Warning: Chapter contains mentions of non-con situations, but nothing graphic.
Maura couldn't tear her eyes away from Jane. She was alive. Jane was alive.
"What did you do to her hand?" Maura asked seeing one that was clearly wrapped in bandages.
"After what happened with Hoyt, that should have been our chance –the chance for me and Jane to finally get together for good. Then we would have been the ones getting married, not you and her. She didn't really mean to push me away. Why else would she have felt guilty about it? All she had to do was say she was sorry back then and it would have all been forgiven. But she was hurting, and she hurt me in the process. I made the mistake of leaving when I should have stayed, regardless of what she said. I should have stayed and taken care of her and then she would have seen that it's always been me. This way I get a chance to go back in time and do it right. This time she'll let me help her through it."
Maura listened in horror now knowing what Samantha had done, and she hadn't just done it to the one hand. She had recreated the wounds that Hoyt had given Jane when he had stabbed her with the scalpels.
She knew Samantha was obsessive but she didn't know until that moment how dangerous this woman really was.
"I have always had a passing interest in architecture and building so when I became involved in the housing market, I would visit some of the sites where the houses were being renovated. I learned what I needed to in order to do work on this house. This actually used to be one big open room but I along with some off-the-books help had it constructed into these rooms. There is a full bath in there off of the bedroom. There is sound-proofing in all the walls so it's doubtful anyone would hear you, but just to be safe, I am going to have to gag you," Samantha said. "We can continue this talk later but I need to check on my Jane."
Samantha used cloth bandages, like what were on Jane's hands, to gag her. "Now don't worry, you can still watch and there is a switch in there that will allow sound to travel from that room to here."
Maura didn't even resist when Samantha gagged her, she was still sitting there in disbelief over the fact that Jane was alive. It shouldn't have been possible. She had reviewed the documentation. There was too much blood.
How was she alive?
And at what cost? Jane had struggled to get past what Hoyt had done to her. Her hands were a reminder of that and now Samantha was using that against her.
She watched as Samantha entered the room from the door to Maura's right. The door was closed and locked. Cleary she wasn't going to risk Jane escaping.
Samantha sat on the edge of the bed giving one glance back at Maura before turning her attention to Jane.
"Hey baby, wake up," Samantha said stroking the side of Jane's face. "Come on sleepy head."
Jane slowly – too slowly in Maura's mind – began to stir after Samantha shook her slightly. "Sam?"
Her voice was barely audible to Maura.
"Yeah, baby it's me," Samantha said bending down and kissing Jane on the lips. Jane didn't participate in the kiss, but Maura noticed she didn't fight it either. She wasn't fighting at all.
"Don't feel good," Jane said.
Even from her distance, Maura could tell Jane had sweated through the t-shirt she was wearing.
"I know," Samantha said, again touching Jane's cheek. "I'll go get your medicine."
Samantha disappeared into the room that she guessed was the bathroom and then returned with two vials and two syringes. Maura watched as she injected the contents of both vials into Jane's arm, the last one causing Jane to shudder slightly and close her eyes.
That's why Jane isn't fighting back, Maura conjectured, she's being drugged. But still Samantha wasn't taking any chances as Jane rolled on to her side after the injection and Maura saw there was a leather strap secured to Jane's ankle and the other side must be secured to the bed to keep her from escaping.
How long had she been held like this, Maura wondered. How long had she been drugged like this? Maura began to think of the possibilities of what Samantha could be injecting her with, but the possibilities were too varied.
Whatever it was it was obviously meant to keep Jane docile so it must contain a sedative of some sort. But the sweating could be indicative of a withdrawal symptom, which meant it was addictive or she had been on it long enough that she had become addicted to it.
Samantha went through another door and came out holding some clothes. Closet, Maura thought. She must be keeping Jane down here full-time. She wouldn't want to risk having her upstairs where someone might see her. She disappeared into the bathroom once more.
When she returned she unlocked the strap on Jane's leg and Maura noticed she put the key in her front pants pocket.
"Come on, let's get you a shower," she said and Maura could only watch helplessly as Samantha had to help Jane out of bed and into the other room. The door was shut and Maura tried not to think about Samantha being in the room while Jane showered.
She realized she had sorely underestimated the lengths that Samantha would go through. She wasn't just involved in; she was obviously the mastermind behind the whole set up. She had engineered this so everyone would think Jane was dead so no on would come looking for her.
How had she done it? And how long had she been planning it? For all Maura knew she had been planning this since Jane kicked her out.
She could only hope that Jane wasn't awake when Samantha damaged her hands.
Maura had no idea how much time passed before Samantha and Jane emerged from the bathroom. Jane must be feeling somewhat better because she wasn't leaning on Samantha for support this time.
Both women's hair were wet and both were wearing clothes to sleep in. Maura tensed knowing Samantha had been in the shower with Jane. She pulled against the bonds that held her even though she knew it was a useless gesture.
Jane was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, but this time Maura noticed the bruising on her leg from the strap and there was some other bruises on her arm. Samantha got Jane settled back down onto the bed and put the strap back on her leg – with no protest from Jane, who was lying on her side, her back to Maura.
"I'm going to put the TV on for you while I go lock up the house," Samantha said as she walked over to the flat-screen TV that was mounted on the wall. It was in full view of Maura's vision and of Jane's from the way she was laying, but Maura had no idea if Jane even had her eyes open.
But Maura's eyes got even wider as the screen came on and she began to recognize what it was. She barely paid attention to Samantha exiting the room and coming out to where she was as she was unable to look away from it. It was a video of her, obviously taken by cell phone, talking with Mark Clayton at the bar in Maine. She had already been on her way to being drunk before he approached her.
She didn't really remember much about that night – had barely remembered the guy's name. He was just a random stranger.
But the video – someone had to have been following her, why else would there be a video of her talking to him at the bar.
She saw herself laughing with Mark, although she knew at that point she was forcing it. She had forced that whole encounter – she had just learned she was officially divorced. Her heart was broken and she wanted to feel wanted by someone – someone as different from Jane as she could get. She knew it was wrong, and even as she went to his hotel room – also on the video – she knew it was a mistake.
Thankfully the video stopped after the hotel door closed. But then the video repeated itself again and again like it was on an endless loop. She was horrified by the idea of Jane seeing this over and over again.
She knew her mother had been worried about her and while she never asked Maura why, her mother had hinted at why Maura hadn't cried. Throughout the whole process she had never broken down fully. She had been so devastated by Jane's apparent death that tears weren't enough to express it. She had simply gone numb.
But as the video repeated itself and she watched Jane lying there, she felt the tears begin to fall.