Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli & Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.
My 20th birthday (Omg I feel old) is in a few days (the 10th), so I wanted to get this out before I got too busy again. Thanks for the reviews guys, I always love reading them and knowing what you think! As always, I hope you enjoy the chapter. :)
When Dreams Become Reality Ch. 26
Dante had cried himself to sleep by the time Jane came back to talk to him. The sight broke her heart. This poor kid turned his life around for the one he loves, stayed clean from drugs and even got himself a decent place to live. All of which was done on his own.
She goes over to him and nudges him gently against his slumped shoulders and whispers "Dante, sweetie. Wake up."
His body twitches, then a muffled groan is heard. From the way Dante slept everything is stiff and sore.
"What's going on?" He blinks rapidly, trying to wake up but is still groggy. "Are you taking me away?"
"No, baby. I know you didn't do it."
"You do?" There was a brief moment of happiness at the news, but it slipped away just as quickly as it came. Dante is still overcome with grief and sadness over the loss of his beloved girlfriend. "Do you know who killed her yet?"
"We're following some leads. Don't worry, I promise we'll find out who did it. As for you, you're free to go." Jane points to a uniform behind her. "This is Officer Jenkins. He's giving you a ride home, ok?"
Dante and Officer Jenkins exchange a look, then the younger of the two returns his attention to Jane. "Ok. Thank you for believing me enough to look into it. Most people would've just charged me right on the spot without a second thought."
"I'm proud of how you've become a better person." Jane replies sincerely, then adds "Stacey would be, too."
He gives her a sad smile. "Thanks. Goodnight, Detective."
Dante stands up and Jane gives him a hug, feeling sorry for him. He walks out with Jenkins to get processed out so he can go home. Jane follows them out of interrogation but heads to her desk, just as Frankie and Korsak arrive.
"Janie..." Her brother begins. "We've got a few numbers of the family they were supposedly with in New Haven."
"Nice work... I'll take one. Divide them up so we can get this done quicker."
Jane reads the first number listed and picks up her phone to call, while the others did the same with theirs.
"Hello?" A female voice answers.
"Hello, this is Jane Rizzoli-Isles. I'm a detective with Boston Homicide. Is this Gertrude Lewis?"
"Yes it is."
"Can you confirm the alibi of your cousin Tim and his wife April between the hours of 10 and 11 pm, Tuesday night?"
"Yes, they were here. We were having a big party for the family. All of us together again. It lasted all night long. A lot of us were sad Stacey didn't want to go, but what are you going to do about teenagers?" The woman says with a sad chuckle.
"How many people were there?"
"About 50."
"And you're sure you saw Tim and April?"
"Without a doubt. I said goodnight to them myself at 2 am when the party ended."
"Ok... Thank you for your help."
"You're welcome. Please call back if you need to. Stacey was such a sweetheart and the whole family is just devastated... I hope you find the monster that did this soon."
"BPD is doing our best ma'am. Thank you again." Jane replies, then hangs up a moment later. She looks at Korsak and tells him about the party. "Gertrude mentioned it was a big family gathering... Around 50 people. It could've been real easy for Tim to slip away unnoticed for a few hours. How long does it take to get from New Haven to Boston? Like... 2, maybe 2 and a half hours?"
Korsak shrugs. "It's possible."
Frankie gets off the phone and tells them the same story as Gertrude. A large family gathering and everyone saw Tim and April Lewis.
"That's what Tim's aunt said, too." Frost comments, also just finishing speaking with a relative. "I definitely think Tim could've slipped away."
"Yeah, but how can we prove it?" Jane wonders aloud. "I'm gonna see if Maura has anything else. Maybe Stacey can tell us what happened."
Jane swaggers into Maura's office and kisses her right on the cheek.
"Hey, mommy."
"Jane... Don't make me cry again." Maura half warns with a beaming smile.
"Sorry, couldn't resist. I was wondering if there was anything you could tell me about Stacey? Was there something on her body? Even the smallest thing could be significant."
"Thanks to Susie, my theory was proven correct. A left-handed person killed Stacey."
"I didn't notice if Tim Lewis is a right or a lefty."
"Even if he's left-handed, that's not enough for an arrest."
"Yeah, but that's something at least. We've literally got nothing else to go on." Jane lets out a frustrated sigh. The one Maura's heard many times over the years when they were stuck on a difficult case.
"I've done all I can with Stacey's body. I can sign off for the release to a funeral home."
"Not that I doubt you, but how's that useful to figuring out who killed her?"
"Mr. Lewis needs to sign a release form as well, since he's the parent. So when he comes in you can see which is his dominant hand. I don't know how helpful that will be, but like you said, it's something."
"That's pretty damn clever, Maur." Jane reaches for her cell phone, but her wife stops her from calling.
"It's too late to call, it's almost 10 o'clock." Maura points out, looking down at her watch.
"Ugh... If the bastard murdered his kid then he doesn't deserve a good night's rest."
"I know, but if he did do it... You don't want to agitate him or make him suspicious."
"You're right. Well, he's going to get a call bright and early then... Guess we're done for the night. You ready to go home?"
The tired honey blonde looks around her office, double checking to make sure she hadn't forgotten something. "Yes, I think so. I'm done with everything here anyway."
Jane offers to drive her home, and she accepts. On the way out, the detective calls Frankie and tells them about their plan on figuring out if Tim Lewis is left-handed or not.
"We're going home and we'll get back at this in the morning. Tell Frost and Korsak so they can get home, too. You guys must be as exhausted as us."
"Not a problem. See you in the morning, sis."
Back home, Jane and Maura just stripped off their work clothes for more comfortable ones for bed. 30 minutes after getting home, they're finally under the covers.
"How long do we need to do the meds?" Jane asks.
"It depends on what kind we take. Both the tablets and injections are usually taken over a period of 12 days. Then the doctor's will retrieve your eggs."
"You think it's gonna hurt?"
"There might be some discomfort afterwords, but I've never done it before. That and your tolerance for pain is higher than mine, so I can't say for sure. During the procedure you will be given anesthesia, so you won't feel pain then."
"That doesn't sound so bad... Wanna look at the donors some more? I know we still have some time but I don't think it's a good idea to leave it 'til the last-minute. We should be absolutely sure."
Maura reaches for the binder that was left on her nightstand, then turns on the lamp. "I agree... Now where did we leave off?" She asks, flipping the binder open.
Neither were too picky when it came to a donor, the only requirements were for the guy to be in perfect health with a somewhat knowledgable background. Some of the personal interests for a few were cause for an automatic no.
Jane scoots closer and asks "What about this guy? He seems like a decent choice. Athletic, went to college, an oncologist..."
"And has a history of cancer in the family." Maura adds.
"Hmm... Guess that's why he chose that career. Next one."
"Oh, what about this man? Excellent health background, with a wonderful academic history. It says here that he is a firefighter." Maura reads his basic information, then smirks when she sees something Jane would most definitely approve of. "You'll like this, his favorite sports teams are all Boston's."
"And he has hazel eyes, like you. Not as beautiful as yours, of course."
Maura leans over and kisses her. "Aww, that's so sweet."
"Yeah yeah... So do you think this guy is a perfect match? I really like him."
"Me too. This is the guy."
Jane is the one to initiate a kiss this time, one that's full of so much passion and excitement. She breaks away, but her lips are still barely touching Maura's. The brunette whispers "I can't believe it's finally happening."
"I think this calls for a celebration." Maura announces, then places the binder back on the nightstand and turns off the light. In a flash, she climbs on top of Jane.
The following morning, Jane and Maura were still beaming on their way to work from the previous day's news and finally deciding on a donor. Those smiles remained on both their faces after the parted ways with a kiss at the elevator in BPD.
"What's got you in such a good mood, partner?" Frost asks, knowing she wasn't much of a morning person.
"What? Can't a person just be really really happy?"
"Yeah... Well whatever it is, you've got another reason to be happy too. Korsak called Tim Lewis a half hour ago and told him about the release forms for the funeral home, and he's on his way now."
"Good. Hopefully he can give us something incriminating."
"So what's this plan again? You're gonna look at his hands or something?"
"We don't really have a plan per se, just seeing if he's a righty or a lefty. Maura said whoever killed Stacey was left-handed."
"What if he is?" Her younger partner asks. "We can't arrest him for that."
"Yeah, but we don't have anything else to go on. This is all we got. Maybe if we see he's a lefty, then we can put some heat down on him."
"We're definitely gonna have to be careful how we ask. If he gets suspicious, then he'll lawyer up and we really won't get anywhere."
Jane leans back in her desk chair and thinks for a moment. She brushes hair out of her face and says "Let's go over the whole thing again before he gets here."
"Right... On Tuesday morning, Stacey Lewis' parents left for New Haven to meet up with family. She called her boyfriend Dante over, who we were able to clear. He left around 9:30 that night, and she was killed an hour later. There was no sign of forced entry, so it had to be someone she knew and let in or the killer had a key. I'm betting the killer had a key, since the door was locked and we had to bust it down. Yesterday morning, her 12-year-old neighbor went over to ask if he could borrow a movie and saw through the window her body lying on the floor. He ran home and his mother called police."
"And no one saw anything... No one running or speeding away from the crime scene." Jane adds in a frustrated tone. "That poor kid suffered. Beaten relentlessly then tossed to the floor like she was nothing. What the hell kind of parent would do that to their child?"
Korsak walks in just as Jane's voice gets angrier by the second. "Lewis is here. I'm escorting him to the morgue, thought you'd wanna join."
"Yeah." Jane huffs as she gets up. "You coming, Frost?"
"Nah, I'll stay here. Keeping work the case on my computer and see if I can find anything."
In the elevator, Korsak also notices how happy Jane looks.
"C'mon, spill it. I've seen this smile before. When you told me you and Maura finally got together, got engaged, your wedding day, a few weeks ago... Do you need me to go on?"
"No thank you, Vince." She says his first name in a warning yet teasing manner. "Just in a good mood."
He looks at her suspiciously, not completely buying it. "Uh huh. I'm a detective, remember? I've also know you for a long time, so I can tell when something's up."
Jane breathes heavily as she stares him down. "Hypothetically speaking, if I did have good news I wanted to share with you... I would. Maybe this possible news only received yesterday hasn't been told to anyone yet. Not even my mother."
Korsak thinks through many possibilities and remembers back to several weeks ago during the Alvarez case. She mentioned her and Maura would be trying to start a family soon. The veteran Sergeant Detective smirks and simply replies "Got it."
"Again, we're so sorry for your loss Mr. Lewis... Stacey seemed like a sweet girl."
"Thanks, Detective." Tim says rather curtly, then asks "Did you charge that scum Dante, yet?"
"Sir, we're still investigating. We can't reveal any information, it could damage the case." Jane answers through a forced smile.
"You understand, right?"
Tim Lewis looks at Korsak and nods understandingly, which baffles the others. Korsak seems to be the only one he respects, and whatever the reason, they didn't question it. "I get that. Can you at least tell me if you're close to an arrest?"
Maura opens the double doors to the autopsy room, holding it open for them. "We're ready, Mr. Lewis."
"Finally... Thanks, Doctor."
The Medical Examiner leads the father and the rest inside the room where Stacey's body lies.
"Would you like a minute before she is taken away?" Maura tentatively asks him.
"Not really." He shakes his head. "Let's just get this over with."
Maura almost stutters in disbelief at his calm attitude and ignorance.
'Then again...' She thinks. 'He may be the killer. So of course he wouldn't have any remorse.'
She pulls back the sheet and down to just above her chest. Tim stares at his daughter's face for all of 10 seconds.
"Ok... Where do I need to sign?"
Maura retrieves a clip board at the end of the slab and hands it to him, pointing to a couple of lines on the paper. "Your full name here and initials right there."
Everyone has the same thought. 'Alright, this is it.'
Tim takes the pen and signs where he is told, scribbling his name in sloppy cursive.
"Done. What do I need to do now? I really don't feel like taking a drive down here again."
"That's it. Her body will be sent to the funeral home and they will call you with further instructions."
He nods and asks the detectives "Can I go now?"
Through gritted teeth, Jane responds "Yes. Frankie, why don't you escort Mr. Lewis out of here?"
Her brother, just as mad, answers "Sure."
After the two leave, Jane looks at her wife and two partners. "Well what the hell do we do now?"
They all his their disappointment well when they saw Tim was right-handed. He wasn't the killer like they so strongly believed.
Maura frowns and sighs deeply. "Could he have paid someone to do it?"
"We checked their financials. They wouldn't have had enough for that kind of thing." Korsak comments.
"Stacey didn't have a large life insurance policy on her, so it couldn't be that. This was personal."
Korsak agrees with her assessment. "Yeah... It had to be a family member or close friend."
Jane was about to speak, but she suddenly ran out of the morgue, throwing a 'be right back' over her shoulder.
"Hurry up, Frost." Jane demands, her impatience growing.
"I'm going as fast as I can."
Frost is currently fast forwarding through the footage of BPD security cameras. More specifically, the conference room.
"Stop there." Jane tells him, and he clicks the mouse to play it at normal speed.
A confused Korsak walks in and asks "Jane... Why'd you leave in such a hurry?"
"Get over here."
He goes over to where Jane stood by the computer, squinting her eyes and staring at the screen.
"Pause it." Jane points her finger to the screen. "Right there... When she takes the tissue."
Now even more confused, both ask at the same time "What?"
"We've been looking at the wrong parent."
So did the mother do it? If so, will our detectives be able to break her and get a confession? The left-handed thing, as explained, wouldn't be enough for an arrest... But what else do they have? At least it showed Tim Lewis didn't do it.
Next chapter coming soon. :)
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