A/N Hi guys, yep, I'm back. It's been a while but I've been busy.

First things first; thank you to everyone who took the time to message me with good wishes; it was very much appreciated during a time when I needed it.

The next thing is that you should go back and read Chapter 27, my previous placeholder note in that chapter has been replaced with a proper chapter, so head on back there now and read it, I'll wait right here until you get back. Go on, it's okay…I'm not going anywhere.

Ah, welcome back.

The next thing you may need to know is that I've spit off the trial of the Witsec case into its own stand-alone story, if you check my profile, look for Intersecting Lines: The Trial. It's up and complete. I split it off because at 18 chapters and over 120,000 words it would have taken up way too much of Book 3, chapters I will need to tell this story properly. I'd ask you to read it if you haven't seen it yet, it's got a lot in it, some of which will play a part later in this book, plus it has an absolute butt load of cameos, all leading into the back half of this book.

Thanks for your patience as I get back into this story, sorry for the delay but I'm pushing forward with what I hope is a story you enjoy.

Intersecting Lines Book 3

28 Revelations

Jane's viewpoint

The scene was even worse than the others; the gutted body of a middle-aged woman was by now almost a brutally gruesome normality, what wasn't normal was the second body of a younger guy, maybe mid-40s, a little overweight, lying nearby. Compared to the body we'd tagged as the initial victim, this one was nowhere near as messy; three stab wounds to the chest, any one of which would have been quickly fatal with one right over the heart which to my eye looked like it had been the immediately killing blow. Normally that would be bad enough, but at least this vic was in one piece, exactly how and why he'd come to be here was what we needed to find out.

Brenda and Sharon arrived together; a small but welcome advantage of them working a joint case, when one arrived on scene the other was there as well. They took in the scene and Sharon asked the first question.

"Well detectives, what happened here that was so very different from the usual?" I glanced at the others and Jefferies took the lead.

"Near as we can figure out so far the second vic, tentatively identified as the female victim's son, walked in on the assailant carving his mother up, he shouted, there was a struggle and the son was stabbed several times. The neighbours heard the disturbance, raised the alarm and the assailant fled the scene" Sharon nodded and asked the obvious follow up.

"Did anyone get a look at the suspect?" That was my cue.

"The only witness saw a male, well they thought it was a male, probably, probably medium build, probably medium height, definitely dark hair, could have been Caucasian, maybe, flee down the fire escape, dressed in a grey hoodie and jeans" I shrugged. "We're pretty sure it was our suspect, witness saw them leaving in a big hurry, the hood had fallen back, exposing the hair" I looked up from my notes and took both Sharon and Brenda in. "The kicker is, he, if it was a he, was carrying a cooler box" Brenda nodded at that as she looked round the room, then spoke.

"They obviously left in a hurry, people who do that usually make mistakes; I'd like to get a full forensics workup on the fire escape's doors and handrails as soon as possible please" I nodded, seeing several others do the same. She looked to Sharon and they exchanged a glance before Sharon took up the questioning.

"Would someone please walk us through what transpired here" Jefferies nodded and started talking.

"At approximately 7.50 this evening the male victim, identified from his wallet as Colin Ferrell, likely the son of our first victim given the likely age and the same surname; arrived and it appears he used his own key to open the door to the apartment. We believe that he disturbed the attacker and a struggle ensued, resulting in the victim being stabbed several times. The noise of the fight and the second victim's screams alerted the neighbours, one of whom called 911, another looked out the door and saw the suspect fleeing like Rizzoli said"

Brenda looked around the group and then spoke.

"That is the first decent lead we've had drop people; we need to work it hard" She pursed her lips in thought for a moment then continued. "I can't imagine our suspect used public transport, all things considered, so we need to check any streets in the area, any parking areas, look for any camera's that might cover the area, any shops that might have spotted our assailant, you know the drills everyone, we have a description" She glanced my way and shook her head. "Well the beginnings of one anyway, we just have to work with it and see if we can expand it" She glanced at Sharon who nodded.

"Check with Uber and the other rideshares, taxi companies and the hire car companies; find out if any of them picked up a customer in the vicinity within our timeframe" Sharon shrugged then continued. "Highly unlikely I know but it is worth a shot" She turned to Jefferies. "Lieutenant Jefferies, could you and Lieutenant Flynn take charge of the canvas once we are finished here; call in additional uniformed officers as necessary, but we need to flood the area before too much time passes" Sharon got a series of nods before turning back to Jefferies. "Please continue Lieutenant" Jefferies nodded and consulted her notes before doing so.

"The first victim is Alison Ferrell, the resident here. Based on age and some of the pictures up on the wall, it sure looks like the female vic is Mister Ferrell's mother" I nodded at that, having seen a photo showing the now-deceased male standing behind Mrs Ferrell, arms around her as they smiled for the camera. Brenda looked back from where she'd scanned both victims.

"I see both have wedding rings, do we know where her husband and his wife are?" she asked, getting a response from Sanchez.

"A quick check suggests the vic's husband is deceased ma'am" He checked his notebook. "The male victim is listed as living over in Perris, Kahn and Sykes are on their way over to there now" He looked up. "With both teams on this we have the resources and it seemed like a good way to save time" Sharon exchanged another glance with Brenda then nodded.

"Good thinking Sergeant, I'd like to know what brought Mister Ferrell out here tonight of all nights" Brenda nodded.

"Hopefully Kahn and Sykes will be able to answer that soon enough" It was an interesting pairing I thought, but with Mendoza on protection duty in court Khan was running solo, so it was good of Sykes to ride with him, she seemed to have good instincts, even if she seemed a bit hustling, as if she was trying to prove to Sharon she was worthy of being on her team.

"They're already talking to Riverside County Sheriff's Department ma'am" Sanchez stated. "It's their turf so they're meeting up with some Deputies to conduct the interview with the wife" Sharon nodded.

"Good work Sergeant" She exchanged a quick wordless conversation with Brenda before she started detailing us off, I got the job of tracking down her employer and finding out if this either tied in to the other killings that way, or if there was something else that might link them together.

There was movement at the door as Maura walked in, booties over her heels and wearing blue gloves, followed by her team. She'd been working back doing prep work for her trial appearance when the call came in, so she'd ridden in with her team. She made her way over to where Sharon and Brenda were as they greeted her, exchanging a few words before she made her way across to the male victim's body and, fishing out a small LED torch from her bag, commenced examining the body.

Buzz was working his way round the room, filming everything as usual as I exchanged some words with Riggs from Sharon's team, comparing thoughts on the scene when I heard a low gasp which caught my attention, but not as much as what followed.

"Oh my god" At Maura's stricken words I turned to see her crouched there, the blood draining from her face and the shock on her face had me moving to her instantly, kneeling by her side.

"What's up, Maur, what's the matter" For a second I couldn't reach her, she'd turned inwards, then I saw her come back to me, her eyes focussing on me.

"Jane, oh Jane, what have I done?" It was the deep despair in her voice that shocked me, this was Maura, the woman was poise personified, at least when she was amongst others, only our friends got to see her without the mask and I was the only one she was completely unguarded with; to see her so lost was almost frightening.

"What, what's happened Maura?" I ducked my head to look into her hazel eyes, seeing the fear and doubt swimming in them. "What's the matter?" She looked up at me as I realised that the entire room had stilled, everyone here was staring at Maura, worry and concern on every face. For a second she was oblivious then came back to me, resolve settling across her face, her voice suddenly crisp, determined even as she stood in a single fluid move.

"I must return to the morgue immediately" I reared back, the morgue…

"You sure Maur…?" She nodded then turned to look up at Brenda standing there.

"Chief Johnson, I must return to the morgue immediately, I believe that I have missed something critical to this case" I saw Brenda's eyes widen; the same as mine did, Maura never missed anything, for her to think she had…

"Of course Doctor, how urgently do you need to get there?" Maura stood, determination in every line of her face, her voice brooking no argument.

"Immediately" Brenda took one look at Maura's face, glanced at Sharon who was standing nearby, like Brenda her face showing barely-hidden concern then turned back and nodded.

"Of course" She looked at me. "Sergeant Rizzoli, transport Doctor Isles back to the morgue immediately, anything the Doctor needs, make it happen" I nodded.

"Yes Chief" Maura had turned to her team leader.

"Please finish up processing the victims and transport both of the victim's to the morgue as quickly as possible, I will meet you there upon your return" Obviously puzzled and a little concerned he quickly nodded.

"Yes Doctor" At his response she nodded and turned to me.

"We should go" I watched as she turned and strode towards the door, bag in hand, seeing the surprise and concern in everyone's faces. Provenza looked at me, a question obvious in his face then spoke.

"Well don't just stand there Rizzoli, get moving" I nodded and took off after her.

Fifteen minutes later, courtesy of a balls-to-the-wall, lights and sirens run back to the Parker Centre I watched as Maura strode in the front door, she'd barely said anything the whole way, when we'd first got into my unmarked she'd belted up then turned to me and spoken.

"As soon as at all possible please Jane"

I watched her go, then parked the unmarked and made a bee line for the morgue, arriving to find it a scene of controlled chaos, something that NEVER happened in Maura's morgue, with people moving bodies around and running in and out to retrieve files. There were two bodies on the centre tables; the two most recent Muti murder victims, as Maura moved back and forth from one to the other, she'd already gloved and gowned up and had re-opened the Y incisions on both vics, now she was poking around inside, a large, illuminated magnifying glass in on hand as she leaned in, LED torch in her other hand as she minutely examined the inner recesses of each body's stomach wounds.

For almost ten minutes she moved back and forward between the bodies and the photos contained within her autopsy and crime scene reports, becoming more agitated as she did as I watched in mounting concern. She'd ignored my attempts to learn what had set her off and was making her so upset, instead shaking her head tightly and continuing on, her face becoming grimmer as I wondered what the hell I was watching. Finally she looked up and spoke; her voice harsh.

"Please call Chief Johnson and Commander Raydor and ask them to join us here as soon as possible" I tipped my head to regard her. Before I could ask anything she spoke again, her tone brooking no argument. "Now Jane" I nodded and pulled out my cell, ringing Brenda and passing on Maura's request and being told that they'd leave immediately, when Maura was so direct, so out of character, people responded. Ending the call, I looked back at her, seeing the tension and stress in her posture and face.

"They're leaving now, baby…what's up, what's happened" She shook her head sadly.

"Jane, I've made a terrible error" I took a step towards her, my hand coming up automatically.

"What is it? What's wrong?" She shook her head and then took two steps back.

"Please give me some time Jane, I need some time alone" She looked at me and shook her head once. "Please let me know when they arrive" Puzzled I took another step forward, stopping when she raised her hand.

"Why, where will you be?" I got a forlorn look, one that cut me to the core.

"Drafting my resignation"

With that she turned and walked away, walking into her office and closing the door behind her as I stood there, dumbfounded. Not much more than twenty minutes later Brenda and Sharon arrived; they'd obviously not wasted any time, to find me waiting for them.

"What's going on Jane" Brenda asked. I shook my head sadly.

"I don't know but it's shaken her badly, she's really rattled, said something about making a mistake and resigning" The look of shock on her face was matched by the one on Sharon's, then replaced by resolve from both of them.

"Like hell she is" Brenda said, backed up by Sharon.

"Not on my watch" I nodded and made my way over to the door of Maura's office and knocked.

"Maura, they're here" A few seconds later the door opened and she stood there, her face rigidly composed, though I could see hints she'd been crying, though she'd managed to cover most of them up with makeup. She looked up at me and nodded.

"Thank you Jane: She gave me a wan smile and walked past.

"Chief Johnson, Commander Raydor, I regret to inform you that a key piece of evidence was missed by myself whilst previously examining the victims, an inexcusable lapse on my part and one for which I can but offer my heartfelt apologies" I saw Brenda and Sharon exchange a glance then look back to her.

"What exactly was missed Maura?" asked Sharon.

"The victims were killed by a very slender, extremely sharp-bladed object, one that appears, based on the forensic evidence, to have been a scalpel-like blade" I nodded, seeing the others do the same. "My examination during previous autopsy's suggested that the organs were then removed by another knife, one with a serrated edge" There was a round of nods at that as she continued. "Tonight's initial victim was killed the same way as the others, using a similar, almost certainly scalpel-like blade. The initial incision into the torso was made with a serrated-edge blade as per the previous victims, however the removal of the liver was undertaken with an extremely sharp blade, again almost certainly a scalpel" I tipped my head at that…my mind already racing ahead even as Maura continued.

"My initial autopsy findings suggested that the organs were removed with the use of a serrated edge blade" I nodded, seeing the others do the same. "Based on the evidence from tonight's victim it would appear that conclusion was erroneous" she said, regret in her voice even as her posture remained rigid.

"In what way erroneous Maura?" It was Brenda. Maura looked at her and replied.

"The organs removed from the victim tonight were not undertaken using a serrated edge blade. In fact they were very carefully, even skilfully, removed using a scalpel-like blade" She looked to one of the corpses on the table nearby and paused, then rallied. "If so perhaps the same was true of the previous victims and I missed the evidence. I have examined both of the bodies we still have here and have confirmed that there is evidence of very careful removal of at least one organ in each case" Sharon exchanged a glance with Brenda, nodded and spoke.

"The serrated-edge blade…?" Maura's reply was straight to the point.

"The evidence would suggest that the damage done to the organs in the previous victims using the serrated edge blade was done to cover the fact that at least one of the organs was carefully removed" I nodded and spoke up.

"They removed the organs then messed up the evidence by hacking up the wound site" Maura spared me a glance at my quick and dirty summary and nodded once.

"In essence yes, that is correct There was silence for a few seconds as we each considered what she'd told us, I could see we were all mentally junking the black magic aspect, this was too specific, too…clinical. I had my suspicions and I was sure the others did too but Sharon crystalised them.

"Can you suggest a reason for the removal of the organs Doctor?" Maura nodded and looked to her.

"I have reviewed my notes, tonight's female victim, the bodies of the victims here and my notes on the previous victim; one removed organ is common to each victim, the liver"

"Is that of particular note for any reason?" At Brenda's question Maura tipped her head to regard her as she spoke.

"The number of organ donors in the United States is large, but not enough to keep up with demand, thus there is a waiting list for transplant donors. This is particularly true for organs where the donor must be deceased. Unlike the kidney where the donor can donate one organ and live a normal and fulfilling life post-donation, certain organs such as the heart can only be donated post mortem" She looked from Brenda to Sharon to me then back again. "The liver is also such an organ"

"You suspect these people were killed for their liver for donation purposes?" Sharon asked as Brenda nodded in agreement.

"The liver from tonight's victim was very carefully removed, demonstrating a level of skill and knowledge that suggests the assailant had experience in the appropriate surgical procedures to do so; the incisions to remove the organ were made at points that allowed for sufficient tissue at each of the key points to support a transplant into a recipient patient"

"Wouldn't there be a need for some kind of tissue matching though?" I grimaced; trying to remember stuff I'd seen and read over the years, off the news mostly. "Aren't there issues with the transplant if it isn't compatible?" Maura looked to me and nodded.

"Indeed, without careful tissue matching the chance of the recipient rejecting the transplanted organ is quite high, even with a regime of immune-suppressant drugs to assist the body in accepting the transplanted organ" There was silence for a few seconds before Brenda put it into words.

"So organ harvesting from unwilling donors, I'd heard stories, most of which sounded like urban legends, plus some stories out of China claiming forced harvesting from prisoners, but I'm not aware of it being a thing here in the States?" Brenda pursed her lips and looked to Maura before continuing. "Are you aware of it happening here?" Maura shook her head once.

"Not that I am personally aware of, however given the imbalance between supply and demand, it is not impossible to contemplate a rich patient paying to obtain one" She looked between the three of us. "I am more concerned that a surgeon is willing to ignore their Hippocratic Oath, to kill someone to harvest an organ stands opposed to the Oath's prime tenant which is, of course, first, do no harm"

Brenda and Sharon stood there, both in obvious deep thought before they looked up and did that talking without words thing they sometimes did before looking back at us.

"We will refocus the investigation first thing in the morning, there's no harm in continuing the gathering of evidence based on the previous leads and it might help us either way" Sharon nodded at Brenda's comment before adding her own.

"This gives us a new and potentially much more promising line of investigation" They nodded before Brenda turned to Maura and raised an eyebrow as she spoke.

"Now what's this silly nonsense about you resigning?" Maura suddenly stiffened, shooting me a glance before looking back to Brenda.

"I feel it is only appropriate, my errors in conducting the previous autopsy's led your investigation down an erroneous path, one that would likely have led to the killer's actions going undetected and markedly hindering your investigations" She stood a little straighter. "Given my unfortunate mistake, it would be inappropriate for me to continue to hold the position I do" Brenda's response was unequivocal.

"No way am I going to let you fall on your sword because of missing something tiny" As Maura went to say something she held her hand up and pressed on. "Everyone makes mistakes, we're human after all, but you immediately checked the moment you had an inkling that something was wrong, and reported it immediately" Sharon nodded.

"Indeed, to err is human, we know and accept that. You advised us the moment you became aware of the error, now we have a completely new set of avenues to explore" Maura paused then spoke.

"I am concerned that this unforgivable lapse on my part may undermine the reputation of the exemplary team that I have been fortunate enough to lead" Sharon wasn't wearing that for a moment.

"I don't think that's how they'd see it; or anyone else either. In fact I bet if I asked them, they'd be even more appreciative of the fact that you made a mistake, discovered it and how you dealt with it" I shrugged and jumped in

"It proves you're human, you do occasionally make mistakes like the rest of us ordinary people" Before Maura could say something Brenda nodded and interjected.

"Yeah, a textbook case of dealing with the discovery of an error" She looked at Sharon, her voice suddenly formal. "Commander Raydor, as the next most senior investigating officer on this case, do you see any issue with Doctor Isle's handling of this situation?" Sharon shook her head, her voice equally formal.

"Not at all Chief Johnson, I believe that while a potential avenue of investigation was initially missed, that error has been identified and brought to our attention" She glanced at Maura then back at Brenda. "I believe that the issue has been handled appropriately by Doctor Isles and that no further censure is either needed or required"

I could see Maura's face freeze, she was probably caught between relief, regret and shame; seeing that I took the spotlight off her.

"Where do we go from here?" Brenda nodded,

"Good question" She looked to Maura. "What should we be looking for?" Caught off guard by the question, and probably by the trust contained with it, Maura paused for a moment, thinking hard then looked over at Brenda and replied.

"If the livers of the victims are indeed being harvested for organ transplant, you will need to focus your investigation on to surgeons here in Los Angeles who specialise in that specific field" Sharon nodded at that and spoke up.

"You'd say we're looking at the surgery happening here then, not in another city or even overseas?" Maura shook her head once, decisively, as she spoke; her words slow as she thought it through.

"I would say that is unlikely, transporting organs requires it to be done under the strictest conditions of speed and clinical hygiene and requires significant regulatory paperwork to pass through customs, likely ruling out air travel, thus it is unlikely to have taken more than an hour or two's distance by road from the site of the attack" Maura paused in thought then continued, a little faster. "The surgery is unlikely to have occurred at a major hospital given the number of checks and balances in place, though naturally I would not presume to tell you how to conduct your investigation" Sharon shook her head.

"On the contrary, you're our subject matter expert, I'll take any leads you can give me" Maura smiled, just a little at Sharon's words, then a little wider as Brenda chimed in.

"Given how much your advice and skills have helped close other cases, I'll happily take and advice you can give" Maura looked to me and I smiled and gave a single slow nod, letting her know what I thought; she had this covered.

"Thank you, your understanding and support are both very, very welcome" She took a breath then continued. "I would suggest that smaller, private hospitals and clinics would be your most likely option, small enough to avoid excessive scrutiny, large enough to process a number of liver patients" She pulled a face. "We are looking for a facility that undertakes at least one or two transplant procedures a week, which requires matching a donor with a recipient, locating the unwilling donor and then scheduling the transplant. That suggests an already existing system in place to handle such details, the most likely facilities to have all the elements in place are clinics and smaller hospitals that specialise in such procedures" We all nodded, it gave us a new series of leads to run down.

"That's excellent Doctor, thank you" Brenda nodded at Sharon's comment then looked to Maura.

"I do however have one additional comment to make regarding your so-called 'error'…" Maura looked up at Brenda's words, seeing Brenda watching her calmly. "I disagree with my colleague that no further censure is appropriate" Maura nodded and stood a little straighter.

"Of course Chief" I had an inkling of where Brenda was going with this but Maura obviously expected the worst. Brenda let a small smile escape.

"Therefore I'm letting you know that you're buying drinks this Friday for the teams at O'Malley's" She smiled a little wider. "Do that and I'll consider your apology paid in full" Maura nodded and smiled, obviously relieved, glancing at me as I gave her a smile and a wink. She looked back at Brenda and Sharon and nodded once.

"Thank you Chief"