11:11
Olivia felt the man finally pull away from her. She couldn't open her eyes; she was too ashamed that she had let this happen to her. "Don't cry, Detective. You get to live for a while longer yet. I won't kill you until you guess who I am. So, why don't you guess?"
"George Washington," she muttered. He laughed maniacally.
"What a sense of humor," he said. Before she knew what was going on, she felt him gripping her arm, pulling hard on it as if he was trying to dislocate her shoulder. She felt it pop and cried out in pain. "I would suggest that you be a bit more serious next time," he told her, his voice a quiet hiss. She heard him leave the room as she began to weep.
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"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked. Elliot flashed his badge.
"I'm looking for Nick Ganzner," he said. The woman pointed to a staircase.
"Second floor. First door on your left," she said. Elliot nodded and dashed to the staircase, not bothering to wait for Lennie Briscoe to follow him.
"Slow down, Stabler. I'm not getting any younger," Lennie said. Elliot was already at the door, knocking.
"Ganzner, open up!" he called. Lennie stood back and watched. Cragen had sent him to make sure Elliot didn't kill the man. The door slowly opened and Lennie watched as Nick Ganzner came out.
"What can I do for you, Detectives?" he asked. Lennie stepped forward.
"We're investigating the disappearance of a fellow detective," Lennie said. He put his body between Ganzner and Stabler, just as a precaution.
"Let me guess… something's happened to Olivia Benson and the ex-boyfriend comes up," Nick said. Elliot stared at him, like he was scum. "I'm not an idiot, Detective Stabler. We didn't part on the best of terms… that automatically makes me a suspect, doesn't it?"
"When was the last time you saw Detective Benson?" Elliot asked.
"A few weeks ago, I saw her at the grocery store. Not that she would remember… after that little incident at the paper, I've done my best to keep away from her," Ganzner replied.
"When the two of you were dating… did she ever mention anyone following her?" Lennie asked.
"It was years ago, Detective. I know she's probably been stalked since then…"
"What makes you say that?" Elliot asked, knowing full well that it was true.
"She's a beautiful woman. Powerful… doesn't take shit from anyone. Stalker's wet dream," he said. Elliot rolled his eyes at Ganzner's last statement.
"And you would know because…" Lennie began.
"I'm a journalist, Detective. One step up from a stalker."
"Barely," Elliot muttered. "Where were you last night between ten and midnight?" he asked.
"Here. Alone. Crappy alibi, I know." Elliot nodded.
"We'll be in touch," he replied. Ganzner nodded and went back inside. As soon as the door closed, Elliot turned to Lennie.
"Think he knows something?" Lennie asked.
"Exactly."
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"Your little friends are getting close, Olivia. Too close," the man said, entering the room.
"Please, just let me go," she whispered. He laughed maniacally.
"Begging, Detective? That isn't like you… not like you one bit," he told her.
"They'll find you eventually… Let me go, and I'll convince them to go easy on you," she told him. She could hear him smiling evilly.
"But then I couldn't have any more fun with you… just like we were supposed to have that night," he told her. Her eyes widened. "I'm glad to see you remember."
"What the hell… Nick?" she asked.
"What a shame," he replied. "I was hoping that the fun could continue."
"Fun? What the hell are you talking about, you sick freak?" she screamed. Instead of replying, she felt him hit her face. She looked up at him, shocked, as he slammed his fist into her ribs. He continued hitting her, until she felt herself black out.
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"What did you get from Ganzner?"
"That he knows a hell of a lot more than he's willing to tell us," Briscoe replied. Cragen nodded.
"What did you get from CSU?" Elliot asked him.
"Nothing definite yet. No signs of forced entry. Her bedroom was a mess… it looked like she'd fought him," Jeffries replied.
"Bastard took her gun, radio, and cuffs with him. Everything else looks like it's still there," Munch added.
"You checked the kitchen? She leaves her gun and badge on the counter," Elliot told them.
"CSU went over the whole apartment. The badge and her keys were still there," Kenny told him. "CSU's running prints now. There were at least three sets of prints in the apartment besides her own."
"So we've got three possible suspects, and no idea who they might be. And the longer we're stuck with no leads, the more likely it becomes that her body's going to wash up in the Hudson," Elliot said. Cragen closed his eyes and sighed.
"Basically, yeah."
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Olivia woke up in pain as someone threw her down onto a hard mattress. She opened her eyes and looked up at him in shock. "Why are you doing this?" she asked. He smiled maniacally.
"It's revenge, my sweet. I'm going to humiliate you, just like you humiliated me," he told her. She cringed as he moved to touch her again. His hands gently roamed her body before he finally pulled them away. "It's just a shame to waste such a beautiful thing." He knelt down next to her and took her hand in his own. Before she could stop him, he bent her wrist back at an unnatural angle until it popped. She cried out in pain, knowing that she was giving him what he wanted.
With her entire left arm useless, he only had to handcuff her right to the wall. "It won't be much longer now, Olivia. I promise." Instead of the comfort that those words would usually intend, his voice dripped with icy hatred. She closed her eyes and allowed tears to flow as he left the room.
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"The prints came back. They got nothin'." Elliot sighed as Fin handed him the file.
"There's got to be something here. Anyone who would kidnap a cop and taunt her partner isn't smart enough to be this meticulous," Goran said. He took the files off of Elliot's desk and spread them out in front of him.
"There's nothing there. We can't get a warrant for fingerprints, and Ganzner's our only suspect," Elliot told him.
"So basically, we're stuck."