She arrived back at the precinct at noon. The sun was high in the sky, threatening another blistering hot day. Maura arrived feeling somewhat refreshed. The shower and a healthy lunch helped her to physically feel like her old self. But mentally – and certainly emotionally – she was still unraveled. Back at Beacon Hill she found herself longing to hide away from the budding troubles. And at the same time, she couldn't get through her routine fast enough to find her way back to Jane's side. Even the tense quiet and unspoken hurt was better than not seeing her at all.
The former detective didn't hear Maura arrive. She was hunched over a desk, intently studying the transcripts and evidence of the Denton case. Jane was wearing a navy polo with the FBI insignia stitched above her right breast. Maura momentarily admired the lines of concentration stretched across her face.
"Hey," Maura said gently.
Jane looked up immediately, all previous seriousness dropping from her countenance. The doctor's appearance turned her tender.
"Hey," she greeted.
Maura took a few steps closer, relieved that no one else was in the bullpen. Her heart raced but she kept going, not stopping until she was at the edge of the desk. She leaned her hip against the wood, allowing Jane to take in the full length of her tight pencil skirt and sleeveless green blouse.
"How are things going?" the doctor asked.
"Okay. Just trying to see where I may have mis-stepped the last time," Jane answered. Her gaze lingered on Maura's legs and she forced herself to look away before it became too obvious. "They're getting him ready to talk to us at the prison."
Maura nodded and the two fell into silence. It was as though they'd already run out of things to say even though they were both bottling up lost words. Finally, the doctor cleared her throat.
"I didn't say it before and I should have," Maura started. "But I'm glad you're back. I-I uh…I missed you very much."
"I missed you too," she said. They stared at each other for a beat and Jane pulled in a slow breath. "I should've called you."
Maura quickly shook her head. "No, I ended things and I should have called you," she said. "And I shouldn't have let you leave that next morning."
"I shouldn't have left to begin with."
"We both made mistakes," Maura whispered.
"Did I ruin things between us?" Jane asked. Her brown eyes filled with such sadness and purity that it reminded Maura of a lost child. Her heart broke for Jane. And the pounding of her own chest continued to grow stronger.
"Of course not," Maura told her.
On instinct her hand reached out to Jane. She thought of pulling it away as she realized what she was doing but instead she carefully traced a few fingers down the woman's sharp jaw. Jane let the touch linger, doing her best to not completely lose herself. She gently pulled Maura's hand away from her cheek and held it with both of her own. She rubbed circles across the soft, tender skin and was quickly reminded of the warmth and sensuality the hands once brought her. Without thinking, Jane placed a gentle kiss on Maura's knuckles.
"I've hated every minute away from you," Jane confessed.
She released Maura's hand from her grasp.
"No," the medical examiner said, catching Jane by surprise. She left her seat on the desk and stepped forward, placing herself in front of the former detective. Maura ran another hand across Jane, this time caressing the back of her head. "Don't let go."
In an instant Jane stood, simultaneously wrapping her long arms around Maura's waist and pulling the doctor against her. Maura was surprised but didn't miss a beat, quickly hugging her arms around Jane's shoulders. Tears filled her green eyes as she held the woman again. The smells and sensations overwhelmed her. She felt like sobbing and hiding in Jane for eternity. When they pulled back from the embrace, Jane's arms lingered around Maura's waist and her eyes were shiny. The doctor put her hands on each of Jane's cheeks, ignoring the fact that a tear rolled down her own face.
"Please forgive me," Maura swallowed past a lump in her throat to get out the words.
Jane gave a tender tilt of her head. "I never blamed you," she whispered.
It was nearly impossible to say who kissed who but in an instant, their lips were against each other's. Maura pressed into Jane with passionate tenacity, her hands tangling with the woman's dark hair. Jane pulled the doctor tighter, slipping her tongue into her mouth, nearly seeing colors at the sweet taste. They didn't break for air until a light gasp echoed behind them.
"Oh wow," Frankie stammered.
He was about to back out of the room, but the two women jumped apart, both wide eyed and shocked at his appearance.
"Jesus, Frankie," Jane hissed in anger.
"Oh God," he stammered. "I'm sorry, I-I didn't know, realize, that was, I'm sorry…"
Maura blushed and looked to the floor but she wasn't embarrassed – just saddened to have their kiss cut short. She already longed to throw herself back into Jane's arms but she was now fierce and defensive thanks to the interruption.
"Grant Swindell is ready at the prison. We should get down there," Frankie continued. He gave Maura a sympathetic glance.
Jane quickly grabbed the file folder from her desk, still glaring at her brother while she did so.
"I'll meet you in the car," she snapped at him.
Frankie gave a nod. "Yeah. Sorry again," he said.
As soon as he was gone, Jane allowed herself to refocus on Maura. She was still rattled with anger and pent up passion. The doctor however appeared forlorn.
"I uh," Jane stopped. "I guess, I have to go."
"Yeah," Maura nodded. "You should. And I have some work to get done downstairs."
Before the doctor could leave the room, Jane gently grabbed her wrist. She slowly pulled Maura back so that they were facing each other.
"I think we should have dinner tonight," she said. "I think, we should talk."
"Talking is…important," Maura nodded. She was disheveled and uneasy but was quickly soothed by Jane's gentle smirk. She hadn't seen the smile in nearly a year. A smile only reserved for her. A smile that Jane gave with every quirk and idiosyncrasy that Maura couldn't hide.
"Yeah, it's important," Jane winked with a scrappy voice. She glanced over her shoulder, making sure no one else was about to walk in, and then with careful tenderness, she kissed Maura. The touch was sweet and short and brought light back to the doctor's face. Maura wrapped her arms around Jane, taking in her smell and warmth with a tight hug. When they pulled away Maura managed a small smile.
"Be careful," she said.
"It's just an interrogation," Jane told her. She squeezed Maura's hand. "I'll call you when we're done."
"You better."
Frankie had the car running, air conditioning blowing at full blast, by the time Jane flung open the passenger door and slammed it shut. She didn't say a word as she snapped on her seatbelt and her brother knew to simply step on the gas. Jane pulled on sunglasses as they peeled out of the garage, embarking on a short thirty-minute drive to Suffolk Correctional Facility.
Jane stared out the window, suppressing every desire in her to text Maura or turn around and run back to the medial examiner. Kissing her again was everything Jane wanted. But at the same time, it filled her with new fear – a fear she hadn't felt before. Fear that Maura would again walk away.
"So, you two back together?" Frankie asked.
Jane sighed, resting her chin on her hand. She was too tired and wrapped in her own emotional turmoil to get angry at her brother. She kept her eyes out the window, watching the cityscape turn to fields and suburbs.
"I don't know," Jane said. "I don't know if it's the best thing right now."
Frankie's face flickered with surprise. He gripped the steering wheel a little tighter as he glanced back over at his sister.
"But you love Maura," he replied.
"Yeah, so?" Jane asked. She looked over at him with a grim quirk of her mouth. "It didn't really matter last time around."
"Maybe this is different," Frankie said. "You both deserve to be happy; to be with each other."
"Thanks, Frankie," Jane whispered. "But I think maybe, I should focus on Grant and Olivia and this godforsaken case."
Grant Swindell had lost significant weight since the last time Jane had last seen him. His cheeks were gaunt and his fierce blue eyes sunken into the sockets. He'd lost most of his hair and wrinkles outlined his long cheeks. He looked slight in his orange jumpsuit as the Rizzoli siblings met him at a metal table in the prison cafeteria. Grant's wrists were handcuffed to the table and an armed guard lingered nearby.
"Good afternoon, Grant," Jane greeted him.
It'd been three years since she last saw him. It'd been in a court room, during his sentencing. Jane had testified against him as had Maura. They sat together as the judge read out his verdict. Grant sobbed hysterically as he was taken away in handcuffs. Jane could never respect him to begin with, but the pathetic way he carried himself made her despise him. He was a coward who preyed on children – the worst kind of criminal.
"What do you want?" Grant asked. He was quiet and clearly skeptical of their presence. He looked back and forth between Jane and Frankie as though waiting for one of them to physically accost him.
"Just wanted to see how prison was treating you," Frankie said.
Grant twitched nervously in his seat. The metal cuffs scraped against the table.
"Did you figure it out?" Grant asked.
Jane's brow furrowed. "Figure what out?"
"That I'm innocent," Grant replied. His sapphire eyes widened with new confidence. "Is that why you're here?"
Jane and Frankie exchanged glances. Just because they'd reopened Olivia Denton's case didn't assure Grant's innocence. But his foresight and clear trust in his own theory caught the Rizzolis off-guard.
"There have been some developments," Frankie conceded. They'd already agreed to not tell Grant that Olivia was potentially alive. It would just stir up a nightmare with the prisoner's lawyers and the media, which was what they didn't need if the girl was still out there.
"You've shared a lot of theories before," Jane added. "We wanted to see if your story is still the same."
"Something happened," Grant said hopefully. A small smile lifted his lips. "You're re-opening the case?"
"We haven't done anything yet, Grant," she lied. "But who knows? Maybe that could change if you help us. Right Frankie?"
Frankie silently nodded his head, not breaking eye contact with Grant. The forty-one year old pedophile inched closer in his seat, as far as the chains would allow. He was still smiling, in fact now he was smug, dropping his skittish façade from earlier.
"You already know my story," Grant told them. "Just check the court transcripts. This is all so much bigger than what you think. The real people who took Olivia; they're still out there."
"And yet you won't give us any names," Jane rolled her eyes. "Hell of a theory you have there…"
"I like living – even if it is behind these prison walls," he snapped. "You don't understand how much power these people have."
"All you're giving us is more nonsense, Grant," Frankie grunted. He glanced to Jane, playing coy. "This is pointless. I think we should go…"
"Wait!" the prisoner shouted. "Wait – just tell me what you want to know. Something I can actually give you…I can still be of help."
"I doubt that," Jane muttered. She folded her arms on the metal table and cleared her throat. "Tell me about Maura Isles."
At first Grant seemed surprised by the question but after a moment of thinking it over, his face tightened with another smirk.
"Who?" he asked.
"You're going to act like you don't know?" Jane said unamused. She nodded to Frankie. "Let's go."
"Oh! You mean Dr. Isles, the medical examiner?" Grant cut in. He gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I remember her. She came here to interview me with you a few times. I'll be honest, I thought it was strange. Then I put two and two together."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, that she was with you. I mean, you made it obvious. The way she looked at you…the way you were ready to pounce on me if I breathed wrong around her. It's getting me hot and bothered right now thinking about it…." Grant smiled.
Frankie nearly leapt across the table, his brown eyes wild with fury.
"You watch your fucking mouth, dirtbag," the detective snapped.
"Don't worry, I keep it all up here for private use," Grant said, tapping the side of his head. He gave Jane a wink and raised his eyebrows.
Jane stayed unbelievably clam. Grant's insights disturbed her but she wasn't about to give anything away. Not when it meant Maura or potentially Olivia's life.
"Who else did you tell?" she asked.
"Tell about the butch detective screwing the medical examiner?"
"Jane…" Frankie muttered. He wanted to kill Grant and was confused by his sister's level head. Jane refused to look at him.
"Answer my question."
"I can't remember who I told. Not a lot to write home about here," Grant shrugged. "Why do you ask? HR issue?"
Jane stared at her hands. They were clasped together tightly, her knuckles going white at the tension. It was all she could do to keep from jumping across the table and strangling Grant right then and there. Her face was hot from rage and she could feel Frankie staring at her.
"Someone threatened her," she told Grant.
"To provoke you," he said.
Jane straightened up, suddenly fascinated by his statement.
"What do you know about it?"
"I know nothing," Grant said. "I'm stuck here in prison. What the hell am I going to do?"
"You told someone to use Maura against me."
Grant belted a deep and unexpected laugh. It echoed loudly across the empty cafeteria and caused Jane's chest to jump with surprise.
"What's so funny asshole?" Frankie asked. When Grant kept chuckling, the younger Rizzoli yanked on the chains of his handcuffs, pulling him closer to the table. Grant stopped laughing and hissed in pain. "I'll give you something to laugh about…"
"You're such idiots," Grant growled. Spit flew from his mouth with emphasis. "You still think I'm behind all this? Even when someone else is out there, poking holes in your case? I know that's why you're here."
"And what else do you know?" Jane asked. "All evidence still points to you."
"The evidence? If that wasn't the most obvious plant job…"
"You've seen too many fucking movies," Frankie snapped.
"Maybe I have. Or maybe you two are in denial," Grant said.
"This is going in circles," Jane growled.
"Lets just say, everyone had their part, detective," Grant told her. He glanced at her shirt. "Or is it Agent Rizzoli now?"
"Everyone had a part? How many people are we talking, Grant?" Jane asked.
"I couldn't tell you."
"Of course not," Frankie hissed.
"And what was your part?" Jane asked. "Kidnap Olivia and kill her? Sounds like a one-man mission."
"I was the fall man," Grant said.
"Bullshit."
"What then? You think I'm the one threatening your girl?" Grant snapped. "You know I'm not."
"Then who is?"
"It could be anyone. The list is long – grunts like me, all the way to businessmen, probably politicians…"
"All for one little girl?" Frankie asked.
"It's not about one little girl," Grant said. "There are probably dozens just like her still out there."
"You saying Olivia is alive?" Jane asked.
Grant raised an eyebrow.
"Isn't she?" he asked.
Jane watched him, her mouth in a straight, rigid line. But even though she refused to say a word, it was clear that Grant already knew the answer. His gaze was just as haunting as Hoyt's all those years ago.
"Sounds like you and your friends will know before we do," she finally said.
She rose from her seat and Frankie did the same. Grant cleared his throat before they could turn to leave.
"Be careful detective. This involves some of your own," he said. "I asked during the trial and no one believed me...Find out what cop discovered those bloody clothes in my attic. Those weren't there before my arrest. I think they hold your key."
"Any other conspiracy theories you want to share?" Frankie scowled.
"Good luck," Grant glared back.
The brother and sister team waited until the doors to the cafeteria were safely shut behind them before they looked at each other. Frankie rubbed the back of his neck.
"You believe any of that?" he asked.
Jane was busy pulling out her cellphone.
"All I know that he wasn't the one who threatened Maura. And he's too stupid to have someone else do it," she said gruffly.
"So?"
"So, he's right about one thing. Someone else is out there," Jane muttered. She finished dialing and pressed the phone to her ear.
"Who are you calling?"
"Maura," she mumbled. Frankie pushed the button for the elevator at the end of the hall, watching in concern as Jane frowned. "She didn't answer."
"She's probably busy…"
"We need to get back to the station. Now."
Maura was determined to stay distracted. She sat rigidly behind her desk, keeping an empty gaze trained on her computer monitor. Case files were neatly stacked next to her. They usually would take little time to complete, but she dragged through the work. Her mind lingered on Jane. The kissing had stirred sweet emotion in her. But it also bred new anxiety. She feared what was to come next. Perhaps Jane wouldn't want her at all anymore. Maybe that's what their dinner would be all about.
"Don't let it get the best of you. That's what happened last time," the doctor mumbled to herself. She then quickly shook her head. "And now, you're talking to yourself…"
A sudden knock on the door pulled her out of her thoughts. Maura nearly jumped out of her seat as she looked up.
"Hello?" she called out.
Her brow furrowed as she realized the two officers assigned to her security detail were no longer there. Instead a new uniformed officer stood at her office door, barely visible through the blinds.
"Dr. Isles? It's officer Keller," a man's voice replied.
Maura didn't know why but his presence filled her with uncertainty. She attributed it to the leftover nerves she was feeling from her exchange with Jane.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
"Homicide sent me down to pick up results on the Wexler case."
The doctor blushed, realizing the results were right on the top of her stack. She should have sent them up hours ago. Maura grabbed the papers off her desk and made her way for the door. Her heels clicked loudly across the linoleum. Officer Richard Keller waited patiently in the hallway.
"Tell them I'm sorry for the delay…"
Before she could finish, the officer pushed her back into the office and quickly shut the door.
"What are you-"
In an instant he looped a rough arm around her waist. Maura gave a high-pitched yelp but he slapped his hand over her open mouth. The doctor squirmed and jerked in his hold. She managed to slam an elbow into his ribcage, forcing his grip loose.
"Help!" she screamed.
The medical examiner attempted to reach the door, but officer Keller forcefully shoved her off balance and sent her tumbling to the ground. Maura's heart was racing and adrenaline coursed through her veins but she couldn't will her body to move fast enough. Keller clamored on top of her, holding her wrists down to the floor.
"Help! Someone!" Maura yelled louder.
"No one is going to hear you," Keller hissed. "I made sure of that."
He moved one hand to her throat, holding her in place on the floor. His other hand reached for his back pocket, pulling out a white cloth. Maura knew exactly what it was as it moved toward her. She jerked and tears sprang to her eyes but it was suddenly over her mouth and nose. The room spun and her eyelids became heavy. She fell under the power of chloroform. And officer Richard Keller carried her out of the precinct without delay.