Are you sure you know what you're asking for when you ask for Rollaro at this time? Okay you asked for it. It's not in this chapter, trying to keep them 6-7,000 words to get them out faster, but in chapter 4 you'll receive what you asked for but you've been warned ;)
Love love love reading your reviews, couldn't ask for a better xmas gift. Happy new years!
Oh and the official theme song for this fic is Rachel Platten's Begin Again. You didn't think I'd forgotten right :)
Chapter 3
"I do not speak as I think, I do not think as I should, and so it all goes on in helpless darkness" ~ Franz Kafka
Fin pushed through the doors, escaping the freezing cold and met the warmth from inside the bar. He didn't care about either the cold or warmth though, or that his feet were killing him having pushed through snow and slush for over an hour searching for her. His eyes immediately scanned the bar for her just liked he'd searched the twenty plus bars he'd visited before this one. He had no words to describe how relieved he felt as he finally spotted her sitting alone by the end of the bar. He'd almost given up on finding her.
About two hours ago he'd walked back in to the station and Liv had immediately approached him asking him if he knew where his partner was. Since he'd thought she'd been at the station the whole time he had no answer for her. He learnt she'd picked up and left sometime during the time Liv had been in with Dodds talking to Patton. She didn't have to tell him she was worried, he could tell on her face. Liv had tried calling Amanda but she wasn't picking up and then her phone had turned off, directing Liv directly to her voicemail.
"Can you find her?" Liv had asked with a pleading tone and Fin had nodded. Of course he would find her. He wasn't really sure how though. She could be home, at the gym, fought the cold and went out running. When was her GA meetings again? He started with calling her friend to see if she'd picked up Frannie. When he learnt she hadn't he ruled out home and maybe out running as well. Since he had the resources and didn't feel ashamed to use them he went downstairs and consulted one of the tech guys he trusted. He learnt her phone had last pinged between these three towers on Long Island, it was over an hour ago though so it would be a strenuous chase but one he'd been willing to endeavor.
Someone entered the bar behind him and he had to take a step to the side to let him pass. He wasn't quite ready to approach her yet. He had no idea what to say and she just looked so beat he wasn't sure anything he could say right now would make her feel any better. But he knew he had to try. Whatever she was bottling up was obviously wasting on her.
As he approached he could tell she spotted him over the rim of her glass.
"You're a hard woman to track. I hit half the bars in Long Island City," he said when he was close enough.
"I don't want to talk about it," she said and gave him a headstrong glare as he sat down next to her.
"I'm not leaving," he said determined and leaned against the bar with his eyes on her.
She tried to keep her stubborn look but she was too tired to pull it off for long and her face mellowed quickly. She was clearly too beat to even obtain her own personality. She sighed and then downed the rest of her drink. She pushed her empty glass away from herself and signaled the bartender for another one. Fin waited to say anything else until the bartender had been by to fill up her glass. He'd declined anything to drink, he figured it was best to stay sober right now. He let her taste her new drink, waited for her to put down her glass again before he spoke.
"What happened with you and Patton?" he asked and watched her face crumble slightly. It eased quickly though and she stirred a little on her chair.
"…I was Patton's shiny blonde protégé. The good girl. Smart. Just like he likes 'em," she said with a bit of a slur. She'd kept her eyes fixed on the drink in her hand but now she looked up and shot him a crocked smile. He could tell it didn't reach her eyes though. She looked down again when she couldn't keep up the facade and she traced the rim of her glass with her finger. She stayed quiet and he wasn't sure what to ask. He knew too little about what had gone down between Patton and this detective at the hotel, it was clear Liv thought they had a rape case to solve but Fin also knew she usually sided with the potential victim until the evidence told otherwise.
It was obvious his partner held some demons from back home, he'd figured it could have something to do with her old captain. She'd hinted he'd made advances, innocent ones as far as he knew and she'd also hinted she wasn't completely blameless but the prickly behavior he'd shown when they were in Atlanta had made Fin suspicious. Her captain didn't seem to take rejection very well.
With this latest development though, along with the way Patton had treated her in Atlanta and what she'd just told him he started to worry Patton was the culprit to her current downward spiral. And if he'd raped his latest protégé what had he then done to previous ones?
"Talk to me Amanda," he begged. When she didn't say anything he carefully put his hand over her forearm. She stopped with the repetitive tracing of the glass and set her eyes on his hand instead. When she looked up at him her eyes were glazed and he had a hard time keeping his own emotions in check.
"What happened Amanda?" he managed to ask through a clenched jaw. He wasn't sure he could handle the answer and braced himself best he could. She looked as though she could start crying at any moment but then she set her jaw and he could see how she fought to get a grip on herself.
"Just tell me," he begged. He knew begging could backfire, that it could make her lash out or even run out but it was all he had right now.
"It's no use Fin," she whispered so quietly he almost didn't hear her.
"If you have something to say Amanda then of course it's of use," he said squeezing her arm.
"What happened?" he tried again.
"Patton is a chauvinist," she said pulling her arm back and he immediately removed his hand, let it rest on the bar beside her instead.
"But he wasn't the only one," she added quickly and he nodded a little when she glanced his way.
"He could…," she started but clamped up frowning slightly. Fin gave her time.
"He could be really mean," she said after she'd taken a few deep breaths, "He made sure you knew your place. You needed to show him that you knew your place."
Fin tried breathing calmly but he was already having trouble staying calm, his disgust for Patton increasing rapidly. He pulled his hand down in his lap, needed to close his fist to control his anger as he listened to his partner talk.
"He liked showing you off though, didn't mind parading you around on his arm. Make it seem as he was taking that new young detective under his wing, learning her the ropes so to speak. Taking pity on the skirt cause she needed it so desperately you know," Amanda shot him an awkward smile.
"He did teach me a lot though," she said sadly as she looked back down. She kept staring down at her drink for several minutes.
"To what price?" he finally asked and pulled her out of her thoughts. She looked at him, her eyes were scarily blank all of a sudden.
"I got nothing that can help that girl, if I'd reported him back then but now it's too late…"
"It's not too late Amanda," he said.
"I'm not gonna…," she swallowed hard, "Not gonna tell anyone how he…," she pierced her eyes in him, seemed to study him closely, "…groped me," she finally finished.
Her eyes weren't blank any longer, they were filled with emotions and Fin could tell how hard this was for her to tell him. She had to look away to keep a grip on herself.
"I handled that, I stopped that and if I…," her voice had gotten high pitched but now she looked around, seemed afraid someone would hear them and she lowered her voice as she continued, "If I now came forward, you know Fin, you know what reputation that would give me. I'd be a snitch or even worse they would say I asked for it, that I liked it and that's why I didn't come forward back then. I just couldn't… I mean I know I'm not helping that girl out but Fin…"
She had to stop as her voice was failing her and her head dropped even more while biting her lip, hard.
"You have to watch your own back," he said to help her out. She looked back up at him, searching his face to see if he was honest or just saying what he thought she wanted to hear.
"So you don't think I'm betraying her?" she asked, guilt displayed all over her face. It was Fin's turn to study her.
"You sure that's all that happened?" he asked.
Her brows frown slightly, she looked as though she wasn't following him.
"He groped you. Nothing else happened?" he put it out there.
Something didn't sit well with what she'd told him so far.
"Fin," she complained pulling away slightly from him as she looked around awkwardly.
"Just tell me that's it and I'll back you whatever you want to do," Fin said.
"That's all he did," she said as she took a swig of her drink, "It wasn't worth pursuing, Sam said so, he…"
"Sam? Your captain? He knew this was going on?" Fin's voice got a little louder.
She looked at him trying to shake it off.
"Forget it Fin, it's nothing really. I just want to not think about it. This. It's not like I'm already screwed up enough right?" she tried to smile at him.
"Amanda…," Fin tried but she shook her head at him right before she downed the rest of her drink.
"I need to get out of here, c'mon let's go," she said and got off her chair. She put a few bills on the bar next to her empty glass and then started to put her jacket on. He reluctantly got up off his chair. He wanted to talk more about this. Something still didn't feel right.
"C'mon," she said as she could tell he didn't want to leave. He followed as she started to move towards the exit.
"Let's get something to eat," he suggested as they got out on the street. Amanda pulled her jacket closer around herself, the wind was really freezing.
"I got to get home, pick up Frannie," she said to turn him down gently.
"Let me drive you, my car's just a few blocks away," he said gesturing down the street. She shook her head though.
"C'mon Amanda," he pleaded.
"I need a bit of air and then I'll just jump a cab," she said taking a step away from him. She could tell on his face he wasn't going to give in but neither was she.
"I'm fine Fin, really," she said, "I'll see you in the morning."
She smiled at him and then turned her back at him, making sure she was steady on her feet as she walked away from him as she knew he was watching her. And he was. He was watching her, wanted to somehow make her stop, turn back around and talk to him some more. He knew it had been hard for her to open up to him. He wanted to trust her but he knew his partner, he knew she often downplayed important matters. Like how she'd remained stoic once they found her place emptied by her sister. He could tell how her face was crumbling but still she'd said 'no big deal' and she'd wanted to keep it a secret from the rest of the squad.
That was her way. Shake it off and move on. He figured it came with being through so much shit that in order to survive you just had to shake things off. But it came with a price. It took its toll on her even if she didn't want to admit it. Question now was if he was helping her by not pushing further or if it made him a accomplice to more personal destruction?
When Amanda was pretty sure he wouldn't call her back or catch up to her she let her face crumble slightly. She felt like crying. Why did her life has to be this way? Why had all of that happened back in Atlanta? Why hadn't she been stronger? Braver? She could've stopped him. She had the physic even with her tiny frame. She should've been able to fend him off. How could she ever tell Fin what really happened? How could she ever tell anyone? For years she'd tried to tell herself it didn't happen. That everything was fine. But she wasn't so sure it was. She wasn't sure she was fine and she tried wiping the tears off her cheek. She wasn't allowed to cry. She wouldn't give him that. He wouldn't get her to cry. Never again and she tried straightening herself up as she continued down the street. She took a few deep breaths of the cold air as she kept walking straight ahead, welcomed the sting down in her lungs. She would be fine. No one would ever find out what happened to her. She would be fine.
Liv was used to being one of the first ones in at the station. Noah was an early riser so she still managed to squeeze in quality time with him in the mornings, a time she appreciated very much since she managed to stay out of her work mode at that hour. This morning though this whole mess with chief Patton, Atlanta and what part Amanda had in all of it crept back in the moment she opened her eyes. She even thought she had a dream about it during the night.
The talk with Patton yesterday hadn't led to much. He was a sly bastard. Liv had already made up her mind she despised the man. Detective Taymor had made herself inaccessible for an interview yesterday but Liv had managed to catch her over the phone finally and talked her in to coming in later today. With the medical report, finding traces of Ketamine on the rug where she seemed to have spilled her drink – the glass itself missing somehow though – and Patton's fingerprints in the room Liv managed to talk Dodds in to continuing the investigation. She got him to get help from IAB since she didn't trust the Atlanta PD and they would search Patton's house as well as office during the day.
Liv had kept her own squad away from the case so far, well except from the short briefing with Fin and Amanda but she would need their help today. They had to interview the other three members of the Atlanta PD that were up her for the conference as well. They would also have to watch the hotel surveillance tapes, talk to the staff and some of the other officers that had attended the conference dinner Saturday evening.
Liv was mapping out her day as she walked in to the squad room and was a little surprised to see Amanda already at her desk. Sure she could be in early but lately running late was more her constant. Maybe that was linked to this as well? Maybe it had actually started when she went back to Atlanta back in November?
"Rollins," Liv said and made Amanda flinch. It wasn't often you could sneak up on her and already Liv was suspicious.
"Oh, morning Serge," Amanda said trying to hide her initial scare with a smile.
"What happened to you yesterday?" she inquired. Amanda cleared her throat a little.
"Oh I'm sorry about that, I had to run out. The new year's case you know," Amanda told while flipping some papers on her desk.
"I thought Fin would handle that for you," Liv said but tried to not sound too aggressive or reprimanding.
"The victim you know, she's warmed up to me," Amanda tried.
Liv had learnt to read signs and there was something about Amanda's eyes avoiding to look at her that told her she wasn't being truthful but for some reason Liv didn't feel like confronting her right now. Something told her Amanda needed a little bit of time and distance right now.
"Will you crack it?" Liv asked instead and caught the slight look of relief that came over Amanda's face. She started nodding.
"Yeah I think so," Amanda said, her face much more relaxed, "this phone call, someone called the perp as he fled. Still some people to talk to but we got three suspicious ones so far and I've pulled their records, this one," Amanda pulled a paper out from a small stack on her desk, "he assaulted a classmate in college. There was a knife present."
Liv had a closer look at the profile pulled on a guy now in his mid-twenties.
"I think we should bring him in, make him sweat a little," Amanda said and looked a little too excited.
"Yeah okay but Amanda," Liv said and made sure she had her attention before she continued, "I'm going to need your help today… on the Patton case. The entire squad. I'm taking Taymor's statement later today and I would appreciate having you around since you are familiar with her situation."
"Yeah of course," Amanda said but sounded a bit flippant and had already gone back to watching her computer screen. Liv thought about pressuring her a little further but decided against it and retreated to her office.
It didn't take long until Nick walked in and he made Amanda break her gaze from the computer.
"What happened to you yesterday?" he asked once they'd exchange a couple of mornings.
"What?" she asked frowning slightly.
"Fin had to work solo yesterday, what happened to you?" Nick asked and when Amanda realized he was only curious her face eased a little.
"Oh, Benson just needed me in here for a while," she said casually, "I'll help out today though."
Nick nodded, contemplated walking up to her but since Carisi walked in he sat down instead. Amanda told them about what she'd dug up on their suspects from yesterday. Fin walked in as they were all putting up a strategy for the day and joined in quickly. Liv came out to interrupt them though, Amanda looking the most annoyed as Liv called them in to her office as she let them know she had to brief them on a new case.
"Could I just," Amanda said making Liv turn back around, "I mean since I already know, could I just work a little further on this."
"I want you all to hear this," Liv said though after just a slight hesitation. Amanda tossed her pen down on her desk, lips pouting slightly and she dragged her feet in after the three male detectives.
"Close the door please," Liv asked her when she finally came inside.
Nick, who walked in first and therefor ended up furthest away from Amanda, by the side of Liv's desk, observed her. It was a long time since he'd seen her this obstinate and he found it a bit strange. Once she'd closed the door she leaned up against the wall right by the door and crossed her arms somewhat defensively. Fin was observing her as well but a lot more subtle than Nick did.
"Okay," Liv said at the same time as she exhaled and gathered their attention, "we got a bit of a delicate case on our hands."
She stayed standing behind her desk and tried to keep her eyes between Nick and Carisi as it was them two she needed to brief the most but also as she didn't want to make Amanda feel anymore bothered than she obviously already felt.
"As you know I attended the law enforcement conference this weekend but it was cut short for me as I was called up to a hotel room early Sunday morning to a suspected crime scene. A detective had been found unconscious in her bathroom and as she came to she said she had been raped."
Liv had both Nick and Carisi's attention while Amanda was watching her shoes as she bit her lip and Fin where mostly throwing her side glances. Their talk at the bar yesterday was still fresh in his mind and he had a unsettled knot in his gut.
"As I started taking her statement though she retracted her rape claim but since she had rather obvious defensive wounds, abrasions around her wrists and marks around her throat, and the room looked somewhat disturbed we proceeded investigating. I managed to… convince her to go to the hospital for an exam and we also went ahead and processed the man she'd accused at first. He was her superior officer."
"A chief?" Carisi gasped and almost sounded thrilled. Liv nodded but gave him a bit of a firm look.
"At the hospital a bruise was found on the inside of her thigh as well as Ketamine in her bloodstream," Liv talked slowly and her eyes wandered over to Amanda, "and we also found semen present. Came back as a match to our suspect. Dodds held a initial interview with him yesterday and I'm interviewing the victim today."
She cleared her throat a little before she continued.
"I briefed Fin and Rollins yesterday since the parties involved are from the Atlanta PD," Liv explained watching her words.
"You know these people?" Nick asked a little shocked and aimed it at Amanda.
"I know the accused," Amanda answered monotonic without looking at anyone of them.
"Is she trustworthy? The detective?" Carisi asked Liv.
"We have no reason to doubt her," Liv said a little annoyed.
"But she retracted right?" Carisi said.
"She seemed scared, he's her superior officer," Liv said.
"The man's a prick," Fin added.
"I met him when we were down in Atlanta," he explained as he got strange looks from both Nick and Carisi, "Total a-hole."
"Okay," Liv said so Fin wouldn't rally on, "His name is deputy chief Charles Patton and the victim is Reese Taymor. Don't go spreading their names around though, we need to handle this discreetly. We're getting video surveillance tape from the hotel, three other members of the Atlanta PD will have to be heard as well as hotel staff and the people who sat by their table at dinner. Ketamine was found in her room in a stain on the rug but the glass was missing. IAB has sent agents to Atlanta to go through Patton's office as well as his home. Dodds will be in later, I don't need to tell you he's busting at the seams over this," Liv let them know.
"Are we holding Patton?" Nick asked. The look Liv gave him gave him the answer.
"He's been set up in another hotel," she still said.
"And Taymor?" he inquired.
"She kept herself inaccessible but we got her back late last night and set her up in the same hotel, different room though of course," Liv answered.
"Why inaccessible?" Carisi asked, "She's uncooperative?"
"We'll see later today when she comes in," Liv said as she didn't want to discuss that right now.
"What do you want us to do?" Nick asked, eager to be of help as always.
"Until the tapes comes in there's not much to do so keep working the new year's case, I understand Rollins has some leads," Liv said looking to Amanda but she continued keeping her eyes hidden.
"Dodds might want to hold the interviews but if not I would appreciate a second chair from one of you," Liv said but looked at Nick as she thought him most suitable.
"Okay that's it for now," Liv said and Amanda hurried to open the door. Nick shoved past Carisi so he could get to the door quicker.
"Fin," Liv called out but kept her voice low, "could you stay for a sec."
He nodded and Carisi passed him.
Outside Nick had caught up with Amanda.
"You worked with this guy?" he asked with a slight hesitation. She gave him a look.
"For him yeah," she answered with a shrug.
"What's he like?" he asked and got another look from her.
"I dunno what to tell you Nick. Fin's not wrong, he's a bit of a prick," she said casually as she started going through her papers. Nick kept glancing her way as he walked over to his own desk.
Meanwhile Liv had gestured at Fin to close the door.
"What's up?" he asked as he came back and took his usual casual stance in front of her desk.
"Did you find her yesterday?" she asked. He gave her a suspicious look before he nodded.
"Did she… tell you anything?" she inquired carefully. Fin took a deep breath, turned slightly and shot a look out towards the squad room at his partner.
"Look Liv," he said as he turned his head back around, "I don't want to betray her trust…"
"So she did tell you something," Liv guessed but immediately got an annoyed look by Fin.
"Okay, I get it Fin," she hurried to say, "but I'm looking out for her best here too, I only want what's best for her. I need to know to keep her protected."
Fin looked like he contemplated it and Liv kept quiet hoping he would spill whatever it was Amanda had told him cause she knew it was something.
"Patton's one of those guys Liv," Fin finally said, "You've already sensed it. He's manipulative, crude and... handsy. She doesn't want to talk about it, doesn't need the gossip you know."
He paused slightly but could tell she was about to object, probably try and talk him in to something.
"No Liv," he said unwavering, "She doesn't want to talk about it and we have to respect that. And she's not to blame for what happened to this girl. She tried to tell her captain, he said it wasn't worth pursuing, if anyone's to blame…"
"Her captain used those words? Not worth pursuing?" she cut in and Fin nodded as he both sighed and rolled his eyes. He hated Sam about as much as he hated Patton right now.
Liv's thoughts ran wild. Those words came from her captain? He let that slide? Exactly what did he let slide? What kind of corrupt captain would let one of his detectives get violated in any form? What captain would it make her if she left it alone? What kind of… friend did it make her for not inquired about the 'not worth pursuing' earlier? For three years she'd done nothing, seen Amanda deteriorate, maybe even helped her along by treating her harsher than she should've. What would Cragen have done?
"Liv," Fin repeated a little louder and brought her out of her thoughts.
"What are you thinking? She doesn't want to get involved Liv," Fin reminded her and emphasized that last sentence.
"Her captain is one of the people coming in later today. He's going to get asked about Patton and if he mentions her we have to bring her in Fin, we can't withhold anything. This case is too important to withhold anything."
"He's not going to say anything, he's holding Patton's back Liv. We know these types."
"And that's why we need Amanda," Liv said as he'd just contradicted himself.
"She doesn't want to get involved Liv," Fin still withheld though.
"It's not up to her Fin," Liv said and got another look from Fin.
"I'm just saying she might not be able to stay out of it," she quickly added and Fin eased a little but still looked crossed.
"Do you want to sit in if Dodds leaves this in our hands?" she asked him. He gave it a quick thought.
"Nah, bring Amaro, I'll probably not be able to keep my head cool," he admitted but something told him Nick might not be able to stay cool either.
As Liv had almost expected Amanda found a way to sneak out of the station but at least she brought Fin and Liv knew she could reach them if she needed to. The hotel surveillance tape came and Liv put Carisi on it as she preferred to have Nick free to interview witnesses. Dodds stormed in before any witnesses though, immediately putting pressure on Liv to proceed tactfully. He wanted her to really understand they were handling co-workers here but Liv didn't really see it that way but knew not to disclose that to Dodds at this point. He did let her know IAB agents were searching his house and office as they spoke though. Apparently they'd already found Patton's wife trying to get rid of some material which Dodds acknowledge as suspicious but he still didn't want to jump to any conclusions yet.
Carisi was done with the surveillance tape and showed what he'd found to Liv, Dodds and Nick. They had tape of Patton and Taymor having dinner and drinks at the same table as their three colleagues; captain Sam Reynolds, sergeant Alan Winn and detective Isaac Dudgeon. Two of their nearby dinner companions, a captain from Oklahoma and lieutenant from Idaho would join them at the bar. Sergeant Winn was the first one to leave the company and half an hour later, at 10 PM Taymor left and they had tape of her walking up to her room by herself. She seemed steady on her feet. The rest kept drinking until close to 11 PM when the company broke up and scattered to their individual floors. Patton was on the second floor but made his way up to the fourth floor, where Taymor stayed. She opened the door for him and they were seen in the door talking for a while. Taymor seemed reluctant to let him in but when he finally entered it did not look as Patton forced his way inside. Patton left her room at 1 AM in the same outfit as he'd entered but now with his jacket folded over his arm and no neck tie. The tape itself didn't prove an assault but it did give them a time frame.
Reynolds, Winn and Dudgeon walked in soon thereafter and Dodds sucked up as expected. The other two officers walked in a few minutes later making the squad room a bit crowded. Since Dodds hadn't mentioned how he wanted to proceed with the interviews Liv was a little worried she wouldn't be able to push captain Reynolds in the direction she wanted. As Dodds offered to show them around and Sam got stuck behind in her office watching a photo frame Liv saw her chance to catch him alone.
"Sam," Liv said calling for his attention just as he was about to go join the others.
"Yeah?" he said turning back having a swig of the Starbucks coffee he'd been treated to by Dodds.
"Could I just ask you something, off the record a bit," she asked. Sam looked a little guarded but nodded.
"Is there a reason why Rollins was transferred up?"
Sam looked if possible even more guarded.
"I don't know what you're fishing for here sergeant, you had an opening…" Sam said a bit evasive, "I knew Cragen so I put in a good word for her."
"Yeah I know that but I'm…" Liv felt like she might have rushed this and tried a different approach, "What I mean is she talks good about you, you seemed to have had her back."
"I'd like to think so yeah, she's a good detective," Sam smiled and seemed to relax a little.
"So maybe you were looking out for her…" Liv left it hanging and hoped Sam would jump in. He looked as though he was just about to do just that when Dodds' voice interrupted them from the door.
"There you are, you're missing the grand tour," he said and it made Sam quickly departure from her office.
Liv sighed slightly but then walked out after them, not that she really wanted to listen to Dodds suck up but she felt forced to.
Once they were back out in the squad room Fin and Amanda had returned and Liv didn't miss Sam and Amanda exchanging head nods from a far. Dodds said something about not being able to avoid the inevitable and of course turned to the higher ranks first. Liv had caught Sam shooting Amanda glances over at her desk though and got a little uneasy as he offered for someone else to go before him.
Dodds had allowed Nick and Carisi to join with the interviews to get through them quicker and Liv sent Nick with Dodds to make sure she had a trusted ally in the room. Dodds and Nick headed down to an interrogation with the captain from Oklahoma as Liv and Carisi brought the lieutenant from Idaho in to the interview room next to her office. Liv sat down so she could still see the squad room. Sam, the sergeant and the detective were all gathered around Nick and Carisi's empty desks chatting with Fin and Amanda. Every now and then their laughs broke through the glass between them. Liv had a hard time concentrating on hearing the lieutenant but thankfully Carisi was on point and knew what questions to ask.
Since it was rather obvious he had not seen or heard anything out of the ordinary, Patton had high jacked the conversation but been nothing but polite according to the lieutenant, Liv didn't feel all that bad about not giving the interview all of her attention. She did listen though as Carisi asked him about Taymor and his impression of her, she'd seemed sweet according to him although not been very talkative. He couldn't account for how many drinks she had during the evening but she had at least one at the bar. He was sure she'd been steady on her feet as she left the bar though.
When Liv glanced out through the window though she noticed Reynolds was missing and when she leaned a little to get a better view of Amanda's desk she realized she was missing too. Liv hurried to end the interview, telling the lieutenant to get in touch if he remembered something else. She left him with Carisi and hurried out. Fin was still chatting with the sergeant and detective from Atlanta but Liv cut in, placing herself a bit rudely with her back towards them so she could direct her question at Fin.
"Where's Rollins?" she asked with a low voice.
"I dunno, down the hall," Fin said with a puzzled look.
"With Reynolds?" she asked and Fin nodded. He looked a little worried as Liv hurried down the corridor.
She went on a hunch and burst through the closed door to the bunks. She caught Amanda at the far end of the room with what looked like Sam charging her a little and he stepped away from her the second Liv entered. They both looked caught doing something they weren't supposed to do, Amanda deflecting her eyes down at the floor as she kept holding on to her elbow liked she'd done as Liv burst in. Sam squirmed a little in his jacket, cheeks flaming slightly and his eyes had a hard time staying on Liv's as he backed up even further from Amanda.
"What's going on in here?" she asked harshly.
"We… we were just talking," Sam answered as soon as he managed to get a word out.
"Rollins?" Liv asked as she didn't trust this man one bit. Amanda nodded a bit unevenly, her eyes still not coming up all the way to meet Liv's.
"Are you sure?" she asked, her tone very maternal.
"Yeah," Amanda answered as she realized Liv wouldn't give in until she said something, "we were just talking."
"You're up captain," Liv said piercing her eyes in Sam, "you're mine."
Sam straighten up and started towards the door. Liv stepped aside only as he was right by her and he didn't challenge the fierce look she gave him. She watched him walk away and waited until he'd gotten far enough to be out of hearing range before she turned back around towards Amanda. She'd finally let her elbow down and awkwardly put her hands down in her back pockets.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Liv asked.
"Yeah," Amanda said and did her best to meet Liv's eyes.
"Did he threaten you?"
Amanda shook her head immediately.
"No, no we just talked," Amanda answered, "really."
Liv tried to get a good read on her face. She wanted to trust Amanda but there was a rift there to begin with and Liv knew, thanks to Fin, that she'd kept things from her regarding this investigation already. Liv could understand Amanda's dilemma, being a female in this line of work wasn't easy. Liv had some experience herself but she knew she'd gotten away easy in regards to other women in blue. Liv had her own principles though, you sticked up for one another. Amanda would have to stick up for Taymor. But right now Liv would stick up for Amanda and she would start right now by going after Reynolds. She would go after him hard.