Jane pulled down the visor mirror and gave herself a once over there. She let her eyes roam over her own face looking for something she couldn't quite discern. Her hair was always out of place. Make up wasn't something Jane indulged in often, at the moment all she wore was lip balm. Jane sighed and snapped the visor closed. She was walking a tight rope with her investigation. She was an instructor. Not an agent and if anyone tried to reach her brass well… Jane didn't want to think about that. Jane had defied orders before. It was part of her reputation: notoriously difficult to manage. She just hadn't done it solo before. She usually had Korsack or Frost or Maura or, hell, even Frankie watching her back. Jane sort of doubted Agent Davies would do that much for her, even if they were friendly acquaintances. Jane let out a deep breath and said, 'no more self pity Rizzoli. Maura's life is on the line here.'
Jane felt a cool sense of calm wash over her as soon as she entered the police department. The sight of uniformed officers, putting her at ease. This was easy, she told herself. She belonged her, she owned every police department she had ever walked in. This was no exception. She greeted the officer at the desk with the flash of her FBI badge. 'Agent Rizzoli. I need your assistance finding the lead case worker for this case file.' She slid a note with the case file written on it over to the young woman.
'Absolutely,' the young woman said typing quickly on her computer. 'The lead on this case is Officer Kiara Davis.'
'Is she on duty?' Jane asked, leaning casually on the desk.
'Yes, she is,' the woman confirmed.
'In station?'
'Yes ma'am.'
'Great, I'm going to need to speak to her,' Jane said with a smile.
'Not a problem,' the woman smiled back sweetly, 'I just need to log your visit in.'
After a few minutes of basic admin things, the woman flagged another uniform who took her to the squad room and sat her at a desk with 'Officer Davis' on the name plague, promising Officer Davis would be back shortly.
Jane tapped her fingers and watched the hustle and bustle of the station. So different from BPD and yet so similar. It was invigorating. Even if her presence was disrupting the flow of the room, uniforms asking who the suit is. She ignored them and tried to guess who Davis might be instead.
She was not expecting a barely 5 foot black woman with braided hair that seemed to end in gold when the light hit her right. The woman was maybe a hundred pounds and the wrinkles on her face told Jane she might be quick to laugh but she wasn't a rookie either. Jane liked her immediately. It took guts to make a career of policing as a black woman. Her toughness was confirmed when she asked with barely concealed venom, 'what do you want suit?'
Jane grinned like a wolf. 'The suits new. Spent most my time on the force in Boston so we don't have to pretend you like me.'
The woman looked her up and down, taking in Jane's appearance. At last she shrugged, 'you aren't here as a cop from Boston are you though?'
Jane chuckled, 'no I'm not. I'm definitely here as a suit.'
'Badge?' Davis asked.
Jane produced the requested item, showing it to the woman. 'I have some questions about a case you worked recently.'
'Mmmhmm and questions will turn in to copies of your files which will turn in to jurisdiction issues which will turn in to oops we booked your arrest, so sorry.' Davis said. 'What case?'
'There won't be jurisdiction issues here. I'm working a hunch. Brass won't even consider it.' It was a lie of omission. Jane hadn't even talked to her bosses, mostly because they would have told her to drop it because she was too involved, drop it because she wasn't a case worker, drop it because it wasn't a federal matter. They were right, of course. 'I have the case number here.' She slid her paper over.
Davis side eyed the number before looking at her. 'What does the FBI want with a welfare check?'
Jane considered the woman for a minute. She would smell an outright lie a mile away. Half truths would have to do then. 'There's a national figure receiving threats. Threats that have been traced to Boston, specifically.'
'This is Virginia,' Davis said, eyes narrowing slightly.
'I'm aware. Which is why the bosses think my hunch is worthless. But Boston is this figures part time home. The other part of her time is spent here in Virginia. The higher ups think its got to do with her national work and general celebrity. I thought, and think, maybe its more local. She's a volunteer doctor at a local clinic. I had a few helpful anonymous tips that lead me to this case file.' Jane paused to take a breath, 'I won't lie to you Davis. I don't have warrants and I can't force you to help me out here but my cop instincts are telling me that this is personal, not celebrity. If my sources think this case and this case specifically is the problem then I'd like to run it down.'
Davis was silent for a few moments as she looked at Jane. Her eyes searching for something that, Jane would guess, looked like a lie. Finally, having detected none she said, 'so you're going off script and asking me to come with?'
Jane winced. That was the crux of it. 'Of course, I'll do everything I can to accept full and total responsibility but I can't promise that you won't face consequences.'
'I can't give you my file or a copy of it,' Davis warned, 'but we do have a couple of bolos out. Those are inter-departmental and theres no reason I can't share that information with you.'
Jane grinned, 'that would help a lot.'
Davis began the process of printing the information for Jane, 'I will also tell you, so far we haven't gotten much back. One has been completely silent. The other sold their car and, as far as we can tell, haven't bought another one. So it's not much to go on.'
'I'll take anything,' Jane says, the picture of gratitude.
'Be right back,' Davis said. When she returned she handed a small file of paperwork to Jane. 'Now, if you'll excuse me Agent I need to get back to it.'
Jane knew a dismissal when she heard one and she knew better than to try and pursue her case there. Plausible deniability was the name of the game, after all.
Once she was safely back at her office, Jane opened the file and began perusing it. Vincent and Mia Russo. The bolos were for the cars. Mia's bolo was for a blue sedan headed west. with two young children. Vincent Russo's was for his truck. Jane saw it's sale date and then silence. Jane looked at the few negative hits. None of them yielding anything relevant. Jane runs her hand through her hair, staring at her wall willing the picture to form.
Mia was running. That was Jane's first thought. Probably from her husband. She left one kid with Maura because the kid was too hurt to make the run. Maybe that's what broke her. Made her want to leave. So she packed up her other two kids and left. West. Jane privately hoped that she would make it to the coast and never looked back. So that made Vincent Jane's suspect. Vincent Russo. Jane ran the name over in her mind. Vincent Russo, white pick up, abusive. Maura had reported Vincent. That made him angry. Possessive. He can't find his wife so he turns to the next woman he thinks of: Maura. It made sense.
Jane stood and began pacing the narrow carpet space in her office. So Russo holds a grudge and decides he wants to do something about it. He does a quick search, realises Maura has a whole life in Boston, and then what? Starts asking random street people about it? There was something missing there. Something she didn't know about Vincent Russo. Some missing piece. Some reason the guy was more comfortable in the underbelly of Boston than on the internet. After all, anything Russo found from one of Rondo's street pals could have been found online. That made Jane's stomach churn. Jane could only think of a handful of reasons someone wouldn't want to go online and 34 was too young to be out of touch. Everything else had to do anonymity and lack of paper trails which meant it was at least a bit hinky. Worse, Vincent seemed to have successfully disappeared. No car, no boss, no trace, not even a hint. Except for someone talking to Rondo's CI's.
Jane grabbed her phone and found her brother's contact. It rang twice before he answered, 'Rizzoli.'
'Frankie!'
'Oh, hey Janie,' Frankie said cheerily, 'hows it going?'
'I think I have a lead for you. The state of Virginia put out a couple of bolos a few weeks ago. One of them is a domestic abuser. I think he's targeting Maura for reporting it.'
'Okay, send them over. We'll see if we can work them from our end,' Frankie said.
'How did your talk with Rondo's CI go?' Jane asked.
'Decent. We got a sketch. Running it through facial but since he had a hokies sticker on his car we don't think we're gonna get a hit in our system.' Frankie said.
'Hokie? Like Virginia Tech?' Jane asked feeling angry that Frankie hadn't mentioned that first. 'Frankie why didn't you say something.'
'I just did,' Frankie said sounding confused.
'Sooner Frankie. Sooner.' Jane knew she was snapping but she couldn't help it. It wasn't enough for a court order or even an arrest but the pattern was there. Jane could almost see it. She was on the right track, she just knew it. All she had to do was find Russo before he found Maura. 'There's something there Frankie and I'm gonna find it.'
Frankie sighed. He was used to his sister's case breaking attitude. 'I'll send you the digital interview, okay Janie. Maybe you'll hear something Nina and I didn't.'
For a moment, just a moment, Jane felt a flash of guilt. 'Hey, I'm sure you guys did great,' Jane offers.
'I know Janie,' Frankie said, 'but it's Maura. I get it.'
'Thanks Frankie,' Jane said quietly.
'You got it. Send those bolos over, okay.'
Jane hung up. She paced her office floor once, twice, three times. Did she tell Doyle and put what amounted to a hit on Russo or did she leave Paddy in the dark? It was a little like tying his hands when it came to protecting Maura but did she know enough to condemn a man to die? What if she was wrong about Russo? What if he was just your standard abuser? What if Jane had it wrong and Mia was the abuser? Jane sighed. She couldn't condemn a man to die without all the facts. She pocketed her phone. Maybe it was for the best. If she was focused on Russo, Paddy could focus on the rest, catch anything trying to slipping through the cracks. Between the two of them, they'd get Maura home safely.
