Nia sighed as she jotted down a few notes in her case file. The police had been able to pull DMV records for the Russo's, including license and registrations for one blue ford sedan and one white ford pickup. Unfortunately, neither bolo had come back with anything helpful. No one had reported the sedan. Nia guessed that had more to do with the fact that Mia Russo had likely run out of state. They would find that car eventually but only after a pile of red tape a mile long and ages of interdepartmental gymnastics. The bolo had tracked the truck straight to a car salesman. If Vinnie had bought a new car it wasn't from that salesman and it hadn't yet been registered. Which meant, for the moment, Vinnie Russo was beyond Nia's grasp.
Nia glanced at her watch. She needed to call Doctor Isles to prepare her for their coming conversation. Nia pressed call.
'Doctor Isles,' a now familiar greeting answered.
'Hello Doctor, it's Nia Williams,' Nia smiled, amused by the doctors formality.
'Hello Miss Williams,' Doctor Isles replied, 'I was under the impression we were talking a bit later.'
'We are, I just wanted to make sure we had a chance to talk beforehand about what our goals are for this conversation,' Nia offered, 'I'm sorry if I am catching you at a bad time.'
Nia heard Doctor Isles as if she was speaking with the phone away from her ear, 'I have to take this Jane.'
Nia heard the faintest reply of a woman, presumably Jane, in the background asking about cheesesteaks. Nia smiled.
'No finish without me,' Doctor Isles answered. Nia head a door close and then Doctor Isles spoke again, 'I apologise about that Miss Williams.'
'Please call me Nia,' Nia said, 'and I apologise for interrupting.'
'Call me Maura then and it's not a problem. Whatever I can do to help,' Maura answered.
'I don't want to distress Panda so I'm not expecting us to push her to hard but I'm hoping that hearing her given name and being able to talk to you will get her to open up. From there, any information we can get about her family, especially her father, will help. Your job is to just talk to her, make her comfortable.' Nia explained. It was going to be walking a tight rope between Panda's mental health and finding out everything they could but Nia hoped that having Maura there would help.
'Very well,' Maura replied, 'I will have to rely on you to determine her stress levels as it is hard to detect in a video call.'
'Of course,' Nia replied, 'and if at any point you get uncomfortable, you just let me know. Now, let me walk you through what we know so you won't be caught off guard.'
Nia spent ten minutes walking Maura through what particulars she could. They hung up with Nia promising to call again shortly, when she had Panda on the phone. Nia organised her things and walked to the Stephen's door.
Amanda Stephens was as close to a friend as Nia could get with her foster parents. She was smart, kind, loving, and capable of taking on the complicated cases. Her husband Mateo was the vice principal at the local public high school, a well thought of one at that. He was funny and well trained in child trauma. Nia had been afraid that their pregnancy would put an end to their fostering days and she was extraordinarily grateful that it had not. Nia hoped, with Amanda entering her third trimester, that Panda would be the last placement she would put with the Stephens before the baby arrived. She also hoped that Panda would have time to adjust and get comfortable before the birth. Maybe, deep down, there was even a part of Nia that hoped Panda could find a permanent home with the Stephens but as a social workers she wasn't officially allowed to hope for such things. She was supposed to be neutral. A fact that was harder in practice.
Amanda opened the door with a welcoming smile. 'Hello Nia. How are you today?'
Nia smiled, 'I'm doing well. How are you?'
Amanda chuckled in good nature, like Nia was in on some kind of inside joke. 'Tired and sore but that's pregnancy, so they say.'
'That's what I've been told,' Nia glanced around noticing Panda wasn't in sight, 'how is she?'
Amanda smiled, 'she's in her room. We're doing well, I think. She's said thank you to me twice today and she smiled when I offered to take her to the Smithsonian zoo to watch the paandas.'
'Good,' Nia said with a smile, 'I'll bet she's excited about that trip.'
'I hope so,' Amanda offered, 'I'm hoping to win her over little by little and I'm certainly not above a little harmless bribery.'
Nia smiled, 'good. I'd like for you to sit in on this conversation today unless Panda says otherwise. I want to make her as comfortable as possible.'
'Of course,' Amanda said with a smile, 'whatever she needs.' Amanda lead them to Panda's room. She knocked gently on the door before entering. 'Panda dear, Miss Williams is here. Remember we wanted to talk with you?'
Panda was sitting by the bookshelf, a pile of books around her. She looked up when the two women entered but said nothing and made no moves. Nia shared a look with Amanda before sitting down next to Panda. Amanda struggled to do the same. 'Hi Panda. How are you?' Nia asked. It was met with silence. 'I wanted to talk with you and I asked Mrs. Stephens to sit with us. Is that okay?' Silence. 'I also asked Doctor Isles to join us. She is out of town but she has agreed to do a video call. Would you like to speak to Doctor Isles?'
Panda had looked up the moment Nia mentioned Doctor Isles. 'Yes,' she whispered, 'I want Doctor Isles.'
Nia smiled reassuringly, 'okay. Do you want to press the call button?' Panda nodded. Nia pulled up the contact and showed her which button to press. Nia handed Panda her the tablet.
The phone rang twice before Doctor Isles answered, 'Hello, Doctor Isles.' Nia really did have to suppress a laugh. They had a pre-arranged call and she still answered like neither one of them had a clue.
'Doctor Isles!' Panda shouted as soon as Maura's face came on the screen. It was the most excited Nia had ever seen Panda be. Nia didn't miss the flash of hurt on Amanda's face. Foster parenting wasn't easy on the heart. She'd have to remember to check in later.
'Panda cub!' Maura replied excitedly, 'I've missed you!'
'Miss Williams says I can't live with you,' Panda said, shooting an angry look at Nia. She resisted sighing. Sometimes being a social worker wasn't easy on the heart.
'No sweetie, you can't but from what Miss Williams says you have a wonderful new home with some wonderful new foster parents. Do you want to show me your new room?'
Nia had to suppress further laughter as Panda took Maura on a fairly extensive tour of what was a relatively small bedroom. Panda even excitedly introduced Amanda to Maura, being sure to show her the baby in her belly. If the surprise on Amanda's face was any indication, it was the first time Panda had shown even a hint of fondness toward the woman. Nia had known Amanda would win Panda over, she wasn't terribly surprised to find it had already started. Time moved differently for children. Bonds cemented faster.
'It's wonderful to meet you Mrs. Stephens,' Maura said.
'Can I come see you Doctor Isles?' Panda asked. Nia was fairly certain that Panda had said more in the last ten minutes of talking to Doctor Isles than she had said in the last two weeks.
'Yes! Absolutely!' Maura answered with a smile, 'but it might be a little while before that's possible. I'm out of town right now and won't be back until Christmas time.'
'Did you have to go to a new home because of my daddy too?' Panda asked.
'Oh, no, sweetie.' Maura cooed softly, 'no, I wrote a book and now I get to go all around the United States and tell people about it.'
'That's why I saw you on the television?!'
'Yes!' Maura answered.
'I liked seeing you on the tv,' Panda answered.
Maura smiled, 'yeah? Well I am really glad I get to visit with you like this.'
'Me too,' Panda said with a happy smile.
Nia let the moment settle before she interrupted. 'Panda I've asked Mrs. Stephens and Doctor Isles to join us today because I need to talk to you about some things that might be difficult. Do you think you are up for it?'
Panda looked at Nia, then at Maura and finally at Amanda, 'I'll try.' Then to everyone's surprise, she tucked herself under Amanda's arms. Amanda, squeezed gently and smiled at Nia.
'We'll stop if you need to, okay Panda cub?' Maura asked, her face knitted in concern. Panda nodded shyly.
Nia took a steadying breath as she pulled out her notepad and turned on her recorder for the interview. 'I met a neighbour friend of yours named Ella. Her mother was able to show us this picture.' Nia pulled up the photo on her phone. 'She told us this is Vincent Junior, this is Emiliano, and she told us that your name is Isabella Russo.'
Panda turned her head away, tears already streaking down her face. 'I can't talk about that,' she whimpered out.
Maura spoke first, 'sweetheart, we don't have to talk about it. We can still call you Panda if you want.'
Panda nodded, 'I like Panda better.'
'Panda it is,' Amanda said with a warm smile and a squeeze.
Nia nodded, grateful for the comfort Panda was taking from Maura and Amanda. 'We went to your old home Panda. No one was home. We want to make sure Vincent and Emiliano are safe. Can you help us by answering some questions?' Panda's eyes opened wide but she nodded seriously. 'Do you have any grandparents or aunts or uncles?' Panda shook her head. 'There's no one that your parents have told you about? Maybe who live out of state?'
'No,' Panda answered sadly, 'Mama told me if we had family, she'd send me to them instead of leaving me at the clinic.'
'Panda,' Maura spoke, 'your mother said that you live with your step father, do you know anything about your birth father?'
'Mama said my real daddy died in a car crash before I was born,' Panda said with a sniffle.
'Did he have any family?' Maura asked.
'I don't know Doctor Isles, please don't be mad.' The girl looked imploringly at Maura.
'I'm not sweetie. I'm not mad at you at all. I promise.' Maura responded quickly with a reassuring smile, 'I'm so proud of you. You're doing really great.'
'Can you tell me about your step father?' Nia asked, 'we know his name is Vincent. Can you tell us where he works?'
Panda shook her head, 'he works under people's houses.'
'Doing what? Do you know?' Nia asked.
Panda shook her head, 'he always came home dusty and smelling like Emiliano's diapers.'
'Pesticides perhaps?' Maura asked, more to herself than to them. 'Panda did Vincent have things to spray bugs with?' Nia jotted the idea down anyways. It was a good guess. Panda had simply shrugged in response.
'Did your step father ever talk about about a boss? Mention any of his co-workers names?' Nia asked.
'No,' Panda said shaking her head, 'when Emiliano was really little he came home really mad. We was all scared. He told Mama he would never work for anyone else ever again. He said bosses cheat. Can we be all done now?'
'Of course dear,' Amanda said, trading a look with Nia. Nia nodded, they had something. It wasn't much but it was something.
Nia excused herself with a good job and a smile to Panda. She'd let Maura and Amanda take care of the girl for a little while. Nia needed to call Officer Davis.
Maura hung up the phone. She clutched her phone to her chest. It had been good to see Panda. It had been even better to meet Amanda Stephens, to see how kind and loving the woman was with Panda. Maura knew Panda was in a good home. She knew Panda would be taken care of. For the first time in nearly two weeks, Maura could breath again. Maura had asked Nia to pass along her contact information to Amanda so that she or Panda could reach her if they needed her. Maura smiled and walked out to the living room part of the hotel suite.
Jane was laying on the couch, half asleep as she watched some sport or another. The girls were passed out on the floor below her, Berry lay just outside the range of Jane's dangling fingertips. Maura smiled, her heart constricting. She really loved her little family. Jane having heard the door open, peaked one eye open.
'C'mere,' Jane murmured, lifting an arm and scooting back to make room for Maura on the couch. Maura could have said no but she didn't have the heart to. She crawled compliantly in to Jane's arms. Jane wrapped her arms around Maura and pressed a kiss to Maura's neck. Pleasurable tingles shot through Maura's body. 'How'd it go?' Jane asked.
'It went well. She's doing well. She has a good foster mom.' Maura answered, holding Jane's arm close to her, interlinking their arms.
'That's good,' Jane answered, 'I know you can't tell me anything else but I'm here for you, okay?' Jane pressed another kiss to her neck and Maura shivered happily.
'Thank you Jane,' Maura murmured, 'can I ask you a question?'
'Mmhmm,' Jane replied.
'Why are you watching Cricket?' Maura asked, staring at the women on the screen.
'Made a bet with Dhar,' Jane answered.
'Oh,' Maura hummed in response, 'and are you winning?'
Jane was quiet a moment, Maura assumed she was checking the score, 'nope. Not even a little bit,' she answered with a chuckle. 'I shouldn't have wagered on a sport I know nothing about.'
Maura chuckled, 'I could teach you.'
'You know cricket?' Jane asked incredulous.
'I went to boarding school Jane,' Maura replied as if that explained everything, 'I'd be happy to teach you how to bat.'
'Are you offering to do that thing guys do when they try to teach a girl how to play pool?' Jane asked.
'You mean am I pretending to be an expert at something in order to press myself against your Gluteus Maximus?'
'Yes,' Jane said with a wry chuckle, 'are you trying to touch my butt?'
Maura rolled over to look at Jane, 'maybe, would that be a bad thing?'
Jane bit her lip, considering it, then she grinned and said 'let's try it and find out!'
Maura laughed. Jane seized the moment to roll over Maura, holding herself above the doctor. She watched Maura's laugh die quickly, as a blush raised in her cheeks. She heard Maura let out a small gasp. Jane revelled in it for a moment. She definitely liked this feeling. Jane met Maura's eyes. There was fire there. Raw desire.
'Jane,' Maura's voice was shaky.
Jane was torn between running away and leaning in. Her eyes darted from Maura's eyes to her lips and back again. Jane felt her own tongue wet her lips. Was it normal to want to kiss someone this much? Jane pressed forward, her body and lips mere centimetres from Maura's.
'Jane,' Maura said again, this time in a hoarse whisper. Like it was breaking her to have Jane this close but not be touching. Jane didn't know why but that broke her reverie. She let herself lean in the rest of the way, let their lips collide and move. She felt Maura's hands bury themselves in her hair. She could feel Maura's every breath, the rise and fall of her chest, every subtly shifting muscle in Maura's body. Jane let their mouths work for a moment longer before she pulled away, a grin on her face. 'Think there are any good cricket pitches nearby?'
'What?' Maura asked, wearing an entirely endearing expression. Jane felt a smug sort of pride knowing she had thoroughly thrown the doctor off course with their kiss. Her hair was mussed, her lips swollen, her eyes glazed. Jane would have laughed but Jane was pretty sure she looked the same way.
'Cricket,' Jane said with exaggerated patience, 'batting? You? Me? Butt touching?'
Maura groaned. 'You're a tease,' she accused without any bite in it.
Jane grinned a wolfish grin, 'mmmm hmmm. Let's go Doctor Isles.' Jane rolled off the dog, doing an impressive bit of footwork to avoid stepping on either dog without squishing the doctor. Jane offered a hand to Maura, helping her up while resisting the urge to laugh at the grumpy frown.
'Be ware Jane Rizzoli,' Maura said levelling her with a firm stare, 'turnabout is fair play.' She walked in to the bathroom, closing the door behind her, leaving an amused Jane behind her. Jane just smiled, she was looking forward to it.
