Olivia could feel her chest tightening. She had been so distracted by the discovery of Charlee that she hadn't really dealt with her near miss at Hudson. Now that the captain was asking for the details, she knew she couldn't do what her psyche insisted she do, blow the attack off as nothing. Doing so would leave her partner open for a citation on his jacket for excessive force or worse. No, she'd have to be honest.
"Captain, Elliot just did what he had to do to protect me." Good, one sentence out, maybe he'll just take that and move on.
"Oh yeah, do tell, because the perp is looking a bit more worse for wear than you are right now, detective." He said it sternly, but she could still see the kindness in the older mans eyes. She knew he'd take her side and stand up for his detectives when he heard the details. Details. How was she going to explain what she was doing wandering around Hudson and why her partner was stalking her? Maybe she'd just leave those particular details out.
"I was walking back to the subway steps, right off the Hudson campus, when I felt someone watching me, it wasn't two seconds later that the guy was on top of me, cap. He attacked me from behind. I got my gun out, but he was able to pry it from my hand and he hit me, hard, in the back of my head." Her hand absentmindedly went to the large knot that still graced the back of her head. She could feel the bloody scab through her hair with her fingertips.
Elliot sat, listening, he had missed seeing her being hit with the gun. He was silently kicking himself for not insisting she go to the hospital.
"After the hit, I couldn't move for a minute. My vision was in and out."
Shit, she had a concussion, Elliot thought listening to his partner tell her story.
"He flipped me over on my back and put his knee in my abdomen." She lifted her shirt up a few inches, just enough to reveal the deep purple bruise to her captain who visibly flinched. The minute long encounter had been more violent on his detective then he initially thought. He steeled himself for the rest of her story.
She drew a deep breath, she hadn't expected them, but tears formed in her eyes. She slammed her eyes shut, hoping to keep the tears from falling. She was fine.
"I couldn't take a deep enough breath to scream. He was laughing at me and I could feel his drool falling on my face. Before I knew what was happening, he was undoing my pants and forcing his hand inside." She was remembering things in hindsight that she barely noticed in the moment. "That's when Elliot showed up. He pushed him off me."
Out of words, she looked to Elliot who picked up where she left off.
"It was pure adrenaline, Sir. I got him off her, I think he landed on his arm wrong when I threw him down, probably when it broke. I just wasn't a detective for a second. I was just a guy that walked up on a close friend being assaulted. I just wanted him down for the count and I wasn't thinking of procedure when I did it. I may have gone a bit too far, but he would've raped her or even worse had I not walked up when I did."
Don nodded his head in agreement. He looked to Olivia, who was starring a hole into the tile floor.
"Olivia," he started, wanting her to look up, but only receiving a quiet, "yes" and no movement from his detective.
He sighed, "I'm going to put this into an official report. I need you to go to the hospital to have photos taken of your injuries and to document the head wound. I'll call ahead and let them know you're coming. We're going to make sure this bastard doesn't wiggle out of prosecution on this one. Elliot, I need you to find out as much information on this Nathan Roberson as you can. Get to it."
They both stood to leave, but the commanding officer stopped the female detective before she could make it through the door.
"Liv, one more thing, what were you doing at Hudson that time of night?"
She knew she didn't want to mention Charlee, not now anyway.
"I was just thinking about my mom, Don. Sometimes, when she's on my mind, I go out there. This time, I was lucky that Elliot was worried enough to follow me."
He nodded, silently, before adding, "You know if you ever need to talk, my door is open. Always." She gave him a slight nod and squeezed his hand tightly for a brief moment before walking away.
—
Nathan had been hostile to Charlee from day one, but today had been the worst she'd seen him. He was still angry about her not answering the phone the night before. He had been ordering her around all day, insisting now that she call him "Daddy" and not letting her out of his sight. When he demanded she sit on his lap, she gave him a firm "no" that was met with a backhand across her face, knocking the slight teen to the ground and immediately bruising her cheek and bloodying her nose.
She lay on the ground contemplating how she had underestimated her currently one armed assailant and for the first time she could remember, she wished her mom was home. She felt his boot nudge her back into reality, "That's what happens when you don't listen to your daddy. I'm done being lenient with you, girl. Now go clean yourself up and come back in here." She walked to the bathroom, remaining stoic until the door was locked behind her. She turned the water on full blast to block any noise she might make before crumbling to the floor, sobbing as silently as she could. She could hear the phone ringing over the loud water. The ringing made her think of the card buried in her pocket. She pulled it out and stared at Olivia's number, contemplating calling her, after all, this was her job. But, Olivia was so brave and strong, she didn't want to be the weak little sister that called for help at the first sign of trouble. She could handle this one armed bastard, she was sucker punched, that's all, no one could have withstood it any better than she did. No, she'd keep this to herself. She tucked her sisters card back in to her pocket. She washed her face and brushed her teeth to get the blood taste out of her mouth. An angry welp was extending from the center of her nose almost to her ear. She'd never been hit in the face before, it hurt worse than she imagined it would. She took a deep breath and timidly left the bathroom. He was waiting for her.
—
Olivia's time at the hospital had been quick. They offered a full rape kit, which she of course didn't need. The sexual assault nurse who was in charge of recording her wounds had given her a skeptical look when she denied needing the kit, but went ahead with the rest of the exam quickly and professionally before letting the detective go. She looked at her phone for the first time since she left the precinct to go to the hospital. Four missed calls from Elliot. She had breezed past him on her way out the door earlier, embarrassed by her display of emotions. She decided against calling him back and would just go see him at the office instead. She figured over the phone he'd just insist she go home, when really she wanted to know what he had found out about her attacker.
She entered the 1-6 and made her way to her desk, greeting her partner with a quiet, "hey."
He looked up from his computer screen, "Hey, how'd it go?"
"As good as being photographed half naked by a stranger could go, I suppose." It came out more sharply than intended, it showed on his face. She dulled her tone,
"I'm ok. How's it going here?" She asked, giving him an apologetic look.
"Well, Roberson, has a few priors. Namely, domestic battery on an ex. Neighbors heard her screaming and called it in. She told the uni's that showed up that the fight started when she confronted him about sleeping with her teenage daughter."
"Wait a minute," she interrupt, "where was this?"
"Out near two bridges. Why?" Elliot inquired.
"Why wasn't that our case?" Olivia was starting to see red, this man could've already been behind bars had they handled the case.
"Apparently, the officers on the scene misunderstood the age of the girl involved. By the time they got their ducks in row the woman had dropped the charges and was back with him. The girl denied the entire thing." He said, shaking his head, his skepticism evident.
"Son of a bitch. I wonder how many other girls and women this guy has gotten his hands on."
"I don't know, but I'm going out to two bridges tomorrow to talk to his ex." He said, throwing down the handful of mugshots he had of Roberson.
Olivia picked them up scanning the face of her almost rapist, "Two Bridges, huh? I better let Charlee know to keep an eye out. Does he still live out there?"
He shrugged, "His last known address is with his ex. No job or apartment on the books since."
"What about when they booked him the other day? No address then? Who bailed him out?" All good questions.
"He put his previous address. He was bailed out by an Ellie Joan Camp. Relationship is listed as 'girlfriend'."
"Another woman lined up for abuse. We'll need to find her tomorrow too."
"Step ahead of you, I called her apartment, no answer, so I tracked down her job. She works at a bar called, 'Visions', it's as classy as it sounds. The boss there said she just started a day job, doesn't know where, but that she'll be there by 5 tomorrow. Feel like a visit to the nudey bar, partner?" He nudged Her playfully.
"Oh you know it." She rolled her eyes and gave him a half smile.
A/N: I'm picking this story back up after several years. It looks like there may have been a peak in interest. I'm bound and determined to stick with it and finish the job this time! Thanks for the encouragement and support!