Chapter 9

Jane and Maura decided to drive to the crime scene together. Maura noted that about half the time they drove separately and half the time they drove together. She had finally figured out that what seemed to determine together or separate had mostly to do with the time of day the initial call was received. The later into the night it got the more likely they would drive together.

Usually late night calls got a quick on scene assessment and the follow-up started the next day. But, everything was on a case by case basis. If either Jane or Maura needed to head in an opposite direction Jane would usually ride along with Frost and let Maura take the car either home or to the station. Neither knew what to expect for tonight's call but they would work it out.

As they arrived on scene Maura headed over immediately to the body. That was her primary responsibility at a crime scene. Jane handled the rest. She would do a quick review of the location and of any crowd gathering to watch. She was looking for witnesses, the possibility of street or business surveillance and as she told Maura once, sometimes the guilty party liked to hang out and watch the cops work. So she always studied the faces in the crowd before heading to the body.

Maura didn't mind the separation. This allowed her the chance to do an initial assessment without Jane or Frost standing right over her asking questions or trying to get her to give answers she wouldn't give without an autopsy. It never failed, even after all the years in the field together, each detective would still try to get Maura to venture a guess. And Maura didn't guess. It wasn't in her nature.

So, she did the most she could with the three to five minutes she would always have as Frost and Jane discussed the site and the surrounding area before starting to hover. For tonight's case, Maura carefully approached the body that was being guarded by a patrol officer. Maura did register that she was in an alleyway in the warehouse district but that had more to do with gauging the available lighting than trying to assess a crime scene.

She squatted down and looked at the body for the first time. Adult male. Appeared to be in his mid to late 40s. Looked to be about 5'11'' roughly 210 pounds. He was wearing dress pants with a casual dress shoe. Button down long sleeve shirt and a heavy leather jacket. He had what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the back. There was evidence of blood loss but there was not a significant pool of blood underneath him. There certainly was not enough blood to suggest that the man was shot in this particular location.

Due to the heavy leather jacket, Maura's assessment of the entry wound was limited. She would not be able to examine it until she was back in the lab. Maura did a quick assessment of his extremities and did not find any other visible signs of injury. Nor was there an exit wound for the gunshot.

She carefully lifted the victim's hand to see if there were signs of injury or struggle. She noted that the man's nails were professionally manicured and that none appeared to be damaged or wounded. It also didn't appear that there was any tissue or debris under his fingernails but she would need to conduct a full autopsy to make any final conclusion.

She was just getting done with her initial assessment when she heard Jane and Frost approach. They were discussing the overall scene.

"No rooftop CCTV systems. No traffic cameras on either cross street. If we got lucky with any witness at all it will be a prostitute or a homeless person." This was coming from Jane. "Frost, what do we know?" Jane asked as she leaned down to get a look at the victim.

"Victim is…"Frost started but was cut off by Jane.

"Patrick Flynn." Jane finished his sentence.

"You know him?" Frost asked.

"Arrested him several times during my stretch in Vice and Narcotics. He's connected. O'Donnell family. Mid-level in the family. Fences stolen goods mostly. Runs drugs still on occasion."

Frost held up his iPad and displayed it to Jane. He had pulled up Flynn's records and photos. "With Flynn's ties to the O'Donnell family Jane," he asked, "should we notify Organized Crime about this?"

Jane nodded, "Yes. We can include them on the distribution list for our initial reports and see if they have any information. Maybe we will get lucky with a motive."

Frost hit a few buttons on the iPad and then closed it. He looked down at the body and looked around the scene. He looked up at Jane, "I don't think he was shot here. I think this is a dump site."

Jane nodded and smiled. It was an astute observation by Frost. "Run the warehouse. Let's see who owns the property." If this was a dump site maybe the ownership of the warehouse would give them some insight into a motive.

Maura watched Jane as she studied Frost as closely as she studied the crime scene. She couldn't help but smile. Frost had really honed his detective skills over the last few years and Maura could tell it made Jane proud. Also, Maura was impressed that he had gotten over throwing up at crime scenes. She took pride in that part knowing she had helped him early on with some immersion therapy. It clearly had helped because Maura hadn't seen him get sick at a crime scene in over a year. She knew the rest of the force had stopped teasing him about it and had come to see that he was a good detective as well.

Maura stood up and turned her attention to the two detectives. "I would say I agree with Barry's assessment. This does appear to be a dump location. There is insufficient blood pooled around the body for this to be where the shooting took place."

Jane nodded. "Single GSW?"

"It appears to be. There are no other visible wounds," Maura bent down into her bag to remove her thermometer to check the liver temp.

Jane again squatted down and looked at the body. In a soft whisper mostly to herself she thought out loud. "Shot in the back. You either had no idea what hit you or you saw it coming but couldn't get away. Which one was it Flynn?" Jane leaned in over the body to gauge the size of the entrance wound. "Looks like a .45," she said. She was subtly trying to get Maura to guess at the caliber.

"I won't be able to confirm caliber until I do an autopsy. There is not an exit wound so I will be able to get a bullet for ballistics comparisons." She finished with the body temperature and looked up at Jane. "Given the stage of rigor and his liver temperature and taking into account tonight's temperature I would estimate he has been died about three to four hours. But the colder temperatures are making that hard to gauge with any certainty."

"Until you get him to the lab," Jane added with a smile. "I know the drill Doc. But the estimate will start to help us." Jane looked at her watch. Three to four hours ago would put time of death between 4 and 5 pm. She turned her attention back to Frost. "Any family?"

Frost scrolled through the information he pulled up on the iPad. "He is not married and doesn't appear to have any kids. There's nothing here about next of kin."

"Feel like knocking on O'Donnell's door? I'm sure he would know a next of kin for us to notify," Jane asked with a smile. Sometimes, when it came to Irish mob families, Jane and Frost got their best information at the initial notification. If there was no immediate family on record they could go to the family head to ask who needed to be informed. A family's reaction, or lack of reaction, always helped paint of picture if it was a mob hit or something unrelated.

"I'm up for a drive. I mean we do need to find out a next of kin," Frost said with a playful smile.

Jane turned to Maura and pulled out the car keys. "I need to try to handle notification tonight. I shouldn't be too late and Frost can drop me off."

Maura nodded and took the keys. She would ensure the body was taken care of and secure in the morgue but she wouldn't start the autopsy until the morning. "Be careful." She watched as Jane and Frost headed to Frost's car and drove off.

R&I

About ten minutes after Jane left, Maura signed off on the paperwork to transport the body to the morgue and she was done for the night. She was just pulling into her driveway when her cell phone rang. She saw the caller ID before she answered the call.

"Hello Mother," Maura greeted.

"Darling, I'm sorry to call so late," Constance offered.

"That's quite alright. I'm actually just getting home. Jane and I were called to a scene. Was there something that you needed?"

"I have that phone number you were looking for of the caterer we used for the last Isles Foundation gala event. I was going to call yesterday with it but it slipped my mind so I thought I'd better call now since I remembered I promised it for you."

Giving everything that had happened earlier today she wasn't sure she would even need the number anymore. But she wasn't ready to tell her mother that. Maura put the car in park and checked her bag for a pen and something to write on. She had a pen but no paper so she leaned over and opened the glove box to see if Jane had any paper in there. As soon as she opened the glove box an envelope fell out with some of the contents spilling onto the floorboard. Maura went to pick up the contents when she realized what they were.

She picked up the envelope and pulled out all of the newspaper articles. She flipped through all of the articles and couldn't understand what they were doing in an envelope in the glove box of Jane's car. She had completely forgotten that her mother was still on the phone until she heard her mother's voice again.

"Maura? Darling are you still there? Hello?"

"I'm still here Mother, sorry. I….could you just email me the number?"

Constance picked up on the distracted tone to Maura's voice. "Is everything alright?"

Maura had pulled out the article that covered their engagement and had also seen that there was writing on the back. She flipped it over and read the words from her biological father. She couldn't believe what she was reading.

"Maura?"

She stared at the words. She couldn't believe it. What gave him any right to speak or threaten Jane in such a manner? And then she thought of Jane. This must have just been so hurtful for her to see and read. Maura couldn't understand why Jane hadn't told her anything about it.

"Maura? Darling is everything alright?"

Again Maura had forgotten her mother was on the phone. "Mother, I'm sorry. I have to go. Something's come up." She disconnected the call before her mother had any chance of asking another question. Maura gathered up all of the articles and carried them and the envelope into the house. She still didn't know what to make of it all.

R&I

The stop at the O'Donnell residence had proven to be marginally informative. It didn't appear as if O'Donnell knew Flynn had been killed. He seemed genuinely surprised when Jane explained why they were there. He didn't offer up any insight on what he thought may have happened but that in and of itself was very telling to Jane. Had it been a sanctioned hit O'Donnell would have tried to push the blame off on someone in an attempt to throw the investigation off track. When he didn't do that it told both Frost and Jane that it was unlikely that O'Donnell was behind Flynn's death.

"We can run the warehouse records in the morning and see if there is a reason the body was dumped in that alley. Also, we need to get his cell phone records. I'll reach out to OC and see if they knew what Flynn was into for the family. Stolen goods for sure. I thought he moved away from drugs but who knows."

Frost was driving Jane back to her house when Jane's cell phone rang. She looked down and instantly recognized the number. Frost looked over and was immediately alarmed as Jane had turned several shades paler. Before he could say anything she answered the call.

"What do you need?" There was anxiousness to her tone. Panic almost.

Frost couldn't hear the caller's voice or make out what was being said.

"Hello?" Jane listened intently. "Hello?"

Jane pulled the phone from her ear and held it out in front of her checking the screen to see if she had a signal. She turned to look at Frost and there was a level of panic on her face he didn't understand. He assumed the call just got disconnected.

"Hello?" she tried again in desperation. "Damn it!"

She disconnected the call and turned to look at Frost. She hadn't wanted to involve anyone else but she no longer had a choice. She needed Frost's help.

"Frost," she started with a plea to her voice that surprised him.

"Where are we going?" was all he asked as he cut her off.

"I….I don't know. Can you track a cellphone GPS signal?"

Frost pulled the car over and looked at Jane. "What's going on?"

She gave the only answer that was needed. "Frankie."

In two seconds Frost was pulling out his iPad and asking Jane information about the cellphone and the account information. She spit it out to him and he went to work. He was able to ping a signal to the phone off of a couple of cellphone towers and within a few minutes he had a location.

"Lights and sirens or roll silent?"

"Lights and siren," she said. She needed to get to her brother.

R&I

Frost made excellent time as he weaved the squad car through the streets of Boston. About a block from what would be their final destination he silenced the siren and turned off the flashing light. Frost had covered a lot of ground in a short time but to Jane it felt like they were crawling. She needed to find her brother. It worried her that he had managed to dial the phone but was unable to speak. That, more than the call itself, was the source of Jane's concern.

They pulled up to the location Frost had traced. It looked like an abandoned warehouse. She looked over at Frost not knowing exactly what to say or how to explain anything. "You can stay here," she started but Frost cut her off again by opening his car door.

He gave a look like he was offended she had even mentioned him staying behind. "Lead the way. I have your back." As far as he was concerned nothing more needed to be said.

Taking comfort in Frost's support Jane stopped long enough to do two things. She pulled out her cellphone and called in for backup. She told dispatch she and Frost were checking out a possible B&E and responding units should proceed with caution once on site. She then leaned into the car and hit the trunk button.

Frost smiled and followed. They both pulled out Kevlar vests and put them on. Now they were ready to enter the warehouse.

Jane pulled her gun and Frost followed her lead pulling his. They advanced on the building slowly. The closer they got to the building the more it appeared to be rundown and abandoned. There were no lights on anywhere inside that Jane could tell. The only light source was coming from street lights. Jane doubted if the building had power to it. They didn't hear anything nor did they see anything immediately.

They found an open door and slowly entered. Jane took point with her gun out and ready. Frost followed close behind but was always mindful of what might present itself behind them. Slowly they made their way across the warehouse looking for any signs of life. Their eyes were adjusting to the darkness making it easier to see but to that point there wasn't much to look at.

And then they heard it. Muffled sounds at first but as they moved closer they both made out the sounds of someone getting hit. Repeatedly. Jane had to fight a flood of fresh panic as she hoped it wasn't Frankie that was getting worked over. The noises and the distress level of the person getting roughed up made them quicken their advance.

They got to an entryway where they were able to look into a room to see the source of the muffled moans. Quickly they assessed the situation. There were four men standing close to a man who appeared to be tied to a chair. One of the men took that moment to land a right jab across the jaw of the man in the chair. Another quick look around and they saw another figure lying on the ground. That figure didn't appear to be moving.

Jane looked around again and still only saw four men standing. She couldn't tell if Frankie was the one in the chair getting beat up or maybe he was the one laying on the ground. It was possible he was neither. Jane just didn't know. She turned to look at Frost. Backup was coming but she just couldn't wait when she didn't know if Frankie was alright.

Turning her attention to Frost she used her eyes to explain she was going in hoping he would understand her inability to wait for the backup. Frost just nodded. He was ready. They did a mental count to three and burst into the room.

"Boston Police! Everyone hands up!" Frost and Jane both seemed to holler that at the same time.

Their unexpected presence seemed to shock the men standing around. It at least delayed their reactions and only two of the four men even attempted to move.

"Don't even think about it," Frost warned as one of the guys appeared to shift a hand toward his side. "Make another flinch towards your gun and I will fire." Frost's tone was calm and confident. The man didn't flinch.

"All of you, down on your knees," commanded Jane. The adrenaline was pumping but her voice and hands were steady. She wanted to secure the four men so she could look at both the man on the ground and the man tied to the chair. She still couldn't tell if either was Frankie.

Two of the men seemed willing to surrender and were starting to lower themselves to their knees. The other two stood firm and didn't appear as if they were going to cooperate.

Jane repeated her command. "Down on your knees!" the whole time training her gun on them ready for anything.

Or she thought she was ready for anything. At least until she heard more noise. And the sound of feet approaching. Part of her expected to see the backup she requested. But as she looked up and across the room it wasn't Boston police she saw approaching, it was more men. And they had guns drawn.

"Frost!" Jane shouted as a warning before trying to reposition herself to a better tactical advantage.

There were four more men approaching. Two of them had guns out and a second before they could open fire both Frost and Jane reacted and shot them. The original four men Jane and Frost were trying to secure now all hit the deck in an attempt to avoid being shot.

The other two men that were approaching from across the room returned fire at both Jane and Frost but they missed their targets. Frost and Jane again took shots and Jane hit her guy but Frost's man dropped down at the last second. But Jane trained her gun on him and as he was about to recover from dropping to the ground she warned him.

"Do it and I will shoot you! Drop the gun."

The man looked over. She had him. He dropped the gun.

Jane heard more noise and people approaching. This time she was pretty sure it was their requested backup. She looked over at Frost to make sure he was ok and she was about to turn her attention to the man in the chair when a shot rang out. It came from behind Jane which startled her even more since she had just checked and there hadn't been anyone behind her.

But the bullet wasn't headed towards her. Or Frost. It was headed for, and hit, one of the original four men Jane had moved on. The man had reached for his gun and was taking aim at Frost when the bullet put him down.

Both Frost and Jane turned their guns on the man standing in the doorway. "Drop it," Frost hollered. They had no clue who this guy was supposed to be.

The man eased up on his gun but didn't drop it. "Don't fire. FBI. Do not fire."

FBI?

Jane and Frost didn't lower their guns but they did just look at the man. Four Boston PD officers entered the room and helped secure the men on the floor. Jane recovered from her shock quickly and turned her attention to her original mission. Her brother. Explanations could come later.

She ran over to the man in the chair and was relieved to see he was alive and that it wasn't Frankie. But then she remembered the other man lying on the ground. She turned to him and the momentary relief she felt was immediately taken from her. The man on the ground was Frankie.

Jane dropped to her knees and tried to assess his condition. She leaned in and checked for a pulse. He was alive. He was breathing.

"Frost! Get a bus here. NOW!"

She turned back to Frankie. He was roughed up pretty good. She started to check over his extremities but didn't see any signs of gunshot wounds or stabs wounds. He didn't appear to be bleeding from anywhere. She checked his pulse again and was marginally reassured at how strong it felt.

"Come on Frankie. Open your eyes." She pleaded. "Please open your eyes."

But he was out cold. And all Jane could do was wait for the EMTs. She felt utterly helpless.