The Gripping Law & Order: OC Case That Had Benson and Stabler Playing Phone Tag

Dozens of cases have landed on Olivia Benson’s (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler’s (Christopher Meloni) desks over the years, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit fans will agree that, when the two combine forces, it’s game over for the bad guys.

And though Stabler now spearheads Law & Order: Organized Crime investigations, unsurprisingly, Benson and Stabler often still collaborate on cases. Law & Order viewers adore Benson and Stabler crossover episodes, not just for the action but also for the explosive chemistry between the will-they-or-won’t-they partners.

In Season 4 of Law & Order: OC, Stabler searched for Rita Lasku (Izabela Vidovic), a victim he and Benson helped in Season 2, leading to several missed phone calls between the two former partners.

Why was Stabler leaving voicemails for Benson in Season 4 of OC?

Stabler called Benson, seemingly out of the blue, to reconnect about a woman they’d helped before — Rita Lasku.
Stabler had first met Rita in Law & Order: OC Season 2, Episode 2 (“New World Order”), shortly after she’d moved to the States from Albania. She was waitressing at a restaurant run by the Kosta Organization, a drug network, and he was working undercover as a Kosta affiliate.

He ultimately revealed his assignment to her and learning she had a young son she was working to support. With Benson’s help, Stabler saved Rita’s life and arranged for her to join her son in London in Season 2, Episode 5 (“The Good, The Bad, and The Lovely”).
Rita returned to Stabler’s life two years later in OC’s Season 4 premiere (“Memory Lane”), leaving him a surprising voicemail asking him to call her. After hearing from Rita, Stabler— who had recently returned from another undercover case — thought of Benson so he called to let her know he was back.

Stabler, however, got Benson’s voicemail because she was on a case, so he left a message.
“Hey, Liv, it’s me. I just got back,” Stabler said. “Um, I got a message from someone, an old case of ours, and I don’t know, maybe I just wanted to hear your voice. Call me. Bye.”

Viewers didn’t see Benson return the call but, as Stabler watched her at a press conference after successfully closing her human trafficking case, he smiled at the television screen with pride.

Why did Benson and Stabler play phone tag in OC Season 4?
Unfortunately, Stabler also ultimately learned in Season 4 that Rita had been killed.

In Law & Order: OC Season 4, Episode 5 (“Memory Lane”), he learned that, despite his help in Season 2, Rita had chosen to stay in the States to earn more money to support her son and had later begun working as an escort.

A group of men kidnapped Rita after a house party and tossed her in the trunk of a car before whisking her off to an undisclosed location. After one of Rita’s friends noticed her disappearance, she contacted Stabler for help.