215Part one of this story is set in season 1. Talking to some other Upstead fans, we wondered how Hailey would have handled Jay being accused of killing Lonnie Rodiger. It got me thinking and made me write this story. Hailey is not a part of Intelligence, but still a patrol officer. An Upstead story.
- Part 1 –
Chapter 1
Jay Halstead was disappointed and angry, actually he was beyond angry. His boss, Sergeant Hank Voight, had just stripped him, taken his badge and gun, in the presence of the chief. His team, Intelligence, had not said a word, they had just stared at him. His partner, Erin Lindsay, had done nothing but give him the card of an FOP rep. Jin had slammed the door into his face. Antonio Dawson, who had brought him to Intelligence, had yelled at him for putting him, Antonio, in bad position.
They all believed it.
They all believed that he had killed Lonnie Rodiger. It was true, he wanted to kill this scumbag, had wanted to kill him the moment they had found out that Lonnie had killed Ben Corson. But Jay had not killed him; and right now he was angry and frustrated that nobody wanted to listen to his story, to believe him, to have his back.
Not his chief, not his boss, not his team, his friends – or rather, the people he had considered his friends.
He was alone again. This was not new to him, but this time it came unexpectedly.
Jay stormed out of the precinct, not looking nor caring where he went, when he ran into someone.
"Watch it!" he heard a sharp female voice.
Jay grunted, still annoyed, and looked at the woman he just almost ran over. A petite blonde woman approximately his age in Police Blues, who was looking at him annoyed and at the same time concerned. She's cute, he thought, but quickly brushed this thought off. Now was not the time.
"Sorry," he said meekly. "I didn't want to..."
"Are you ok?" she asked. She immediately noticed that there was something off, and for some reason she couldn't explain, she cared.
"Yeah," he answered automatically, then out of nowhere, he added, "no, not really."
She tilted her head slightly, surprised at his confession. He seemed to be a good guy, a troubled good guy. And he was quite handsome. "You look like you might need a coffee."
Jay stared at her, surprised. Things like that usually didn't happen to him. He quickly thought about the invitation. "Yeah, why not," he answered cautiously. "It's not like I have a job waiting."
The blonde raised her eyebrows in an unspoken question, which Jay didn't want to answer.
"Ok, let's go."
They headed to a coffee shop around the corner from the district, both not quite sure of what was happening.
They had never met before, yet it was the most normal thing in the world to go for a coffee together. And Jay was thankful that he was not alone, at least for a moment.
Inside the coffee shop they sat down at a table.
"Detective Jay Halstead, Intelligence," he introduced himself. "Well, Intelligence until a few minutes ago."
"Officer Hailey Upton, Patrol," she said, looking back at him seriously. "Why until a few minutes ago?"
Jay looked at her, not quite knowing if he should confide in this Officer Upton, whom he had just met. Her face showed friendly curiosity, not an intrusive curiosity; he decided it was just the right amount to make him trust her. He, Jay Halstead, who normally didn't trust many people.
"Because I was just stripped. It seems my whole team, plus my boss and the chief, believe that I killed somebody."
Her eyes widened. "Did you?"
"No, I didn't," Jay answered. "And you are the first person that actually asked me this question. That's the sad part. Well, not you asking, but..."
"Do you have a reputation of killing people?" She slightly tilted her head, and her voice sounded a bit teasing, in a good way. Just enough to lighten the conversation just a bit and make it less awkward.
"No. But I'm kind of new to the unit."
She looked at him inquiringly. Her gaze made him a bit uncomfortable, yet at the same time it felt good. It felt good that someone, even someone he didn't know, was actually interested in his side of the story. So he told her about the case. Told her that this boy, Ben Corson, was killed by a pedophile, that he knew the family, and that they found a suspect. They were sure that Lonnie Rodiger was guilty, but he walked. Of course, cases like this were difficult and never left you alone, especially when they remained open. It was frustrating that the family didn't have closure, that an alleged pedophile was still out in the streets to do more harm. He told her that he visited Ben's family each year for Ben's birthday, and that he watched Lonnie Rodiger. That he had been following Lonnie the night before. And now Lonnie was dead.
"And they think you did it?" Hailey asked. "Why?"
"Because the family wanted to have a restraining order against me already, and because I was driving behind him last night."
Hailey nodded. "I see. It's easy to blame you."
"Yes, I guess so."
"And now? What are you going to do now?"
"Contact my FOP rep, I think. My partner gave me a card."
"And then?"
"I have no idea."
Hailey shook her head. "You must prove that you didn't do it."
"Why are you so interested?"
Hailey smiled softly, thinking about an answer. "Because I believe you. I don't even know why, but I believe you."
"Thanks, at least one person believes me." Jay smiled back at her. They had only met, and he already felt good in her presence.
"Why did you come to 21st anyway? I have never seen you here," Jay changed the subject.
"I was supposed to meet with someone, who wasn't there. I'm usually in 28th."
"So you had some time to spare," Jay smiled. "Thank you."
He had finished his coffee and suddenly thought he should leave.
"You're welcome. Listen, if you need help, let me know, ok?" She took out a piece of paper and wrote a phone number down, handed him the paper.
Slowly Jay took the paper. "You know, I might just do that."
"Jay, I have some free time in the next few days, and I'll gladly help. It seems nobody else does."
Jay smiled sadly. "Yeah, that's true."
They left the coffee shop and returned to the precinct. When they had reached Jay's car, they stopped.
"It was nice to meet you, Detective Jay Halstead," Hailey said.
"Nice to meet you too, Officer Hailey Upton," Jay answered.
"Call, and I'll help you find the killer," Hailey confirmed once again. Jay grinned. Yes, he would probably call her. Perhaps she was as good a cop as she was a listener. And he definitely liked her. He briefly hugged her. "I will need to take care of a few things first. See you then."
When he turned back to his car, he saw his unit – or his former unit, he wasn't quite sure – walking towards their cars, and Erin gave him an irritated look. Jay shrugged and got into his car to drive home.
On the way he tried to gather his thoughts. What had just happened?
Was he fired? Would he have a chance to get back into Intelligence at all, even if he could prove that he was innocent?
And what had just happened with this Officer Upton? They met and he confided in her – how did that happen? He didn't trust just anyone whom he had just met. But she seemed to have found a way to make him trust her. She wasn't too close, didn't pretend to be, and yet she showed genuine interest. Jay didn't think he was always the best judge of character, but he hoped to be right this time.
He drove home, and instead of drowning in self-pity, he started thinking of what to do. He took a pen and a paper and wrote down everything he could remember, everything related to the Ben Corson case, and everything that happened in the last few weeks. And he started matching his notes with the information Jin had gathered for him.
He had stood in front of the Corson house on what would have been Ben's 15th birthday. After that he had followed Lonnie's tracks, because Jay was convinced that Lonnie was out hunting again. That was why he had been following him the night before.
Who could have killed Lonnie Rodiger?
The first person that came to his mind was Danny Corson, Ben's father. Jay didn't believe that Danny was capable of killing someone, however.
Just like himself, Danny might have killed Lonnie the moment it was clear that Lonnie had killed Ben. But right now? Jay didn't think Danny did it, but he would talk to Danny. He deserved to hear about Rodiger's death from him, not from some other cop that might accuse him, and thus adding to his pain. And if the investigating cops thought Danny might be a suspect, it shouldn't hit him unexpectedly. Within a few minutes, Jay was on his way.
A while later, Jay was sitting in the Corson's living room, just like so many times before. He was alone with Danny. And with a heavy heart he asked Danny if there was anything he should know.
Immediately when he asked, Jay was sure that Danny hadn't killed Lonnie. Danny was no killer, he was a good person, a very sad but good person. It made Jay's heart even heavier when Danny offered to take the blame and confess to killing Lonnie, just because he wanted to help Jay. Not being a very emotional person in the company of others, Jay felt a lump in his throat and tears welling up in his eyes. But he shook his head decidedly.
He would not allow Danny to take the fall for him. Both of them were innocent. This was out of the question. He needed to find out who killed Lonnie, not only for himself, but also for Danny Corson.
Jay made it clear to Danny that he hadn't killed Lonnie, and that he would not allow Danny to make a false confession to the police. He would find the actual murderer. He would make sure not to add more grief to Danny Corson's already mourning mind.
Then he drove back home. He had an appointment with Internal Affairs the next morning, and he wanted to gather his thoughts, be as well prepared as possible, under the circumstances. He didn't know if Internal Affairs had more on him than just the photos of his car. He knew, however, that he was innocent, but he didn't want any surprises. What other incriminating details could there be?
