Yay, I'm back!
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And when she closed her eyes, she saw in her mind the blue-eyed and brown-haired girl of her dreams, and at the same moment she knew exactly what that little girl's name was.
Willow.
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Fin and Munch had barely had time to check a few papers and pour five cups of coffee down their throats when Cragen rushed out of his office like a hurricane, almost startling them.
"What's wrong?"
"They…" Their captain looked agitated, as if he had no time to speak. "They found something on the surveillance cameras. Open your email."
Fin's felt seemed to skip a beat, and for a moment his brain froze before he managed to restart it and click on his email. The email Cragen had forwarded to them opened on the screen, and their eyes bored into the video clip that the cafe next to where Elliot's car was found had sent them.
The video was from the same night Elliot had taken Olivia home, and they hadn't been heard from since. However, the day had already changed to a new one, because it was already half past three in the morning in the video, and that made Fin immediately wonder where the car had been in the meantime. The video showed how Elliot's car turned around the corner to the bank of the river, a person dressed in dark got out of the car, lifted a large stone from the trunk, and put it on the gas pedal so that the car plunged into the river with a huge splash. The man himself turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come, and the video ended when the back of the car disappeared under the surface of the water.
"Cap, this…" Fin was already starting, disappointment raising its head inside him, but Cragen quickly shook his head.
"Scroll down."
And there, under the video, was a photo, much sharper and brighter than the image in the video. The same man, dressed in dark, glancing at the cafe window, on the other side of the building.
A picture in which the man's face was recognizable.
"But…" Similar surprise was reflected in Munch's voice as they turned to look at their captain, eyes wide. "Did they have another camera on the other side of the building?"
Cragen shook his head eagerly. - Yes. They had a game camera filming the shop window of the cafe. It has a much more accurate image quality, and with a little editing they got this image from the video."
"If the man has any criminal records, we'll catch him," Fin turned to look at the picture in disbelief. His heart felt like it was going to explode in his chest, and when he felt his partner's hand on his shoulder, he turned to look at him, his eyes still like saucers.
"And we can find Liv and Elliot."
Then Fin's gaze turned to their captain who was still standing next to them looking at the same photo.
"Have you told Tucker? This…" He swallowed. "This proves that at least Elliot didn't drive the car into the river."
Cragen shook his head. "I have not yet. But I'm going to call him and tell him to drag his ass over here immediately."
And as he turned on his heel, Fin turned again to look at the picture in front of him. The weariness had left his limbs, replaced by something he hadn't felt since Olivia and Elliot had disappeared without a trace.
They had a lead.
And so they had a chance.
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"I got it!"
Fin's exclamation echoed through the slowly filling precinct as he nearly jumped back in his chair in excitement. His partner immediately looked up and came around the table to his side, Cragen ran from his office at a speed that would have surprised them if they weren't focused on watching Fin's computer screen.
"Casper Greener, 35 years old, born in Los Angeles. Committed five years ago for insurance fraud, released from prison a couple of months ago."
"Any connections to kidnapping or anything else?" Cragen asked, but Fin shook his head.
"No. Apparently some shopliftings in his youth, but otherwise his record is clean."
"But if he's focused on insurance fraud, how does dumping Elliot's car in the Hudson River have anything to do with this?" Munch straightened his back and crossed his arms in thought. Cragen bit his lip.
"I don't know, but I can guarantee that this is not just a random incident. An insurance fraudster would not benefit from stealing and destroying an unknown car."
"And driving a car into water is an easier way to destroy evidence in the urban area than burning it, because the possibility to get a head start is bigger."
Cragen sighed. "I don't know where this man is involved, but what I do know is that we need to get him to the interrogation room as quickly as possible. Where does he live?"
Fin scanned the text with his eyes. "In Queens."
"Okay then," Cragen straightened his back. "What are you waiting for?"
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Fin couldn't remember if he had ever driven from Manhattan to Queens that fast. The Queensboro Bridge was flying beneath them as their car flew forward among the cars, Munch was clutching his seat, his knuckles white, and sirens were wailing as Fin stepped on the gas harder. About a mile before their destination, they turned off their sirens so as not to reveal their arrival, and when the car finally stopped in front of a yellow house, Munch got out of the car, his face as white as a sheet.
"Remind me that I will never let you drive across that bridge in a hurry again," he said in a hoarse voice, and Fin snorted before he started to stride towards the door of the house, taking the gun from his waist. Then he knocked on the door, stopped, listened, but heard nothing.
"NYPD! Open up!"
When there was no answer, he glanced at Munch, knocked once more, then grabbed the doorknob. The door was locked, Fin pursed his lips, and then said quietly:
"Go around to the other side of the house so he can't sneak through the back door."
Munch nodded and started creeping to the corner of the house with his gun raised, Fin stepped aside from the door and stood on his toes to peek through the window.
But then a woman's voice made him flinch, and he quickly turned in the direction of the voice, only to realize that he was pointing his gun at an old woman who raised her hands in fear.
"Shit, I'm so sorry, ma'am!" He lowered his weapon quickly, and she dropped her hands with a gasp.
"Don't you point at me with that thing, young man!" She snapped, and Fin had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep a smile from spreading across his lips.
"I'm sorry, you managed to surprise me. Do you live here?"
The woman brushed her clothes and nodded. "Yes. I live next door, and I began to wonder why there was movement in Mr. Greener's yard. As far as I know, he hasn't been home for many weeks. Who are you?"
"Oh, sorry, NYPD," Fin showed the woman his badge, and her eyes widened.
"Has he done something? I told my husband that that man will cause harm. He just got out of jail and bought this house, too cheap if you ask me. He seemed nice though, so I wouldn't have guessed…"
Out of the corner of his eye, Fin saw Munch approaching them, and he sighed.
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you the details. Have you noticed any suspicious activity at the house recently? What has Mr. Greener been doing during the day?"
The woman pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Not to my knowledge. He has been a very quiet neighbor, often away from home. He has not had female company, and I haven't seen any friends or relatives. He often comes home late at night, but otherwise I haven't noticed anything suspicious."
Fin nodded. "Okay. Thank you, we will continue here. Please let me know if there is any movement in the house, or if he returns home?" He handed his business card to the woman, who accepted it with a nod.
"Of course. But are we safe?"
"Yes, you are safe," Munch answered from behind him. "We don't suspect him of murder or anything like that, if that's any consolation."
The woman nodded again, her face clearly relaxing this time.
"Good. Thank you!"
Fin and Munch turned and started walking towards the door of the house again, and when the woman was out of earshot, Fin opened his mouth:
"Did you see anything?"
Munch shook his head. "No. I just called the ADA, and she promised to get us a search warrant as soon as possible."
And Fin couldn't help but stop in front of the house, fold his arms, and sigh deeply in frustration.
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Olivia and Elliot's joy was cut short when the gun shot had split the air.
The movement in the yard had stopped immediately, people had frozen in place, and started eyeing around in fear. Olivia and Elliot had tensed immediately, police instincts had made them both to fumble for their waists, looking for a gun, but to no avail.
And when the guard had appeared from behind the house, wiping his hands, Elliot had instinctively pulled her behind him, and even though it would have annoyed her under normal circumstances, this time she wrapped her arms around her belly and directed her gaze to the man approaching them.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," the guard stated shortly. "But today you have roast deer for dinner."
Elliot and Olivia didn't believe a word, but the other people near them started to look at each other in surprise, joy igniting in their eyes, and Olivia glanced at her partner, saw his gaze, and immediately knew that he knew too that something wasn't right.
"What do you think?"
"I haven't seen anyone missing. Perhaps an incautious passerby?"
"Or one of the guards?"
And then, as if they had been heard, two of the guards started to approach them, Elliot tightened his grip on her arm, and Olivia only managed to whisper "Don't do anything imprudent" before the guards stopped in front of them and pointed their guns at them.
"You two, Father wants to talk to you."
"Not interested."
The guard's eyes flashed as he turned his gaze to Elliot, who was standing before him defiantly, body extremely tensed, ready to protect her and their child.
"It was not a request."
As much as Olivia wanted her partner beat up both of the men standing in front of them, she knew, she knew they had no choice.
They couldn't take any risks.
Not anymore.
It was as if Elliot had heard her thoughts, because he shuddered, his body not relaxing a bit as he tightened his grip on her arm.
And then, as if by unspoken agreement, they started walking after the guards back towards the house, never letting go of their grips on each other.