"Jane, please."
It had been five days since Bradley's disappearance and life for the married couple trucked along forcefully. They didn't want to see anyone and they especially didn't want to talk to anyone. Those who didn't know about the kidnapping would ask about the kids and the few who did know seemed to make things worse. It was easier for the two women to retreat into an antisocial bubble with just them and their baby. Even their family had become too much.
It only took a day but Maura started pestering Jane with constant questions about the suspected kidnapper/murderer. Jane had struggled with her own knowledge and wanted to spare her wife the mental images that haunted her on a daily basis.
"No."
"I have a right to know!" Maura threw the damp dishtowel she was holding in a fierce grip onto the countertops. The argument escalated more quickly than usual. One moment the caramel blonde was cleaning up a shattered jar of baby food and the next she was toe to toe with her tall lover.
"Yes, Maura, as his mother you do have a right to know. But as your wife I have a right to protect you from harm. No good can come of you knowing any more than you already do." Jane tried to reason. She had tried for days but the ME didn't seem the least bit deterred.
"Wouldn't you want to know?" Maura proposed the question knowing full well that Jane would threaten anyone that withheld information from her.
Jane wanted to answer in the negative. She wanted to lie her way out of this but her dark head nodded instead. The detective's thin frame came to rest against the breakfast bar and she let out a breath of resignation.
"Fine, but we can skip dinner preparations then. You won't want to eat after you hear this."
The couple rocked their baby into a gentle slumber and tucked her into the portable crib in the living room. Jane poured Maura a glass of wine and she substituted her usual beer for two-fingers worth of scotch. It was one of the few times the tough-skinned woman needed the assistance of the strong alcohol to make it through a situation. Both women settled into their plush couch with a short distance separating them. With an arm across the back of the sofa, Jane turned to her wife and silently asked if she was ready. Dark eyes scanned Maura's tired features for any hint of apprehension, all she saw was a thin veil of professionalism and sad eagerness. After a large sip of the amber liquid Jane began, her words coming slowly and gently.
"We first came across one of these cases just as I was getting on my feet as a detective. They pulled me from vice as an extra set of hands considering the sensitive situation. You hadn't been brought in yet but I'm sure it would have been solved if you were." She flashed a small smile at her wife. "The suspect had been traveling from state to state and preying on children of police officers. The higher the officer's rank, the greater the risk; the more satisfying the prize."
"The son of a highly regarded, colorfully decorated detective who happened to be married to the Chief Medical Examiner would make for a grand prize." Maura spoke so softly she didn't even realize her thoughts were said aloud.
Jane nodded slightly and continued, "He would keep them for a while and treat them as if they were his own."
"How do you know it's a male?" Maura questioned.
"Several behavioral analysts had reviewed the files at this point. All the evidence points to a male. The way he chooses to kill.."
"It's a lot less likely for a woman to brutalize a child. Of course. Please go on."
Jane was almost taken aback by Maura's cold acceptance of her words but she knew it was just her way of coping. It was the blonde's one defense mechanism that never failed her- seeing only the science.
"So he'd treat them well. Supply them with toys and feed them all their favorite meals. That always suggested-"
"He watched them previously, got to know their habits, likes and dislikes." A caramel head bobbed up and down as if Maura understood the way the twisted mind worked. She smoothed imaginary wrinkles from her simple blue blouse and wiped her palms on her tight khakis before looking to her wife, encouraging her to continue.
Jane just looked on and wondered if she'd get the chance to continue uninterrupted, she guessed not. "But just like most people and their play things, he'd grow bored of them and try new things to keep himself happy." The brunette's husky voice grew deeper when her throat clenched at the thought.
"Does he sexually assault them?" Maura asked cooly, trying desperately to not picture her son in the hands of this madman.
Jane threw her head back as she swallowed the last drops of scotch. She tried to focus on the burn in her throat instead of the turning of her stomach as she nodded her head in confirmation. She couldn't look at Maura after that. She continued speaking and kept her gaze on the fire that was dancing in their large fireplace. The flames that reflected in her dark eyes symbolized the fury building inside her perfectly.
"He'd beat them. He'd touch them and rape them. And
when he grew tired of all that, when he found no other use for their tiny bodies.." She swallowed hard in an attempt to fight back the burning liquid that was forcing its way back up her esophagus. "He'd remove the two teeth while they were still alive and then he'd poison them. Slowly." She felt Maura shift on the cushion next to her, she moved enough to allow their knees to touch. She knew the small contact would comfort her wife.
"How slow?"
"Slow enough to burn holes in their tiny organs before they would die."
Maura gasped and covered her mouth. The ME knew all the kinds of poisons and the doses needed to inflict that kind of damage. A large dose would burn tissue immediately and the victim wouldn't last more than a couple hours. But small doses would cause pain for days, weeks, possibly even months. Excruciating pain that no human being should suffer, let alone an innocent child. Tears were running down her face as she shook her head and left the room abruptly.
Jane figured she needed a break or that she had run to the bathroom. Either way the detective knew enough to sit and wait for Maura's return. She absentmindedly played with the string of her gray sweatpants as she waited. Her eyes took in the worn red tank top she wore, the one that proudly stated "Half of the World's Best Mom Team." Frankie had made Jane and Maura matching shirts for their first Mother's Day and even though she laughed at how corny it was, the shirt quickly became a staple in her wardrobe. Jane was torn from her thoughts when Maura reentered the room, she was pale and shaky.
"Talk to me about something else. Anything else." The blonde demanded as she sat close to Jane's firm body. The minty smell of her breath confirmed the detective's earlier suspicion that even the iron-clad stomach of Maura Rizzoli couldn't handle those details.
"I-"
"Don't even think about saying 'I told you so' or you will be sleeping on this couch tonight."
A long silence settled between them after Maura's threat. It took Jane several minutes before she managed to come up with a safe topic, one she knew had held a special place in Maura's heart.
"At least we learned early on to never let Tommy plan our kids birthday parties."
"Or any party for that matter." A small yet natural smile appeared on Maura's face at the memory.
"He was creative, ya gotta give him that!"
"He lined a cake pan with Twinkies and called it a cake." Maura was still astonished by her brother-in-law's antics.
"Don't forget that he iced it, too."
Over three years had passed and the two women were still hung up on the disaster of a shindig. From the mismatched decorations, the five pack of party hats for the nine guests, to the sloppily iced Twinkie cake; Tommy had failed miserably at his first attempt of hosting a Birthday party for Bradley. No matter how big of a catastrophe it was, each and every guest would remember that day and all the fun they had.
"I'm still jealous that you got a party hat." Jane wrapped her arm around Maura's shoulders and pulled her close against her body. The blonde accepted the new position by resting her head against a soft chest.
"It's not my fault that I look better in pink."
"'My Little Pony' is quite becoming on you." Jane kissed the top of fragrant caramel waves. No matter how long they were married, Jane was still amazed at the softness of Maura's hair. It was silky and smooth, just like the rest of the voluptuous ME.
They sat in silence, memories washing over them as well as small thoughts of ways to find their missing son. Jane had violent thoughts of revenge while Maura kept her thoughts on the reunion that she hoped would take place soon. It wasn't until little Angie started to fuss in her crib that the women broke apart.
"I'll tuck her in if you want to head up and get ready for bed. It's been a long night." Jane offered, not acknowledging the fact that it was only seven in the evening. With such a nebulous cloud hanging heavily above their household, there wasn't much to do beyond trying to solve the case or sleep in it's dark shadow.
"I think I'll take a bath. Come to bed when your done?" Maura asked shyly, trying to conceal the overwhelming need she had for the brunette. It wasn't something she was normally ashamed of, but the strength of it during this time was devastating.
"I'll race you there." Angular features softened into a smile before Jane kissed her wife's forehead and made her way to the nursery.
Over the past five days both mothers found it harder to put their newborn down and this evening was no exception. Jane gently rocked Angie from side to side a long while after the red-headed infant had fallen asleep. Each time she reached over the railing of the crib to place the little girl down, she'd return to a standing position with her daughter still in her arms. She smiled down at the peaceful, chubby face and started to cry at the innocence she saw there. It was the same innocence she saw in her son's face. Innocence that was present even during his most devilish of deeds. Whether he was drawing on the walls or using one of Maura's expensive shoes as an obstacle for his toy trucks, the sandy-haired boy always looked like an angel. A characteristic he obviously got from the woman who carried him.
Maura had heard the strange noises from the bathtub but didn't question them. She heard several thuds that were always followed by a string of curses. It wasn't unusual for Jane to start random projects during high stress situations, so her wife didn't second-guess what she was doing. Maura did, however, laugh when she emerged from the bathroom to see their baby's crib tucked into the corner of their bedroom.
"It would have been easier to put the portable one in here." She looked at her wife with a raised eyebrow and smiled. Jane was bent with her hands on her knees, red-faced and sweating from the exertion required to move the heavy piece of furniture. Oak seemed like a good material when it was staying in one room.
"That would require going up and down stairs. This seemed easier." She pointed at the crib that held a sleeping baby before she flopped on her own bed face first.
Maura approached the bed in her cotton nightgown. It was simple, black, and boring for Maura Rizzoli. It wasn't fine Italian silk but the material was light and sinfully soft. The perfect piece of clothing to provide a false sense of comfort. She pulled back the covers and slid beneath them against the cool sheets. Once she was completely buried deep within the bedding, she asked the question that had been nagging at her occipital lobe.
"Was there ever any evidence?" No specifics were needed for Jane to know exactly what she was asking.
Jane turned slowly and brought her long body up the bed to rest on it's side. She laid her head on her hand and propped herself up on her elbow. She could barely see more than a few golden waves and a portion of a gorgeous face in the pile of covers. No matter how little she could see, Jane knew Maura's brain was working overtime.
"Nothing other than fresh clothes. All generic t-shirts and shorts. No DNA, barely any trace. This guy knows what he's doing." A remorseful tone accompanied each word.
Maura pulled the covers away upon hearing one word in particular. "Barely? What do you mean barely?"
"There was always soil and leaves present on the body. Since they were always dumped outdoors no one thought twice about that. The three found in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire had traces of a few chemicals on them, but I don't recall what. Same with the previous Boston child." Jane started to snake her way under the blankets, the fatigue from the past few days weighing heavily on her bones.
"Do you have a file here?"
All Jane had to do was see the look in her wife's fiery hazel eyes to know that NOT getting the file wasn't an option. There was a certain shimmer present in those eyes that told the detective this woman wouldn't sleep until she read over the evidence herself. That look alone was the most comfort the brunette had felt in days. She jumped from the bed and made her way from the room. She returned a moment later with a thick manilla folder that she handed to the doctor and a sliver of hope before she rejoined her pillow. If anyone could see the invisible, it was Maura.
The bedside lamp stayed on while Maura scanned the pages before her. Designer reading glasses hung onto the end of her nose, her lips moved slightly as she read each important word. Jane laid silent. She watched the brilliant woman to her right work. Finally, after about an hour the blonde slammed the file shut and looked at her wife with wide eyes.
"Asparagine, Hyperoside, Ferulic-Acid, Neoxathin, and Sinapic-Acid. Along with the pesticides present on the skin..." Maura removed her glasses and reached across Jane's probe body to grab the detective's phone from her nightstand. "Jane, these boys were being held at an apple orchard."
