Secrets

Alex slid into the booth, irritated as all hell. The place was crowded and noisy, a favorite hang out for attorneys and police officers. Which was the secondary source of her irritation.

Her primary source sat across from her in the booth. The woman smiled seductively, as she blew a puff of cigarette smoke into the air. "You're late, Miss Cabot," she chided lightly. A hand with perfect manicured red fingernails slid across the table and reached for Alex's.

She pulled back her hand as if she had been stung. Damn her. "Why in the world did you pick this place?" Alex hissed. Her eyes darted around, taking in the patrons. Amazingly, Alex only knew about two people by sight.

Pamela laughed. She was a sexy woman by all standards, short and petite, with jet black hair that was shocking against her pale skin and bright blue eyes. Her lips were full and always quick to smile wickedly or curl into a snarl. It was that damn mouth that Alex had fallen in love with.

"It's times like these when I don't miss you Lexie."

Alex sat back and closed her eyes. The two women had shared a tumultuous two years together, a roller coaster ride that at its peak left Alex feeling breathless and revitalized and at its drop feeling like the depths of despair were threatening to swallow her whole. They had finally broken it off when Alex had refused to move in with her.

"Give me the money and go on your way Pam," she snapped. Alex had loaned Pam $3,000 for a real estate deal. She had only agreed to this meeting to receive payment. Pam insisted they meet in person

Pam extracted an envelope out of her purse and slipped it across the table. Alex pocketed it in her own without counting the bills. "We done here?"

Pam smirked, covering her hurt. She was a prideful woman, not adept at showing her true feelings. Much like Alex in that way. "We look like two drug dealers instead of ex lovers," she said loudly.

Alex gave her the stare. She knew Pam would never accept the fact that Alex could not expose her sexuality to her colleagues, not even in New York. It was career suicide, a risk she was not willing to take for anyone.

Alex first knew she was a lesbian around the age of eight. It was then that she made Susan Lemmon from across the street her girlfriend and kissed her at every opportunity. That was until her dad got wind of it and gave her the beating of her young life and forbade her from ever hanging out with little Susan again. Growing up in Texas, you just weren't gay. You just weren't.

"Are you seeing anyone right now?" Pam asked quietly, refusing to look Alex in the face. Alex thought of Olivia then, but stopped that thought immediately. Yeah, right.

"No," she answered truthfully. It was then that she caught sight of Elliot, Olivia and Fin entering the joint. Shit.

Pam noticed her preoccupation and turned towards the door. Fin spotted the two women and nudged Elliot and Olivia. The three detectives sauntered over to Cabot's table.

Pam settled a look on Alex. "Friends of yours?" she asked innocently.

"Hey there counselor, it seems I run into you everywhere," Olivia said by way of greeting. Elliot and Fin echoed their hellos.

"Hi guys, working on a case?" Alex asked brightly.

"Just taking a breather, taking a breather," Fin replied. "Sorry to interrupt."

"No!" All four of them jumped. Pam rolled her eyes. "No," Alex said in a calmer tone, "you're not interrupting. This is my cousin Pamela."

The three detectives turned their attention to the stunning woman and introduced themselves. Pam graciously accepted them before turning to Alex and staring at her as if she had grown a second head. Elliot cleared his throat.

"It was nice seeing you Alex," he said. This woman just gets weirder and weirder, he thought.

"Yes, okay."

"Your cousin?" Pam asked in disgust after the three detectives moved away to their own table. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"I told you I couldn't meet here," Alex shot back, by way of explanation.

Pam gathered her belongings. "Alex, I can't tell you how to live your life, but I'll tell you this: Your life is nothing but a lie. It's time you finally stood up and recognized yourself for who you are."

"I know who I am," she said indignantly.

"No, you don't," she countered standing. "You can't hide forever. And Daddy can't rule you forever. Once you admit to your sexuality, you'll be a happier and better person for it. Trust me." She stalked out, leaving Alex at a loss for words.

XXXXXXX

"Her cousin was hot," Fin said appreciatively. They were back at the house, poring over the board.

These two victims have got to connect somehow, Olivia thought as she stared at the board, besides the fact that they were enrolled in the same camp. She vaguely heard Fin.

"I don't think she was her cousin, but yeah she was hot," Elliot agreed, spinning in his chair. Olivia snapped to attention. She had been irritable after lunch for reasons she couldn't explain and hearing Elliot mention Pamela annoyed her further.

"Who cares who she is? Someone tell me how Tina and Gloria are connected."

Elliot craned his neck back to look at her. Was that a hint of jealousy in her tone? But Fin wasn't ready to drop it.

"Why would she lie about the woman being her cousin?"

Elliot focused his attention back on Fin. "Because the Pamela woman looked like she had just eaten a frog when she heard those words come out of Cabot's mouth. That and the fact that Cabot is a pretty adept liar, being an ADA and all, and yet she couldn't lie her way out of a paper bag on that one."

Olivia whirled around, huffed. "Can I interest you two in some police work?" she snapped.

Fin rolled his eyes. Benson was on another one of her self-righteous kicks. "You two going to handle the undercover on this one?"

Elliot nodded. "Just waiting on the Captain," he said. They had two dead bodies, both women raped. The investigation had led them to a couple's counseling camp, Pine Hills, that both women had attended with their spouses. Munch and Fin had interviewed all the camp officials and had narrowed the "persons of interest" to the camp's head official and a counselor. The plan was to send Olivia and Elliot undercover as a squabbling couple to ferret out more clues.

"Wait no longer," Captain Cragen announced as he swept into the room, Munch trailing along. "Meet Mr. Sean Hathaway and his wife Aundrea," he announced. He passed a packet of credentials to each detective. "Learn it, live it, love it, but most of all, blend in as best you can. The next cycle of the camp starts on Friday night and concludes on Tuesday morning. Until then, Munch and Fin, you guys see what you can come up on the forensic end, Elliot and Olivia practice your stories."

Elliot winked at Olivia. "Get your ass over here woman," he growled. "Why isn't my dinner ready?" Olivia gave him her best scowl before collapsing into giggles. What man besides Elliot could make her giggle?

"Stop laughing," Elliot said, chuckling himself. "We're supposed to be having problems."

"That shouldn't be too hard, I'll just relate back to one of the many times you've pissed me off."

Olivia, or Aundrea, as his wife, Elliot thought. This should be interesting.