Chapter 20
Elliot practically waltzed into the precinct the next morning. He hadn't felt this good in years. Suddenly everything seemed brighter and that was an odd feeling. He and Olivia hadn't admitted much to each other and had basically spent the night just together – almost like normal. The big difference was that his partner had let him hold her and she had also let him sleep in her bed – fully clad in pajamas – no hankie pankie. It almost felt like they were an old married couple, which was a big step up for them.
Olivia had made it fully clear that even though Kathy had initiated the divorce and that this one would stick, she would not be used as ammunition. Elliot and Kathy weren't legally separated or anything given the divorce announcement had come only days prior and Olivia did not want to be the other woman. Kathy could use their relationship to get full custody of Eli and that was something that the brunette did not want. The older kids could make up their own minds but Eli would get no say until quite a few years later. He had agreed. He'd been waiting quite a few years to tell Olivia how he felt and he wasn't about to mess things up now as they neared the finish line.
"Who put uppers in your coffee? Last time I checked our case is in the toilet," Fin gave Elliot a look as he sat down at his temporary desk.
"Liv had an idea and I figure that once I share said idea, the case might not be in such bad shape," Stabler explained.
"How's she doing?" Fin asked.
"Better. Hopefully she'll be cleared to come back to work soon," Elliot said.
"Ten hut!" The two men bolted out of their chairs only to see who had just barked the order.
"You sorry sacks are a sight for sore eyes," Cragen chuckled as they relaxed. Quickly they came over and shook his hand.
"We weren't sure when you were coming back," Elliot said.
"Neither was I until Tucker called last night. I've officially been cleared thanks to the work you guys and the rest of the squad did. Where are Munch and Kenny anyway?" The Captain wanted to know.
"Munch is down at the FBI building. I guess whatever the local office in Bangor, Maine dug up couldn't leave Federal Custody," Fin explained.
"I haven't heard from Kenny…" Elliot suddenly grew concerned. Cragen looked at his watch and realized what day it was.
"He'll be late. Today is his cousin Cathy's birthday," the Captain frowned. Cathy was the daughter of his Uncle, Lennie Briscoe. She'd been murdered by the drug dealer whom she testified against. Every year on her birthday, Kenny always swung by his Aunt's to give her flowers and to sit with her a little while. After Lennie died, his visits became all the more important for Kenny. His Aunt and Uncle may have been divorced but they still came together over the death of their daughter.
"Damn," Elliot shook his head. The group had taken Kenny under their wing as he was the most junior detective. He had a good nose for the work and felt he had big shoes to fill after his Uncle retired, even though Lennie worked out of the two-seven.
"Tucker told me that he's going to check in with Olivia this morning. While she's not cleared for duty yet, there are some things that are going to prevent her from joining us just yet," Cragen shifted topics.
"Why would Baby Girl not be able to join us?" Fin grew concerned and he could tell that Elliot was definitely concerned.
"Seems we're finally getting that office upgrade we'd been promised about eight years ago. Apparently all it takes is having a shooting to get the ball rolling," the Captain chuckled slightly at the irony of it all.
"So we're not moving back downstairs any time soon huh?" Elliot asked.
"Not for a few weeks, no. Tomorrow a crew is coming out and they will be demoing everything that made it look so homey. New paint, new furniture, new structure. It supposedly won't look anything like it used to," Cragen explained.
"No PTSD triggering moments is what they're aiming for," Fin said.
"Exactly. Can't have a trigger if you can't see the blood spots on the floor," the Captain said.
"How about that new coffee pot that Munch has been whining about?" Elliot asked.
"Hopefully it comes with the furniture. Now bring me up to speed," Cragen told them. Quickly the two detectives explained where they were at. Elliot added what Olivia had been thinking and the two men agreed. It would have been the best way for someone to gain access to the real Sarah Marvin's personal numbers. Cragen ordered Elliot to call missing persons to see what had been dug up and while he was on the phone, Munch strolled back into the temporary bullpen, a smirk on his face.
"Missing persons is sending over Detectives Raul and Sanchez. Apparently they have something they want to share. Munch, why do you look like the cat that ate the canary?" Elliot asked.
"Because I'm willing to bet that Raul and Sanchez figured out what I figured out. The reason I couldn't have the files shipped to the precinct is because there is still an active FBI case surrounding people close to the Marvins. Seems that one of their neighbor's kids went missing two days after Sarah and the FBI first thought that Sarah and this girl were kidnapped by the same perp. Problem was, this other girl's blood was found on some rocks near the ocean a few days after she disappeared. Thinking that maybe the timing of this apparent suicide was a little off, the Bongor office kept the file open. Agent Schimanski has been digging in his spare time and he thinks he might be onto something," the elder detective pulled two photos out of the file he held in his hands.
"They look familiar?" Munch showed his coworkers by placing the photos on the desk.
"Are they both Sarah?" Fin looked at the pictures of the teenagers, slightly confused.
"They look like they could be, don't they? That is so weird," Elliot said.
"Sarah is the one on the right. Her neighbor, Molly, is on the left. Molly is only a year younger than Sarah," Munch told them.
"How did the Marvins not recognize this as Molly?" Cragen wondered.
"Well if you'd been told she'd committed suicide, I'm not sure her name would come to mind," Munch said.
"So are you thinking that Molly murdered Sarah and took over her identity? Seems like a lot for a fourteen year old," Fin wasn't so sure.
"Well Agent Schimanski dug into Molly's family life. Seems her father was an abusive drunk, who died two years after Molly disappeared. He had a little accident with a tractor trailer. Her mother disappeared after that and Schimanski has been unable to locate her," his partner explained.
"So no one would actually be looking for Molly outside of Agent Schimanski and if she took over Sarah's life, then she'd be unaware of what happened with her parents. The question is, how did she know that Sarah wasn't coming back?" Elliot wondered. Munch put his finger on his nose.
"Bingo. Molly either killed Sarah or she watched someone else do it," the elder detective smirked.
"Fin, Munch, pack your bags. You're going up to Maine. Elliot, when Kenny comes back in, I want you two sitting down with the Marvins and missing persons. We need to get this straightened up now," Cragen said.
To Be Continued…