Sins of the Father

3.

A/N: Thanks everybody for your support!

Washington D.C.

Wednesday

630pm

Olivia stared at the towering Commander in front of her. He had caught her off guard, and for a second she was speechless. Regaining her composure she said, "Hi, I'm Olivia Benson, is Sarah Mackenzie here?"

"Olivia Benson," the man said slowly, as if trying to decide what to tell her. "Commander Rabb, U.S Navy JAG corp." He reached out to shake her hand. "Colonel Mackenzie's on temporary additional duty aboard the U.S.S Guadacanal, she won't be back for a few days."

"Oh." Her heart sunk in disappointment. Her desperation had led her nearly 300 miles away from home only to come up empty handed. Oddly, however, Olivia felt a gram of relief. It was like going to the dentist office for a painful procedure, only to find that the appointment had been cancelled. "When will she be back?"

Commander Rabb shook his head, "Hard to say, she just left this morning." He leaned against the doorframe, "What's this about?"

Olivia looked down, debating what to tell him. She couldn't afford to wait in D.C indefinately. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a pen and a business card. Scribbling on the card she said, "Look, could you give this to her when she gets back? It's about her father, Joseph Mackenzie." She handed the card to him.

"Joseph Mackenzie is dead, ma'am." Rabb regarded Benson suspicously.

Olivia saw the questions in his eyes and figured that the Commander was being protective. "I know," she replied. "I'm detective Benson from the NYPD," she showed her badge and ID "I came across his name on a cold case investigation. I just have a few questions to ask so I can close the case." It was true, her mother's rape was a cold case and she had come across Joseph Mackenzie's name during her investigation, she just had illegal evidence.

"I see," Commander Rabb said slowly. He examined the card and gave her a sidelong look. "Well, I'll make sure she gets this, detective." He put the card with the pile of mail he carried.

"Thank you, Commander." Olivia stepped back, turned and walked down the hallway, her thoughts on a thousand why's and what if's.

xxx

Washington DC

Benzingers Bar and Grill

Wednesday 815pm

"Congratulations on your win Bud," Harm clinked his bottle against Bud's glass.

"Thank you sir," Bud's face was all smiles. He sipped his drink, "But I couldn't have done it without your advice."

"You would have figured it out sooner or later," Harm drawled. He was proud of his colleague. Bud had won a difficult dereliction of duty case against his rival, the ambitious Lieutenant Singer which was no easy feat. He patted his friend on the back in congratulations.

"I heard you and Commander Turner got a new case," Bud's wife Harriet changed the subject.

"Yeah, it's gonna be a hard case to make, a lot of he said, she said, he did, she did." Harm remarked. He took another swig of his beer, savoring the taste on his lips. The Admiral had called them in late in the day to give them their assignments. He'd be leaving tomorrow to begin an investigation.

"What happened sir?" Bud asked.

"I don't know the details, but apparently a young Lieutenant was accused of raping an Ensign under his command." Harm kept his voice low. Just then the waitress came with their food. Harm leaned back and helped hand the dishes to his friends. His mouth watered, he was hungry. "Commander Turner and I will be investigating and then we're going to convene an article thirty-two hearing." He took a bite of his grilled salmon and was about to continue his story when something caught his eye. Detective Benson entered and took a seat at the bar. "Excuse me for a minute."