This was request about Jay having a little sister. Not sure if this is what they had in mind, but it is what my brain came up with. Jay is 12 and his sister has gone missing, those budding detective skills are put in action.
Junior Detective
Jay came banging into the house with the noise and debris that only a twelve-year-old boy could muster. Mary looked over from her project of cleaning the cabinets to notice that he was alone.
"Where's your sister?" She asked.
Jay shrugged as he rummaged through the pantry, pulling out a granola bar before he went to the refrigerator for some milk. He sat down at the table as his mother brought over a glass for him and filled it halfway. "You are supposed to walk her home from school," she reminded him.
"She wasn't waiting for me. I waited forever—for like five minutes but she didn't show up. I figured she just decided to walk by herself."
"So you didn't see her at all?"
"Nope," he said taking a bite from the granola bar. "Maybe she had to stay after," he mumbled with his mouth full.
She and Pat had thought after Jay was born that their little family was complete, but a couple of years later little Vanessa showed up, Nessa for short because two-year-old Jay couldn't pronounce the whole name. She and Pat were thrilled to have the addition of a daughter to the family. Things got a bit tighter, a little louder, a little more crowded and chaotic, but she loved her family and now one of them was missing. Well maybe that was a bit dramatic, after all the girl was only a few minutes late. But she is supposed to wait for her brother. Perhaps she did stay after for something and her impatient middle child didn't wait long enough. Of course five minutes felt like forever to him, it was certainly feeling like forever to her now as she stepped outside and looked down the sidewalk in hopes to see her daughter bouncing along with some silly excuse. But she was nowhere to be seen.
Mary saw many familiar faces and stopped a few of them asking if they had seen Vanessa but they all claimed ignorance to her whereabouts. She stepped across the street and peered towards the school as the march of children thinned out, hoping to catch a glimpse of that familiar copper hair pulled back into a ponytail.
Nessa had always been somewhat of a tomboy due to her efforts of keeping up with her brothers, but she had a soft side, where pink and purple were welcome, as well as dolls, tea sets and an occasional dress. Both Jay and Will were good with her, protective and patient for the most part, but as they aged, they distanced themselves as siblings often do, tiring of her immaturity and constant demands.
She went back into the house to find Jay had abandoned his empty milk glass for the TV. "Jay, can you get on your bike and go back to the school and see if you can find her?"
Jay looked at her as if she had asked him to paint the house before dinner was ready. "Do I have to?" He moaned, his voice clearly indicating it was the last thing he wanted to do.
"Yes you do. Did you go back into the school when you didn't see her waiting?"
"No. They don't want you going back in, they want you out. Especially on a Friday," Jay pointed out as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Get your bike and go." She ordered, and then added, "see if you can find any clues."
Jay perked up at that. "Yeah. Yeah. I'll look for clues." He said, his eyes brightening as he jumped up and headed towards the back door.
Jay had read all of the Encyclopedia Brown books, and was working on the Hardy Boy's now. If he couldn't find them at the library Mary would search the used book stores in the hopes of finding that missing volume. He spoke of breaking cases and finding the truth as he buried his head between their pages. She thought it was adorable but Pat thought it was a waste of time. It seemed like whatever one liked the other hated and as a mother and a wife, it exhausted her. Maybe now she could use her son's interest to help locate her wayward daughter. He shot out of the house and she watched as he hopped on his bike and disappeared down the street.
Jay pedaled looking at the faces of each of the stragglers that been expelled from their Catholic school, Saint Gabriel. A small neighborhood school had grades from Kindergarten to eighth grade. Will was in high school now and went across the highway to Williams Medical Prep High School, which sounded fancier than it was. It was a public school because paying three tuition's was too much for the family finances. But Will, who wanted to be a doctor thought it was a good omen and strove to get good grades regardless of where he was.
Jay was already back at the school where a few students were still lingering around the play area and teachers were waving goodbye to each other as they left the building and found their cars. He looked over and saw Deena who was in his sister's class and rode his bike in her direction, slamming on the brakes at the last second, showing off a bit.
"Hey Deena."
"Hi Jay," she said shielding her eyes from the sun.
"Have you seen my sister? She's not home yet."
"I thought she walked with you?"
"She does, but I waited for her and she wasn't around."
"I stayed late to help in the library. I saw her leave the classroom with everybody else at the normal time."
"Was she with anyone?"
Deena chewed on her lips for a moment before she shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think so. I mean everyone was gushing through the door. It is Friday and it seems like everyone is faster to get out on Friday's."
"Did she talk about going to anybody's house?"
"I don't know. I don't think so."
Jay tried to think like a detective and cursed himself for not bringing his little notebook with him like a real investigator would. "Has she been hanging out with anyone new?"
"Kinda," Deena replied. "We have a new kid named Toby. He is shy, but Nessa was nice to him."
"Does anyone else like him?"
"Not really, he's weird."
"Weird?" Jay asked his voice alarmed.
"Not scary weird, just regular weird. I don't think Nessa would even like him except she can sort of get him to play whatever she wants."
"Do you know where he lives?"
"No idea. I gotta go; I'll get into trouble if I'm too late."
Jay circled different blocks on his way home, hoping that his sister had just stopped by a friend's house. Maybe she was already home and he was wasting his time. However, once he returned he discovered not only was she not home, but Will was out looking for her now and his father had been summoned home. The fact that his mom had called his father sent a shiver through him. This must be serious if he had left work.
Neither noticed him as he came inside so he rushed up the steps and went into her bedroom. He and Will shared the big bedroom and Vanessa got the smaller one. If she hadn't been born then he would have his own room, it was something he thought about sometimes. He looked around at the pink paint and flower stickers stuck to the wall, along with her favorite poster of the Wizard of Oz. She loved that movie and the books. He saw the books stacked up by her bedside. Their mom would read to her every night. Jay read to himself, because he wasn't a little kid anymore. He thumped through her room having no idea what he was looking for but felt that this is what a cop would do. He picked stuff up and put it back down. She only had the one backpack and it was gone since she used it for school. He tried to think what Encyclopedia Brown or the Hardy Boys would do. He had just read one case where the advice was to look for what wasn't there because that had the most answers sometimes. Her backpack was gone and that was normal, but was there anything missing that should be here? He sat down on her bed and reached over for the little Toto looking stuffed dog that she loved, but it was gone. Why would it be gone? She loved that little dog, she couldn't sleep without it. Maybe she had show-and-tell today? But he thought it was on Tuesday's for her class, besides she had already taken it in this year. Plus she never took it out of the house ever since she left her favorite doll on the L. Its absence had to mean something, but he didn't know what.
He went back downstairs to find his parents talking. "The police will be here soon. But I'm sure she is just fine." His father was saying. "She probably got caught up at someone's house or saw something fun and got turned around. I'm sure she'll be here before the cops even get here and when she does arrive we're going to give her a huge hug then I'm going to light up her little behind." He said pulling his wife close.
"If you don't I will," Mary replied which made Jay pull his head back as usually his mother wasn't all that fond of Pat's punishments, especially for Nessa who was pretty much exempt from them.
"Is Will here?" Jay asked as he entered the kitchen where they were standing by the phone.
"When did you get home?" Mary asked.
"A few minutes ago."
"Will is looking for her. Did you see anything? Find any clues?"
"Why didn't you wait for her," Pat interrupted.
"I did. Deena said she left with everyone else, meaning she should have been waiting for me." Jay was about to go on to explain more but there was a strong knock at the front door.
Jay ran to the door to find two uniformed officers. He had hoped a plain-clothes detective would have come, but he guessed that they were saved for later. These guys were going to take the first reports, but if she didn't come home soon then maybe a detective would come. He tried not to be disappointed.
Jay brought them to the living room where his parents had moved and they all sat down. The one officer pulled out his notebook and began asking the basic questions. After he confirmed her school, the other officer made a call on one of those new cell phones. Mary described her daughter but when it came to the description of what she had been wearing that day she couldn't remember, it was like her brain had shut down.
"She wore what she always does on Friday," Jay interjected despite Pat's glare. "Her pink jeans and purple sweatshirt with the yellow brick road, Wizard of Oz stuff on it."
The officer looked over at Mary who nodded. "Yes, that's it. Good job Jay."
Jay smiled at the compliment and then remembered Toby. "Officer," he spoke up again, "I talked to a friend of hers and she said that my sister had a new friend from class named Toby."
"Do you know where Toby lives or what he looks like?" The officer asked.
Disappointment clouded Jay's face. "No sir."
"That's okay. This is great information. Good job. You should think about becoming a police officer when you grow up."
Jay beamed. "I want to. I want to be a detective."
"Good for you!"
"You said your daughter is nine?" The officer asked Mary who nodded.
"Nine and a half," Jay corrected causing Pat to give him another look. "Well that's what she always says."
The questions continued and the second officer made and received calls. "Did you say something about a kid named Toby?" He asked Jay. Jay nodded. "A Mrs. Kendall just reported that her nine-year-old son Toby hasn't returned from school. They are new to the neighborhood and live on South Normal Ave."
"I bet they're together." Jay deduced.
"I imagine you are right," the officer replied.
"Jay, let the officers do their work," Pat told his son waving him out of the room.
"But I want to hear everything. I couldn't find out Toby's address," he admitted.
"That's okay, we have it. You have really been a big help young man," the officer praised.
"Now Jay," Pat warned starting to get up.
Jay looked over at his mother but she was too distracted to defend him. Pat was standing up now so Jay headed for the door; it was never good when he made it all the way over to you.
"Do you have a garage or shed in the backyard where she might be hiding?" One of the officers asked.
"We just have a shed," Pat replied. He had always thought about putting a garage in the back off the alley but it would have eaten up a big chunk of the backyard and he wanted the kids to have plenty of room to play.
"She wasn't in there when I got my bike," Jay pointed out from the doorway.
"We'll take another look just to be sure," he said winking at Jay. "And can we take a look at her room as well?"
Pat gave Jay his famous Dad warning look when he turned to take the one officer to the shed while Mary pointed towards the stairs and her daughter's room. Jay desperately wanted to follow, but if his dad caught him, he'd be in deep trouble. So instead he hopped back on his bike and went to Deena's house.
He knocked on the door, stood back, and waited. It didn't matter what he did his dad always seemed mad at him. He helped too much, he didn't help enough. He was going to find his sister and show him that he really was a detective.
"Hi Jay," Deena said as she opened the door. "Did you find Nessa?"
"Not yet. Did you have show-and-tell today?"
"No. It's on Tuesday's."
"Do you remember what she brought?"
"Um, it was a picture of the yellow brick road. She said Will printed it out for her at school. She said she was going to go there."
"Will's school?"
Deena shrugged. "I don't know. She had on her red sneakers though. You know the ones she said are really magic ruby slippers. She really loves that movie."
"She had them on today?"
"Pretty sure she wore them all week. I remember because she pointed them out on Tuesday and then she usually wears her pink ones on Friday because the red looks funny with her pink pants, but she wore the red ones today anyway. I remember because I even said that they didn't match. She said she didn't care."
Jay thanked her, bounced down the steps, got back on his bike, and rode over to South Normal. He had no idea which block Toby lived on, but maybe she was over here and he'd see her.
It drove him crazy how much she loved the Wizard of Oz. Every time it was on TV she begged him to watch it with her. He would sometimes, but not every time like he did when he was younger. He did kind of like the flying monkey's, they don't scare him anymore. And the soldiers marching around the castle is cool, and so is the witch when she melts. But every Halloween Nessa dressed as Dorothy and would carry a picnic basket to put her candy in.
Her favorite dog was missing, that happened to look like Toto. She wore her red sneakers that she pretended were her ruby slippers on a day she never did. This had to mean something. Plus Toby would play whatever she wanted just so he would have a friend. Having two brothers made her not only stand up for herself, but be bossy when she wanted to be. If Toby's mom called the police then they probably wouldn't be there, but where would she go?
Was there a yellow brick road in Chicago? At Will's school his brother could find out stuff in the computer lab, but that wouldn't help Jay now. Besides he didn't even know how to use a computer. And the high school was across the big highway. His dad would definitely blister his butt for going across it. He went home and sat outside on the front steps trying to put all the pieces together. It seemed like he remembered some playground that they went to a couple of years ago that his mom called an outdoor Oz museum, but he couldn't recall anything else about it.
He jumped up and went into the house. The police had left and his mother was alone at the kitchen table.
"Where's Dad?"
"Driving around looking for your sister."
"Will too?" He asked.
"Yes. On his bike. I want you to stay here though. I don't need to be worrying about you too."
Jay sighed but he didn't need to leave the house for the next step in his plan. He went into the living room and pulled out the Chicago books from the desk. His mother collected the tourist books that showed what there was to do in the area. Each summer they would pick something to do as a family and then each kid got to pick out something as well. He flipped it to the glossary and looked up wizard, but came up empty. He then tried oz, but had no luck. He went to a bigger book that had all the parks in the area and did the same thing, hitting pay dirt when he checked oz. "Oz Park," he whispered as he licked his lips, that was the playground he had remembered going to. He liked the wooden play structure, but his mother kept taking Nessa off to see other stuff in the park. He bet that was where she was going. But it was all the way in Lincoln Park, way north of his neighborhood. How would she get there? How would he get there?
He pulled out the next folder that held the bus and L schedules but couldn't make any sense of them. He then pulled out the map of Chicago, found the park, and measured the distance, the way Will had showed him, and found it was over ten miles away. There was no way he could walk or even bike there. He must be wrong; there was no way his nine-year-old sister would ever make it there on her own.
He sat for a few minutes before he jumped up and ran back up to her room. Jay knew that after their mom had bought him a nice new notebook for when he wrote clues down while he was reading his books, Nessa had had a minor tantrum wanting a special book as well. She said she would use it as her diary. He checked her small desk, her closet and under her bed, but came up empty. He thought that maybe she had it with her. He sat down on the bed and blew out a mouthful of air. He had to find her; it was his job as her big brother to protect her. What kind of detective would he be if he couldn't find her?
He suddenly remembered that Will hid his sexy magazines under his mattress. He said they were a friends, but Jay figured he was lying. He hopped off Nessa's bed, pushed the mattress back, and found her little pink book with the pony on it. He opened and looked at her big, carefully formed letters as they wrote about how Charlie Stratford was a booger face because he had pushed her and how she didn't like the new gym teacher because she made them run too far. And on and on it went. Jay and Will were mentioned a few times, some in a good light, "Jay played with me today, first time in forever " and some were not, "Jay stole my doll clothes and threw them in the yard." "Will let me ride on his handlebars, but said it was our secret."
He kept looking trying to find something that would indicate what she was planning. But suddenly Jay felt sick to his stomach. What if she wasn't planning anything? What if she got stolen right from the schoolyard? If he was a real detective he would be able to find her. When he got bigger he would find all the missing kids. He would find the bad guys and beat them up so they would tell him what he wanted to know. He continued to look at his sisters entries. "Jay made me play war and pretended to shoot me. He said he is going to be a soldier and a policeman. I hope he is just a policeman cause soldier's are scary."
"Will told me to leave him alone. He was mad at something, but I didn't do anything wrong."
He flipped to the back and saw that despite her numerous entries, there were still plenty of blank pages. He found her last few additions and carefully read them.
"It's almost Dorothy's birthday and Will brought me a picture of the yellow brick road from school. I think if I go to that place Mommy took us when I was little where Dorothy is, she will come alive, but just on her birthday. I will bring Toto and wear my red shoes. I bet I can get Toby to come too. He does everything I say. We can even sleep out. I know Mom and Dad will be mad at me, but I have to try. Glenda the good witch has good magic and I have asked her a hundred times to help and I think she will."
Jay sighed and shook his head. His stupid sister was going to Oz Park because she thought some kind of magic was going to happen. He had to tell his parents what he found. He raced downstairs to find that his father and brother were still out and his mother was on the phone, calling other parents. He tried to get her attention but she either waved him away or turned her back on him. He was so hyped up he couldn't stand still so he went outside and looked up and down the street as if that would conjure up his father or brother. Finally, he decided to just go. He knew which train would take him north; he would ask other people how to get to Lincoln Park.
Nearly an hour later and with great determination and luck, Jay made it to the Lincoln Park neighborhood. He still had no idea how to get to the actual park. And what if he was wrong? His parents would kill him. They probably will still kill him for leaving without even a note, after all his mom did tell him to stay in the house. It was dusk now, and the shadows were long and closing in around him. He was getting a little chilly and wondered if Nessa had a sweatshirt or jacket with her. He shouldn't have come, he should have waited until his mother got off the phone or his dad got home. Now he was going to pay for his sister breaking the rules.
As he stood at the curb lost in thought a police car pulled over. "Hey there buddy, you okay?" Jay nodded as he looked at the officer. "You live around here?"
"No," Jay shook his head. "I live in Canaryville."
"Long way from home. What brings you up here?"
"My sister. I think she is lost and might be in Oz Park but I don't know how to get there." Jay confessed.
"Are your parents with you? Do they know you are here?" Jay shook his head no. "Why don't you jump in with us. We'll go to the park and see if your sister is there and get in touch with your parents."
"Okay," Jay sighed in a defeated tone and got into the backseat. He thought he could find her but instead he just got in over his head.
The one officer that had initially spoken to him asked a few questions on how he got to the northside and Jay answered as best as he could. All the excitement that had been brimming an hour before was now deflated. A few minutes later they arrived at the park. Jay would have jumped out of the car but he couldn't open the door. "I'll open it for you," one of the officers said as he got out and went around to the back.
"You keep it locked so the bad guys can't get out right?"
"You are exactly right. Why do you think your sister is here?" He asked, so Jay launched into his deductive prowess and explained how he came to that conclusion.
"Wow. I'm impressed."
"I want to be a detective when I grow up," Jay announced, almost sticking his chest out, perking up and finding the confidence he had recently lost.
"I think you'll be a great one. What's your name again?"
"Jay Halstead."
"How old are you?"
"Twelve."
"Okay. I'm officer Owen Taylor and in about fifteen years I'm going to look for your name to be in the Chicago Police Department rolls. Okay?" He asked as he jotted Jay's name and age down in his notebook.
"Okay," Jay agreed.
"Let's go find your sister."
The two officers split up, Officer Taylor took charge of Jay while his partner Officer Sims, went the opposite direction. Jay had no idea the park was this big. There weren't that many people around since it was nearly dark, but it didn't close until 11:00 so there were people hanging around and some of them didn't look too happy to have the police walking around. A couple of people were finishing up on the tennis court since it was impossible to see the ball.
Jay was about to yell out Vanessa's name when he saw her and another boy sitting on a bench by the statue of Dorothy. "That's her," he yelled and pointed. She sat, her legs dangling, red sneakers unable to touch the ground as she clutched her little dog. Jay began to run and beat the officer there. "Nessa," he panted, "What are you doing here?"
"Why are you here? Are Mom and Dad here?" She asked her head whipping back and forth looking.
"No, they're at home worried about you. They called the police but I found you first. I came here looking for you and the police found me and here we all are."
"Vanessa Halstead?" Officer Taylor asked. She nodded. "Are you Toby Wyler?" The boy, who had a mop of brown hair, frayed jeans, scuffed sneakers and a face full of freckles bobbed his head up and down. "Both your parents are worried about you. And we just got an update that a Jay Halstead has been reported missing." Officer Taylor said looking down at Jay with wide eyes.
"I forgot to leave a note," Jay admitted.
Officer Sims radioed dispatch to let them know all the kids were safe and would be brought home immediately. On the way the story came out that Vanessa had a dream that if she found Dorothy, something magical would happen. Then Toby started school and became her friend. He was willing to play all things Wizard of Oz and was eager to share that his older brother worked near Dorothy and her friends at the park. So they hid after school and followed Mike, the brother, as he boarded the train and made his way to work. Their plan was to spend the night in the park and wait for the magic to begin. What magic they had no idea. Nessa had her sights set on the sidewalks turning yellow and the statues coming alive. The imagination of a nine-year-old is something to behold.
"You were going to spend the night?" Jay asked, astounded.
"That's when the magic happens—at night." She explained.
"Well good luck explaining that to Mom and Dad." He told her as he crossed his arms and sat back.
"Am I in trouble?"
"Well duh. Big trouble. They were freaking out when they couldn't find you. We were all looking for you; me and Will on our bikes and Dad in the car. Now I'm in trouble because I didn't tell them where I was going."
"How come you didn't tell them?"
"Because Dad was out looking for you and Mom was on the phone calling all your friends and besides they wouldn't let me go anyway."
"But you did come," Nessa said with a look of satisfaction that she was worth her big brother's time and effort. She didn't seem to care much how he found her, but he proceeded to fill her in, giving her every detail that he could recall. If he had to listen to her story then she needed to listen to his.
"How much trouble am I in?" She asked as she began to yawn.
"A lot."
"Like you Will get into?" And Jay knew what she was really asking. Sure she got in trouble, but mostly sent to her room or an extra chore assigned. But Jay didn't want to freak her out so he just shrugged.
Toby was quiet the entire ride and they all practically forgot he was there. They dropped him off first and then drove to the Halstead homestead. Jay felt sorry for the boy. He made one friend and she got him in hot water.
Officer Sims stayed in the car while Officer Taylor walked the kids towards the house, but they didn't even make it to the front door when Pat and Mary burst out. Jay hung back while Vanessa ran into her mother's arms. Pat stepped forward and shook the officer's hand. "Thank you so much for bringing them home. They are both going to be made to understand how dangerous what they did was. They won't be going anywhere anytime soon."
"Your boy here put a lot of clues and facts together to find his sister. It was pretty impressive." He said as he put his hand on Jay's shoulder. "Keep up the good work kiddo, but in the future don't leave without getting permission, okay?"
"Okay." Jay agreed. "I won't. Sorry Dad."
Pat pointed towards the house and Jay started walking but turned around and waved at Officer Taylor, who smiled and waved back.
Once inside they were set down on the couch where Mary dabbed her tearful eyes and Pat did his best to appear stern. "What were you thinking?" He asked his youngest.
And on cue she spilled her entire story throwing in some tears that Jay was certain would get her out of any punishment. Both Mary and Pat listened to her without interruption before telling her how it was great to have dreams and imagination, but she knew better than to leave the neighborhood and be out by herself. Then Mary took her upstairs for her bath and just as Jay figured, she would get off and he would be the one in trouble.
Pat looked over at Jay who was still sitting on the couch. "And you young man, what were you thinking taking off like that? As if one missing child wasn't enough?" He waited but Jay remained quiet. "I'm waiting," Pat urged.
"I knew where she was."
"You thought you knew and yes that is where she was, but what if she wasn't. What if the police didn't show up when they did and you were still wandering around Lincoln Park? And if you did manage to find her all on your own how would have gotten home?"
"I had money," Jay said reaching into his pockets and pulling out the change. "I would have found a pay phone and called you. It's not fair that I'm in trouble."
"What's not fair is that your mother and I had to go through what we did because of you and your sister."
"But she started it and I worked hard to find her."
"Yes you did, but you know better than to leave without us knowing where you are going. You should have told us what you discovered and we could have taken it from there."
"But you weren't here and Mom was busy."
"You could have waited."
"But nobody was paying attention to me."
"I'm paying attention to you now, and you aren't going to like it. I want you upstairs and in your room waiting for me."
"But it's not fair. Nessa blabs about dreams and Dorothy and you buy into like it's no big deal, but I help and I can in trouble for it."
"Nobody said your sister is getting off the hook. But your twelve son, she's only nine."
"Nine and a half," Jay corrected.
"Now is not the time to get an attitude with me. Upstairs. Now." Pat said pointing towards the stairs.
Jay got up and made his way to his bedroom, frustrated that once again he was in trouble while his sister was going to be treated like it was no big deal. He went to his room and took great care not to slam his door, even thought that was exactly what he wanted to do. He grabbed his latest Hardy Boy's book and flopped down on his bed. He tried to read, but kept going over the night. He would have found her eventually; the police only found her because of him, Officer Taylor even said so. He had money for a pay phone, he would have called home, he knew his number and his parents could have picked them up. But no, he is trouble because nobody would listen to him and little Miss Dorothy junior gets a bath and nice bedtime. Ugh!
He had no idea how much time had passed when Will came in. "Sounds like Dad's in with Nessa and she is not liking it much."
"For real?" Jay asked sitting up on his bed.
"Yeah, I mean she did take off. Dad isn't going to let that just slide even if she was spinning tales of good witches and magic."
"Think I'll still be in trouble?" Jay asked his big brother.
"Well duh. You took off without anyone knowing."
"But nobody was even paying attention."
"You could have at least left a note."
"I guess," Jay admitted.
"You did a good thing, figuring it all out and trying to protect her." Will said. "You were like a real detective."
"Yeah?" Jay asked sitting up straighter. "I just asked myself questions and tried to find answers."
"Well you did, you found her."
"What would have happened if I didn't? What if she spent the night at the park?"
"I don't know," Will admitted. "Just glad you found her."
"Yeah," Jay sighed just as Pat knocked and walked into the room.
Pat was saddened that his daughter's recent experience and subsequent punishment may have dimmed her imagination and carved out her belief in magic. Out of his three kids, she was the one that was the most creative, thought most outside the box. When she was younger she would put on little plays and dance recitals even though she had never had a dance class in her life, nor did she want one—too conventional for her taste.
He hated that she might lose even a tiny bit of that fun and inventive side of herself after this ordeal, but it was his job to protect his family and ensure his children not only knew the rules but faithfully followed them. Two of his kids just left the neighborhood as if it was no big deal and he couldn't have that. There was just too much wrong in the world to trust it with his kids. So if he had to be the bad guy, then so be it.
"Will, can you give us the room?" Pat asked. Will got up and gave Jay a supportive look as he exited. "So son, quite an adventure you and your sister had tonight."
"I guess."
"You guess huh? I had a long talk with your sister about what she did wrong and I believe that she understands that despite her beliefs what she did was very wrong."
"All you did was talk?" Jay said aghast.
"Jay, what happened between the two of us is her business, if she wants to share it then that is up to her. How would you like it if I shared your punishments?"
"She was punished though?"
"Son, she didn't get away with anything. She told me that she was starting to get scared while she was in the park and when she saw you—well she was very happy to see you."
"Really?"
"Really. Look, I'm proud of you and what you did."
"You are?" Jay questioned.
"Yes I am. You took the time to connect the dots, find clues and put it all together. You were a good big brother by wanting to find her."
"Yeah," Jay said, his confidence building.
"But you left the house without telling your mother where you were going. You got on the L without an adult and you had no idea where you were going."
"Lincoln Park."
"Which is a big neighborhood that you aren't familiar with. You didn't know where the park was or that your sister was really there. It was a blessing that those cops found you."
"That's why I want to be one when I grow up."
"It is an admirable occupation, but it can be a dangerous one as well."
"I can do it."
"I know you can. But police officers have to follow the rules and tonight you did not do that."
Jay shrugged. "I guess not."
"Even though it was for a good reason, you can't just do what you want and not expect consequences." Jay nodded. "You're grounded for a week and I want you to clean out all the garbage that I know you have shoved under your bed."
Jay waited for a second before he agreed, waiting for the rest of the punishment. "Hop off your bed and come here," Pat instructed and Jay took a breath, expecting no less, he walked to his father. But Pat took him into his arms. "You did a good job kid. But, do a good a job and follow the rules next time okay?"
"Okay," Jay replied, his voice muffled from speaking into Pat's chest.
"Okay then. This doesn't happen again right?"
"Right," Jay said.
Pat pulled him in a little tighter, never much of a hugger, especially towards his sons, Jay felt every inch of his father's arms holding him. Pat let go with one arm and his hand came crashing into Jay's backside, but despite the sting, it was somewhat halfhearted. "Okay, next time, I won't be so easy on you. Do you understand that?"
"I do." Jay said trying to hold in his emotions as he clung to his father.
Twenty years later***
"Can I help you?" Trudy asked the uniformed officer as he wandered into the district.
"I'm looking for Jay Halstead."
"Ah, I believe he's here right now. I'll buzz you up," she said nodding towards the stairs.
He went up and looked around at the hum of the Intelligence Unit. All were at work, some on the computers, others the phones, all conversing with one another. He knew of the unit and that it was considered to be elite. He was aware that they took charge of the worst offenders, the biggest cases, and had an extremely high solve rate. He continued to look around the room at the few officers in the room and found who he was looking for—or at least he thought he did.
"Jay Halstead?" He asked approaching the man.
"Yeah," the man looked up, an even expression on his face. "Can I help you?"
"You don't remember me. I'm getting ready to retire in a few months and I was going through some old notebooks and came across one from a while back. You were around twelve, I think. You were—"
"I do remember you!" Jay said, his face lighting up. "Give me second," Jay said as he searched the deep recesses of his brain. "Officer Taylor! You helped find my sister that night she ran off."
"Wow, what a great memory," Taylor said. "I made Sergeant a few years ago."
"That's great."
"Anyway, I found my notes about that night and on the off chance you actually did become a cop and stayed in the city, I checked the rosters and there you were, Detective Jay Halstead. I knew it was possible that it might not be you, but as soon as I saw you I knew you were the same kid."
"I am."
"You did well. Detective, elite unit."
"Thanks. I poured everything I had into it."
"How's your family? Your sister? You had a brother too? Parents?
"My mom passed a while back. My dad is fighting his mortality, too ornery to die. My brother became a doctor at Med and my sister; she's a first grade teacher in Bridgeport."
"It seems like a perfect job for her."
"She always liked the magic of childhood."
"All three of you still in the city, giving back. That's great. Well, I just wanted to stop by and say hello. I'm impressed that you remembered me."
"Remember you? You were the one that praised me, made me believe that I could actually achieve this. Sarge, I never forgot you. I can only hope that one day I can inspire another child in the way that you inspired me."
"It's all part of the job. One that I'm sure you are up for."
"I can only hope so." Jay said.
"Well I have no doubts Detective." He said as he put his hand on Jay's shoulder, seeing that eager twelve-year-old boy. "You've done great already." Then with a final nod, he turned and left.
Suddenly Jay felt the need to call his sister and talk about the old days, he couldn't help but smile as he dialed her number, picturing the park, her belief in magic and the bonding they shared after the ordeal was over. As Sergeant Taylor headed down the steps he heard Jay laugh several times and couldn't help but smile at the memory himself. Some days this job was worth all the heartache that you had to go through in order to get to the good moments. This had been one of those treasured moments.