Author's Note: Thank you for the wonderful reviews :) Much appreciated! I know this Chapter is pretty short but it sets up the case and the way I have everything else structured, nothing made sense to put with it, but the following Chapter will be up shortly :) Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own the case and any characters currently not within the Rizzoli & Isles enterprise. Otherwise, fair use.

The buzzing sound of her phone vibrating against the hard metal surface surprised Maura, jolting her from her thoughts. Though, rightly so it seemed as she had been thinking about yesterday and the way the rain had caught on Jane's eyelashes and traversed the elastic tendons of her neck. She placed the scalpel in her hand back down onto the tray and pulled her gloves off.

'well that was awful' Maura frowned at the text before replying.

'What happened?' She waited there, checking her email quickly, knowing Jane would likely respond immediately.

A moment later her phone buzzed in her hands. 'parents i.d. alice as clara williams'

Maura glanced over to the girl lying on her autopsy table; the body block gently lifting her chest to give Maura better access, blonde hair splayed in different directions, lips a pale purple hue now that any trace of makeup was removed. She sighed. Clara was a nice Latin name. She averted her attention to her phone and begin typing again. 'I am about to begin her autopsy. Come down?'

She placed the phone back down on the table, knowing Jane would, without question, come down. Pulling new gloves on, Maura went back over to the table, picked her scalpel back up and looked down at the body. The large skull laceration, abrasions, and pattern of lividity already suggested that Clara fell from a great height. However, whether she was pushed or simply fell was another matter entirely.

"Well? Fell, pushed, or placed?" Jane's husky voice floated through the room.

Maura pursed her lips, not bothering to look up. "Jane. I have just begun."

At this point, the Y-incision had been made, breast bone and rib cartilages removed, and Maura had begun to deal with the arduous task of removing the intestines. This was not the part she had enjoyed in the past but these days she found any part of her autopsy fascinating as if it was new to her again. Before, Maura loved the brain. Dissecting, feeling, imaging synapses unable to fire. Now, it was more of a fascination with the heart that no longer beat. The way she could hold it in her hand as if she had all of the power in the world, all of the secrets. Had it ever known devastation? Had it ever known guilt? Had it ever been like her own heart, so full of self-condemnation?

"Maur." Jane whined, lifting herself onto the empty examination table nearest Maura. A move so Jane that Maura needn't have looked up from her work to know the ease with which it was accomplished; arm muscles bulging to accommodate the weight they would carry momentarily.

"Yes?" She did not avert her line of thinking as she answered, knowing what the follow-up question would be already.

"Fell, pushed, or placed?" Maura rolled her eyes, also knowing Jane would sit there and badger until she received an answer.

Maura let go of the organ, placed her scalpel back on the tray and turned toward Jane. "We can eliminate 'placed' simply from the pattern of liver mortis."

Off of Jane's 'English Please' look, Maura continued, "She died in the same position which we found her."

Jane smiled, clearly proud of herself for getting somewhere with all of the whining. "So, fell or pushed?"

Maura rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Jane, I will not know the answer to that question until after I have completed my autopsy." She raised an eyebrow at Jane's pout that was obviously intended to induce Maura to make a guess. She switched the topic to distract from child-like endeavors Jane was so fond of. "Did her parents offer any leads?"

"No. If they had given us anything good, do you think I would be here bothering you?" It was Jane's turn to arch an eyebrow.

"Yes." Maura smirked, albeit with much false bravado. In reality, she simply hoped that Jane would be there bothering her.

Jane's mouth dropped in mock shock.

"You and I both know you would be here unless they handed you the name of the murderer. Even then I'd venture to say you would still make an appearance to celebrate." Maura challenged, willing her true insecurities to stay buried deep in her abdominal cavity.

She watched Jane jump down from her perch with a grin. "So, pushed."

Maura groaned. "I did not say that."

Jane winked and Maura's eyes followed her, watching her walk around the autopsy table to stand on the opposite side and peer down at the girl. "You know, she wanted to be an actress."

"Oh?" Intrigued, Maura turned fully.

"Yeah, apparently she majored in drama and had been in plays since she was five."

Maura looked down at the girl. "The name Clara means 'clear, bright, famous' and was popularized as a feminine name by Saint Clare of Assisi, though wasn't popularized as Clara instead of Clare until the 19th Century."

"Did not know that. How…interesting." Maura could tell by her tone that Jane was only just appeasing her. This was okay with Maura, as appeasing Jane was also something she often did.

"Anyway, you should check to see if she ever played Alice." Maura said, shrugging off the dismissal of what she deemed an interesting fact.

"In the second grade." Jane met her eyes.

"Oh, well, that's certainly a lead." Maura frowned, attempting to understand why Jane thought they had not gotten any leads from the parents.

Jane nodded. "Frost and Frankie are checking on it." Maura shook her head, a grin starting to spread across her pale features. "Just wanted to come bother you."

Maura blushed, knowing Jane really meant that she wanted to come see her. It made her heart flutter, hopeful that things were finally starting to head in the right direction. "See you later?"

Maura was hopeful when Jane winked before making her way to the door.

"Janie, glad I found ya here." Frankie came around the corner, causing Jane to pause in the doorway. "Hey Maura." His head tilted in recognition.

Maura smiled and waved a gloved hand holding a scalpel at him.

"What's up Frankie?" Jane questioned, continuing to block the doorway.

"This just came in. Was told to run it down to ya since Frost and Korsak are still out." Maura watched out of the corner of her eye as Frankie held a plastic evidence bag up.

"What is it?" Jane took the bag from Frankie's hand moved back into the morgue, Frankie in tow.

Maura placed her scalpel down, curiously awaiting the results. She watched as Jane walked over to an empty autopsy table and flicked on the overhead light. Whatever was in the bag had vibrant red coloring and made Maura think of the heart she had nearly begun to remove from the body next to her.

"What the hell is this." Jane murmured, frowning at the paper, and, curiosity getting the better of her, Maura moved over to her side to get a better look. As she looked down, the only thing written on stark white card stock was the word "CHECKMATE" in the vibrant red and in the corner a stamp of a chess pawn; more specifically, the Queen.