Chapter 2

They pulled into the parking lot of a small diner just off the interstate. "Is this there?" asked Hailey as she studied their surroundings. All she saw was a gas station and some pastures with cows in the distance.

"This is breakfast," said Jay. "Also, my self-preservation. We have a busy day ahead of us and I don't want to drag a hangry Hailey around."

Hailey frowned. "Hangry has such a negative connotation. I think of it as expressing my nutritional needs."

"Oh, is that what it is?" asked Jay. He couldn't help smirking a little. He reached over and patted her thigh. "Come on. I bet this place has excellent pancakes."

"Did someone mention pancakes?" Now she was all perky.

"Look at that. I put a twinkle in your eyes," laughed Jay. He loved to see Hailey all happy and cheerful.

Hailey made a dismissive snort. "Don't get the inflated idea that it was you, Halstead. Any old John Doe could have mentioned pancakes and gotten the same reaction." She emphasized her point by poking him in the chest.

Jay was not offended in the least. "Whatever, Upton," he shrugged. He tried but failed to hide a little smile. "Is it going to be last names all day?"

Her answer was an eyeroll.

After loading up on pancakes, eggs and bacon, they were back on the road. Hailey leaned her head back. "A little nap sounds good right about now."

Jay was concentrating on the road and only spared a brief glance at his partner. "Oh no, you don't. We'll be there, as you say, in five minutes." He took a left turn and Hailey noticed a sign.

"Farmer's Market and Festival, 2 miles," she read.

"What do you think?" asked Jay.

"I think I'll like it. We need to change up our routine."

"What? You think we've become boring and predictable?"

Hailey cocked her head. "Well, it's good to do something by ourselves. You know, without Intelligence and 51 all hovering around, getting drunk and trash-talking and asking embarrassing questions."

Jay was relieved. This was exactly what he had in mind – a day just for the two of them. A day where they could talk and act freely. A day without coworkers analyzing their every word and look.

"Look, there's a baked goods display on the right," said Hailey. Sure enough, two women were unloading cakes and trays of home-baked goodies from the back of an SUV.

"You can't be hungry already. But, tell you what, I'll buy you a cupcake or cookie later on," said Jay.

Hailey's head whipped around. "Promise?"

He put a hand over his heart. "I promise. Have I ever let you down?"

"No. And you better not start today," threatened Hailey. "I have a knife strapped to my ankle."

Jay shuddered. "Now I'm afraid. For potential criminals, that is."

In addition to baked goods, there were stalls of handmade jewelry, quilts, kitchen towels, jams and jellies. Local artists showcased ceramic and pottery creations and paintings and drawings of flowers and rural scenes.

One woman sat in a folding chair doing caricatures. A squirmy little boy was having trouble holding still for his picture. His mother tried to encourage him. "Only another minute, Ryan."

Hailey nudged Jay's shoulder. "What do you think? Should I have mine done?"

He shook his head. "I don't need some exaggerated, weird picture of my partner. I prefer the real Hailey who sits in my truck or across from me every day."

She looked up at him and shyly smiled. "That's so sweet." She leaned into his side.

"Now, if I had mine done, you might stick it up in the breakroom and throw darts at it."

Hailey snickered. "Something to keep in mind. Especially if you don't start washing your mug."

Feeling bold, Jay reached down and took Hailey's hand. There was nobody here who knew them, so why not? Hailey was a bit surprised. But she gave him a big smile, silently telling him it was a good move.

"Come on. Let's see what's down here," he said.

They came to a stall of handmade pocket knives. "I'm going to get one for Will. He's had a fascination with them since we were kids."

"Really? Because he knew he wanted to be a surgeon?"

"I don't think it was that. He always liked to whittle and carve stuff."

"Did he ever make one of those ships in a bottle?"

"No, nothing that fancy."

They picked up and examined several knives until Jay found just the right one. After he paid the seller, he asked Hailey, "Can I put it in your backpack?"

"Sure." She turned around and swept her hair aside. Jay unzipped one of the little pockets and dropped it in. "Thanks." The seller had wrapped it in bubble wrap when Jay mentioned it was a gift for his brother.

Jay rested his hands on Hailey's shoulders and his chin on her head. They stood in the warm sunshine in companionable silence, taking in the sights and sounds. Kids shouted and chased each other while adults called to them to watch where they were going.

"Hey, let's ride the merry-go-round," said Hailey, twisting her head to look at him.

"They have a merry-go-round?" asked Jay.

"Yeah. I saw a sign back there. It should be close by."

"Won't we look kind of silly on it? I mean, if we could borrow a kid, that would look normal."

Hailey scoffed. "It'll be fine. Where's your sense of adventure?"

Jay could never deny Hailey anything. "I'll have you know my sense of adventure is alive and well. So, let's do it."

They heard the merry-go-round before they saw it. It came to a stop and a bunch of screaming kids got off. Some wanted to ride again, but parents hustled them away.

"Step right up, everybody!" said the man operating it. A fresh group of kids, with a sprinkling of adults, got on, followed by Hailey and Jay. Up and down, up and down they went, laughing with everybody else. The breeze whipped Hailey's hair, but she didn't care.

They had made gone around three times when there came a hideous grinding noise and the merry-go-round clunked to a stop. Heads turned and one little girl whined, "Why did it stop? Make it go!"

"Hang on, folks. Give me a sec. Hopefully, I can get old Bessie here started up again," said the operator. He pulled out a bandana from his pocket and wiped his brow. More kids began to cry at the lack of motion. When it became apparent that "old Bessie" was not going to be coaxed back to life, the operator sighed, "Folks, all of you will have to dismount at this time. Looks like we've come to the end of the trail."

"It was fun while it lasted," said Hailey. Her horse was stuck in the upright position so she would have a little bit of a drop to get down. She threw her left leg over to the right side and prepared to slide down. Jay quickly stepped in front of her and caught her in his arms.

She was taken aback. She was witnessing a whole new dimension of her work partner. But she liked it very much. "Thanks, but you didn't have to do that."

Jay smiled. His hands were still at her waist. "I know. But I wanted to. Can't let anything happen to my partner."

"Uh, could I ask you guys to step on down," said the weary operator.

"Yeah, sorry," said Jay. He and Hailey were the only ones still on the merry-go-round.

As they walked away Jay said, "You were right. That was fun."

"Like I knew it would be," laughed Hailey.

Next, they played some cornhole, which Jay handily won. "Ugh!" said Hailey. "Why are you better at this?"

Jay flexed his right arm. "Maybe because my pitching arm is stronger than yours."

"I demand a rematch," declared Hailey as she tossed the bag from one hand to the other.

With a smirk Jay said, "Game on, Upton."

He won again. "I quit," said Hailey with mock irritation. "What's for lunch?"

"I wondered when you'd get around to that," laughed Jay.

After lunch, Hailey was checking out some baseball caps. She was considering getting her nephews ones with their names on them. Jay was a little distance away watching a blacksmith demonstration. He wasn't into horses, but it was kind of interesting. He was glad no one was pounding nails into his soles.

"Jay!"

He tensed when he heard the familiar voice. Slowly, he turned and saw the smiling face of Virginia, the Records supervisor at 21.

"Virginia, hi. Didn't, uh, expect to find you here." He felt a spike of panic and was sure it showed on his face. Had she seen Hailey and their PDAs earlier?

She laughed. "Looks like we're both out of our element. Thought I'd get the kids out of the city for a change. You know, show them where apples and corn and beans really come from."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." He really hoped Hailey would be occupied for a few more minutes.

Virginia continued. "Then we're spending the night with my sister. She lives about three miles from here."

"I'm sure you'll enjoy that." But I am so not enjoying this conversation.

Virginia leaned in a little closer. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

Jay tried to brush it off. "What are you talking about?"

"Really, Jay? You and your partner. I don't think you're out here working a case."

Think quick, Jay. "No, we're not on a case. We wanted to get out of the city, too." He hesitated. "But we already know where corn and apples come from."

Virginia threw back her head and laughed. "Good one, Jay. Well, you two have fun."

"Yeah. Thanks."

Virginia moved off in search of her middle-schoolers. She might be stuck in the basement all day, but she was still plugged into the gossip network.