In the Blink of an Eye

Chapter Fourteen: Cards on the Table

"...and that's when I decided that it wasn't worth it, so I ended things with him," I hear Olivia saying faintly. "So what do you think?"

I don't answer her; I'm completely lost in my bowl of soup.

"Maggie? Maggie?"

I start then, nearly losing control of my soup spoon and getting some on my new pantsuit. Shaking a little, I stir the thick consommé furiously, desperate to get the perfect image of Rebecca Rosewood out of my mind. "Sorry, Liv. You ended things with Brad?" I ask.

"Yeah, I said that," she says, clearly slightly irritated. She reaches out then, closing the distance between us on the small surface area we have to work with at this small, round table in this tiny little café in Alphabet City. She grips my wrist firmly so as my hand stops attempting to cause a whirlpool in my soup. "Maggie. Come on, talk to me. What's with you?"

I raise my eyes to her; it is difficult to make her out, as she is blurry, due to the onset of tears which have entered my eyes. Tell her, now, my mind is screaming at me. You're running on adrenaline... Come on, Holbrook. It's now or never... And then comes the cop out. "That P.I. that Buchanan hired got it wrong," I say softly, finally letting go of my spoon.

"What?" she asks, concern in her voice. "What are you talking about?"

I sigh, withdrawing my hand from her grip; I massage my temples in an effort to clear my head before properly speaking to her. "Apparently, Lacey Monroe is an alias or something, I don't know. Her real name is Rebecca Rosewood, and she's Hunter's lawyer."

"A lawyer? Damn," Olivia says, shaking her head. "That's really cold—cheating on your wife with a lawyer..."

"My mom always told me never to fall for a lawyer," I observe quietly.

"Did she give a reason?"

I nod. "Yeah. She said they were professional liars due to the fact that they have the capacity to represent reprehensible people."

Olivia laughs at that. "There are some good lawyers out there, Maggie."

I nod. "You're right. I heard you and... Well, you talk about Alex Cabot before she was gunned down, entered witness protection, came back to testify, and was given a new identity before she came back for a while... And then there was Casey, who I met in my first night in New York..."

"First night?" Olivia asks, playfully.

I smile at that, turning my gaze back to my autumn squash colored soup. "My first night of new beginnings," I clarify. "A lot's happened to me over the years..."

Olivia raises her cappuccino mug. "But it's not over yet."

I nod, raising my cup of tea and gently chiming it with her mug. "Not over yet," I reply, steadily.

. . .

I step into the squad room later that afternoon, feeling rejuvenated after my lunch with Olivia. I ask Nate to brief me on any new cases before I go into my office and go over some cold case files sent over by the Cold Case Unit. Serial homicides have always been a common criminal activity and, after John Munch worked with them, they figured that I, too could provide some insight. Thumbing through some old documents, my head began to swim rather uncomfortably and I found myself pushing away from my desk and ambling over towards my window.

The sun had decided to make an appearance and it looked as if it would be a rather pleasant afternoon. Rolling my shoulders, I debated getting the temporary laptops from the lock up and telling the squad that we should do our computing outside that afternoon. Chuckling to myself at such a ridiculous notion, I took off my heavy sweater and returned to my desk in only my blouse and suit pants. Crossing my legs beneath the table, I tapped my fingers upon the obtuse documentation and wondered if I'd be able to provide any insight whatsoever to the CCU.