Recap: Sophia and Melissa returned from dinner at Casey's place, and Melissa knows now that Casey is also pregnant, and she's happy about it. Sophia and Casey have also made plans to talk about some important things during their upcoming movie night, and also during an in-city staycation at The Plaza Hotel in the next week. This chapter that you're about to read is about the case surrounding Floyd-William Enos.


"Liv? Everything okay?"

"Hm?"

The lieutenant was at her desk, mug of steaming coffee in hand, reflecting on yet another crazy morning: Upon seeing what looked like an End Of Times downpour outside, Melissa had hidden her shoes because she didn't want to go out, and inspired by this, Noah had stripped himself of his pajamas and diaper and run around the apartment, stark naked. Before seven in the morning. Capping it all off, while Sophia was a little mopey about being away from Casey, Alex's nausea was worse than usual, and she ended up having to stay home at the last minute.

How Olivia had gotten out of the house in one piece, she didn't know.

Now, Amanda was standing in front of her at her desk, supporting herself on her forearm crutches and watching her with a mixture of curiosity and amusement.

"Amanda," Olivia said, motioning for her to sit down. "Just be glad that it's only you, Dominick, and Jesse right now."

Amanda sat in front of her CO's desk, on one of the chairs. "Rough morning?"

"Melissa is more of a fashionista than I thought—she took one look at the rain outside and hid her shoes because she thought that would mean she wouldn't have to go outside."

"Wow. Dare I ask what Noah did?"

"He took her silliness a step further by taking off everything he was wearing and running around the apartment at six-thirty in the morning."

Amanda winced and wrinkled her nose. "He didn't pee on anything, did he?"

"No. I probably would have broken down if he did."

"How was Sophia?"

"She and Melissa went to dinner at Casey's place last night, and this morning she was just a little blue because she isn't with her today."

"Awww. How's Alex?"

"Knocked out of commission for today because the nausea is just that bad."

Amanda shook her head. "And how are you?"

Olivia shrugged and had a sip of her coffee. "In one piece, although I think it's just because of sheer, dumb luck. We just need a bigger place to live."

"We're thinking about that, too, especially since we'll have two kids this time next year." the young woman sighed, wishing that she could help her friend. "Is there anything you need right now?"

"For time to speed up so we can solve this case about your dad."

"I'd like that, too."

BEEP!

Olivia checked her phone as it beeped with a new text, and when she read it, she sighed before sending a new message and putting the phone back in lock-screen mode.

"That was Fin. He's stuck in traffic, but will be along soon. At least Elliot is out in the bullpen."

"New York is weird: people will forage through a blizzard, but woebetide anyone who feels even a drop of rain because it's all of a sudden the end of the world."

"I've lived in this town for over fifty years. I know what you're talking about, all too well."

Olivia made to say something else, but was interrupted by a call from Melinda. It only took a few minutes, but when it was over, Olivia hung up and turned to Amanda.

"Melinda has a body at the morgue that she wants me to send people to examine."

"Is it Reagan Turner, the girl whose DNA was found on my dad's… you-know-what?"

Olivia nodded. "Mhm, and since Fin is stuck in traffic, I want you to go with Dominick."

"Did someone say my name?"

"Speak of the devil."

Dominick had been happening past Olivia's office on his way back from the bathroom when he heard her say his name, so he double-backed.

"Come in." Olivia beckoned to him. "Warner's just called—she's got Reagan Turner's body on the slab in the morgue. I need you and Amanda to go."

Carisi stood side Amanda's chair. "Alright. Where's Fin? Stuck in traffic?"

"Yes, actually."

"Alright, then." he turned to Amanda. "You good?"

Amanda knew he meant standing up on her own because of her bad ankle.

"I'm good. Back up."

Carisi did as asked, and watched as Amanda stood and steadied herself on the forearm crutches.

"You good?" he asked Amanda.

She nodded. "Yep."

"Report back, ASAP!" Olivia called after her friends' retreating backs.


At the morgue, Melinda saw Amanda and Carisi first.

"Is it still raining hard outside?" she asked when she saw Amanda wring out her hair, and Carisi wipe excess water off his jacket.

"Like the Second Coming of Noah's Flood." Carisi griped.

"I don't think I've ever seen both of you here together before."

"Fin got stuck in traffic, so the lieutenant is holding down the fort at HQ."

"And," Amanda chimed in. "She said Alex is knocked out of commission today because she's feeling extra nauseous."

Melinda raised an eyebrow at the other woman. "And how are you on the nausea level?"

Amanda knew what Melinda was driving at, but she still grew taken aback—she wasn't that far along in her pregnancy, and still keeping things on the down-low.

"How did you know?"

Melinda winked. "Just because I spend so much time around death, that doesn't mean I don't have a keen eye when it comes to life. I also have a daughter who is a little bit younger than you, and she's a mother, too."

"I'm only six weeks along, though! Is it really that apparent?"

"Only to those of us that know you."

"Well, I'm fine, right now, but I'll tell something if it changes. The only thing I don't want to see is my dad's dead body."

"Alright." Melinda beckoned for her friends to follow her. "This way, please. Reagan Turner is over here."

Amanda and Carisi followed her across the lab, to a slab, upon which lay a young woman. She was dead, and her body was clean, and covered from the shoulders down by a white sheet. They couldn't see what color her eyes were, but she was covered in freckles and was a natural brunette. At this, Amanda found herself thankful that the trick her father had spent his last earthly moments with hadn't been a blond.

"So this is Reagan Turner?" Amanda asked.

Melinda nodded. "She was found at a crime scene I was examining this morning. We barely had time to examine her before the rain started."

"That's alright." Carisi said. "How did you ID Reagan? We didn't know she was dead—just MIA."

"Olivia called me to tell me to keep my eyes pealed for someone called Reagan Turner. I ran the name when he got back here, and lo and behold, a young woman matching her description," Melinda motioned towards the girl on the slab. "Popped right up. There's also this."

Melinda pointed a gnarly, jagged scar on Reagan's shoulder.

"That's a nasty scar." said Amanda, upon observation. "I've got my fair share of battle scars from getting hurt in the line of duty, but you can only really see them when I put on a bathing suit. Reagan's is right there on her shoulder; that doesn't jive well, since she always had to look her best if she wanted to attract a john."

"Can you tell what made the scar?" Carisi asked.

"No, because the scars is that old." Melinda admitted. "There's one thing I can tell you, though."

"What's that?"

"She covered the scar up with something like clown makeup."

"Clown makeup?"

"I know the difference between that and regular makeup foundation. That girl covered her scar with skin-colored clown makeup, and she did it so well that I didn't see the scar at all until I was washing her, and the makeup came off."

Carisi made notes of this on his notepad and then asked, "When the lieutenant told you Reagan's name, did she tell you why we're looking for her?"

"She said that Reagan was a trick, and that she was the last person to be Amanda's father before he died."

Amanda spoke up. "Is there any evidence that Reagan killed my dad and then skipped out? Maybe rob him, too?"

"She didn't kill him, but she was raised by the same person who did."

"How do you figure? My dad was shot to death, but I don't see so much as a scratch on Reagan."

"Au contraire."

Melinda pointed out needle marks on the inside of Reagan's arm, just above her elbow, and then to her mouth. It was here that the detectives noticed something: it was red with a rash and kind of crusty.

Amanda took a step back and pointed with one of her crutches. "What the hell is that?"

"It looks like someone forced her to drink a lot of alcohol—there are also marks along her throat that makes it look like she was literally being held against her will."

"Melinda, it also looks like she had a big allergic reaction to something."

"I haven't had a chance to open her up yet, but I'm going to say that she was also forced to ingest something else that isn't ideal for human consumption. This girl was murdered."

Melinda picked up an evidence jar and held it up for Amanda and Carisi to see.

"The cherry on top is this: it's the bullet that killed Floyd-William Enos, and it was recovered at the scene, but…"

"Yes?" Amanda prompted.

"The statistics are low, but I think that the killer is female."

"Actually, even though I haven't seen my dad since I was twelve, the statistics for his killer being female are a lot higher than you'd think. My dad was a dog, and the list of women who could want him dead—let alone actually kill him—is longer than there are hours in the day."

"Then allow me to give you a push in the right direction: I think the killer is female because when I examined the bullet, it smelled like some kind of sweet perfume."

Amanda backed up a little further. "Anything sweet like that that I catch a whiff of spikes up the nausea."

"I won't make you smell it, but good to know. I sent a sample of the substance to be analyzed, and I'm pretty sure it's still perfume. I'll call when things are confirmed."

"Thank you. Is there anything else?"

Melinda shook her head. "Not right now. Good luck with tracking everything else down."

They thanked her, and when Amanda and Carisi were back in the elevator, leaving the morgue level for the parking garage, where they'd parked their car.

Amanda turned to her partner. "I'll call the lieutenant, but does this mean what I think it means?"

"Oh, yes."

"Great. If you tell anyone about my fear of clowns while we spend the next few hours riding around the city—in the rain—going to costume supply stores, then there's no sex for a week."

Carisi was quick to agree to this because Amanda had used the words 'clown' and 'sex' in the same sentence.

"My lips are sealed."

"Thank God. This day is going to drag."