Chapter 5
"What do you think that's all about?" Korsak asked to no one in particular. "That was downright weird."
"I've never seen Maura like that before. She always so in control and to see her lose it like that is kind of disconcerting." Frost said as he started walking back down to the basement to check on the CSU team.
"Man that was freaky. I saw the two of them earlier and Maura was just fine I wonder what spooked her about this case? Other than the woman looking like her." Frankie said to Korsak as they were the only two left standing in the kitchen.
"I guess we'll leave it in Jane's hands, she seemed to have Doc Isles under control. Did you notice a change in the air with the two of them?" Korsak whispered in a conspiratorial way.
"Yeah I noticed it this morning when I went over to tell them about this." He said as he pointed towards the basement. "Jane answered the door in some just barely there shorts and Maura was in her bathrobe. Kind of surprising for 10:00 in the morning don't ya think? And there was a...how can I put this? Ah shit I'm just going to say it, there was a glow about them. Something was definitely different a lot less tension. Man Tommy is going to be so pissed off."
"Why is Tommy going to be pissed off?" Korsak asked as he headed out the door back to the front of the house.
Frankie followed him out. "Tommy told me the other night that he wanted to ask Maura out. I told him he was crazy but he insisted that as long as Maura was a free agent she was fair game."
"Did he actually put it that way? He called her a free agent?" Frankie nodded his head. "I sure would like to hear what Jane would say if she heard him talking like that."
"Oh man he'd either have a black eye or not be able to walk for days. You've seen how Jane is when someone disrespects Maura. She'd rip his heart out and have it for dinner. I sure would love to be a fly on the wall when Tommy finds out their dating."
"Did you mention that fact that Jane have feelings for Maura?" Korsak asked already knowing the answer.
"Yeah I did and he said if Jane didn't have the balls to ask her out he did. And he whined all night because Maura was too busy taking care of Jane to spend any time with him. I had to keep from laughing when Maura came out and told us to go home because Jane was too tired to sit with us and Tommy tried to get her to sit down and ignore Jane."
"What a dirty dog. Does he really believe he has a chance against Jane? Has he even spent more than five minutes in the room with the two of them? The tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife."
"But that's one of the changes I was talking about, I didn't feel the tension this morning."
"You think they did it?" Korsak asked with a bit of a blush.
"Eww that's my sister you're talking about." Frankie kind of whispered to Korsak. "But there was that glowing thing going on.
"Ah come on men don't say glowing." Korsak looked at Frankie.
"And men don't gossip." Frost said as he came up behind the two men. "You two are worse than a couple of old ladies playing bridge. Let's get back to headquarters and see how Maura's doing." He headed for their cars.
"He's no fun at all." Korsak mumbled as he followed Frost to the car. "But he is my ride back." He said as he saw Frost starting to pull away. "Hey Frost how am I supposed to get back?" Frost stopped the car and waited until Korsak reached for the door handle then he pulled ahead again. "And how old are you? I played this game in junior high." He reached for the door again and Frost pulled away again.
"And it's just as much fun now as it was then. Come on get in. I promise." Korsak slowly reached for the handle and waited for Frost to pull away again. "Come on you're wasting time. Get in." This time when Korsak reached for the handle he opened the door and got in.
"That was childish Frost very childish." Korsak sat back and pouted.
When they arrived back at headquarters they both headed down to the morgue. The woman's body lay on the table and Maura was removing organs expertly and Jane was hovering to make sure Maura was ok. Frost walked up to the table to looked down then quickly placed his hand over his mouth. "Sink Barry, I do not want you to contaminate the body." All of this said without even taking her eyes off the body. "There are numerous incisions that are not too deep to cause death but would cause severe pain. There are also what appears to be cylindrical burn marks all over the body."
"Could they be from a cigarette?" Usually Jane would have asked this in her usual sarcastic nature but she was afraid to push Maura.
"What no sarcasm Jane? I'm not on the verge of a nervous breakdown or anything. I just had a moment of familiarity in that basement but the feeling is gone and I feel fine."
"No you're not fine because you called a nervous breakdown a nervous breakdown and not some long medical term none of us would understand." This Jane said sarcastically.
"That's because there is no other terminology that describes a nervous breakdown. Even the DSM-IV and the ICD-10 call it a nervous breakdown."
"That's my girl." Jane turned to Frost and Korsak with smile. "She's back!"
"Jane I was never gone I was here the whole time. Now may I finish this autopsy?" Maura asked slightly frustrated with the crowed morgue when she was used to working alone. "Don't the three of you have something to do?"
"Oh you mean like the gumshoe thing we all do?" Jane asked with a big smile on her face.
Maura couldn't help but smile. "Am I ever going to live that one down Jane?"
"It doesn't look like it does it?" Jane walked up to Maura and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "We…gumshoes will go do our gumshoe thingy while you do your geeky medical thingy ok?" She kissed Maura quickly on the lips and headed out of the morgue toward the elevators. "Hey are you two coming? We've got work to do." Frost and Korsak were still standing there staring at where Jane had just left as if they were frozen. Korsak was the first to snap out of it then swatted Frost on the sleeve as he passed him. When they entered the elevator Jane was trying very hard not to laugh. "What haven't you ever seen two women kiss before?"
"Ah…not really. And especially not you?" Frost spoke up first. "Even when you were dating guys you never kissed them in public. Speaking of dating guys…"
"Don't go there Frost." Jane gave him her best stare and he held up his arms in surrender. Jane heard Korsak snickering behind her so she turned and gave him her best I'll kill you stare but it didn't faze Korsak at all.
"Janie's in love Janie's in love." Korsak said in a sing song voice and Jane lunged after him but she was smiling.
"How many times do I have to tell you that I hate being called Janie? Knock it off." They entered the bullpen and Jane went straight for her desk.
Korsak walked up behind her and leaned down and whispered in her ear. "I'm happy for you Jane."
Jane looked up and saw that he was serious. "Thanks Korsak that mean a lot to me. Now can we try to figure out what's up with this sicko and why it affected Maura so badly? Frost I want you to dig and see if there are any other murders out there that have the same MO. I don't care how far back you have to go. I'm going to go bug the guys in fingerprints and see if they can give me a name. Korsak can you check on the background of the little girl's family and see if there's a connection. I'll be back soon." She turned and headed back out the door and hurried back down to the morgue. She crashed through the door with her usual aplomb.
Maura looked up at her and smiled. "Did you forget something?"
Jane walked up to her and took her face gently in her hands. "Yes, this." She leaned in and gave Maura the gentlest kiss she had ever received. "Are you sure you're ok?" Jane asked as she watched Maura's eyes for any sign of deception.
"Jane you can stop scrutinizing me, you know I can't lie, so when I tell you I am fine I mean it. I'm fine now let me do my job so we can find closure for this woman. Go do what you do."
Jane leaned in and kissed her again. "God I love that I can do that now."
"So do I now go find someplace else to be so I can finish. By the way, I'm sorry if I screwed up your plans for the evening." She smiled slyly at Jane. "I was really looking forward to it."
Jane wrapped her arms around Maura and whispered in her ear. "So was I." She felt Maura shiver and she kissed her behind her ear like she'd done last night and heard Maura moan.
"Oh you are so mean." Maura pushed her away. "The sooner you figure out who did this the sooner we can pick up where we left off."
Jane turned and pretended to run away but turned at the door. "I love you bye!" She turned and ran before Maura had a chance to respond. Maura stood there with a smile on her face shaking her head.
Jane headed to fingerprinting and popped her head in the door. "Hey Johnny were you able to find out who our lady is?"
He pointed to a folder on his desk. "Yup it's all there in my report."
She walked over and grabbed the report. "Hey thanks for the rush job I owe you." She smiled at him.
"Next time we're at the Robber you owe me a beer." He laughed back at her.
"Make it two and we're good. See ya." She almost ran to the elevator. She perused the folder as the elevator brought her back up to the 2nd flood. She walked in to the bullpen and looked at both Frost and Korsak working diligently at their computers. Well Korsak pretended he knew what he was doing as he was pecking at the keyboard. Jane went to her desk and entered the name the fingerprints belonged to and sat looking at a picture of the woman they'd found this morning. "Her name is Patricia Fielding, she's a stay at home mother of two kids. She's 40 years old and her husband is an accountant at a firm downtown. Nothing jumps out as odd with the two of them so why was she chosen? I guess we need to go talk to the husband and see what he knows." Jane grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair and threw it over her shoulder. "Korsak come on you're going with me. I know nobody likes to do notifications but it has to be done."
"Jane here's the missing persons report the husband filed 5 days ago. I thought she looked familiar. I've seen posters in some of the shop windows with her picture on them." Frost handed the report to Jane as she headed for the door. "Does she ever slow down?" Frost asked Korsak knowing full well what the answer was.
"Nope, and that's what makes her one of the best detectives I've ever seen." He started heading after Jane.
"You mean it wasn't your stellar training?" Jane asked as she popped her head back into the bullpen smiling.
"Oh that's what put you on the right path but you took it and ran with it all on your own." Jane smiled at Frost then turned and left again. "You better learn from her Frost." Korsak finally ran after Jane.
Jane and Korsak drove over the accounting firm and walked in the front door. They showed their badges to the receptionist and were shown to a conference room to wait for John Fielding. Korsak poured them each some coffee from the carafe and they sat down to wait. They didn't have to wait long, they looked up as the door open and looked into the eyes of a man that had been through hell in the last 5 days and knew why they were there.
"Did you find Patty?" He sat down at the table and bowed his head. "She's dead isn't she? I've been dreading this day since she disappeared. How did she die?"
Jane leaned forward and rested her hand on his arm. "We're very sorry for you loss. We found your wife this morning and she is in good hands."
"Did she suffer much?" He watched as Jane and Korsak exchange a strained look. "You don't have to say anything I can see it in your eyes. She didn't deserve this. Was it random or did they target her?"
"That's what we are going to try to find out. I know it's a bad time but can we ask you a few questions?" Jane asked softly as she pulled out her pen and notebook.
"If it will help catch the bastard that did this then I'll answer any question you want me to." The look on his face revealed the pain he was feeling and the tears were on the verge of falling.
"First we have to ask the obvious question. Where were you last night at about 10:30 p.m.?" Jane asked reluctantly.
"I thought they only asked those on the cop shows on T.V. But I guess it makes sense. I was at a support group meeting that I joined two days after Patty disappeared. It's a group of spouses of missing partners." He handed Jane a card. "Here's the address and the meeting schedule you call and ask them I'll tell them to expect you or they won't tell you anything. You know the whole privacy thing."
Jane pocketed the card. "Thank you. Can you think of anyone who would want to harm your wife?"
"No, Patty is such a sweet woman and she loved everyone and it seemed as if everyone loved her. Apparently that was wrong. I can't see any of our friends doing this. She rarely takes time away from the kids but 5 days ago she wanted some alone time so I was taking care of the kids while she went to the Mall to shop for some new clothes. She never came home. The police tried to make me wait 24 hours but when the mall closed and her car was the only one left in the lot they started an investigation. According to them they couldn't find anything suspicious so they said she must have left with someone. Patty would not do that. I'm sure that's what every spouse says at a time like this but Patty adores the children and she would not leave them like that."
"What about you? Does she adore you too?" Korsak asked and surprised both Jane and John Fielding. He looked at Jane and shrugged.
"Let me put it to you this way Detective Korsak. I loved my wife with all of my heart and soul and I believed she felt the same way. At least that's what she told me when she left that night. We always made it a point to tell each other how much we loved them. So yes I think she loved me too but she still would never leave the children like that, she was devoted to them and she wanted more. So with all due respect to the police officers that investigated her disappearance, they are full of shit. Patty would not walk away on her own." He looked up at Jane with even more pain in his eyes than before.
"Mr. Fielding I am so sorry that we had to dredge up all of the pain and hurt but we really want to get the guy who did this to your wife before he has a chance to do it to another woman or child." Jane looked closely for his reaction.
His head snapped up and he looked fiercely at Jane. "What child? There was a child killed too? How could anyone do that to a child?" This time he did not stop the tears from falling and Jane felt they were genuine.
"No Mr. Fielding the child was not killed but we think she was forced to sit and watch as your wife died." Jane felt tears coming to her own eyes. She hated when kids were involved.
"From your expression I can assume my wife did not die a quick death. Was she tortured? Please tell me." He pleaded with her.
"Yes sir she was, we think it was done over the 5 days. There were some injuries that appeared to have started healing and some were new." Jane felt as if she had just kicked his puppy. No spouse should have to go through what this man is experiencing.
"How old was the girl?"
"She was 8 years old and had been abducted from her school about a couple of days ago. They demanded a ransom but Agent Dean from the FBI said not to pay because then they would kill her as soon as they got the money. They never heard from the kidnappers again and thought their daughter was dead until today. She's understandably in shock and they took her to the hospital for observation. She'll probably be in therapy for quite some time."
"Our youngest is 8 and if someone took her I would stop at nothing to find her and I would pay whatever price they asked. I wouldn't let anyone stop me. Then I would kill the bastard." He looked so fierce Jane could hardly not believe him.
"Well Mr. Fielding I hope it doesn't come to that. I want to thank you for taking the time to talk to us and I am sorry for your loss. Here's my card if you can think of anything else. We'll contact you when the ME is done with your wife so you can make arrangements." Jane stood and extended her hand and he took it and shook it.
"Can I see my wife?" He looked back and forth between Jane and Korsak.
Korsak stood up and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Man I don't think you want to see her right now. Go spend some time with your girls and we'll let you know when she's ready."
"If it was your wife would you wait?"
Jane tried hard not to laugh at the evil smile on Korsak's face. "You're asking the wrong guy Sir. If you really want to see her we can arrange it but I've got to warn you its pretty bad."
"I owe it to her. Can I go now?"
"I'll call the ME and let her know you are on your way so she can prepare your wife. Would you like to ride with us? We can arrange a ride back when you're done." Jane asked with all of the sympathy she was feeling for this broken man.
"I think that would be best. Then I'll pick up the girls and go to Patty's parent's house and let them know that she's been found." He stood up and walked out with Jane and Korsak.
Jane threw the keys to Korsak and pulled out her phone as she opened the door for John Fielding then took a seat in the front seat. "Hey Maura we're bringing in Patty Fielding's husband and he would like to view her body."
"So that's her name. How far away are you?"
"About 20 minutes."
"Ok I'll have her ready. Have you told him everything?"
"Yeah but he says he owes it to her. I'll see you in a few ok?" Jane sighed.
"Are you ok? Sorry that's a stupid question. I know how hard it is for you to make notifications. I'll be here ok?"
Jane knew she meant it to mean more than she'll just be waiting for her and it warmed her heart. "Thanks Maura we'll see you in a few minutes."
"Jane? I love you." Jane heard the smile in her voice and couldn't help but smile.
"I know same here. Bye for now." She hung up the phone then turned around in her seat to speak to John. "Patty will be ready by the time we get there. I have to warn you again, she's in pretty bad shape. We'll find who did this and he'll be brought to justice."
"Thank you Detective Rizzoli. I appreciate all that you are doing for Patty and for me. Does this happen very often?" He leaned forward in the seat as much as his seatbelt would allow.
"Does what happen very often? I don't mean to be dense but what part of this situation are you referring to?" Jane asked because she really wasn't sure what he meant.
"Women being abducted tortured and killed. How often does it happen?"
"All except for the being killed part it's happened to her three times." Korsak pointed at Jane. "She was stupid enough to let the same guy do it to her all three times. Ouch what was that for?" He yelled as Jane punched him in the arm.
"I thought you looked familiar. You're that Rizzoli? I read all about you in the papers. My wife thought it was so cool that a female cop beat a serial killer at his own game and finally killed him. And when you shot yourself to kill that dirty cop she wanted to send you something to tell you how much of a hero you were to her and the kids in our neighborhood. Our oldest daughter idolizes you."
Jane actually blushed. "I look forward to meeting her." Jane smiled. It was the most animated she'd seen him since they told him the news.
"She'll be thrilled."
"I'll show off my scars for her." She held up her hands for John to see her palms. "These were courtesy of Hoyt the first time we met."
"Yeah she actually had three run ins with the freak until she finally killed him. She's got a hard head, its takes awhile for her to take a hint and do what needs to be done. Ouch! Will you stop hitting me?" Korsak turned to Jane with a wicked smile.
"How long have you two been partners?" He sat back and relaxed.
"We aren't partners anymore. Jane thought being caught by Hoyt meant she was weak and she asked for a new partner because she didn't think I could trust her anymore." Jane looked at him with a surprised look on her face. "What? You didn't think I'd figure it out?"
"What happened?" John asked from the backseat.
"Korsak and I were after Charles Hoyt also known as The Surgeon because of what he did to the women he killed?"
"What did he do?" John asked excitedly.
"He killed the women then cut out their uterus. He had captured a woman who he had been after all along and when I found out where she was I went into the basement without backup and Hoyt knocked me out. When I woke up he had me literally nailed to the floor with scalpels through each of my palms. He'd cut me a little on the neck and he was about to slice me from one ear to the other when Korsak came in and shot him. My hero." She pretended to swoon when she looked at Korsak.
"Detective Korsak you said three times what happened the next two times?"
"Oh look we're here! I guess those lovely stories will have to wait until another time." Jane said and the moment of camaraderie was gone and the mood became somber once again. Jane got out and opened the door for John. "I'll take you down to your wife. Korsak can you go up and see if Frost has found anything useful?" She led John to the elevator. "We'll bring her to a window and you can see her there."
"Can I go in so I can say good-bye?" His tears were close to falling again and it affected Jane more than she wanted to let on.
"We're not supposed to but I guess we can make an exception." Jane had to swallow hard to keep her own feelings in check.
"Thank you."
The elevator opened and Jane led him into the outer room of the morgue. "Can you wait here so I can talk to the ME and let her know what's going on? I'll be right back." She placed her hand on his shoulder then turned and walked into the morgue. When she walked through the door Maura looked up and almost ran over to Jane and hugged her. Jane welcomed her warmth for just a moment then pulled back. "He wants to come in so he can say good-bye to her."
Maura saw how close to tears Jane was and understood. "Are you sure he should see her like this?" She looked up at Jane and saw the pain. "Her face is virtually intact so as long as she stays covered I guess it would be ok."
Jane turned and slowly opened the door and Maura got her first look at John Fielding. What she saw was a man who has been through hell and back in a very short time span. She walked over and placed her hand on his arm and escorted him to the table. "We'll leave you alone with her."
"No! Stay. Please? I don't think I can do this alone." He stared at the covered body on the table in front of him.
"Of course we'll stay if that's what you want." Maura walked over to the table then turned back to John. "Are you ready?" He nodded his head quickly. Jane had seen that before with people doing something they really didn't want to do. Like saying let's get this over with quickly. Maura folded the top of the sheet down just enough to reveal Patty's face.
John walked forward and gently stoked her face. Jane and Maura walked over to lean against the counter feeling like interlopers during a very private moment. He leaned down and kissed her lips tenderly and whispered in her ear. Neither woman could hear what he said but they could imagine what he was telling his wife. He stayed like that for awhile then stood up and wiped the tears from his eyes then turned to Jane and Maura. "Thank you." He turned to Maura. "Have you finished the autopsy yet?"
Maura could see it was hard for him to ask. No one likes the thought of a loved one being cut open and laid bare. "No I haven't but I should be done by the end of the day."
"I'll call the Funeral Home and have them pick her up when you are done." He then turned to Jane and gave her a hug, completely surprising Jane, who hated hugs. "Thank you for all you've done and I look forward to hearing the other two stories about your encounters."
"Let me walk you out and find someone to drive you home."
"No that's ok, I think I'll take a cab back to work then go get the girls. Thanks again." He turned and walked away.
Jane stood there stunned until Maura walked up behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist. "What encounters was he talking about?"
Jane turned in Maura's arms and walked her backwards to her office. "He's asked us if women being abducted happened very often and Korsak told him it had happened to me three times and then he recognized me and asked me what had happened. I thought it was a good way to distract him so I told him how I got these." She held up her hands. "I didn't realize Korsak knew why I asked for a new partner after that happened."
"I didn't know you asked for a new partner, why did you do that? I thought Korsak was a good partner."
"He was the best partner you could ask for and I had let him down by going against policy and going in without a backup and he saw me at my weakest and I beat him to it by asking for a new partner before he could."
"Why would he ask for a new partner? He loves working with you." Maura asked because she was confused.
"Maura, nobody wants a weak partner and someone who doesn't follow protocol on top of it." Jane hung her head because she was still ashamed of how stupid she had been that day.
"My god Jane you saw what Hoyt had done to other women and you knew he was about to do it again so you went into save her. You did what any cop would do."
"But I made a rookie mistake and got myself knocked out and Korsak had to save not only me but Catherine too. Therefore I put his life in danger too. How could he trust me to make the right decision the next time?" Maura couldn't tell who she was trying to convince herself or her.
They were sitting on Maura's couch and Maura took her hands and turned toward her. "Jane, Korsak trusts you more than he trusts anyone and he treats you as his equal. He's proud of you, you can see it in his eyes. He was so honored when you asked him to introduce you at the award ceremony honoring you as a hero. And that is what you are Jane. You are a hero."
"No I am not Maura. Shooting yourself does not make you a hero."
"Granted, shooting oneself may not be a smart thing to do but it turned out to be the only thing you could do."
"He was going to shoot you." Jane said quietly.
"What did you say?" Maura knelt down in front of Jane and used her fingers to raise her chin so she could see her face.
"He said he knew you would come out the door after me and he told me he was going to shoot you as soon as you came through the door. I couldn't let that happen." Maura couldn't move.
She was stunned that Jane had never said anything about it and stunned that Jane would actually take a chance like she did to stop someone from shooting her. She stood up and sat down next to Jane and took her hands again. "You did that for me?" Maura asked in barley a whisper.
"Of course I did. What did you expect me to do let him shoot you? I loved you too much to let that happen." Jane turned and took Maura in her arms. "I was so scared at the thought of him shooting you."
"I was so scared when I saw you lying on the sidewalk bleeding. I sat at the hospital with your blood on me for hours waiting to hear if you were going to be ok. I couldn't move. I was angry and scared at the same time. I was angry that you would do something so stupid and scared that I might never be able to tell you how stupid you were."
Jane started laughing at that and she felt the tension of the day slowly drain from her body. "Thank you. You always know how to make me feel better. I love you very much." She leaned forward and their lips met. The kiss went from gentle to passionate in no time at all. Both women were breathing hard when they pulled apart. Jane looked at her watch over Maura's shoulder. "How long before you finish the autopsy so we can get out of here?"
"Give me another two hours and I'm all yours."
Jane shivered and kissed Maura again. "Ok let me get out of here so you can finish your work. Why not let the report wait until the morning so we can go home and take care of each other." She watched as Maura's smile became devious. "I didn't mean it that way but I won't argue if that's what you want to do."
"Get out of here or I'll take you right here and now." She laughed when Jane's eyes grew to the size of saucers but then she pushed her out of the doors. "See you later." She yelled to the retreating form of her lover.