Home of Ashley Mansfield
"Come in." Ashley was standing at the door. It was 75 degrees outside, but Ashley was dressed in a "NYC Magic All Starz Cheerleading sweatshirt and warm, gray track pants. She wore her blonde hair down and it reached below her shoulder blades.
"Do you want a drink or anything?" Ashley was pallid white and looked famished. She looked ready to keel over any minute.
"No thanks, but when was the last time you ate?" Olivia asked her.
"This morning." Ashley said softly. Olivia and Elliot didn't believe her. Once inside the Mansfields' mansion, Olivia noticed all the photographs of Ashley on the walls. There were pictures of Ashley playing sports and cheerleading. A picture of a blonde girl in a blue and silver velvet gymnastics suit was backwards in the air, hands on the balance beam.
"Is that you?" Olivia asked her. Ashley nodded. "Yeah, it is."
The place was immaculate. Hard wood floors and crystal chandeliers; china cabinets; a grand piano, a harp, and a huge swirling staircase that led upstairs with large white doors that were all shut.
"Wow, they're obviously not short on cash." Olivia murmured to Elliot.
"So what's happening today?" Ashley asked. She had obviously been crying. Tissue boxes were at her feet and her eyes were rimmed with red and dark circles.
"Sweetie, we need to ask you more questions." Olivia and Elliot sat down on the beige sofa across from Ashley.
Ashley looked very tiny sitting on the sofa. Her legs were curled up underneath her. She looked exhausted and emaciated.
"Ashley, we met your boyfriend, Justin."
"Oh."
"He says you're distracted lately," Elliot said. "Why not tell us why."
. Ashley's POV: I could tell the detectives were really worried. I knew I looked like hell. Detective Stabler was trying to be nice, but he didn't get it. Olivia, the other detective, (she had told me her name and said I could call her that) was somewhat getting it. Detective Stabler leaned forward. I shied away.
Elliot's POV: When Ashley shied away, I remembered Fin saying, ".she's been fearful of men lately." A thought flashed through my mind that I couldn't stop. Ashley, something wasn't right with her.
Ashley's POV: A look crossed Detective Stabler's face. He knew what I was hiding. He handed me a file. "Read that. Sound familiar?"
It was a file on my stay in the hospital. "Ashley Mansfield. 4 months pregnant, delivery of a baby girl, Layla, at 12:31 AM on February 14, 2003. Due to complications, Layla died ten minutes after her birth."
"Was Layla you daughter?" Olivia asked me.
"Ashley, we did DNA tests using your DNA and Layla's. It was a match. Why did you dig up your baby's grave and put her in a trash bag on a bench?" Detective Stabler asked me, trying not to lose his temper.
"It's not like that. That's not true." I said, close to tears. Olivia gave Elliot a harsh look and said to me gently, "Its okay, Ashley, just tell us what happened."
I inhaled sharply. I better just tell them the truth. "It happened at the 2002 Lacrosse finals, in October. They ran late this year. I was in the top 50 teams that made the first cut, at the Wide World of Sports in Florida. Actually, the people at the All Star Resort planned this big party for all the teams who were moving on. That's when I made the biggest mistake of my life." I stopped for a few minutes.
"Are you okay?" Olivia asked me. I nodded.
"I started to hit it off with Matthew Greene. He was really nice, good at lacrosse, had a girlfriend, lived in Rockaway, and was popular with his coaches and at school. Plus he was really smart and hot at the same time. We were talking about today's game. He told me he had a video on my game and asked me if I wanted to see it. I said yes. He took my hand and led me to his room. When we arrived, two of Matt's friends were in the room. Matt introduced me to them and we started to watch the video. His friends left and that's when he put his hands on my shoulder. He ran his hands down further. He unbuttoned my shorts and held my shoulders." I stopped suddenly.
Olivia's POV: Elliot and I were drinking in Ashley's story like kids waiting for their bedtime story. Ashley grew quiet again and started to pick at the string on a blanket.
"Ashley, sweetie, what happened after that? What happened next?" I asked her. Ashley had started to cry and lifted her tear streaked face.
"Matthew Greene r-r-raped me."
Ashley's POV: When I told them, I got sick to my stomach. "Oh god." I ran to the powder room and was sick for 10 minutes. I rose to my feet and washed my face then hobbled back to the living room. The detectives were still sitting there. I managed to sit back down on the sofa.
"Are you all right, Ashley?" Olivia asked me. I managed to nod. "I think so."
"When did you find out you were pregnant?" Detective Stabler asked me.
"A week after I came home."
"When and how did you go into premature labor?" He asked me.
"I was at cheerleading practice and we were practicing stunts. My bases dropped me. That's what the doctor said." I started to fiddle with my fake nails. I could tell that they still wanted more.
"Ashley, sweetie, did Matt call you or talk to you?" Olivia asked me. I swung my legs up onto the couch and found my purse sitting on the couch. I played with the zipper.
"Yeah. He said I was a slut." I let a torrent of tears wash through, and I was sure my makeup was running.
"Ashley, you're going to need to come with us." Detective Stabler said. The detectives helped me to my feet and into the car.
It had started to rain. "Can we turn off the lights? I don't want to be there any sooner then possible." I whispered to them.
"Come in." Ashley was standing at the door. It was 75 degrees outside, but Ashley was dressed in a "NYC Magic All Starz Cheerleading sweatshirt and warm, gray track pants. She wore her blonde hair down and it reached below her shoulder blades.
"Do you want a drink or anything?" Ashley was pallid white and looked famished. She looked ready to keel over any minute.
"No thanks, but when was the last time you ate?" Olivia asked her.
"This morning." Ashley said softly. Olivia and Elliot didn't believe her. Once inside the Mansfields' mansion, Olivia noticed all the photographs of Ashley on the walls. There were pictures of Ashley playing sports and cheerleading. A picture of a blonde girl in a blue and silver velvet gymnastics suit was backwards in the air, hands on the balance beam.
"Is that you?" Olivia asked her. Ashley nodded. "Yeah, it is."
The place was immaculate. Hard wood floors and crystal chandeliers; china cabinets; a grand piano, a harp, and a huge swirling staircase that led upstairs with large white doors that were all shut.
"Wow, they're obviously not short on cash." Olivia murmured to Elliot.
"So what's happening today?" Ashley asked. She had obviously been crying. Tissue boxes were at her feet and her eyes were rimmed with red and dark circles.
"Sweetie, we need to ask you more questions." Olivia and Elliot sat down on the beige sofa across from Ashley.
Ashley looked very tiny sitting on the sofa. Her legs were curled up underneath her. She looked exhausted and emaciated.
"Ashley, we met your boyfriend, Justin."
"Oh."
"He says you're distracted lately," Elliot said. "Why not tell us why."
. Ashley's POV: I could tell the detectives were really worried. I knew I looked like hell. Detective Stabler was trying to be nice, but he didn't get it. Olivia, the other detective, (she had told me her name and said I could call her that) was somewhat getting it. Detective Stabler leaned forward. I shied away.
Elliot's POV: When Ashley shied away, I remembered Fin saying, ".she's been fearful of men lately." A thought flashed through my mind that I couldn't stop. Ashley, something wasn't right with her.
Ashley's POV: A look crossed Detective Stabler's face. He knew what I was hiding. He handed me a file. "Read that. Sound familiar?"
It was a file on my stay in the hospital. "Ashley Mansfield. 4 months pregnant, delivery of a baby girl, Layla, at 12:31 AM on February 14, 2003. Due to complications, Layla died ten minutes after her birth."
"Was Layla you daughter?" Olivia asked me.
"Ashley, we did DNA tests using your DNA and Layla's. It was a match. Why did you dig up your baby's grave and put her in a trash bag on a bench?" Detective Stabler asked me, trying not to lose his temper.
"It's not like that. That's not true." I said, close to tears. Olivia gave Elliot a harsh look and said to me gently, "Its okay, Ashley, just tell us what happened."
I inhaled sharply. I better just tell them the truth. "It happened at the 2002 Lacrosse finals, in October. They ran late this year. I was in the top 50 teams that made the first cut, at the Wide World of Sports in Florida. Actually, the people at the All Star Resort planned this big party for all the teams who were moving on. That's when I made the biggest mistake of my life." I stopped for a few minutes.
"Are you okay?" Olivia asked me. I nodded.
"I started to hit it off with Matthew Greene. He was really nice, good at lacrosse, had a girlfriend, lived in Rockaway, and was popular with his coaches and at school. Plus he was really smart and hot at the same time. We were talking about today's game. He told me he had a video on my game and asked me if I wanted to see it. I said yes. He took my hand and led me to his room. When we arrived, two of Matt's friends were in the room. Matt introduced me to them and we started to watch the video. His friends left and that's when he put his hands on my shoulder. He ran his hands down further. He unbuttoned my shorts and held my shoulders." I stopped suddenly.
Olivia's POV: Elliot and I were drinking in Ashley's story like kids waiting for their bedtime story. Ashley grew quiet again and started to pick at the string on a blanket.
"Ashley, sweetie, what happened after that? What happened next?" I asked her. Ashley had started to cry and lifted her tear streaked face.
"Matthew Greene r-r-raped me."
Ashley's POV: When I told them, I got sick to my stomach. "Oh god." I ran to the powder room and was sick for 10 minutes. I rose to my feet and washed my face then hobbled back to the living room. The detectives were still sitting there. I managed to sit back down on the sofa.
"Are you all right, Ashley?" Olivia asked me. I managed to nod. "I think so."
"When did you find out you were pregnant?" Detective Stabler asked me.
"A week after I came home."
"When and how did you go into premature labor?" He asked me.
"I was at cheerleading practice and we were practicing stunts. My bases dropped me. That's what the doctor said." I started to fiddle with my fake nails. I could tell that they still wanted more.
"Ashley, sweetie, did Matt call you or talk to you?" Olivia asked me. I swung my legs up onto the couch and found my purse sitting on the couch. I played with the zipper.
"Yeah. He said I was a slut." I let a torrent of tears wash through, and I was sure my makeup was running.
"Ashley, you're going to need to come with us." Detective Stabler said. The detectives helped me to my feet and into the car.
It had started to rain. "Can we turn off the lights? I don't want to be there any sooner then possible." I whispered to them.
