A week! That wasn't so long, was it... I hope not. Next upload may take a bit longer, I have loads of work to do for college.
Thank you for coming back and leaving such sweet reviews. I cannot wait to hear from you all again.
Happy reading!
"Hey, Jane," Frost and Korsak greet her when she enters the bullpen. They're already sitting behind their desks.
"Morning," she replies, shrugging off her coat. "Are Charlie's parents in already?"
"No, not yet," Frost rolls his chair back so he can stretch. "I was just talking about it with Korsak. Do we want them in the same room or in separate ones?"
The brunette thinks for a bit. "We could start with the both of them in the same room for now. They're not suspects yet. Korsak?"
"Yeah, I was thinking the same. If there's anything in particular we could always interview one of them after," he replies, taking a sip of his coffee. He laughs when he notices Jane's frown after seeing the cup. "Yes, there's coffee for you too. Next to your computer."
"Ah," she says, smiling. "You had me worried there."
She sits down on her chair, rubbing her eyes. She slept surprisingly well last night, despite everything that's going on. Maura and her watched a movie after the blonde had finished her report and they went to bed around ten, both exhausted. They'd talked for a bit until Maura curled herself into Jane and fell asleep within minutes. It didn't take long for the brunette to fall asleep as well.
Frost's phone on his desk rings and he picks it up, listening to the voice on the other side of the line.
"Yes, that's for us. Send them up."
"They're here?" Jane asks.
He nods. "Interrogation four is free. We'll take them there first."
..
..
"Mr and Mrs Hearts," the brunette starts. Frost and her are sitting across Charlie's parents, both of whom have red rimmed eyes from crying. "How are you doing?"
"Under the circumstances, we're okay," Charlie's mother answers, although her voice shakes. She takes a sip from her water.
"Once again, we're very sorry for your loss," Jane says. "I hope you understand why we're interviewing you. It's simply-"
"Part of the procedure, we know," the father interrupts. "I'm a lawyer."
Jane looks at Frost, first because she's annoyed at Roy's interruption, but then because she realizes this could be a possible lead.
"Is there anyone who could want to hurt you or your family because of a case you've been on?"
He thinks for a bit, and his wife offers some names, but he shakes his head.
"No one I can think of. I don't treat cases with children, I usually represent companies."
"It doesn't have to be a case that's related to a child," Jane offers. "It could be anyone who wants revenge for a case they've lost from you."
He looks down at his hands, but he doesn't come up with a reply.
"What do you do for a living?" Jane asks Charlie's mother.
"I work for a marketing agency. We develop marketing strategies for companies."
Jane nods. She feels like that couldn't be a lead, although they'll probably look into it later anyways.
Frost looks at the husband again. "We will need a list of anyone you've represented or worked with that you believe could be a potential thread," he says, dropping the work subject for now. They'll continue with that after they've gotten the list from Roy. "Were you at home when Charlie was supposed to come home from school?"
Both of them shake their heads.
"No, we were both working," Charlie's mother replies. "Our babysitter called us when Charlie still wasn't back home at five."
"You have a babysitter?" Jane asks, grabbing her notepad and a pen. "Can you tell me a little more about him or her?"
"Her name is Samantha Brown," Charlie's mother says. "She's nineteen, and she's been taking care of Charlie for over a year. She studies at Boston University and doesn't have lots of classes, so she's a perfect match for us. She's always looking after Charlie when we're not home. You can trust her, she doesn't have anything to do with this. She can't have."
"We will look into it, ma'am," Frost says. "Have you got her phone number? We would like to talk to her as well."
..
..
"I called them when Charlie didn't come home. He's supposed to be home around four, but it was nearly five and he wasn't home yet."
The girl sitting across them looks young, but her ID says she's indeed nineteen years old. She has light blonde hair and blue eyes, which look a little red from crying. She must be terrified of what they're going to say to her, Jane thinks. If she'd been the one sitting there, she'd sure as hell be scared.
"What did you do after that?" Frost asks.
"Charlie's mother told me she'd come home immediately. I promised to stay put, in case Charlie suddenly turned up."
Frost nods. It doesn't look like this girl has anything to do with it.
"I'm supposed to take care of him," Samantha's voice trembles, and she wipes a tear away. "It's my fault."
Jane shakes her head and she holds out her hand, waiting until the girl in front of her takes it.
"None of this is your fault, okay? You did your job, you were at home waiting for him. There's nothing you could've done to prevent this."
"I could have picked him up from school," she replies tearily. "If I'd just done that ..."
Jane squeezes her hand. "Honey. He always walks home by himself. It's just three minutes. I see why you and his parents have agreed to him walking by himself. It's not supposed to be dangerous. Whoever did this is very, very smart and observant. It's not your fault."
Samantha sniffs.
"Thank you."
..
..
"Well, fuck," Frost swears, putting his hands up in defense when Korsak shoots him a look of disapproval.
"What?" Jane looks at him over the screen of her computer.
"Roy's list of clients hasn't brought up anything potentially interesting for us. All his clients are indeed related to companies, and everyone looks clean. The babysitter probably didn't do it, although we still have to check her alibi. I'll call both Charlie's father and mother's boss, but if they confirm they were at work when he disappeared ..."
"We're back to square one," Jane fills in. "Okay, if you call Roy's office, I'll call his wife's."
When both Jane and Frost are on the phone, Maura walks in with a file. She mouths 'hey' to the both of them before handing the file to Korsak, whose expression hardens at the information in there. Jane sees them talk, but she's too focused on the woman on the phone to hear what it's about.
"Okay. She left at 5:01PM?" Jane asks, confirming. It's in line with the information she got from Samantha, who called Charlie's mother just before five PM. "And you're sure she didn't leave between four and five?"
She writes it down before thanking the woman, and she disconnects at the same time as Frost.
"Nothing," they say in unison. If this wasn't so frustrating, they'd laugh.
"Guys, Dr. Isles has more information," Korsak interrupts. The blonde steps forward, clearly not excited for what she's about to say.
"So, yesterday I had to work quickly, because Cavanaugh wanted a first report. I stated some things, but I couldn't conclusively say-"
Jane clears her throat. "Maur."
"Oh, yes, sorry," the blonde apologizes, realizing that she's rambling. "Charlie has two broken ribs, most likely obtained from a hard punch. Whoever did this has to be a grown man, or a very strong woman."
Out of the corner of her eye, the brunette notices that Frost is writing down everything her wife says, in case she says something useful that's not in the report. There have been several times when Maura was the one to generate a lead for them, even if it wasn't intentional.
"The hematoma's on his arms are likely caused from a hard grip, like this," Maura walks towards Jane and wraps one hand around her wife's upper arm, but doesn't squeeze hard enough to hurt her. "And the fibers I found around his mouth, wrists and ankles are from polyethylene, a chemical that's used in duct tape. Other than that, he hasn't sustained any injuries apart from the gun shot wound."
"Don't you think it's a bit weird?" Frost asks when Maura finishes. "Someone abducts a young boy, but it doesn't seem like he or she intended on physically hurting him or using him for ... god knows what. And then, after two days, they kill him? What's that good for?"
"I don't really get it either," Jane answers. "Anyway, thanks, Maur." She squeezes her wife's hand and the blonde smiles shortly, before leaving them to work again.
A pling from Frost's computer pulls them from their thoughts.
"The data from Samantha's phone," he explains, focusing on the information on his screen. "She was texting multiple people between four and five. Seems like she was working on a school project. The location is indeed Charlie's house. So she has an alibi."
"She has no motive either. Just like the parents," the brunette sighs and puts her head in her hands. They've got nothing so far, and this is day two.
"Whoever's doing this has guts, though," Jane says, looking back up. "Charlie lived in Fenway and was dumped in Fenway. Does that mean something?"
Korsak is the one to answer this time. "I don't know, Jane. We might just be seeing things. It could mean nothing."
"But think about it," the brunette tries. "He was away for two whole days before he was killed. It wouldn't make sense to abduct him in Fenway, drive somewhere else to keep him, and drive back to Fenway to dump him."
"So you're thinking someone who lives there?"
The brunette sighs, stretching her sore back. "I don't know. It's the only thing I can think of. We've got nothing else, guys."
..
..
They find nothing. They work on the interviews the remainder of the Friday afternoon, and the potential suspects who live in Fenway are either in jail, dead, or have an alibi. Korsak went through his entire list of people already, Frost is almost finished, and Jane has three people left to check. It's incredibly frustrating, and the combination of frustration and caffeine is not very helpful either.
Jane can only sit back and watch while their possible leads disappear one by one. By five thirty, they've still got nothing.
"I can't believe it's been nearly two days since he's been found, and we still don't have any leads." The brunette yawns and rubs her eyes, sore from staring at a computer screen for so long.
Korsak looks at her, and he already knows she's not going to like what he's about to say.
"I think we should just go home for now."
The brunette looks at him, facial expression exactly as Korsak imagined it.
"I don't think so," she counters. "We have to find who did this."
Frost carefully joins the conversation. He's on Korsak's side for once. "Jane, maybe he's right. We've been working for nine hours straight. Even you should know that, after so many hours, you brain doesn't work properly anymore. We all need to rest. There's nothing you can do for Charlie right now."
"His parents trust us to find whoever who did this," she tries once again, but she knows her colleagues are right.
"We will be back here tomorrow, okay?" Frost offers, even though tomorrow's Saturday. "We're not giving up, Jane. We're simply resting to do better work tomorrow."
The brunette huffs. She knows they're right.
"Fine."
..
..
When she comes home, the lights in the house are on, but Maura is nowhere to be found.
"Maur?" she yells, and it takes a few seconds before the blonde replies from upstairs.
"Here!"
The brunette smiles softly before hanging her coat on the rack and putting her service weapon and belt in the locker. She's just about to pour herself a glass of diet coke when she feels two arms wrap around her, and her wife's perfume surrounds her immediately.
"Hey," the blonde's soft voice whispers in her neck, making her shiver lightly. "I already got you something."
The brunette is grateful that her wife doesn't ask about the case. "Beer?" she asks hopefully, and Maura laughs.
She turns around to face the blonde and looks at her affectionately.
"I love it when you laugh," Jane says honestly, putting her hands on her wife's hips.
Maura swears that she falls in love even more with the brunette in front of her, even thought they've been together for so long.
"You're such a softie," she says, leaning in for a short kiss.
"Don't tell," the brunette murmurs when she pulls back. "Otherwise I might consider telling everyone that Dr. Isles is much louder during sex than she says she is."
Maura's eyes widen at her wife's words, and she suddenly pinches Jane's side.
Jane squeals, trying to push the blonde away. "Hey! What was that for?"
"For you being an asshole," Maura says, laughing at the look on Jane's face when she hears the swear word fall from the doctor's lips.
The brunette wraps her arms around her wife before pressing a kiss to her neck. "Why, doctor, is there a need to curse?"
Maura hums contently, loving the way she fits in the brunette's arms. Still.
"The New York City Ballet is on TV tonight," she says. "I wanted to watch."
Jane presses a kiss to the top of the blonde's head. She thinks of a joke or something else to say, but she can't come up with anything.
"Sure, Maur. Whatever you want. But …" she falls silent, grinning when Maura pulls back from their embrace to look at her worriedly.
"What?" the blonde asks.
"I want to see you dance first," Jane asks, and the way she presses her hands together indicates that she's nervous to ask this.
"I'm not saying no," Maura starts. "But why?"
"Cause," the brunette replies shyly. "I just like to see you dance. And it's been a while."
Maura quit dancing after high school, although she still teaches an occasional class at her old school when they're short on staff. It doesn't happen frequently, and Jane has to admit that she misses seeing her girl dance.
The blonde smiles softly, but there's already an apology in her eyes. "I love you, Jay. I really do. But I'm so tired, baby, and I don't feel like dancing at all. Another time, I promise."
Jane face falls for a second, but she nevertheless smiles at her wife. "Okay. Only if you really promise to dance someday soon."
"I will. I promise."
They watch the New York City Ballet together, and the brunette is reminded of their trip to New York for Maura's birthday a million years ago. They went to see Romeo & Juliet, performed by the same New York City Ballet they're watching now. Sure, the principal dancers have changed and it's not Romeo & Juliet they're watching, but it kind of feels the same.
She entwines their hands and rests her head on Maura's shoulder. She doesn't stay awake long enough to watch the end of the show.
Maura watches her sleeping wife with affection, not at all surprised.
She loves her just the same.
..
..
The next morning, it's nearly eight when Jane's phone rings. She's just toasting some bread and Maura's reading the morning paper, caught up in a story about a new medicine. She shoves the brunette's phone to the other side of the counter, and Jane catches it one-handed before she picks up.
"Rizzoli."
It doesn't take three seconds for Maura to know something's wrong. Her wife's face goes white as a sheet at whatever it is she hears, and the blonde is not sure she wants to know what's going on.
"Yes Sir. I understand," the brunette says, face impassive. "We will, Sir. The second we get the address from dispatch."
Cavanaugh does not usually call Jane. In fact, Maura can't remember the last time the brunette's boss has called her personally. She gets up from her bar stool to take the cutlery out of her wife's hand. She puts their toasts on a plate, waiting for the brunette to finish the call.
When she hears Jane say goodbye, she looks at her wife and sees her lower the phone slowly. She doesn't even bother to disconnect.
"What is it?" Maura questions. "Jane?"
The brunette swallows, a million thoughts racing through her head.
"We've got another boy killed."