Chapter 12
They were up all night, trying to piece things together. TARU had managed to clean up the picture of the man in the car but Cragen hadn't wanted to release his picture to the media. Huang thought that that was a good idea seeing as the media attention probably drove him to kill his last two victims. Instead, Briscoe was running face through facial recognition software which allowed Elliot and Olivia to dig through the college angle. Fin and Munch were busy helping keep Mr. El-Amin and his wife safe until official protective custody could be transferred to the proper unit. The detectives agreed that having Mr. El-Amin open his restaurant would be a bad idea so they posted a sign on the door stating that due to more vandalism the restaurant was closed for cleaning and repairs. They also had the local precinct step up patrols so that the locals wouldn't get spooked.
"Is there any more coffee?" Olivia asked.
"Why don't you take fifteen in the cribs? We can't visit NYU until nine anyway," Elliot suggested.
"What time is it now?" His partner asked.
"Eight-thirty, never mind. We'll get coffee on our way," he said. Olivia nodded and yawned before hitting the ladies room. She tried to freshen up a little and then the two of them were out to the car and heading for the college campus.
"So the other night…" Elliot started after they picked up their coffee.
"Which night was that now? I think I'm running on about eight hours over the last two days," Olivia said.
"A nap is definitely in order but I'm talking about when Kathy…" he stopped himself, unsure of what to say next.
"We'll handle this just like everything else but we need to save Elizabeth first," Olivia pointed out.
"I know and I'm not talking about dealing with Kathy. I meant when you kissed me on the temple," the words were out in the open now.
"You seemed like you needed it and to be perfectly honest, I needed it," she said. Elliot opened his mouth to say something but they were at the college. Before he could open his mouth, Olivia had exited the vehicle. We'll pick this up later, he thought.
"What building are we going to?" She asked.
"Physics department, Professor Allen Reinig," Elliot said, coming up behind her. They worked their way through the campus and flashed their badges at a security guard who stopped them just before the building they needed to enter.
"You hear anything about Professor Reinig?" Elliot wondered.
"Like what?" The security guard asked; the name plate on his chest said West.
"Like reports of groping or inappropriate touching?" Olivia asked as they moved toward the professor's office.
"Are you sure you have the right professor?" West was very confused.
"Why?" Elliot wanted to know.
"Professor Reinig is in a wheelchair. He was paralyzed from the waist down after a skiing accident a couple of years ago," the guard explained.
"Does he have an assistant?" Olivia asked.
"Sure. Robbie Alvarez. His office is right down the hall from the professor's," West said.
"We'll need to see him too then," Elliot told him.
"You've got it," the guard nodded.
To Be Continued…