At the precinct, Olivia was having trouble keeping her temper in check.
Karissa Lee was in a bind: though she knew that there was actual buried treasure to look for, without the piece of paper that had the location written on it, she had no idea where it was… other than that it was in the Central Park woods.
At least she knew where she'd tucked her hostages away.
Truth be told, Karissa Lee was also bored, and she'd realized that after Kim's escape, she was bound to be caught because Kim was bound to tell the authorities everything.
So there was nothing for it, but to show her face.
That being said, she still had a few tricks up her sleeve. Pushing Olivia Benson's buttons was one of them.
"So you're telling me," the lieutenant was trying not to lose her cool. "That you met Floyd-William Enos one night in a bar—never mind that you're underage—and when he got to talking, he told you about this money that he has hidden away somewhere on the city?"
"Correct."
"But you came in here today because you're bored?"
Karissa Lee pretended to think about it, but her answer still came up sarcastically. "Yes. Yes, I did."
On the other side of the room, in the corner, Elliot said, "I don't suppose you'll tell us where the money is, or where Sophia and Detective Rollins are, will you?"
"What do you take me for? A fool?"
"No, definitely not."
"Good," she huffed in irritation. "Because there's no way that I'd freely give the information up. You'll have to work for it."
"Fantastic. Lieutenant Benson and I are patient—we could talk to you all night long, especially since you haven't asked for a lawyer."
"And," Olivia chimed in. "We still have you for at least two murders, and an attempted assault on ADA Novak. What possessed you to go after her? She's pregnant!"
"That bitch is the reason my family is dead!"
"You keep saying that—"
Karissa Lee rolled her eyes. "Because it's true!"
"Care to explain?"
"I never had any aunts, but then the one uncle I did have predeceased Brannon and I. So did our grandparents. My dad even died in Afghanistan when I was two!"
Olivia spoke sympathetically. "I'm very sorry to hear that, Karissa. May I ask what happened to your mother?"
"She fought in Afghanistan twice, and then was killed in a mugging only a month after Brannon died! After that, I was put into foster care where I was raped and abused, but did anyone help me?! NO! I WAS ONLY TWELVE!"
"But you feel that ADA Novak is the one that needs to be punished for what's happened to you over the years?"
"What I feel," Karissa Lee seethed. "Is the same thing I felt back then—when I was there in the courtroom, ducking and covering during the gunfight—rage. Both my brother and ADA Novak went down, but he didn't get back up, and she did? For that, I decided that if my path ever crossed with hers again, I would at least hurt her."
On the other side of the glass, Cassidy, Fin, Carisi, and Trevor looked at Casey. Surprisingly, any fear she had wasn't showing. Instead, she just looked pissed off.
"What are you thinking?" Alex asked her.
"That I'm not scared of her, and that I certainly wasn't scared of her brother because he was a dim skinhead." She looked around at the people assembled before her, her courtroom game face on. "Hear this, though—if I have to go into hiding, I refuse to go without Melissa. I will not be without my child."
"Noted. Where are you going now?"
For Casey had already turned on her heel, and was walking out of the observation area.
"To check on Judge Donnelley and Detective Brookings—I can't watch any more of this. Do you need me?"
"No."
Casey left without looking back.
The others turned back to window to continue watching the interrogation. It went on for a few more minutes before Karissa Lee said something that caught Trevor's attention.
"All I can say, is that I hope they're not too hot, wherever they are."
A light went off in Trevor's head.
"Oh, my God…" he murmured, rapping on the window.
"Use your words." Alex told him.
"I know where Sophia and Amanda are."
That was all he said before hurrying out of the room.
Olivia entered, a moment later. Elliot followed behind her, closing the door to the interrogation room.
"Who knocked on the glass?" he huffed. "We were getting somewhere!"
"Langan did it!" Carisi supplied quickly. "He had an epiphany about where Amanda and Sophia are."
Olivia looked around and put her hands on her hips. "Well, where the hell did Casey go?"
"She left to check on our guests, after Karissa Lee talked about wanting to hurt her."
"Then that's probably where she still is, and where Trevor is, too." Olivia made herding motions with her arms. "Come on."
They found Trevor and Casey at a table in the records room, deep in conversation with the judge. Beside them, Detective Brookings was poring over a map and talking to herself. Different types of maps about New York, both historical and present, littered the table.
"And you're sure about this?" Donnelley was saying to Trevor. "We only just figured out where the money is!"
"I'm one hundred percent sure, your honor."
"You had better be."
Casey began searching the table for something in particular. "Where's—oh, never mind! Found it!"
She was holding a yellow legal pad.
Olivia cleared her throat, and the others, including Detective Ruthers, looked up.
"What's happening, here?" Olivia asked.
Brookings responded first. "We've just deduced that the money is buried in the woods, on the side of the park that has the reservoir and The Plaza on it."
"That's really good work, detective. Do you have anything more specific than that?"
Casey handed Olivia the legal pad. "All the information is here."
Olivia thanked her and after a quick rundown of what was on the paper, she handed the paper off to Fin.
"Will you…?"
He took the paper and bobbed his head, understanding what she wanted.
"Yes, I will."
He showed himself out of the room, and Olivia turned to the others.
"Has Trevor explained his epiphany yet?"
Donnelley nodded. "He sure has."
She was back to sounding skeptical.
Feeling much like a kindergarten teacher, Olivia said, "Who wants to be the bigger person and tell me what it was?"
All eyes fell to Trevor.
"Okay, does anyone remember Franco's?"
Olivia nodded. "The old five-and-dime store on the edge of the reservoir?"
"The one and the same. It's the only business on that side of the water for ages."
Casey spoke up, remembering days gone by. "Junior, Ellington, Beatrix, Virginia, Tiffany, and I used to get our comic books there, every Saturday. We'd go get the newest issues of whatever we were working on, and we'd spend the afternoon together, just reading."
Donnelley cleared her throat pointedly. "Get off the rabbit trail, children."
Trevor took the reigns again. "Karissa Lee said that she hoped it didn't get too hot where Amanda and Sophia are—Franco's has fallen to the wayside because the original owners died in the spring, and then their children sold it. The furnace in the building still works, and I even remember as a kid, that it could get unbearably hot; that's how everybody knew that someone had to go down to the boiler room to fix things."
Casey nodded. "Junior learned about mechanics because he helped Old Man Franco fix the boiler on more than one occasion."
"I remember that cantankerous boiler, too." Olivia said suddenly.
Everyone looked at her in surprise.
"What?" she spoke defensively. "I read a lot when I was younger, to avoid going home to my mom and her nasty temper. Other than the library, I was at Franco's often."
Elliot made a slashing move with one hand and spoke to Trevor. "Have you seen this boiler room, or something, councilor?"
Trevor sighed. "Yes, and it's big—just enough to actually hide two people. Different petitions about the place also cross my desk about the building periodically."
Donnelley also sighed. "I've been down to that basement because I get the same petitions, too. 'Sweltering' is the word about the temperature of the boiler room, especially the closer you get to the boilers themselves."
"And you said that you're one hundred percent certain of all of this?" Carisi said to Trevor.
It was clear to anyone who knew Carisi and Amanda that they were crazy about each other, but it was also becoming more clear just how in love he was with her he truly was. Amanda was as good as his wife, and not just because they shared a home, a family, and even a dog together.
Trevor seemed to realize this because he spoke seriously to the younger man.
"Yes, I am that certain. I'm just waiting to see if Detective Brookings' map-reading skills will lead us to the site where Franco's is."
No sooner were the words out of his mouth when—
"Found it!"
Brookings was pointing to a spot on the map, close to a certain area of the water's edge at the reservoir.
"Judge, will you please double check?"
Donnelley did, and then looked up at Olivia.
"Detective Ruthers and the councilor are correct—this is where Amanda and Sophia have to be. It sounds like you know where the place is, too?"
"Quite well."
"Have you officially arrested Karissa Lee Redding yet?"
"No, judge."
"Let me know when it happens—I want to see it."
"Yes, judge."
Donnelley softened her expression, and for the first time in all the years they'd known each other, Olivia saw something in the other woman's eyes that she'd never seen there before.
Motherly love.
"Good luck, Olivia."
The lieutenant had a small start at hearing her name because as she knew, the judge had never addressed her as such. Not too her face, anyway.
"Thank you."
Donnelley offered her a small, which Olivia returned to her as they all made tracks out of the room. It even instilled some confidence in her. She just couldn't say why that was.
But at least she knew the world wasn't over.
BOILER ROOM AT FRANCO'S FIVE-AND-DIME
JACQUELINE KENNEDY ONASSIS RESERVOIR
CENTRAL PARK
Sophia had fallen asleep after Amanda sang her the Hunger Games lullaby, but Amanda was awake. She wasn't sure where they were, or what time of day it even was. So she sat there, in the boiler room, feeling as overheated as anything, but all she could think of were Dominick and Jesse.
Her family, something of her own that she'd thought she'd never thought she'd have.
Every other man she'd ever been with before, even back in Georgia, had always left her. Amanda had heard every excuse in the book before, but then… Dominick had shown up out of nowhere.
He was a stand-up guy, taking care of her in his own special ways, and helping fix her broken heart when she had been abandoned, first by Nick and then by Declan. He even took care of her when she was pregnant with Jesse. Amanda's favorite part about that was that she hadn't asked. Dominick had chosen to do it, all by himself.
When Amanda had collapsed during her pregnancy, and also when she'd gone into labor unexpectedly, she'd begged for Dominick to be with her because she wouldn't have been able to handle those experiences alone. He stayed with her until things were good again.
He'd even helped Amanda think of the baby's name. In Hebrew, Jesse meant 'gift,' which the little one definitely was. For her middle name, they'd picked Olivia, in honor of the woman they both deeply loved and respected, and also because the name stood for peace. Even if it wasn't technically official, by now, Dominick was Jesse's father, and he was with Amanda, for better or for worse.
She wanted so badly to marry him.
Now there was a new baby on the way that she and Dominick had been surprised by. On a night where a case had ended badly, they'd made the little one out of love, and the need to just feel each other.
Even with Sophia fast asleep, Amanda hadn't dared disturb her sister, so she just sat there on the floor, her mind full of thoughts for the three people she loved most in the world.
She soon lost track of time, too, once the hunger kicked in.
That's why she thought she was hallucinating when she heard people enter the room and call out.
"Amanda?"
"Sophia?"
Her heart leapt. Those were Carisi's and Olivia's voices.
"Over here!" she called, waving to them.
Carisi reached her first, and unashamed that Olivia was jogging over, he kissed Amanda, and hugged her, too.
"I missed you, beautiful. How are you doing?"
Amanda's bottom lip trembled. "I just want to get out of here and hold Jesse."
"That can be arranged." This time, he pressed a kiss to her brow. "That can definitely be arranged."
Carisi moved out of the way so that Olivia could tend to her daughter.
"Sophia," she said, gently shaking her shoulder. "Wake up."
Sophia woke immediately, and when she realized that her mother was there, she sat up.
"You're here! How…?"
"Everything will be explained later. All that matter is that you're s—"
Olivia had meant to say 'safe,' but she was cut off by Sophia giving her the most intense hug ever.
They'd hugged plenty of times before, even on the day that they'd met, but this was different. This kind of hug was definitely Sophia's way of making sure that Olivia was really there.
"Do you want me to keep holding you for another minute?" Olivia hugged Sophia.
"Yes, I do." Sophia leaned into her mother. She smelled very nice. "Please."
And so they stayed.
Just for a little bit longer.
