They arrived outside the massive metal and glass structure; a sign displaying the company's name Johnson Brothers United occupying a large space near the entranceway, announcing its presence in extravagant marble and granite engravings.
Stepping out of the car, Olivia stared up at the gleaming fortress, watching as the dark clouds moved through reflections in the glass, unsure of where the sky ended and the building began.
This place felt cold, a gift of contemporary architecture.
"So she was a VP?" Olivia motioned upwards towards the building. "She must have been quite the mogul to be a higher up here."
"She'd have to be to afford that penthouse." Elliot followed Olivia past the immense granite slab and through the double doors of Johnson Brothers United.
They looked around the lobby, walking through wall to ceiling marble. This must have cost a fortune.
Tearing their eyes away from the lavish surroundings, they approached the reception desk. An attractive blonde sat behind it, lost in a call that was clearly not work related, a fashion magazine spread in front of her.
Before capturing the woman's attention, Olivia listened briefly to the conversation. "Yea I know, I heard about it. I bet it was Mr. grabby hands himself. Or his wife, now there's a possibility. Oh hold on, I gotta handle something…" The woman looked up, first eyeing Elliot for a little too long, before resting her eyes on Olivia. "Can I help you?"
Olivia glanced back at Elliot briefly, then back at the blonde. Lifting her badge she announced herself and her partner. "I'm Detective Benson and this is Detective Stabler, we…"
"Oh, you're here about Ms. Sanderson!" She put the phone back up to her ear. "Lainie, I'll have to call you back, there are two cops here. I know, I will, bye…" She hung up the phone and looked back up at Olivia and Elliot. "How can I help you?"
Olivia moved in closer, leaning on the desk. "If you could tell us everything you know about Ms. Sanderson that would be great." Olivia pulled out her notepad. "Starting with this Mr. grabby hands."
The receptionist glanced around nervously; obviously startled that Olivia had overheard her conversation. "Oh, I'm sorry; I shouldn't have been talking about it."
"Why's that?" Elliot came forward, leaning over the counter next to Olivia, looking at a name plate on her desk. "Wendy."
Even more nervous, Wendy sat back as far as she could in her chair. Whispering and still glancing around. "Because he's my boss, hell, he's everyone's boss."
"Did he have reason to kill Ms. Sanderson?" Olivia was writing furiously, she looked up and met Wendy's eyes.
"No, not really, he just makes unwanted passes at women, she was not interested at all, and he was persistent." Wendy looked away, down at her hands.
"He made advances at you didn't he?" Olivia felt for her and all the women working here.
"Yes." Wendy's eyes remained engrossed in her hands. "I wasn't interested either."
"Did Ms. Sanderson ever threaten to report him?" Elliot caught Wendy's eyes as she glanced up at him. "That could make for some unwanted publicity."
"She might have, I wouldn't know." Wendy's eyes dropped to her hands again.
"We could continue this conversation down at the precinct if it would help jog your memory." Elliot leaned in closer.
Wendy looked up, panic written across her face. "No, ok, yes, she filed harassment complaints against him, he wasn't happy about that."
"You mentioned his wife; did she have reason to be angry with Ms. Sanderson?" Olivia wanted to ease the conversation away from threats.
"No, not really, she just doesn't like any women working here; she thinks we're all sluts after her husband."
"Could you give us his name please?" Elliot had switched to laying on the charm. Olivia watched him briefly. Bad cop or good cop El, you can't be both.
Although slightly smitten with Elliot's smile, Wendy still appeared nervous at the question, her voice barely a whisper. "Mr. Ryan, he's the president of the company."
"Then who's Johnson?" Elliot's smile was a beam of light, his attempts to calm the poor woman, after almost pushing her over the edge with his threat to take her downtown.
Wendy gave a nervous laugh. "I'm not sure; there must have been one at some point."
Elliot laughed with her. Olivia watched as Wendy's body slackened, the nervous tension draining away. Olivia laughed to herself. You suave bastard, there's that Stabler charm.
"Could you tell us anything about Ms. Sanderson?" Olivia took the opportunity that Wendy's new sense of calm brought.
Wendy looked at her, traces of her laughter remaining in her features. "She was an amazing woman. Tough, but not aloof, she could be a real ball buster if she needed to be, but she also had a kind heart. I wanted to be friends with her, but she was always so busy, though she usually made it a point to talk to me, let me know I was appreciated. She had a kind word for most people, unless they wronged her. But even then, she wasn't spiteful." Wendy drew in a deep breath. "I feel horrible for even talking about her death earlier; she was one of the good ones."
Wendy's words hit Olivia like a gut punch. Not that anyone deserved what had befallen Michelle, but to find out how kind and strong she was. I knew you were a fighter.
Olivia spoke softly, turning on her soothing tone she reserved for victims, children and family members. "Thank you Wendy, for sharing that with us. I realize you weren't as close as you would have liked to be with Ms. Sanderson, but had you noticed any change in her recently? Maybe a change in personality or routine?"
Wendy met Olivia's eyes. "Yes, now that you mention it, she usually arrived and left like clockwork, but in the last week or so she was leaving later and later, and acting kind of distracted, I figured she was overwhelmed with work and staying late because of it."
"Do you remember what time she left here last night?" Elliot made himself present again.
Wendy met his stare. "Um, hold on a second." She began searching through a log book located beneath her magazine. "Here it is, she left at midnight. I work the evening shifts, so I remember clearly, I asked her if she was going out to party as a joke, and she said yes. We laughed, I rooted her on." Wendy's eyes dropped again. "I wish I would have told her to go home a get some rest."
Olivia placed her hand on Wendy's. "You couldn't have known."
Wendy looked up into Olivia's eyes, tears forming in her own. "I know." She looked down at Olivia's hand on hers. "Thank you."
Olivia gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and let go.
"Thank you for your time Wendy." Elliot smiled at her, his charisma pouring off him.
Wendy looked up and smiled warmly at him. "I hope you catch the person who hurt her."
"We will." Olivia said it with such certainty, there was no disputing it. We will.
Elliot and Olivia turned and headed towards the elevators, pushing the button to summon the nearest one.
"What do you say we go visit Mr. Ryan?" Elliot turned his charm on Olivia.
She smiled back, in the heat carried between them flowed electricity, a force they could feel. "I'd say you read my mind."
The bell announced the arrival of the elevator, and they stepped on.