Walking down the hallway, Jay and Erin immediately saw Voight and Antonio in one of the offices looking through boxes of files.
"Hey", Voight called out to them as they entered the office where John Henderson's co-workers had set them up.
"What did they have to say", he asked watching Erin begin to delve into a box of files and Jay look at the ones already on the table.
"The wife is distraught. She thinks that someone who her husband prosecuted and has been released is behind this", Erin explained.
"John Henderson is just in denial. He didn't have much to say about who he thought did it", Jay added.
"You think he's a possible suspect", Antonio asked.
"He gave us access to his files. There's no way he would plan something like this", Jay said.
"Did the wife say anything about who she thought it could be", Voight asked.
"She just said something about threatening phone calls, emails, letters etc.", Erin answered.
"So, we search for files containing records of threatening notes sent to the Henderson's household", Voight explained. "Antonio and Halstead. Go talk to the secretary. See if she has any notes that were delivered to his office", he requested.
Antonio looked over at Jay, who picked up on his non-verbal cue to leave the office. As soon as they stepped out, Antonio looked over at Jay, "How's Erin", he asked.
"Uh, she's doing okay. She wants this to lead to Mia. She never gave up hope, Antonio", Jay explained.
"Would you have", Antonio asked.
"I haven't", Jay immediately answered. Antonio was well aware of Jay's feelings for Erin, even if he had never actually told him. He had seen the spark in his eyes the second he brought him up to Intelligence and he met Erin.
As the approached the main desk, Antonio politely gave a smile to the secretary who sat behind the desk.
"How can I help you detectives", she asked giving them each a smile.
"Is there anyway your office has kept threatening letters towards Mr. Henderson in a place separate than his files", Jay asked.
"Yes. There are quite a few. Being a DA with the highest conviction rate does not get you many friends in this city", the woman lightly joked as she brought Antonio and Jay over to a small room.
xxx
Hank looked towards Erin and watched as she vigorously looked through each of the files. He knew this case would weigh heavily on her mind until they actually solved it. Hank also knew that questioning her about it was not always the best thing. But, seeing her like this, anxious and impulsive, made Hank worry more than he had ever been before.
All of a sudden, he heard Erin sigh as she set aside yet another file in the stack determined to be full of cases who were not yet paroled or showed no sign of being a threat to the Henderson family.
"You okay, kid", he finally asked.
"Yeah", she nodded looking up at him, giving a weak smile. Before Voight got to say anything further, he watched as Erin picked up a file, studying it more carefully than the others previously.
"Have you looked at this", she asked handing it over to him.
Voight took the file from her hands and repeated her pattern of carefully studying it. "He threatened John Henderson in open court. Screaming things about his family and how he would get revenge", Erin explained.
"Charged with assault and possession of a deadly weapon. Not exactly the serial killer we were looking for", Voight commented.
"Hey, I think we got something", Jay's voice suddenly called out as he and Antonio returned with a box full of letters.
"The same guy has written letters from prison and called this office multiple times after he was paroled a couple months ago", Antonio explained.
Erin and Voight walked towards the box and examined each letter and phone records the DA's office had so easily put together.
"The guy's name is Jason Clark and this whole box is dedicated to just him", Jay explained.
Erin looked towards Voight as she picked up the file and laid it down on top of the box of explicit letters. "This could be our guy", she said looking around at her team.
Taking out his phone, Voight quickly dispatched Ruzek and Olinsky who were looking through records at the precinct. "Olinsky. Ruzek. We are looking for a Jason Clark. Let's get a ping on his phone and search for any last known location", he requested.
"We're on it boss", Ruzek answered over the speakerphone.
"Let's head back to the district. Draw up a board, figure out our next move", Dawson requested.
Halstead and Lindsay nodded in agreement as they left the office heading back over to where they had parked their car. As soon as they were inside, Erin turned to Halstead asking him the question that had been nagging on her mind.
"You know I can do this, right", she asked wanting his honest opinion.
"Of course, I know you can do this", he said in almost a laughing matter. Erin Lindsay was one of the strongest cops he knew. She could handle almost anything.
"Because I don't want Voight and everyone else thinking that just because this is an abduction case with similar patterns as Mia's case that I can't handle it", Erin explained.
"What made you think that", Jay asked curiously.
"I don't know. There's just a lot going on in my head right now", she stated before starting the car and driving off.
Just as they were getting closer to the precinct, not another word being said about Erin's earlier comment, Jay found the right way to end the conversation Erin had thought ended.
"As long as you believe you can do this, I will back you up 110 percent", he explained.
Erin turned her head slightly as they pulled into the district, giving him a light hearted smile. "Thanks", she answered.
"That's why you have such a trusty house husband like me", Jay joked giving her a smile as she parked the car.
Leaning over to slap him on the shoulder, Jay pretended to wince in pain. "Come on, Halstead, my trusty house husband, we have a case solve", she joked climbing out of the car with Jay on her heels.
Upon entering the district, Platt immediately made eye contact with the two detectives. "Lindsay, I've got a package for you", she said holding up a manilla folder in her hands.
Erin looked towards Jay, who had just as a confused look on his face as she did on hers.
"Thanks Platt", she said approaching the Sergeant's desk and taking the large envelope from her.
Jay had already opened up the gate as she met him back up on the steps. "Say who it's from", he asked.
"Well, aren't you nosey", she teased.
"What?! I'm just curious. You looked pretty surprised to get the package", Jay defended himself.
Erin rolled his eyes at her as they walked up to the main unit. "Whatever, Halstead. And for your information it does not have a return address. Maybe it's on the inside", she explained upon entering the unit.
"Jason Clark", Voight's voice boomed towards the detectives as they took their perspective seats.
"As Lindsay, Halstead, Antonio and I discovered as a slightly impressive record and has dealt with the Henderson's in the past", he continued.
"What kind of record are we talking about", Olinsky asked.
"Small things. Possession of a deadly weapon and a couple assault charges", Jay explained.
"The last assault charge was what put him over the edge though", Erin said as she stood and put pictures up on the whiteboard where Voight had already stuck a picture of their suspect on the board.
"He almost killed his last victim, which was why charges were filed and a court date was set", she explained.
"And in he threatened John Henderson and his family in open court", Ruzek asked.
"Along with letters and strange phone calls. He didn't exactly let up when he got paroled either", Antonio added.
"The ping on his phone", Voight asked openly.
"Nothing recently. He stopped using it around the time he was paroled. So, we can assume he is using a throw away phone", Ruzek explained.
"We do have an address though", Olinsky added.
"Alright, go check it out. Everyone else see if there are any CI's who have had contact with this guy", Voight explained as he went back into his office.
As Ruzek and Olinsky grabbed their jackets and left, Erin looked up towards Jay's desk and saw him pick up his phone. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted, Antonio do the same thing.
Looking down at the manilla envelope, Platt had given her, Erin figured this was the perfect time to open it. Thinking of all the things she could have ordered or sometime of paperwork she could have missed. Did she forget to pay for her apartment? Mia's renewal forms for life insurance?
Opening up the envelope, Erin was surprised to not see a stack of papers like she expected. There was one picture laying in the envelope, a sticky note attached to it. Pulling it out, she revealed a black and white picture of kids. Kids, sitting in a circle in a close quartered room. There had to be at least twenty kids huddled in that room. But, there was one child circled several times with red sharpie. Next to it laid a stickie note with the words, "Where's Mia", written on it.
Erin's heart skipped a beat as she looked at the child circled. It was a little girl who looked like she had just gotten done crying. Her hair fell almost to her shoulders and there was one thing she resembled Erin never thought she would see again.
"Mommy", a three year old Mia whispered as she entered Erin's dark bedroom.
Climbing up on the bed, Mia continued to be persistent about waking her mother, "Mommy, are you awake", she whispered now gently tapping her.
Rolling over, half awake, Erin took in the sight of her daughter kneeling on her bed. "What's wrong little M", she asked gently.
"I had a bad dream", Mia explained her breath getting hitched in her throat as she choked back a sob.
Erin immediately sat up as she heard Mia begin to lightly cry, "Hey", she said gently wrapping her arms around her small toddler as she cried.
Gently stroking her hair, Erin began to hear Mia's sobs subside. "What was the dream about sweetie", Erin asked lifting Mia's head from her chest.
Mia looked up at her mother, her eyes a little swell from crying and her lip still pouting. "There were monsters and I couldn't get away. They were really big too. Like dinosaurs", Mia explained.
Erin swiped away her tears as Mia calmed down a little bit, "Do you want to sleep with me tonight", she asked already knowing the answer.
Mia pouted her lip gently, giving her best puppy dog eyes which she knew her mother could not resist.
"Come here", Erin stated opening up her covers as Mia cuddled into Erin before falling fast asleep in her mother's arms.
The pouty lip. Erin would recognize that look anywhere. It was how Mia got her way in any situation. That was her little girl in that picture.
"Erin", Jay's voice suddenly asked snapping Erin away from her thoughts.
"Yeah", she said shoving the picture back in the envelope as she looked up at her partner.
"My CI has a hint on Clark for us", Jay repeated figuring she didn't hear him the first time.
"Alright let's hit it", Erin said shoving the envelope in the bottom drawer of her desk, mentally reminding herself to ask Platt who delivered it later.
A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'm starting to highlight on a little bit more of Erin with Mia and possibly some Linstead. So, review with any comments or things you would like to see :)