DISCLAIMER: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and all characters are
property of NBC and Dick Wolf. I own NOTHING! I just mess around with characters for a while.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey you guys! How about that presidential election? (much sarcasm in that sentence) Anyway, just thought I'd say I am sorry for not updating sooner. Been busy, and my emotions have been in a twist what with a girl who just won't stop teasing me. Anybody been through that? Well after all that, one with my story...
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Music of a Relationship
By Teresa R.
Chapter XII
Months later:
Their relationship grew, more personal, more emotional, more passionate. Granted the few times they almost had sex with each other was always halted. One being that they both wanted it to be special, cheesy they knew but thought it right, or some indigenous sound that just happened to ruin the moment, and the thought of being walked in on whilst on top of a desk "talking about a case" just wouldn't want to be the memory they wanted to remember when thinking about the 'first time'.
Alex learned of all the stories Olivia had, and Olivia knew when to stop talking when the question of family came to play. Of course Alex learned early on from their first date that the topic of Olivia's father was a bad one. Both had their boundaries, both either too afraid to bring it up for fear of causing bad memories, or it was a skeleton in the closet that should and would never be found…at least not for a very long while.
Elliot and Olivia were now off their desk work, all they had to do now was wait for a case. Alex was already working, since her little vacation was quite shorter. Alex and Olivia were coming back from a quick lunch, Alex had an arraignment at 1:30 and Olivia just wanted to be in the office when their first case came in.
As the pair strolled into the squad room, a fast walking Elliot walked toward them. As Olivia made eye contact with him she saw the glint in his eyes…they have a case.
"Hey El." Olivia greeted.
"Hey Liv, Alex," he nodded in both their directions before continuing, "Sorry to interrupt but we just got a call and Cragen told us to take it."
"Great, I'll expect a job well done." Alex inputted then look at her watch casually, "Sorry to make this conversation short but I better go before I'm late."
"I'll see you later, okay?" Olivia said.
"Yeah, bye Liv, see you around Elliot." Alex turned on her heel and headed out of the room to court.
"So, you ready?" Elliot asked.
"Must you ask?" Olivia answered.
"Okay I shouldn't have asked, so can I ask about you and Alex?"
"I'm going to get my coat." she said as she pointed to the hanging coats.
"Okay." Elliot said then said with a confused look on his face, "But you already have your coat on."
"All the more reason to get my invisible coat just to get away from you."
"You suck."
Julie West apartment:
The drive to the victim's apartment was a relaxing one, one that they missed very much, but also dreaded. Both Elliot and Olivia had a certain anticipation, ready for anything after such a long dry spell. They reached the apartment and proceed to the third floor all the while encompassing the detective façade that remained dormant for a good few months.
"Detectives, this way." a crime scene investigator escorted them to the victim's body.
"What have we got?" Elliot questioned, his voice harboring a childlike anticipation.
"Julie West, 35, financial advisor, found dead in her shower by her partner Lisa Adams."
"Where is Lisa right now?"
"She sitting on the couch right now, she's still in shock by the murder."
"So if she was murdered, why were we called?" Elliot questioned confused by the information he just received.
"Well,…I think it would be better if you saw, my words can't describe it. Not that I would want to." he added quietly at the end.
The investigator led the two to the shower, and pulled the glass door to the shower cubicle open revealing a woman on the ground sprawled out in a pool of her own blood. She lay on her side, her head facing the detectives with her pale hazel eyes open, staring at them with a pleading look of refuge, begging for help. Her back had scratches that spanned throughout her back similar to that of one scratching someone's back with a venom of hate. Her head was bloody as all three noticed her head busted open. The tile had a splattered spot of blood from where her head more than likely was rammed into. so much force was put into that ramming of her head that the tile was caved in. Scanning the front of the victim caused a wince of disgust to surface from all three that stood before the body. A protruding serrated blade where the victim's heart resided, a vile act of human action driven by some sort of unearthly evil caused the perpetrator to literally stab human flesh and twist a heart counter clock-wise while still in the human body. Further down, a cascading waterfall of blood seemed to flow from the body to the drain meeting up with the blood flow of the chest swirling down the drain never to be used for life again. That flow from further down was from the head wound as blood ran down the back of the woman under her legs flowing down to the drain of the slanted shower so the water wouldn't accumulate. Not a single sign of sexual assault displayed, nor were there any signs of a struggle from restraints.
Olivia was the first to turn away holding a hand to her mouth willing her stomach to keep its lunch down. Elliot turned as well, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"How 'bout you talk to the victim's partner and I'll, I'll try to finish up here."
Olivia said nothing, she just shook her head and headed to the living room where she spotted Lisa Adams.
"Lisa?" Olivia voiced.
A light brown head turned up to the voice that called. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying and her face was pale, a ghastly white, whiter than any sheet she had ever scene.
"Yes?" the voice cracked, hoarse from crying.
"I'm Detective Olivia Benson; can I ask you a few questions?"
The brown headed woman nodded her head and looked down at the floor again. Olivia sat across from the woman on the couch in a flower patterned chair. She took out her notepad and pen, taking as much time as possible in order to stall. She didn't know what to ask, the sight she just saw could bare no questions to be asked. Yet she had to, this woman needed some sort of relief.
"Can you tell me what happened?"
The brown headed woman wiped her nose as she began to tell her recollection.
"I…I had just come back from the store. I walked in and I heard the shower running…I figured it was Julie so I went ahead and put up some stuff and started to make lunch. I turned the on the stereo and put a c.d. in…" she smiled a little, "I always listen to music when I do something, makes the thing you're doing go by faster. At least that's what I think." She smiled a bit and Olivia smiled back. "I finished cooking the lasagna and the side dishes and…"she trailed off, "and then I…I turned lowered the volume and went to see if Julie was ready to eat." She wiped her eyes as more tears ran down her cheeks down the same tear trails left from earlier tears.
"It's okay, just take your time." Olivia commented.
Lisa sniffled and continued. "I went to the room to see if she was getting dressed but she wasn't there. The window was open and I know Jules likes to sit on the fire escape sometimes to just to relax. I looked out side but she wasn't there. So I walked toward the bathroom and I could hear the water running still. I walked in and I decided to surprise her and open the shower door. And when I opened it I saw her on the floor bleeding and still…sh-she, I-I turned off the water and I-I held her in my arms. Sh-she was so cold and-"Lisa stopped speaking as a wave emotion came over her and she began to cry. Olivia sat there in silence waiting for Lisa's tears to subside and trying to keep hers at bay. She couldn't image walking in on somebody she loved and to see them the way Lisa saw Julie. As the crying became less Olivia decided to continue her line of questions.
"Can you tell me of anyone who want to hurt Julie?"
Lisa looked up and wiped her eyes with the twisted crumpled up Kleenex in her hand. She sort of smiled at the stupidity of the question asked and pushed her hair out of her eyes and then looked out the window into the city.
"Why someone would want to do this I don't know…but why now?" Lisa turned to look at Olivia before continuing. "I mean look at me, I'm all alone now…my best friend, my partner, my lover, my wife is dead. She's dead and I just can't do this by myself…here I am two months pregnant and alone."
"How long were you two together?"
"It'll be seven years…a week from today. We met in college and I knew she was the one for me. Her ex-girlfriend thought otherwise but she never really bothered us."
"Do you know the name of this ex?"
"Ashley Turner…she's an art director at one of those big art places."
"Do you know where that is?"
Lisa got up and rummaged through a pile of papers on a desk next to the window she was staring out of. She pulled out a card from beneath the pile and handed it to Olivia as she guided herself back to the couch.
"This is her card, Julie got it from someone she advised I guess you can say."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that that is the only time temptation got the better of Julie was with this one chick. She went ballistic when Julie chose me over her about eight months ago. And before you ask another question, her name and number is on the back of the card, she's Ashley's secretary."
"Lise…" a shy voice floated into the room.
Lisa looked at the door and saw a man and a woman there.
"Michelle…Trevor."
The duo at the door rushed to her side and a barrage of 'I'm so sorry' and 'I can't believe this happened' was said. Olivia knew it was best to go, this was too much for one woman to handle, not to mention process after what she saw in her bathroom. She left her card with Lisa and told her to call if she needed anyone to talk to. Then she left to find Elliot and get the hell out of there.
In the sedan Elliot was the first to break the silence that bestowed upon them since leaving the crime scene.
"So what do you think?"
"I think we better find out who did this."
To Be Continued