Last Defense (Sequel to Drastic Measures)

Chapter Four

They arrived at the beach in less than an hour with backup and CSI as well. Everyone split up and investigated every perimeter of the beach.

"Found something!" Fin shouted, causing Olivia and Eliza to rush over to him. "Looks like our vic."

They glanced down at the sand, where a limp, pale corpse was covered in seaweed and dirt. Her light blond hair was damp and a tangled mess and her limps were curled up in an uncomfortable position.

As much as Eliza wanted to deny what was right in front of her, she knew there was no point. All this work, to risk the livelihood of an innocent person.

"I'll call the DA," Olivia said grimly, grabbing her cellphone. "Keep searching. There might be more bodies here."
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The ride back from the beach was silent. There was an overwhelming sense of dread amongst everyone working the case. The two had not told their boss the news yet. Eliza knew from working with Hank that he treats you like family if you are a part of his squad. And losing a part of that is like losing a part of himself. This news was going to devastate him.

When they got to the precinct, the two detectives began packing up their temporary desks.

"So I guess this means we're heading back now," Jay sighed.

"Did you know her well?"

Jay nodded. "She wasn't in our unit long, but she'd bring her nephew around every so often and I used to take him out to play ball. Whenever we would have a case that didn't go well, she would always bring us homemade cookies the next day. She was selfless, not just in her job but with the way she interacted with people in general."

Eliza stood up and grabbed her jacket. "You know what? This case still isn't finished. We're finding that son of a bitch and sending him to prison."

"Where are we going?" He asked, putting on his jacket.

"Forensics," was all she muttered before heading out the door and walking to the elevator.

Jay followed closely behind, waiting for the elevator to arrive. Once the elevator got to their floor, the doors opened, revealing Sonny.

"Leaving already?" He arched a brow. His face gave off ambivalence, but she could tell by the tone of Sonny's voice that he was disappointed.

"No, we're heading to forensics. We promised to help solve a case, didn't we?" Jay explained. Sonny's expression softened as he felt slight relief.

"Okay, I'll come with," Sonny suggested as they all boarded the elevator.

"You really don't have to..." Eliza mumbled.

"I actually do. Just cause you're visiting doesn't mean you're in charge like you used to be. It's New York City's department," Sonny glared at Eliza, practically lecturing her.
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"Detectives," Dr. Warner greeted them as they all walked in, "Didn't know you were coming so soon."

"Just came to look at some evidence. Hoping you found some clues," Sonny said, placing his hands on his hips as he scanned the room.

"Actually, I was just about to call because I did find something that might help," she led the three over to the large translucent bag with the victim's body inside, laid out on the cold metal table.

Beside it, was a metal tray with random sharp tools and containers on it. Dr. Warner picked up the tweezer and pulled out a strand of hair from one of the closed ziplock bags on the table. "As you can see, unlike the blond hair that matches our victim, this hair is black," she explained, "So I put the DNA in the data base and got a match. Jarod Wilby Walters. Age 37, and lives by Tribeca Avenue."

"This is great, let's go call backup and arrest him," Eliza said.

"Problem is, I called the tenant of the building he supposedly lives in, and apparently he moved out last week. Apartment's been vacant ever since," Dr. Warner stated.

They all sighed in exasperation, knowing this wasn't getting anywhere. "Well how about I go check his place out, there has to be something he left there. Some type of clue," Eliza suggested. "You two should go back to Benson and tell her the news."

"Hold on, I'm coming with you," Sonny said.

Eliza shook her head, "I'll be fine. I don't need your help."

"I wasn't asking. I'm coming with you whether you like it or not," Sonny stated then turned to Jay, "You get back to Benson. If we don't call in an hour, something's up."
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"And you're sure no one hasn't been here since Mr. Caulfied?" Eliza asked. They got to the building in less than fifteen minutes and asked the tenant to open the door to Walters' apartment.

"Yes I'm sure," the tenant nodded and unlocked the door, "Just call me when you're finished investigating and all."

"Alright, thank you sir," Sonny waved goodbye to the tenant and walked in along with Eliza. They scanned the apartment for any obscenities. It was pretty spacious and it grew pretty obvious that this Walters guy was filthy rich.

"I'll check the upstairs," Eliza told Sonny and went off. Slowly creeping, she walked into the bedroom first. All the furniture was still there as if he'd never left.

The closet stood across the room, one door slightly ajar. She walked over and placed her hand on the wooden handle to pull it farther open. Inside, there were just racks of coats, sweaters and jackets, but there was something odd gleaming against the light from behind.

Eliza tossed all the clothes aside, ripping the hangers and sweaters out and on to the carpet floor. Once they were all out, she gasped in utter horror at the sight. Plastered in the closet were hundreds, probably more, Polaroid pictures of dead corpses and brutalized women, cut up newspaper articles about missing people, and stolen IDs.

Eliza covered her mouth in shock as she slowly backed away, not able to form any words. She wanted to scream but she couldn't; she was practically frozen in shock. Her legs felt like they were going to give in and tumble to the floor.

Suddenly, a sharp pain prickled the side of her neck, and she felt an arm grab her from behind. "Huh..."was all she muttered as her vision began to blur, and she fell to the floor with a loud thump.