Chapter Four
A/N I am so grateful for all the wonderful comments you guys are leaving. It makes writing this story more fun! In this chapter, we continue following Angie on her mad journey. Someone doesn't survive this chapter...
"Candy, sit down you look like a ghost." She ushered the young woman into a chair and pressed a glass of water into one shaky hand.
After a long sip of water, Candy placed the glass on the edge of Maura's desk. "That...she pointed to the disc Maura had placed on the desk. "If..if people heard that. Not that there's anything wrong...I mean love is love and you can't choose who your heart falls in love with." She stopped talking and gave Maura a pleading look. "Do you have to give the CD to the police?"
"Yes." Maura answered decisively. She crossed to the mahogany credenza and pressed a button on the stereo system. Immediately a clearly recognizable voice filled the room. Maura listened for a minute transported back to that night at the Loews. Had the room been bugged? She pressed the stop button and sat in her chair facing Candy. Maura cleared her throat and caught Candy's eye. "Candy,"
Candy raised both hands to stall whatever Maura had been about to say. "Dr. Isles, I have worked with you for four years. This has, is the best job I've ever had." Candy swallowed hard before continuing. "I wanted with every cell in my body to destroy that even before you heard a single word. If the press gets wind of...well if it becomes public knowledge...Dr. Isles, people are judgmental and and quite frankly too fucking nosy."
"People are indeed too interested in other people's private lives." She took a deep breath and continued. "Candy, it is our duty to turn this over to the police." She gave a reassuring smile. "Jane will keep this as private as possible. But it is evidence and we will call Jane and give it to her." She crossed to the butterscotch leather sofa and patted the seat next to her. "Candy, Jane is very important to me. I, we don't know exactly what our...status is, but whatever happens, I have no regrets on anything we have shared." Maura sank into her thoughts wondering how Jane felt. "Did you listen to the entire CD?" she asked lifting Candy's chin so their eyes met.
The blonde nodded shyly. Candy swallowed several times then said. "It's only about five minutes long." She gave Maura a lopsided smile then finished. "Other than your voice and Detective Rizzoli's, the rest is all heavy breathing and what sounds like a cheap soft core porn movie. The ones men make for men..." she broke off blushing clear to the roots of her hair.
"Tell me what the messenger looked like. You said it was the same one who delivered the flowers and chocolate. I wonder why a private messenger was used instead of the usual florist delivery service." Maura chewed her bottom lip and thought in silence until her phone rang. She excused herself to take the call. "Dr. Isles. Oh Jane, I was about to give you a call. Yes, I, well we have something to share with you also. See you in five."
"Do you want me to disappear until after Detective Rizzoli hears the tape?" Candy asked concern clear in her soft tone.
"No. Candy, you need to tell Jane everything you remember about the messenger. It's OK that you heard the CD. And I appreciate your tact and support." Maura pulled the young woman into a swift hug as she stood uncertainly staring at Maura with a look of worry.
Jane, Frost and Korsak chose that moment to enter in a babble of sound and motion. Jane rushed to Maura and gave her a long look. "You OK?" A world of emotion and promise in that single look.
"Candy has a lot to tell you." Maura pointed to the nervous technician. "This was delivered a little while ago." She removed the CD and offered it to Jane."She also got a good look at the messenger."
"Frost, Korsak please take Candy into the other room and take her statement. I'll stay here with Maura and listen to the CD." Jane pulled a pair of purple Nitrile gloves from her jacket pocket and pulled them on before taking the gleaming disc. She waited until the other three were out of the office before asking. "Maura, are you all right?"
Maura glanced at the disc, and then at Jane. "Do you remember going back to the hotel after rescuing me?"
"Of course I do." Jane ran a hand through her hair and gave Maura a look full of confusion mixed with concern. "I know we need to talk about what happened."
"Jane, the first minute after the shower is on that CD." Maura twisted her ring and chewed her bottom lip. "I didn't listen further, but Candy heard the whole thing. She said it's about five minutes long. After that first minute, it's soft core porn stuff."
"Us?" Jane asked that one word saying it all.
"Yes." Maura assured. "Jane, Candy wanted to destroy the CD to protect us."
"I have always liked her." Jane smiled and put the CD back in the stereo. "Do you have earphones?" Jane took the ear buds and fitted them into the stereo and her ears. She smiled hearing Maura's voice tell her how much she loved her and her own voice answering in return. If only if were that easy here. Both their professional lives and personal lives were so messy and... maybe it could be that easy. She stopped smiling as the sounds of moans and screams filled her ears. "Well," she said removing the tiny ear phones. "Not very much dialogue." she joked removing the CD and returning it to the plain manila envelope. "We need to get this dusted for prints. Both you and Candy touched it?" Jane asked lifting one dark brow.
"Yes. Candy was so upset and, I didn't think to wear gloves. When I first saw the envelope, I gave in to panic thinking it to be some sort of explosive." Maura blushed, "I'm sorry, I just didn't think. Jane, I have no regrets about Nashville. None." Maura hoped her voice and eyes conveyed everything she felt.
Crossing the room in two quick strides, Jane pulled Maura into a tight embrace. "I have no regrets about anything that happened in that hotel. But." She pulled back enough to look into the hazel eyes of the person she loved more than life. "I do regret not sending that bitch to hell. We have your prints and Candy's on file, so no harm done." She spoke lightly hoping she sounded more reassuring than she felt.
Maura snuggled close and buried her face in Jane's neck inhaling the heady fragrance. "Jane, if you had tried to take her down..."
Jane captured Maura's lips in a swift soft kiss. "If I had went for her, she would have probably killed you. So, yea absolutely no regrets." She held Maura for a long minute then led them into the outer room where Korsak was taking notes from Candy. "Do we have enough to ID this messenger?" Jane asked giving Candy a private wink.
"Frost hightailed it back to the office to run the description through the computer. He'll give us a call as soon as he has a hit." Korsak closed his notebook and patted Candy on the shoulder. "You ever get tired of cutting up bodies, you'd make a helluva detective."
Candy blushed at the praise and gave Maura a long questioning look. Maura looked at Jane and asked, "Is it OK for Candy to go home?"
"I'll drop her off and then see you back at the office." Korsak took the CD, Jane offered, then helped Candy from the chair and led her to the door. Both turned with Korsak speaking first. "I guess I don't have to tell you to be careful." Candy nodded vigorously voicing her own concerns, "These people scare me, please be careful." She added.
"Korsak, have an officer stationed outside Candy's home. We don't want any uninvited guests dropping in for a nasty visit. And Korsak, no one other than you and Frost are to hear that CD. " Jane waved her left hand at both of them. "We promise to be extremely careful. You guys watch yourselves. This psycho plays hard ball."
Alone in the quiet, Maura and Jane just stood looking at each other. Finally they rushed forward and stood locked in a silent embrace. Both wondering if they would survive this game with Angie. "You know she's going to try and kill us again." Maura finally whispered.
"Try being the operative word." Jane growled just as her phone rang. "Got it. Meet you there in fifteen." She turned to Maura a burning look in her eyes. "Maura,"
Maura cut her off before the request could be spoken. "Jane, I'm coming with you. This psycho wants to kill both of us. No way will I hide safe in the shadows and let you run into her trap."
"Why do you think she's setting a trap? She could still be in Alabama." Jane hadn't yet told Maura about Korsak's theory of a second woman pretending to be Detective Jane Rizzoli.
"Are you saying you don't think this is a trap? Jane," Maura captured Jane's chin in a soft grasp. "What did you learn that you haven't shared?"
Jane stepped away from the tender touch and rubbed her face with both hands. Maura was part of this same as her, but she desperately wanted to keep Maura safe. "I'll fill you in on the way. C'mon. But you stay inside the car!
"Jane, we'll get her." Maura assured running into her office for her bag and jacket.
"Look, Darling, the rest of the party guests have arrived." Angie passed the binoculars to her assistant. "Are we ready to get the entertainment under way?"
Andrea pulled a sleek black case from the back seat. She gave Angie a feral grin and opened the case. Nestled on a bed of softest royal velvet lay a rifle and two shiny black revolvers along with ammunition for all three weapons, and two huge silencers. "As they say in those buddy buddy movies, locked and loaded. Would you like me to fire the first shot? After all, you've been having all the fun lately."
Gloved fingers caressed the cold blued metal. Angie lifted the weapon with the silencer and checked the laser sight. "You're sure these weapons are untraceable? Untraceable to us, of course."
"Taken from the evidence locker of Detective Jane Rizzoli's own precinct. Money truly well spent." Andrea assured. "Is it time to reach out and touch someone?"
Cold laughter trilled from Angie as she stroked the hard weapon instead of the hot soaked mound of the woman beside her. Her insides were boiling. Things were moving so fast, she and Andrea hadn't been able to make time to play her favorite game of cum until your dehydrated. She vowed to rectify that situation the second they had taken out the garbage. "Reach out and touch someone Baby."
Inside the dark cramped apartment the messenger paced the floor littered with soda cans, beer bottles and take out wrappers. He knew he needed to run, but where. Hearing tires squeal on the street outside, he rushed to look out the window. "Fuck! It's too late. I'm so screwed." He weighed options of turning himself into the police or trying to run. "How fucking many cops are out there?" He watched as three squad cars blocked off both ends of the street and one stopped directly in front of his building. "Fucking fuck fuck fuck!" He moaned pulling at his hair already standing in messy tufts on his head. "If I don't go down they'll come up. If one of them pigs gets trigger happy...oh shit!"
Korsak knelt behind his door and turned on the bullhorn. "Madden, we know you're in there. Come out with your hands above your head. You have exactly one minute before we come up."
From the parking garage across the street and over three buildings, Angie chuckled as she heard both Korsak's warning and the ring of the phone Andrea held with the speaker turned on. She grinned a self satisfied grin as Madden answered in a pitiful whine. "Sit tight, we're going to get you out of this mess. I never forget those who help me." She took careful aim and shattered the window raining safety glass down on Korsak. Another two shots made splinters of the windshield. She nodded at Andrea who took over the task of firing on the police. "Are you ready?" Angie asked Madden?" A familiar brunette stood caught dead center in her gun sights, just a slight squeeze and all would be right in her world again. At the blubbering response, Angie gently squeezed the trigger and heard the satisfying crack as the bullet pierced glass then flesh. "And I never forget anyone who tries to fuck with me."
