Keeping It in the Family (Linstead)

Chapter 142

"Hey, Trudy. I've missed seeing your face every morning," Halstead said after walking into the 18th District police station.

Trudy Platt was working front desk duty, as she had for years at the 21st. She responded with typical dryness. "Of course you have. Erin called ahead. I've got Rose coming back here now. Have a seat if you want. Raquel."

"Sergeant Platt," Gonzalez said respectfully.

There were a few chairs near the windows. Halstead walked over to them, trying not to smile. Even Gonzalez seemed a bit wary of Platt's notorious temperament.

"Caught her on a grumpy day," she muttered as they sat next to each other.

"Did you expect anything else?" he replied under his breath.

They sat there for a while in silence. Sitting in Trudy Platt's reception area was like sitting outside of a school principle's office, Halstead thought. There was the distinct feeling that opening your mouth could get you into hot water.

Several people walked in and out of the building before Halstead recognised Amanda Rose, even though she had a heavy CPD coat and a CPD beanie on against the cold outside. She walked into the building and went straight for the front desk, not happening to look in the direction of him and Gonzalez. As he got up, he saw Platt say something and point towards them.

Gonzalez took the lead as Rose turned to face them. "Officer Rose, I'm Detective Gonzalez, currently in operational command of Intelligence. You know Detective Halstead."

"Of course. How can I help you?" Rose asked. There was some confusion in her eyes. Apparently Platt either hadn't been told or hadn't bothered to relay the reason they wanted to speak to her.

"You can talk in there," Platt said from behind the desk, pointing with a pen to an informal interview room off the entrance.

"Is there something wrong?" Rose asked, looking at Gonzalez and then at Halstead. As was the case with most people, she seemed a little wary of Gonzalez on first instinct.

"No, nothing like that," Gonzalez assured her. "Come with us."

The trio went into the room. There was a table with four chairs in there. Gonzalez and Halstead took the two seats facing the door. In contrast to the winter outside, the 18th was very warm.

"Just give me a second," Rose said. She took off the leather gloves that she was wearing and dropped them on the table. Next the coat came off, being hung over the back of the chair that wasn't going to be used. Lastly, she took off the beanie, revealing blonde hair cut in a bob.

A pretty face, even with lip fillers that were not to Halstead's personal taste, a body that looked great even in the unflattering uniforms that CPD issued, and a delightful pair of tits. He couldn't help a bit of window shopping, even though for him no one could ever come to the natural beauty of Erin, with her gorgeous smile that always took his breath away, those dimples that he could never not notice, and her wonderful figure that was already back after Henry's birth. For a lot of men, Amanda Rose would have been a nine or a ten, but for him she came a distant second to his fiancée.

"Sit down, Rose," Gonzalez said, with a slight hint of impatience that Halstead could pick up on because he knew his partner so well. He got the impression that she wasn't enamoured with the little undressing routine, or with cops that looked like they would be more at home on a catwalk somewhere.

"Yes, ma'am. Sorry about that. They keep it so warm in here," Rose said. She sat down and looked at them expectantly, since she had been told there was nothing to worry about.

"There is a vacancy in Intelligence," Gonzalez announced. "You are under consideration for the position. I understand you have been considered before, when Deonna Purrazzo was chosen. Despite that decision, you stayed on Sergeant Lindsay's radar. She has done a deep dive into your personnel file and found that you're still suitable for consideration. The reason Detective Halstead and I are here is to find out more about Amanda Rose, the person behind the facts and figures in your file, which I should point out I haven't read."