I apologize for the delay in updating. Last week I had my final for my summer class I couldn't afford to use any of my spare time doing anything but studying. Now that my class is over (praise) I should be updating more frequently. I've noticed that I prefer writing chapters that are more on the shorter side, that way I can update more frequently, so expect that from now on. It just works better for me. Anyways, enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think.
It was a half hour before his shift was set to start, when Adam Ruzek sprinted into his boss's office completely out of breath. Voight was just getting in himself, and hadn't yet sat down when the young detective came barreling in.
Adam had woken up exceptionally early that morning. Unable to fall back asleep he checked the news on his phone wondering if the Parker case had reached the media yet. As the unit had figured it would, the news broke overnight. He scrolled through a few articles before finding the one that had him racing to get dressed, rushing out of the apartment without so much as an explanation to his sleeping fiancé, and now breathless after sprinting into Hank Voight's office.
"Ruzek?" Adam barely made it into the pen on time every morning let alone a half hour early.
"Sarge…" He panted holding his phone out towards Hank. "You need to see this."
Hank's eye quickly scanned over the phone screen taking in the article. Although Voight's face was usually stoic and lacking expression, Ruzek could pinpoint the exact moment he got to the important part of the article.
"How the hell did this get missed?" His voice boomed as though Adam wasn't standing two feet away. "I'll call Lindsay and Halstead. You alert everyone else." As he scurried back towards his own desk, Ruzek heard his boss muttering under his breath in frustration. "How the hell did a god damn gossip columnist find information we missed?"
Back at the hotel, Jay knocked on the bedroom door tentatively. He hadn't seen Erin since she stormed off during their conversation the night before, and locked herself away in the one bedroom the hotel suite possessed.
He knocked again after a moment, and the response was the same; she didn't answer. He knew from past experience that Erin could either be the lightest sleeper in the world, or would sleep like a rock, nearly impossible to wake. It varied from night to night with no real cause or explanation. It was completely puzzling. Similar to the way he found most of her actions lately. With a sigh he entered the bedroom to attempt to awaken her.
In the center of the bed, she was passed out cold. He thought back to all the nights they shared a bed, although the word "shared" should be applied loosely. Erin had always been a terrible bed hog. No pillow, or side of the bed was off limits to a sleeping Erin Lindsay.
An extra pillow was parallel to her. Her head and one hand rested on it as though she was snuggled up to another person. Like she was resting on a man's chest. Like she was resting on his chest. She'd never admit it, but she'd needed a pillow there every night for about a year now. Since the first night she had to sleep without him.
Jay couldn't help the small smirk that appeared when he noticed the way Erin was wrapped within her blankets. She'd always been one of those people that couldn't decide if they were hot or cold when they slept; so one leg was beneath the blankets and the other on top, completely exposed. He used to ask her why she wouldn't just ditch the comforter and use the sheet to find a temperate medium, but she was adamant that one leg out and one in was the best method.
"Erin?" He spoke gently as to not scare her. "Erin, wake up." He got closer and shook her shoulder.
Her entire body jerked off the mattress as her eyes shot open. "Shit, Halstead! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Her hand covered her rapidly beating heart.
He barely heard her words because the first thing he noticed was the puffiness of her cheeks and the redness still beneath her eyes. She'd cried last night. Probably cried herself to sleep, and the thought made him want to throw up, and kick his own ass at the same time. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen his partner cry, and the idea that he could ever be the reason killed him.
"Jay? What do you want?" She sat up in bed, pulling the blankets firmly against her chest. She had on an oversized t-shirt, so there was really no reason to cover herself up more. It also wasn't as though Jay hadn't seen, or more accurately, enjoyed every inch of her chest in the past. He'd made it exceptionally obvious that he was a boob man with the amount of attention he used to give each of her breasts, but things had drastically changed since those days. Now she felt self-conscious just being around him. It's funny how rejection will do that to a person.
She worked at shoving unruly curls out of her eyes, as she awaited his explanation.
"Voight just called. The case has hit the media." He explained.
She reached for her own phone off the bedside table and noticed the missed call notification. It didn't say Voight, but read "Daddy," because Ruzek and Mouse thought it would be a funny joke to program it that way in her undercover phone.
She rolled her eyes and decided she'd remember to give them a hard time when the mission was all said and done. "We expected that to happen. It's not the kind of news you wake someone up at 6:15 am to tell, Halstead!" She groaned and started to lie back down, pulling the blankets up over her head to block out the sunlight that was just starting to creep in.
"They found something we didn't. Gregory Parker wasn't really in Washington the night of the murder."
She flung the blankets off from over her head. "What? How did we not know that before?"
"He lied. There's a pictures of him leaving his apartment building, here in the city, the morning after the murder took place."
"So Gregory Parker is our prime suspect now," she rationalized. "What else did Voight say? What's the plan for Madison now?"
"We gotta lay low and work on finding out what She really knows. Keep doing what you're doing. Make her trust you."
"I'll work her over at brunch today and see what I can learn."
"Do you think she knew he was in town, and lied to help cover it up?"
"I just met her yesterday! How the hell am I supposed to know?"
"I was just asking, sorry." He mumbled.
"If she's been lying to me she's good because I've believed her."
Dressed in a pale pink sundress, which made Halstead chuckle when he first saw his leather and combat boot loving partner wearing, Erin entered Madison's hotel room. She'd expected to be the first one there, but instead the room held four other's, including the hostess. Madison's head snapped towards the door, giving Erin a look that implied she had completely forgotten she was coming.
"Hi, Madison." Erin's voice was quiet as she gave her a gentle smile.
"Who the hell are you?" A man in his mid twenties barked while standing from the sofa.
"No, it's okay, Colin. She's my cousin, Erin." She talked him down, and Erin watched as he relaxed. "We met up in Toronto, and she flew home with me when we heard the news."
"Oh, Erin, yes." He acted as though he had heard of Madison and Vanessa's cousin Erin a thousand times before, though it was obviously not possible. "I'm sorry. I'm just a little bit on edge right now. I think we all are." He apologized.
"It's all right. I understand." Erin gave a small forgiving smirk while walking over to sit next to Madison.
"There's so many of them out there; more than after daddy died, Colin." A woman spoke while peaking through the blinds. When she turned to face the group, Erin realized that the two blondes in the room where Clarice and Colin Ellis. The Ellis' were old money in Chicago. The twins were born with silver spoons in their mouths and trust fund's with more zero's at the end than Erin would ever see in her life.
"Maybe we should get away for the weekend." With an arm wrapped protectively around the waist of Clarice, the man beside her spoke. He was tall and thin with dark hair and piercing blue eyes. He walked towards Madison. "What do you say Maddy, do you want to take the boat out for the weekend and get out of the city? I think it would be a good idea." The slight twang in his voice alerted Erin to the fact he wasn't from Chicago. She'd have to wait for someone to say his name to know who he actually was.
"V always did love the boat. Well, when she was sober enough to enjoy it, anyway." Clarice spoke before receiving a glare from her brother. "What it's true?" The blonde defended herself.
Madison was obviously overwhelmed by everything going on around her. Her large, brown, doe eyes looked completely blank as she gazed at her friends.
Erin stepped in to answer for her. "Maybe we should let her think about it for the day, and then make plans later tonight." The group seemed to agree with that idea, which was a relief considering Erin had to run it by Voight to make sure they could even leave Chicago now that Gregory Parker was the CPD's new prime suspect.
A few hours passed while the group drank a few mimosa and bloody Mary's. Erin learned that the man with the accent was Joshua Reardon. His father had struck it rich in the oil industry back home in Dallas. He'd moved to Chicago a few years back to live with his girlfriend, Clarice, or more affectionately called Clare. Erin found the couple to be nauseatingly all over one another.
for most of brunch, Madison stayed virtually silent. Erin couldn't decipher if it was because she was overwhelmed now that the news was out, or if it was because she had lied to cover for her father and was now afraid of being caught. Erin knew there was really only one way to find out the truth.
"We gotta call Voight." It was the first thing she uttered to Jay upon leaving brunch.
"Why?"
"Pack your swim trunks and some SPF 50, freckles, we're spending the weekend on a yacht."