Chapter 4 – Whereabouts, or Lack Thereof
Casey Novak smoothed down the front of her skirt out of habit before walking purposefully into the SVU squad room. "Tell me where we are with Serena Southerlyn," she asked without preamble.
"How did this hit the courthouse grapevine so fast?" asked Elliot. It was barely ten o'clock.
"Are you kidding me? This is bigger than Thornburg and his stepdaughter," said Casey.
"Techs got nothing off Pooler's computer from work," Elliot informed her. "His apartment's empty too. Apparently, the creep used to live right across the street from Serena."
"As in the building directly opposite hers?" asked Casey, folding her arms as she tried to suppress a shudder.
"Munch was in his apartment; said he could look straight into her windows. Living room, bedroom, everything."
"How long did he live there?"
"Landlord says he moved in during the summer of last year. If we assume he was watching Serena the whole time…" said Elliot thoughtfully. Sitting at the adjoining desk, Olivia nodded slowly in silent conclusion. "Munch and Fin said they found the place where Pooler's storing his furniture, but it doesn't look like that's going anywhere." Elliot bit his lower lip and continued. "This guy is gone. He knows we know who he is."
"He'll be back," said George Huang from Munch's desk. He stood, like a professor about to give a lecture. "Serena said that he promised to 'make it up' to her. He spent months following her, fantasizing about her, creating a world in which she is the predominant figure. He won't just give her up. But he's patient. After Serena rejected him the first time, he waited almost a month to confront her again. He planned for the eventuality of police involvement."
"So he's smart. We've dealt with smarter," said Casey, sounding more confident than she felt.
"Perhaps. I've been reading his employment history," said Huang. "As an engineer, he's very intelligent, but I'm guessing this is his first time stalking a woman. He just moved from the west coast; he has no remaining family and no friends, from work or otherwise. His extreme sense of isolation made him desperate for human contact. He latched onto Serena, but then she rejected him."
"And he went crazy. We've heard this story a hundred times before," said Elliot. "What's your point?"
Patiently, Huang explained. "He wants to be intimate with her, to have what he perceives is a real relationship. Even if none of your leads pan out, it's only a matter of time until the mountain comes to Mohammed."
