A/N… Thanks again, reviewers! This is kind of transitioning into the next part. I'm already pretty happy with chapters 8 and 9. :)
I know some of you are concerned about E/O, but trust me, this is going to start to get better. I wouldn't put these two to such a test if I didn't believe in what they have. They can handle a few bumps in the road. When the stuff starts really hitting the fan, there's only one person they'll want in their corner—each other. ;)
x x x
"It's your suspect, Clayton Oldbridge…"
"What is it?"
"Guard found him unconscious down in lock-up… He's dead."
"What the hell?" Olivia exclaims. "What happened?"
"Looks like he took something," the guard replies. "Probably suicide. You know how these guys can get when they're facing hard time. Anyway, Officer Jacobs noticed a problem with one of the security cameras. He went to check it out and found Clayton in there, convulsing. Then he just collapsed. Jacobs says he tried CPR, but couldn't revive him. So he came and found me. I just called the Tower PD and the coroner's office. Officer Jacobs is letting Judge Carter know."
She notes the guard's name tag—'L.R. Smith.'
"You really think it's a suicide?" Olivia asks. She already knows it can't be. He wouldn't kill himself when there's a pending investigation which could clear him of four murder charges. She decides to keep that bit of information to herself for the time being.
"Well…no, not with any certainty," Officer Smith replies. "Maybe someone slipped something into his breakfast this morning at Sheldon Arc and he's slow to react? Or hell… Maybe it was an allergic reaction," he adds with a shrug. "As you can tell, it's not really my area of expertise."
A heaviness settles inside of her, as she and Officer Smith walk back toward lock-up together. "How can this be?" she ponders, still mostly in shock. "Detective Stabler and I left Clay alone with his attorney and another security officer. We were in another part of the courthouse for…maybe fifteen or twenty minutes?"
"I saw Mr. McCray just before I returned to the guard shack," Smith recalls. "He was talking to Judge Carter outside his chambers. And no one is allowed in lock-up without official ID or an accompaniment."
She nods.
"According to Jacobs, no one else was back there." Smith stops walking suddenly. "Wait a second… Who was this other officer with you, Detective Stabler and Mr. McCray?"
She attempts to recall the name, "I believe the name tag said…'Zemke? or Zenke?' Early to mid-twenties, about 6 feet tall, large build, dark hair, glasses, goatee… Didn't say much. Just accompanied us to lock-up."
Smith shrugs. "Doesn't ring a bell. Probably one of the new guys they just hired from Litner County Correctional. I'll have to track this newbie down and find out if he saw anything unusual."
They continue on and reach the holding cell just as the crime scene unit is arriving.
Smith gazes over the scene and sighs. "We'll get to the bottom of this." Then he leaves her alone with the techs.
She looks over Clay's lifeless body.
How the hell could this have happened?
It could have been some disgruntled member of Holly's family. She couldn't rule that out.
There's also Clay's admission of sexual assault and Major Case's theories. They'd have to start with cause of death to put any of this into perspective.
A young female CSU tech crosses in front of her, squats down on the floor beside Clay and puts on a pair of gloves. She peeks under each eye lid, touches along his jaw and quickly checks the inside of his mouth. Then she looks back at the corners of his mouth, touching the film on his lips. "Definitely some kind of fast-working toxin," she notes, leaning closer to the body, "But I'm not detecting any specific odor, which could be any number of substances. Although…hmmm…" she pauses… "There is something kind of sweet… Like maybe he had a Coke or something syrupy? Could have made himself a deadly cocktail. Someone probably slipped him something at Sheldon Arc and he pocketed it for later." She stands up again, removes her gloves, and wanders over to Olivia shaking her head. "These guys in lock-up normally go for the guard's gun or find something to hang themselves. This one sure didn't take the easy way out," she comments with a shrug.
This isn't her case and she doesn't have the right to interfere in their investigation. But she can't stand the thought of someone passing this off as a suicide.
The tech starts to leave and Olivia catches her by the arm. "Maybe it's not a suicide… Could you do me a favor and check his mouth again? Look for cloth fibers in case someone shoved a rag inside."
The CSU tech eyes Olivia skeptically. "I've seen more suicides in this place than anyone should have to. I can almost bet that this is what happened." She pulls out another pair of gloves and squats back down. "I didn't see any cloth fibers, but I'll check again."
"Thanks," Olivia replies. "And check for an injection site over the exposed skin, in case the toxin was transmitted that way."
Moments later, Olivia wanders out of there in a somber haze.
No sign of cloth fibers and no injection site. After the medical examiner arrives, she assures her she'll examine him carefully.
"Olivia!"
She's almost to the guard shack when she glances up and sees Geoff walking briskly toward her.
"I just heard about Clay… What the hell?" There's distress and confusion in his eyes, which mirrors how she feels right then.
"When did you leave lock-up?" she asks immediately.
"Only about a minute after you and Stabler did. I went to talk to Judge Carter. I had my office sending over the motion for a postponement. Dunhurst, Stabler and I were in Carter's office talking," he recalls. "Then one of the guards from lock-up comes in and tells us Clay was dead. Said it looked like a suicide…" He shakes his head and shifts his weight, unanswered questions and more distress are rising in him until he can barely stand still.
Olivia sniffles, her eyes welling with tears as she recalls how Clay began to trust her.
She assured him that everything would be okay...
Geoff's bewildered gaze finally drifts over to his detective friend. Seeing her teary-eyed and lost, he opens his arms and embraces her.
Stepping back a moment later, he looks at her with concern. "Are you okay?"
She sniffles and wipes her eyes. "I feel a little responsible for this, Geoff…"
He shakes his head quizzically. "You had nothing to do with this!"
"One of the Major Case detectives suspected that James might come after Clayton if he identified him. I should have put him in witness protection."
"It's not your fault, and Clay was in lock-up. We're probably getting ahead of ourselves here. How would James or anyone else, get in there without another guard seeing him?"
"I don't know…."
"They'll check security cameras, interview the guards, and find out if someone got in under the radar. But in the meantime, we still don't know what killed him. Maybe it wasn't even James? Could be some member of Holly's family—God knows how much those people hated him," he mutters spitefully.
Olivia nods. She takes a couple breaths, wipes her eyes and tries to regroup. "Okay…so you left about a minute after us. Did you see the guard leave?"
He nods. "He followed me to the door and locked it behind him."
"Did you notice him after that?"
"I lost track of him. I assumed he went back to the guard shack, but I wasn't paying attention. Went to retrieve a fax, then to talk to Judge Carter."
"Wait a second… CSU said they noticed something syrupy by his mouth. Like he just had Coke, Diet Coke or something…? I was in there with him for maybe thirty or forty minutes. I went to look for you and took a call from one of the Major Case detectives..." she recalls. "We went back in there to see him, and he still didn't have any bottles or cans with him. So when did he have something to drink?"
"Dr. Pepper," Geoff corrects, rolling his eyes.
"Huh?"
"It's irrelevant in the grand scheme of things…but that's probably what he had. It's Clay's version of coffee. He's addicted to the stuff. Probably sweet-talked a family member or someone and they found him some. He's good at that. I usually end up bringing a couple bottles whenever I would visit him at Sheldon Arc. It helped to break the ice when we first met. He chugs half of it down before I can even get my jacket off," Geoff recalls.
Her eyes widen as something occurs to her.
"What is it?"
She tugs her phone out of her pocket and anxiously searches through her messages until she finds the pictures Eames emailed to her. "Sonofabitch!" Olivia huffs agitatedly. "It's the guard…"
"What?"
"Detective Goren was right, James stayed close by." She hands Geoff her phone, showing the pictures she received from Detective Eames.
"He impersonated a security guard…?" he remarks incredulously. "What the hell?"
"Same height, same build… Probably colored his hair and fixed his appearance so no one could tell them apart."
"Well, the guard didn't say much…" He hands the phone back to her shaking his head. "He was standing right there with us the whole time. Probably figured out that Clay had ID'ed him."
Olivia nods. "He waited until we were gone, brought Clay a bottle laced with some toxin, then took off with the evidence and pitched it somewhere, leaving Clay there to die," she suggests.
"What about the security cameras?" Geoff interjects.
"They're already checking footage and security log—" Her widen as another thought occurs to her. "Guard said there was a problem with one of the cameras in the holding cell earlier… He probably bumped it so no one would discover Clay until the toxin took effect."
"Gave him a smoke screen," Geoff agrees.
"Come on…" She nudges him to follow her, " I want to show a couple pictures around to the security officers and the Tower PD. Then we'll talk to CSU and make sure someone's checking trash cans for an open bottle of Dr. Pepper."
x x
The entire courthouse is under lock down pending a preliminary investigation.
Visitors, court personnel, attorneys, police officers and media personnel all wore similar expressions of confusion and anxiety. There is a lot of speculation circulating over the cause of death, but no real answers.
After speaking with CSU, Olivia and Geoff leave the crime scene, talking about random things and trying to distract each other from the more distressing news.
Moments later, they pass the guard station, the front entrance, and enter the main corridor of the courthouse.
Almost immediately, Elliot spots the two of them walking together.
When her eyes drift over in Elliot's direction, she almost stops talking mid-sentence. Geoff follows her gaze, instantly picking up on the tension.
Elliot walks toward them purposefully, stopping when he's about a foot away. Leveling his eyes at hers, he says, "I suppose you think I had something to do with this."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Clay's death."
"How?"
"I don't know…you tell me. You're the one who has this whole case figured out," he fires back sarcastically.
He's almost inviting her to dispute the matter with him. She doesn't. She folds her arms and glares at him. "You weren't there when it happened, Elliot. You were too busy telling me what a lousy partner I am."
He shakes his head and walks away.
She's finding it difficult not to tear up again.
Geoff's eyes trail from Elliot back to Olivia. Picking up on her distress, he puts his hand on her shoulder and leads her toward the staircase. "Come on…I'll buy you a cup of coffee and a scone."
She eyes him quizzically. "The place is under lock down."
"The coffee bar is downstairs," he explains.
"I didn't know they had a coffee bar in here?"
"Yeah, they must not want any coffee addicts to find out about it," he says dryly. "They also have tea, muffins, donuts, espresso—pretty much anything you'd need to survive a morning in court."
x x
After they exit the coffee bar, and wander through the lowest level of the courthouse.
The lowest level is almost empty. Definitely quieter than the main floor.
"This is all Juvenile and family court," Geoff informs her when he sees her looking around.
"Docket must be a little light," she remarks.
A little further up the corridor are the courtrooms. He spots an open bench, gestures toward it and they sit down.
He listens with a smile, as she tells him a little more about her fellow detectives. Fin and his investigation style. Munch and his conspiracy theories. The way Munch and Fin pick at each other. Captain Cragen who runs a tight ship. They're her family.
He senses that missing piece without her saying it. "So, what's going on with you and Stabler?" he interjects at a break in her conversation.
She sighs, then briefly glances away before she lowers her head.
"Look… I don't mean to pry. I just don't like to see you upset."
"There's nothing to say. We used to be the best of friends. Now we're not really getting along," she explains. "We've been close for so long, I think it's a tough adjustment."
"Can I give you my perspective?"
She shrugs. "Sure."
"Elliot's a lot like Clayton was. They disliked each other because they only saw the other as violent and cruel. Oddly, they couldn't be more alike. Just that…one abuses with his hands, the other chooses angry words."
"Okay...?" She wonders where he's going with this.
"They lash out at the ones they love because it's easier than admitting that they're scared to lose them. Clay loved Holly. He really didn't have the emotional support from his family, so she mattered to him more than anyone. But he was possessive and that pushed her away. When he tried to get her back, he made it worse. He struck at her, wanting to punish her for leaving him. He finally realized what he was doing, but it was too late."
She nods.
"Elliot's behavior is no different…"
"What do you mean?"
"He's lashing out at the one he loves…" Geoff gestures to her.
Olivia rolls her eyes, then narrows them. "Are you kidding me?"
"It's a classic display of fear. He divorced about a year ago and he probably still feels like he's failed his family. You and the job are all he has left…"
"He doesn't harbor any feelings for me, this is about our partnership—"
Geoff shakes his head. "No….see... It's personal. He's scared of losing you."
"You're wrong," she refutes. "Elliot and I have lost the ability to see eye-to-eye on things. I work with Munch sometimes, and Fin other times. I wish we could fix this. But I'm starting to accept the fact that we won't. I'm okay with that."
"No, you're not…" he disputes with slight grin.
"Enough!"
"And now you're lashing out at me because it's easier than admitting that I'm right," he smirks.
"Geoff…"
His smile fades. "You both wouldn't carry that much emotion if it meant nothing."
Olivia shrugs.
"You'll work it out, trust me."
"Whatever you say," she replies dismissively.
"So, I'm in New York every couple of months…" he tells her, changing the subject.
"Really?"
"Yeah, we have a few clients. A couple of professional organizations I belong to have boring meetings. I'm just there for the coffee," he says lightheartedly.
"Why am I not surprised?" she chuckles.
"Well… It's really, really good coffee."
She rolls her eyes. "You're hopeless…"
"Guilty. So if we can both escape, can I take you to lunch?"
"Yes, and we're going to that Thai restaurant!"
"No…."
"You're going to have some decent Thai food, and you're going to love it!" she asserts playfully.
"Sounds like I don't have a choice," he teases.
She smirks. "Damn right."
They're both quiet for a moment. He turns to her. "So, I guess we should head back upstairs and see if the place is still standing?"
"You're probably right," she agrees. "Surprised they're not already looking for us." She pulls out her phone and checks it. A new text message suddenly appears.
"Sometimes the cell reception down here is pretty bad…" he comments. "I probably shouldn't have kept you here this long." Then he notices her reading the message. "What is it?"
"A message from my friend at Major Case. She had someone check with the staff at McGills. They remember seeing Clay a few times, but no one recognizes James or remembers anything from that night," she reports disheartened.
He nods. "Worth a try."
They head back upstairs. Olivia leaves to find a restroom, while Geoff waits for her.
About a minute later, he sees Elliot approaching him.
"Hi, Elliot," Geoff greets him. He knows Elliot doesn't like him, but he holds no resentment toward the guy. If Olivia respects him, he can't be all that bad.
Elliot's not the first person to judge him because of his role in the judicial system. Certainly won't be the last.
Elliot smiles politely. "Hey, Geoff… You seen Liv anywhere?" His eyes drifting about to look for her in their immediate surroundings.
"She just went to the restroom. We've been avoiding the masses."
"Can't blame you there," Elliot agrees with a shy grin.
"You hear anything about the investigation?"
"Just that the lock down is over. They're still going over lab results," he answers.
"I see. Thanks."
An awkward pause lingers for a moment.
"Ummm… By the way, I'm sorry about Clay," Elliot adds sincerely.
Geoff smiles. "He's really not a bad guy. He was trying to straighten his life out. It's too bad he got caught up in all of this…legal mess."
"Yeah, but his DNA was at the crime scene," he refutes. "I'm sorry he was killed unjustly, but I'm still not sure how his death means he's any less guilty."
"DNA can be planted. Olivia told me about her brother, Simon."
He nods. "He caught an unlucky break."
"And so did my client. Look, Clay was wrong to hit and constantly harass those girls. He knew he was wrong. That doesn't automatically make him a rapist or a murderer. I still plan to prove he's innocent and get his name cleared so his family doesn't have to deal with the constant harassment on top of losing their son," he offers with concern.
Elliot shrugs unconvincingly. "And I hope it works out." He glances about, still looking for his partner. "So…umm… How's Olivia? Is she still complaining about her stomach?"
"No, she seems fine. Hasn't eaten anything though. I tried to get her to eat a scone earlier but she said she didn't want anything."
Elliot nods. "Captain Franks, at the Tower Police Department, wants to meet with her and I this afternoon around 1:30. The detectives want to talk to you about Clay. They didn't set a time, so I think that's up to your availability. The sooner, the better, though. Anyway, Olivia and I still need to check out of the motel, and I'm hoping we can leave for New York sometime after we're done here. But umm... I was wondering if you could do me a couple of favors…"
"Sure."
"She's pretty mad at me right now. I wanted to give her a little more space. Could you take her back to the motel so she can get her things and turn in her key?"
"Sure," Geoff agrees.
"And second… See if you can get her to eat some lunch. She has this tendency to skip food when her mind is on other things."
"Yeah, no problem."
"If she doesn't order, get some appetizers. Order mushroom caps, chicken wings, anything with artichokes or olives. If she sees it, she might grab a few bites…" Elliot lowers his head reflectively. "I don't know, I just worry about her…"
"I understand," Geoff says supportively. "Got it covered. I'll drop her off at the precinct at 1:30, then?"
"Thanks, I appreciate it." Elliot pats his arm as he walks by. "See ya, around."
x x
Early that afternoon, Elliot and Olivia enter the Tower PD precinct.
The officer who signs them in tells them the captain is on a call, and will be with them shortly. Elliot searches for the men's room, while Olivia speaks with one of the detectives privately for a few minutes.
Moments later, she and Elliot enter the conference room. Two of his detectives sit to his left. Captain Franks glances up. "Thank you for coming, Detectives. Please have a seat."
They grab the two chairs to the right of the captain.
"These are two of my detectives, Gina Garner and Ben Caladeen. Gina and Ben, I'd like to introduce Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler. They're both with Manhattan Special Victims, and by reputation, they are two of the best in the NYPD," he alleges, smiling.
"Thank you, Captain," Elliot replies.
"Thanks," Olivia echoes.
After introductions, Franks picks up the report and the remote control sitting on the table in front of him. All eyes drift over to the monitor directly behind him. He shifts his chair over a little and turns the power on.
The image soon appears on the screen, showing three different views from the courthouse security cameras.
The first view is of the holding cell. Clayton in there alone. The second, is the corridor outside the guard shack, where detainees are typically signed in and then escorted to the holding cell. And the last view is in the hallway, just outside of the holding cell.
"As we already suspected, Clayton Oldbridge was murdered. Preliminary tox screen showed Potassium Cyanide—they expect it was a homemade mixture of pesticides, rat poison and/or cleaning agents. It was injected into the bottle of soda under the cap and given to the victim. The security camera in the holding cell was knocked by the perpetrator sometime before the incident. By the time the courthouse security officers realized this, Clayton had already succumbed to the toxin. I'll forward this a bit here to show how the events may have transpired…" He pauses it with Elliot, Olivia, Geoff, James and Clay inside the holding cell, just before Olivia and Elliot left. "The cameras show you two detectives leaving…"
Olivia frowns as she watches the clip, recalling the fight between her and Elliot that ensues shortly after this.
The Captain continues, "Then, Geoff McCray leaves. Then James leaves. James is disguised as Litner County's security guard, Paul Zenke. About a minute later, we lose the view of the holding cell. And here…" he points to the view outside of lock-up, "…we see James re-entering the area with something in his hand, which is likely the bottle he offered to Clayton. We see him leaving again about 8 minutes later—"
"Wait! Stop the tape…" Olivia requests, sitting up for a closer look. "Could you back it up a bit please?"
Captain Franks pauses and rewinds.
"There... What is that in his hand?"
"A rag? A towel? Maybe something he used to wipe his finger prints from the bottle or the camera," Captain Franks offers.
"Maybe something else was used to help speed up the toxin?" Elliot suggests, glancing over to Olivia who maintains her focus on the tape.
Captain Franks nods. "Good catch. Our guys missed that. We'll have our techs look at the tape a little further, but I doubt we'll be able to recover more evidence from the courthouse. Hopefully something will show up in the coroner's report, if it pertains. Anyway, this is about the time Jacobs realized the camera was turned, went in to fix it, and found Oldbridge just as he lost consciousness. CSU swept the area, and the bottle turned up in a trash can outside one of the men's bathrooms," he concludes.
"Do we know the whereabouts of the security guard, Paul Zenke?" Olivia asks.
Captain Franks shakes his head. "Not at this time. His car is still parked in the lot at Litner Correctional. Officer Tennyson is monitoring it."
She nods.
"I'll get right to the point… We'd like your help catching this guy, James Ruesheirs. We believe he's still in the area, because he has unfinished business to take care of…" He sighs. "That unfinished business—from what we understand of this perp's history—most likely concerns the two of you, and Geoff McCray."
"In other words, he wants us dead," Elliot responds.
"Unfortunately, yes. But that also means we may have a chance to trap him before he goes back into his little rat hole and comes out again ready to kill."
Franks continues. "You know we'll likely have the Feds involved in the next day or two. But we've got our own people to find, and I'd rather not give him over to the Feds until we're done with our questioning. We need him brought in alive. This is by order of the Feds, of course. But we have about ten cases where the bodies of the victims were never found. And obviously, there's his accountability in Clay's and Holly's murders, and Officer Zenke's disappearance. I've cleared this with your captain and your police chief. They speak very highly of you two, and we're all in agreement about the urgency of bringing this guy in. I understand that you, Detective Benson, have reviewed this guy's history and have a little more of an understanding of what we're in for?"
"Yes sir," she replies. She had spent a little time going over his profile and talking to the two at Major Case while she and Geoff had lunch. Sure, she'd like more time to prepare. But this may be their best chance.
"Detectives Benson and Stabler are leading the operation. Detectives Garner and Caladeen will be here to assist, and you'll have as many of our guys as back-up that I can spare. You've probably already heard there's some bad weather moving into the area. If it gets out of hand, I'll need to pull my guys to handle damage control around here. This means we're basically under the gun…in every sense of the word."
They nod once more.
"Now let's get this sonofabitch!" he says, standing as he concludes."
Heard from a radio station at the Tower precinct…
"…*screech*…*screech*…*screech*…*long tone*
"The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the following counties:
Mercy, Hollow Hills, Jacksonburg, Peeks, Roman and Fury.
Effective until 4pm Eastern Daylight Time.
At 1pm, the National Weather Service Doppler radar located a line of thunderstorms moving east of Green City at 25 mph. These storms are capable of producing large hail, dangerous lightning, and wind gusts in excess of 80 miles per hour…
Remember… A severe thunderstorm watch means conditions are favorable for the development of severe thunderstorms in, and close to the watch area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible warnings…"
TBC…
A/N… It's showtime! ;)