Author's note: You guys have no idea how much those reviews and comments mean to me. I write fanfiction because I get an idea that I then want to see out into practice. But most of all I write because I like to give people something to look forward to at the end of a long day, or at the start of one. Something that makes them smile. That makes me smile. So thank you for your time and your comments. They are appreciated more than you know.
Chapter 12
"…What if I told you that's it's just a front, to hide the insecurities I have. What if I told you that I'm not as strong, as I like to make believe I am…"
The music playing in the cab irritated Jane but the screen prevented her from asking the driver to change it. Instead she looked out of the window at Boston flying by outside. It was a beautiful night. It had rained earlier that day and the streets were still wet, reflecting the light from the streetlamps as if they were rivers. She placed her fingers against the glass, longing to be part of the world outside while she was trapped into this position. When the car came to a sudden halt she realised she had arrived at the restaurant where she was supposed to meet Sarah. Jane quickly paid the driver and then got out of the car. The second her shoes made contact with the pavement she felt eyes on her. She was being watched.
"Jane?" an unfamiliar woman's voice asked and she turned her head to find Sarah standing not far from the restaurant's door. She looked exactly like the picture Jane had seen, even down to the make-up she wore. If she was nervous about any of this Sarah didn't show it, and she unexpectedly closed the distance between them before wrapping her arms around Jane. Jane froze but relaxed when she felt Sarah's lips close to her ear. "We're supposed to be cousins, remember?"
Jane's arms slid around Sarah's waist and she returned the hook and when they parted she smiled, her dark eyes suddenly glistening. "It's good to see you."
"It's good you to see you too," Sarah said and her hand lingered on Jane's arm in a way that felt almost intrusive to Jane and she reminded herself they were supposed to be family. "Are you ready?"
"Definitely," Jane lied and readjusted her dress. "What do you want me to do?"
"Just stay with me. Let me do the talking for now. I'll introduce you to Lindsey and some of the other girls. It's important that we draw some attention to you but that shouldn't be a problem," Sarah said as she looked at Jane from head to toe, clearly impressed by what she saw. "You're gorgeous."
Jane's face flushed red and she smiled nervously. She wasn't used to compliments. She rarely got them and when she did she didn't know what to do with them. She linked her arm with Sarah's and produced a smile as the other woman led her into the restaurant. Jane's senses immediately kicked in the second they crossed the threshold. The restaurant was dimly lit, with a high ceiling adorned with crystal chandeliers. Round tables had been strategically placed around the oval room. Each table had enough seats for six to eight people. A piano played softly in the background. Not all the seats were taken but as Jane looked around she guessed about two thirds of the restaurant was full. It didn't take her long to recognise some of the other escorts. Young, attractive women sitting with multiple older men were difficult to miss. She saw the odd young man sitting a little too close to men whose wedding rings were clearly visible. An uneasy feeling crept up on her.
"Mademoiselle?"
Jane turned to find a waiter standing at her right, holding a tray with champagne glasses. She took a glass and smiled. Their gazes briefly locked and she raised her glass slightly before giving a friendly yet polite nod. "Merci."
"There's Lindsey," Sarah said softly and gestured towards one of the round tables in the middle of the restaurant. Jane saw the blonde haired woman whose picture she'd seen earlier that day. Lindsey seemed to be engaged in an animated conversation with a man in his late forties sitting beside her. Sarah gave a gentle tug at Jane's arm, signalling her to follow. "She's expecting us."
When they reached the table, Lindsey's conversation immediately ended and she looked up. She had surprisingly kind blue eyes, Jane observed. She had to be in her early fifties but there wasn't a sign of wrinkles anywhere. She suspected Lindsey wasn't unfamiliar with Botox and when she noticed the smile gracing the older woman's lips her suspicions were confirmed. She spoke with a slight accent but Jane couldn't determine where she was originally from.
"Sarah, I was just telling Aidan about you," Lindsey said and pointed at the man sitting next to her. When Jane briefly glanced at him she found him looking back at her with an almost hungry look in his eyes. She didn't look away and instead lifted up her chin, allowing a hint of arrogance to slide into her features. A smile tugged at her cheeks and when he answered her smile she casually looked away. Her eyes then found those of Lindsey and she saw the older woman inspecting her with great interest.
"Lindsey," Sarah smiled and pointed at Jane. "This is my cousin Jane. She's the one I told you about, remember?" She left a pause, allowing Lindsey to rake her memory and the older woman slowly nodded. "She's new in town and looking for a job." The way she said it left little doubt in anyone's mind what it was she referring to and the man sitting next to Lindsey leant in and whispered something in her ear that caused her to smile.
"Have a seat," Lindsey offered after a few seconds that seemed to feel like an eternity and Jane slipped into the empty seat beside the older woman. She readjusted her dress and crossed her feet, just like she had seen Maura do in the past. She carefully put her champagne glass down and folded her hands in her lap. When she looked up Lindsey was looking at her.
"Tell me about yourself, Jane…"
~()~
Maura paced around her kitchen. A half empty glass of wine stood on the kitchen counter. Her mind was restless. She couldn't find the peace she normally enjoyed at home. She'd tried meditation but she couldn't force the thought of Jane out of her mind. Angela's suggestion that she was undercover haunted her. Could it be true? Could it be possible that Jane had walked into a dangerous situation without telling anyone what it was she was doing? Maura's eyes snapped up, startled by the thought that Jane could get hurt.
After several more minutes of aimlessly wandering around her empty house, Maura finally reached for her cell phone. She had tried calling Jane's number but it went straight to voicemail. Her landline reached the machine and she had already left six messages, each one more desperate than the one before. She scrolled through her contacts until she found the one she knew would be able to help her and dialled it.
"Hello?"
"Detective Frost?" Maura tried to hide the relief that he had answered.
"Doctor Isles?" He sounded surprised. "Is there… is there a body? Did I miss something?"
Maura shook her head although there was nobody here to see her. "No, there's no body." She chewed the inside of her cheek. Other than at work and the occasional drink, she and Frost didn't really talk much. She considered him a friend because she knew he would be there if she ever needed help but they had never really spoken about anything remotely personal. "Do you have the home address for Lieutenant Cavanaugh?"
"I can find out for you," Frost answered. "May I ask why you need it?"
"You may but I'm afraid I can't answer that," Maura answered and silently hoped he wouldn't ask any questions. To add to her deception she asked a second question. "You haven't heard from Jane by any chance, have you? I've tried calling her but I keep getting her voice mail."
"I tried calling her a couple of times but ended up leaving a message," Frost replied. "I'm not too surprised though. She's…" He paused, as if he suddenly realised Maura didn't know what Jane had been like over the past year. She didn't know about the lack of sleep, the turning up late for work and the ignoring phone calls. Now that Maura was back Jane had changed but he hadn't forgotten. "She gets like this sometimes."
"Oh," Maura's eyes darted around the room and came to a rest on Bass, who had found his favourite spot on the rug in the living room. "I see." She swallowed, suddenly very much aware of the uncomfortable feeling settling in her stomach. "Well, thank you for your help, detective Frost. You can text me the Lieutenant's address."
"Of course," Frost answered. "Good night, doctor."
"Good night, detective."
She hung up and held on to her phone until Frost's text message arrived. She picked up her keys and bag and stepped out of the door. As she locked it behind her she felt the cool evening wind pulling at her hair and she glanced up. It was a beautiful clear night. It had rained earlier and the scent still lingered in the air. With a sigh Maura walked across her drive and got into her car. She had to do this, for her own feelings and for Jane.
~()~
Jane was on her second glass of wine and the conversation at the table had changed from her personal background to Aidan's business. She feigned her interest whilst letting her eyes ghost around the room. She had noticed one or two girls leave with a man but most of them were still sitting in their seats. Hands rested on arms, or a little more daringly on a knee. The girls were all quite pretty and attractive and most couldn't be older than mid-thirties. As she sipped from her wine she looked back at Lindsey, who was still watching her with great interest.
"Do you like what you see?" Lindsey asked unexpectedly, leaving the actually meaning of that question unsaid.
Jane put her glass down and leant a little across the table, allowing the others a short glimpse of cleavage. She smiled flirtatiously as she casually pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Intense brown eyes found blue. "Very much so."
Her stomach turned. Saying that she hated being here was an understatement.
Lindsey leant in. Surprisingly soft fingers brushed across Jane's hand. "Are you free tomorrow night?"
"I am," she answered with a deep husky voice.
"Wonderful," Lindsey answered. "I'll provide you with the details later."
She'd been hired. Jane managed to mask her surprise by another smile and in her chest her heart skipped a beat. Her mother would never believe that she, tomboy Jane Rizzoli, had managed to woo a madam and a high end business guy into believing that she was a sophisticated call girl. She'd worn her dress with pride and smiled at exactly the right moments. She had flirted with Aidan without being too obvious and she had flirted with Lindsey just to add to her façade. Everything about this was against her nature but somehow it had been so easy. As she reached for her wineglass she held Lindsey's gaze a little longer before breaking the eye contact.
"Would you excuse me, please?" she said after several more minutes. She reached for her clutch bag and let her eyes dance across the faces of all of those sitting at the table with her. "I think I am just going to powder my nose."
She stood up and walked across the restaurant. Throughout the evening she had watched most of the girls walk towards the ladies room several times and she found it without looking. When she pushed against the door and stepped inside she found two girls standing by the sink. Their conversation fell silent when Jane walked in and the three of them silently stared at each other. The girls were a few years younger than Jane. Both had platinum blonde hair and wore short cocktail dresses.
"You must be the new girl Lindsey's been talking about," said the girl on the right. "Sarah was really trying to sell you to her."
Jane's eyes narrowed. She wasn't sure whether the girls were being curious or mean so she withheld an answer.
"Now I can see why," the other girl added. "You're stunning."
Okay, so they're being friendly, Jane thought and she smiled as she put her bag down and leant casually against the wall. "I've got nothing on you thought," she said. "You're young, pretty…" She let her eyes trail over their two slender frames. "And you've got legs that have no end."
"Men don't care about legs, darling," the girl who'd spoken first said. "They just care about what you can do with them." She stepped towards Jane and extended her hand. "I'm Katie and this is Leila."
"Jane," Jane answered as she shook Katie's hand. She glanced in the mirror before opening her bag. She took out her lipstick and reapplied a layer. She used the looking glass to observe the other girls. "So how long have you been working for Lindsey?"
"A year, maybe more," Katie answered. She ran her fingers through her curly hair. "She's good. One of the best ones out there."
"Yeah?" Jane asked and her eyes lingered on Leila. She seemed a little held back. Now that Katie mentioned Lindsey she didn't speak and averted her eyes when Jane tried to hold her gaze. Her cop instinct kicked in immediately. Clearly not everybody seemed to think so highly of Lindsey. She made a mental note to try and talk to Leila alone if she got the chance but for now she just put her lipstick back in her bag, sprinkled some more perfume in her neck and washed her hands.
"Well, I guess I'd better go back," she smiled. "Don't wanna leave them waiting."
Katie grinned. "That's the fun part, Jane. Leave them waiting just long enough to drive them near enough insane and then give them what they need but not quite enough to satisfy them completely." She reached for Leila's hand and they followed Jane out of the door. "The whole trick is to leave them waiting for you. They'll keep coming back for more…" Her eyes glistened. "And more is always good."
This was a girl who knew how to play her customers, Jane thought. She had perfected the art of seduction and temptation. She watched how Katie and Leila walked to the opposite end of the actress. Leila's shoulders seemed to drop as they walked back to a table occupied by two men in their forties but the swing in Kate's hips only got stronger the closer they got to their target. Her fingers trailed across the backs of both men before she slid effortlessly back into her seat.
Jane joined Lindsey, Sarah and Aidan and noticed that dessert had been served in her absence. Everybody had waited for her and her wineglass had been refilled. She smiled as she sat back down into her seat and Sarah watched her. "Lindsey mentioned the opening of the new art gallery tomorrow. I told her you have an interest in art, Jane."
Suddenly Jane frantically tried to remember everything and anything Maura had once tried to teach her about art. She'd dragged Jane out to a handful of galleries in Boston and how could she forget the night she'd accompanied Maura to her mother's installation?
"There'll be some people there who will appreciate your company," Lindsey said before Jane had a chance to ask what type of gallery opening it was. Suddenly they had reached the business part of the evening and her heart beat in the back of her throat. "They're dear friends of mine, most of them, and I'm sure they'd love to get to know you."
"Of course," Jane answered. Her fingers followed the shape of her wineglass, drawing circles. "What time would you like for me to be there?"
"I'd say eight o'clock is perfect," Lindsey answered. She folded her hands on the table. "Now, about your wages." The kind blue eyes had suddenly hardened and for the first time Jane caught a glimpse of the hardened businesswoman behind the friendly mask. "Our customers pay a fee to enjoy your company. For every night they'd like for you to join them, they pay a two thousand dollars." She mentioned the amount as if it was nothing but pocket change to her. "Half of that is yours to keep. Whatever the customer decides to spend on you, is also yours. Any clothes you require you will have to purchase yourself."
Jane nodded. A thousand dollars wasn't a bad income, especially since had counted at least fifteen different girls in this room, as well as a handful of men. She knew that most of the high end clients would sooner or later find themselves the victim of blackmail, only adding to the money Lindsey was making over the backs of her escorts. Combined with a lucrative drugs business on the side, this woman could easily earn more than half a tonne a week.
"Whatever our customer desires, you will provide," Lindsey said and her voice dropped to a whisper. "Sarah tells me you prefer female company." Jane nodded again. "Shame, I know a couple of men who would really have liked your company but we cannot change where our preferences lie. In fact, I know there'll be somebody at the opening tomorrow who'd very much like to meet you. She's been looking for somebody like you for a while. Tall, dark, attractive…"
Jane forced herself to smile but the uncomfortable feeling in her chest only grew. The conversation changed quickly once again and she focused on eating her dessert and drinking her wine. She continued to listen to Lindsey, using her experience as a detective to build a profile in her head. By the time the clock finally struck half past eleven, Lindsey and Aidan signalled they were leaving. Sarah, who had been engaged in a conversation with Aidan until several minutes before, looked at Jane and they stood up too. She linked her arm through Jane's and the four of them left the restaurant together.
"We can share a cab," Sarah said to Jane when she raised her hand to hail one.
"Sure," Jane answered and turned to look at Lindsey. She and Aidan were walking towards a chauffeur driven Bentley and the older woman turned around when she felt Jane's eyes on her. She smiled, one that felt genuine.
"I'll look forward to seeing you tomorrow, Jane."
A cab pulled up just at that moment and Sarah opened the door for Jane to get in. she climbed into the backseat and Sarah quickly followed. When she slammed the door Jane gave the driver her new address and then turned to look at Sarah. She looked back at Jane in a mixture of surprise and humour. "Are you sure you're a detective, Jane?"
"Why?"
"Because you swept them off their feet!" Sarah said. "When you left, they couldn't talk about anything else."
"Really?" Jane arched an eyebrow. "They liked me?"
"Liked you? If Lindsey hadn't told Aidan you're not into men he would have jumped you there and then!"
Jane snorted. "Looking at him, I'd say he jumps anything that's got a pulse."
"Not far off the truth," Sarah agreed. She seemed to relax. "When Rita said she was going to send in another cop I was worried. I never personally dealt with Steve. He made his own way into the business but I have known Rita for a long time and this will have been a kick in the gut for her." She glanced at Jane. "How is she holding up?"
"Like you said, she'd been kicked in the gut but I think it's made her even more determined to bring this case to a good end," Jane said. "Do you have any idea whom Steve may have met the night he was killed?"
Sarah reached into her purse. "When I found out he was dead, I made a copy of the appointment book we use. Lindsey has us destroy it every single day, in case there's ever going to be a raid, she doesn't want any evidence around. But I keep copies, just in case." She grinned when she saw Jane's face. "I may have started out a hooker working the streets, but Rita has taught me a thing or two since then."
"If this thing goes down, you should consider going to the Academy," Jane said. "You'd make a great cop."
"A cop with a rap sheet for prostitution?" Sarah asked and rolled her eyes. "I don't think so."
"Don't give up just yet," Jane said as she took the paper Sarah gave her. "There's no names on here, is there?"
"Just the name of the escort and the date, time and location where they met their customer," Sarah answered. "Most of these places are hotels or social gatherings. A lot of these have security cameras. Lindsey relies in it for the pictures. Escorts carry their own cameras in their bags too but she doesn't mind using the ones readily available to her. She can just about pay anyone to get what she wants."
"Does she keep copies of the pictures too?" Jane wanted to know.
"I don't know," Sarah replied, "If she does, she's never mentioned them to me. No doubt Madeleine knows about it though. There's no way she can't not know, if you know what I mean. She's very particular about the services she offers and although Lindsey likes to create the illusion she's in charge, it is actually Madeleine who runs the show. Most of the money goes straight to Madeleine but she gives Lindsey a decent payoff every month."
"Do you know anyone who has worked for Madeleine and Lindsey and then left?" Jane asked.
The cab came to a stop outside the building where Jane now lived and Sarah's hand shot out to Jane's arm. "You're not going to find anybody like that, Jane." Her eyes were suddenly filled with sadness. "You don't just leave Madeleine or Lindsey. Once you're in, that's it. There's no way out."
Jane let those words sink in as she stepped out of the cab. It drove off and she watched Sarah's faxe disappear in the distance. She then walked into the building, got into the elevator and stepped out on the seventh floor. She used her key to get into her penthouse and locked the door behind her once she got inside. She kicked her shoes off, leaving them in the middle of the kitchen and walked across the wooden floor to the bedroom. By the time she reached the bed she'd abandoned her dress on the floor and ripped the wire away from her body. It was followed by her panties and bra. From the walk-in wardrobe she took a thin sweater and a pair of shorts and climbed into bed.
It wasn't until her head hit the pillow that she realised how tired she was and against all expectations Jane drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
Lyrics in this chapter: Jason Walker - What If I Told You
