Olivia stood on the snowy sidewalk at the entrance of the parking garage on 62nd St. at Lincoln Center. The New York State Theater cast an afternoon shadow over the taped-off driveway. She inhaled, feeling as if the temperature of the winter air matched the chill she felt inside. Techs from CSU were photographing the scene, keeping the detectives behind the line until they had documented the footprints and tire tracks left by whoever had dropped the body. A white sheet covered a lump in the snow. Olivia fingered the three fliers in her pocket that bore the pictures of three missing girls; she felt a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold as she wondered which one would be moved from the column labeled 'potential victims' to the one tagged 'victims' on their evidence board.

It was strange to think that a simple move of six inches indicated the difference between life and death, hope and despair. No, not despair. Nothing. There was really nothing left for any of their girls if they turned up in dumpsters and under sheets in parking garages. Olivia actively clung to the crumb of possibility that the body would turn out to be someone else's problem as she once again cursed the luck and timing that had led them within a block of the scene without any results.

She was staring intently at the white lump a mere ten yards away, trying to see through the sheet to the victim's face when a hand brushed her back, causing her to jump slightly. She knew who it was without looking. "Jesus, Andy, don't do that."

"Sorry. The precinct cops want to talk to us." She reluctantly turned away from her futile contemplation. Not seeing the victim's face was probably a blessing anyway; it allowed Olivia a few more minutes to hope that there'd been a mistake and this wasn't a victim of Paige. Different detectives would catch the case and SVU would be sent back to the 1-6 to reevaluate the clues in the note.

The thought made her pause. No matter who had to solve the case, there was still a dead girl in the snow. If she weren't one of their girls, she'd be on someone else's missing persons list. Another family would be losing a daughter, sister, friend. And Paige would have another body to his name once they figured out the real meaning of the note. Three was always smaller than four, no matter who added up the totals.

Olivia's gaze drifted back to the scene. They'd know the identity of the victim soon enough. She resigned herself to the fact that it was going to be Melissa Carpenter, Sarah Obertello or Marina Vasquez.

Andy had noticed that she had gone back to staring at the scene. "Are you coming?" His eyes reflected genuine concern; she was glad he wasn't smiling. She didn't think she could handle one of his kind, cocky, infuriating, sexy, friendly smiles right now.

As she followed him to a blue sedan where Munch and Fin were talking to an officer, she decided she was going to have to ask him to stop touching her. The intentionally accidental caresses were starting to get on her nerves. They were unprofessional, unnecessary and incredibly distracting. Every time he did it, she felt her focus shift to the spot he was touching, willing his hand to sink straight through her clothing to her skin. Unfortunately, telling him she wanted to talk about their relationship had not only encouraged rather than appeased him, but also forced her to think about some things she wasn't sure she was ready to consider. She blinked to clear her head. Between the case and Andy, it was getting harder and harder to do.

The precinct lieutenant began briefing them as soon as they were within earshot. "I had my people canvass the block and we've got two eyewitnesses to the drop, bodega manager and a nut vendor. We didn't take formal statements yet, figured you guys would want to talk to them first."

"Thanks, we appreciate that," Andy replied. The lieutenant nodded and walked over to a knot of uniforms, shooing them back to their squad cars or posts near the scene. Turning to Munch and Fin, Andy asked, "You want the nut vendor or the bodega manager?"

Munch tugged at the brim of his hat and sighed dramatically. "You're not really suggesting that the old man should be forced to stand out in the cold, now, are you?"

"Right. We'll meet you back here when the ME's done. In the mood for nuts, Liv?"

"Don't you have to be for this job?" She smiled despite herself.

He smiled back at her as they made their way down the block, causing that odd fluttering feeling to return. She was almost glad to get away from him for a moment as Warner's assistant, Craig Davis, waved her back to the tape. "Hey, Det. Benson. Just wanted to let you know that CSU should be done in a couple minutes, and we should be ready for you guys in ten."

"Thanks. You flying solo this time, Davis?"

"No, Doc's on the phone in the car." He pointed to a white SUV labeled 'Medical Examiner.' Dr. Warner sat in the front seat, gesticulating emphatically as she spoke into a cell phone. "Apparently the coroner's office doesn't want to come pick up the body until the roads are a little clearer."

"Right, we'll go talk to the witnesses, check back in with you later." She jogged down the sidewalk to catch Andy. "Ten minutes til the ME'll be ready for us."

"Plenty of time to talk to…" he looked down to consult his notepad, "Nikolai Manilov."

The nut vendor was standing behind his cart half a block away from the dumpsite, tightly wrapped in a long coat and several scarves. Olivia smiled as she approached him, wanting to make the best impression possible. "Mr. Manilov? Hello, I'm Det. Benson, this is my partner Marshal Eckerson. We'd just like to ask you a few questions about what you saw today."

The man answered in an Eastern European accent that she couldn't place, "I already tell the poleece what I see."

"Would you mind repeating it for us?"

He looked her up and down before speaking again, addressing himself exclusively to Olivia. "I see car een garage door. I theenk, he not gonna park there today, but then I see person get out. Pull beeg bag from back door and leave eet een snow. Then get back een car and leave. That all I see. Your poleece come not ten meenutes later."

"Can you describe the man you saw drop the body?"

"Was no man. Was wooman, great beeg wooman een long coat, weeth hood that hides face."

"Okay, you said big…do you mean tall or fat?" Andy didn't even try to make himself sound politically correct. Olivia had noticed that he had stepped closer to her when the nut vendor was looking her over.

Manilov turned to Andy, eyeing him suspiciously, and continued addressing Olivia. "Tall, tall as him, and wide. Not fat. Same way that bear eez beeg but not fat."

She took up the questioning again. "And you're sure it was a woman?"

"Da, da. No man have heeps and ahss like that."

"You didn't see the face or hair, but you're sure it was a woman because you checked out her ass?" She asked with a slight smile, allowing herself to be distracted by the vendor's off-color candor.

"What can I say, I am ahss-man. Eez good for beezness. Ahss says much about wheech nuts you buy. Her ahss say two-dollar bag honey-roasted cashew. Your ass say no nuts for me thanks." Olivia felt Andy shift uncomfortably beside her, brushing her elbow. "Not to say you no have nice ass. Eez very…"

"Watch it, buddy," he suddenly interrupted.

"What, you no theenk she have nice ahss?"

"I think she's a police officer and you should show her a little more respect. Now, moving on. Could you tell what kind of car it was?"

"Was one of those beeg theengs, an SVU." The vendor, who had once again turned to Olivia, seemed to notice her smile at his unintentional mistake, and continued cheerily, "Yes, beeg SVU."

"Anything else about it? The color, maybe?"

"Ees blue. And eet have wood on sides."

Olivia suddenly felt encouraged as she wrote down the details. "Did you happen to catch the license plates?"

"I don't remember numbers, but plate was yellow, not the leeberty plate." He mimed the Statue of Liberty's pose, drawing another unintentional smile from her.

"Did you see which way it went when it left?"

"I theenk eet turn left on 10th."

"Thank you, Mr. Manilov. You've been very helpful." Olivia felt Andy tug her sleeve, pulling her back toward the crime scene almost before she'd finished speaking. When they were a safe distance away, she said, "You didn't have to be rude to that guy. He was trying to help us."

His voice was tight, almost as if he were angry but unwilling to show it. "Well, he didn't have to be rude to you."

She stopped, looking him critically in the face. "Are you jealous of a nut vendor?"

For the first time since they'd been partnered, Andy was the one who blushed. "I'm not jealous. I mean, how could he even see your ass under that coat? He didn't know what he was talking about." She could sense that he had meant the statement as a challenge. He wanted her to question him so he could compliment her without consequence.

She decided not to make it easy for him. He wasn't going to hide behind a witness if he wanted to tell her she had a nice ass. Giving herself a mental slap for her last thought, she pointed up the street, saying, "There's Munch and Fin. They must be done with the bodega manager."

Fin waved them over. "You get anything from the nut guy?"

Olivia thought she heard Andy murmur, 'Sexually harassed,' but shared only the relevant information. "He saw a woman take a bag out of a blue 'SVU' with wood panels and Jersey tags. It turned downtown on Amsterdam."

"A woman? A blue SVU?"

"A verb, maybe, Munch?"

He didn't miss a beat. "And I was afraid the cold would deaden your wit, Olivia."

"A blue SVU, huh? I could dump a gallon of paint on Munch if that helps our investigation," Fin added.

Munch shook his head, covering his heart with his hand. "Your words, how they wound me. We spoke to the bodega manager, said she saw a blue SUV pulling out of the garage driveway, but she figured it was just some lost shmuck making a u-turn. The good news is we might have video of the drop. CSU is getting the tape out of the outside ATM."

Before they could discuss the witnesses' statements further, Olivia felt a touch at her elbow. She brought her hand up, ready to slap Andy's hand away as she turned, but found Craig Davis instead. "We're ready for you guys now."

The three detectives and the Marshal crossed under the tape for the first time since arriving at the scene. Olivia felt the positive energy that had been building since taking the vendor's statement seeping into the ground with each step she took toward the body. Warner was crouched next to it (her, Olivia corrected, it's a her) making notes on her clipboard. "It looks about the same as the last one." Olivia could hear the unspoken 'I'm sorry' in the ME's voice.

Davis raised the sheet, revealing the girl's destroyed face. "Found her wallet with her. Name's…"

"Marina Vasquez," Olivia supplied, stepping back involuntarily. She mentally moved the flier from 'potential victims' to 'victims.' The flutter she felt in her stomach now was nothing like the one she'd felt earlier.

"How'd you know that?" Davis looked impressed.

"We have a list we're working from," she answered mechanically. She wondered if the drop site had been chosen for its proximity to Marina Vasquez's school.

Warner went through her report quickly. "Same as the last one with the cuts, scarf, nudity. Two big differences – there's no note with her and we might get lucky on DNA this time around."

"Doc, there's always been fluids," Munch said.

Warner held up the girl's hand, revealing her long, manicured fingernails. "Not like this. I've already taken samples. She took a chunk out of her attacker. Now, rumor has it you're looking for a second perp. Shall I go on?"

"There's something about Medical Examiners."

"Gee, thanks Munch."

Andy didn't get involved in the banter. Olivia could feel his eyes on her as he asked, "How long before you get results on that?"

"If I have them start it as soon as we get back with the samples, and I'll make sure they do, we should have the preliminary results in about six hours. Autopsy will be done well before then. When do you want me to call?"

"When you get the DNA results, thanks. I think we're all pretty clear on cause of death."

"Plus we'll have time for dinner before we hit the Morgue."

Olivia didn't hear any replies to Munch's comment as she stepped to the side to answer her cell phone.

"Hey, Liv."

"Hey." She hadn't had time to talk to Elliot before leaving the station, and was surprised that it hadn't bothered her until she heard his voice. "You sound like you're in a better mood."

"Yeah. Listen, I've got some good news for you. We found Melissa Carpenter. Paige didn't have her."

"Really? That's fantastic. Where was she?"

"Massachusetts. She and her girlfriend Les are planning to get married there in a few months."

Olivia almost laughed. The blood spots in the snow at her feet served to restrain her. Nevertheless, she felt a weight lifted. She could always count on her partner for that. "We should be back in a couple hours. Want us to grab dinner for you and the Captain?"

"I don't know about Cap, but I'm not even gonna be here. I'll be at home if you need me for anything. Night, Liv."

Despite his obvious desire to end the conversation, she quickly asked, "Cragen was angry enough at you to send you home?"

He sighed. "No, nothing like that. Although he did hang the department shrink over my head as encouragement to take the night off."

"Did something happen after we left?"

"Liv, don't worry about it. Everything's fine between me and Cragen, everything's fine at home. And just to give you a heads up, I've got a detail sitting on my house. No doubt you're getting one too."

"Right. Thanks, El."

"Gimmie a call if anything happens."

"I will. Have a good night."

"You too, Liv."

She hung up, wondering what Cragen could have done to induce Elliot to take the night off. A psych evaluation could certainly do the trick, but Cragen wouldn't hang that over anyone without a damn good reason. She caught the nail of her index finger in her teeth, wondering if she should have pushed him harder to talk.

Andy broke her reverie as he came up and looked at her questioningly. "What's going on?"

"Elliot's taking the night off. He was just calling to let me…us know."

"Oh. He okay?"

"Yeah. I think he just needs some time with his family. If there were anything wrong he'd have told me." Olivia was glad none of her SVU colleagues were around to hear her bold-faced lie. Elliot wouldn't just come out and tell her if something were wrong; she'd have to work him, interrogate him, beat him until he surrendered and told her what was really bothering him. He always volunteered just enough information to let her know that something was up, then made her put forth the effort to find out what it was. When they had first become close, she'd thought he was testing their partnership, their friendship, but she'd come to realize that he did it so she wouldn't be burdened with his problems. She shook her head, thinking, 'Men never understand that the things they do to protect you sometimes end up hurting you more.'

She looked up and saw the only other man who had ever shown such concern in protecting her, the only man who had hurt her more than Elliot ever could. Three months ago, she'd told Andy that she needed stability rather than insanity, but she was starting to think that it was really simplicity that she needed. The complexity of her professional life had to be balanced somehow.

Andy was speaking again. "Oh, he just wanted to tell you he was going home? You sounded kind of excited at first."

"Oh! Melissa Carpenter!" Olivia could hardly believe she'd almost forgotten to share the news. She beckoned to Munch and Fin to share it with them as well. "Elliot found her. She's okay, Paige never had her."

"Hey, that's great. So now we're only looking for one." Andy sighed. "That sounds terrible, doesn't it?"

"Not as terrible as things are about to sound." Munch pointed to a cab that had just arrived.

The passenger was leaning into the front window, but there was no mistaking the voice arguing with the driver. "I'm not paying you the extra waiting fee because all the waiting we did was your fault since you could have just taken a different street rather than following that damn plow even though plenty of streets are already clear."

The cabbie, apparently dazed by her sermon, waved her off as Andy called out, "Healey, I thought you weren't coming in today."

"Well, despite the fact that none of you bothered to call me and let me know another victim had been found, I did manage to find out and, since we have jurisdiction in this case, I thought it was important that I be here to look over the scene and make sure it wasn't being mishandled in any way. Eckerson, you and Benson go to the crime lab and sit on the ME until we get the autopsy and DNA and whatever else they somehow manage to find while these other two detectives and I interview people in the area to find out if they saw anything suspicious this morning."

Andy stepped in front of Olivia, like he had the night before. Unlike the incidental touches, she didn't mind this gesture. There was something about Healey that made her distinctly uncomfortable. He said, "You're not in charge here, Healey. The ME has already said she'll call us once the DNA results are in, and we've already interviewed the two eyewitnesses the precinct cops found."

"So you talked to only two eyewitness? Have you looked for anymore? What precinct are we in?"

Fin replied brusquely, "The 2-0."

"Well, I'll have to run a check and make sure they aren't under investigation for anything, but in the meantime, I'm going to do a sweep of the whole block to make sure your precinct cops didn't miss something major. Det. Munch, you're with me, as per your captain's orders."

As Healey stomped down the sidewalk, Munch reluctantly trailing after her, she passed the nut vendor, who called out, "Honey-roasted cashew! Only two dollar!"