Disclaimer: I still don't own it.
CHAPTER TWO
DOINK-DOINK
Olivia and Elliot arrived at the crime scene. Scared parents and children swarmed around the outskirts of the police tape, chattering and craning for a look. An officer walked up to Olivia and shook her hand.
"Hi. Officer Marshall. Come with me?"
Marshall shook Elliot's hand and led the detectives over to the scene. Blood spattered the ground.
"Looks like your vic put up a bit of a fight. Not much of one, but as much as I guess she could, being so young."
"Anyone around who looks like they could have done this?" asked Elliot.
"Not from what I can tell. No one looks suspicious and no one was near the girl when your guy found her. Sorry. We'll keep looking."
Marshall was called over by another officer and left. Elliot and Olivia looked at each other.
"This make any sense to you?" said Olivia.
"No. One second she's playing on the swings, next second she's dying. I don't get it. What's behind it?"
"Sex?" Olivia offered.
"Liv, look…" said Elliot, kneeling down. He picked up a small card that was mostly obstructed from view by a large leaf. "It's a business card."
"Thomas Mayhew," said Olivia, noting the name. "He's a child psychologist."
"Let's check him out," said Elliot.
Olivia's phone rang. "Benson," she said, answering it.
Elliot kept looking as Olivia talked on her cell. He flipped the card over. On it was scrawled an address. Olivia hung up and joined Elliot.
"That was Munch. We need to find out about a Melissa Volley. Apparently she's Jessica's babysitter. No one knows where she is."
"Okay. There's an address on here. We should check that out, too," said Elliot, showing Olivia.
"Let's split up. Cover more ground."
"Okay. Be careful," said Elliot, ever the protective paternal type.
"She was stabbed twice and cut once. I'm not sure what kind of knife. It looks as though he stabbed and then pulled down to make the wound longer, so that makes it harder to determine the type of weapon."
Munch and Fin were at the ME's office. As Melinda Warner showed them her findings, Munch shifted uncomfortably. He never did like being in the office.
"What about the acid? Doctor said they found it in the wound," said Fin.
"They did. Sulfuric acid. Not a lot of it, but enough to cause it to eat away some of the flesh."
"Any sign of sexual trauma?" asked Munch.
"Yes," said Warner. "There's bruising around the thighs and damage to the hymen. My best guess is that your perp held her legs open with a lot of force while he raped her."
"Any DNA?"
"It's being processed. Until then, all I can tell you is that you're looking for a pedophile with a knife. Sorry."
Warner went back to work. Munch and Fin exited the office and Munch leaned against the wall.
"You okay?" Fin asked.
"I just saw Warner take out a six-year-old girl's stomach. No, I'm not okay."
"You need a break."
"No, I need to find the perp," said Munch. He took from his pocket the picture of Jessica that the Turners had brought with them to the hospital. "Look at her. It was taken two weeks ago. Just two weeks ago."
Fin looked. Jessica had been a pretty little girl, with bright green eyes and curly brown hair in ponytails. The picture showed her sitting on a swing – the same swing she had been found near – and smiling.
"Who's that?" asked Fin, pointing to a man in the corner of the photo.
"I don't know. He's looking right at Jessica."
"We don't know that for sure, but it does look like it."
"Let's get his picture enhanced. We can see if anyone recognizes him," said Munch, taking a closer look at the strange man in the corner.
"I hope they do. I want to catch this guy just as much as you do."
"No, you don't," said Munch to himself as he put the photo back in his pocket.
