Keeping It in the Family (Linstead)

Chapter 100

Luck was on Jay's side, he had been happy to discover. Just before the end of the shift, Deputy Superintendent Miller had walked into the bullpen at the 21st, wanting to see Erin.

When he had been ready to leave, Jay had knocked on her office door and poked him head in, only to be told that they would be a while and he could head home if he wanted.

"I'll drop you home when we're done," Miller had offered Erin.

With that agreed, Jay had quickly left and gone straight home. He knew he might not get much time to talk to Clementine, so he wanted to make the most of it while the going was good.

Walking into the apartment, he was greeted with the smell of Indian food being prepared for dinner. There was no mistaking the smell of curry, and it nearly made Jay's mouth water. He didn't get to eat it often, in fact he couldn't remember the last time, but he liked it a lot. It would be the first time Kayla had made one for them.

With no sign of Clementine in the living room, he figured she had to be in the kitchen helping out, so he went straight there. Sure enough, Kayla had Clementine chopping an onion, under close supervision. Clem had her usual Cubs cap on, but she was wearing a nice pair of black pants and a cream fleece – some of the purchases that Erin had made to help her feel happier about her image. It seemed to have worked, as there had been no further complaints.

"Hey. That smells nice," he said with a smile on his face.

"Jay! I'm making curry! I've made all of it!" Clementine cried, before thinking for a second and correcting herself. "Most of it anyway."

"That's great, Clem. Can't wait to try it. More importantly, are you enjoying it?"

"It's okay. Kayla knows so much stuff."

Yes, she does. And she's a fantastic nanny, Jay thought. Kayla's services cost a lot, but she had proven herself to be worth the money. He exchanged a smile with her, then figured he had better interrupt the cooking lesson in order to ensure he got the conversation with Clem done before Erin got home.

"Can you let Kayla take over, Clem? I need to talk to you."

She looked him, immediately wary. "Am I in trouble?"

"Is there a reason you should be in trouble?"

"No."

He smiled. "Then you're not in trouble. Come on, let's go to the living room."

"Maybe wash your hands first, Clem," Kayla suggested.

"Yes, wash your hands," Jay said, wondering why he hadn't thought of it.

Clementine quickly washed her hands at the sink, then went over to Jay. "Thanks, Kayla. Sorry to jump in while you were doing this," he said.

"It's fine," she smiled. "We're pretty much done now anyway apart from the cooking."

Jay led Clementine through to the living room and they sat together on the couch.

"So, Clem, remember when I asked if you could keep a secret?"

"Yeah," she said, her interest peaked immediately. The look on her face made Jay feel happy.

"I'm going to tell you a secret now. Actually, I need you to help me with it. But you must not tell Erin, or let her figure out that anything unusual is going on. Can you do that?"

"Yes. What's the secret?" she asked impatiently.

"Clem, what I'm saying is very important. You can't let Erin figure anything out, okay?"