Chance Encounters

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me.

A/N: I don't think there's anything I need say for this chapter. Seems like there's a good amount of interest in this story which is awesome. Thanks for reading!


The following week Jane and Frost were on a break from the nightly hooker routine. They were spending time writing up reports on their activities from the past few weeks and meeting with the other Special Task Force members to compare notes and figure out next steps.

Frost was also running a background check on Maura Isles. When Jane returned to her desk after grabbing sandwiches for lunch on Wednesday, Frost was beaming. "Dr. Maura Isles is a very interesting lady," he said.

Jane dropped a sandwich in front of him and then dropped into her chair. "Oh yeah? What did you find?"

"Well, she spent the past two years in Ethiopia with Doctors without Borders. Before that she did her residency in internal medicine at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center. She did medical school at Columbia University and before that she graduated summa cum laude from Harvard."

"When do we get to the interesting part?" Jane deadpanned.

"She grew up in South Boston. When she was in college she changed her last name." Frost handed a manila folder to Jane. "Meet Maura Doyle."

Jane's eyes widened as she said, "Doyle? As in FBI Most Wanted Paddy Doyle?"

"Yup," Frost said excitedly. "Maura is his daughter. As far as we know she is his only child."

"Holy shit. So what's all this?" Jane asked, waving the folder.

Frost took a bite of his sandwich before saying, "That is Dr. Isles' FBI file. Paddy Doyle disappeared over ten years ago, just before the FBI was about to close in on him. No mention in the file by the way of how they think Doyle was tipped off the FBI was coming after him."

Jane rolled her eyes. "Of course not."

"Maura was in college at the time and the FBI agents spent a lot of time following her and asking her questions. If she knew anything about where he disappeared to she wasn't telling."

"Did you read the whole file?"

Frost nodded with a mouthful of food.

"Any thoughts?" Jane asked.

"You can't tell much from the summaries of the conversations they had with her. And you know those FBI guys aren't the sharpest tools in the shed. But during the time Maura was under FBI surveillance, she didn't do anything other than go to class and study. They tapped her phone and she didn't talk to anyone other than a couple of classmates and a guy named Garrett Fairfield, who apparently was her boyfriend at the time."

"Anything interesting about him?"

"Well, he was from one of the wealthiest families in Boston and he's in prison for killing his brother."

"Jesus Christ."

"Yeah, it's not a great track record for her friends and family. I don't know, Jane. Patrick Doyle's daughter returns to Boston after being gone almost ten years and you meet her because she's out talking to hookers in the middle of the night. It just seems weird. I think we should pursue this."

"Yeah, I think you're right. It's better than dressing up a like prostitute, right? Why don't you show the Lieutenant what you've got and I'm gonna go have another chat with Dr. Isles."


Jane waited until late in the afternoon before leaving to go to the South Boston Women's Clinic. The card Dr. Isles gave her said the clinic's hours were 7am-4pm. Jane arrived just before 4pm and found an empty waiting room. A nurse told Jane that Dr. Isles was with a patient but that she could wait for her.

About twenty minutes later a patient emerged from a back room followed by Maura, who was wearing her white coat over a light green dress. She talked for a moment with the nurse, who then started packing up for the day, and then turned her attention to Jane. Smiling brightly, Maura said, "Detective Rizzoli. It's so nice to see you again. What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to check out your operation here and I had a few questions for you."

"Okay. I need to clean up and restock the exam rooms. Why don't you come with me and you can see our space and if you don't mind, we can talk while I work."

Jane followed Maura as she gave a quick tour and Jane asked a few questions about the clinic. At the final exam room, Jane leaned casually in the doorway watching as Maura started going through cabinets and drawers and taking notes on a clipboard. Jane hadn't given much thought to what exactly she was going to do once she got to this point. After a few moments of silence, Jane asked, "How did you pick Isles?"

Jane saw Maura tense as she said, "Excuse me?"

"I was just curious how you picked Isles when you changed your name?" Jane asked again.

Maura put the clipboard down on the counter in front of her but didn't turn around. "How did you know?" she said softly.

"I am a detective."

"So you were investigating me?" Maura asked.

Jane thought she sounded more hurt than angry. "A woman going around alone talking to hookers in the middle of the night? It seemed like I should at least run a background check."

"I don't know where my father is."

"I'm not all that interested in Patrick Doyle." The words were out of Jane's mouth before she could stop them, but it was true. She had no interest in Patrick Doyle, but found herself increasingly interested in his daughter.

Maura turned around and leaned back against the counter. She fixed a steely gaze on Jane as she said, "Do you think I've returned to Boston to continue the family business?"

"I have no idea what to think," Jane responded honestly.

"I'm just trying to run this clinic and do a little good here. I'm not doing anything illegal. But ask me anything you want to. I can't lie," Maura said.

"What do you mean you can't lie?"

"I'm physically incapable of lying. If I try to lie I experience vasovagal syncope."

"Vaso what?"

"I faint," Maura explained.

"Why didn't you just say that?"

Maura shrugged slightly. "I'm a doctor. Many diseases and medical conditions share common symptoms, it is important to use precise terms when describing symptoms so that an accurate diagnosis can be made."

Jane shook her head, realizing this conversation had gotten weirdly off track. "Do you have any other family in Boston?"

"No. My mother died when I was a baby. The only other family I had was my grandmother and she died when I was a child."

"I'm sorry," Jane said.

"Why are you sorry?"

"Um," Jane paused because she wasn't quite sure what she was apologizing for. Cops generally didn't need to apologize to people they were questioning. "For dredging up the past, I guess."

"Don't be sorry. Since I returned to Boston the past seems to be all I can think about. I'm kind of relieved that someone knows my secret. This is going to make me sound so naive, or maybe just pathetic, but I had no idea that my father was a criminal until I was in college. I don't even know what his crimes he committed. I mean I've heard the charges: extortion, money laundering, gambling, arms smuggling, murder. But I don't know what any of that actually means and it makes me feel so stupid."

"Do you wanna know what he did?" Jane asked.

"My father was caring and attentive and loving with me and I don't want to ruin that memory of him. But I wonder about it all the time. If I knew the details I could stop wondering, but I don't know if I actually want to know."

This conversation had gone a lot differently than Jane had expected and she wasn't sure how exactly to proceed so she said lamely, "You didn't answer my question, about your last name."

"I thought it sounded pretty and as though it was from a faraway place."

"Why did you come back to Boston?" Jane asked.

"I don't know."

Jane ran her fingers through her hair. "I uh, I should go. I'm sorry for bothering you like this."

Jane started walking away but Maura called after her, "Detective?" Jane returned to the doorway and Maura said, "Don't be sorry. I don't have anything to hide."

Jane nodded and left. She went out to her car and called Frost and reported on her conversation with Maura. Frost relayed his conversation with the Lieutenant, who had decided they should put Maura under surveillance for the rest of the week. Jane suggested that she and Frost take the shift covering the late afternoon until early morning and they put someone else on during the hours Maura was at the clinic. They agreed that Jane stay where she was and follow Maura home and then Frost would meet her once Jane had the location.


Friday night Jane and Frost were sitting in Jane's car which was parked a few houses down the street from Maura's house on a quiet residential street in Jamaica Plain. For three nights they had followed Maura from the clinic to her house where she stayed for the rest of the night.

"Is Casey back in Afghanistan?" Frost asked.

"Yeah, he left last Saturday."

"That must be tough."

Jane gave him an annoyed look and said, "Casey and I aren't in a relationship."

"Are you sure?"

"Look, we've known each forever and when he's on leave we have fun together, but that's it. I'm not carrying a fucking torch for him."

"Does he know that?" Frost asked.

"He volunteered for another tour in Afghanistan. Even if I wanted something more with him, it's clearly not something he's looking for. He's married to his job and so am I so it works for both of us. We have a good time when we're together and we don't have to worry about anything else."

They lapsed back into silence for a while until Frost said, "Is this chick gonna ever do anything interesting or what? Could she be sneaking out the back somehow?"

"I told you I checked it all out the other day. She'd have to climb over like an eight foot fence. And her car is right there, where the fuck is she gonna walk to around here? I don't know, the FBI didn't find anything before. What if she was telling the truth? What if she's just a lonely woman trying to do something good and trying to escape her past?"

Frost was studying Jane as she talked and he thought for a moment before responding, "You like her, don't you?"

"What? Come on. Knock it off," Jane said but she could tell she blushing slightly.

"No, you're totally into her. It's written all over your face. Come on, tell me what the deal is."

Jane shook her head. "There's just something about her. Like there's no pretense with her, like all her cards on the table. She's just so open and vulnerable, but strong too."

"Or she's an incredible actress," Frost suggested.

Jane let that go but a few minutes later said, "Let's say she's been telling the truth and she doesn't know where Paddy Doyle is and she's not back in Boston to do anything criminal. What if she's actually in danger now because of her connection to Paddy Doyle? If one of his enemies figures out who she is, what if they come after her to try to get him to come out of hiding?"

Frost considered that for a moment and said, "I guess that's possible. But without any evidence I don't think there's anything we can do about it. Do you think we should call off the surveillance?"

"No, let's continue through the weekend like we planned. We'll figure next steps on Monday."