Disclaimer: Alas, they still don't belong to me. If they did, I'd be a character on the show dating Elliot. But they don't belong to me. Damn it.

CHAPTER THREE

DOINK-DOINK

Munch, Fin, Elliot, and Olivia were gathered around their desks, updating each other on the case. Just as Munch pulled out the photograph of Jessica and the enhanced photo of the strange man, Cragen walked up, accompanied by a woman none of them recognized.

"Everyone," he said. "This is Detective Caroline Schmidt from Albany."

They all turned to look at this stranger. She seemed an unlikely gun-wielder. Her five-foot-two stature, makeup-free face, and dark, wavy hair worn in a loose braid made her look like a liberal arts student rather than NYPD. Despite his state of melancholy, Munch found himself stealing a glance at her small but cute figure, accented by black slacks and a short-sleeved blue blouse. The second he realized he was staring, he snapped his eyes back to her face, which was just as pleasing as the rest of her.

"I'm brand new to Special Victims and the captain wants me to be a sort of fifth wheel on this case," said Caroline. She seemed soft-spoken.

"Sure," said Olivia with forced amiability. "Come on over."

Caroline smiled shyly and put on a pair of square-framed glasses. Elliot shifted to allow her to join the group.

"What do we have so far?" Caroline asked politely.

"We have this little girl," said Elliot, showing her the photo. "She was raped and murdered, found in Central Park."

"Dump job?"

"Doesn't look that way. The wounds were too fresh when we found her, and someone would have seen. It was a playground at two in the afternoon."

"No one saw?"

"From what we can tell, no one knew anything about it. No one saw or heard a thing," said Munch. "Apparently her babysitter, Melissa Volley, is missing, too. We're checking into that."

"Perp was probably after the babysitter," said Caroline, adjusting her glasses.

"What makes you say that?"

"She's missing, the child she was with is dead."

"She could have run off," said Elliot.

"Did you do a tox screen on the body?"

Everyone looked at each other. Caroline didn't notice because she was staring intently at the photograph of Jessica.

"No, no we didn't," said Munch. "Not too many six-year-olds shoot up."

"Not voluntarily."

Caroline looked up to see everyone's confused looks. She gave a strange half-smile.

"No one heard anything, right?" she continued. "Strange, isn't it? Have the ME check for sedatives. A little girl being attacked would make some sound."

She was greeted by silence and more Looks.

"More? Okay…how's this for a theory? Someone wants to get to Melissa, so they sedate the child. They realize Jessica could still rat them out, so they kill her."

"Theories…she's your kind of girl, John," said Elliot.

"It's a nice try, Schmidt –" Munch began.

"Caroline," she corrected him.

"Caroline. It's a good theory, but it doesn't explain the rape."

"I know," she said, frowning. "So I guess we'll have to figure out where it fits in."

"While you're figuring it out, we've got to find Thomas Mayhew," said Olivia.

"I'll go with you," said Caroline, standing up.

"That's okay. We've got it under control," said Elliot.

Caroline nodded and smiled a good-bye, then sat back down. She looked back at Munch and Fin.

"Are you going to call the ME or should I?"

"I don't think a tox screen is necessary," said Munch.

"Better safe than sorry."

Fin hesitated, then picked up the phone. While he talked, Caroline glanced at Munch a few times, then spoke outright.

"I can't remember your name," she said apologetically.

"John Munch."

"And I saw your partner's name written down but I can't pronounce it."

"Odafin Tutuola. He just goes by Fin, though."

"And the other two were Elliot Benson and Olivia Stabler?"

"Switch the surnames."

"Oh."

"Caroline, are conversations with you always going to be this awkward?"

"Sorry. I'm not the best when I first meet people."

"Warner wants to know if I'm psychic. She just finished a tox screen and she was about to call us. Wants us to come back," said Fin as he hung up.

Caroline looked at Fin hopefully. He sighed, wishing they could leave her behind, but gave in at her puppy dog eyes. She looked like a kid being picked last for dodge ball.

"Get your coat," he sighed.

"Your victim had a large dosage of morphine in her system," said Warner. "But I can't find where the needle entered."

"Did you check under her tongue? Between the toes?" Fin inquired.

"Yes."

"Then how can you be sure it was injected and not…I don't know…squirted down her throat or something?" asked Munch.

"It wasn't in her digestive system. Detective, what are you doing?"

Caroline had walked right up to Jessica's body and was peering closely at her head.

"Check behind her ears," she said.

Warner seemed confused, but she obliged. A second later, she was looking at Caroline in astonishment.

"Found the puncture," she said. "Behind her left ear."

"How did you know to look there?" asked Fin.

"We dealt with a junkie who injected themselves there once," said Caroline. "I figured it could happen again."

Warner went to record these findings. Munch and Fin didn't know where to look. Caroline didn't seem outwardly pleased with herself. She kept looking at the body, then at Fin. Finally, Fin had enough.

"What, Caroline?" he asked, uncomfortable.

"I wish you trusted me," she said quietly. "I'm good at this job. I'm not going to sink you."

"What makes you think I don't trust you?"

"You were the only one who didn't fill me in on the case. It's okay. We'll get there. Just have a little faith in me."

Caroline retreated to the other end of the room. Fin watched her for a moment, then turned his eyes back to Munch. This girl was certainly an interesting edition to the Special Victims Unit.