Forbidden (JAY HALSTEAD)

Signs

The parents were unable to help us get farther than where we are now. Which is nowhere. They insisted they didn't hear or notice anything strange. They claim their alarm system has been down for months and they haven't got the chance to get it up and running again. So, we are left with no footage or anything that could tell us when the offender broke in.

The mother claims she checked on the boys around 9 p.m to tell them it was time for bed. Will was in his room playing video games and Michael was in his room playing with his set of cars. Her and her husband were both in bed by 9:30 p.m. Not even a full two hours before the time of death M.E reported.

Jay called Hank to notify him we still have nothing and he demanded we bring the family in so he can question them himself. Specifically the father.

At first the parents were hesitant, frustrated actually, claiming that we were wasting our time asking them the same questions.

*

"Hank" I tap lightly on Voights' door. His back was facing me, phone in hand. He turns his head slightly to look over his shoulder.

"Let me call you back" he says to the person on the other line and hangs up. "Family here?"

"They're downstairs" I tell him.

*

Voight has me stay with the younger brother while him and Al talk to the parents. Everyone else was working their ass off trying to find anything that could help us get this case going. Running records, emails, phone calls, etc.

"Would you like anything from the vending machine?" I ask Will. The boy stared at the floor, picking at his finger nails.

He shakes his head no. Not much of a talker but then again, he just lost his younger brother.

I pull up a chair and sit next to Will. He shifts his body slightly away from me but he doesn't look up from the ground.

"How old are you, Will?" I ask, hoping I can get him to talk. For a moment, there's just silence between us. Then, I hear a small voice.

"I'm 9" Will murmurs, his eyes remaining on the ground. "I turn 10 next month" he adds. There's a start.

"Yeah? Double digits, that's exciting." All I get is a shrug from the boy. I need to get him to talk more but he's not giving me much.

"Hey" I say quietly. "I know this must be really hard but if there's anything you can remember from last night, it would really help us in trying to figure out what happened to your brother..."

Nothing. Only silence. I watch Will carefully as he brings a finger up to his mouth, chewing on his fingernail. His leg starts to move up and down.

"Will?" I place a hand on his shoulder but he scoots forward and away from me.

"Did it hurt?" Will asks.

"What?"

"Did it hurt him? When Michael was dying, did it hurt?" The boy growls.

My body goes rigid as I process what he is asking and the way he is asking. The tone in his voice.

"Michael didn't feel any pain" I answer. In one rapid motion, Will aggressively spins around and glares at me wide eyed.

"You're lying!" His face starts to turn red. I raise my hands up.

"Hey" I say calmly, "I'm not lying t-"

"Yes you are! It hurt him. It had to" Will is staring at me with a wildness behind his eyes. I don't respond, instead I take a moment to study Will and his body language. The emotion behind his eyes. My mind starts to race as I come up with a few answers to his sudden change in behavior.

At first, I thought he was showing signs of emotions, grief, to his brothers death but I'm now realizing these are unemotional traits he is displaying.

"It should've hurt him" Will repeats. His chest rises and falls. He's angry. Angry because I told him his brother didn't feel any pain. Will wants to hear that his brother suffered. And when I asked him to help me out he decided not to share anything that could've helped. Instead, he asked a question for his own curiosity.

A knock on the door steals my attention. Jay cautiously steps into the room, his eyes glued on Will who returned to his old position of staring at the ground and chewing on his fingernails. As if nothing had just happened.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?" He nods towards the door. I rise up from my seat and walk towards the door keeping my eyes on the kid the entire time. Once Jay and I are out of the room and the door is shut, he gently pulls further away from the door and whispers for only us to hear.

"M.E  reported there were pieces of car toys forced down Michael's throat." A muscle in his jaw jumped, his nostrils flared as he stares at Will through the window. I look over my shoulder. The boy appears to be bored.

I cross my arms and stand with my body facing the window. It is disturbing how he is reacting.

"When I was trying to get him to talk to me about his brother, he basically asked me if his brother felt pain. When I told him no, he got angry. These are some psychopathic signs. Lack of remorse. Not wanting to help. Aggressive behavior. No empathy..."

This entire time I had only thought it in my head that our offender could possibly be the brother. Now, as I say it out loud to Jay, I am certain it is Will. He is our offender. Judging by the look written across Jays' face, he thinks the same.

"There's someone I know at Chicago Med. I'll run it by Hank and see if he can come down here, try to talk to the kid. Confirm if what we believe is true."

"Give it a shot" I tell him. We both look back to the boy.

Will turns his chair and faces the window and looks straight at us both. His face is blank. There is not a trace of empathy or remorse in his eyes. The longer he continues to stare at us with those empty eyes, the more I become positive my instincts are right.

Will murdered his own brother. Now we have to prove that he did it and why.

"He knows" Jay mutters.
"Let's get your friend down here"