7:45 a.m.

Special Victims Unit Squad Room

Tuesday June 28

Olivia entered the squad room to find Elliot already there, staring intently at something on his desk. Olivia cursed under her breath when she realized what it was he was looking at. Sitting in front of him was the clear evidence bag containing the white box…and the note. "Do your 'blank' notes always contain messages Olivia?" Elliot asked sarcastically as she sat down.

"Where'd you get that?" Olivia asked, avoiding his eyes.

"CSU dropped it off, no prints, not even a partial. They figure the guy wore gloves while he wrote his 'blank' message." Elliot snapped.

Olivia sighed. "Elliot, I'm sorry I didn't tell you what the note said. I just, didn't think you'd find it relevant to our investigation…"

"You didn't think I'd find the fact that someone was threatening my partner relevant?" he asked incredulously.

"Please just drop it Elliot, it wasn't even a threat." Olivia answered shortly.

" 'My dearest Olivia, see you soon'…it's pretty hard to ignore what that's implying." he replied angrily.

"Elliot, can you just stop worrying about me for one minute? I'm not a civilian; I can take care of myself…" Olivia was cut short by the appearance of Captain Donald Cragen.

"So, where are we on the Jane Doe from last night?" he asked his two detectives.

"Caucasian female, early twenties, raped, beaten and strangled sometime between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. M.E. should have more details by now; we're on our way over to meet her." Olivia answered.

"Anything else?" Cragen asked, his eyes flitting to the evidence bag on Stabler's desk.

Elliot glanced at his partner. Her eyes were begging him, pleading with him to keep his mouth shut. He sighed; sometimes he hated those eyes of hers. "No, that's all we've got." he answered.

"Well then, I guess you two had better get to work", their Captain replied bluntly.


8:30 a.m.

One Police Plaza

Tuesday, June 28

Olivia and Elliot arrived at the coroner's office a short while later. They stepped into the autopsy room to find Warner completing the report on their victim. While they waited for her to finish up, the two detectives glanced over the Jane Doe's body. Neither of them had really gotten a good look at the victim at the crime scene, the white box having attracted most of their attention. As Elliot took in the young woman's features, he couldn't help but notice how much she resembled his partner, right down to the hair cut. His brain was suddenly flooded with terrible images of a badly beaten Olivia lying dead on the slab in front of him. The sound of the M.E.'s voice made him jump.

"You ready?" Warner asked, slightly impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah…what have you got for us?" Stabler replied hastily.

"Well for starters, I've got a name. I ran her fingerprints through the system and came up with a hit off a workplace prints card. 'Ainslie White', lives in Manhattan, address is in there." Warner said as she handed a computer printout on Ainslie White over to Olivia.

"So what can you tell us about cause of death?" Elliot asked as Olivia looked over the print-out.

"Preliminary cause of death remains strangulation with a thin ligature, most likely the black cord found at the crime scene. However, she took a pretty good beating before hand" the M.E. answered, motioning to the extensive bruising on Ainslie White's body. "Also, lividity indicates she died on her back, but we found her face down. So either the killer turned her over or…"

"Dump job" Elliot cut in.

"Exactly", Warner replied before continuing. "I also found traces of Chloroform in her system, along with small cotton fibers lodged in her throat. It's most likely she was subdued with a Chloroform-soaked rag. My guess is your perp knocked her out and transported her somewhere, where he raped and killed her. Then he loaded her body back into the vehicle and dumped her in the alley she was discovered in."

"Okay" Olivia said, speaking for the first time since she'd received the print-out. "Anything else?"

"There is one thing…" Warner began, the confusion evident in her voice. "I found several long hairs on your victim's body. I had my lab tech run them for DNA, but he couldn't come up with anything. They had no roots, so, they were no good for DNA; but from the strand colour, type, and width, he said it was safe to assume they belonged to White…"

"So the perp pulled some of her hair out in the struggle, what's so strange?" Elliot asked.

"That's the thing. These hairs hadn't been pulled out…they'd been cut, most likely with scissors."

"Are you telling us he cut her hair?" Elliot asked, obviously surprised. Warner shrugged.

"Until the evidence tells me otherwise…it looks that way."

"But…why?" Elliot questioned.

"I tell you the who, the when, the how and the with what…the why is up to you guys." the M.E. answered simply.

Bewildered, Olivia and Elliot exited the coroner's office and headed for their car. It wasn't until they had started driving that Elliot noticed how unusually quiet Olivia was. Debating the possible outcomes, Elliot decided to risk asking her about it.

"Hey Liv, you okay?" he inquired, attempting to sound as casual as possible.

"Hu? Oh, oh yeah I'm fine." Olivia answered totally unconvincingly.

Elliot decided to press her. "You sure…you've been quiet ever since Warner gave you her print-out on Ainslie White."

Olivia sighed; there was little she could keep from Elliot Stabler. "Look, I'm sure it's nothing…"

He gave her a stern look. "Forgive me if I don't take your word for it."

Olivia sighed. "Apparently Ainslie White is a trainer at Bluesdale Fitness on 5th Avenue; that's where the work card was from. That's uh, that's my gym. I go there, after work…three or four times a week usually…" her voice trailed off. "…I just, can't believe I didn't recognize her." she added hastily.

Elliot let this new information sink in. He knew the fact that Olivia hadn't recognized the victim wasn't what was really troubling her. Ainslie White may not have ever been working the days Olivia visited the gym. No, that wasn't it at all. The fact that Ainslie White worked at Olivia's gym period was the problem. With the white box, the rose, and the stalkeresque note fresh in their minds; could they really chalk the victim's ties to Olivia up to coincidence?