Chapter 3

Voight ended the conversation and called Hailey back into his office. "Close the door."

Now what? She could tell this was going to be something heavy. Just put it out there so we can get on with this day.

"Hailey, what happened with Jay, what happened with Roy . . . those things were unfortunate. They're not situations we could have ever imagined ourselves being in. But we have to put all that behind us."

Hailey could hardly believe what she was hearing. "Unfortunate? Unfortunate? Not the word I would have used. Because of these unfortunate situations as you say, my partner, my husband, had to leave. He felt there was no other way. Your actions forced him into it." Her voice rose with each word she spat out.

Voight got up and came to stand in front of her. "Hailey, calm down. You're right." He sighed and ran a hand down his face. "I don't know how everything got so screwed up. But one thing I do know is that we – you and I – have to get on the same page. Otherwise, this unit won't survive. Can we agree to that?"

He paused as he tried to gather his thoughts. "Or I can make a call and you can transfer back to Robbery-Homicide or whatever unit you want. You can write your own ticket. I'll give you an outstanding recommendation." He was afraid Hailey just might take him up on the offer. What in the world would he do then?

Hailey sucked in a breath. She felt her cheeks heating up. "Is that a threat? Are you trying to get rid of me?"

Voight shook his head. "I'm just giving you options. Bottom line, I need your help, Hailey. Jay was my right-hand man. Now he's not here. But I need to know if you're with me or not. Like I've said before, there's no halfway in this job."

Hailey stared at him for a long moment, stunned by his words. She did not want to go to another unit. She liked the team here and the cases Intelligence worked. But she knew she could never completely trust Voight again. Those days were gone. Perhaps when Jay returned, she would consider a change.

Hell, maybe I'll join the Army and go with him. Or maybe we'll move somewhere and start over.

At last, she spoke. "I'm going to say this once, and only once. I will take all our dirty little secrets to the grave. But if you ever put me in a compromising situation again or try to screw me over, I will walk." She pointed behind her. "I will be out that door so fast it'll be like a whirlwind hit you." She stopped to let her words sink in. "Do you understand where I'm coming from?" Her grim expression dared him to object.

Finally, he said, "Fair enough."

Hailey gave a brief nod and walked out. She sat down at her desk and rubbed her forehead. A headache had sprung up and it was only 7:45 a.m. Torres was making coffee in the break room, something she'd forgotten to do. She wondered how much of their "discussion" he'd overheard.

Probably wants to avoid the drama. Can't blame him. Does he have any idea about Voight's reputation?

Torres returned from the break room. He hesitated a second before he pulled out Jay's chair and sat. "Coffee will be ready in a minute." It was almost like he thought Jay's space was cursed or contaminated.

"Thanks."

"Everything okay with you and Voight?" he asked quietly.

Hailey glanced at the office. Voight was on the phone again. "Yeah. We had some, uh, unfinished business to clear up."

Torres nodded, but said no more. Hailey liked that he was supportive, but not intrusive.

Voices were heard coming up the stairs. The rest of the team trooped in with loud talking and laughter. Naturally, Adam was responsible for the elevated decibel level.

Eventually, they settled down to work on old paperwork while, at the same time, hoping and praying a new case would fall into their laps. No one liked being stuck at a desk all day.

The day turned out to be one of their rare totally quiet ones. Apparently, crime was taking a day off. That was almost unheard of in Chicago. The upside was that all paperwork and filing was caught up by day's end. They even went home earlier than usual.

Hailey wasn't sure if this was good or bad. The thought of the long evening before her without Jay was daunting. Must. Keep. Busy. Determined to make that her new mantra, she changed into her running clothes and left the apartment.

An hour later, she was back. She sorted through the mail, finished some leftovers and emptied the dishwasher. During the day, she managed to tamp down her worries for Jay and his men by sheer willpower. Now that she was alone, it all rose to the surface.

What kind of mission is it? Where is it? Do they have enough ammo and supplies? Who's watching his back? When will I hear from him again?

She flopped on her back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. Oh, Jay. I hope you find what you're looking for down there.

Suddenly, an idea came to her. Something tangible she could do each day to help her cope. She sat up. Where did I put it? Maybe I threw it out. She went into the kitchen and rooted through the junk drawer. Jay always complained about this drawer and said they should clear it out. She countered by saying everyone had a junk drawer somewhere in their house.

It wasn't went to the bedroom and checked their bedside tables. Of course, it wasn't in Jay's. No, his only had his dress watch and a small photo album from childhood. But she found it in hers. A grid calendar. From the credit union where they'd first run into each other on a case. The one where she'd ripped into the legendary Hank Voight about that being her crime scene.

How ironic. She shook her head at the memory. After they got married, they went back there and opened a joint account, hence the calendar.

I'll put it in the kitchen and mark off each day until Jay comes back to me. Some people might find that silly or useless, but she knew it would give her one small thing to look forward to each night.

There was a red Sharpie in the junk drawer. Not sure why we have that. She shrugged and stuck the calendar to the front of the fridge with a magnet. Then she triumphantly made a big "X" on today's square.

One day down in Month 1. She stared at the square as if she could see all the way to Bolivia.

Finally, she turned off the light and went to the bathroom. She took a quick shower and again pulled Jay's tee shirt over her head.