Chapter 11 – Organized Crime

Monday morning was here, and I was not ready to take on another week. I stayed in bed most of the weekend still nauseous at times and tired. I was at my desk when Amanda walked in and came over with a cup of coffee for me. Her eyes instantly went wide when she saw me and asked if I was ok. I didn't think I looked as bad as I felt but that assumption was apparently wrong. I responded, "I think I have a bug or something. I have been nauseous the last few days and extremely tired." Amanda said, "Do you think you should be here if you have something contagious?" I paused and said, "Well, I haven't had a fever at all, and I feel better towards the afternoon. It seems to be the worst in the mornings." Amanda blurted out like she does with no hesitation, "Liv, when was your last period?" I scoffed and said, "I don't know. It's been a couple of months, but I figured I was starting menopause early since my period has been irregular the last few months."

Amanda pulled up a chair next to my desk and sat down, "Is there any way you could be pregnant?" I laughed, "No, I am on the pill, and you must be having sex for that to happen. I haven't been with anyo…." I cut myself off when the memories of El and I in Chicago and our sex filled evening filled my head. Amanda smirked, "Liv! Who have you been with? My dating life is basically non-existent so if you are seeing someone, I need the details." I looked back at her with my eyes wide and my stomach suddenly feeling like I was going to be sick again, "I'm not seeing anyone, so there is no way I am pregnant." Amanda's face fell looking so disappointed that I had no juicy story to give her.

I broke out into a cold sweat at the realization that Amanda may be right. I was on the pill, but I had told El not to use a condom. How stupid could I be? He has super sperm with having five kids including a set of twins. I should have known not to rely on just the pill. I suddenly jumped up and ran to the bathroom to get sick. I needed to get a pregnancy test to see if El and I's rendezvous had indeed created another life. What was I going to do if it was positive? I have always wanted to be pregnant and wanted kids but not alone. Having El's baby had even been in my fantasies, but I knew deep down that could never happen. None of my relationships had ever lasted long enough to even consider marriage let alone starting a family so I figured it wasn't in the cards for me to have children. How would El react? Most of his kids were grown and I'm sure he would not want to start over again.

The squad used the rest of the day to focus on the Tiana Smith case. We didn't have a whole lot to go on except a video of the perp on the elevator with the tray of food. He looked down the whole time knowing the cameras were there and then must have put his ski mask and black clothes on before forcing his way into her hotel room. We knew he was a white male of average height and weight with brown hair. We started looking into nearby sex offenders who were recently released with that description but weren't getting very far. I was getting ready to call Tiana to see if there were any other details that she may remember that could help us out when my cell phone rang. I didn't recognize the number and answered, "Sergeant Benson." A soft spoken, frightened voice responded on the other end, "Sergeant Benson, this is Tiana Smith. We met the other day."

I quickly answered, "Oh, Tiana. I was just about to call you. What's going on?" She cleared her throat, "Well, I just received some flowers, and I am pretty sure they are from my rapist." I was astonished, "What? Aren't you staying at a different hotel? What makes you think they are from your attacker?" She said, "There is a note with the flowers that says he had a good time on Friday night and hopes he can see me again soon." I told Tiana to sit tight, and I would come see her right away to investigate.

I arrived at her new hotel room and was let in by a bodyguard. Tiana was pacing in the living room obviously stressed and scared. I got details about the time the flowers were delivered and where they came from. I called Amanda and had her investigate the florist to see if they had a name or by chance caught the purchaser on camera. I asked Tiana to sit down so I could ask her a few more questions. She told me that she was planning on leaving tomorrow and get as far away from New York as possible. I told her that I was concerned her rapist may be stalking her and there was no way to know if he was going to follow her or not. I suggested she stay put and we would have extra security placed. It would be much easier to catch this guy if Tiana was in one place. I asked her if there was anything else she could remember such as a specific smell or scar, anything that might help us get a suspect list.

She finally did sit next to me on the couch and took a few deep breaths. She began to speak in a hoarse voice, "His breath did smell like whiskey, almost overpowering, and I did see a cloverleaf on his neck. The ski mask had bunched up some and I could see a cloverleaf tattoo on the left side of his neck." I told Tiana that was all very helpful and then wanted to talk to her manager to find out about any potential superfans that may be stalking her.

The rest of the day was spent looking through fan mail and watching film of previous events Tiana attended to see if there was anyone suspicious in the background fitting our perp's description. By the time 6:00 rolled around, my eyes were burning, and I realized I was no longer focusing well. I decided to head home and stopped at a pharmacy on the way just to confirm that this nausea and exhaustion was not from Elliot and I's escapade two months ago. My stomach was in knots with the possibility of me being pregnant, so I went ahead and took the test as soon as I got in the door. I paced the living room just as Tiana had done earlier with me while waiting for the result to come up. After ten minutes, I walked back into the bathroom and my hand shakily picked up the test to look at it. I could see a plus sign almost instantly. I was definitely pregnant. I was having Elliot Stabler's baby, and he was living 800 miles away. My instinct was to call El immediately since he always knew how to calm me down, but I wasn't ready to tell him. I was scared he would be upset, and I wanted to imagine that he would be thrilled about having a baby with me. I decided I would wait to tell him until after I had seen a doctor and confirmed everything with the pregnancy was ok.

Amanda called me that evening to let me know that they had found some information specific to the cloverleaf tattoo. Apparently, members of an Irish mob group all have cloverleaf tattoos on their necks so our perp may belong to them. We had intel on places where most of the members frequent and hang out. I told her that I wanted her and Amaro to check out a restaurant called Murphy's and Fin and I would check out a bar known as Lynch's Bar.

We briefed on the plan the following morning and then both teams split up to head to their locations. Fin and I showed up at Lynch's Bar which was a cozy place decorated with Irish flags and other paraphernalia related to Ireland. A middle-aged woman behind the bar greeted us when we walked in. She asked in gruff voice, "What do you want to drink?" I reached for my badge and said, "Nothing, we are looking for someone." She eyed me suspiciously, "I doubt I can help you. I'm not good with faces." I smiled back, "How do you know until we describe the person to you? It could be someone you know." Fin and I sat down at the bar to give her a description of Tiana's rapist. I looked around the bar to get an idea of the patrons present and noticed there were only two guys sitting in a corner, but both had cloverleaf tattoos on their necks. Just then, the door to the bar opened and two middle aged men walked in. I instantly recognized one of them causing my chest to tighten and my stomach to flip. I felt like I was going to be sick. I was looking right into the eyes of Elliot Stabler.