Chapter 1

Jane had just been in pursuit of a suspect when something woke her up. At first, she thought it might be Joe Friday licking her toes again, but once the sleepiness began to fade, Jane realized that someone was knocking on her door.

"Go away," she muttered into her pillow, sensing instinctively that it was too early to get up. She wasn't even on call today.

To her mute satisfaction, the knocking did indeed stop, and Jane sank back into her mattress, feeling that she might just be able to catch that perp from her dream if she closed her eyes now and went right back to sleep.

When a cold hand suddenly touched her bare shoulder, Jane instantly jerked awake – her cop instincts kick-starting and telling her to grab whoever had broken into her apartment and to wrestle them to the ground.

She could only just stop herself when she recognized her intruder. "Maura! What the hell are you doing here?"

Her best friend smiled innocently. "I knocked, but you didn't open up."

"Yes, because I'm still sleeping." Jane moaned and sank back into her pillows. Maura seemed unperturbed by that. She walked over to the window and opened the curtains. Jane shielded her eyes against the morning light. "How did you even get in here?"

"I used the spare key you gave me."

Jane furrowed her brow. "For emergencies, Maura. I gave you that key for emergencies only."

"Well, it was an emergency," Maura replied. "My knocking woke up one of your neighbors and he kept looking out the door to stare at my gluteus maximus."

"Your…" Jane repeated, but then decided not to go there. "Well, perhaps that has something to do with the way you dress your… booty," she said instead, eyeing the stiletto high heels, narrow skirt and blouse Maura was wearing, not to mention her perfect, honey-colored hair. "Seriously, Maura, who looks like that before 7 a.m. in the morning?"

"I'll take that as a compliment," Maura replied with a defiant smile and sat on the edge of her bed. "Anyway, I've got something for you."

"Two more hours of sleep?" Jane suggested.

Maura smiled and shook her head. "No, even though scientists have confirmed that the human body functions best when it gets approximately eight hours of sleep every night. But I think since today is a special day, we can make an exception."

Jane frowned. "Oh, don't tell me it's my birthday again. I hate birthdays."

"No, you told me that you only hate the disappointment that you associate with your birthday," Maura corrected her gently. "But no, it's not your birthday."

"Then what is it, Maura?" Jane asked, not at all sure she really wanted to know.

Maura rose from the bed. "I'll show you in the living room," she said and left the room again.

Jane sighed and tried not to be curious, so she could just stay in bed and wait until Maura would leave again. This special day her friend had referred to was probably nothing more than the invention of something with an incredibly complicated Latin name she had never even heard of before. But when Maura began to move around in her kitchen, Jane surrendered to the inevitable. She took a quick shower and then put on some slacks and a Boston PD T-shirt without even bothering to tame her mass of black, curly hair.

When she entered her living room, two cups of coffee sat waiting on her kitchen counter. "That's it? And you wonder why I have a problem with disappointment," Jane said with a smirk.

"No, that's just to stimulate your metabolism," Maura replied, once again making Jane wonder whether she really couldn't detect sarcasm or simply chose not to. "This is what I have for you," she clarified and placed an elegantly gift-wrapped package on the counter.

Jane put down her coffee mug. "Maura, what is this? What is going on here?"

"Just go ahead and open it," Maura replied.

Now actually more than just a little curious, Jane unwrapped a box that after opening the lid revealed a gun that was obviously an antique. While Jane carefully lifted it out of the box to admire it, Maura confirmed her first assessment. "It's a Remington Double Deringer, caliber .41. It belonged to Bernard McGinniskin, the first Irish-born Boston Police Officer to be appointed in 1851."

"Wow… that's… I don't know what to say, Maura. This must be worth at least three grand!" Jane put the gun back in the box and stared at her friend in amazement.

"Yes, well, today happens to be the anniversary of your graduation from the police academy, and you told me once that that's the only date you really care about because from that day on you felt like you knew what you were doing with your life. And I'm sure all the families you've helped to reach closure would support me in giving you this as thanks for the choice you made back then."

As a detective Jane preferred to be in control of every situation, and it was part of her nature to analyze every person she was dealing with and to try to guess their next move. Usually, she was pretty good, too. But Maura Isles proved to be an exception. There was something about her sometimes painfully honest and very often quite annoyingly smart but also surprisingly gentle and supportive manner that always managed to catch Jane by surprise. It was no different today. Jane actually had to blink a couple of times because she certainly didn't want to start crying. God, no.

But she got up and walked around the kitchen counter to give her friend a hug. "Thanks, Maura, that's very sweet and thoughtful." Glancing at the way too expensive collector's gun, she added, "But this is way too much. I can't possibly accept this."

"Of course you can. Even though most of my money is tied up in sensible investments, I assure you that I am more than able to afford this, and I want you to have it," Maura insisted.

"You're sure you still have enough to buy yourself shoes and stuff like that?" Jane asked jokingly.

Maura laughed. "Yes."

"Well, okay then," Jane said, but when she looked at her newly acquired treasure, her cop senses still couldn't give it a rest. Her gut kept telling her that there was something here she kept missing.

Before she could continue that internal debate, Maura's cell phone started ringing. She glanced at the caller ID and then let it go to voicemail.

Jane frowned. "You could have taken that, you know."

"No, that's alright," Maura replied offhandedly.

But Jane's gut was practically screaming at her by now. "Maura, are you okay?" she asked.

Maura nodded. "Yes, I'm fine." But she had barely said that when she seemed to reconsider it already. Jane knew that her friend couldn't lie even if her life depended on it, so she simply waited her out. "Well, actually, there is something I wanted to talk to you about…"

But she didn't get to finish her sentence because there was another knock on the door. Jane sighed. "Hold that thought, okay? Perhaps it's my neighbor, and he wants to ask me for your number," she added with a sly grin.

Maura made a face, but when Jane opened the door, it wasn't her neighbor, even though Jane suddenly almost wished it would be. "Ma, what are you doing here?"

Angela Rizzoli didn't bother to wait to be invited in. She just pecked her daughter on the cheek and pushed past her into the apartment. "Good morning, Janie. I came to make you bunny pancakes."

"Bunny pancakes?" Jane repeated incredulously while her mother added a cheerful "Hello Maura," before explaining.

"Yes, you told me I couldn't make those for you at work anymore, so I'll have to make them here. Unless of course, you think that I'd be embarrassing you in front of Dr. Isles as well." Her mother used her You-don't-appreciate-what-I'm-doing-for-you kind of voice that Jane knew only too well, so she just closed the door with a sigh.

"I'm a female cop, Ma. Ears and a smiley face on my food do not exactly help to inspire confidence in me among my co-workers."

"I think it's sweet," Maura said, which caused Jane to give her a 'traitor' look, but Maura only smiled and shrugged.

Jane's mother meanwhile noticed her gift. "What is this?" she asked with a disapproving frown on her face.

"That's an antique gun, Ma," Jane pointed out the obvious. "Maura gave it to me."

"Oh, well," her mother hesitated. She probably didn't want to be rude to Maura, who was giving her a place to live. "Does it have to lie there on the counter? I'm sure that's not very sanitary."

"Nobody asked you to cook, Ma," Jane reminded her, but knowing that there was no point in arguing, she put the box aside – and with it most likely the chance to learn what Maura had actually come to talk about. Maura didn't seem very upset about that, but since that wasn't really in her nature anyway, that wasn't saying much.

The ship had definitely sailed when there was another knock on Jane's door and her younger brother Frankie waltzed into her apartment as well. "Hey, is it take-over-Jane's-apartment day or what?" she protested in vain.

"You know I always have breakfast with Ma after coming off the night shift," Frankie only offered as an explanation and sat down at her counter.

"Yeah, is he getting bunny pancakes, too?" Jane teased.

"Why do you always have to be so mean, Jane?" her mother complained with that I-can't-believe-I-raised-you look.

But Jane was saved by the bell when her phone chose that particular moment to start ringing. She signaled her mother and brother to continue arguing without her and picked up the call. "Rizzoli."

There was a short pause on the other end. "Hey Jane, it's me, Korsak."

"Hey Vince. What's up?" Jane asked, trying not to sound too worried. But she knew her former partner well enough to realize that something was wrong. She could tell from the sound of his voice. Plus, she wasn't on call today, so it had to be important for Korsak to call her anyway. Jane met Maura's gaze from across the room and her friend raised her eyebrows in a mute question, but Jane only shrugged.

"It's Frost," was all Korsak said at first, but it was enough to make Jane feel as if a cold hand was twisting her guts, even before he added, "I'm so sorry, Jane, but he's dead."

"What?" It was all Jane could do to hold on to her phone.

"Jane?" Maura came to stand next to her now and put a soothing hand on her arm.

But Jane stayed focused on the impossibility of the news she had just been given. "What the hell is that supposed to mean – he's dead?"

Korsak sighed heavily on the other end while Maura's eyes became huge with worry and Jane could feel her mother and Frankie watching her as well. "I don't know much more than you do, Jane. The precinct just got a call from an NYPD patrol officer who apparently found Frost's dead body in an alley and after spotting his badge, didn't just call it in, but also had the courtesy to give us a heads-up."

Jane's head was spinning, and she was suddenly very grateful for Maura's steadying hand. "Wait a minute! NYPD as in New York? Why the hell would he be in New York?"

"I don't know, Jane. I really don't know." Korsak sounded defeated. Even though he and Frost had pulled each other's leg at every opportunity, the young detective had grown on him. As he had on everyone.

So Jane desperately searched for a way out of this. "Perhaps it's not even him. I mean, how can we be sure?"

"I guess they'll need someone to go down there for a positive ID, but if they found his badge…"

"Oh, I'll do more than just ID him," Jane interrupted her older friend. "I'll go down there and find out what the hell happened, and if that's really him, I swear to God I'll get the son of a bitch who did this!"

"Woah, Jane, he's not on our turf anymore. Strictly speaking, NYPD's got jurisdiction," Korsak reminded her.

But Jane was way too angry to listen. "To hell with jurisdiction! He was one of us, Vince, we have a goddamn right to investigate this and you know that!"

There was another short pause. "Okay, I'll talk to Cavanaugh. Perhaps he can call the NYPD commissioner, and you better get on the next plane. We got lucky that that officer called us right away. Perhaps you can get to the crime scene not much later than whatever detective the NYPD will assign to this. I'll text you the address. And once you're on the scene, well, good luck to whomever wants to kick you out again."

A small smile formed on Jane's lips. "Thanks, Vince. Appreciate it."

"Just take care of yourself. And Jane? You better get that bastard!"

"Count on it," Jane promised him with icy determination in her voice and hung up. When she looked up, she saw three anxious pairs of eyes fixed on her. "I'm sorry, Ma, but I'll have to skip those pancakes." Weirdly enough, that was the first thing that came out of her mouth.

Maura gently squeezed her arm. "Jane, what's going on?"

Reluctantly, Jane met her friend's gaze. "Frost is dead."

Maura inhaled sharply and covered her mouth with her hand. Her mother dropped the cooking spoon she had been holding and stared at her in shock. Frankie rose from his chair, looking like a bull ready to charge but with nowhere to go.

"Oh my God, Jane, I'm so sorry," Maura finally managed to say.

"Yes, that's terrible! I can't believe it!" her mother added, fighting against tears and rushing towards her to give her a hug.

But Jane quickly took a couple of steps back. "No hugging, Ma! I don't have time for this now." She did feel the pain of losing her partner building inside of her, but right now it was contained by her anger and determination to get to New York to find out what was going on and – a small voice in her head added – whether it really was Frost.

Frankie, being a cop himself, understood. "What can we do, Jane?" was all he asked.

"Go to the precinct and help Korsak. He'll try to talk to Cavanaugh. But if the NYPD cops won't cooperate, I'll need you to work the computers and stuff on this end for me."

Frankie nodded without hesitation and headed for the door. He only stopped to put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, sis," he said before leaving.

"You're going to New York?" her mother asked, looking both worried and surprised.

"I have to, Ma. I owe him this." Jane was trying to figure out what she needed to take with her while all she really wanted to do was to get going, when she remembered the most important thing of all. In a hurry, she turned to her best friend again. "Will you come with me, Maura? I know this is asking a lot because I can't even promise you that the NYPD will let you touch his body and they could very well sue us for interfering, but you're the only one I trust and…"

"Jane," Maura took her hand and put a stop to her babbling. "Of course I'm coming with you. We just have to stop at my place, so I can get my bag."

Jane allowed herself a short pause to take a deep breath and to smile at her friend. "Thank you."

If it had been up to her, Jane would have grabbed only her gun and badge and walked out of the door. But both Maura and her mother convinced her to take some time to change into clothes that called for a little more respect and also to pack some things in case they'd be staying in New York for a couple of days. Jane had little patience for all this, but with the help of her Ma and Maura she didn't lose too much time.

After a short stop at Maura's place where they also left Jane's mother, who insisted on hugging both of them after all, they got to the airport. Once more Jane's badge proved itself worthwhile when it allowed them to fast-track their way through security. They got on the next flight to New York in record time.

The flight took only about an hour, but Jane could hardly sit still, and it felt like an eternity to her. At JFK they lost a little more time because the security officers there were slightly more reluctant to accept Jane's Boston PD ID as an all access pass. But Korsak came through and texted her the address of the crime scene. His message also said that Cavanaugh was on their side but couldn't promise any willingness to cooperate from the NYPD. Jane didn't really care either way. When she and Maura finally got a cab, Jane almost yelled at the driver and told him to step on it. But the cabby seemed used to being treated that way.

When they had reached their destination, Jane immediately spotted the yellow police tape and cursed. "Dammit, they already got to it." It had probably been ridiculous to hope that they could get to a crime scene in a foreign city before the cops in charge did.

"Perhaps you could just try talking to them," Maura suggested. "They are police men and women who have partners, too. They might understand."

Jane scanned the alley ahead of her. She saw a couple of officers, guarding the scene, but only two guys in suits who looked like they might be actual detectives. Neither looked like the one in charge to Jane. Perhaps they were just in time, after all. She gave Maura a nod and they headed towards the police line.

One of the officers stopped them. "I'm sorry, this is a crime scene. I can't let you through here."

First moment of truth, Jane thought. "I'm Detective Jane Rizzoli," she said, showing him her badge. "That in there is my partner."

The officer took in her badge and her fierce expression and after a moment of hesitation, he waved them through.

"See, that wasn't so hard," Maura said.

"Yeah, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Better wait and see whether those guys over there have got some balls," Jane replied, already eyeing the Hispanic looking man who approached them now. She decided that the best defense was a good offense and didn't even wait for him to say something. "Hey, you in charge here?" she asked him.

"I'm Detective Esposito. May I ask who you two are?"

"Dr. Maura Isles, Detective Jane Rizzoli, Boston PD. One of the… victims seems to be my partner."

Esposito actually looked sympathetic. "I'm sorry. You're here to ID him?"

Jane was about to tell him that she was here to get justice for Frost, but Maura grabbed her arm and said, "Yes, yes we are."

Esposito nodded, but he still seemed a little uncomfortable with the idea of letting them near the dead body, which confirmed Jane's hunch that he was not the detective in charge. But Jane didn't give a damn whether he would get in trouble or not.

She turned towards the dead body, only to realize that there were actually two, but only one of them was black. Suddenly Jane hesitated. Once she confirmed Frost's identity, she would also have to face the cold, irrevocable reality of his death.

"It's okay, Jane," Maura whispered.

"Thanks. For coming with me," Jane replied, looking at her.

Maura smiled sadly. "You're welcome, my friend."

Jane took a deep breath and approached the body. Her heart sank, and she closed her eyes for a second when she recognized the lifeless hull that was left of her partner. "Oh Frost. What did you do?" she whispered and fought against the sadness that threatened to overwhelm her. This was not the time or the place.

"Looks like a gunshot wound ruptured his pericardium," Maura said, kneeling next to her.

Jane was about to reply when she heard movement behind her. She spotted a woman with long brown hair, who seemed to get a report from Esposito and looked like she was the one in charge everyone had been waiting for. She was trailed by a guy who, judging from his five-hundred-dollar suit and wavy hair, was certainly no cop.

"Time for round three," Jane muttered.