Chapter 4
Olivia and Jill pulled into the paved driveway of Rebecca Hubert's home a second behind Elliot and Munch, Olivia took a deep breath to steady her nerves before getting out of her car.
Liv walked up to the house, followed closely by Jill.
Olivia knocked on the polished wooden door. A petite auburn haired woman with chocolate brown eyes opened the door.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Police Miss, did you call about a missing child?"
"Not me, but my best friend Rebecca did, her daughter Diane didn't come home from school yesterday." the woman told Olivia as Elliot and Munch finally decided to join Olivia.
"Please come in Officers, my name is Bethany Anders and I've known Rebecca ever since the fourth grade, Diane is like my own child." Bethany says.
Olivia, Jill, Munch and Elliot follow Bethany into the living room, where they find Rebecca Hubert sitting on the couch.
"Rebecca, sweetie these are Police Officers. They're here about Diane." Bethany says softly.
Rebecca looks up at Olivia, her blue eyes were bloodshot from all the crying she had been doing since Diane didn't come home yesterday.
"Ms. Hebert, can you describe what your Daughter was wearing?" Olivia asked gently.
"Sh-she was wearing pink sweatpants, a black sweatshirt, and pink Dora The Explorer tennis shoes along her favorite pink book bag." Rebecca said as Bethany wraps a sympathetic arm around Rebecca.
"Where does Diane go to school?" Jill inquired.
"St. Vincent's." came a man's sudden reply, causing all heads to turn around.
"Nicolai." Rebecca hissed.
"Sir, Police, who are you?" Olivia asked.
"Nicolai Herbert, Diane's Father...and soon to Ex Husband of Rebecca." he said smugly.
Olivia could feel the arrogance radiating off the older man.
"Why are you here, Nicolai?" Rebecca said as she wiped her eyes.
"To see what New York's Finest has on my daughter's disappearance."
"We'll canvass the neighborhood." Elliot says, gently touching Munch's left shoulder.
Olivia hands Rebecca one of her cards and smiles warmly at her and Bethany.
"Mrs. Herbert, please call me if you think of anything."
"I...I will and Detective, thank you for caring."
"It's my job." Olivia said before leaving.
While Elliot and John canvassed the neighborhood Olivia got a call from Melinda asking if Jill was with her, Liv tells Melinda that Jill is right next to her.
"Great, could you send her to my office when you get back to the station?" the ebony woman asked.
"Sure, no problem." Olivia replied with a roll of her eyes.
"Oh, I also called you to let you know that I got a DNA match to the sample found on Ayuko Kaiba."
"Who does the sample belong to?" Elliot asks.
"Zane Buchanan." Melinda read from her notes.
"Thanks Melinda." John says before Olivia ended the call.
The four Detectives returned to the 1-6, it's pretty close to lunch time, so after catching both Cragen and Cabot up on the case Jill went to see Melinda in her office, perplexed at why the Medical Examiner wanted to see her.
'Maybe I crossed the line with her and she wants me to back off.'
Jill drove over to the Morgue and knocked on the door to Melinda's office.
"Who is it?" Melinda asks.
"It's Jill, you asked to see me?" the blonde answers.
"Come in, Jill." Melinda said excitedly.
Jill opened the door and stepped into Melinda's office.
"What could she want to see Jill about?" Olivia said as did a criminal search for Zane Buchanan on her computer.
"Why does it matter to you, Liv?" Alex asks, making a point not to hide the resentment in her tone.
Olivia keeps her silence before diving back into her work.
Jill's blue eyes widened with surprise as she took in the sight in front of her, Melinda has her desk set up like a picnic table, on the table were two steaming hot bowls, spoons, napkins, and two bottles of water.
A large smile adorned Jill's face as she walked towards Melinda.
"What is all this, Melinda?" the blonde asks.
"Well, it's nearly lunch time and I thought that I would ask you to enjoy a nice intimate lunch with me." the ebony goddess replies.
Jill was still too shocked to speak, still smiling Jill walked over to the chair that Melinda was standing behind.
"Thank you, Melinda." Jill says as Melinda pushed in Jill's chair for her.
"This is the crawfish gumbo I told you about, I really hope you like it."
Grabbing her spoon, Jill scooped up a nice portion and put it in her mouth, instantly the robust myriad of flavors and spices ignited Jill's taste buds and tongue, filling her body with a warm and pleasant sensation.
"Well, how is it?" Melinda asked nervously.
Zane took Diane to the abandoned bread factory that his family ran for close to thirty years before his Mom's gambling and his Dad's drug habit drained all of the money that they had invested into the company, Zane had to drop out of art school and use his life-savings to buy the building, which was his Mother's dying wish.
Rebecca and Bethany sat by Rebecca's home phone waiting for word on Diane's whereabouts. As the minutes stretched into hours, Rebecca worried that she would never see her darling little girl again.
Melinda watched as Jill happily devoured and savored her gumbo, never before had Melinda seen someone enjoy her cooking so.
"Thank you, Melinda for lunch, that gumbo of yours was fantastic." Jill complimented.
Melinda's heart soared at that moment.
"I-I'm glad liked it, Jill."
Jill stepped closer to Melinda, taking her left hand and gazing longingly into her eyes. Neither woman dared to speak, Melinda's heart was racing, the pounding was so intense that the older woman could feel it in her ears.
The air suddenly became heavy with a strange energy, it wasn't a bad energy, more like an energy akin to a thunderstorm or a raging wildfire. Both Jill and Melinda could feel this mysterious force pulsing throughout their bodies.
Blue eyes met brown ones as Jill and Melinda held one another with their gazes, both women were desperate to do something, they just couldn't will themselves to be the one that made that all important first move.
Melinda lightly gripped Jill's hand that the blonde had just dropped from hers, then with a gentle tug, Melinda pulls Jill even closer and into a hot, passionate kiss. Melinda's kiss made Jill see stars for a moment before Jill began returning Melinda's kiss.
Olivia looked around the squad room, but Jill wasn't there. the brunette glanced at Alex, who was giving her a death glare.
"I do believe that our good Doctor Warner invited Jill to have lunch with her in her office." Munch says with his usual theatrics.
"She's wh-where?" Liv asked, rage instantly contorting her face.
Meanwhile, in Central Park... a man and his sister were jogging through a wooded area of the park when they came upon Diane's discarded pink backpack, the woman, Torrie Jameson quickly pulls out her phone and calls the police.
Seething with rage, Olivia stormed out of the Squad Room.
Melinda slowly pulled back from Jill, breathless, but happy nonetheless.
"I-I've never been kissed like that before."
"I take that as a compliment, Doctor Warner." Jill says teasingly.
Melinda gripped Jill's shirt tightly and pulled the blonde to her, surprising Jill with her boldness.
"That is how I wanted you to take it, Detective Valentine." Melinda said in a low voice.
She moved in, intent on giving Jill another kiss when Olivia swung Melinda's office door open and glared at both Jill and Melinda.