Chapter 4: The Moment Of Truth
Elliot was driving while Olivia held a shaking Hope.
"Which way, Honey?" Olivia asked gently.
"Right," she replied.
Elliot nodded and steered the car around the sloping curve.
"It's over," Olivia promised. "He'll never hurt you or your mommy again."
Hope sighed. "I wanna believe you, Olivia," she said, "but I'm not so sure it's over."
"What makes you say that?" Olivia asked. The concern she was feeling was evident in her voice.
"He promised us he'd get help more times than I can count, but he never did," she answered.
Elliot shook his head. He could feel his anger building as he asked, "Which way now?"
"Left," Hope replied, holding back tears.
"Oh, don't cry," Olivia soothed. "It's gonna be okay."
Hope nodded. She believed Olivia, but she couldn't stop her tears from falling.
Olivia held her close, stroking her pretty red hair as she rocked her back and forth. "Shh, shh," she soothed. "It's okay."
Elliot kept his eyes on the road as he put a gentle hand on Hope's shoulder. Their hands brushed as Olivia moved to squeeze it comfortingly. Neither of them noticed, though, since their main focus was on Hope and her mom.
"It's okay, Hope," Elliot said, trying to match Olivia's gentleness.
Olivia glanced up at him, her eyes filled with worry. He could see her in the mirror that was on the visor. What if it wasn't okay? What if they couldn't keep their promise of protection? These questions were visible in the look she was giving him.
He moved his hand from Hope's shoulder to Olivia's, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. "Try not to worry, Liv," he told her softly. Hope had cried herself to sleep in Olivia's arms, so he whispered his words of comfort.
"That's impossible, El," she whispered back with a sigh. "I can't help it."
Elliot nodded in understanding "I know, Liv," he said as he squeezed her shoulder again. "I know." Suddenly, he stopped in front of a small white house. "Is this your house?" he asked Hope as he gently shook her awake.
She looked at him sleepily as she glanced out the window. When she saw the house, she nodded.
"Don't worry," Olivia assured her. "We'll be with you all the way."
Hope smiled and nodded again. She was really glad Olivia had found her. She knew she could trust her word as well as Elliot's. She felt safer with them then she'd ever felt with anyone else, including her mom. She loved her mom, but she was scared all the time, too, and her mom's fear only made hers grow more. She was brought out of these thoughts when she felt Olivia step out of the car. Next, she heard both doors close as Elliot came to Olivia's side. "Olivia?" she asked, glancing up.
"Hmm?" Olivia answered as they approached the house.
"Thanks for finding me," Hope said simply.
"You're welcome," Olivia told her with a smile, tensing a bit as Elliot rang the doorbell. "I'm just glad I have good hearing. Otherwise, I wouldn't have heard you call out."
After a few minutes, a petite young woman answered the door. She had bruises that were very similar to Hope's. "Can I help you?" she asked. "Hope!" she cried when she saw her.
Olivia nodded as she transferred Hope into the woman's arms. "I'm Detective Benson, and this is my partner, Detective Stabler," she said as they flashed their badges.
The woman nodded. "You're here for my husband, aren't you?"
"Yeah, we are," Elliot said. He tried to keep his anger in check, but it wasn't working. He could feel it rising even as he spoke.
Olivia saw this and took over. "Where can we find him?" she asked the woman.
"He's in the back yard, but be careful," she cautioned.
Elliot and Olivia nodded. "We will," they said in unison.
"Wait," Hope said suddenly. "I wanna come with you."
"Are you sure?" Olivia asked, glancing first at Elliot, then at the woman, who nodded hesitantly.
"Elliot and Olivia will take care of me, Mommy," Hope assured her. "Besides, I have to stand up for us and show him that we're not scared anymore. They taught me how."
"We did?" Olivia asked, surprised.
Hope smiled and nodded. "I'm not scared when I'm with you and Elliot," she explained. "You make me feel safe."
Olivia returned her smile and took her back into her arms. "We'll keep her safe, Mrs. Carter," she promised her mom as they headed toward the backyard. When they got there, they saw a man throwing pieces of sharp driftwood into the trunk of a big oak tree.
"Evan Carter?" Elliot asked.
The man turned. "Yeah, that's me," he replied. "What can I do for ya?"
"You can start by telling us the story behind these," Elliot said as he showed him the pictures of Hope's bruises. "And then, you can tell us about your wife's, because she's got bruises just like Hope's."
"I've never touched them," Evan said defensively.
It was then that Hope found her courage. "Yeah, you have, Daddy," she told him, glancing up to make sure Olivia was still protecting her. Olivia nodded, silently telling her that she wasn't going anywhere. "You beat us every day," she continued as she felt her newfound strength coursing through her body.
"No, you're just confused, Hopie," Evan told her. He spoke in a gentle tone that both Elliot and Olivia could tell was as phony as he was.
"Stop denying it," Olivia ordered harshly. "Hope is not confused. When I found her behind a chair in our precinct, there wasn't a place on her body that wasn't covered by clothes where I didn't see a bruise, and don't even try to tell me she's accident-prone. She told me how you drink six beers a day, and that's a crime in itself if you ask me."
Suddenly, Evan started toward Olivia. Elliot saw it coming, so he stepped protectively in front of her
"You wanna get to them, you'll have to go through me first," he challenged.
"That can be arranged," Evan told him menacingly.
"Wait, El," Olivia said suddenly. "Maybe we should call for backup."
Elliot shook his head. "I can handle him, Liv. Don't worry," he told her as he glanced over his shoulder.
Olivia sighed. Why did Elliot always have to be so stubborn? "Well, I'm not leaving you here alone," she told him. "You can count on that."
"What are you so afraid of?" Evan asked her. "Afraid I'll hurt your partner?"
Olivia opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted when a familiar voice asked, "Lookin' for us?"
She turned. It was Fin, and Munch was right behind him.
"How'd you find us?" she asked them as she kept an eye on Elliot
"Andy called the precinct," Munch answered. "She told us that Hope was a patient of hers before, so they still had her address in her file."
"I don't understand," Olivia said as Fin went over to help Elliot. "Why didn't Andy tell us this earlier?"
"She said she just came across Hope's file," Munch replied.
"Hope, this is Detective Munch," Olivia said.
"Elliot, chill!" they heard Fin say loudly.
Olivia turned toward Fin's voice. Elliot looked as if steam would come out of his ears any minute. She'd seen that look before, and it was never a good sign. "El, don't!" she called as she ran over to him. Munch took Hope as they ran. "We've got a warrant," he told Olivia when they'd reached Elliot.
"In that case, Evan Carter, you're under arrest for child endangerment as well as assault and battery," Olivia told him as she grabbed her handcuffs. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." As Olivia continued to read him his rights, she got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew there was more to this than met the eye, and she was afraid to find out what it was.
