CHAPTER 2

"This has Voight's name written all over it!. You know it as well as I do," said Matthew as he paced around Antonio Dawson's office at the Chicago Police Department. It had been twelve hours since Madeleine had gone missing and Matt, growing weary of the police officers that had showed up at the scene in Lakeshore's parking lot, had busted into the Homicide Department just before 7:00 AM.

"Look, Matt...we don't know that for sure. In fact, we don't know anything at all right now except that we can't file a missing persons report until she's been gone for twenty-four hours, so sit your ass down," said Antonio.

"In twenty-four hours, she could be dead….if she isn't already," said Matt. He reluctantly sat in the chair at the side of Antonio's desk and put his head in his hands. He was near exhaustion and was full of anger and frustration and most of all, fear. He felt helpless and lost, waiting for the CPD to pull an investigation together to find out where his fiancee was before it was too late.

"Hey man, I know what you're going through, OK? Escalante's guys will be on it and will do whatever it takes to find Maddy. Hang in there," said Antonio, putting his hand on Matt's arm as he tried unsuccessfully to give him some reassurance.

"Easier said than done," said Matt. He slumped down in his chair and let his head drop backwards. His eyes were throbbing from lack of sleep, so he covered his face with his hands to shield them from the bright fluorescent lights overhead.

"I know," said Antonio. Just then, Dawson's desk phone buzzed and Matt's short respite from the horrible reality was interrupted. He heard Antonio talking but had no idea what he was saying. His brain hadn't been functioning since 7:00 the night before when Madeleine never showed up for their appointment with the events planner at The Drake. His world had been spinning out of control ever since.

"Escalante and Wilmont want to see you now. Are you up for this?" asked Antonio as he stood up from his chair.

"I'll do whatever it takes to bring her home," said Matt. Antonio put his arm around Matt's shoulders as they walked to Chief Escalante's office. His secretary buzzed them inside and the two of them sat in front of the Chief's desk. John Escalante was a slight man with glasses and an skimpy mustache that made him look a lot younger than his fifty-seven years. Leaning against the window sill behind him was a tall man with copper-colored hair and a tattoo of a tiger on his left forearm who the Dawson introduced as Detective Michael "Mickey" Wilmont. All four of the men shook hands before sitting down to begin talking about the details of Madeleine's disappearance.

"Standard procedure for this Bureau is to wait a full twenty-four hours before we can begin a missing person's investigation, Lieutenant Casey...but out of respect for Dawson's reputation in the CPD and the fact that you're a good friend of his, we're bumping it up," said Escalante.

"Thank you. I appreciate that more than you know," said Matt.

"I know you're probably exhausted and your mind is going in fifty different directions right now, Lieutenant...but I'll need to ask you some questions about you, Ms. Coventry and everything the two of you did last night, leading up to when she disappeared," said Det. Wilmont.

"I understand. Where do you want me to start?" said Matt.

"You were on shift yesterday at House 51, weren't you?" asked the Detective.

"Yes, until 8:00 yesterday morning," said Matt.

"Did you go directly home?" asked Wilmont.

"Yes, I left the station around 8:10 AM and drove straight home," said Matt.

"Was Ms. Coventry at home when you arrived?" asked WIlmont.

"Yes she was," said Matt.

"Is that normal for her...to be home when you get off shift?" asked the detective.

"No, she's usually already at work by the time I get off shift, but she had planned on getting to work at 9:00 yesterday instead of 8:00 so she could leave for The Drake without taking personal time to do it," said Matt.

"Any idea why she didn't want to use her benefit time?" asked Wilmont.

"She wanted to save all of her vacation and personal time for our honeymoon in October," said Matt, his voice cracking slightly.

"I know this is hard, man….but you're doing great," said Antonio. Matt drew in a deep breath as Wilmont continued his questioning.

"Did you and Ms. Coventry talk when you got home?" he asked.

"Of course we did," said Matt sounding annoyed. Antonio touched Matt's arm to remind him that every question was necessary no matter how ridiculous or mundane it seemed.

"What time did Ms. Coventry leave for work that day?" he asked.

"Around 11:30, I think," said Matt.

"But you said earlier that she was going in at 9:00. Which is it, Lieutenant?" he asked.

"She had planned on going in at 9:00 but she called her secretary and told her she'd be in at 1:00 instead," said Matt.

"And why was that?" asked the detective.

"We hadn't spent a whole lot of time together in the last month and…." said Matt before he was interrupted by Wilmont.

"Were the two of you having problems?" he asked.

"Would we be planning our wedding if we were?" shouted Matt. He rubbed his face and stared down at the floor for a few seconds to compose himself.

"I'm sorry. My nerves are shot," said Matt.

"Are you alright, Lieutenant? Do you need a few minutes? I could have Jackie get you some water or coffee if you'd like," asked the Chief. Matt lifted his head to look at the at him and slowly shook his head no.

"What happened between the time Ms. Coventry called her secretary and when she left for Lakeshore?" asked the detective.

"We...had sex...and then took a shower together. She made breakfast while I fixed the hot water heater. Afterwards, I got into bed to get some sleep while she got ready for work. I asked her to call off and stay home with me. I've been working a lot of extra shifts to get more vacation time for our honeymoon. That's why we hadn't been spending much time together and I wanted to spend the day with her. Are you happy now?" snapped Matt.

"And why didn't she stay home?" he asked.

"She said she had a meeting at 2:00 that she couldn't miss," said Matt.

"So she left around 11:30 for a 2:00 meeting when Lakeshore is only a forty minute drive from your house," he stated.

"Just what the hell are you implying, detective?" shouted Matt. Wilmont threw up his hands in exasperation while Antonio pulled Matt aside to try to get Matt to calm down.

"We need five minutes, guys" said Antonio.

"Matt, come on man...I know you're tired and on edge, but you know how this works. They have to go after every possible angle and if you want to find Maddy you need to cooperate with them. It's just that simple. It's not personal," said Antonio.

"I know, but in the ten minutes we've been in there, he's hinted twice that I might have had something to do with Maddy's disappearance. It's pissing me off," said Matt.

"That's his job, Matt, and as much as he's pissing you off, if you piss him off they'll bury this case in the pile of hundreds of other missing persons files in this city. You got me?" said Antonio.

"OK, ok….I get it," said Matt.

So why did Maddy leave so early?" asked Antonio.

"She said she wanted to see her father first before she went to the office. Oh shit...I forgot about him. I'm supposed to pick him up from the hospital this morning at 10:30," said Matt, suddenly sounding panicked.

"Calm down, Matt. We'll dispatch an officer over to Lakeshore to tell him what's going on," said Antonio.

"No, you can't do that. He just recovered from heart surgery. News like this would kill him for sure," said Matt.

"Is there anyone else you can call?" asked Antonio. Matt thought for a minute.

"Severide...Kelly Severide. He and Maddy dated for a few months. He knows Jim well and Jim trusts him. He could tell him I got tied up on a construction job, and couldn't pick him up," said Matt.

"I'll take care of that. You go get yourself some water and calm down before we go back in there," said Antonio, pointing towards the water cooler in the corner of the hallway. As Dawson made the call, Matt poured some water into one of the cone-shaped cups from the holder and drank it down quickly. He refilled it two more times before Chief Escalante called them both back inside the office.

"You ready to finish this now?" asked Antonio.

"Yeah, let's do this. Did you get a hold of Severide?" asked Matt.

"Yeah... I explained what's happened and he said he'll take care of it. He also told me to tell you that he'll let the guys at the house know and someone named Em," said Antonio.

"Emily Morrison. She's Maddy's best friend," said Matt.

"Do you think she might know anything about this?" asked Antonio as they walked back inside the office.

"She might. Maddy confides a lot in Emily. It's a girlfriend thing," said Matt.

"OK, we'll call her in for questioning," said Antonio. The two men sat back down in their chairs and Mickey began the last of his questions.

"I'm sorry about that, Mr. Casey. I have to ask those type of questions whether or not I want to," said the detective.

"I know. Can we just get on with this now? Every minute counts," said Matt.

"OK, we left off at Ms. Coventry leaving two and a half hours early for a 2:00 meeting at Lakeshore. Can you explain that?" asked Mickey.

"Yes...her father is in the hospital recovering from heart surgery and she wanted to visit with him first before going to her office. He's being discharged today and she wanted to talk to him about the home services she'd set up for him," said Matt.

"And did you hear from her later in the day?" asked Mickey.

"Yes, she texted me around 5:00 to say she was in an emergency Board of Directors meeting and that she wouldn't make dinner and would meet me at the hotel at 7:00," said Matt.

"But you met her at Lakeshore instead? That's what the police report says," said Mickey.

"Yeah. I didn't want her eating out of vending so I brought dinner to her office and we ate together," said Matt.

"And then what?" asked Mickey.

"And then we ate and left for the hotel around 7:00," said Matt.

"But I thought you said your appointment with the events planner was at 7:00?" asked Mickey.

"It was, but I called her to see if we could push it back an hour," said Matt.

"Why was that?" asked MIckey. Matt hesitated for a few seconds before answering.

"Lieutenant?" asked Mickey

"Because we….had sex again...in her office," said Matt, in a low voice.

"Wow, Lieutenant. Twice in one day. I'm impressed," said Mickey, smirking slightly.

"Actually, it was three times in one day...if you're keeping count," said Matt. Wilmont seemed slightly embarrassed by his own flip comment and by Matt's reply,so he brushed over it by continuing the questioning.

"And afterwards, what happened?" asked Mickey.

"We headed down to the parking lot to leave. Maddy said she forgot her car keys and went back up to get them. She told me to go on and that she'd meet me at the hotel," said Matt.

"You didn't drive together in the same car?" asked Mickey.

"No. She wanted to stop after our appointment and pick up a few things for her Dad before going home," said Matt.

"So did you see her go back into the hospital to get her keys?" asked Mickey.

"I watched her go through the front doors of the building and then I headed to the hotel. That was the last time I saw her," said Matt, choking up.

"OK, Lieutenant. I think we have enough information to get started on this. We're still examining her vehicle and items left at the scene. We'll be searching Ms. Coventry's office today as well. If we need anything more, we'll call you," said Chief Escalante, extending his hand to Matt. Matt reached out at shook it firmly.

"Thank you, Mr. Casey….I know that wasn't easy for you," said Mickey. Matt nodded, then turned around and walked out the office with Antonio.

"What now?" said Matt.

"Now, we wait until they examine all the evidence and come up with any leads to follow. In the meantime, you go home and get some sleep. You're no good to anyone in this condition," said Antonio.

"Sleep? How can I sleep when my fiancee is missing? She's my life, Antonio," said Matt.

"I know, man...I know," said Antonio.