Chicago PD: Hank Voight's Forbidden Love

Connecting the Dots

"Your philosophy class?  You gotta be kiddin'," Voight said incredulously. "You just got outta the hospital. And given what's happened you can certainly miss one day of philosophy!"

"Listen to me, Hank, I'm going to take a shower, get dressed, and go to school. I'll be okay. If I stay around here all day I'll lose my friggin' mind. Trust me, this is the best thing."

Voight backed off and didn't argue with her any further. Maybe she was right, he thought. Being walled up in the house all day wouldn't be good for her. But he was surprised by her behavior. When Mike and her friends were killed she stayed in bed for weeks without eating, showering, or getting dressed. He practically had to drag her out of bed to bring her back to the land of the living. But this time she was different, almost robotic. She had yet to even mention Mark's name, and while that made him uneasy, he decided to let it go, at least for now. Maybe she was still in shock as Dr. Charles had suggested. 
                            ———————-
After Elena left for school Voight drove to the district. The Unit was working on a case out in the field and would be gone for several hours.  When he arrived Trudy informed him that he had a visitor waiting for him in his office, Lieutenant Bryan Draper, head of the Homicide Unit, which surprised him.  Why would Draper be making a personal call?

When Voight got upstairs he saw Draper sitting in his office reading a magazine and waiting patiently for him. He looked up when Voight walked in.

"How's it going, Hank?"

"Bryan. Long time no see. What brings you to my neck of the woods?"

"I need to talk to you about the Murphy case. I know you and your unit were ordered to stay away from it, but things are getting kind of weird, and I just need to run a couple of things past you."

"Weird in what way?" Hank said as he settled into his chair behind the desk, He was curious about the direction in which the case was going and why Draper was sharing it with him. His intuition was also telling him that he probably wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.

"Hank, we've been in constant contact with the Tinley Park Police Department since the ballistics report came back that the gun used in the Lane Bryant massacre in 2008 is the same one that was used to kill Sean Murphy."

"Well,  Bryan, we've both been on this job long enough to know that guns get passed around for years.  Maybe whoever did the Lane Bryant massacre sold or gave the gun to someone who sold or gave it to someone else and so on until it coincidentally ended up in the hands of Murphy's killer.  Happens all the time."

"Hank, I haven't been a cop quite as long as you, but I do have 23 years under my belt, and one of the many things I've learned is that coincidences are rare, almost non-existent. And another thing I've learned is to trust my gut instincts when something doesn't feel right, and my gut is telling me — actually screaming at me — this ain't no coincidence."

Voight was starting to get uncomfortable. He had known Bryan for many years, and while he never really liked the guy, he did respect him as a cop and detective because he always did his due diligence. Once he picked up a scent, he was relentless in following the trail until it led him to the answer. His fellow officers nicknamed him the Terminator because he absolutely did not stop, ever, until he solved a case. And he had a personal 85% solve rate.

"So what are you trying to say, Bryan?"

"I'm saying there's a connection between the Lane Bryant massacre and Murphy's murder. The Tinley Park Lane Bryant Task Force did some digging and found out that the father of one of Murphy's victims — a Kirkland Wright — is the registered owner of a .40 caliber Smith and Wesson Glock, the same type of weapon that was used in both killings. So we issued a search warrant on Wright's house last week.  He proudly showed us his gun collection — which was impressive by the way — and guess what?  The very gun we wanted, that .40 caliber Glock, somehow mysteriously disappeared years ago according to him, and he has no idea what happened to it.  Poof!  Just up and vanished.  From a locked case no less!"