*District 21: Bullpen*
Hank caught a case late last night after he responded to a shooting. The victim's wife had been kidnapped and, so far, all they had was the word of a Quick Route driver who claimed that she never showed up.
"Morning." Kevin greeted as the two Sergeants appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Guys, the Quick Route driver's story checked out. He was 20 blocks away when the abduction happened, so we kicked him." Jay reported and the couple turned to look at him when he walked in from the Interrogation Area. "Any word on the gunshot victim?"
"Except him to make a full recovery. Med's gonna notify us as soon as he's stable." Hank replied, heading towards his Office.
"POD video from 31st and Dearborn just came in. That's where Ben and his wife were picked up." Kim informed and everyone crowded around her desk to see the video for themselves. "All right, 7:12, Larsons exit the restaurant. Now they're waiting for their Quick Route- hold on. They're expecting a black Fusion. That is a black Honda. They look almost identical-"
"Freeze it." Ana interrupted, gesturing at the screen. "Run the plate."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." The female Officer nodded, already doing it. "All right. Illinois plates. John X-ray 72 Paul nine."
Jay raced around to the computer across from Kim's and immediately began typing.
"It's registered to a Luna Witt. She's 55, reported it stolen yesterday." He revealed, clicking around a bit. "Here we go. LEADS posted that Patrol recovered the vehicle in Haywood Park."
"Come on. Jay, Hailey, you're with me." Hank commanded, practically rushing down the stairs.
Ana watched him go with a slightly worried expression and went over to her desk.
*2500 Block of West Howard*
Ana and the rest of the team arrived on scene after Hank and the two Detectives found the victim's wife DOA.
"Guys!" Jay called as he walked over from the building with his partner at his side.
"Anything?" The older man wondered.
"So far, nothing actionable from the body. The rape kit's being rushed. There's no fingerprints on the scene. They think he used a condom. Cause of death is strangulation." The male Detective reported, stopping right in front of the two Sergeants.
"But she fought back. There's plenty of defensive wounds. Her fingernails are ripped off, broken." Hailey added. "They're conducting the scrapings now. Hopefully, we'll get DNA."
"Okay, so what do we know about this place?" Ana inquired.
"Ah, well, the company that owns the building says it's used for heavy equipment storage, and it's empty most of the time." Kevin spoke up, gesturing around the area while he talked. "We got tire tracks that are consistent with the size of our burnt down Honda. Found pretty good blind spot, parked away from all the damn cameras."
"It worked." Kim muttered from where she was working on a computer to Hank's left. "I got into the security area. I got nothing on surveillance inside or out."
"Yeah, so this prick knows this place." Hank nodded.
"Yeah, he most certainly does." Adam agreed from behind the Voights. "He worked there for six months in 2015."
"What do you mean?" Ana wondered, turning to look at him confusion.
"I pulled CTA footage from where the Honda was stolen. There's no footage of the steal, but I noticed a guy walking out of a minimart a block away. That right there is Caleb Hoff." The male Officer explained, showing everyone the screen of the computer he was holding.
"He looks familiar." Hailey remarked.
"He should. He just sued the city for 25 mil." Adam retorted.
"Yeah, I know this guy. Wrongful arrest." Hank realized, looking down at his wife in disbelief.
"He was serving 20 to life for rape and murder. The Conviction Integrity Unit looked into his case. Next thing you know, the arresting detective gets charged with unlawful use of force, and Hoff walked free three weeks ago with an apology from the mayor. " The male Officer revealed.
"Okay. We're gonna do this one right. By the book." The older man decided.
"Yeah, who knows? Maybe Hoff has bad luck, lives in the area, was just buying milk." Ana shrugged.
"Come on, Sarge." Kevin scoffed. "You really believe that?"
"Hell no." She smirked, following after her husband as he began moving towards their car. "But it doesn't change the game plan."
*Back in the Bullpen*
"Looks like Caleb Hoff's in the wind. He was released from Stateville five weeks ago, all charges dropped, no stipulations to his release." Hailey reported, taping his photo up to the whiteboard.
"So you're telling me he didn't have to give an address or report to a PO?" Hank demanded, crossing his arms and looking down at Ana in disbelief.
"Correct. No last known address." The blonde shook her head.
"Does he have any family here in Chicago?" The brunette wondered.
"There's a couple distant cousins, and I'm trying to track them down, but. . ." Kim trailed off from where she was standing by her desk.
"All right, what about Hoff's attorney?" Hank inquired.
"Yeah, I reached out to him. For a defense attorney Hell-bent on taking apart the police force, he was all right." Jay shrugged from his perch on top of his desk. "He leveled with me. Said he hadn't talked to him in two weeks, and that that made him nervous."
"Repeat offending tends to hurt the money train." Adam remarked from his chair.
"All right, did we get anything from the minimart?" Ana asked, sitting up in intrest.
"Yeah, presented the owner with a photo array, and he said he noticed Hoff right off the bat, said he was high as Hell, and he bought cigarettes and a box of condoms." Kevin recalled from where he was seated at the empty desk across from Kim's.
"Morning." The Deputy Superintendent greeted as she appeared at the top of the stairs and Ana looked down at her lap the second the other woman came into view. "I don't wanna interrupt. Hank, you got a sec?
"Yep." He nodded, leading Sam into his Office and closing the door.
*A Little While Later*
"All right, where are we at?" Hank demanded, marching out of his Office.
"Nothing's popping on missing persons or reported car thefts. We got Jay and Hailey canvassing the area - where the Honda was dumped." Kevin reported from where he and Kim were his desk.
The older man grunted in reply but Trudy appeared at the top of the stairs with a laptop in hand before he could say anything.
"Hey, I think I got one." She informed, rushing over to Ana's desk. "One of my guys on the watch rolled on a missing persons call."
"Right." The brunette nodded, leaning forwards when her best friend placed the device on her desk.
"Young woman said her roommate, Renee Ferguson, got into a ride share about two hours ago and never made it back to the dorms." The desk Sergeant explained. "Not answering her phone either. So we ran the phone. She called 911 about two hours ago. Listen to this."
"911, what's your emergency?"
"Uh, sir, this isn't the way."
"Relax, I'm using Waze. It's a shortcut."
"Dude, this is the complete wrong direction. Pull over. Pull over."
"I'll look into recently reported stolens." Adam muttered, rapidly typing on his computer.
"Oh, thank you. I- oh, my God. No. Help me. Help me, please, please-"
"Do you hear me?"
"Help me! Help! Help! HELP-"
Ana covered her mouth in horror.
"The phone cut out before OEMC could start a trace. 30 seconds later, the signal was lost. CPIC's trying to triangulate." Trudy summarized.
"Tell us you have something." Ana pleaded, shaking her head in an attempted to rid herself of what she just heard.
Hank placed a comforting hand on her shoulder in return.
"13th District, sitting on a stolen black Nissan Altima half block from Hoff's last dump. The only problem is, it's on fire." Adam read aloud from his monitor.
"All right, let's go." The older man commanded, racing out of the Bullpen with the rest of the Team in tow.
Ana just watched them go with a sigh, wishing her husband would at least consider letting her go too.
*A Few Hours Later*
"Second victim, Renee Ferguson, had skin cells under her fingernails. DNA matches to Caleb Hoff." Adam informed, pointing at said picture as he walked in from the Interrogation Area.
The team had found her body upon searching a building near where the car was dumped.
"All right, thanks." Jay hung up his desk phone and turned to address the two Sergeants. "We might be getting closer to him. Techs said they found a receipt in the Nissan from a Mexican restaurant. Timestamped at 10:31am, which is two hours before Renee Ferguson's abduction."
"So this guy slams back a breakfast burrito and goes on the hunt for young women." Hailey shook her head in disbelief.
"Cold-blooded, man." Kevin muttered.
"All right, so let's pull video from that restaurant." Ana ordered with a small shrug.
"Yeah, every hour that passes, another life is in danger." Hank nodded in agreement, leaning down towards the shorter woman. "I'm gonna pay that Detective another visit."
"Okay." She nodded with a soft smile on her lips.
The older man gave his wife a quick kiss before heading into his Office.
*A Little While Later*
Hank had shown a photo of Hoff with another man to said Detective and she identified him as a meth dealer named Kenny Rose.
Ana was currently alone in the Bullpen with Adam and Kim and the two were working quickly to find anything that could possibly help them locate Hoff.
"Well, Kenny has an impressive sheet. Meth, coke, heroin, and two armed robbery charges, you know, for good measure." The female Officer listed from her desk. "And he drives a red Ford pickup. It matches what our witness told us."
"All right, so Hoff ditches the stolen Nissan, torches it, his buddy Rose pulls up in the pickup, helps Hoff get away." The male Officer speculated from the whiteboard.
"It means Rose knew what Hoff was doing." Kim pointed out.
"And he's helping him get away with it." Adam muttered, rushing over to his desk and grabbing his jacket.
"Loop in the rest of the team." Ana ordered, pulling out her phone. "I'll let Henry know."
"Already on it, Sarge." Kim assured, shooting out of her seat.
"Copy that." Adam nodded as they raced downstairs.
The older woman watched them go with another sigh and glared down at her lap. Even though she completely understood Hank's reasoning, the brunette had no idea how much longer she could take riding a desk.
*Later That Night*
Rose is in custody but he is absolutely refusing to talk so the Team, whose members are all at or near their respective desks, is currently trying to find another way to track down Hoff.
"Sarge, I got CTA security footage of Hoff getting on the L two blocks from Rose's house." Kim spoke up.
"What time?" Jay inquired, beating Ana to it.
"4:22pm, today." The female officer replied.
"There's only two trains that make that stop." Adam pointed out.
"Pink and purple." Kevin nodded.
"If he got on the L, he had to get off." Hailey chimed in.
"Check the surveillance at all stops, scanning in both directions." Ana ordered.
*A Little While Later*
"Sarge, Hoff exited the L at Kostner Street Station today at 5:02pm." Kim suddenly spoke up from where she and the rest of the team were all crowded around her desk.
"Kostner. Do we know of any reason why he'd be there?" Ana wondered. "Any family in the area, any known associates?"
"Not sure. I reached out to Martinez. She drew a blank." Hailey shook her head.
"Wait a second." The brunette murmured, reaching for a file Hank had given her just before he disappeared. "Run the name Victor Silvano. It's written on a stickey note attached to this file."
"Okay, I'm on it." Kim nodded, typing rapidly. "Victor Silvano. . . died nine months ago, no wife and kids, LKA is somewhere on the South side. He worked as an assistant foreman for years at Galloway Metals-"
"Hold on. That's three blocks north of Kostner." Hailey realized. "It went out of business two years ago."
"A good place to hide." Kevin remarked.
"Gear up." Ana ordered, waving her hand a second later. "Adam, come here a second."
"Yeah, what's up, Sarge?" He wondered, walking over while the others raced towards the Basement/Garage Area.
"Where's my husband?" She demanded, having grown worried after not hearing from him in a while.
"I don't know." The Officer answered, honestly, before leaning forwards with a sigh. "But he was dangerously close to. . . roughing up Rose after the punk refused to cooperate."
"Okay, thanks." The brunette murmured, running a hand through her hair. "He's not answering any of my calls. Try to get ahold of him and tell him what's happening."
Adam nodded and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder before heading off after the rest of the team.
*The Voight Residence*
Ana heard from Jay that Hank had apprended Hoff himself and tried to call him again but he still was not answering. She decided to go home instead and found the man she was looking for standing in their living room.
"Hey, what happened last night? Why weren't you answering any of my calls?" The brunette demanded, rushing over and eyeing him for any injuries.
The only thing she found was a small cut on his left cheek.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. It's just. . .I mean, this whole case had me spinning out and, to be honest, I was thinking a Hell of a lot more like Hank then Henry." He admitted, stepping forwards and gently grabbing her shoulders. "Truth is I didn't wanna scare you again."
Ana sighed in relief and pulled him into a tight hug.
"I'm just glad that you're okay." She murmured.
"Me too." The older man whispered, pressing a kiss to the side of her head and rubbing her back in comfort.
A/N I hope you all enjoyed! Till Thursday!
~Princess <3