A/N: You all know how to make a girl feel good. Thanks for the reviews!
"Tell me, Melanie. Do you recognize any of these people?" Olivia slid an iPad across the interview table. She sat back silently as Melanie began swiping through the Starbucks security photos.
Melanie flipped through slowly, scrutinizing every face. Finally, she paused, picking up the iPad and looking at it closely. "I think this is Trent." She turned the tablet so Olivia could see.
"Who's Trent?"
"One of Zach's friends. We only met a couple of times, but I think this is him."
"Do you know Trent's last name?" Olivia asked hopefully.
Melanie thought a moment. "Patton? I think."
"Great job." Olivia put her hand on the young woman's. Olivia went to stand so she could tell Carisi the name, but Melanie stopped her.
"Lieutenant Benson?"
"Yes?"
"I had to tell my boss about what happened since I have to keep missing work for things related to the case. He said that I could take time off if I wanted. Is that something that's good for…for victims?"
"Well, it can be sometimes. In my experience, it was easier to dive into work. It can be a good distraction, but just know that going about your daily routine won't completely heal you. I still recommend counseling. And of course, nothing helps like time."
Melanie's eyes widened at the realization of what Olivia was telling her. "I just feel like if I do it, everyone is going to talk and gossip about why I'm gone and that might be harder to deal with when I come back than just going to work now."
"I think you should do whatever you feel is best for you. If you want to work, work."
"I just don't want anyone to find out what happened to me." She said quietly.
"I can't promise that won't happen, but no one will find out from us." Olivia assured her. "And even if people do find out, you have nothing to be ashamed of."
"Maybe if I hadn't taken those pictures."
"No." Olivia stopped her. "None of this is your fault. Even if Zach didn't have the pictures he still would have created the accounts. This is all on him. You did nothing wrong. Okay?"
"Okay." Melanie nodded, taking a deep breath trying to find her resolve.
"Do you have anyone in your life that does know about this? Someone you can talk to when it gets hard? Friends, your parents?"
Melanie shook her head. "My parents are in Ohio and I haven't told them about any of this. And a lot of my friends were Zach's friends, but I have Teri. She helps me."
"Good." Olivia nodded. "And you have my card. Call me any time, day or night, if you need anything at all."
Melanie nodded. "I will. Thank you, Lieutenant Benson, for everything."
"You rang." Barba said, joining Amanda and Olivia in front of the interrogation window. Inside sat Trent Patton and his lawyer, a young brunette who barely looked old enough to have passed the bar.
Olivia's eyes roamed over Rafael's clean-shaven face and she gave a hint of a smile, but that was the only thing that gave any indication of the change that had taken place in their relationship. They'd agreed that work was work. They didn't need people suspecting anything and making their lives more complicated.
"As soon as he learned what this was all about he clammed up and asked for his lawyer." Olivia pointed a thumb toward the window.
"He said he wouldn't talk without a deal." Amanda explained.
"And you have proof that he sent the message with Melanie's address?"
"Well, he was in the coffee shop when the message was sent and Melanie ID'd him as one of Zach's friends. The proof is probably on his phone."
"We'll get a warrant if we need to, but since he's wanting to deal let's see what he'll give us." Barba said, holding the door open allowing Olivia and Amanda to walk in ahead of him. The two cops sat down across from Trent and his lawyer, but Barba remained standing.
"Mr. Patton, Ms. Saunders, this is ADA Rafael Barba." Olivia introduced him.
"I want immunity." Trent demanded immediately.
"Of course you do." Barba scoffed. "The way I see it, you don't talk, you're going down for this. You sent the message with Melanie's address, that's facilitation of a rape. You know us DA's," He shrugged a shoulder. "As long as we put someone away we're happy. So what if Cahill walks? We've got you."
"I just did what he asked me to do. It was a prank." Trent blurted.
"Trent." His lawyer cautioned.
"No, I'm not going to jail for sending a fucking message."
"You said Zach asked you to send the message?" Olivia prompted.
Barba leaned against the mirror, crossing his arms, ready to jump in again if he was needed.
"Yes, he told me that Larson was this weird guy that worked at the brewery that they liked to bag on sometimes. Apparently when Zach was dating Melanie Larson had a little thing for her, so he just wanted to mess with him."
"So why did he have you send the message? He could have done it himself." Amanda questioned.
"He said that he wanted to be with Larson when he got it so he could see his reaction. He wanted to record it just to mess with him later. He gave me the log in info for the MeetCute account and told me he'd let me know when to send it."
"But didn't you think it was weird that it included Melanie's address? That you might be putting her in danger?" Olivia asked.
"I didn't know where Melanie lived, I'd only met her a few times and it was always out somewhere, a bar or whatever. The address was part of the prank, Zach told me it was for a vacant lot. He thought it'd be funny if Larson actually went there."
"You said he would tell you when to send it. How did he contact you?" Amanda asked.
"He sent me a text."
"And then you immediately sent the message?" Olivia asked, realizing the timing still didn't line up. Zach had already been in interrogation for a little while when the message had been sent. He wouldn't have been able to send the text either.
"No." Trent shook his head. "I was at the gym, so I didn't see it right away. But I sent the message as soon as I saw the text."
"My client has cooperated," Trent's lawyer leaned around Amanda to look at Barba. "And as you can see he was duped by his friend, he had no idea of what was actually taking place."
"No, he just thought that he was playing a childish prank on some poor schlub."
"And the last time I checked, that wasn't a crime."
Barba sighed before giving a slight nod. "If this text sent by Cahill is verified and your client agrees to testify, we won't move forward with charges at this time."
She leaned in and whispered something in Trent's ear.
Trent nodded. "Fine."
"Great. And Mr. Patton, you might want to be more selective of your friends in the future."
"Tell me about it." Trent grumbled as he and his lawyer got up to leave.
"Is that enough to indict Cahill?" Liv asked hopefully once they were gone.
"The text?" He asked.
"That's easy enough to check. I'll do it now." Rollins said before walking out into the squad room.
"With Trent's testimony and the text message, I think I can get a grand jury to indict." He answered Olivia's question. "Getting a jury to go along with it is another story."
"They'll see that Zach's behavior directly caused Melanie's rape." Olivia said confidently.
"And people say I'm overly confident." He said with a grin.
"Well, you're just so good at what you do, I know you'll pull it off."
"I'm already doing what you want. No need to butter me up."
"Now there's an idea." She raised an eyebrow.
He cleared his throat and shot a glance at the mirror. They had no way of knowing if anyone was in the hallway watching, or worse, listening.
She caught his meaning and walked through the side door into her office.
"Now, I can tell you that you look great today." He said once he'd closed the door behind them.
She smiled. "I look the same as I do every day."
"And you look great every day." He wanted to kiss her, but knew he couldn't. Her blinds were open and anyone could walk in at any time.
"I actually wanted to talk to you about something, work related." She said and he appreciated the subject change. Work would keep them out of trouble.
"What's up?" He asked, sitting down in one of her visitors' chairs and she sat in hers.
"I know we talked about this already, but I really think we…you…should try to plead out Dylan. I'm worried about Melanie. She's putting on a brave face, but she doesn't have much of a support system. I don't know if she's up to two grand juries and two trials. I don't even know if she's up to one, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there I guess."
"I called Mr. H&R Block this morning." She laughed at the nickname. "We're meeting in an hour to discuss a plea."
"Well, that wasn't very hard." Olivia was surprised.
He shrugged. "I just realized it was too easy. Convicting Larson would be no fun. Shooting fish in a barrel."
"Uh huh."
He ignored her disbelief. "But I'm going to be convening a grand jury for Cahill as soon as possible. We're going to need Melanie for that. Cahill isn't going to roll over like Larson will."
"We'll make sure she's ready. If I can get her to come in do you have time for prep later this afternoon?"
He nodded. "Bring her by after my meeting with Jackson Hewitt."
"Tax law is a respectable profession you know."
"Sure it is." He stood and threw a glance out at the squad room. No one was paying attention so he gave her hand a quick squeeze. "It's Friday, got any plans tonight?"
"Oh yeah, I've got a hot date with a three-year-old."
"How about I come over and cook both of you dinner?"
"And he cooks too?"
He held out his arms. "I'm a man of many talents, Olivia."
"Well, unless your specialty is macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets I'm not sure how well it will go over."
"I make a mean chicken nugget."
She thought a moment. It was a big deal bringing Noah into this, especially so soon. But Noah knew Rafael already and as far as he knew they were just having dinner with Mommy's friend from work.
"Okay." She said finally. "Let's do it."
"Great." He went to grab her hand again, but there was knock on her door, so he stuck his hand in his pocket right before it swung open.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I found the text." Rollins held up a printout. "Cahill sent Trent a message that said 'Game on' fifty-three minutes before the MeetCute message was sent to Larson. Based on the timing he sent it from the back of the car when we were bringing him in."
Barba nodded. "I'll put the grand jury in motion. Call Melanie." He directed at Olivia before striding out of the room.
"So, we might actually get this guy." Rollins said.
"Looks like it." Olivia's eyes didn't leave Barba's retreating form as he walked through the squad room.
Amanda followed her gaze before shaking her head and walking out of the office. They were so obvious.