"Chief," Maura, sitting behind her desk with her reading glasses perched on her nose, having a meaningful conversation with one of her subordinates, heard her receptionist's voice thunder and looked toward her closed office door with her brows drawn together, "you can't go in there right now. The other Chief is in an important meeting!"

"I don't give a shit," the lawyer heard Jane's voice grumble, and then the heavy oak door flew open.

Sitting in an armchair in front of Maura's desk, a young prosecutor turned his head in surprise.

Maura calmly removed her glasses from her nose and gestured to her office. "Jane, please, do come in. I'm just in the middle of an important meeting." Sarcasm oozed from every word she spoke.

Jane was taken aback for a split second, but she rallied just as quickly. "Kevin Burns," she said briefly as if the man's name said all that needed to be told to elicit the information Jane was hoping to obtain.

Maura slowly closed the file in front of her and handed it to the younger man with a smile. "We'll talk more about this in twenty minutes, Ben."

The man named Ben accepted the file and stood up with a frown. "Yes, ma'am," he said, eyeing Jane with a nod as he passed. "Chief." He closed the door behind him on his way out.

Jane waited a few seconds before repeating the name. "Kevin Burns."

Maura leaned back in her desk chair and took a deep breath. "Excuse me."

"Kevin Burns," the chief said the name a third time, crossing his arms in front of her chest, "you charged him with manslaughter of Chantal Hebert ten years ago."

Maura blinked a few times as she tried to put a face to the name in her memory. "Do you realize how many men and women I've charged with murder or manslaughter throughout my career, Jane? I can't remember every name."

Under different circumstances, many, many years ago, Jane would have made out this statement by her wife as nonsense, but not only had the incident with Lucas Cope nearly cost Maura her life, her perfect memory had been damaged, too. At the time, the lawyer had an excellent memory and could remember every detail of her life, but then Cope came along and ended it. Jane shifted her weight from one foot to the other and licked her lips. "Kevin Burns had pushed her down a flight of stairs ten years ago, breaking her neck. He got twelve weeks in rehab."

Maura nodded slowly and got up from her chair, walking around her desk to sit on the corner on the other side, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Yes, I remember. A verdict that I unsuccessfully challenged at the time. The judge, the jury, and the psychiatrist who examined Kevin Burns unanimously concluded that Burns was at fault at the time of the --" She paused and frowned a little. "Accident. Had not been sane at the time of the accident due to excessive alcohol consumption. I argued that Burns hadn't assaulted Chantal Hebert the first time but couldn't sufficiently prove it since Chantal Hebert had sought medical treatment only once after an argument had gotten out of hand. So the burden of proof at the time was more than thin; after all, Chantal Hebert was dead." She paused and shook her head, almost in disgust. "Kevin Burns was a truly disgusting son of a bitch who, if it had been up to me, would have spent the rest of his life in jail."

Jane lowered her arms and took a deep breath. It hadn't escaped her notice that her wife would much rather have said murder than an accident.

Maura took a long, hard look at the chief and furrowed her brows. "Why do you come to me with that name of all names, Jane?"

Jane now took a step toward the attorney, her anger fading. "Because Kevin Burns links the victims of the second order. Jason Walton was the cop who had been called to Chantal Hebert's apartment and downplayed the fatal altercation in court, Joseph Hurts was Burns' defense attorney, and Samantha Conway was the one who had done the expert testimony."

Maura nodded with her lips pressed together. "You're assuming that Kevin Burns has a vendetta against all those who had sent him to twelve weeks of rehab at the time, which includes me."

Jane dropped her shoulders, and her gaze softened and became concerned simultaneously. "We'll put the judge and jury members under police protection. Just in case."

Maura nodded another time and twitched her brows. "And me, too," she said in a clipped voice, "just in case Kevin Burns comes after us."

The chief took another step toward her wife and frowned deeply. "I'll have Monroe and Facchinetti set up for you," she said, glancing around the office briefly. "I don't think Burns will dare come here to harm you, but --"

"Monroe and Facchinetti are already outside my office and will follow me wherever I go," Maura added with a sigh.

Jane went to her wife and ran her hands down Maura's arms. "It's for your good, Maura."

Maura closed her eyes for a moment and then took Jane's hand in hers, giving it a little squeeze. "I know, Jane. I've always known that my job --" She pointed first at herself and then at Jane. "That our jobs carry dangers, and we don't necessarily make friends in what we do for a living, but --"

"I know," Jane sighed with a gentle look. "I know, Maura. It sucks to be in the crosshairs again."

"Yeah," Maura replied, trying to smile without success, "it really sucks."