Just to clarify any confusion before it happens, Maura's POV is based a couple of weeks behind Jane's. Gradually, her timeline will catch up with Jane's, and then you will be reading both as 'present day', instead of just Jane's. I will still be writing past tense however, as I personally find it more comfortable and easier to read. Thanks once more for all the reviews, they are very much appreciated.
Chapter 9
"We're very excited to have you join our team, Dr Isles. I've heard wonderful things about you!" Maura blinked at the fellow medical examiner whose eagerness seemed potent enough to give him the power to shake her arm right out of its socket as he shook her hand.
"Yes... I... thank you," she replied, and carefully extricated herself from his uncomfortably tight grip.
"Dr Isles, thrilled to meet you! You'll be fabulous, I'm sure! We've heard great things!" Another medical examiner approached, her hands clasped in front of her as she gushed unashamedly. Maura bit her lip.
"I... thank you. I hope I can li..."
"Darla! Oh my goodness, how have you been?" Another female examiner walked up and Maura sighed softly.
"Live up to your expectations..." she finished softly, as she looked around the large room, her presence now forgotten by the two doctors in front of her. There were so many people here, and so far, Maura had sensed no sign of the desired friend she had dreamed so much about. To be truthful, this more seemed to be an excuse for a catch-up for all the medical examiners of the Massachusetts area, rather than a meet and greet of their new boss, and no one really seemed interested in getting to know Maura. Oh, they were all polite enough for sure... they had all greeted her with smiles and handshakes... but it was just the social niceties. No one seemed genuinely interested.
She supposed that they thought she would be just like the others – there for a time then gone. The amount of time stipulated in the term agreement for a Chief Medical Examiner was five years, though Maura happened to know that the last three Chief M.E.s had not lasted that long. One had been cast out of his position on charges of drug and alcohol abuse, one had been sentenced for assisting to cover up a crime, and the last had apparently been deemed unworthy and demoted to being just a medical examiner. Maura could not see herself ever doing any of these things, nor could she see herself being deemed unworthy of the position, and she fully intended to stay for the full five years, perhaps even more... but she should not be surprised that these people did not realize this. They did not know her, after all.
Plus, there was the undeniable fact that Maura Isles did not exactly fit the stereotypical mould of the usual medical examiner. The Isles family was quite wealthy – the wealth a combination of inheritance from Constance's family, as well as her father's quite profitable business ventures – and so Maura always had every luxury, and she found herself taking comfort in fashion. It wasn't that she was vain – she had always been told she was attractive but saw herself as simply average – it was that she was genuinely thrilled by the artistry of clothing, by the statement one could make about themselves, simply by the clothes and accessories chosen. She was fascinated by the shoes, the hats, the jewellery, the weave of fabric and the creation of pattern designs. She found a kind of giddy delight in these things, and the way they complemented her body only served to heighten her joy.
Still, once more it seemed that the things that gave her joy were the things that cast her into the abyss of loneliness. It always seemed that there were two reactions: some people were intimidated by the way she dressed, and assumed that her sense of style indicated that friends or acquaintances must have a similar style or class, or the second option – as was more often the case – they assumed that Maura was vain, pompous and arrogant, and simply steered clear.
Like that woman at the coffee shop yesterday! Maura mused, feeling another hot flush of anger rushing through her. Granted, she had not asked for Maura's assistance... but surely it was not rude to lend a helping hand to a stranger? Surely that could not create offence. And yet it had seemed to... Maura shook her head resolutely. Well, there was no use thinking of it anymore at any rate. It was hardly likely that she would run into her again, so there was no need to think of ways to apologize without coming across as angry or pitying. She nodded slightly to herself. Right.
Maura smiled widely as another medical examiner approached (Dr... Popo? Popily? Popono? Oh dear, what was his name) but sighed as he simply smiled politely and made a detour around her to talk to another man who had introduced himself to her earlier in an extremely enthusiastic manner, taking a good once over of her body as he did so.
And there, of course, was the third reaction that she had forgotten. The blatant flirting and ogling from the opposite (and occasionally the same) sex. Still, she supposed, at least her occupation did not rely upon her looks, like that woman Tiffa...
Maura almost groaned out loud to herself. Tiffany. She was thinking of her again. Why? Why did she seem to monopolize so much of Maura's thoughts, even though they had only had a very brief meeting that, for all accounts and purposes, did not go well? Tiffany... now there was a woman who needed no amount of clothing or accessories to beautify herself. She was naturally beautiful, with a figure to match, but...
No! Maura took a deep breath and smiled around the room, determinedly picking up her drink and heading deeper into the crowd. She was not going to think about that woman anymore. It was guaranteed that she'd be meeting many new people with this new job anyway – even if most of them would be dead – she was simply going to focus every atom of her body on meeting and remembering all the new names, rather than think of the woman whose name really began with a J... hmm, Joanne? Jade? Jackie, Julia, Jessica... Maura sighed. Perhaps she'd just focus on remembering the new names as well as thinking about the mystery prostitute.
Because it didn't appear that she had a choice in the matter.
R&IR&IR&I
"How'd your meet and greet go?" Susie asked excitedly, almost the second Maura walked into her new offices to get set up. Maura blinked at her tiredly. How had it gone?
"It was... very..." Maura sighed and sat in what was now, she supposed, her chair. She frowned and looked around as soon as her weight settled. Well, she knew what her first order of business was. Getting a new office chair! "... informative," she finally finished, shifting slightly in discomfort. "It was very informative and... illuminating... to meet those who I'll be presiding over."
"Illuminating?" Susie scrunched her face up slightly and shifted in place. "What... do you mean?"
Maura bit her lip. "I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Popov. And Dr. Pike."
"Oh," Susie winced. "I see."
"You know of them?"
Susie shifted once more. "I've worked with both... on occasion."
"What is the quality of their work like, if you don't mind me asking?"
Susie winced once more, looking around as though to check for eavesdroppers. "I would have to say, Dr. Isles, that 'subpar' would be an accurate depiction."
"Right," Maura murmured. "Just as I suspected." Susie shifted her weight once more in the doorway and Maura instantly shot up out of her seat. "Oh, Senior Criminalist Chang, I do apologize, I have been terribly rude in not offering you a seat. Please..." Maura broke off and looked around the rather bare office, "oh. It appears I do not have a seat to offer you, I'm afraid."
"That's alright, Dr Isles," Susie hastened to reassure her, but seemed to take the invitation in some form anyway, slowly venturing further into the room. "I don't mind standing. It..." she paused, and Maura watched in surprise as a light blush flushed her olive skin, "it seems to be appropriate anyway. You are my boss... I am showing you a sign of respect."
"Oh, Susie..." Maura started, watching as Susie's flush appeared to deepen at the sound of her Christian name, "that's not the way I want to run this. You are to be my colleague, not my employee, is that understood? Perhaps even..." It was now Maura's turn to flush slightly, "my friend?"
Instantly, a bright beaming smile lit up Susie's face. "That would be... I..." She paused for a brief moment, and Maura watched with bemusement as she breathed deeply, seemingly trying to regain control over herself, "I would like that very much indeed, Dr Isles."
Maura smiled slightly, then looked down at her desk, feeling, if truth be known, a little bit lost. This was, she supposed, always the worst part of a new job: feeling like you don't fit in and don't belong, always worried you'll make some serious faux pas like ask the woman who's had five miscarriages when she was going to have a baby. Maura didn't know her colleagues, didn't have any friends in the area... she supposed that she ought to be used to being alone, but she was still an optimist in spite of everything and was not ready to admit defeat. There was someone out there for her, not only a best friend but also a life companion, perhaps even all rolled up into the one person. She knew it, she could feel it in her bones... and again, wasn't that one of those awful 'gut feelings' that had led her to Boston in the first place? Still, although her intestines were unable to give her any verified facts to prove their assertions, she still found herself trusting them. She only hoped that they would not lead her into trouble.
Shaking her head she realized too late that Susie was talking. "I'm sorry, Susie, I was ruminating on... well, various things. What were you saying?"
Far from looking offended, Susie simply smiled brightly, looking delighted that Maura was interested in what she had to say. She truly was, Maura considered, a lovely young woman. "That's alright, Dr Isles! I was just saying that since you've spent some time getting to know Boston, you might find it prudent to get to know some of the homicide detectives you'll be working with. I believe you'll be working with Detective Vince Korsak primarily, along with his partner Detective Fred Murphy." She dropped her voice conspiratorially, "Detective Murphy is getting on a bit in years though, so there's rumours that he will announce his retirement by the end of the year."
End of the year... it was only May now, so that still left plenty of time to get to know both Detectives Murphy and Korsak, and perhaps get a feel for their work. Maura had worked with detectives of inferior quality before and found their lack of ability not only frustrating but also infuriating at times. She rather hoped that this would not be the case again. "I don't wish to engage in idle office gossip, but if you don't mind telling me... what are they like? In their work role, of course."
"Brilliant," Susie answered without hesitation and Maura let out a slow breath, feeling relieved. "They have a very high close rate and are considered one of the best teams Boston has. I think you will like working with them, Dr Isles."
"Maura," Maura corrected, absently thinking that she probably should have corrected her a while earlier, but her mind racing with this new information. Was it possible that this job actually could be as good as it sounded?
Susie flushed pinkly once more, but repeated 'Maura' obediently, though not with any real volume to her voice, and watched avidly, waiting as Maura's gaze focused on the edge of the desk. Maura was lost in thought. She wondered how best to go about introducing herself to the two detectives she would be working with so closely. Should she wait for them to come down to greet her, or would that make it seem like she had too high an opinion of herself to associate with the lowly police officers? Perhaps then, she should go up to them... or would that be too presumptuous? Thinking hard, it took her several long seconds to realize that Susie was still standing in the doorway patiently, looking at Maura with starry eyes.
"Oh. Susie. I'm sorry. I was..."
"It's okay, Dr Isl... Maura!" Susie hastened to reassure her. "I understand, you must have a lot on your mind right now with the move and everything."
The move. Maura hadn't even considered the fact that her home was still an obstacle course of half unpacked boxes and disassembled furniture. With a stab of guilt, she wondered how Bass, her tortoise, was coping in his new environment. He was probably confused, she thought, and stood up resolutely. Susie looked at her with wide, shocked eyes, seeming to wonder what she had said that was so wrong.
"Dr Isles, are you... is everything okay?" she half gasped, and Maura pasted a smile to her face, vaguely letting the thought cross her mind that Susie's star struck routine could get rather tiresome if allowed to go on too long, and nodded.
"Everything's fine, Susie, I just remembered some things I need to do back at home. You reminded me. Bass must be missing me also."
"Bass? Your... boyfriend? Husband?"
"My tortoise," Maura corrected, hastening to collect her possessions which, even in her reasonably short visit to her office, had seemed to scatter of their own accord to all four corners of the room. "No boyfriend. Or husband."
Susie watched as Maura collected her things, finally holding out her cell phone which, for some reason unbeknownst to Maura, she had placed on a table near the door. "No? Forgive me Dr Isles, but you are a very attractive woman. I find it hard to believe that you..."
"Not," Maura interrupted, feeling only a small twinge of guilt at her rudeness, "that I believe it has any bearing on a person whatsoever, but I am of the homosexual orientation. My choice to not have a boyfriend or a husband is a necessary one to keep myself emotionally healthy, as I fear the duress of forcing myself to live a life that I am not happy with would have severe repercussions sooner or later in my life." Reaching out to take the cell phone from Susie's hand, Maura nodded tightly and smiled. "However, I am indeed single at this current time so my decision to go home is primarily for my tortoise and also the need to sort out my possessions, not to engage in intercourse, as undoubtedly pleasant as that would be." Ignoring the way Susie's mouth dropped open at the word 'intercourse', Maura reached out and plucked her phone from suddenly lax hands. "Thank you, Susie."
"You're welcome, Dr Isles," Susie breathed, her eyes starry once more, and Maura smiled awkwardly, dropping her gaze as she slipped past her to head out the door.
Well, she supposed with a sigh, it wouldn't really feel like work if one of her employees didn't have a crush on her... right?
She sighed again. Sometimes she'd really like to found out what it would be like to be liked for her brain, not her body.
R&IR&IR&I
Maura stretched tiredly as she sat down in the uncomfortable chair once more. It had taken several hours the previous night, but finally her new house was feeling like home. It didn't make too much sense to go all out, she supposed – this was only intended to be a temporary home until something she liked more became available – but she simply couldn't help herself. She had such fleeting senses of belonging in places outside of her home, that she simply had to feel completely comfortable in at least one aspect in her life, and the place she lived was it. There, she was free to be herself without fear of public scrutiny. She needn't worry about people questioning her masks, her furniture, her decorations, because it was her place, no one else's. She supposed that when she did eventually get a partner one day, that things would have to change in at least some small regard, but, she mused with a faraway smile, she was sure that that person would understand her enough to never, ever want to change her. And, she was also sure, that person would never tease her either... for her furnishings, or for her... unusual... choice for a pet. Not that it was really her choice, though. Her mother was allergic to dog hair, and her father strongly disliked cats. So even though child Maura had begged for a kitten or a puppy (she would keep it far away from her parents, she promised), she had ended up getting a tortoise for her birthday, and back then he had been small enough to carry around in a Chinese-style noodle box. Now, of course, he was over 50 pounds and the size of a large suitcase. Thankfully, she mused, he was not prone to anger. She had left him, after all, for the majority of the time he had been in his new home, but after letting her see only his shell for about five minutes, he seemed to forgive her and came up, greeting her with his usual quiet love and appreciation.
Maura smiled down at her desk. Pets were truly wonderful, she thought. They love you no matter what... no matter how strange you are, how few friends you have...
"Dr Isles?"
"Oh!" Maura jumped slightly and sat up straight, looking towards the doorway in confusion, where two men stood, peering in at her curiously. One, she noticed, was fairly overweight with salt and pepper hair and hard brown eyes. He looked hard, angry... even cruel. As she looked at him though, he suddenly smiled, and she decided that her initial impression was incorrect. He had a lovely smile that crinkled what appeared to be well used lines into the skin around his eyes. She smiled back cautiously, and turned her attention to the other man. He was much more slender than his partner and his hair, she noted, was almost completely white, his eyes a sparkling green. Murphy, she guessed, which meant that the heavier man must be Korsak. "I'm so sorry, you caught me in a moment of rumination. Not something that I am prone to, for sure, but..." she shrugged helplessly, "I'm afraid I am rather tired today."
"No problem," the man she guessed to be Korsak said, stepping closer. "It's my understanding that you don't officially start work until Monday anyway... it's only Friday now. You are welcome to daydream to your heart's content." Those well used lines were in full force once more, and Maura smiled back, wondering how she could ever have thought him to be a nasty man.
"Yes, well... I just wanted to get situated with the staff and the facilities before I get... what is the expression? Thrown into the shallow end?"
"Deep end," the man corrected instantly, smiling still but not, Maura noted with some surprise, with any condescension or irritability visible. It was as though her mistake was one anyone could make, and did make with regularity.
"Deep end," she repeated instantly. "That does make more sense, actually. Throwing someone into the shallow end is considered very dangerous, due to the danger of hitting the bottom and becoming para or even quadriplegic."
"Right," the man she assumed to be Korsak said with a small laugh of pure amusement, though she did not sense that said amusement was directed at her. She stared at him in surprise. "Well, I'm Vince Korsak, this is my partner, Fred Murphy and... well, we were wondering if you might want to go get some lunch together. Get to know each other."
"You seem like a very interesting, intelligent and entertaining young lady," Murphy said, speaking for the first time and stepping closer also. Maura turned her gaze on him, her mouth slightly agape as she looked at his smile. He reminded her of Father Christmas, truth be known. "We'd very much like the opportunity to get to know you... if that's alright, of course."
"If it's..." Maura stood up abruptly, almost sending a stack of paper flying to the floor. She rescued it with a quick movement, and looked at the two men sheepishly, neither of whom had lost their friendly smiles. "Yes. Yes, I think that would be fantastic. I'm Maura, by the way."
"Vince," Korsak said, and beckoned her forward, holding the door open.
"Fred," Murphy offered, sweeping his hand forward in an 'after you' gesture.
Maura looked at both of them and smiled. She was going to do well in Boston, she thought.
Yes. She was going to be just fine.
END CHAPTER NINE
Thoughts? Don't be shy, I am grateful for each and every review, even if you can only leave a short one. Thank you all for continuing to read my story also. :-)
Love to all, Katie xoxo
