Nobody expected that on a bright summer's day in August, the city of Boston would lose three of its finest. A routine crime scene had meant that Detective Rizzolis Sr and Jr had arrived together. The ME, Dr Maura Isles, arrived not too far behind.
Frankie was already interviewing witnesses, jotting down information to pass along to the team the minute they got back to the station. He was on cloud 9. His proposal to Nina and her acceptance still caused a lopsided smile to rest easily on his stubbled face.
A two-car traffic accident that would usually be dealt with by uniforms had quickly become something more when one of the first officers on the scene noticed a reddish-brown substance leaking from the trunk of the one hit from behind. He held off from touching the vehicles. Both drivers were being treated by paramedics, with Korsak hanging close by in order to interview them both as soon as he had permission from the medics. He was pretty sure at least one of them had been drinking. The smell of hard liqueur hung in the air with every word or breath the guy took.
Detective Jane Rizzoli stood stoically by the trunk as the officer explained what he had found. Crouching down, she inspected the substance that she was convinced was blood; she expected there would be a body inside too, but she would wait for Dr Isles.
Patience had never really been a virtue of the detective's, and even with Maura, she had little of it, but right now as she watched the ME go to work with all her swabs and photographs, she couldn't help but have a little bit of admiration. She was meticulous. Jane couldn't understand how it was that she could wander around a crime scene, completely ignoring the biggest clue in the room as she went through her own tick list of things to check, register, and take samples of.
They had been friends for several years now. She had never had a friend like Maura Isles, and she was pretty sure that went both ways. There was something about Maura that just pulled Jane in; she was a like a magnet, and Jane was iron.
She was immaculate as usual, and Jane noticed that she was wearing a new dress. She knew all of Maura's dresses, though she wouldn't admit the reason why she knew them all, not out loud; she barely acknowledged it herself. Maura Isles was stunning. Maura Isles was her best friend, her reason for being. She was the one person on this planet that Jane would listen to and do anything for, and she did mean anything. The only problem was…she hadn't told Maura, and she wouldn't. Because losing Maura Isles just wasn't an option.
"Maura?"
"I'll be right there, Jane," she called back, her attention still on the job in hand, pointing to tyre marks for the crime scene photographer to capture.
Jane rubbed her forehead. She could feel a headache coming on, and her stomach was rumbling. It had been a long time since breakfast when Maura had insisted on egg white omelettes with spinach and feta cheese. She hated the green stuff, but she ate it anyway because Maura had smiled that sweet smile as she handed off the plate.
"Okay, so we have a reddish-brown liquid…"
"It's blood, Maura," Jane said, rolling her eyes at her colleague's refusal to call it what it was.
"Jane, until I have it back in the lab and can test it properly, it's a reddish- "
"Brown stain, yeah, I got it, Maura. Can we open the trunk or what?" Jane asked, pulling on a pair of latex gloves and snapping the wrist. Dr Isles rolled her eyes at her impatience. "We could have a live one in there."
"Not with this amount of reddish-brown substance you don't." She smirked and found the detective holding her gaze, trying not to smile back. "Once I am done with the external area of the car, Josh will open the trunk," she continued, thumbing over her shoulder at the middle-aged lab tech. He grinned at Jane and then took a step backwards when he didn't receive a grin in return.
"Korsak? What have we got?" she said, turning her attention from the doctor.
"Nothing much, neither are saying anything but blaming the other. The driver of this car though, he has been drinking. I'm going to go on the bus with him. I wanna be there when they draw his blood."
"Yeah, okay, I'll wrap up here with Frankie and meet you back at the station."
"Bring coffee!" he shouted over his shoulder.
"It's your turn, old man," she called back, grinning at him, though she already knew that she would bring him coffee. "Maura?" she whined when the trunk still wasn't open.
"Fine, Jane. I am done. Josh, if you wouldn't mind?" she asked sweetly, moving from one side of the trunk to where Jane stood, waiting for the big reveal.
Josh moved forward and popped the lock.
Boom.