The next day would be hectic. It turned out Fin and Amandas suspect was a threat after all. During the night he'd paid a visit to the victims' family. The family was safe but got a real scare. The suspect kept leaving a trail of violence as he tried to hunt down his victim. After an intense 10 hour hunt they finally got him cornered and they could take him in. He lawyered up quickly though and they didn't get much out of him. Pleading not guilty would not get him anywhere though seeing how he left incriminating evidence on the victim and had made threats to numerous witness after the assault. All they had to do was get enough good witness statements and he would be locked up for a long time.
Even if they both were tired as their shift came to its end Fin decided he had to confront Amanda about her assault. Liv saw him get the unmarked case file from his desks drawer and then how he caught Amanda as she came out of the break room. Nick came out of the gentlemens and passed them on his way to his desk. –They're still on the Looney tune guy? He asked Liv who had been gazing after them. The suspect had gotten the nickname since he had a Yosemite Sam tattoo on his arm and it had been one of the things that gave him away. –No he's on his way to county. She said a bit distracted and turned back to her desk. –Okay. Nick sat down at his desk. –So I think I'm about done here for the night then. He said to Liv as he had checked his messages and concluded nothing new was in. He looked over at Liv but she didn't seem to have heard him. –Olivia? He said and got her attention. –Huh? She said as she turned her head to him.
–You got something else for me? –What? No. She seemed unfocused but he gathered it could be the need of sleep. –And we got that witness at noon tomorrow then? That's when she finally gave him a smile and seemed to really pay attention to him. She nodded. –Yes she'll be in at noon. Still no word from the father but he does work shift at that power plant and she said he could be hard to reach. Maybe he'll have checked in by tomorrow at least. They talked about tomorrows witness a bit but then got interrupted by a door slamming down by the interrogation rooms. At this time a night the squad room was rather quiet so the noise got the attention of the few people in there. It didn't take long until Amanda came charging down the corridor. Obviously fuming. She avoided everyone's eyes and just kept walking out. Fin came soon after but stopped at the end of the corridor as he knew there was no point running after her. He held a crumbled paper in his hand. He met Olivia's eyes, took a deep breath and then turned in to the break room. Liv immediately rose and hurried in after him. Nick was left still feeling like he was in a Wes Anderson movie.
She found him by the back wall. –I take it it didn't go that well? She said as she slowly approached him. He shook his head without looking at her. –What happen? She asked and leaned against the vending machine. He took a deep breath and looked up. –Basically I showed her the photo, she told me to back off, I pushed, she told me to fuck off and threw his picture at me. He held up the crumbled paper in his hand. He sighed and raised his eyebrows at her.
–Awesomely in other words. He said with obvious irony in his voice. –I had a feeling that's how she would react. Liv said with a comforting smile. –And you couldn't have warned me? –Would that have stopped you? She asked and got a weak smile from him. They stood in silence for a while. –So the next move? She finally asked. He shrugged his shoulders. –I'm not sure but I'm not giving up. I'll keep asking. She'll tell me sooner or later.
The following day...
Olivia and Nick came in before shift the next day since they had that interview. When they came out Fin was at his desk but Amanda's was still empty. Liv shot Fin a look and could tell he was nervous once she caught his eye. She was still just minutes late but they were all prompt people, well maybe with the exception of Munch, so even minutes counted. She saw Fin dial his phone. She got interrupted by a question from Nick and when she turned back he had put his phone down. Seemed Amanda wasn't reachable by phone. Liv got a phone call and got occupied for a bit. A little bit later Cragen came out of his office to check in with his people. –Where's Rollins? The captain asked once he realized she wasn't at her desk. –Not sure captain. Fin answered and got a stern look from Cragen. –You have witnesses in the Looney tune case coming in right? Fin nodded. –You need a second chair if she doesn't show? Fin shook his head.
–I was thinking maybe I could swing by her place before… Cragen interrupted him. –No. Deal with the witnesses I'm sure she's just having car trouble or something. They all knew the state of her car. Fin wanted to push but knew the captain would get suspicious if he did. He could already feel Amaro looking at him with some interest.
An hour past with no sign of Rollins. The Looney tune witnesses came in and Fin would have to sit down with them soon. Liv could tell he was very anxious and she too was a bit worried that Amanda hadn't checked in. She caught him before he went in to take their statements. –We're going out soon. I'll make a stop at her place. She said quietly and his face got brighter in an instant. –Thanks Liv. Fifth floor. To the left all the way to the very end. Door on the right. She nodded at the directions and squeezed his arm. –I'm sure she's fine. She said and he gave her a smile before he had to go. Even though they had plenty of time before they were meeting a witness at his work she grabbed Nick right off the bat and told him they would head out. He looked a little bit puzzled but got his jacket and followed her without saying anything. They took Liv's car and left the station. As they drove over the bridge to Queens Liv told him she was just going to make a quick detour. He managed to stay quiet for the rest of the length of the bridge, which wasn't that long though, but once they got off he had to ask.
–Does this detour have anything to do with Amanda? Liv shot him a quick glance before she had to focus back on the traffic a head of them. She thought about it and then gave him a 'Yeah'. –What's going on? He followed up with and got another quick look from her. She hesitated. –It's personal okay. I'm sure she's fine but Fin's worried and we're just gonna stop by her place to make sure. They drove under silence for a while. –I'm sorry Nick but if it was about you I'm sure you'd like me to keep it private. She gave him a sympathetic smile and he nodded as he saw her point. Of course he'd like her to keep his private things private. But he still was curious to hell what was up with Rollins.
Liv parked in the same spot as two nights ago. She had planned to go up there herself but she didn't feel like stopping Nick as he too got his belt buckle off and stepped out. He probably already felt left out so she figured it wouldn't hurt to just have him tag along. She wasn't even expecting Amanda to be home, the car trouble sounded like a most likely reason for her absence. They walked across the street and Liv checked her front door. It was locked. She pushed Rollins buzzer and then waited. No answer. She tried one more time. She got her phone up and tried calling her. Maybe she'd answer if she saw her name on the screen and not Fin's. No such luck. –What you wanna do? Nick said and looked at her as she put away her phone. Liv looked down the street as she thought about it. She turned back to the front door. –I wanna go up. She tried another buzzer.
After the third try she finally got an answer. It sounded like an old lady but could have been an old man too. –Yes? –Hi my name is detective Benson. Could you let me in so I can check on one of your neighbors? –How do I know you really are a detective? –I could show you my badge if you could come down here. There was a pause. –Are you going to bust in on those darn punksters on the second floor? The voice came back saying. Liv smiled at Nick. –Maybe. She answered. Another slight pause and then they got buzzed in. Even Nick had to smile at that.
They rode up to the fifth floor and Liv knew which way to turn. They walked down the corridor. Nick thought he heard a sound and looked behind them. As he was turning his head back he saw Liv go for her gun and he immediately reached for his own. No one else was in the corridor though and he didn't really know why she went for her gun. She kept walking along the wall and he followed. He soon saw what she had seen. The door on the right at the very end was slightly open. A piece of wood busted on the case. Liv signaled she would go in first. He kept his back to the wall as she slowly pushed the door open.
–Amanda? She tried with a raised voice. She peeked inside. –Amanda, are you in here? Nick had a peek too. There was an opening to their left. Liv stepped into the hallway. They saw one of Amanda's boots kicked to the wall. They could see the other one further into the apartment.
–Amanda? Liv tried again but still got no answer. Nick stepped in after her. Except for the boots nothing looked very out of place. The light from the large windows and the sparse decor made it easy for them to clear the room. Liv gestured for Nick to have a look into the kitchen that they could see to the right once inside her apartment. He went over there and could just as easily clear it. He came back out and she hinted with her head she was heading over to the other door. He followed her from the other side of the couch. They both spotted the blood splatter on the floor about a yard from the bedroom door. Not much but still blood. The door wasn't completely shut. –Amanda? She called out again hoping they would just surprise her in the shower. The blood on the floor having some natural explanation. Nick saw Liv take a breath before she slowly pushed the door open to Amanda's bedroom.
The minute she saw Amanda's body on the floor she lost all detective skills. Nick, who couldn't see what she saw, just saw her eyes grew wide and then she rushed into the room. He followed as soon as he grasped she actually ran inside. Amanda was on her back, arms and legs spread out around her. She wore a t-shirt on top but her lower part was completely bare. Liv charged down to the limp body on the floor as Nick came inside. He still had his gun raised and he went for the bathroom to clear it. Amanda had clearly been attacked by someone and that someone could still be in there he knew. Liv was making all these sounds letting him know she was distressed. She called Amanda's name and tried to get contact with her. Nick cleared the bathroom and then stepped over Amanda's legs as he went over to the closet to make sure no one was hiding in there. He checked behind the gigantic bed too.
–I can't get her to respond Nick. Liv yelled franticly. –She's not cold but I can't find a pulse. I don't think she has a pulse Nick. Liv screamed. Nick put his gun back in his holster as he went down on the other side of Amanda's body. She looked roughed up. Not roughed up enough to be unconscious though. Nick put his hand on her cheek and could tell she wasn't cold. He went down to her neck to check for a pulse. –I can feel it. He quickly said. –It's faint though. Get a buss Liv. He bent down to listen to her breathing. He had his ear close to her mouth and eyes down to see if her chest was rising. This also meant he was staring down at her exposed body. 'Had she been raped?' flew through his mind. The bed had looked roughed up, pillows thrown around. Liv meanwhile got her phone up and dialed 911. Nick put one hand at her jaw and went to put the other one on her head to get her airways cleared to give her mouth to mouth since he couldn't feel her breathing. His hand slipped down through her hair and as he pulled it up he could feel that familiar sticky feeling on his fingers.
–Oh my god. Liv whispered as she saw the blood.
He carefully moved her head a bit and through her blonde strands they could see a pool of blood just underneath her head and the pool continued downwards underneath her body. Nick felt horror going through his body but he wasn't ready to give up on her. She had a penetrating wound but they hadn't seen any weapon. He felt the back of her head and felt the big lump. –No bullet hole. He told Liv who was eyeing them with the same horror he'd just felt. –I think she's hit her head on something or someone hit her in the back of the head with something. He wiped the blood of his hand on his pant leg and then moved to continued getting her airways cleared. He got her head in the right position and then went down to cover her mouth with his own. He breathed air into her lungs and then went up for air before he repeated the procedure. Liv had gotten through to the emergency service and gave them the code for officer down and then the address. She told them what little they knew about her injuries and as any distressed person Liv ended with 'and hurry' before she put down her phone. She watched Nick give Amanda another breath. Then she carefully pulled her top down as much as possible so to hide her private parts. Nick looked up at Liv through breaths. There wasn't anything either one of them could say.
Liv's panic seemed to have succumbed but instead she seemed to be slipping into shock. Nick could only concentrate on one fellow detective right now. –Liv? Maybe you should go down and meet the buss? Get them up here faster? He told her in between breaths and she nodded. –Yes. I'll do that. She whispered.
–You'll keep her alive? She asked and he nodded once he went back up for air. He saw her get up, her gun still on the floor. She got out of there quickly and Nick went back to what he was doing. She still had a heartbeat. He'd keep her breathing. She would pull through this. She had to. This surely had something to do with the 'personal' Liv had mentioned in the car. Nothing was ever personal he thought to himself as he looked down her face. She looked like she was sleeping very peacefully. But then there was the blood he'd smeared on her face. Her blood that he'd smeared on her face while trying to breathe life into her. He gave her another breath as something crossed his mind. Zara's favorite saga. He looked down into Amanda's face and whispered: -Please be Sleeping Beauty.