Chapter Thirty-Six - Mara

Rock looked at Liv across the table. Liv and Alex were talking. Abbie was reviewing the notes that Liv had made from the scene and the binder. She did give them the connections that they needed to blame D. J. and Robin for the deaths of the women in the brothel. She would like proof that Somehow they'd found out the Mara was going to flip on them.

"What is it, Rock?"

"How?"

"How what?" Liv asked him in response.

"How did you know to look in that room?" he asked.

"Mara and I had gotten close in our own way. Just because I was playing a role and undercover doesn't mean that I stop asking questions when my gut thinks that something is hinky. I know what to look for and what to do. This isn't my first rodeo, Rock. I've been doing this longer than you have had your badge," Liv told him.

"Liv, I am not sure that is what he meant. Relax, hun. We are all here to find something. We found it. Abbie has the proof that she needs on that thumb drive to link the cases. We are still waiting to find out what else on it so we can see what other charges we can add on top of it."

"I know, Alex. I am sorry. I just…I need to get out of here. Excuse me," Liv told her, standing up and leaving the conference room.

"Go with her, Alex. George and I will stay here. We'll wait to see what the tech guys pull off the thumb drive. I'll text you and Liv if we need more clarification," Abbie told her.

"Let her go blow off some steam, she deserves it. She has been running on empty for weeks. I think that being here may trigger some memories and flash backs. Be aware that Julie will be more present than Liv. Tread lightly with that, she isn't going to break, but she'll be moody."

"Thanks, George. I think I can handle a moody Benson. Keep me informed because I am sure that she is going to want to know what is going on back here. I'll call you if she can think of anything else that you might need to know," Alex explained.

"We'll be fine. You be careful. We'll meet somewhere for dinner. Go and help her relax," Abbie told her and then turned to Rock, "I need everything on this case. Not just want y'all decided to put in the binder. I want all the notes, photos, everything. And, get the techies moving. I want to be able to be back in Washington in a few days, not weeks."

Alex found Liv standing outside the FBI office building. She wasn't pacing like she normally would. She seemed almost at peace in the Southern sunshine. There was something about Liv, seeing her dressed down in Montgomery that Alex found sexy.

"Hey," Liv said as she joined her.

"Hey yourself, Beautiful," Alex replied.

Liv laughed slightly before asking, "Why do you do that?"

"Do what, Liv?"

"Love me like that?" Liv asked.

"It is easy because I have always loved you. Knowing that you love me back, now, makes it even easier. Let's get away from this for a while I got a vehicle. Let's go for a drive. Show me around Montgomery," Alex told her.

"If you want," Liv replied non-committedly.

"Is there something else that you want to do?" Alex asked, confused by her lack of want.

"I have a crazy idea, but I don't know that you'll go for it."

"Try me, Liv. I am just as restless as you are. I know that you want to go back to the crime scene so you can see more. We can if you want. I'll just text Abbie and let her know."

"I don't."

"You don't?" Alex questioned.

"No, I don't. I mean, I do, but not, right now. I need to wait until we get the information off of the thumb drive. I am sure that it will spark something that I missed in the binder or at the scene. When I know what Mara knew, it will help me then. I can go back and know what else to look for. I'll know what else could possibly be there."

"I think that you are thinking about it too hard."

"I am not. I know what Mara was thinking. I know what D. J. and Robin are capable of doing. I just don't know what clues Mara would have left me. That thumb drive is just the beginning. I am sure that there is more. What is on it may even be in code, but I have to wait to see what they pull off of it for now," Olivia explained.

"Okay, so what do you want to do?" Alex asked her.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Well, I do."

"Then just tell me," Alex told her.

"I want to go to Mara's house."

"You want to go to Mara's house?"

"Yes," Olivia answered.

"She had house besides the brothel?"

"Yes."

"But, the Bureau never said anything about it. If you know where it is, why don't they? What didn't you tell Rock and the rest?" Alex questioned.

"Mara was the name of the madam that ran the brothel. It wasn't her real name. It was the name that she ran the business under. It was the only name that D. J. and Robin knew her under."

"Smart move on her part," Alex stated.

"You have no idea."

"Then what is her real name?"

"Her real name is Moira Hope O'Leary."

"She's Irish?"

"And as Catholic as Elliot," Liv stated.

"Wow, didn't see that coming."

"Yeah, neither did I. She told me as a secret. She wanted me to know when I let her know about the fate of her sister. She knew then that she could trust me. I was trying to figure out how to let Ike and Russell know the truth about her when all Hell broke loose in Atlanta. I had to do damage control. I didn't have time to let anyone know anything, because I was too worried about saving Frankie and myself," Liv told her.

"I am sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Liv asked her.

"That I wasn't there for you. That I couldn't be there for you. That you couldn't let me know. That I was too wrapped up in my own need to feel and feel like I had a purpose that I left you."

Olivia gathered her up, as they continued to stand on the sidewalk in front of the government building. She kissed Alex, fully and without reservation. She wanted Alex to feel everything that she was feeling. She wanted to erase the pain that their separation had caused them both.

"It isn't your fault."

"But, if I hadn't left—"

"We wouldn't be here now. We might not be together. We would possibly still be fighting how we feel about each other. Who knows Alex? Who knows where we would be? Let's agree to stop thinking about what could have happened and focus on what we have now. That is what is important now. We have each other."

"I love you," Alex told her.

"I love you, too, Alex."

"I…you're right. We do need to focus on us and our family with Xander. It is the most important thing to me now," Alex said.

"Will you go to her house with me?"

"Yes," Alex replied.

"No questions?"

"None."

"Interesting."

"Why?"

"I am just waiting for your inner lawyer to come out and shut me down."

"That is the part that is driving me to find out what else that Mara could tell us. If she can give us more from the grave, then she will help us find her justice, not only for herself but also for her sister. I want to help. I want to help you get their justice."

"Then, let's go. I am sure that we can find something. I don't know what or if it will help, but I am sure that she left us something."

"Then, let's go find it, Liv. Let's get your justice. Let's solve this case so it can go to trial and we can go home to Xander."

Liv pulled into the driveway of a house. Alex looked at it. It was modest but it was nice. The lush lawn and the gardens belied its true owner's nature. It looked like a house out of Better Homes and Garden.

The house was a simple ranch style that was commonly built in the late 1970s or early 1980s. It was brick and dark red in color. The pale green shutters offset the coloring of the brick. The rest of the trim was black and white. The dark black roof was waving off heat. The front door was the same color of the shutters. It had a very decorative glass in a three quarter oval. The ornate glass had nickel caming that matched the nickel hardware. The nickel house numbers proclaimed that it was 1508.

Liv walked to the front door. She paused at the door and waited for Alex to join her. Alex was still trying to figure out how a madam lived in such a beautiful house. She kept thinking about secrets that Mara must have kept in order to have completely different lives. Then she looked at Liv. She understood.

"What's wrong?"

"I understand Julie more and more as we investigate this case."

"Why is that?"

"Because she is you."

"You've been telling me that for weeks."

"I know, but there are some many things that make it more real every day. We both had to hide our real identities to protect ourselves, but at what cost? What did it cost us? We were hiding to help a case. What was Mara hiding from? Why did she pose as the madam?" Alex asked.

"I don't know. I never thought to ask. I mean I should have but I was so flabbergasted by the news that she gave me about the trafficking of the babies and girls that it didn't matter. My inner detective came out and I tried to find out as much information that I could so the FBI could stop it. I never thought about who was telling me anything. I was undercover to get information."

"No one is faulting you for that. We all understand. You were doing your job, just like anyone of us would have," Alex told her.

"I should have known something. I should have asked more questions. I should have dug deeper. I could have saved her if I had," Liv stated.

"I don't think that you would have. But, we can't keep trying to beat ourselves up about what we couldn't do. We need to do what we can now."

"I know that. I found the key. Let's go inside."

"You aren't scared that someone is going to call the cops about this?"

"We are in suburbia and I opened the door with a key. At most, any noisy neighbor is going to call Mara's cell phone and leave a message that we were here. But, more than likely, no one is going to do anything. They are going to know that we were here but they aren't going to tell anyone. People have a tendency to stay to themselves more and more these days."

"What happened to getting to know your neighbors?" Alex asked.

"Do you know your neighbors, Alexandra?"

"Well, no, but…I see what you did there."

"After you, darling," Liv stated, smiling, holding the door open.

"What are we looking for?" Alex asked going inside.

"I have no idea. I am sure that Mara left something of value for the case here. How could she not? This is her home. This is where she didn't have to be Mara. This was her sanctuary. She could hide here and no one would know about it," Olivia stated.

"Bedroom?"

"I was thinking office and kitchen, first."

"Really?"

"Bedrooms are too obvious. She wasn't an obvious person. She was the perfect madam in the brothel, but get her out of it and she was a very private person. She was just Mara to me."

"I know I may have asked before but did you ever…"

"No, Alex, I never did anything with Mara. Our relationship was strictly business. We flirted in front of people because we needed to, but we both learned early on that nothing was going to happen between us. Besides, I think that she had guy that she was serious with."

"A guy?"

"Yeah, a guy," Liv answered.

"Don't you think that we should talk to him?" Alex asked.

"After we search the house," Liv replied.