Chapter 7
~**~**~**~
Olivia took one last sip of her now cold coffee and threw the cup into a trashcan, as she did so her partner walked into the precinct. She sat back down at her desk and leafed through the papers that had accumulated on top of it. She sighed, there were still no leads on their current case, and if something didn't come along soon the captain would have no choice but to assign them another case. Olivia hated when that happened.
She felt eyes on her and looked up at Elliot. "Something I can help you with."
He shook his head, "No, you just seem kind of agitated today. Something bothering you?"
"It's this case. There's nothing, no evidence at all. Save for the partial footprint, El this guy might get away with it."
"We can't catch them all Liv. You know that as well as I do."
"That doesn't mean I have to accept it." She sighed. She lowered her voice, so that only he would hear her next statement, "When are you going to tell me why you've stayed the night at my apartment for the past two days? Or, are you even planning on telling me?"
"I will, tonight. I promise."
"So, I take it that means you'll be staying again?"
"If I'm welcomed."
"You're always welcomed."
The captain stuck his head out of his office, "Benson, Stabler, in my office. Now."
Olivia cringed and got out of her seat, Elliot followed suit. They made their way into the captains office and sat down in the two seats in front of his desk.
"We've got another victim." He stated.
"What happened?"
"A college student, came home from her job as a bartender. That's all we know until just now, her roommate had stayed the night with her boyfriend the night before, and when she came to their apartment she noticed that her car was still there, she supposedly had an early class. Her roommate then proceeded to check on her, to make sure she had woken up, and found her in her bed, unconscious. It's a level one apartment, the window was open, I'm sending Munch and Fin to the hospital, I want you two at the scene."
They nodded and filed out of his office.
"Let's hope he's gotten sloppy." Olivia sighed while she got into Elliot's car.
~**~**~**~
Elliot stepped out of the car and took off his sunglasses, then proceeded in putting them into his breast pocket. He and Olivia walked up to the apartment complex and made their way inside to find room 08, where the victim--Kenna McIntyre--lived. Olivia went off to find a member of the CSU as Elliot looked around the girls bedroom. A few minutes after she had gone off she returned.
"CSU didn't turn up much. Another partial footprint outside the window, some fibers were found on both the vic and the bed, a ripped piece of a cotton tee, and there's a partial fingerprint on the bedpost that they're going to run through CODIS, other than that they found nothing." She sighed as she took in the scene. "It look's like she put up more of a struggle than the first two. Torn sheets, the ripped shirt, God, when are we going to catch this guy?"
Elliot didn't answer, knowing that it was a rhetorical question. He only looked around once more and turned to look through the rest of the house. When he was satisfied that CSU had done their jobs he went back to find Olivia so they could question the neighbors.
"Liv." He called into the bedroom, she turned to him and raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah?"
"You ready to go? We've got to interview the rest of the building."
She nodded and they went off to talk with the super. She, unlike the first super they had talked to, seemed generally concerned for what had happened to Kenna.
"Mrs.--" Olivia started.
"It's Ms." The woman corrected, "I got a divorce last month, Ms. Stevens. Come in." She lead them into her living room and offered them her couch. They sat down.
"Were you awake at the time Kenna came home?"
"Yes, I heard her in the hallway, she's the only one on this floor that ever comes in at that sort of hour, her job being what it was. But I checked out the peephole anyway, just to make sure it wasn't a burglar or something. I went to bed not long after that."
"Did you notice anybody suspicious around the complex? At anytime of the day?"
She searches her mind, and then something flashes across her face, a realization. "As a matter of fact, yes, I did. It was around 8 this afternoon…at the same time Kenna was leaving for work. I was outside checking on something, a crack in one of the windows, and I waved at her as she left and told her to have a nice night at work, she thanked me and then drove off. I watched her drive off, and I noticed that at the same time she did so a car pulled out and followed her. I had never seen the car before."
"What kind of car it was."
"Oh, I don't know, I couldn't tell a Ford from a Chevy. It was blue though, that I remember."
"Did you happen to notice any of the numbers off of the license plate?"
She nodded, "I did. With that serial rapist going around I want to be as careful as I can be, and Kenna matches the description of the victim exactly. Young college student, brunette with hazel eyes, petite, works at a bar. And the last rape was just right down the street. Not to mention the fact that the first was two blocks away from the second, 3 blocks from here. You can never be to careful." She glanced down, "My sister was rapped when she was 16, so it hits close to home." She looked back up at them, "I'll go get the plate. But, all I have is the last 4 digits." She walked off into another room and returned a few moments later and handed Olivia the paper.
Olivia took the paper and nodded gracefully. "Thank you. Do you think you could come down to the station and give one of our men a description of the car, as well as you can. They have a computer program that can bring up cars so you can identify the one that you saw."
"Of course, when?"
"Detective Stabler could take you now, while I talk to the rest of the neighbors." She looked at Elliot for approval. He nodded.
"Alright," Ms. Stevens said, "Lets go then."
She lead the two out of the apartment, and she and Elliot headed for the station while Olivia went on to finish the interviews.
She didn't finish until well after 6.
~**~**~**~
Olivia opened the door to her apartment and set her things down on a coffee table haphazardly. She looked around the living room and noticed Elliot's things lying on the floor by the door. "Elliot? Are you here?"
He came out of the guestroom, "Yeah. What took you so long?"
"There were a lot of apartments, and a lot more people that were forthcoming. I've gotten two other people who said they saw a dark blue car slowing driving past the building, or sitting in front of the building for hours at a time, while somebody sat inside. Munch and Fin came by and I sent them along with Munch, Fin and I finished talking with her neighbors. One woman said she vaguely remembers waking up to the sound of something hard falling onto the floor, but heard nothing else and figured somebody was just up late and being clumsy. Another person woke up in the middle of the night to a scream, proceeded in waking his wife, but the wife claimed to have heard nothing, and thought her husband was just dreaming. He went back to sleep. By the way, how did it go at the station with our car witnesses?"
"All three of them described the same car to our lab tech. A dark blue Taurus four door. And from what Ms. Stevens gave us the last digits are P527. We've got guys going through the DMV database, but we can't limit our search to the surrounding area, so our list is going to be pretty damn long. It helps. But not enough."
Olivia slumps down onto her couch, "We would normally have caught the perp by now."
"Some are harder than others Liv, you know that."
"I guess your right." She stares at her blank TV screen for a moment before turning back to Elliot. "You still haven't told me why you're crashing at my house. Not that I don't enjoy your company, I'm just a bit baffled is all."
He sighs and sits down on the couch next to her, "You sure you want to know."
"Of course, tell me."
"I filed for a divorce."
~**~**~**~
a/n: So, he finally tells her. More to come. Please keep reviewing.
~**~**~**~
Olivia took one last sip of her now cold coffee and threw the cup into a trashcan, as she did so her partner walked into the precinct. She sat back down at her desk and leafed through the papers that had accumulated on top of it. She sighed, there were still no leads on their current case, and if something didn't come along soon the captain would have no choice but to assign them another case. Olivia hated when that happened.
She felt eyes on her and looked up at Elliot. "Something I can help you with."
He shook his head, "No, you just seem kind of agitated today. Something bothering you?"
"It's this case. There's nothing, no evidence at all. Save for the partial footprint, El this guy might get away with it."
"We can't catch them all Liv. You know that as well as I do."
"That doesn't mean I have to accept it." She sighed. She lowered her voice, so that only he would hear her next statement, "When are you going to tell me why you've stayed the night at my apartment for the past two days? Or, are you even planning on telling me?"
"I will, tonight. I promise."
"So, I take it that means you'll be staying again?"
"If I'm welcomed."
"You're always welcomed."
The captain stuck his head out of his office, "Benson, Stabler, in my office. Now."
Olivia cringed and got out of her seat, Elliot followed suit. They made their way into the captains office and sat down in the two seats in front of his desk.
"We've got another victim." He stated.
"What happened?"
"A college student, came home from her job as a bartender. That's all we know until just now, her roommate had stayed the night with her boyfriend the night before, and when she came to their apartment she noticed that her car was still there, she supposedly had an early class. Her roommate then proceeded to check on her, to make sure she had woken up, and found her in her bed, unconscious. It's a level one apartment, the window was open, I'm sending Munch and Fin to the hospital, I want you two at the scene."
They nodded and filed out of his office.
"Let's hope he's gotten sloppy." Olivia sighed while she got into Elliot's car.
~**~**~**~
Elliot stepped out of the car and took off his sunglasses, then proceeded in putting them into his breast pocket. He and Olivia walked up to the apartment complex and made their way inside to find room 08, where the victim--Kenna McIntyre--lived. Olivia went off to find a member of the CSU as Elliot looked around the girls bedroom. A few minutes after she had gone off she returned.
"CSU didn't turn up much. Another partial footprint outside the window, some fibers were found on both the vic and the bed, a ripped piece of a cotton tee, and there's a partial fingerprint on the bedpost that they're going to run through CODIS, other than that they found nothing." She sighed as she took in the scene. "It look's like she put up more of a struggle than the first two. Torn sheets, the ripped shirt, God, when are we going to catch this guy?"
Elliot didn't answer, knowing that it was a rhetorical question. He only looked around once more and turned to look through the rest of the house. When he was satisfied that CSU had done their jobs he went back to find Olivia so they could question the neighbors.
"Liv." He called into the bedroom, she turned to him and raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah?"
"You ready to go? We've got to interview the rest of the building."
She nodded and they went off to talk with the super. She, unlike the first super they had talked to, seemed generally concerned for what had happened to Kenna.
"Mrs.--" Olivia started.
"It's Ms." The woman corrected, "I got a divorce last month, Ms. Stevens. Come in." She lead them into her living room and offered them her couch. They sat down.
"Were you awake at the time Kenna came home?"
"Yes, I heard her in the hallway, she's the only one on this floor that ever comes in at that sort of hour, her job being what it was. But I checked out the peephole anyway, just to make sure it wasn't a burglar or something. I went to bed not long after that."
"Did you notice anybody suspicious around the complex? At anytime of the day?"
She searches her mind, and then something flashes across her face, a realization. "As a matter of fact, yes, I did. It was around 8 this afternoon…at the same time Kenna was leaving for work. I was outside checking on something, a crack in one of the windows, and I waved at her as she left and told her to have a nice night at work, she thanked me and then drove off. I watched her drive off, and I noticed that at the same time she did so a car pulled out and followed her. I had never seen the car before."
"What kind of car it was."
"Oh, I don't know, I couldn't tell a Ford from a Chevy. It was blue though, that I remember."
"Did you happen to notice any of the numbers off of the license plate?"
She nodded, "I did. With that serial rapist going around I want to be as careful as I can be, and Kenna matches the description of the victim exactly. Young college student, brunette with hazel eyes, petite, works at a bar. And the last rape was just right down the street. Not to mention the fact that the first was two blocks away from the second, 3 blocks from here. You can never be to careful." She glanced down, "My sister was rapped when she was 16, so it hits close to home." She looked back up at them, "I'll go get the plate. But, all I have is the last 4 digits." She walked off into another room and returned a few moments later and handed Olivia the paper.
Olivia took the paper and nodded gracefully. "Thank you. Do you think you could come down to the station and give one of our men a description of the car, as well as you can. They have a computer program that can bring up cars so you can identify the one that you saw."
"Of course, when?"
"Detective Stabler could take you now, while I talk to the rest of the neighbors." She looked at Elliot for approval. He nodded.
"Alright," Ms. Stevens said, "Lets go then."
She lead the two out of the apartment, and she and Elliot headed for the station while Olivia went on to finish the interviews.
She didn't finish until well after 6.
~**~**~**~
Olivia opened the door to her apartment and set her things down on a coffee table haphazardly. She looked around the living room and noticed Elliot's things lying on the floor by the door. "Elliot? Are you here?"
He came out of the guestroom, "Yeah. What took you so long?"
"There were a lot of apartments, and a lot more people that were forthcoming. I've gotten two other people who said they saw a dark blue car slowing driving past the building, or sitting in front of the building for hours at a time, while somebody sat inside. Munch and Fin came by and I sent them along with Munch, Fin and I finished talking with her neighbors. One woman said she vaguely remembers waking up to the sound of something hard falling onto the floor, but heard nothing else and figured somebody was just up late and being clumsy. Another person woke up in the middle of the night to a scream, proceeded in waking his wife, but the wife claimed to have heard nothing, and thought her husband was just dreaming. He went back to sleep. By the way, how did it go at the station with our car witnesses?"
"All three of them described the same car to our lab tech. A dark blue Taurus four door. And from what Ms. Stevens gave us the last digits are P527. We've got guys going through the DMV database, but we can't limit our search to the surrounding area, so our list is going to be pretty damn long. It helps. But not enough."
Olivia slumps down onto her couch, "We would normally have caught the perp by now."
"Some are harder than others Liv, you know that."
"I guess your right." She stares at her blank TV screen for a moment before turning back to Elliot. "You still haven't told me why you're crashing at my house. Not that I don't enjoy your company, I'm just a bit baffled is all."
He sighs and sits down on the couch next to her, "You sure you want to know."
"Of course, tell me."
"I filed for a divorce."
~**~**~**~
a/n: So, he finally tells her. More to come. Please keep reviewing.