Ch. 10

Olivia's night in the ER with Elliot, the victim, and the victim's father went well on through the night. The victim didn't want to speak with her father or Elliot in the room because she was overcome with shame and embarrassment. She didn't want her father to know anything about the suspect, which had Olivia wondering if perhaps he knew the person that had attacked his daughter. The look on her father's face was just as shattering as the girl's as she screamed at him to leave so she could talk to Olivia alone. Olivia knew she recognized the man's face, but couldn't place it.

Once Elliot and the father left her hospital room, the girl fell onto Olivia's shoulders and sobbed. After a few moments, she was able to tell Olivia as much as she could about what had happened only hours before. The attack was violent, but it was a pattern that Olivia had heard on many occasions and felt confident that she could locate who had done this to her. She wasn't able to describe the man, but her behavior indicated that she did have an idea of who it was. She wasn't ready to divulge that information and Olivia wasn't going to push her right away, but knew she would have to draw it out of her later. They didn't keep her until morning, but there were of course many details to go over at a later time after the girl had gotten some rest.

After they made certain that she would get home safely with her father, Elliot gave Olivia a ride home before making the much longer trip out to his home in Queens. Both of them were exhausted so the only noise for a while were raindrops that started to fall onto the car. "The father…" Olivia's voice trailed off, trying to place where she had seen the young girl's father before. "Should I know him? I feel like I should."

"Yeah, I'm sure you know him." Elliot remarked. "He's a defense attorney, but we don't really see him much. I'm almost positive that the perp was one of his clients."

"It's a good place to start anyway." Olivia sighed. She was so tired and despite how dramatically the mood of the evening had changed, she was looking forward to collapsing into her soft bed to sleep for hours. "So how much time did you get with the family before being called back to town?" Olivia asked.

"About two and a half days, which was more than usual." Elliot said, turning on the windshield wipers. "But I of course ruined the weekend. I'm not sure who's angrier: Kathy or Maureen. Either way, I don't know if I'll go back and meet up with them tomorrow."

"They're still out on Long Island?" Olivia asked.

"Yep."

"But you have the car."

"Kathy knew I'd get called back to the city. We drove separately." He turned the car around a corner, approaching Olivia's apartment building. "Who was your friend in the fancy car?"

Olivia looked back out the window and smiled to herself. "Just a new friend."

"Yeah? The dancer?" Elliot said slowing the car to a stop in front of her brownstone.

"Maybe." Olivia buttoned up her jacket and had her hand on the door handle to get out. "Are you all right to get home? You can sleep on my couch, you know."

"Naw, I'm all right."

"Suit yourself. Goodnight." Olivia got out of the car.

"'Night, Liv." Elliot waited for her to wave at him as she went through the front doors before he drove away.