Narrowing Down
"Cassie?" Theo called, getting home from work later on, loosening his tie tiredly as he closed the door with his foot. Long days were not enjoyable regardless, but with the stress he was carrying around with him, it was even worse, and the one person he usually sought comfort in, he couldn't.
"Cass?" Theo said, unbuttoning his top button as he walked through the house towards the kitchen.
He reached the kitchen, finding his wife sitting at the table with a glass of wine in front of her, and a half eaten slice of chocolate cake.
"Cake isn't dinner." Theo noticed.
"You sound like my mom." She rolled her eyes, slicing her fork through the cake for another bite as Theo grabbed a fork from the drawer, sitting down beside her and taking a bite of the cake, "Tastes like sex, right?" She nodded as he smiled a little.
"Not quite." He looked at her, watching her smile to herself.
"Long day?" She asked as he sat his fork down and leaned back on the chair.
"Yeah." He sighed, "So long I was starting to remember the rookies names." He shook his head as she chuckled.
"I could not tell you any of their names." Cassie shook her head.
"That's because you're evil." Theo nodded, "They'd do good learning from you if you gave them a chance-"
"I'm a detective. I don't have time to play with the kids." She shook her head.
"Well think about how desperate you were to learn when you first started." Theo said as she turned to him.
"Yeah and you proceeded to bully me." She said.
"I'm not saying you can't bully them. Just… teach them too." He shrugged as she chuckled to herself.
"I know I'm being harsh." Cassie nodded, "Maybe if I didn't feel so stressed right now I'd show them a thing or two." She said.
"I hate that you're stressed." He said, watching her finish the piece of cake before he got a chance to have a second bite.
"I do too." Cassie nodded, "I'm so worried about him." She shook her head, sitting her fork down and placing her hand on her forehead, "It just… it feels personal." She shook her head, "And I know we all handle situations differently, and this is more closer to home for you than it is for me." She turned to him, "But please don't expect me to not do anything about this."
"I don't." Theo sighed, placing his hand on her thigh, "I guess I'm so used to ignoring that shit when it comes to me. It's kinda what my mom always told me and Matthew growing up. Just ignore it." He said, "But I'm not ignoring this, I promise-"
"You should never ignore it." Cassie said, "It's not fair. It's not ok. Not for Chase, or you, or anyone." She said, "And what you said… about us working with those kind of people who think it's ok to treat others like that… what did you mean by that?"
"I was just mad." He shook his head.
"No." Cassie shook her head, "I know what you meant." She assured him.
"I promise you I'm gonna find out who put that note in Chase's bag. And I'm gonna arrest them and make sure they go away." He said. He still couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth. It wasn't like he thought she couldn't handle it. He knew his wife could handle pretty much anything. But the husband, rather than the cop, in him, just wanted to protect her.
"I love you." She nodded. She didn't think of him as a victim, because she knew that would only anger him, but she just wanted him to know how much he meant to her, and how much she loved him for him. Being mad at him only came from the protectiveness she had over Chase.
"I love you too." He said, brushing his hand down the back of her head softly, "I promise you. I'm just as mad as you are." He said quietly.
"I know." She nodded, leaning into face him, "I've ran out of cake so… I need something else." She said seriously as he smiled, leaning in and kissing her softly as she stood up, taking his lips with her as he stood and picked her up, sitting her down on the kitchen counter.
She fumbled with his belt on his pants whilst he kissed her neck, undoing themselves until he was able to slip inside of her, pulling her by the waist onto his length as she grabbed his shoulders.
"Fuck." He moaned quietly, thrusting into her as she wrapped herself around him, pressing her lips against his desperately. It was better than fighting that was for sure.
"So how have things been at work?" Sean asked, "I figure everyone is spooked after what's been going on. Murdered girls in elevators and all." He said, sitting across from Jude in one of their favourite pizza places not far from where they lived.
"I don't talk to many people there." Jude shrugged, taking a sip of her water.
She had fond memories of coming to this specific pizza place with her family, and somehow walking in tonight just felt so different, like it was a completely new place she'd never been to. Not the comfort she would normally feel.
"I don't want my crusts." Leela announced, sitting beside Sean whilst Mirren was sat beside Jude.
"That's ok, baby." Jude nodded to her, "As long as you eat the rest." She said as Leela nodded.
"And then you might get ice-cream." Sean nudged Leela who smiled.
Jude rolled up the pizza slice she was eating, taking a bite and wiping her hands on the napkin as she watched Sean fixing Leela's hair. The five year old was complaining about it being in her face so he tied it back in a scrunchie.
He was so good with the girls, it was hard to hate him when she knew he was such a terrific father. Coming here together with the girls was difficult, because nothing felt the way it used to. She remembered coming here when she was pregnant with Leela. How she thought nothing would ever destroy the perfect family she'd created. And how she thought her husband would never hurt her. Not in a million years.
"Is that better?" Sean asked Leela after tying her hair back.
"Yeah." Leela nodded, reaching for the ketchup and putting it on her pizza as Jude cringed.
"Lee." She scoffed.
"You're gross." Mirren looked across at her sister as Sean chuckled, looking back to Jude who was stirring the ice around in her water.
"So… Fred Wilson? Anything I need to know about him?" He asked, looking across at her.
"I don't know the man." Jude said, "Like I said, I don't talk to any people at work. All they do is gossip." She shook her head.
"Gossip would really help me and my case out." Sean nodded.
"Well you won't get it from me." Jude said, "You should probably know my dad text me earlier. Him and my mom are coming out this weekend."
"I'll wear my bullet proof vest then?" Sean questioned as Jude rolled her eyes, "I'll stay clear, don't worry." He nodded.
"It's probably for the best. At least until I figure out what kind of mood he's in." Jude said as Sean nodded.
"I don't blame him." Sean made clear, "I'd react the same if I was in his shoes." He nodded.
"Let's hope you never have to." Jude said, turning to Mirren who was having fun colouring in some pictures which the waitering staff had given her and Leela, "Cassie's been dealing with some crap."
"At work?" Sean assumed.
"Not really. I still can't really believe it." Jude admitted, "Someone put a piece of paper with a racist slur on it, in Chase's school bag." She told him, "She found it when she emptied it one night."
"Really?" Sean shook his head as Jude nodded.
"Yeah. I didn't speak with her for long but she sounded like she was either about to cry or scream. It's just… it's made me so angry." Jude shook her head, thinking about her sweet nephew, the innocence of him and the evil of someone who would do something like this.
"I assume they've obviously reported it and are investigating it?" Sean asked with concern.
"Yeah well they're trying to but I guess because it's involving the school it's a little tricky." Jude said, "And she told me, discretely, Theo is sort of… not handling it very well-"
"I don't blame him." Sean shook his head, "He's taken a lot of crap. I've seen it." He nodded.
"Like how?" Jude asked.
"Well I never really worked with him when I was working in Chicago. He was younger. I stayed away from the young cops." Sean shook his head, "Always heard stories, though. I mean if I go arrest someone, specifically a white someone, they'll call me… bastard, a dick, motherfucker-"
"Your point?" Jude asked.
"If the cop is a person of colour… they take the racist route immediately." Sean nodded, "Theo used to deliberately put himself on hate crime cases… just to purposely anger the racists we'd bring in."
"That's pretty ballsy." Jude nodded.
"Yeah, that's Theo." Sean said, "You know, I miss the Chicago PD sometimes. I still remember your sister's first day." He chuckled to himself.
"She got bullied like hell." Jude rolled her eyes, "I would have been out of there after one second." She shook her head.
"I hope they find whoever is responsible for this." Sean shook his head as Jude nodded.
"I do too." Jude said, "And then lock the bastard up." She said quietly as Sean nodded.
"They're both good cops. I don't doubt they won't find whoever it was." Sean said.
"Well if Theo spent so much time on hate crimes-"
"That was a long time ago. Before I even met you." Sean said, "He did crack a big one from Joliet, I remember." He nodded, "This white supremacist. Religious white supremacist-"
"God." Jude shook her head. She didn't have the stomach to think about the kinds of people who didn't deem others worthy of equality because of race, gender or sexuality. It hurt her profusely to know her baby sister and her family were dealing with this issue. It hurt her profusely to know millions of people were dealing with these issues.
"How did your meeting go tonight?" He asked her as she nodded.
"It was ok." She said. Without realising, she was enjoying talking to him, for brief moments she would forget the situation they were in, and those moments were so heavenly when she felt like her husband would still never hurt her.
"And the project for the exhibition you're working on?" He asked.
"I did some last night once the girls were in bed." She nodded, "Of course I hate it so far." She said.
"It's always been so crazy to me how you don't even realise how talented you are." He said as she looked across at him.
"I keep my expectations low." She nodded, "And yet… somehow I'm still disappointed." She looked at him, hoping he knew she wasn't talking about her art.
"Are your parents coming here for a particular reason?" He asked, looking down.
"No, just to see me." Jude said, "See the girls. My mom has convinced my dad to cut back a day at work. I wish the both of them would just retire already." She shook her head.
"It's not so bad they wanna stay busy." Sean said as Jude nodded.
"I don't think I can eat any more." Jude admitted, "I'll take some home." She nodded, "Or I probably shouldn't." She spoke to herself as Sean smiled, watching her have a conversation with herself about taking the rest of her pizza home. Her level of disappointment in him could never match just how disappointed he was in himself for letting her down. For hurting her. It ate at him every minute of the day, and it killed him to sit in a place they used to stare at each other in lovingly, now acting almost like total strangers.
Cassie lay in bed with Theo through the night, not able to fall asleep from her own loud thoughts. She looked up at her husband, jealous of him peacefully asleep.
She unwrapped her naked body from around his, as much as it pained her to do so, and got out of bed quietly, putting on some sweats. She knew her husband well enough by now to know he used sex sometimes as a coping mechanism. To ignore things. To not talk to her about things.
She left him sleeping in the bedroom, walking downstairs and leaving their house with her car keys, driving to the police station.
It was quiet, with only a few police officers at their desks when she got there. Her bed hair and sweats got a chuckle from Jake who she was surprised to find so late roaming the station.
"What happened to the power suit?" Jake asked, standing by the coffee machine whilst Cassie stopped in her passing.
"This is my off duty uniform." Cassie nodded.
"You look like you've been dragged through a bush." Jake noted, "Backwards."
"Thank you." Cassie smiled.
"And now I'm gonna ask why you're in here at…" He looked at his watch, "One twenty in the morning." He said.
"Just… clearing my head." Cassie said, "I could ask you the same thing."
"Could you?" He raised a brow with authority.
"Or you could let me go to my husband's office and not ask any further questions?" She asked.
"Maybe." Jake nodded, watching as Cassie carried on down the station to Theo's office.
She walked in, closing the door behind her and making her way behind his desk. She smiled upon the picture of her and Chase in a frame on his desk. It had been taken a few years ago at a Summer BBQ at her parent's house.
She logged into his computer, scrolling through the database and finding what he was last looking at. It appeared to still be the tax fraud case he was dealing with from earlier on in the week.
She was about to look in the drawers when she heard a knock at the door, looking up as she watched a young girl walk into the office, pausing for a second when she realised it wasn't Theo.
"Oh… sorry." She panicked as Cassie looked at her.
"Can I help you?" Cassie asked curiously.
"I thought Deputy Sanchez was here." She said, "I saw the light on in the office and thought it was him. You're… You're his wife." She nodded as Cassie looked at her. She could separate a suspicious looking woman from a woman who was just nervous and starting out in a new job.
"Yeah, I am." Cassie nodded, "Is there something you want me to pass onto to him?" Cassie asked.
"He just wanted me to look up an address with the parole board." She nodded to her, "I'm Officer Colton." She said, "Rookie." She rolled her eyes with a small smile.
"We've all been there." Cassie nodded, "Do you mind if I take the address?" She pointed.
"No." The young girl shook her head, walking over to the desk and sitting the folder down.
"Thank you." Cassie nodded to her gratefully.
"You guys have the cutest son." She smiled, noticing the picture frame as Cassie looked at it again, "I've saw him a couple times around here. Super adorable."
"Yeah, I think so too." Cassie nodded.
"I should get back to…" She pointed to the door, "Reports." She said unenthusiastically.
"I promise it gets more exciting." Cassie nodded to her with a warm smile as the young girl nodded, leaving the office.
Cassie opened up the file she'd left for Theo, looking at the address and parole details for a recently released prisoner, taking a note of his name and typing it into the computer, her stomach turning as she read into the charges.
