These were the mornings she liked the best. Her feet pounding against the pavement as she pushes herself just a little farther. Her breathing is strong and steady and she knows if she keeps this pace she'll get that endorphin rush where she feels like she could run forever. She wishes she didn't have to go in today. That she could just finish her run and lounge all day in old sweats and binge watch a terrible show. But things rarely work out like that...

She slows her pace as she turns onto the corner of her street and her eyebrows raise slightly when she sees Jays truck in front of her flat. She stops at the driver side window of his truck and gives it a quick tap. Inside, he jumps and she frowns...was he sleeping or just resting his eyes? Either way, he gets out of the truck and faces her.

"Have a nice run?" He's careful to keep his eyes on her face. The spandex top and leggings

leave little the imagination and the last thing he needs is for her to feel uncomfortable around him.

Hailey just smiles and nods. "Did we catch a case?" She asks while pulling her phone out? The screen's black and she knows that stupid charger she has finally crapped out on her. "How long have you been waiting?"

"I just got here actually and sent you a text...but clearly you didn't get it. You should get changed and then I'll fill you in on the case on the way in."

He watches as she jogs up the steps to her flat before stopping and turning to him.

"Hey, can you get this on your charger? I know I have another one somewhere but don't want to waste time finding it." She tosses her phone to him before turning once again and disappearing behind her door.

Jay climbs into his truck and plugs Haileys phone in. He waits for the screen to light up and then sets it down. After 5 minutes, the screen switches to the normal lock screen and Jay can't help the dry chuckle that escapes. Her lock screen is black. No pictures, or color. No indication of who this phone might belong to at all. Even the case is plain. Sturdy and black. The simplicity of the phone could not be more different from the owner. He wonders if he has ever met someone as guarded as Hailey. How even though they've been partnered for almost a year, he could probably just barely fill a post it with things he knows about her. It's not like he's an open book, but there's just something about the way she looks at him after she's asked him a personal question that just makes him want to answer, instead of his normal deflection or joked response.

"Less than 10 minutes and you showered...thanks for that." He gives her one his signature Halstead smiles before adding "I'd hate for you to stink up my truck."

She clicks her seatbelt before turning slightly towards him and punching his arm. "Shut up, Halstead."

On the drive, he quickly fills her in on what he knows about the case. A man in his mid 40's found stabbed to death in his home. "His daughter was there or at least was in the house when the police arrived. Neighbors said they heard a man shouting and someone screaming before everything went quiet again." If Jay notices the way Hailey sits up a bit, or the thin set of her lips, he doesn't say anything. "They haven't been able to get the daughter to talk though. She looks like maybe she got knocked around or something. Voight said she's got a split lip and visible bruising on her wrists." He glances at Hailey and waits for her to say something. Ultimately she doesn't so he continues. "It's possible she came home in the middle of this and was beat by the guy. Hopefully the team will have something for us when we get up there."

"Hmmm" is all Hailey lets out. She's got a bad feeling about this and just as she clasps her shaky hands together, they thankfully pull into the district. She grabs her phone and heads out of the truck. She ignores Jays questioning gaze and bee lines it for the gate and quickly buzzes herself up leaving Jay to rush after her.

Hailey wastes no time and quickly approaches the board, swiping the case folder from her desk on her way. She scans the papers inside, putting faces and names to memory. Walter Walters...she hates the name immediately. Why even bother with a first name if its one letter short of the last? He's 43 and looked to be in good health. No record...not even a parking ticket. He's a widow, his wife having died of breast cancer 2 years ago. His daughter, Clara, 14. A sophomore at Unity Prep. From the outside they looked happy. Both daughter and father smiling back at Hailey from their pictures on the board. Everything around her fades and she focuses on the facts. She doesn't even realize she's been standing in front of the board for nearly 5 minutes ignoring her team. It isn't until Voights raspy voice pierces her thoughts that she returns to the room and turns to look at her boss. She can feel the eyes of friends on her and chooses to ignore them.

"What have we got?" Hands tucked into the back of his belt, Voight stares down his team. Hoping for some answers. This murder was too violent to be random and he needs his team to get to the bottom of it quickly. He looks at Adam who scratches his chin and shakes his head.

"We got nothing Sarge. Rojas and Burgess are looking for security footage but nothing so far. Neighbors said the disturbance started at 8:45pm and lasted for approximately 5-10 minutes. Nobody saw anything out of the ordinary otherwise."

"Sarge, where's the daughter? I'd like to try to talk to her." She tries to sound normal, like her insides aren't shaking and her head isn't pounding. She keeps her head up and eyes focused on Voight. He considers her her for a moment. They have nothing really to go on, and Ruzek and himself already tried to get the girl to talk with no luck. It couldn't hurt... "Fine." His focus shifts to Jay "sit in with her, see what we can get."

Hailey wants to argue, to tell him she doesn't need Jay in there. That it would be better if he wasn't anywhere near the room in fact. She's about to tell him this but changes her mind at his stare that's practically begging her to try and defy his order. Instead, she gives a slight nod and walks back towards the interview room. She hears him send the rest of the team out with various tasks and takes a small comfort in knowing that they won't be listening in. She can only hope Voight stays away too.

She takes a deep breath before turning to her partner. "I'd like to do the talking, I have an angle and want to see where it runs." He wants to ask her if she's okay. If she needs a minute to gather herself, because while she works with everyone back in the pen everyday, they don't work as closely with her as he does. They wouldn't see her knuckles nearly white from gripping the file so hard. The shaky breath she let out when he first told her about the daughter, or the way she completely masks her face to hide any real emotion she may be feeling. He doesn't know what it is that's got her out of sorts, but he's worried. He remembers she's waiting for some kind of response from him and instead of asking what he wants, he simply states that he would follow her. He watches her shoulders relax slightly before she nods again and enters the room.

The pale blue of the room calms her a little and she's happy that Clara is in this room and not the interrogation rooms. This room is for victims and devastated family members and friends. She's sure that Clara is at least one of those. She sees Clara sitting on the plush navy couch just staring, vacant expression on her face that sets Haileys heart racing once again.

"Hello Clara." She waits for a response or some flicker of recognition but gets nothing. Hailey takes a seat on the other end of the couch and points to the chair in the far corner of the room for Jay to take.

"My name is Hailey. I'm a detective here, and this my partner Jay. He's just sitting in, but I'd like for you to focus only on me if you can okay?" Her voice is gentle and soothing. The girl is tiny. Very small for her age, Hailey thinks. She barely looks like she is 11, she'd never guess this girl was a sophomore in high school.

"Clara, can you tell me what happened last night?" Again, Hailey waits for some sort of response. When none come, she reaches out and gently touches her arm. She's barely touched her before the girl jerks away, pressing further into the corner of the couch. Hailey regrets the action immediately, and curses herself as the girl starts to tremble. Her tiny body rattling about and her breathing hitches. She looks up at Hailey and whispers she's sorry. If Hailey hadn't seen her mouth move she would have thought she imagined it. Then Haileys eyes meets hers and she knows she was right to be worried. That this girl has endured something she shouldn't have. That sinking feeling she had since Jay briefed her earlier spreads across her whole body. She watches as the girl drops her head and begins to cry silently. Hailey wants to cry too...she knows without a doubt that this case will change everything.