Elliot and Olivia walk up to the crimescene. They see the white tent already set up around the body. They show their badges to the policemen standing by the yellow tape. Then they walk towards the tent. The medical examiner, Melinda Warner, is very busy with inspecting the body and taking pictures of everything.
"What do we have Mel?" Olivia asks.
"Hi Liv, Elliot." Melinda looks up shortly before stating the facts. "Caucasian female, about 35 years old. Was found floating in the river, passerby got her out of the water and onto the grass before noticing al the bruising on the body, then he called the cops. By the looks of the injuries she was sexually assaulted. Cause of dead still unknown. I'll let you know as soon as I've examined her on the table. Right now I think she's been dead for about 3-5 hours. But you'll have my official report as soon as possible."
"Thanks Melinda. Is the man who found her still here?" Elliot asks.
Melinda points towards an uniformed officer talking to a man.
"Thats him." She says and then goes to grab her camera again.
"Thanks Mel." Olivia says.
Elliot and Olivia walk over to the two men. Elliot and Olivia each shake hands with the man and introduce themselves. The man introduces himself as Keith Simmerson. The uniformed officer let's Elliot and Olivia know that he has te mans full statement and that he will put it in the file before walking away to his colleagues.
"Mister Simmerson I know you already gave your statement but could you please tell me and my partner what happened here this morning?" Elliot asks.
"Call me Keith please. Yes of course I can. I was just taking my daily morning walk along the river and all of the sudden I saw something in the water. At first I thought it was some kind of junk but then as it came closer I saw it was a woman. So of course I didn't think twice and jumped in to safe her. It was only when I got her out of the water that I saw all the bruises on her body. I immediately called the cops." Mr. Simmerson states to Elliot.
"When did you notice the woman was deceased?" Olivia asks.
Keith turns his head towards her and looks her up and down for a few seconds before answering. "I knew as soon as I started pulling her onto the grass. She was just so grey. No chance that she was alive."
"Did you try to give her CPR?" Olivia asks.
"No. As I said, it was clear that she was gone." Mr. Simmerson looks at her a bit annoyed.
"Thank you for your time mister Simmerson. We'll contact you if we have more questions." Elliot says while putting his arm on Olivia's back and guiding her away. Mr. Simmerson nods at him and then walks away.
"I don't think there's a lot we can do here anymore." Elliot states. When Olivia agrees they decide too go back to the station.
When they come back into the squad room Munch and Fin have filled two bulletinboards with all the information they have from the cases in New Jersey and now in New York. One thing immediately stand out. All the woman have the same features. Fin and Munch walk Elliot and Olivia through all the facts from the New Jersey cases.
"So now we know our killer is looking for Caucasian females between the ages of 29 and 43 with brown hair and brown eyes. Another thing these woman seem te have in common is that they are all woman with good careers as captain Cragen already said this morning. The only inconsistent thing in this is that he seems to get rid of the victims body in different ways each time." Fin tells them.
Fin shows them the different photos from the crime scenes. The person who did this has already murdered and raped five women. The first one he left in her own bed in her apartment. The second one was found in an alleyway next to the DA office she worked at. Then one was found in the locker room of a gym she went to. The fourth one was found in the woods near the camping ground she was at. And now the fifth woman turned up in a river in the middle of New York.
"So, all we know is that our rapist and murderer likes caucasian woman around their thirties who have a good career?" Olivia asks.
Fin nods. "Exactly."
Captain Cragen joins the group standing around the bulletinboard. "The homicide squad is on their way to assist us in this case." He says.
Everyone sighs. The last few cases they had worked with the homicide squad had gone everything but smooth.
Olivia goes to her desk to study the case files when Elliot stops her. "Lunch first?" He asks her with a smile on his face that makes Olivia instantly smile too.
"Yes sure." She replies as she puts her coat on.
They decide to just go to get a sandwich at Subway before they sit down at a bench by the entrance of a park. Olivia is just enjoying the sun on her face when Elliot starts to talk.
"Kathy called yesterday evening." Elliot pauses for a bit while Olivia turns her head towards him. "She wants a divorce." He states.
This truly shocks Olivia. The relationship between Elliot and Kathy had been a bit rocky a few times before but they had always found their way back to each other. It seems like this time it's going to be different. Olivia immediately thinks of the impact this will have on Elliot's whole family. She puts her hand on Elliot's back.
"Oh El, I'm so sorry. Is she sure? Did you talk about it together?" She asks Elliot.
Elliot nods. "She's sure. We talked about it on the phone for almost an hour yesterday. It just isn't working anymore Liv." Elliot sighs.
"Damn. That must be so hard on you El. If there is anything I can do just name it. Do you want me to talk to Kathy?" Olivia asks.
Elliot shakes his head. "No Liv. Thanks though. I actually think it's for the best too. I'm just worried about how the kids will take it. I really don't want to let them down."
"Oh Elliot. You are a great father. You could never let them down. As long as you and Kathy are on good terms and you communicate clearly with each other I'm sure it'll work out." Olivia says.
Elliot looks up at her and smiles a bit. "Yeah you're right Liv. Thank you for listening and just being here."
Olivia grabs hold of Elliot's hand and squeezes it lightly. "Always El. Whatever you need."
They hug and it's clear that this topic is done for now. They talk for a bit about light stuff and then decide to go back to the precinct.