Chapter Three: Meeting

16th Precinct

Manhattan SVU

4:48 P.M., March 15, 2006

"So, what have we got on this lady?" Elliot asked, staring at the drawing, obviously deeply disturbed by it. He'd returned from court intending to grab his things and go home to do some laundry. Since the divorce, he and Kathy had worked out an agreement that let him have the kids two weekends a month and every other Wednesday, but for scheduling purposes, it had been easier for Cragen to give him that afternoon off every week. Today, though, the captain had called him into his office and told him the most peculiar story.

Needing to focus him on the discussion, Cragen gently pulled the paper from his hands and slid it into a folder. The team had been huddled in the observation room for about ten minutes as the mysterious woman sat on the other side of the one-way glass, still drawing.

"Well, either the name or the address is phony," Fin said. "No one called Veronica Austin lives on East 67th Street anywhere in the neighborhood she mentioned. No family by that name, either. But we do have fourteen hits in the state, mostly in the five boroughs, that we are checking out. From there, we'll move onto New Jersey."

"Did you check the local hospitals and mental facilities?" Elliot asked, a hum in his voice like a high-tension wire. "She could be just a crackpot who wandered off."

"We're working on it," Don said. "But that still doesn't explain how she knows you."

"She does not know me!" Elliot snapped.

Cragen put his hands up defensively. "Knows who you are, knows where you work, whatever. It doesn't explain why she's here looking for you."

Elliot nodded, looking contrite. "Sorry," he apologized. Looking to Huang, he asked, "Doc, what kind of a read did you get on her?"

Huang shrugged. "She seems harmless, a little confused, very vague, but I don't sense any underlying pathology, at least nothing threatening."

"Nothing threatening?" Munch echoed questionably. "I should have had you check my blood pressure when I was done talking to her. Only a career politician could use more words and say less!"

Huang and Fin smiled slightly at the comment, but Elliot remained all business.

"Could she be working with someone?" he demanded.

"It's always possible, but to what end?" Cragen asked.

"Hell, I don't know. Maybe I've pissed someone off and they want me twisting!"

"Maybe?" Olivia quipped, trying to lighten the moment.

Elliot scowled at her, but the sympathy in her eyes and the quirk at the corner of her mouth were irresistible. He had friends who would help him, protect him if necessary, and that knowledge finally made him smile, if only a little.

"Ok, that's a given," he admitted, his tone calmer than it had been a moment before. "But who would take it this far? And if she's in on it, how could she possibly fool the captain, Munch, and the doc?"

"I don't know," Liv suggested, "but we should probably start looking at your old cases."

"Especially the ones that involved wackos instead of just run of the mill perverts," John recommended.

"Ya think?" Elliot said with a look that admonished him for stating the obvious, and John shrugged, understanding why his colleague was a bit irritable.

"Did we have any luck getting her prints?" Fin asked.

"I called CSU," Munch said. "Millie Vizcarrando came down here and tested the drawing, but there were no useable prints. She took a sample strip of paper from it to test back at the lab. Said she'll call when she has anything."

"Millie?" Elliot inquired.

"Haven't you noticed?" Fin asked with a teasing grin. "She's been sweet on you ever since you helped her with that kid she was trying to find a name for."

The comment didn't have the desired effect. Elliot just scowled again. They'd found the killer, given four families of missing children closure, if not peace, and reunited a pair of star-crossed lovers, but they hadn't gotten a name for the boy in the box.

"Ok, then," Don said, taking control. "Liv, Elliot, start sifting through your old cases. See if anything rings a bell. Fin, keep working on your search. See if you can find someone who knows this woman. Munch, take over calling the hospitals. Doc, would you mind talking to her and seeing if you can get any more information out of her?"

"Actually, Captain," George replied. "I'm thinking Elliot should be the one to talk to her."

"Why?" Elliot asked, his unease showing in the one word. "Besides the obvious, I mean."

"Well, if the obvious is, because she's fixated on you, then I would say, besides that, she might be more open and willing to talk if we give her what she wants." When Elliot looked incredulous, he added, "She has only expressed concern for your well-being. She might be relieved to see that you're ok."

Looking to his captain, Elliot got a shrug. "Couldn't hurt," Don said. "If you're up to it."

Too proud to admit that he was seriously creeped out, Elliot took a deep, calming breath and said, "Ok. How should I approach her?"

The shrink shrugged slightly. "I'd say be casual. As far as anyone knows right now, she's just a member of the public asking to speak to you."

Folding his arms and sighing, Elliot said, "All right, then, let's see what we get."