Author's note: I solved my OpenOffice issues (I couldn't open any document) so here comes a brand new story, with daily updates; reviews more than appreciated.
Chapter One
"Don't be worried, miss. You won't need all these clothes once you make it to Hidden Beach."
The flight attendant's remark caused Jane to laugh. Of course, she wouldn't need the heavy winter coat she was still wearing: she was going to Mexico, after all. To the Riviera Maya, to be more exact. This fabulous place where the sun shone 785 days a year and where a cocktail was cheaper than a hotdog in the USA.
She unbuttoned the aforesaid coat and took it off before fighting against the tiny baggage holder above the row of seats. This plane was definitely going down South: it was made for bikinis, there was no room whatsoever for voluminous pieces of clothing like Bostonian winter coats.
'Dammit. Will you..." A very last punch in the coat solved the issue. She would leave the plane with a very rumpled piece of clothing after this five-hour flight but she couldn't care less about it. Why? Because she wouldn't need her coat for the upcoming two weeks. "Alright."
Time to sit down. Or so.
"Maura, what on earth?" Jane grabbed the book on top of the pile that had just made an impromptu contact with her buttocks and stared at her friend in disbelief. "Have you robbed the Public Library again?"
"I would never do such a thing." Maura's voice broke in shy anger. Jane's remark had offended her. A lot. She took her large sunglasses off then picked one of the books she had previously dropped on her friend's seat next to hers. "You should start with this one. It is a formidable essay about the Mayan agriculture; really indispensable if you want to understand the quality of..."
Jane rolled her eyes. She rushed to sit down as she spotted a flight attendant walking down the aisle towards them. She threw the dozen of books on her friend's lap then proceeded to turn her individual screen on. The flight company offered over 65 movies, concerts, tv shows and documentaries: perfect program for the next hours she would spend aboard.
"I'm on vacation, Maur-ito. This means I'll skip the sociological essays and immerge myself instead in this fantastic activity called binge watching."
A thin line showed on Maura's forehead. She obviously not only disapproved Jane's upcoming hobbies but the nickname her friend had given her as well. Maur-ito? Really? She wasn't the Irish version of a South American cocktail.
"I had just..." Maura bit her lower lip as her voice broke. Alright. She knew that she couldn't be too demanding, especially given the circumstances. She sighed in abdication then fasten her seatbelt. "Never mind. Enjoy... Whatever you find to be enjoyable."
Progress. They were in progress.
The truth was that she would have burst out laughing if someone had told her two weeks earlier that Jane would agree on going to Mexico for these paid vacations Lieutenant Cavanaugh didn't know what to do of anymore. Jane had accumulated way too many days without ever taking any off. The BPD administration was going crazy and feared that it would end up looking suspicious. In a word: workaholic Jane was in a dead-end path and she had to go away for a while.
This was when Susie Chang had entered the scene but it had taken superhuman efforts from everyone to convince Jane that Hidden Beach Resort was the place to be.
Of course, the mention of the Riviera Maya had piqued her curiosity but the victory had only been total once the senior criminalist had announced that she could get them the bedroom presidential beachfront villa for free. Her uncle was the manager of the resort and he agreed on welcoming Jane and Maura as special guests for two weeks.
Two full weeks of sun, endless cocktails and transparent water by a white-sand beach.
This wasn't the kind of offer one could turn down, even a workaholic like Jane. The timid nod she had given at first had slowly turned in great enthusiasm as the days had passed by and she was now more than ready to enjoy her time near Playa del Carmen down South Cancún.
The only thing she had checked was the weather forecast for she couldn't care less about the rest. The Riviera Maya was a very touristic and popular destination: it was probably all about swim-up bars and palm trees. A classic yet exotic vacation.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Amanda Smith and I'm your chief flight attendant. On behalf of Captain Daniel Morris and the entire crew, welcome aboard JetBlue Airlines flight LO901, non-stop service from Boston-Logan International, USA to Cancún International Airport, Mexico..."
Maura took a deep breath and relaxed against the back of her seat. There they were. At last. She cast a glance at Jane before focusing on the tarmac by the small window next to her seat. The sky was gray, snow was coming.
"Thank you."
Jane's whisper barely reached Maura as the flight attendant kept on talking through her microphone. Perhaps these two words were even a bit stupid but Jane had nonetheless felt the urge to say them out loud.
She could barely remember the last time she had left Boston for so long, on vacation purposes. Maura was also very dedicated to her demanding job but she didn't have any issue to take distance with it when needed; unlike her.
The truth was that Jane was exhausted, physically and mentally: Hidden Beach Resort was a blessing and she was glad to see that Maura had accepted to come with her.
"De nada, cariño.*"
Maura's wink echoed a complete absence of reaction from Jane. Alright, not really. After what looked like endless seconds of hesitation, Jane blinked then shook her head to let her friend understand that she hadn't got a word from what Maura had just said.
Maura's loud gasp caused a few passengers to turn to look at them.
"Jane Clementine Rizzoli." Maura marked a pause for a more dramatic effect. She was in a good mood which meant that she would do anything to tease her friend. Besides, she knew how much Jane secretly liked it too. "I cannot believe that you have boarded a flight for Mexico without revising your Spanish first. This is muy mal, chica.*"
Feeling she had been charged with a brand new mission, Maura leaned over to turn Jane's individual screen off. She barely noticed the gasp of indignation that came from her friend.
"Let's start... By the start." Maura laughed lightly. "Isn't it funny? Let's start by the start. Hahaha!" No reaction from her student-to-be. She cleared her voice. "Anyway, there are three groups of verbs in Spanish..."
Jane closed her eyes as the plane began to head towards the takeoff area. Even a paper day at work was more appealing than a Spanish intensive class right now.
…
Hidden Beach Resort. This was exactly the kind of place the Isles usually tried to avoid but after a quick stop by the lobby, Maura had to admit that the interior design was quite lovely and the one-bedroom presidential beachfront villa faithful to the online pictures her assistant had showed her. It was a high-standard resort, the situation could be a lot worse.
"Excuse me... There's only one bed?"
Jane's rather genuine question caused the employee to frown and stop the small tour of the suite. Jane and Maura didn't mind sharing a bed – it had already happened in the past anyway – but some more privacy and comfort wouldn't do harm for the next two weeks.
"What for?" The employee squinted her eyes and stared at Jane and Maura with suspicion. 'You're a couple, right? Because this place is for couples-only; adults-only. If you're not a couple then you can't stay here."
Maura raised an eyebrow. What kind of place only welcomed couples? Susie had told them that children weren't allowed at the resort but she hadn't said a thing about the relationship status of vacationers.
"Oh. Ahem... I... Just..." Jane started stuttering. She cast a glance at the suite: there was no way she wouldn't enjoy it. Not now. Not after a flight and an interminable shuttle drive with a dozen of other people, not after weeks of doubts. She had made it to Hidden Beach Resort to enjoy whatever it had to offer. "Yeah, of course we are." She would have married Maura in the minute if she had had to; the hot tub on the terrace was the kind of opportunity she couldn't miss. "It's just she's an early bird and I'm not but that's okay. That's fine. Never mind..."
The answer seemed to satisfy and reassure the employee who turned around then left the suite quietly.
Maura sat on the bed and took her shoes off. First, she would unpack. Then she would have a long and warm shower. Perhaps she would even wash her hair, she knew how badly it reacted to the sea breeze if she wasn't careful enough.
The reception to welcome new vacationers was held at 6pm which meant she and Jane still had two hours for themselves before going to the private beach of the resort and enjoy a homemade cocktail. It was just the perfect amount of ti-...
"Maura?"
The call of her name took her out of her scheduling daydream. She stood up then without a word walked barefoot to the terrace where Jane was standing. The view from the villa top floor was quite nice: the vegetation was luxurious and they could even catch a glimpse of the Caribbean Sea through the palm trees.
"Yes?" Maura noticed the uncertainty in her friend's eyes immediately. She frowned, suddenly worried. "What's going on? Are you okay?"
"There are people there."
Maura shrugged but held back a snort. What was wrong with Jane? Her remark made absolutely no sense whatsoever. It was ridiculous at its best.
"Of course, there are people by the swimming-pool, Jane. They didn't privatize the entire resort for us."
"I know that, idiot! But did they privatize their clothes?" Jane dared another quick glance at the swimming-pool, just to make sure that she hadn't suffered from some USA-Mexico kind of hallucination. "... 'Cause none of them's wearin' any right now."
And then it hit her like a ton of bricks; like a ton of Mayan bricks.
"CHANG!"
Jane's voice echoed in the distance, somewhere behind the palm trees; down to the Caribbean Sea.
...
De nada, cariño: you're welcome, honey
Muy mal, chica: very bad, girl