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Chapter 2
She hadn't slept all night and by the time Jane climbed out of the taxi that had driven her to Dulles International Airport she felt like a zombie. She lifted her suitcase out of the trunk, paid the driver and turned around to look at the departures terminal. Every cell in her body screamed that she didn't want to be here but Sorenson had left her no choice. She was going back to Boston.
Jane glanced at her watch. It was a little after seven in the morning. She sighed and pulled her suitcase towards the entrance doors. She stopped when a woman walked into her line of vision.
"Jesus Jane, you look like crap."
"And good morning to you too, Deanna," Jane grumbled.
Deanna Perera had been her partner in the FBI since the day she joined. They'd worked dozens of cases together and Jane couldn't think of a finer Agent she'd entrust her life to. Deanna was a few years younger than she was and she'd joined the Academy fresh out of university with a degree of Criminology under her belt. Jane had wondered why Sorenson had paired them together but she soon learnt that Deanna liked to do things a little different. They shared a common dislike for the rules and it turned out that with their no-nonsense approach and sharp attitude, they were a perfect match.
"So, are you ready?" Deanna asked excitedly.
That was perhaps the one annoying thing about her, Jane thought. Deanna got way too excited every time they had to travel somewhere. Whether it was a four hour road trip or a ten hour redeye, Deanna never seemed to care. Perhaps it was her youth that got her this excitement or perhaps it was the lack of family holidays when she was little and Deanna was just trying to make up for lost time.
Deanna glanced at her partner. "Boston's your home town, isn't it?"
Jane didn't answer but just wheeled her suitcase into the departures hall. A quick scan of her new surroundings led her to the check-in desk and she slammed her ticket down. Deanna was right behind her and Jane flashed her FBI badge when the young man behind the desk asked her a coiple of questions. The mere glimpse of the three blue letters printed across her badge was enough to silence him and after a couple of minutes he handed Jane her boarding pass.
"C'mon, I'll buy you a coffee," Deanna said once she and Jane were finished.
She dragged Jane to the nearest coffee bar and they joined the line. Deanna gave her partner a sideways glance. Jane's features had hardened. It wasn't very often that she saw the Italian woman this way. "Jane, what's going on?"
Jane sighed. She'd never told Deanna the real reason why she had left Boston. As far as Deanna knew she'd moved away after her relationship fell apart. The younger woman never asked any further and Jane never elaborated. The truth about the Alphabet Killer was only known to Sorenson though she had seen the name referenced in some of their case files when they had studied serial killers. She'd shuddered whenever the name was mentioned but never spoke a word.
"Jane?"
"Not here," Jane said quietly and looked around. They were surrounded by people. This wasn't the type of place where she wanted to talk about the Alphabet Killer. She'd rather not talk about him at all but since she was going back to Boston, she couldn't withhold the information from Deanna any longer.
Once they had their coffees they found a quiet table and sat down. Jane picked at the Styrofoam of her cup, looking down at the scars left behind by Charles Hoyt. Another story Deanna didn't know about. They'd been working together for two years, spending more time together than most married couples did, but yet she hadn't told Deanna a single thing about her past. She peered back up through her eyelashes. There were plenty of things the other agent didn't know about her.
"You know we're going to Boston because of the Alphabet Killer's copycat, right?" Jane asked and Deanna nodded. "The real killer was caught a couple of years ago and died in prison." She took a deep breath and spoke the words she hadn't dared to say to anyone since arriving in Washington. "I'm the cop that caught him."
Deanna's eyes widened. "Jane…. Really?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Really."
"Why didn't you tell me?!"
"You know what happened to Erin Montgomery?" Jane asked and Deanna jerked her head in understanding. "That's why."
"Jane, you couldn't have known…"
"Yeah, Sorenson said that too but I'm not so sure." Jane peeled the lid off her coffee and stared down into the black liquid before ripping open the small sachet of sugar and adding it to her coffee. "I should have seen it. I should have seen him for the monster that he was and I was too focused on trying to nail his ass that I forgot about what he was capable off. Erin Montgomery lost her life because of that and nothing I do will ever be able to fix that."
Deanna cocked her head. She read the anger etched across Jane's face like a book. "Is that why Sorenson assigned you this case?"
"I think so," Jane replied and sipped from her coffee. "No better Agent than an angry Agent, right?"
Deanna leant back in her chair. "So what else is in Boston?"
Jane blinked. "Come again?"
"Well, when I first asked you why you came to Washington, you told me it was because your relationship went bust," the younger Agent answered. A hint of a grin lit up her face. "Just trying to figure out if I'll finally get to meet the person who got underneath your skin."
"You'll get to meet him," Jane answered dismissively. "It's the bastard who's killing these women."
"So there's no one?" Deanna asked. "No one at all?"
"No." Jane's answer was short and she bit back the name that was burning on the tip of her tongue. "There's no one."
Deanna didn't press any further and they finished their coffees whilst talking about the case in more detail. Jane explained how the investigation had been run two years ago. She'd been the lead detective alongside Korsak and Frost. She filled Deanna in on how they had originally managed to track down the location where the Alphabet Killer was taking his victims.
"How did you find him?" Deanna wanted to know.
"Paint." Jane grinned at the surprise that something as small as paint had broken their case."Seems odd, doesn't it? We found paint traces on the fourth victim and Maura managed to isolate the brand that had been used. Turned out the brand had been discontinued quite some time before. A little research led us to two companies who had that particular brand. One remembered painting an old barn. At the same time we found what turned out to be hairs from a cow. The barn was part of an old dairy farm. Maura even found some records dating back to its original set up."
"Maura?" Deanna asked. "Who's Maura?"
"Maura Isles," Jane answered and her voice suddenly broke. An uncomfortable blush spread across her cheeks that she could not control and she could only hope that Deanna didn't notice it. The mere mention of Maura was enough to stir something inside of her that she didn't want to think about, let alone admit. Those times were behind her now. "She's… err…. She's the Chief Medical Examiner."
"Will she be working this case too?" Deanna wanted to know.
Jane hadn't even thought about that possibility. She'd been so focused on going back to Boston and facing her demons that she had even considered the chance that Maura would be working the case too. She hadn't spoken to her since she left. They'd emailed a few times and Maura even promised to come and visit but Jane had to cancel when she and Deanna caught a case that sent them to Minnesota. There had been a handful of phone calls but more often than not they ended up being voice mail messages. It was as if being apart really made it impossible for them to keep their friendship going and after less than six months, Jane hadn't heard from Maura again and she herself had never called back. Their lives had taken a different turn, she thought, and if their friendship would have been able to withstand the test of distance and time, they would still be friends.
"Probably." Jane tried to sound as light as she could. "It would make sense. She knows this case better than anyone."
"Do they know you're coming?"
Jane shook her head. "They know the FBI is on its way but I asked Sorenson not to tell me its me." She swallowed hard. "I don't think they know I joined the Bureau."
"You didn't tell them?!" Deanna looked aghast.
"Things were… complicated."
Complicated didn't even begin to describe how her life had been in the days before her departure. Her friendship with Maura had been under strain although she never quite understood why. They were bickering all the time but there were moments where Jane caught herself looking at the doctor, wondering what it was that kept bringing her back to her. It seemed that with the growing pressure of the case, their friendship suffered. Somehow they kept avoiding each other only to then come running back. It was what they always did, no matter what happened, Jane thought. They always came back to each other, one way or another.
Even now.
Their flight was called an hour later and they abandoned their seats in the coffee bar to join the line of people boarding the plane to Boston. Jane found herself apprehensively looking around. Two years ago she arrived at this very same airport, promising herself she was never going to go back to Boston. But here she was, about to step back into the past. She had no idea if this was what she wanted or if she was even ready but as she handed the flight attendant her boarding pass she knew there was no way back. She was going home.
~()~
After a flight that lasted a little over an hour the plane touched down at Logan and Deanna and Jane followed the crowd of people making their way to the luggage belt. Neither of them spoke much to each other as they waited for their suitcases to arrive. On the plane Jane had told Deanna as much as she needed to know about Frost, Korsak and Cavanaugh. She only shared minimal details about Maura. She didn't know why. It just seemed for the best.
"Do you want to go to the hotel first?" Deanna asked when they had finally managed to pull their suitcases of the belt and made their out of the airport. They avoided a large group of overexcited High School students who had clearly just returned from a trip to Disney World. Deanna threw one look at the ridiculous Mickey Mouse ears and felt her stomach turn. She swung her jacket back over her shoulders and looked up to check the sky. It was grey.
Jane shook her head. "I think it's best we get straight to BPD."
They left the arrivals lounge and walked out into the Boston fresh air. It was raining and Jane wasn't even surprised. October in Boston was always accompanied by rain. She took in a deep breath, inhaling what turned out a sickening mixture of car exhaust fumes and cigarette smoke from the guy standing next to her.
Jane hailed a cab and loaded her suitcase in the trunk. Deanna did the same and they both climbed in the back. Jane recited the address to BPD Headquarters from memory and rested back in her seat, her eyes fixed on the window. The images outside were familiar. She knew the Boston skyline well and watched with mixed emotions as it flashed by outside. With every mile they closed in on BPD she became more and more uncomfortable.
"You ok?" Deanna inquired after a little while. She'd noticed Jane picking at her fingernails.
"Yeah," Jane lied. "Fine."
"Do they really not know you joined the Bureau?"
"I asked Frankie not to tell them. You and I both know how cops feel about the Feds, even if they did ask for our help. We'll still the jerks in suits that try and take their case."
"But they'd understand why you decided to join."
Jane grimaced. "I'm not so sure they do, Dee. I'm not so sure they do."
The cab pulled up outside the familiar building and Jane climbed out of the backseat. She smoothed out her jacket and pants before lifting her suitcase out of the trunk of the car. Deanna paid the driver and Jane turned around to look up at the place where she had worked for many years. This was where she had worked herself up through the ranks until she finally got that much desired Detective badge. Her promotion to Homicide had been her icing on the cake. It had also been the beginning of her nightmares when she first crossed paths with Hoyt.
She bit the inside of her cheek and lifted her suitcase up the steps leading to the main entrance. Deanna was right behind her. Jane instinctively turned to the uniformed officer manning the front desk and to her relief it was some rookie she'd never seen before. She flashed her badge long enough for him to recognise the blue letters but not long enough for him to read her name. She asked if they could leave the cases with them and he agreed. She then walked to the elevator and her eyes were drawn to the directory. Her eyes lingered a little too long on the word morgue.
She pressed the button for the fourth floor and waited with thumping heart for the doors to open. She stepped inside and noticed how the palms of her hands suddenly became clammy. She tried to brush them along her pants in a casual manner but when she looked up she noticed Deanna was watching her. She forced herself to smile and her partner smiled back.
"It's going to be allright, Jane," she reassured her. "You've come to help."
Jane's breath hitched as the doors slid open. They'd reached Homicide. "Try telling that to them."
Deanna pushed the double doors leading to the Homicide department open and walked into the bullpen. Jane was right behind her and her eyes instantly drifted around the room. It hadn't changed at all. In two ears no one had moved the desks around. The desks still stood in pairs so that partners were facing each other. As Jane looked around she noticed they hadn't even changed the already crappy office chairs.
Man, Jane thought, budget cuts must have hit this place hard.
"Detective Frost?" Deanna asked as she approached one of the detectives standing by the printer. She recognised him solely from Jane's description. He turned around as she addressed him and Deanna reached out her hand. One look at her suit told him that this was the help from the FBI they'd been expecting and he smiled as he shook her hand. "Special Agent Deanna Perera. It's good to meet you."
"Barry Frost," he replied as he let go of her hand and then slightly furrowed his brow. "I thought FBI Agents travelled in pairs?"
"We do."
Her voice was enough to make Frost's eyes widen and he looked past Deanna to see Jane standing behind her, her hands clumsily pushed into the pockets of her pants. He almost dropped the pieces of paper he'd just picked up from the printer.
"Jane!"
She tried to smile but she couldn't quite manage. "Hello."
Frost walked over to her and seized her up. The disbelief flickered in his eyes. "What the hell, Jane?!"
Before Jane could answer she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around to see Korsak standing behind her. His hair had gotten greyer and there were even more grey hairs in his goatee too but other than that he hadn't changed a bit.
"It's good to see you, Jane."
"It's good to see you, too," she whispered softly and then he unexpectedly wrapped her up in one of his massive bear hugs. For just a split second she froze but then her muscles relaxed and she wrapped her arms around him. She'd forgotten just how strong and intense Korsak's hugs were and the tears welled up in her eyes without warning as she rested her head on his shoulder. "It really is."
"It's been too long," he whispered into her ear just before letting her go and he held her gaze once they had parted. She knew he was trying to discover whether she was allright. The initial worry in his eyes subsided and he smiled. "You look good."
"Jesus Jane, what the hell happened?" Frost asked. He pulled the FBI badge that hung around her neck. "You're with the Feds now?!"
"Long story," Jane answered and briefly glanced at Korsak. He just nodded. He understood. It reassured her and she looked back at Frost. He still couldn't seem to believe that she was actually standing in front of him and she felt the irresistible urge to smack the back of his head to get his attention back. "I promise to tell you later but right now I need you to tell me exactly what's been happening here."
"We've got everything in here," Frost said and pointed at the computer room. Deanna followed him and Jane was about to go too when Korsak took her arm and forced her to turn around.
"Jane," he began and he looked at her with sincerity. "Does Maura know you're here?"
"No," Jane answered. "I think it can wait, don't you?"
"Things have changed a little around here, Jane. Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure." She turned away from him. "Let's get to work. We've got a killer to catch."
