The Next Day

As it turns out, Peter kept getting away with his misdeeds because his father would pay his way out of trouble. When the detectives took a look at his file from CT, it was a mile long.

"He was accused of tying his housekeeper to a tree and leaving her there for hours."

Originally, she wanted to file false imprisonment charges, but two days later, she declined to prosecute and then flew away to Paris.

They knew that every time Peter got in trouble his father bailed him out.

"How do we deal with that?" Stabler questioned.

Munch had a crazy idea. "Maybe we should count on it."

The sting was quite simple. They called Peter's father's lawyer asking for an interview with Peter. They simply told him that a coworker had been attacked and there was some evidence to suggest that someone who works in the same building may have attacked her.

The lawyer was very smarmy. He was around 50, greying hair, very expensive suit and he had clearly rehearsed this speech many times. "Officers … how may we be of service?"

"We don't want to take up much of your time," Captain Cragen assured them. "We just have a few questions for Peter … about the office."

At the interview, they "accidentally" disclosed that Melanie was sexually assaulted and they had DNA but no one with whom to match it.

"I can't believe I let that slip," Munch said seemingly innocent. "Melanie didn't want anyone treating her differently. I hope you two can keep this to yourselves."

"Of course."

They asked Peter if any of his coworkers seemed violent to him.

"I don't want to make any accusations without evidence, but Adam was very upset when Melanie was promoted over him. He's a good guy, but he's one of those weird types, you know, quiet and he thinks everyone is out to get him."

"Would you be able to get us a DNA sample?"

"Like get his coffee cup or something … I can do that."

All Peter had to do was give his own DNA, and they would think it was Adam's, like shooting fish in a barrel.

For once, Olivia didn't have to stay late at work. Munch had taken the lead on the case. This one clearly got to him.

The detective got to the gym for the first time in weeks. Alex thought it was risky for her to lift while pregnant, even though their doctor said light weights were fine.

Olivia, had however, forgotten about the light weights restriction and did her normal legs workout: squats, banded glute bridges, walking lunges, Romanian deadlifts, and pallof presses.

She felt just fine during the squats and the glute bridges, but once she got to the lunges, she started to feel a bit woozy.

I must be getting out of shape.

She muscled through the lifts and by the time she was done, she was too winded to walk home.

"Taxi!"

When she got home, she was surprised to find Alex and Casey arguing.

"I don't see why you're so upset," Alex told her.

"Of course you don't. That's the problem."

"You're upset because I don't know why you're upset! Isn't that a bit circular?"

Casey buried her face in her hands. "Olivia, guess what Alex did today?"

Olivia looked around the apartment. "Um … she vacuumed?"

Casey grunted. She did do that but … "she bought a house."

Olivia didn't get it. "You mean like a dollhouse. What if we have a boy?"

Casey looked ready to snap. "Not a dollhouse, you bonehead a HOUSE house!"

Olivia was taken aback. Casey must be really upset to be name-calling.

"You bought a house?"

"Not necessarily," Alex told her.

"What does that mean?"

Olivia grabbed water from the fridge and flopped on the couch. If they were bickering tonight, she was doing it lying down.

"Well, I made an offer, which was accepted, but it's conditional on the house passing inspection, and on your and Casey's approval. If you don't both like it, then the deal is off."

Olivia didn't see the problem. "We can say no for any reason?"

"You can say no if it's only because you don't like the owner's haircut. I only want this house if it's the house we all want."

Olivia looked to Casey. "Why are you upset?" They had been talking about getting a bigger place for the kids … and so they could get a dog.

"She went and bought a house! It's not like she bought a new stand mixer or some new shoes, a house! Why couldn't she take us with her?"

Olivia didn't know. She had been busy but she could have maybe gone to see the house during lunch.

"My agent called. She said she had found a great house and it wouldn't be in the market for long so I swung by during lunch." Alex didn't think they all needed to go for a quick peak. "I only planned on giving it a visit," but when she saw the house, it was gorgeous.

"What's so great about the house?" Olivia asked her.

Alex realized she hadn't shown them … "I took pictures."

She went to get her camera and when she came back, she was able to show them why it was so special.

Olivia looked at the screen and saw a big brick house. "It's three stories."

Alex nodded. "It's three stories, six bathrooms, 5 and a half baths." The current owners had redone the kitchen 18 months ago. They had a six-range stove, two ovens, granite countertops, and a center island.

The blonde had taken pictures of everything, the bedrooms, the bathrooms, and even the stairwells.

Then, they got to the backyard. There was a white picket fence and plenty of space to put in a patio maybe set up some swings or something.

Right now, there was a vegetable garden in the back.

Alex tried to smooth the ice with Casey. "I know it's a big deal, but … I didn't think the house would be on the market for long, and it's hard to find an affordable house in Manhattan, especially one this size."

The current owners had paid 2M for the house and then put over 1M of work into it, redoing all the floors, re-caulking the house, and putting on a new roof to name a few of the improvements.

It looked a little too pristine for Olivia's tastes, but she had a feeling some kids were just what they needed to break the place in.

Alex started talking about what they could do. "Structurally, the house looks pretty good. In terms of aesthetics, we can do anything you two would like. Money is no issue."

MONEY! That's what Olivia had forgotten about. "How much is this house?"

The asking price was 4M. Alex's real estate agent told her that this was an inflated price, so the attorney offered 3.2M, with $100,000 earnest money.

The couple needed that money to catch up with the mortgage, so they accepted it, on condition that the check cleared that day.

"It's 3.2M."

"What about the down payment?" How much would the mortgage be?

"I put down a deposit of $100,000, but we wouldn't …"

"You already spent 100k!" Casey freaked. "What did you do, wave your magic wand?"

"I wrote a check," Alex retorted. "What I was saying was that we wouldn't need a mortgage. We can pay off the mortgage in full and pay the owners the rest."

Casey pointed at Olivia and herself. "We can't pay anything. You are the one who can just throw money around. What are we supposed to do, just tag along for the ride?"

Alex didn't get what the big deal was. "What's mine is yours. Who cares that I have more money than you do. My mother never worked a day in her life. It's not like my father did an accounting each month and charged her for using the bathroom 'cause she didn't pay rent."

Olivia tried not to laugh. She could hardly imagine Alexander with a spreadsheet counting how many times his wife used the utilities in the house.

Casey was not amused. "I'm not going to be a kept woman!" The redhead stormed off.

Alex didn't know what got into her. "Did she have a bad day at work?"

Olivia didn't think so. "Let her cool off." There has to be something else going on.

Flashback November 1987

How could you spend $300 at Macy's? James Novak was livid when he got the credit card bill.

"I had to get winter coats for the children." She got an on sale coat for herself, but four coats, hats, and gloves didn't come too cheaply.

"You spent $300 on two coats?" Timmy didn't need a new coat. He could just take James old coats.

"I got four coats, hats, gloves …"

He rolled his eyes. "What were you thinking spending all this money?"

"The news man said it was going to be a cold one this winter."

"We're going to be out in the cold if you keep spending like this. As much as you shop, I can hardly keep up with the bills!"

James was always stingy with the money, turning off lights when other people were in the room, timing showers. He made the money; everyone else owed him.

Casey chose Penn State over UPenn because she got a full scholarship. She didn't want to owe her father anything. She hated owing money. It was like someone had a lease on your life

Unsure of what else to do, Alex went to Olivia. "How was your day?"

Olivia moaned. "I'm sore."

"Don't tell me you chased a perp into the streets."

"No!" Olivia wasn't that crazy. "I just went to the gym and …"

Alex was already on her case. "You're not supposed to be lifting heavy weights right now."

"I went easy," Olivia claimed.

Alex didn't believe her. "I know you. As soon as you see some skinny punk trying to show off you have to get all macho and …"

"I do not."

"You can't help yourself," Alex continued. "Look how much I can bench. Look at what I can squat. I just don't want you getting hurt."

"I know," Olivia admitted. "But I just have to move. It's like how you feel compelled to mop as soon as Casey and I use the kitchen."

Alex rolled her eyes. "I don't feel compelled to clean. I just don't want to get ants, Miss. Sesame Chicken All Over the Floor."

Olivia gave her a sheepish grin. "I was gonna clean it up."

Alex got Olivia a plate a food. She realized she had never offered the brunette dinner. She had made mac and cheese with breaded eggplant, basil, grape tomatoes and ricotta cheese.

"This looks fabulous." Olivia took a bite and groaned. "Oh yeah."

When Alex went to check on Casey, the redhead had fallen asleep in the office. The blonde carried her to bed. It wasn't like Casey to be so volatile. Something about money really got to her. Alex was determined to figure out what it is.