August 9, 2004

The Station House

4:15 A.M.

Munch was slightly taken aback, but before he could say anything, Nellie continued, this time with avengance.

"He was so great when he and Mom were dating! He took me places, bought me stuff. He even gave me advice... Then as soon as the honeymoon's over, I become his personal whore!"

"How often has he done this to you, Nellie?"

"Every other weekend... that's how often I'm over there..." she answered, sniffing. "I live with my dad most of the time."

"Why'd you come forward today, Nellie?" Munch asked. "Did he do something different?"

"Last night," Nellie started, taking a deep breath, "was the year anniversary of the day he started raping me."

Munch's breath caught in his throat. She'd been doing this for a year? Munch had a sudden urge to slam her stepdad's head into a brick wall, but he couldn't. He had to keep questioning, though it nearly killed him to do so.

"Do you have any siblings?" he asked.

"Two. My little brother, James, and his twin sister, Laila."

"Did he ever touch them?" Nellie's eyes narrowed.

"Why the hell do you think I put up with it night after night?" she asked, bitterly. "He said if I struggled, he'd rape Laila and kill her and James. Every night before he'd leave, he'd stand in the doorway and say I'd saved them for two more weeks."

Bastard, Munch thought, savagely. He watched the girl in front of him and wondered, not for the first time, how anyone could destroy a little girl's life so easily. Munch thought of a question, but he was slightly afraid of what the answer might be. Part of him didn't even want to know. He decided to ask it anyways.

"Nellie, how old are James and Laila?" he asked, still watching her closely.

"They're only six!" she cried, her eyes brimming with tears. She looked at him earnestly. "How could he do that? How could anyone do that?"

Munch shook his head. "I don't think I ever want to know."

The Hospital Waiting Room

7:00 A.M.

Olivia, Elliot, and Fin watched John while they awaited the results of the rape kit. He was staring at a magazine pretending to read, but his eyes weren't moving. The three detectives were slightly worried.

Dr. Foster came out of Nellie's room. All four detectives stood, none faster than Munch.

"What've we got to work with, Doc?" Fin asked.

"All the sperm is there. Very bad vaginal bruising. No restraint bruising, which is a little odd, but as I'm sure you noticed, she has a black eye that's going to swell pretty bad without meds." Foster shook his head. "I hate getting them so young. When you find this guy, tell your D.A. to give him hell in the courtroom."

"Will do, Doctor," Elliot assured as his phone rang. He picked it up. "Stabler... The doctor says she was... Yes, we do, plenty... All right, I'll tell them."

Elliot hung up and turned to the detectives. Foster had left. "That was Cragen. He wants me and Olivia to go tell the father. Munch, Fin, you have to pick up Grey."

"Just a sec, I'm gonna go tell Nellie we got him," Munch told them, and disappeared into her room.

"You think he's getting too attached?" Olivia asked, worriedly.

"He's Munch, he'll be fine," Elliot assured her. Olivia shook her head, not convinced.

"I don't know. He was pretty upset when that reporter he got close to died. You think he'd be able to handle it if something happened to Nellie?"

"Nothing's going to happen," Fin announced, decidedly. "I'll make sure of that. For his sake."

"How are you going to do that?" asked Elliot, slightly bemused.

"I dunno," Fin admitted, "but he's my partner, I'll find a way."

Jeff Grey's Townhouse

7:30 A.M.

Munch knocked on the door of a well kept townhouse. A woman answered. She had her hair tied back in a bandana and she was holding a spritzer bottle of cleaning fluid.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Are you Mrs. Charmaine Grey?" Munch asked, flashing his badge. She became flustered.

"Yes, yes I am. Is something wrong?" As an after thought she added, "Would you please come in?"

They followed her into the house and to a tidy living room, where she told them they could sit. They did.

"What happened?" she asked, after the polite formalities were out of the way.

"Mrs. Grey, I'm sorry to have to tell you this," Fin began. "Your daughter reported a rape to us this morning."

"Nell did?"

"Nellie did, yes," Mnch confirmed, wondering why the woman pronounced her daughter's name differently than everyone else.

As if to answer his unasked question, Mrs. Grey explained, almost regally, "It is in my family's tradition to have semi-aristocratic names, if you will. I named my daughter Nell. She goes by Nellie because she knows it reminds me of a pack mule."

"Actually, I believe horses are frequently called Nellie, not pack mules, but I see your point," Munch answered. "Mrs. Grey, is your husband home? We'd like to speak to him, please."

"No, he's at the office. Baynes and Grey Reality on Fifth and Main," Mrs. Grey told them. "Is Nell in the hospital? I'd like to see her when I get this cleaning done."

"Yeah, you should be able to get into her room, Mrs. Grey," Fin answered, politely. She nodded, absentmindedly.

"If that's all, Detectives, I need to get this cleaning done... I think..."

"Actually, there's one more question," Munch said. "Does your husband ever get up in the middle of the night?"

"Frequently. He gets hungry."

"Thank you for your time," Fin said. The two detectives left the townhouse.

As they stepped off the front stoop, Fin sensed his partner's anger. He knew Munch was growing attached to Nellie, and John hated himself for not getting Grey at the house.

"You did good with Nellie this morning," Fin said, trying, in his own little way, to comfort his partner.

"Yeah, making thirteen-year-old rape victims cry is the highlight of my day."

"You did your job, John."

"Sometimes I hate my job."

Matthew Rivers's Apartment

7:30 A.M.

"I hate telling the parents," Elliot muttered as he rang the doorbell. Olivia nodded in agreement. A few seconds later, a man, mildly handsome with a charming smile, answered the door.

"Hey, there," he greeted, cheerily. "What can I do ya for?"

"Matthew Rivers?" Olivia asked, taking out her badge. The man nodded, the cheeriness retreating from his eyes and face. "I'm Detective Benson, this is Detective Stabler. May we come in?"

"Of course..." he agreed, leading them to a small living room where two brown haired children played and watched a cartoon. They looked up with big, blue eyes as they entered.

"James, Laila, why don't you go play in your rooms, okay?" Matthew said. The children nodded and seemed to know it was important by the look on their father's face, because they left quickly.

"Something happened to Nellie," Matthew said, motioning for them to sit down.

"She came into the precinct very early this morning," Elliot said. "She reported that she had been raped."

"Matthew stared at them, looking as though he would either cry, scream, or throw something at any moment but instead, thankfully, breathed deeply to calm himself. "D-did she say who did it?"

"Yes," Olivia said. "Do you know Jeff Grey?"

"Charmaine's husband?" he asked. His face fell into his hands. "I met him at their wedding! Nellie told me then she loved the guy! How could he betray her like this?"

"Personally, I don't care why he did it," Elliot said. "The fact that he did it is enough for me."

Matthew nodded shakily. "Good.. that's a good attitude."

"Sir, we'd like to speak with James and Laila. Just to see if they saw or heard anything," Olivia said. Matthew nodded again.

"Of course. Anything you need, Detectives. Anything at all. They should be in their rooms. Go on in." Olivia nodded and stood with Elliot

"Thank you for your help," she said.

"Anything you need," he said again. The detectives walked down the cmall hallway towards the twins' bedrooms, leaving Matthew still with his head in his hands.

Baynes and Grey Reality

7:45 A.M.

Munch and Fin entered the tall office building. The only person in the lobby was a pretty, young secretary sitting behind a desk. She looked up at them as they walked toward her.

"Baynes and Grey Reality, how can I help you gentlemen?" she greeted with a smile.

"We need to speak with Mr. Grey, please," Munch said.

"Do you have an appointment?" Fin showed her his badge.

"I don't think we need one."

"Well, he's in a meeting right now..."

"Page him," Munch ordered, though not unkindly. The young woman smiled again and did as she was told. A minute or two later, a man's voice came out on the speaker phone.

"Yes, Jean?"

"Mr. Grey, I'm sorry to interrupt..."

"It's no problem."

"There are two gentlemen down here. They say they need to see you immediately." There was a pause.

"Is it urgent?"

"Tell him it is," Fin said. Jean relayed the message.

"I'll be right down," he sighed. "Unless they'd rather come up."

"It would be better if he came down," Munch said. Jean repeated this as well.

"Right then. See you in a few."

A few minutes later, a black haired man stepped out of the elevator. Spotting Munch and Fin, he walked over with a charming smile.

"Hello. What can I do for you?"

"You can come quietly," Munch told him. Grey looked in between the detectives and Jean, who shrugged in response.

"What do you mean?" he asked, finally.

"Jeef Grey, you are under arrest for the sexual assault of Miss Nellie Rivers. You have the right to remain silent..."