Location: SVU Squad Room.
"Hey!" Olivia called out as she entered the squad room. "What's going on?"
She walked over to the media center where Elliot, Munch, Fin, and Cragen were all standing.
"You're just in time," Cragen told her. "We were just about to discuss the case." He then turned to his other detectives. "So, what have we got?"
Fin spoke up. "Munch and I interviewed the director of Cressley Falls, as well Vivian's group. All their stories match. Vivian was last seen during their shopping trip when her roommate, Nancy, admitted to helping Vivian sneak away so she could save Calvin."
"But Vivian never made it to Calvin," Cragen stated. "Did Nancy tell you anything else?"
"Not much," Fin answered. "Just that Vivian was supposed to hide out until she met up with Calvin and the grandparents on Saturday. But Nancy couldn't or wouldn't give us any clues as to where Vivian may be hiding."
"Just great," Cragen said sarcastically. "Benson! Stabler! Please tell me you got something out of David Drecker."
Stabler cleared his throat. "David didn't know anything of his parents whereabouts, but he did give us a list of places where he and Vivian used to get high. It's possible she may be hiding out in one of them. Also, we were right about the abuse."
Elliot went on to tell them what Drecker had told him and Olivia about his less than perfect childhood. Then Elliot handed Cragen the list of places Drecker had given them.
"This is good," Cragen read over the list. "And it's a short list. I'll let you guys split it up and search the places. But we still have one more problem. If we do find George and Evelyn Drecker, we don't have enough evidence to arrest them. Munch, you've been working with Homicide. Have they found anything to link the Dreckers to their case?"
"As a matter of fact," Munch replied. "They do. Fingerprints on Officer Sorenson's belt matched fingerprints on file belonging to Evelyn Drecker."
"From when she took his gun," Olivia spoke aloud, remembering her conversation with Calvin.
Her colleagues looked at her with confused expressions.
"And you know this how?" Cragen questioned.
Olivia explained to them about Calvin awaking from his coma and telling her what had happened that night.
"It looks like the evidence corroborates his story," Cragen said. "That should be enough to get us a warrant. But Liv, I want you to go back to the hospital and show Calvin a photo array. We need him to identify Officer Sorenson as the officer his grandparents killed. And if we do find George and Evelyn, we'll need Calvin to testify against them in court."
"I can do that, Captain," Olivia nodded.
"Good," Cragen said. "One more thing, Liv, have you gone through the emails Calvin sent you?
"I did," Olivia responded. "There was no mention of abuse at all. At the hospital, I asked Calvin why he never told me. And He said he was protecting me."
Her colleagues remained silent, but gave her sympathetic stares. They understood what she was going through and how she felt.
"Alright," Cragen spoke aloud. "It's late as hell. Go home and get some sleep. But I want you all to carry out your orders first thing in the morning. Understood"
The four detectives nodded in response. As Cragen went back to his office, the four detectives began to divide up the list of places.
"Let's see," said Munch. "How about Fin and I take the abandoned warehouses and burnt down apartment building in Brooklyn?"
"Cool," Fin replied.
"Great," Elliot said. "Liv and I will take the condemned hotel and warehouses in Queens."
"Sounds good to me," Olivia agreed. "But I'm going to visit Calvin first. So I'll meet up with you afterward."
"No problem," Elliot told her. "Just call me when you're done. I'll pick you up from the hospital."
"Okay," Olivia said.
Once it was settled and arranged, the four of them said their goodbyes and then parted their separate ways for the night.
Location: Mercy Hospital. Calvin's Room. The Next Day.
"Olivia!" Calvin smiled as she entered the room and sat down beside him.
He was sitting up in bed, watching cartoons and coloring in a coloring book with crayons and markers.
"Hey!" Olivia greeted him. "Glad to see you're out of the ICU and in a regular room. How are you feeling?"
"Better," Calvin answered. "My head doesn't hurt so much anymore. And the doctor gave me pain medicine for my arm. Want to sign my cast?"
He handed her a pack of markers.
"I'd love to!" Olivia picked out a blue marker and began signing his cast. "I need to ask you a few more questions if it's okay."
"About my grandparents?" asked Calvin.
"Yes," Olivia nodded. "Do you feel up to talking?"
Calvin nodded quietly.
"Okay," Olivia spoke as gently and as sweetly as she could. "First, I need you to look at some photos for me. Can you tell me if you recognize anyone?"
She pulled out a pack of photos from her coat pocket and handed them to Calvin. He looked them over carefully one at a time. Finally, about seven or eight photos in, he held up a photo.
"I know this guy," Calvin spoke.
Olivia took the photo from him. It was a photo of Officer Joshua Sorenson.
"Where do you know him from?" Olivia inquired.
Calvin's sad eyes met hers. "He was the guy my grandma shot and killed."
Olivia took the pack of photos from him and returned them to her coat pocket.
"Thank you, Calvin," Olivia held his hand. "You did great. Now I need to ask you one last question. I know how hard this will be for you and I know you're scared. But would you be willing to testify against your grandparents in court?"
"I don't know if I can," Calvin shuddered at the thought of testifying against his grandparents. What if they hurt him again? "Will you be there?"
"Yes," Olivia promised him as she looked into his eyes. "I'll be there every step of the way."
"I'll do it," Calvin slowly nodded. "If you'll be there."
"You can count on me," Olivia assured him with a gentle smile.
"I know," Calvin smiled back.
"Listen," Olivia told him. "I really hate to cut my visit short, but I have to go to work. But I promise you I'll come back later."
"Okay," Calvin held out his unbroken arm for a hug. "Bye Olivia."
Olivia hugged him and kissed his forehead. "Bye Calvin."
With that, Olivia stood up and left the room. As she made her way down the hall to the elevators, she pulled her cell phone from her coat pocket and dialed Elliot's number.
"Stabler," came Elliot's voice from the receiver.
"Hey, it's me," Olivia spoke, pressing the down button for the elevator. "Where are you?"
"At the condemned hotel in Queens," Elliot replied. "But there's nothing here. No sign Vivian or the Dreckers were ever here. I'm going over to the warehouses. I'll meet you there."
The elevator doors opened and Olivia stepped inside. She pushed the button for the first floor.
"Wait," Olivia said, suddenly thinking of something. "Many perps bury their victims in a place that means something to them. We've been thinking Vivian may be hiding in her old hangouts. But many other junkies hide there too. What if Vivian's hiding somewhere that's special to only her?"
"I see what you mean," Elliot understood. "Do you think she's hiding at her old house?"
"No," Olivia said, remembering her last encounter with Vivian. "That was her mother's house. She abandoned it after her mother died. That's when she left Calvin with me. She's gotta be hiding at that old building in the Bronx. The last time I found her there, she called it home. Vivian said it wasn't much but it was where hers and Sarah's hearts were."
"We'll skip the warehouses and head there instead," said Elliot. "I'll swing by the hospital and pick you up."
"Don't," Olivia told him. "I'm a lot closer than you are. Just meet me there."
"Alright," Elliot agreed. "But Liv, if you get there before I do, please don't do anything crazy."
"Don't worry," Olivia assured him. "I won't."
Olivia hung up her phone and slipped it back into her pocket. The elevator doors opened on the first floor, revealing the hospital main lobby and gift shop. Olivia walked out of the elevator and past the gift shop. Then she went through the main lobby and out the main doors.
Location: 687 Whittier Street. Bronx, NY.
Olivia walked along the crumbled path and up the stone steps to the old rundown building. She looked around for Elliot, but saw no sign of him. Nor was there any sign of the brown sedan. She realized she must have gotten there first. Should she proceed into the building or should she wait for Elliot? Before she could decide, Olivia heard a crashing sound from inside the house.
She drew her gun from its holster and quietly and carefully entered the house. She looked around what was supposed to be the living room. It looked almost exactly the same as it did the last time she was here. When she had arrested Vivian for the murder of Walter Burlock. The room was coated in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. The walls and floor were gutted up and full of holes. The only furniture was a mattress on the floor with a thin gray blanket, an old trunk, and a small wooden crate. On the trunk were several lit pillar candles providing the only light in the room. And on the crate lay several syringes, a spoon, and something that looked like black pantyhose.
The only difference in the room was that one of the boarded up windows had been broken. And a stray orange tabby cat had crawled inside the house through that very window. Olivia guessed that the cat most likely caused the crash she heard earlier. The afternoon sun poured from the broken window into the dark, gloomy room. With her gun still drawn, she pointed her weapon around as she searched around for Vivian or the Dreckers. But saw no sign of either. Olivia figured Vivian must have stepped out. Maybe to buy more drugs perhaps? Who knows? Maybe the Dreckers hadn't found her yet?
Either way, Olivia didn't want to wait around in that place for her to come back. She didn't want to spook Vivian. It had been hard enough tracking her down. The best thing to do would be to sit on the place and wait for either the Dreckers or Vivian to show up. Olivia decided she should call Elliot and tell him the plan. She couldn't risk him and Vivian arriving there at the same time. That would really spook her.
Olivia returned her gun to its holster. She reached into her coat pocket for her phone and turned to leave. But as she turned around, she found herself face to face with a gun. And even though she had never met them in person, Olivia knew the person holding the gun. It was George Drecker. And standing next to him was his wife, Evelyn. She recognized them from the hotel surveillance camera footage.
"Who the hell are you?" George demanded. "And what the fuck do you want?"
Olivia raised her hands up and spoke calmly. "My name is Olivia. I don't want any trouble, George. I'm just here to see Vivian."
"How do you know my name?" George glared angrily at her, pressing the gun against her cheek.
Olivia spoke not a word, but stared at the gun pressed against her cheek, thinking of how to answer him. If she told him she was a cop, he might kill her. And if she tried to reach for her gun, he might kill her.
"Vivian told me you were coming," Olivia lied. "When I called her yesterday."
"I don't believe you!" George snarled. "Evie! Search her!"
Without a word, Evelyn began to search Olivia, while George held the gun steady on Olivia. Evelyn started by emptying Olivia's pockets, pulling out her badge, gun, and cell phone.
"You're a cop!" George became angry. "I fucking knew it." He raised the gun and struck her across the face with it, causing Olivia to cry out in pain. "Strike one! That's for lying to me, bitch!"
Olivia's head seared with dizzying pain. She felt tears sting her eyes, but she forced them back. She remained still, even as Evelyn continued to search her. When she was finished, Evelyn turned to her husband.
"Her pockets are empty," Evelyn told him.
"Pat her down," George instructed her. "Make sure she's not hiding any other weapons on her."
Evelyn did as she was told and patted Olivia down from head to toe. Olivia observed them enough to know that George was the dominant one in the relationship. Even so, Evelyn was still capable of holding her own. After all, it was she who killed Officer Sorenson. Meanwhile, George eyed Olivia carefully, as he slowly circled her. He wanted answers.
"Tell me why you're really here," he said, coldly.
"I told you," Olivia said. "I'm here to see Vivian."
"Stop lying!" George snapped. "Do want me to hit you again?"
"It's the truth," Olivia stared fiercely into his cold, dark eyes. "Her son, your grandson, is in the hospital. And I'm not afraid of you."
That was enough to make George's temper flare. He balled his free hand into a fist and punched Olivia in the stomach hard. Olivia cried out in pain as she keeled over and stumbled to the floor, causing Evelyn to fall backwards. Olivia lay on the floor clutching her stomach as Evelyn scrambled to get up off the floor and out of George's way. George grabbed Olivia by the hair and forced her to stand.
"That was strike two," George said, holding the gun to her temple. "Trust me. You don't want to get to strike three."
"Is that what you told Calvin before you beat him into a coma?" Olivia retorted.
"You're really pushing it, bitch," George said lividly as he pushed the gun harder into her temple. "You want me to hit you again, don't you? But first, you're gonna tell me what I want to know. Where is Vivian?"
"I don't know," Olivia told him. "I came here hoping to find her."
"Liar!" George roared. "Where the fuck is she?"
"I told you!" Olivia raised her voice. "I don't know!"
George finally lost his temper. His blood began to boil as his anger seethed inside him. Suddenly, he was seeing red. Everything around him turned red.
"Strike three," George spoke in her ear, tightening his grip on Olivia's hair. "You're out."
He raised the gun high and brought it down, striking Olivia in the head as hard as he could. Olivia immediately collapsed to the ground as she lost consciousness.
Location: 687 Whittier Street. Bronx, NY.
Elliot slowed down as he drove up to the old abandoned building and looked around for Olivia. When he saw no sign of her, he assumed she must already be inside. He parked his car a few houses away. If Vivian wasn't inside, but was planning on returning, he didn't want to spook her. He locked the car and made his way to the house.
As he reached the front step, Elliot noticed the door was slightly ajar. He removed his gun from its holster and carefully peeked inside. He could see the main entryway was empty. But beyond that he could partially see into the living room, which was where he beheld a startling sight. From his point of view, all Elliot could see was a pair of black boots belonging to whoever was laying on the floor. Elliot worried that Vivian could be hurt or dead. Or worse. He feared it was Olivia who was laying on the floor.
He slowly pushed open the door and waved his weapon around. He searched around, seeing if the perp was still hiding somewhere in the house. When he was satisfied that all was clear, he returned his gun to its holster and ran into the living room. But he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Laying on the floor was Vivian's dead body with a gaping hole in the back of her head. Standing over her was Olivia, covered in bloodstained clothes and looking just as stunned as Elliot. She had a a small, but deep gash on the side of her face and quite a few bruises. Her hair was disheveled and matted with blood. Whether it was hers or Vivian's, neither Olivia nor Elliot could tell.
"Liv...," Elliot started to speak but stopped.
He was certain she didn't kill Vivian, but it looked bad. And he knew he couldn't ask her what happened without Olivia implicating her self in the crime. But as always, Olivia somehow knew what he was trying to say.
"Elliot...," Olivia stammered. "I'm not sure what happened... But I...I...didn't-"
"Stop," Elliot interrupted her. "I believe you. I know you didn't do this. But don't say another word until you get a lawyer."
Stay tuned! More exciting chapters to come soon! Please feel free to read and review!