To Amanda's dismay, she and Carisi rode around Manhattan for quite awhile, hitting every party store and costume supply store they saw. They eventually found someone who recognized Reagan Turner, a store manager adjacent to Times Square, and he even remembered something else that they hadn't been expecting—the last time that Reagan had come in to buy the makeup she needed, she'd had a companion with her.
Because she was bored out of her skull, Casey went to visit her favorite squad.
Not long after she arrived and Olivia filled her in, Amanda and Carisi returned from their clue-hunting. Olivia and Casey let their friends get settled back in and get set up in the media center, but eventually, both lieutenant and attorney broke and went to go see them at the media center. Elliot and Fin were already there, waiting to see what was to happen during the inevitable powwow.
"What's happening here?" Casey asked.
Amanda greeted her in surprise, not having noticed her sooner. "Good afternoon, councilor. What brings you here from downtown?"
"Boredom."
"And yes," Olivia said, stepping in quickly when Amanda made to say something else. "She knows everything that's going on, right down to what you and Carisi were just up to. And Carisi called me after you left the morgue, so I know about the sweet-smelling bullet Doctor Warner found. Casey does, too."
"Has there been any follow-up on that?"
"Yes, Rollins, but I would like for you two to go first, please."
"Right—we just came from the Periwinkle Party Boutique by Times Square, and not only did the manager recognize Reagan Turner when we showed him her picture, but he also remembered the name of a person who had come in with Reagan the last time she'd made a purchase."
"Oh?"
Right on cue, Carisi sent a mugshot up on to the main view screen, and they found themselves looking at a picture of a bedraggled young woman holding up a name plaque with her name and prisoner number for the camera.
"This is Karissa Lee Redding, aged twenty-six. She has a rap sheet for a few things like petty theft and public intoxication, but she's suspected of having ties to more serious things." Amanda explained. "According to the records, nobody has ever been able to prove it."
Carisi added, "Those things include weapons trafficking and one count of prostitution."
Olivia heard what they were saying, but she was still back at start—hearing Karissa's full name had triggered something her memory.
Casey was thinking along the same lines as her friend because she said suddenly, "Back up—Karissa's last name is Redding?"
"Uh-huh. Karissa Lee is her legal first name, and she lives on Staten Island."
Casey groaned. "Amanda, is there a record of a Brannon Lee Redding? He'd be classified as deceased."
Amanda skimmed the records until she found what she was looking for. "He died in a courtroom brawl that turned into a firefight in 2005. What's wrong?"
Casey had sunk into the nearest chair and was tracing shapes over her baby belly, trying to distract herself as she tried not to lose herself in the memories of what she was about to say.
"I was there that day, in that courtroom. We all were—me, Olivia, Elliot, Fin, and Munch."
"Munch and I were both even shot." Elliot added.
Amanda just stared. Carisi, too.
Olivia stepped in. "Long story short: twelve years ago, we encountered Brannon Lee Redding during a school shooting case, and he had a lot of interactions with Casey. The trial went sideways when the son of one of the main suspects opened fire in court, and he held Casey hostage at gunpoint for a few moments before he threw her to the ground."
Carisi turned to the woman in question. "Did you make it out alright?"
"Compared to some people in that courtroom, yes. I just had a bruised elbow from landing on it the wrong way." Casey sighed. "Redding literally died on the stand, but he wouldn't have lasted long in jail, anyway. He was in trouble for some horrible actions, but a lot of things I did and said during throughout the course of that investigation put him on the stand that day. He was was a skinhead and not the sharpest tool in the shed, but now we've encountered his little sister, and she sounds like his opposite—scheming, and highly intelligent. If she connects me to the death of her brother, I'm toast because I have a family to worry about now if I get hurt."
"We won't let it come to that." Amanda and Carisi said in unison.
Casey actually smiled. "Thanks, you guys."
Olivia turned to Elliot. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to get a handle on Karissa's financials. It's easier said than done because this is just insane."
That was as much as they were going to get out of him, so they just let him be as he worked at the computer.
Amanda said to Olivia, "What was the lead that you got from Doctor Warner? She told us that she suspected the killer is female because the bullet had been soaked in something sweet-smelling, like perfume."
"Because it was perfume. The analysis from the lab came back, and they said the sample that Melinda sent to them was a special perfume, just released. The scent is vanilla and rosemary."
"Besides the picture, that's how the party store manager was able to recognize Karissa—he remembered what she smelled like. Why would she soak the bullets, though?"
Casey shuddered. "Because Karissa is either that twisted, or she's trying to make a point—or both. Is there anything like fingerprints or fibers that we should know about?"
"Doctor Warner didn't say anything, so I don't think so."
"Meaning that what we've got is only circumstantial, at least where Karissa is concerned. Please don't go after her until you have something solid."
"You said she lives on Staten Island, right?" Olivia said to Amanda.
"Yes. She lives at 1095 Twain Street."
Olivia turned turned this time to Elliot. "Take Fin and go check the place out."
Nearby, Fin's head snapped up. "I heard my name!"
"You're going to go take a ride with Elliot to check out Karissa's place. Carisi can take over what you're doing."
They left quickly, and Carisi soon buried himself in the computer records.
"What about me?" Amanda asked her CO.
"Please compile a report of Karissa Lee Redding's life, especially when she first encounters Reagan Turner, and leave it on my desk when you're done."
Amanda nodded in understanding and headed back to her desk.
Meanwhile, Casey had been heading back to Olivia's office to collect her things. Olivia ran to catch up.
"Cassandra," Olivia said seriously as she watched her get ready to go out into the rain. "What are you thinking? I know that look of determination in your eyes way too well."
"I'm going to write a report for Alex, but I'm also going to crack open the law books in my office because it's been awhile."
"Perusing anything in particular?"
"Circumstantial evidence."
When Olivia raised an eyebrow, Casey tacked on support.
"I have every ounce of faith in your squad, so don't worry. I'm just doing this for my own peace of mind."
"Pardon?"
"It's been twelve years since that shootout—over a decade—and it's still brought up at official things like performance reviews because it sent me into counseling."
Olivia became sympathetic. "Oh, Casey. I never knew."
Casey waved a hand of dismissal. "It is what it is, but at least I'd recovered from being attacked by then."
"I still feel responsible for that, since he snuck in while I was out."
"It is what it is," Casey repeated. "But I'm also remembering my downfall and everything that came with it."
Olivia knew that Casey meant the time she'd crossed the line one step too far and helped to cover up a murder committed by Detective Chester Lake. Nobody ever said his name, but Olivia still knew Casey well enough to know that this particular event was what was on Casey's mind.
"Are you going to tell Sophia about it soon?"
Casey nodded. "Even if she was a teenager when this went down, I still owe it to her because it was part of my history, and because we have a family together, and I want to marry her."
Without missing a beat, Olivia said, "Part of being in a committed relationship with someone is having all of the cards on the table, face-up. Alex is the love of my life, Casey, and even if we didn't have all the kids in our lives that we do, we both still know that after all these years and everything we've been through together, we still want to get married. We missed our chance before, but we won't this time."
"No?"
"I want to propose to her, but I need to figure out when. I also have to get a ring."
"Does Alex have any inkling of this?"
Olivia shook her head. "No. Sophia does, though, but that's because I don't have the willpower to keep things from her and she keeps 'dropping hints' about how she would like for herself and Noah to have to married parents."
"Well, mum's the word, I promise," Casey said sincerely. "But if you're telling me all these things, then that means that you and Alex 'laid all the cards on the table,' huh?"
Olivia nodded. "Yep—she knows my secrets now, and I know hers. I'm not saying to go tell Sophia everything in one go, but your 'downfall,' as you call it, is a good place to start."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Casey, she loves you so much, and past transgressions wouldn't make her think any less of you."
Casey breathed a sigh of relief she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. "Thanks, Liv. I feel better now."
"I'm so glad."
Olivia looked her friend over and saw that she was finally ready to go back out into the rain.
"You going to to be alright, heading outside?"
"I'll be fine, but I can't say the same for baby boy," Casey ran a hand over her bump. "Because he hates the cold and gives me grief about it. At least my office is warm, and I've got food in the fridge."
"So you'll be alright?"
"Mhm. You'll call me if something changes?"
Olivia nodded. "You bet."
Twenty minutes later found Casey drying off and cozy in her office. Her lunch was on her desk, alongside the law book she'd been thinking of, but at the moment, she was at the window, looking out at the rainy cityscape.
All she could think about, instead of work, was being with her family.
