Chapter 30
A phone started ringing and Elliot, who was lying on his stomach, grumbled into his pillow. He hoped that it wasn't his. They had spent as much time as they could at the vet hospital before being told to go home. The nurses on overnights could keep watch of Betty. Klass was not happy to leave her partner but glad to go home with Carol. Her apartment was still a crime scene and the woman was starting to worry that her landlord would want her out. Carol invited Scott to join them, rather than having him drive back to New Jersey at that late hour.
"Benson," the groggy voice said into the phone. Elliot couldn't hear the conversation but he figured he'd better get his butt out of bed anyway and start the coffee. Lucy had come and gotten Noah off to school. The girl deserved a raise and Noah needed time with his mom. Maybe when this case was over, they could figure something out.
"I'll be in as soon as I can," the Captain said before hanging up her phone.
"So why did they need you already?" Elliot asked. He looked at the digital clock on the wall and noted it was nine am. They had managed maybe five hours of sleep.
"IAB is wondering why I'm not there. Captain Curry could be out to get me," she said.
"They've been trying to get to you for years. This isn't the time they do it," Elliot told her. He helped her out of bed. They'd gone to bed in their underwear and right now Olivia was not feeling too sleepy. Still no time for that now.
"Shower and coffee," she told him.
"Hanky panky later," he nodded which caused them both to chuckle. They were on the same brainwave, much like they had been when they were partners. Olivia grabbed some clean clothes and headed for the bathroom.
"Captain Curry, you seem to be in a rush this morning. I can't imagine that the autopsy and forensics are done yet," Olivia said an hour later as she walked into her office, coffee cup in hand; the IAB Captain in tow.
"No, they are not, but I didn't get to fully interview you last night. How is Betty?" Curry asked.
"I didn't get any bad phone calls so I'm going to assume good. She made it through the surgery. If the FDNY hadn't gone the amazing job they did, it could have been a different story," Olivia admitted as she sat down and offered the other Captain a seat in front of her desk.
"Will she be able to return to active duty?" Curry wondered.
"Since Betty is not a bomb or drug sniffing dog, I don't see why not but regrettably, that is not my department," Olivia admitted. The IAB Captain nodded and then said,
"Detective Rollins tells me that she was cleared for duty."
"She was. I filed the report and kept a copy for myself. Since she was using her maternity days were numbered. I realize that she wasn't fully on duty but I made the decision to go ahead," Olivia said.
"You knew that the situation could devolve why did you do that?" Curry wanted to know.
"This unit is constantly dealing with staffing shortages and Rollins is one of my best detectives. If she was physically capable, I needed her. My other detectives were reaching their overtime limits and were otherwise occupied," Olivia told her.
"How so?" Curry asked.
"Sergeant Tutuola was interrogating Caitlin Williams' aunt Sally with Detective Stabler. Detective Velasco was down at forensics trying to rush the gun owner's identification. That only left Detective Bruno and myself. Detective Bruno offered to help run the protection detail and because I was going to go tonight, that meant we were short of help. I called up Detective Rollins to inform her of what was going on. She has been incredibly helpful with her study of criminal behavior and I wanted her take," Olivia started.
"You had a former FBI agent, Doctor Huang, here. Why ask your detective?" The IAB Captain asked.
"Doctor Huang is a fantastic resource. I have known him for almost twenty-five years. I trust him and his insight. However, since he is considered a consultant, I wanted to have an opinion from a NYPD detective to back my play. You and I both know that, because he was playing cooperating witness, the higher ups would not have allowed for TARU and the surveillance without multiple opinions," the SVU Captain pointed out. Curry nodded and inquired,
"What is the state of your case now that Dylan is dead?"
"He gave a formal statement with his lawyer present and with ADA Carisi present. He directed us to the gun, which had Caitlin's fingerprints on it. It was Sally's gun so we have her aunt who will testify that she did not give Caitlin the weapon. We also have Lance Kirkpatrick, who admitted that he was paid by Caitlin to hack Akiko Matsuda's Facebook page. Plus, we have Caitlin confessing to harming Akiko Matsuda and killing Drew Hurley. I think that should be enough. Everything was above board," Olivia told her.
"I hope so. For your sake and for Detective Rollins' sake," Curry said.
To Be Continued…