Blood Deep

Chapter Eight

Melinda Warner's Office

Morgue

One Police Plaza

9:00 AM Wednesday, December 13

Roxanna and Cragen walked into the morgue and beheld the dead body of Kyle Morton. Melinda came out of her office.

"Morning Captain," she greeted. "Roxanna. How's Casey?"

"At this point, she's stable," Cragen explained.

"What about the baby?" Melinda asked.

"They don't know anything for sure yet," he sighed. "But she would appreciate it if we help her sister out, so what have you got?"

Melinda grabbed the file.

"Well, Maggie certainly has a damn good swing," she mentioned.

"Yeah, that obviously runs in the family," Cragen chuckled.

"And the good news is that the most she did to him was give him a goose egg of a knot, and," she paused to lift the blanket on the lower half of Kyle's body. "A swollen testicle."

Roxanna grimaced and Cragen looked away.

"Ouch," he sighed. "Okay, if she didn't kill him, then what did?"

"A massive heart attack," Melinda explained. "There was swelling in the brain from lack of oxygen, petichial hemorrhaging, and when I cut him open, I found seventy five percent blockage in his coronary arteries. So, he must've had the heart attack after he went down. If he hadn't, you would've been able to arrest him."

"Thanks, Melinda," Cragen said. "I can give Maggie some good news."

"Was he related to Maggie?" Melinda asked.

"She says he wasn't, but I think she's lying," Cragen said.

"Well, I have his personal belongings," she said. "Here you go. I'll file the report today."

"Thank you," Cragen said as he took the evidence bag.

He and Roxanna walked out of the office.

"Do you think Kyle Morton is connected to the rape/homicides?" Roxanna asked.

"I doubt it," Cragen said. "It's outside of his comfort zone."

"True, but there are cops patrolling Yonkers as we speak," she explained. "Is Maggie Irish?"

"Yes, but from Northeast Yonkers to the middle of the city?" Cragen asked. "I think she's hiding something, but I think it's separate from the rape/homicides."

They got into the car and headed back to the stationhouse.

St. Catherine's Hospital

Room 406

10:03 AM

Maggie woke up and she looked around the room.

John wasn't around, and she sat up and looked upon her sister. Casey was still sleeping heavily, and Maggie stood up and went into the bathroom to grab the washcloth. Casey was sweaty, and her hair was plastered on her neck and forehead.

Maggie pushed Casey's hair aside and then wiped the sweat from her neck and chest. Casey woke up a bit and looked around.

"Go back to sleep," Maggie whispered.

"Maggie," Casey said faintly.

"Shh," Maggie said. "You need to rest. But your fever is breaking."

"Where's John?" Casey asked.

"He stepped out," Maggie explained. "You're going to be alright, Sister."

Casey sighed and closed her eyes.

"I keep having these nightmares," she cried. "They're awful, Maggie."

"It's just because of the fever," Maggie said softly. "Just try and sleep, Sister. You're going to get better."

John was outside of Casey's room waiting for a doctor to come and explain what was going on with her. He'd already been waiting for twenty minutes, and now he was getting impatient.

Finally, a young man approached him.

"Are you John Munch?"

"Yes," John said.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Victor Morales."

The men shook hands.

"Well, I have a bit of good news," Dr. Morales said. "The baby is doing fine."

John nodded. "Thank God. So, what's going on with her? What about the seizures?"

"We're still waiting on her blood work…" Dr. Morales explained. "Our lab is backed up…we should know within the next twenty four to forty eight hours what she has."

"What about her being delirious?" John asked. "She keeps having nightmares…"

"Were going to keep an eye on the fever and the delirium," Dr. Morales said. "And-"

"Somebody help!" Maggie screamed as she came out of Casey's room.

Dr. Morales and some nurses went into Casey's room.

"She's seizing," a nurse said.

Maggie was crying and she hugged John.

"Go get Dr. Reid stat!" Dr. Morales said. "Tell him we need a dose of Ativan!"

Casey stopped seizing and she began to roll her head slowly from side to side, mumbling incoherently.

"Casey?" Dr. Morales said as he flashed a penlight into her eyes. "Casey?"

"Unh," she mumbled. "My baby…"

"The baby's just fine," Dr. Morales said.

"No…he took my baby," Casey mumbled. "They took my baby…"

"She's delirious," a nurse reported.

"It hurt…" Casey babbled on. "There was nothing but blood and it was gone…"

Dr. Reid came in to administer a dose of Ativan.

Casey began to mumble incoherently as she calmed considerably.

A nurse furrowed her eyebrows at what she happened to see at the nape of Casey's neck.

"Um, doctor," she said curiously. "You might want to take a look at this…"

"What?" Dr. Morales said as he took a look with his penlight. "What the hell? Is that what I think it is?"

1-6 Precinct

SVU Squad Room

10:33 AM

Elliot replaced the phone on the base and stood up.

"That was Munch," Elliot reported when Cragen came out of his office.

"How's Case?" Fin asked.

"Not good," Elliot sighed. "She had another seizure and she's completely out of it."

Cragen shook his head.

"Well, we know that John is going to be out with her," Cragen sighed. "Maggie is in the clear. Kyle Morton died of a massive heart attack, but I think Maggie is hiding something. Kyle Morton had Casey's address in his wallet."

"I had no idea Casey had a sister," Elliot said. "She never talked about her family…not even to Liv, and they're pretty close. So, why did her sister come to Manhattan anyway?"

"That I'm not sure of, but I'm going to do some background on this Kyle Morton," Cragen said. "I want to know how he got a hold of Casey's address."

"You think this is connected to the murders in Yonkers?" Fin asked.

Cragen sighed.

"Maybe, maybe not," he admitted. "I should have considered that possibility, Roxanna. I'm sorry."

She nodded.

"I'm going to contact some people, and the three of you keep tracking any leads on the rapes," Cragen commanded. "Fin, would you like a temp?"

"Nah, I got it Cap," Fin said nonchalantly. "You know, I never thought I'd say this, but…Munch is really the only partner I've worked well with."

"Touching," Cragen grinned.

Cragen went into his office and picked up the phone.

He dialed Justice William Novak's number. There wasn't any answer and Cragen replaced the phone on the receiver.

St. Catherine's Hospital

Room 406

11:00 AM

Casey's eyes were glassy, and she was fighting sleep, even though she was sedated.

Olivia stood up and took Casey's hand in hers.

"Casey, stop fighting it," Olivia insisted softly. "The doctor said to get some rest. I promise you that we'll be here when you wake up. You're not missing anything."

"I need some water," Casey said in barely above a whisper.

Olivia went over to the tray and poured Casey some water then handed it to her. Casey sat up a little and took it gratefully. She drank down the water then Olivia took the cup. Casey laid back down and sighed.

"Try to sleep," Olivia advised.

"Where's John and Maggie?" Casey asked.

Olivia covered up her ailing friend. "John took Maggie back to your place. I told them to go and get freshened up and eat."

Casey nodded weakly.

"I can't lose the baby, Olivia," she cried. "It's me. I'm causing this."

"Honey, it's not you," Olivia said. "And you won't lose the baby. You're strong."

"Liv, you don't have to be here," Casey said. "You need to be resting too."

"I am fine," Olivia insisted with a grin. "But not for lack of trying. I'm being defiant, and here you are sick and all you did was get pregnant."

Casey chuckled a bit.

"The doctor said that it might be the baby," she said tiredly. "I was reading this article thing about pregnancy…it said that sometimes the baby will turn on your body."

"Well, that's good to know, but I don't plan on having any babies any time soon," Olivia smiled. "Especially with a bum ovary and one already taken out."

"You can still have babies," Casey said as her eyes became heavy. "You'll be a pretty pregnant woman."

"Thank you," Olivia said with a smile. "Go to sleep."

"No, I can't," Casey sniffled. "The doctor says I'm delirious…I keep dreaming these awful things…"

"Well, at least your fever is going down," Olivia said optimistically. "You're exhausted."

After a few more minutes of Casey stubbornly trying to stay awake, she finally drifted off to sleep.

Olivia sighed and picked up the magazine and flipped through it. Her cell phone vibrated in her purse, and she leaned over to pick up.

"Benson," Olivia answered.

"Hey baby," Elliot said.

"Hi," Olivia said with a smile. "You must not be working that hard today."

"Roxanna and I split up," he sighed. "This case is going cold. Without a suspect, I don't know what we're going to do. It sucks. How's Casey?"

"Um, well, her fever is going down, and she finally got back to sleep," Olivia said. "She's really worried about the baby."

"I know," he sighed. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," she grinned. "And before you ask, I'm sitting down."

"Good," he chuckled. "Just…don't forget to take care of yourself."

"I won't," she sighed. "I feel so bad that this is happening to Casey. What about her sister's case?"

"Maggie's cleared," he reported. "The guy had a massive heart attack."

"Hope he rots in hell," Olivia said. "Did you call John yet?"

"No, Fin's going to call him," he said. "I'll come by to see Casey later, okay?"

"Okay," she said. "I love you."

"I love you too," he said. "I'll see you later, bye."

"Bye," Olivia said quietly before she hung up.

"Did I ever mention just how cute you two really are?" Casey said quietly.

Her voice made Olivia jump a little.

"Case, I thought you were asleep?"

"I drift in and out," Casey sighed. "Good thing you two weren't talking dirty or anything."

Olivia chuckled.

"I'm not a saucy sex kitten like you," Olivia said.

Casey furrowed her eyebrows and began to cry. "Please," she began tearfully. "Don't say things like that about me…"

Olivia furrowed her eyebrows. "What's the matter?"

"I just…" Casey sniffled. "I made my relationship with John completely about sex, and I feel so…dirty thinking about it now."

"Honey, that is not true," Olivia said softly. "You and John are the most loving couple I've ever known…and just you two have sex often doesn't make you dirty. It's nothing to be ashamed of…you've never been ashamed before."

Casey wiped her tears.

"When I get over this," she began. "Me and you…we should get a room at the Four Seasons, go to the spa, and get pampered for a whole weekend."

Olivia laughed. "That sounds really good. Although I'd much rather hit the gym and get rid of this flab. Being pampered too much is the problem."

"Your flab is nothing compared to the one I'm going to have for the next six months or so," Casey said tiredly. "God, I wish I can just kick this…what's going on with my sister?"

Olivia sighed. "Well, someone broke into your house."

"What?"

"I don't want you to stress yourself," Olivia said. "Maggie's fine…she defended herself, she's fine."

Casey nodded and swallowed thickly. "Can I have some more water, please?"

"Sure honey," Olivia said in a motherly tone as she got up and poured Casey some water.

She handed Casey the cup and she drank slowly.

"Thanks," she said.

"Try to go back to sleep," Olivia said.

Casey nodded and sighed as she closed her eyes.