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Thankfully the afternoon had turned out to be a huge success. Jay went to the main office of their current building and found that a two bedroom apartment would be available just three floors up in less than a month. That would be easy enough to move, and he could enlist the help of Kevin and Adam in exchange for some pizza and beers. He was already counting down the days to when he could have sex privately again. Until then, they agreed that her place was their best option.

That evening, Jay was back at the apartment, frying up some steaks for dinner to make amends after today's horrific events. Erin had recently left as she didn't want to be there when Alex got back - she wanted to avoid the awkwardness like the plague and thankfully she could do just that. She'd meet Alex another time under much better circumstances.

After Jay flipped a steak on the George Foreman grill, he pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Alex.

Dinner in 30min. Come back so we can talk.

He put his phone back down and swore that he could hear her groan in annoyance at his text. Within five seconds, his phone started ringing. Assuming it was Alex calling to give some excuse as to why she'd be late, he answered immediately while flipping the other steak.

"Yeah?"

"So tell me, Jay, how are things going," came the rough voice on the other end that Jay instantly recognized as his father's. What the hell was he doing with Alex's phone? He pulled the screen away and cursed when he saw its contents - his dad had called him. It wasn't Alex. He'd never make this mistake again of answering without looking closely.

"What do you want," Jay demanded with little emotion.

The sound of Pat taking another swig of beer didn't go unnoticed. "Oh just checking in. I've heard you're having a hard time keeping tabs on the brat."

Well that was unexpected, and it took all his mental strength to not give in to the clear bait and mind games. "Things are just fine."

"Sure they are. If 'fine' means she's skipping school again." That announcement had Jay confused - was his dad trying to mess with him? He wouldn't put it past the old man. When Jay didn't reply, Pat decided to continue. "School called to tell me she was out all afternoon and asked for a reason 'cause she didn't sign out."

Jay put down the tongs and leaned against the counter. If this was true, then it made more sense why she showed up so unexpectedly this afternoon. A part of him didn't want to believe it because their dad was a dick. But deep down, he knew his dad had no reason to lie about something so specific, and Jay wasn't one to believe in coincidences.

"What did you tell them?" Jay pried without confirming or denying that Alex had skipped.

"What do you think?! I told them to leave me the fuck alone and start calling you with her problems moving forward."

Well, Jay could now check updating contact information at the school off his list. There was a silver lining in this call after all.

Jay was tempted to ask Pat what he meant about her skipping again - he desperately craved any actual details he could get about his sister, but he'd be damned if he asked his dad for anything. He'd have to find out another way. Not wanting this conversation to last a second longer than it needed to, Jay quickly replied, "Good. Glad they'll call me now. I'm working a case, gotta go." He waited a few moments to give him a last chance to reply.

"Guess she ain't as easy to take care of like you thought, huh?" There was clear malicious gloating in his voice as he took another swig of beer. "Better keep an eye on your wallet, boy."

Now that comment piqued his interest - what the hell was that supposed to mean? Was that drunk Pat running his mouth? Or was there truly way more to the story? Before he had a chance to decide if he wanted to pry for more information, Pat abruptly hung up the phone with not so much as a goodbye.

Reflexively, Jay put his phone down and pulled out his wallet, quickly sorting through its contents with his fingers - driver's license, credit card, debit card, a few detective business cards, and a wad of cash. Nothing seemed out of place nor like anything his sister would want except maybe money…but it really didn't make sense. It wasn't like she'd steal from anyone…right? He hated himself for second guessing his sister's integrity, but the small voice in the back of his mind was starting to get louder. He replaced his wallet in his back pocket and tried to shake off the feeling that his dad's words were some kind of warning. He made a mental note to check in with her about money and allowances to make sure she had everything she needed. That would reassure him that she wouldn't steal anything.

Alex had spent most of her afternoon at Grant park, lying under a tree switching between studying her notes and scrolling Instagram. It was the best of both worlds. Once she'd received Jay's text, she begrudgingly made her way back to the apartment, knowing she didn't have any other option.

The Halstead siblings had mainly eaten their dinner in silence, neither wanting to break the thick tension that filled the room from the events earlier in the day. It was as if acknowledging each other's presence meant that they'd have to recognize what happened.

Jay took another bite of steak and decided to suck it up. He was the adult in this situation after all. "So we'll be moving into a two bedroom a few floors up next month."

Alex's shoulders visibly relaxed at the welcomed news. Not only would she never have to walk in on her brother having sex again but she could also have more privacy herself. "Two bathrooms?" She looked up with hope in her eyes.

"I'm a detective, not a millionaire," he retorted.

She flashed an apologetic grin. Hey, it didn't hurt to ask. She knew full well that she was freeloading off her brother now instead of her dad, and for the briefest of moments, she felt guilty about not contributing, but that quickly disappeared. "Maybe next time then," she commented while shoving a huge bite of baked potato in.

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment before Jay decided to start his investigation. "So an early dismissal today. What was that about?" He kept his voice as nonchalant as possible. Years of undercover work made it easy.

Alex took her time swallowing to come up with an answer. She shrugged like all teenagers do. "I think some professional development crap for teachers or whatever."

The lie rolled off her tongue as smooth as butter. Honestly, if Jay hadn't already had a reason to be suspicious, he would have believed her. She was damn good at lying, and it was starting to put him on edge a bit.

"Ah, I see," Jay replied calmly, making no indication of what had just flashed through his mind. He took a sip of his beer without taking his gaze off his sister. Maybe if he put a moment of heat on her, he could smoke out the lie.

The thought never even crossed her mind that Jay asked that question to catch her in a lie. His stare didn't faze her one bit. "Yeah, happens like once a semester or something like that."

Jay nodded. "Got it." He'd be printing the school calendar tomorrow and pasting it on the fridge for sure. He decided to tackle one other topic while they were chatting to see if any answers would come out. "So about money. How did Dad handle that?"

For the briefest of seconds, Alex squirmed in her seat before regaining full composure. "What do you mean?"

There it was - a clear indication that Pat had been giving a real clue. And that was all the confirmation Jay needed right now to know that there was something deeper going on. "Did you get an allowance or…?

Relieved that it was only about that, the color returned to her face. "Yeah, an allowance. Money for the train, lunches, and some spending cash for when I go out with friends," she answered truthfully.

"Got it. Why don't you write out a monthly budget, and I'll make sure you have what you need."

Alex looked up at him with a typical teenage bitch face. "A budget?"

"Yeah, it's a thing adults do, so call it a lesson in life skills." He shoved another bite of steak in his mouth with a grin.

He was only met with a pair of rolling eyes. "Whatever," she replied in true Alex fashion.

Jay didn't press the conversation more as he had all the information he needed right now. If he continued prying, he risked her becoming suspicious and shutting down to dig herself deeper in a web of lies. His gut told him that there was something else larger at play here - not just a random afternoon of skipping school or issues with money. This mixed with her flinching recently during their argument and their father's cryptic warning was starting to slowly paint a picture of his sister's life that he'd never known. There were just a few key pieces missing on the canvas, and if there was one thing that Jay Halstead was good at - it was getting to the bottom of a mystery.