Conceal, Chapter Three
Thanks for the great reviews. Please keep reviewing! Oh and thanks for correcting me! I always do that, hehe. I'll use Derek , because that's easier. And definitely sorry about saying Kathryn instead of Kathleen- should've known that one, meep! Anyway, further in the chapter you'll see a name spelled "Dava". It's not said 'Dah-vuh', it's 'Day-vuh'.
Brandon took a deep breath before he continued.
"It was right before practice, that day I came to the station. I was suppose to be there, but I thought maybe I had left my bag in geometry. Ms. Watson, our teacher, wasn't there today, but Mr. Maher was. He's a substitute, but like, he's always at our school. He's the school-wide stand in. If no one needs a substitute, he does stuff in the office, like make announcements between periods, stuff like that.
Well I was walking towards there and I heard some kid crying. She kept saying "stop, please, stop!" over and over again. I looked in and it was dark and it looked like..." he couldn't go on and he put his head on his arms on top of the table, his body racking from sobs.
"Go on," Olivia said softly. "It looked like he was raping her. I know her. She's in my 4th period, and she's only 14-God, she's only fourteen. I saw her try to elbow him but he just hit her and didn't stop. She was trying to fight, but he wouldn't stop. I didn't know what to do. I just hit the door really hard, thinking maybe he'd...Maybe he'd stop, maybe he'd think someone had seen them. But I hid and looked back in and he hadn't so I just ran to practice."
"You didn't tell anyone? At practice?" Elliot demanded.
"No! I didn't know what to do! I couldn't even talk. I tried to do the laps but I just threw up. My brother was there and he was trying to get me to calm down, to tell what was wrong and then Coach was there and I just ran here. I didn't know what else to do! I couldn't talk about it, though. It was one of those things, that I couldn't say. I don't like saying that word. I grew up and my parents never cared about things like that. They never taught us that people touching kids was bad. When something on the news came up, they just ignored it. I was never told anything about it! So I left. She was in class yesterday and she looked horrible. It was so weird, seeing her. She was joking and stuff but just acting weird."
"Brandon, did you recognize the guy that was raping her? Was it Mr. Maher?" Olivia asked.
Brandon shook his head. "No. I didn't recognize him but it wasn't Mr. Maher."
"Brandon, think hard. You said it was dark. Are you sure it wasn't him?"
"I'm sure, damnit! Mr. Maher is black. This guy was white. This guy was younger. I've seen him around school, I think. I don't know."
"What was the student's name? What was the girl's name?"
"Kristyn."
"Last name?"
"I don't know. Most people in the class that know her just call her Freshman. Dava and some girl named Stephanie started calling her that when they got to know her, because she was the only freshman they knew, I guess. There's only 3 freshmen in that class. I don't pay attention in class, really. The only time they do role call is at the very beginning and when substitutes are here. I know she's the name after mine, alphabetically. So it starts with an A or a B. It has a weird spelling. It's Y-N, not I or E-N. That's all I know. Sorry," he said apologetically.
"No, Brandon, don't apologize. You've helped a lot," Elliot said.
"Look, can I go now?" Brandon asked.
"Yeah, sure. We may have to talk to you later, though."
Brandon just nodded and walked off.
"Well." Elliot said and shook his head. "What?"
"It never ceases to amaze me the kind of bastards we have out there," he muttered.
When Elliot came home that day around 4:30, everyone in the house was surprised. The twins were playing in their room. Maureen was out with a friend, and Kathleen was at the computer, with Kristyn, again.
"Hey, girls," he said. "Hey, dad," Kathleen answered. "Hi, Mr. Stabler," Kristyn mumbled.
"Working on a school project?"
Kathleen nodded. "World geography. We have the most boring teacher, and now that it's the end of the year he's trying to pile all these projects on us. We're researching Turkey. The country," she added.
"Eh, yeah. Did Dickey think the food?"
Kathleen nodded. "Yeah. The genius asked if we were going to bring a live turkey home."
"He's only eight," Elliot pointed out.
"I hope I wasn't that stupid when I was eight!"
Elliot sighed and sat on the couch. "So how was school, girls?"
"Fine," they both answered. "Hey, what about that kid you were looking for yesterday? Did you find him?" Kathleen asked.
"Oh, yeah, we talked to him."
Then something clicked in his head and Elliot looked at Kristyn. She was staring at the computer screen, not really paying attention. Her arms were lined with bruises.
"Kristyn, you said you were in Brandon's fourth period, right?" Kristyn just nodded. "Geometry? Ms. Watson?"
"Geez, dad, why are you giving her the third degree?" Kathleen demanded.
Elliot didn't answer. The two girls turned to the computer again, writing down stuff. "Oh, God," he mumbled. "What?" Kathleen exclaimed. "You're acting really weird, even for you!"
"I've got to call Olivia," he mumbled and left the room. "I've got to go," Kristyn said quickly. "What? Why? Did he scare you? Don't worry, he's psycho when he comes back from work. Takes him an hour or so to get normal. Well, normal for him," Kathleen said.
"No, I've just got to watch Eric. You know, my little brother?"
"Well what about your older brother? Aaron?"
"Football practice."
"Aw, alright. This weekend, we've got to finish this up."
Elliot called Olivia, excited.
"Yeah?" She asked.
"Liv! Guess what? I know what Kristyn Brandon was talking about. She's Kathleen's friend."
"How do you know, Elliot? Eckerlie said there were nearly a dozen Kristin's in that school."
"Yeah, but only one with that spelling. She's in his 4th period. She's a freshman. There aren't any other Kristyn's in that class."
"Elliot, I don't know..."
Kathleen showed up at the door. "Kath, what's Kristyn's last name?"
"Clark. Why?"
"Kristyn Clark. I'm sure of it."
"Well, I guess we'll tell Cragen tomorrow..."
"Okay. Bye, 'Liv."
"Bye, Elliot."
"Why do you want to know her last name? Why were you questioning her in there? Don't bring her into one of your psycho investigations, dad," Kathleen exclaimed, her voice rising.
"Has Kristyn told you anything? Anything bad happen to her?"
"Dad! No! She doesn't talk anymore. At all. She's always quiet now. She hates being around guy teachers. It's annoying sometimes. She wants me to ask him all the questions. Then whenever you come in, she's got to leave. Does this have anything to do with Brandon? Did he hurt her?"
"Kath, you know I can't-"
"I know. Tell anything about it. But you're asking me, and it's MY friend."
"Brandon just told us something. We're going to need to ask her some questions. We might be at your school again tomorrow."
"Oh, geez, dad, just don't come into our second period. That'd be to embarrassing."
Please review!
Thanks for the great reviews. Please keep reviewing! Oh and thanks for correcting me! I always do that, hehe. I'll use Derek , because that's easier. And definitely sorry about saying Kathryn instead of Kathleen- should've known that one, meep! Anyway, further in the chapter you'll see a name spelled "Dava". It's not said 'Dah-vuh', it's 'Day-vuh'.
Brandon took a deep breath before he continued.
"It was right before practice, that day I came to the station. I was suppose to be there, but I thought maybe I had left my bag in geometry. Ms. Watson, our teacher, wasn't there today, but Mr. Maher was. He's a substitute, but like, he's always at our school. He's the school-wide stand in. If no one needs a substitute, he does stuff in the office, like make announcements between periods, stuff like that.
Well I was walking towards there and I heard some kid crying. She kept saying "stop, please, stop!" over and over again. I looked in and it was dark and it looked like..." he couldn't go on and he put his head on his arms on top of the table, his body racking from sobs.
"Go on," Olivia said softly. "It looked like he was raping her. I know her. She's in my 4th period, and she's only 14-God, she's only fourteen. I saw her try to elbow him but he just hit her and didn't stop. She was trying to fight, but he wouldn't stop. I didn't know what to do. I just hit the door really hard, thinking maybe he'd...Maybe he'd stop, maybe he'd think someone had seen them. But I hid and looked back in and he hadn't so I just ran to practice."
"You didn't tell anyone? At practice?" Elliot demanded.
"No! I didn't know what to do! I couldn't even talk. I tried to do the laps but I just threw up. My brother was there and he was trying to get me to calm down, to tell what was wrong and then Coach was there and I just ran here. I didn't know what else to do! I couldn't talk about it, though. It was one of those things, that I couldn't say. I don't like saying that word. I grew up and my parents never cared about things like that. They never taught us that people touching kids was bad. When something on the news came up, they just ignored it. I was never told anything about it! So I left. She was in class yesterday and she looked horrible. It was so weird, seeing her. She was joking and stuff but just acting weird."
"Brandon, did you recognize the guy that was raping her? Was it Mr. Maher?" Olivia asked.
Brandon shook his head. "No. I didn't recognize him but it wasn't Mr. Maher."
"Brandon, think hard. You said it was dark. Are you sure it wasn't him?"
"I'm sure, damnit! Mr. Maher is black. This guy was white. This guy was younger. I've seen him around school, I think. I don't know."
"What was the student's name? What was the girl's name?"
"Kristyn."
"Last name?"
"I don't know. Most people in the class that know her just call her Freshman. Dava and some girl named Stephanie started calling her that when they got to know her, because she was the only freshman they knew, I guess. There's only 3 freshmen in that class. I don't pay attention in class, really. The only time they do role call is at the very beginning and when substitutes are here. I know she's the name after mine, alphabetically. So it starts with an A or a B. It has a weird spelling. It's Y-N, not I or E-N. That's all I know. Sorry," he said apologetically.
"No, Brandon, don't apologize. You've helped a lot," Elliot said.
"Look, can I go now?" Brandon asked.
"Yeah, sure. We may have to talk to you later, though."
Brandon just nodded and walked off.
"Well." Elliot said and shook his head. "What?"
"It never ceases to amaze me the kind of bastards we have out there," he muttered.
When Elliot came home that day around 4:30, everyone in the house was surprised. The twins were playing in their room. Maureen was out with a friend, and Kathleen was at the computer, with Kristyn, again.
"Hey, girls," he said. "Hey, dad," Kathleen answered. "Hi, Mr. Stabler," Kristyn mumbled.
"Working on a school project?"
Kathleen nodded. "World geography. We have the most boring teacher, and now that it's the end of the year he's trying to pile all these projects on us. We're researching Turkey. The country," she added.
"Eh, yeah. Did Dickey think the food?"
Kathleen nodded. "Yeah. The genius asked if we were going to bring a live turkey home."
"He's only eight," Elliot pointed out.
"I hope I wasn't that stupid when I was eight!"
Elliot sighed and sat on the couch. "So how was school, girls?"
"Fine," they both answered. "Hey, what about that kid you were looking for yesterday? Did you find him?" Kathleen asked.
"Oh, yeah, we talked to him."
Then something clicked in his head and Elliot looked at Kristyn. She was staring at the computer screen, not really paying attention. Her arms were lined with bruises.
"Kristyn, you said you were in Brandon's fourth period, right?" Kristyn just nodded. "Geometry? Ms. Watson?"
"Geez, dad, why are you giving her the third degree?" Kathleen demanded.
Elliot didn't answer. The two girls turned to the computer again, writing down stuff. "Oh, God," he mumbled. "What?" Kathleen exclaimed. "You're acting really weird, even for you!"
"I've got to call Olivia," he mumbled and left the room. "I've got to go," Kristyn said quickly. "What? Why? Did he scare you? Don't worry, he's psycho when he comes back from work. Takes him an hour or so to get normal. Well, normal for him," Kathleen said.
"No, I've just got to watch Eric. You know, my little brother?"
"Well what about your older brother? Aaron?"
"Football practice."
"Aw, alright. This weekend, we've got to finish this up."
Elliot called Olivia, excited.
"Yeah?" She asked.
"Liv! Guess what? I know what Kristyn Brandon was talking about. She's Kathleen's friend."
"How do you know, Elliot? Eckerlie said there were nearly a dozen Kristin's in that school."
"Yeah, but only one with that spelling. She's in his 4th period. She's a freshman. There aren't any other Kristyn's in that class."
"Elliot, I don't know..."
Kathleen showed up at the door. "Kath, what's Kristyn's last name?"
"Clark. Why?"
"Kristyn Clark. I'm sure of it."
"Well, I guess we'll tell Cragen tomorrow..."
"Okay. Bye, 'Liv."
"Bye, Elliot."
"Why do you want to know her last name? Why were you questioning her in there? Don't bring her into one of your psycho investigations, dad," Kathleen exclaimed, her voice rising.
"Has Kristyn told you anything? Anything bad happen to her?"
"Dad! No! She doesn't talk anymore. At all. She's always quiet now. She hates being around guy teachers. It's annoying sometimes. She wants me to ask him all the questions. Then whenever you come in, she's got to leave. Does this have anything to do with Brandon? Did he hurt her?"
"Kath, you know I can't-"
"I know. Tell anything about it. But you're asking me, and it's MY friend."
"Brandon just told us something. We're going to need to ask her some questions. We might be at your school again tomorrow."
"Oh, geez, dad, just don't come into our second period. That'd be to embarrassing."
Please review!