Chapter 3
"So, Charlotte, you were the one who called it in?" The Captain asked as the group took seats on either side of her desk.
"I was. Rachel had been dealing with some stuff and I was trying to help her. She doesn't have family nearby," Charlotte explained.
"What kind of stuff? Do you know where her family is? We need to contact someone and let them know what has happened," Rollins wanted to know.
"Her family is out in Ohio, but I'm not sure that she'd want you to call them. She left home because of what had been going on – she refused to give me more details – but she had apologized to me more than once about her waking up screaming in the middle of the night. I managed to convince her to go see a therapist," Charlotte told them.
"Do you know the therapist's name?" Olivia hoped that this would give them a lead.
"The free clinic gave her the referral, I'm sure that the paperwork is at her place," the neighbor explained. Rollins excused herself and scooted out of the office to have Velasco call the forensics team down at the apartment.
"Did the therapy seem to be helping? Olivia asked as Rollins reentered the office.
"Well, the screaming in the middle of the night stopped but… Rachel wouldn't open up. I never pressed her to. I only ever offered to be a sounding board or a listening ear. That said, no way she just opens the door to a stranger. She was careful, sometimes overly careful. She hated that fire escape. I had to tell her that it was there in case of an emergency. She'd never lived in a building with one before. That window with the busted latch wasn't helping," Charlotte said.
"Was she paranoid about someone coming in through the window? I know that it wouldn't make me feel comfortable," Rollins told her.
"Paranoid would seem strong but to say that she was able to ignore it, would be a lie. The landlord isn't what you call 'quick', so I helped her secure the latch with some string. It wasn't great but it wasn't supposed to be permanent," she explained.
"The landlord will be getting a call about his behavior from the city, especially since the fire escape was not maintained. Do you know if Rachel had any sort of medical condition that a fall would harm her, more so than you or I?" Olivia asked.
"She never said anything. I have concerns that there was no one else in the apartment," Charlotte admitted. Those words brought Olivia back – way back to the case of Gretchen Quinn, or Susan Sidarsky, as she and Elliot had learned. What had seemed like a possible murder had turned into a suicide and the reveal of the horrible treatment that Susan had suffered at the hands of her father.
"You think that she threw herself off that fire escape?" Rollins inquired.
"She wasn't dating anyone, as far as I know. She didn't have many friends here in the city. My only thought is that something or someone triggered her response. When I saw her as I was checking my mail, she seemed fine. She was in a good mood. We talked about going to the movies on the weekend. There was no mention that she had company coming over or that she was expecting a phone call," Charlotte heaved a sigh.
"Did you know where she worked?" Olivia asked.
"She was working as loan officer in a bank," the neighbor said. Olivia nodded before handing her a card.
"If you think of anything, please call me. My cell phone number is on there. Meantime, Detective Rollins will make sure that you get home ok," the Captain told her. Charlotte nodded and she and Rollins left the room. Olivia heaved a sigh and then called Elliot.
To Be Continued…