The Good and the Bad

Madmen and Fools

Chapter Forty-Six

*~*~*~*

Scout's eyes were narrowed as she made her way into Jim's office the following morning. Having kept up on her promise after letting Voight know she'd be in a little late-- needing to deal with a family issue. When she walked in she was greeted by the sight of Jim talking with his lawyer, acting as if everything were right in the world. As if he weren't the biggest snake out there.

"You really thought you'd be able to get her to knuckle under that easy?" Scout spoke in disbelief as she eyed the man before her, truly surprised in how little he thought of his soon-to-be ex-wife. "You're gonna, what, run a game and then split with the money?"

"No one's running any game, Olivia--" Jim began.

"It's Scout," she cut him off.

"Okay, Scout," he corrected himself. "I'm leaving Christie, okay? Now, this can go one of two ways. We can have an all-out dog fight in court, or Christie can take the offer on the table-- two grand a month for the next four years."

"What about the house?" She questioned.

"It's still on the market," he shrugged.

"So you're okay with leaving your wife and daughter with no home and not enough to live on," she raised a brow at the man. Trying to figure out what Christie had ever seen in him.

"They can keep the apartment," he pointed out.

"For the past year, you've been moving assets into a shell company owned by your little piece of ass on the side, Keri Hathaway." She called him out, wanting him to know that she wasn't buying his little act. But Jim didn't so much as bat an eye, instead only holding a file out for her to take. "What's this?"

"The documents in your hand authorize the transactions you're talking about," he spoke calmly. "You'll note Christie cosigned every one of them. You're welcome to take those with you."

"You're not gonna get away with this," she warned him. "I'm not gonna let you do this to your daughter."

*~*~*~*

Scout's fingers tapped against her steering wheel as she sat in her car, her eyes locked on the firehouse located right across the street. The trucks were parked inside, a sign that that the guys were still around the house-- Matt included. From where she was parked, she could see Cruz looking over the truck, making sure the engine was okay. As her phone rang, she kept her eyes focused on that.

"Scout." She answered without checking the caller ID.

"Hey," Adam's familiar voice greeted her. "Where are you?"

"I told Voight I'd be in late today," she offered, not in the mood to get into the specifics.

"Late, yeah," he muttered sarcastically. "It's almost noon, Scout. Not to mention the fact that Dawson seems to be checking his phone every ten minutes to see if you've left a message. Where are you?"

"It's nothing you guys need to worry about, Adam. I'm just handling a family matter," she assured him. "I promise, I'm fine. I've got to go, but I promise that I'll be in as soon as I can."

"That Keltner?" A gruff voice asked in the background. Scout's brows furrowed slightly at she listened to the scuffle of Adam's phone being passed over before her sergeant's familiar voice greeted her. "What's going on?"

"Family business," she told him just as she caught sight of Matt talking to Cruz in front of the truck.

"You need any help?" Voight questioned, his mind instantly going to the detective current custody dispute.