Title: Song for Marcella
Rating: T for now; may become M later
Pairing: Jane/Maura
Spoilers: Some references from all S1 and S2 episodes up to and including, "My Own Worst Enemy." The story is AU from there.
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. If I did, they'd be married and hanging out on Showtime )
A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, story alerts, and favorites! I am overwhelmed and humbled by all of your support. This story began as a post-ep one shot set after "My Own Worst Enemy," but as these things often go, it grew a life of its own. The one-shot is now the prologue;) Although this is a WIP, I have the story fully mapped out and will be posting regularly. That being said, RL can be tough and busy sometimes so we'll see how it goes! This is my first attempt at a longer story and a case file, so your feedback is greatly appreciated. I'm not a crime solver or a forensics expert, just a girl with a wild imagination who can Google. Any and all mistakes on that front are my own ;) Also, the Boston Irish Historical Society is my own creation, but is loosely based on the American Irish Historical Society of Boston. Very special thanks to 55angel55 for the beta. Sending you big love and box wine! I love you! So with that, on with the show!
Chapter 1
Doesn´t seem quite so long ago,
The last time that I saw you,
Ain´t it funny how the memories grow,
Seems they always fold around you.
-From 'Song for Marcella' by Bik McFarlane
Jane parked the crown vic in its usual spot, and sauntered through the parking garage in her typical effortless manner. She walked into the first floor, flashed her badge, and made her way to the elevator. In one hand she held a carrying tray of two coffees, and in the other, a croissant from the French bistro two blocks away. Jane had stopped there on a whim after picking up the coffees, thinking that nothing would help her friend's hangover more than a buttery, fatty, pastry.
Jane pushed the elevator button for the basement and waited with her thoughts as they drifted to Maura. A smile automatically found its way to Jane's mouth as she pictured the ME and the honesty she'd shared with Jane the night before. The 'I love you' that Maura had said as Jane left, rolled around in her mind bouncing about her brain like it wasn't ready to stick. She couldn't stop thinking about it, nor could she will away the slight tingle she still felt on her lips from kissing Maura's forehead.
"Captain Janetastic…" she muttered quietly to herself with a smile, as she entered the elevator. "That's funny," she continued to herself. She thought the moniker was actually kinda cute. Though, she wasn't sure how she should actually feel about being compared to her best friend's ex boyfriend. Was it a good thing? Or was Maura subconsciously comparing Jane to the arrogant, emotionally unavailable, and criminal aspects of her ex? That was one question posed way too early in the morning for Jane to contemplate on only one cup of coffee.
The ding of the elevator on the basement level knocked Jane out of her reverie and onto the morgue. She came up to the clear glass doors to the autopsy room, and saw nothing. No bodies, no tools, no sign of Maura.
"Maura?" She called, and crossed though the room to Maura's office. "Hey Maura, you here?" Jane called again.
"Unnnngh." Jane heard from the office, "In here," came the muffled reply.
Jane came around the corner to the doorway, to see Maura sprawled across her fancy red chair, legs propped on the arm, pillow held to her face.
"My, my," Jane said. "Are we feeling a little sick this morning?"
"No Jane, not sick. I feel like death. No, I feel worse than death. I feel like a thawed corpse whose skull cap has been removed, the dura mater examined and prodded, and then the skull cap reattached via staple gun." Though it was muffled, Jane could hear the agony in her friend's voice.
Jane grimaced and then replied, "Whoa. That good, huh? You're making jokes, though, so it must not be that bad."
Maura removed the pillow from her face, to reveal the tired, slightly baggy eyed countenance of the truly hungover. She huffed out a breath, and looked up at Jane.
"Wow. It is that bad." Jane remarked after taking a long look at her friend.
"Yes." said Maura. "And I've already given myself a full IV drip of saline solution."
"You hooked yourself up to an IV by yourself?" Maura nodded. "Now that's badass." Jane smiled at her, and set the bag of pastries and coffees on the table next to the chair. "Here. I brought gifts. I couldn't bring you a little hair of the dog, so I figured this is the next best thing. Plus, one grande cappuccino with skim milk. Just like you requested."
"Thank you, Jane," Maura said sitting up and folding her hand around the warm drink. Maura picked up the pastry bag and peaked in. "Mmm. Croissants from Le Chez de Fleur. Delicious. But, Jane, I hardly see how eating the fur, because its fur, Jane, not hair, from a canine could even compare to this." With a tilt of her head, Maura gave her a look.
Jane just looked at Maura blankly. "Mm….nevermind."
"Ohhhhh. This is so perfect." Maura moaned into the croissant. Jane stood staring at her friend just a beat too long, before she cleared her throat and picked up her own coffee.
"So, uh, why are you here so early anyway?" Jane asked.
"They called me in at six." Maura replied around sips of coffee.
"Six? What gives? They didn't call me, must not be a not a murder then." Jane said and pouted.
"No, Homicide wasn't the one who called. Robbery called me in to examine some remains they uncovered at the home of a suspected black market items dealer they'd been investigating. The remains are in one of the drawers out there waiting for me, as we speak."
"Wait, remains? Like just bones, or what?" Jane asked.
"Yes, exactly. A couple of detectives discovered the bones in an abandoned safe when they were searching the home. CSRU met Robbery out at the scene and recovered them. There was no clear indication about how old the remains are or time of death. They thought something appeared amiss, so they're having me take a look. That's all I really know." Maura answered.
"Amiss? In what way?" Jane volleyed back.
"Well, it appears that the remains had been placed there recently based on the absence of dust or insect activity. They were also able to determine that the bones found were not a complete skeleton." Maura answered.
"What was missing?" Jane prodded.
"The skull." Maura answered.
"Hold on. I don't get it. Robbery finds some bones in a safe, minus a head, and they want you to examine it?"
Maura nodded.
"To what, see if something's suspicious? Why not just run the bones through the crime lab? Get a forensic profile?" Jane offered.
"I'm not sure. Perhaps they think there might be a connection to another robbery? Maybe they suspect foul play?" Maura replied.
"Foul play? Really? Are we on an episode of Perry Mason all of a sudden?"
"Jane," Maura gave her an exasperated look. "I have a terrible headache, and an examination pending with no dermis, muscle, or vital organs involved. I can't keep up with your pop culture ribbing right now." Maura said.
"Sorry," Jane responded, with a grin. "If they're suspecting foul play, why hasn't Homicide been called in?" Jane questioned.
"That's good question. It seems there are many good questions to be asking right now." Maura said.
"Yes, there are. And I'm gonna go find out what the heck is going on, and why the BPD suddenly thinks we're the Smithsonian."
"A skeleton thief? Really?" Jane asked incredulous. Although when she thought about it, she didn't actually feel that shocked. When she was a beat cop, she arrested people for stealing weirder things, and her time in Homicide had definitely taught her that people will kill for just about anything.
"Yeah. His name's Jasper Cohen." Cavanaugh said, in his no-nonsense way. "Real stand up guy. Works as an independent courier, but it's just a cover for his more lucrative ventures." Cavanaugh paused to pick up a file off of desk and hand it to Jane.
He continued to talk, while she perused the file.
"This guy's been suspected of stealing skeletons, artifacts, and historical memorabilia from museums and labs around Massachusetts and selling them to other schools and research facilities abroad to make some extra cash. Robbery's been on this guy for months, just haven't been able to nail him for the black market shit yet. Robbery did actually get him on fraud for a bad legal sale, and got a warrant to search his place. That's when they found the headless skeleton in the safe."
"Why aren't the feds involved?" Jane asked.
"Because this guy's so stupid, he hasn't actually left Massachusetts. Interpol is on his ass for the abroad sales, but he's hardly ventured out of Boston proper for his merchandise. Plus, the suspected homicide is all Boston's."
"Yaaaay." Jane commented.
"Yeah." He continued, "Now get this. Three weeks ago, the Boston Irish Historical Society reported two missing skeletons from their exhibit about the 1981 prison hunger strike in Ireland. They later found the bones near a dumpster in the back of the building, only when they recovered the bones, there was some, uh, extra parts." Jane cocked an eyebrow at him but remained quiet for him to continue.
"One of the skeletons was one of the missing skeletons from BIHS. The other one looked old too, but CSRU had determined on the scene that the skeleton was actually recently deceased and had been treated to look aged. The other skeleton from BIHS was nowhere to be found. It was like the new one was supposed to be the replacement for old one or something." He said.
"That sounds a lot like conjecture, Lieutenant." Jane interjected.
"Man, is Dr. Isles rubbing off on you, or what?" Cavanaugh gave her a look, and continued, "Anyway, the point is, Rizzoli, there was enough there with the new remains to call this a possible suspicious death. The other thing they found was a third skull among the total bones."
"A third skull?" Jane repeated.
"Yeah, another skull, but no actual body connected to it. The skull looked like it could belong to the other missing BIHS skeleton, and DNA confirmed that it didn't match any of the other bones on the scene. What they did find though, was Jasper Cohen's fingerprints all over the skeletons. "
"Any weapons found at the scene?"
"Nothin.' Just bones and Jasper's boneheaded prints."
"So you think the skull might belong to our John Doe 'Mr Bones?' Could the remains down in the morgue be the missing BIHS skeleton?"
"Yeah, that's why we need Maura to check it out." Cavanaugh answered.
"Why Maura? She's not a forensic anthropologist. Her specialty's corpses… y'know dead bodies with the…um…stuff still on 'em." Jane asked
"Yeah, but we trust Maura. We'll have her do the cursory exams. Then we'll bring in a consult to help her out."
"A consult, who?" Jane asked
"Doctor Kurt Mayumi. He's a professor emeritus at BCU, and does consultations for forensics. He comes highly recommended." At Jane's skeptical look, he continued. "We're still waiting for the other skeletons to come in from North Precinct, and we're gonna need all hands on deck, see what they can pull off 'em. We need to know if we're looking at murder here for that third skeleton. This Dr. Mayumi guy's supposed to be the best." Cavanaugh leaned on his desk, eyed Jane.
"Maura's the best." Jane retorted. At Cavanaugh's 'get over it' look, Jane shrugged him off and said, "I know, I know. We need help, yada yada. What else we got on Cohen? He got a record?"
"Yeah, linked to another suspicious death in Southie last year. Got off on a technicality." Cavanaugh said.
"Hm. Sounds like our buddy Jasper may be more than just a grave robber. Maybe he's a murderer too. Or at the very least an accessory." Jane added.
"That's the suspicion, yeah." Cavanaugh confirmed.
"Is Cohen in custody?" Jane asked.
"Got a Uni on it right now." He answered. "Robbery gets him first then you'll have your chance to question him."
"Where are Korsak and Frost? I didn't see them in the squad room." Jane inquired.
"They're questioning employees at the Boston Irish Historical Society," Cavanaugh answered
Jane stiffened, her voice raised, "What, without me? Why didn't anyone call me? I should be there!"
"Keep your pantyhose on, Rizzoli. It's just routine questioning . Besides. We need you here to help the brainiacs with...uh...categorizing the remains." Cavanaugh said.
"Why me? What, do I look like, Temperance Brennan?" Jane whined.
"I have no idea what that means, Rizzoli, but I'm just yankin' you're chain." Cavanaugh smirked. "Frost and Korsak are downstairs waitin' for you, so get the hell outta my office, will ya?' he finished, shooing her away with his arm. "You got a murder to solve."
Jane scowled at the lieutenant, and bee-lined it for the door.
Jane, Frost, and Korsak filed out of the sedan, and headed toward the entrance of the BIHS. On the way to the scene, Jane sent Maura a text confirming that what they were working on was indeed a suspected homicide, and Maura should expect two more skeletons coming her way along with some Dr. Egghead from BCU.
Great. Maura had texted back. I am definitely going to need more cappuccinos and possibly a dextrose drip.
Cry baby. Jane texted back. Maybe with no dermatitis or stomach contents to analyze, the work will go faster.
Ha ha. And I think you actually meant 'dermis.' Skin. Dermatitis is actually an irritation of the skin that results in…
Jane didn't even finish reading the text, just responded back that she'd see Maura later. She'd put her phone in the holder on her hip, and waited for Frost to get them to the interview.
As they walked through the grounds of the BIHS, Jane took in the verdant grass and colorful foliage lining the walkway, leading to a manicured flower bed that had the Irish flag composed of orange, green, and white plants and flowers that Jane couldn't even begin to name.
Just as they rounded the bed, a snorting, coughing sound came out of Korsak, and Jane looked at him questioningly.
"What? " He answered at her glare. "Sorry, it's nothing…uh…pffft!" He got out, barely stifling a laugh. Frost hung back to his right pursing his lips to keep from laughing.
"What? What is it?" Jane said in exasperation.
"Nothing. Nothing...it's just… I can't believe Cavanaugh actually pranked you like that!" Korsak replied.
"Yeah, yeah, yuk it up, Curly." answered Jane. "Shoulda never told you." She mumbled.
"Maybe that guy isn't so bad…" Korsak mused, and Jane swatted him with the back of her hand.
"Yeah who knew," Frost added, "Big brass can be a wise ass!" All three of them chuckled as they entered the old, two-story brick building.
The Boston Irish Historical Society building was something to behold. Celtic flags and fabrics of family crests hung from the high raftered ceilings, and pictures and artifacts from Irish-American history over the past 300 years adorned the walls encased in plastic displays. Sounds of uilleann pipes and flutes filled the lobby as music played overhead. Jane was immediately drawn to a 1946 Celtics jersey, most of it was dulled with age, but the white four-leaf clover still stood out bright and bold. "Whoa. This is from the very first year of the team." Jane whispered in awe. She was broken out of her observation, by the click clack sound of heels on linoleum.
A tall slender woman, who looked to be in her late 50's approached the trio. She was smartly dressed and her graying blonde hair was pulled tightly into a bun.
"Hello there, you must be the Detectives. We've been expecting you." She said brightly. Her hazel eyes made direct eye contact with all three of them.
"Yes, yes we are." Jane replied, shaking the woman's proffered hand. I'm Detective Jane Rizzoli, and this is Sergeant Detective Korsak and Detective Frost.
"I'm Katherine Riley. I am the Vice President of the Society. Welcome." She said. "Let's go to my office, and we can talk there."
The woman led them through the building, different exhibits and items catching Jane's eye. Finally her eyes landed on the temporarily closed exhibit on the '1981 Irish Prison Hunger Strike.' Jane veered over to look at some the pictures displayed, her eyes resting on the grainy photo of a young, striking looking woman, with short blond hair, beautiful green eyes, and a serious expression. She looked to be sitting on a prison cot, staring directly at the camera. Her face held strength despite the prominence of her cheekbones and somewhat hollow eyes. Jane was riveted by the photo.
"Detective?" Katherine called.
"Uh yeah. Be right there." Jane turned to join her colleagues, Korsak giving her a concerned look.
"You okay, Jane?" He said quietly, so only they could hear.
"Yeah, fine." She answered following Frost and Katherine into her office, Korsak right behind her.
"Please have a seat," Katherine offered, pointing to three chairs in front of a large mahogany desk, the words, Bród Éireannach, Irish Pride, carved beautifully into the dark surface.
The three detectives all sat down, as Jane began the interview.
"Ms. Riley, thank you for agreeing to meet with us."
"It's not a problem, really. And please call me Katherine." She replied
"Katherine. What you can you tell us about the skeletons stolen from the society three weeks ago?" Jane began. "They belonged to the hunger strike exhibit is that correct?"
"Yes. The skeletons are, or were, the perfectly preserved bones of two people who lost their lives during the strike. One is Kier McKenzie and I understand he has possibly been recovered already?" At Jane's nod, Katherine continued. "The other is Marcella O'Malley. She was one of the only women to die during the strike. Marcella was particularly exciting for us to have because some of her family members were such prominent political figures in both the Sinn Féin, and IRA at the time. Some thought her father might actually take a position in Parliament." Katherine said the last part with some pride in her voice.
Jane a bit confused asked a question, "I'm sorry Katherine, but isn't the IRA more of a terrorist group?"
"Though we at the Society don't necessarily condone all of the practices of the IRA, particularly the violence, we certainly know the importance of their presence in not only the composition of Boston's Irish American communities, but also for our brethren in Éire. The days of the 'The Troubles' affected us all."
Jane nodded, not really having the slightest idea what Katherine was talking about and Korsak picked up the interview from there. "Katherine, do you know of anyone who might have had a problem there being an exhibit about the hunger strikes here at the Society?"
"No, oh no. We have a tremendous amount of support from our members and patrons. Many people were very eager about the exhibit. And at the opening, we hosted over a hundred people for the unveiling itself." Katherine said.
After a beat Katherine added, "The only person who appeared to have an issue with exhibit, was Bobby O'Malley."
Korsak's eyes widened slightly and he nodded in understanding, telegraphing a 'more later' look, to Jane in the process.
"Bobby O'Malley? Marcella's brother?" Korsak asked.
"Yes, that's right." Katherine answered. "He came to us many times in the months preceding the opening of the exhibit, wanting to buy Marcella from us. "He said that he wanted to give her a proper burial and let her be at rest. But we just couldn't give her up."
Jane had listened long enough, and needed to jump in. "So, let me get this straight. A woman's brother comes to you wanting to buy the remains of his sister to bury her properly, and you told him no?" Jane felt appalled but tried not to let it show.
"Yes, Detective, we did." Katherine replied.
"What, he didn't offer you a good price?" Jane countered.
"No," Katherine said. "What he offered was more than adequate. We just wouldn't sell her."
"Well, that musta made Bobby pretty mad, huh?" Jane said, with more venom in her tone than she meant.
Katherine nodded her head. "During the last encounter we had with Bobby, we had to call the police to escort him off of the site. He is no longer allowed on our property." Katherine added with a sadness touching her voice.
She continued, at Jane's sour look, "You have to understand, Detectives, it had been so difficult to get cooperation from the Northern Ireland government for our exhibit. They've wanted no additional attention drawn to hunger strike deaths. We tried for years to get contacts for Her Majesty's Prison Maze, the prison where they died, or find any memorabilia from the strikes themselves. We had absolutely no luck, and were stonewalled at every turn. No one at the Maze, the IRA, or Sinn Féin was willing to work with us. So when we had an anonymous benefactor agree to give us Marcella, we were so thrilled. We were very reluctant to let her go, despite the money Mr. O'Malley was offering. We simply couldn't sell."
Jane wasn't quite sure she bought it. This whole thing reeked, and she'd be damned if she wasn't going to find the source of the smell.
"Katherine," Korsak started again, leaning forward in his seat elbows resting on his knees. "How much do you know of the O'Malley family presence here in Boston?"
"Not much, Sergeant. I know that Bobby moved here from Belfast as a teenager to live with family after Marcella died. And of course, there are the rumors the Society gets about him from time to time." Katherine added.
"Oh yeah, what rumors are those?" Jane quipped.
"That Bobby is possibly connected with some of the more politically extreme groups back in Ireland, and he is suspected of associating with leading members of Irish organized crime here in Boston." Katherine said.
"Extremists within the IRA?" Korsak asked.
"Like I said, Sergeant, I just know what we've heard, not necessarily what is true." Katherine answered.
Korsak nodded. "Understood. Any other names you can recall being mentioned about the O'Malleys?"
Katherine shook her head, and Korsak sat back in his seat.
At his cue, Frost jumped in next.
"Katherine, do you recognize this man?" Frost gave her a photo, and Katherine looked at it and nodded.
"Yes, I know him. Jasper. Our courier. He used to deliver things to us; special packages, fragile items, things like that. We used him a number of times. He's the one you think stole the exhibit items?" Katherine asked.
"We don't know anything for sure yet, ma'am, but we're investigating any possible leads." Frost countered in his calm, smooth tone.
Katherine nodded again.
Jane closed it up. "Katherine, is there anything else you can think of that would be helpful for us? Anything at all."
Katherine shook her head no.
"Okay, well," Jane said, standing up, and smoothing down the front of her pants with her hands. Korsak and Frost followed her lead. "If you think of anything, you'll let us know?" Jane said, while handing her a business card.
"Of course." Katherine answered.
"Great. We'll show ourselves out." Jane said
"Bye, Katherine." Korsak said as he followed Jane out.
"Thank you for your time," added Frost, and three of them exited the BIHS, anxious to get back to headquarters.
"Well, that was interesting," Jane said as she, Frost, and Korsak climbed the steps to the BPD entrance.
"I'll say." Frost added.
"Somethin's fishy." Jane continued, "The BIHS may be all about permanently recording and celebrating the stories of the Irish in America, but that lady has taken it to a whole new level. I mean, what kind of person denies someone the opportunity to bury their family? In the name of posterity… or whatever. Make a copy for crissake!"
Korsak looked at Jane and stated, "Jane, the folks at BIHS aren't off the suspect list yet, but don't be so quick to judge. They really are trying to do right by the Irish people."
"Korsak, she called some of the Irish people exhibit items. Marcella O'Malley and Kier MacKenzie are human beings, not exhibit items."
"I'm with Jane. That shit is messed up." Frost said. "White people," he murmured and shook his head. The three of them paused in the foyer of the police department. "So, what now?" The junior detective asked.
"I'm gonna go down the morgue to see if Maura's turned up anything yet." Jane volunteered. "Korsak, why don't you check in upstairs and see if there's a timeline until we can talk to Cohen."
Korsak nodded, turned to go, but added, "Frost, you think you can do some digging on the hunger strikes and Bobby O'Malley? That's one guy we gotta track down."
"On it, Boss. Meet you in the Brick." Frost said with a smile a dashed off. Jane sighed, fatigue settled around her shoulders, and she wandered off toward the morgue.
Jane entered the autopsy room to what could only be described as controlled chaos masked as uniform precision. There were three tables, each holding a skeleton, and various people from the crime lab were milling about gathering samples, taking pictures, filling and removing evidence bags. In the center of it all, Maura stood hunched over one of the skeletons, conducting one of her routine examinations.
Jane thought Maura looked considerably better than she did earlier, but who are we kidding. On Maura's worst day, she would still be as stunning as ever.
Maura peeked up from her inquiry, caught Jane's eyes over her protective goggles, and flashed the Detective a smile.
Jane returned the smile, and went to stand across from Maura, the exam table between them.
"Hey." Jane greeted.
"Hi." Maura returned. "Have fun at the Boston Irish Historical Society? It's lovely isn't it?"
"Mmm…yeah, the Irish there certainly have an interesting way of preserving history." Jane muttered.
"Did you come up with any leads?" Maura asked.
"Yeah, Frost and Korsak are following up on some stuff, and we'll all rendezvous a little later. How about you? Find anything yet?"
"The preliminary examinations of two of the skeletons have confirmed what both Robbery and Homicide suspected. There are the missing skeletons from the exhibit." Maura said.
"Kier McKenzie and Marcella O'Malley." Jane interjected.
"What?" Maura asked.
"Their names. Those are their names. Can we please start calling them that instead of just 'the remains, or the skeletons, or the exhibit items?" Jane stated the last two words with air quotes.
"Yes, well, in any case they were identified, and some of the techs are reassembling them now." Maura said, as she indicated the flurry of activity at the two tables behind her.
Jane followed Maura's eyes as she scanned at the other people in the autopsy room, then leaned toward her and murmured, "Hey Maur," Jane continued in a low tone, "is Dr. Egghead here yet?"
"Dr. Egghead?" Maura repeated louder, getting a wide eyed, gaped mouth look from Jane, as Maura walked to the head of the exam table.
"I think she's talking about me," said a 40ish man of medium build, with attractive Asian features. He walked up to the place Maura just vacated and continued, "You must be Detective Rizzoli." He said, unfazed reaching out his hand in greeting. "I'm Kurt Mayumi."
"Uh, yes, hello." She stammered, reaching her hand to clasp his. His handshake was sturdy she thought absently. "Heard you were coming."
"Dr Mayumi is a professor of Physical Anthroplogy at BCU, Jane. He's come to assist with the case. Isn't that great?" Maura beamed.
Jane quirked her eyebrow at her. "Yeah." She replied.
"Detective Rizzoli, "Dr. Mayumi began, "It's really so nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."
"Yeah?" Jane said quizzically.
"Yes. The Homicide Department has quite the solve rate. I feel fortunate to finally work with you. And with these skeletal remains… it's quite a treat."
"Uh…yeah. I guess it was just a matter of time before we stumbled on some possibly murdered remains." The last word came out of Jane's mouth like it tasted bad. "Thank you for your, uh…assistance." Jane said.
"Oh no, the pleasure is mine. Dr. Isles is one of the best Chief Medical Examiners in the country. It's honor to work with her." He said, and directed a sweet smile of admiration toward Maura. Jane narrowed her eyes a bit, as Maura responded in kind to the forensic anthropologist. He continued, "And this case is, well, it is particularly exciting."
Dr. Mayumi spoke with the same bookish enthusiasm that often infused Maura's tone, but Jane didn't think it was so endearing on him. Actually, she was kind of annoyed.
Dr. Mayumi continued. "The crime lab here is quite state of the art, and Dr. Isles is just a pleasure to watch in action."
Yeah, I'll bet she is. Jane groaned internally.
"Oh, Dr. Mayumi's the pleasure to watch, he's the one that actually just ID'd Kier McKenzie and Marcella O'Malley. In fact, His ID was faster than the ID Dr. Carroll completed for the coroner in Worcester last year." Maura stated proudly.
"Faster than Dr. Carroll?" Dr. Mayumi responded. "Oh, no one is faster than Dr Carroll. Did you hear about the partial skeleton he ID'd in Somerville? All he had was an arm. It was so badly decomposed, he hardly had any tissue to work with. Yet he got an ID in less than 24 hours."
"No!" Maura responded, impressed.
I'm in hell, Jane thought, and cleared her throat.
Both Doctors' heads swiveled to look at Jane simultaneously.
"Sorry to break up the nerd party, but can we get back to this guy please?" She asked gesturing to the body below them.
Maura, sensing Jane's irritation, got a serious, down to business look on her face.
"Yes of course, Jane." She said.
All three shifted their gazes to the bones on the table.
"This is the newer skeleton." Maura said. "We're still waiting to see if the DNA matches anything in CODIS, but what I can tell you is it is a male, late 60's, no immediate apparent cause of death, but it's definitely suspicious. We also have yet to determine time of death, but the decomp rate seems to have halted, making it more difficult to determine. There are holes drilled in his right and left metacarpals, both lateral cuneiform bones of the feet, and holes drilled in the C3 and T9 and L4 vertebrae. There is also a hole at the base of the skull in the occipital bone. She gingerly picked up the skull in front of her. These are all consistent in what you might find on a skeleton being readied for display."
"So they really were planning to switch Marcella with this guy." Jane murmured. "What makes the death suspicious?" Jane asked, this time louder and articulate.
"See this right here?" Maura said, angling the skull around to show Jane the hole in the occipital. Jane inched closer to Maura for a better look. "There is searing around the bone of the impact site." Maura looked at Jane expectantly.
"Yeah, so, it's a hole." Jane replied. "It looks just like the other ones they put on there for hanging him up." She winced.
"Yes, but look at the edges of the other holes." She points to the ones in the hands. "They are serrated, like, what you might expect from a drill."
"Right…and…" Jane prodded.
"But this one," Maura said pointing to the small hole at the base of the skull again, "is smooth. And the searing around the hole suggests a gunshot wound." Jane's eyes lit up at that. Maura continued. "More specifically, it suggests a hard contact gunshot wound. The fire pattern indicates a slightly downward trajectory. Like someone was standing above him. The bullet entered at the base of the occipital bone however there is no evidence of an exit wound. "
"Maura. That's huge. How can you be sure?" Jane inquired
"Please if I may." Dr. Mayumi chimed in, gesturing for the skull. "Detective, I was able to determine that based on the fire pattern, the bullet should have exited or lodged in the mastoid process or the maxilla." He pointed his gloved finger along the skull. "But, there is no evidence of bullet damage to those bones. The face is fully intact."
"So," Jane queried.
"So," Dr. Mayumi finished, "The bullet must have stayed in the soft tissue, and has since disappeared. Either way, the death would have been instantaneous. And based on the geometry of the wound, there is no possible way was it self-inflicted."
Maura noticed Jane's eyes fixated on the entry wound. "What are you thinking, Jane?" Maura asked.
"Looks like a .22. Probably from a handgun." Jane said, her eyes never leaving the skull.
Dr. Mayumi glanced at Jane, and replied. "There was no evidence of residue or bullet fragments in the bone, but we may be able to get something off the wound that we could test for ballistics. Whoever did this knew that a hard contact wound would leave the least amount of external evidence, and that's with soft tissue present. With the destruction of the soft tissue, the wound was almost indistinguishable from that made by a drill."
Jane looked up and made eye contact with both doctors. "Is there a way to prove that the gunshot wound was the cause of death?"
"Yes." Dr. Mayumi said definitively. "The rate of decomp around this portion of the skull is indicative of a perimortem wound. Barring any anomalies in the tox screen, I can say with certainty that the hole was created before this person died. Based on the evidence, I believe he died of a gunshot wound to the occipital." Dr. Mayumi concluded.
"So, we definitely have a murderer on our hands. Good job, Doctors." Jane said, eyeing Maura, her look softening in quiet affection.
Maura nodded her head. "We're running a toxicology report on bones to determine how the flesh was removed. We should have the results within the hour."
Jane's phone buzzed. She looked at it, pausing and glancing at Maura.
"It's Korsak. It's our turn to interview Jasper Cohen." Jane said.
Maura nodded vigorously, Jane turned to go.
"Call me when you get something." And with that, Jane departed.