CHAPTER TEN

...

Jane hopped downstairs and stole a quick kiss and a danish. "Sorry we got so distracted that breakfast got cold."

Maura poured coffee into a travel mug. "I suppose the distraction made up for it."

"Which is why I have to go home and figure out how I'm going hide these," she pointed accusingly at the small red welts on her neck.

"I made sure they're low enough to hide under the collar of one of your many button-downs," Maura said in defense.

Jane lifted her shirt and shook her head at the evidence all along her body. "Animal," she tsked before moving in for another kiss. "I gotta go. Frost will be all over my Walk of Shame if I go into work like this." She took the travel mug. "Can Jo Friday stay here? She likes you better than she likes me."

Maura scoffed. "She likes the back yard and the birds. Yes, she can stay. Go."

At the door, Jane jammed her feet into her boots and turned. "I meant to read you some of the journal entries."

"Read them to me tonight."

"Okay."

Maura noticed the frown and asked, "What is it?"

"You did it out of order," Jane realized. "That's why I'm all messed up."

"Sorry?"

"Chocolate, flowers, token, dinner, after dinner," she lowered her voice seductively and the blonde laughed. "Where's the token that shows me how much I mean to you?"

Maura innocently wagged her finger towards Jane's body. "Are those not enough tokens?"

Jane pulled back in mock-surprise. "I'm offended at your answer. And oddly turned on."

"Go!" Maura commanded with a laugh. "And call me when you want to go back to the house."

…..

Her apartment was cool and quiet as she stepped inside. She missed the exuberant dog greeting she normally received, but smiled when she pictured Jo Friday in Maura's back yard. Tossing the keys into the nearby bowl, she pulled off her boots and headed straight for the bathroom. She didn't have much time, but she was going to get a shower if it killed her. The sting of the hot water was almost orgasmic and she laughed at the thought. No, not at all orgasmic, she thought, the minor marks on her body reminding her of pleasures that went well beyond a hot shower. She placed her hands on the cool tile and let the rivulets of water run down her back while she marvelled at how right it all felt. The butterflies in her stomach were flutters of happiness, not panic. The tightness in her chest was a welcome embrace, not a constricting fear. She had worried so long about what would happen if they ever took the next step. In 12 short hours, Jane's only worry was what would have happened if they hadn't.

The water started to cool and she knew time was short. Quickly throwing on a bra and underwear, she pulled out a suit and T-shirt and soon realized Maura was right - only a collar would cover bodily evidence from curious eyes. Glancing at her watch, she threw on the shirt and the blazer, and tried to hop into the kitchen while pulling up her pants. She saw her reflection in the window and cursed. My hair. Back into the bathroom she went and roughly pulled a brush through her mane. She took one last look and debated about doing up one more button. Fuck it, she thought. Let them talk.

She had one more gulp of her coffee before rinsing out the mug. Patting her pockets, she did her usual check: gun, badge, handcuffs, keys. It was when she turned to head for the door that she saw it. Sitting precariously on top of an apple was a chess piece. No note, just a queen made out of marble. She recognized it immediately; it was a piece from Maura's chess set. Puzzled, she held it in her hand, feeling the weight and coolness of the stone. What does it mean, she wondered. I'm her queen? She shook her head. That can't be it. Why would she give me a piece from her own set? Does she want me to play with her? Jane's inner 12-year old couldn't help but snort. Tossing it lightly in the air, she squeezed it and put it in her pocket, a mystery to solve another time.

…..

"Do you live here?" Jane asked her young partner.

He glanced up from his computer and tilted his chin towards her desk. "You should ask Dr. Isles the same thing."

Jane pulled out the note that was underneath the baked good.

You 'forgot' this when you left. I promise, you won't even taste the kale.

"How does she get here so fast?" Jane asked incredulously. "Seriously, I just left her hou-" She froze in mid-sentence.

Frost clapped his hands once and made double fists. "Yes!"

"Whatever," she said, though she couldn't hide the smile.

"Yeah," he repeated, "whatever." He made a show of rubbing his neck.

"Oh, God," she groaned and lowered her forehead to her desk.

"Are you kidding me?" Frost asked. "If all that," he pointed at her throat, "was me and it was because of Dr. Isles, I'd be running through the station yelling 'Fuck all y'all!'"

The two burst out laughing and Jane let a snort escape. "Stop! Just… stop." She inhaled a deep breath and said, "Thanks, partner."

Wiping a tear from his eye, he asked, "Thanks for what?"

"Just, I dunno, just for being so patient about the whole thing and not giving me a hard time while I figured things out."

"No problem. But I can give you a hard time now, right?"

She sighed. "I expect nothing less." Touching her neck, she asked, "Is it really noticeable?"

"Nah, not really," he admitted. "But you might want to do up another button, if you're worried about people saying shit." She didn't move and he nodded his approval. "Damn right. Now eat your muffin." Her face went beet red and he laughed again. "That thing on your desk. And you call me a perv!"

…..

"You've been staring at that thing for the last half hour," Frost said. "What is it?"

Jane was slumped forward with her chin in one hand and the phone in the other. "I've also been on hold with the RMV for the last half hour. It's a chess piece."

Frost nodded. "The queen. I get that. What I don't get is, what's it mean?"

"Maura gave it to me."

"No note this time? You checked underneath?"

"Frost, the base is the size of a quarter. She's not gonna write the world's tiniest note and tape it to the bottom of a chess piece." She held his gaze for a full 10 seconds before lifting the piece and checking. She showed him the bottom.

He held up his hands. "Hey, didn't hurt to check, did it?"

"What else have you been doing besides looking at me looking at a chess piece?"

"I'm on the same train of thought you are - checking to see if there were street cameras anywhere close to the vic's house that might have caught something in the last week."

"Any luck?"

"There's one at the very end of her street. Gives a decent view of her house. Good thing is, it's an open-ended street, so only two ways in or out. And most of the time, if someone parks on the street, when they get back in the car, they normally drive in that direction."

"So even if they didn't pass the camera pulling up to her house, they'll pass it driving away. Good thinking, Frost."

"By the time you get through to someone, I might have some numbers to pass along."

"Yeah, no kidding. I just want to know if William Kowalski's ever had a car registered under his name. You'd think I was trying to get playoff tickets." She grabbed the chess piece and sat back. "I don't get it."

"The long wait or the queen?" Frost asked.

Before she had a chance to answer, someone finally picked up. "Registry of Motor Vehicles."

After another 30 minutes, Jane hung up and looked at her note pad. "Do we have access to the RMV database? Because she gave me almost the exact same information Korsak got when he did his background check."

"Pretty much," he told her. "Except they can go farther back in the registry. We can only access the current vehicle and the one before that. She gave you nothing?"

"Not exactly," she said with a broad grin. "I wish I could have fast-forwarded to the last five minutes of that conversation." She held up her notes. "William Kowalski has never owned a vehicle."

"Which we already knew."

"Yes, but Julia Kowalski has owned several in her life. A 1977 Ford Granada was three cars ago."

Frost nodded. "Which is why it wouldn't have come up in our search."

"Exactly. And how much do you want to bet Mr. Kowalski is driving that around unregistered?"

"Oh, no," Frost waved his hands. "I've learned my lesson when it comes to taking bets with you around." He held out his hand for the piece of paper. "Give me the numbers and I'll keep my eye out for it. I heard you might want to go back to the house and see what you missed."

Her eyes narrowed. "Where did you hear that?"

"Jensen came up yesterday to drop off some photos of the place now that it's clean. Said it made Dr. Isles' day when she mentioned she might want to go back in and he showed her the photos. And as we've seen today, what Dr. Isles wants is often what Detective Rizzoli wants."

"You. Are. An. Asshole." She pointed her finger at him, punctuating every word, but her stern voice didn't stop him from giggling like a 5-year old. Standing, she grabbed her jacket. "Whatever. I've got things to do."

"And someone to do them with," Frost choked out.

She fought the smile that threatened to spread across her face. "Asshole."

…..

"You're right," she said as she entered the office. "That muffin didn't taste like kale at all."

Maura tilted her head to the side. "Remind me to talk to Detective Frost about current euphemisms."

Jane sauntered in and dropped into the nearest chair. "Hey," she declared, patting the sides, "I can almost stand this one!"

"Very funny. Were you here on a mission or just to criticize my furniture?"

She adjusted her position and hung a leg over the armrest. "I wondered if you were free to go check the house? Or are you elbows deep in a case?"

"I'm just signing off on some paperwork," Maura replied, "but I can certainly make the time."

"Great," she said, standing. "Frost is working on some video footage to see if we can catch this guy on a street camera. He'll expedite a warrant if we get a match on the plates."

"Give me two seconds and I'll be ready to go." She signed off on her last report and straightened her desk. Papers were neatly filed in the drawer and the pen carefully capped before finding a home in a wire cup. With everything to her liking, she stood and collected her purse. When she saw Jane's amused grin, she asked, "What?"

"Nothing," the brunette smiled. "You ready?"

"Yes."

"You're going in your Louboutins?"

Maura's eyes widened in delight. "How did you know they were Louboutins?"

Jane held the door open and leaned into the blonde. "Have I ever told you how amazing your legs look in those heels?" Fortunately, her reflexes were quick enough to catch Maura's slight stumble. As if it never happened, she said, "Besides, they have red soles. I do pay attention to some of the things you say to me, you know."

Maura covered her fluster by handing Jane the keys. "Would you like to drive today?"

Now it was Jane's eyes that danced. "The Mercedes?"

"The Prius."

"Oh."

…..