One Call Away

Chapter Eighteen: The Murder

Climbing the steps to 21st District, Caitlyn hummed to herself as she made her way up the stairs enjoying the warm weather that they had been blessed with; she took her time making sure her sandals didn't slide off her feet as she climbed the steps.

The summer had officially arrived in Chicago and Caitlyn was determined to make the most of it especially now that she was working full time at the inn.

Susie was off on her maternity leave which meant that Caitlyn was now running the kitchens while she was away; everything had been prepared for the moment that Susie stepped away.

"Hey Platt," Caitlyn greeted with a smile, the other woman was stationed at her desk like always and looked up at her over her glasses at her.

Caitlyn held the brown bag in her hands, she had wanted to surprise Jay since he had been called away early that morning because of a new case; there was no telling when she'd see him.

"I brought some lunch for Jay, can you buzz me up?" Caitlyn asked politely, she understood if she couldn't go up because there was an active case on; she would happily see him down here, she remembered how crazy things got when that happened.

Trudy waved her on, she was happy to see the other woman again and the smile on her face was reassuring for her; she had never thought that she would get over what had happened.

Losing her father in such a way couldn't have been easy, especially when they had been estrange but his murder remaining unsolved was not something that would have made closure any easier.

Buzzing Caitlyn upstairs, Trudy watched her with a smile pleased to see that things had worked out for her when it had looked like her life had started to crumble around her even after she had left New York.

"What are you doing here?" Jay asked surprised getting to his feet and moving to greet Caitlyn as she appeared at the top of the stairs; he kissed her trying to ignore the look that Erin shot them.

It hadn't exactly come up that he and Caitlyn were now dating, they were taking things slow and with them both busy at work they were trying to make time for one another.

"I brought you lunch," Caitlyn replied holding up the bag that she had brought with her, she didn't care what anyone else thought; she was here to visit her boyfriend and drop him off some lunch.

She could see out the corner of her eye, the frown that had set upon Alvin's face as she spoke with Jay; he had never been too fond of any of the guys that she had dated in the past.

Thanking Caitlyn for bringing him some food, Jay was about to walk her to his car when she spotted the board with the picture of the victim.

"I know her... she was at the bake sale at the start of the month," Caitlyn said staring shocked at the sight of not only a school picture but the rest shoot of her after she had been found dead.

The room seemed almost silent and Caitlyn couldn't wrap her head around the fact that Allison was dead; her heart went out to Ted, she wondered how he would be coping with the loss of his daughter.

Allison was so young, she had her entire life set out in front of her and that had been taken from her in some cruel act by someone who wouldn't care.

"Could you tell us what you saw?" Jay asked not wanting to push her too hard, he didn't blame her for being shocked and he was almost glad that she couldn't see the report on how Allison had been found.

It was gruesome and there was no doubt that the teenager had suffered before she had died; the killer then dumping her two weeks after she had died in some park.

***

"I'll call you tonight," Jay promised walking Caitlyn out of the building, she had helped as much as she could with answering questions about what she had seen at the charity event but it hadn't been much help.

He gave Caitlyn a kiss and watched as she headed towards her car, his heart going out to her knowing that her father's death was probably on her mind after what she had saw.

It wasn't easy and he knew that there were times that she got sad about what had happened, she'd never be able to tell him that she loved him or make things right after what her mother did.

Watching as Caitlyn came to a stop to speak to someone by her car, Jay shook his head with a smile before heading back inside; he was starving and his mind turned to the lunch that she had brought him.

As he reached the top of the stairs, he saw Erin flag him down while she spoke on the phone; the look in her eyes telling him that it wasn't good.

"It's about Allison Grover. She was in foster care," Erin said putting down the phone, her eyes flashing to Jay knowing that something didn't add up here; if Caitlyn had seen a man with Allison then he couldn't be her father.

Looking towards the board, they stared at the picture trying to work out just what this meant; how could Caitlyn have seen Allison with her father if she was in foster care.

"Then who the hell is Ted?" Adam asked confused looking at the statement that Caitlyn had just given, she had been pretty certain about what she had said and even told them that Gabby could back her up on the facts.

The other woman had been in hearing range when she had spoken with Ted, both behind the same table while Caitlyn had spoken with him.

"I just checked the database... Allison's father was called Steven, there's no mention of a Ted Grover anywhere," Antonio said putting down his own phone, he looked at Jay knowing that whatever was going on; Caitlyn had just become a material witness and a possible target.

Turning on his heel, Jay rushed down the stairs knowing that it probably wasn't safe for Caitlyn to return to work; he recalled her mentioning that she'd run into Ted before at a coffee shop near the district.

Just as he got outside, his eyes focused on where Caitlyn had last been standing talking to someone before he had gone inside; his heart pounded finding her talking happily to the same man as before.

Jogging down the street towards them, Jay kept his eyes firmly locked on Caitlyn until he was sure that she was okay; he didn't like the idea that she may have become a target in his most recent case.

"Jay. This is Ted, I was just offering my condolences," Caitlyn said smiling weakly to her boyfriend, she hadn't been able to believe it when she had seen Ted by her car; he had explained that he was just on his way to speak with the district.

The colour drained from Jay's face at her words, his eyes swinging to look at Ted; his face almost seeming familiar to him before there was a bang.

Caitlyn screamed in terror lurching forward to Jay as he stumbled back onto the ground, blood starting to soak the front of his shirt as Ted grabbed onto her.

Dragging an hysterical Caitlyn towards his car, Ted ignored her cries of anguish at the sight of her fallen boyfriend; he cared little for the cop that had come into her life.

"Let go of me! Jay! Please let me go!" Caitlyn cried shoving at Ted's arm trying to get back to Jay, she struggled against his hold; her eyes focused on Jay's fallen form that wasn't moving.

Tears streamed down her face as Ted shoved her into the boot of his car, slamming the door down on her before she could get back out; his eyes looked back towards the district knowing soon he'd have the life he'd always wanted.