The fact Lindsay may have been lying about rape charges was not a big shocker for anyone in SVU. However, the part of who was really her target may have been a surprise for someone else. Still, despite the difficulty, the squad knew they had a duty to lay out the truth no matter how difficult.
"She sent what to who?" Montserrat shivered and it wasn't from the morning breeze. Since she'd been a little late to work, Olivia, Sonny and Nick were briefing her in on some details she'd missed from the case before they met with Rafael.
"Don't make us repeat that," Nick opened the door for everyone and was the last to come in.
"Yeah I don't want to hear it again either," Sonny crinkled his nose.
Montserrat figured they were right and kept walking beside Olivia. She almost followed Olivia into Rafael's office when she saw a familiar face coming down the hall. "Damian?" Seeing him made Montserrat immediately search for her brother nearby.
"He's not here, Montse," Damian said in an apologetic tone.
Montserrat nodded her head, figuring she should've seen that coming. "Right, he wouldn't come here if he knows there's always a chance of seeing me."
"Montserrat, don't be dramatic-"
"Yeah, no, he hates me," Montserrat said with absolutely no hesitation. "My brother hates me."
Damian tried to remain unfazed by that but it was impossible when he was so close to both sides. Instead, he looked past her to the others and smiled. "Sibling rivalries take a whole other level with these two. I'm Damian Mackie, by the way." He moved to shake hands with Olivia first, followed by Nick and then a more casual one for Sonny.
"They're my co-workers," Montserrat glumly said.
"Oh, yeah, I know. Montserrat and Kara talk a lot," Damian said to the trio, prompting a smile from all three. "It's nice to meet you." He then turned to Montserrat, seeing her still glum due to her brother's behavior. "Hey, cheer up-"
Montserrat perked up immediately and tried to downplay the problem. "I'm fine, trust me. I'm a little sister - I've had problems with Gael before." Her smile faltered, however, when she looked from Damian to the others. They were all staring right at her with that...look. It was a look of sympathy.
"Montse," Damian spoke quieter and stepped closer to her. "It's okay." The woman shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "Hey, do you want to get some dinner later? You can vent all you'd like."
A smile came to Montserrat's lips. "Nice offer. We'll talk."
Damian smiled back at her. "I'll call you later, then."
"Mhm," Montserrat nodded, though part of her knew it wouldn't make much of a difference how much she vented. The reality was her brother hated her.
"Well, you're certainly full of dates," Sonny's playful remark brought her back to the present.
Montserrat turned to find him and Nick giving her identical smirks. Olivia was of course the only one who remained normal, but she knew exactly where this was headed.
"Excuse me?" the ginger raised an eyebrow at her partner.
Sonny looked pretty proud of himself for making connections he thought were connections. "C'mon, first with Barba-"
"-was not a date-"
"-and now with Damian-"
"-also...not a date," Montserrat was smiling only out of courtesy. She didn't actually appreciate these types of accusations.
"Hmm, a meal at a fancy restaurant sounds like a date to me," Sonny pretended to second guess himself so he glanced at Nick. "What do you think?"
Both men flatout ignored Montserrat's growing glare and Olivia's disapproval.
"Did she ask Barba or did he-"
"-no he asked her," Sonny said and Nick nodded before continuing.
"And then we heard Damian ask her to dinner, so...yeah, it sounds like a date to me," Nick flashed a smile at Montserrat.
Montserrat silently vowed that the laws were the only things keeping her from killing the two. "What do you two know?" she snapped then pointed at Nick. "You're divorced and you're-" she moved her finger to Sonny, "-single as they come." She gave the two a nod and stormed away.
Both Sonny and Nick blinked at her boldness then looked over to Olivia to see what she would say. The Sergeant languidly shrugged her shoulders, giving them a 'you asked for it' look in return.
Montserrat walked into Rafael's office without much of a greeting as he would expect, even if it was a sarcastic one at times. She made a beeline for the stock of alcohol he kept at a table.
"Help...yourself," Rafael gave her a strange look from his desk.
Montserrat nodded towards the incoming Sonny and Nick as her explanation for her entrance. It actually was enough reason. Rafael was no stranger to that type of drinking. He may or may not have mumbled 'drink all you'd like' under his breath after thinking of the many times the detectives gave him headaches.
"Good news, bad news, counselor," Olivia's announcement didn't exactly lift Rafael's spirits. "Eddie wasn't in a relationship with Lindsay, and he wasn't trying to rape her. .."
"Get to the bad part…" Rafael hesitated to say.
"Well, we think she may have been in a relationship with Alex Muñoz," Nick answered perhaps a bit too fast. "And when she tried to shake him down, Alex sent Eddie over to tune her up."
"Interesting theory. Is that all it is?"
"You know it isn't or we wouldn't be here," Montserrat lowered her glass to say. "Lindsay's M.O. is to get her hooks into powerful, married men."
"Basically, she's a heat-seeking missile, and Eddie has no heat but Alex does," Sonny laid the truth out in simpler terms.
"If you knew Yelina, you'd know he'd never step out on her," was Rafael's curt response, but the others knew it was practically impossible for him to react any other way.
"But who knows if he would," Montserrat's challenge didn't make it easier for him. "How long has it been since you've talked with any of these people again?"
"That is of no relevance, Novak."
"Now hold on, it does," Nick stepped in. "Look, if Eddie was sent to assault her or scare her-"
"I understand what you're saying, and you're wrong. But take the steps you would with any other investigation. No one's interfering," Rafael gestured the door to them as a sign they could go ahead and continue with their work. He'd have nothing to do nor say about it.
"Easier said than done," Montserrat quietly said as she left her near empty glass on his desk. She wasn't being smug, not a know it all, she was just making a true statement. Unfortunately, said true statement earned herself quite a look from the ADA.
~0~
"What do you mean she's got some high profile job now? She was a shoe model for God's sake," Montserrat couldn't figure out how the hell Lindsay managed to snub them all and disappear in the night only to resurface in Israel as a political consultant.
"Unemployed shoe clerk," Amanda corrected, the two women sharing a hum later.
Olivia crossed the white board in front of them and took a seat at the edge of the conference table. "We've been played."
"Badly," Fin added with his own touch of annoyance.
"She's working for Telling Aviv now and guess who runs that campaign?" Sonny came up to them with his own information. "Hank Abraham."
Olivia couldn't roll her eyes harder. That man wasn't the easiest person to deal with, and now it seemed like he would become part of their case. "Alright, fine, we need to go talk to him and find out how the hell this happened."
"We should also talk to Mr. Muñoz about this," Nick's sourness wasn't even bothered to be hidden. "See what he has to say about all this."
It was clear that Olivia was reluctant considering what that entailed. Still, she had to put her job first. "Do it."
"I'll go," Montserrat volunteered. "He kind of already knows me."
"Yeah, and someone should go with her," Sonny immediately said after remembering the last time she met that mayor to be. Montserrat shot him a look because she knew exactly what he was talking about. Boy was he trying to get on her bad list this week.
Still, in the end, Olivia agreed.
~0~
"This is all...exaggerated," Montserrat crinkled her nose while her head whipped from one market stall to the next.
Nick, who walked beside her, merely smiled at her. The local gathering was an obvious Latin predominance and it was lively as could be. It was so crowded that the two detectives constantly bumped into people while merely walking.
"It's a regular day here," Nick shrugged but then gave her an amused glance. "You feel out of place or something...Slovakian?"
Montserrat playfully rolled her eyes at him. "I'm half Slovakian, and I'm also half Mexican. Unfortunately, I lack some education on the latter." Nick shot her a sharp side-glance, as if asking just how little she was talking about. "I know some Spanish, but...could probably use some more help on it."
Nick suddenly stopped by a stand and pointed at none other than a miniature, caricature-styled Virgin Mary. "Oh, so you know who this is?" Montserrat opened her mouth but of course things were never that easy. "In Spanish?"
Montserrat glared at him and continued walking. "You're not funny, Nicolas Amaro." She stuffed her hands into her coat's pocket and purposely picked up her pace. Though the place was pretty loud, she still heard Nick's laugh behind her.
They moved swiftly through the crowd and eventually got to the back of a stage. It seemed like they were just on time because the mayor-to-be was just coming down the stage after a lively speech.
"Alex Munoz, can we talk to you for a minute?" Nick's call froze Alex and his bodyguards. It certainly got the guards in protective modes. "It concerns Eduardo Garcia."
Nick's words were like an alert. Alex shooed his guards away but almost a second later, a woman dressed in professional clothing came to his side.
"Honey, is everything okay?" she flipped her long, dark hair behind her shoulder. Her dark eyes examined the two detectives in front of them.
"Oh, absolutely. I'm just gonna talk to them about the police foundation event," Alex's lie was given so smoothly it made both Montserrat and Nick wonder how many times he'd used something like that to fool his wife. "I'll see you by the van, okay?"
Yelina Muñoz was an intelligent woman who knew when she was being set behind the lines. She raked the two detectives from head to toe twice before finally agreeing to give them some space.
"Didn't know you were married, Mr. Muñoz," Montserrat didn't hesitate to say after they were alone. Her comment was clearly referencing their previous meeting and she hoped it would knock some guilt into the man for flirting with her.
Alex just smiled. "'Now I'm offended at how little you've been following the campaigns, Miss…?"
"Detective Novak," Montserrat laid out exactly how she wanted to be addressed from here on out by him. "And, like Detective Amaro mentioned, we need to talk about your friend."
"Listen, I'm tight on time. I got a meeting over at the archdiocese-"
"Yeah, we just have a few loose ends we need to tie up," Nick assured him but it wasn't enough to ease Alex. "See, we've been looking at Lindsay Anderson's background. It doesn't quite add up, the story of how she got involved with Eddie. Eddie's got a broken heart, and he's... he's not the best judge of character."
"She probably saw an easy mark."
"Well, that fits her pattern, but all the other men she went after were rich, and Eddie, no offense, es un muerto de hambre."
"Kind of offensive," Montserrat whispered to Nick, startling him. "Yeah, I understood that," she gave him a look before clearing her throat. "So any comment, Mr. Muñoz?"
"I don't know what to tell you," Alex's straight face was more than irritating for one detective who already disliked him.
"Mr. Munoz, we haven't called the brass. We want to handle this discreetly," Nick stepped closer and lowered his voice. "Eddie's close to you, so we have to ask. Is he covering for you?"
"What?" Alex took one step back and almost glared at Nick for the question. "I'm a happily married man. I never even met this woman."
"But you have an...easy going attitude," Montserrat raised an eyebrow at him. "You sure there isn't anything you want to tell us right now?"
"On the grave of mi abuelita. I've never seen her. I've never spoken to her," Alex raised his hands to show he was being honest. "What does she say?"
"Well, she left her apartment abruptly last night. We're tracking her down," Montserrat hoped that would be enough to encourage him to speak already. Unfortunately, she hoped too much.
"That's the kind of person you're dealing with, a person who makes accusations and then disappears," Alex shrugged. "I guess that's good news for Eddie. If you'll excuse me."
"Definitely retracting my vote," Montserrat knew this guy was just a plain liar, which would turn out to be a bad thing for a certain ADA who feigned distance. "He's a liar and he's definitely a smug liar. He's so sure we won't find Lindsay anymore."
"That's okay, I just did," Nick was holding his phone, thumb scrolling over the screen. "Last night, I friended her on Facebook."
Montserrat's eyebrows raised together, partially amused and another part surprised. "I don't...I don't even know how to respond to that."
"You can thank me because I know she's on her way to Israel for her - and I quote - new awesome job," Nick turned his phone around for Montserrat to see a picture of Lindsay on an airplane.
"You have got to be kidding me," Montserrat walked around the detective and started her way back to the car.
~ 0 ~
Montserrat feared coming to Casey's office since lately it had resulted in public arguments with her brother. When she walked into Casey's office, she was surprised to find her two nieces sitting on the leather couch.
"Aunt Montserrat!" Ivana jumped off the couch, leaving her coloring book and crayons to fall on the floor, and ran towards Montserrat.
Though surprised, Montserrat reacted fast enough to catch her four year old niece in a big hug that resulted in carrying the girl on her hip. "Woah, hello there, Ivana. What are you doing here?"
"Being babysat because I'm a baby, apparently," Juliana Novak muttered from the couch, still engrossed in her phone to look up. The older niece wasn't happy about her place and in a moment, it would only get worse.
"Good, you're here," Casey walked into her office with a degree of stress that even Montserrat felt in the air. "I have a court case and they need to be babysat."
"Excuse me?" Montserrat blinked. "I'm on the job too."
"Yeah, but it's easier for you to take them. I can't have Ivana sitting next to me while I talk about homicide, can I?"
Ivana stopped playing with Montserrat's earring to look at Casey. "What's 'micide?"
Casey gestured at the girl to make her point. "I'm sorry, Gael needed someone to watch them and he only had me-"
"-because he's being stubborn and not talking to me," Montserrat spat.
"And I offered myself up thinking another ADA could handle my case today."
"So what happened?"
"She's a flake. Look, I gotta go-"
"-but Casey, Gael will go ballistic if he knows I'm the one who looked after the girls."
"I don't need a babysitter!" everyone ignored Juliana's exclaim.
"Just bring them back at eight and it'll be like I took care of them."
"And you don't think one of them is gonna say something?"
Both women looked at the four year old in Montserrat's arms. Juliana cleared her throat, drawing their attention to her. "I know a way to keep her quiet but it's gonna cost you."
Casey raised an eyebrow at her, certainly not about to let a fifteen year old girl blackmail her. "I got a better idea. How about you tell us and I won't tell your father you back talked to me all afternoon."
Juliana smirked. "And that is why I wanna be an ADA like you. Always with the right words."
"Mhm," Casey set a hand on her hip. "Spill."
Juliana got up from the couch and walked up to Ivana. "Hey, Ivana, you want to play the secret game?"
Ivana gasped and quickly nodded her head. "Mhm! What's my prize this time?"
"I don't know, what's her prize this time?" Juliana looked between her aunts.
"A donut," Montserrat said plainly since she knew the four year old loved donuts. "And Juliana gets one Starbucks."
Juliana took the deal. "Okay, Ivana, the secret is that we're going out with Aunt Montse. But if Dad asks, we were at Disneyland."
Ivana giggled and shook her head. "I won't tell Daddy."
"What?" Casey crinkled her nose. "How's that gonna help us?"
"Because if she mentions aunt Montse, then she'll mention Disneyland too and that'll make Dad think she's just being random."
"This makes me wonder how many times you've done this," Montserrat admitted and knew there were plenty secrets judging by the big smirk on Juliana's face.
"Starbucks?"
Montserrat rolled her eyes and nodded Juliana to get going. She looked back to Casey who thanked her one more time before leaving first.
"Aunt Montse, if you're still working then where are we gonna go?" Juliana held the office door for Montserrat.
"I have no idea," Montserrat answered with nothing but the truth.
~0~
"You brought your nieces to the station?" Sonny asked after Montserrat placed Juliana and Ivana in the interview room. Thankfully, the place had toys and free WiFi.
"Well, I couldn't very well leave them in Casey's office alone could I?" Montserrat turned for her desk.
"Why not ask Kara?"
"Because her salon's swamped today. I don't want the girls getting in her way."
"They're cute," Amanda walked on by towards her desk. "But the older one just asked for a Starbucks with some ridiculous alterations."
Montserrat groaned and plopped down on her chair. "This child. So, what new details do we have for the case?"
"Well, Olivia and Nick just went to see Barba who put in a special request to talk," Fin notified her.
"Yikes. That means we're in trouble," the ginger made a face.
"The one who's in trouble is Alex," Sonny corrected as he too sat back in his desk. "The aid who left with Lindsey for Israel was working on Alex's campaign till yesterday."
"Smells corruption a mile away," Montserrat agreed. "And how do we prove that again?"
"The obvious choice is Eddie but since he's basically ducking our calls we're pretty much out of options," Fin made a gesture with his hands.
"Well, he's been ducking our calls but maybe if an old friend visited him he wouldn't be so cryptic," Montserrat's smiled basically said all that needed to be explained.
"You really think sending Barba to talk to Eddie is a good idea?"
"Not my best idea but a somewhat decent one." Montserrat swayed her chair side to side, resting one arm over the armrest. "I'm just saying it would help if Rafael could give the guy a reality check."
"Either way, we need to be very cautious in how we act," Olivia warned them all with a sharp look. "We are ten days away from an election, meaning we need to be absolutely sure that we don't miss the target."
~0~
"I wanted a double chocolate Java," Juliana crinkled her nose after taking her first sip of her drink.
Olivia flashed a smile at Montserrat, who was rolling her eyes at her niece.
"Too much chocolate isn't a good thing," Montserrat patted Juliana's head and headed back into the bullpen. "Children, I swear."
"...and then I told Sara that I could jump so, so high but she thought I was lying…" Ivana was in the middle of explaining to Sonny when the women walked back into the bullpen. She was swinging her small legs on the chair positioned beside Sonny's desk. "So I had to show her but then I fell down and I got blood on my knee - wanna see!?"
"Don't even think about it," Montserrat forced the four year old to sit still before she jumped up to show the scrape on her knee.
"She's quite the story teller," Sonny mused. He'd been listening to her outrageous story for the past 10 minutes and it was honestly one of the cutest things ever.
"Hm, she'll talk your ears off if you let her," Montserrat patted Ivana's shoulders.
"You're back early," Olivia's voice drew the other two detectives to the entrance. Amanda and Fin were coming back with discouraging faces.
"Eddie's a no-go, he's not talking anymore. Period," Amanda released a sigh.
"He's still sticking to the story about Lindsey having an abortion," Fin added. "Practically slammed the door on us."
Olivia took her phone out of her pocket when she felt it vibrate. "Nick's checked in and we've had no luck on getting Alex to talk either."
There was an unsettling silence amongst the group until Montserrat spoke up. "So...do we want to try my plan now?" Olivia turned to her with a raised eyebrow, though the lieutenant seemed unsure of their next move now. "I could ask him myself," Montserrat offered to make it easier for them. "That way if he yells it'll be at me." Olivia playfully rolled her eyes but did give the go. Montserrat beamed and moved towards her desk in time to see her phone buzzing. "Hey, looks like I can kill two birds with one stone. I have to get the girls back to Casey," she smiled. "Wish me luck."
Fin's small laugh was not a good sign. "You're gonna need a lot more than just 'luck'."
Montserrat deadpanned him for a moment before turning away. "You're not funny, Fin."
Fin thought he really was.
Montserrat collected Juliana from the interview room, ignoring the teen's protest of 'free WiFi!' then returned to the bullpen for Ivana. She got a last 'good luck' from Olivia - as well as another remark from Fin - before heading out.
~0~
"You remember the story, right?" Montserrat hated to be asking this to her nieces but for the time being it was better not to further antagonize her brother.
"Yeah, aunt Casey left us with her assistant all afternoon," Juliana nodded. "And I had no Starbucks whatsoever."
"You're damn right you didn't," Montserrat hummed. She was about to pull open the door of the DAs building when Ivana yelped for her to stop. "What? What is it?" Montserrat thought the girl may have been hurt from how sharp that Yelp was.
Ivana was trying to take something out of her backpack. "I made a map to find aunt Casey's office."
"A map? Seriously?" Juliana was not impressed. She stared down at her little sister with a degree of annoyance. "Ivana, we know where the off-"
Montserrat gently nudged Juliana to stop talking. "Alright, Ivana, go ahead. Can you find aunt Casey's office for us?"
"Mhm!" Ivana raised her map in the air while her free hand put her backpack back on. Of course, Juliana had to help her put the backpack on. "Me first! Follow me!"
"She's such a dork," Juliana groaned after her sister had gone into the building.
"She's four," Montserrat reminded. "Should I even start a list of all the ridiculous stuff you used to do at that age?"
Juliana rolled her eyes. "No."
Montserrat smiled and moved the girl inside. Ivana was already ahead with her map right in front of her face. Just as Montserrat was about to warn the girl she was going to bump into someone, her phone went off.
Montserrat fished her phone out of her pocket and saw it was Casey calling. "Maybe your aunt felt us coming," she chuckled.
"Ivana - watch where you're going!" she heard Juliana practically yell.
She quickly forgot her phone and looked up to see Ivana had indeed crashed into someone - falling on her bottom - and that someone seemed to be wearing a very expensive golden gown.
"Crap," Montserrat muttered and put her phone away to rush over. "I am so sorry!" she began apologizing to the woman. "She wasn't looking where she was going even when I told her to-" Montserrat stopped when she realized that she knew the woman. "Crap," the mumble came out in a blurt.
"You're the detective who visited my husband earlier," the woman said in the same realization as Montserrat.
"I am…?" Montserrat repeated, blaming herself for putting herself into this situation.
The woman deadpanned Montserrat. "I'm not an idiot."
"Didn't expect you to be," Montserrat raised her hands in neutrality. "Mrs. Muñoz-"
"-Yelina, please," the taller woman's interruption was kind yet final.
"Right, okay, in, I just don't think it's a good idea for you to be here."
"I'm here for answers, Detective…?"
"Novak. Please, did your husband send you here? I understand he and our ADA have some history."
"My husband has no idea I'm even here," Yelina smiled a type of smile that Montserrat could say one should fear. "And I'm going to get those answers." She wagged a finger at Montserrat, making the latter wonder if this was attempting to be condescending. If Yelina was, it was more annoying than actual condescension. "The ADA and I also have some history."
"Okay," Montserrat awkwardly cleared her throat. She was choosing to ignore that smug smile on Yelina's face in favor of the fact her nieces we're waiting and watching them (but she knew exactly what that smugness indicated). "Good luck. Ivana, Juliana, let's go," she ushered the two girls ahead.
"We're not using my map!" Ivana exclaimed, already forming a pout on her face.
Montserrat just quickened her pace. "We'll use it another time, Ivana."
"That lady seemed kind of mean in a...subtle kind of way," Juliana's remark earned her a sharp glance from Montserrat. "What?"
"I didn't know you knew the meaning of the word 'subtle', Jules," Montserrat briefly smirked when her niece glared.
"And I didn't know that you thought a plain insult would be enough to distract me from that lady's words."
Ivana had already rushed into Casey's office, but when Juliana went in afterwards she almost felt sorry for what was to come next...for her aunt.
Montserrat cursed in her mind the moment she saw Gael emerging from Casey's office. "Crap," one word had to make it out of her lips. Montserrat stopped under the threshold and looked at her brother for a moment.
Casey had come out wearing an apologetic expression. "Please don't argue here," she pleaded quietly. "Just because my assistant is gone doesn't mean the rest of my co-workers are too."
"Don't worry, Casey, I've got no intention of making a fool out of myself for someone who has no listening skills," Montserrat knew her words were childish but after weeks of getting the silent treatment from her brother, she felt she was leaving the sad stage and moving onto the next: anger.
Gael scoffed. "Seriously, Montserrat? Could you at least act your full 29 years?"
"I will when you start acting like your full 39 years."
Gael glared. For a moment, Casey thought he would erupt into a new round of screams. But instead, Gael reached down and picked up Ivana into his arms. "Let's go, sweetheart. We'll get dinner on our way home."
"Dad," Juliana called as her father started heading out. "What are you even arguing about?"
"It doesn't concern you, Juliana. Let's go."
Juliana seemed almost offended by the curt response. "I'm fifteen, I'm not a child. What are you-"
"Juliana, let's go," Gael's voice had lowered and with the look he fixated on her, the teenager was left with no choice but to follow.
"Bye aunt Casey. Bye aunt Montserrat," Juliana said quietly then walked after her father.
Casey crossed her arms and waited until it was just her and Montserrat. "Well, that could have gone a lot worse."
"I thought he'd scream at me or even you for letting me take the girls today," Montserrat admitted.
"Oh no, he had his own go at me before you came," Casey informed her. "Why do you think I was calling you? I was trying to give you a heads up.'
"Oooh," Montserrat remembered the brief moment she had with her cellphone outside the building. "My bad."
Casey playfully rolled her eyes. "Oh Montse. Juliana is right, though. This argument is getting ridiculous."
"You're a Novak, you should know we take our arguments very serious," Montserrat turned to leave.
"Yeah, but, do you even know what you're supposed to be mad about anymore?"
Montserrat stopped by the threshold and thought about things. "I mean...I made one measly comparison between Dad and some other guy, but I swear it was just a fact. Dad did leave us alone sometimes when we were kids, but I never said that he was a bad father."
Casey knew the story well. She crossed her arms and moved a couple steps forwards. "But you know your Dad is like...golden for your brother."
"I know, I know…" Montserrat didn't want to keep thinking about it because the more she would, the more likely she was to get actually upset. She'd managed to cool down since their last argument in public and she thought she was ready for a civilized talk with Gael, but it seemed like he disagreed.
"You want get some dinner?" Casey asked when she turned to go back into her office.
"Nah, I can't," Montserrat made a wave of her hand. "But bring me some chocolate brownies tomorrow?" Casey's scoff was answer enough. Montserrat playfully rolled her eyes. "Figured," she mumbled and headed out.
She walked into the hallway and started thinking about what exactly she would say to Rafael when she proposed he go and talk to Eddie. She didn't mind being yelled at, but...she wouldn't mind avoiding it either. She was rehearsing some phrases when she walked into the office.
"Dammit," she cursed after seeing the darkness. He'd gone.
Montserrat turned on her heels and returned to the main hallway where she saw Casey emerging from her own office. The ginger ADA gave her cousin a strange look as she caught up with Montserrat.
"I thought you said you were leaving…" Casey purposely trailed off.
"I was, I just had to talk to Rafael first but he's gone already," Montserrat crossed her arms. "That man never leaves his office before eight. I should be concerned."
Casey snorted and started leading towards the entrance doors. "Sometimes even he needs a break."
Montserrat playfully rolled his eyes. "I don't think he knows the definition of that word...nor do you, actually."
Casey chuckled. "Funny. So funny that I'm not bringing you any brownies for tomorrow." She opened an entrance door for Montserrat and followed her cousin out afterwards. "And it was gonna be a surprise."
"Yeah, right," Montserrat almost laughed in Casey's face.
They followed each other towards the street, but Casey's sudden stop made Montserrat bump into her. "Look, you still have your chance to talk to Rafael. He's getting coffee."
"Of course he is," Montserrat followed Casey's gaze to see the man buying a cup of coffee from a street vendor.
"You don't look so happy…" Casey said after seeing Montserrat's face.
"It's just I thought I had a night to think of what to say that won't get me yelled at."
Casey's snort was a teasing one and Montserrat knew it. "Good luck."
Montserrat shot a glare at her cousin. "You can go now." Casey's widening smirk only irritated Montserrat even more. Even as the ADA left, Montserrat could picture the smirk getting bigger. The entire Novak family was annoying, she thought. When she felt ready enough - or prepared to be yelled at, which ever one happened - she went in Rafael's direction.
"I'm curious, do you ever sleep at night?" her voice didn't even startle him despite being a bit engrossed in his phone.
He looked up with a deadpanning expression. "Detective, what are you doing here?"
"It's the street," Montserrat said like it was obvious, and it should have been. "And I was with Casey and my...brother…"
"Ah, I didn't hear any screaming...am I to assume that means you're good now?"
"No. Not even close." Montserrat didn't even want to go into that topic right now. "But I'm focusing on our case-"
"-how's that going?" Rafael's expression turned serious fast, almost concerned. It showed more this time than it had since they started on the case.
"To be honest?" Montserrat knew he'd regret nodding in a second. "Your friends are stonewalling us."
"Have you talked to Alex again-"
"-yes! And he just turns everything on Alex-"
"-and have you talked to Al-"
"-he closed the door on Amanda and Finn!" Montserrat said a tad louder than was necessary. She shot apologetic smiles at the passing people on the street before getting serious again. "And I figure it's pointless talking to Mrs. Munoz because she's clueless about the whole case, though maybe now she's not - did you happen to tell her something?"
"How would you - how do you know we talked?" Rafael seemed almost on the fence about it.
"Because Ivana bumped into her and - I don't need that look you're giving me right now," Montserrat put a hand on her hip once she took notice of his expression. "If anyone should be giving that look it's me to you for talking to someone affiliated with the case."
"I didn't say anything, Novak. Give me some credit will you?" he started walking along the block, making her do the same beside him.
"Okay but I'm serious here, it's not a good idea to be so close to these people right now. They can manipulate you-"
Rafael scoffed. "Seriously, give me some credit. I'm not easily manipulated-"
Montserrat moved quick and turned to be in front of him, forcing him to stop. "-it is when one of the people claims she's had history with you too." It was clear Rafael hadn't anticipated that move, but Montserrat wasn't going to let him off. "I know exactly what she meant, Rafael, so don't even deny it. Knowing that, and all the other history you have with these people, I really think you should listen to me. Alex is evading us, Yelina is bound to make you reconsider this whole case so really, our only option is Eddie and you're the only one who can talk to him."
Rafael looked at her in silence for a full minute in which Montserrat wasn't sure he would yell at her or not. He was professional - my God he was professional - but he admitted she had some point. He'd gotten far too close to the case than he had wanted to. In her perspective, she could be right. He wanted to believe that he could control himself. "If things get worse, I will talk to Eddie."
"Okay…" Montserrat nodded slowly, still waiting for him to add on a shout at the end. She ended up rambling things she shouldn't have so now she was being cautious.
Rafael recognized her cautious manner and rolled his eyes. "Novak, I'm not going to bite your head off. You're doing your job and no one's getting in the way, alright?"
"...okay," Montserrat bit her lip. She wanted to relax but it still felt far too easy.
"I'm good," Rafael's attempt at a smile wasn't all that good but Montserrat wouldn't point it out so blatantly.
She moved to the side to allow him to walk, but before he could she spoke up again, "If you need to talk, I'm-I'm here…"
"I am good, Novak," Rafael's tone was final and more like a warning for her to stop.
"Okay," Montserrat said quietly. She should probably take the win before she made things worse. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."
As she turned to leave, Rafael got that ping of guilt for being more harsh than usual. It was as he told her: she'd just been doing her job. He stopped walking and turned back to see if she was still around, but he had no luck. Too late now, he thought with an inward sigh.
Author's Note:
Did I mention this is one of my fave episodes everrrrr?
For the Reviews:
kattcrue: It's a wild one alright xD
Alexa Kay: Thanks! Hope you liked the new chapter!