I Know This One
Chapter 4: Meetings


Hudson University

"How do we even know this kid is on campus?" Olivia asked before stepping out of the car and into the late September sun. For an early fall afternoon, the weather was surprisingly warm and Olivia was taking full advantage of the situation, surrendering her usual dress pants and blouse for a pair of boot cut, comfortable jeans and a lavender tank top.

"I checked with the registrar's office," Elliot answered sliding his sunglasses into place, "Brian is from Tennessee. I doubt he'd be going home every weekend."

"So where do we look for him?"

"We'll try his room first," Elliot suggested. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and read the address. "We're going to Himmel Hall room 418."

"Let's go."


"Brian's not here."

"Any idea where we can find him?" Elliot asked. He was quickly becoming annoyed with the young man's attitude and the overtly loud music playing in the background.

"Try the Science and Engineering Building," the roommate answered. "Kid's a real science geek." Before waiting for an answer from the detectives the young man slammed the door and returned to his bed.

"Thank you very much for your time," Elliot muttered. He turned around seeing Olivia leaning against the opposite wall with a smirk on her face. "What?" he asked.

"That went well," she laughed. The two began back down the hallway passing a pair of students coming the other way.

The students grinned at each other before one reached over and smacked Olivia's backside. "Come visit my room sometime honey?" he said with a leer.

Before Olivia could react, Elliot turned and pinned the boy against the wall his lower arm pressing into the kid's neck.

"What the hell-" he began before Elliot cut him off.

"You know that assaulting a police officer is a serious offense right?" he asked through clenched teeth. "I could haul your ass downtown for that little stunt."

"Whoa I didn't know she was a cop," he defended himself.

"Cop or not that's no way to treat a lady," Elliot sneered. "Apologize…NOW!"

"S-sorry," the kid said. As soon as Elliot loosened his grip the kid took off down the hall and rounded the corner.

"Punk," Elliot mumbled watching the pair disappear. He turned to find Olivia standing with her hands on her hips in the stance that Elliot knew meant trouble. "What?"

"What the hell was that?" Olivia demanded.

"What? I was protecting--"

"I don't need you to protect me Elliot," she interrupted. "I'm a big girl I can take care of myself."

"I'm sorry Liv, it's a reaction," he explained. "With three daughters it just becomes second nature."

"I'm not one of your daughters, El. I'm your partner and I expect to be treated like it," she stormed off.

'How did I just screw that up?' he thought before following the retreating form of his very pissed off partner. "Liv wait up!"

Olivia stopped in her tracks and waited for Elliot to come up beside her. "Look," she started not looking at him, "just forget about it. Sorry I flipped back there, let's just find this kid." Elliot nodded his approval, making a mental note to ask his partner about her personal life later.


Science and Engineering Building
Hudson University

"Excuse me, do you know where we can find a Brian Beckner?" Olivia asked.

The woman at the front desk looked up from her computer and sized Olivia up. Deciding that she was worth the time, she flipped through a few pages in the binder next to her. "He's signed in to laboratory six, down the hall, second door from the end on your right."

"Thank you," Olivia added sweetly before heading off in the direction she was given. "So how do we want to play this?"

"Well from what Maureen told me he's not exactly a lady's man so why don't you let me do the questioning?" Elliot suggested.

"You got it."

As the partners entered the room, the distinct smell of sulfur invaded their senses causing both of them to cough slightly, drawing the attention of the young man perched over one of the many black lab tables.

"Can I help you?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"You Brian?" Elliot asked trying to regain his composure.

"That's me," he said, quickly adding, "who the hell are you?"

"NYPD," he said flashing his badge knowing that Olivia was doing the same behind him. "We need to ask you a few questions. Where were you Wednesday night?"

"Here till about 9, then back to my room," Brian answered.

"Can anyone vouch as to your whereabouts?"

"This place was pretty deserted, not really the coolest hangout on campus."

"What about your roommate?" Elliot asked. He wasn't sure what it was about this kid but something just rubbed him the wrong way.

"Mark?" Brian laughed before turning back to his work. "He was out partying, didn't get back till 3."

"On a Wednesday night? Who goes to a party in the middle of the week?"

"Believe me," Brian laughed, "Mark doesn't need a reason to party. I put in for a roommate transfer but nothing has come yet." An uncomfortable silence fell in the room, the only sound in the large room was the hum of a Bunsen burner. "Do you mind telling me what this is all about?"

"Melody Banks was murdered Wednesday night," Elliot said waiting for the younger man's reaction.

"Yeah I heard about that," Brian said. "It's terrible, she was a sweet girl, kinda quiet."

His voice held no emotion what so ever but Elliot noticed that Brian never looked him straight in the eyes once Melody's name had been brought up. "So you knew her?"

"She was in my Chemistry class," Brian answered, "can't say I knew her though."

Elliot nodded, "Thank you for your time."

"No problem."

Once outside the laboratory's doors Olivia, who had been silently observing the whole interview, turned to her partner and asked, "You buy it?"

"Oh absolutely not," Elliot sighed. "Let's check his alibi."

"I'll get Munch on it," Olivia said. A smile graced her face as she stepped out of the building and into the warm sunshine. Sliding her sunglasses back into place, she flipped her cell open and dialed Munch's number.


Apartment of Olivia Benson

'What happened to all the sitcoms?' Olivia thought as she sat staring at the television across from her. 'It's all reality TV and cop dramas. I get enough of that in my actual life, I don't need it from TV too.'The sound of the buzzer caused her jump wondering who would be at her door at this hour. Reluctantly she climbed off the couch and over to the wall, pushing the button and answering, "Who is it?"

Olivia thought as she sat staring at the television across from her. The sound of the buzzer caused her jump wondering who would be at her door at this hour. Reluctantly she climbed off the couch and over to the wall, pushing the button and answering, "Who is it?"

"Olivia? It's Maureen, can I talk to you?"

"Sure," Liv answered a bit bewildered, "come on up." She pressed the button to unlock the door and waited for Maureen's knock on her front door. It wasn't but two minutes before her partner's eldest daughter was standing in her living room. "Can I get you anything? Coffee, tea, hot chocolate?"

"Hot chocolate sounds wonderful," Maureen smiled. She took a seat on Olivia's couch and waited for the older woman to return with two mugs full of steaming liquid. Maureen took a sip gingerly, careful not to burn her tongue, and was surprised by the flavor. "Wow this is good. What do you put in it?"

"Cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg," Olivia answered taking a sip from her own mug before setting it on the coffee table in front of her. "But let's be honest here Maureen, you didn't come all the way here for my recipes."

Maureen smiled before setting her mug beside Olivia's, "No I didn't, but you said I could talk to you anytime-"

"And I meant it," Olivia wanted to make her feel welcome, because she knew it would make it easier for Maureen to confide in her. "So what's on your mind?"

"Nate," Maureen said simply.

"Oh," Olivia thought of the best way to approach the subject. "If you're looking for relationship advice I may not be the best person to talk to. As you may have noticed I spend my nights on my couch drinking hot chocolate and watching old reruns of Bewitched."

"Doesn't sound like that bad of a life," Maureen laughed. "But what I want to know is something you can help me with." The young woman fought for the right words to introduce her thoughts, "I want to know why you and dad needed to question Nate. I mean he barely even knew Mel."

Olivia paused, she knew she shouldn't tell Maureen about the pictures, knew that Elliot would kill her if she did. But Maureen was a big girl and she deserved to know what was happening to the people she loved. "Maureen, when your father and I were searching through the vict-Melody's room we found a stash of pictures she kept in her dresser."

Maureen searched Olivia's face for any hint as to where the conversation was leading, but of course she was in cop mode just like her father had done the day he told her about Mel. "But what does that have to do with Nate?"

"All the pictures were of him," Olivia sighed. She decided not to wait for the younger girl's response before continuing, "Apparently she had been stalking him for quite some time."

Silence engulfed the room as Maureen sat there and stared at Olivia as if she had grown another head. Blue eyes bore into brown as the staring match continued. "Are you serious? You've got to be kidding, I mean that's just crazy talk," Maureen laughed. She jumped up from the couch and began to pace between the couch and the chair that Olivia sat on.

"Maureen--"

"No, this is nuts," the girl laughed, sounding a bit more like a choked sob. "This can't be happening, not to him. He's not supposed to get involved in this kind of thing, he's not…" The sentence trailed off as Maureen halted her pacing and wrapped her arms around herself; a single tear rolled down her cheek which she promptly wiped away.

Not knowing what else to do, Olivia stood up and approached the girl wrapping her arms around her. She had expected the girl to pull away, but surprisingly Maureen leaned into the embrace and let her tears fall freely.

"Shh, it's going to be okay," Liv soothed her sobs.

"This isn't how it's supposed to happen," she choked out.

"How what is supposed to happen honey?" Liv asked.

"This. Life," Maureen pulled back and resumed her seat on the couch, picking up her mug and taking another sip to calm herself. "I really thought we had something special. We talked about marriage, nothing serious, but…I don't know…I really like him. I could see myself spending the rest of my life with him." She suddenly had no idea why she was sharing this information with her father's partner, but Maureen had no one else to turn to. She hadn't been close to her mother since the divorce, and there was no way in hell she was going to talk to her father about her boyfriend problems.

A long silence filled the room, during which each party contemplated their situation. Olivia had never been and expert on relationships, most of her own ended within months of their beginnings, but she really wanted to help Maureen. She couldn't very well tell her to run away and get married, that would be like signing her own death certificate.

"Maureen, I don't know how I can help you but," she paused momentarily choosing her words carefully, "I'll always be here if you need to talk." 'That was a lame answer,' she chided herself. 'This girl opens up to you and all you can say is I'm here?'

"Thank you," Maureen whispered before gathering her discarded jacket and slipping it on. She walked over to Olivia and gave her a hug kissing her softly on the cheek before heading for the door. She stopped before leaving and turned back, "Hey Liv?"

"Yeah?"

"You won't tell my dad about any of this will you?" she asked nervously. It wasn't that she didn't trust her father, but she just wasn't sure how he would handle it.

"Don't worry," Liv smiled, "this is just between us girls."


Okay there you have it. You know how this relationship works: you read, you review, I write more, you read, and so on. Don't break the chain!