Pure and Simple
Chapter Four
1-6 Precinct
SVU Squad Room
9:30 AM Tuesday
The skies over New York were overcast and ominous. Elliot knew that it was going to pour down rain again as he heard a clap of thunder explode through the skies. Olivia looked up at the high windows, and he knew that she was hoping for rain, even though she knew that it would only make their day that much more hectic.
They exchanged plates of breakfast because Olivia wanted the sausage and Elliot wanted the hash browns. Munch and Fin dropped off more files on their desk before they began eating their breakfasts.
The rain began to fall hard and Elliot could see a small smile on Olivia's face.
"We have to go to the elementary school and talk to Sherona's friends," Elliot said. "Margaret and Yvonne."
Olivia nodded as she finished up her breakfast.
"They teach fifth grade," she reminded him as she drank the rest of her coffee. "I don't think they're going to give us anything more than what the mother told us. I mean, they would be more on the outside don't you think?"
"Maybe," Elliot shrugged.
"Hey, I got a hold of employee records from the owner at Hanson's," Fin announced. "The assistant manager's name is Melinda Varlos. She's been working at Hanson's for a year."
"So, she interrupted the killer?" Olivia asked.
"Yeah, then while we were with Warner, the girl took off," Fin explained.
"Well, that just makes our job that much harder," Elliot groused. "From the looks of things, this bastard isn't going to stop and he's not exactly the poster child for mercy."
"And how much do you want to bet that she knew the killer?" Olivia asked.
Another burst of thunder rumbled through the sky.
Pier 6
The Yucca
11:15 AM
Mindy Varlos and her sister settled in to the small space provided by her brother Niklos. Her son Peter was very fussy, and she tried as hard as she could to appease him so that they wouldn't draw even the slightest attention to themselves.
Niklos came down from the deck, angered that he had to help his grown sister.
"I don't understand why you do these things Melinda," he said in his thick accent. "I warn you about the Americans. I told you to stay in Greece with mother, but no, you had to come here and chase that degenerate boyfriend of yours."
"Niko," Mindy began. "Please, just help us. People are going to come after me. He's going to know that I called the police."
"I told you to leave him," Niklos argued. "And I'm sure you're still working at that damned club degrading yourself."
"No, I'm not," Mindy sighed. "Look, we're not going to stay here long. I just need you to take me to your friend, get us new passports and visas so we can go back to Greece, get mama and yaya out of there and to Chicago with your sister-in-law."
Niklos ran his hand over his face. Serena held Peter as she watched her siblings argue about their fates.
"You have everything figured out, don't you?" He yelled. "It's not that simple. You think he's just going to forget about you? You have a son together, and I guarantee you that he's going to take Peter from you and kill us all!"
Mindy couldn't stop the tears from falling down her face. She knew that she had put her family in trouble. Why did she allow these things to happen to her? She just had to run from under the shelter of her family in Greece with the first man that gave her a second glance her way. He promised her so many things that her father never gave her-a decent stable home, love and support in her plans-and most importantly, he allowed her to be herself.
All that changed once she moved in with him. There was no escaping Quentin Iberson.
She had no money, no contacts with relatives other than her brother before she left. He became controlling, inattentive, and sometimes, he acted like he didn't care about her at all. Except for sex. That was the only time she could count on him to be affectionate to her. Other times, though, he abused her, drugged her up, made her work at strip clubs on top of working as a cage girl in his own night club for extra cash. Just when she thought that she would get out and completely get away from him, he had molested her one drunken night, and just four weeks later, Mindy found out that she was pregnant.
Quentin was proud of his contribution, but he didn't treat her any better. It was then that Mindy decided to leave him in the dead of night, and she managed to find a steady paying job to support herself and her sister when she arrived.
The pregnancy went smoothly, and she didn't hear from Quentin, which she was relieved at.
Now, he seemed to be taunting her, wanting something.
After all, she had always been his favorite girl.
P.S. 163
South Side
12:30 PM
Elliot and Olivia walked the sidewalk along the playground at the elementary school. The school had been praised for its excellence in academics for the first time in its history. It was one of the few schools lucky enough to receive any funding of any kind in this area of town.
The rain had settled down to just a drizzle and Olivia was able to take off the hood over her head.
She paused for a moment and looked at the children at play in the playground. She sighed deeply, thinking that if she could, she would take each child under her wing and protect them forever; preserve their innocence.
She didn't know where these feelings came from. She'd been feeling them a lot lately, and she wondered if it was the job or if it was something much deeper than that.
"Liv?" Elliot asked, breaking into her thoughts. "Are you coming?"
She shook her head.
"Uh, yeah, I'm right behind you," she assured him. "I was just thinking."
Elliot gave her a sidelong glance.
"What about?" He ventured to ask, knowing that she most likely wouldn't be inclined to share with him.
"Nothing," she sighed.
Even though he anticipated it, her response still angered him. He couldn't understand it. He'd bared his soul to her, talked to her about his failing marriage, she'd encouraged him, held him up for so long…why did she think that he wouldn't be able to do the same for her?
She'd been a bit withdrawn ever since the Troost case. When he saw her with baby Sarah, he couldn't help but grin a little because he knew that Sarah was in very capable and loving hands.
The way Olivia looked at the baby girl; it was different. She looked at the child as if she were her own, and treated her as such. Her eyes widened with small joy, and all the tension that he knew that she'd been feeling all day simply melted once she had the baby in her arms, safe from a mother who could care less about her welfare.
They walked through the playground to the fifth grade wing.
"Olivia!" A voice shouted.
Olivia and Elliot turned to see India running up to them with her backpack hooked on her arm and her curls bouncing. India ran into Olivia, intending to give her a tight hug. This action knocked the wind out of Olivia, but she welcomed it as India hugged her around her waist.
"Hi India," she said sweetly. "How are you sweetheart?"
"Fine," the little girl beamed as she took Olivia's hand. "C'mere, I have to show you my grades before grandma comes."
Olivia looked back at Elliot and he nodded and let her go with India. He went inside the school to look for the two teachers.
The teachers' names were posted in decorative letters outside their doors. Elliot looked at each of the names until he came across two familiar names: Margaret Taylor and Yvonne Meyers.
He knocked on the door to the classroom where they were both sitting at separate desks, grading papers.
One of the women looked up and waved him in.
"Are you here for a parent/teacher conference?" Margaret asked cordially with a smile.
"Uh, no," Elliot began, holding up his badge. "I'm Detective Elliot Stabler, my partner Olivia Benson will be joining us shortly."
Margaret's face fell.
"You're here about Sherona aren't you?"
"Yes ma'am," Elliot said, turning when he felt his partner's presence.
"Hi, I'm Detective Benson," Olivia introduced herself.
"Margaret Taylor and this is my assistant Yvonne Meyers," she sighed. "Your partner says that you're here about Sherona. The kids loved her so much. She was a good person and an awesome teacher. What kind of sick bastard would do this to her?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out," Olivia explained. "When was the last time you saw Sherona?"
Margaret sighed deeply and went back over to her desk, sitting on the edge of it.
"Friday evening, we went out for drinks," Yvonne explained. "We went to Cut and Dry first, then to Shakes to dance a little. By that time, it was about nine thirty. Margaret and I left at about ten. Sherona wanted to stay out a little longer."
"Was Sherona acting strangely?" Olivia asked. "Was she drunk?"
Margaret sighed.
"I wouldn't call it drunk," she began slowly. "I guess she was just to glad to be out of that apartment. When we hit Shakers, she was letting loose a little, and she seemed to get more energized the later it got. She'd only had a couple of martinis at Cut and Dry."
Elliot looked at his partner, who was obviously trying to avoid the subject of Sherona's drug abuse.
"Ms. Meyers, Ms. Taylor," he began. "Were either of you aware of the fact that Sherona was using cocaine?"
"What?" Yvonne asked, shocked.
Olivia scowled at her partner for bringing the subject up this early in the game. However, Margaret didn't look quite as surprised.
"Ms. Taylor?" Olivia inquired.
"I didn't think it was cocaine, but I knew that she was on something," she admitted. "I thought that bastard was her boyfriend."
"Who?" Elliot asked.
"I don't know his name, I barely even know what he looks like," Margaret explained. "But he stopped by in front of the playground at least twice a week during lunch hour, and she'd take off with him. He looks like the corporate type. He had a shiny black Escalade."
"Did you get a license plate?" Olivia asked.
"No, I never paid that much attention," the teacher explained. "But I did get a small glimpse of his face. He was young, black, and he had a goatee. The guy wears Armani though."
Elliot and Olivia looked at each other.
"How do you figure that?" Elliot asked.
"Because my husband has that exact same suit," Margaret sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "And believe me, it didn't come cheap."
Both detectives nodded.
"Thanks for you time," Elliot said before they headed back out to the playground.
India came running up to Olivia once again catching her off guard.
"Sweetheart, where's your grandmother?" Olivia asked.
"I don't know," India said quietly. "But will you stay with me until she comes?"
"Uh," Olivia looked at Elliot, who was checking his watch. He nodded. "Sure. Why don't you show me and my friend some of your drawings?"
"Okay," India said, pulling out her pictures from her backpack.
Olivia smiled. "These are pretty, India."
"Thank you," she said, looking at Olivia's badge.
Elliot noticed and he pulled his out and gave it to her. India rubbed her small fingers over the badge.
"Mommy said that sometimes these are fake," she said in a small voice.
"Well, it's very real India," Elliot said, sitting on the other side of her. "And I promise that you can trust us."
Olivia continued to look at India's drawings. She smiled a little at the girl's drawings, and they were typical for a little girl's: houses, fairies, rainbows, pictures of her family. Then, there was one odd thing out.
"India," Olivia began. "Can you tell me who you drew in this picture?"
India leaned over and looked at the picture.
"That's my mommy," she pointed out. "Then there's my grandma and that's our old house."
"Okay, but who's that, behind the house?" Olivia asked.
"A man," she said, kicking her dangling feet. "I see him a lot. He's scary."
"How is he scary?" Elliot asked.
India leaned in and whispered to Olivia.
"He stands at the corner after school," she whispered. "Before grandma comes. He's not here today. But sometimes, I see him outside our house."
"Do you know what he looks like?" Olivia asked.
"No, he always has a mask on," India giggled. "Sometimes they look funny, and sometimes they look mean and scary."
"Detectives," Helen said, coming up to Olivia. "Hi, what are you doing here?"
"We had some business," Elliot said.
"Oh, well thanks for keeping her company," Helen said, taking India's hand. "I'm sorry I'm late baby."
"That's okay Grandma," India said with a bright smile. "Elliot said we can trust them."
Helen nodded and looked at the detectives.
"Yes, baby, yes we can," she said, tears brimming her eyes.
Grey's Papaya
1:45 PM
It was obvious to Elliot that there was no cheering Olivia up. He'd tried to get her to eat some lunch, but she hadn't touched her food yet. She wasn't a picky eater, that was for sure, so he knew that she wasn't abstaining because of a diet. Like she needed to if she were dieting. He'd gotten her favorite, yet she was still tense. She looked out the window and she had her arms crossed over her chest. She'd been quiet since they left the school and he wondered if she was getting too close.
"Liv?" Elliot inquired. "You need to eat something. I know you didn't eat this morning."
That accusation got her attention.
"I did eat," she defended, glaring at him.
"Watery oatmeal and a soda doesn't cut it," he said. "Eat."
Olivia was now scowling at him.
"I don't appreciate you treating me like a child," she snapped.
"Liv, you're my partner, being a pain in each other's asses is part of the job," he quipped.
"I know, I'm sorry," she sighed, continuing to look out the window. It had begun to rain again, and she felt a little better. She shook her head and turned to him. "I'm sorry, okay?"
Elliot nodded.
"Are you sure you're not getting too close?" He asked.
"Don't pretend this isn't getting to you too," she said. "I don't know…lately, I've been doing a lot of thinking. I care about this little girl very much. I feel…obligated to her now."
"Liv, she'll be alright," he assured her. "We're going to find out what happened to India's mother, and you'll be okay."
Olivia sighed heavily and looked out at the rain. The grumbling of her stomach made her turn to her steaming plate of food, and she felt a little better. She knew that Elliot was pleased to see her eat something.
"Thanks," Olivia said with a small smile.
Elliot only gave her a ghost of a smile.
When they finished their meals, they rushed back out to the car and quickly got in. Olivia was still on edge, and Elliot didn't know why she was feeling this way. He understood her feelings because they mirrored his own, but usually, she was the one that got over it the fastest and she would have to encourage him.
"Liv," he began. "There's something else bothering you, I can tell."
"Well it's not like you ever tell me what's on your mind so," she groused coldly looking out the window. "Just drive."
"No," Elliot said.
"Fine," she huffed as she prepared to get out the car.
"Hey, hey," he said, grabbing her arm. "Olivia, wait, I'm sorry alright? What is going on with you?"
Olivia pulled away from him. She cradled her head in her hands and shook her head. She sighed and rested her head against the window.
"Liv, please," he said quietly.
"This is dangerous," she sighed, looking at him. "I can't talk about it."
Elliot looked into her eyes and he saw the sadness and uncertainty in her orbs. Before his mind could protest it, his hand reached over and caressed her cheek ever so lightly, making her close her eyes and let out a shuddering sigh.
We can't, she thought frantically to herself. Please God don't let us do this…we can't, we can't, we can't.
He leaned in ever so slowly, their lips inching closer and closer, driving her crazy, and her mind yelling at her. He knew this was wrong, but there was something between them that he couldn't ignore any longer.
Finally, their lips met, and it felt like a thousand little flames. The moment was too perfect. The rain pelting the car, the semi darkness inside, and the quiet. Olivia couldn't have wanted anything more out of this. His lips were soft and gentle against hers, tempting her to take more, to kiss deeper.
Elliot heard her whimper and he felt tingles all over his body, and he couldn't even remember if he felt this with Kathy.
God help me, he thought to himself. Is this what Kathy was talking about?
When their lips parted seemingly of their own volition, they combusted. Olivia moaned as she placed both hands on his cheeks.
She pulled away, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"Please don't do this," she whispered.
They pulled away slowly and they sat for a second, trying to calm their bodies down and to get back into work mode.
"Drive," Olivia sighed.