Chapter 10

"Calvin! Sweetie!" Olivia shouted for the boy she felt was her son as she entered the apartment that night. Right behind her was Stephanie. Her sister and brother-in-law were trying to get to the city as quickly as they could but that would probably not be until late the next day. With nowhere to go and Olivia not feeling comfortable dropping her off with social services, the detective decided that one night at her place was the best course of action. Huang agreed. Any more changes in Stephanie's life and she could shut down entirely. They had had to tell her that both Alan and her Uncle James were dead and the poor mentally challenged woman had almost shut down on them.

"Hi Mom!" Calvin came out of his room and down to the living room to meet her. He stopped when he realized that they had company.

"This is Stephanie, she's going to stay with us tonight. Her family won't be in town until tomorrow," Olivia didn't get into too many details as he moved closer to them.

"Well nice to meet you," Calvin smiled and stuck out a hand. Stephanie smiled slightly and took his hand in a handshake.

"Nice to meet you," she said.

"Look I ordered dinner already but I'm sure that if I call Mr. Liu up, he'd add something to our order, no problem," Calvin told them.

"You like Chinese food Stephanie?" Olivia asked.

"I like Sesame Chicken. Alan used to eat my broccoli," she said. Calvin went for the phone and quickly dialed up the Lucky Duck restaurant. Olivia figured that being on a first name basis with the owner, Mr. Hong Liu, was probably something to address for a later date.

"Let's get some plates and silverware," Olivia suggested and she moved toward the kitchen cupboards. Stephanie followed and she took the plates from the detective and set them down on the kitchen table.

"Mr. Liu says he'll make sure to add some Sesame Chicken without the broccoli," Calvin smiled as he got off the phone.

"He's too good to us," Olivia said handing Stephanie the silverware. Calvin nodded and went to the fridge.

"What would you like to drink Stephanie? We have water, milk, juice, pop…" he offered.

"Water, please," the handicapped woman said. Calvin grabbed some glasses out of the cupboard before filling up one for Stephanie and getting some juice for himself. He then asked Olivia what she'd like and she decided on water. There was a knock at the door and the detective quickly went to answer it while Stephanie sat down at the table.

"El," Olivia was surprised to see him but quickly let him in.

"Sorry for dropping by but… can we talk in private for a minute or two?" He wondered after toeing off his shoes.

"Hi Elliot," Stephanie smiled at him.

"Hi Stephanie. I'm going to borrow Olivia for a couple of minutes. Is that ok?" He asked. She nodded and the two quickly ducked down the hall to Olivia's bedroom. It had been a long day and he plopped down on the bed. His partner quickly sat down next to him.

"What's going on El?" She asked.

"We concluded the search of James Lorigo's apartment. We've asked for his phone records and a look at his bank accounts," he started.

"Ok, but didn't he die of natural causes? I mean he was not in great shape. Why the extra mile?" Olivia was confused.

"Melinda wasn't ready to rule on anything until she got the body back to the morgue. So, we made sure that we scoured the entire apartment, looking for anything that could tie him to Stephanie's kidnapping. If only to quell what Munch, Fin, and I were worried about," Elliot explained.

"You think that James had something to do with Stephanie's kidnapping?" His partner couldn't believe it.

"It gets worse, we may have found the proof. Before we get there though, it turns out James did not go quietly into that good night," he told her. Olivia's eyes went wide before he continued,

"Melinda found a needle mark on James. She's running a tox screen but there's a good chance he was poisoned."

To Be Continued…