"What about Elizabeth?"
Kathleen spoke shakily. "Olivia, she didn't come home last night."
"Oh, my God."
"My sister is a good person, and she's able to keep a job, but she kind of turned into a wild child after our parents' marriage started crumbling. She's left before, but she always comes back before long."
"Kathleen," Olivia said gently. "Did you tell the captain at Narcotics? Charlotte Simpson, right?"
"Yeah, that's her. She isn't exactly a people person, and hasn't been fond of Elizabeth since the last time this happened—she felt that it was a waste of the squad's time, looking for her."
Olivia wrinkled her nose. "How old was Elizabeth last time?"
"Twenty-one, and borderline intoxicated. I had to deal with that on my own, and it wasn't fun."
"Why? Where was everyone?"
"Dad was undercover with Yardley—but there's a stretch—and Zacharias was on his way home from a tour in Afghanistan."
"What about Maureen?"
"On a special assignment for the mayor's daughter—she got married in Hawaii, and likes Mo's work, so she asked for her, specifically." Realizing that she was going down a rabbit trail, Kathleen cleared her throat and righted herself. "Elizabeth never told me where she'd been that time, or what she'd gotten herself into, but she was on her way home when she was found. A month later, I found pregnancy tests in her bathroom trash. What I was doing in there at the time is another story."
Kathleen shuddered at the memory.
"Thankfully, all of the tests were negative, and when I confronted her on it, we got into a terrible fight, but she told me that she definitely wasn't pregnant."
Olivia couldn't imagine raising a sibling, and was all of a sudden quite thankful that she hadn't even learned about Simon until they were both adults.
"Are you thinking that Captain Simpson will give you a hard time because of your sister's history, and because she's an adult?"
"Yes, and I already know without even going to her that she won't tell me where dad and Yardley are at the moment. I just didn't know where else to go or who to talk to about this except for you, because I've known you since I was ten."
"Coming to find me was the right thing to do," Olivia reassured her. "And I will help you find Elizabeth. Do you think that Satchel DiMaggio has something to do with this?"
"Yeah, I do. I swear up and down that I saw him at a place near Grand Central yesterday, and I know Elizabeth hangs out in that neighborhood to people watch."
"Was she doing that yesterday?"
"Yeah, and she even looked me in the eye and told me that she wasn't going to leave the area… but she still didn't come home. If she crossed paths with DiMaggio, I'll be sick."
Olivia already felt that way, but only because she had no doubt that Satchel DiMarggio and Gunner DiMaggio were the same person.
"Does Elizabeth have any friends she'd stay with?"
"No. What friends she did have left her when she went bad, or else left New York for out-of-state colleges and haven't been back since. She's taken to having herself for company for the past year or so."
"Is she lonely?"
"Quite."
Thinking fast, Olivia asked, "Is there anyone you can call to take DJ right now?"
"I can call Maureen to come get her, but why? Olivia, what's going on?"
"You may have cracked our current case open a little bit further, but DJ definitely shouldn't hear what I want to talk to you about. Olivia can stay, though."
They both looked at the baby, still sleeping and blissful, with a smile on her face. Olivia suddenly realized she didn't have the willpower to put her down because it was making her think about holding hers and Alex's baby for the first time.
Kathleen grinned. "You don't want to put Sparkle down, do you?"
"I really don't." Olivia confessed sheepishly.
"Could you keep holding her while I call Mo? She's a heavy sleeper, so she shouldn't wake up if you take her into the bullpen."
"Sounds good to me."
Olivia stood and looked back at the baby, cooing to her.
"What do you think, sweet Sparkle? Do you want to hang out with everyone else?"
Baby Olivia yawned, stretched out and smiled broader, then slept on.
"Okay, Sparkle." Olivia kissed the baby on the forehead. "Let's go."
When Olivia made her way back into the squad room, she sat on the edge of Amanda's desk. The woman in question was still coloring with DJ, and Fin and Carisi were elsewhere.
"Hi, Livvy!" DJ chirped when she saw her. "You gots my Sparkle?"
Olivia chuckled at DJ's wording. "Yes, I do."
"For why?"
"Because your mama is making a phone call, and I wanted to keep holding Sparkle. That cool with you?"
DJ nodded. "Yep!"
She went back to coloring.
Amanda leaned back in her chair and looked up at Olivia, unable to move because DJ was on her lap and found it very comfortable.
"What's going on? I'm enjoying DJ, and I have a sudden urge to go home and hug Jesse, but now you're holding DJ's baby sister, and Fin greeted their mother like an old friend?"
"Okay, so I'm playing the 'Olivia is a fossil' card, but are you ready for an SVU history lesson?"
"Alright."
"First of all, baby Sparkle here, is really called Olivia Ruby McFadden—she was named after me."
"Awww."
"Her mom is named Kathleen McFadden, but until today, I hadn't seen her in six, almost seven years. The last time I did see Kathleen, though, her last name was Stabler."
Amanda's eyes widened in surprise. "You mean she's one of your old partner's kids?"
"Uh-huh."
Amanda knew full well of Elliot's abandonment because it had happened less than six months before her arrival, and even though Olivia kept a picture of him on her desk, she still didn't know much about the man himself, much less anything about his family.
Olivia nodded. "Kathleen is the second-oldest of the oldest of the Stabler children, and today, she needs our help, as much as we're going to need hers."
Amanda realized that her superior was talking in code because of DJ, so she asked something else. "How long have you known Kathleen? She actually referred to Fin as 'Uncle Fin,' and they were laughing at an inside joke from forever ago."
"I've known Kathleen since she was ten, so she's gotta be at least twenty-seven by now. The oldest of the Stabler children is a handful of years younger than you."
"I'm not sure if that makes me feel old, or what. I was already nineteen when you started here."
Olivia gave a sigh of dejection. "Between you and Sophia, I'm going to go grey early."
"Oh? Have I been practice for her?"
"Yes, but Amanda Coraline Grace Rollins, you've been as good as my baby for as long as we've known each other."
Amanda was flattered one moment, then derailed the next. "Wait—how did you learn my middle names?"
"I saw your service record when you first joined the SVU." Olivia winked. "Coraline Grace, though? Very beautiful, but not a combination you hear every day."
Now the southern belle was the one blushing. "Amanda is the name of one of my aunts. She actually moved to Manhattan awhile ago, and she's the only normal one in the family. I should bring Jesse to meet her…"
"Focus." Olivia laughed. "Why is Aunt Amanda the normal one?"
"She didn't let the Rollins family money go to her head, like my parents did. You met my mom, but I haven't seen my dad since I was twelve, and he let the money ruin his life. He was hardly around, anyway, so I don't remember him anymore."
Olivia felt more sympathy for Amanda than ever because she had never known this about her.
"Where did Coraline and Grace come from?"
"Coraline was my father's mother, and Grace was my mother's mother. I never met either of them, though, because they had both passed away before I was born." Amanda reached out and stroked DJ's hair affectionately, before looking at at her boss quizzically. "Why the sudden interest in baby girl names, though? Are Sophia and Noah getting a sister?"
"Actua—"
But before she could say anything fully, Kathleen had returned.
"Maureen and Jax were at Central Park, but they'll be here in about ten minutes. She even volunteered to take Olivia." Kathleen told the other two as she undid the baby wrap and tucked it away in the storage space under baby Olivia's stroller. "What'd I miss?"
Amanda smirked. "Just grown-up Olivia getting squirrelly."
Kathleen laughed and spoke to DJ. "Hey, Half Pint!"
DJ paused in her activity and looked to Kathleen. "Hi, mama!"
"Auntie Mo is coming to get you and Sparkle."
DJ pouted. "I don't want to go."
Kathleen matched the pout with a warning tone. "Don't get sassy with me, Diane."
DJ sobered up at the mention of her actual name. "Sorry."
"Thanks for the apology, DJ. I was going to say Auntie Mo is coming to get you and Sparkle, but guess what else?"
"Hmm?" DJ trilled.
"Jax is coming, too!"
DJ lit up and clapped her hands. "I love my Jax!"
"We know, kid." Kathleen pointed to the bottom of the stroller. "Why don't you get your jacket on?"
"But I need help."
"Maybe ask Amanda for help?"
Emboldened, the toddler enlisted Amanda's help to get ready to go.
While that was happening, Olivia and Kathleen stood to the side.
"Well, I guess I have to give the baby back." Olivia sighed, sad to relinquish her hold on her. "Here you go."
Olivia eased the baby back into Kathleen's arms and watched as Kathleen got her bundled up.
"Hey, Kathleen." Olivia said suddenly, digging her out her phone and searching for a specific picture. "I want to show you a picture of my son."
Kathleen set her daughter in the stroller and secured her before turning to her friend. "You have a son?"
Olivia nodded and showed her the picture she'd been looking for. "This is Noah. He just turned two."
"He's beautiful."
"Thanks." Olivia chirped. "I found him on a case when he was practically brand new, and I was able to foster him and adopt him."
"That's really wonderful, Olivia. I'm happy for you."
Olivia wanted to tell Kathleen more about Noah, but then she realized that if she did that, she'd have to start talking about Sophia. Doing that would compromise the next part of her plan.
Thankfully, Maureen showed up with Jaxon not long after that. Olivia was thrilled to see her again, and to meet Jaxon, but all too soon, it was back to business.
"Okay, Olivia." Kathleen said when her family had finally gone. "What's going on?"
"I need you to sit with a sketch artist to describe what Satchel DiMaggio looks like."
Olivia was clearly not in a mood to be trifled with, so Kathleen cooperated and went with a uniformed officer who was going to show her where to wait while a sketch artist was contacted.
When Olivia saw that she was in a different room, she strolled over to the media center. Amanda was in front of a computer monitor, and Olivia couldn't see what they were looking at because Fin and Carisi were gathered around her.
"What have you got?" Olivia asked. "The sealed file?"
"And a picture of Gunner DiMaggio," Amanda added as she put everything on the external main screen for Olivia to see. "From a mugshot."
As they all gathered in front of the screen, they took a look at Gunner's mugshot. It was from 2008, and he was holding up a sign with his name and arrest number on. A height chart was the photo backdrop. Gunner DiMaggio was fair-skinned with blond hair and blue eyes, and was overall very handsome. The only thing was that even though it was a mugshot, he looked bored.
"What's the rap sheet say?"
"That even though he was in his late teens when this picture was taken," Carisi reported. "In the space of about a year, he still committed grand larceny, indecent exposure, and grand theft auto."
"When was he caught?"
"January of 2010, in Queens but but he was let go on a technicality." Carisi raised an eyebrow at Olivia. "The file says that he was even suspected of murder awhile back, but nothing was ever confirmed."
This is not happening, Olivia thought.
"And he was caught in January 2010?"
"Yep, and everything was quiet after that by February 2010."
Fin was the one raising an eyebrow. "Who is this guy, Liv? What's his connection to Kathleen?"
Olivia steepled her fingers, hoping she could get this all in one go. "If this guy is who I think he is, then he's responsible for the murder of Kathy Stabler and the guy she left Elliot for, was last seen in the area where Elizabeth Stabler was last known to have been yesterday, he's Melissa's father, and also Sophia's ex-husband."
Amanda and Carisi looked politely puzzled, but Fin spoke up again.
"Olivia, I'm sure you'll fill us in in a little bit, but you should probably get hold of Sophia, pronto."
"Oh, absolutely."
This was going to be a long day.
