The moment Liv leaves the squad room Fin phones Rollins. She's quick to pick up, "Fin, we may have something. CCTV from the bodega across the street shows Alex entering his apartment building around the time Barba said he did. Barba exits a few minutes later- and from what we can tell Alex doesn't leave before him".
Fin breathes a sigh of relief- they would need more than that to overcome the forensics but it at least set his mind at ease. He'd been right- Barba wasn't capable of this. "Good. Send those tapes this way. Then I need you two to head out to Rikers. If Yelena had proof of Alex's abuse we need to find it. I need you to find out if Barba knows what it was."
Rollins agrees to drive out there and Fin clicks off. He spins to find that O'Dwyer has been eavesdropping on the conversation, "Working for the defense now, Detective?"
"Just trying to find out what happened in that apartment, Counsilor."
As he settles in to brief O'Dwyer- it briefly crosses his mind that he never thought he'd wish for Barba back- but he certainly does now.
Carisi and Rollins look on slightly shocked, as Barba shuffles up to the visitation window at Rikers. His arm in a sling- his face still badly swollen- he does not look happy to see them. Carisi can't help the whispered, "Jesus!" That escapes his lips.
Barba sits and, reluctantly, picks up the phone. Rollins is the first to speak, her tone soft, concerned, "How you doin'?"
"I've been better" he locks eyes with her, dejected. She looks to Carisi, who is looking anywhere but at Barba. Barba is getting annoyed. "I'm assuming you didn't just come to see for yourself? You have a grander purpose, I hope?"
Amanda looks back to him, finally getting down to business, "You said Yelena had proof that Alex was being violent with the girls? Any idea what it was? Where it was?"
Barba shakes his head, "She didn't say." He thinks back to that conversation- racking his brain. "She did say she 'recorded' evidence. So it must be a tape, a video? Did you search the apartment?"
Carisi finally finds his voice, "CSU is combing through everything now- but so far nothing stood out. Can you think of anyone else who might know where it would be?"
Frustrated, Barba shakes his head again. Rollins jumps in, "We could try questioning the girls."
"No" Barba immediately interjects, "Those girls just lost their mother."
"And if we don't figure this out, they'll be living with the man that killed her." Rollins looks at him pointedly.
"Try to find whatever she recorded first. Please." Rollins nods- both she and Carisi move to hang up but Barba's voice draws them back, "Detectives? Thanks." They both return a sad nod before the three of them hang up their phones.
Olivia arrives back at the precinct late in the evening- after Noah has gone to bed and she's sure O'Dwyer has gone home. Unlike Barba, he wasn't one to hang around after hours to find the missing pieces. She comes under the guise of bringing takeout. Fin shoots her a disapproving look but doesn't throw her out. If not for the current situation, he would find it funny that by-the-book Barba ended up with a woman who will so quickly throw out the rule book in search of the truth. But then again, that's what made them a good team. She at least tried to follow the rules for him and she was the only person on the planet that he'd actually bend rules for.
The team is looking over photos of the crime scene- taking in every detail to make sure nothing's been missed. Amanda informs Liv that Barba thinks Yelena's evidence is either an audio or video recording. As the team passes around the takeout- Liv glances over the photos of the living room where the crime took place.
Finally, something catches her eye. She looks to Carisi- who's closest and points at the photo, "What's this? Did CSU bag this?"
Carisi looks perplexed. "It's a teddy bear, Lieutenant."
A grin comes to Liv's face, "On a shelf? In an otherwise prestine apartment?"
Rollins and Fin make their way over to look. As soon as Rollins spots what Liv's referring to she gasps, "Holy shit!" Fin and Carisi are still confused. "It's a nanny cam."
