So I thought I'd bring in a little bit of Jane this chapter. :)
Chapter 11
She's sixteen again and she's walking in the rain after just having had a fight with her girlfriend when she's pulled from behind. And had it not been for the familiar hand gripping her wrist, she would have fought and she would have flailed.
But she's not.
Because she knows that hand.
And suddenly, it's cupping her cheek and pulling her closer and she's met by a kiss of epic proportions where the unannounced words of "I'm sorry, I love you, forgive me," float around. And she does. Because there's nothing in this world she wouldn't do for this girl.
Jane got out of her BPD issued Lincoln, her gaze sweeping the scene, taking in everything from the unwanted presence of Darren Crowe to the reporters standing at the sidelines, eagerly awaiting some news like vultures to their prey. She made her way up to the house, eyes and ears attune to everything that was going on when she heard her colleague speak.
"We call Doctor Isles 'Queen of the Dead'," he sniggered as if just having told a joke. Some took notice, scribbling the meagre piece of information on their notepads. The Detective's hackles rose.
"What's that, Crowe?" she demanded, rounding on him.
"Jeez, Rizzoli. Take a midol." He answered back, rolling his eyes at her sudden flash of temper.
Don't let him get to you. He's just looking for a reaction. Maura's words resounded in her ears.
"Captain cleared you?" She smirked knowing that this time she had the upper hand.
"What's it to you, dyke?" He sneered.
"Oh I don't know... I only ask because it's my case."
"Since when?!"
"Since Capt told me I did." She smiled triumphantly. "Where's Frost?"
"Where else? Losing his lunch. Kid shoulda stayed in robbery," he scoffed. "Gives the rest of us a bad name."
Jane shook her head, ducking under the tape as she made her way over to the bushes where Frost was. It hadn't failed to cross her mind what on earth he was in homicide for but despite his inability to look at a body, he was a damn good detective with some fine computer skills. Committed too. And eager to learn. At the end of the day, she couldn't hold that against him. Plus he was her friend. Their history went years back.
"Cut the guy a break. Least he didn't trip over a body without knowing it was lying there in broad daylight," she shot back over her shoulder.
Crowe launched himself at her taking her down. She covered her face to save herself from the blows he aimed at her, hearing a small crack as he made contact with her nose. Blood poured from it. Thinking swiftly, she quickly gained the upper hand as she turned him over, holding him in a deadlock. A few officers had run over by this point but no one dared to step in. Rizzoli could hold her own as far as they were concerned. Pressing down on him hard, he grunted in pain.
"Next time you decide to jump me, I won't hesitate to take your badge. Got it?" She pressed down harder.
"Yes! Ok!"
Releasing him, she brushed herself down and made her way over to Frost.
"You ok?"
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" he asked, grinning at her sudden display of masculinity. She rolled her eyes in response. He handed her his handkerchief to stifle the blood flow. She accepted it silently. "Something I ate," he lied, knowing she would see right through it. Nothing got past Jane.
Changing the topic, "So. Where's the crime scene?" He squirmed uncomfortably for a second before he made his way in the direction of the body, head flicking over his shoulder. Approaching the house, Jane couldn't help but feel a sense of pensiveness and foreboding; she took note of the people who swarmed the scene, cautious glances flicking in her direction. She flexed her hands.
"Your hands hurt?" The question was quiet.
"It's going to rain." Turning towards the officer stationed at the door, her voice was crisp, precise, strong. "Rizzoli victor 825."
He nodded, letting them through. She took in the large hallway and the wooden staircase as she passed through, her gaze landing on Korsak and finally, Maura. She turned her attention back to her ex-partner. "Thought you were on vacation?"
He shrugged noncommittally. "Got bored," he said, "So I cut it short." The brunette scrutinized him, noticing how he kept his gaze on hers despite her daring him to look away because she could see right through him; they had known each other far too long for that bullshit.
"That bad, huh?" She had to give it to the man. Facially, he gave nothing away.
"Worse," he replied, indicating for her to go closer. She made her way over to the blonde who was currently bent over the body lying on the couch. It was a sight to behold all victims. The man's neck had been sliced open, the rest of him tightly bound. She saw the flicker of concern that flitted over the blonde's features before they were carefully schooled; hidden. Her eyes narrowed however as the detective came in for a closer examination, and she stood up abruptly, taking note of the disfigurement on the brunette's face. Jane backed away slightly at her sudden movement.
"Hairline fracture of the nasal bone just above the lateral nasal cartilage," she observed, coming face to face with the brunette. She scrutinized the rest of her face as if to make sure there were no further injuries to take note of. Satisfied, she nodded. "It's not disfiguring. Permanently anyway."
"So...can you fix it?"
The ME gently took the detective's chin in her hand, studying it carefully. "Of course," she replied. "Might hurt a little though."
Jane shrugged. Pain she could take. She watched as Maura brought her hand up to her nose and tried not to sigh at the feel of her hands on her face. It was calming. And far too familiar. The gentleness and compassion that had been there sixteen years ago still existed, only this time it was more reverent. She took note of their position, lips barely centimeters away, lips that she had once-
"Ow! Fuck! A little?! Really?" she deadpanned, bringing her hands to her nose in the process. Maura blinked, not moving from her position so close to Jane.
"You should put some ice on it for the next 24 hours," she murmured, "stop you looking like Mike Tyson." Her fingers skimmed the brunette's nose again, double-checking that her work had been done. She backed away, aware that they'd been standing too close for whatever it was that was between them to come to light at that particular moment given their professional setting and smiled as she put her glove back on. She went back to work as Korsak quickly filled her in. Jane's gaze flitted round the house, landing on a picture of the couple.
"Well to do couple,"she surmised. "Man has obviously been bound and posed. Wife's missing though..." Her eyes fell. "And a teacup." They snapped back up to Korsak who was watching her, guilt having gotten the better of him at this point. "Is he out?" The question was point blank. There was no avoiding it. From the corner of her eye, she could see the ME watching her intently.
"No. He's not. It's just his MO, that's all."
"You didn't think to tell her? Inform her before she got here?" Maura's tone was disbelieving.
"We had no confirmation it was him," he argued. "But from what you've said, it looks like it, right?"
Jane pinched her nose, then winced and removed her hand thinking better of it. "If that son of a bitch is behind bars, how the hell did he do this? How the hell is this even possible!" she gestured.
"It's not. Prison authorities say he's on lockdown. I called them myself." He stepped cautiously towards the brunette. "Anyone could have done this. Any sick perp who had watched the news, read the papers, listened to the radio even. It's obvious. We've got a copy cat."
"Except we didn't release this detail," she said, indicating to the teacup. Silence encompassed the room. "Shit," she whispered. "We've got an apprentice." No one could argue with that. Maura stepped up, not quite invading her space, but not far enough away either.
"Perhaps you should sit this one out." The suggestion had been well-meaning but it was met with fire and ire.
The detective stood resolutely, arms crossing over her chest. "No."
"Jane..."
"No. I won't hear of it, Maura," she said between clenched teeth. Maura found herself suddenly dealing with an impossibly stubborn, strong-willed detective. But if there was one thing she was determined about, it was that she wasn't going to lose the brunette over this.
Frustration took over. "You were his victim! What makes you think you can be objective?! What makes you think you won't play right into his hands?!" she hissed.
The whole room went quiet. Frost and Korsak looked on silently. It was an explosion waiting to happen. No one but Korsak knew what had happened between Jane and Hoyt. Only he had read her witness statement. But despite his involvement, they'd never talked about it. Jane because she didn't want to portray the depths of her vulnerability any further. Korsak because...well...because it was Rizzoli. He had known her since before she was a rookie. She wasn't the type to talk about herself, her feelings. And he accepted that. It was the way some cops dealt.
"You questioning my ability to do my job?" There was warning in her voice. The blonde opened her mouth to reply but was quickly cut off. "I'd think carefully before I answer, Doctor." The barb stung. Jane went on. "You're right though. This is personal. Between me and him. Do you want me to tell you how long I spent in that basement, how much have internally berated myself for not having waited for backup. Or perhaps I should speak only of the intense I felt as he drove those scalpels through my palms twisting them as he did so, how much I screamed and writhed. Or perhaps," she said, leaning in close so that only Maura could hear, "the way he bent down and whispered in my ear almost to the point of cooing, how I was his, the pleasure he took in knowing he had me, that he would forever be the subject of my dreams...which part would you like to hear first?" she sneered.
"Janie..." Korsak's voice protruded her conscious state. It was low. Quiet.
She drew back to look at the blonde. Remorse struck her square in the heart but it was too late to go back now. She couldn't turn back time. Not now. Not sixteen years ago. Tears streamed down the ME's face as images of what Jane described flashed through her head. This was not how she had wanted to broach the issue with the brunette. Not in front of all these people. Not in the face of so much anger and hate for the one man Jane thought had ruined her. Who she thought had left her broken, and weak, and vulnerable. This was not how she had foreseen their first view of each other in as many weeks that they'd been apart as going. Maura shook her head.
"I didn't...I don't..." For all the things she wanted to convey, she couldn't.
"Yeah. I didn't think so either." Her head snapped up locating Frost. "Think you can manage processing the rest of the scene?"
The man before her nodded mutely.
Giving a brisk and brief glance around the room the brunette took in the silence that surrounded them.
"Well? What are you waiting for? Get back to work!" she snarled.
It was enough to send people scurrying. She couldn't be here. Not while they all waited and watched with baited breath for her to fall. So she did the one thing she could do. Turning on her heel, she left.
