The Calm Before the Storm (Jay Halstead)

Chapter 12

Cassie's P.O.V.

Nathan and I walked up the stairs of the 21st district. As soon as we walked up Sargent Voight was talking as the team were surrounding the white board.

"Her mother filed a missing persons report a week before we found her" Voight explained. He acknowledged us as we walked in further "Detectives" He said to us with a nod.

We looked at the pictures on the white board "What do we got?" Nathan asked.

"Three victims all with stab wounds to their stomach and legs. 3 stab wounds, one to the stomach and two to the right leg. They were all choked and then thrown into a ditch" Adam explained as he stood on the other side of the white board.

"Wait a minute I know these" I said slowly approaching the board.

"What do you mean?" Adam asked.

"Back in Indiana we had 4 victims who were killed the exact same way. All with stab wounds and choked to death. We found them all in ditches" I explained.

"And the suspect?" Voight asked.

"He was never caught" I said with a sigh.

Silence filled the air "So if this is the same suspect-" Voight began.

"It is the same suspect. I studied this case" I said looking at the bodies on the board "This is him"

"Okay" Voight nodded his head "It looks like we have a serial killer. So this is our top priority because this is our case. We don't touch any other case until this scumbag is behind bars"

Everyone slowly nodded their heads "Okay. Our recent victim is Jessica Summers. Let's look into her background see if there are any connections to the other victims" Voight instructed.

"I can call our tech back at the 31st. He might be able to help us out" Nathan said pulling out his cellphone.

"Okay" Voight said to Nathan "Jay I want you to go to Jessica's work, find out anything you can"

I noticed Jay and Hailey begin to get their jackets.

"Take Cassie with you"

Jay looked at me and I lightly shrugged my shoulders. As I turned I glanced at Hailey to see she looked confused. I followed Jay downstairs and began walking beside him. Once we made it down the last step we proceeded to the door.

"Halstead" The front desk Sargent called out.

We turned to her and she pointed to an office across. We turned our heads to the office to see a brunette girl. She smiled and waved at Jay.

"Give me a minute" He said turning to me.

I nodded my head as I headed to the door. I glanced at the girl who was staring at Jay before I walked out the door.

I waited in the truck for a few minutes until he climbed in. He shut the door and turned on the truck. He began driving "So, how do you know about this case so much?"

"Back in Indiana I was working on the case. He killed 4 victims in 4 weeks. He was a smart guy, had us running around everywhere. One of the worst things about being a cop is, when you don't catch the suspect it hits you. The fact that you feel like you've failed the victims families"

"Yea I hear you"

Jay and I got to Jessica's work place. She was a nurse at Chicago Med. After talking with a close friend we began walking out of the hospital.

"So if Jessica knew the other victims that can be a connection. We need to find out if the others went to the club Jessica would go to" I said.

"Yea" Jay agreed.

We climbed back into the truck and he began driving back to the district. For a few minutes the ride back was silent. Until I spoke up.

"So, who was the girl?" I glanced at him.

"What girl?"

I exhaled "The girl back at the district. She seemed to know you"

Jay stayed silent for a few seconds as he kept his eyes on the road in front of him "Her name is Maddie Cruz. She's a friend"

I turned to look at him "A friend?" That word didn't sound too convincing.

"She was kind of the first girl I fell in love with"

I turned my head back to look forward "Oh. Right"

"That was years ago Cassie. I don't feel that way about her anymore. It's the first time I see her in 4 years"

I cleared my throat "Yea, no I was just curious"

We arrived back at the district and walked back up the stairs. I saw Lucas sitting at a desk with Nathan beside him.

"Hey" I said approaching them.

"Hey" Lucas and Nathan said as they acknowledged me.

"Did you see if the other victims knew each other?" I asked.

"Well there were no text exchanged between any of them" Lucas said as he leaned against his chair.

"So that's a dead end there" Nathan said.

"Maybe not" I said "Jessica would regularly go to a club, if our other victims went to the same club we could have a connection" I pointed out.

"Which one?" Lucas asked

"Nightclub named Pure"

Lucas began typing on the computer "Okay, that cloud is located downtown. Seems to be pretty popular"

"So if all our victims went there there's a good chance that's where the suspect scouted them all" I said.

"Okay, let's go" Jay said.

"I'll go with you" Hailey said already grabbing her jacket and heading towards the stairs.

Jay and I exchanged looks before he walked out with Hailey. I turned my head back to see Nathan and Lucas staring at me with almost wide eyes.

"Trouble in paradise?" Nathan asked causing Lucas to laugh.

"Shut up" I joked as I rolled my eyes.

I walked into the coffee room and began preparing my coffee. I began thinking about the case four years ago.

"Hey" I heard a voice causing me to snap out of it.

I turned to see Adam walking in the room "Hey" I said as I continued to prepare my coffee.

"I know we don't know each other but, if you ever need anyone to talk to I'm pretty good at listening"

A soft chuckle escaped my lips "Thanks" I grabbed the coffee and blew into it as I took a small sip "I was just thinking about the case four years ago"

He stood next to the counter right across from me "Of the same suspect?" He asked.

I glanced at the ground as I nodded my head "Yea, it's just hard. I did everything in my power to find him. The victims families.. they were counting on me, and I let them down"

"It's not your fault, you did everything you could to find him. None of that is on you"

I looked up at him "I know. It just sucks, those families counted on me and I let them down, I did"

He took a few steps towards me and laid his hand on my shoulder "We'll get him"

I took a deep breath and lightly nodded my head "Yea, I know"

"Just keep your head in the game alright" He turned around and walked out of the room.

I stared off into space thinking about it. About how badly I wanted to see the suspect behind bars. I brought up my coffee and took another sip. I swallowed and felt it travel warmly down my throat. I walked out of the room to meet along with the others.

Author's Note:

So what do you guys thinks?!

So Nathan and Lucas? Did you guys get where I'm coming from? Nathan and Lucas? Hint: from a tv show xD

Thanks for reading my chapters!❤️