Chapter 6
"It looked like things were getting pretty intense in there, Liv. You okay?" Stabler asked, shoving the dvd in his coat pocket as they headed back to the car.
"Yeah. She's a lot tougher than she looks. I'm admiring her a lot more than I ever thought I would considering what a mess she was when we first walked into the room. She said she and David are close friends. They made a try for lovers that didn't work out so well -- ghosts from his past and all that. She wants to try again, but she's been giving him some time to work through his issues.
"She really loves him, Elliot. It surprised me how much she really does love him. I can't imagine loving someone so much that you could overlook something that bad, that awful about their past. Even with my job, knowing it's not the victim's fault, I don't know how I'd react to finding out something like that about a guy I was involved with. I don't know if I could be that supportive or understanding."
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Liv. You see the bad, the mind-numbingly awful every day at work. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to deal with it at home too."
"I guess," Benson said unhappily, as she looked at the strain on her partner's face and realized with a pang of sorrow how much the comfort and reassurance of his normal family life had meant to Elliot. With Kathy and the kids gone, there was no longer a buffer to keep the horrors they faced every day from consuming him. "What's next?"
"I called the hospital to see if David's ready for us. They decided to run a few more tests on him, so it'll be another hour before we can pick him up. Want to take at run at Devlin in the meantime?"
"Sure, why not?" Benson responded.
The detectives drove the few blocks to Nick Devlin's apartment in silence. Benson stared out the window but barely noticed as the campus buildings gave way to a cozy middle class neighborhood of twin homes, many of which had been converted into duplexes, triplexes or quads to accommodate the college's increasing need for student housing.
Stabler stopped the car in front of a slightly dilapidated twin and double-checked the address. "It looks like he's got the top floor apartment. Let's see if we can find a bell."
They climbed the three steps to the stoop and examined the series of bells on the wall by the door.
"They managed to squeeze five apartments into each side of this place?" Benson said in disbelief. "Talk about efficiencies. I bet they can hardly turn around in the rooms."
"I guess there are still some college kids out there who are so happy to be out of mom and dad's place, they'll take what they can get," Stabler responded indifferently as he pushed the bell marked 'N. Devlin.'
A few moments later they heard the sound of a window open above them and a voice shout down, "Yo! Who is it? Whaddaya want?"
The detectives stepped down from the stoop and shielded their eyes as they looked up to see a deeply tanned man in his early 20s with wavy, shoulder length, jet black hair leaning out of an open third story window. His arms and torso were bare, displaying an athletic, muscular body and a tattoo of two intertwined snakes that started on his chest and moved up to his shoulders then down his arms until the snakes' heads came to rest just above his wrists. The dark hair on his chest and arms gave the impression that the snakes were hiding in underbrush. Combined with the garish tattoo, small droplets of water glistening in his hair and on his body gave the man an unearthly appearance.
"Sorry to interrupt your shower," Benson said, flashing her badge. "Are you Nick Devlin?"
"Yeah. You really a cop? What do you want with me?"
"Mind letting us up and we'll tell you," Stabler said with a tight smile as he flashed his own badge. "We wouldn't want to get you in trouble with your neighbors with all this shouting."
"Oh, yeah, right. Good idea," Devlin said distractedly as his head disappeared from the window. They could momentarily see him glancing around the apartment in dismay before he disappeared from view.
A few minutes later they heard the sound of feet pounding down the stairs inside, then the front door flew open. Devlin had pulled on a pair of faded jeans and a sleeveless t-shirt featuring a scantily clad woman touting the virtues of one of the national sports bar chains.
"Come on up," he said, nervously running a hand through his damp mop of hair. "You'll have to excuse the mess. I wasn't expecting company."
Benson shook her head lightly and rolled her eyes at her partner as they followed the man up the stairs.
It was clear from the state of the apartment that he really hadn't been expecting company. Empty plastic cups and beer cans were tossed haphazardly around the room. The remnants of chips and pretzels were ground into the carpet and the air was heavy with the scent of cigarette smoke along with the slightly sweeter, more pungent odor of something a bit stronger than cigarettes.
"Must have been quite a party," Stabler commented, pushing a beer bottle out of the way with the toe of his shoe.
"Yeah, it was. My birthday was yesterday. I'm finally 21," Nick beamed. Then his face fell. "This isn't about the party, is it? Did somebody complain about the noise? Most of the houses around here are student housing so I didn't think we'd have any trouble."
"No. You're fine," Stabler said. "This is actually about a different party. You hear anything about a particularly wild party last Friday night?"
"One that made it to video?" Benson added.
Nick's smile disappeared completely. "Man, I don't know nothing about that. I was nowhere near there. I like to party but not that kind of partying. That's twisted, man."
"You know any of the guys who did attend the party?"
Devlin looked away from them uncomfortably and muttered, "I told you, I don't know nothing about it. It's not my scene, man. I need to get ready for class now."
"We're sorry to keep you, Nick, but we have just a few more questions," Benson said with a reassuring smile. "You're not in any kind of trouble so there's nothing for you to worry about. We know you weren't at the party. We've seen the video. You've seen the video, haven't you?"
"Well, um, I, that is . . . ," Nick stammered, unsure which answer was going to cause him the most trouble.
"You had a party last night, Nick," Stabler said reasonably. "Copies of the video are all over campus at this point. I'll bet somebody thought it would be fun to play it at the party last night. Right?"
"Well, yeah. We didn't do anything wrong just watching the thing, did we? It was just meant to be some harmless fun. I didn't realize . . . I mean, I didn't know . . . ."
"You didn't know what, Nick?" Benson prodded.
"I didn't know who was in it," Nick said sheepishly. "If I'd known it was people we actually knew . . . ."
"People like David Gallagher," Benson prodded.
"Shit!" Nick spat out, running his hand nervously through his hair again. "Look, I don't know what you people want, but I'm not going to say anything that will get David in trouble. He's a good guy. When I saw him on that video . . . I . . . I just couldn't believe it.
"The people at the party, they were all laughing and making fun of what was going on. Making all sorts of queer jokes, that kind of thing. I tried to act like it wasn't bothering me, but when it got to the part near the end where Justin and the other guy were doing him at the same time and then Justin . . . he B you know the part I mean, I can't even say it B I went in the bathroom and threw up. I had to cover by telling everybody I had too much to drink. Shit, just thinking about it makes me want to hurl again."
"So David is a good friend of yours?" Stabler asked.
"We're pretty tight -- not like on the video, not that kind of tight," Nick flustered, realizing that was the wrong expression to use.
"We know what you mean," Benson soothed. "Just good friends, right."
"Yeah," he said with relief.
"How long have you been friends?"
"We met freshman year during one of the pre-meetings for the Habitat trip. David and Jess were there along with a few other people. The three of us had a lot in common so we started hanging out together a lot. We took most of the same classes that year."
"And what about now?"
Nick shrugged. "It got a little uncomfortable for me being around them. David's a great guy and Jess, Jess is just the best." His expression softened as he said the girl's name and he got a faraway look in his eyes.
"You like Jessica - a lot," Benson said.
Nick blushed guiltily. "Yeah, but it was clear from day one that she only has eyes for David. I thought I could hang in there and just be friends with them, but I realized by the end of last year that it was just too hard knowing I could never even have a chance with her. So this year I backed off. I made sure we only have one class in common, that way we can still hang out a little and do some studying together occasionally, but I've also got a part-time job and this place, so I had lots of excuses to beg off without it looking weird.
"And then Justin came along. That guy gave me a serious case of the creeps from day one. And I could tell Jess couldn't stand him either. But I decided I'd better stay out of it. It wasn't any of my business. I guess now I know why David kept the little turd around. Turns my stomach to even think about it. Why would any guy in his right mind give up a great girl like Jess to do another guy -- although I guess technically the other guys were doing him B but still. It's crazy ass shit, man.
"I keep wondering if she knows yet and if she's okay. I know she went home for her Grams' funeral. I guess I should find out if she's back yet. This is the last thing she needs on top of losing her Grams."
"We just came from her place," Benson said. "She's a little upset right now, but she'll be fine."
"I should probably call her, let her know I'm here if she needs anything," Nick said hesitantly.
"I'm sure she'd appreciate that," Stabler said drily, "but right now we have a couple more questions."
Devlin sighed dramatically, "Like what, man?"
"You said Justin gave you the creeps. Any particular reason?"
"When school first started he sat in the back corner of the classroom. David, Jess and I sat together a couple rows away and closer to the front. A couple of times I turned around to talk to one of them or to look out the window or something and caught Justin staring at us. He had the most intense look on his face."
"Then one time after he finally came over and started talking to us and then moved to a seat closer to us to be part of the group, he left his notebook behind when he rushed out to chase after David and Jess. I grabbed the notebook so I could give it back to him, but it slipped out of my hand and fell. A bunch of newspaper clippings spilled out of it. I only saw them for a second but the top one was about some kid who'd been kidnapped. The kid in the picture could have been David's younger brother it looked so much like him.
"I went to pick them up and take a closer look at them, when Justin came running back into the room and started yelling at me to leave his stuff alone. I apologized real quick and said I saw he'd left the notebook behind and was just going to bring it to him, but it fell when I went to pick it up. He grabbed the clippings real quick and shoved them into the notebook and tried to apologize for overreacting, but I'd already seen the look on his face when he was yelling at me, and I wasn't buying it for a second.
"That guy is seriously disturbed and I didn't want anything else to do with him after that. So I started making even more excuses not to be around. If I knew Justin definitely wasn't going to be there, I'd hang out with David and Jess, but if Justin was going to be there, no way."
"Did you ever see any signs of a relationship between David and Justin other than just friends?"
"No, but I wasn't looking. It never occurred to me David would be stupid enough to cheat on Jess, especially not with another guy."
"So even though you're crazy about Jessica, you wouldn't have noticed David paying extra special attention to someone else, even if it was another guy?" Stabler asked skeptically.
Nick shrugged. "When you put it that way, I guess I would have. But even going over it in my head again, I can't remember David doing anything that looked weird or suspicious. Jess told me they had some problems over the summer and I could tell they weren't as close, but I knew she was determined to work it out. I never saw any signs that David was interested in anybody else or playing the field.
"But Justin -- Justin was always doing strange things, always trying to get attention. And he was always trying to worm his way between David and Jess. It never occurred to me it was anything sexual though. I thought he just wanted to replace her as David's best friend. The whole thing is seriously screwy. Just thinking about it gives me the creeps."
"Did you ever see David or Justin drink or do drugs?" Stabler asked.
"Not when they were around me. David's a pretty straight arrow - well, at least I thought he was. I guess it's pretty obvious from that video I didn't know him as well as I thought I did. But I never saw him drink anything stronger than beer and he never took drugs as far as I know, not even a little weed. I never saw him looking wasted or stoned either.
"As far as Justin goes, who knows? Even though I never actually saw him, I could easily believe he'd drink, do drugs, do just about anything if it would get him some attention. I mean, just look at that video. He's at the center of the shot for practically the entire thing and is constantly doing stuff to draw the viewer's attention to himself."
"That's an interesting observation," Stabler said.
"I'm a communications major," Devlin said with a shrug. "I'm planning a career in tv or movie production, so I notice camera angles and focal points of shots and things like that."
"Since you notice things like that, do you think Justin is playing to the audience in the room or playing to the camera?" Stabler asked.
Devlin considered for a minute. "It's hard to tell without being able to see where the audience is. It could be both. He definitely knows the camera is there and where it is. Every once in awhile you'll see him look towards it and smile. He's careful to never look directly at it, though, which makes me think he's taken some acting or theater classes himself."
Benson exchanged quick glances with her partner. "I think that's it for now, Nick," she said with a thin smile. "If you think of anything else that might be helpful to us, please give me a call," she added, handing him her card.
"Okay," Devlin said hesitantly. "You know, you never told me exactly what it is you're investigating about the party, so how will I know if anything I think of is useful?"
"We're investigating an alleged sexual assault," Stabler said without embellishment.
"Sexual assault? Who?" he responded blankly. "They're all having sex on that video and it didn't look to me like anybody was unhappy about it."
Stabler just smiled. "Let us know if you think of anything."
"Okay. Hey, um, do you think it's okay if I call Jess? Let her know she's got a shoulder to cry on if she needs it?"
"Sure," Benson said with a disgusted shake of her head as she strode as quickly as she could out the apartment door.
"He's certainly a piece of work," Benson said when they'd reached the sidewalk. "He's so intent on being Jessica's white knight he didn't even make the effort to put two and two together. As far as he's concerned, David's out of the way and that's all that matters."
"Yeah, David doesn't seem to have the best judgment when it comes to male friends," Stabler responded thoughtfully. "First Nick, who's so obviously interested in Jessica, then Justin who's so obviously interested in him. Makes you wonder how anyone, especially someone with his history, could be so naive."
"I don't like the sound of that, Elliot. What are you thinking?"
"If David really was hesitant about taking the next step in his relationship with Jessica, maybe he built in some safeguards to make sure it would fail."
"That's pretty cynical, even for you."
Stabler glanced over at his partner as he opened the driver's side door, "It's a theory, Liv. We toss out theories and see if they fly. This one hasn't crashed on me yet."
"Yeah, me either," Benson responded unhappily as she got in the car. "Let's get to the hospital."
Benson knocked on the closed door to David Gallagher's hospital room and heard a muffled, "Come in." The detectives entered the room to find the young man sitting in the guest chair buttoning the last of the buttons on his badly rumpled shirt, with only his shoes and socks left to put on.
"Hi, David. I'm not sure if you remember us from yesterday. I'm Detective Benson - Olivia Benson and this is my partner Elliot Stabler."
"Yeah, I remember you," David said, forcing a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Sorry I was so out of it when we first met. It was a pretty intense day."
"How are you feeling?" Benson asked.
Gallagher hesitated for a moment before responding, "I'm okay. Still a little sore, but that'll pass. The doctor gave me some stuff to keep it from hurting as much til it's all healed."
"David, do you remember our conversation last night?" Stabler asked. "Do you know why we're here today?"
"You're investigating what happened at the party," Gallagher said absently, turning his gaze away from them to concentrate on putting his socks and shoes on. You want me to come downtown with you to talk about it."
"That's partly right. Do you remember what Justin told Dean Jacobs when the two of you were in his office?"
"No . . . not really. I was pretty upset. The Dean showed me the video, then he was yelling at me and told me I was getting expelled for what I did at the party. I don't remember much of what was said after that. I sort of remember Justin coming in at some point, but I was already on overload, so nothing he said made much sense to me."
"Then you don't remember Justin telling Dean Jacobs he slipped something in your beer to help you relax the night of the party?"
"No. I don't remember that. Like I said, I was pretty out of it. Seeing the video . . . the Dean being so angry and disappointed in me . . . the prospect of being expelled . . . it totally blew my circuits. All I could think was 'what am I going to do, where am I going to go?' Elmhurst is all I have left of my old life. My parents taught there. It's the only place left where I feel any connection to them. The thought of having to leave there and start over again someplace else just fried my brain. I couldn't think about anything else."
"Do you remember the night of the party, David?"
"Some of it," he responded hesitantly.
"You told us last night you started feeling funny after Justin gave you a beer. Do you remember telling us that?"
"Yes."
"And you told us you didn't remember anything else until you woke up the next morning in bed with Justin. Do you remember telling us that?"
"Yes."
"Have you remembered anything else about what happened in between your getting the drink and feeling sick and waking up the next morning in Justin's bed?"
"No. But I guess the video says it all, doesn't it."
"Not necessarily. David, did you ask Justin to give you drugs or did he offer you drugs while you were in his room?"
"No, not that I remember."
"Would you have taken them if he did?"
"No. I . . . I don't mess with drugs. Not ever. When I . . . when I was growing up, I saw too many people who were out of their minds from that shit. People who did awful, terrible things because they were stoned or going through withdrawal or just needed money to get their next fix. I never want to be like that."
"Then if you wouldn't have taken drugs even if they were offered to you, do you believe it's possible Justin slipped you the drugs without your knowledge to get you to do things you normally wouldn't do at that party."
Gallagher had been looking at them with a stony expression on his face as he answered the previous questions, but now put his head in his hands and started rubbing at his temples. "I . . . I don't know. If he said he gave me something, I guess he did. I didn't want it. I didn't ask for it."
"David," Benson broke in dropping to one knee in front of him and forcing him to look into her eyes. "If Justin hadn't given you something, would you have willingly gone to that party and done all those things on the video."
"What difference does it make now?" David snapped in frustration, his eyes full of pain. "It's over and done with. I can't undo it. I just have to live with it now."
"You already have an awful lot to live with," Benson said softly, watching his head sag lower as he realized they knew about his past. "There was nothing you could do back then to punish the people who hurt you, but you don't have to just let it go this time, David. If Justin drugged you to make you do those things, it's a crime. You have to press charges against him so we can arrest him and put him behind bars, where he can't do the same thing to somebody else."
"I . . . I don't know if I can," he responded in a voice tight with suppressed emotion. "I don't remember what happened. I was going to stay home and study, but maybe Justin convinced me to do it and I just don't want to remember."
"Do you really believe that, David?" Stabler said, stepping forward and crouching beside his partner in front of the young man. "Do you really believe Justin could have convinced you to do those things willingly? We talked to Jessica earlier."
The boy flinched as though he'd been slapped at the mention of the girl's name.
"She told us you don't like to be touched, that you don't like strangers coming up behind you."
Benson reached out to take one of David's hands as Stabler spoke, but he jerked back instinctively before she could make contact.
"I'm sorry," he muttered, "I . . . ."
"You don't like strangers to touch you David, I understand," she said softly. "So do you really believe there's any way you would have let Justin talk you into doing the things on that video with all those strange men - all those strange men who were coming up behind you and touching you in the most intimate places - would you really have allowed that if you'd been in your right mind?"
"No," the word was barely a whisper yet filled with so much pain, Benson felt her heart constrict in her chest.
"Then let us take you to the station and you can file a complaint against him." Stabler said. "We'll put him in jail where he belongs, where he can't hurt you or anybody else that way again."
The young man nodded wearily, his eyes shadowed with pain and sadness, as he pulled himself to his feet to follow the detectives out of the room.
The sound of enraged shouting reached their ears the minute they exited the room. Stabler instinctively reached for his gun when he recognized the voice. "Stay here with David," he said sharply to Benson, giving her a significant look and noting her answering nod that she recognized the voice too.
"It's Justin, isn't it," David said quietly, his face draining of color.
"Just stay back, stay behind me," Benson responded. "Elliot's not going to let him get near you."
Stabler absorbed the brief exchange with the part of his mind that was busy assessing the tactical situation in case there was a fight. The rest of his brain was concentrated on locating the source of the shouting voice, which seemed to be the central nurses station just around the corner. As he drew closer, he flicked the safety strap off his holster and laid his hand on his weapon.
". . . want to see him right now! You have no right to keep me from him!" the shouting voice raged, followed by a woman's voice stating firmly that the shouter needed to leave or she would call security.
"What seems to be the problem here?" Stabler boomed in his most authoritative voice.
Justin turned to confront this new enemy, his hands clenched into fists at his sides in fury, as he started to shout, "This fucking bitch won't let me see . . . ." He stopped cold and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw Stabler standing there with his hand resting on his gun.
"What are you doing here, Justin?"
The nurse interjected quickly, "He was asking for David Gallagher, Detective. When I told him David wasn't accepting visitors, he pitched a fit."
"Is that true, Justin?"
The redhead glared defiantly at him and didn't respond.
"I seem to remember telling you last night that David doesn't want to see you and you are to stay away from him. Didn't I make myself clear?"
"My lawyer said you can't tell me where I can and can't go or who I can see. I'm not under arrest for anything, so you can't tell me what to do."
"Correction, you're not under arrest yet," Stabler said, his cold eyes burrowing into the redhead's. "I intend to rectify that situation shortly."
"Bullshit! I'm not afraid of you, and I'm not leaving until you let me talk to David."
"David doesn't want to talk to you, you've been advised by the nice nurse that your presence is no longer welcome here, and hospital security is on the way up to escort you out of the building. But if you want to continue this little tirade with them, I'll be more than happy to stick around a few more minutes and arrest you for defiant trespass. Nothing would make me happier than to be able to toss you into a nice cozy cell with some of the lesser elements of society. I'm sure they'd have a lot of fun with a pretty little boy like you. But I almost forgot, that is your idea of fun, isn't it?"
Justin's face turned beet red with fury and his hands were clenched so tightly into fists, Stabler expected to see blood start seeping from them any second. "You fucking nazi! I know what you're up to and you're not going to get away with this," Justin snarled. "David and I love each other. You can't keep us apart. We'll find a way to be together no matter what you try to do to us."
Stabler's cold cop eyes never left Justin's face as the boy defiantly tried to stare him down. The detective's unblinking gaze never wavered in the few additional moments it took hospital security to arrive. Justin was finally forced to break the gaze when one of the security guards grabbed his arm.
A cold, satisfied smile spread across Stabler's face as he flashed his badge at the guards. "Stabler, Special Victims Unit. Could you please escort this young man off hospital grounds immediately. If he gives you any trouble, call me on my cellphone right away," he added, handing one of the men his card. "I'll be more than happy to arrest him for defiant trespass."
"Sure," the guard responded sullenly before turning to Justin. "Let's go, kid. It's time to let these nice people get back to work."
"Fuck you, asshole!" Justin snarled.
Stabler pulled out his handcuffs and began tossing them casually in the air, the self-satisfied smirk still pasted on his face.
Graves gave him one more hate-filled glare, then turned and stalked down the corridor flanked by the two security guards.
Stabler waited until they disappeared into the elevator before allowing the smirk to dissolve into a frown of concern.
The nurse looked at him apprehensively and he forced a half smile back onto his face. "You shouldn't have any more trouble from him. My partner and I are taking David Gallagher with us. If anyone calls asking about him, just tell them he's been discharged. If Justin does give you any more trouble, call the station and we'll arrest him."
The nurse nodded acknowledgment, and the detective turned and headed back towards David's room.
When he turned the corner Benson was still standing like a shield in front of Gallagher with her hand on her weapon. "Is he gone?"
"For now," Stabler said. "But on the way downtown I think we need to have a serious discussion about filing for a restraining order," he directed to David.
The young man nodded uncertainly, then asked hesitantly, "I don't mean to cause you any more trouble, but could we stop at my apartment before we go to the station? With everything that's been going on, I missed some classes and a meeting I was supposed to go to about this year's Habitat trip. I'd like to check my messages -- and maybe change into fresh clothes, if I could."
"Sure," Stabler replied, secretly relieved to have an excuse to check how secure the apartment was before allowing Gallagher to return there alone that night.
As they pulled up to the apartment building and got out of the car, the detectives noted it was a six story box-shaped structure with a brick facade. Although the building appeared to be 50 or 60 years old, it was freshly painted, with newer model storm windows throughout, and was surrounded by a carefully tended lawn accentuated by some bushes and colorful fall flowers.
When they entered the building, they checked to make sure the buzzer system was working properly and the locking mechanism on the security door was in good repair and latching properly before heading to the elevator.
They rode in silence until the elevator stopped at the fifth floor. Gallagher led them around the corner to his apartment - 518. As he started to put his key into the lock, they heard a voice from behind the door. Stabler quickly elbowed David away from the door and grabbed the key from him with one hand as he pulled his weapon with the other, then motioned the startled young man to get behind Benson. He quickly turned the key in the lock and went through the door, gun at the ready.
The agitated voice was unmistakably Justin Graves', but it was harsh and grainy. It took Stabler only a moment to realize he was hearing the teen's voice through the answering machine, not in person.
". . . call me back right away, David. Please! You've got to talk to me! I can't believe you're really going to do this to me after all we've been to each other. I can't believe you'd let them put me in jail after I put everything on the line for you. Please call me. We can work this out. I . . . I love you." There was silence for a moment as if Justin were hoping David would pick up the phone, then a click as he hung up and the answering machine disengaged.
Stabler turned to see his partner relaxing from her covering stance behind him and Gallagher framed in the doorway, a look of anguish and misery on his face.
"Why does he keep saying stuff like that?" David's voice was distant and numb. "I just don't understand. I don't understand what's happening. Maybe I'm wrong and this is all just a big misunderstanding. How can we be sure if I don't remember what happened? How can I ask you to put him in jail if I don't know for sure?"
"He's trying to manipulate you, David," Benson said. "Play on your sympathy. You can't let him get away with it."
"Christ," Stabler muttered as he examined the answering machine.
"What is it, Elliot?" Benson asked with concern.
"The answering machine counter says there are 27 messages. How much you want to bet all of them are from him."
"Don't forget Jessica said she's been calling practically every hour since yesterday."
"She has?" David said, clearly surprised.
"Yeah," Benson said. "She's really worried about you. You should call her and let her know you're okay."
"I . . . I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because she'd know it's a lie and she'd want to rush over here to help."
"Maybe you should let her. Jessica asked me to tell you that she knows about the video and that she still loves you and is there for you. She wants to help."
"No. Not after everything that's happened. I can't put her through that. She deserves better than this. Better than me."
"She seems like a pretty level-headed young lady to me," Stabler said. "And pretty strong-willed too. I don't think she's going to appreciate you making this decision for her."
"It's for the best. Can we go now?"
"I thought we came here so you could get changed?"
David looked down at his rumpled clothes as if just seeing them. "Oh, right. Yeah. I guess I should do that," he said, moving toward the bedroom.
"Is there a battery backup in this?" Stabler asked.
"What? David responded from the door to his bedroom.
Stabler pointed at the phone/answering machine unit.
"Oh, yeah, there is. Why?"
"I'd like to take it in with us. See what the messages are. If most of them are from Justin, it might help us in getting the restraining order."
"Whatever you want," David responded dispassionately and disappeared into his bedroom.