⋆° დ ༄ RISKY BUSINESS
chapter fifty nine. in a duffel bag.
Hank walks away from the paramedic, and over to where Antonio and Maxine were walking away from, at their newest crime scene and Dawson says, "crime labs taken the duffel for prints, hair and blood. As soon as the body's released from med, they'll start on the blanket and pajamas. Guess what else they found in the bag. Rocks. Looks like whoever did this put them in to weigh it down"
"How long she been here?" Voight asks, concerning their victim, who was a baby.
"Crime lab says, preliminary estimate, seven hours" Maxine answers.
"So 1, 2 am. Alright, check the harbor for cameras, run all the parking meters"
"I'll check back with the officers too. See if they got anything on canvass" Antonio says before walking away. Maxine looks over at her sergeant and says, "you know we can hand this off to area central Homicide"
"No. We're gonna find out who did this"
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Hank walks into the unit to see that Mouse had taped the baby's picture onto the whiteboard and says, "take it down"
"Crime labs still working on the pajamas and the blanket, but the duffle was part of a promotion by punch sports club last May. Guy I spoke to said they gave out 100 of 'em" Jay says.
"They have to fill out a card in order to get one?" Voight asks.
"No. They were handed out at a street fair. You know, local band, tents for area businesses, and a radio station."
"Okay but what about radio?" Al questions.
"I called the radio station. They had some promotion. Uh, street fair, to. They're sending it over" Ruzek says.
"And I'm searching social media for any photos or video tagging the fair." Mouse states.
"Well, run everything you get through facial recognition, as soon as you get it." Hank tells Mouse then looks at Halstead, "Jay, put together a list of everybody who signed up on the heels of Punches promotion. Run every name and address."
Kevin hangs up his cell and says, "that was forensics. The pajamas and the blanket were mass market, so they're still looking into that. And the rocks were pulled up from where the girl was left."
"Maybe someone tried to sink her, but chickened out at the last minute." Al states.
"Well, this isn't some abandoned baby with the umbilical cord still attached. She had a blanket, her own pajamas. That means somebody cared for her, and I wanna know who" Voight says, "I want a doctor. I want a birth certificate. I want the parents. I wanna know what happened. And I wanna know why."
~~~
Maxine walks down the hall to find Voight watching Trey Butler through the two way mirror and says, "Sarg"
Hank walks over to the brunette and grabs the file from her hand which has the DNA result to see if he's the father of the baby, who is still alive.
Hank and Max walk into interrogation and Hank says, "you got a big problem Trey" then slides the folder in front of him, "Your DNA is a match"
Maxine sits down in front of Trey who says, "I'm telling you, that test is wrong. There's no way I have a baby"
"That test says you're lying." Voight says, leaning over the metal table, "that test is your fingerprint."
"I was in Chicago to go to the clinic. I come here every month for treatment there. That's why my phone.."
Max cuts Trey off and says, "we start calling the girls names in your contacts. they're gonna say they weren't with you?"
Hank goes over to sit on the bench behind Trey who says, "no one I was careless with, no. They would have come to me. I would know."
"How? Think back. You didn't go to a bar, a nightclub, meet up on Tinder" Maxine suggests.
"No"
"I unzipped a bag this morning. It had your 2 week old baby in it, stuck there like a piece of trash." Hank says.
"No"
"A piece of trash you hoped would wash out to sea." Hank says, then grabs the back of Butler's shirt and pins him against the railing, "you're gonna tell us what happened or I'm gonna do something I won't regret, not for one second. I don't care if it costs me my job, you are gonna talk. You understand?"
Trey struggles to breathe with Hanks hand around his throat but says, "I swear on my life, on my mother's life, I would never do this"
"Where were you 10 months ago? Last July, who were you with?" Max asks.
"July...I, uh, here in Chicago? No, no"
"What?" Voight says, with his hand still around Trey's throat, "what!"
"The blues fest. First couple days of July last year. There was a girl."
"What's her name?" Hank asks, as Max gets up and walks closer to the two.
"Tana. Tana something with an 'M'. Miller. Mailer."
"I need more than that!" Voight yells.
"I don't know. I was high. I was really high."
"What does she look like?" Max asks.
"Uh, pretty. I don't know, small. Dark haired, white." Trey stutters, "and she had a bird on her shirt. Like a school jersey. It had a hawk on it."
"How old was she?"
"I didn't check her ID, okay? I..she was holding a beer. I thought she was old enough. It was just a hookup"
Voight pushes Trey back up and walks behind the other side of the table.
"I didn't do this"
Hank and Max leave interrogation and walk back onto the bullpen when Voight says, "run that name through DMV, Secretary of State, public aid, that sickle cell registry."
"And Chicago public schools. If This Tana was underage, she was pregnant in school. I'll log a call for dropouts that match the timeline." Maxine says, walking to her desk.
"No, no, no, hang on, hang on. If you call CPS, they're gonna give you the runaround. I know a guy." Al says.
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After Trey identifies Tana Meyer as the girl, Jay and Maxine head to the Meyer residence.
"This is a terrible story. But you have no proof that Tana is connected to any of it." Mrs Meyer says.
"The guys DNA matches the baby's, and he identified Tana as the mother from her yearbook photo." Jay states.
"He picked out a rich girl? I bet that never happens."
"We'd like to talk to her" Max says.
"She's out of the country"
"Where?"
"That's none of your business and Tana is a minor"
"Actually, according to her school record, she turned 18 a week ago." Maxine says, walking closer to Mrs Meyer, "and are you really trying to tell me that if I go up to her room, take a hairbrush, and have that hair tested for DNA, that it would not be a match for that baby?"
Mrs Meyer tries to talk over Max by saying, "you are not going.." while Mr Meyer cuts her off and says. "Deborah"
"Give them Barton Perry's information. Do it." Mrs Meyer orders her husband who takes out his cell phone, "he's our lawyer. If you have any further questions, you can call him."
"Go ahead, call your lawyer, refuse to talk. Just know that whatever it is you're hiding is gonna come back 1,000 times worse, unless you get Tana on the next flight home." Jay says.
"Ben" Mrs Meyer says, walking over to her husband. Max takes out a picture of the baby and places it on the piano for Deborah to see, "let me show you something. A dog found her in a duffle bag. She's two weeks old, and she is your granddaughter."
Mrs Meyer picks up the picture and hands it back to Max saying, "this mystery sperm donor you're talking about is lying to you, young lady."
"Sure" Maxine scoffs, then shows the picture to Mr Meyer, "look at her face" then she and Jay leave.
Maxine and Jay walk down the sidewalk to get to their car when Max says, "Mothers like that make me wish I could send Dylan a greeting card"
"There's a whole section, 'glad you weren't as bad a mom as I thought'"
"I'm gonna call Customs and homeland security, see if Tanas passport was swiped."
"they gotta be lying, so I'll double back and check on any properties they own. See if a relative has her tucked away somewhere."
As the detectives were about to get in the car Mr Meyer walks out the side door of his home and says, "detectives. Is there some place we could talk?"
They all get inside the car, and Jay and Maxine look back at Ben Meyer who says, "Tana had nothing to do with this."
"But she did give birth to the baby?" Max questions. Meyer nods his head and says, "yes."
"Alright, what happened?" Jay asks.
"Well, Tana was due for an annual checkup, but wouldn't go, and Deborah realized what was going on. We're an observant Jewish family. Deb is president of the synagogue board..."
"The baby, Mr Meyer" Maxine says, cutting the older man off.
"We found a midwife who knew a family that wanted another baby. And we decided Tana would drop out of school, and once the baby was born, we would give it to a family where it could have a good life, and so could Tana"
Max and Jay look at each other who says, "we need the name of the family."
"I don't know it" Mr Meyers says. Maxine rolls her eyes and says, "Come on, you really don't know it? I don't buy it"
"But it's true. We thought it would be best for everyone if it worked like a closed adoption. There's no paperwork, nobody signed anything. We don't know what happened to this baby after it reached the family"
"The midwife" Maxine says, seeing how his partners too annoyed to talk right now, "we're gonna need her information."
"Mariela Hernandez"
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After getting the name of the family from Mariela. Adam, Hank and Antonio went over to the Flynn Residence to search it. Now back on the unit, the team is gathered around the white board.
"There's nothing in the Flynn's garbage, washing machine, or dryer. No used diapers in the diaper disposal" Dawson says.
"The wipes were still in plastic. Husband vouches for the wife, wife vouches for the husband." Ruzek says.
"We're missing something. Nothing happened to that baby for two weeks. So, someone kept her clothed and fed, and then they got rid of her." Jay says.
"The only two who really wanted nothing to do with her are the grandparents." Maxine states, "especially that mother. We can take another run at her."
"Do it" Voight says, "mouse I want you to hit the street cameras, neighborhood security cameras, see if you can catch the Flynn's pushing a stroller. The rest of you, canvass their friends, neighbors. You can't tell me the Flynn's had a newborn, and nobody knew about it."
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"Since my husband decided to speak to you without my knowledge, I have brought along our attorney" Mrs Meyer says, as she and her husband sit across from Jay and Maxine on the couch.
"The Meyers told you, they gave the baby to a practicing midwife who made every assurance that the baby would go to a safe home. They have no knowledge of what happened to this baby after they handed her to Mariela." attorney Perry states.
"And when did you hand her off?" Max asks.
"Right after Tana gave birth" Mrs Meyer states.
"Were there any witnesses?"
"Witnesses? Me. Mariela.."
"Deborah" the attorney cuts the older woman off, "the Meyers have answered your questions, twice, even though they didn't have to."
"Your clients are looking at felony charges." Jay says.
"That's absurd" Deborah says.
Maxine glares at the woman and says, "you gave a woman 20,000 dollars to get rid of a baby. Or was it so the other family would do it for you?"
"That is not why we paid her that money"
"Deborah" The attorney warns.
"No, no, no, no. I get to defend myself. We gave her that money because Mariela realized we wanted to keep it quiet. She blackmailed us. 10,000 to her to deliver the baby and keep it quiet, and 10,000 to that other family for their silence. I bet she never gave that family the money. Did she even give them the baby?"
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Hank and Maxine head downstairs from the unit after getting notice that Tana Meyer was there at the district.
"Tana Meyer?" Max asks. Tana turns around and asks, "is she okay? Is the baby okay?"
"Follow me" Maxine says, walking into the office across from Platts desks with Tana and Hank behind her.
Tana sits in a chair against the wall, and Max sits next to her, while Hank leans against the window on the other side of the desk and the brunette asks, "what did you know about the other family?
"Nothing. Only that my mom said I was going to give it up. I made this horrible mistake and she was going to fix it."
"And you had no say in the matter? This is your baby"
"My mom said, 'do what I say or we'll throw you out of the house, and sit shiva for you'."
"Meaning what?"
"I'd be dead to them"
Hank sits down and says, "so, you got rid of it."
"Me? No"
"You and Mariela."
"No. That's not what happened. Marielas the best. She's the only one who was nice to me."
Max looks at Hank who asks, "anything else you wanna say?"
Tana begins to sob and asks, "Is my baby going to live?"
Maxine looks down at her hands, not knowing what to say.
~~~
"Hank" Maxine says, walking up to the door of Voights office where he and Erin were talking.
"Yeah"
"So, Tommy Flynn had a business go belly up last year, he'd hire out personal trainers. I called a few that he contracted. They worked out of Punch sports club."
"The duffle bag"
"Yeah"
"Alright, call Olinsky, tell him to hold off on booking Mariela and get an arrest warrant for Tommy Flynn."
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Hank, Maxine, Antonio and Ruzek walk up to the door of the Flynn Residence. Dawson breaks the glass of the window to open the door. Once inside the dark house with their guns and flashlights drawn Dawson yells, "Chicago PD!
They start to clear the house when Jay and Erin walk in and Halstead says, "hey. Cars are gone, the garage is empty."
"They dumped that baby, and they know we're after them." Maxine states.
"Alright, call mouse. Have him flag all their credit cards" Hank tells Jay, "these people got at least an hour head start on us"
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After finding the Flynn family at a gas station, they bring them down to the district where Hank and Adam interrogate Tommy Flynn and Jay and Maxine interrogate Janet in the other room.
"It was a lunar eclipse. Max loves everything to do with space. When we put him to bed, he begged us to wake him up for it. But it was at 2 a.m. I was fighting a cold. Tommy said he woke Max at 1:30 but accidentally woke up the baby so he brought her outside with them. Tommy passed out. Max had a blanket. When Max woke up at 6, he couldn't wake the baby. We loved her." Janet says.
Maxine sighs and looks at Jay.
~~~
"Look, he had a chance to save that baby. Instead he stuffed her in a duffel with rocks." Hank tells ASA Steve Kot, along with the whole team who are also in the office sitting and standing around.
"Yeah, he intended to throw her in the water, but couldn't. He had some conscience." Al says.
"Not enough to take her to the hospital, and not enough to report it to the police." Dawson says.
"How do we know his story is even true? I mean, maybe him saying, 'I wasn't ready', was actually saying, 'I wasn't ready for a baby', so he took her outside on purpose. This could be attempted murder" Jay says.
"Based on the evidence we have, I can charge the parents with aggravated battery, since they should've taken the baby to the hospital, or child abandonment, since the dad left the baby at the lake still alive" Kot says.
"What about the midwife?" Al asks.
"I could make abduction stick, since she had no court order to hand that baby over"
"She was totally worked and threatened by Tanas mother." Erin states.
"Then she should've come to the police." Adam says.
"She would've gotten deported." Kevin says.
"She's gonna be deported anyway" Kot says.
"What about the Meyers?" Max asks, "they're the ones who started this whole ball rolling. That mother? I'd like to see her get arrested in a very public space. And I'd like to be the one who does it"
"So, Tommy Flynn's negligence resulted in this baby's condition, and he disposed of her. So, either way he goes away. Uh, the wife wasn't involved and the kid doesn't deserve to be punished, so, let's kick the mom. I'll put together charges for Flynn, the midwife and Deborah Meyer. Good?" Kot says and everyone nods.
~~~
After Adam was telling Max about a space pen, Max unknowingly tells Adam that he was the one who brought the baby outside and fell asleep, not his dad.
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Maxine and Jay walk into a restaurant where Deborah and Ben Meyer are having dinner and they walk up side by side next to Mrs Meyer.
"Deborah Meyer" Max says.
"What is this?" The older woman asks.
"You're under arrest for kidnapping of a tender age child." Maxine shouts a bit for the rest of the restaurant to hear.
"Are you crazy?"
"Stand up"
"Oh my god"
"Put your hands behind your back" Jay says, as he helps Mrs Meyer out of her seat.
"You did this" Deborah says to her husband, "look at what they're doing. Oh my god, are you happy Ben? Look at what you did"
Jay cuffs Debroah as Ben says, "no, I'll call Barton. I'll make sure...where are you taking her?"
"21st district." Max says. Jay looks at Mr Meyer and said, "run for your life, pal" before he and Max take her away.
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Maxine walks into her bedroom to see the lights still on but maverick sleeping. She goes to put her gun and badge away in the safe in the closet and gets changed into one of her fiancés graphic tees and gets into her side of the bed.
Maxine leans over to give him a kiss on the cheek, "I'm home. I know you're awake, Mav"
"No, I'm not"
Maxine laughs and gives him another kiss, "oh you can't be because if you were, you wouldn't leave me here, needing to feel your touch all over me"
Mavericks eyes shoot open and he cups Maxine's face and brings her in for a kiss, "you want me to touch you, huh? How bad?"
"Really bad" she smirks. Maverick gets on top of her, lifting her shirt up and kisses her stomach down to her panty line and hears her moan, "pretty sounds from a pretty girl"
authors note;
ugh , I love them sm 🤤🥵😭