Disclaimer: Not Mine-- see chapter one.
A/N: Well, that was faster than I'd planned. Was having trouble uploading things last night, so had to type them up and do it now. This chapter is a little longer, but I assure you they will get longer, or at the very least, there will be more :) Hope you enjoy.
12:24 pm
Detective Olivia Benson stepped over a pink lace bra and came to a halt beside her partner. She exhaled slowly and glanced up at Elliot Stabler's face; his crystal-blue eyes fixed on the still, pale form of the young woman displayed before them.
"Best friend says they were meeting some guys to go for lunch; let herself in with the emergency key when the vic didn't answer the door" Olivia broke the chilled silence.
Elliot flicked his gaze down to meet hers.
"They were running late" Olivia finished.
Elliot nodded; cleared his throat.
"Jugular was slashed—she bled out". He raised a hand to gesture in the victim's direction. "No underwear, but there's semen".
Olivia looked up, the unspoken question visible in her eyes. After seven years working in tandem, her intent was clear; Elliot nodded again.
"Gone to the lab—CSU's got us on speed dial".
Olivia swept her chestnut gaze over the body of the 18 year old victim before her—A beautiful thing with long, curling, mahogany hair and lifeless hazel eyes. Letting her eyes wander, she took in the surrounding room: soft, muted yellow walls; half-wilted sunflowers in a red vase next to the bed; orange gossamer curtains the color of a country sunset. Sensing her partners impending movement, Olivia stepped over the pink lingerie once again and exited the room.
"Mary Westcott" Olivia intoned privately as the pair approached the 5'10" young woman hunched painfully at the end of a worn white sofa. A knitted afghan swathed her slender shoulders which had finally stopped shaking. Mary had ceased crying however her cheeks bore the faint bruises left by spoiled mascara.
Olivia approached the woman slowly, taking a seat in the ivory recliner opposite.
"Mary, I'm Detective Benson, this is Detective Stabler" she said softly, evoking no noticeable response from the blonde.
"Can you tell us what you told the officer?"
The ashen woman blinked her heavy lashes and exhaled briskly, forcing her gaze to meet Olivia.
"Rob and I were going for lunch –Benitos, down on seventh? I came to pick her up. I knocked…" she paused briefly to lick her full bottom lip, "but there was no answer".
Mary exhaled slowly and let her body relax slightly against the sofa.
"I could hear the TV. I figured she was in the bathroom priming—such a glamourpuss" Mary chuckled once before seemingly chocking on the sound. She cleared her throat and continued.
"I knocked again, and when there was no answer, I let myself in".
"With your emergency key?" Olivia asked gently.
Mary re-focused her ivy orbs on the detective and nodded stiffly—"Yes, um… yes".
Elliot took a tentative step forward—"What made you use the key?" he questioned in a practiced tone.
Mary looked up at him as if noticing his presence for the fist time. She knit her brow, clearly confused.
"Was there anything other than the TV that made you feel there could have been something wrong with Robin?" he clarified.
Mary shook her head, blonde locks falling over her covered shoulders.
"No" she sniffed, "no. I use it all the time—I might as well live here, often as I'm over. Robin and I have known each other since we were nine—we're practically sisters".
Elliot nodded, the corner of his mouth dipping upward into a soft, sympathetic smile.
"So when you came into the apartment, what did you do?" Olivia queried gently, drawing Mary's attention to her once again.
Mary closed her rose-painted lids and exhaled heavily—"I, um… I turned off the TV and went to the bathroom to find her".
Olivia nodded, listening.
"The curling iron was plugged in, but she wasn't there". Mary paused. "I went back down the hall to check the bedroom and…" fresh tears began to gather in the green pools of her eyes, "and that's…" her voice faded to a whisper, "that's where I found her".
A renegade tear freed itself and slipped silently down her ashen cheek which she brushed away roughly.
"And then?" Elliot asked carefully.
Mary cleared her aching throat and forced herself to straighten—"I called the police and here we are".
"You didn't touch anything?" Olivia questioned. "You didn't go to her or move anything in the room?"
Mary shook her heavy head—"No. I couldn't move at first; couldn't set foot in that room. She was so pale, and there was so much blood—I called to her, but…" she paused briefly, clearly reliving the moment "she didn't answer. I came away from the door and used the phone there". She pointed to the black cordless sitting idle on the nearby kitchen counter.
Olivia nodded slowly.
"You told the officer you and Robin were going for lunch with some guys?"
Mary nodded and brushed a free strand of hair from her eyes—"Yes".
"Who?" Olivia probed.
"This guy Matt. He's in Rob's Sociology class; he's been hounding her for a date for months. She finally said yes so he was brining along a friend—we were going to double".
Olivia looked up and met her partner's gaze.
"Mary", Olivia turned again to face the woman in front of her, "do you know Matt's last name?"
A/N: Wow-- that was two pages on my Word Document!
