Chapter 12
Hailey and Dante slid into a parking spot across and up the street from the last known address of Sergei Zhurov. A birthday party was in full swing as evidenced by the balloons and "Happy Birthday" banner festooning the front porch.
Dante checked his laptop. "Guess what? It's Zhurov's 35th birthday."
Hailey grunted and took a swig of her coffee. "If he's the one behind those emails, I want this to be his last birthday as a free man."
They snapped photos as guests milled around and ran them through facial recognition. As cars arrived or departed, they checked the plates. One hour ticked by, then another.
"All these are relatives or known associates," said Dante as he looked up from the laptop. "Anybody jump out?"
"Unfortunately, no."
A stretch limo pulled up in front of the house. Three young women emerged and stood uncertainly on the sidewalk as the limo rolled away. One tugged at the hem of her leather mini skirt as if embarrassed. A drunken man yelled from the front porch and waved a hand. "Ladies, ladies. Come in. We've been waiting for you."
Dante's fingers typed rapidly. "Limo's registered to Windy City Dates."
"Escorts," said Hailey. The clock on the dash showed they had now entered the third hour of surveillance. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "We didn't learn anything new tonight. Let's go home."
"You sure? I don't mind staying longer," said Dante.
"I'm sure, but I appreciate the offer. I have to re-qualify with my weapon tomorrow, well, it's already tomorrow. I need a few hours of sleep. Have to beat Jay's record again."
Dante gave a little smile. "Absolutely."
They reached Dante's quiet street twenty minutes later. As they idled in front of his mom's house, Hailey turned in her seat. "Question."
"Go on," nodded Dante.
"Who did your ink?"
Dante tensed. He couldn't have imagined when he got all his tattoos how it would come back to bite him. Should have just gotten a MOM tat.
"I know this gang shit has been a problem and I'm . . ."
Hailey interrupted him. "It's not that. I, uh, I want to get a tattoo."
That was not what the young officer expected to hear. "Oh." His eyebrows rose.
"Since Jay's been in Bolivia, I've thought about it a lot. I want something to remind me of him. Something that's always with me."
"Like the calendar?" The words slipped out before Dante had time to think about it. He had no idea how Hailey would react. I hope she's not upset.
She nodded slowly. "Yeah, the calendar."
"I noticed it the night you showed me the emails. At first, I didn't understand." Neither spoke for a long moment. Finally, the silence was broken by Dante softly saying, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned it."
Hailey stared out the dark window over his shoulder. "No, no. It's fine. Every night I mark off a day and know that I'm getting closer to his return." She chewed her bottom lip and willed herself not to tear up.
"If that helps you cope, keep doing it," urged Dante. Anxious to change the subject he said, "When do you want to get inked? Do you know what you want?"
Hailey drew in a big breath, then exhaled. "Yeah. I'll show you." She opened the center console and found a small spiral notebook and pen. She quickly sketched her design and handed it over. "See, very simple."
The dashboard lighting was enough for him to see it. "Sure. This won't take long. When do you want to get it?"
"Soon."
"Is tonight too soon? I could take you to my shop and introduce you to Rudy."
He hesitated. Even though he was getting to know Hailey better, he couldn't assume anything. "That is, if you want to."
"On a Friday night? Surely you have a date or a party to go to," teased Hailey. "Besides, you've already spent one night with me."
Dante knew that a girl he'd dated a few times was seeing another guy on the side. He could stew about that while sitting on his mom's sofa with the TV blaring or he could help Hailey get a tat. It was a no-brainer.
"We can't let that get back to the District. People talk. What if Platt got wind of it?" A little grin crept onto his face.
Hailey laughed. "Ah, Trudy. Nothing gets past our desk sergeant."
"But that's a good thing. She's like, I don't know, Darth Vader when she's behind her counter."
Hailey threw her head back and laughed. "Darth Vader. Good one. That's probably one of the nicer things she's been called over the years. One day, some Girl Scouts came to the 21st. A day shift patrol officer tried to get rid of them. But Trudy was not having it. She refused to let the entire day shift leave until they all agreed to buy at least one box of cookies from the Scouts."
"For real?"
"Oh yeah, for real."
Hailey raised a hand to cover her mouth as she yawned. "Sorry. Okay, if you're sure, go ahead and make an appointment. Or whatever you do at a tattoo parlor. Is it like making a hair or nail appointment?"
Dante smirked. "Something like that. It might even be hair-raising."
7:30 PM
Dante and Hailey stood outside Black Dragon Tattoos and Piercings. "This is it?" asked Hailey. The exterior of the shop and indeed the whole block looked rather sketchy.
"Yep. Rudy'll get you fixed up. Best in the business. Unless you're having second thoughts."
"They do sterilize the equipment here, right?"
"Come on, Hailey. The health department would shut them down if they didn't. Doesn't Jay have at least one?"
Hailey gave him an incredulous look. "Are you kidding? The man is terrified of needles. You can't imagine the drama when it's time for flu shots. I have to go with him to the clinic and hold his hand. He's worse than a little kid. I'm surprised the nurse doesn't give him an all-day sucker when it's over."
"Halstead afraid of needles." Dante laughed. "I'm gonna remember this for the future."
"But I'm not afraid of them," declared Hailey. "Let's do this. But not in the front window like those guys." Two burly men – they might be truck drivers or Hell's Angels - were getting inked in full view of folks walking past.
"Don't worry. I told Rudy you'd want some privacy."
As they entered the shop, a tiny bell tinkled above their heads. It seemed too delicate a sound for this testosterone-infused environment. A grungy-looking man perched on a stool behind the counter at the back of the room. A stack of comic books sat by his right arm.
"Hey, Frank. We're here to see Rudy," said Dante.
The man nodded and took a moment to study Hailey. "This your new girlfriend, Torres?"
Hailey stared back at Frank with a blank expression. "A friend."
"Sure. Hang on." The guy slid off the stool and disappeared behind a black curtain. Ten seconds later, he reappeared. "Rudy went down to the diner. But you can go on back and wait."
"Thanks," said Dante as he held the curtain aside for Hailey.
"Oh, my word," she exclaimed. The room was decorated in pink and purple with a spotless floor and gleaming equipment. A vase of fresh flowers stood on a table in one corner along with a framed picture of the Pope. "This is . . . different."
"Wait until you meet Rudy," said Dante with a smirk.
"Can't wait."
The back door opened and Rudy breezed in. Hailey bit back a smile. Here was an Hispanic version of Dolly Partin. Big hair, big boobs, but wearing Nikes instead of high heels. She stuck out her hand. "You must be Hailey. I'm Rudy. Actually, it's Rudeen, but I never liked that name."
"Nice to meet you," said Hailey.
"I'm not what you expected, am I?" asked Rudy.
"Well . . . no. I thought Rudy was a man." She glanced at Dante. "He tricked me."
Both Rudy and Dante laughed, then Hailey joined them.
"This was my husband's business and I was the bookkeeper. He died in a car crash many years ago and left me with three kids to raise. I always liked drawing and painting, so I decided to become a tattoo artist."
"Good for you," said Hailey.
"I've done all right here." She paused as if remembering. "Well, sit down and we'll get started. I understand you have your own design."
"That's right." Hailey produced a folded piece of paper from her jacket pocket.
Rudy plucked her glasses from the top of her head. "Okay, I'm guessing the H is you and the J . . ."
"My husband. He's deployed right now."
"I know what it's like to miss someone, too. My oldest boy left for boot camp two weeks ago."
Starting to get emotional, Hailey could only nod.
Rudy went over to the sink, washed her hands and donned sterile gloves. "Do you want any part of it in color?"
"Basic black is fine," said Hailey.
"And where are we putting this?"
"I'm left-handed and I know it'll be sore for a while. What about the inside of my right arm?"
"Perfect," said Rudy.
Dante sat beside Hailey and watched her face as she intently analyzed Rudy's every move. While Hailey was a strong, brave woman, Dante worried that the initial pricks might come as a shock.
He was right. She flinched a couple times as Rudy was getting started. "Sorry," she said breathlessly. "I didn't mess up anything, did I?"
"No, dear. The first tattoo is always a bit intimidating. Like having that first baby."
"Hailey, just breathe," said Dante quietly. He lightly touched her left arm. "Can you picture Jay doing this?"
"Not in a million years."
Almost before Hailey knew it, the tattoo was finished. She looked at her arm.
J + H
Forever
Rudy had gone to the front desk for a copy of the aftercare instructions and a tube of ointment.
"What do you think?" she asked Dante.
"It's good. Simple, but good. Jay will like it."
Rudy returned and put a sterile dressing on Hailey's arm. "If you have any problems, give me a call. Number's on the bottom there."
"Thank you. I love it."
"And let me know when you're ready for another one!" laughed Rudy. "Or if you want a piercing, see Frank."
"I'll do that," said Hailey. Not.
When they back out on the sidewalk, Hailey asked, "Would you let Frank give you a piercing?"
Dante could see Frank moving around inside the store. "Hell, no. He looks like a zombie."
"And smells like one, too," added Hailey. They both burst out laughing.
After they calmed down, Dante asked, "Want to grab a bite at that diner?"
"Sure. I'm running on empty."
After finishing burgers and fries, they lingered to talk. "I have a confession. I was a teeny bit nervous about this. It was a little more involved than a flu shot, so I'm glad you were with me."
Dante seemed pleased with that. "I should have told you about Rudy. But I wanted to see the look on your face. And it was priceless."
The waitress came by and refilled their sodas. As she moved away, Dante said, "How was the re-qual today? Did you beat Jay's score again?"
"Do you have to ask? Of course, I did." She pulled out her phone and showed him a picture of her target. "But Jay will try to say it's the target of the person next to me."
As they left the diner, Hailey said, "Thank you for helping me spy on Zhurov and for this." She looked at her right arm and ran her fingers over the dressing. "It's stinging."
"That's normal. It'll be better in a few days."
They said goodnight, but as Hailey was about to get in her car, Dante called out. "Hey, don't do anything stupid. About Zhurov, I mean."
"Shouldn't I be giving you that warning as your training officer?"
"Maybe both of us should agree not to be stupid," said Dante.
Hailey gave a brief nod, got in her car and drove off. When she entered the apartment, her eyes automatically went to the fridge calendar. She realized they were already into the fifth month of Jay's deployment. She grabbed the red Sharpie and crossed off another day.
When Dante got home, he remembered his mom was playing bridge at her sister's house. She'd probably spend the night there, too. He flopped down on the couch and found a soccer game on TV. But he was unable to concentrate on the game because of an unsettling and unprofessional thought.
He wished Hailey was not married.
He wished Hailey was not his training officer.