Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Chapter Two
Title: Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Disclaimer: I own nothing that belongs to Dick Wolf.
"Another one?" Olivia rolled out of the bed, phone pressed uncomfortably against hair matted with sweat. She fumbled for her watch, hidden somewhere amongst the pile of fabric that were her clothes from yesterday. "Okay, yeah. The same spot as Kelly Johnson? …bastard," she mumbled, seeing that it was seven A.M.
Last night's stranger stirred from her side of the bed as Olivia shoved her cellphone into the front pocket of her jeans before pulling them on hastily. As Liv was buttoning up her oxford shirt, shrugging on her leather jacket soon after, the blonde awoke fully and grasped Olivia's hand just as the detective was reaching for her boots.
"Leaving so soon?" came the slurred, husky voice.
Olivia gently extracted her hand from… Marie's? and began to put her boots on. "Yeah," she answered shortly, clipping her badge and gun to her belt.
Marie smiled sleepily. "It was one hell of a one night stand," she said.
Olivia nodded and stood up. Saying nothing, she closed the bedroom door behind her on her way out.
-----
Olivia hoped Elliot wouldn't smell the sex on her. The deodorant she had sprayed on while back in her car was pretty strong, but Elliot picked up on stuff she wished he wouldn't notice.
Like how her clothes hadn't changed from the night before. He even noticed they were a bit more rumpled than they should've been, but after a vague comment they got right to business.
"How do we know it's the same guy?" she asked Warner, who was bent over the dead girl's body.
Warner stood up and glanced down at the girl before speaking. "He beat her, then raped her and beat her again, this time making a hole in her head with that rock." She knelt to lift the body, showing them the deep gash in the back of the victim's head. "Also, condom use is consistent with Kelly's attacker's M.O. We don't have hairs or fluids this time, but the location makes me almost certain it's the same man."
"Do we know how long she's been dead?" That was from Olivia again.
Elliot looked at Warner, who answered, "Rigor mortis is just setting in. I would say at the most, four or five hours ago, but it was cold last night and that throws off the accuracy. She hasn't been dead long at all. I would put time of death at three A.M."
-----
"It's hard to say," Huang said later when they were all back at the precinct. "Michelle Lee was six years older than Kelly Johnson, she's a different ethnicity, and the attacker didn't kill Kelly. If it's the same man, I don't think he intended to kill Michelle. The fact that he only beat Kelly enough to leave her severely injured, makes me think that he intended for the attack to be a warning." The psychiatrist paused to think for a while. "The timing is all off, as well. From the early afternoon to this time in the morning? He's very erratic."
"Do we know if there's anything connecting Kelly and Michelle?" Cragen asked Elliot and Olivia.
Elliot shrugged. "Nothing yet. We're trying to get the down low for Michelle. So far we've got that she lives with three other flat mates in an apartment on the Lower East Side."
"We're trying to find out where she works now," Olivia said from her desk.
"What was she doing in Central Park at three in the morning?"
All four were at a loss for words.
-----
Olivia called Alex from her cellphone while Elliot drove them to Michelle Lee's Lower East apartment. "I'm sorry we had to cancel lunch today."
"That's all right," came the ADA's voice over the line. "I'm just a bit annoyed you haven't gotten me anyone to prosecute," she said jokingly. "I feel out of the loop, here."
That earned her a tight laugh from her friend. "Well, we've got nothing so far. We're on our way to the second vic's apartment."
"Are you sure you've got no other leads to follow?" Alex asked, mentally kicking herself as soon as the words came out of her mouth. Of course the detectives had covered all their bases… not that it was much to follow in the first place.
"What do you think, Alex?" she huffed, sighing loudly in frustration to convey the glare she would've given the ADA, had they been face to face instead of on the telephone. "Blood on Kelly's clothes was hers, and we have nothing on the pubic hair… it doesn't match anyone at the school or the family, and we have no hits in the database."
"What about the cousin, Doug?"
Shaking her head, Olivia realized Alex wouldn't be able to see that action over the phone and quickly said, "We've got nothing on him. He hadn't been near the school all day, and he was still at the rec centre when we went to question him; hadn't left since he got there in the morning. We still don't know why Kelly was in Central Park at that time… according to her teacher, Kelly didn't even show up that day."
"That's strange," Alex mused aloud. "Surely she must have entered the building when she was dropped off by her parents?"
"They don't drop her off at the school doors… they drive her to the nearest crossing and she walks the rest of the way. That's where Doug picks her up, as well. Hey, Alex, gotta go; we've arrived."
"All right," Alex said over the line. "Let me know when you have someone I can prosecute."
Olivia laughed. "I'll probably call you before that… this is going to do me in. Bye," she said, then hung up.
"Calling our esteemed ADA, huh?" Elliot asked, smirking.
"We were just talking on the phone, Elliot. I was keeping her up to date on the case."
"I didn't say anything!" Elliot exclaimed, holding his hands up in mock surrender after he'd parked the car.
"Yeah, whatever."
----
Alex hung up, smiling first, then shaking her head and turning her mind to work. It wouldn't do for Olivia to be distracting her while she still had all this paperwork from Liz to wade through… It's just that lately, I can't get you out of my mind.
She sighed, fiddling with the black frame of her glasses before putting them back on. She couldn't even remember when her friendship with Olivia turned into something more for her; something that made it really hard to look her best friend in the eye sometimes, just in case Olivia could pick up the thoughts that belonged in the R category. Damn those sensitive, caring eyes, that leather jacket and that hot swagger… no, she schooled her thoughts firmly, it's most definitely not love; it's just a crush. People crush on their best friends all the time.
Disclaimer: I own nothing that belongs to Dick Wolf.
"Another one?" Olivia rolled out of the bed, phone pressed uncomfortably against hair matted with sweat. She fumbled for her watch, hidden somewhere amongst the pile of fabric that were her clothes from yesterday. "Okay, yeah. The same spot as Kelly Johnson? …bastard," she mumbled, seeing that it was seven A.M.
Last night's stranger stirred from her side of the bed as Olivia shoved her cellphone into the front pocket of her jeans before pulling them on hastily. As Liv was buttoning up her oxford shirt, shrugging on her leather jacket soon after, the blonde awoke fully and grasped Olivia's hand just as the detective was reaching for her boots.
"Leaving so soon?" came the slurred, husky voice.
Olivia gently extracted her hand from… Marie's? and began to put her boots on. "Yeah," she answered shortly, clipping her badge and gun to her belt.
Marie smiled sleepily. "It was one hell of a one night stand," she said.
Olivia nodded and stood up. Saying nothing, she closed the bedroom door behind her on her way out.
-----
Olivia hoped Elliot wouldn't smell the sex on her. The deodorant she had sprayed on while back in her car was pretty strong, but Elliot picked up on stuff she wished he wouldn't notice.
Like how her clothes hadn't changed from the night before. He even noticed they were a bit more rumpled than they should've been, but after a vague comment they got right to business.
"How do we know it's the same guy?" she asked Warner, who was bent over the dead girl's body.
Warner stood up and glanced down at the girl before speaking. "He beat her, then raped her and beat her again, this time making a hole in her head with that rock." She knelt to lift the body, showing them the deep gash in the back of the victim's head. "Also, condom use is consistent with Kelly's attacker's M.O. We don't have hairs or fluids this time, but the location makes me almost certain it's the same man."
"Do we know how long she's been dead?" That was from Olivia again.
Elliot looked at Warner, who answered, "Rigor mortis is just setting in. I would say at the most, four or five hours ago, but it was cold last night and that throws off the accuracy. She hasn't been dead long at all. I would put time of death at three A.M."
-----
"It's hard to say," Huang said later when they were all back at the precinct. "Michelle Lee was six years older than Kelly Johnson, she's a different ethnicity, and the attacker didn't kill Kelly. If it's the same man, I don't think he intended to kill Michelle. The fact that he only beat Kelly enough to leave her severely injured, makes me think that he intended for the attack to be a warning." The psychiatrist paused to think for a while. "The timing is all off, as well. From the early afternoon to this time in the morning? He's very erratic."
"Do we know if there's anything connecting Kelly and Michelle?" Cragen asked Elliot and Olivia.
Elliot shrugged. "Nothing yet. We're trying to get the down low for Michelle. So far we've got that she lives with three other flat mates in an apartment on the Lower East Side."
"We're trying to find out where she works now," Olivia said from her desk.
"What was she doing in Central Park at three in the morning?"
All four were at a loss for words.
-----
Olivia called Alex from her cellphone while Elliot drove them to Michelle Lee's Lower East apartment. "I'm sorry we had to cancel lunch today."
"That's all right," came the ADA's voice over the line. "I'm just a bit annoyed you haven't gotten me anyone to prosecute," she said jokingly. "I feel out of the loop, here."
That earned her a tight laugh from her friend. "Well, we've got nothing so far. We're on our way to the second vic's apartment."
"Are you sure you've got no other leads to follow?" Alex asked, mentally kicking herself as soon as the words came out of her mouth. Of course the detectives had covered all their bases… not that it was much to follow in the first place.
"What do you think, Alex?" she huffed, sighing loudly in frustration to convey the glare she would've given the ADA, had they been face to face instead of on the telephone. "Blood on Kelly's clothes was hers, and we have nothing on the pubic hair… it doesn't match anyone at the school or the family, and we have no hits in the database."
"What about the cousin, Doug?"
Shaking her head, Olivia realized Alex wouldn't be able to see that action over the phone and quickly said, "We've got nothing on him. He hadn't been near the school all day, and he was still at the rec centre when we went to question him; hadn't left since he got there in the morning. We still don't know why Kelly was in Central Park at that time… according to her teacher, Kelly didn't even show up that day."
"That's strange," Alex mused aloud. "Surely she must have entered the building when she was dropped off by her parents?"
"They don't drop her off at the school doors… they drive her to the nearest crossing and she walks the rest of the way. That's where Doug picks her up, as well. Hey, Alex, gotta go; we've arrived."
"All right," Alex said over the line. "Let me know when you have someone I can prosecute."
Olivia laughed. "I'll probably call you before that… this is going to do me in. Bye," she said, then hung up.
"Calling our esteemed ADA, huh?" Elliot asked, smirking.
"We were just talking on the phone, Elliot. I was keeping her up to date on the case."
"I didn't say anything!" Elliot exclaimed, holding his hands up in mock surrender after he'd parked the car.
"Yeah, whatever."
----
Alex hung up, smiling first, then shaking her head and turning her mind to work. It wouldn't do for Olivia to be distracting her while she still had all this paperwork from Liz to wade through… It's just that lately, I can't get you out of my mind.
She sighed, fiddling with the black frame of her glasses before putting them back on. She couldn't even remember when her friendship with Olivia turned into something more for her; something that made it really hard to look her best friend in the eye sometimes, just in case Olivia could pick up the thoughts that belonged in the R category. Damn those sensitive, caring eyes, that leather jacket and that hot swagger… no, she schooled her thoughts firmly, it's most definitely not love; it's just a crush. People crush on their best friends all the time.