`Chapter 8
The veil is lifting slowly on this one. I am grateful for the follows, favorites and reviews!
The weather was slightly changing now. The days were still warm, but the nights began to get cooler. 'This is much easier to work with' she thought as she made her way through Boston Common with her armed securely looped through her date for the evening. She was busy scanning her surroundings as any other would do as they shuffled slowly taking in the sights as they walked along the sidewalk. While he was making note of the bandstand to their left, she was allowing herself to process the evening's events as well as look for the perfect spot to finish their date. She was pleased at how seamlessly the conversation went this time. She didn't feel like she had to direct the whole of the conversation. She kept to every detail this time. Not having to waver off task. Each response gave her the insight she needed to keep moving the evening forward, responding in the right places and looking like she was truly interested in what was being said. She didn't realize she had squeezed his arm a bit tighter at the moment she found what she was looking for just past the open area. The park was quiet over by the fountain that normally shown brightly in the dead of the night. There were no lights to be seen tonight, a stroke of sheer luck settled in her thoughts, as a small smile washed over her face, having him think she was glad to be there with him. This was perfect. She subconsciously tugged him along at a quicker pace now. The timing was perfect. Enough time had passed since the last bite and last drink was taken. Just enough time to where she felt him starting to struggle a bit to keep up with her pace. The last few steps were cumbersome to say the least, yet she kept her composure while being slowed down more and more. She noticed he had stopped at right at the base of the fountain. She turned to look at him and only saw any semblance of confusion replaced quickly by disappearing eyes as eyelids squinted tightly shut as he fell to his knees then back to lean up again the base. By the time she retrieved the necessary tools to complete her evening, his heart had stopped beating as he lie motionless underneath the lip of the base. Two quick rolls and she right on track with time. Just one target on this night. Gone was the light conversation and subtle glances. Her breath now steady as she made the last incision, the blood kept in place for the most part and the crimson hue of the object resting in her hand gave her pause. "What a perfect specimen" she said out loud to herself as she began the final preparations to leave. The water seemed like a good of place as any to 'cleanse' his lifeless body. She delighted in the fact that this would also add another time consuming factor to the good Doctor's autopsy.
The sun was filtering through the blinds causing her eyes to flutter open and take in her surroundings. Much better than an alarm clock she thought as she stretched her long limbs but was soon being impeded. She opened her eyes further realizing the impediment was none other than Maura's leg. She looked around once more realizing that indeed, she was in the guest room, but why was Maura? She took in her features, letting out a small sigh as she noticed her pajama top had rode up just a bit above her navel. 'Really' she thought as other thoughts flooded her mind that instant as she noticed her chest rising and falling with each breath. She reached over to run her thumb over the hip bone she was now eying when Maura turned and her eyes blinked open settling on Jane's. She couldn't look away even if she wanted to, noticing Jane's dilated pupils and quickened breathing mixed with an expression she couldn't quite place. 'Arousal' she thought, her scientific dissertation was soon a fleeting thought as Jane rolled off the bed and headed for the door, realizing she had just been caught.
"Good morning Doctor Isles, I am going take a shower and then make some instant coffee. Would you like a cup?" Jane was trying her best to keep her composure as she looked back one last time as Maura was now resting on her elbow with a knowing look resting on her face.
"I would prefer to enjoy my coffee this morning, so no thank you."
"You are missing out." Jane sang as she made her way down the hallway to the bathroom, glad for the cool water now flowing over her body.
Maura laid back for just a moment more, taking in the remnants of Jane's scent on her pillow. It was getting harder for her not blur the lines she always kept so neatly in place. After all this time, could this be what she really wanted? Was the case just getting to her, the one thing that had truly haunted her in her life. Was Jane's relentless protectiveness of her giving her some kind of false sense of security in her feelings toward the Detective? Was she just in tune with the Doctor that she knew what she needed when situations like this came up? She came back to her own relentlessness where the Detective was concerned. Sure they were colleagues and best friends, but she was not one to guess or assume. She knew what her feelings were, what they meant but could she just switch gears? Just as she was pressuring herself to get to the bottom of this case once and for all, she was feeling a different kind of urgency. She was hoping she wasn't the only one.
"So, did you forget where your own room was last night?"
"I am sorry Jane, I woke up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water. On my way back to my room I heard you moving around so I went to peek in your room. You were shifting around a bit so I just came in to wake you in case you were dreaming. As I went to wake you, you calmed down but I heard you say 'stay'. You never opened your eyes, just reached out your hand, so I, stayed."
Jane remembered her dream, and now she realized part of her 'dream' was real. She couldn't tell Maura what her dream was about, so she just quietly said, "you didn't have to stay, but, thank you."
"My pleasure Jane." The kitchen became a little smaller for some reason as they both just stared into each others direction. Both raised their cups at the same time when that all to familiar sound of their phones going off broke their reverie.
"Rizzoli."
"Isles."
It seemed that there were no other murderers working so to speak. The spotlight was being given to the one person that had a knack for leaving this group of coworkers without any real evidence to go on. The scene was typical of all the others. So neat that clues were extremely hard to come by. Items were bagged, pictures and notes were taken. The body had taken on a bit more weight due to where it was deposited earlier. Doctor Isles wasn't even sure why she was trying to determine time of death at this point, the liver temp was skewed due to the submersed state of the body.
"Do we have anything Doc?" Korsak was bent down eye level with the ME, wondering why these bodies kept piling up on their watch. He couldn't even remember how many hours they had booked on this case so far, in such a short amount of days, it seemed that they were all blurring together at this point. He looked back over his shoulder and noticed Jane and Frost talking to the couple that found the body. He made eye contact with Jane for a brief moment, she nodded her head and went back to the brief interview.
"Detective, I can only determine that this victim is male and is missing his right kidney." The ME was already trying to determine by other means a time of death. She didn't want to verbalize this yet, as she knew it would be pure conjecture at this point and didn't want to give any sense of false hope as to the facts.
"I have done all I can here, I will start the autopsy immediately once back at the morgue." Doctor Isles stood and removed her gloves. Korsak followed suit and walked the ME back to her car.
"Doc, this is the most baffling case I have worked as long as I can remember. I know we all are feeling this. The brass is breathing down our necks to get this solved. We are all working ungodly hours, but we need, well, we just need something, anything to go on." Korsak was sounding desperate only covered by the tiredness in his voice. His features were a little more worn due to age, but the ME knew how he felt. She was feeling it too, and probably more. She swallowed down the guilt that was beginning to creep in, knowing at this point, with the few physical clues that were given, it was truly up to her to find the missing pieces.
"I understand the urgency Detective. I am doing everything in my power to find something to give you something to go on." I cannot just make up things out of …
"Doc, I get it, we all get it, there has to be something, somewhere, a slip up, just, something. I know if anyone can find it, its you." Korsak opened the driver's side door for her and held it open for a second more. "Be safe Doc."
She hit the record button and began her debriefing of her findings. She ran through dental fillings and a previously fractured radial bone on his right arm. She moved over to the bowl with the decedent's stomach contents and began again. She began to detail what was left of his last meal. She made note of the rice kernels still noticeable. She moved to the next detail about the remnants of what she deduced was a cut of prime rib. She continued on with her findings and then hit the stop button. Like clockwork, the doors opened and the familiar sound of boots across the floor had the ME looking up.
"Anything?" Jane looked at the body, still in its 'unfinished' state before looking back at the Doctor.
"I was just finishing up. I did notice something odd though. Here, let me show you." The ME waited for the Detective to step closer before she picked up the bowl she was previously observing.
"The food particles are curious to me, in their state of desiccation."
"Okay and."
"According to the time of death, I should not have been able to truly determine what he had eaten without further analysis in the lab."
"Doctor Isles, I appreciate your ability to identify food particles, but what exactly are you getting at?"
The ME, used to the Detective's impatience, simply set the bowl down and removed her gloves. She set her hands on the table and leaned forward with the sudden realization hitting her at that moment.
"What I mean Detective is that the victim should not have had any solid food left in his stomach. He was more than likely suffering from gastroparesis."
"Maura, English please."
"The victim more than likely had a condition that did not allow him to digest his food at a more normal rate."
"How does that help us figure out who the murderer is?"
"Jane, I will be right back, I have to get this to the lab and have these analyzed further. He may have been on some kind of prophylaxis for this condition."
The ME moved past the Detective without a second glance back, her determination to solve these murders paramount over anything else at the moment.
The Detective shook her head. Hoping that somehow, someway this random tidbit of information could lead them somewhere. She hoped that the ME was not finally losing her mind with the cases still open and evidence, or lack thereof leading them to one dead end after another.
She saw the box in the corner and as her curiosity lead her toward the area, she glanced down and noticed a few choice words. San Diego, Medical Examiner and case files.
The ME had returned to the morgue, her mind still in overdrive looking around to find the Detective no longer there. She went to find her phone and saw no messages there. She let out a deep calming breath and reached for a new pair of gloves and the rest of her equipment necessary to close up the body. She reached back to grab her goggles when she noticed a written note that was not there before.
'I have what you want. If you ever want to see it again, be at my place in an hour and don't even think about calling the cops, or else.'
She left the note in its place and turned to finish the autopsy. If anyone were walking by, they would have thought it was odd that the ME was smiling as she finished the last few stitches.
TBC...
