A/N: Hi everyone, I am so sorry for the lack of updates. The last few weeks have been difficult for me. My head hasn't been focused on anything really; but I've taken time out of the madness to write. I have also been more focused on the book I have started writing which has taken up most of my free time. Thank you for all sticking by me, and waiting patiently for this update. This is my most popular story, so I hope this chapter was worth waiting for. Please review constructively, I always appreciate reading them.
I looked at Alex and smiled, "You did great."
Alex looked me at, she wasn't convinced. "You have to say that, you're my girlfriend."
I nudged her, "I don't have to say anything, but I will because it's true." I smiled at her, lets go and get some dinner and celebrated your success."
"Partial success."
I drove Alex back to my apartment, it still seemed empty after Marni had died. Every time I went to the front door I saw her blank eyes looking up at me. I closed my eyes and could see her face and sometimes I could hear her laugh. It seemed almost too quick to be thinking about having children of my own, but a family of my own is what I'd always wanted. I thought about talking to Alex about it, but something inside me told me not to. At least, not yet.
I opened the door to my apartment and looked around. I felt like I was the more insecure one in the relationship. Alex knew who she was and what she was. I wasn't so sure who I was. I did know that I loved Alex. We sat down and opened a bottle of wine; I saw Alex relax but she had a look on her face that told a different story.
"What's wrong?" I asked sitting back on the couch.
"I was thinking we should move."
I froze, "Move where?"
"Away from this apartment. Every time I'm here I think of Marni. I think we should move in together, away from here. Get our own place and start a new life together."
I smiled, put my glass of wine down and snuggled myself into Alex's arms. "You read my mind."
Alex kissed the top of my head, "Olivia, have you thought about children? I mean, do you want them?"
I felt a small smile on my lips, "I want a family, two kids running around filling the house with laughter."
"Have you thought about kids, with me?"
I looked up at Alex who looked like she'd just dropped a bomb. "I have."
"And..." she asked nervously.
"And I think we'd be great parents." I smiled and kissed Alex. "Ever since I saw you with Marni I knew you'd be a great mom, and there's no one I'd rather be a parent with than you."
"I want a family with you Olivia, I know things have been moving fast but it all feels so right."
"Me too." I smiled. I snuggled back into Alex's arm.
It had been a while since I thought about the exploding bears case. Thankfully Munch and Fin had been keeping up with the case. Alex had the morning off, I wish I did too. I wanted to stay snuggled up to her all morning, have breakfast in bed and stay happy forgetting all the bad that had happened over the last few weeks. Unfortunately, I didn't have that option. I got up, got dressed, kissed Alex on her forehead before leaving a little note telling her I loved her.
It didn't take long to get to the one – six. I walked in feeling a little lost without Alex by my side. I sat down at my desk to find it had been piled up with a lot of paper work. Munch came and sat next to me.
"You want a briefing now?"
I nodded, "Sure."
"Fin and I have been working our asses off on this case. There are a total of three more young victims since the court trial with Parks started. We've had officers at the scene to intercept the bears and none of the girls have been killed." Munch handed me a pile of statements. "Here are Jessie Williams, Chloe Marks and Adele Martinez's statements. They all name a teenage girl as Sadie, but none of them can identify the male. All they know is that he is called Daddy."
"They must know that they're bombs aren't working. Have we been put on alert here incase they attack?" I asked feeling a knot in my stomach.
"We are. So are the hospitals and fire stations. A couple of big events have been put on high alert too." Munch informed me. "Don't worry Liv, we'll get them."
I was worried, I knew from past experience what perps react to, not getting the attention they think they so greatly deserve. I took an hour to read the girl's statements, they were just as horrific as Emily's. I closed my eyes for a second and I could feel the ground move beneath my feet and hear the explosion all over again. I was interrupted by a girl crying asking for me at the door. I turned around and saw someone I recognised from a sketch. Sadie, the teenager. The girl who helped our mystery perp rape girls in the back of a van.
"I need to speak to Detective Benson." she cried loudly.
"That's me. Can I help you?" I asked.
"I need to speak to you, in private. Please, it's urgent."
"Come with me." I said leading her to the box. I took a seat and looked at her, her face was pale. She'd been crying for a while, but I had a feeling of doubt sitting in me already. It all seemed far too convenient.
Sadie sat down, she sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve. "I know who you are, I know you're looking for me. I need your help. Please, please help me." she begged.
A lump rose in my throat and I swallowed hard, "What do you need my help with?"
"My name is Natasha June, I need to tell you the truth. I'm not a monster."
Natasha June, the name hit me like a blow to the face. I didn't know what to say, she was assumed dead ten years ago when the investigation went cold. "Can you.." I didn't have a chance to finish my sentence.
The girl in front of me pulled up her shirt and showed me the small star shaped birthmark on her right hip. "Please, I escaped from him, I need your help, when he finds out I've gone, he's going to kill me."
I stood up, "I'm going to get a pen and a coffee, are you hungry?"
"No, can I have some water please?" she asked softly through tears. I nodded and headed out.
"Amanda, Munch, I need you to watch in on me. This girl is claiming to be Natasha June. She has the birthmark. When she's done drinking the water get it straight to Melinda."
Munch looked at me, "Wait, I thought it was Sadie, who went round abusing kids in a van with Daddy.."
"So did I, but if she's telling the truth, she's a victim." I headed back to the interrogation room and placed a cup of water in front of the girl. I sat down and looked at her, "Can you tell me what happened to you? How did you end up with this man?" I asked pushing a sketch in front of her.
"That's him. That's Daddy."
I frowned, "Do you know his name? His real name?"
"Duncan. I don't know his full name." she hesitated, "I know you're looking for me, but not because of who I am, it's because of what I did to those little girls."
"We are, why did you do it?" I asked softly.
"I didn't have a choice, Daddy has had me since I was five. I did everything he told me to, but then when I got to eighteen he said the sex wasn't what he wanted anymore. I wasn't young enough anymore, he told me I could still live with him if I helped him. He said he'd still make me feel good as long as I helped him."
"When did this start?"
"On my eighteenth birthday he took a little girl from Boston. She was a street kid, she was only eleven but she was turning tricks. He knew no one would miss her, he paid her to give me oral on my birthday whilst he, you know, had sex with her."
I felt sick, "Did he kill her?"
The girl I knew to be Sadie shook her head, "No, she lives with us now. He uses her to befriend other kids, so he can hurt them too."
"When he took you, were you the only one there?"
"Yeah, it was just me from when I was five to eighteen, then he had Jodie. Daddy knew he couldn't keep more than two of us but he promised me he wouldn't chuck me out, so we thought of a way he could have sex with them without keeping them. That's when Jodie would bring them to a secluded part of the park, or to a wooded area."
"When he had sex with the girls, were you involved?" I asked feeling a knot grow bigger inside my stomach.
"Yeah, he'd touch me or when Daddy was making love, he'd tell them to give me oral sex. He didn't want to leave me out."
"When did he change your name?"
"Sadie was Daddy's first daughter's name. He wanted me to be like her."
"How old are you Natasha?" I asked.
"I'm twenty one." Everything made sense, Natasha would have been twenty one. "You don't believe me, do you?"
"I do sweetheart, it's just complicated. We have other girls that have been hurt, so I need you to tell me everything you know and remember."
"Ok."
"How many girls did Duncan hurt?"
"There are forty six names, I wrote them all down." she pushed a list in front of me, "That's not including the recent ones when he left a bear at their houses."
The knot in my stomach seemed to tighten with force, "Did you help with all of those girls?"
Natasha nodded, "I'm not a monster! He made me, he said he's throw me out on the streets. He killed my parents and told me I was alone. If I wanted a roof over my head, I had to help him. You think I'm a sicko, I can see it in your face." Natasha stood up and threw the chair across the room, she sank down the wall as tears overwhelmed her again.
I stood up and looked at her, "I don't think you're sick Natasha, I think you're a victim who has been hurt by this man for a very long time. With him is all you know, I understand."
"Liar!" she screamed in my face, she pushed passed me opened the door.
"Natasha if you leave without telling me everything, I will have to arrest you." I never wanted to arrest a victim, and I knew no jury would convict her, but she didn't.
Natasha turned to face me, she ran to me throwing punches, crying and screaming at me; then she fell into my arms like a child. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to. I didn't want to." she sobbed.
