And I’m going to find out what it is.
25
HARRISON
It’s a slow Monday morning.
I called in sick today. Bianca and I aren’t going to check out Rouge’s other clubs until later tonight, but I still wanted the day to myself to look into that past-due notice I found in Maddox’s mailbox.
I never take sick days, and Dinah seemed suspicious on the phone when I called and told her I was going to take one.
I said it’s probably just a sniffle, but that I had been exposed to a friend who turned out to have the flu. Since we work primarily around immunocompromised people, it was an easy out for me.
Dinah, like me, is concerned about Maddox and Alissa. She had that friend that told her that Alissa blew off that important audition with the symphony orchestra.
And Maddox is never one to skip out on his bills. Even when he was scrambling for a living back when he first started the haberdashery and his dad was taking half his profits, he paid all his bills on time and in full. He always found a way. Half the reason that shop is still standing is because he stayed on top of his debt.
He’s in decent financial shape now. He doesn’t make as much as I do, but he’s got a successful small business that covers his bills and allows him to sock away a little on the side. A speeding ticket would be an annoyance, but not something he wouldn’t be able to easily pay off.
A quick Google search reveals that Toby Brillig, the cop who wrote the ticket, works at a police station on the west side of town just off I-290.
Another question mark. Maddox and Alissa both live in Uptown, and Aces is right in the Loop. Neither of them would have any reason to be traveling that far west. Most people only take I-290 when they’re headed to the airport. If they were driving to and from Aces when Maddox got the ticket, it would have been a cop from a different jurisdiction.
After a quick cup of coffee, I head to the police station and greet the officer manning the front desk.
“Morning,” he grumbles from behind a large mug of coffee.
“Good morning.” I flash a smile. “I was wondering. Is Officer Brillig in today?”
The officer raises his bushy eyebrows. “Who’s asking?”
I hold up the past-due notice. “I’m…housesitting for a friend who’s on a big vacation right now. This showed up in his mailbox. I guess Brillig wrote him a ticket that he forgot to pay. My friend is in a pretty remote location and I’m not able to contact him. I wanted to see if I could talk to the officer who issued him the ticket and get this taken care of before he incurs any serious penalties.”
The officer rolls his eyes. “All requests and appeals for overdue tickets will have to be made through the clerk of the circuit court in the county the summons was issued, sir.” He waves me off.
“Wait, no. Even if he can’t help me, I would like to talk to the officer. Is he in today?”
The front desk officer wrinkles his forehead. “You seem awfully concerned for a guy who isn’t on the receiving end of a past-due notice. What’s going on, son?”
“I’d rather discuss it with Officer Brillig.”
The officer narrows his eyes but picks up a phone and dials an extension. “Toby, you have a visitor. Something about a ticket you issued a while back.”
Pause.
“Yeah, I already told him. But for some reason, he still wants to talk to you. Are you busy?”
Pause.
“All right. Thanks.” He hangs up the phone and looks back at me. “You’re in luck, kid. He’s not too busy today.” He gestures to the offices behind the front desk. “Go on back.”
“Thank you, Officer. I really appreciate it.”
I walk to the back of the police station where a series of cubicles line the space. I snake up and down the aisles until I find one with Officer Brillig’s nameplate on the exterior. I poke my head in. “Officer Brillig?”
A man with a thick gray mustache looks up from his computer monitor. “Yes?”
“May I come in and talk with you for a second?”
