Hudson University English Department Office/ December 3/ 1:24 PM
*****
With Elliot right behind her, Olivia approached the front desk of the English department and flashed her badge at the shaggy college kid sitting behind it. "Detectives Benson and Stabler," she said. "We need to speak with the head of the department."
The kid's bleary eyes got really big, really fast. "Uhh … okay," he stammered, running his hand through his raggedy mop of hair. "That would be Professor Miles. Let me see if he's, uh, in. He might be in class." He picked up the telephone and dialed an extension, eying Elliot and Olivia cagily. "Hello, Professor Miles? This is Tucker, at the front desk. Yeah … uh, I have two detectives who are here to see you … uh, detectives … yeah, like, from the police." Elliot turned to Olivia and smirked.
"Uh, yeah, I'll tell them. Okay." He hung up the phone. "He says he'll see you right now. His office is number 246, on the second floor." As they left, Olivia saw the kid breathe an enormous sigh of relief.
In the elevator, Elliot pressed the number two button. "Good thing he at least had time to hide his bag of weed under the desk, huh?" he cracked.
Olivia merely scoffed at him. "For all you know he could be one of Maureen's best pals," she pointed out, and then laughed when his face froze in an expression not unlike that of a deer caught in the headlights of a pickup truck.
At Professor Miles' office, the detectives introduced themselves and sat down. "How can I help you?" he asked.
"We're investigating the assault of the daughter of one of your faculty members," Elliot began, looking seriously at the fiftyish, bearded man behind the desk.
The professor grimaced. "Yes, Eric Pressman's daughter. I just heard this morning," he said. "It's just terrible."
"What can you tell us about Eric?" asked Olivia.
He frowned. "I'm sure you don't think Eric …"
"Professor, this is just standard procedure. We're trying to learn as much as we can about everyone involved."
He nodded. "Well, Eric has been on the faculty for almost ten years … he's very well published in his field. He and Melanie got married maybe seven years ago, and then had the two girls. He's, uh, always been popular with the students."
Olivia uncrossed her legs. "Was he in attendance at the department meeting last night?"
Professor Miles was caught off-guard. "There … wasn't a department meeting last night. It's not until tomorrow afternoon."
Olivia felt the hot rush that always came when an important clue fell into place, and she knew Elliot felt it too. She kept her voice steady and calm. "Can you think of any reason why he would say that's where he was?"
The professor was white-faced. "No … no, I can't," he faltered. "I'm sure it's just a miscommunication."
Elliot and Olivia stood up. "Well, thank you for your time, professor," Elliot said, giving him his card. "If you think of anything that might be relevant, please give us a call right away."
The detectives rode the elevator back down to the first floor and then headed outside toward their car, parked in an empty faculty spot. Olivia hugged her coat around herself; it felt like Alaska out there. "Well, so we know Eric's full of it," she said, opening the driver's side door.
"Yep," agreed Elliot as he slid into the passenger's seat. "Now I'm wondering where he really was, and what about it is such a secret that he would lie?"
Olivia gave the car a moment to warm up. "I'm not getting that he's our doer, though, are you?"
Elliot considered the impression he'd gotten of Eric, then shook his head. That would be too easy, he thought bitterly. Remembering the sight of Nina in the hospital bed, he realized how sick such a scenario would be, as well.
His partner reversed the car and drove out of the parking lot. "Well, maybe it's not us that he's really lying to," she mused.
Elliot looked over at her. "His wife?"
"Maybe."
"Why would he lie to his wife about his alibi?"
Olivia rolled her eyes. "Well, if I was him, I might lie to my wife if I was out with another woman while she was hard at work saving terminally ill children all night."
Elliot could see her point. "So he doesn't want everybody to know that he's busy cheating on Melanie while the girls were home with a babysitter and one of them was getting raped."
"Yeah. Based on what we've seen of Eric, I think we can rule out violence – but not being total slime."
He smiled: sometimes Olivia, in her succinctness, could put it so perfectly. "We need to talk to Eric again, separately from Melanie."
"Yeah." She looked sidelong at him. "And you know who else might know where Eric really was and maybe who he was with?"
It dawned on Elliot. "… Tessa." Dammit.
She nodded.
"I was really hoping we wouldn't have to put her through any more tough grilling." He sighed. "The sooner she can move on from this and get back to normal the better."
Olivia was not yet sure that Tessa didn't have some vital information that they might need in their investigation. She also suspected that while Elliot was talking about Tessa, he really meant Maureen by extension, and was hoping to restore the distance between his job and his family that he had worked so hard to maintain. "Well, it's not you that's going to have to do it," she pointed out. "I think we need to check in with the captain and see what he says about talking to Eric; with all this media attention he's going to want to do it as delicately as possible."
"All right. Maybe Munch and Fin will have turned something up in the neighborhood, too." He imagined a detailed report and description of a man climbing up the Pressmans' fire escape, and then realized that with their luck, he was certainly dreaming.
Just then, as she was turning with the traffic on the way back to the station, Olivia's phone went off. "Benson." She listened, and Elliot watched her features sag momentarily. "Okay … thank you. Please keep us posted." She sighed painfully.
"What?"
"Nina's running a fever … her doctor in the PICU says it's probably an infection from the bowel perforation. They've got her on antibiotics but they're not sure yet how she's going to handle it, and they can't operate again until she's more stable. Her parents are with her at the hospital."
Elliot sighed too, echoing his partner. He felt vaguely ill, like he needed some fresh air. He cracked his window slightly and both detectives breathed in the burst of sharp coldness.
TBC
*****
With Elliot right behind her, Olivia approached the front desk of the English department and flashed her badge at the shaggy college kid sitting behind it. "Detectives Benson and Stabler," she said. "We need to speak with the head of the department."
The kid's bleary eyes got really big, really fast. "Uhh … okay," he stammered, running his hand through his raggedy mop of hair. "That would be Professor Miles. Let me see if he's, uh, in. He might be in class." He picked up the telephone and dialed an extension, eying Elliot and Olivia cagily. "Hello, Professor Miles? This is Tucker, at the front desk. Yeah … uh, I have two detectives who are here to see you … uh, detectives … yeah, like, from the police." Elliot turned to Olivia and smirked.
"Uh, yeah, I'll tell them. Okay." He hung up the phone. "He says he'll see you right now. His office is number 246, on the second floor." As they left, Olivia saw the kid breathe an enormous sigh of relief.
In the elevator, Elliot pressed the number two button. "Good thing he at least had time to hide his bag of weed under the desk, huh?" he cracked.
Olivia merely scoffed at him. "For all you know he could be one of Maureen's best pals," she pointed out, and then laughed when his face froze in an expression not unlike that of a deer caught in the headlights of a pickup truck.
At Professor Miles' office, the detectives introduced themselves and sat down. "How can I help you?" he asked.
"We're investigating the assault of the daughter of one of your faculty members," Elliot began, looking seriously at the fiftyish, bearded man behind the desk.
The professor grimaced. "Yes, Eric Pressman's daughter. I just heard this morning," he said. "It's just terrible."
"What can you tell us about Eric?" asked Olivia.
He frowned. "I'm sure you don't think Eric …"
"Professor, this is just standard procedure. We're trying to learn as much as we can about everyone involved."
He nodded. "Well, Eric has been on the faculty for almost ten years … he's very well published in his field. He and Melanie got married maybe seven years ago, and then had the two girls. He's, uh, always been popular with the students."
Olivia uncrossed her legs. "Was he in attendance at the department meeting last night?"
Professor Miles was caught off-guard. "There … wasn't a department meeting last night. It's not until tomorrow afternoon."
Olivia felt the hot rush that always came when an important clue fell into place, and she knew Elliot felt it too. She kept her voice steady and calm. "Can you think of any reason why he would say that's where he was?"
The professor was white-faced. "No … no, I can't," he faltered. "I'm sure it's just a miscommunication."
Elliot and Olivia stood up. "Well, thank you for your time, professor," Elliot said, giving him his card. "If you think of anything that might be relevant, please give us a call right away."
The detectives rode the elevator back down to the first floor and then headed outside toward their car, parked in an empty faculty spot. Olivia hugged her coat around herself; it felt like Alaska out there. "Well, so we know Eric's full of it," she said, opening the driver's side door.
"Yep," agreed Elliot as he slid into the passenger's seat. "Now I'm wondering where he really was, and what about it is such a secret that he would lie?"
Olivia gave the car a moment to warm up. "I'm not getting that he's our doer, though, are you?"
Elliot considered the impression he'd gotten of Eric, then shook his head. That would be too easy, he thought bitterly. Remembering the sight of Nina in the hospital bed, he realized how sick such a scenario would be, as well.
His partner reversed the car and drove out of the parking lot. "Well, maybe it's not us that he's really lying to," she mused.
Elliot looked over at her. "His wife?"
"Maybe."
"Why would he lie to his wife about his alibi?"
Olivia rolled her eyes. "Well, if I was him, I might lie to my wife if I was out with another woman while she was hard at work saving terminally ill children all night."
Elliot could see her point. "So he doesn't want everybody to know that he's busy cheating on Melanie while the girls were home with a babysitter and one of them was getting raped."
"Yeah. Based on what we've seen of Eric, I think we can rule out violence – but not being total slime."
He smiled: sometimes Olivia, in her succinctness, could put it so perfectly. "We need to talk to Eric again, separately from Melanie."
"Yeah." She looked sidelong at him. "And you know who else might know where Eric really was and maybe who he was with?"
It dawned on Elliot. "… Tessa." Dammit.
She nodded.
"I was really hoping we wouldn't have to put her through any more tough grilling." He sighed. "The sooner she can move on from this and get back to normal the better."
Olivia was not yet sure that Tessa didn't have some vital information that they might need in their investigation. She also suspected that while Elliot was talking about Tessa, he really meant Maureen by extension, and was hoping to restore the distance between his job and his family that he had worked so hard to maintain. "Well, it's not you that's going to have to do it," she pointed out. "I think we need to check in with the captain and see what he says about talking to Eric; with all this media attention he's going to want to do it as delicately as possible."
"All right. Maybe Munch and Fin will have turned something up in the neighborhood, too." He imagined a detailed report and description of a man climbing up the Pressmans' fire escape, and then realized that with their luck, he was certainly dreaming.
Just then, as she was turning with the traffic on the way back to the station, Olivia's phone went off. "Benson." She listened, and Elliot watched her features sag momentarily. "Okay … thank you. Please keep us posted." She sighed painfully.
"What?"
"Nina's running a fever … her doctor in the PICU says it's probably an infection from the bowel perforation. They've got her on antibiotics but they're not sure yet how she's going to handle it, and they can't operate again until she's more stable. Her parents are with her at the hospital."
Elliot sighed too, echoing his partner. He felt vaguely ill, like he needed some fresh air. He cracked his window slightly and both detectives breathed in the burst of sharp coldness.
TBC