One of the phones on the nightstand started ringing and Jane reached for it. Both had the same phone in the same color, although Jane would have never thought that Maura was going for a black phone too. She found it kind of confusing.
She saw Frankie's name on the display knowing that it was hers which was ringing. She put the phone back to the nightstand after some hesitation not wanting to leave their universe of togetherness. But when it started to ring for a second time she picked up.
"What's up, Frankie?" she asked calmly kissing Maura on the forehead.
Her brother didn't waste any time greeting her. "He did it again, Jane. That stupid ass did it again."
Jane rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Who did what again, Frankie?" she asked him to calm down and elaborate.
"Tommy! He got arrested for a hit and run." Janes mind was suddenly racing. Part of her cursed her brother and wanted to leave him where he was. Especially after Tommy had given her a hard time, claiming that she had hurt Angela. But part of her knew that she had to go and see for herself. Tommy had been wrongly accused before.
"There goes our weekend." She mumbled while getting dressed.
„I'm going to drive. " Maura said in a way which mad it unmistakably clear that Jane didn't need to argue. She grunted and limped to the passenger side of her SUV and climbed in.
She told Maura that Frankie had mentioned that a body had been found and the evidence and witnesses had led to Tommy, who claimed that he hadn't done it. But the crime team had found traces like blood and hair on his car although it had been cleaned thoroughly.
"This is bad!" the blonde mumbled. "This is really, really bad. Do you think he did it?"
Jane shrugged. "I don't know. He's been wrongly accused before." She cringed recalling that this had caused one of the biggest fights between them. "I want to talk to him and then I will see what my gut says."
Maura nodded shifting into the next gear when overtaking a small red car. Jane glanced out of the passenger window, not knowing what to think. She really hoped that Tommy was innocent and that if he was, they could proof it.
"Let me talk to him!" Jane demanded from Crowes partner who blacked his teeth and smiled at her mischievously. The brunette was not going to be intimidated by his gestures and pulled her hand through her mane.
"Rizzoli, we got solid proof that he did it and we have got witnesses. There was no need for you to come here." Brown said, sounding more reasonable while Jane spotted Frankie walking around the corner towards them. The brunette thought that she had never seen such a sad expression on his face.
"I got here because I want, no I need to talk to him. He is my brother." She tried to sound more relaxed too.
Tommy shot her a surprised look when she and Maura entered the interrogation room. "Jane? Have you come to tell me what an ass I am? There is no need you know. Frankie did that already. I'm a shame to the family!" her younger brother pouted. The brunette and Maura sat down to the opposite site of the table.
"Stop your ranting Tommy. I'm here because I want to hear your side of the story. The past years have shown that luck is not always on your side. So, I'm only going to judge you if I find out, that you really did it. If you are innocent, I want to help you."
The man swallowed hard. "Why would you want to help me?" he pouted but Jane could clearly hear how insecure he was.
"Because I believe in you. You made a mistake once and you keep paying for it. I did you wrong when thinking that you stole Maura's stuff. I want to make right now. Just tell me: did you do it?"
His face was the one of a stubborn child. He pursed his lips. Jane waited a few minutes and then made a move to get up as he wouldn't talk.
"No, I didn't do it. I haven't touched any alcohol in years!" his voice was cracked when he finally spoke up, sounding panicked. "But I have no clue how this could have happened either! How the blood and hair ended up on my car."
Jane sat down to the chair again. "Okay, then we need to talk. We will try to help you."
Tommy glanced at Maura and her, still insecure and wondering why they believed him. "Is TJ all right?" he asked silently. Jane didn't know but promised to find out until they saw each other the next time. The only thing Frankie had told her was that TJ was with Angela. Unfortunately, the 14-year-old boy had had witnessed how police had come to arrest his father. Jane rolled her eyes, imagining that TJ was probably not okay after this. But she decided to take care of this later.
"Wait!" Tommy had said, when both women were about to leave the interrogation room after an hour. He looked to the floor, shuffling his feet. "Thank you." He whispered and gave both a hug, tears were shining in his eyes. Jane felt a lump in her throat and nodded. Her gut told her that Tommy hadn't done it. And she said so to Frankie when they met at the dirty robber later.
"I don't know, Jane." Her brother said honestly. "There is no way he couldn't have done it. The evidence is solid proof. I checked for myself." The brunette bit her lips as she shot a look towards Nina who had silently followed the verbal exchange about Tommy's guilt or not guilt between the siblings.
"Why, Frankie? Tell me why he should have done it. He has a successful business, a kid, he has everything. Why should he have drunken?" she turned to her brother again.
"I don't know, Jane." Frankie gave a loud sigh. "Look, I hate to think that he did it as much as you do, okay? But let's stick to the facts. Can you think of one single possible way this could have gone without him being involved?"
Jane scratched her head. "That's what we have to find out. Come on, we have a strong team here." She pointed her finger towards themselves and the other two women at the table preparing to play out for what she hoped was a trump card. "Remember the shooting at the subway station when all odds were against you? I knew that you wouldn't have shot this man if he hadn't had a gun. And I have the same feeling about Tommy not being guilty now. And I'm going at least to give it a try to proof his innocent."
A soft touch of Maura's hand made her realize that she had talked herself into a rage over the last few minutes, so she stopped.
"I'm in." Nina said after some silence touching Frankie's hand gently.
"I'm in too." Korsak stated with a reassuring smile at the brunette after having followed the conversation in silence from the start.
"Of course, I'll help you too." Maura said smiling at Jane.
Everybody glanced at Frankie who looked mad. Jane wondered why her otherwise so kind brother was so reluctant to help. Especially when even Korsak who didn't know Tommy well was willing to chime in. Was there something he knew that she didn't? Was her gut wrong and had Tommy started consuming alcohol again?
Not being able to wrap her mind around it she bluntly asked him. She saw him fidgeting with his hands. "Jane, I saw the evidence. And Tommy can't come up with an alibi. TJ spent the night at Ma's that night. Tommy had asked her to take care of him because he had something important to do. But he won't tell us what it was. This is so fishy." Frankie silently said.
Later, Jane sat on the deck of Maura's home in beacon hill, watching another beautiful sunset. But she couldn't really enjoy it for their research in the afternoon had been frustratingly fruitless. Frankie was right, she thought. It was all very fishy. She sighed when Maura joined her, sitting silently down next to the brunette after handing her a glass of iced tea.
"What do you think?" she asked Maura, lacing fingers with her. The blonde glanced at the sun for a while.
"I don't know, Jane. I learned to trust your intestines. But I can't find any possible scenario as to how it could have gone down." The brunette sighed, sensing that Maura was frustrated too. The blonde liked Tommy and wanted to help him.
"We need to know what he did that night." Jane said determined. It seems to be the key for the solution to me.
"Maybe TJ knows." Maura mumbled. "Has anyone asked him?"
Jane looked puzzled for she didn't know. "Well, we are going to ask him." she said, finding new power to stand. After helping Maura up, she grabbed her key although the blonde still insisted on driving.
Angela showed an unreadable face when opening the door to them. The matriarch had doubtlessly seen their car pull into the driveway. A cold silence was lingering between mother and daughter reminding Jane of Maura and Constance who hadn't spoken since the blonde had denied meeting her adoptive mother.
The brunette had given some thought on their drive across town as to how to handle her mother. Now she felt at loss, because she hadn't expected Angela to be so cold. It was Maura who spoke up first, explaining the reason why they were there in a neutral tone.
"Ma, we believe that Tommy is innocent, and we try to help him." Jane added to Maura's words, finding her voice again. The matriarch stared them down, arms crossed in front of her chest when there was a sudden movement in her back. TJ opened the door wider to greet his aunt and Maura.
Its been ages since Jane had seen him the last time and she noticed that he had grown into a handsome boy. His clothes were fashionable, and his brown hair was hanging to his face, like with all the other kids of his age.
"That's really nice of you to invite me for a pizza." He stated and passed Angela after kissing her quickly on the cheek. Jane smirked, but soon realized that he wanted to talk alone with them.
"Where do you want to go?" she asked turning to the boy in the backseat, having the feeling to know him but to be a stranger at the same time. She tilted her head at her thought and watched him think.
"What happened to your toe, Aunt Jane?" he asked when they walked – or limped in Janes case – toward the pizza place. The blonde chuckled next to her as she told TJ that she had had a bowling accident. To her surprise he said "cool! Dad always told me how you used to have the coolest leisure activities. Being the best in everything. Maybe we can practice some baseball one day?"
The brunette hadn't expected the 14-year-old to be so open towards her and saw how Maura threw her a loving smile. "Uhm, Yeah, sounds great to me." Jane said and grinned at the boy. He is a typical Rizzoli she thought when watching him secretly as he studied the menu. And only a Rizzoli could see that he was everything but fine, despite being so friendly and polite. Thing was to hide your fears and emotions not to be week or burden the people around you.
She shot him a reassuring smile while reaching for her iced tea sensing that he felt a bit lost in all the turmoil. They talked about school and his friends until their food arrived. Maura's hand touching her thigh from time to time to give her comfort.
"So, Maura is your girlfriend." He stated suddenly during dinner. It occurred to Jane that never had ever called the blonde by this name. "Yes." She replied and shot Maura a sweet smile.
"Uhhhm, can I ask you when and how you noticed that you were gay?" TJ tried to sound matter of factly, but there was something in his voice which told that he was not only just being nosey.
"I don't know. I bet I noticed when all the other girls started to fall for guys. But I didn't quite know what on earth could be so interesting about them." Jane chuckled, digging deep into her memory.
"To me boys were always good friends, but nothing more. There was a point though when I realized that I had a crush on one of the girls in my class. It was very confusing, because I had no word for it. It took me quite a while of pretending to be like the others and not wanting to see that I was different, and much longer to accept that this being different was okay even though some people think that its not." She told him and shoved a piece of pizza into her mouth.
Tj who had listened carefully cocked his head sideways, eyebrows furrowed. Then he glanced at Maura as if expecting an answer from her too.
"Pretty much the same here." She started. "Only that It took me even longer than your aunt to acknowledge that I was gay." Jane noted a slight blush to the blonde's face and caught an apologetical smile from her. "I used to tell myself that its not the gender you fall in love with but the character of the person. I still think is true that character is an important fact. But the gender is also important. I have been with men, but there was always something missing."
The brunette could literally see the wheels turning in TJ's mind as he processed the information.
"Have you ever kissed a girl?" she asked giving him another reassuring smile.
"Yes." He simply stated busying himself with the food on his plate. Jane decided to drop the subject, giving him space and time to process.
After dinner they drove to Maura's where they started to talk about Tommy. Tj nibbled at his finger, looking a bit nervous when Jane asked him if he knew where her brother had been that night, and if he had left with his car. Was it possible that TJ had stolen the car to go for a wild ride, she thought at one point when seeing how nervous the boy was.
"TJ, you have to tell us the truth. You know you can trust us, right? Whatever it is, you must tell us. We are here to help you and your dad. Believe me, I know how things sometimes can go terribly wrong. Mistakes can be made so easily and without purpose." Jane silently said, sitting on the coffee table, reaching for Tjs hands.
"You think I did it, don't you?" he asked, looking up with trembling lips.
"I don't know if it was you TJ, and im not here to assume. But as I've said, we just need to know what you know. No matter what happened that night, we will be here for you and your dad."
TJ was silent and bit his lip while focusing on his trembling hands. "I didn't do it." He spoke up after a while, glancing at Jane. His eyes tearful and desperate.
"But you know who did it, right?" Jane gently said, still holding his hands.
"Dad is right, you are good at your job." TJ suddenly said and Jane cringed thinking that he was deflecting. But to her surprise he confirmed that he knew who the culprit was.
He told them how Tommy had brought him to Angela that night, leaving his car in the driveway of her house to take care of a plumbing problem at the neighbor's house. The neighbor with which he obviously had an affair. Tj knowing that Angela was fast asleep, and his father wouldn't be home for hours, or maybe even the night had texted with one of his friends who had had the idea to go for a jaunt.
"I didn't know that dad had forgotten the key in the ignition. I messaged him that it was a stupid idea, and that I wouldn't do that. He must have stolen the car." Jane carefully studied TJs face, believing him, squeezing his hands when silently asking if he had a picture of his friend.
The witnesses had described a man similar to Tommy, but they weren't all distinctive if it had really been her brother, because they had only seen the person behind the wheel under the streetlight. Maura hunched over Jane as Tj showed them a picture with a boy who had the same features as Tommy.
"What do you think?" the brunette asked Maura, who took another close look. "The facial structure of Tommy and him are similar enough to think that they were the same person by the circumstances the witness has seen them." The blonde stated.
Jane rubbed her eyes. "We need a witness statement from this neighbor/affair. Shouldn't be a problem unless she has a husband and refuses to talk." The brunette said, seeing her worst fears confirmed by TJs face.
Maura glanced at her watch. It was beyond 9 pm. But as TJ had told them that her husband was usually working the night shift at the hospital, they decided to pay her a visit.
A tall dark-haired woman opened the door at the second ring. First, she wanted to send them away, but she silently opened the door when spotting Tommy's son with them. Jane introduced herself and Maura, looking around the house with the tasteful furniture. Pictures of the woman with another man were hanging on the walls.
The woman was fidgeting with her hands, looking nervous. "I love Tommy, he is a great guy. But I can't leave my husband. He threatened to kill me if I did leave him." she stated, fear in her eye. "I don't want him to kill me or Tommy." She whispered scared.
Hell, Jane knew that she shouldn't be surprised, but she sometimes was when seeing what mess was going on in other relationships. She glanced at Maura and was happy that things were going great between them.
"You could get a restraining order against him." Maura pointed to a bruise under the woman's eye, which Jane hadn't seen yet because it was covered with some make-up. But if you knew that it was there it was easy to spot.
"Are you serious?" the woman asked. "Do you think that he is going to go away just because I wave with a piece of paper?"
Jane admitted that she had a point there. But she had another idea. "There are institutions…" she mumbled. "I have a good friend whom I trust. I can call her, and we move you there tonight. She has lots of experience and will help you." The brunette offered.
"Okay. Let me pack some stuff and let's go then." The woman said to Janes surprise. "Honestly I can no longer life this live."
And so it went. The woman was ready one hour later, they brought her to the shelter and to the station to make an official statement in the morning. TJ made a statement too, and his friend was taken into custody. He had cleaned the car thoroughly, but Maura had found a fingerprint where no one had thought to look when processing the evidence. It was right where the wheel was attached to the dashboard.
Jane and Maura waited in the lobby of the precinct for Tommy while the rest of the family were preparing a party at the dirty robber. Tommy came into the room escorted by two officers, smiling at Jane and Maura before pulling both into a hug. "Thank you for saving my ass – again." They chuckled as Jane patted his back. "You are a good man Tommy." She said and he apologized for being such an ass to her when it came to her sexuality.
They left before all got to emotional and drove to the dirty robber. Jane was fighting a small war with herself and then decided to take Tommy aside before entering the bar. "There is something you need to know." She quietly said and told him of her suspicion that TJ was gay. He stood in silence for a while, not knowing what to say, not knowing how to deal with his son.
"Just behave like you always did, he will tell you when the time is right. Maybe just give him the feeling that homosexuality is okay for you. I think he has a hard time because of what he heard from Ma and you." She quietly said with a reassuring smile before opening the door.
"So, I take it you had another date with Maura." Frankie stated and laughed when Jane looked puzzled. Then it dawned on her. She burst out in laughter too. Angela was sitting the furthest away possible from Jane and Maura, shooting them mischievous glances which Jane tried to ignore. She told Frankie about the bowling incident.
He looked at her in a strange way and then hugged her. "We would all be lost without you, you know that right?" she felt a soft nudge after the hug and smiled. "Nah, you're doing great too, brother. You just need a little bit more experience that's all."
He nodded and turned to Nina who was whispering something to his ear. After nodding again, he stood to give an announcement. Nina was pregnant and soon the world have one more Rizzoli. "Well if that's not a reason to toast." Korsak said and lifted his glass of iced tea smiling at everyone.
Jane rolled her eyes and kissed Maura after taking a sip. "Maybe one day we give Julia and Sophie another sibling." She whispered and chuckled when the blonde made a surprised face. "Another Rizzoli?" she smirked teasingly hinting that Jane would carry the child. But Jane pointed out that by then it would be a Rizzoli-Isles anyways.
Jane caught TJ glancing at them how they smiled sweetly at each other and kissed, now knowing that her suspicion must be right.