Author's Notes: "Have yourself a merry little Christmas." *singing* Shit. I really hate the holidays. Work piles up for me like nobody's business! It sucks! But oh well. Here it is the next chapter. Lookie at that! I'm freaking amazing..not really. I haven't written in a while so thank god this one was all ready done and just waiting to be posted. God I'm a lazy ass. Work has eaten my soul again now that I'm back out in the field. And they're promoting me so things are even more insane for me. So uh yeah just leave me some good comments and all that jazz. If you're too lazy then whatever. I'm feeling sort of lazy myself so I understand. Yeah nothing else for me to say other than onward to the fic!
Manhattan SVU Bullpen
1:19 PM
"Our victim is a twenty two year old graduate student at Hudson University named Jessica Maloney. She claims she was raped after leaving a club in Soho named Scandals. She said she was there partying with Senator Adams son Michael and that he's the one that did this. We haven't been able to confirm or deny the account just yet." Olivia explained to the bullpen as well as their Captain.
"Have you and Cabot been over to Scandals yet?"
"We went earlier sir but there was no one there yet. We're going back at 3 to see if someone is there preparing for the night." Alex piped up from her place sitting on Olivia's desk which was closest to the large screen they were using instead of a good old fashioned white board. Alex wasn't quite sure which she preferred.
"Stay on top of it. Take pictures of our victim and our suspect. See if either of them were there and if they left around the same time." Cragen commanded.
"Yes sir." Olivia spoke with a smile.
"What did you guys get at the crime scene?" Cragen turned to look at Fin and Rollins.
"Not much Captain. It was a back alley and while there was sign of a struggle it doesn't look like our perp left anything behind. Though the lab did find a bit of leather they're trying to analyze it." Fin explained.
"They think since it was cold that night that perhaps it came from gloves our perp wore but we're not certain." Rollins added.
"Vic's records are clean. She's only had a parking ticket." Munch answered.
Amaro nodded, "She got into trouble on campus once for some under aged drinking but nothing from them either."
"All right so our next move is to find out if Senator Adams son was actually at the club and if they had an interaction. Cabot, Benson you two get over there and see if there is anyone there now. Then we'll go from there. Just be discrete. We don't want to kick up any more dust than we have to right now." Cragen commanded.
"It must be your skin I'm sinking in, must be for real cause now I can feel." The lyrics washed over the passengers in the sedan as they drove down to Soho to go to the club they had been at earlier. Alex was sitting in the passenger seat just like before allowing Olivia to drive as she sang along quietly with the lyrics of the song. It was some rock ballad Olivia didn't recognize making her feel old yet again. She wasn't sure what to make of that feeling. She spared a glance at Alex who was wearing a pair of sunglasses now instead of going without.
"Don't let the days go by. Glycerine." Alex tapped her head slightly in beat with the steady chords of the guitar. She didn't even spare a glance at her new partner as they drove though she was pleased with the easy way they'd began to interact after the visit to the hospital. She didn't want to jinx it though by thinking everything was all right between them and then get blindsided by something.
When they pulled up on the curb, Olivia reached out placing the sign that said police vehicle on it and then threw the car in park. The club was a pretty old building that looked small from the road but stretched back quite a ways. It was a large brick building with pretty stone work leading up to it. It was a strange club if Alex thought about the clubs she'd been in. The building really looked like an old turn of the century dress shop or something instead of a club.
She walked up to the front door with Olivia and knocked waiting to see what happened. She glanced up and silently shifted her weight so she barely brushed Olivia's shoulder. When the brunette was looking at her she turned her eyes up so Olivia would know to casually glance up. The brunette waited a few moments before doing so seeing a small hidden camera lens focused on them. That was perfect if it was real and running during club hours. That would definitely tell them if their vic or their suspect left together or right after one another.
Olivia glanced up again when no one came to the door before making her decision. She unclipped her badge and held it up to the camera. "NYPD Open the door!" She spoke loudly, clearly and waited a few seconds before the door finally opened and a young man answered. He was maybe in his twenties and looked more like a body builder than anything. He was bald with a goatee and dark eyes. "How can I help you Detectives?"
"This is a private matter we should probably discuss inside." Olivia answered taking the lead.
Alex remained passive at her side as the man glanced over at her running his eyes quickly over her frame. Normally it would've bothered her to be eyed like that but she thought it might work to their advantage if the man found her attractive. With some subtle flirting she may have been able to get what they needed from him. She didn't notice during his scrutiny that Olivia was sizing him up trying to determine the best course of action. This was the first time Olivia questioned a potential witness with her new partner and she was curious to see how this would play out.
"Of course." The man gave a charming smile and pulled the door wider allowing them to pass through. He shot Alex a wide straight white smile as she passed him. He led them down the hallway which was admittedly small and narrow but quickly turned into a large open room with a gunmetal colored steel bar on one end. Tables and booths done in the same steel of the bar with red leather cushions littered the corners and a bit out and a large concrete dance floor made up the middle. Various colored lights hung from large bars in the ceiling along with a large mirror ball that would hang in the very middle of the dance floor. "I'm taking liquor counts now so I can speak to you while I'm doing that." The man walked behind the bar and lifted his pen and a bottle of Bombay Sapphire Gin eyeing it before writing on the piece of paper in front of him.
"Well we really need to ask you about Saturday night...Mr…." Olivia began. The man set the bottle back in the steel well and turned to face the two Detectives.
"Forgive my manners, my name is Jordan." He introduced smiling at Alex who didn't respond to the flirt. Finally he added, "It was a typical night. I was here all night along with two other bartenders, the DJ and our bouncers." He shrugged deciding to forego flirting with the blonde for the moment and pulled out a bottle of Tequila, Olivia could tell by the bottle that it was Patron. They obviously served rather expensive liquors here. It was not surprising then that it was the hangout for a Senator's son.
"Did you see or hear any sort of verbal altercations? Or did your bouncers have to take care of anything?" Olivia questioned.
Jordan frowned seeming to think before he shook his head. "No, not that I can remember."
"Do you recognize this man?" Alex asked shifting and holding out a picture of their suspect.
"Yes that's Michael Adams. Comes in here every Saturday, tips well too though he favors the ladies more than the men."
"Did he have any contact with this woman that you remember? Maybe he left with her?" Olivia asked picking up where her partner had left off. She held out a photo and Jordan studied it closely then shook his head.
"Not that I saw."
"Did he have a bar tab or anything?" Alex asked casually leaning slightly on the bar to seem more at ease.
"He did. I can pull the credit card receipt for you if you like."
"We'll be needing that and a copy of the video your camera outside took that night."
Jordan shook his head, "It doesn't record. It only lets us see what's going on outside and whether we need backup or anything. We have a screen behind the bar and one in the office. In case our bosses need to send a bouncer over or if we see something strange."
Olivia frowned at that, 'Well is there any way we can speak to your boss and the other employees who were here that night?"
"Sure but we were slammed so I don't know that they'll be much help. Let me go to the office and I'll get their numbers for you."
"Well that was a bust. I was hoping we had the bastard." Olivia muttered when they left with a full sheet of paper with every employee who was working that night's number.
"It wasn't all bad. We did get the credit card receipt." Alex pointed out as she slid into the passenger's seat.
"Yes but now we've got to track these people down and see if anyone saw anything." Olivia sighed, "It's going to be a long few days."
"It'll be fine. We'll get through it quick and if we don't have anyone that can place them together then we'll just have to go to the suspect and pretend like we do to get a DNA sample to either convict or clear him." Alex spoke as soon as Olivia closed the driver's side door and put the key in the ignition. She listened to the purr of the engine and the low music she'd cut on. "Do you mind me listening to more music on the way back?"
"You've done it the whole time we've been partners." Olivia pointed out still a bit grumpy.
"Gee you don't have to sound so excited you old geezer." Alex said playfully trying to get Olivia to smile.
All it got her instead was an angry look and a harrumph from Olivia.
"I'm just playing. You're not that old. You just don't like the same music I do. That's all. "Alex tried to make Olivia feel better deciding to lay off the jokes about their age difference.
"You kids today just don't know good music."
"Now if that's not an old person's comment I don't know what is."
Olivia rolled her eyes, "I'm not that old!"
"That old she says. You're right you're not that old. I just like to tease you." Alex smiled at her. "Besides if you're in the car with me enough you may pick up on some "good music"" She used air quotes on the words good music.
Olivia smiled at her and shook her head, "I'll show you good music isn't that racket you put on."
"That racket is quality music!"
The two argued playfully the entire way back to the station. Olivia found herself feeling lighter than she had in years. Alex really was good for making her lighten up, she mused. She couldn't keep the smile off her face as they went back and forth at each other and she couldn't help but notice the way Alex's eyes lit up as they spoke or the way her smile seemed to make her radiate sunshine as strange as that was to say. When she smiled, she just seemed to glow. It was beautiful and made her honestly look twice at Alex in a way a partner shouldn't do. She shook her head pulling herself from those thoughts. Not only were they impossible, she was pretty sure the woman sitting across from her was totally straight. She'd not given any indication that she may even have a slight curiosity about females in that sense. Get it out of your head Benson, it's never going to happen. Just be her partner and nothing more. She ignored the small voice in her head that reminded her of just how beautiful she had looked with the sunlight making her hair glisten or the beautiful smile that lit up her entire face.
