Chapter Twelve

Bailing Out

"Here it is," Trudy said.

Kim pulled up at the curb just outside a house in Bridgeport and turned off the engine. She followed the sergeant through the gate and up on the porch. She'd worked for Voight for almost five years and she had known who he was longer than that. She'd been patrolling at the 21th another five years before that and been amongst the officers who'd do anything to work in Intelligence. She'd never even imagined back then that she'd go to his house with Platt.

"Okay," Trudy said as she twisted the doorknob. "I know what to get. Why don't you just snoop around until I am ready to go?"

Kim huffed, feeling slightly offended by the remark. She walked into the hall and continued into the living room. She stopped next to several framed photos and smiled sadly. It was a bittersweet reminder of how many people her sergeant had lost over the years. She saw a smiling Justin, a juvenile Erin Lindsay, Olive, Daniel and Justin in a family photo, Trudy and Hank grinning like two fools clad in full combat gear at least twenty years younger, Alvin Olinsky and his wife on what looked suspiciously like a wedding, a team photo while Antonio was still with them. She frowned in surprise as she saw photo of her boss and a blonde woman, they looked happy, smiling into the camera. The woman's hand rested on Hank's chest and on her finger was the most beautiful engagement ring she'd ever seen.

"That's Camille," Trudy said as she appeared next to her.

Kim jumped. She'd been so absorbed in the pictures that she hadn't heard the other woman walk up to her.

"She's beautiful," Kim said softly.

"Yeah, she was," Trudy concurred. "You know, no one thought a soft, kind woman like her – a school teacher - could knock some sense into that cocky little prick."

Kim's lips curled upwards. Platt had a way with words, always straight to the point.

"It's a shame she had to die," Trudy added somberly. "I liked her; you would have too. Plus, he wasn't so damn unbearable when she was around."

Kim studied the picture. "I don't think I've seen him smile this way before," she said.

Platt nodded toward the door, a bag in hand. "Are you coming?"

OOOOOO

"And, Ruzek's ran off trying to find a connection between the IRS administrator and Rogers' firm," Platt finished the explanation, updating Voight of the latest."

Hank huffed as he shrugged into a fresh shirt, buttoned it and tucked it into the waistband of his jeans. "Does he hope to skip the permit from IRS to see his finances?" he asked.

Platt made a face.

Voight broke into a cunning smile. "I think we can do better than that. Let's swing by his accountant. I am sure Mr. Lewis will have no trouble to break the disclosure agreement considering what Rogers did to him."

Burgess, who stood waiting outside, turned around at the sound of footsteps. She was pleased to see Voight in the lead with Platt following tightly behind. He nodded at her. "Kim, do you know the whereabouts of Adrian Lewis?"

"One floor down, sarge," she replied. "Why?"

"We're not waiting to see what Ruzek comes up with when we can ask Lewis directly. He would know everything there is to know about incomes and revenues."

OOOOOO

"Hogan!" Jay called, a smile on his face.

The man in question turned around at the mention of his name and smirked as he saw the two detectives. "Halstead, Upton," he greeted. He extended his arm and shook their hands. "Last time I saw you in action was several years ago when you got caught up in that funny house downtown." He laughed. "Bet even Voight got nervous seeing all the tick black cables running across the room and connect to some unknown shit behind the door to the pantry."

Hailey shook her head with a fond smile. She liked the big man in front of her. He knew everything there was to know about bombs and he was a wizard at work. Mike would never have become the lead man in the bomd squad if he wasn't good. "Listen, hot-shot," she teased. "Let's take the trip down the memory lane some other time."

Hogan chuckled. "Bad-ass, Upton," he drawled. "I am trying to be nice."

"Look, it's good to see you, I wish it were under better circumstances," Jay said seriously. "But I think you know why we are here?"

Sergeant Hogan nodded and adjusted his baseball cap. "Yeah, the bombings. Haven't got a chance to diffuse anything. They were blown remotely. Detonator sat directly on the explosive device. We have been able to deduce that it's the same type of explosive devices, they are wired the same. It's the handiwork of the same man or woman or group or whoever it is," he explained as he gestured to a wall covered in photos from the various locations. "Target is the same too. Crippled people – sorry – people with deficiencies, people on nursing homes and old folk's home. Whoever seems to be targeting the weak within our society."

"That is just sick," Upton stated with dismay.

"I talked to Lieutenant Jones, told him the same thing. It was just a few hours ago actually before you guys swept in and took the case off his hands."

"We didn't want to have it in the first place," Jay said. "The brass lost their patience and practically dropped it on us."

"I know-," Hogan replied, "-but I had to act as some kind of crude therapist for an hour – you know – it's not really my thing. I'd rather disarm something."

There was an exchange of knowing smiles amongst the trio.

"We may have a lead," Halstead informed. "We think it's connected to the shooting of the Don Levy family, or rather, to the cult behind it."

"Cult, huh?" Hogan drawled. "Never liked those. They are too unpredictable."

"With a bit of luck and too many hours at work, we've managed to find lose connections between a man called Dale Rogers and this 'Dark Demon Cult'. He was the man caught on camera setting up that heap of injured, drugged humans in the service elevator at Gaffney."

Hogan's interest peaked. "Heard Hank got involved – literally. How's he doing?"

Hailey tilted her head. "He's a pretty determined to nail the SOB," she let on enigmatically.

Mike snorted. "Maybe I should start to feel sorry for this Rogers guy," he said.

"Don't know how much you've heard but Rogers own a refurbishing firm," Jay explained. "He gets around a lot, quite a popular contractor in the city. If he's not directly involved, he's usually in the background, providing back-up to start-ups in the business."

Mike nodded thoughtfully. "So, the name of his company might not come up until you've done a little digging? It's a pretty smart move. But I have a question for you. Why now?"

"Why setting off the bombs now?" Hailey stated. "Who knows, maybe it's national bombing day in his calendar?"

"While we had a chat with CPIC we were able to find out that at least two more places in the same category had been refurbished recently. We think he's placed devices somewhere," Jay explained.

Hogan nodded. "Lucky you came to us then? We have just the right people and animals to sniff them out," he volunteered. "They have been itching for something to do for days."

OOOOOO

Lewis swallowed. "Okay, here's the deal. I have never said anything."

"I completely understand," Voight reasoned. "We wouldn't want you to get sued by your client."

"Rogers company has a subdivision which has been hidden away from IRS. I was stupid enough to set it up for money on the side. One of the branches of that subdivision is a shell company for shuffling money to an obscure gathering of people which is believed to worship dark demons."

The trio of policemen shared a dark look.

"I wasn't meant to find out where the money went and I didn't at first. I figured he just wanted to spare some money for pension somewhere where the government wouldn't find them. I wasn't meant to understand the hidden meaning of the set-up but my wife is a grade school teacher specialized in religion and history. She saw the name of the company one day and she happened to mention it to a friend who works as an archaeologist. Maybe they have too much time on their hands, I don't know, but they approached me one day and said I should look into Rogers' business."

Lewis looked at the trio a little nervously before continuing. "The company to which he put away some money from his refurbishing business is called Lux Civitas."

"It's Latin," Kim said in surprise.

Lewis nodded. "Lux is Latin for light and Civitas is Latin for city. It would stand for something like 'the city of light' or 'an enlightened city'. Anyway, in 1930s a couple of missionaries claimed to have found a sparkling city in the deepest jungles of Mexico-,"

Kim stiffened. "Emily Suissman," she said.

Voight stared at her, realizing he still wasn't up to speed.

A mix of disbelief and relief crossed Lewis' face as he nodded. "She was one of them," he said. "According to my wife's friend, there are so many rumors about that expedition that no one knows what is true and what is not."

"Go on," Voight encouraged.

"I-," he hesitated. "I don't know if its relevant but I cracked a joke about Rogers' company meaning something like 'the city of light' and it was like hitting a switch. I swear, his personality changed within a second. He seemed obsessed with the whole city thing. When he left, I decided to do some more digging. I followed him one night. He stepped into some sort of – well – maybe not shrine but something similar. That guy who got arrested – Joseph Morgan? He was there. The whole thing was insane."

OOOOOO

To be continued