Disclaimer: Okay, just a little fun for Halloween. As always, characters are not mine. I just dug em up for fun. Well, one anyway.
Charles Hoyt, Zombie
Jane Rizzoli sat at her desk, trying to focus on the paperwork in front of her. The antics of her coworkers, however, were quite distracting.
"Frost, Korsak, knock it off. You guys are like little kids," she protested. She watched Frost pick up another peanut and throw it at Korsak. Korsak swung his pencil like a baseball bat and tried to hit the peanut back at Frost.
"Strike!" Frost called out as Korsak clearly missed the peanut. Korsak looked around for the peanut and tossed it back to Frost. Frost cradled it in his hand and looked at Korsak again.
"Guys, come on, baseball's almost over," Jane protested.
"Not yet. World Series starts Wednesday," Korsak answered. Frost concentrated on his next "pitch."
"Yeah, Jane, who do you like, Cards or Rangers?"
"Red Sox. Since they're not in it I'm not watching." Frost dropped the peanut on his desk and stared at Jane. He snapped his fingers in front of her face.
"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Jane?" he said. Korsak snickered.
"I don't like either team, Frost, and I don't want to watch the Series. Is that so hard to understand?" Jane muttered. "Besides I want to get all my paperwork caught up. Halloween is just around the corner you know."
"We do know, Jane. What are you dressing up as?" Korsak asked.
"I didn't mention Halloween to discuss costumes and candy, Korsak. We all know this city goes a little freaky each year on Halloween. We need to be vigilant. I want to get my desk clear so if anything crazy happens I'm prepared."
"Ah, Jane, you're such a good detective," Korsak teased. Frost wanted to add in his two cents but didn't dare. Although Jane had been his partner now for the better side of two years she still scared him a little.
"Fine," Jane ground out and stared at the two detectives. "I'm going downstairs to see Maura. You guys have all the fun you want."
"We will, Jane. Thanks," Korsak called back. He turned to Frost.
"I'm still at bat, just strike one. Where's the peanut?" Jane heard as she entered the elevator. She sighed when the doors closed.
The autopsy bay was empty. Jane walked to the back where Maura's office was situated.
"Maura?" she called out.
"Office, Jane," she heard the medical examiner call back.
"Hi, how's your day?" Jane smiled at Maura.
"Frantic. I'm trying to get a handle on the inventory numbers for our stock. It always seems to come in handy at Halloween when scalpels, skin tags, and other assorted items go missing."
"Ever wonder if your staff helps themselves for their Halloween costumes?"
"I'm sure they do I've just never caught anyone at it. This year may be different though, I'm trying to inventory everything so if something goes missing I'll at least know what shift it happened on."
"Sounds like fun," Jane quipped. She hopped up on the corner of Maura's desk.
"You have no idea," Maura replied. Jane grinned.
"Love your sarcasm."
"You are rubbing off on me my friend, and not in a good way." Maura dropped her paperwork and looked up at Jane.
"Having fun upstairs?" she asked.
"Are they ever," Jane sighed. "I was trying to clean up my own backlog of case paperwork and Frost and Korsak are recreating baseball plays."
"How so?"
"Frost pitches the peanut and Korsak tries to hit it. When he's successful he re-enacts a famous play from the past."
Maura couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, poor Jane, having to play peanut baseball."
"I do not. My team is not in the postseason this year and I'm not participating in anything related to baseball."
"So what are you going to be for Halloween?" Maura asked.
"A big bad homicide detective," Jane answered. "I'm on call that night."
Maura sighed. "Jane, if you tried a little harder I'm sure you could come up with an appropriate costume." Jane was tired of this conversation already. Ever since she and Maura started dating one of Maura's frequent comments was on Jane's wardrobe.
"It's cheap and easy, Maura. I dress in work clothes, hang my badge on my belt and carry my firearm. Big, bad, Detective Rizzoli."
"Are you coming to my party that night, big bad Detective Rizzoli?" Maura asked. She thought of her own costume, Elvira. She had the long dress, low neckline of course, a large black wig and fake nails. Maura was looking forward to being the mistress of the night.
"I've seen your costume hanging in the closet at home, Maura. I know you're Elvira."
"She is a wonderful iconic image of Halloween, I'll have you know," Maura protested.
Jane got down off the desk. She leaned across and kissed Maura. "I'll see you at home, babe. I want to get back upstairs and make one more attempt at getting some serious work done. Maybe Evers to Tinker to Chance will have taken a break."
"Who?" Maura called after her. Jane didn't reply, smiling back to the elevator.
For the remaining days up to Halloween the city of Boston was quiet. Too quiet, in Jane's opinion. Whenever the city went quiet, it exploded at the most inopportune of times. She felt this Halloween might be overwhelming for Boston PD. She only hoped she was wrong.
Halloween morning dawned hot. It was a dry heat, similar to the desert and completely foreign to Boston's usually muggy days. Indian summer was the term Jane thought of. She hoped everyone would keep their tempers to themselves and remember to cool down. The weatherman who predicted this freaky weather day promised them it lasted only through Halloween. Jane hoped he was right.
She kissed Maura goodbye at the elevator and walked into the bullpen. Frost and Korsak were already in. Or, at least Jane assumed they were Frost and Korsak. A robot stood by Frost's desk and an oversized dog was trying to rein in his tail so he could sit at Korsak's desk.
"What, no costume, Janie?" the dog asked.
"Bite me, Korsak," Jane replied.
"I can do that you know, I have teeth."
"Korsak aren't you hot in that thing?" she asked.
"A little. I turned up the air conditioning to compensate. I'll probably have to take this off before long. I wanted you to see it if you don't make it to Maura's party tonight."
"I think I could have gone through life without seeing you dressed as a dog, Korsak."
"Me, too, I'm with Jane on that one," Frost added.
"Hey, I thought it was cute. Give me a break. I like puppies so I thought I'd dress as one. You two didn't do any better," Korsak replied. He reached up and pulled the head off and set it down.
"Much better, it was getting stuffy in here."
"I hope you have something other than a t-shirt and boxers on under that thing, old man. If you need to change because we have a case I don't want to see your hairy butt hanging out," Frost said. Jane cringed.
"Thanks, Frost, you just gave me nightmares for a month."
Before anyone could reply Lt. Cavanaugh came out of his office.
"Korsak, Frost, I need you to help out burglary. Someone's turned over the gravestones in the cemetery. Help them out and take the call, please. They're swamped over there." He hesitated as he looked at his two costumed detectives. "Rizzoli, go with them. Make sure they're taken seriously."
Korsak stood to take off the rest of the dog suit. He reached behind him and reached the zipper but it wouldn't budge. "Jane, help me out of this, please," he asked.
She tried but the zipper wouldn't move.
"Sorry, Korsak, you'll just have to go as a dog. Come on, we need to get going. I want everything wrapped up soon. Probably just some kids playing early Halloween pranks."
Three hours later the detectives returned to the precinct. Frost and Jane were still laughing hard as they entered the bullpen area. A very red-faced, sweating Korsak straggled in behind.
"Come on guys, get this thing off me. I'm soaking wet from the heat this thing generates, not to mention it's very hot outside."
"Yeah the temp in the cemetery office registered ninety-five," Frost said.
"Frost help him with that, I'm going downstairs," Jane said and ran to the elevator.
"You should have seen Korsak. One of the teens had come back and we had to chase him. There I am, running after this kid and I'm being chased by an older detective dressed in a dog suit, without the head. The kid kept turning around and looking at us." Jane continued to laugh and Maura joined in. The mental picture of Korsak dressed in a dog suit giving chase was too precious not to share.
"Anyway, are you ready for tonight's party?" Jane asked.
"Just about. I need to leave a little early so I can pick up a couple of things."
Jane leaned over and kissed Maura. "You need me to do anything?"
"Just arrive on time, Jane. I'd like for both of us to be there to greet our guests. Not just me with an excuse as to your whereabouts."
"I'll do my best, babe." Jane walked out of Maura's office and went back upstairs. The day passed pleasantly, she thought, nothing major happening. She hoped the evening continued in the same manner.
Lying in his coffin Charles Hoyt opened his eyes and grinned. The one night of the year I get out of here, he thought. Ah, Jane, we'll be together again. He heard the clock tower chime six times and knew it would be only another six hours before his grave would open and he'd be free again.
TBC A/N: for the uninitiated non-baseball fan, Tinkers to Evers to Chance was the first, and possibly greatest, double play trio in baseball history.