Chapter 21

"Good Morning. I'm ADA Raphael Barba. Early last Saturday morning, eight year old Keisha Houston, died, after her mother, Manuela Ozuna, locked her a dog cage."

Liv watches from the squad room as Rafael looks down at his notes, inhaling deeply. As much as this case has been wearing on her, it has been weighing on him too. Taking on any public agency, let alone DCS, is always an uphill battle, and Rafael is starting to show the wear of it. Despite is impeccably styled hair and his sharp red tie, Liv can see the strain in the set of his shoulders, the late nights in his eyes.

A few hours sleep is all he seems to get the past few days.

His appetite is all but gone.

The emotional toll in the way he fidgets ever so slightly with the corners of his papers.

" Ms. Ozuna has been charged with homicide. At the time of her death, Keisha was under the supervision of the Department of Child Services. Our investigation has revealed that Keith Musio, her case worker, falsely reported having made home visits to the family for the last four months. Digging deeper, we discovered this caseworkers fraud, was orchestrated by his supervisor, Jannette Grayson. Overseeing this unit was Deputy Commissioner, Matt Sheridan, who has also been taken into custody. Among the charges are, reckless endangerment of a child, official misconduct, and obstructing governmental administration."

He looks up into the camera, and despite how much this case is weighing on him, she can still tell by the determined set of his brow that he's going for the felony charge.

"As well as the felony charge of manslaughter in the second degree. Thank you."

As the press erupts into questions, he gathers his papers, stepping down from the podium.

She notices as he exhales, swallowing, and Carmen is there to offer him a bottle of water as the conference is cut back to the local news.

Fin mutes the TV, looking over at her. "He's got a flare for the dramatics."

"So, you caught the show too," Dodds questions, strolling into the squad room. "Lieutenant, a word?"

He gestures towards her office, and she shares a quick look with Fin before following. Dodds barely has the door closed behind them before he starts. "What the hell was that?"

"Barba is doing the right thing-"

"-Is he? Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you two are compromised."

"Chief-"

He doesn't let her finish. "-you assured me that your relationship wasn't going to undermine my office, this department-"

"-a little girl is dead, Chief. The city has blood on it's hands. Did you expect me to look the other way?" She questions incredulously.

Dodds sighs, holding her gaze. "Abraham is a hatchet man. He's going to have a field day-"

"-I don't care about what Hank Abraham is going to do."

Dodds smirks, shaking his head. "You don't have a political bone in your body, do you?"

"Not at all."

He's silent for a minute before speaking. "Then you better be ready for the fire, Lieutenant. Barba too."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"You don't think we're grasping at straws?" Amanda questions, falling into step beside Carisi.

"I think Barba's going to have us digging until we find something he can work with."

She sighs, unlatching the gate leading up to the group home they were able to track down. "I just feel like there may not be anything here. Sure, I can understand Liv being cautious about Porter, but what if it is just a tragic end to a family's daughter?"

Carisi knocks on the front door. "If Sheila Porter was the mother she claimed to be, there isn't anything on the planet that would have stopped her from helping her daughter."

The front door opens, and a teenage girl stands in the doorway. "Can I help you?"

Carisi flashes his badge. "NYPD. Are your parents home?"

The girl looks between them before inviting them in. "Amy!" She yells. "Police are here!"

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"What'd Dodds have to say?"

Liv shake's her head, leaning back in her chair. "The usual political warning."

Fin nods. "Just another Thursday then."

She smiles. "You didn't come in here to talk about Dodds though, did you?"

Fin slides the file to her across her desk. "Barba asked us to dig around Sheila Porter. This is all we've come up with."

Taking the file, Liv flips through it as Fin gives her the rundown.

"Everything she's said so far checks out. Carisi and Rollins are out following up on a lead we have on a group home while things are relatively quiet. Cartwright's counterpart, Peter Jacobs passed away a few years back from MS, which I'm sure Cartwright knew."

She flips through the papers and news articles that her team has complied. The cases seemed to be never ending and yet they still found the time to uncover this much.

"You think she's covering for him?"

Fin shrugs. "Covering for a dead man? Something's gotta be up….It's not much right now, but Rollins is sure there's a link somewhere with that drug bust and Ellie landing in the system."

Liv shakes her head. "It may be just enough to deny visitations….Thank you," she says softly.

"We've got your back."

"Why don't you pick up Cartwright. See if interrogation can jog her memory."

"You got it."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Case number 30632. The Elvarez family was visited every day despite having moved back to El Salvador a year ago.

Case number 20185. A four year old girl, given the all clear the same day she was admitted to the ER with cigarette burns all over her body.

Case number 54624. An eight year old boy being forced to drink bleach by his mother.

His desk is covered in files of families, of children, being criminally neglected by a system that is meant to support them, keep them safe.

The bile rises in his throat again and he retches for the third time that afternoon into his waste paper basket.

Carmen lets herself in, a bottle of antacids in her hands. "Here. Hopefully this will help."

He downs half the bottle in one gulp, sinking back into his chair.

"Do you want to the bad news first, or the even more bad news?"

He can feel pressure building at the back of his head. "The bad news."

"Abraham's office called; he's on his way over."

Rafael had expected Hank to corner him after the press conference, and the fact that he has waited this long is cause for suspicion. "Abraham, I can handle. What's the even more bad news?"

Carmen disappears back to her desk only to return with another case box in her hands. "DCS sent over more boxes." She sets the box on his desk. "There's two more down in the lobby."

He downs the rest of the antacid.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"This is about Ellie?"

Carisi and Rollins sit on the couch, Amy Henderson, sitting across from them. "Can you tell us about her time with you?" Rollins questions.

Amy exhales, shrugging a shoulder. "She wasn't here long….Mark and I tried to give her some stability, but we knew she was into drugs. She was sneaking out at night, gone for days on end sometimes."

"Do you know where she would go?" Rollins continues.

Amy shakes her head. "Mark tried to follow her one night, but she was always good at disappearing."

"You said that she was into drugs," Carisi presses. "Any idea where she was getting them?"

"We always assumed from the school. After what happened at the Spring Fling…"

Carisi and Rollins share a look.

"Mrs. Henderson, while Ellie was with you and your husband, was there any attempt to reunite her with her parents?" Carisi questions.

Amy's face contorts into confusion. "Parents? We were told that Ellie's parents were both dead."

"By who?" Rollins asks.

"The agency."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"I told you everything I know!"

Fin sits opposite Cynthia Cartwright in the interrogation room. "You left out the part that Peter Jacobs is dead."

The woman blushes, adverting her gaze. "Last I checked, that wasn't a crime."

Fin leans forward on the table. "Covering for a deadman, that just might be."

Liv watches from her office as the woman visible stiffens.

"Look, it's only a matter of time until we find out whatever it is you're not telling us; now's your chance to get ahead of it."

"….Ellie was an exceptional student. She showed such promise."

"What happened?" Fin presses.

"There were problems at home."

"What kind of problems?"

"Ellie was rebellious. She always pushed back against authority, her parents included….Mrs. Porter was in our offices almost weekly due to some disciplinary action Ellie found herself in."

"How'd her mother take that?"

"Like any mother would: she was embarrassed, furious."

"What happened during the Spring Fling?"

"…a staff member found Ellie unconscious in one of the bathrooms."

Out of the corner of her eye, Liv catches Carisi and Rollins making their way right to her office and she knocks on the window, calling Fin back in.

"We might have caught something," Carisi announces.

Fin re-enters her office, closing the door to the interrogation room behind him. "Why'd you pull me out?"

Carisi looks into the interrogation room. "What's Cartwright doing here?"

"I had Fin bring her in," Liv explains. "Your hunch may be right, Amanda; there may be a connection with that drug bust and River Heights."

"We may have gotten another piece to the puzzle," Rollins answers. "We met with Amy Henderson. She was Ellie's last known foster parent. Turns out, Henderson was told by the agency that the Porters were dead."

Liv rubs her bottom lip. "That's what Ellie told me."

Carisi folds his arms against his chest. "So what made Ellie believe that her parents were dead?"

"Fin, go back in there," Liv instructs. "Something happened after that dance."

Heading back into the interrogation room, Liv, Carisi and Rollins watch from her office.

"Can't imagine Porter was happy about that," Fin comments, returning to his seat.

Cartwright scoffs. "She was furious."

"That why you retired?"

"I retired because Peter let Sheila Porter blackmail him."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"You're not doing yourself any favours, Barba."

Rafael holds Abraham's gaze. "I don't need any favours from you."

"No, I suppose you don't….Benson, maybe."

When he doesn't say anything, he continues.

"She's on track to becoming Captain, isn't she?"

The anger bubbles inside of him. "What are you implying?"

Abraham shrugs. "I'm implying nothing. Just stating facts…..I wouldn't want to see her consideration set aside because she likes to stir the pot."

"The old boys club should count themselves lucky that's all lieutenant Benson is doing."

Abraham smirks, getting to his feet. "I'll remind you, incase you've forgotten: NYPD detectives do not work for you, counsellor. Any work they're doing to bolster your case against the DCS is to cease immediately."

Rafael rises to his feet, leaning over his desk. "And I'll remind you, incase you've forgotten: If you've got an issue about how I run my office, I suggest you speak with DA McCoy."

"I will."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Shelia Porter threatened to sue the school if they didn't erase all of Ellie's records," Carisi explains. "Jacobs agreed, not wanting a scandal that would end his career."

Rafael loosens his tie, unbuttoning the top button of his shirt. "Convenient that the only one who could corroborate Cartwright's clams is dead."

Carisi gives him a look, and Amanda takes over. "That's what we thought too. Caris and I spoke to Ellie's last known foster parents, and they were informed that Sheila and her husband were dead."

Rafael's brows furrow. "Shelia Porter looks good for a dead woman."

Fin snickers.

Exhaling, he sinks into a chair. The pressure at the back of his head has crept to his temples, and he knows that the migraine is not far off. "Ellie told Liv that her parents were dead. Can we assume that she was led to believe that as well?"

"It's our theory," Amanda answers. "We're looking for the case worker. If they were also blackmailed by Porter to falsify records, we may be looking at more than a wayward runaway teen."

He nods, rubbing his temples in an attempt to alleviate some of the throbbing.

"You ok, counsellor?" Fin questions.

"It's been a long day….where's Liv?" This case had him working in his office more than usual and the time they did get to see each other at her apartment seemed to becoming shorter and shorter the last few days.

"Keisha's funeral was today," Fin answers. "She had a few minutes and swung by to pay her respects."

Shit.

He's certain that she mentioned it to him, but he had been so absorbed in prep for the trial that it obviously slipped his mind.

He nods again, getting to his feet. "I have to get back. Keep me posted on the case worker."

They all nod.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

His earlier ping that he was at the precinct has her swinging by his office on her way back from Keisha's funeral.

Nothing could ever prepare her for the sight of a child's sized coffin.

Riding the elevator, she drops her location to his phone. He hearts it immediately.

Carmen greets her with a smile. "His afternoon is free, just an FYI."

"Thanks Carmen." She let's herself into his office, closing the door behind her. The blinds are already drawn, and judging by the boxes and case files on his desk, it's to block out distractions.

His gaze connects with hers and she immediately registers that something is off about him. "Hey," she greets gently, circling his desk.

Sliding back in his chair, Rafael makes room for her as she encroaches in his space. She's standing in front of him and he drops his forehead to her stomach, wrapping his arms around her.

Leaning back against his desk, Liv cradles his head to her, sifting her fingers through his hair. Among the DCS files is a bottle of antacid and Aspirin. "You're not ok," she deduces.

He shakes his head, exhaling into the fabric of her blouse.

"You're burning the candle at both ends, Rafa-"

"-I can't let them down."

She looks at the case files spread across his desk. Names and pictures of so many children stare back at her and she's knows he's shouldering all of it.

"Babe, you can't do this to yourself," she worries gently. "One case at a time….right now, you fight for Keisha."

He pulls back to meet her gaze. "I should have went with you to her funeral. I'm sorry."

She shakes her head, brushing the fringe of his hair back from his forehead. "It's ok. I'm ok."

Rafael nods. "I'm drowning here, Liv."

"Then take a step back," she suggests. "The trial isn't until later next week; you've got time."

He nods again. "You're right."

"Am I ever wrong?" She teases.

He smiles at this, resting his head against her again. "No comment."

She holds him for a few more minutes in the silence of his office, sifting her fingers through his hair, down the nape of his neck soothingly. "This may be the longest we haven't been interrupted in your office," she comments.

"I had Carmen clear my schedule for the next few days."

"Hot date?"

"Very hot."

She smiles, slipping her fingers down the collar of his shirt to soothe the skin there.

He sighs into her blouse.

"You should go home. Rest."

"…maybe I'll go back to mine…I'm dreading what my fridge looks like."

She's worked all the product out of his hair, and it's softer between her fingers. It's a lot longer on top than what she realized, and she loves the way it flops on his head. "Though Noah would try his absolute hardest, I don't think mine will be quiet enough for you to nurse your migraine."

He's quiet, and for a minute she thinks he might have fallen asleep.

"….spend the night without you?"

"You gonna survive?"

"Just barely."

She smiles. "Well, you do have something to look forward to."

"Mmmm," he hums against her. "You in my bed."

"You were supposed to say mine and Noah's company," she teases.

"That too," he adds quickly.

Liv laughs, and he pulls back to meet her gaze. Some of the tension held in his green eyes has lessened and she runs her hands over his shoulders, his biceps. "….I know this was supposed to be our first date…I don't want to leave Noah…"

"I know," he reassures. "I don't want to leave him either, Liv."

"Ok."

Leaning up, he presses his lips to hers. "All in."

"All in," she echos against his lips.

TBC