With help from the cemetery caretaker, Jack Stacy finally found the grave of Hank Voight’s late wife.
A photograph on the headstone showed Lena Voight with a bright smile, while the dates beneath it revealed that she had died about ten years earlier when Justin was still a teenager.
That explained part of Justin’s withdrawn personality and his difficult relationship with Hank.
Losing his mother during his teenage years had clearly left a wound that prison and time had never completely erased.
Jack searched the cemetery but found no sign of Justin.
A fresh bouquet rested beside Lena’s grave along with a whiskey bottle stained with blood, while the spilled liquor on the ground was still damp enough to suggest Justin had left only a short time earlier.
Jack mentally reviewed everything he had seen in Justin’s bedroom.
His thoughts returned to the phrase old place in the messages between Justin and Joe Catalano, then to a photograph showing the two of them with several other men posing beside muscle cars outside an abandoned warehouse.
The number painted on the building had been clearly visible.
It was Warehouse 12, and Jack immediately returned to the black Mercedes-AMG GT before driving toward the Port District.
Warehouse 12 had been abandoned for years.
Weeds pushed through cracks in the pavement and trash covered the loading area, while signs of drug use littered several corners around the property.
Jack checked the perimeter carefully before noticing a traffic camera across the roadway with a partial view of the warehouse entrance.
He immediately called Sheldon Jin and asked him to check the footage between nine and eleven the previous night.
“Jack, is this connected to an official case?” Sheldon asked after a short pause.
“Because if it is, I need authorization.”
“It involves Hank’s family.” Jack lowered his voice.
“I can’t explain everything right now.
Just treat whatever you find as confidential.”
Sheldon remained silent for several seconds before finally agreeing.
“Give me ten minutes.”
The footage reached Jack almost exactly ten minutes later.
The camera angle wasn’t ideal, but enough of the warehouse entrance was visible to establish a clear timeline.
At 10:08 p.m., Frank Fittoli walked into Warehouse 12 alone.
At 10:15 p.m., Joe Catalano followed him inside, and a short time later a brief flash appeared through one of the warehouse openings.
Jack immediately recognized what it most likely represented.
Justin had not entered the warehouse with either man, which strongly suggested he wasn’t present when Frank was shot.
Several minutes later Justin appeared near the entrance with hesitant movements and looked inside.
Roughly ten minutes after that, Joe and Justin emerged carrying Frank Fittoli’s body between them before struggling toward the Mustang and disappearing beyond the camera’s view.
Jack stared at the footage as the sequence finally became clear.
Joe had asked Justin for the Mustang while hiding his real purpose, and Justin had apparently become worried when Joe failed to return and gone inside to check on him.
That meant Justin had not taken part in Frank’s murder and likely knew nothing about the plan beforehand.
Unfortunately, instead of calling Hank or the police after discovering the body, he had panicked and helped Joe move Frank from Warehouse 12 to Lincoln Park.
Justin wasn’t the shooter, but he wasn’t completely innocent either.
Helping transport and conceal the victim of a homicide could still bring serious consequences, and Jack could only wonder how Justin had managed to make a terrible situation even worse.
Jack immediately called Hank and explained what he had found.
“Justin wasn’t there when Frank was shot.
Everything I have suggests he didn’t know Joe planned the murder.”
“You sure?” Hank asked quickly.
“I have video.
Frank entered first, Joe followed him and the shooting happened before Justin showed up.” Jack paused before adding, “But Justin went inside afterward and helped Joe move the body.
He didn’t commit the murder, but he got involved after the fact.”
“Goddammit.” Hank’s curse came through the phone along with distant sirens, then his voice suddenly sharpened.
“Justin contacted me too.
Joe wants him to meet tonight and ‘talk.'”
Jack frowned.
“Where?”
“Warehouse 12.
Eight o’clock.”
Jack slowly looked up at the abandoned building in front of him and checked his watch.
It was already 7:32 p.m.
“Hank, I’m already at Warehouse 12.
This is where Frank was killed.” Jack heard the distant growl of approaching engines and immediately understood what was happening.
“If Joe knows Justin can connect him to the shooting, this could be a trap.”
“Exactly.
Joe may not be coming alone either.” Hank’s voice turned urgent.
“Alessio could have people watching his back.”
“I know.” Jack saw headlights approaching down the road.
“They’re here.”
At 7:45 p.m., Warehouse 12 stood beside the dark waterfront like a rusted steel skeleton.
Jack drew his personally owned Beretta 92FS, since his service Glock had been turned in after the Neil Vance officer-involved shooting the previous day.
The side door was slightly open.
Jack activated Hearing Positioning Lv.1 and focused on the sounds inside until he identified five distinct people.
He slipped quietly through the door and found Justin on his knees near the center of the warehouse.
His hands were tied behind his back and blood ran from a wound on his forehead, while Joe Catalano stood directly in front of him with a handgun and three armed men waited nearby.
“So here’s what you tell the cops,” Joe said as he raised the pistol beneath Justin’s chin.
“You drove the car because you planned the whole thing.
You tell them you killed Frank.”
“I didn’t kill anybody!” Justin shouted.
“You said you only needed the Mustang.
I didn’t even know you were meeting Frank!”
Joe laughed and gestured toward him with the gun.
“Your fingerprints are all over the car.
Frank’s blood is in the trunk, and I’ve got pictures of you buying drugs from him and another one that makes it look like you threatened him.”
Justin stared at him in disbelief.
Joe’s smile disappeared as he told him to take the murder charge and let his father fix the problem like he always did.
“And if I don’t?” Justin asked.
“Then you die here.”
Jack remained hidden while studying the situation.
Four armed suspects with Justin as a hostage gave him terrible odds, so he quietly picked up a loose piece of metal and tossed it toward the opposite side of the warehouse.
The sudden clang echoed through the building and drew everyone’s attention.
Joe frowned and ordered two of his men to check it out, giving Jack the opening he needed.
Jack changed position as the two gunmen disappeared around a corner.
He intercepted them out of sight and dropped both before either could raise an alarm, leaving Joe and two armed men near Justin.
The odds were much better now.
Jack stepped from the shadows with the Beretta raised.
“Chicago Police!
Joe Catalano, drop the gun!”
Everyone turned toward him and Joe stared for a second before grinning.
“A cop came in here alone?
That brave or that stupid?”
“Put the weapon down.” Jack kept his aim steady.
“I have evidence connecting you to Frank Fittoli’s murder.
I also have proof Justin wasn’t there when you shot him and that you’re trying to force him to take the fall.”
Joe laughed, but Jack didn’t react.
“Surrender and you live long enough to see a courtroom.
Point that gun at anyone and this ends differently.”
“You think I’m scared of dying?” Joe’s expression became almost manic as his arm suddenly snapped toward Justin.
At the same moment, the other two gunmen raised their pistols toward Jack.
Gun Duel Lv.3 activated and Jack’s perception sharpened until every movement seemed slower.
He saw Joe’s finger tightening against the trigger, Justin’s terrified expression and the other two men bringing their weapons into line.
Jack fired three times in rapid succession.
The first round struck Joe’s gun wrist and knocked the pistol from his hand.
The next two bullets hit the remaining gunmen in their shoulders and sent both stumbling backward, leaving neither capable of continuing the fight.
Joe collapsed with a scream, but his free hand immediately moved toward his waistband.
Jack spotted the backup handgun and fired again before Joe could bring it up.
The shot struck Joe in the head and dropped him instantly.
Silence filled the warehouse for several seconds before the familiar system notification appeared before Jack’s eyes.
[Criminal Joe Catalano neutralized.]
[Reward obtained: Black Iron Treasure Chest ×1.]
Jack kept the Beretta trained on the surviving gunmen and both immediately raised their hands.
He secured them before checking the two men he had incapacitated earlier, then walked over and freed Justin once the immediate danger was under control.
Justin stared at Joe’s body while his hands trembled.
“You…
you killed him.”
“He was about to kill you.” Jack checked the wound on Justin’s forehead.
“Can you walk?”
Justin nodded and Jack helped him stand.
Moments later the sound of numerous sirens filled the night outside.
The warehouse entrance burst open and Hank rushed inside with the Intelligence Unit and SWAT behind him.
Catherine Hayek wasn’t with them, but Hank barely noticed anyone else once he saw his son standing alive.
“Jack!
Justin!” The tension visibly left Hank’s face before his eyes shifted toward Joe Catalano’s body and his expression became much harder to read.
Paramedics quickly moved in and took Justin from Jack.
Another figure entered behind the tactical officers and surveyed the scene before walking directly toward him.
It was Megan Gladysal from Internal Affairs.
“Officer Stacy, you want to explain how you ended up inside an abandoned warehouse with a dead suspect and four restrained gang members?” she asked coldly.
Jack looked at her calmly.
“I was off duty and happened to be in the area when I noticed suspicious activity.
I contacted Sergeant Voight and checked it out.”
Gladysal narrowed her eyes.
“You just happened to be here?”
“Bad timing.”
Hank almost looked amused despite everything.
Jack gestured toward the surviving gunmen.
“When I entered, Joe Catalano had Justin restrained at gunpoint and was trying to force him into confessing to Frank Fittoli’s murder.
Catalano attempted to shoot him, then reached for a second firearm after I disarmed him.”
Gladysal glanced toward the surviving suspects.
Jack added that they had witnessed the immediate threat and could confirm what happened inside the warehouse.
“Internal Affairs is still reviewing this shooting, Stacy,” Gladysal said.
“You entered alone and a suspect ended up dead.”
“A suspect who was attempting to murder a witness,” Jack replied evenly.
“And Sergeant Voight knew where I was.”
Hank returned after making sure Justin was with the paramedics.
“Officer Stacy encountered an emergency while off duty and contacted me.
Once I understood the situation, I authorized him to act until backup arrived.”
Gladysal looked between them for several seconds.
She clearly didn’t believe every part of their story, but proving otherwise was another matter.
“I hope you’re both this lucky next time,” she said coldly.
“Eventually luck runs out.
Especially yours, Officer Stacy.”
Gladysal turned and walked away.
Only after she left did Jack retrieve the evidence he had collected and hand everything to Hank.
“Traffic-camera footage from Warehouse 12, the messages between Justin and Joe and the recording from Justin’s phone.”
“This proves Justin wasn’t present when Frank was shot,” Jack continued.
“But the footage also shows him helping Joe move the body afterward.”
Hank nodded slowly, relief visible on his face without denying what Justin had done.
“He’ll have to answer for that.”
Jack didn’t argue.
For several seconds Hank looked toward the ambulance carrying his son before turning back to Jack.
“Thank you, Jack.
I mean it.
I don’t know what I’d do if I lost Justin.”
Jack gave him an innocent look.
“Not sure what you’re thanking me for, Sergeant.
I was just out here fishing.”
Hank stared at him for a moment before the corner of his mouth lifted.
“Right.
Fishing.”
Neither man said anything more about the off-books investigation.
They simply reached out and shook hands firmly.
[Goal Tracker]