Chapter 15

Olivia opened the apartment door and was greeted by Lucy, who gave her a quick update and then headed home. Noah was already in bed, as he should have been, given the hour. She was exhausted and was actually glad that her son was asleep. Not that she didn't want to see him, but emotionally, she was a bit tapped out. The adult female was mostly bones and Melinda was going to have try and find DNA in the teeth or femurs. There would be no identifying the victim tonight. Somehow, they were stuck between two ugly choices – one was that the body was indeed Diane Powell, the other was that it was someone else. Someone who was added to the pile of dead animals in the lot.

The lot had once contained an old brick building whose roof collapsed one winter due to the snow load. Truth was, they didn't get a lot of snow, but the building had long slipped into a state of disrepair. Once the roof fell in, the owner decided to bulldoze it. Now an empty lot, the owner assumed they'd become the next great real estate giant or something. There were lots of people looking for property but the price, given the neighborhood around it, did not match. That was probably why the killer used it to dump bodies in the freshly dug up ground.

While they waited for results from forensics and Melinda, Carisi and Bruno had cornered Casey Barreto who decided that he'd better listen to his lawyer. With that avenue temporarily closed, that left Louis Howey as the center of attention. When Klass and Gonzales went to his apartment, they found out that he wasn't home. They decided to stake it out and the Captain had given her blessing. TARU was dodging her so Olivia figured that she better head down there in person in the morning.

A knock on her door caused some confusion and she checked the peephole. Surprised to see the person on the other side, she quickly opened it. Elliot came through the doorframe and pressed his lips to hers. It was a bold move and his brain screamed at him but when Olivia didn't stop him, he didn't stop.

"El… I thought…" he shushed her and closed the door.

"It's been a long night and I couldn't go back to my place," he admitted.

"I thought you weren't coming over at all," she said.

"I needed to check in," Elliot smiled, without expounding just yet.

"Well, I appreciate it. It's been a day," she admitted before taking his hand and heading for the couch. He followed her.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…" this time she shushed him.

"We found another skeletonized body today. I needed it. I know that we said we'd move at my pace but sometimes… my pace needs to be interrupted," Olivia winked at him.

"Oh geez. The undercover job went a bit haywire. The guys we were chasing executed the staff of a car reskin shop. It's just been a shitty day," he shook his head.

"I'm glad you swung by, though I don't want to get you in trouble," she said.

"Pretty sure that Ayanna knew I was coming over," he teased.

"I'd hate to have to pull rank," she chuckled.

"Pull anything you like," he waggled his eyebrows before pulling her in for a sideways hug. They snuggled closer on the couch.

"This case… we had a lot of bad ones but this guy… whole new level," Olivia shook her head.

"You'll get him. You always do," Elliot told her.

"You'll get yours as well. Some things never change," she winked.

"No, they don't. I'll try to call tomorrow," he said.

"Promise?" Olivia asked, her head fell to his shoulder.

"Promise," he said, kissing the top of her head.

To Be Continued…