smiled, but sighed as well. "Plus, now we know what the mom was holding back."
"I guess mom didn't want to accept that her daughter was gay."
Olivia nodded solemly. Neither did my mother. "Yep." She checked her watch. It was after twelve. "What now?"
"Well, I guess we go back to Paperclip Publishing and talk to Stephen, see what he has to say about all this."
"On the road again." Olivia muttered as they approached their car.
To be continued...