Finally they were close. Carisi couldn't believe this place even showed up on GPS. He'd been afraid they wouldn't be able to find it. Especially after Amanda mentioned phones not working. Fin raced his sedan past the deputy's truck and parked next to the sherrif. Parked was a nice way to say slammed on the brakes.There were no other police cars there yet. A testament to how fast he was driving.
Rollins was standing next to the sherrif looking at a map on a table they'd put outside. A few other people stood around them as well. At least the rain had stopped sometime in the night. The creek was lower and even Fin was able to get through it. When she saw Fin and Carisi pull in, Carisi watched Amanda force herself not to start crying. He'd seen that maneuver a few times before. He almost wanted to cry himself, just from the relief of seeing her.
Carisi was out the door before Fin had even come to a complete stop. He ran past the deputy, who appeared to be trying to ask who he was. Rollins came from around the table to run straight into his arms. She didn't care who saw them. She threw her arms around him and buried her face in the crook of his neck. She let him nearly off her feet when he grabbed her around the waist. Her hands were so tight around him, he pressed his lips to her neck, then whispered into her ear.
"I got you. I'm here. I got you".
Amanda squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force the tears back in. Trying to swallow the lump in her throat. She'd been holding it together this whole time...she couldn't break now just because her rock was here. She heard Branch speak, he must have been talking to Fin.
"Uh I guess you guys are with Detective Rollins"?
"Sargent Tutuola, that's"... but Sherrif Cooper cut him off as he walked up.
"I take it this is Dominick Carisi".
Carisi looked up, and without letting Amanda go, he nodded at the sherrif with a questioning brow.
"Amanda told me about you". He explained, and tipped his hat to Carisi, "Sherrif Cooper". Then he left them to have a bit of privacy and walked over to Fin and Deputy Branch.
Amanda released her grip a little, so Carisi did too. He pulled his upper body back so he could get a look at her. He held her face in his hands. "You okay"? He asked. "I mean I know you're not okay, but are you okay"?
She knew what he meant. The knot was still in her throat. She couldn't speak so she just nodded. They reluctantly let each other go. She turned to Fin, and gave him a grateful look for getting here so fast. Amanda knew Fin wasn't fond of being hugged so she wouldn't force him.
Amanda took a deep breath. She had her backup here now.
"We're gonna find her Amanda". Fin told her. He meant it too. The whole town was about to be flooded with cops thanks to Olivia Benson. She smiled, and grabbed Carisi's hand. She hoped so. This wasn't how she thought the day would start.
Within minutes of their arrival, a few state troopers showed up too. Then some private citizens also drove in. They'd heard about the missing detective and all showed up to help. Hunters who knew the area, two retired search and rescue officers brought their dogs, the sherrif's wife came with some medical supplies to set up a triage, just in case. More maps, more tables set up, and a plan started to come together.
Fin heard it first, the rotor of the helicopter. They looked up and saw it approach. There was a clearing next to the tavern, something that looked a bit like a field for sports. They were using it as a parking lot as more and more people arrived to help with the search. Fin yelled at them to clear away an entire area so it could land there. He knew from his time in the Army how much space they needed to land, and they didn't have it.
When all the cars were moved, and the chopper landed Olivia Benson got out first, she ducked down until she was clear of the rotors. After that Dr. Warner jumped out, followed by Elliott Stabler and 2 other people. When they reached the triage area with the tables and a tent now, Amanda thanked them for getting there so fast, and reached out to hug her boss.
"We're gonna find her Rollins. There's no other option". Benson gave her a squeeze before letting go.
Stabler nodded to them and said "I've got my team standing by with anything we might need". He also swung the bag he was carrying onto the table. It was filled with satellite phones. "And these should come in handy, I hear there's some issue with communication".
"I've got a bus full of cadets on the way here to help with the search". Olivia announced.
"Sherrif Cooper knows the area, as do all of these volunteers" Amanda told her, "I think we need to have groups of two or three people, we can't afford to lose anyone else". She didn't say it, but Olivia knew she meant they couldn't afford to have attention taken away from finding Kat.
Dr. Warner stepped forward. "I need someone to take me out to where you found the body yesterday. I brought help to process the...Detective Tamin's room". The 2 people that got off the helicopter with her stepped forward. They both had large metal suitcases, likely full of equipment. Deputy Branch led them to her room.
Amanda thought that it was pretty obvious now that it was him. Who else would have taken Kat? This wasn't a coincidence they were here investigating and she was taken. The room needed to be processed, hopefully there'd be some kind of lead. Taking Kat...that was his mistake. He had been meticulous with everything in the past and probably planned things out. But they didn't know they'd be here until yesterday morning. He just had to have made a mistake.
They worked on a search plan, Elliott had his team back in the city start to run backgrounds on every resident of Liberty and this Neversink area. Trying to run searches for criminal records, parolees, anything that stood out. The search dogs had been waiting for them to process the room first before they let them in to get a scent.
While they were formulating plans on the state police's maps, which were now on stands under the tent, deputy Thomas's vehicle pulled up. Sherrif Cooper saw him, and made a beeline for him.
Carisi and Rollins looked over, and saw them arguing. Eventually Cooper walked away, towards them shaking his head. Deputy Thomas grabbed his hat from the seat and made his way over to the volunteers and started to gather them into groups.
Deputy Branch had walked over to Carisi and Rollins, and as the sherrif approached he asked "Where has he been"??
"He said he took off yesterday after the tow truck left to visit his girlfriend in Middletown and missed our calls"...Cooper shook his head.
Rollins and Carisi looked at each other, but before they could ask anything, the bus arrived with the cadets from the police academy. They were guided to Deputy Thomas to be put into groups to start the search. The helicopter was also equipped with thermal imaging so they were going to search from above. Liv and Elliott would join them.
The bulk of the volunteers and cops spent the day searching for Kat, for anything. A small group went with Warner to exhume that skull from the campsite, and the crime scene techs went over Kat's room too.
It was dark by the time they started returning to the tavern location.
Everyone was exhausted, and there was really no way to continue safely at night. They needed rest, and they couldn't afford to have anyone get lost in these woods. By 8 PM they had all returned.
Sherrif Cooper used the bull horn to thank everyone for their efforts today. They would be resuming the search before first light in the morning, so he wanted everyone back at 4 am.
There were a few motels in Liberty that had opened up to accommodate most of the cadets, then they had the rooms at the tavern. Sherrif Cooper offered to have Rollins and Carisi come stay with he and his wife, Fin, Stabler and Benson would take the rooms at the tavern, along with a few of the state troopers, Warner was flying back to her lab with the exhumed skeleton from the campground and the lab techs left with her. They had collected a bunch of evidence from Kat's room and would be going through all of it back at the lab. They had other techs who would take over in a few hours so they could work all night.
Sherrif Cooper and his wife drove back to Liberty, Carisi and Rollins following behind in Rollins car.
They all felt defeated, finding nothing all day. Between the adrenaline, the searching, and the disappointment...it was a lot to deal with. They knew they were starting super early in the morning so they could be ready to go at first light. That meant they needed to at least try to get some sleep.
Carisi turned down a long drive behind Cooper's truck. The tree lined drive led to a pretty nice stone and log home. There were no homes nearby, and judging by the length of their drive, they had a lot of land too.
"I can't imagine living way out here". Carisi commented as they pulled up next to him.
"I can't imagine you living way out here either" Rollins smiled weakly at him and he thought she looked exhausted, more tired than he'd ever seen her.
Carisi had managed to throw a few things in a bag before he left the city. He at least had some sweats for both of them to sleep in just in case and clothes for tomorrow. That was about all he had time to grab.
Alice had some stew in a crock pot that was ready for them to eat as soon as they entered the house.
"You need to eat something first" she told all of them as started to get the food ready for them, "then shower, and bed. You'll be no help to anyone tomorrow if you're dead on your feet".
"Thank you". Amanda tried to help her, but she pushed the three of them to sit down and proceeded to wait on them. Carisi put his arm around Amanda, and she leaned into it. She was beyond worried about her partner. She perked up just a little as a realization dawned on her.
"Alice". She started, "You're Alice Cooper". Amanda smiled just a little.
Carisi chuckled, and so did Sherrif Cooper as Alice rolled her eyes.
"Yes, I used my maiden name at work, not that there's anything wrong with the name". She kissed the top of her husbands head when she put his bowl in front of him.
They ate mostly in silence. Amanda didn't feel like eating but she knew her body needed it, and if she didn't, she'd never hear the end of it from Carisi.
When they were almost done, Sherrif Cooper went to a cabinet, taking out a bottle of some kind of whiskey and poured each of them a glass. "It'll help you sleep".
Alice nodded her head "It's medicinal" she said, taking her glass as well.
The whiskey burned going down, but left a warm numb feeling that Amanda didn't mind.
Cooper said he was heading out to the barn to make sure the animals were all good before retiring, refused any help, and told them they needed to get rest.
Alice took them to the other end of the house. "The kids are grown now, so when they come to visit, we wanted them to have their own space. She led them to a large bedroom, with a gas fireplace that Alice turned on for them, and their own bathroom. Rollins walked around to the other side of the bed. The room looked straight out of Architectural Digest.
"You should find everything you need in there. Help yourself to anything you need. I like to stock it so the kids could come up here without bringing much with them".
Rollins walked back up to Alice giving her a hug that lasted a minute. She was so grateful, and having this woman, who was so much more motherly than her own mom, taking care of them like this...it was overwhelming and just what she needed right now.
"I've got the coffee maker set to 3 am. They want you there by 430 so whatever time you're up it'll be ready to go". Rollins finally released her. "You two try to get some sleep. Especially you". She patted Amanda on the back. "You need it. We're on the other side of the kitchen if you need us".
"Thank you Alice", Carisi gave her a quick hug too before she left them.
Carisi turned back to Rollins, who was standing next to the bed, tears in her eyes.
He crossed the room and took her in his arms. She broke down, grabbing the front of his shirt in her hands, and soaking it in her tears. He held her until the shaking stopped, all the while softly telling her again "I got you". When she was calmer he left her sitting on the bed long enough to go into the bathroom and turn on the shower. The fire heated up the bedroom pretty quickly, but the bathroom was cool. Steam formed quickly as the water heated up.
He walked back and led her back to the bathroom.
"Do you think she's still alive Dominick"? Rollins asked him.
"Yes. Yes I do. I told my mom to light a candle at church today for Kat. You know that always works. We're gonna find her, and she's gonna be okay. I know it. You'll feel better after you take a hot shower".
He tested the water, adjusted the temperature a little, and then started to leave.
Amanda grabbed his arm, and he looked back at her.
"Stay"? She asked him, eyes pleading. He would never say no to her.
He let her lead him back into the bathroom.
Under the warm spray of the shower, he held her until she stopped shivering. Adrenaline crashes sucked. Sharing a shower when sex wasn't the objective was new for both of them. Luckily this shower was enclosed and the steam stayed in with them, keeping both of them warm.
Afterwards he put her hair up in one towel and wrapped the other one around her until he could reach the fluffy robe on the back of the door. Must belong to one of their kids, but it looked just like a hotel robe. Carisi wrapped that around Amanda, and threw on his sweats after he dried off. When they left the bathroom, the fire had warmed up the bedroom nicely, and there were extra blankets beside the bed.
Rollins had come back to her senses and was able to get dressed without help. She hated feeling helpless like that, and she knew she would never have allowed anyone other than Carisi to see it. Exhaustion was hitting both of them as they climbed into the bed. She melted against him under the covers. Every part of her that could be touching him, was. She needed to feel safe, and he was her safety.
For his part, he'd get a cramp in one arm from holding her so tight, but Carisi didn't care. He still felt so lucky that Rollins let him in like this. Allowed herself to be this vulnerable with him. He'd suffer a thousand arm cramps to be able to hold her this close every night. He had both arms wrapped around her, and had one leg across her thigh. That was probably going to end up hurting later too. He felt her breathing against his chest slowing. She wasn't getting to the point of snoring, probably too stressed out to sleep that deep, but he was happy she was able to even fall into a light sleep. He allowed himself to follow her a few minutes later.