I would normally take a bit more time checking and editing a chapter before I post. However I am looking after my nephews for the next two weeks, and I don't know how long it will be before I can get the chance to next post online. Although I will try and work on the upcoming chapters when I can.

In a review a query was made on translations of foreign languages. As pointed out by another reviewer I will provide translations at the end of each chapter if required. Those will be marked by either an asterisk (*), or by an asterisk followed by a number (*1) if there is more than one passage to translate.

I hope you continue to enjoy the story. All reviews welcome, that's what feeds the fanfic writer, but please remember we're not professional writers. Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows already given to the story.

Again, this chapter has not been beta read, so I expect there are small errors that have crept in. I apologize in advance, and hope they're not too awful!

Chapter Two: Discoveries.

Once Maura had called the local ME and informed him of her discovery, he'd sworn rather violently, apologized - both for the missed knife and cursing - and arranged for a member of the local crime lab to go down and collect the evidence they'd found.

The moment the evidence was secured Maura and Jane went and told Maxine what they had uncovered.

"How did they miss that?" Maxine demanded, wringing her hands together in anxiety. She'd seen the crime team member arrive, and had been nervously pacing outside the main entrance waiting for news.

Maura sighed. "Sadly they found a second bloody knife by Eve's body. It was almost identical in size and shape to this one. Given the cuts on her wrists, it was easy to assume that had been the weapon used in an apparently successful suicide attempt."

"But now this casts doubt on that assumption?"

Maura nodded. "It does. We're heading to the morgue now. Dr. Pike will meet us there and with the local ME they'll do a second autopsy."

"The crime lab is also doing a complete sweep of Eve's apartment. If there is any further evidence they'll find it." Jane added. "The moment we hear anything I promise we'll be in touch."

Maxine reached out to take both their hands in her own. "Thank you. Maura has all my contact details."

Releasing her hold Maxine took a final long sad look at the apartment building, before getting into her vehicle and driving away.

Watching Maura closely Jane could also see the sadness mirrored on her friends face. She reached over and placed a comforting hand on Maura's arm."Hey, we'll find out the truth about what happened here."

Maura leaned in towards the comforting touch. "I know. I just wish I could ease Maxine's pain somehow."

"You will," Jane promised. "She needs answers and we can provide her with those."

"And if is murder Jane, then what? We, especially you, have little to no jurisdiction here. We might be able to give her answers about how Eve died, but we can't give her closure once that has been determined."

Jane took a deep breath. "I know, but we can certainly keep an eye on any investigation. Offer our services, that sort of thing." Seeing Maura was about to object she added. "I know it's not perfect, but it's better than nothing."

Maura sighed. "I'm sorry. I know you're right."

Guiding Maura towards her car Jane replied softly. "No need to be sorry. Let's get out of here and see if we can't answer some of those questions for Maxine."

Jane was scowling. She couldn't help it. Oh, she knew Dr. Pike was going to be in the building, but still, he never failed to irritate her; no matter how often she promised herself she wouldn't let him get under her skin. And right now he was doing a pretty good job of tempting Jane to pull out her service weapon and shoot him. If he pawed at Maura once more she wasn't going to be held responsible for her actions!

Again Maura stood back, increasing the personal space between herself and the other Doctor. That had been the third time in ten minutes Maura had needed to take such action. Jane spotted her chance and stepped between the two. Smiling sweetly, but with no true intent behind the gesture she said. "I'm sorry Dr. Pike, only I need to discuss some issues with Dr. Isles. If you'll excuse us?"

He looked put out for a moment, before an equally saccharine smile appeared on his face. His gesture was no more real than Jane's, and they both knew it. "Of course," he said. "I'll see you in the autopsy suite in half an hour."

Smiling, Maura said to Jane once they were alone. "Thank you. Although how you two ever manage to keep things remotely civilized when it's apparent you hate each other is beyond me."

"Years of practice," Jane growled. Still glaring in the direction Dr. Pike had taken she added. "Thank God you were appointed Chief Medical Examiner. If he's gotten the position like he thought he would I think I would have resigned!"

"You really dislike him that much?" Maura asked in a surprised tone.

"I think despise is a better description. Dislike is far too tame a word." Jane admitted. The scowl was finally fading from her face.

"You know some day you're going to have to tell me what happened, before I arrived, to create such animosity between the two of you." Maura mused, wondering what event had occurred to create such tension between colleagues.

"Some day," Jane agreed quietly. "I promise. But not today. It's a long story, and I'd feel happier if we were sat on your sofa, drinking alcohol with no distractions."

"Deal," Maura quickly said, seizing her chance to pin down the often elusive Detective when it came to such personal matters. Jane Rizzoli had many great qualities, and not breaking a promise was one such quality.

Soon the time came for the autopsy, and Maura found herself unaccountably nervous. Many times she had helped find answers for grieving relatives, and yet none of those times could prepare her for what she was about to witness. Never before had she needed to see the autopsy of a friend. Glad to have Jane at her side, she steeled herself and pushed open the doors to the autopsy suite. It looked very similar to her own working environment. Only the associated crime lab right next door was much smaller and certainly wasn't as well appointed as her own.

Eve's body was still inside the white sheet on a metal gurney. Next to that was the metal autopsy table where a tall thin man, about Maura's age, with thinning blond hair and blue eyes stood. Seeing them enter he approached them with a small smile. "Maura," he said, his accent local. "So sorry I screwed this up."

"Not a problem John, we've all had cases where we've missed something."

"Maybe, but this was a big miss. You know what they say about assuming things. I should have known better."

Maura looked confused by his reference, and so Jane stepped in to explain, "Ah, the old 'to assume makes an ass of you and me.' idiom."

He smiled in Jane's direction. "Exactly. And you must be Jane Rizzoli. It's a pleasure to meet you, although I wish it were under better circumstances."

"Likewise," Jane said. Despite this error she hoped the incident wouldn't derail this man's career. The fact he was willing to openly admit he'd made a mistake went a long way in making a good impression on the Boston Detective. It was certainly refreshing after being back in Dr. Pike's company.

"We're all set, time to begin."

As John opened up the body bag Jane could see Maura pale. Moving closer, she grasped the limp hand at Maura's side and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Maura turned and gave Jane a grateful look, before refocusing her attention back to the table. A tear escaped her eye, but she chose not to draw attention to the emotion, and let the tear slide down her cheek unhindered. Jane noticed, of course Jane noticed. But she knew Maura needed to deal with this in her own way, and just carried on offering the unconditional support she had already put into place.

Dr. Pike had been surprisingly quiet up until now. Jane wondered if that had anything to do with John Bristow's quiet competence. Whatever the reason she was glad. So far there had been no surprises with the autopsy, but they were about to take a closer look at the wounds on Eve's wrists.

"There are signs of previous self injury or a suicide attempt on both wrists, more markedly on the right wrist." John noted into the recording equipment. "However, none of the scars show signs of having being made recently. Healing suggests they are at least six months old, but of course they could be older."

Picking up a ruler he measured the scar tissue. Frowning slightly he rechecked his measurements. Handing the instrument to Dr. Pike he said. "Please could you confirm my findings."

Looking supercilious Dr. Pike leaned forward and said smarmily. "Of course." There was a moment's pause before he uttered. "Oh!" So quietly Jane almost didn't hear him.

Before Jane got too impatient though Maura spoke up, the first words she had uttered since the autopsy had begun. "Is there a problem?"

Dr. Pike rushed to answer her. "No, no problem. It's just that the scars are consistent with the shape and size of the wounds that caused Eve Clifford to exsanguinate. That's bleed out Detective..."

"I know what it means. I'm not an imbecile!" Jane interrupted him with a snap.

"Do you suspect the same weapon?" Maura asked quickly, hoping to defuse the situation she could see brewing between the two antagonists.

"That will be hard to determine." Dr. Bristow admitted. "But given the old stains on the knife you found in the drawer I have to wonder why Eve would suddenly use a different blade? Most people who self harm have a particular instrument they favor. Over time people get very good at making sure cuts are sterile in order to lower the risk of infection. To keep a dirty knife to hand would go against that philosophy."

"Could Eve have deliberately left the knife in the drawer dirty? To discourage her self-harming in the future?" Jane mused.

"Possibly," John admitted. "But if she was determined to take her own life this time I doubt soiled equipment would have bothered her. That has me questioning why a second knife was used."

"Plus the previous scars could also hide a solid first cut," Maura offered quietly.

Jane knew to what Maura was referring. The cuts made by a suicide victim were often hesitant at first. Only after a couple of tries would most people feel confident in then making the defining, fatal injuries. Old scars might mask a murderer's attack, which could have easily been fatal with the first slice of the knife.

Plus a murderer could easily believe the knife they found at the scene was good enough to make them think it was consistent with the old injuries. Not realizing the real knife for those scars was being kept in a safe place that had special meaning to Eve.

Was all this enough to conclude murder? Jane knew it wasn't, at least not quite yet. But she also knew it was enough to shed serious doubt on the suicide, and bring it into the realms of an unexplained and suspicious death, which would be investigated further.

Finally they had escaped the morgue. Not much more could be done until the results of the toxicology reports came back. To speed up those results Maura had offered the services of the crime lab at her morgue, and John had readily accepted her offer.

Glad to be away from Pike, Jane was relieved that overall he had been fairly decent at his job that afternoon. Reaching for her phone she saw Maura's inquiring look. Knowing what Maura was asking without the other woman saying anything aloud, Jane said quietly. "I thought we could phone Maxine and arrange to meet up so we can ask her why she was adamant that Eve wouldn't commit suicide."

Maura nodded in understanding before she answered. "I expect she'll ask us to stay at her house for the next couple of nights." There was a slight pause before she added. "I'm not sure if she'll understand it's nothing personal when we have to decline her offer."

"The old impartiality thing," Jane agreed in understanding.

Maura just nodded. Jane wanted to ask Maura if she'd known about the self harm injuries to Eve, but decided to leave the questions until they were with Maxine. Hopefully between the Mother and Eve's old friend she'd get a clearer picture of Eve's overall mental health.

As expected Maxine had been disappointed that Maura and Jane wouldn't take her up on her hospitality. Once it had been explained however she graciously withdrew the offer, but did insist they join her for dinner. That left enough time for Jane and Maura to find the hotel Maura had booked for them.

Leaving her car with the valet Maura said nervously, as they walked towards reception. "I hope you don't mind, but I got us a suite. I couldn't tolerate the thought of being alone while I was here."

Jane could understand that, and honestly, she also enjoyed being close to the Medical Examiner. "That's fine," reaching the desk Jane stepped back. For a long time she had accepted that Maura needed to pay for certain things. Not because Maura lorded her wealth over Jane, but simply because she could afford to pay, and wanted Jane to share in her good fortune.

Maura glanced over her shoulder, and gave Jane a brilliant smile. It was the smile she reserved for those times she was truly happy. And Jane enjoyed seeing on the smaller woman. Plus, for some reason Jane knew it gave her a thrill knowing she was the one to put that smile on her friends face. It didn't take Maura long to complete the booking in details, and soon they were shown to their suite.

Jane's eyes rose slightly when she took in the details of the rooms. Although she knew the suite would be well appointed, it was above her expectations, and so she looked towards Maura and asked. "Did you get the best rooms in the place?"

For a moment Maura looked embarrassed before she shyly dropped her gaze. "I'm afraid I did go a little bit overboard. I knew this wasn't going to be an easy trip, and I wanted us to be as comfortable as possible." Suddenly Maura's demeanor changed and she looked worried. "You're not angry are you? I mean I know it's a lot more expensive than what I would normally pay when we go out together..."

Jane cut her off before she could carry on, knowing that when nervous Maura tended to prattle on about anything and everything. "No, this is great. It's just that I wasn't expecting anything quite this big."

Maura visibly relaxed. "Oh good. I know you can get uneasy about my wealth, but sometimes I just need to feel centered. And being able to fully relax without outside influences interrupting us can help me achieve that."

Jane walked over and grasped Maura's hands soothingly. "I truly understand. And I bet there's a Jacuzzi in the main bathroom?" She asked this knowing Maura would have read every single detail about the suite before she made the booking.

Maura finally smiled again. "Yes, that's why I rang you to ask you bring your swimming outfit."

Jane smiled back. "Once we get back after dinner, you, me, a glass of wine and beer, and the Jacuzzi. How does that sound?"

Maura's smile brightened even more. "That sounds just about perfect."

Looking up at the impressive gateway Maura drew the car closer to the security booth. As she wound down her window she realized the man on duty was a person she knew. "Ben," she exclaimed happily. "I didn't know you still worked here."

The older man, with grey hair, but still with an athletic build smiled back. "My, my. Miss Maura Isles as I live and breathe. And in answer to your question. Yes indeed, I've been here all this time. Although I retire at the end of the month." His demeanor grew somber. "I take it you're here about Miss Eve?" At Maura's confirmation nod he continued. "Such a shame. I know you two were always so close in school. And that last year you were..." Suddenly realizing there was another person in the car he stopped momentarily. "I beg your pardon, I didn't mean to be rude." This last part he directed at Jane.

"That's okay," Jane reassured him and leaning across Maura slightly Jane offered the security guard her hand. "I take it Mrs Clifford is expecting us?"

Shaking her hand in a firm grip Ben replied. "She sure is Ma'am. Miss Isles knows the way."

With that he stepped back and opened the gate, allowing Maura to drive the once familiar route up the driveway and to the front door of the property.

Exiting the car Maura again found herself nervous at the prospect of talking to Maxine. "Jane," she began hesitantly. "I feel there is something you should know. And I hope you won't judge me."

Jane walked over and lightly drew Maura into a hug. "Maur, I could never judge you. What's wrong?"

"When we were in our last year of school Eve and I had a relationship. A physical relationship." The words had come out rushed. As if Maura wanted to get them said before she changed her mind.

Jane just pulled Maura closer. "That's okay. Did Maxine know?"

Maura finally relaxed slightly, knowing her friend wasn't upset by the revelation. "Yes, she knew. Although she didn't fully understand the relationship, she didn't object."

"But you were worried Maxine might say something in passing?" Jane guessed.

"Yes. I thought for a moment back there that Ben might say something, which is why I decided to mention it." Pulling back from Jane Maura looked up into the dark brown eyes of the homicide Detective. She saw nothing but acceptance, and felt the relief flow through her. "Thank you Jane."

Jane smiled in response, and motioned to the door. "Always. Now let's go and see if we can't find out what motive somebody might have for harming Eve."

To Maura's surprise it was Maxine herself who opened the front door to greet the two women. "Please come in," she said as she stepped back to allow them access.

Jane was the first through the door, and she looked surprised by the tastefully decorated entrance that fanned out before them. Light colors on the walls kept the large area bright and cheerful. Dotted about the walls were paintings that Jane suspected would be worth a small fortune if they ever came up for sale on the open market. Beautiful cedar flooring shone in the daylight. Light oak doors obviously made their way into other rooms, and Maxine led the way towards the furthest door. "I hope you don't mind." she explained. "Only I do love the library, and I know Maura spent many happy hours ensconced in there when the weather was bad outside."

Maura smiled at the memories. "Indeed, it is a beautiful space. Thank you for taking the time to think of our comfort."

Maxine smile was sadder. "Selfishly it's for my comfort as well."

Opening the door, Jane was once again the first person inside the room. And she couldn't fault the choice. It truly was a remarkable space. Large comfortable looking leather couches and chairs were dotted about. Bookcases ran up three of the four walls, leaving a huge wall of windows on the final wall. The view looked towards a lake, trees dotting the landscape in perfect harmony with the natural surroundings. Drawn to the view Jane asked. "How do you protect the books from UV damage?"

"Special glass. It was an extravagance, but one we felt was worth the effort." Maxine came to stand at Jane's shoulder. "This was always one of Eve's favorite places. I'm glad you can appreciate that as well."

Moved by what the older woman was sharing Jane nodded, before she finally moved back into the room, and sat down next to Maura on one of the couches.

With a sigh Maxine drew herself away from the view. "But you aren't here to talk about beautiful views. Can you give me any further information, and how can I help?"

"Please, sit down," Maura indicated to the chair opposite them. "This might take a while."

A number of emotions had crossed Maxine's face when Maura had been describing the new autopsy findings. Chiefly relief, unhappiness, and anger. Once the new results had been discussed Maxine said. "Eve started to self harm five years ago. She wouldn't tell me what caused her to start, but she did agree to see a psychiatrist. With his help she fought the urges, and eventually she seemed to stop. One of her goals was to keep the knife she used for cutting in her drawer. But she kept it dirty, so she wouldn't be tempted to cut without cleaning it first. That moment's hesitation was all she needed to curb the urges. This was against her Doctor's advice. He'd wanted her to get rid of all temptation, but Eve knew doing it that way would work for her, and she was right. My daughter hadn't harmed herself in two years. That's why I was so convinced she hadn't killed herself. She knew she had help and support, and she used that in the past." Maxine looked at Maura in anguish. "Initially I thought the knife they had found must have been the one from her drawer. But even then I knew something wasn't right. I know some people would hide their problems, but after I found out what was happening Eve promised me she wouldn't hide anything, and you know what she was like when she promised something."

"Eve would never break a promise, even if it caused her great personal upset." Maura agreed quietly. "It was one of her many good characteristics."

"Then I'm afraid it's looking more and more likely somebody deliberately harmed Eve, and set things up to make it look like a suicide. "Jane said. "Who else knew about Eve's problems?"

Maxine gave Maura a wan smile. "Not even Maura knew. Eve asked that it be kept quiet, and so I agreed. Others who saw her regularly might have guessed she self harmed from the scars, but it was not openly discussed."

"So the only people who knew about the knife in the drawer?" Jane prodded.

"Were Eve, her psychiatrist, and me." Maxine confirmed.

"Then it's likely we're looking for somebody outside of that circle." Jane admitted. "Would you be prepared to give us the name of Eve's Doctor?"

Maxine rose to a roller desk in the corner of the room. From a drawer she retrieved a card. Walking back and handing it to Jane she said."I have already spoken to him, and he has agreed to see you. He is actually based in Boston. When Eve fell ill, for the reasons mentioned she didn't want to see anybody locally. So once a week she drove to Boston, saw Dr. Werner, stayed at our townhouse overnight before driving home."

"Well," Jane looked surprised but pleased by that information. "Then we can certainly offer to interview him legitimately for the police here. That makes things much easier. Although I must caution you. Unless anything else falls into Boston territory Maura and I are very limited on what we can do to help."

Maxine gave a sad smile. "I understand Detective, and believe me when I say you've done more than I could have hoped for. At least now there will be an investigation."

Maura spoke into the silence that developed. "I know this is not something that you wanted to happen, but I'm glad we could help."

Maxine nodded, finally giving way to the tears that had wanted to fall from the moment they had started to discuss her daughter.

It had taken a while for Maxine to calm herself down. But she'd insisted Maura and Jane stay for dinner. She'd provided steak for Jane, with salmon for Maura, and all the food had been cooked to perfection. The meal was surrounded by a sadness, but after a short while Maxine and Maura had shared some of their fondest memories of Eve, and that had lightened the mood considerably.

Still, it was a somber three women who said their goodbyes a little after nine that evening, and Jane and Maura soon made their way back to the hotel.

"Come on," Jane said, pulling Maura into the room. "I hear a Jacuzzi calling our names."