CHAPTER ELEVEN

"…I'm not quite sure what to say," Elliot managed. The story Olivia told him was nothing short of bizarre. "What did the doctor say?"

"I'm as healthy as a horse," she mumbled miserably. "I don't know what to do Elliot. Either my mom is playing the cruelest trick on me ever or I'm seriously losing my mind. How can I black out and forget everything?"

"Shhhh…slow it down there partner," Elliot warned. He still wasn't convinced that Serena didn't have anything to do with all the strange occurrences. Or that they were connected in any way to her migraines. "Where are the panties you found?"

"I threw them away," she answered wearily. The look on Elliot's face confirmed her worse fears. He didn't believe her.

"Maybe…maybe a vacation is in order," he said gently. "Your mother might not be too far off the mark. It's been a tough couple of months…it may be time for you to slow things down a bit. You have time coming to you. Why don't you take a couple of weeks?"

She looked at him sadly. For reasons she can't explain, his solution hurt her deep to the core. Why?

"Okay," she said simply.

"Okay?" Elliot couldn't help feeling surprised. It wasn't like her to give in so easily.

"Yeah. You're right. You need some time away from me."

Elliot's eyebrows furrowed. "That's not exactly what I said…"

"Thanks for coming over," she said, cutting him off. "I'm feeling tired, I need to go to bed. I'll talk to Cragen in the morning."

Elliot hesitated as he stood up to leave. "Okay," he said giving in. For now. "I'll talk to you soon."

Olivia didn't know how long she stared at the door after he left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The "Duct Tape Killer" was quiet. The city hadn't seen a murder in nearly two months, and business around the 16th precinct was starting to slow to a less than frenetic pace. Other cases were popping up and "The Duct Tape Killer" case was starting to lose some of its steam.

Still, the thirst to avenge his aunt's death kept the case very fresh in Elliot's mind. He stared sightlessly at the DD5 he was working on. He hadn't talked to Olivia in almost three weeks, she had left town for a vacation in an undisclosed location. He believed she desperately needed this time away, but he couldn't help feeling miffed that she had fail to contact him. The ringing telephone jarred him out of his reverie.

"Stabler."

"Elliot, it's Tamara. I got something for you."

Thirty minutes later, Elliot pushed open the door to the cutting room, the stench of bodies and chemicals assaulting his senses. "What do you got?"

"I found something interesting on the fifth victim that I failed to notice before," she said absently, peering into the lens of the microscope.

"Is that a piece of duct tape found on the victim?"

"Yes, take a look." Elliot peered into the lens. He could make out what appeared to be a strand of hair stuck to the tape.

"What color is it?" Elliot asked, glancing at the pretty M.E. "And please tell me you got a hit in the system."

"Appears to be blond, and no, no hit. And that's because the hair is fake."

"Fake?" Elliot asked, digesting this.

"Yes. Your killer wore a women's wig."