Apartment of Eric and Melanie Pressman/ December 2/ 10:22 PM
*****
The fourth-floor apartment that Elliot and Olivia entered was filled with uniformed people, their official air robbing the place of its comfortable modesty. Surveying the scene, they saw that the activity was centered around one of the small bedrooms down the hall, where people were busy measuring, dusting for fingerprints, and collecting samples.
The two distraught parents were sitting together on a sofa on the living room, the mother cradling a dark-haired little girl, about three years old, who was sound asleep. Olivia and Elliot looked at each other before she went to speak with them while Elliot headed for the kitchen to find Tessa.
"Mr. and Mrs. Pressman?" Olivia asked, pulling up a nearby chair. "I'm Detective Benson; my partner and I will be investigating your daughter's case." Both of the parents looked at her with that particular brand of vulnerable desperation and horror that she'd come to dread so much. "Can you tell me what happened?"
The pair looked at each other, then turned back to Olivia. "They've taken Nina to the hospital," began Eric. "She was attacked–"
"—And they won't let us go with her!" cried Melanie, her grip on the child in her arms tightening involuntarily. "I need to be with my daughter," she pleaded.
"All right, Mrs. Pressman," Olivia said. She didn't say so, but there had to be a reason why the vice cops had detained these parents instead of letting them go with their daughter. She would try to get some information from them, but they were going to be much more helpful once some of the first panic wore off. "I just need to ask a few questions and then we'll get you to the hospital immediately."
Both of them nodded. "Okay," began Olivia. "How old is Nina?"
"She's five," replied Eric. "This is her sister, Maya." He motioned at his younger daughter.
"How did she look when you found her?"
They looked at each other again. "We didn't find her," said Melanie. "I was at work and Eric was at a department meeting. It was our babysitter, Tessa, who found her." Her eyes filled up. "She said … she couldn't stop talking about the blood … who would do this?!"
Olivia could see that neither of the Pressmans, especially Melanie, was going to hold up for much questioning right now. "Can you provide me with some contact information for someone who can confirm where both of you were in the last few hours?"
Eric wrote down the phone number of another professor at the university who had been at the English department meeting, and Melanie said they could speak with anyone in the PICU unit at the hospital – she was a pediatrician and had been in the middle of her shift when she'd been called about Nina. With this information to follow up on, Olivia sent the Pressmans to the hospital to be with their daughter, accompanied by two uniformed policemen.
Before Olivia went to examine the crime scene and hear reports about the evidence that had been found, she went to find Elliot in the kitchen. He was sitting at the table with the girl she presumed to be Tessa. Not surprisingly, she was red-eyed and looked terrified – she was all but curled up in a ball in the chair. Tessa's senses were on heightened alert and she was startled by Olivia's approach, looking up sharply.
"This is my partner, Detective Benson," said Elliot. He turned to Olivia. "Did you get anything from the parents?"
"Negative – I sent them to the hospital. Last report I got said the little girl is in surgery … I'm sure they want to be there when she gets out. We'll have to go there to talk more with them."
Tessa's face was pinched and pale. "Oh, God …" she said. She looked up again. "Did they have Maya with them?" she asked Olivia.
"The younger daughter? Yeah – she was asleep. She looked fine," replied Olivia, noticing the slight relief this brought to Tessa's features.
Elliot got up from the table. "Okay, Tessa," he said, "why don't you sit tight – I don't think it'll be much longer. Can I get you anything?" She shook her head, staring down at her hands, her face haunted.
Elliot followed Olivia to the living room, where they sat on the sofa to exchange notes. "I got basically zilch from the parents," said Olivia. "Except for alibis we need to check out. What did Tessa tell you?"
"Well, the kid is freaked," replied Elliot. "But she held it together enough to tell me what happened. She came over to babysit at about six. Mom was at work, Dad was just leaving. He said Nina's been sick all day with a bad cold – she's already asleep and will probably stay that way. Tessa said he took her to the bedroom door and they both looked in, and Nina looked perfectly fine, tucked in. Tessa spent the evening with Maya, playing. She said they had the music turned up some of the time because Maya loves to dance. Nina didn't make a peep all night – Tessa says she always sleeps like a rock."
He looked down at his notes. "About eight-thirty, Tessa gave Maya a bath and put her to bed. She went in to check on Nina, who looked the same. She went closer, thought she might check if the kid had a fever. Up close, she didn't look right – real pale, bluish lips. She tried to wake her up, but couldn't. Finally she pulled the covers back and saw blood soaking the bed – so, apparently violent sexual assault."
"Then she called 911?"
"Yep – Eric came home in the middle of the call and he called Melanie at work. Paramedics got Nina to the hospital and she'll probably be in surgery for awhile. Not guaranteed to make it."
Olivia's years of training and experience had, of course, been designed to harden her against just this kind of abominable violence. But she still couldn't help feeling vaguely sick at the thought of this five-year-old child being ripped apart in her own bed. And looking at Elliot, she could see the same distaste on his face.
The two of them went down the hall to check out the scene. The small bedroom was decorated in lavender and there were dolls and stuffed animals in every corner. The lead investigator told them, "The window was unlocked, and there's a fire escape right outside. Tons of fingerprints, but I'm betting they'll all turn out to be the family. No hair, no semen, but we'll be waiting on the rape kit."
Elliot went to the window to look at the fire escape and the dark street below, and noticed the bloodstain that had spread over the lavender sheets, angry and dark. A lot of blood for a little girl that size.
Olivia was behind him. "Elliot, they're going to secure everything here … we need to get to the hospital."
He nodded, then paused, remembering Tessa. And Maureen, who was still outside in a patrol car. He grimaced. "I hate sending Tessa and Maureen back to that dorm room by themselves."
"Does Tessa have any family in the city?"
"No, they're all in California, as far as I know."
"Why don't you send them back to your house?"
Knowing that Kathy would do everything she could for the traumatized Tessa, he nodded. Bitterly, he realized that despite all of his best intentions, he still couldn't stop the violence from touching his family.
*****
The fourth-floor apartment that Elliot and Olivia entered was filled with uniformed people, their official air robbing the place of its comfortable modesty. Surveying the scene, they saw that the activity was centered around one of the small bedrooms down the hall, where people were busy measuring, dusting for fingerprints, and collecting samples.
The two distraught parents were sitting together on a sofa on the living room, the mother cradling a dark-haired little girl, about three years old, who was sound asleep. Olivia and Elliot looked at each other before she went to speak with them while Elliot headed for the kitchen to find Tessa.
"Mr. and Mrs. Pressman?" Olivia asked, pulling up a nearby chair. "I'm Detective Benson; my partner and I will be investigating your daughter's case." Both of the parents looked at her with that particular brand of vulnerable desperation and horror that she'd come to dread so much. "Can you tell me what happened?"
The pair looked at each other, then turned back to Olivia. "They've taken Nina to the hospital," began Eric. "She was attacked–"
"—And they won't let us go with her!" cried Melanie, her grip on the child in her arms tightening involuntarily. "I need to be with my daughter," she pleaded.
"All right, Mrs. Pressman," Olivia said. She didn't say so, but there had to be a reason why the vice cops had detained these parents instead of letting them go with their daughter. She would try to get some information from them, but they were going to be much more helpful once some of the first panic wore off. "I just need to ask a few questions and then we'll get you to the hospital immediately."
Both of them nodded. "Okay," began Olivia. "How old is Nina?"
"She's five," replied Eric. "This is her sister, Maya." He motioned at his younger daughter.
"How did she look when you found her?"
They looked at each other again. "We didn't find her," said Melanie. "I was at work and Eric was at a department meeting. It was our babysitter, Tessa, who found her." Her eyes filled up. "She said … she couldn't stop talking about the blood … who would do this?!"
Olivia could see that neither of the Pressmans, especially Melanie, was going to hold up for much questioning right now. "Can you provide me with some contact information for someone who can confirm where both of you were in the last few hours?"
Eric wrote down the phone number of another professor at the university who had been at the English department meeting, and Melanie said they could speak with anyone in the PICU unit at the hospital – she was a pediatrician and had been in the middle of her shift when she'd been called about Nina. With this information to follow up on, Olivia sent the Pressmans to the hospital to be with their daughter, accompanied by two uniformed policemen.
Before Olivia went to examine the crime scene and hear reports about the evidence that had been found, she went to find Elliot in the kitchen. He was sitting at the table with the girl she presumed to be Tessa. Not surprisingly, she was red-eyed and looked terrified – she was all but curled up in a ball in the chair. Tessa's senses were on heightened alert and she was startled by Olivia's approach, looking up sharply.
"This is my partner, Detective Benson," said Elliot. He turned to Olivia. "Did you get anything from the parents?"
"Negative – I sent them to the hospital. Last report I got said the little girl is in surgery … I'm sure they want to be there when she gets out. We'll have to go there to talk more with them."
Tessa's face was pinched and pale. "Oh, God …" she said. She looked up again. "Did they have Maya with them?" she asked Olivia.
"The younger daughter? Yeah – she was asleep. She looked fine," replied Olivia, noticing the slight relief this brought to Tessa's features.
Elliot got up from the table. "Okay, Tessa," he said, "why don't you sit tight – I don't think it'll be much longer. Can I get you anything?" She shook her head, staring down at her hands, her face haunted.
Elliot followed Olivia to the living room, where they sat on the sofa to exchange notes. "I got basically zilch from the parents," said Olivia. "Except for alibis we need to check out. What did Tessa tell you?"
"Well, the kid is freaked," replied Elliot. "But she held it together enough to tell me what happened. She came over to babysit at about six. Mom was at work, Dad was just leaving. He said Nina's been sick all day with a bad cold – she's already asleep and will probably stay that way. Tessa said he took her to the bedroom door and they both looked in, and Nina looked perfectly fine, tucked in. Tessa spent the evening with Maya, playing. She said they had the music turned up some of the time because Maya loves to dance. Nina didn't make a peep all night – Tessa says she always sleeps like a rock."
He looked down at his notes. "About eight-thirty, Tessa gave Maya a bath and put her to bed. She went in to check on Nina, who looked the same. She went closer, thought she might check if the kid had a fever. Up close, she didn't look right – real pale, bluish lips. She tried to wake her up, but couldn't. Finally she pulled the covers back and saw blood soaking the bed – so, apparently violent sexual assault."
"Then she called 911?"
"Yep – Eric came home in the middle of the call and he called Melanie at work. Paramedics got Nina to the hospital and she'll probably be in surgery for awhile. Not guaranteed to make it."
Olivia's years of training and experience had, of course, been designed to harden her against just this kind of abominable violence. But she still couldn't help feeling vaguely sick at the thought of this five-year-old child being ripped apart in her own bed. And looking at Elliot, she could see the same distaste on his face.
The two of them went down the hall to check out the scene. The small bedroom was decorated in lavender and there were dolls and stuffed animals in every corner. The lead investigator told them, "The window was unlocked, and there's a fire escape right outside. Tons of fingerprints, but I'm betting they'll all turn out to be the family. No hair, no semen, but we'll be waiting on the rape kit."
Elliot went to the window to look at the fire escape and the dark street below, and noticed the bloodstain that had spread over the lavender sheets, angry and dark. A lot of blood for a little girl that size.
Olivia was behind him. "Elliot, they're going to secure everything here … we need to get to the hospital."
He nodded, then paused, remembering Tessa. And Maureen, who was still outside in a patrol car. He grimaced. "I hate sending Tessa and Maureen back to that dorm room by themselves."
"Does Tessa have any family in the city?"
"No, they're all in California, as far as I know."
"Why don't you send them back to your house?"
Knowing that Kathy would do everything she could for the traumatized Tessa, he nodded. Bitterly, he realized that despite all of his best intentions, he still couldn't stop the violence from touching his family.