*Possible Crime Scene*
"Clarton home, husband Ray, wife Helen, daughter Becca. Talked to the rest of the block. No one's seen them in at least two days." Hailey explained she led her partner and two Sergeants throughout a large house.
"And that's odd?" Hank inquired.
"To our neighbor, Jessica, yeah." The blonde nodded, stopping near the staircase and turning to face the other three cops. "They were homebodies. She said she just spoke with Helen to get together the next day. She called both their cells. No one's answering."
"Checked the phones, and they're shut off." Jay added.
"And her car's in the garage." Adam spoke up, having appeared at the bottom of the stairs while they were talking. "There's cardboard boxes upstairs. Empty suitcases. They might've been packing."
The two Voights shared a look but the front door creaked open before anyone could say anything else.
"Hey. Got something weird." Kim stuck her head in and gestured for them to follow her outside.
They did and a nearby patrolman held up a strip of yellow tape as the members of the Intelligence Unit made their way over to a police cruiser which had a laptop sitting on its trunk.
"So I ran the name and social the landlord gave me, Ray Clarton. Problem is, Ray Clarton died four years ago." The female Officer revealed.
"He's using a false name?" Jay guessed.
"Yeah, on everything. Utilities for the house, credit card, car, all registered to a dead man." Kim listed.
"Okay, well, what about the wife?" Ana wondered.
"She's not on paper anywhere, and I got no hits on a Helen Clarton in Chicago matching her descriptors." The female Officer replied.
"The little girl, Becca, she's 12. She must be in school." Hailey pointed out.
"She's not. Not registered with CPS. Not in a private school. Ran missing persons too, and I got nothing." Kim shook her head.
"So dig into the name, Ray Clarton, and see who had access to steal his identity." Hank ordered. "Let's do a full forensics search. Let's find out who the Hell this family really is."
"And what the Hell happened in this house?" Ana muttered, turning to gaze up at the seemingly abandoned building.
*District 21: Bullpen*
"All right, what do we got?" Hank demanded, coming out of his Office and stopping next to his wife.
"Forensics came back. Blood in the master is two days old and belongs to a female." Kim reported, reading aloud from an iPad as she sat down at her desk. "DNA doesn't match anything on file, but the tech said as long as the blood came from an adult, the amount of blood is not enough to positively indicate a death."
Adam suddenly walked in from the Interrogation Area with a file in hand.
"Fingerprints off all the men's shoes in the Clarton house ID'd Ray's real name. Meet Ray Aimes." He introduced, heading over and taping his photo to the whiteboard. "He's got a ell of a sheet. Lived in different states the past years, multiple fraud investigations, two domestics when he was younger. Looks like he mostly deals in Ponzi and pyramid schemes."
"He's a grifter." Jay supplied, crossing his arms.
"He's an old school conman. He gets in close with people, manipulates the hell out of them, robs them blind, and then he skips town." The male Officer elaborated.
"What about the girls, Helen and Becca?" Hailey wondered.
"Their prints weren't in the system. Ray's not legally married, but the DNA found off of the toothbrush in the home confirms that Becca is Ray and Helen's child." Adam replied.
"And she's never been enrolled in school?" Jay asked in confirmation.
"I checked everywhere that Ray lived. She never been enrolled in school. She never even been to a doctor. Nothing." The male Officer shook his head.
"I'm guessing there's abuse in this family." Hailey sighed. "Physical, emotional."
"You're thinking domestic." Ana realized.
"Makes sense. We have a history of domestic assault. He beat Helen too bad one day, throws them both in the car, takes off before he was planning to." The blonde speculated.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we got a pop." Kevin spoke up, walking in from the same area Adam had just come from. "Ray Clarton's debit card was used at an ATM downtown yesterday right after they went missing."
The two Sergeants exhanged a quick glance.
"Roll on it." Hank ordered, heading back into his Office.
Ana's gaze lingered on Hailey for a little while before dropping down to her desk.
*Tech Office: A Few Hours Later*
A video of another man leading Ray and Becca away had come up and the team was currently reviewing it.
"All right, who is this man?" Hank demanded, pacing around a bit before stopping and crossing his arms. "Someone from Ray's past come back to haunt him?"
"Yeah, maybe Ray conned the wrong guy and ended up way over his head." Ana shrugged from her husband's left.
"I've got no large deposits on Ray's financials. Nothing pops on the video. Clothes are generic. Can't even make out Ray's." Adam sighed.
"It really doesn't help we know next to nothing about this family." Jay pointed out.
"Yeah, I reinterviewed the neighbors on the block. Nobody knew where they worked, where they were from, their family, nothing." Kim shook her head from where she was seated behind one of the computers. "We have zero details on them."
"Ray and Helen are good." The male Detective remarked.
"Yeah, but you learn how to be that way." Hailey spoke up from behind another computer.
"She's right." Ana nodded, moving to stand next to the blonde and finding that she had the video paused on the little girl. "To shut people out and be invisible, you have to learn it."
"Becca's only 12 years old." The blonde recalled, looking up at the brunette.
"Yeah, maybe she just hasn't learned how to yet." The shorter woman murmured, catching her drift.
Hank couldn't help but cast a worried glance in his wife's direction at that.
*Back in the Bullpen*
A new witness had come forward: the Clarton's neighbors' daughter, Annie.
"They used flashlights." Jay explained as he drew on a diagram. "Anytime that Becca wanted to see Annie, she'd shine a flashlight through Annie's window. Annie would wake up, she'd go downstairs, unlock the door, and Becca would come over."
"You're kidding me." Adam muttered.
"Two nights ago, the night that the Clartons disappeared, Becca shined a light through Annie's window." The Detective revealed. "She saw a man, walking through their house."
"Did she get a good look at him?" Kevin wondered.
"No, he disappeared through the house." Jay shook his head. "But she went to the back door and saw the man leading Becca and her parents outside. Annie also said that Mrs. Clarton looked hurt."
Ana let out a breath and Hank discreetly grabbed her hand, squeezing it in comfort.
*A Little While Later*
Adam, Jay, and the two Sergeants rushed back into the Tech Officer after hearing that Annie also saw the man put the Clartons into a station wagon.
"We don't have a station wagon on PODs outside that ATM." The Detective pointed out.
"Yeah, but we do have a witness that puts a station wagon outside the Clarton's house." Hank retorted.
"He's right, I mean, it left and had to go somewhere." Ana agreed.
"So get everything going in a five mile radius." The older man ordered.
"It's a Mercury." Hailey blurted out as she rushed in and began typing at one of the computers. "It's a Mercury. We showed Annie a dozen models, and she pointed right to it."
"I got one. Real close to the Clartons' house, 11:23pm, heading northbound on Western." Adam informed and the blonde slid over to take a look for herself.
"Yep, I got him again. 11:29, Western and Franklin." Jay called out.
"Headed on 66." Hailey added.
"And those plates are hot. They're stolen." Adam reported.
"That's him. Get those plates out on an all-call." Hank instructed and the blonde immediately pulled out her phone.
"Five minutes later, he's still going west on 66." Jay informed.
"Just keep following and see where he leads us." Ana ordered.
*Snowy Crime Scene*
Apparently, it led them straight to Helen's body. Kim, Hailey, and their two Sergeants watched as the body was finally pulled out of the snow and brought over to them in a bag. Once it was set down, the two younger women unzipped it and pulled it open. Ana swallowed and looked away while Hank just gently rubbed her back in comfort.
"Her mouth. Looks like she doesn't have any teeth." The blonde observed with a grimace.
The female Officer lifted up one of the corpse's hands.
"Or fingerprints." The older man muttered, seeing the burnt phalanges.
"Yeah. Whoever killed her knew what they were doing." Kim sighed, dropping the limb. "No way we're gonna get an ID off of her. The tech search and the banks haven't found anything. We've got zero evidence."
"This looks like an organized crime kill." Hailey pointed out.
Hank suddenly pulled away from his wife and took a few steps off to his left, using his boot to swipe away at some of the snow.
"Yeah, well, whoever did it, they killed her here, burned her hands and pulled her teeth out." Ana listed, grimly, as she spotted the pool of blood her husband had uncovered.
"Hopefully in that order." The blonde commented, standing back up along with Kim. "The offender drove directly from the Clartons' home to this location. He had Becca and Ray in the car when he killed Helen. He did that to her body in front of her little kid. Why?" She hissed. "$1,500, out of Ray's bank account?"
"Hey, we got lucky." Jay chimed in before anyone could reply. "Security camera caught a man in frame for a moment. There's no wagon or family, but I think it's the offender. Might be enough for facial rec." He informed.
The Detective turned to walk off and everyone followed after him.
*Interrogation Area*
Hank and Ana were walking down a hallway and had just rounded a corner when Kevin appeared in front of them with a file in hand.
"Yo, we got ID." He informed, giving the older man the file just as he grunted in reply. "Name's Alejandro Hermanez. His height and weight matched the ATM video."
"Any priors?" Ana wondered, peerimg over her husband's shoulder.
"Nothing official. The FBI, they've been investigating him. They like him as a for-hire enforcer." Kevin explained and she hummed in reply. "He works in extortion and cleanup for organized crime outlets, most recently the Albanian syndicate."
"So Ray upgraded. Decided to con the big men. That takes stones." Hank remarked.
"Well, con is short for confidence." The Officer pointed out.
"This time it's short for stupid." Ana joked with a small smile.
The two Sergeants walked passed Kevin and into the Bullpen while he followed after.
"It was definitely stupid. Last time Hermanez got investigated, it was for a stash house theft." He revealed, moving over to the whiteboard and taping a photo up to it. "Somebody skimmed money and dope off the top, and Alejandro put him in the ground."
"And we found two pro-grade traps behind a false wall in a cabinet downstairs." Jay added, taping pictures of those to the board as well.
"Let me guess. Both empty." Hank sighed, stopping next to Ana when she took a seat on her desk.
"Yeah, no signs of drug residue, so it must've been cash." The male Detective nodded.
"It fits. I mean, these guys do love to bury cash houses in plain sight." The brunette shrugged.
"Yeah, you get a normal looking family with kids, safe neighborhood, safe block, safe money." The older man listed in agreement.
"So we're thinking Ray was dumb enough to steal from the Albanians, skim off the top?" Kim asked in confirmation from her desk.
"Old habits die hard. Ray stolen from every person he's ever met. Guy manipulates, controls even his own family. He probably thought he could skip town before they caught on." Hailey speculated.
"I mean, it explains why Hermanez had to abduct him. He went to the house, kills Helen to convince Ray to give up that money." Kevin chimed in.
"Right. But there's no way it was only $1,500. I mean, those traps can hide millions in cash." The blonde reasoned just as Adam appeared at the top of the stairs. "So if there's still cash out there, Becca and Ray are still alive. Hermanez is a pro. He won't kill them till he gets all the cash back."
"It is possible." Ana conceded.
"No, not just possible. It's who Ray is. He would take everything he could." Hailey insisted.
"All right, so where the Hell is Hermanez now?" Hank demanded.
"I don't have any LKAs, and the FBI's got zero." Kevin reported, heading over to his desk.
"I might have something." Adam spoke up from where he was now leaning back on his desk. "Hermanez has a car. It's registered to a bogus address, but he got two tickets in the last two months, three blocks from the bathhouse that Vice ID'd. It's a brothel."
"Okay, so our guy's got a vice." Jay murmured, thoughtfully. "Maybe somebody there knows where he hangs his hat."
"All right, so you guys move on it." Ana ordered.
"And get an ASA on board. If we find this guy, we wanna know we're solid." Hank commanded before walking into his Office and taking the file with him.
*Later That Night*
Hermanez was now in custody and Annie ID'd him from a group of photos but he wasn't talking. . .at all.
"They're alive. We can break him." Hailey insisted.
"Yeah, he's messing with us." Jay agreed.
"Cause he knows we don't have enough." She retorted.
"All right, what else do we have?" Hank wondered.
"Phone's clean. Nothing on cams." Kim replied.
"His car's GPS shows movement earlier this morning." Adam revealed, rushing in from the Basement/Garage Area and taping a photo to the whiteboard.
"Uh-huh." The older man motioned for him to continue.
"Hermanez drove to a PO box in Humboldt Park. I confirmed with the staff that Ray owns a PO box there. Hermanez accessed the box. He left with that bag. Two blocks later, it looks like he made a physical exchange." The male Officer
explained.
"So they got their money back." Hailey shrugged. "Ray told Hermanez where he was hiding it."
"All right, do we have any other leverage?" Ana inquired.
"His financials are pretty clean, but he does make one deposit each month - to a long-term care facility." Kevin read aloud from a file. "Other than that, I don't have any-"
"We can use that!" Hailey interrupted. "Hermanez is probably paying for family. We know he doesn't have any documented family in the U.S., so they must be illegal. So we confirm their noncitizenship, and we threaten him with ICE." She suggested.
"All right, there's no guarantee he'll talk for that, and we can't threaten him unless we know who it is he's paying for, ID their citizenship." Hank pointed out.
"So we ID them." The blonde countered.
"Well, the problem is, that's illegal." Ana yawned, leaning back in her chair. "We can't contact ICE and we can't even ask about citizenship."
"You can as a private citizen." Hailey shot back.
"It's still illegal." Hank shrugged. "I think you know that."
"Okay, but it's also all we got. This is a little girl. She hasn't been protected a day in her life." The blonde argued, getting more upset with every word that came out of her mouth. "Doesn't know that she can be, that she should be. And if there's a chance that she could still be alive, then we protect her."
"We will." Ana assured. "Just not that way."
"Sarge, it could work, and we've crossed worse lines before." Hailey insisted.
Hank glanced at the floor and his wife placed a gentle hand on his arm, feeling the anger he was trying to hold back brewing just underneath the surface.
"Did you not hear us say no?" He questioned, voice deadly calm.
They were locked in a glaring match that Ana broke a few seconds later.
"Look, guys, this is simple. Ray and Becca are somewhere and wherever that is, there is going to be a clear link to Hermanez. So find it, now." She ordered.
Hank shot her a grateful look before heading into his Office. The brunette followed him in, really needing a nap at the moment.
*A Little While Later*
"He buried them." Hailey revealed, rushing into the small room and waking Ana up in the process.
The blonde shot the brunette an apologetic look as she sat up and rubbed at her eyes.
"What?" Hank asked in confusion.
"We never saw Hermanez leave his property after the PO box because he didn't have to. Hermanez lives at the edge of industrial land in Hegewisch. His trailer is right where a factory was." The female Detective explained, unraveling a blueprint and setting it on the older man's desk. "Now the factory's gone, but that whole area is filled with underground storage tanks. Hermanez has three of them on his property. Hermanez left, went to the PO box, picked up the cash, dropped it off, came back. Jay and I were pulling up as he was walking to his shed with his gun. He was on his way to kill them. We just got there first." She pointed out.
"They're still there." Ana realized, glancing at her husband with wide eyes.
Hailey just nodded in response.
*Even Later That Night*
They found Becca but Ray was DOA. Hank and Ana were walking into the Bullpen when they spotted Hailey alone over at her desk. Everyone else had already gone home.
"You're still here, huh?" The older man spoke up.
"Yeah. I'm guessing for the same reason you are." The blonde sighed. "I'm waiting for Med to call, give Becca the all clear. She ID'd Hermanez. She's lucid, calm."
"Strong kid." The brunette murmured.
"We were gonna get some coffee. You want some?" Hank offered.
"Yeah." Hailey nodded, standing up and following them into the Break Room.
The ladies each grabbed their mugs and the man poured them some of the hot liquid before turning to make his own drink.
"You know, if I wasn't working with you two and Jay, I would've used ICE." The blonde admitted.
Hank placed the coffee pot back where it belongs and the three cops made their way back out.
"We know." Ana cracked a small smile. "It wouldn't have worked either way. Hermanez never would've talked."
"Yeah. I would've crossed a line only to have run out of time. Wouldn't have figured out where they were. Would've just done it blindly to break him." Hailey muttered as they walked into Hank's Office. "What does that say about me?"
She sat down on one of the chairs while Ana flopped back on the couch.
"Hmm. You want an honest answer?" Hank wondered, hanging his jacket up on the coat rack.
"Wait, you got one?" The blonde smirked.
The older man sat down with a sigh.
"He says you became a cop because when you were a little kid, your dad beat your mom, beat you." The male Sergeant replied. "You couldn't do anything about it 'cause you were just a child. He was bigger than you."
Ana just stayed silent, debating whether or not she should say what she wanted to say.
"You don't know my family." Hailey shook her head.
"I know you." Hank retorted, picking his mug up and leaning back in his chair.
"My dad's not some villain from a gothic novel." The blonde argued.
Against what, she didn't know.
"I get that. Hailey, you got a gun and a badge. You're bigger now." The older man pointed out.
"So every monster I see is my dad?" The Detective asked, quietly.
"Are they?" Hank shot back.
"Every hurt little kid is me? What, am I unfit to be a cop?" Hailey whispered.
"My mother was a drunk." Ana suddenly spoke up and her husband looked at her, worriedly, not liking where this was going. "Well, when she wasn't teaching college classes that is. My sister and I are twins and when we were 16, she fell in love with one of Mom's students. In the end, he proposed to her but Liv made the mistake of telling our mother she was moving out while she was drinking. She was halfway through a bottle of vodka and it slipped out of her hand. It shattered all over the floor, and she picked up the jagged edge of the bottle and charged at my sister, screaming, I'll never let anyone else have you!" The brunette chuckled, bitterly. "Liv has told that story to very few people in our lives but what she always leaves out, is the part where I shoved her out of the way."
"That scar above your right collar bone." Hank realized in slight alarm.
"Couple more inches to the left and you never would have met me." The short woman nodded, shaking her head a few seconds later. "Hailey, my point is, if you're unfit then I'm unfit."
"You're not the first person to psychoanalyze me, not even today." The blonde muttered once she collected her thoughts.
Ana had mentioned before that her mother wasn't the nicest woman but she hadn't been expecting that.
"I'm sure that's true." Hank glanced down and sighed, leaning forwards on his desk. "Hey, you're good at this job, for the same reasons you're bad at it. You control yourself miraculously well. You were calm, balanced, unemotional." He recalled. "Till something touches that bruised part of you. . .and you lose all control."
"I don't wanna be that way." The Detective whimpered, tearing up a bit. "I don't-"
"We know." Ana assured, leaning forwards as well. "And we know you can find a way not to be, Hailey."
"Cause, we think this way. . . we really think this way's gonna cost you." The older man warned.
The blonde just stared down at her lap, not knowing what to say.
A/N I hope you all enjoyed! Till Thursday!
~Princess <3