Tolerance Book II

Chapter Twelve: Dead End

Homeland Security Headquarters

Arriving back at HQ in a subdued mood Jay tried to dispel the gory images of the slain women from his mind.  Having pondered the murders on the drive back he had come to the uncomfortable conclusion that Wells' actions were a direct result of the hospital operation.  He would have been extremely agitated when he learnt Jay had made a comeback.  The young Detective headed for the Break Room as soon as the men exited the lift.

"He's taking this hard," Antonio spoke as they watched their friend disappear into the Break Room with shoulders slumped.
"A crime scene like that is never easy," Murphy agreed.
"That's not the only thing that's bothering him," Voight spoke knowingly.
"What do you mean?" Parker questioned, hoping to gain some insight into what the recovering man was going through.
"Let's move this to my office," Murphy cut in, receiving a grateful look from the Sergeant.
"I'm going to check on Jay," Adam decided as his companions began to move off.
"No," Al shook his head negatively, "I'll talk to him."

Alone Jay grabbed one of the Coca Cola cans he had deposited in the small under the counter refrigerator the day before and placed the cold tin against his forehead, closing his eyes in an attempt to ease the burgeoning headache.  The door opening startled him and he looked up at the newcomer.

"How are you doing Kid?" Al asked, not unkindly.
"Good," the Detective quickly opened the can and took a sip of the fizzy drink as he leant back against the black formica counter top.
"Don't know why I ask," the older man observed wrily before becoming serious, "you have any idea why the women were killed like that?"
"Parker could probably tell you ...,"
"I'm asking you."
"Perhaps the thought that I was making a recovery triggered that response," Jay aired his suggestion uneasily, it wasn't really bulletproof, "but then again if Parkers' profile is accurate he wants to toy with me for a long time which doesn't support that response."
"And he wants you to take him out," Al reminded.
"I think he wants me to take him out," Jay amended, "let's face it we still have no actual proof he's ill and my theory is correct."
"Parker agrees with you and so do we. "
"We need proof or Wagner is going to intervene."
"Maybe," Al shrugged, "maybe not.   No point in worrying about Wagner.  He's going to do what he's going to do.  We just need to concentrate on the case."
"We have been," Jay took a sip of cola, "the only way to find out if Wells is in fact ill is to contact every Specialist in New York who deals with possible fatal conditions."
"Sure.  Cardiologists, Neurologists and Oncologists," the older Detective concurred as he listed the various Specialists.
"There are thousands of Specialists and how do we get confirmation of Wells being diagnosed without patient confidentiality being called into play?"
"We'll work it out," Al insisted as he eyed his watch, "you need some time or are you ready to work?"
"I'm ready," Jay emptied the remains of the dark soda down the sink and effortlessly tossed the can into the recycling bin across the room with his good arm.
"Show off," Al chided as he led the way out.

                     -------------------------

Murphys' Office

For over an hour the group had been discussing the way forward in light of that mornings' unexpected developments.  The subject of contacting Specialists was broached by Parker who followed up with a timely warning about the need to respect patient confidentiality.

"So we can't ask if Wells is a patient," Jay considered the issue, "but we can ask if Wells has been seen in the area, as part of our ongoing investigation."
"An affirmative answer won't give us the confirmation we need," Antonio cautioned, "we'll still be unable to prove the guy is terminally ill."
"For now let's concentrate on finding out if anyone has seen him," Murphy instructed, "if we divide the Specialists hopefully we'll only need four to five days."
"There are over five thousand Cardiologists and Oncologists alone," Mouse piped up, he was currently in the process of ascertaining how many Neurologists practised in New York.
"I'm going to put the majority of the manpower on this," the Assistant Director explained, "hopefully we'll make some progress early on."
"Wagner's not going to be happy," Antonio spoke up.
"Hell I don't think the guy knows how to be happy!" Kevin grumbled, eliciting grins.
"Well for now .....," Murphy stopped as his phone rang, it was clear from his expression that whoever was on the other end had bad news to impart.
"What is it?" Voight asked as he watched the man return the receiver to its' cradle with deliberate slowness as he dealt with whatever he had been told.
"There was a note delivered to Reception ....... for Detective Halstead."
"What does it say?" Adam asked impatiently.
"Forensics are checking it," Murphy stalled, this was not going to go down well.
"What does it say?" Jay finally prompted when no further elaboration was forthcoming.
"The victims from this morning ....... Wells told them he was ..... you," Murphys' gut clenched at the stricken look which flickered across the pale Detectives' features before his expression went blank, "the note says 'they died believing you were their killer'."
"Ah hell!" Antonio cursed in equal parts despair and anger, his friend didn't need to have any more guilt piled upon his shoulders yet this is where they were at.
"Did the note say anything else?" Voight demanded, barely keeping his rage in check, it wouldn't help the Kid now.
"No, that was all."
"So anyway getting back to the Specialists," Parker steered them back on track, "can ye ask about anyone seeing Wells without a Warrant?"
"Yeah," Murphy nodded affirmatively, "we're only going to ask if they saw him, not as a patient but saw him in the area.  Anything more specific and we're heading into patient confidentiality territory."
"I want each group concentrating on a Doctor in one field.  By talking to the same Specialists something might turn up," Murphy decided, "we start first thing tomorrow morning once the full list of Specialists has been completed."

The men took that as the que it was to signal the end of the meeting and the Chicago visitors headed out to their desks with the exception of Voight who remained behind with Murphy and Parker.

"I want to talk to the families of the women," the Sergeant got down to business, "tomorrow."
"I have no problem with that," Murphy stated.
"Who's going to accompany you?" Parker checked.
"It won't be Halstead if that's what you're worried about Doc."
"Does he know that?"
"We haven't discussed it," Voight admitted, he wasn't naive he knew he would be approached by the Kid when they got back to the hotel later on.
"This is getting downright messy," Murphy put in grimly, "Wells is upping the ante against your Detective."
"I know," Voight sighed in defeat, things were getting uglier for Halstead as time went on.
"This is becoming extremely personal for Jay," Parker looked at the older men
"You have any idea why that is?' Voight queried as he walked over to the blinded window and turned his back to the two men, times like this he truly hated his job.
"Unfortunately I don't.  Some of the mans' actions are contradictory so it's hard to pin a certain profile on him."
"Have you dealt with any cases like this hefore?" Murphy checked with his old friend.
"I've dealt with a few cases where the suspect was obsessed with a ..... victim .... but nothing on this level.  The cruelty alone in punishing Jay is way off the Richter scale ....,"
"Why say 'punishing'?" Voight wanted to know, it implied a much more personal agenda on the part of their elusive suspect.
"He told Jay he blames him for losing the gig with Petrocelli," Murphy added in reminder.
"Yeah but this level of cruelty seems extreme if a job loss is the reason for Wells' actions." Voight tossed back.
"We figured there's something else behind his actions but whatever it is we haven't found it yet," Parker stated unhappily.
"You're after changing your mind about Wells being ill?" Voight frowned, the Psychologist had backed Jays' theory
"No," the younger man insisted, "it fits in with what has been going on, especially with so many of the victims being ill."
"So why are you talking about not knowing what's behind his actions?"
"I meant there's probably something besides the illness," Parker shrugged, "you have to admit most people diagnosed with a grave illness get angry but that anger doesn't lead them down a path of death and destruction."
"We've discussed this before," Murphy put in evenly, "and as much as we all hate it unless we catch Wells we'll never know his reasons."
"Sergeant you've told us that Jay doesn't know Wells and Wells wouldn't know intimate details of his life," the Psychologist spoke carefully, anxious not to alienate the out of towner, "but the note is geared at making Jay feel a substantial amount of guilt .....,"
"What are you saying?" Voight asked.
"It's clear Jay takes on more responsibility for things outside of his control than others do.  The note speaks to a personal knowledge of your Detective."
"We know he knows some things about Halsteads' military background," Murphy recalled.
"But we figured Wells has a military contact who provided some intel.  He doesn't know him well if he believes he can goad Jay into killing him," Voight argued now if it was him all bets would be off.
"I agree but you have to admit he seems to know Jay better than we thought he did," Parker persisted as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Is there a point Doc?" Voight finally asked gruffly, he was in no mood for games.
"I'm just worried Wells is going to escalate his vendetta against Jay."
"I hear you.  I've been worried about that ever since we got here."
"Look this isn't getting us anywhere," Murphy observed calmly, he wasn't happy about the situation either.
"Maybe we'll get lucky and hit paydirt with one of the Specialists," Voight said as he headed for the door, "it's about time we caught a break."

Homeland Security Headquarters

As anticipated Jay had approached the Sergeant later that night as the men drifted off to their rooms after a late meal.  The Detectives' request to accompany Voight the following morning to meet the newly grieving families had been turned down. Antonio had sent his friend an apologetic look when he was informed he would be the one going with the no nonsense Sergeant.  It was nearing lunchtime when the two men returned from their mission and their dark expressions as they exited the elevators did not bode well.  Adam shot a quick look at Jay who was engrossed in the file in front of him.  His friend had refused to discuss the contents of the note the night before but they all knew it had hurt the younger man deeply that the three women had died believing he was their killer.  Now watching Voight and Antonio head over to their section of the open plan office he couldn't help but notice the pair were looking worriedly at the recovering man.  Just what else could Wells have done?  He realized he wasn't sure he wanted to find out ...

tbc

Authors' Note

Just in case the phrase 'way off the Richter scale' isn't used in the U.S. outside of dealing with earthquakes in Ireland it's an expression to describe an act that is beyond expectation or the norm 😃.