Slap: Chapter 10
Olivia was settling in and starting to actually enjoy having some spare time. The workload was more manageable at Homicide than at SVU, a side benefit of having victims that were dead and of being properly staffed. She knew that wasn't going to last forever, but for the time being she was going to appreciate it. That all came crashing to a halt when they pulled a case of an estranged husband found beaten to death. Something wasn't sitting right about it and they'd all spent long hours trying to sort out who knew what and when. She had spent hours and hours pouring over the witness reports. The estranged wife and their 11-year-old son were part of what were bothering her. She was pretty sure they both knew more than they were saying. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair; she'd cut it short again and she felt more like herself. She glanced at the clock, trying to put the time out of her mind when she saw it was past 1am.
She'd grabbed a couple hours of sleep on the sofa in the locker room upstairs and was downstairs pouring her first cup of coffee when Olvetti entered the squadroom. Noticing she was still in the same clothes as yesterday, he said "I see you have finally adopted the Gary Olvetti fashion plan, same clothes each day, saves on the decision making when you have 7of the same shirt…"
She didn't reply, but drank her coffee while glaring at him over her mug. "You really not go home last night?" he asked.
She didn't reply to that either, but she did grab the file and go over her theory with him. He nodded several times, understanding immediately what she was getting at. "You wanna go talk to the Lassley's again?" She was already grabbing her coat.
They knocked on the door of the Lassley's 1st floor apartment. It was just past 9am. The door opened a crack and they saw Colin, the son, looking out at them under the door chain. They talked him into opening the door, but he wouldn't let them inside. He kept saying his mom was sick, she wouldn't like them inside, she had a headache, no-please don't wake her up. Something was niggling in the back of Olivia's head. She glanced at the apartment over Colin's head, noting the figure sleeping on the couch, and then recognizing the telltale trash can next to the couch, the empty bottles on the floor, the fear in Colin's voice when they mentioned waking up his mother. Suddenly she understood. She looked at Colin with a new sense of understanding and put her hand on Olvetti's arm, silently asking him to back off. She handed the boy her card, speaking quietly and telling him to call her anytime, for anything. Olvetti was staring at her open mouthed as Colin took her card and then closed the door.
"What the hell was that, Benson?" he demanded as soon as they were down the hall. "We got absolutely nothing out of that kid, just cause you didn't want to wake up the mom?" He sounded pissed and incredulous at how she had shut things down.
"The kid was too scared to talk, you saw him. Plus the mom wasn't sleeping, she was passed out drunk on the couch. Waking her up wouldn't get us anywhere, it's impossible to interview a drunk witness; we'd only make her mad and then she'd take it out on the kid. We can come back this afternoon."
"Drunk? What makes you think she was drunk, not just sick?" Olvetti asked, still skeptical.
"She was drunk, trust me. Didn't you see the trash can, the empty bottles?"
"If you say so…" he replied, still skeptical. They turned and headed out of the building. As they turned to wait for the elevator, Olivia saw Calvin's head peeking out at them from behind the door. He ducked inside when he saw he had caught her notice. Olivia shook her hard, partly in pity for the boy and partly to rid her own mind of memories of her own mother passed out on the couch.
"So, what do we do now that we don't have a witness to interview until pretty princess in there decides to sober up?" Olvetti asked sarcastically. He wasn't hot tempered, but he could still be an ass. Luckily she didn't take it personally.
"Let's follow the money." Olivia suggested. "We should have financials on all the parties by now, let's see what we find."
They spent hours tracking through financials of the husband, the wife and various dubious acquaintances of both before Olvetti found something worthwhile. He found the paper trail: A serious of cash payments from Angela Lassley to an acquaintance, one who met a description of the attacker and had a history of jail time for assault. They called the ADA and started the process for warrants for search and arrests. Olivia was pulled out of her trance when her phone buzzed. She glanced at it and saw multiple text messages from Elliot. Curious as to what he could possibly want from her, she read through the messages quickly.
** Need to talk to you. Got a minute? I'm on your side of town, meet me outside in 5 minutes?**
She had an uncomfortable feeling in her gut, but agreed to meet him outside, replying in a text. She'd tried to keep communication open, they'd even called each other once or twice to catch up in the past few weeks, but it was hard going; they'd lost their easy assurance with each other.
**Okay. 5 minutes. See you outside.** She had replied via text.
She finished up what she was doing and grabbed her coat. "I'm gonna run out for a minute. Back in 10." She said this to her partner as she was on her way out. Always perceptive, (at least he thought of it as perceptive, Olivia would have called it nosy), he watched his partner run towards the stairs. He couldn't in good conscious follow her, but he'd keep an eye on the clock and see how long she was outside.
Olivia took the chance to grab a coffee from the street vendor outside the station. She sipped at the familiar blue and white cup with Greek design and saw Elliot walking up the street towards her.
"Hey, El," she said in a friendly voice. "How are you?"
"I'm fine." He was tense, she could tell he was agitated about something, nervous about her, or something else, she couldn't tell. He jumped right into it. "So I'm talking to Kathleen about going to college and she throws this whole song and dance at me about going to SUNY Stoneybrook and living in the dorms. Totally hoodwinks me and the next thing I know I'm agreeing." He looked at his former partner, could see the realization appear in her brown eyes. It was all the confirmation he needed. "What the hell are you talking to my kids for, Liv? You leave them alone. What am I going to do? She's going to be all the way over in Long Island, I can't check on her from there, you know how she is. She's..."
"What?" Liv jumped in. "She's an 18 year old girl, Elliot, not an infant. She's going to college. You're not SUPPOSED to be keeping tabs on her."
"So you just encouraged her to move out of my house?" he said in a harsh voice, the sound was tight and strained.
"No. Look, El, she came to me, asked for advice. I think she wanted to talk to an adult that wasn't her parent, so we talked. She didn't tell you anything that didn't come straight from her; I'm not into brainwashing your kids."
"You shouldn't be talking to my kids at all. You go off an leave me and then you're still talking to them!" He was getting angrier and angrier, letting the argument heat him up.
"Look, I told you! She came to me, I'm not going to throw her out. You can't keep her locked up El, she's an adult. You need to realize that. Her wanting to go live in the dorms has nothing with her rejecting you, it's about her wanting to have a NORMAL college experience."
"You...You...just leave her alone!" He almost spat the words at her.
She didn't like the look in his eyes, didn't like his posture. She couldn't believe after 10 years, after everything they had been through, he was throwing this at her. "What happened, Stabler? Finally decide you didn't want my tainted blood around your kids after all?" She glared at him as she said it, throwing sparks with her eyes. Elliot stopped short when she said that. He knew she was mad, and he heard her angry words, but all he saw what the hurt look in her eyes. She spun around and tossed her nearly full coffee in the trash can as she jogged back into the building, leaving her old partner standing on the sidewalk. As she headed back inside she wished she had dumped the coffee on him.
Inside, Olvetti had let his curiosity get the better of him had been watching from the doorway, he was just heading outside as his partner came storming in the door. Glancing out the open door as she ran by without even noticing him, he saw Elliot Stabler standing on the sidewalk looking for all the world like someone had kicked him in the face. He turned and followed his partner back towards their desks.
A thousand thoughts ran through Elliot's head. The first was 'damn, she was right. He had to let Kathleen go, this is why he'd agreed in the first place.' He knew she'd had help crafting her argument. It had worked so well it had taken him a few days to remember what looked so familiar about the handwriting on Kathleen's notepad. The second thought was that he had screwed up again with Olivia, shoving his foot even farther in his mouth. 'Of course she would bring that up. How could she not when he was verbally attacking her for something so benign.' The last thought he had was 'Oh my god, she's going to talk to Cragen.' He stood on the street corner, hands on his head, turning slowing around. The coffee vendor looked at him and said "Don't make her mad. She looks like she means it." He shot the guy a mean look and stomped off.
Olivia used the walk to back to her desk to calm herself down, with Olvetti trailing behind her. She'd noticed him halfway back to their desks and had chosen to ignore the fact that he was either spying, being plain old nosy or was being overprotective. Like hell, she was going to talk to him about this though. She threw her coat on the back of her chair and sat back down, focusing on her computer screen. Olvetti sat down across from her and opened his mouth to say something, but when Olivia's head shot up and she glared at him, he closed it and went back to his work. He hadn't seen much evidence of her reputation as Bad Ass Benson, he'd figured maybe she'd outgrown it over the years, but seeing her shouting toe to toe with a man who easily had 6 inches and 70 pounds on her had changed his mind.
He'd wisely left her alone and she'd calmed down by mid-afternoon. She'd gotten an email from Kathleen Stabler giving her a heads up that her dad was pissed and more than likely knew about their conversation the other day. She'd smiled at the belated warning, thinking Elliot Stabler had a lot of problems, but his kids were not the ones that should be keeping him up at night.
By the end of the week, Olivia was exhausted. The fight with Elliot had thrown her back onto the edge, she wasn't sleeping well, when she was sleeping at all. The nightcap that used to push her over into an exhausted sleep no longer was doing the job, but she adamantly refused to have more than one, or to use any of the prescription sleep aids she had laying around from previous well-meaning doctors. She knew she wasn't eating enough to maintain her weight, but really didn't care at this point. She wanted this case to be over, and she wanted Elliot Stabler to keep out of her head. She had a feeling the case would be over and done long before the other issue was resolved.
She walked into the squadroom with a large coffee in her hand after another sleepless night, catching a concerned look from Olvetti. He didn't say anything, for which she was glad. He could worry all he wanted as long as he kept it to himself.
He walked over and set a wrapped bagel with cream cheese and tomato on her desk. She looked at him and was going to protest but he beat her to the punch. "Look Benson, you are less maintenance than any other partner I've ever had. This..." he gestured between the two, "This, I think, is working. So, if I have to feed you in order to make sure you eat, it's worth it. If only to avoid getting a whole new partner again." That was the truth. His new partner was a hardworker. She was tireless, fought for what was right, got her work done, kept him entertained during the long days and did it all without being a gigantic pain in his ass. If all he had to do to keep her going, if not keep her happy, was make sure she ate now and then, he could totally do that. He saw now what Munch was referring to. She looked good, she always did, but he could see circles under her eyes and her step was missing her normal energy. This case was getting to her.
She snorted at his comments, but mumbled some thanks and started to eat the bagel. He always squished his compliments in between either insults or complaints; it was just his way.
By mid-afternoon it was clear that they were going to be able to wrap up the Lassley case. The boy had admitted to abuse at the hands of his father, the mother had found out a week before the father was killed. Unable to pay for a lawyer and unwilling to trust the system to keep him away from her son, she had paid a hit man to kill him. The sun was low in the sky, a hazy orange light shining on the streets before they got the warrants to arrest them both, uniformed officers and someone from ACS were meeting them at the apartment to arrest Angela Lassley. The boy would have to be placed in a foster home.
"Poor kid will probably be better off," Olvetti was saying as they drove to the Lassley's apartment. "Crazy, drunk mother like that, at least the kid might have a chance growing up normal in foster care. He doesn't need to see that and try to take care of all that dysfunction."
Olivia sighed, thinking that she had to say something back. Her silence would be more telling than a bland comment. "I'm sure she loves him in her own way, she's just too sick to take care of him properly."
"Well, look at you, former SVU cop defending the abuser," he ribbed her good-naturedly, blissfully unaware of the hornet's nest he was stepping into.
"I'm not defending her." Olivia tried to keep her voice calm and steady, and tried to keep her thoughts focused on this case, not on her own miserable childhood with an alcoholic mother. "I just think probably deep down she wants to do right by her kid, she's just really bad at it."
"Either way, the kid should be glad to be rid of her."
"She's still his mother, Gary. A mother who is going to jail for trying to protect her son, even if it was completely illegal, and even if she is a drunk." Olivia wished he would drop it. She did NOT want to be talking about this now, not when they were about to step into that apartment. That situation was going to be difficult enough.
"Yeah, but..."
Olivia cut him off harshly. "Enough Olvetti." She had a mean edge to her voice, one that he hadn't heard before. He shrugged and settled down into the passenger seat, leaving it for now.
Both officers shot to attention as they rounded the corner onto the Lassley's street and saw a small commotion outside the apartment building. Instead of one squad car with a couple of uniforms to assist in the arrest, there were two squad cars, the second with lights on, parked haphazardly in the street. A woman that looked like the social worker was talking on the phone, pacing in front of the building. One of the uniforms was talking on the radio and they heard their car radio crackle. Ignoring it, but jumping out the car as soon as they parked, they walked up to the officer on the radio.
"Oh, glad you are here Detectives. We have a situation." The young officer went on to explain that they'd been waiting outside for the detectives when Angela Lassley arrived home outside her building, dragging her son by the arm. She'd clearly been drinking, they could smell the booze on her, but she was walking fine and barely slurring her words. She'd seen the officers and ignored them until she had been in the doorway, when she had turned and started yelling at them, screaming that they weren't going to take her, or her son, that she was only doing what she had to and the police should know what's best and leave them alone. She'd slammed the old wooden door in the officers' faces and by they time they'd gotten into the building, she was locked in her apartment with the boy.
The two detectives shared a glance, reassured the officer that sometimes these things happen and headed towards the apartment. Olivia knocked on the door and called out. She was surprised when she saw Colin's shaggy hair appear behind the door chain.
"My mom says to go away, you can't come in," he said, looking at her with eyes that broke her heart. Whatever her thoughts on his mother's, and her mother's alcoholism, he did not deserve to have to defend his mother.
"Well, Colin, the thing is that a judge says that we can, that we have to come in and talk to you mother. So she needs to let us in. Can we talk to her?" Olivia tried to convince the boy while at the same time calming him down. The look on his face told her it was not working. They heard some crashing inside, but Colin didn't move from the door, his head barely hitting the still in place door chain. Both detectives tried to see inside to see what was happened, but couldn't see anything amiss. Suddenly Colin was jerked backwards from the door and the door slammed closed in their faces. They heard yelling but couldn't make out the words. Then, just as suddenly the door flew open again and Angela Lassley stood in front of them. Colin was behind her, crying, his tshirt stretched and almost torn, a red handprint on his face.
The woman had blood shot eyes, but spoke in a clear voice when she told them they had no business there and in no uncertain terms told them to get lost. When they explained that they had a warrant for her arrest she opened the door further and allowed them to see the handgun she had in her right hand. She pushed her son backwards into the room, screaming that they wouldn't go with them, to leave her family in peace. Colin scrambled backwards against the wall, shaking. The detectives pulled their guns and entered the apartment, scanning quickly to take in the scene. The boy was shaking, but appeared unharmed up against the living room sofa. Angela Lassley stood against the perpendicular wall, swinging the gun wildly. Her eyes darted, panicked across the room.
Olivia's thoughts went immediately to the boy. He needed out of there. The woman was screaming like a madwoman, she was clearly intoxicated. She was threatening to shoot.
Colin started yelling as well. His small voice surprisingly loud "Don't shoot her. Don't shoot my mom. She's drunk, she doesn't mean it. She doesn't mean it. She's sick."
"Shut up you little bastard! You'll turn out just like him! I'm not going to let anyone else have you. You are mine. You are the reason I'm going to jail and I am not going let them take you!"
Olivia cringed inwardly when she heard those words. Eyes still focused on the scene, her emotions were dangerously close to the surface with this case. Olvetti talked to the woman in a calm, nonchalant manner, trying to convince her to put down the good. The woman swung her shaking arms pointing the gun towards her son, who was begging her to stop.
"Please, Ma. I'll be good, just stop." Then directed at the detectives, "Just leave us alone, come back when she's not sick anymore. She doesn't mean it. She loves me."
"I told you to shut up!" She swung wildly again towards the boy and the gun went off, striking the wall just to the boy's left. Olivia reacted out of instinct, firing her gun once towards the crazed woman, striking her in the arm holding the gun, which she immediately dropped. Olvetti rushed to grab her, Olivia went to the boy as the uniforms rushed into the room, calling for an ambulance and relating what had happened to the backup outside.
Taking in the apartment as the social worker talked to the boy, Olivia noticed an almost empty bottle of vodka sitting next to a shattered glass in a pool of clear liquid. The woman had continued to drink even as she knew the police were outside waiting to arrest her. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, watching the medics attend to the bleeding woman. The screams stopped and she vaguely wondered if she had killed the woman. She heard the boys cries and the drunk woman's yells. 'I won't let anyone else have you.' 'She's sick, she's sick.' Olivia rubbed her eyes harder, she could feel herself starting to shake. Suddenly Olvetti was next to her, pulling her by the elbow.
"Come on, let's go outside." He said quietly. She resisted for a minute and then relented when she caught a whiff of the vodka on the counter.
She knew she'd have to give her statement. She wanted to get that over with and go home. She doubted anyone would argue with letting her off early today. Olvetti led her out of the apartment building and towards the corner, away from some of the chaos that surrounded the building. Olivia was saying as they walked "That woman was so drunk, Gary. She was plastered. I didn't want to shoot her, she was out of her mind."
"I know. You didn't have a choice, she fired a gun at her own child. You had to, drunk or not, in her right mind or not," he reassured her, taking in her appearance. Olivia was still trembling slightly, a little pale, but she had a determined tilt to her jaw that he found slightly reassuring. "This isn't your first rodeo, is it kid? You've been in a shooting before?" he asked her. He'd read her jacket but didn't remember the details. He was certain there were more than one, and he thought he remembered at least one kill. Her reaction was curious for an experienced cop, but he guessed shooting someone hit everyone a little bit differently. He wondered if this case in particular had anything to do with her reaction. She shook her head no, indicating it wasn't her first shooting. He went on, trying to calm her down "It was a good shot, you did good. I don't know how you guys dealt wtih the kids over there is SVU. That's too rough for me. There's a reason I work Homicide, dead victims are easier."
Olivia sighed "Yeah, but the dead bodies are never the only victims; the ones left alive are the ones who suffer." She rubbed her eyes again, thinking of the boy with a dead, abusive father and a drunk, incarcerated mother.
'That understanding,' Olvetti thought, 'was what made Olivia Benson such a good detective. Her empathy was what was going to destroy her.' He stood with her, simply waiting with her on the street corner, knowing they had a long night ahead of them.
She still had her head down, fingers on her temples when Olvetti heard commotion down the street, he looked up just in time to see a car careening out of control, heading towards them. He heard the whining screech of metal as the car sideswiped another car and then watched in horror as it barreled right for them. Jumping and hurling himself to the side, he grabbed Olivia's arm and flung her ahead of him, out of the path of the car. He felt his arm sting as the passenger side mirror hit him. He watched as things moved too fast for him to react, as the bumper of the car clipped Olivia's side, spinning her around and increasing her momentum, sending her headfirst into the brick building behind them. The old, blue sedan came to a crunching halt bent around a lightpole 10 feet away. Olvetti picked himself up off the ground, swearing at his arm, bleeding briskly from a cut along the bicep. In the chaos and screams, he looked around, desperately searching for his partner.
He turned around and saw her crumpled in a pile against the building, unconscious and bleeding from her temple, head slumped at a funny angle against her shoulder.