Chapter 17
The Captain stepped in so that Olivia and Elliot could head over to the forensic accountant's office. Once they reached their standard issue unmarked sedan, Olivia let out a breath that she didn't even realize she'd been holding.
"I'm not sure that Stephanie should go with her sister just yet," Elliot spoke up as he pulled the car into traffic.
"Doug might be the only thing holding her together at the moment. Maybe if we can get that spreadsheet figured out then we can force Linda into a plea deal," his partner said.
"Let's hope Munch's buddy can manage to crack the weird code," Elliot told her. Olivia just nodded. A lot was riding on that sheet, not only could it prove that Linda was into much more than kidnapping Stephanie, but it might also reveal a web of sickos that were currently loose on the streets.
She felt Elliot's hand on her left thigh and it pulled her from her thoughts. She put her hand over his before saying,
"I'm ok."
"I know you are. In fact, I would say more than ok. I was thinking more like damn fine," Elliot smirked without taking his eyes off the road.
"Your incorrigible," Olivia rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I know," he chuckled. They were almost to the lab where the NYPD's forensic accountants called home.
"What do you think this guy found?" Olivia wanted to know.
"Somehow whatever it is, it won't be good. I can only imagine that if James was alive, he'd be ready to hurt himself. Everything we've found is that he was trying to help his niece in any way he could and it completely blew up on him. In fact, it's probably what got him killed," Elliot said as he pulled the car off the road and into a parking spot next to the building they were looking for.
"But if he was in on the quote unquote kidnapping, then was he really trying? I can't imagine what Kate and Carl have been through," Olivia shook her head as they climbed out of the car and headed inside. They were directed on where to find the man they were looking for and quickly climbed into the elevator.
Once they reached their designated floor, they bumped into a tech as they left the elevator. He quickly gave them directions to the office they were looking for and they thanked him. Winding through the halls of the building, they found the office, and knocked on the door.
"Keith Buziak?" Elliot asked when the door opened. In front of them stood a bespectacled man about their age, wearing a gray cardigan over a button-down shirt, and a pair of black slacks. Olivia noted his dress shoes were immaculately shined.
"Detectives Stabler and Benson," the man smiled.
"I'm Stabler, she's Benson," Elliot clarified.
"Well come on in. I think I found what you were looking for," Keith continued to smile and Olivia figured he really didn't understand what he'd found. The three entered the office and Buziak offered them the seats on the other side of his desk. Grabbing his computer monitor, he turned it toward the seats the detectives were occupying. Keith then sat down and began to explain,
"I spoke to Stephanie's insurance company. They were covering her care in full, once her thousand-dollar deductible was met, every year. Their records indicate that once it became public that she'd been kidnapped, they halted all payments to the group home. Since it was discovered that the group home had been duped, the two companies have been in a nasty legal battle over what care hadn't been paid for yet. While it doesn't help me, you would probably be interested to know that James Lorigo, nor the group home, ever called the insurance company to tell them about the kidnapping. One of their workers knew they did a lot of work with the group home and quickly looked up to see if the missing woman was their patient. Sure enough, they found the records."
"Well, the group home was hoping to still get money from the insurance company so I get why they wouldn't want to admit they goofed. Since all of Stephanie's insurance paperwork was sent to James, he was still receiving paperwork after she disappeared. It wouldn't occur to me to call them. I'd have other things on my mind," Olivia said.
"True enough but soon after Stephanie was kidnapped, James took out a life insurance policy on her. Kind of an odd thing to do. He used some of the money from the trust that was set up after the accident," Keith told them.
"How'd he even get insurance with her missing?" Elliot was confused.
"It would seem that the life insurance company didn't know about Stephanie's kidnapping until I said something. James picked a company with no local office," the accountant said.
"Why do I feel like this is getting shadier and shadier?" Olivia wanted to know.
"Because it is. Since Stephanie was not mentally capable of handling the money, her uncle was set up as the trustee. The money was supposed to only be used for her – doctor visits, group home, prescriptions, classes – those sorts of things. When she we went missing, he claimed the money he was taking out was for posters, private investigators, and the like. The trust holder didn't see anything wrong with that. After all, it was the group home they were paying for obviously wasn't doing a good job," Keith said.
"And let me guess, the money didn't go to any of that," Elliot said.
"Posters, yes, but that was the only thing I found in the finances. The rest of the money… well there is no note or hint of it. It just poof, disappeared," the accountant shook his head.
"Son of a…" Olivia didn't get to finish her thought as her phone rang. She quickly excused herself and stood from her chair, heading for the hall as she answered her phone. The door to the office didn't close all the way as she left the room.
"Mom!" It was Calvin and she could tell by his tone, something was wrong.
"Calvin! What's going on?" Olivia could hear pounding in the background.
"Two guys are trying to get into the apartment! Help!" He knew she was far away, but he knew she'd move heaven and earth to get to him.
"I'm coming right now!" Elliot heard her voice and her shoes heading for the elevator or stairs, whichever was closer. He looked to Keith and told him,
"Call for units to be sent to my partner's apartment," he gave her address to him before continuing, "Ten-thirteen, officer in need of assistance." Keith grabbed his phone and quickly called dispatch. Elliot was out the door and running down the hall to catch up to his partner when he did, she was entering the stairwell. She was holding the phone away from her ear, so she could run down the stairs and hold onto the banister – her heels were not great for running downhill. The noise on the other end of the phone made them stop in their tracks. The noise could not be mistaken – it was a gun shot. Neither could tell if it was happening inside the apartment or not, the stairwell causing a terrible echo.
"Calvin! Calvin!" Olivia was practically screaming - the panic in her voice was unmistakable. Elliot's own stomach dropped at the sudden silence on the other end of the phone.
"Ten-thirteen! Ten-thirteen! They shot Sally!" The neighbor had promised to check in on Calvin before Olivia had gotten home. Elliot didn't have the full story, but it didn't matter as they started running down the stairs again. He whipped out his phone and quickly called dispatch – they were in need of an ambulance.
To Be Continued…
