Chapter 15

Over several days, Intelligence spent a ridiculous amount of time following Sanchez around the city and listening to conversation from the bugs Hailey and Jay had planted. This was in addition to two other cases they were working.

Adam leaned back in his chair one afternoon. "I don't know about you Kev, but I'm thoroughly tired of this prick. So far, all his yammering is with his girlfriend, then his wife, then back to the girlfriend. Oh, and that one time bitching to the headmaster of his kids' fancy private school about tuition increases."

Kevin stretched his arms over his head. "I feel you, bro. It sounds like a damn soap opera, especially all that drama about the broken dishwasher."

Adam burst out laughing. "Exactly. I mean, what's so hard about calling a freaking repair man?"

"I'm pretty handy with tools. I could have gone over there and fixed it myself by now," said Kev.

"I would pay good money to see that. Oh, and could you fix my icemaker?" said Adam. "Man, I'm not kidding. It quit making ice about a month ago."

Kevin scratched his chin. "How much you paying?"

"Would a six-pack do?" asked Adam.

"Make it two and I might, I say might, be persuaded to take a look at it," said Kevin.

"That's a deal, brother."

"Hey, maybe tomorrow we can talk Upton and Halstead into sitting down here," said Kevin.

Adam twisted his neck to the left and then to the right to relieve tension. "That would be awesome. Because I'd rather be out kicking down doors any day of the week."

"You got that right," agreed Kevin. They lifted their soda cans and clinked them, pretending they were at Molly's with cold beer.

Intelligence finally reached a point where they were just spinning their wheels on the Sanchez case. They had run down every source and lead they had and still lacked enough hard evidence to make a case.

They were tired and they were frustrated. Tempers had flared a couple times during the week about how to proceed from here. One time Voight had to come out of his office to calm them down. Thankfully, it was now Friday. Everyone was more than eager to get out of the District.

"You guys up for Molly's?" asked Adam.

"I have other plans," said Jay.

Adam looked to Hailey. "What about you, Upton?"

"Pass."

Hailey offered no further explanation, but Adam would wager that Jay's plans involved Hailey. "Okay, if you change your minds, you know where we'll be."

Hailey smiled. "Got it."

As soon as the gate closed behind Adam, Jay said, "I'll pick you up at 7:30." He reached over and gave her hand a little squeeze. "And you have to dress up," he reminded her. "No plaid or flannel."

"Ooh, you're enforcing a strict dress code. You know how I love my plaid and flannel."

Jay's eyes rolled up. "There must be like a zillion other occasions to wear that combination, namely all winter at work."

Hailey laughed. "You can rest easy. I'll be ready and I won't disappoint," she added. She was excited about tonight and knew exactly what she was going to wear. Jay had insisted they have a real date night, not hang out with the usual suspects at Molly's or scarf down take-out on one of their couches and fall asleep in the middle of Netflix.

At 7:25 p.m., Hailey's doorbell rang. She checked the peephole and saw that it was Jay.

"You have a key; you could have let yourself in."

"Would a date walk in uninvited?"

Hailey smiled. "Okay, I guess we really are doing the whole date thing."

Jay smiled, too. "Absolutely." Then he paused to take in her appearance. "I was hoping you'd wear that dress again." It was the same one from the disastrous Sanchez "date" night. However, it had been dry-cleaned after the fire.

"Does my cleavage bother you tonight?" she asked coyly.

"Hell, no." He wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her closer for a brief kiss. "I love that perfume, too," he whispered.

Hailey blushed slightly. "Do I know how to reel a guy in, or what?"

"Oh, you most definitely do," said Jay. "In fact, if we don't leave now, we may never leave this apartment."

They held hands as they walked out to Jay's truck. "Sorry, no sleek, sexy ride tonight," he said.

"No problem," said Hailey. When she started to walk around to the passenger side, Jay would not release her hand. She gave him a look. "Allow me," he said as he opened the door and assisted her to step up.

"Jay, I climb up here every day by myself," she said over her shoulder.

"True. But you're not wearing mile-high heels every day to the District."

"You have a point. Are you going to buckle me in, too?"

"Sure." He pulled out the seat belt and reached across her body to snap it in. In doing so, his chest brushed against her cleavage. Hailey sucked in a little breath and Jay gave her a smirk. "There we go," he said. "Nice and snug." The strap only seemed to emphasize her chest more and Jay took a second to appreciate her.

"You're ogling, Halstead."

Jay met her gaze. "So? Can't a guy enjoy the view?" She swatted his arm. "Are you going to buy me dinner or not?"

"Of course." He closed her door and went around to the driver's side. Once he got in and buckled up Jay said, "It'll be fun to do something different on a Friday night."

"Yeah, it will," agreed Hailey. "I won't even miss the loud, boisterous laughter and our drunk friends spilling beer on us. However, I may get spoiled by all this meticulous attention you're paying me."

"Miranda would be so pleased."

Hailey's eyebrows rose with the obvious question. "Excuse me, Miranda? Do you have another girl on the side?"

Jay laughed. "Miranda Catherine Halstead. My mom. She tried her hardest to instill manners and proper behavior into me and Will. I can't tell you how many times growing up we heard, "I raised you boys better than that."

"Miranda. That's the first time you've mentioned her name," said Hailey quietly. "I miss I could have met her."

Jay was thoughtful for a moment. "Me, too. She would have liked you." He cranked the engine. "Okay, enough of the past. Let's enjoy the here and now."

A sergeant, an alderman and a community activist met at a steakhouse. It almost sounded like the beginning of a bad joke. But it wasn't. The three men were seated in an alcove at the back of the steakhouse with an illusion of privacy provided by tall potted plants.

Voight was positioned so he could see the front door. It was such an ingrained habit that he never gave it a second thought. They were sipping drinks and discussing various current events while their steaks were being prepared. Voight liked to know what was going on in the neighborhood and these periodic dinners helped him do that in a low-key manner.

As he took a sip of wine, he saw an attractive, young couple come in and wait to be seated. They were attired for a night on the town and were smiling broadly.

Okay, they might be meeting friends for dinner. But in my experience, if it looks like a date, it's probably a date.

After a short delay, the couple was shown to a table. Voight could still keep an eye on them, but it highly unlikely they would notice him since they were so wrapped up in each other.

This is interesting, but not unexpected. Another chapter in the Halstead/Upton saga.

"Don't you agree, Hank?" asked Reggie, the community activist.

"Sorry, thought I saw someone I know at the front. You were talking about the neighborhood centers?" said Voight. Truthfully, he'd only been half listening to the conversation.

"Right. A lot of them are crumbling and on their last legs. If we could get these fixed up, kids would have a place to go after school. You know, learn computer stuff and generally stay out of trouble."

"A great idea. How can CPD help?"

Throughout dinner, Voight kept one eye on Jay and Hailey. There were not joined by anyone else and clearly enjoyed themselves. They smiled, laughed and chatted freely while they ate. They looked like a couple in love and confirmed what Trudy had told him not long ago.

Now they were getting up to leave. Jay held out Hailey's short jacket as she slipped her arms into it. She smiled up at him and his arm slid around her waist as they headed for the door.

Three more weeks passed before the Sanchez case was completely wrapped up. Now everybody was preparing to leave and go to Molly's to cut loose on this Wednesday night. Hailey stuck her head in Voight's office. "You joining us, Sarge?"

Rather than answer her question, he asked one in return. "Where's Halstead?"

"Down at Platt's desk faxing that paperwork to the state's attorney. Our fax machine just bit the dust." She nodded to the ancient machine in the corner. She had no sooner said the words when Jay bounded up the stairs.

"Hurry up, guys. Let's go," said Kim.

"In a minute," called Hailey over her shoulder.

"Get Halstead in here," said Voight.

Hailey motioned him over. "What's up?" he asked when he came to stand in the doorway beside Hailey.

"Close the door," said Voight.

Kevin pointed toward Voight's office. "What's happening in there?"

"Looks like it's true confession time," said Adam.

"We should go on to Molly's. They might be in there a while," said Kim

"Yeah, and I hate to hear Voight chewing out folks," added Adam.

"Hopefully, it won't come to that," said Kim.

"Come on, everybody knows about them. Hell, Voight was probably the first to know," said Kevin.

Both Jay and Hailey got flutters in their stomachs and didn't dare make eye contact with each other. Voight studied them for a long beat. Jay noted the forms on top of the blotter. Uh oh, this is it, the moment of truth.

Finally, Voight spoke. "Did you think I wouldn't figure it out."

Jay cut his eyes to Hailey, then back to their Sergeant. "Figure what out?" he asked. The question sounded lame even to him, but he needed a minute to get his wits about him. They had been expecting, and dreading, this confrontation for several weeks.

"Jay, you are too smart a detective to play dumb."

Jay sighed and massaged the back of his neck. "Okay, you're right. Let's put it out there once and for all." He paused and looked at his partner and she gave him a tiny nod of encouragement. "Hailey and I are a couple and we're not going to apologize for it." Now that he'd started, he had to go on. "I know you don't condone fraternization in the unit, but it is what it is. And look at Burgess and Ruzek." He exhaled and it felt like a ginormous boulder was now lifted from his shoulders.

Let the chips fall where they may, he thought.

Voight nodded thoughtfully. Then he picked up a pen and began tapping it lightly. "Yes, Burgess and Ruzek. I'm afraid they're a work-in-progress. Not sure they'll ever figure it out."

"Sarge, have we in any way been inappropriate or jeopardized any Intelligence cases?" asked Hailey.

Voight pinched the bridge of his nose as he considered what to say. "No, I honestly can't say that you have. If anything, you have an even greater reason to

have each other's back." He paused to let the truth of that sink in.

"You're my only detectives and the others take their cue from you. I can't afford to break up a good team. That would cause problems not only here but at home, too. If people aren't happy at home, they can't give a hundred per cent at work. And we all know there's no halfway in this job."

"Copy that," said Jay. "Look, I know you have the HR paperwork right there. Just give it to us and we'll gladly fill it out." He really wanted to get away from Voight's penetrating stare and unwind at Molly's.

Voight handed Jay the forms and he gave a cursory glance at the first page. Nothing like declaring your love life in triplicate.

"Just out of curiosity, Sarge. When did you know?" asked Hailey.

"I've had my suspicions for a while. You think I don't notice the little glances and interactions every day. But I do."

"Okay," said Hailey. "Guess we weren't as clever as we thought."

Voight gave them a final look. "I've said my two cents' worth so don't give me a reason to change my mind."

"We understand," said Hailey. They turned and walked to their desks to grab their jackets.

After the detectives departed, Platt came upstairs with a piece of paper in her hand. "Halstead didn't wait for his fax confirmation."

"Have a seat," he said.

"So . . . Halstead and Upton?" asked Platt with a quizzical look.

"They're doing the paperwork."

Silence hung in the air. "Don't be too hard on them, Hank. They're good kids and good police."

"I agree. And I've seen first-hand how much better Jay functions when Hailey's with him. It would be counter-productive to separate them." He released a heavy sigh. "If anything, I need more people with their skills and focus."

When Jay and Hailey got to the bottom of the stairs at the back exit, Jay pulled Hailey against his chest and gave her a hard kiss. "Glad our not-so-secret secret is out in the open now," he said as he rested his forehead against hers.

"Me, too," said Hailey. "But we still have to watch ourselves."

Jay grinned. "Not tonight we don't and I can kiss my girl any time I want."

"Hey, don't get too cocky," warned Hailey.

Jay nodded. "Yeah, I know. We still have to lead by example." They were quiet for a moment as they enjoyed the feeling of being wrapped in each other's arms. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some liquid refreshment."

"I'm more than ready," smiled Hailey.