author's note: I must warn you – as the plot thickens, it is getting more graphic. Not more so than the show … not that that means much. Thanks again for the comments!
*****
Hudson University Medical Center/ December 2/ 11:12 PM
*****
When Elliot and Olivia reached the hospital, Nina was still in surgery, but they were able to speak with the doctor who had first assessed and treated her in the emergency room. "She's incredibly lucky that she didn't bleed out completely," said Dr. Campbell, a petite woman with freckles and tired eyes. "She went into shock, which is probably what saved her."
"Did you have time to do a rape kit?" asked Elliot.
She nodded. "Quickly. Obviously, she was penetrated, but no semen or hair. I'm certain that the rapist also used a blunt object, maybe like the handle of a tool or a paintbrush, it's hard to say. This was so violent that the scope of the damage goes beyond the usual bruising and rape trauma … they'll be able to tell you more up in surgery."
Olivia and Elliot nodded, both noting the fury hidden beneath the surface of the doctor's clinical words. As they turned to find the elevator, she stopped them. "Detectives."
Both of them looked into her blue eyes, which were icy and snapping. "This is an animal that you need to catch."
"It's absolutely our top priority," said Elliot.
"I know Nina's mom – she does a lot of good for a lot of kids upstairs. Whoever did this tore into that child like a piece of meat."
Olivia looked at Elliot before answering. "We can give you our word," she said, meeting the woman's gaze and knowing that such a promise was vastly insufficient, "we're going to get him."
Three floors up, they were informed by a nurse that Nina had just come out of surgery and was in post-op, but that she wasn't expected to regain consciousness anytime soon. She had received multiple blood transfusions and the surgery had revealed that the rape had caused extensive external and internal trauma as well as intestinal perforation. The most immediate concern was infection from this damage.
Briefly, the detectives looked in at Nina herself – the first time they had actually laid eyes on this fragile, innocent victim. She looked much like her little sister amid the maze of tubes and machines, they noticed, with shiny dark hair and high cheekbones. Both were remarkably beautiful children.
But Nina could tell them nothing.
Olivia and Elliot found her parents alone with their three-year-old in one of the waiting rooms, the two uniformed officers trying to hover inconspicuously out in the hall. "Mr. and Mrs. Pressman, this is my partner, Detective Stabler," said Olivia as they both sat down.
Maya was awake now, and regarded Olivia thoughtfully, with enormous dark eyes, from the cradle of her mother's arms. Elliot wished she didn't have to be there while they questioned her parents, but she was so little and exhausted that he knew handing her off to someone else would be stressful for everyone involved. "I'm truly sorry about what's happened to your daughter," he began carefully.
"Thank you," whispered Melanie, the small muscles along the line of her jaw flickering.
"I know this is difficult," said Olivia, "but can either of you think of anyone that would want to hurt you or your children?"
"No, there's no one," said Melanie immediately. Elliot thought Eric looked less certain about this, although he nodded along with his wife.
"Maybe you've seen someone strange watching you and the girls? At the park or on the way to school? It might be relevant even if it didn't seem like it at the time."
Neither could think of anyone fitting this description. Eric looked up, his face stormy. "It could be just a random attack, couldn't it? One of the thousands of complete sickos in this damned city. We don't know anybody that would commit an atrocity like this," he spat out.
Elliot had to concede that this wasn't outside the realm of possibility, but it didn't strike him as likely, either. Olivia agreed; although neither of them said so to the Pressmans, the kind of violence that had been unleashed on their daughter didn't seem random and impersonal, but distinctly like vengeance.
Before long a surgeon came to tell the Pressmans that they could see Nina, and Elliot and Olivia let them go. It was inevitable that their lives were going to be invaded starting tomorrow, but for what remained of tonight they needed to be left alone with their wounded child.
The detectives took this opportunity to visit the PICU, where they received several glowing reports about Melanie. Everyone they spoke to said she was universally loved, a talented doctor who had made the difference for many families with very sick kids.
"I can't believe this has happened to Nina," said Dr. Long, a resident who had worked with Melanie for a few years and had met both of her daughters. "She's a terrific kid, they both are. She's articulate, compassionate, friendly."
"Can you think of any patients Dr. Pressman has had recently whose families might be harboring a grudge against her?" asked Elliot. "Anything like that?"
"Well, the truth about the PICU is that lots of kids suffer here," he said gravely. "And a lot of them die … Melanie is uncommonly good at making it as easy as possible." He confided, "I can show you the information on some of her recent charts, though. Normally I'd want to make you get a warrant first, but considering …" The same look of bitter distaste that had been in the ER doctor's eyes flickered across his face.
Elliot and Olivia took this evidence and finally went to the surgical floor once more to see if Nina's condition had changed. It hadn't – she was still unconscious but stable.
In the elevator, Elliot punched the button for the first floor. "What do you think, Liv?" In the relative privacy of the box, both of them allowed some of their official stiffness to dissipate in favor of the fatigue that was beginning to set in: Elliot leaned back against the far wall and Olivia sighed, rubbing her eyes.
She considered. "I sure wish we had more physical evidence. There's not much more we can do now … I think we should check to see if the guys canvassing the area around the apartment have turned anything up. Other than that, I'd say we should call it a night. Tomorrow's going to be a long day. We need to follow up on those alibis and find out more about the parents, especially Eric."
Elliot nodded, thinking about what he was going to say to Kathy. He'd called her briefly to let her know that Maureen and Tessa were on their way, but she was definitely going to require more explanation than that. He worked so hard to keep her separate from almost everything that happened at work that the occasions when they did have to discuss it were always difficult and labored.
Olivia watched him. "You need to get home," she said, surprising him yet again with her ability to read his thoughts.
TBC
*****
Hudson University Medical Center/ December 2/ 11:12 PM
*****
When Elliot and Olivia reached the hospital, Nina was still in surgery, but they were able to speak with the doctor who had first assessed and treated her in the emergency room. "She's incredibly lucky that she didn't bleed out completely," said Dr. Campbell, a petite woman with freckles and tired eyes. "She went into shock, which is probably what saved her."
"Did you have time to do a rape kit?" asked Elliot.
She nodded. "Quickly. Obviously, she was penetrated, but no semen or hair. I'm certain that the rapist also used a blunt object, maybe like the handle of a tool or a paintbrush, it's hard to say. This was so violent that the scope of the damage goes beyond the usual bruising and rape trauma … they'll be able to tell you more up in surgery."
Olivia and Elliot nodded, both noting the fury hidden beneath the surface of the doctor's clinical words. As they turned to find the elevator, she stopped them. "Detectives."
Both of them looked into her blue eyes, which were icy and snapping. "This is an animal that you need to catch."
"It's absolutely our top priority," said Elliot.
"I know Nina's mom – she does a lot of good for a lot of kids upstairs. Whoever did this tore into that child like a piece of meat."
Olivia looked at Elliot before answering. "We can give you our word," she said, meeting the woman's gaze and knowing that such a promise was vastly insufficient, "we're going to get him."
Three floors up, they were informed by a nurse that Nina had just come out of surgery and was in post-op, but that she wasn't expected to regain consciousness anytime soon. She had received multiple blood transfusions and the surgery had revealed that the rape had caused extensive external and internal trauma as well as intestinal perforation. The most immediate concern was infection from this damage.
Briefly, the detectives looked in at Nina herself – the first time they had actually laid eyes on this fragile, innocent victim. She looked much like her little sister amid the maze of tubes and machines, they noticed, with shiny dark hair and high cheekbones. Both were remarkably beautiful children.
But Nina could tell them nothing.
Olivia and Elliot found her parents alone with their three-year-old in one of the waiting rooms, the two uniformed officers trying to hover inconspicuously out in the hall. "Mr. and Mrs. Pressman, this is my partner, Detective Stabler," said Olivia as they both sat down.
Maya was awake now, and regarded Olivia thoughtfully, with enormous dark eyes, from the cradle of her mother's arms. Elliot wished she didn't have to be there while they questioned her parents, but she was so little and exhausted that he knew handing her off to someone else would be stressful for everyone involved. "I'm truly sorry about what's happened to your daughter," he began carefully.
"Thank you," whispered Melanie, the small muscles along the line of her jaw flickering.
"I know this is difficult," said Olivia, "but can either of you think of anyone that would want to hurt you or your children?"
"No, there's no one," said Melanie immediately. Elliot thought Eric looked less certain about this, although he nodded along with his wife.
"Maybe you've seen someone strange watching you and the girls? At the park or on the way to school? It might be relevant even if it didn't seem like it at the time."
Neither could think of anyone fitting this description. Eric looked up, his face stormy. "It could be just a random attack, couldn't it? One of the thousands of complete sickos in this damned city. We don't know anybody that would commit an atrocity like this," he spat out.
Elliot had to concede that this wasn't outside the realm of possibility, but it didn't strike him as likely, either. Olivia agreed; although neither of them said so to the Pressmans, the kind of violence that had been unleashed on their daughter didn't seem random and impersonal, but distinctly like vengeance.
Before long a surgeon came to tell the Pressmans that they could see Nina, and Elliot and Olivia let them go. It was inevitable that their lives were going to be invaded starting tomorrow, but for what remained of tonight they needed to be left alone with their wounded child.
The detectives took this opportunity to visit the PICU, where they received several glowing reports about Melanie. Everyone they spoke to said she was universally loved, a talented doctor who had made the difference for many families with very sick kids.
"I can't believe this has happened to Nina," said Dr. Long, a resident who had worked with Melanie for a few years and had met both of her daughters. "She's a terrific kid, they both are. She's articulate, compassionate, friendly."
"Can you think of any patients Dr. Pressman has had recently whose families might be harboring a grudge against her?" asked Elliot. "Anything like that?"
"Well, the truth about the PICU is that lots of kids suffer here," he said gravely. "And a lot of them die … Melanie is uncommonly good at making it as easy as possible." He confided, "I can show you the information on some of her recent charts, though. Normally I'd want to make you get a warrant first, but considering …" The same look of bitter distaste that had been in the ER doctor's eyes flickered across his face.
Elliot and Olivia took this evidence and finally went to the surgical floor once more to see if Nina's condition had changed. It hadn't – she was still unconscious but stable.
In the elevator, Elliot punched the button for the first floor. "What do you think, Liv?" In the relative privacy of the box, both of them allowed some of their official stiffness to dissipate in favor of the fatigue that was beginning to set in: Elliot leaned back against the far wall and Olivia sighed, rubbing her eyes.
She considered. "I sure wish we had more physical evidence. There's not much more we can do now … I think we should check to see if the guys canvassing the area around the apartment have turned anything up. Other than that, I'd say we should call it a night. Tomorrow's going to be a long day. We need to follow up on those alibis and find out more about the parents, especially Eric."
Elliot nodded, thinking about what he was going to say to Kathy. He'd called her briefly to let her know that Maureen and Tessa were on their way, but she was definitely going to require more explanation than that. He worked so hard to keep her separate from almost everything that happened at work that the occasions when they did have to discuss it were always difficult and labored.
Olivia watched him. "You need to get home," she said, surprising him yet again with her ability to read his thoughts.
TBC