CHAPTER SIX
God bless the weekend, Olivia thought. She was drained from the events of the past two days. Anna's death had pushed the 16th precinct into overdrive. There was a $500,000 reward for the head of "The Duct Tape Killer" or for information leading to his arrest. The four detectives were wired to the max. The FBI was threatening to step in.
"And let someone else bring in this jag-off?" Elliot had replied, coldly. "Not a rat's chance in hell. I'm gonna drag him into this house by his balls."
Olivia rubbed her forehead, mentally fighting off a migraine. She was worried about Elliot. They had volunteered to pull extra shifts to help catch the killer. She was afraid the stress might be too much for them to handle.
And then there was Serena. She had been drinking less this week, much to Olivia's surprise and thin delight. Olivia hoped that the accusations would be enough to keep Serena straight until she figured out just what to do.
Serena was at work, leaving Olivia alone with her thoughts. She hoped she would come home sober. Olivia started to reminisce on the early days of their relationship, when she was just a child. There weren't many happy memories but there were some, which brought tears to her eyes. She got a sudden impulse to flip through some old photo albums. Hopping off the couch, she padded barefoot into her bedroom.
The photo albums were kept underneath the bed, Olivia having to get down on all fours to dig them out. She reached for the first stack, but her fingers connected with something cool and silky. Grabbing it, she pulled it out for inspection. In her grasp was a bright pink, satin thong. Or if you could call it even that.
What is it with the beds in this house, she thought wildly, in complete shock. She rubbed the material together trying to sort out her confusion. How did it get under the bed? More importantly, whose was it! She didn't recognize it and she fought against her pounding head to try to recall ever buying it. She looked at it more closely. There were dark spots sprinkled over the material…what was this?
Olivia sat on her behind and leaned against the bed, surrendering to the assault of her migraine. The panties were definitely not hers. Serena? She checked the size. Too small for Serena's rump. Olivia fought off a wave of nausea as the paranoia set in. Who had been in her bedroom?
Serena found her like that an hour later, sitting in a trance, clutching the wretched thong.
"Olivia...are you alright?" she asked, alarmed. She had downed a couple shots before leaving the restaurant, so her vision was a wee bit cloudy.
Olivia slowly opened her eyes and stared at her mother. "Do I look alright?" she whispered.
Serena shook her head. God, what an effort. "What's that in your hand?"
"I don't know…" she whispered. "Have you had any female friends staying over?"
Serena peered at the offending material. "Damn Olivia... where in the world did you get those? That's a bit risqué for your flabby butt, dontcha think?"
Olivia stared at her mother, letting the insult slide. "They. Are not. Mine."
Serena snorted. "Well, I always thought you were a lesbian…what your girlfriend leave them?"
Olivia threw Serena a bizarre look. Despite herself, the baseless accusation flared her temper. "They aren't mine! I don't know how they got in here! Did you buy them and just forgot or something? Shoved them under my bed? They're not even clean."
"I see some counseling in your future," Serena said snidely. She couldn't get the wild mood swings of her daughter of late. But it was getting old. Fast.Olivia started to look closely at her mother. First the stolen items, then the stuff under the mattress, now this? Her mother was turning into a…a what?
"Things have been stressful around here lately," she said, struggling to calm down. "I think it would be a good idea if maybe we sat down and really talked to each other…try to flesh this out."
Serena smiled grimly. "I know exactly how to handle my stress. You need to handle yours. YOU need to go talk to someone about these mood swings."
Olivia stared at her in disbelief. "You think I'm crazy? Do you think I'm the crazy one? No, what's making me crazy is that you seem to think I'm the crazy one!"
This was a lost battle and she knew it. She needed a drink. Hell, she needed a couple of drinks. Just enough to help her sift through this new problem. Whatever the problem was.
"I'm going out Olivia. Don't wait up"