Background, Chapter Four

Stabler knocked on Cragen's door. Cragen looked up, sat that it was Elliot, and his face changed to highly pissed. "Sit," Cragen said.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Cragen roared once Elliot had shut the door behind them.

"Captain-"

"No, shut up and listen! You don't go anywhere without a partner! You don't do anything without my permission! Is that understood?"

"Yes, Captain, but-"

"Olivia comes here to pick up her stuff for the evening, says that you decided to take a little stroll, and of course right away I'm thinking 'what the hell has he done now'! And two minutes later, I get a phone call that you have entered the home of this girl's family and caused their son to have an emotional breakdown? They are pissed, Elliot! You're lucky if we get anything from them! I could hear that kid screaming in the background!"

"Captain! Look, whatever they told you is probably a lie. Yes, I followed the boys home...But I broke it to them gently...I didn't just say 'Hey, your kid, yeah she's dead...' I would never do that. We need to look into them! They showed no emotion, and I just told them that their only remaning daughter has been killed. That kid knows something!"

"That doesn't give you the right to follow two children home and inform them without a partner, Elliot. If in court now, you say you suspected them because they showed no evidence, who's there to back you up? You think they're going to admit to that, if it makes them look bad?"

Elliot didn't know what else to say. "I'm sorry," he finally said. "Okay. And Elliot, don't look too far into the parents. THey seemed to get the drift that you thought that they did something. They both have rock-solid alibis for the time frame that Warner believes Kayla was murdered."

Elliot shrugged and turned to leave.

"I don't want you to ever pull this shit again, detective...I've had to save your ass one too many times."

&&& && && && && && &&

Later that night, Elliot was watching TV with the twins when the doorbell rang. All three looked at eachother expectantly. "I'll get it," Elliot said, moving towards the door.

It was Keagan Harrison.

"De-Detective Stabler?" He stuttered, wrapping himself tighter in his coat.

Elliot moved and ushered the boy into his house. "Keagan? What are you doing here? How'd you get my address?"

"It was on that card you gave my parents. They threw it away. They're not going to come identify Kayla's body. They don't care about her."

"Look, Keagan, I've got to take you home-"

"No! I'm not going back home! If you take me back I'll just leave again!"

"I can't let you hang out here...I'm already in trouble with my boss..."

"I have stuff to tell you though! My parents didn't kill Kayla-but they might as well have."

Elliot hesitated. "Look, let me take you to the station...You can spend the night there, I can call your parents, and we can all talk in the morning..."

Keagan seemed to understand that he wasn't going to get anything better so he just shrugged. "Dickie, Liz, c'mon, we're taking a little drive."

&&& && && && && && &&

When Elliot got to the station, he told Dickie and Elizabeth to stay in the car. He took Keagan into the room where he had spent too many sleepless nights when Kathy first left him, and told him that he had to call his parents. Keagan just shrugged.

Elliot told Finn and John, who were working all night on another case, to watch over Keagan, and then went to call the boy's parents.

It was around midnight, by then, so when Ms. Harrison answered, she was not happy.

"Ms. Harrison, I just wanted to tell you that Keagan is at our station, safe...He ran away, but we have him when you would like to come pick him up."

"The little fucker can stay there if he wants to pull this shit."

"Well are you still coming to identify the body tomorrow?"

"What? Yes, fine."

Elliot decided to take the opportunity to ask about Kayla's close friends. "Ms. Harrison, once last questions...Can you name off some of Kayla's friends that she goes to school with?"

"Uh..fine. Adam Brooks...Jeremy Zeffler...Angel Chambers...Steven Carr...Liz White..."

And then she hung up.

Elliot went back to Keagan.

"Look umm...Well, I'm sure your parents will come get you tomorrow. We'll talk in the morning, okay? Just get a good night's sleep...I know today has been hard for you..."

"Don't lie to me. They said to leave me here. Detective...They're going to kick me out, just like Kayla. They will do the same thing to Kevin and Kyle. Don't let them," Keagan said sleepily before he turned over and was soon asleep.