Chapter 7 – Month 3
Hailey rolled onto her back. She flung an arm over her eyes and slowly opened them. Oh man, that hurts. She rubbed the back of her neck. Guess that's what I get for sleeping all night on the couch. This never happens when I lean on Jay's shoulder.
She sat up in a rush. Oh my God. Jay! I totally zoned out on him last night. She searched her mind to recall what they'd discussed. It was so brief, like all their communications these days.
Let's see, I told him about dinner and what Makayla said. Then I played dumb about his hoodie. But I like to think of it as "our" hoodie. Hmm. After that, not sure.
She slouched down into the couch and stared at the ceiling, sending a message out to the universe. Dammit. I'm sorry, Jay. Her heart ached for not making the most of their precious time. She hated not being able to talk to him whenever she felt like it. No looking up from her computer to give him a sweet smile; no back-and-forth banter in his truck as they drove around Chicago in search of bad guys.
Love you.
She was almost certain those were his last words right before she slipped over the edge. At least, she was going to hold onto that thought throughout this day and until his next call.
Hailey debated how to spend her day. Part of her wanted to go crawl in bed, pull the covers up and hibernate. However, her practical side said she should go for a run or to the gym, then hit the grocery store and do laundry. She sat there weighing the merits of each. Finally, with a sigh, she got to her feet and went in search of running clothes.
At the District – Monday Morning
Voight was already in his office when Hailey arrived. He had his phone to his ear, but seemed to be listening more than talking. Hailey booted up her computer. Fortunately, there were no urgent e-mails to answer. She looked over her desk. All paperwork was caught up, so there was nothing to do until they caught a case.
Finally, she heard Voight talking. "Understood. We'll get right on it." He pocketed the phone and came out into the bullpen.
"Morning, Sarge."
"Morning."
"Is there a case?" she asked.
Voight nodded. "There is. Best to wait until everyone is here. I hate repeating myself."
"Understood."
Voight stood there staring at her like he had more to say.
Hailey waited. When he didn't say anything, she asked, "Was there something else?"
"How are you, Hailey? I mean, really."
That's a good question. I can't admit that part of me is dead without Jay. I have to project strength. "I'm . . . coping. Jay called Saturday night. We didn't have much time, though."
"A little is better than nothing," said Voight.
The discussion was cut short since the rest of the team was now filing in. "Don't get too comfortable," said Voight. "We're heading out soon. Missing person, possible kidnapping."
Voight went to the whiteboard and wrote a name across the top. "Lamont Freeman, personal friend of the mayor. Owns Gold Coast Stamp and Coin. He failed to show up Saturday night for a grandchild's birthday party and the family can't reach him."
"Any ransom demands?" asked Kim.
"Nothing," said Voight. "He is a diabetic and the family is afraid he could have had a medical emergency and is unable to contact them."
"My uncle collects coins. He's mentioned this place," said Torres. "And I think there's more than one store."
"Okay, run Freeman's financials. See if he has any money problems or big debts. Burgess, Ruzek, check out the stores and see what you can dig up. Upton, you're with me. We'll talk to the mayor and then the family."
Torres' fingers were flying over the keyboard as the others departed. Several hours passed before they all returned. Torres had filled in a lot of info on the whiteboard.
"Take us through what you've got," said Voight.
"Okay. Lamont Richard Freeman, black male, age 57, divorced, 3 adult kids. Graduate of University of Illinois where he was in a fraternity. Likely met the mayor at that time. Oldest kid is a daughter, Jenelle, who's a pediatrician in Nashville. She was last in Chicago at Christmas. Sons Lamont, Jr. and Rahim help run the business. Freeman only has a couple years left on his home mortgage and an excellent credit score. Last month he applied for a loan at First Chicago National Bank in anticipation of buying out a competitor, Grabowski Coins and Gold. Owner is Jeffrey Grabowski, white male, age 72."
Adam took up the story. "Employees at the first store said there was a heated argument last month between Freeman and Grabowski over terms of the sale. Grabowski wanted more money than the price they'd originally agreed upon. One female employee said Grabowski mumbled something like, "You'll regret this," or "I'll make you regret this" when he stormed out of the store that day. They could see that he had a gun under his jacket and were afraid he might return and shoot up the place."
Hailey added what she and Voight had learned. "Both sons confirmed that their father was upset about the way this deal was going. Lamont, Jr. urged him to forget about it, said they were doing fine without taking on another store."
"Also, I checked with local hospitals. No one matching Freeman's description has been admitted," said Torres.
"So, let's get all we can on this Grabowski. Was he only blowing off steam? Is he capable of harming Freeman?"
"Or paying someone to do it," added Kim.
"Exactly," said Voight.
Torres' phone beeped with a text. "Med says a black male was brought in 20 minutes ago. He was found in an alley, severely beaten and stabbed, no ID."
"You and Hailey check it out," said Voight.
As Hailey and Torres approached Hailey's Jeep, Torres said, "I would offer to drive, but I only have a motorcycle. I did have a car, but it got jacked the week before I graduated the academy."
"That's a bummer," said Hailey.
"No shit. When the cops found it, it was nothing but a burned-out carcass."
"Carcass? Like vultures had picked over it?"
"Exactly like that. But I'll get another one." He paused. "Or we could take the bike."
Hailey laughed as she cranked the Jeep. "Yeah, don't think Voight would go for that. Plus, how would we do surveillance? We'd look like paparazzi hunting celebrities."
"Okay, you got me there," laughed Torres.
"No worries. I've gotten used to driving again since Jay's been gone. He has this huge truck and drove most of the time."
At Med
"See that guy at the desk?" asked Hailey.
"Yeah. What about him?"
"Good contact to have here. Will Halstead."
Torres looked sharply at her. "Halstead?"
"My brother-in-law. Come on, I'll introduce you."
"Will," she called out.
He glanced up from his tablet and smiled. "Hailey. How are you?"
"Good. This is Dante Torres."
Torres stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Dr. Halstead."
"Likewise. But we're pretty informal here. Just call me Will."
"Copy," nodded Torres. "We're here about the John Doe."
Will turned his head to a room behind him. "He was barely conscious when he came in. Now he's slipped into unconsciousness."
"Could this be him?" Hailey held up her phone with a picture of Freeman at a family gathering.
Will studied it for a few moments. "I don't think so. Do you have any medical history for your guy?"
"The family said he had an insulin pump. Also, open heart surgery five years ago."
"It's not him. There's no pump and no scarring to suggest heart surgery. Sorry."
"Okay," said Hailey.
Will studied his sister-in-law. Her outward appearance was the same. But anyone who knew her well could detect the sadness in her eyes. Will missed his brother, but he knew it was much worse for Hailey.
"Hailey, are you good? Have you heard from Jay?"
Sensing they needed a minute, Torres said, "I'll let Voight know." He moved a few feet away.
"I'm hanging in there, you know. What else can I do?"
Will touched her arm. "I know."
"Jay called this weekend. He sounded strong, like himself. We were even joking around." She stopped to get a grip. "But I was tired and fell asleep in the middle of our conversation. I felt so stupid."
"He understands. He won't hold that against you."
Hailey drew in a deep breath. "It's just that I never know when he will call or how long we have. Ugh." She wiped at a tear that was threatening to roll down her cheek.
Will shook his head and frowned. "If he was here right now, I'd probably punch him for running off and abandoning you."
Hailey managed a small smile. "You might want to think twice about that since you're a surgeon."
Back at the District – 7:50 p.m.
Hailey sighed as she made some notations about today's case. They'd chased down every lead, but still had not found Lamont Freeman. We're missing something. What is it? She rubbed her eyes. Why isn't Jay here to bounce ideas around?
Voight turned off his office lamp and grabbed his jacket. He stopped in front of her desk as he shrugged into it.
"Don't stay here all night, Hailey. Go home. You're no good to anyone if you're dead on your feet."
"Five more minutes. I promise."
He nodded. "Very well."
The gate clanged behind him and Hailey was alone. She got up and went to the break room to dump her now cold mug of coffee. Her eyes were tired, her head was hurting and she was hungry. She rinsed her mug and hung it up.
I'll check e-mail one last time.
There were some normal work e-mails, but nothing that couldn't wait. Then one jumped out at her:
Sexy little blonde cop working late 2night
The CPD firewall was pretty good, but occasionally some spam got through. Of course, she didn't open it, but noted the time it was sent: 10 minutes ago.
Right after Voight left. What the hell? Did we stir up some hornet's nest today?
Hailey wasn't exactly scared. It was more a sense of unease. She'd been threatened and stalked before. It went with the job. Suddenly, her desk phone rang. The caller ID said Unknown Number.
It was still ringing when Hailey descended the stairs to the front desk. Now she was pissed. She'd have to take a long, circuitous route home to see if she was being followed.