Hey, guy. Thank you for your support.
I changed the cover and the title of the story but the storyline is still be the same. I just wanted to note that before you think that's another unfinished story of mine.
Anyway, I hope you'll like this update.
Have fun,
T73.
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"Are you sure, " Jane asked with a deep frown and took a swig from her coffee, frowning deeply.
Maura placed her phone on the kitchen island and heaved a heavy sigh. "The results are without any doubt. The blood we found mixed with Liz' is no match with Daniel Acosta's nor one of the other officers who seem to be involved in this … conspiracy." She saw the look of her wife and shrugged. "I have no other word for this, Jane."
The brunette ran a hand through her hair and raised her brows. "No, conspiracy is dead-on, Maura. It's not your choice of words."
The blonde licked her lips and walked to the dining table her wife was sitting at. "Is it because Liz is going back to BPD today?"
The Italian shook her head but clenched the jaw. "I totally understand that she wants to be back on duty with the people she really knows and trust, I don't worry about that."
"She had the best teachers."
"You're talking about you and me, right?" Jane grinned when she saw the amused but warning look. "Frankie isn't all that bad as well. But then she sobered again. "I'm afraid that Liz is kicking the confrontation with Hanley down the road. That she tries to pretend that none of this ever happened." She paused and looked at the former ME. "Don't get me wrong, Maura. I am glad that she's back on track, Maura, I really am. And that she's trying to catch up as much time with Zane and Damian as possible. Geez, it has been a long time I have seen her so happy, but -"
"I'm afraid of the same thing, Jane," Maura stated the moment Jane trailed off and sat down next to Jane, placing her hand over the brunette's. I am also afraid of the moments when there are setbacks, the moments our daughter wants to run away again. And I am afraid that this next time we won't be so lucky and find her, alive. She is a daredevil, she always was and always will be. She is you!
Jane looked down at her hands with a shake of her head. "My old heart can't stand another time, Maura." She heaved a heavy sigh and closed her eyes for a brief moment, pressing her lips together like she was trying to keep her tears at bay. "This time we can forgive her, but if she's running once more instead of facing her worst fear … I am not going to look for her another time."
Liar, Maura said to herself but kept her mouth shut. Instead, she hurried to her wife and wrapped her arms around Jane tightly. "I love you."
Jane hesitated. "You love me for being willed to abandon our only daughter." She nodded slowly when she got no response. "You love me because you know that I never could leave Liz high and dry."
"I love you for being you, and that you care about your loved ones even though you say you wouldn't. How many times have you been there for Tommy? Or even your father and your mother? And how many times have you let them down?"
"Never," the brunette grumbled and furrowed her brows. "Not that I'd know of."
"You never let any of them down," Maura assured and put a hand on Jane's cheek. "Jane, you are a good person. You might have some flaws, but deep down in your heart you always want the best for those you loved. I know that you are now telling me that you won't be there for Liz if she needs your help, but I know better.
"I am that predictable, huh?"
"I was your best friend for years, and then we became a couple. It would be very bad if I don't know you just a little bit."
Jane kissed the blonde once, twice, and then she frowned deeply. "I want a divorce."
The former ME laughed and shook her head. "No, you don't."
Jane smirked from ear to ear and shook her head as well. "No, I don't."
Maura broke the embrace again and went back to the kitchen island, sipping her steaming tea. "What will your next steps be?"
"Well, I'll take a shower before I go and pick our only grandchild up before our only daughter and her husband went to work as a team again."
The blonde rolled her eyes and placed her mug back on the counter. "I meant what are your next steps in Liz' case are."
Jane took a deep breath and licked her lips with raised eyebrows. "I don't know what my next steps in her case are. I mean, it's still an ongoing case and actually, we're not supposed to mess with this case because officially we are a retired Chief Medical Examiner and a retired Lieutenant of the Homicide Unit. Us being involved in a homicide case could jeopardize it and Hanley and Ben could get away with whatever they hatched. For all I can say, what they're doing is big, and overlapping the departments and even states. If I'd still be their Lieutenant, I'd order them to get in touch with the feds, to play by the book because that is huge, Maura. This isn't just the revenge of one person. And unfortunately, Hanley has access to people who have all reason to be pissed off of one of the Rizzoli family."
"And Laverty."
"Huh?"
"Adam … Laverty. Remember? The father of our only grandson Zane and the husband of our only daughter Elizabeth."
Jane waved her wife's statement playfully off. "Rizzoli, Laverty. Who cares, in the end, we are a bunch of people who are really close and who are going to share a family tomb sponsored by the Isles family."
Maura smirked broadly until she started to chuckle and said, "I always knew that you only wanted to have a family tomb, that's why you asked me to marry you."
Jane sighed dramatically, and her shoulders slumped. "Sh …oot, you got me." She grinned when Maura laughed and held her hand out for the blonde. "I only fell in love with you for your family tomb. That's why I was driving everyone nuts the moment you went missing and everyone told me that you are gone." She tugged on the doctor's hand the moment Maura took hers until the former ME was sitting in her lap. "And look at that, my gut feeling was right. You were pretty much alive."
Maura smiled sweetly at her wife and ran her hand down at Jane's neck. "Softy."
"Badass who was pretty much right." Jane countered and looked deeply into hazel eyes with a sigh. "Thank God I was right. If I wouldn't have been, I would be no more by now. Then Ma would have had the burden to put me to grave next to you."
"We do have some family history, don't we?"
"It doesn't become boring."
"Do you think that it'll stay this way? The story of the Rizzoli and Isles family."
"I have faith that it's getting better at some point. That the lives of our descendants won't be as action-packed as our lives were. I mean, at some point they have to learn their lesson, right?" She lowered her brows when the smaller woman only shrugged. "At least I can say that I regret nothing. We have a good life, a smart, beautiful daughter who came back to her senses, a son-in-law who's worth the trouble, the best grandson in the world, nephews who are amazing, friends we always can rely on. I got you in my life, as a friend, lover, and wife. I don't know what else I could ask for, I'm perfectly happy."
"Are you?"
"Yes. Aren't you?"
"I'd be happier if you would go more regularly to your medical check-ups."
Jane rolled her eyes and swallowed a growl. "I know that I have an appointment with my cardiologist in two days. The last few months I had been quite busy." She pursed her lips the moment Maura quirked an eyebrow. "I'm still here, aren't I?"
"I would like to keep it that way for some more years."
"Don't worry about that," Jane said with a grin.
Maura closed her eyes and shook her head with a smile.
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Adam came down the stairs and needed a second glance the moment he looked at the brunette what was sitting at the kitchen counter who was in a deep conversation with their six-year-old son. She was dressed in a dark pants suit just like in old days, but this time she had her hair up in a ponytail already. "What's going on here," he asked to get their attention and went straight to the coffee maker, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
Liz resisted the urge to click her tongue and smiled tightly. "We have another discussion why Zane can't come with us and why we have to pick him and Puck up at my parent's place."
The Belgian shepherd lifted his head the moment she said his name, yawned and dropped it back on his paws.
Adam watched the dog, furled his brows and lifted the mug to his mouth. "We already had that discussion, four times, last night."
Liz still smiled tightly and glared at Adam. "Apparently Zane is a little slow off the mark when it comes to that." She closed her eyes when Adam frowned a little. "I'm sorry." She said more to him and turned to Zane. "Dad and I have to go to work."
"Why," the boy asked short and crisp.
She blinked a couple of times and her husband hid his grin behind his mug. "Be … cause it's our job to catch the bad guys to keep you and other people safe."
"Why?"
"Because you're eating us out of house and home the bigger you get." Adam answered and this time it was Liz who was glaring. He cleared his throat and put the cup down on the counter. "Because you like things like cheeseburgers, pizza, grilled chicken and … tofu." He snorted when Zane and Liz made a face at the same time when it came to tofu. "Mom and I have to work so we can buy all the food you like to eat."
"Everything I want," the boy asked, and his eyes lit up.
Liz frowned deeply. "Well -"
Adam stopped her by raising a hand and the brunette pursed her lips. "Most of the things you like." He narrowed his eyes as soon as his son did the same and Liz rolled her eyes. But then the mood in the room shifted. "Buddy, Mommy's coming back. I promise. And I come back, too. I always keep my promise, right?"
Zane looked long at his father and started to nod slowly with a pout.
"And I keep it this time, Zane. Mom is going to put you to bed and read you a bedtime story as she used to since she's back home. And if you let me, I'll give you a hug, too."
The little boy was very capable of heaving a sigh and nodded slowly. "Okay."
Adam straightened up the second someone rang the doorbell. "I get this."
Liz opened her mouth to protest but shut it again as soon as he hurried around the corner. "I … uh … oh … okay." She sighed heavily and looked at the boy who once was thrilled that she was back and now eyed her like she was an intruder. "You still try to get used to it that I am around all the time, huh."
"My father said that you would leave again," Zane answered with lowered brows. "When do you leave because I don't like your food."
"You don't like it because it's not always pizza and burgers?"
"I don't like it because Nona's lasagna is better."
Her eyebrows shot up high and she smiled a little. "I can't argue with that, bug. Nona's lasagna is way much better than mine. I guess I need more practice, huh?"
"Yep."
"Okay." She laughed and turned to the sink to put her mug in the sink, eyes big. "He makes no bones of hating me and my dishes, at least my son's honest. He hates me but he's honest."
"Look who's here to pick up her -" Jane trailed off and her smile dropped the moment she rounded the corner and saw the grim face of her daughter. "favorite grandson." She finished less enthusiastically and straightened up, glancing at Adam. "The same old song?"
"Yep," Adam replied and crossed his arms over his chest, watching Liz filling a traveling mug with coffee. "Is that -"
Liz kissed the head of her son who wrinkled his nose and then the cheek of her mother, glaring at him. "You want some of that?"
Adam bit his goodbye and followed her hot on the heels. "Yes, please."
"That's what I call bad luck." She growled at him and walked towards his car.
Adam slowed his steps and frowned. "You do know that we already exchanged our DNA, plenty of times. The boy inside this house is the best example for that. He's made of your and my DNA. He's you and me, we made him."
Liz turned to him and opened the passenger's door, blinking against the sun. "Yes, I am very aware of that, I was present."
Adam swallowed hard and scratched his chin. "You make it sound like it was the most awful night in your life and that you regret it."
Liz rolled her eyes and sighed. "Neither of this is true. It wasn't an awful night and I sure as hell don't regret the outcome of it. That would mean that I'd regret that this … spoilt brat has a big part in my life."
Adam fought hard to keep a straight face and frowned. "Really? You call your own son a spoilt brat?"
She closed her eyes and set her jaw, inhaling deeply. "I know I shouldn't say such things, but he's treating me like -"
"You're his mother and that he gets paid for having a discussion at every time of day," he asked and opened the driver's door, getting into his car. "Welcome to parenthood, Misses Elizabeth Laverty."
"Don't go there again." She warned him and slapped his hand the moment he reached for her traveling mug. "I didn't take your last name after we got married and I won't take it after we got back together." She slapped his hand again. "Would you stop that."
"You didn't take my last name because you don't like double-barreled names." He replied and shook his hand with furrowed brows. "Come on, just one little sip."
"I don't like it because I officially already have one, Elizabeth Rizzoli-Isles, that's why my mothers went without a middle name for me. I know what just one sip means in the world of yours. We can stop at a coffee shop get you a coffee. You'll survive that trip."
Adam grabbed her wrist but released it immediately when grazed her fainting scar with the tips of his fingers and she clenched her jaw. "We have to talk about it, Liz."
The brunette started to chew on the inside of her cheek and her eyes were glued to her wrist. "There is nothing left to talk about. Someone tried to kill me, end of story."
"When are you talking to Hanley," he asked and held his breath for a second. "I mean, I am really happy that you are back. I mean, the real you, partly you are back. You are snappy again and got your self-confidence back again. And look at your swagger since you got your badge back on your belt. But that's only ninety percent of you. At some point you have to face him, otherwise, you let Hanley some control over your life."
"Even if we are able to bring his organization down, I won't be the same person I was before." She paused and pressed her lips together. "I won't be the Elizabeth again you knew before all of this happened." Finally, she was able to trace the scars on her wrists with her fingers and frowned. "You know, Ma got her stigmas in her palms when she was chasing her demon, her nemesis, and she brought him down. I heard the stories, as a kid, I asked to hear about them because I know that the stories ended well. And I'm so proud of Ma, she's my hero, she's the reason I became a cop, cuz I wanted to be a knight in shining armor, too. But I am not, I didn't face the dragon, I didn't kill the demon when I had the chance to. Adam, I ran, I ran as far as possible and that's nothing to be proud of. And Will is a person who can taste someone's weakness, he's like a snake. Every time I wanted to break up with him he brought up my family and my career, and that 'd cared about him. I'm not even sure if I ever loved him. Every time I thought about breaking up with him I felt relieved like a heavy burden was lifted off my chest, but I never got the chance to talk about it privately. Either we've been discussing our private issues in the Café or we didn't talk at all because he couldn't control himself and we ended up in a locked breakroom."
"Well, you are a very attractive woman." Adam threw in and held his hands up when she glared at him. "I'm just saying. I'm sorry."
Liz smiled and looked into his eyes, leaned over the center console and gave him a peck. "You're forgiven."
"Thank God." He laughed but sobered when he saw that there was still something that kept her mind busy. "You're scared."
She wiggled her brows and smiled a sad smile. "he threatened y family, of course, I'm scared." She paused for a moment. "I mean, I am really scared. And Will is gonna to use that against me because he knows that you guys are my weakness."
Adam looked long at her and saw the everlasting fear back in her eyes. He took her hands back in his. "Maybe it's time to turn your weakness into your strength. Maybe it's time to show Hanley that he can't break you or even isolate you, that all of your friends and your family still have your back. Nothing has changed, Liz. You are not alone anymore. You still have us, you still have me and nothing in this world could shake my love for you. That's why we are sitting here."
"And if I'd asked for a divorce while being in San Diego?"
"We'd be here anyway because you are my best friend, and I always tend to be there for my friends."
"You also tend to get shot."
Adam laughed and squinted up at the roof. "Don't remind me of that. That hurt, twice. The Shooting wounds healed faster than the one on my heart. Seeing you leaving with random guys night by night was killing me. It might sound crazy but after I got out of the coma I knew that I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He tugged his chin in because he also realized how creepy his words sounded. "Even if we turned out to be just friends. I'd never leave your side unless you'd asked me to. I also care about the ones I love."
"Obviously."
"That includes friends."
"You can't be real."
"I am very, very real."
"You need to have flaws."
"I have a bunch of them. One them is that I don't hide the fact that I have a soft side, especially when it comes to you."
Liz finally chuckled. "You arrested me."
Adam didn't crack a smile but frowned. "Under protest."
"You were doing your job," Liz stated, and her smile dropped. She took his hand in her own and squeezed it. "You were just doing your -"
"Still I see you in my dreams, not that often anymore since you are back home, but I still see you laying on the floor, in your own blood and the blood of Waterston." He stated and avoided to look at her. "But since the night we found you at a crime scene with wrists cut open I had dreams about you, nightmares. Frankie and me … we …" He trailed off and shook his head. "We helped Chaz, meager, to make sure that he'd make it. It was already too late for Waterston. But Frankie and I … we … if it would have been necessary, either of us would have given all of our blood to you. The DA's office was pressing for results and an arrest. I still hear you yelling at me in my dreams, that you are innocent, that you didn't commit the murder and that I felt like I was throwing the key to your cell away that day, some people obviously hoped so, they didn't expect me to dig a little deeper. Frankie had my back even though the DA wanted us to close the case, so he could press charges." He smiled wryly and shrugged. We staved him as much as possible and even jeopardized the case by involving Jane and Maura. You can imagine that DA Peterson wasn't all that happy about it. But if we wouldn't have done so, Hanley would have won." He stopped and glanced at her again. "Now it's your turn not to show the white feather, Liz."
The brunette held his gaze and swallowed hard. "Something's telling me that you already have a plan."
"I do," he replied and started the engine pulling out of the driveway. "I just have to talk with Frankie and the others about it."
"You're gonna let me in on it?"
"Nope, not yet."
"Great," Liz grumbled and looked out of the window.
Adam rolled his eyes but kept his mouth shut for now.
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Adam sat down at the opposite of Frankie in the conference room and straightened his tie.
The older man scrutinized him for a second and frowned deeply. "Do you really think it's a good idea to let Liz interview Troy Flynn alone? I mean, it's her first day back."
Adam took a deep breath and wiggled his brows. "It's better to plunge her in at the deep end instead of treating her with kid gloves. She needs to have the feeling that she's back in control. And she's not all alone with Flynn, Newman is watching the whole thing from the monitoring room. Did you see how he was looking at her when we brought him down the hallway?"
Frankie nodded slowly and leaned back in his chair.
Troy Flynn was a thirty-one-year-old. He had a fair complexion, straight light brown hair cut short, and dark brown eyes. He was short and a bit pudgy. The family of his wife Jennifer noticed that he was behaving strangely after she and their six-months-old son Ryan suddenly disappeared two weeks ago.
Jennifer's parents started to call him and asked him to get Jennifer on the landline because she'd wouldn't pick up when they called Jennifer's cell phone. Troy then told them that Jennifer and he and his wife had a big fight the other night and that she packed some things, got their son and disappeared without telling him where she'd go. Since that night no one heard of Jennifer again, what alarmed Jennifer's parents. The fact that Troy Flynn didn't report Jennifer and his son made him look queer, and that Troy suddenly showed up at his workplace and at the homes of his friends with a young dark-haired woman, introducing her to them as his new girlfriend. Those facts made him, Frankie and Newman look closely into her disappearance and the three men came to the conclusion that Jennifer didn't just run away, that something must have happened to her. They didn't arrest Troy, though, they asked him in a friendly manner to come to the station and answer some of their questions.
Adam led Troy down the hallway and explained to the smaller man that all the conference rooms were in use and that they'd talk in an interrogation room instead. Troy didn't object and shrugged. The moment Adam saw how Troy nearly undressed Liz with his eyes when she came out of the breakroom made him want to punch the other man's face. But then a thought hit his mind and he asked to lead Troy Flynn into the interrogation room, following his wife. He let Liz in on the case and asked her to do the interrogation, but also told her that he'd understand if she wouldn't be ready for that just yet.
The brunette hesitated for a moment and chewed on the inside of her cheek until Newman assured her that he'd be the whole time in the monitoring room and watching the interview, and if necessary, he'd come in and help her. After that, Liz agreed to do the interrogation of Troy Flynn.
Adam shifted in his seat and looked through glassy walls into the hallway. "Have you thought about my suggestion?"
Frankie nodded again and scratched the back of his head. "Peterson won't agree to that."
"I don't give a damn about Peterson, Frankie. If I have to, I'll bring him here myself."
"Jane won't agree to that either."
The younger man frowned lightly and ran his hand over his beard. "She will if she thinks it's your idea."
Frankie scoffed and leaned forward. "You want me to lie to my sister?" He waited for Adam's answer and continued when none came. "And even if I'd try to lie to her, Jane will see through it immediately. I was never able to fool her, my entire life, Adam."
Adam heaved a sigh and nodded slowly. "Then I talk to her about it. What can happen? The only thing that can happen is that she's having my guts for garters."
"At least. I can try to convince Peterson about the whole thing, and I can try to get the others on board. I'm sure I can find some people who are helping. Do you have a plan how to tell Liz about your idea?"
"Getting her sloshed?"
Frankie scoffed and took a deep breath. "Do you think that's working?"
"Probably not."
The older detective smiled broadly and nodded once again before he got up to his feet, leaving the room without another word.
Adam leaned back in his chair and ran his hand over his beard once again. After the short talk with Frankie, he wasn't sure about his plan himself anymore and he was afraid that it would make Liz run again or even worse, freak out. He sighed heavily and got up to his feet as well to call Jane and tell her about his newest plan.
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"I don't like the plan," Maura said with a shake of her head and placed her teacup on the coffee table. "I don't like the idea at all."
Jane was sitting on an armchair and had her elbows on her knees, frowning. "I am not the biggest fan of it, Maura. But I get Adam's point. Liz has to show Hanley that he has no more control over her life and that he was not able to tear her away from her family and friends."
"Doesn't return to police prove that enough," the blonde asked and closed her eyes as if she knew that her question was kinda silly. She never wanted to become a mother who questioned her child's estimation.
Jane nodded slowly and started to rub the palms together. "It's one step to get back in control, Maura. Facing Hanley and showing him that his actions didn't really affect her life by showing that she still has the support of her family, friends, and co-workers maybe make him understand that all he did was in vain."
"What are we supposed to do, Jane? Stand in the hallway and hold Zane at the hand while this psychopath walk by? Are we supposed to let William Hanley scare our grandson so maybe our daughter can get some closure?"
Jane stared at her wife and sat up straight, furrowing her brows. "If I remember right, you normally use to be the positive one. I am normally the negative, grim person who's saying that I'd kill the person who's threatening my loved ones and do everything to protect them while you're trying to talk me out of one of my crazy plans."
Maura rolled her eyes and licked her lips. "Jane."
Jane was up to her feet in no time and walked over to the couch her wife sitting on, taking Maura's hands in hers. "What can go wrong, Maura? He's going to be in a building full of cops."
Maura looked long at the Italian and a light frown grazed her forehead. "I can think of plenty of things that could go wrong during his transport from the jail to the station. Not to mention what could go wrong in the station. If I recall correctly, once there had been a shoot-out, TJ nearly got born in the entrance hall of the station, Frankie almost died in there, you almost died in front of it, I got taken from the station twice, you got taken in front of it -"
"Okay," Jane cut her off and closed her eyes briefly. "Stop, stop. Maura, just stop, okay. Those things happened in the past and each of us turned out to be fine. Frankie is leading the Homicide Unit quite good and you are here with me, both of us are in perfect condition. Nothing happened to us, Maura." She waited and tug a strand of hair behind Maura's hair. "Adam just let us in on his plan, doubt that our stubborn daughter is going to agree to that. No, I know that she won't agree to that. And even if she does, Zane isn't going to be a part of this. Neither of us is going to let this happen."
Maura pressed her lips together and looked through the French door, watching her grandson chasing the Belgian shepherd across the yard. "He is already a part of this, Jane."
The Italian furrowed her brows and tugged at the blonde's hand, so she'd skid closer. "I know, Maura, I know. But we won't let him get involved in this even more. Adam won't let this happen, not to mention our daughter."
"I am afraid, Jane."
"About what?"
The former ME looked into dark brown eyes and pressed her lips together. "That Elizabeth will do something stupid when she's facing William when he's defenseless."
"He deserves everything she wants to do to him," Jane replied and set her jaw for a second. "I would let Liz rip him apart with her bare teeth." She raised her brows when she saw the glare. "I would let her do so. I doubt that Adam, Frankie, and Newman are thinking the same way."
"I am not sure about it."
Jane heaved a heavy sigh and wiggled her brows. "I don't think that they're going to turn off the cameras and leave Hanley and Liz alone. They won't do that."
"That's what you would do?"
"If I'd still be in charge?"
"Yes."
"You really have to ask me that?"
Maura frowned again and tightened the hold on her wife's hand. "I would do the same and that scares me, too."
"I know," Jane replied honestly and glanced long at the woman who's normally the kind and soft part in their marriage while she used to be the one who was the one with tough love. "It'll be over, Maura."
The blonde smiled at Jane and leaned forward to kiss her gently. "Yes, I know that, Jane."
Jane got up to her feet and helped her wife to do the same. "Come on, it's a beautiful day and Zane is about to chase the dog to death. Let's help Puck."
Maura sighed dramatically and let Jane pulling her to her feet.
"See it as cardiac training." The former detective laughed amused.
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"No," Liz stated louder and paced in the conference room up and down, arms crossed over her chest, frowning. "No!"
"I'm not really fond of this idea either," Peterson said and shifted in his seat. He was in the age of fifty. He had a dark complexion and was bald and had dark brown eyes. He was very tall, somewhat thin, and was wearing a dark gray suit.
She stopped pacing and pointed at him. "Hear that Peterson isn't very fond of it either."
"That's because I'm still not convinced that you're not working for William Hanley." The DA shot back and Liz let her arms drop back to her sides.
"Seriously?" She almost growled and Frankie, Adam, and even Newman closed briefly their eyes. "You are still not convinced that I am not a handmaid of William Hanley? I was on the run for five years, he almost destroyed my life and killed my former partner because I was about to bust his organization, Counselor. William Hanley threatened my family. He let me know that he let my husband, my mothers, and my son and my dog and everyone I care about get killed in the most painful way before his hitman burns down the house. Then he'd get to me"
Peterson leaned forward and looked at her with a frown. "William told you that with his own words to you, in person? Do you have any proof of that? Like a record or email?"
Liz' shoulders slumped, and she licked her lips, her face was dark. "No, he didn't tell me that in person, or email. But he has his ways to let someone know that you don't have much time left to go. I mean, I had no reason to kill James Waterston." She paused and rolled her eyes. "Well, he was a prick, okay, but that's no reason to kill someone."
Adam was rubbing the bridge of his nose and said warningly. "Elizabeth, stop talking."
"Everyone knows that Waterston was a prick and that no woman wanted to work with him because he used to grope."
"Is that why you snapped? Because he sexually harassed you?"
"What," she asked with a high-pitched voice. "No. I worked with Waterston because there was a connection to Dan Acosta, William Hanley's cousin who tried to get him out of jail by all cost. Dan Acosta also tried to rape me back in San Diego because Hanley ordered him to."
Frankie and Newman exchanged surprised looks and Frankie sat up straight.
Peterson scrutinized her for a minute. "Did Waterston know about that?"
Liz lost some of her confidence again as soon as she felt the eyes of her uncle on her and worried her bottom lip. "I … don't know. When Acosta attacked me, I wasn't working with Waterston anymore, I didn't even live in Boston anymore. It's possible that he got to know about it and that's the reason why he wanted to talk to me when I came back here, but I don't know. The memory of the night is still blurry."
"Why didn't you tell us about what happened in San Diego," Frankie asked the second the DA opened his mouth.
"That's a very good question, Rizzoli," Peterson said anyway.
Liz clenched her jaw briefly. "Because I had my own way to solve this problem. It had nothing to do with what was going on in Boston."
"Other ways to solve the problem? You mean, beat your other colleagues to death when they didn't see the attack coming from behind?"
"No, other ways to solve the problem like working with the IA in SDPD." She shot back and heard Frankie and Newman groan. "Contact IA officer Eddie Winters, she was the one who asked for my transfer. There were plenty of complaints against several detectives who sexually harassed their female colleagues. It turned out that some of them were about to start a drug business in San Diego and Dan Acosta is the head of it." She stopped and stepped closer to the table, furling her brows. "What do you think how a detective can afford a lawyer like Ben Payton?" She glanced at the other men and swallowed hard. "Look, I know that Dan Acosta isn't smart enough to plan all of this on his own, he hardly passed the detective's exam. And he was always one of the good guys until Hanley got in the picture. Counselor, this is so much bigger than you think."
"Is that why you tried to kill yourself? To get out of it without consequences?"
"I did not try to kill myself," Liz replied louder and held her hands up. "Someone else did this to me, Peterson. Go, check my background. There were never any signs of mental issues. I come from a good family, I grew up in a protected environment, I had good grades in school and graduated college while I was a patrol officer, I always maintained a low profile during my career as a patrol officer."
Adam suddenly started coughing and she looked at him.
Frankie choked on his water after those words left her mouth and looked into the glass with a frown.
"What?"
Peterson leaned back in his chair and linked his hands. "I heard some stories about you and your career as a patrol officer. You rather seemed to be kinda reckless than thoughtful."
She rolled her eyes and braced herself on the wooden table. "When you're on patrol it happens, you get in the line of fire, then you're reacting on instinct and not what your brain's telling you. I really doubt that you understand what I'm talking about."
"Liz." Adam again said warningly.
"She's right," Newman stated, and the others looked surprised at him. "A lawyer can't understand what it means when you're just trying to do your job day in, day out and then you're suddenly staring into the barrel of a gun. We do their dirty work while they're sitting in their offices and think about what kind of charges they can press. We are the one who get killed on a daily basis, not them."
Adam linked his hands on top of the table and looked at them, wiggling his brows. "It's true. All of us in this room, who are cops, has been shot at least once."
Peterson got up from his chair and shoved his hands in the pocket of his slacks, turning his back to them. "I may don't know what it is like to wear a uniform or to stare in the gun of a barrel day in, day out, Detectives. But that doesn't mean that I don't know what it means to stand up for justice and what it feels like having a bounty on the head."
"That's not what we're trying to say, Counselor." Adam finally said took a deep breath. "All of us are well aware that your job is as dangerous as ours, we all already have been investigating a DA's murder one time too much, Sir."
Peterson turned to them again and something had changed. "I know, and I appreciate your work. But that doesn't explain why she met with James Waterston and why he ended up dead, why Charles Montoya was almost beaten to death."
Liz swallowed hard and licked her lips. She closed her eyes to recall the day she came back to Boston and how she ran accidentally into James Waterston. She sucked her lower lip in. "I was supposed to meet with on the market with Chaz, he asked me to meet up with him as soon as I told him that I was coming here. We wanted to meet near Red's Best that afternoon and then I run into James." She said hesitantly, and the men looked at her without saying a word. She tilted her head and frowned. "He looked kinda scared when I asked him how he was doing and told me to meet him later. That he had to talk to me about something that'd involve my past. I … I asked him what that would mean but before he answered James told me again to meet him later. I met up with Chaz and told him about the incident and he told me that he was coming with me even if I'd say no. In the early evening, we met with James."
Peterson waited patiently but then said, "Keep going."
Liz opened her eyes again and shook her head. "The next thing I remember is a blow to my head and that everything went dark."
"That's what evidence also saying, Counselor," Newman stated and shrugged. "Her blood was underneath Waterston's. I really doubt that this evidence was manipulated. No one knocks themselves unconscious and then kills other people while they're out."
Peterson seemed like he let the words sink in and ran his hand over his mouth, looking Liz. "Bring William Hanley in. ASAP." He ordered and opened his briefcase to put his files inside of it.
Adam was the first who was back on his feet. "On it, Sir."
Frankie needed a little longer. "Thanks, Chris."
"What," Liz asked perplex and frowned deeply. "No, that was not supposed to happen. You shouldn't bring Hanley to BPD."
"You sounded like you have a lot to talk about with William Hanley," Peterson replied and closed the lid of the briefcase.
She blinked a couple of times and frowned, and the other detectives turned to her. "No. I mean, yes, I do but I thought that I'd pay him a visit at jail. With guards and cameras, and things like that."
Peterson straightened up and took the briefcase with a sigh in his hand. "This is a police station, Detective Rizzoli. Here are enough people who are carrying a gun. What do you think that can happen?"
Liz clenched her jaw and watched the DA leaving the conference room. She followed him to the door and thrust her index finger into Adam's chest when he held the door open for her. "This isn't over yet."
He frowned and grunted when she grabbed his tie and dragged him in the direction of the breakroom. "Um, okay. That's a little weird right now." He watched the door close behind them and straightened the tie again. "That's my favorite tie, Liz. You should know that it's the last Christmas gift I got from you."
"No, it wasn't." She said and crossed her arms over her chest. "What the hell were you thinking?"
"I thought that this one fit perfectly my shirt today."
Liz glared at him and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "You bring Will to BPD, so I can talk to him?"
"I let him bring here so you're going to talk to this son of a bitch at all." He countered with a low voice and leaned against a small counter. "Because it seems to me that you're trying to avoid this damn encounter for a long while. And I want to get done with this damn hide-and-seek. I want my life back, too, Liz, and I want my wife back without looking over my shoulder 24/7. So, we're bringing Hanley in and you're gonna talk to him. Nothing's gonna happen. Maybe he accidentally runs into a wall, but that's it."
A small smile played around her lips, but she passed him without a word, punching his shoulder hard.
He groaned and rubbed the spot. "What was that for?"
"You said you want your life back, and your wife. That's just the beginning." She answered while walking down the hallway and grinned.
"I didn't mean that I like S&M." He grumbled and started to follow her. "Sometimes I really should shut my mouth."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Frankie and Newman were leading Hanley through the entrance hall of the BPD a couple of days later and every single officer in it became silent the second they laid eyes on the man in the orange jumpsuit with a heavy chain around his waist, ankles, and wrists.
"You're making a show of this." Hanley laughed and looked at Frankie. "Impressive."
Frankie gave him a hard shove and growled, "Move."
The felon laughed throatily and glanced in the direction of the Café. "Is there no time for a real coffee? The one in prison taste like rinsing water."
"If you don't shut your mouth, I'll shut it for you," Newman growled now and shoved Hanley into the already waiting elevator.
"How are you again?" Hanley laughed.
"I will be your worst nightmare if you don't stop."
"I doubt so."
The old man stepped into his personal space and his face was dark, it even scared Frankie. "Try me."
Hanley ginned and looked at Frankie as soon as the door closed. "How's the family, Frankie. How is Jane doing? Maura?" A smug smiled appeared. "Your kids? Liz?"
That's when Frankie lost it. He pushed Newman to the side and Hanley against the wall of the elevator. He pressed his forearm against the felon's throat and Newman didn't stop him from doing so. Frankie's faces was only inches away from Hanley's. "If you ever dare to talk about my family again, I rip your tongue out of your mouth and shove it down your throat, I promise you that."
The other man held his gaze and still smirked. "She is like the daughter you never had, right?"
Frankie set his jaw and clenched his right hand into a fist, raising it.
"Give me a reason to sue you," Hanley whispered provokingly
"Frank, no," Newman said and placed his hand on the other detective's shoulder. "He's not worth it."
Frankie stared Hanley straight in the eye and saw the amusement in them, then he slammed his fist into the metal wall, right next to the felon's head, leaving a dent in it.
Hanley laughed out loud. "That was so much fun."
"You think someone would notice that I shot this son of a bitch before we arrived on the third floor?" Frankie growled.
Newman shrugged. "He was reaching for your weapon. You shot him in self-defense."
"You guys are funny." Hanley laughed and tried to clap his hands, in vain. "Are you the new version of Laurel and Hardy?"
Frankie growled low and looked up at the display while Hanley was still laughing.
He pressed his lips together and exhaled loudly when the door opened on the third floor. He shoved the felon out of the elevator. "Move, son of a bitch."
Hanley's laugh died down the moment he saw all the uniformed officers and detectives standing in line against the left and right wall down the hallway who started to stare at him. He swallowed hard and started to walk again. He stopped when he saw Chaz standing in his uniform next to Leslie. "You're doing better, huh." He glanced at the redhead. "How are you doing, Leslie?"
Frankie gave him another shove. "How many times do I have to tell you to move."
Hanley spotted Jane and Maura and smirked, saying to them, "It's good to see you guys. Did you miss me?"
Jane leaned forward and growled, "I miss you as much as I miss Downton Abby, not the slightest bit."
"What about you, Maura?"
The former doctor didn't answer but quirked an eyebrow.
He blinked with the same smirk. "Ouch, that hurt." He stumbled forward when he got pushed another time. "Alright, I'm moving."
"Open the damn door," Newman ordered, and an officer opened the door to the interrogation room that was set up for this meeting.
Hanley stared the young man straight into the eye and pursed his lips. "Oh, he hates me."
"Even your grandmother would hate you for who you are." Newman hissed and led the man into the room.
"True." Hanley sighed and frowned because Peterson was sitting with the back to him. But then his eyes landed on Adam, who was leaning against the wall behind the empty chair and smirked. "I didn't see that coming. How's your son doing? Is he asking for his mommy?"
Adam fixed him with his eyes and forced himself not to move any muscle in his body, biting his tongue.
Hanley tried to suppress his smirk but failed, he groaned the moment Frankie pressed him hard onto the metal chair across from Peterson. "That's what I call a Welcome Home Party. I guess you have some questions I might answer." He leaned forward and rubbed his index finger with his thumb. "I can give you all the answers you want."
Peterson nodded and skidded over to the empty chair that was next to the one he was actually sitting on and for the first time he saw confusion in Hanley's eyes. "I was hoping you say that, Mr. Hanley."
"Is this musical chair now," the other man asked with an uncertain laugh and tugged on his chains. "That's unfair, though." He looked at the door the second it was opened and furled his brows. His face turned blank as soon as he noticed the person who entered the room.
Adam pushed himself off the wall and leaned to Hanley's ear. "You didn't see that coming, huh? All those people in the hallway and down the stairs are not here for you, they are here for her. You are on your own, Hanley. No one's coming for you, you are on your own, buddy."
Hanley stared at her and swallowed hard as she leaned with her back against the door.
"Lizzy." He whispered, and his hands twitched like he was about to reach out for her.
Liz licked her lips and looked down at her feet. Her heart started to pick up its pace and her palms became sweaty. Not because she was excited to see him, but because panic started to rise in her again. She closed her eyes before she lifted her eyes and looked at him. "It's either Elizabeth or Detective Rizzoli. No one's calling me Lizzy. Not anymore."
He watched her sitting down on the chair across from him and placed his Hands as good as possible on the table. "You look ..." He grinned at her and shifted in his seat. "You look good enough to eat, as always."
Anger bubbled in Adam up and he slapped the other man's back of the head hard. "Watch your mouth!"
Hanley started to laugh hard but let his head hang down. "Do you still like dirty talk, Lizzy? I remember that it was getting you going."
Adam lost it and wanted to go after Hanley but Frankie and a uniformed pinned him against the wall.
"If you don't get your shit together, Adam, I drag your ass myself out." Frankie hissed low and felt Adam relax again. "You okay?"
Adam nodded but his eyes never left Liz', he nodded. "Yeah, I'm good."
Liz nodded discretely, and her eyes found Hanley's, and a shudder run down her spine. "I actually never like the things you said to me when we … had sex. If I remember right, I once told you that I don't talk much during sex, but you were the one who couldn't shut his mouth like you were trying to spur yourself."
Hanley's face turned dark and he leaned forward. "Does he fuck you as good as I did?"
She resisted the urge to flinch and forced herself to lean forward as well, telling Adam to stay back with her eyes. She looked at her ex-boyfriend and smirked. "Obviously he is fucking me better than you did. Otherwise, I wouldn't be the mother of his child. I mean, how many times did we tried it? Once? Twice? Thrice? And it never worked out. What does that say about you as a man?"
Hanley's face turned sour and he wanted to reach for her throat, luckily his cuffs kept him from doing so. "Whore!" He yelled at the top of his lungs and this time the officer who pinned Adam to the wall was the first who was at Hanley's chair and forced him down on it again. "I gave everything I had to you and you threw it away like it was nothing."
"No, I didn't. I gave you one chance after another and you always screwed up." She replied calmly even though her heart was racing. She frowned. "You were the one who asked to be transferred to Detroit and ended our relationship with that."
"I thought that would mean that we'd take a time out."
Liz licked her lips and furled her eyebrows the moment she realized that he meant it. "You are not a stupid guy, Will. You knew that it wasn't just a time out, you knew that it was the end of our story. And you knew that we'd never become a couple again, killing my family wouldn't have changed that."
Something changed in his eyes and he grabbed her hands tightly, but neither of the other men reacted now. "It was supposed to be our family." He growled and forced her closer. "It's supposed that you and I are together. It's supposed that we have a family. Jane and Maura … they never liked me and that's why they put me behind bars."
Liz tried to keep a straight face and nodded, she realized that he has been drifted off into his own world in which he was the victim. She forced herself to stay calm and to take his hands in hers even though she felt like she was about to throw up. She smiled weakly at him. "I see what you mean. My parents set you up, so they could set me up with Adam Laverty."
"Exactly." Hanley giggled excitedly and skidded to the edge of his seat, squeezing her hands hard and Liz clenched her jaw.
Adam was about to tug Hanley harshly back on the seat, but Frankie pushed him back. "She knows what she's doing." He whispered to the taller man. "Trust her."
In the same time, Jane was kicking a chair in the monitoring room hard and ran her hands through her hair, turning her back to Maura and Winters.
Maura stepped behind her wife and ran her hands over Jane's shoulder in hope to keep her wife's temper down. "She knows what she's doing, Jane."
"I didn't want to know such things about my daughter's sex life." The Italian hissed and tried to keep herself from yelling. "Didn't you notice that this son of a bitch had an erection when he brought the topic up?"
Maura closed her eyes for a brief moment. "I did notice it. And I am sure that anyone else noticed it, too. But we have to trust our daughter's abilities as a detective."
Hanley laughed and pointed at himself. "I was about to come back to Boston and pop the question."
Liz clenched her teeth and furrowed her brows. "You came back to Boston and showed up at my apartment, remember?"
Hanley furled his eyebrows and his eyes became unfocused. "Um -"
Liz frowned deeply. "Will, do you need a break."
He nodded vehemently. "Yeah, I guess I need a break."
"Can I get you something? Something to eat or something to drink?"
Jane straightened up and turned to the one-way mirror, furling her brows. "What the hell is she doing? He was about to tell why he wanted to kill her."
"Something's not right," Winters stated without taking her eyes away from the mirror.
Maura went to the other woman's side. "She's seeing something we are missing."
"Something that's bothering Liz," Winters added. "She has a good sense for things like that, that's why I asked for her help."
"You never mentioned how you got to know her," Jane stated, and Maura stepped closer to her wife. "How did you really got to know her."
Winters smiled a little when she turned to the couple. "I see where she got the ability from. She wasn't working the first time for Internal Affairs. Some police departments asked for her before."
Jane furrowed her brows. "Are you saying that my daughter's a rat?"
Maura hit Jane's shoulder with a gasp. "Jane!"
Winters cleared her throat. "She wasn't a rat in common sense. She just took a look at some files and records the department had of their detectives when they had been questioned in some suspect cases that involved themselves or their colleagues. She was more of an advisor. But she was that good that even the feds were interested in her."
Maura's eyes went wide. "The FBI?"
"Yes."
Jane wasn't so much impressed. "And how exactly got to know about her because my gut tells me that something about your story is really fishy?"
Winters looked straight into Jane's eyes and smiled. "I was one of her first cases."
Jane's face went blank and Maura's mouth dropped open.
"And you forget to mention that?" Jane yelled at Winters and stepped dangerously close. "How the hell are we supposed to trust you if you keep every single detail for yourself? How the hell do we know that you are no part of all of this?"
"Because your daughter saved my sorry ass when my cover blew!" Winters lost her temper as well and yelled back. "Neither of us knew that we were on the same side. I was a patrol officer who really wanted to be in the IA and I got a snitch of them, I looked out for dirty cops and unfortunately, I was very bad at because my supervisor got suspicious and asked for someone who could help him clean out the good from the bad. Every single brass knows that Liz is one of the good ones and that they can rely on her abilities."
"That was the reason why she went on so many in-service training." Maura whispered more to herself.
Winters looked at the blonde and nodded. "Officially, that's the reason, yes. And neither of us knew that we were running investigations in each other's case. Liz and I got to know when we were supposed to do a drug deal with seized drugs of a drug lord you better don't mess with. I was playing the role of the dirty cop and didn't know that there was another officer of the IA was involved. The deal went wrong, and the dealer was about to shoot us, but Liz was faster and pulled the trigger. I was petrified but somehow, I pointed my gun at her. My whole body was trembling because I never shot someone before and then I had to shoot the person I trusted most, in the worst case. Thank God, she was the one who lowered her gun instead of shooting me and put her hand on the barrel of mine before I could make a mistake. Ever since that night, I know that I can rely on her whenever I need her. And I needed her badly in San Diego. Now I'm trying to pay my debts back."
Maura turned away and wiped a single tear off her cheek, hoping that it had gone unnoticed.
Jane pressed her lips together and clenched her fists like she was about to punch Winters. "I hope that it'll take a hell lot more to pay those debts back."
Jane stared at the other woman and swallowed a growl. "You know that you still have to pay back a hell of debts, right?"
Eddie turned the corners of her mouth downward and shook her head. "No. No, I think that Liz mentioned something like that we are even and besties."
Jane stepped closer with a dark face and was impressed that Eddie didn't step back or flinched. "No." She replied with a mean smile and pointed at her hair. "No, I wasn't talking about San Diego or Chicago, we're talking about Boston. See these gray hairs? I didn't get them because I got old … er, I in the last months because I was worried sick because of my daughter of whom I didn't hear for five years and who turned up only to be a prime suspect of a homicide. And who turned out to be working for IA besides Homicide. So, dear Eddie, you ow me a lot."
Finally, Eddie tugged her chin in and stepped back until her back hit the mirror. "Okay."
Maura slapped janes shoulder and the brunette started to chuckle. "No, you don't, Eddie. My wife's just ridiculous." She glared at Jane. "Stop intimidating her."
"I didn't intimidate her, did I," Jane asked innocently and frowned when both women raised their brows. "Sorry. But Liz is my daughter."
"I get it." Winters laughed.
"Can you tell me why I got the man who tried to kill you and my son a cheeseburger and a damn coke," Adam asked pissed when Liz took the items from his hand.
She looked long at him. "Watch and learn."
He looked dark at her but held the door to the interrogation open for her. "Something's telling me that you are keeping from me something." He whispered.
Liz ignored that and looked at the officer. "Uncuff him."
The officer straightened up and looked puzzled at her. "I'm sorry?"
Adam straightened up and was on high alert. "Detective Rizzoli!" He barked and expected the worst.
Frankie, on the other hand, furled his brows and nodded at the officer. "You heard her, uncuff him."
"Frankie -" Adam started to protest but was shut down by a raised hand.
Liz sat down on her chair and shoved the container to Hanley and frowned. "Bacon cheeseburger, fries with nothing and coke, just the way you like it."
His mouth was watering but he kept his hands to himself. "You remember who I like my burger?"
She held her breath but smiled. "Of course, I do." She looked at Adam who frowned and swallowed hard. "I was the one who told you that bacon wouldn't be good for my heart."
Liz swallowed hard and frowned. "Yes, I did that. William, can you ... can you tell me to whom I talked before?" She frowned when he shook his. "He was calling me some names and was angry at me."
"That was Simon."
"And to whom am I talking right now?"
He laughed and the hair in her neck stood up. "It's me, Will."
Jane closed her eyes and shook her head. "Don't say it, Maura."
Eddie looked confused at the two women. "Don't say what?"
Maura crossed her arms over her chest and stepped closer to Jane. "He's having DID, and we didn't notice."
"I said, don't say it."
Winters frowned deeply. "Again? What's DID?"
Jane pressed her lips together. "I warned you. Now you get the full Maura Isles-experience. I hope you brought some time."
Maura rolled her eyes and started, "According to the fifth Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DID symptoms include "the presence of two or more distinct personality states" accompanied by the inability to recall personal information, beyond what is expected through normal forgetfulness. Other DSM-5 symptoms include a loss of identity as related to individual distinct personality states, and loss referring to time, sense of self and consciousness. In each individual, the clinical presentation varies, and the level of functioning can change from severely impaired to adequate. The symptoms of dissociative amnesia are subsumed under the DID diagnosis but can be diagnosed separately. Individuals with DID may experience distress from both the symptoms of DID, intrusive thoughts or emotions and the consequences of the accompanying symptoms. The majority of patients with DID report childhood sexual or physical abuse, though the accuracy of these reports is controversial. Identities may be unaware of each other and compartmentalize knowledge and memories, resulting in chaotic personal lives. Individuals with DID may be reluctant to discuss symptoms due to associations with abuse, shame, and fear. DID patients may also frequently and intensely experience time disturbances. Around half of people with DID have fewer than 10 identities and most have fewer than 100; as many as 4,500 have been reported the average number of identities has increased over the past few decades, from two or three to now an average of approximately 16." Maura stopped and wondered why her wife hasn't stopped her by now.
Jane groaned but frowned when she didn't hear a question of the Winters.
Winters nodded slowly. "So, William Hanley actually is cray-cray?"
Jane nodded once. "In a nutshell, yes."
"And you understood every single thing Dr. Isles was saying?"
The former detective shook her head once and the blonde rolled her eyes. "In a nutshell, no, but over the years I learned how to decipher the deeper meaning of Dr. Isles' speeches."
Winters smiled broadly and pointed at her ears. I know that feeling very well." She frowned and looked at Maura. "No offense."
Maura smiled broadly. "None taken."
took a deep breath and crossed her arms over her chest. "And why didn't we notice that there is something seriously wrong with him? I mean, it's not like he and Liz had been together for only two weeks."
Maura frowned and shrugged. "People who suffer from this disorder are very good at hiding."
"You don't say," the Italian grumbled and furrowed her brows. She didn't mean to sound harsh but knew that it came out that way and glanced briefly at the smaller woman like she tried to apologize for her words silently.
Maura smiled a little and stepped closer to her wife.
Meanwhile, Liz leaned back in her chair and scrutinized Hanley for a while he gulped down his meal. "You know why you are in prison?"
He slowed his chewing and stared straight at her without answering the question.
She took that as a yes. "Why isn't your cell in the mental yard? And why aren't your mental issues noted in your record?"
He wiped his hands in a paper napkin and wiggled his brows. "Believe it or not, but I still have some friends."
"Like Bradley Chung, Jim Danielson, Steven Rice, Dan Acosta, and James Waterston?"
Haley tossed the napkin on the table and frowned. "Dan is my cousin, he's a little … he's special, and Waterston is a detective who never did something else than working for BPD, I don't know a Chung and Danielson."
"What do you know about your cousin's drug business?"
"You're kidding me, right," he asked laughingly but turned serious again the second Liz didn't crack a smile. "Dan would shit bricks at the thought of doing something illegal, let alone running a drug business as a cop. Besides, he isn't smart enough to do something like that without being caught."
"And if someone gives him a helping hand? Someone who's a bad influence?"
"Maybe, but he isn't that stupid to trust someone blindly." He stopped and glanced for a few seconds at the brunette and his eyebrows shot up. "You are talking about me, aren't you? Why would I ruin my cousin's life? For some drugs? For the money, I have no use for?"
"Perhaps for the same reason why you are after me? To take revenge on me and all the other people I care about and who put you behind bars."
Hanley blinked several times and leaned forward. "What the hell are you talking about? I put myself behind bars, I ruined my life for a reason I don't understand myself. I mean, yeah, I was mad at you for leaving me, but I was mad at you several times and that didn't make me shoot people. I … I really don't really know what made me snap." He saw her disbelieving eyes and shook his head. "I didn't plead insane, did I? I knew what I did was wrong and beard the consequences, I still do. And that won't change. I am not after you or those who arrested me. Why are you saying that I'd harm you in any way?"
Liz furled her brows and licked her lips, ignoring his question. "And why did you hire Benjamin Payton?"
He laughed out loud and leaned back in his chair again. "I didn't hire him in the first place, Lizzy. One day, he suddenly showed up in prison and asked for a conversation with me, telling me that he heard about my case and that he could get me out of there because of my mental state. I refused, though."
"What changed?"
"Being a free man doesn't sound that bad, does it?"
"You are aware of the contradiction, right? First, you say that you bear the consequences of your actions and now you're saying that you'd like to be a free man."
"Just because I like the idea doesn't mean that I'm going to be. Even if there will be a new trial, I won't plea insane, and neither will Ben."
Liz frowned deeply and seemed lost in her thoughts before she shoved a pad to Hanley. "Write everything down, every single detail. Frankie's staying with you."
Hanley took a pen in his hand and made a face. "Really? Frankie?"
Liz was about to get up from her chair and stopped midway, frowning. " If you give Detective Laverty preference -"
Hanley turned to Adam who had a grim expression and seemed like he was waiting that Hanley was making a wrong move, so he could shoot him. He shook his head and start to write something down on the pad. "Frankie's fine."
"I thought so," she replied with a smirk and got out of the room, Adam hot on her heels. "Liz, do you believe him?"
Liz turned to her husband and clenched her jaw, furrowing her brows. "I'm not really sure, but every time it comes down to him and Benjamin Payton. There has to be something I am missing, we are missing."
"Next stop Ben Payton?"
She shook her head and started walking. "Not yet, Adam, not yet."