Over the next couple of days, the two women worked diligently alongside Fin and Carisi on their latest case. The boys had canvassed the bar and had found the staff to be polite and helpful. They provided the detectives with all the security footage from that night as well as the bar receipts.
Liv had interviewed Amber, Jamie's roommate who, although didn't seem to be directly involved, gave the seasoned lieutenant a bad feeling. Liv had learned to trust her gut over the last couple of decades working for the NYPD, and so tasked Amanda with finding out more about Amber Jackson, while her two male detectives built a profile on Sean Perry.
They met at the conference table, where they had a pinboard set up with four images of young people, two men, two women. Liv started the discussion about what they had discovered. "So our victim, Jamie Stevens is twenty-two and works in advertising. She was out Sunday night, celebrating her promotion with her roommate when she blacked out. She can't remember anything about her assault, but preliminary lab results showed semen and vaginal tearing. We are still waiting for the DNA and tox-screen coming back."
She got up, walking to the board, pointing out the dark-haired girl's DMV photo to the group. "I spoke to the roommate, Amber Jackson, yesterday. I got the feeling there is something she isn't telling us. The only thing she did say is that she left Jamie talking to some guy while she answered her phone, and when she came back, they were both gone."
Liv looked to Amanda, "Rollins, did you find anything out about her?"
"So, Jamie and Amber have been roommates since college," Amanda began. "They both went to NYU, Jamie studied Business Economics and Amber majored in Collaborative Arts. Amber met her boyfriend, Jason Handley, through Jamie."
"He also studied Business but was a year above the two girls, Fin said, checking the notes he had on Handley. "In 2013 he got a job at his father's firm, Richmond & Handley Advertising, and a year later he got Jamie a job there too."
"Sean Perry also works for Richmond & Handley," Carisi added. "He started not long after Jason in 2013, but he works as a web developer for the firm."
"Jamie and Jason are both Business Development Associates…" Amanda murmured as she tapped the keyboard of her laptop, projecting what she had found onto the big screen. She scrolled down the website page for the advertising company, looking at the 'meet the team' portion of the site. She continued her thought "…although Jamie said she was recently promoted to Business Development Coordinator, so effectively she is now Jason's boss."
"Bet daddy's boy didn't like that." Fin chimed in, in his gruff, no-nonsense manner. "Being passed over for a promotion by the new girl. Maybe he decided to take it out on her?"
"Great theory Fin," Carisi scoffed, "except we didn't see Jason anywhere near the bar when it happened."
"Hold on, Carisi," Liv chided, "Just because we didn't see him in the bar, doesn't mean he wasn't lying in wait in the alley. There are no cameras back there. I want to know who called Amber, when she so conveniently disappeared to answer her phone, it could have been Jason, letting her know he'd arrived." As she spoke, her cell phone rang in her hand. Holding up a finger, signalling for them to wait, she answered, "Benson." in her clipped professional tone.
"I'll pull the LUDs," Amanda spoke to the guys while Liv carried on her phone conversation, "see who and where the phone call came from."
Benson hung up. "That was the lab. Tox-screen came back positive for GHB. They tested the semen but no hits on any DNA database so far." She turned to her two male detectives, "you two, go and visit Jason Handley. Get a read on him but don't let him know we suspect him of anything yet. Ask him how well he knows Sean."
"On it, Liv." Fin nodded as he stood to leave.
"No problem, Lieu." Carisi shrugged on his suit Jacket and the two men left.
When Amanda was the only one in earshot, Liv asked in a lowered voice, "how are you feeling?"
Amanda glanced around just to make sure they couldn't be overheard, "nauseous, but I can handle it. I haven't thrown up today, so that's progress." She muttered with a half-smile.
"Are you up for a field trip?" Liv asked, knowing full well that Amanda was itching to get away from her desk. She smiled knowingly at the vigorous nod from the blonde. "I want to talk to Jamie again, see if she can give us a little more insight into her relationship with these three." She gestured to the board once more.
The two women parted ways to collect their coats. As Liv made to leave her office, she paused, taking a small bottle of ginger ale from the small fridge she kept in there. As she walked back into the squad room, she handed the bottle to the younger woman. "See if this helps." She smiled.
Thanking her lieutenant, Amanda followed the brunette towards the elevator.
-x-
As Amanda drove the Crown Vic to Mercy, Liv decided to voice an idea that had been formulating in her mind for a while. "Manda?"
"Hmmm?" The blonde hummed, showing she was listening.
"Do you think we should tell the guys that you are living with me?" Liv asked, her tone a little hesitant, not knowing how the younger woman might react to her idea.
"What?" Amanda replied quickly, glancing over at the brunette while trying to keep her eyes on the road. "Why?"
"Well, I know you like to keep your private life private," Liv reasoned, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "But if they find out later on and we didn't tell them, they are probably going to be really hurt that you didn't trust them. Either that or they are gonna assume there is something going on between us."
Amanda pressed on the brake pedal harder than was strictly necessary, causing the car to jerk to a stop in the line of traffic. She turned, wide-eyed, to stare at her lieutenant, as the mental image of herself with her body pressed close to the brunette's, their lips locked in a sweet kiss, flashed across her mind. "I, uh, I dunno Liv," she said, feeling the blush creep up her neck at the thought. "What would I say to them?"
"You don't have to go into detail," the older woman shrugged, "just tell them that for financial reasons, you are staying with me for a while until you can find a new apartment."
Amanda drove on, following the stream of traffic as the lights changed to green once more. She was quiet for a few minutes as she contemplated Liv's suggestion. "You know," she said after a while, and Liv turned to look at the younger woman as she turned right onto the side street leading to Mercy General. "I probably should say something." Her lips quirked up in a smile as she remembered her conversation with Fin the previous day. "Fin is starting to get suspicious. He asked me yesterday if I was feelin' okay, because I've beaten him to work every mornin' for the past couple of weeks."
Liv threw her head back and released a laugh. A rich, deep sound that Amanda thought she could never get tired of hearing. Smiling at her boss' reaction, she continued. "I told him I got a new alarm clock." Liv laughed even more.
The 'alarm clock' had become a running joke between the two women. Most mornings, they were both awakened before their actual alarms went off, by Noah and Frannie, who both thought it was a great game to run back and forth from Olivia's room to Amanda's.
Noah would open the door then Frannie would leap onto the bed, and therefore the sleeping woman in it. After a few seconds, the little boy would run out giggling and the dog would follow, only to repeat the exercise in the other woman's room. They continued this back and forth until one or both women got up and distracted them with food.
After the third day of this happening the two women had given up apologising to one another for the disturbance and just accepted that this was the way it was going to be from now on.
Amanda pulled into a parking space close to the main door of the hospital. "I'll tell them later today." She said to Liv before getting out of the car, the pair of them making their way into the hospital and up to Jamie's room.
Jamie was in much the same state as she had been the previous day, although her red hair now hung in soft waves. She had obviously been allowed to shower. The bruising on her face seemed to stand out more vividly than before.
They spent just under an hour with Jamie asking her questions. She couldn't remember anything else from the attack, but they managed to get some information about their three persons of interest.
Amber and Jamie had been roommates since sophomore year in college. Jamie had met Jason Handley through the peer-mentoring program at the school. He had met her in the library for a study session and when Amber came to meet Jamie later, Jamie had introduced the two of them and they started dating.
Both Jamie and Jason had been in the running for the promotion, but ultimately it had been given to Jamie, but Jason seemed okay with it. He had told Jamie that he was actually looking into a change in roles anyway. According to him his friend Sean was trying to pull some strings with the tech department to get him a position in the media office.
Jamie didn't know Sean well, just as a friendly face at company functions. Neither Jamie nor Sean were big fans of parties, so they tended to stand awkwardly together in a corner somewhere, whenever their presence was required.
Once Jamie had told them everything she could, the two cops left her to get some rest. They called at the deli on the way back to the squad room, picking up lunch for themselves, Fin and Carisi. All four of them sat around the conference table devouring their sandwiches. Liv was pleased to see Amanda attacking her turkey club with enthusiasm, knowing the younger woman had only eaten a couple of dry crackers for breakfast.
As they ate, they discussed the case. "Just as I suspected," Fin said, a sour expression on his face, "Handley is an arrogant asshole. Thinks the world owes him somethin', just because he's good looking and has a trust fund."
"He claims he was at his parents' house in Lennox Hill for a family function on Sunday night." Carisi added helpfully through a mouthful of his pastrami on rye. "I got the LUDs for both his and Amber's phones, it was definitely him that called her at 11.09pm Sunday night."
The young Italian detective swallowed and stood, going over to the big screen. Pressing a button on the remote, he brought up a map of Manhattan. "His story falls apart here," he pointed between three markers, and the area between them. "When he made the call it pinged off these three cell towers, putting him a good fifty blocks south of where he claims he was at that time."
"So, we know he's lying," Liv frowned, "what do we know about Sean Perry?"
"He wasn't at work today," Fin said, "We tried his home address, no luck there either, I sat a couple of unis on the place, they'll call if he shows up."
"Okay," the lieutenant nodded slowly. "Carisi, you are in court this afternoon with Barba, so get yourself over there. You two," she pointed at Amanda and Fin, "I want you two looking through security footage, try to track Jamie's movements. Let's see if we can refine her timeline a little."
As all three of her detectives started to move. She called out to them. "Um…" She began, looking to Amanda, "there's something else you guys should probably know, while we're all here."
She raised an eyebrow at Amanda, silently asking if she was okay with disclosing their living situation. They had agreed it was probably for the best, before someone found out and jumped to the wrong conclusion. The blonde detective nodded her consent for Liv to continue. "In the spirit of transparency, I thought we should tell you that Amanda is currently living with me."
The two men paused in their actions, looking from Liv to Amanda and back again several times until they both settled on Amanda with questioning looks. "I got kicked out of my apartment a couple of weeks ago." Amanda said, hanging her head, embarrassed. "Liv was kind enough to offer me her guest room until I find a new place."
"What happened?" Carisi asked, "are you okay? Is there anything we can do?"
"Nah," Amanda smiled appreciatively at the young man as he put a hand on her shoulder. "It's a long story, the short version is that I'm having some financial difficulties, but Liv is helping me get it sorted."
"So it's not…?" Fin left the question hanging, unsure if Carisi knew about Amanda's gambling addiction.
"No, well, not directly." Amanda said, her eyebrows pinching together. "I'm still paying off my debts, but I haven't relapsed."
Fin let out a sigh of relief, then laughed as a thought hit him. "So that's why you've been here on time every day," he said with a grin. "The boss is kicking your ass outta bed every morning."
Amanda laughed, "Technically, the boss' son is kicking my ass outta bed in a mornin'." She met Liv's eyes and the two women shared a smile.
Fin looked back and forth between them, shaking his head. "Well as long as you're okay," Fin sounded genuinely concerned, "if Liv gets sicka yo' skinny ass you know my door's always open. We gotcha Boo." He mock punched his blonde partner's shoulder.
Amanda just smiled at the two male detectives, thankful beyond words for her friends.
"Alright you guys," Liv interrupted the touching scene, "how 'bout we get back to our day jobs, huh?" There was a flurry of activity as her team moved to carry out her earlier orders. When she caught Amanda's eye, the blonde smiled and Liv winked in return, then turned, striding into her office to tackle the latest mountain of paperwork on her desk.
A/N: I'm not sure where the 'alarm clock' thing came from but I liked it.