Conceal, Chapter Six

I finished up my Higher Ground story so I'll try to update this one more often. Please review. It may be a little annoying me going !-location, but that's because FF deletes my dividers so you can't tell where a scene stops. Please review!

!-At the Stabler residence

Elliot went home that night exasperated. One of his daughter's best friends was on trial for murder; a self-defense murder, but murder all the same. And they still had an unsolved rape, or at least a kid not telling the truth.

Kathleen walked up to her dad, who was sitting on the computer. "Dad?" She said, her voice breaking. Elliot took one look at her and enclosed her in a tight hug. "It'll be okay, Kath. Kristyn will be fine," he said, reassuring both himself and his daughter.

"She's up for murder, dad. I'm not stupid. I read about your cases in the newspaper. Even kids go to prison!" Kathleen exclaimed. "If he hadn't been doing those things to her, she wouldn't have done it. How can she go to jail for trying to protect herself?" She asked, although Elliot was sure if it was to him or if she was wondering out loud.

"Hopefully that's how the jury will see it."

"But what if they don't, dad? What about Aaron and Eric? How can they send a kid to prison for shooting someone if they were coming to rape them? If it were just on the streets or her dad was some known sleeze then it wouldn't matter!" Kathleen exclaimed, frusterated and anguished.

"Go to bed, Kath. It's been a long day," Elliot told her. She sighed a shaky sigh and hugged him good night. "I love you," Elliot called after her. "Love you, dad."

!-At the station, the following day

"Kristyn will be charged as an adult," Alex said simply.

Elliot shook his head and Olivia spoke up, "Do you not realize how they'll see her? They'll think she's a sociopath. She shoots her father, and then goes to school like everything is dandy. They'll kill her up there."

"I get that, thanks. I have no control over how she's tried. She's over thirteen."

"It's self-defense! He was going to rape his fourteen-year-old daughter. It shouldn't even be a murder charge! Hell, it shouldn't be anything. MAYBE manslaughter, but you've got to be kidding me that they're slapping a first-degree charge on this. If this was someone that the town knew as abusive, it'd be manslaughter; if this was some poor guy, it'd be manslaughter," Elliot exclaimed, marking Kathleen's words.

"I KNOW. I don't have control over that. I'm not even the prosecutor in this case; why are you talking to me?" Alex wondered.

John looked over his glasses. "Because you have connections. Even I could figure that out. You're getting rusty."

Alex glared at him for a second. "That doesn't mean I can change every case. You just better hope she has a good lawyer; because the prosecutor is known to be tough, and she's tried kids before."

Alex left and Elliot sighed, rubbing his forehead. Cragen appeared.

"We've got that solved; however, it's time to talk to Brandon."

Olivia and Elliot nodded, "We'll take the hint."

When they got to the school, it was after school already. Elliot knew, courtesy of his daughters, the schedule of the football team, because of the many 'oh-my-God' guys.

They went to the fields and Coach Collins saw them. The three approached eachother. "Can I help you? Chuck, get moving out there!" Collins called.

"Um yes, is Brandon Arrington here?" Olivia asked.

"Yep. Can't miss another practice or he's off," Collins explained. "ARRINGTON!" He yelled. Elliot and Olivia stepped back. Two boys ran up, one Brandon and one that they were assuming to be his brother Derek.

"I need Brandon, thanks Derek," Collins said. Derek groaned and was off, running suicides across the field.

"Hey, Brandon. Remember us?" Elliot asked. Brandon took off his helmet, breathing hard, and nodded. He wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"Is Brandon in some kind of trouble?" Collins asked. "No, we just need to ask him a couple of questions. I was wondering, though, if I could please speak to you Coach..." Olivia trailed off, waiting for a name. "Collins; and sure," he said.

He turned to his team and blew the whistle. "Four laps; you got five minutes!" Groans and "you're killin' us" were his only response.

Collins and Olivia went to one bench and Elliot and Brandon head to another.

Olivia turned to Coach Collins. "Have you noticed anything different in Brandon? In the past month or so?" She asked, getting straight to the point. She was tired and she didn't feel like beating around the bush.

Coach thought for a moment, and then looked at her. "Not a big change, but little things. He won't shower with the team; he goes straight home, even after games. He doesn't seem as interested, and he fights a lot now. I just took it as disinterest. Why?"

Olivia wrote some things down and then answered. "We can't actually tell you, but Brandon may have...not told the whole truth about something that happened a few days ago."

Collins appeared deep in thought. "A few days ago...A day before the big game, at Reynolds. He came late, and he was out of breath. The kid was pale, looked as if he had been running a lot. I mean a lot more than we do. He tried participating I guess but then he threw up and ran off the field."

Olivia smiled at him. "Thanks, Coach Collins-" Collins interupted her. "Just call me Paul."

"Okay, thanks Paul. If you think of anything else, please tell us."

Brandon kept his distance from Elliot. "I'm going to get straight to the point. You've probably heard the rumors about Kristyn."

Brandon looked down and nodded, "She killed her dad."

"You know what she told us, Brandon?" Brandon shook his head. "She said that no teacher has ever raped her before. But you were certain that was her. Could you have...made a mistake?" Elliot suggested.

"I didn't make a mistake. I saw what I saw. She's lying."

"No, I don't think she is. I think you are. And if someone was raped, don't you think that person deserves justice?"

Brandon shrugged. "I guess. That's why I came to you, wasn't it?"

"But you didn't tell us who it really was. That wasn't Kristyn in that room."

"The fuck it wasn't. I have practice. Bye, Detective," Brandon sneered and stood up. "Brandon! You need to tell us. What if he does it to someone else?" Brandon turned around. "He won't. He sticks to one per-" Brandon stopped himself. He looked on the verge of tears and turned around, joining the others on the track.

Olivia met up with Elliot. "Thanks for your time, Paul," Olivia said.

"No problem. If I think of something else, I'll go to the station. My buddy works there, so I know where it is." Coach called over his shoulder as he watched the kids run.

Olivia looked at Elliot. "Did he say anything?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Not really. He cut off whenever he came close to saying something. I think he knows that we can't keep saying it was Kristyn. Why would he lie, though? He said it was positive it was her."