Chapter 4

Frost walked into the bullpen and found Korsak sitting at his desk. The older detective looked up and their eyes found each other across the room but not before Frost's eyes had drifted to Jane's desk. It was strange to see her desk empty. He was so used to her being part of their team that it felt like someone had chopped off his left arm.

"You heard from Jane yet?" he wanted to know as he leant against Korsak's desk. He pushed his hands into the pockets of his pants.

"Not since I dropped her and Doctor Isles off at the safe house," Korsak answered and looked up at the younger man. He hadn't missed the way Frost looked at Jane's empty desk. He too couldn't deny it was strange to not have her around. The last time Jane's desk had been empty this way was when Hoyt got to her for the first time and she was too hurt, too damaged, to return for some time. The sight of her empty desk was something he'd hoped he would never have to see again.

"It was kind of Martinez to offer one of their places."

"Why did he offer one of their places?" Frost wanted to know. "Doesn't Homicide have safe houses of their own?"

"Have you seen the dump they use for Homicide?" Korsak grinned as he arched an eyebrow and his comment drew a smile from Frost. "You wouldn't send your worst enemy to one of those places. The Drug Unit always had the better bunks."

"I just spoke to Ballistics but so far they've got nothing on that bullet other than it being a .338 calibre, most commonly used in military long-range sniper rifles."

Korsak leant back in his chair. "That's some serious stuff. Have you ever handled one?"

Frost shook his head. "Have you?"

"Once, many years ago. It's an interesting piece of kit. It's built for optimal levels of accuracy and fitted with a telescopic sight. Not something your average Joe can handle without proper training. The guy that told us about it had been a sniper in the Marines for twelve years." Korsak's face darkened. "He also told us that those trained to use one of these guns to the highest levels are instructed with just one message."

"What's that?"

"Don't ever miss."

"But whoever shot at Doctor Isles did miss," Frost pointed out. "What does that tell us?"

"That Jane has some damn good eye sight," Korsak answered and his mind briefly flashed back to the raw sound of Jane's voice shouting at them. The sound of the gun firing still rang in his ears. "And that we're dealing with one angry shooter who missed his target."

Frost heaved a sigh and chewed the inside of his cheek. "How many guys in the mob do you know that can handle a sniper gun like that?"

"Well, probably more than we think. Some of these guys have links to the IRA and smuggle weapons from country to country. Nothing would surprise me," Korsak replied and he pointed at the crime scene photos spread out across his desk. A few had been pinned to the white board but the remainder had found their home here. The one that stood out was a shot of Mickey O'Donnell's head, the bullet wound clearly visible.

"Through and through," he said. "He wouldn't even have seen it coming."

Frost pulled the picture towards him and inspected it more closely. "CSU find the bullet?"

"It's got to be in the car," Korsak answered. He pointed at two more pictures. The first one showed the windscreen with the bullet hole and the splintered glass. The second one showed the entire car with the rest of the windows intact. "Bullet went into his head, came out but didn't hit any of the other windows. It's got to be in there somewhere."

"CSU will find it if it is," Frost replied and turned to the white board. "What's the time of death?"

"Between 3 and 5 am early this morning," Korsak answered. "Why?"

"We didn't get to that crime scene till just after eight and Jane and Doctor Isles were even later," Frost said slowly and picked up one of the pens before scribbling the times down on the part of the whiteboard not covered in crime scene shots. "Probably closer to nine o'clock. If we assume the time line is correct, the shooter will have been on that roof for, at the longest, six hours."

"Where're you going with this?"

Frost turned around, a smile across his face. "When was the last time you went six hours without food or going to the can?"

"You think he got off that roof in the meanwhile?"

"It's a long time to wait for anyone to arrive, don't you think?" Frost suggested and shrugged. "We should check the security footage in the area and see if anybody's walking around." He looked up at Korsak. "We may even be able to find out if O'Donnell drove himself to South Boston."

"I'm going to have a word with my CI," Korsak said and reached for his phone. "By now O'Donnell's death will have caused a stir in the underworld. I want to know what's happening."

"You think we should talk to Doyle?" Frost asked. "He may have an idea about who would want to kill Doctor Isles."

Korsak shook his head. "Doyle isn't going to tell us anything. I have no doubt he knows about what happened. His guys will be all over it." He began dialling a number but looked back at Frost as the younger detective moved across the room towards his desk. "We just have to make sure we find out who fired that bullet before Doyle's men do."

~()~

Jane walked out of the small bathroom and back into the living room dressed in a pair of simple grey sweatpants and a white tank top. Her wet curls cascaded down her toned shoulders and she hadn't bothered to put socks on. As she walked into the room she found Maura curled up on the couch, her head resting in the palm of her hand and her elbow balancing on the armrest. The TV was on and she looked up from the documentary she had been watching.

"Feeling better?" she asked and Jane smiled as she sat down next to her friend.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question? You're the one that almost got shot earlier."

Maura smiled too. "I'm fine, Jane."

"Really?" Jane challenged, the protectiveness shining through in just one word. "Because a little while ago you didn't seem fine to me, Maura."

"Would you be fine if someone told you you had to leave your house because they think some mobster may come to kill you?" Maura replied. There was a hint of disapproval in her voice. "Ever since I found out Paddy Doyle was my father, I knew this day would come eventually, Jane. I just never expected it to feel like this."

"I'm sorry, Maura," Jane said softly and covered Maura's hand closest to hers with her own. Maura's hands felt warm against her cold ones. "I wish there was something I could do to change this."

"Have you heard anything?"

"No. I just texted Frost to see if there are any updates."

There was a silence and both women turned to the TV. The documentary Maura had found was about the Second World War and Jane found she was actually engaged. The footage shown was compelling and after a few minutes she pulled her legs up underneath herself, draped her arm across the back of the couch and kept her eyes glued on the TV.

Maura stole a quick sideways glance. There had been many nights where she and Jane watched TV together. If she added them to the weekends Jane spent at her house watching baseball or football it seemed that Jane was practically always watching TV at her place. But somehow this felt different and Maura knew why. It was because Jane had walked back into the living room with her gun tugged behind the waistband of her sweatpants and although her eyes were fixed on the screen, Maura could tell Jane wasn't relaxed.

"Jane?"

Maura's soft voice lured the detective out of the documentary and she looked up to find Maura's eyes resting on her.

"Yeah?"

"Do you really think they'll come back?"

Jane heard the sudden fear in Maura's voice and she felt pain well up in her own chest. She swallowed hard as she moved closer towards the doctor and took both her hands into her own. "I don't know if they will," she said as her thumbs stroked the back of Maura's hands. "But it's my job to assume that they will try again."

Maura looked down at Jane's scarred hands. The scars left behind by Hoyt were not something Jane talked about. Maura couldn't remember the last time Jane had so much as mentioned his name but she knew he was on her mind almost on a daily basis. The fact that he was dead didn't change that. Hoy's death had not taken the nightmares away and sometimes Maura would catch Jane staring at her hands in disgust and loathing. Hoyt had gotten to her in a way nobody else had done and the way that even his memory still stirred fear in her was something Jane found revolting.

She'd had one experience where someone targeted her and ended up injuring her mother instead. The knowledge that someone out there hated her enough to actually want her dead had chilled her to the bone but this was different. This wasn't about something she had done. This was about who she was, about the blood that was flowing through her veins. Today's events hadn't happened because she was the Chief Medical Examiner of Massachusetts but because she was someone's child.

"I'm scared, Jane."

Admitting her fear wasn't something Maura did often but today she did. She couldn't deny it any longer.

"I know," Jane said softly and her dark eyes met Maura's. The doctor seemed so vulnerable. Tears glistened in her eyes. Jane felt guilty even though none of the events that occurred today were her fault. Her grip on Maura's hands tightened. "They're not going to hurt you, Maura."

She tried to smile. She could tell from the fire in Jane's eyes that she meant every word she had just said. A single tear coursed down her cheek and she let it slide, unwilling to remove her hands from Jane's grip just yet. "Thank you for being here."

"Hey, that's what friends are for, right?

Maura didn't answer. Her gaze was drawn back to Jane's hands still holding hers. The feelings it created in the pit of her stomach were overwhelming. Many people would be happy to experience those kinds of feelings. They were meant to make people feel good but instead Maura only felt sad.

"Do they still hurt?" she asked suddenly.

She freed her hands from underneath Jane's and now her thumbs grazed the detective's hands. She felt the raised tissue of the scars underneath her fingers and could feel Jane tremble beneath her touch. Jane didn't like anyone touching her scars. She didn't like anyone seeing them even if they were part of who she was.

Jane shook her head, her heart suddenly thumping in her chest. "No."

"You've come a long way, Jane," Maura said softly. "You're not letting him win. Ever."

Jane suddenly averted her eyes and stared down into her lap. Her voice was soft, almost broken. The frailness of her true personality suddenly shone through her tough detective mask. The sigh that escaped her was almost inaudible but the words that followed were clear. "I couldn't have done it on my own." Dark eyes briefly looked up. "I had you."

Maura smiled. "That's what friends are for."

Jane's phone vibrated and ended the moment between them. Jane's hands slipped out of Maura's and she reached for her cell on the coffee table. Frost's name flashed across the screen and she answered.

"Hey, what have you got?"

"Not much so far. Bullet is a .338. Ballistics is still running it. CSU found the bullet that went through O'Donnell's head in the backseat of the car. They're a match so definitely the same shooter."

Jane's eyes narrowed. "So he was there all along?"

"That's what I thought but Doctor Pike put TOD between 3 and 5 am, meaning that the shooter would have been up on that roof for six hours at the longest by the time you and Doctor Isles arrived. That is a very long time for anyone to stay in one place," Frost answered.

"You think he came off that roof?"

"I do. Korsak's getting the security footage from all the surrounding buildings. It's a long shot but maybe our guy walked around a little while."

Jane rubbed the back of her neck and caught Maura looking at her. "Do we know who made the call about the body?"

"Unknown 911 call. Male. We've got the recording but dispatch didn't have a name or anything. Looks like it may have been a disposable cell. We won't be able to trace it," Frost answered. "Call came in at 7.12 am."

"Who walks around those streets in Southie at seven in the morning?" Jane wondered out loud. "That's the kind of area where everybody stays inside once darkness falls. Every kid raised in that neighbourhood knows not to go out after dark unless they want to get caught up in some mob activity." Her gaze drifted around the room before coming to a rest on the windows overlooking Jamaica Plain. "Ten bucks says the shooter and the unknown caller are one and the same."

Frost's voice dropped down to almost a whisper. "Korsak's got word on what's going down on the streets. Looks like the killing has caused quite a stir."

"I bet it did," Jane said through gritted teeth. "How much did he find out?"

"Apparently there's been a bounty on O'Donnell's head for some time but nobody had the nerve to act on it. Rumour has it that Doyle placed the bounty on O'Donnell because of a weapon's deal gone wrong. Some seem to think that O'Donnell was working with the cops and after Doyle got arrested that rumour only grew stronger."

Jane snorted. "The only way O'Donnell worked with cops was by getting in their way. He had nothing to do with Doyle's arrest. His name never even came up."

"We know that, they don't," Frost replied. The tone of his voice changed. "There's something else, Jane."

"What?" she wanted to know.

"There wasn't just a price on O'Donnell's head. Apparently there's a price on somebody else's too. Korsak's CI didn't say who. He just said that this one had been put in place to knock down Doyle once and for all."

Jane's eyes darted to Maura and found the doctor sitting up, looking back at her. The way those hazel eyes pierced into hers cut right through Jane's soul and she knew Maura had at least put part of the puzzle together. She swallowed. "I understand. Thanks, buddy."

She hung up, dropped the phone into her lap and tried her very best to appear calm and composed but her desperation shone through in her eyes.

"Jane?" Maura asked. "Tell me what he said."

"There was a bounty on O'Donnell's head," Jane said slowly and stared down at her hands. The anger and fear that settled in her stomach were overwhelming. She focused on the pressure of her gun against her waist, reassured that she would at least be able to protect Maura if something bad happened. She heaved a sigh. "Word on the street is that there wasn't just a price on O'Donnell's head though. The price on this person's head has been put there to knock down Paddy Doyle."

Maura's eyes widened. "You mean there's a price on my head?"

Jane nodded. "Yes. And the hunting season just opened. If the word is out then anybody who wants to get to Paddy Doyle now knows how."

Maura sank back into the couch and covered her face with her hands. Tears now cascaded down her cheeks and her body trembled as she sobbed. Jane quickly sat up and scooted over to her. Strong arms slipped around Maura's shoulders and she pulled her close until Maura's head rested against her chest. She kissed the doctor's hair.

Maura slowly looked up and Jane cupped the back of her neck as she pressed her forehead against hers. Her voice dropped down to a whisper. "Listen to me," she softly insisted. "No one is going to get to you without going through me first. I promise you."

Through her tears Maura said, "I wish you'd killed him, Jane. I wish you'd killed my father."

Jane ran her fingers through Maura's hair. "I know," she breathed before planting a tender kiss on Maura's cheek. "I know."

"I hate what he does to me!" Maura suddenly burst out. "I hate how he makes me feel this vulnerable, this scared. I resent every part of him that lives inside of me." Anger was blazing behind her eyes and the tears suddenly stopped. "I can't stand how he makes me feel this weak… this broken."

"Hey!" Jane cut her off and grabbed Maura's hands. "Hey, you're not broken, you hear me? Paddy Doyle may be your biological father but other than that he is nothing to you. Nothing, remember?! His genes don't make you who you are." One hand moved from Maura's hands to her chest and covered the area where her heart was beating. "This makes you who you are. You're nothing like him."

"Maybe I should be." Maura sounded bitter. "If I was then maybe we wouldn't be here."

"No!" Jane said dismissively. "That's what they want you to think, Maura. But that's not who you are."

Helplessly Maura looked around the room. She was trapped in this apartment because someone out there wanted her dead. She couldn't run because there was nowhere to run to. She had to sit here and wait, hope, that they didn't find out where she was. All because thirty-six years ago a mobster fell in love with an innocent girl and got her pregnant.

"C'mon," Jane whispered and stood up. She pulled Maura to her feet and the doctor looked up at her in confusion.

"Where're we going?"

"Bed," Jane answered with a little smile. "It's been a long day. You need some rest. Tomorrow morning we can talk about this again but right now, you need sleep."

Maura didn't protest as Jane led her through the hallway to the bedroom. One of the bedside lamps was on, casting a faint golden glow around the room. Maura looked up just in time to see Jane place her gun on the nightstand before peeling her sweatpants down her legs, revealing a pair of simple black girly boxers. She felt her cheeks redden and was suddenly glad for the darkness of the room.

She unzipped her jeans and pulled her sweater over her head before picking her pyjamas out of her bag. By the time she'd turned back round to the bed Jane was already under the covers. Maura smiled as she slipped into the bed beside her, her cold feet brushing against Jane's warm leg.

"You can keep those cold toes over there," Jane grinned.

"Okay," Maura answered with a smile.

Jane switched off the light. "Goodnight, Maura."

"Goodnight. Jane."