CHAPTER TWENTY

Frost seems to know it is her entering BRIC without even turning around. She guesses it's the mix of telltale footsteps, followed by the scent of really strong coffee.

"Everything okay?" he asks.

"Yeah." She nods, barely. Pulls out a chair and slumps down next to him. Swipes a few errant curls from her downturned face and flicks at something invisible on her trouser leg because she can't make herself meet his kind, enquiring eyes.

Guilt bubbles in the pit of her stomach, swirling sickly beneath the mouthfuls of steaming hot triple shot she has already gulped on the way in. Damn him. If he'd been the one to disappear without reason, she'd be furious! And worried for his wellbeing, of course, which he clearly is and she really wishes his dark chocolate eyes didn't gleam with such care and curiosity like that.

"I had something personal to take care of," she lies, knowing he's too good a friend to pry. She hates herself for manipulating him, using his attributes against him. Clenches her jaw as she silently thanks a nameless god for not receiving what should be a well-deserved interrogation.

"Did you find anything else on Charlie Mills?" she adds after a quick breath, moving them on as anxiety prickles her skin.

"Nothing interesting," he sighs hard, seemingly frustrated."Just a couple of -"

"You need to check his financials," she blurts, scoots her chair closer to the desk. "Employment history. Businesses. Real estate. You've got to dig deeper on this guy -"

"Whoa, whoa. Hold up…" Frost pleads. Stops her rambling with his hands up, palms out and a fierce frown that says he isn't buying what she's selling.

Shit.

"What's going on, Jane?"

The way he peers at her intently scorches her insides and makes her want to puke. She can't tell him the truth and, for the first time since this alternate reality stuff started, it's killing her to keep it all locked up. It's her own fault, letting her impatience get the better of her, making rash decisions, and acting out of character.

Maybe she could tell him. Could explain about the doorway of light and her other life. About having solved this case once already without him because he's… She swallows hard and sniffs. Leans into him so she can plant her hand on his forearm. Feel how real he is.

"Look – just…" She chews on the inside of her cheek, falls back on plausibility because, no, honesty isn't feasible."I have this feeling in my gut, and – I just need you to trust me right now, okay? He's hinky. I know it. He killed Rebecca and took Kelsey, and we have to do everything we can to find out where he's keeping her -"

"Okay, okay," he fusses, a little flustered from her rambling and suddenly she's past caring how crazy she looks if it gets her the result she needs. Subtlety isn't going to save a helpless little girl. And if 'just trust me' works, well, she's going to use it and breathe a little easier.

"This might take a while -" he offers, but she's not waiting around.

"Fine. Do what you need to. Just get me an address. I'll be downstairs poking the lab techs to see if they have any results yet."

"Uh-huh," he mutters as she stands to leave. "Poking the Chief more like."

"Shut up," she grumbles, swats him upside the head and turns to leave. The smile on her face as she strides out through the bullpen feels like the first one of the day, and as much as she tells him to stop teasing about Maura, it's one of the reasons she loves him so damn much.

"Don't touch that!" barks Susie and Jane snatches her hand away from the spinning centrifuge.

In a flash, the diminutive scientist has pushed her body between the detective and the whirring machine on the lab bench, forcing Jane to step back.

"This is not a one-step process, Detective Rizzoli. As you well know, it cannot be hurried."Slim fingers push up her glasses, as if bolstering her resolve, before counting off her points one-by-one. "In addition to extracting, amplifying, separating, and analyzing the DNA from every sample, we have to run quality control tests to ensure your evidence wasn't cross-contaminated or compromised in any way. Only then can we begin to interpret the electropherograms. We're DNA fingerprinting the victim. DNA fingerprinting the daughter from the hairbrush CSRU provided. DNA fingerprinting any unidentified samples taken from the victim's body, clothing, personal effects, etcetera. Then comparing all the aforementioned samples to each other and running them through CODIS and -"

"Okay, okay," Jane spits, her face screwed up in pain because, honestly, dealing with the Senior Criminalist is testing on a good day and this is turning out to be anything but a good day. She lets out a short puff of air and her eyes go wide as she mutters under her breath, "I'm really sorry I asked."

She sighs hard and lets her shoulders fall into a hunch of disappointment. Tries a pout, too, even though she's not proud of it, but all it does is make Susie fold her arms and raise her chin in stubborn defiance.

Not being able to click her fingers and have a forensic report immediately handed to her has been a thorn in her side every day of her career. Today it feels like the gods swapped out her ribs for a whole rose bush.

Changing tactics, she stands as tall as she can manage and plants her hands on her cocked hips. "You know your boss is my best friend, right?" She points toward the hallway, jerks her head in the vague direction of Maura's office. "I could go talk to her and she'll -"

Susie's eyebrow lifts as she cuts in. "Tell you the same thing?"

"No!" Jane scoffs, folds her arms. Watches as Susie smiles, amused at her desperation no doubt. "Okay, yes," she concedes with a sigh, before deciding she's not too proud to beg. "She might tell me the same thing. But this is really important, Chang, and I need your help!"

Susie softens. "I think it bears repeating that every case is important, and we work as fast as we can all the time. Not just today. But if it's any consolation, Dr. Isles already spoke to the team and told them to rush yours through as a priority."

"She did?"

"She did."

"Well, then… You can -"

"We'll call you when we've got something."

"Alright," she nods, as if her coming down here wasn't a total waste of time. As if there isn't a feint blush of embarrassment coloring her cheeks.

She spins on her heel and heads for the door. Ignores the feel of Susie's eyes on her back and the criminalist's quiet chuckle as she bluntly offers, "Good talk."

Once out in the hallway, her cell phone rings. A smile rises to her lips at the name on the caller ID.

"Whaddya got, Frost?" she asks, voice and heart full of hope.

"I found him, Jane! It took some unorthodox searching, but I found several addresses that are linked to Charlie Mills. How on earth did you know?"

"Just a hunch," she lies as she heads for the elevator with almost a skip. Finally! "I'll meet you out front in two minutes."

"I don't know how else to say it… I did NOT kill Rebecca or take Kelsey! I haven't seen either of them for months! I WOULDN'T HURT ANYONE!"

Maura's calm voice filters through her earpiece.

"His exaggerated eye contact suggests an attempt to manipulate you. He wants you to think he's telling the truth, because dishonesty traditionally involves a lack of eye contact. Coupled with the repositioning of his head after every question, and the lack of shoulder movement that indicates shallow breathing… The evidence would suggest he's lying."

He is lying.

She knows it. As if bragging about his business and over compensating by offering all kinds of unrelated information again wasn't enough, she knows it. Down to her bones. Like someone tattooed the words beneath her skin.

And because she's now got to try and save the same innocent little girl for a second time, as if going through it once wasn't bad enough -this disgusting cretin's poor daughter, kidnapped and stashed god knows where and whose mother has twice been brutally murdered -she's really, really short on patience.

Frustration bleeds into her questioning. Hemorrhages impatient petulance as her pulse pounds in her ears. But she doesn't realize until it's her and not the suspect Frost is keeping a close eye on. And even then, she doesn't really care.

"Here's the thing," she snarls. Stops her pacing to plant her palms on the tabletop and lean menacingly over him, her gaze burning down from beneath dark, threatening eyebrows. "You're not as smart as you think you are, Charlie."

Slouching in his chair, Charlie tips his head back to look up at her. "Can I speak to a lawyer now?"

She ignores it and Frost says her name as a warning but it's too late.

"I know every move you're gonna make…"she sneers, leans in even further."… Because you're all the same. I catch guys like you every day. And I'm gonna catch you, too."

The way he smiles turns her stomach. "Where's the evidence? Huh? You ain't got nothing on me!"

She growls and resists the urge to look up into the glass. Knows her eyes will only find her own, and not the warm hazel of Maura Isles in the observation room; the one person she can rely upon to back up her words with science. "But I will."

He whispers low, just for her, "Not soon enough."

She wants to grab him by the shirt collar and knock his lights out. Breathes out in disgust as she clenches her fists, "You son of a bitch -"

And she's still so close she almost misses the twitch of his eyebrow as he leers. That look in his eye is familiar and –

She weaves as he lunges. His snarling face breezing barely past hers as she dodges his attempted head butt. Off balance, having met nothing but air, she uses his momentum against him and gives him a hard shove right into the table.

"ARGH, BITCH!" he screams and all hell breaks loose.

Frost tries to wrestle him back into the metal chair as Korsak bursts into the room. She leans back against the wall where the harsh overhead light doesn't quite reach, and folds her arms. Watches with a satisfied smirk as he fights and struggles against the cuffs that now hold his wrists behind his back, knowing her mirth only enrages him further.

They shouldn't have any problems keeping him locked up now.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!" he yells, turning first to the mirror and then to the camera mounted by the ceiling, spittle flying everywhere. "YOU HEARD HER; SHE JUST THREATENED TO PLANT EVIDENCE TO FRAME ME. IT'S A CONSPIRACY. THE CRAZY BITCH IS OUT TO GET ME!"

"Okay, that's ENOUGH!" Korsak barks as he grips Jane's elbow and drags her out into the corridor.

"Aww," she whines theatrically as the door closes behind them, "I thought it was just getting to the good part."

"What the hell is wrong with you?!I've never seen you go at a suspect like that before. You're gonna get this case tossed out before it even begins!"

She scoffs, because of course Korsak would be back there with Maura this whole time. Figures. "He's gonna walk right out of here because we can't prove anything 'til the labs come back!"

"And we can't keep him here indefinitely with nothing to show the DA just because you're convinced -"

"Assaulting a police officer," she states decisively. "That buys us some time."

"No it doesn't, Jane! Because instead of interviewing him, like the professional I know you are, you chose to intimidate, threaten and provoke him -"

"But -"

He cuts her off, waves a hand back in the direction of the interview room then slams it against the wall for good measure. "But nothing, Detective. IT'S ON THE DAMN VIDEO!"

He sighs long and hard, pinches the bridge of his nose as his eyes close.

"Fuck," she breathes quietly as her ire subsides. She just wanted to speed things along, but instead she let Charlie Mills get under her skin. "Vince, I'm sor -"

"Look, I don't like it any more than you do," He snips, clearly in no mood for apologies."But your hunches don't secure a warrant, Rizzoli, and unless you want to find yourself in the middle of an IA shitstorm, there's nothing you can do about that little outburst of his in there. You got the reaction you wanted, and you dodged him - though God only knows how -so, well done! Now you get to watch him walk out of here."

"I can fix it," she pleads as she tries to step around him and go back in.

"Nuh-uh," he mutters, blocks the doorway with his bulky frame. "Actually, I think it's better if you go back upstairs, Detective."

"Oh, come on -" she drawls disbelievingly.

Korsak shakes his head. "It's for your own good, Jane."

"You're serious?" she frowns, saddened by his stone-like expression.

She can count on one hand the number of times they've clashed like this throughout her career. Korsak the friend dissolves away leaving only Korsak the Sergeant, Korsak the disgruntled superior, in his place. This time hurts just as much as all the others. His final words as sharp as the pain in her chest.

"I said go, Jane. NOW!"

She begins to stride away as Korsak returns to the interview room. Then, as the door snicks closed, she stops and lets loose with a boot to the wall, kicking the cement as hard as she can. "ARGH! Stupid!"

"Jane?" comes a familiar voice from behind and, godammit, she'd forgotten Maura was even there. Watching her failure from behind the glass.

Her heart is pounding so hard she can feel it throb down her limbs. She's too worked up for niceties and so she doesn't turn around. Just sighs and rubs a hand across her forehead."Not now, Maura."

But she can still hear heel clicks bringing the doctor closer.

"Are you okay?"

"NO," she snaps, because it should be fucking obvious and, god, the last thing she wants is to be an asshole to Maura right now, but every word uttered jacks up her temper and she should never have stopped walking when Korsak told her to go.

One shoulder hits the wall as she sags, weighed down by self-disgust as the footsteps continue. Then there's a light hand on her back and that soft, soft voice; the one that makes her insides tremble and it's all just too much for her strained emotions.

"What can I do to help?"

She turns sharply and Maura flinches away. "You can FIND ME THE EVIDENCE TO LOCK THIS GUY UP!"

The doctor takes a few slow steps back and, oh god, Jane never wants to see that look on Maura's face. That mix of confusion and anger and… pain.

"Right," Maura whispers, still backing away. Frown deep and eyes glassy and Jane drops her gaze to the floor because it hurts too much to witness what she's done. To see reflected in those eyes, the mess she has become.

"Oh god," she breathes to herself, "I didn't mean -" But it's too late as she looks up again, watches Maura's rigid back disappear around the corner down the hall. "Maura, wait!" she calls, a hand outstretched and her voice breaking. "I'm sorry," she utters to no one but herself.

Dammit.

She sniffs back burgeoning tears and heads quickly for the observation room. Korsak doesn't need to know she's there, and she won't need to ask for details later. Remaining in the loop will mean she can still assist the case, and hopefully fix this mess she's created.

But there's no continuation of her interrogation going on and she can't believe her eyes.

Self-righteous anger heats her skin beneath her shirt as she witnesses Korsak apologize to Charlie on her behalf. And even though the Sergeant follows it with a very stern warning, handing over his card and telling Charlie not to leave town in case they need to speak to him again, she knows it's not enough.

Until they find Kelsey, it'll never be enough.

No way is she sitting at her desk twiddling her thumbs while they wait for the evidence she knows is inevitable, given enough time and patience. Sadly, she's running out of both.

No. Instead, she only returns to her desk to collect her car keys, before heading for the parking garage. It doesn't take much effort to ignore the voice in her head that says her next move is probably a much bigger mistake.