CHAPTER THREE

Olivia watched from her seat on the sofa as her mother stumbled through the door. She could smell the booze from her position and her lip curled in disgust.

"Had a good time?"

Serena looked up quickly, willing her body to still. "Livia, hey Livia," she slurred, "watcha doin' up so late, huh? You gotta get ya beauty sleep ya know. Ya don't wanna be old and ugly, ya know." She tried her best to adopt a stern look.

"I thought you said you were working a double," Olivia said quietly, not a question.

"I was!" she exclaimed. After Serena had lost her job at the University, she was putting in time as a restaurant hostess. "A double of tequila, a double of schnapps, a double of jager…" she trailed off, cracking up over her joke.

"There's a serial killer running around out there," Olivia warned sternly, "you might want to be more careful about your little drinking jaunts."
"Serial killer?" Serena asked, astonished. "I ain't 'fraid of no serial killer. I'd kick me some serial killer ass, I'd-"

"Go to bed Serena," Olivia interrupted. She smiled and nodded, stumbling towards the back of the apartment. Olivia put her head in her hands and silently cried.

×××××××××

"…and having to wake up next to the stench. The least she could do is pass out in the bathtub."

Elliot looked at his partner in sympathy. Serena was falling into the bottle again and the strain was starting to show on Olivia's face and posture. He felt helpless as he watched her struggle to hide her pain and despair behind the anger. They were dining at Ricardo's on break from the intense evidence search. The city was leaning hard on the police department to find a break in "The Duct Tape Killer" case.

"What about AA?" Elliot suggested. "It seemed to work for her last time."

"Obviously not if she's drinking not one year later," Olivia snapped. She immediately regretted her tone. It wasn't as if her partner didn't have problems of his own, thanks to his impending divorce.

Elliot reached over and rubbed Olivia's shoulder. She closed her eyes, wishing herself away, far, far away. When she opened her eyes she was struck by the intensity of Elliot's gaze.

"What can I do, Liv?" he asked softly.

"Get me a ticket to Barbados," she joked weakly. She was starting to feel foolish, unloading her problems on Elliot.

"Only if I get to tag along," he joined in, winking. "I hear the women are bronze all year long."

"So are the guys…how soon can you get the tickets?"

They laughed, glad to break the tension. Their cell phones came to life, summoning them back to the daily grind. Olivia reached into her purse to grab her wallet.

"Let me," she offered. It was the least she could do.

"Oooh, a woman who pays. You're after my own heart."

The smile on Olivia's lips died as she opened her wallet. It was empty, missing two twenties. She searched her purse coming up empty-handed.

"I don't believe this," she said smacking her forehead. "My money's missing!"

"Are you sure? Maybe you left it at home," Elliot offered.

Olivia vigorously shook her head. "No," she said firmly. "I had forty dollars in my wallet when I left work last night. I went straight home and stayed there until I left for work this morning."

"Wait..." Elliot murmured, piecing it together. "You're not suggesting…come on, Liv. You might have just misplaced it?"

"No way," she said angrily. "I only live with one other person, and I'm pretty sure we can rule me out. So that leaves my drunkard mother."

"You've been losing shit left and right lately," Elliot reasoned, trying to calm his partner. "This is probably the latest in the series."

"No," she repeated. "Think about it. My jacket? My earrings? Money? I think Serena may have graduated from liar to thief."

Elliot sighed. She had a point. "What are ya gonna do?"

"I'm going to knock some sense into her," Olivia answered, decisively.

"Well, in the mean time, I'll get the bill."