“I’ll need you to come to the station and give us a statement.” He sounded apologetic. “Have you been drinking, Miss?” The patrol officer looked back at Ross, who was behind the bar.
“I had a shot earlier, and was starting to sip a drink when he came in,” Liv answered truthfully. “You can breathalyze me to make sure I’m safe to drive if you want.”
The patrol officer studied her for a bit. Liv worked on remaining coordinated. The truth was, she didn’t feel that bad. Not that she was particularly thrilled about that, but maybe she could dip into the alcohol stash her Gram kept.
The police station wasn’t that far away, so Liv parked and went inside to give her statement to the same patrol officer who had intervened.
“And then she started pulling his hair —”
“Liv?” There was alarm in Ryan’s voice as she appeared out of nowhere. “Are you okay?”
“Detective Olsen.” The patrol officer nodded. “She witnessed a fight, we’re taking a statement.”
“Charles took a swing at Cairo’s cousin,” Liv muttered, then stifled a yawn behind her hand. How late was it? She didn’t know. She had called River to check in, and to assure her that she was fine.
Not that she was entirely certain River believed that.
“Keith!” A third voice came out of nowhere, drawing all of their attention.
The patrol officer turned. Apparently that was his name. “What?”
“The gir — the woman’s gone, Sir.” The young-looking man in a police officer uniform looked chagrined. “She needed to use the bathroom, so we let her, and she must have escaped out the window.”
“They’re locked.” Keith looked disbelieving.
“The window was open when we got in there, Sir.” The officer looked devastated, and Liv couldn’t really blame him.
“Had she been arrested?” Ryan asked, looking between the two of them.
The officer shook his head. “From what we could tell, Charles was the main antagonist. We just needed a statement from her.”
“Did she know that?” Ryan asked dryly.
The younger officer exchanged a glance with Keith. “We thought so.”
“I can take over here.” Ryan nodded to Liv.
Keith nodded, apparently deferring to the detective. But Liv could see the faintest tightening of his lips that showed he wasn’t entirely happy with the decision.
“I’m fine,” Liv said, and it was mostly true.
Ryan sank into a chair opposite her without saying anything.
“What’s going to happen to him?” She looked at Charles.
“He’ll probably spend the night in the drunk tank,” Ryan said, following Charles with her eyes as he was led out of the room. “No formal charges unless Veronica wants to file them. Otherwise he’s free to go.”
Liv nodded. It made sense. She exhaled slowly, feeling some of the adrenaline start to leave her muscles and the shock set in.
“Are you okay?” Ryan asked softly.
No, Liv wanted to say. But she didn’t. “I don’t know,” she said instead. It was progress of some type.
There was a jangle as the outer door opened and someone rushed in. The voice sounded oddly familiar, but it took Liv’s tired mind a few moments to process it. River.
Damnit. Liv had said she was fine.
“There you are!” River popped into the room where they were, rushing over to Liv and hugging her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Liv said.
Ryan watched her intently, reassuring herself that Liv did seem to be okay. She didn’t have any wounds, but there was a decent chance she would have bruises tomorrow. It depended on how close to the actual fighting she had gotten.
“I can take you home,” River started.
“I can drive.” Liv stood, apparently uncomfortable with the attention. There was something almost frightened behind her eyes. To Ryan it made some sense. They had dated for two years in high school, yet Ryan had never been to her house. Not that Ryan had put pressure on her, but it was something she remembered.
Liv didn’t talk about her family, either.
“I’ll take you to your car,” Ryan said softly.
“I can walk myself.” Liv didn’t snap, but there was a strength in her voice that Ryan respected.
Ryan nodded. “Take care,” she said, helpless to do anything.
Liv picked up her purse and walked out the door, without looking back.
Ryan didn’t look at River, but she could feel her eyes on her.
“Let her come to you,” River said softly.
Ryan turned to look at her, and their eyes met. “I am.”
River smiled faintly. “Good. I’ll make sure she gets home safe.” Then she, too, was gone, and Ryan was left with her thoughts.
Tuesday 18th October; 10pm
Ryan sat at her desk, pouring over all the papers she had in Cairo’s case and in her missing person’s. Technically Cairo wasn’t a case. It had been declared a suicide by the chief, toxicology had come back negative. A suicide made the most sense.
But Ryan wouldn’t let it go. She couldn’t let it go.
She knocked back her third cup of coffee in an hour. She didn’t even know what time it was, she just knew that it was dark outside and she had to sleep at some point before it got light.
A phone rang. She picked up her work phone, surprised to hear a dial tone. Oh. The thought hit her over her head. It was her personal phone. She tapped accept call and put it to her ear, not entirely certain she recognized the number but not particularly caring.
“Ryan?” Liv’s voice came through the phone.
Ryan sat up straighter, her mind switching back into full alert. “Liv?”
Liv let out a frustrated sigh on her end of the phone.
“Are you okay?” Had something happened? Had she actually been injured by the bastard at the bar?
“I need your help,” Liv said finally, reluctantly. There was frustration in her voice. “Gram has memory problems sometimes, and I woke up to the sound of breaking glass, and now –“ Ryan could hear the tears in her voice – “I can’t find her.” Liv’s breath caught in her throat. “I need your help.”
“What?” Ryan was throwing her belongings into her purse and heading out the door
