"I remember..." Elliot started with a stifled voice, but then the magic broke, because a woman's panicked scream filled the whole party venue:
"HELP! Please help me! My son's missing!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The calm and atmospheric party was gone, and there was only confusion and worry left. The missing boy's mother, Julia, stood at in front of the dance floor, her hands shaking and her eyes full of worry, and Olivia released her grip on Elliot.
"I can't find him, his friends say that…"
The words got stuck in her throat, and suddenly she started to look like she wasn't getting enough oxygen. She gasped, and Olivia walked over to her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"Breathe, we will help you. Take a deep breath, just like that," her voice was low and calm, but determined at the same time, and it seemed to help the panicking mother, whose breathing began to slow down again.
"Good. When did someone see him for the last time?"
"I... I went to take him to the barn attic about an hour ago. His friends were there, and they promised to go to bed and I came back here. His friends came to say that Oliver had gone to look for me shortly after, because he had a headache, but he hasn't come here or returned to the attic..."
A sob escaped her lips, and Olivia glanced at Elliot meaningfully.
"Call the police. We have to begin to look for him."
Elliot nodded and started jogging towards his apartment, and Olivia eyed the yard biting her lip. Julia had started to cry, and Marie, the farm worker, had wrapped her arm comfortingly around her shoulders. Olivia tried to find the owners of the farm with her gaze, but they had apparently already left, so she raised her voice.
"Listen up! James left to call the police, we need to scatter, because it's possible Oliver has gotten lost or gone back to the wrong place to sleep. How old is he?"
"Seven," there was a muffled answer, and Olivia swallowed.
"Okay. I'll go to the owners' house to ask if they have seen anything. We have to search every possible place, but we will find him." She directed her last words to Julia, who looked at her with her jaw quivering.
I really hope so.
And to confirm her words, she took her bag with her and set off to walk towards the owners' house a little further away.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The white, big, detached house was dark, and Olivia knocked on the door, because she couldn't find the doorbell. It had started to get windy, and the leaves of the trees surrounding the house were rustling against each other. However, there was no sound from inside the house, and she knocked again, louder this time.
"Hello?" She called, backing up a bit to see the upstairs windows. There was no movement in them, and she grunted in frustration.
Where the hell are they? They were at the party just a while ago, they can't be sleeping this soundly already.
She went around to the backyard and knocked on the window. When there was no answer, she pressed her nose against the glass and tried to see inside the house, but it was dark outside and even darker inside, so she could see almost nothing.
But then the window above her opened, and a grumpy man leaned in to look at her.
"What's the commotion here?! Did it not occur to you that we are trying to sleep?!"
Olivia frowned and crossed her arms: "I wouldn't have come here for nothing! A boy is missing, have you seen anything?"
"No, we came straight here from the party. He's probably just making out with some girl; you don't have to worry."
This made Olivia squint, and she clenched her fists.
"He's seven."
Her announcement silenced the man, and for a moment they looked into each other's eyes appraising. Olivia didn't like the man's attitude, and her detective instincts made her body tense. But then the man sighed:
"Oh God, not again."
"Excuse me? What do you mean, 'again' ?"
"It's not your business," the man snarled, but then started rubbing his face. "In recent years, we have had a bit of a problem with parents not taking care of their children properly. They come here and think this is the same suburb where they live in their nice homes and play football in their fenced backyard. This is rural Texas! Wild animals, like wolves and cougars take livestock, too."
"So you're saying children have disappeared before?" Olivia's voice was low, demanding, even though she already knew the situation. However, the owners of the farm did not know her.
"Yeah, but there is nothing suspicious or surprising about the situation. As I said, nature here does not…"
"Okay, let me tell this straight. A 7-year-old kid has disappeared into the dark night, everyone is looking for him, the police are coming, and you, the owner of the place, are telling me from your bedroom window how nature is merciless here. I'm not a cop, but that sounds suspicious to me, to say the least."
"You... You suspect me?" The man's eyes flashed dangerously, and Olivia shrugged.
"If I were you, I would already be looking for the kid and offering all possible help to the police." Then she turned on her heels and started marching towards the farmyard.
Cragen was right, the owners really don't care.
Farther out in the yard, flashlights were flickering in the darkness, and calls echoed through the dark night. Olivia couldn't remember how many children she had looked for during her career, but this time there was something particularly dark, desperate about the situation. None of the children lost on the farm had been found alive, so they were in a hurry. It was a matter of life and death, and the seconds of fate were ticking. Every second decreased their chances of finding that kid alive.
"Hey," there was suddenly a voice in the darkness, and she flinched. "What did the owners say?"
Elliot's voice caused a familiar reaction in her, it was like a weight preventing her mind from flying uncontrollably into the dark infinity of despair and horrors. His mere voice grounded her, ignited that same old feeling that had carried her through the hard times before his 'death'. A feeling that told her that no matter what happened, he was here. She wasn't alone.
And how much she had missed that feeling.
She glanced around to make sure there was no one near them who could have overheard their conversation, and then sighed.
"Cragen was right, the owners don't care. He only told me about the dangerous nature and environment."
Despite the darkness, she could hear Elliot grit his teeth and snort in frustration.
"That bastard. I bet the only thing he cares about is if this affects their business. But… Who's Cragen?"
Oh.
"Sorry, he's the captain of New York SVU. He's my boss, he was yours too."
"Oh, right. So… You said I was a detective?"
Despite the situation, a small smile spread across Olivia's face, and she nodded, though she wasn't sure Elliot could see it in the dark.
"You were. Actually damn good one."
"Really?" Elliot grinned. "Maybe that's why I became a snitch. You know, subconscious police instincts and stuff."
"Maybe." The sirens of an approaching police car began to sound from further down the road, and Olivia instinctively turned to look in the direction of the sound. "Or you're doing this because you're a good man, El. No matter if you remember yourself or not, you want to do the right thing, because it's inside you. That's who you are."
And that's one reason why I love you.
She felt even in the darkness that Elliot's gaze reached into her soul, and she moved towards the yard.
"Come, we need to talk to the sheriff."
And she set off to walk, Elliot following her, and she found her heart rate had quickened, even though there was no physical reason for it.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sheriff Gold was a big, mustachioed man who had gotten out of his low car with a groan. The first thing he had done was interview the distraught mother, who had told him the same story as her son Oliver's friends. Then he had collected the names of all the people who had been at the party at the estimated time of the disappearance, and divided everyone into pairs who had gone searching, this time in an organized manner. The owners of the farm, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, had also finally appeared, sullen and defiant, and the sheriff had exchanged a few words with them as well.
Then he had asked Olivia aside to interview her as a "new guest" and for the first time she got to talk to the one person who connected her to SVU at the moment.
"So, the second day and you are immediately in the eye of the storm," Gold sighed and shook his head. "I wouldn't have believed it."
"To be honest, neither would I," Olivia answered quietly. "How is it possible that this have continued for several years without anyone doing anything?"
"Yeah, well…" Gold suddenly looked embarrassed, and he rubbed his neck. "The thing is, this is a small town, so everyone is inevitably connected to each other. I have been on sick leave for a couple of years, and during that time my duties have been handled by Officer Woodland. He has been an exemplary deputy, and it was a great loss when we had to fire him. His wife owns a clothing store in downtown Crowell, and the business wouldn't survive without the tourists who come to the farm. If the murder cases come to light, tourism here will inevitably decline, and at the same time the income from tourism in the city will also decrease significantly."
"So the deputy sheriff had hidden the situation because he doesn't want his wife's company to go bankrupt?" Olivia raised an eyebrow, and Gold nodded.
"Exactly. For this reason, the case has been handled by only a couple of people, who have mainly kept the case to themselves, and in this way have protected the farm's tourism activities. After I returned from sick leave, however, Mr. Murray was concerned about the matter, and came to inform me directly. In this way this began to be revealed."
"And since the topic is so sensitive in every way in this town, the case requires undercover work?" Olivia asked and Gold nodded again.
"Exactly. But now, the most important thing is to find the boy before it's too late. Your friend must be waiting for you," he nodded over Olivia's shoulder, and she turned to look at Elliot, who was waiting a little further away, looking nervous, pacing in place.
"Yeah, thank you, sir," Olivia said and walked over to Elliot. "You ready?"
"Let's do this, partner."
Partner. Her partner. His partner.
A thing she had only fully understood the value of after she had lost it.
Lost him.
