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"How was hanging out with Jace and his dad today?" Elliot's eyes drifted to the rear view mirror, watching as Noah stared aimlessly out the window.
He sighed. "Okay. I mean it was fun, but it was a little…I don't know." His eyes remained fixated out the window.
"Was it weird without Colton there?" Elliot tried.
"Yeah. But it was just weird. Their dad tried to keep everything fun, but I'm just worried about Clem."
"Me too," Elliot admitted.
Noah brought his eyes to Elliot's in the rearview mirror. "Do you know what's going on? No one tells me anything. I know mom would but she has to work, but Jace's dad didn't want to talk about it."
Elliot didn't blame him. Hell, he didn't want to talk about it, but it seemed like Noah needed to talk about it. He hated the idea of another emotionally exhausting conversation, but it seemed like Noah needed to talk it out. "I don't know a lot. I need to check in with your mom and see if she has heard anything. I know she still hasn't woke up."
Noah bit his lip and he took an emotion filled breath. "What if she dies?"
Oh God. He didn't want to think about that possibility. If that girl died…he wasn't sure he would be okay. He swallowed the lump in his throat. "I don't know Noah. Loss is hard. Especially when it's someone you care about." Elliot blew out a nervous breath. "Did your mom tell you my wife died a few years ago?"
Noah nodded.
"It was hard for a long time. Sometimes it's still hard," he admitted. Hell, not long ago he was wearing his wedding ring because losing her was hard.
"How did you deal with it?" He looked miserable. "I've had a stomach ache since this whole thing started, and I don't know…" he started crying, and Elliot really wished he wasn't driving right now. "I don't think I'm ever going to feel better and I'm scared."
"Wanna know something?"
Noah looked at him anxiously.
"I'm scared too, and my stomach hurts, and I'm glad to know I'm not alone."
"You aren't. Jace is really scared. He's scared for Colton and for Clem." Noah admitted.
"This is really scary, but whatever happens you have your mom, and she will always be here to protect you and love you." Elliot hesitated. "And Noah?" He made sure Noah's eyes were on him. "I'll always be here too. If you ever need me, I got you, okay?"
"Okay." He whispered the word so soft Elliot almost didn't hear him.
"Okay," Elliot echoed.
-000-
Olivia watched as Bruno settled in with his questioning. Abby was a beautiful girl, because of course she was. Her mom watched her like she was an angel, and Olivia immediately knew this interview was going to be painfully frustrating.
As she watched Bruno start with basic questions, Fin found her. "How's it goin'?"
"He just started. Do you want to go in with him? I think this one is going to be a difficult one." She knew her voice was starting to exude exhaustion, and she desperately wanted this interview over so she could go home.
"Yeah…Imma pass on that one." Fin said while rubbing the back of his head.
Olivia's eyes narrowed. "What? Why?" She felt genuinely confused.
"Look at her," Fin pointed to the girl through the glass. "I'm not goin in there. Them mean girls are vicious."
She rubbed her temples, and cursed the headache that was coming on. "Please don't tell me you're scared of a 12 year old girl." Liv knew he wasn't scared per say. He was just as exhausted as she was, and the thought of interrogating a manipulative twelve year old made her want to fall flat on the floor.
"Go home Fin. I'll get Velasco in there."
"You sure? I can get a few more…" he started.
"No, go home. I promised Elliot I'd leave by 11. I won't be here forever."
He raised an eyebrow, "promised Elliot huh?
She was too tired for this discussion. "He has Noah," she said simply.
Fin must have picked up on how worn down she felt because he let it drop. "I'll send Velasco over here. Keep me posted."
"Of course. Get outta here." She shot him an exhausted smile as he headed for his desk.
She turned back towards the glass. Bruno was just beginning to ask about the girl's disciplinary record, and she wanted to hear where this line of questioning would lead. She turned the audio up.
"I was looking through your school record…what happened at George Washington Prep?" Bruno flipped through the small file Churlish compiled for him. It contained the most basic information on the child and her family.
"I don't like talking about it." Abby was a sweet looking girl. Her dark hair cascaded behind her shoulders, and was neatly twisted into a waterfall braid. Her large blue eyes popped with an expert application of make up. The girl almost looked angelic.
"Why not?" Bruno prodded. He leaned onto his elbows and clasped his hands.
Abby squirmed under his scrutiny, but maintained her sweet demeanor. "It wasn't fair, and the principal believed the lies the girls told about me." She folded her arms and leaned back into her chair, her lips moved into a light dissatisfied pout.
"I'm sure that was frustrating. Why don't you tell me your side of the story." Bruno kept his eyes on hers, and the girl looked a bit unnerved. But still, for a twelve year old, Abby exhibited an elevated level of poise.
She sighed, and maintained her pouty expression. "It really wasn't fair, and the principal believed the other girls, I know it was because she didn't like me." Abby's eyes dropped to her hands. Damn. This girl was convincing. If Olivia wasn't already privy to the truth she might actually believe her.
Bruno waited and Abby's mother nudged her gently. "Just tell him what happened and why we had to change schools. They just need to make sure what happened at your old school isn't something to worry about."
"Exactly." Bruno affirmed.
Abby bit her lip, "Ella was my friend since kindergarten. She started being mean to me…"
Just then, Velasco came up beside her. "Need me to go in?" He rocked back on his heels with his hands in his pockets.
Olivia thought for a minute. Bruno seemed to be handling things fine so far. She really needed more information on Abby's previous school.
"Actually," Olivia kept her eyes on the girl and her mother. "We have her disciplinary record, but I think we need a little bit more. I know it's after school hours, but find out what you can. She says her friend's name was Ella. I think we need more information on her and the exact incident that got her expelled."
"Got it Captain," he started back for the squad room, but turned. "Have you heard anything about the other little girl? The one that got hurt?"
Olivia wished she knew more. She was living on the hope that no news was good news. "Not much. She's in a coma. Her parents are terrified." Olivia shrugged. This was their everyday life. "They say she could wake up, but she also might not."
"Damn. Let me know if you hear anything."
"I will," Olivia promised.
She focused her attention back on the interview.
"What happened with Ella?" Bruno sounded wary. He knew not to take anything this kid said at face value.
"She just," Abby sighed. "She just changed. We used to do gymnastics together, but she quit. Then she got all interested in this weird art stuff." Abby didn't hide her distaste well.
"She made friends with another girl in art class and they started to make fun of me. They called me a lot of names and tripped me in the hallway. Ella's friend left mean notes in my locker. I really hated going to school." Her eyes dropped to her shoes. "One day I got so frustrated and so mad. I just exploded. The whole class heard me yelling at Ella. Our teacher sent us both to the principal's office. Ella went in first and told the principal that I was the one who wrote the mean notes and that I was always calling her names."
Abby looked to her mother, her wide blue eyes began to water. "The principal believed Ella. Not me."
The mom finally chimed in, "George Washington prep has a strict no bullying policy with automatic expulsion. We tried to contest the decision, but the administration had already made their minds up and wouldn't believe anything Abby said." She draped a loving arm around her daughter's shoulders…like she was some sort of martyr.
Bruno played the sympathy card. "I'm sorry that happened to you Abby. You're right, that's not fair."
She nodded her head, her facial expression reeked of self-satisfaction.
Bruno moved along, but Olivia watched him jot down a few notes. He probably came to the same conclusion as she did. They needed to talk to Ella. "How have things been going at this new school?"
Abby perked up a little. "Pretty good actually."
"Do you have a lot of friends?"
Suddenly all the false modesty was gone. That question played directly into her narcissistic need to show off. She prattled on about her friends, and the boys they spent time with. Lucas was included in that group. From the sound of things, she was considered pretty, popular, and smart.
"Are you excited about the advanced science class?" Bruno finally started leading her towards the events of the camp out.
"Yeah," she grinned. "One of my friend's came up, and of course Lucas was there." She practically gushed. It became obvious that Abby had a crush on Lucas. That felt like a recipe for disaster.
Bruno leaned back in his chair a bit. He kept his eyes on the mother daughter pair, assessing them while he decided on his next move.
"You know I need to ask about what happened that night at camp. Can you tell me if you heard or saw anything strange?" Bruno had thus far danced around any outright accusations, choosing to befriend the girl instead. He continued to walk a fine line.
"Not really. I was so tired. The hike was a long and it was hot. I forgot my bug spray so I had a few big bites. I just wanted to sleep." Her dark blue eyes darted to her mothers and then back to Bruno. "I might have heard Clem get up, but I'm not really sure. I was so tired, but I thought I felt her step over me to get out of the tent. I didn't worry about it because I figured she needed to go to the bathroom or something." Abby bit her lip to convey a false sense of apprehension. "When we woke up in the morning Clem wasn't there. I didn't worry about it. I didn't even think to tell anyone about her leaving the tent in the middle of the night. At first I thought she was with her friends, but then all the adults started to freak out."
"Why didn't you say anything about her getting up at night?" Bruno asked. He was obviously trying to curb the skepticism in his voice.
Abby didn't seem to notice and immediately answered, "no one asked me. It didn't seem important really. When I heard Colton was gone too I figured they just snuck off."
Olivia wanted to call bullshit on that, and she knew Bruno wanted to as well. His eyes narrowed a little bit. Now he'd put the pressure on. He kept his voice nonchalant when he spoke. "See Abby," he sighed with exaggeration. "We already spoke to Colton, and he has a different story. A very different story."