It was weird to see the place so quiet, a change from the hustle and bustle she associated Intelligence with. She almost felt out of place climbing the stairs, felt awkward to be carrying the box in her hands. And it felt disheartening not to see Jay as she walked in, hoping that by seeing his face her nerves would calm some.
She didn't have to wait long before she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, spotting Adam coming from the hallway. He took one look at her, clapping his hands before looking back from where he came.
"Yes, you took the job," he said. "Kev!"
Hailey heard Kevin respond before she saw him as Adam walked towards her
"Temporary basis," she reminded them, needing to hear it herself. This was temporary, only until whoever Kim was got her family issues sorted. Jay didn't elaborate much on them, the haunted look in his eyes at the memory told her it was bad, whatever it was.
"All right, welcome to Intelligence," Adam told her before turning to Kevin. "You owe me 20 bucks."
"Ah, you had to take the job, didn't you?" Kevin asked. She laughed at his comment, glad that she was falling into an easy camaraderie with this team so quickly.
"Uh huh," she replied as Kevin handed Adam a twenty.
"What's in the box?" he immediately asked, and just like that, the nerves and awkwardness were gone.
"Loukoumades," she explained as she opened the box, suddenly glad she made the decision to stop by the bakery on her way in.
"Louko-what?" Kevin questioned, causing her to laugh.
"Greek donuts," she told him. "Shameless attempt to curry favor on my first day."
"Ah, you're off to a good start," Al said coming out of nowhere. Jay warned her this was a normal thing, the man just appearing out of nowhere.
The guys quickly helped themselves, thanking her as they stuffed their faces with the bite sized donuts. She was so caught up in the easy conversation that she didn't hear Erin's voice, until it was followed by Jay's.
"That's surprising," she heard him say, her head snapping to find he and Erin leaving the break room. There was something in Erin's hand, but whatever it was she couldn't see.
"I know," Erin told Jay.
"No, I mean it's surprising she hasn't hocked it yet," he told her. "Are you sure it's real?"
The exchange was weird to watch, whatever they were talking about seemed to be normal between them. Despite trying to push it down, remind herself she was married to Jay, Hailey couldn't help but feel jealousy raging inside her. She knew Jay was partnered with Erin, had from day one when he told her after his first day. But she never once worried, because at the end of the day, Jay came home to her and her only.
"I don't know, but she didn't ask for anything," Erin said, making Hailey wonder who this "she" was they were talking about.
"Yeah but she will," Jay said, following Erin to her desk. "Erin, people don't change, all right? Especially Bunny. You gotta shut that door, you gotta deadbolt it."
"Jay, I'm not looking for advice," Erin told him. "I'm just trying to talk this out."
That sentence caught her attention the most. Just how much did they talk about who ever this bunny was, or anything outside of work? It hit her then that Jay had a different life here in Intelligence, different friends and she wasn't prepared for how much it bothered her.
"I know you're not gonna want to hear this," he began. "But I think you're getting played again."
The door to Voight's office opened then, the sergeant stepping out and looking towards Erin and Jay.
"Jay, I don't need you to tell me what to do with my mother."
The growing rage inside her hit a peak, but there was nothing that could be done now. They were close enough to talk about Erin's mother. Just how close were they, Hailey wondered.
The little voice inside her head got louder as she tried to push all those thoughts away. Hailey refused to believe that he would do that, that the man she was married to and had been with for so long would do this to her, to their marriage.
Jay backed off at Erin's comment. She was pretty sure he hadn't noticed her yet, but once he did, she was worried her resolve would break. Did she make a mistake telling Voight yes? Despite this all being temporary, could she handle it, could their marriage handle this?
Her eyes followed him as he walked back towards his desk, but she wasn't prepared to see Voight doing the same thing before he spoke.
"Lindsey, you're now partners with Upton," he said, causing three heads to snap towards Voight. "Halstead, you ride with Olinsky."
If he was trying not to look at her, it wasn't working. Hailey knew Jay, knew that he would see right through her and how hurt she was feeling the second he did. It was clear that she wasn't the only once to be caught off guard with the news, but it brought the little voices back as Jay seemed to be the most worried.
"Are we clear?" Voight asked, looking towards Lindsey.
"Yeah," Erin replied, nodding before looking her way. There was something about the glance she shot her that had her wondering how Erin really felt. Something in her expression was enough to make her feel like Erin was mad about getting split up, that Hailey was somehow coming between her and Jay.
If only she knew, Hailey thought.
"So, where do you want me?" she asked, realizing this was happening. All she could do was roll with the punches, knowing that she didn't have time to wonder about what her husband was doing or what his actual relationship with Erin was.
"Right here," Voight pointed towards Jay's desk. "Jay you're over there."
All she could do was just watch anything but the look on Jay's face. Even as doubts crept in her mind, she reminded herself that this was temporary and the last thing she wanted to do was jeopardize Jay's career.
Her thoughts were broken as she heard Ruzek on the phone, urgency in his tone.
"Guys, guys," he began. "I'm getting an emergency alert form CPIC."
They all moved towards his desk as he typed in something, telling whoever was on the line to feed him video.
"OEMC received multiple 911 calls alerting them to this private Facebook user group," he explained. "Yes, I got it, it's streaming live."
He turned the computer screen towards them, the picture displayed disturbing. Her cop brain kicked in then, taking in all the details as Ruzek continued to talk to whoever was on the phone. She leaned in, focusing on the man and the pleading he was doing to whoever was torturing him.
"Ruz, tell them to work faster," she heard Jay say, suddenly aware of his presence behind her. Ruzek continued on the phone, demanding the address before the worst part of the video happened.
Second later, a match was thrown towards the man, his body going up in flames. It was then she realized whatever liquid he was doused with was gasoline, the only thing that would make him ignite so quickly. All she could do was look on in horror, not wanting her new coworkers to think she couldn't handle this. In Robbery-Homicide, she didn't handle things like this. Sometimes cases were brutal and the anger and rage that fueled people to do these horrible things was evident, but she couldn't say she had ever seen a man be set on fire.
"Yeah what is it?" he asked. "3200 block of Larimer."
At the confirmation of an address, chaos broke out as everyone scrambled to get their things before heading out. She didn't have time to think about anything else but finding the guy responsible for this as her body went into autopilot. There would be time later to think about Jay, Erin and whatever was happening between them.
The ride back to the district was awkward between her and Erin, the silence that filled the car was deafening. On the way to the warehouse, there was nothing but adrenaline coursing through her, leaving no room to think about Erin, Jay or Jay and Erin.
"So, how long have you been working in Intelligence?" Hailey asked, trying to break the tension.
"A little over three years," Erin answered as Hailey filed away the information. So, she's been there just as long as Jay has.
"How long were you in Robbery-Homicide?" Erin asked, snapping Hailey from her mind.
"About two years now," she told the brunette.
"Well, welcome to Intelligence," Erin told her as they pulled into the district. Hailey couldn't tell if she was serious or not, but she just thanked her before heading back upstairs. The last thing she needed was Erin telling Jay his wife is a bitch, even if she didn't know the wife detail.
Everyone else was back in the bullpen as she entered and instead of heading to her assigned desk, which was previously Jay's, she opted to stand behind it, leaning up against the wall. As she looked around, Hailey noticed that Erin didn't follow her up. But she didn't have to wonder long as she heard Erin before she saw her, along with Jay. Erin walked towards the white board, taping up some photos from the video as Jay followed behind.
"All right our victim is male, African-American, mid-20s," Jay began, taping a photo of their victim on the whiteboard. "We ran facial recognition, no matches. His fingerprints were burnt off in the fire and his wallet was torched so in short, we can't ID the guy."
"What we do know is that our victim's blood type does match the writing on the wall in the warehouse," Lindsey explained. "It's B positive."
"Someone thinks our victim is a sex offender," Hailey added, wanting to contribute her own thoughts to the conversation. "Or wants us to believe that he was."
"And the attack was well thought out," Lindsey said. "They lived streamed the torture on a burner phone that they dumped at the scene. The gloves, the gas can, they're all standard issued products available at every hardware store in the city."
Hailey didn't miss the look she shot towards Jay, further making her believe that there was something more going on that Hailey was led to believed. The more she saw the signs, the more she couldn't believe this could really have been happening under her nose, but Jay was good at undercover, and their jobs kept them apart. A small, but growing voice was telling her what she never wished to know.
"Two metal objects survived the fire," Adam said, breaking her from her thoughts. "This metal crucifix, which matches the one in the photo, and a key."
"Yep, and this key matches a Kia, 2010, that was parked right in front of the warehouse," added Kevin. "As we speak, the crime lab is sweeping it for prints and DNA. The car's registered to a Janie Hendricks. She has an address in Inglewood."
"Okay, why don't you go talk to her, you and Jay," Voight said as he began dishing out tasks, pointing at Olinsky. "Let's comb the neighborhood. We gotta ID this victim if we're gonna figure out who targeted him."
They all fell silent, moving to split up. But before Hailey could do anything, she heard Jay's voice from beside her.
"Uh, hey Sarge, um are, are we really doing this?" Jay asked, referring to the elephant in the room that was him and Erin being split up. Voight looked back at Jay's desk before back at Jay himself.
"Get a box if you need it," Voight told him before walking into his office, leaving both of them rather uncomfortable.
She felt his eyes on her, even while she was trying her best not to look at him. While part of her felt they were keeping up appearances, pretending to be uncomfortable with the whole situation. If Jay appeared to be uncomfortable, she couldn't tell, because she really was feeling very awkward.
He made his way towards her, silently apologizing as she just stepped back. Jay barely grazed her, and she desperately wanted to reach out and touch him, to ground her and reassure herself that she was his, and he was hers. Because in that moment, as she watched Erin look up at them, her eyes following Jay, Hailey desperately wanted to make it known Jay was hers, and only hers.
"Hey," Hailey heard as she packed her bag to head to Indiana. She was honestly dreading this car ride, but she doubted anyone, except maybe Jay, would believe her.
She turned around, finding the man in question behind her, standing in the doorway.
"Hey," she replied, trying to be as casual as she could. There was no telling who was around, and she especially didn't want Erin to be listening to their conversations.
"You good?" Jay asked her, walking closer. Hailey only nodded before leaning against the locker, trying to let the coolness of the metal to bring her back to reality.
"Is there anything I need to know?" she blurted out, needing to ask one of the most pressing questions on her mind. She wanted to add "about Erin" but he would see through that instantly.
"About?" Jay asked, copying her as he leaned against the lockers too.
"This unit, this job," she answered. "I feel like I'm walking in blind."
"I get it," Jay told her. "Just keep your head down, don't ruffle any feathers. You're doing great."
"But," she began before he cut her off.
"I know what you're going to say," Jay told her. "Don't let Erin get under your skin. She's just going through some things right now."
The casualness of the way he said that made the gears start turning in her head. She had already seen whatever was between them before her very eyes this morning, and now that Jay was bringing it up, she was questioning what kind of relationship he has with Erin.
"Yeah," Hailey began. "What was that about this morning?"
The hesitation on Jay's face told her more than she needed to know, but she wasn't ready to make that known yet.
"It's family stuff," he finally said. "She's always had a complicated relationship with her mom."
"But it isn't your burden to carry," she shot back, even as she immediately regretted her words.
"She's my partner, Hails," he said softly. "I know that it isn't my burden, but I'm still going to have her back."
Hailey just nodded, her hands brushing her hair back as she tried to gather her thoughts.
"There is nothing else going on, babe," Jay whispered, dropping his voice so that no one could hear them.
All she could do was keep nodding, almost afraid that words would break her.
"Hailey," he said, his voice now steady. "You are a good cop, you can handle yourself in anything. Don't you think for one second you can't handle this unit, because you absolutely can. Don't worry about Erin, or me, or anything else. Worry about Voight."
"Voight?" she asked curiously. All she got out of her husband was a laugh.
"He's scary," was all Jay said before turning and leaving the room.
The entire drive from Chicago to Crown Point was tension filled, awkwardness filling the car as Erin drove. The drive was less than an hour, and Hailey kept telling herself she could do it, that she could handle this, she could sit for an hour in the car with the woman she thought hated her more than anything.
It started off just fine, as they discussed the case, refreshing their minds about what they knew and trying to learn as much as they could about Beth Murphy. Erin made comments here and there, but none were enough to sway Hailey's opinion of the woman more than her actions already had.
She didn't try to let it bother her when Erin asked who she was texting, as a smile creeped onto her face when she read Jay's message. Erin's tone was enough that she could snap, but Jay's words brought her back to Earth. The petty side of her wanted to rub it in Erin's face, but the smarter, cop side of her told her no, to get all the evidence before making a judgement call.
Nearly half of the ride went by in silence, with the low volume of the radio filling the car as random pop music filtered through the speakers. If Erin could feel her stewing, she didn't let it be known. But by the time she broke the silence a second time, Hailey nearly had enough.
"Listen, I've got no problem with you being on your phone," Erin began, not taking her eyes off the road. "But I have a problem with you doing so when we're in the middle of a case."
Hailey glanced her way, her hands not moving from where they hovered over the keyboard on her phone. She didn't even move to lock her phone, part of her wanted Erin to know that this didn't bother her, that she could gladly see what was happening.
"It's just my husband," Hailey told her, having had enough. "He just asked if I would be home tonight or working late."
"You're married?" Erin asked, surprise in her voice. Hailey watched as she gripped the steering wheel tighter, the news clearly a shock to the other woman.
"I am," Hailey told her, her left index finger moving to play with the sterling band she left on since Jay's birthday. In that moment, she was glad she left it on this morning, needing it to ground her for this conversation. "Have been for almost four years."
"Wow," was all Erin said. "That your ring?"
The condescending tone didn't rattle Hailey, as she suspected the question was more out of jealousy than anything else.
"One of them," she explained. "I don't like wearing my engagement ring or my band when I work, so my husband got me this one to wear to work. Says he likes other cops to know I'm taken."
The dry laugh that escaped Erin was not missed, and Hailey returned to her phone quickly to finish texting Jay. But once again, Erin's voice broke through the car.
"Can't say I know what it's like to be married, but I can understand about being labeled as someone's."
The context of that statement sat weird with Hailey, as she couldn't quite tell if Erin was referring to Jay or someone else. At this point, she wouldn't put it past her, because the awkward air in the bullpen earlier this morning was enough to make her know that Erin was not okay with this whole partner shakeup.
Finally, she saw the welcome sign for Crown Point, as good a sign as any that this entire awkward car ride was coming to an end. The town was small, seemingly like the main stretch of road was the only one with a stop light.
"I'll tell you what," Hailey began, running her hands across the dash, trying one last time to make conversation. "You guys got way nicer cars in Intelligence."
If Erin knew she was trying to change subjects, she didn't make it known.
"I know, we just seized this one from a cartel boss," Erin explained, her voice hinting annoyance as she looked over at Hailey. Feeling eyes on her, she felt that she had to play a part, be that innocent new girl that was anything but innocent and was clued in to more than Erin knew.
"Sweet!" Hailey replied as silence engulfed the car. It was that silence where there wasn't much to say, or do, when she so desperately wanted to blurt it out, that Erin couldn't have Jay, despite whatever the other detective was thinking. Hailey saw the way Erin looked at Jay, saw the way she acted when they were split up. Part of her was feeling the awkwardness, but a bigger part of her didn't really care, because Erin's feelings were of no consequence to her.
But despite all that, Hailey felt that she should say something, because she could tell Erin felt she was the bad guy in this situation. It would do you fell to be nice, she told herself, even while playing nice wasn't in her vocabulary.
"So, you and Halstead," she began. "You guys were partners for a while?"
"Yeah," Erin answered, regret in her voice for the first time, but that annoyance was still there.
"I didn't mean to throw sand in the gears," she said, hoping to be the nice cop.
"No don't worry about it," Erin told her. "It was probably time for a change anyway."
Her words shocked Hailey, but she didn't let it known. However, they didn't do much to quell the bubbling anger that there was something more than just a partnership between Erin Lindsey and her own husband.
The conversation with the Sheriff left Hailey uneasy, that he didn't want two Chicago detectives snooping around his town, let alone two female cops. They were trying to cover something up, that much Hailey could tell. Despite her dislike for her tone in the car, she was kinda glad Erin brought that towards the guy.
If there was one thing this woman was good for, she thought.
Less than five minutes later, they were back in the car, address in hand and headed to Beth Murphy's. But the second they pulled away from the curb, Erin started talking.
"I hate guys like that," she said, and Hailey was beginning to think that annoyance was just her permanent tone. "They all think that because I'm a female cop I slept my way up the ladder."
"I get that," Hailey said, and for the first time, she could empathize with Erin. She and Jay had that conversation more times than she could count, neither of them wanting others thinking she got any of the opportunities she got because her husband was a rising star in the CPD.
"What does your husband think about you being a cop?" Erin suddenly asked. The blunt question silenced her momentarily, not quite sure how to answer that. So, she went with the only thing she could think of: the truth.
"He's an Army vet, served in Afghanistan," Hailey told her. "He's worked with women in combat before, so it's nothing new to him."
"Really?" Erin said. Hailey just nodded, even though that wasn't much of an answer to Erin's question.
"Did two tours while he was enlisted."
"Hmm," Erin mumbled. "Wonder if Jay knows him? You should ask him, he did two tours in Afghanistan too, except he was a Ranger, so not sure what your husband did, or if he would have met Jay."
The condescending tone she had been getting from Erin all day was beginning to make her go insane, but she didn't have much time as they pulled up outside of Beth Murphy's house. The found who they assumed was Beth sitting outside a trailer in what looked like not the nicest trailer park she'd ever been too.
"Are you Beth Murphy?" Erin asked, as they approached the house. "We need to ask you a couple questions."
"What's it about?" Beth asked.
"Elijah Hendricks," Erin told her, her voice the softest Hailey had heard it.
"Judge told me if I testified, it'd be over," she told them. "Nobody'd come and bother me."
"Elijah was just murdered," Hailey broke the news.
"No," Beth said, sitting down, her voice breaking.
"And according to his phone records, the last person he talked to was you," Hailey finished.
"Why'd you call Elijah?" Erin asked.
"To warn him," Beth said after a second, the statement confusing and shocking Hailey.
"About what?" Erin asked.
"My boyfriend went into my Facebook," Beth said, giving into their questioning. "Saw that Elijah had sent me some message, he told me he was out of jail."
"To be honest with you," she continued. "I still have feelings for Elijah and Jake figured that out."
"Is Jake the one that gave you the black eye?" Erin asked, and her silence was an answer enough. Hailey felt her blood pressure spike, her dislike for this boyfriend rising when she thought about what he did to her.
"Where can we find him?" Hailey asked, trying to keep the anger out of her voice. Her question was enough for Beth as she stood up, trying to walk away from them, clearly not wanting her boyfriend to get into more trouble.
"Whoa, whoa," Hailey stopped her, her own voice becoming softer. "I know you're in a tough situation, you feel trapped, I get it. But do the right thing here and we will do whatever we can to help you."
She looked over at Erin, finding her partner was on the same page as her. She watched as Erin pulled out one of her cards, handing it to Beth as a silent lifeline she could use. She took it, playing with it while she seemed to silently weigh her options, Hailey hoping she would make the right one.
"He's at the bar," Beth told them quietly, despite, Hailey thought, knowing how this would end for her.
"Okay" Hailey said. "Thank you."
Without another word, she and Erin headed back to what they learned was the only bar in this town. They seemed to have come to a silent but mutual understanding that they would do what they could to help Beth. Something told Hailey that Erin may have been more of less used to this lifestyle, that she had somehow lived this before.
As Hailey suspected, it was a run-down dive bar, probably frequented by the local drunks and high school dropouts. She looked around as they walked in, Erin making her way to the bar to talk to the bartender. The smell of cigarette smoke and sweat filling the air, causing the growing headache she was feeling to get worse. She felt eyes on her immediately, and it didn't take a badge to figure out the clientele here wasn't used to female cops walking into the bar.
"Hey is Jake Harper here?" Erin asked.
"Pool table," the bartender responded, pointing them in the direction. He clearly wasn't about to argue with them, which was good for him in the long run.
It didn't take much to find Jake, as he was starting at them when they looked his way. Hailey could tell Erin had energy to burn, and she was willing to let her do and say pretty much whatever if that meant she wouldn't be the subject of more side comments on the drive back.
"We need to ask you a couple of questions," Erin told him as she walked around the side of the pool table. It almost seemed like he had an idea as to why they were there.
"Let me guess, my girlfriend sent you?" Jake asked, confirming Hailey's suspicions.
"No, she didn't really want another black eye," Erin shot back, bite laced in her voice. "Takes a real man, huh Jake?"
"Maybe you like it rough too, huh," he said, pointing his cue stick at Erin as he walked towards her, the suggestion in his tone making Hailey's blood boil once more.
"Trust me Jake, today is not the day you wanna start trash talking my partner," Hailey told him, slapping the cue down on the table. She watched as his eyes glance around the room, suddenly worried that any of his buddies were hearing this.
"Let's step outside," Erin said then in a move trying to calm everyone down.
"Give me that," she said, taking that damn cue stick form his hands, throwing it down on the table. She was so done with today and she knew one more comment from Erin or anybody trying to undermine her would make her lose it.
"Elijah Hendricks, you recognize him?" she asked him as they walked out behind the bar. She desperately wanted to shove the phone in his face, but she held back as much as she could. He barely looked at the phone before replying
"No friend of mine," Jake told her
"He was murdered yesterday," she continued. Her patience with this guy, and this case, was running thin.
"What? I'm supposed to shed a tear?" Jake replied
"Well are you aware that in high school Elijah was convicted of raping your girlfriend?" said Erin. Her tone told Hailey she was also done with dealing with this asshole.
"I guess he got what he deserved," Jake shot back
"Did he? To be burned alive?" Erin argued. Hailey couldn't even deny that Erin was pissed as well and handling this better than Hailey would. But Hailey also knew that she couldn't afford to get herself in trouble now, for worries that she would screw her career up.
"That wasn't me," Jake said, his tone cooling done as Erin showed him a photo of Elijah, murdered and burned.
"No?" Erin asked. "Cause I've seen Beth, you're clearly the jealous type."
"How would you feel if a man rapes a woman, gets set free and then he contacts her? Hey baby remember the good ole days?"
"So, you knock your girlfriend around and then go after Elijah?" Erin asked, her temper flaring and all Hailey could do was stand there, arms crossed as she witnessed the exchange.
"It wasn't like that," Jake told them, finally resigning to the argument happening between him and two Chicago cops. "I didn't know it was gonna go down like this, I swear. I found this group on the internet and told them about Elijah. They're the ones who made the video."
Hailey felt Erin's eyes on her as she turned to the woman beside her. For what it was worth, Hailey believed him. She didn't care too much if Erin did or didn't, but she would do her best to make sure an innocent guy wouldn't end up in jail for what she feared was only the beginning.
They made it back to Chicago with no fuss, and for that, Erin was glad. She could sense that Hailey was uncomfortable with every second they sat in the car. Even while she was the new girl, she didn't want her to feel awkward. The last thing they needed was someone leaving a stint in Intelligence with the wrong idea.
The woman got under her skin, that much she would admit. But after the help she gave with their credit union case, she had to hand it to her. Hailey Upton was a damn good cop, but that didn't mean she had to like her. She was filling in, temporary and it would serve her well to remember that.
She had to come in and switch things up, she had to mess up the one thing she had going for her, and that was her partnership with Jay. When everything else was going to shit, Jay was there to give her stability.
So yeah, Hailey Upton wasn't her new best friend, and she doubted she would ever be her friend. But she had to suck it up, and that meant spending two hours in a car to Indiana.
It shocked her when Hailey told her she was married, because she wasn't expecting that answer when she snapped about the phone. The phone wasn't the problem, it was whatever she was reading that was making her smile. Every detail after that was another surprise from Hailey, reshaping Erin's opinion of her.
Fortunately for them, the ride back to Chicago was better. There were updates to the case, and they gave the team the information they had. The next thing they realized, there were minutes away from the district, the familiar streets a welcomed sign.
"Thanks for the company," she told Hailey as she grabbed her jacket. She watched the blonde turn towards her, smiling lightly.
"Anytime," Hailey told her. "Let me know how much I owe you for lunch."
Before she could think about it, Erin waved her off, silently letting her know not to worry about it. She could do this one thing, she decided.
"See you tomorrow," Hailey said, opening and closing the door before Erin could say a word. As she heard the passenger door close, a weight left her shoulders as she no longer had to pretend, to act like everything was fine.
The clock on the dash barely read nine, and she was hungry and in need of a drink. Before she could talk herself into going home and not eating, she grabbed her phone, firing off a text to Jay. He was always down for a late dinner, even while the words made her feel salacious. Jay was single, she told herself, there was nothing wrong with getting a late-night dinner with your partner.
Jay's truck was still parked in the lot outside where she sat, so she knew he was still here. Deciding to stay here until she had an answer, or she saw Jay leave, she shifted the car into park, deciding to absently scroll through Facebook for a few minutes, silently savoring the free time that seemed so hard to get.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed until the darkness of her car was illuminated by taillights, flashing on and off as they signaled a car unlocking. Looking up, she spotted her partner walking towards his truck, his duffle slung over his shoulder. He was looking at his phone, and it was the only thing keeping her from getting out of her car.
Next thing she knew, he was looking over his shoulder at something, what, she couldn't see. She figured it was Voight or Antonio looking for him, but to her surprise, she spotted blonde curls and a dark jacket, the same one Hailey just took out of her car.
The scene she was watching confused her, because Jay and Hailey never really spoke the past few days, but here they were, having a conversation behind the district. She noticed Hailey had her bag too, obviously on her way out. Maybe she was apologizing for the awkwardness of the past few days, for the shake ups she's brought to Intelligence.
Erin almost missed it. If she wasn't paying as close attention as she was, or if she wasn't a detective, she wouldn't have seen it. Their profiles were to her, but she could see Jay reach out, his fingers tracing the ring on Hailey's finger, the same one she told Erin earlier was from her husband.
That was when she saw red. Did Jay know Hailey was married? Was this a thing? Because there was no way a guy, Jay of all people, would do what he just did if it wasn't a thing. She watched as his finger stayed there, loosely linking his other fingers with hers, just barely noticeable.
The audible scoff that came from her echoed in the car. She couldn't believe this, she didn't believe Jay would have an affair with a married woman, a married cop with an Army vet husband. Her dislike for Hailey grew, because all the stuff she said about her husband and her marriage could have been a lie to hide the real reason she was here.
As soon as it happened, it was over, as Hailey backed away, heading towards her own car. She was barely to the other side of the lot before Jay was in his truck, acting like the whole exchange never happened. Erin watched as he backed out and she slid down in her seat, trying to hide the fact she was still there. Jay pulled out of the lot, turning left and moments later, she watched Hailey's SUV do the same thing.
While she wanted to follow them, she wasn't going to be that person. They were both trained cops, they knew how to spot a tail. They would sniff her out instantly. So, her plan was to lay low, to observe them for any slip ups, because in that moment, she knew two things.
Hailey was a liar, and Jay is in trouble.
Sorry for the delay! School started again and this week has been wild! But after this chapter, things will pick up! Hope you enjoyed!
