The door of courtroom 5-3 opened. The hallway was full of people, exhausted and confused relatives of victims and defendants waiting for their cases to be called. Judge Katz was in a particularly foul mood, an imposition to have to work the day before Thanksgiving. He rushed through the morning hearings, dispensing justice at a frantic pace, granting or denying bail.

Maura came out and closed the door behind her; inside, Judge Katz' tirade was still in full swing. "No bail! Not now, not ever!" he yelled. "If you love him so much, visit him in jail. And go to the eye doctor so you don't run right back into a baseball bat!" was the last thing Maura heard. Just another day in paradise.

Leaning against the wall of the hallway, law books in hand, was Paul Meyers of the District Attorney's Office, the head of the trial division, apparently waiting for her. He looked serious, reserved. "Maura!" he called, making his way through the crowd. "I was told I could find you here. I need to talk to you. Before this goes public and the phones go hot."

Maura immediately got a sinking feeling in her stomach area. She could probably forget about the trip over the long weekend now. The legal director's personal visit to the courthouse rarely boded well. "Hello, Paul, what is it?"

"It's about Bantling's appeal. We just got the decision. The Attorney General's office emailed it, and they got it directly from the Clerk of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. I wanted to tell you personally. Because I'm sure you'll have the press on you soon."

Please don't. Here it comes. Think about where the move is going to go because now he's a free man. He was back, the nightmare she had been able to forget for almost a year. Her hands got sweaty and her mouth went dry. She nodded slowly. "Well?"

"So, we won. On all counts." At last, he smiled. "The court unanimously upheld the conviction. I have the opinion here." He held up a bundle of papers. "I'll have a copy made just for you. But basically, it says, first of all, there was no conflict in you representing the prosecution. It says the claim that he was your attacker is opportunistic and hair-brained and devoid of any evidence. Moreover, it is said that to give the slightest credence to such an allegation would, and I quote, 'open the floodgates for other criminals, also intent on deceiving the justice system, to dig into the past of their prosecutors.' If one could seek dismissal of a case on the basis of a sheer allegation, in this case conveniently after the statute of limitations had run on the alleged prior crime, a defendant could in the future choose not only the tribunal but also the prosecutor without even having to prove the nefarious allegations." Paul pointed to the highlighted passage in the opinion and let Maura. read for herself. "They also didn't buy his conspiracy theory and the accusations against his defense. They think Rubio did a more than adequate job, and the decision to testify or not, according to the record, was clearly his responsibility. And finally, most importantly, they also don't buy the argument that the evidence has changed. Here, I've highlighted it for you. Judge Chaskel, after all, had denied Bantling's motion for a new trial in the spring, and the appeals court agrees. Chambers' attack on you doesn't constitute new evidence. The opinion mentions that in his last trial in the summer, yes, the jury already disallowed the argument as well and convicted him of ten counts of murder. Period. End of sentence. That's it. You can breathe easy, Maura."

"So, what do you think his next move is?" Maura's heart was racing.

"Go to the Massachusetts Supreme Court, you mean? Definitely, but I wouldn't worry about it at all. I think the Third Circuit Court of Appeals opinion is very decisive. And then he'll probably fight his way through the courts all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court."

Maura nodded thoughtfully, quickly considering all that this news held for her. She was surprised to find that she felt no remorse, nor did she feel any guilt. Only a strange calm spread through her.

"He's probably going to max out all his legal actions over the next few years. But we'll probably be long gone by the time that happens."

"I'm sure I won't," she said expressionlessly.

"You're still young, after all. I'll probably be enjoying my meager pension out on my boat off the Keys by then. Six years to go, the countdown is on. Just the fishes and me. I'm not even taking my wife. Well, I got to go, Maura. I'll have a copy delivered to your office this afternoon. Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, I'm flying out to my parents' house in California tonight to celebrate Thanksgiving with them." She believed she could mend this relationship now. And she wanted to because it meant so much to her.

"Well, you can enjoy the holidays even more now. Have a good flight." He turned and made his way through the restless crowd to the elevator, probably spurred by pleasant thoughts of his retirement and turkey.

Maura watched Meyers disappear into the elevator and waved again.

I'll always be watching you, Bantling, always. You won't escape me, because I'll always find you...

Maura shook her head involuntarily. Then she looked at the clock. It was almost noon, and she still had to get home, pack. She pulled into the lobby and passed the Pickle Barrel. It wasn't as crowded as usual because of the holidays; most of the defense attorneys, prosecutors, and judges left the courthouse right after their morning appointments.

Maura pushed open the glass door and walked down the steps. The back entrance to the courthouse led onto Thirteenth Street and to the penitentiary. For security reasons, this part of the street was closed to traffic, except for police vehicles. She recognized the car immediately.

Jane parked right in front of the steps. As Maura approached, the detective lowered the passenger window. "Hello, beautiful," she called, "can I give you a ride?"

"My mother says I shouldn't talk to strangers," Maura laughed. "What are you doing here? I thought we were meeting at my place?"

"I was going to. But then I thought I'd get you out of here as early as possible. We could get in the mood for Bloody Marys on the plane."

Maura opened the passenger door and sat down next to the Italian woman.

Jane leaned toward her, put her hand on the back of Maura's neck, and pulled her tenderly against her. Jane's lips were warm.

After a long kiss, Maura sighed. "What a lovely greeting. I'm glad you came. Because I'm in the mood for a cold, tropical vacation cocktail, too. Have you packed yet?"

"Everything's in the trunk. How about you?"

"Of course not," laughed the lawyer. "But you might be able to help me. It won't take long."

"So go ahead. Take those ugly files to your office, and I'll follow you. And then it's just you and me, baby."

„And my parents. Don't forget, you get to meet them."

"I can't wait," the detective said, and even meant it.

Maura smiled broadly and kissed Jane again. Then she hopped out of the car to get rid of the files and take off on vacation. The flight to San Francisco left at 5.30 p.m., and she didn't want to miss it.