Chapter 10!
...
(SUNDAY) MARCH 29TH 2:37 PM
SVU STATION
"Where were you." Olivia asked upon Rhya and Carisi's arrival.
Rhya swallowed. "We're on to something, Olivia. Three years ago, Jose and Maria reported Dulce for child abuse. We have three witnesses to this."
"I thought I told you not to."
"Olivia," Carisi said. "I understand that you want to trust Dulce but clearly we can't."
The Lieutenant sighed, stuffing her hands in her pockets. "The test results came back in…"
"What-what did you find?" Rhya wondered why Olivia seemed so sullen.
She chuckled. "Nothing…absolutely nothing…" She continued, filling the silence. "Dulce never specified what he'd done. Maybe he just touched the kid…maybe he is abusive…"
"Olivia…"
"You were right when you said Cara was the victim, not Dulce. So, I'm willing to look into this some more. Do you two have some sort of plan?"
Carisi scratched at his neck. "She…uh flirted with me before. I think she likes me. I could…talk to her. Get her to trust me."
"So that's why you had her phone number?" Rhya asked. He raised his eyebrows.
"Okay, good. Pretend we're still investigating Jose. Call her and say you're coming over to give an update."
"And after the update…what do I do?"
"We're trying to prove she's abusive. If you see anything suspicious, remember it. We need anything that implies abuse."
"Okay. Got it."
(MONDAY) MARCH 30TH 7:23 AM
D.A.'S OFFICE
"Hi Barba." Rhya said as she entered the D.A.'s office.
He immediately dropped his pen to look at her. "Rhya."
"We have a new case for you," She began.
"What happened?"
"Well, there's this girl, Cara, and her mother reported her grandfather for sexual abuse."
He nodded. "Is that all?"
"Nope…"
…
"So…Olivia is on board with this?"
"She's a bit skeptical but willing to look into it further."
"You know…Dulce is funny…" He chuckled.
"What do you mean?"
"It's ironic."
Rhya sat in front of his deck, intrigued. "How? What does it mean?"
"In Spanish it means sweet." He murmured, smiling at her with his eyes.
"That's funny…say something in Spanish." She grinned.
He grinned back. "Tienes una sonrisa hermosa…"
"What does that mean?"
"It means your hair is black."
Rhya frowned. "Really? It doesn't sound like that…"
He coughed. "It doesn't…sound like that…?"
"Sometimes with language you can feel the meaning behind it…you know?"
He blinked. "Well, that's what it means."
"You have a beautiful smile." She said, looking him dead in the eye. He froze, saying nothing. "I remember a little bit from high school Spanish."
He groaned.
"You have been outsmarted!" She cried, throwing up her hands as he shook his head at her. "So, Rafael, can you work with this?
"Sure, I'll have to pull an all-nighter, maybe."
"Why?"
"I had to leave early because a certain someone needed company."
She giggled. "You asked me to go out. Not the other way around."
He rolled his eyes.
"How about we make up Saturday's cancelled date?"
"Date?" He asked, his eyes wide.
She ignored him. "Tonight. In…" She looked at her watch. "Approximately 12 hours. I could meet you here?"
"I have work, Rhya. Remember…my all-nighter?"
"Oh…yeah…right…" She frowned. "I'll get more evidence for you then."
He grabbed her arm as she got up to leave. "Wait, Rhya."
"Yeah?"
"Did you say date?"
"Rafael."
"Okay, okay!" He laughed. "How about Wednesday? 9 PM?"
She smirked at him. "Is it a date?"
"Yeah…"
Rhya felt the heat rising up her neck. The excitement rushing up her spine. "Oh…alright…I'll see you then, Barba."
"Bye Rhya."
"Bye."
(TUESDAY) MARCH 31st 3:00 PM
MARQUINA [DULCE] RESIDENCE
Carisi gulped audibly before knocking on Dulce's door. He could feel people staring at him from their windows. He had no business here, a white cop in a Latino neighborhood.
It was the second day he was coming back and he still felt incredibly uncomfortable. Last time, Cara hadn't been home. Dulce said the girl was at a friend's house. Nothing much came out of that visit except Dulce trying to get Carisi to kiss her.
And now he was here for the second day.
The door opened. Dulce smiled wickedly when she saw him. "Hi there…"
"Uh…hello. May I come in?"
She nodded. "Of course." She swayed as she moved to the side.
Dang it, she was drunk.
Inside the home, Carisi sat at his designated chair. Cara ran from the kitchen where she had been grabbing a treat. She cowered in the hallway because she wasn't supposed to be there when Officer Carisi came to visit.
"So Dommie…are you going spend the night this time?"
"Aw, come on, Dulce. You know I'm not." He chuckled nervously.
She pouted. "Why not? You never spend the night. You have a girlfriend, don't you?"
"Dulce I—"
"Don't lie…" She whispered.
"Dulce—"
"Do not lie to me!" She shrieked. She fell into a chair across from him. "If you didn't have a girlfriend…you'd spend the night…"
"Alright, Dulce, I think I'm going to leave now. I'll see you tomorrow."
"If you don't stay here, I am going to get very angry…" She slurred, gripping the table.
Carisi looked behind the woman. Cara was still in the hallway, scared because they both knew what her mother could do.
Carisi sat back down. "Okay, Dulce. I'll stay."
After some time of Dulce just touching his hand and smiling at him, she sat up abruptly. "Cara!"
The small girl came immediately. "Yes mamá?"
"Get me a pack of cigarettes."
Carisi tried to intervene. "Hey, come on, Dulce. I can get them for you—"
"No! Cara get my damn cigarettes!"
Cara raced to the counter, picking up the box there. "H-here mamá." But the poor girl was shaking so hard the cigarettes fell out of her hands.
"Que idiota!" Dulce stood up in her drunken haze. "Pick it up!"
"Dulce." Carisi got up, trying to deescalate the situation.
As the little girl bent to pick up the cigarettes, Dulce pushed her. "Idiot!" The girl screamed as she fell backward and her head hit the edge of the counter. She was unconscious by the time she hit the floor.
"What is wrong with you?!" Carisi grabbed Dulce and slammed her against the table, handcuffing her.
"Hey…what's the deal? Why are you arresting me?"
He left Dulce on the table and ran to Cara. Fortunately, her mother was too drunk to move. "I'm so sorry Cara…" He murmured as he picked up the unconscious girl. He called in for back up.
(TUESDAY) MARCH 31st 4:02 PM
SVU STATION
Olivia frowned. "She hasn't said a word since we arrested her."
"Seriously? Is she waiting for an attorney?" Rhya asked.
"Nope," Carisi said. "She just won't say a word. I'll try and get her to talk again."
Dulce glared at him as he entered the interrogation room. "You betrayed me!"
"You betrayed your daughter when you pushed her into a counter!" He shouted.
Rhya looked at Olivia who was expressionless. "I would like to apologize." She said. "For being so adamant about Dulce. I trust my victims very easily but I forgot that Dulce wasn't the victim in this scenario."
Rhya smiled. "It's fine. I get it."
"Mm…"
"I'm going to check up on Cara, see if she's okay."
(TUESDAY) MARCH 31st 4:26 PM
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
"Where is Cara Marquina?" Rhya asked the receptionist.
"Who are you?"
"Rhya Mace, NYPD." She showed her badge.
The man pointed down the hall.
When Rhya got to the room, the doctor was already there. "We're only admitting family right now." He said.
"Her mother is the one who did this to her. I'm police."
"Does she have any other close family?"
"Yeah…actually…she does."
...
"Hi guys. Are you alright?"
Maria's large eyes blinked at her. "Are we alright? What about my baby? You said you were going to protect her!"
Jose touched his wife's arm. "What happened? Tell us!"
"Dulce was trying to get you arrested for sexual abuse, Jose."
The man faltered. "Wh-what? I would never! By Dios, I love my children, I would never—"
"Is this why you were at my house before? Because you thought he did it?" Maria interrupted.
"Wait…when were you at my house?" Jose asked.
Rhya continued. "Then, we found out what Dulce did to Cara."
Maria blinked. "She did it again…didn't she?"
"Dulce pushed Cara and she hit her head on the counter."
"Ayy!" Maria grimaced as if she was in pain. "How could she do this? Her own baby!"
"Please," Jose begged. "Let us see our granddarling."
…..
"My baby…" Maria rushed to Cara's side, clutching her hands.
"Is this the family you were talking about?" The doctor whispered to Rhya. He seemed a little alarmed.
"Yes. They're her grandparents." She murmured.
"Okay, do you mind leaving? It's still family only."
Rhya nodded and left, looking from the window. She watched as Cara woke up. The girl was somewhat disoriented but as soon as she realized her grandparents were there, she visibly brightened. Maria and Jose kept hugging and kissing her, much to the doctor's chagrin.
Rhya smiled.
…
(WEDNESDAY) APRIL 1st 3:29 PM
COURT HOUSE MEETING ROOM
Rafael strategically eyed Dulce and her lawyer. The woman looked tired but inwardly furious. Her public defense attorney, Jacob McAdams, seemed overwhelmed and unprepared for this case.
Barba knew he had a lot of leverage here.
The defense attorney spoke first. "Dulce has some news she would like to share."
"News?" Barba inquired.
She stared at him disdainfully. "I don't want the kid anymore."
"So, you want to relinquish parental rights?"
"Yeah, I guess. All I know is that I can't take care of her anymore."
Rafael nodded. "Alright, I'll draw up the contracts as soon as possible."
Jacob wagged his finger. "But, there is one condition."
"You can't give her to my parents." Dulce said.
"Why? They're willing, capable, and loving."
"Yeah, "loving" sure. Listen, I don't want to be her momma but they sure as hell can't either."
Barba shook his head. "Mmm…no, I'm not agreeing to that. Plead guilty to criminal negligence and relinquish parental rights to your parents. That's the deal."
"No! They will not have her!"
Rafael raised an eyebrow. "Fine, but if you don't take it, we go to court. Charges are child abuse, assault, negligence and maybe I'll throw in attempted murder for pushing her head into a counter." He shrugged as if it made no difference to him.
"What? You can't let him do that!" Dulce cried, turning to her lawyer.
The man looked incredibly flustered. "B-Barba, come on—attempted murder?"
"I have enough evidence to do it. But, even if the jury throws out that accusation, you'll still have a lot of jail time to look forward to."
Dulce growled. "Okay…God…they can take her…I didn't try to kill the brat. But fine, you win!"
"And just so we're clear," McAdams said. "The charge is just going to be criminal negligence."
"Yep," Barba nodded.
"Okay, you got yourself a deal."
"Good."
...
:)
Hopefully, the next update will be shorter. I got kind of busy with school.