10
As he hurried back down to his car he toyed with the idea of calling his Captain then and there, but decided against it. He decided that first he would hurry to the meeting point she had gone to and make sure she wasn't there. He could still be worrying over nothing. He desperately hoped that was the case. Once again the traffic lights seemed to be conspiring against him, but this time he felt justified in using his portable siren and he ran every light, reaching the corner at record speed. He was under no disillusion that there wouldn't be certain members of the internal affairs department eager to come down on him like a ton of bricks if they found out, but at that point he couldn't care less. The only thing he cared about was ensuring Olivia was ok. The thought of something untoward happening to her, filled him with dread that knotted his stomach and made him feel as though he could barely breathe. As soon as he arrived he leapt out of the car and frantically scanned the area. There was absolutely no sign of her. He tried her phone again and there was still nothing. It was then that he called Cragen, the sinking feeling settling into the pit of his stomach.
The reaction of the unit had been fast. They had canvassed the area quickly and discovered several people had noticed her standing there about forty five minutes ago. She had stood out since the evening was bitterly cold and she was relatively scantily clad. A couple had said they had seen her leaving with a man and not looking too happy about it either. Unfortunately no one had been forthcoming with a useful description, as he had been wearing a hat and coat and no one had got a good look at his face. They had cordoned off the area and the crime scenes unit was hard at work hunting for any clue at all that could tell them who she was with. Elliot insisted that if she had left with this man, he must have coerced her somehow, more than likely with a threat to her physical safety. His first assumption was that this man was armed and that his intentions weren't good.
Cragen watched Elliot nervously as he questioned the guy in the kiosk over the road. His detective was on the edge of losing it completely. He'd rarely seen him so worked up. Not that he didn't understand some of what he must be feeling right now. He was worried sick over Olivia's disappearance himself. He had always cared for his former star detective, even though her unquestioning loyalty to her partner had sometimes caused him considerable grief.
"Elliot!" he barked, indicating for the younger man to leave the poor kiosk owner alone and come over to him. He watched as Elliot stomped over, obviously furious and ready to take it out on whoever got in his way. Cragen laid a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm his impulsive detective down a little.
"You have to stay focused," he said. "She needs you to stay calm."
"This is all your damn fault!" Elliot spat, thinking of the late meeting delaying his departure and the words escaping his lips before his common sense could intervene.
"Stabler, either get a grip or I'll have no choice but to send you home!" his Captain said more firmly this time. Stabler stared at him, incredulous. Could the man seriously believe that he would just obediently head off home while his partner, ex or not, was suffering goodness knows what at the hands of some lunatic. The fiery resolve burned deep within him as he forced himself to take a deep breath and try to at least pretend he wasn't on the verge of completely falling apart.
"There's nothing more we can do here," Cragen decided. We need to check out her apartment and check her phone records."
"We should also check on Harris," Elliot said through gritted teeth. It wasn't something he seriously wanted to consider. He could only imagine the impact on Olivia if it really was Harris who had got hold of her. The mere thought was devastating.
"Is she seeing anyone at the moment?" Cragen asked cautiously. He had his own suspicions about the nature of Elliot's feelings towards his ex-partner, but as far as he knew they weren't actually an official item and so it was a question that needed to be asked. The witnesses had said she had walked away with this man, so it was likely it was someone she knew. It was always possible that she had gone willingly, rather than being forced, despite what Elliot thought.
"No," Elliot replied. There was a sad quality to his voice which didn't escape Cragen's notice but he simply ignored it, filing it away for future reference.
"Do you know if she was having any trouble with anyone else – an ex, a friend, a neighbour?"
"Look, there's nothing OK! Don't you think I would have mentioned it? I'm not some idiot off the street, Captain. I get it OK."
"OK," Cragen nodded, ignoring once again Elliot's insolence. It was plain the man was distraught over the thought of anything having happened to her and his attitude was born from this, not disrespect.
"Let's head over to her apartment and see if anything turns up," Cragen suggested, allowing Elliot to lead to way to his car.
…
The search of her apartment didn't reveal much. The box of chocolates and the accompanying note were sent off to the lab for forensic analysis. The whole situation was extremely worrying to Cragen. It seemed Elliot was too caught up in things to really take on board the fact that it looked like they were dealing with a stalker. The note suggested that its author had been fully aware of her plans with Elliot that evening, which was alarming to say the least. He had a quick word in the ear of the head crime scenes unit detective, voicing his suspicions and leading to a thorough sweep of her apartment. To their horror they turned up three separate listening devices which had been planted: one linked to her phone and the other two placed in the living room and bedroom. The devices themselves were crude but highly effective. Morales informed them that the data was being uploaded digitally and could potentially have been accessed anywhere in the city. They removed the devices, hoping to find fingerprints or a clue as to where they had been purchased thanks to the serial numbers on such things.
Elliot had been bewildered by the discovery. He was seated at her dining table, his head in his hands, trying to process the confirmation that it was looking more and more likely that whoever had taken Olivia had been stalking her for some time. Cragen had ordered Fin and Munch to go and talk to Harris and had other detectives, who had been drafted in to help on this case, to go through the records of recent parole releases of anyone who might possibly be holding a grudge against her. Cragen himself decided to canvass the neighbours. Maybe someone had seen the stalker hanging around. He must have somehow entered her apartment to place the listening devices. He knew she was more safety conscious than your average Joe on the street, so it was a mystery how this person had got inside her apartment in the first place, let alone managing to do so and leave without causing her to suspect anything. He had asked the CSU detectives to dust for prints on the fire escape and windows, not really holding out much hope. There probably wasn't much chance of anything much turning up given the fact that the experts seemed to think the devices had been placed a while ago.
Once they had finished up at her apartment building, they headed back to the precinct. Four hours had already passed since Elliot had reported her missing and they were nowhere nearer to knowing who had taken Olivia or where she was. Fin and Munch had contacted Harris' parole officer who had explained that today was his scheduled day off from the factory and so they had no idea where he might have gone aside from his daily trip to the gym. They had gone to his bedsit and it appeared he wasn't in. They had been refused a warrant to enter and search the place, given the complete lack of concrete evidence that he had anything to do with Olivia's disappearance and so they had returned empty handed. The growing assumption amongst the team now was that Harris more than likely was involved and it was frustrating that there was nothing they could do to confirm that. On hearing the situation Elliot had been ready to storm over there and break in there himself, but luckily Cragen had been able to talk some sense into him and instead he was headed over to the bar where Olivia worked, to see if anyone there could shed light on who might have been stalking her.
The trip to the bar turned out to be fruitless, since the place was inexplicably shut for the evening. Elliot had tried calling Lawrence's mobile number, but there had been no reply. He left a message asking him to contact him as soon as he could and that it was extremely important. There was nothing more he could do. He glanced at his watch and saw it was now almost one o clock in the morning. She had been missing for six hours now. The thought of all the possibilities of what she might have gone through during all that time truly broke his heart. His initial hope that they would find her before anything could happen to her had changed into now hoping he could just find her alive. Whatever horrific trauma she might have gone through – be going through – he had to cling on to the hope that if he could just get her back with him, he could help her to move on and get through it – if she would let him. He wished he could go back in time and tell her how he felt about her. If, God-forbid, she died at the hands of some psycho, without ever knowing how much she meant to him, he wasn't sure he could live with himself.
He suddenly felt an overwhelming need to be close to her and so decided impulsively to go to her apartment. Once inside, he headed to her bedroom and opened her wardrobe. He reached for one of her shirts and pressed it against his face, breathing in the familiar smell of her washing powder and the lingering smell of her perfume that permeating the whole wardobe. Clutching the shirt, he returned to the living room and sank down onto the sofa. He needed to clear his head and try and stay focused. Regrets were all very well, but they wouldn't bring him any closer to actually finding her. It was as though breathing in her scent revitalized him and gave him a renewed determination. He couldn't give up. He had to do everything he could to get to her. There was no way he was going to sit back and just let whatever fate that awaited her occur without a fight. He decided to start the only place he could think of. He would go to Harris' apartment, warrant be damned.
…
Elliot heard the noise of the front door opening and he quickly glanced around the small room, desperately hunting for some escape route, but of course there was none. The only way in or out was through the door he had kicked in, breaking the hinges to allow him entry. The window was barred and so there was no way he would be able to escape through that. It crossed his mind that this place was somewhat of a fire trap in addition to being a complete dive. He felt like a deer caught in the headlights of a car and all he could do now was to brace himself. In some ways it was invigorating to know that in a matter of seconds he would come face to face with the man who had hurt his partner in ways she still couldn't fully admit to him. He would like nothing better than to beat him to a pulp for what he had done to her. There was still a sensible part of him however, that told him that he needed to stay calm if he was going to get him to lead him to her. His returning like this at least meant he wasn't currently hurting her, but he couldn't help fearing that perhaps he had already killed her and dumped her body somewhere. If that were the case, then he knew he would kill him without a second thought. Spending the rest of his life in prison would be nothing compared to the pain of never being able to see her again and having to live with the knowledge of how her final hours had been.
He watched in anticipation, his weapon drawn, unfalteringly aimed at the figure who stepped into the room. He realised that his opponent was even more formidable than he had thought. He was tall and the bulk of his muscular frame was clearly visible despite his winter attire. All that time in the gym had obviously paid off. Elliot had been hoping to take him by surprise, but the front door off its hinges had obviously alerted Harris to the potential danger inside and he had been ready, entering with a speed and ferocity that took Elliot aback. The gun still proved to give him the upper hand, however, and snarling, Harris stopped in his tracks when he noticed it aimed straight at him.
"Where is she?" Elliot growled, his tone leaving Harris in no doubt that the mood Elliot was in, he wouldn't hesitate twice about pulling the trigger.
To his surprise though, Harris suddenly seemed to relax, his snarl turning into an infuriating grin.
"Lost someone?" he asked the enjoyment on his face plain.
Elliot's hand clenched even more tightly around the trigger as he focused his aim intently on the man in front of him. It would be so easy just to end his existence here and now. He saw Harris's confident expression waver ever so slightly as he recognized just how close Elliot actually was to doing it.
Instead, however, Elliot's grip relaxed ever so slightly.
"Tell me where she is, you bastard!" he said his voice low and threatening.
"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about."
Elliot was pleased to note the catch in Harris' voice, for despite all his self-assured bravado it was clear he was intimidated. It was unnerving though, for something in that moment, an instinct he had grown to trust implicitly over the years, told him that the man was speaking the truth and he truly didn't have any idea what he was talking about.