Chapter 22

Captain Olivia Benson and Detective Elliot Stabler knocked on the door of a home on City Island. It was the only place listed on Caitlin Williams rap sheet for an emergency contact so they drove straight over from Eliza's place. Detective Klass and Betty were going to get the woman back to the safety of the precinct with a marked police cruiser following them to make sure they got there in one piece.

"Can I help you?" An older woman, who had a raised eyebrow, stood behind the screen door. The flimsy door was the only thing between the officers and the woman.

"I'm Captain Benson, this is Detective Stabler," Olivia told her as they flashed their badges.

"What did she do now?" The woman asked as she rolled her eyes. Her graying hair bobbed a little bit, clearly forced into place with hairspray. She was wearing a sweatshirt which looked like it was a "bumming around the house" shirt.

"It's a bit of a long story," Olivia admitted. The woman huffed and opened the door, letting them in. They moved from the front door and into the living room. The furniture was well loved but clean and they all took seats – the officers on the sofa and the woman in a rocking chair.

"So, you think Caitlin did something and you figure she'd come back here," the woman still had not introduced herself.

"Miss…" Elliot started. She waved her hand.

"Please call me Sally. No misses here," she winked.

"Yes ma'am," he nodded.

"Sally, we have reason to believe that Caitlin has killed someone," Olivia stopped beating around the bush.

"I suppose you expect me to be surprised but… I did all I could for her but there is just something wrong with her. I swore her out of my life when she tried to empty my bank account to feed her habit," Sally explained.

"There's a big leap from emptying a bank account to shooting someone," Elliot said.

"Not really. She threatened me with one of my larger cooking knives. She was high and demanded that I give her my pin so she could go to the ATM. I told her that wasn't happening," Sally paused and pulled down the collar of her shirt. There was a long scar that ran from the top of her collarbone, down past the shirt.

"It took thirty stitches to close that. Told the police that I wanted her out of my house and they obliged," Sally said.

"Her first assault charge," Olivia nodded.

"Told the DA to throw the book at her and that I wanted a restraining order. She was only sixteen so I think they were loath to throw her life away. She went to juvie for two years and was forced to complete rehab or go to a real prison for three more years. Somehow, she tricked them because she showed up on my doorstep two weeks after her eighteenth birthday. I called the cops and they escorted her off the property. They came back and said she wanted her stuff and I told them that it was stored in the basement. We had to arrange a moving company to help get her stuff out and a policeman kept her away from the house while the items were loaded into a van. I haven't seen her since," Sally told them.

"Why would she put you as her emergency contact then?" Elliot raised an eyebrow.

"She has no one else. Her mom was an addict and the state took Caitlin away from her. I thought I could protect her from that life, but… Caitlin always had this streak that you never knew would surface," Sally admitted.

"Well, we think it did and now one person is dead and another is in the hospital," Olivia said to her.

"Wish I could be more helpful but like I said, I haven't seen her in years," Sally shook her head.

"We appreciate your time," Elliot said as he stood up. Olivia joined him.

"Look, if you find her, please make sure she gets the book thrown at her this time. If someone truly did die because of her…" Sally shook her head. The two officers left the house and got back into Olivia's SVU.

"You got it?" She asked.

"Jet, are we good?" Elliot wanted to know. She'd been listening to the conversation as Elliot had called her before slipping the phone into his jacket pocket. The tech guru's voice came over the line,

"Cloned her phone and we'll know if she calls Caitlin." Olivia fired up the vehicle and pulled away from the house.

"She's making a call…" Jet told them.

"Guess who," Elliot chuckled.

"Got her," Olivia smirked.

To Be Continued…