Chapter 25

Everything started to happen all at once that early Monday afternoon. It seemed the pieces of the puzzle all started to fit into place. The search of the Malibu had not only yielded two latent prints the team could link to Peter Manning just as Jane had predicted but they also found rope that was similar to what they believed was used to strangle Allyson and a knife with a serrated blade. Jane was relatively sure that the knife had been used to cut out Allyson's eyes.

Those items were turned over to Maura so she could have the crime lab run the comparisons. Maura was also given the three sets of eyes that Jane had found in the storage unit. Everyone was certain that Maura's test would show one to be Allyson's and the other two to be that of Pelton's victims.

Just as the forensic evidence started flowing in from all directions, so did the financial data. Frost was able to find two more Swiss bank accounts he could link to wire transfers from Pelton's estate authorized by Manning. From what Frost could tell Manning had embezzled millions of dollars from Pelton while the man was in prison.

Jane and Korsak managed to finally figure out the connection between Pelton and Phelps as well. In one of the last boxes that had been in the storage unit, Jane found a picture of a young Phelps and a younger version of David Pelton. She showed it to Korsak and the picture made him remember something he had seen as he had flipped through the pages of Jennings' notebooks.

There had been a notation from Jennings about Pelton volunteering with a youth outreach group. Apparently Jennings hadn't dug too far into the group when they realized that the outreach was for male juvenile offenders. Pelton's victims had been female so no one follow-up up on the volunteer work. Especially after Pelton pled guilty.

Frost ran a check and it turned out that Phelps was ordered into the outreach program when he was 17. It had been a last ditched effort to try to correct Phelps criminal ways. This was when Walter Phelps met David Pelton and a bound was formed between them. Jane was curious as to the dynamics of the relationship as much as she wondered what, if any, role Phelps played in the original murders but she knew those answers would not come until they found Phelps and had a chance to interrogate him.

Jane was still convinced that Manning knew exactly where Phelps was hiding. From what she could gather amongst the things she had read through she got the sense the Phelps would have followed any strong, dominant personality. She had a feeling Manning had manipulated Phelps for years probably using Phelps' connection to Pelton to cover up his embezzlement. If she was right about Manning subtly convincing Phelps that murder was the way to win back Pelton, she was sure Manning had arranged Phelps' hide out much in the same manner he had made the 'to-do' list.

They had enough on Manning for arrest warrants for fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion. They also had enough on him for arrest warrants for murder and conspiracy to commit murder. She was pretty sure the murder charge wouldn't hold but there was enough circumstantial evidence to convince a judge to sign off on the arrest warrant. Jane would let Manning's lawyers play 'let's make a deal' later.

She was banking on Manning's self-preservation instincts coming out. As a lawyer, she just hoped he was smart enough to realize his best option was to give up Phelps so the State's Attorney could pin the actual murder charge on him while he tried to plea bargain his way out of all the white collar financial crimes he was guilty of committing.

By midafternoon, Jane had arrest warrants for Peter Manning as well as search warrants for his home and his office. Jane, Frost and Korsak all made the journey to Manning's office. For someone like Manning, the bigger the scene they could make the better. They had no qualms about interrupting a partners' meeting at the firm to service the search warrant and the arrest warrant for Manning. He was hauled away in handcuffs claiming his innocence all the while his partners seemed to be doing whatever they needed to do to begin to distance themselves from Manning and the damage his arrest would inevitably do to the reputation of their firm. The partners were more than willing to assist in the search warrant execution as files and computers needed to be confiscated.

Manning wouldn't talk without his lawyer present. Jane had expected that. While he waited in a holding cell for that lawyer to show up Jane and Frost kept sifting through the evidence still trickling in. Jane was sometimes amazed by how they could go from having absolutely nothing to go on to having so much it would take several days to even get through it all in such a short period of time. This was just one of those cases. Sometimes it was just harder than other times to find the missing pieces of the puzzle. But once you found one, the rest seemed to just jump out at you.

While waiting for his lawyer, Manning's cell phone records came in. Frost could connect multiple phone calls to Phelps' cell phone including a series of calls both right before and right after Allyson's kidnapping. It appeared as if Phelps forgot to follow rule number 4

4- Don't bring your cellphone. It will ping off towers and they can track where you have been

They could track the tower pings of Phelps' cell phone and could put Phelps near the parking garage where Allyson's Nissan was found as well as the Charles River Loop where Allyson's body was found.

It looked like Jane was right about that as well. Manning wasn't with Phelps when Allyson was killed. But she was still fairly certain he gave Phelps the idea to murder as well as helped him plan out the crime. And that, as far as Jane was concerned, would be all she needed to point out to Manning to get him to give up Phelps to save his own ass.

R&I

"My client chooses to exercise his right to remain silent," the man said smugly from his seat across the table from Jane and Frost. Manning's expression didn't match that of his lawyer. Perhaps that had something to do with the realization that ten years of deceit and fraud was about to catch up to the man was a very large thud. He actually looked more likely to throw up or pass out than walk out a free man.

Jane knew he wasn't going anywhere for a while. She was sure that the State's Attorney would even win out in denying bail for Manning at least for a little while. The millions in Swiss bank accounts would be all he needed to prove a flight risk. A lawyer may eventually get a sympathetic judge to at least set an outlandish bail requirement but that would take a few days at least. Manning was going to be spending the night in a general population holding cell and Jane was sure he knew it.

"That's perfectly within Mr. Manning's rights," Jane replied back. "There's not much about this case that we don't already know so there's nothing I need from him." That wasn't true. She needed Phelps.

"These charges against my client are preposterous," the lawyer tried again.

Jane wasn't sure what Manning had shared with his lawyer or what all his lawyer had time to review. There was a growing mound of evidence against Manning and Jane had a feeling the smug lawyer wasn't in the loop on everything Manning had done. But that wasn't her problem.

"We found the Swiss accounts," Jane said to Manning. If it was possible he turned a shade paler. Jane and Frost had seen that kind of reaction before. Vomiting was a distinct possibility and both seemed to shift as much as they could to be out of a direct line of fire if that happened. Again, years on the force prepared them for all sorts of interesting possibilities.

The lawyer blanched a bit at hearing this. Manning must have at least told him something about embezzlement. But he didn't say anything.

"The thing I'm most interested in seeing happen," Jane continued, "is how Pelton will react when he is finally told what you've been up to all these years. He trusted you to take care of his affairs and you repay him by stealing from him. He won't like that at all."

Jane let that sink in for a minute and then continued.

"Normally, embezzlement or fraud all are just financial crimes that shouldn't be too much for you to worry about. A plea bargain. A quick financial settlement in which I'm sure you would only turn over a portion of the millions you have stashed away because let's face it, I'm sure there are several more accounts out there we haven't found yet. You probably wouldn't mind the disbarment. After you jump bail and hide out with your money it's not like you would have any desires to practice law again anyway.

"But like I said, 'normally' this kind of thing is manageable. But unfortunately for you Peter," Jane said and leaned a little closer into the pale lawyer still mindful not to face him head on, "this case isn't normal. And this case isn't all harmless financial crimes. This case has murder tied to it. A murder you helped to plan."

Manning started to visibly sweat and Jane knew he was getting close.

"My client never murdered anyone," the lawyer tried to dismiss Jane.

"Your client is a co-conspirator Mr. Ashford," Jane snapped back. She slide the handwritten note across the table for the lawyer to see and for Manning to realize she had.

Another shade of pale. A little more sweat.

The lawyer seemed to study the note and he was not pleased at all. Clearly his client had not discussed any of this with him before he sat down to this conversation. He tried to play off the meaning of the note.

"This means nothing," he said although Jane could tell he was slowly losing his smugness.

"This means 10-20," Jane answered back. She knew the lawyer was aware of the penalties that conspiracy to commit murder carried.

"You can't tie my client to any murder," he said again. He was posturing for the sake of posturing now. Jane didn't have time for that.

"I can tie your client to the vehicle used in the kidnapping of Allyson Montgomery," Jane answered. She knew there was no way Manning had told his lawyer that. Manning just looked at her.

"You should have worn gloves when you were in that Malibu," Jane said directly to him.

And that's all it took for Peter Manning to lose his lunch. Jane and Frost escaped the mess. His lawyer wasn't so lucky. They stepped out to give the two a chance to not only talk but to get cleaned up.

"That was close," Frost said. He had barely moved out of the way in time.

Jane smiled. "We'll get Phelps for sure now," she said. After, of course, the room was completely cleaned up.

R&I

"We want a deal," the lawyer announced when Jane and Frost really rejoined them.

"Tell that to the State's Attorney," Jane said as nonchalantly as she could. "I'm not here to make any deals for your client."

"What do you want then?" he asked.

Now was the moment. "Your client is aware of Walter Phelps' current location. I want that," she said.

"And in return," the lawyer asked.

"And in return I remember to mention to the State's Attorney that your client was extremely helpful in locating a suspected murderer," Jane said.

She wasn't going to broker any deals but she would point out he was helpful. Let the lawyers figure out deals.

There was silence for a moment in the room. Finally the lawyer leaned in to whisper to Manning. Jane almost smiled as it appeared the lawyer was a little skeptical of leaning in too close. After another few moments of whispered conversation Manning finally looked like he was going to speak.

"Everett," he said. "Pelton owns a home in Everett and Walter is there."

Jane pushed a pad of paper across to him. "I want the address."

Manning's shaking hand began to write.

R&I

SWAT quietly surrounded the home in Everett. Several different teams spread out covering doors or windows designated as possible exits. Jane, Frost and Korsak all were part of the second wave of officers set to enter the building. While Jane doubted Phelps was armed, there was never any certainty on a SWAT entry and her adrenaline was racing. She just wanted to capture Phelps but without any injuries to any of the officers.

The SWAT entry happened quickly. The teams were highly trained and their procession was impressive. Usually when they had surprise on their side these sorts of actions went smoothly. And they definitely had surprise on their side. As far as Jane knew, Phelps had no idea anyone had connected him to a murder or even knew anyone was in the Everett home.

They found Phelps in the living room. He was sitting on the couch watching TV when four SWAT members suddenly had him face down on the ground. He was cuffed and searched in record time. No weapons were recovered and Phelps was too stunned to even put up a fight. Jane spoke the only words to Phelps that weren't shouted versions of 'police' and 'on the ground'.

"Walter Phelps," she said in an even tone, "you are under arrest for the murder of Allyson Montgomery."

Phelps didn't react. Frost escorted Phelps to the cruiser that would take him into the station. He read Phelps his Miranda rights all along the way.

Jane turned to the commander of the SWAT unit. "Thanks Charlie," she said. She was always appreciative anytime SWAT helped with execution their arrest warrants. She was even always more grateful when they went without incident.

"Buy me a beer Rizzoli," he teased with a smile.

"You got it," she said. She made a note to stop by The Tam later in the week to pick of a round for all the guys that had helped.

She turned to Korsak and released a sigh. It had been a grueling case to work that week. "Ready?" she asked.

"Yeah," Korsak replied. They went out to find Frost and follow their suspect back to the station.

"Think he'll talk?" Frost asked as his two partners joined him outside the Everett home.

Both men looked at Jane. She always seemed to have a better sense of that than they did. "I don't think he will," she said. She could be wrong but she was pretty sure he wouldn't talk. If for no other reason than the fact the Pelton didn't when he was first caught.

R&I

Phelps didn't ask for a lawyer right away. But that didn't mean he was answering questions. Jane, Korsak and Frost had tried to get him to answer their questions for about an hour with no luck. They had enough to hold him and more than enough for indictments so Jane was content to just let him sit in jail until his arraignment. Perhaps after he was assigned a lawyer he would talk.

She wanted to understand the thing with the eyes. Pelton never answered that question and Phelps wasn't talking either. She didn't need to know but she had to admit she was curious. She figured it had something to do with believing that they could possess the person even after their death. She thought maybe that's why they were kept. But maybe she wouldn't ever really know that for sure.

Sitting across from Phelps without answers finally came to be more than Jane could deal with. They would send him back into holding. She and Frost went to get up and Jane asked one more question she knew she wouldn't get an answer for but she just had to ask anyway.

"Walter," Jane said and got his attention. "10 years ago did David plead guilty to keep you out of trouble?"

It was something she wondered. Pelton's sudden plea change ended any further investigation into the two homicides. Jane had a strong suspicion Pelton may have done that to keep Jennings and Jackson from finding Phelps. She wondered the reason why.

Both Jane and Frost stared at Phelps. And both saw the change. It was subtle. But it was there. Almost like a nervous twitch he whole demeanor shifted for the slightest of moments and the he went back to being the same stoic self he had been during the entire hour they had tried to ask him questions.

It was the most he had reacted in that entire hours. And it told Jane and Frost a lot. He'd never confirm it but he had finally answered a question.

R&I

The day and the case had earned the three a round at the Robber. Cavanaugh had been invited but respectfully declined. Maura had been invited but she was still handling the autopsy from that morning and wasn't able to free herself. She had told Jane to go ahead without her.

Jane knew she wouldn't stay for more than a couple of beers. She didn't like being out without Maura and wanted to get home to her as quickly as she could.

She caught herself thinking that and had to chuckle. Oh boy was she in real trouble. They were 'together' whatever that would turn out to mean for just over two days and already she was calling the Beacon Hill house home and wanting to spend all her time with the ME. She was falling and falling fast.

She'd even kissed Maura that morning at work. She hadn't even stopped to think about whether Susie or another lab tech could see them. She didn't even care. She had wanted to kiss the woman and that's exactly what she did.

She kept the smile on her face as she remember the intense look she shared with Maura after the Jennings confrontation. Had they not been in the hallway at work, things would have gotten very interesting in that moment. Her cheeks slightly flushed when she thought of the possibilities and let her mind linger on what exactly Maura was implying when she had uttered 'tonight'.

"You alright Jane?" Frost asked. "You look a little flushed."

Jane snapped out of it and tried to play it off. "I'm good," she said hoping the guys would just let it drop.

Both Frost and Korsak looked at her with mild disbelief. A silence settled over the three of them.

"So," Korsak said breaking the comfortable silence. "You and Maura, huh?"

Jane's eyes got big for a second as she heard what Korsak was asking. Looking at both her partners she immediately relaxed when she saw warm, welcoming smiles on both their faces.

"Yeah, me and Maura," Jane confirmed.

Both men smiled. It appeared to Jane as if this news was in no way a huge revelation for either of them. Apparently Jane wasn't as good at keeping her feelings to herself as she thought she was.

Frost grabbed his beer and raised it in a toast to the new couple. "To Jane and Maura," he said with a bright smile. "I think you both will make each other very happy."

With that, the three partners clanked their beer bottles together. Jane wasn't at all surprised that both men seemed to be accepting of this development. In the end she had been pretty sure they cared for both ladies enough to simply be happy for them.

"I just have one question," Vince said in sudden seriousness. Jane looked at him expectantly. "What the hell are you doing here with us when you could be there with her?"

Jane went to give an answer and found she couldn't think of a good one. So she got up and looked at both men. "Good point," she said. "See you two tomorrow."

And with that, Jane left the bar to go explore exactly what was meant by 'tonight'.

R&I

Jane beat Maura home on the night. Again she chuckled to herself at the ease to which she was calling the house home. She knew that had everything to do with its owner and not the house itself. She let herself into the home and was greeted by Jo. She gave Jo some much wanted attention and then went to the fridge to grab a few strawberries for Bass who she found in the living room. He seemed appreciative of the snack or so Jane thought anyway.

She grabbed her phone and went to check up on the ME.

When will you be finished? -J

She was hoping Maura would be done soon. She wondered if she should just order takeout. She was too tired to think about cooking and with as long of a day as Maura had she doubted cooking was something the doctor wanted either.

By time Maura answered Jane had all but decided to place a food order to handle their dinner needs.

Just finishing the last of my paperwork. I should be home in about 30 minutes. -M

Thirty minutes. Jane could work with that. She needed a shower anyway wanting to wash the day away.

I've got dinner covered. See you soon. -J

Jane pulled out a Chinese food menu from a drawer in Maura's kitchen and called in a delivery order. She had time to take Jo on a quick walk and grab the shower she wanted before the food would be delivered.

Her timing was perfect. About two minutes after she had dressed in comfy clothes for the night there was the knock on the front door. Dinner was being delivered. As soon as Jane had paid for the food, Maura was pulling into the driveway.

Jane was in the kitchen working on plating food for both of them when Maura entered. Seeing that Jane had already set two places at the kitchen island and had poured her a glass of wine, Maura's smile got a little bigger. She was already just happy to see Jane in her kitchen but she was hungry and the food smelled great.

"Hi," Maura said warmly as she made her way into the kitchen. She bent down to give Jo her attention for a moment and looked around for Bass.

"In the living room the last I saw him," Jane answered her unasked question. "I already gave him a few strawberries but I'm sure he'd like to see you." She wouldn't know if she would ever understand the bond Maura had with the turtle but she had to admit Bass was growing on her as well.

Maura nodded and went to head towards the living room. Instead of walking there, she stopped and turned walking to Jane who had returned her attention to plating the rest of the Chinese food. Maura walked up behind her and snaked her arms around Jane's waist. Jane, feeling Maura wrapping her up, leaned back into the embrace.

"Hi," Maura greeted again softly. She placed a small kiss on the side of Jane's cheek.

"Hi," Jane answered back enjoying the sudden closeness of the ME.

They stayed that way for a few moments. Each just content for the physical contact. Finally Maura peeled herself away and went to find her tortoise letting Jane finish attending to their dinner.

When Maura came back she, too, had changed into more comfortable clothes. She took a seat next to Jane and they shared a nice casual conversation on how the case finished up for Jane and what Maura had been working on. Neither mentioned the run-in with Jennings but it seemed to be more because it was a non-issue more than anything else. Their conversation carried them all the way through dinner and its subsequent clean up. Kitchen being cleaned they retired into the living room both settling in on the couch.

Maura wasted no time cuddling into Jane on the couch. It just seemed to be a waste for them to be together and not snuggled in as close as they could be.

"I'm glad you came here," Maura said knowing full way that she didn't want Jane anywhere where she wasn't if that could be avoided.

"Where else would I be?" Jane teased knowing what Maura meant but playing with her anyway.

"Technically you do have your own place," she pointed out.

"True," Jane admitted. "But everything I want is here." It was a simple but very true statement. She loved her apartment but Maura was here and she just wanted to spend her time with the woman.

Maura smiled at Jane's comment. She leaned up and into the detective and captured her lips. The kiss was full of meaning and promise and seemed to be Maura's way of conveying to Jane that everything she wanted was right in front of her.

They were both a little breathless when Maura finally released Jane's lips and pulled back. The promise in the kiss seemed to bring back for both of them how they had felt earlier in the day. There was definitely a growing desire to explore things further. Neither seemed to quite know what to say or do so they just resettled back into each other content for the moment to just be.

After a few minutes of easy silence Jane smirked and spoke. "Korsak and Frost know about us," she said.

Jane felt Maura smile as her head had been resting on Jane's shoulder. "Who guessed first?" she asked.

"Vince," Jane answered. "Or at least he was the one to say it out loud. I have a feeling he's known for a while." The man always had a way of just knowing things about Jane. "I have a feeling I tipped my hand to Frost when I put Andrew into the wall." She was pretty sure her actions and the look on her face was the deciding factor for Frost.

Maura snuggled in a little closer. "So are they ok with this?" she asked. She thought they would be. She hoped they would be.

Jane tightened her arms around the ME. "Yeah," she said. "They both just want to see us happy."

"Being with you makes me happy," Maura said. And it did. The last few days she had spent with Jane had fulfilled her more than she thought was possible. As nervous as she had been about making this move with Jane she no longer doubted it. She no longer wondered. She knew this was exactly what they were meant to be doing. They were meant to be together.

Jane chose to answer the ME with her lips and not words. Maura made her happy as well but she had to urge to show her that instead of telling her that. The kiss picked up in intensity almost immediately. Jane pulled the ME closer into her wanting as much contact her as she could get.

As the kiss died off and they were able to allow for an intake of air Jane decided she wasn't quite finished enjoying the woman in her arms. She wanted to know if Maura would taste the same as she had the night before. After releasing the ME's lips, Jane's slowly traced their way across Maura's jaw line with an intent on working over her neck.

Maura did taste the same as before only it seemed to be better today than it had been yesterday. She slowly worked over Maura's neck testing spots she had discovered from the night before to see if Maura still reacted the same. When she did, it just egged Jane on more wanting in that moment to again be the reason the doctor released such a sweet sounding moan.

Her efforts were rewarded several times over as Jane seemed to be unrelenting in her exploration of the skin Maura happily made available to her. The scent. The taste. The feel of it all was something Jane doubted she would ever be able to get enough of in her life.

As much as Maura was absolutely enjoying the feel of Jane all over her neck, she wanted to give as good as she was receiving. She wasn't about to be outdone by the detective. Sensing a slowdown by the detective Maura took advantage of it. In a maneuver that would temporarily confound the detective, the ME managed to get Jane onto her back with Maura now on top of her and hovering with a wicked smile.

She didn't give Jane the time to figure out how she had managed the feat. Instead, she simply claimed the lips she desired and they engaged in another passion filled kiss. Maura traced her tongue across Jane's bottom lip wanting nothing more in that moment than the entrance she was granted.

Jane regained her senses enough to at least attempt to vie for control but Maura seemed unwilling to concede that control in the moment. She didn't fight too hard instead finding pleasure in letting Maura continue her exploration. Who was she to argue with what the woman wanted?

Just as the previous long kiss between the two ended for the need of oxygen, so ended this current one. And just as Jane had used the break to work over Maura's neck, so too did Maura decide it was time for her to get into this as well. She slowly worked her lips down Jane's chin and gently across her neck.

Jane apparently didn't mind this either as a soft moan escaped from her and she tilted her head back exposing even more of her neck for Maura to manipulate. For Maura, this was her first time tasting skin that wasn't Jane's lips. The softness intrigued her but the taste captivated her. Perhaps it was both but either way it all was uniquely Jane and Maura absolutely loved it.

There was a buildup growing between the two and they both seemed to know things were progressing further than they had gone to that point. They both seemed perfectly willing as neither acted as if they were going to be the one to stop where things were heading.

As things started to slow down it was Jane that asked the question. "Are you sure?" She didn't want to rush things. She didn't want to go further than they were both ready for. She needed to be sure.

To answer her, Maura pulled herself up from the couch and reached out her hand. "I'm sure," she said with nothing but confidence in her voice. She had never and Jane had never but in that moment she knew they would manage to figure it out together.

Jane placed her hand in Maura's and stood up. They both headed toward the stairs and knew they were starting the next phase of their relationship.

A/N Thanks to all who read, followed, favorited and reviewed this story. You all seem willing to put up with my odd love of crime as much as the tender J and M moments. Thanks for humoring me. It was good to be back and thanks for not holding my absence against me. All the support and comments continue to be humbling and I appreciate them all. I'm sure I'll return soon- I won't take as long of a break as last time. I promise. Until then….