.Tony.

Jordan Apartment Complex
Monday, July 5th

Munch and Fin walked to the apartment next door to the Jordan's. The door was open and a police officer was standing inside, speaking to a large woman with long blonde hair. She was large but not obesely so. Some might have called her "big-boned" and when a person looked at her, they were reminded of a work animal, such as an ox or horse. The woman glanced up and saw Munch and Fin entering her home. Stepping towards them, she spoke, her voice rich and expressive, "Are you the detectives I was told were gonna talk to me?"

Munch nodded, the police officer slipping by he and Fin to go to another area where he could be of more use. "Yeah, that's us. Mrs. Laird, right?" The woman nodded in affirmation. "You're aware of what happened next door?"

"Yup, almost knew before the cops told me. I heard a lot of racket in there sometime this afternoon, probably three or so. Eve was yelling and cursing a blue streak, which was kind of surprising to me."

"How so?" Fin asked.

"Eve's a-" Mrs. Laird caught herself, "was quiet girl. I never heard her raise her voice except when she was telling a joke to make her friends laugh. To hear her yell and scream like that made me worried. I tried to call her father to see if he knew what was happening but his secretary told me he was in a meeting and so I only left him a message."

"So, you know the Jordans well?" Munch inquired.

"Yeah, my kids and theirs hung out a lot when they were younger. Lately, though, not as much. I don't really know why." She shrugged her big shoulders in an expression of helplessness. "You'd have to ask them."

"Are they home?"

"My daughter isn't, but my son is." She turned, bellowing the boy's name into the back of the apartment. "Tony!"

"Coming!" Munch and Fin heard the teenager reply and he soon came tramping out into view. Like his mother, he was built large and the detectives would have bet their year's salary that he was a football player for whatever school he attended. One of his arms was in a sling, which spoke of a recent injury, most likely sports related.

"Talk to the detectives about Eve," she ordered, retreating into the kitchen where the sounds of a coffee machine being started up were heard.

"Sure, what do you guys want to know?" The boy asked.

"How well did you know Eve?"

"I knew her ever since she first moved in, when she was five or something. We're the same age, though she was better friends with my sister when they were friends. They haven't hung out in a while though."

"They had a falling out?"

"No, Eve just moved on to other friends."

"Were you two still friends?"

"Um…" he thought for a minute. "Kind of, I guess. Like, we were still friends for a while but then I asked her out. She said no. And after that we kind of stopped talking."

"That make you mad?" Fin asked.

"Yeah, for a while. Then I asked her why and her answer, well, it didn't make sense to me. Like she was reaching for any excuse not to go out with me."

"Ain't that the way they always sound?"

"Yeah, and I've heard a lot of them." The guy grinned. "But this one takes the cake. She said she couldn't go out with me because I was her friend. Said something like she couldn't mix love and friendship. Some stupid bullshit like that. I always thought girls wanted a guy who was a friend and not just in it for the pussy."

"Tony!" the mother yelled from the kitchen. "Watch your language!"

"Yes, ma'am!" He yelled back with a grimace.

"So, you gave up on her after that?" Munch asked.

"Yeah, it's useless talking sense into a chick, you know?"

"Do I ever," Munch answered, his voice tinged with past experiences. "That's all for now. Thanks."

"No problem," the boy replied. "You guys make sure and catch the bastard who did this to her, okay? She didn't deserve what happened to her."

"No one does," Fin said quietly. Tony looked at him for a moment, like he was about to speak, but the moment passed and all he did was nod before turning and walking away.

Munch and Fin exited the apartment and walked back down the hall towards the Jordans' apartment. "You buy it?" Fin asked Munch.

"Buy what?" Munch looked at his partner quizzically.

"The kid said he gave up after that answer. I don't believe that. No guy would give up that easy."

"You think things went down differently?"

"I'm sure."

Munch nodded. "Guess we should ask around then. Find out how things actually turned out."

…

"What've you found out?" were the first words out of Cragen's mouth when the squad returned to the precinct, the clock reading close to ten.

"Not a lot of useful information right now," Elliot replied, sitting down at his desk and stretching with a yawn. "CSU was able to distinguish at least thirty different fingerprints in the apartment, half of which were in the girl's room."

"That's a lot of traffic for a sixteen-year-old," Cragen remarked.

"Well, the bedroom is becoming quite a popular place for youth sports," Munch commented from where he was perched on the edge of his own desk, "She might have been entertaining her male friends in there when her parents weren't home."

"We know her friends are into drugs. Any evidence that she was?"

"Amos said that she went drinking sometimes and something about one time when she was 'tripping bad.'" Munch offered.

"Any suspects?"

"Amos is our favorite, though he's covered for the rape," Fin replied.

"Anyone else?"

"We're looking at her friend next door as a possibility. Just on a hunch though. So far we've got no evidence to support it." Munch answered.

"When did CSU say they'd get those fingerprint analysis's to us?"

"Sometime next morning, though no promises," Olivia answered, then she held up a couple of decorated journals sealed in a plastic evidence bag. "Eve kept a diary so I've got some reading material to work on for the next couple of days."

"Oh, wonderful. Reading through the day-to-day angst of a teenage girl's life. How I envy you," Munch protested sarcastically.

"Well, John, if you're that jealous, you can read them after me. Just to make sure I didn't miss anything," Olivia said with a sweet smile.

"Anything else of interest?" Cragen inquired.

"Not that I can think of," Elliot answered and the rest of the unit nodded in agreement.

"Good. I want you all to go home and get some sleep tonight. Tomorrow's going to be a long day and I need you all in top shape. Now go." Cragen waved his hand dismissively and turned to walk into his office to grab his coat before leaving the precinct, demonstrating to his unit what they themselves should be doing.

"Guess we should get going," Elliot said, hiding another yawn behind his hand.

"Yeah, I've got reading to do." Olivia stood from where she had been sitting at her desk and picked up her coat. "See you all tomorrow."

The chorus of "good nights" echoed around the squad room as each member picked up their things and exited the room, leaving behind a quiet, dark, secluded place where only at night could the atmosphere reflect the atrocities it was witness to during daylight hours.