Chapter 13

Just finished the story, it's 21 chapters and I'm working on the sequel.

"Miles Exton, 32, 3 DUI's and a petty larceny," Elliot filled everyone in on their new suspect.

Olivia put his picture up for everyone to see. "We went to his apartment but it looks like he hasn't been there for a while. We've got an APB out on him but so far nobody's seen him."

"We've been checking out possible leads, but he doesn't have any living family members and there's nothing else in his file to suggest where he might go," Fin said.

"We keep hitting brick walls on this case," Lake said.

"You sure Mia didn't see anything else?" Cragen asked Olivia.

Olivia shook her head, "She told me everything."

"Talk to the siblings, see if they saw anything useful," He said. Everyone nodded and headed to Tammy's house.

There were 4 siblings in total to interview, but none of them had anything useful to add to the story. Two of them saw the dog, but they didn't even notice Mia follow it out of the park. They both described it as a miniature Lassie. None of them saw the van; they didn't even notice Mia wondering off. Olivia had to bite her tongue to keep from expressing her disgust. Elliot sensed her annoyance and ended the interview as quickly as he could so they could leave.

"What was that about?" Elliot asked when they were back in the car.

"It was their responsibility to watch her and they didn't even notice she was gone until she was on here way back. There were four of them, and not one of them could protect that girl." She shook her head in disappointment and leaned back in her seat with a sigh.

"This case is really getting to you," Elliot said, pulling out of the driveway and heading back to the precinct.

"Seeing kids like her wasting away in foster care, yeah, that bothers me."

"I'd rather see Mia in a home like that than on the streets because there's no one to take care of her. The system sucks, everyone knows it, but at least it's something. She could be dealing with a lot worse."

Olivia knew Elliot was right, and she agreed, but it didn't make her feel any better. For the rest of the ride she just stared out the window, and Elliot let her. When they got back he went into the squadroom while Olivia went into the locker room to pull herself together before they had to go back to work. When Elliot saw Matt and Christy standing by Olivia's desk he was furious.

"What the hell are you two doing here?"

"I told Olivia I'd be back if she didn't contact me," Christy said.

"Leave. Now."

"We have a right to be here," Matt said.

"No, you don't. We're working an important case and we don't have time to be chatting. You can't just come in here to bother Olivia while she's working a case. Now get out before I drag you out."

"We're not leaving," Matt said.

"Yes, you are," Elliot was practically snarling, his face millimetres away from Matt's.

"Come on, it's not worth it. We'll come back later," Christy said, grabbing Matt's arm to pull him away. Matt and Elliot glared at each other for a few more seconds, then he and Christy left.

"Feeling better?" Elliot asked when Olivia came back into the squadroom. She hadn't seen Matt or Christy.

"I'm fine," she said.

"Anything new?" Cragen asked Olivia and Elliot.

"No, they didn't see anything," Elliot replied.

"Alright. Go home and get some rest, both of you, there's not much more we can do until Miles is found."

"Want a ride?" Elliot offered.

"Can you drop me off at the hotel?" Elliot knew which hotel she was talking about. He didn't say anything, just nodded and followed her out the door.