Chapter Thirteen – Hardest Of Hearts
Olivia ducked out of another invitation for lunch and she parted with a promise to catch up when the case was over. She flicked Peter a quick text before heading to the lab, refusing to feel hesitant over speaking to Peter. She was still getting used to sharing herself with him, even after all this time. A life-long habit of keeping things quiet was a hard habit to break. Not that it deterred Peter. He was like a dog with a bone, pushing at just the right places to get her to talk. She still found it scary, far more intimate than anything else that she had ever experienced. But she was learning that Peter, of all the people in her life, was the one person that she could never keep that part of her from. He was her husband and if there marriage was to survive there could be no secrets and no lies. When she arrived at the lab, Peter was waiting for her out front, two coffees in his hand. She offered him a small smile.
"Hey."
He handed her a coffee and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek, taking her hand in his.
"Let's walk."
She frowned.
"We have work-"
"It can wait ten minutes."
They walked in silence, sipping at their coffees as they followed the path away from the lab and onto the street.
"What did Mike say? Did he admit to the abuse?"
Peter shook his head.
"I'm not telling you anything until I know what happened in there."
The fear she felt, it seemed absurd now. She felt foolish. Why had she reacted like that?
"I don't know what happened."
"I think I do."
"Care to share?"
"You simply pushed it all aside. I know you Liv, that's what you do."
"I kind of had to. I wasn't going to let him win."
"But pushing it aside didn't make it go away. When you were standing there, looking at him, no through him, I saw your terror. I saw anger and fear. I saw a lost little girl who had to endure things no kid ever should."
"Everyone has skeletons."
"You don't have skeletons, Liv. You have still fleshy bodies running around. And it concerns me that you've never really dealt with it."
"Well, it's stupid. I'm an adult, an FBI agent, what reason do I have to linger in something that happened so damn long ago?"
Peter shook her head.
"That kind of past leaves scars. You need to talk to someone about it."
"I talk to you."
She offered him a half smile, trying to get out of having to sit in front of a stranger and talk to them the same way she did with the people she loved.
"I mean a professional."
"It will go on my record Peter, you know that."
Peter squeezed her hand.
"We will work around the system. Can you at least promise me that you will think about it?"
Olivia nodded.
"Deal."
He released her hand and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head.
"Ok, first of all, tell me what happened with Heather Fogleigh."
They settled themselves on a bench, still sipping their coffees.
"She actually works for the FBI. She's a profiler and criminologist."
"So she consulted with A.J?"
Olivia nodded.
"For the last two years."
"Interesting."
"She wanted to hear that tape where A.J talked about Alfonso Culter. I'm going to pop home and grab the tape for her. Perhaps she can figure out what A.J was so suspicious about. So, are you going to tell me what happened with Mike? Did he confess to the abuse?"
"Oh my dear wife, if only it was that easy. He had an answer for everything. Going by what he said, apparently A.J was terribly clumsy . I had a few issues containing him so I dealt with it and then he was processed for the assault on you."
"What did you do?"
"Nothing that he hadn't done to anyone else. How is your face anyway?"
He didn't wait for her to answer, exploring the wound with soft fingers. Olivia closed her eyes, enjoying gentle caress. Peter leaned forward and brushed a gentle kiss over the bruise.
"Does it hurt?"
Olivia offered him a small smile.
"Not anymore."
Olivia reclaimed Peter's hand as her phone began to ring.
"Dunham."
"It's Broyles. I need to ask a favour."
"What?"
"Coroner's backed up and some track workers just found a body. Do you think Walter would mind processing it for me?"
"I'll check with him but I'm sure he will be delighted. He loves his corpses."
"Thanks. Let me know."
Olivia slipped her phone back in her pocket and stood, pulling Peter up with her.
"We need to go and see if Walter wants a job."
"A messy one?"
"Is there any other?"
Walter was delighted to take the job. Peter offered to stay back and assist. Olivia headed home to grab the tape for Heather, thinking about what Astrid had been saying about those letters. There had been no prints, nothing to give any clue as to who sent them. The dates had been written in A.J's handwriting, so that wasn't much of a clue. And despite how much she hated Mike, she knew it wasn't him. He was too disorganised and out of control. But she would keep him on the suspect list until it was completely proven. Olivia swung into the driveway and let herself in, pulling off her coat. She found the tapes, deciding to just give them all to Heather to analyse. She pulled out her phone, deciding it was the perfect time for an Etta check.
"Blake residence, Ella speaking."
"Hey sweetie!"
"Aunt Livia, how are you? When are you coming to see us next?"
Olivia smiled as she sat down at the breakfast bar, flicking through the tapes, making sure they were all there.
"I will come and see you soon, I promise. How is school?"
"Good. I got an A+ on my science project."
"Good girl!"
"Can you make sure that Grandpa Walter knows?"
Ella and Walter had worked hard on the project, spending every afternoon after school for two weeks dissecting the mystery of atoms. Walter had loved it. Not only that, but it seemed to have secured their relationship, giving Ella a never ending supply of information and Walter yet another grand-daughter.
"Of course. He will be so proud of you."
"And tell Uncle Peter too. He said that if I got higher than a B, he would take me to any movie I wanted."
Olivia chuckled.
"What one did you want to see?"
"I don't know yet. Oh and do you know what else?"
"What?"
"I have a school dance next week. Mommy is taking me to buy a new dress and everything!"
Ella was definitely her mother's daughter, loving clothes and shopping. Olivia clearly missed out on that genetic trait.
"Make sure you take heaps of pictures."
"I will."
"How is Etta?"
"She's fine. She's sleeping. She's so cute. She kept saying 'Hi'"
"Yeah it's her new trick."
"And do you know what else she did?"
"What?"
"She called me Lala! She can almost say my name!"
Olivia missed this. Ella's excitement for life was like sun after a few days of rain. It almost vibrated down the phone.
"That's great!"
"Aunt Livia, Mommy wants to talk to you. Promise that you'll tell Grandpa Walter and Uncle Peter."
"I promise. Love you."
"Love you too."
She heard a slight shuffle as the phone exchanged hands before Rachel was on the line.
"Hey."
"Hey Rach. How is my little darling?"
"Sleeping. She was exhausted."
"Why?"
"Because Ella and Eddie chased her around the house. She crawled herself into exhaustion."
"It had to happen sometime. She never stops at home."
"And before you ask, she's had her bottles and her banana. I also tried her on some plums today."
"Oh that would have been messy."
"Yeah, I had to give her and Eddie a bath after that. I took some pictures of the two of them in the tub. It was very cute."
Olivia sighed.
"Thank you for taking her Rach."
"Don't be stupid. I love that kid, I'll take her anytime. I don't really do anything anyway. Ella is taking her older cousin duties very seriously."
Olivia smiled.
"Good to hear."
"How is the case going?"
"Nowhere at the moment. But hopefully that will change soon."
"What time do you think you'll be home? Greg finishes work at six and I'll leave the kids with him and bring Etta home."
"Sounds good. Thanks again."
"Hey what are sisters and aunties for? Stay safe and tell Peter I say hi."
"Will do. Love you."
"Love you too."
Olivia hung up and grabbed her coat, heading back out the door and to the FBI building. She had work to do.