Chapter 6
Jane walked into the bullpen and felt it immediately. Both Frost and Korsak looked up at her and she didn't like the looks on their faces. "What's up?"
"I found a similar MO from quite a few years back." Frost looked up at Jane with a very serious look on his face.
"What aren't you telling me?" Jane went over and perched on the corner of Frost's desk.
"This took place 30 years ago and went on for about 6 months and total count was 20 women dead and 20 little girls had to watch. The pictures look identical to our crime scene this morning. Then it just stopped." Jane walked around behind his desk to look at the pictures.
"Damn, you aren't kidding when you say identical. This cannot be a coincidence. And they never caught the guy?" Jane tried to read the report over Frost's shoulder.
"No they never did. It just stopped." Korsak said from his desk across the room. "I remember that case."
Jane slapped Frost's arm. "See I told you it pays to have the old man around."
"Hey who you calling an old man?" Korsak spoke up in defense of himself but he was smiling.
"You. I'm calling you an old man. But I'm serious when I say it pays to have you around because you save us time having to look stuff up. You're kind of like Maura but not as smart. You just store cop stuff."
"Now you're calling me stupid? So I'm old and stupid, why do I put up with this abuse?" He looked at Jane and Frost and they could see the smile in his eyes.
"Because you love us like the father we never had." Frost batted his eyelashes at Korsak and laughed.
Korsak ignored him and turned to Jane. "They never caught the guy but it wasn't because of lack of trying. We had a task force of about 6 of the best cops and they got nowhere. This guy was good. I know forensics back then wasn't what it is today now but we couldn't find a thing to tie anyone to the crime. No prints, no fibers, no hair no trace whatsoever. It was frustrating to everyone concerned."
"You worked the case? Is there anything left in property that we could use?" Jane asked excitedly.
"I don't know what good it would do but all we can do is check. Frost was there anything on the computer referencing property?"
He turned back to his computer and Jane watched his fingers fly across the keyboard. "Here it is. Case number 209365. I can't believe it! They actually have something down in the evidence lockers for this case." Frost wrote the file number down and the three of them headed downstairs. It took them awhile to find the boxes but when they did they checked them out and took them back upstairs to the bullpen.
"I can't believe they kept this stuff for 30 years." Jane said as she opened the box and took out the plastic bags. They all put on gloves and Jane opened the first envelop and placed the contents on the tray on her desk. "There's quite a bit here. We should take the clothes down to the techs and see if they can get anything off of them. Maybe they can find something today that they didn't see 30 years ago." Jane picked up the phone on her desk and dialed a number. "Could I speak to Suzy please?" Jane waited until she came to the phone. "Suzy this is Detective Rizzoli. How busy are you today?"
"We've got a few cases why do you ask?" She sounded wary, Jane never called down to her office.
"I'm sure you've heard about the latest case we're working on. Well we've found a case that is eerily similar from 30 years ago and we actually found some evidence from the case. Clothes from the victims and a few other things. If I brought them down to you, how soon could you take a look at them to see if you can find something they missed 30 years ago?"
"I suppose I could look at it right away. Do you want me to send someone up to retrieve the evidence?" The wariness had left her voice.
"That would be great if you could do that. Dr. Isles has the most recent body so there may be some things you could compare. I really appreciate this Suzy." Jane hung up the phone and turned to the guys who were staring at her. "What?"
"That sensitivity training sure changed you." Both Korsak and Frost laughed.
"What are you talking about? Oh you mean Suzy? It's called treating people nicely to get what you need." Jane looked back and forth between Frost and Korsak. "Ok it's more commonly known as manipulation are you both happy?"
"Whew I thought we lost you there for a minute." Korsak laughed as he took a bag out of the box. "Here are some of the cigarettes left at the scenes. Think we can get DNA off of them?"
"Well we will certainly try." They all turned as Suzy walked into the room. "What have we got?"
"There are 20 sets of clothes taken from the women who were killed and the clothes the little girls were wearing. All we could do was gather samples but there wasn't DNA testing back then or half the tests we have now." Korsak placed the boxes on the cart Suzy was pushing.
"Well I'll get started as soon as I get back to the lab and see what we can find. Will the department cover the overtime if I call in a few more techs?"
"I'll pay them out of my own pocket on this one if the department doesn't cover it." Jane spoke up for the first time since Suzy walked in the room.
"It's that important to you?" She looked directly at Jane.
"Yeah it is." Jane said with conviction.
"Then I will work on it personally and put my best techs on what I can't get to." Suzy said as she picked up another box and put it on the cart. "Is there anything else?"
"I think that just about covers it. You have no idea how much this means to me Suzy." Jane said very seriously and this time it was not manipulation, she meant it. She watched Suzy wheel the cart towards the elevator. If this case is going to disturb Maura like it did earlier the sooner we solve it the better. "Frost do a check on anyone who went to prison at the time these crimes stopped who may have recently been released or died. Do we know who owned the property where they were found this morning? Who called it in anyway?"
"It was an anonymous tip made from a pay phone about three blocks from the house. They wanted us to find them when we did. There were no prints on the phone, it was wiped clean. Why would we want to look for someone who recently died?" Korsak asked looking curiously at Jane.
"If it was someone's father and he'd been in prison all this time and he died maybe he passed his craft on to his son or maybe he told another prisoner about his exploits and he wanted to carry on after he got out. Hell if Hoyt can do it why not this guy?" Jane shuddered at the thought of Hoyt.
"This is like trying to find a needle in a hay stack." Frost said with a note of frustration in his voice.
"Well it's the best idea I can come up with. You got any better ideas?" She didn't say it to be nasty she really did want to know if he had a better idea.
"I didn't say it was a bad idea I just said it wasn't going to be easy." He looked up and saw her smirk. "But it's not going to get done by itself so I will get right on it."
"If you weren't so good with computers I would pass it on to someone else but I trust you to get it done." She batted her eyes at him.
"Oh don't try buttering me up like that Rizzoli it doesn't work on me. Ok maybe it works a little bit. Ok maybe it works all the time so I might as well jump into the haystack and get this hunt underway now." He looked up at her and smiled. He looked down at his computer and started entering data.
Jane turned to Korsak. "Is there anything else you remember about this case that might help us?"
"There were three kids that we never got the names of because the parents covered it up. Apparently they came from money and we couldn't break through the barriers they put up. We were able to talk to them and ask them questions but we never knew their names. And seeing as though we never found who did it there was never a need for them to testify in court. All the reports identified them as Jane Doe 1, 2 and 3. The parents were never with them when we questioned them for fear it would identify the kids. They had a Guardian Ad Litem for each of them to make sure we didn't trample all over their rights. We couldn't figure out why they were being so private other than their status in the community." Korsak said with a note of disdain.
"Well I suppose if they are that high up in society they are used to getting their own way. And if they didn't want their children put out there on display for the public then they found a way to do it. What happened to the other girls at the time it happened?" Jane sat down in her chair and rolled it over to Korsak's desk.
"Some of the parents did take advantage of the situation and they exposed the girls to undue attention. One of the girls killed herself about 5 years later and her psychiatrist said that she had told him that the attention was more than she could handle during one of their sessions and after 5 years of therapy she took a handful of pills and left a note then fell asleep and died. A couple of them have done time in prison and the others haven't fared much better. As for the 3 little rich girls I have no idea what happened to them." Korsak sat back in his chair and looked at Jane.
"You've kept up on them all this time?" Jane knew Korsak was the type of cop that would let a case like this get to him.
"I feel like we didn't do them justice and I tried to keep tabs on them over the years. They aren't bad girls just messed up. Something like what happened to them has to do something to the person's psyche. I can understand why something like that could really mess up a person's life."
"Ok is there anything else we might be missing?" Jane pushed her chair back with a frustrated grunt.
"I've gone over it in my mind and I can't think of anything that I've missed.
"Maybe we need to let this go and get some sleep and start fresh in the morning. I'm going to see if I can pull Maura away for the night."
Jane headed down to the morgue prepared for a fight. She flung open the doors of the morgue and was surprised when Maura was not at the autopsy table and there were no body's there either. She walked back to Maura's office and looked in the open door. She watched Maura as she sat behind her desk staring at her computer screen. She could tell by the look on Maura's face that she wasn't buying new shoes like she usually does on her down time. She approached Maura so as not to startle her. "Hey you ready to head home for a few hours of sleep?" Jane whispered as she walked behind Maura's and placed her hands on Maura's shoulders. She looked at the computer screen and saw that she was looking at the case from 30 years ago. Why wasn't she surprised that Maura had been able to find the same thing Frost did. "Maura put it away for tonight let's go home." She reached around Maura and shut the computer down then took her girlfriends hand and led her out of the building.
"Jane there is something I am missing with this case. I just have a feeling." Maura sat in the passenger seat of her Prius as Jane walked around to the driver's side. When she sat down and buckled her seatbelt she held out her hand to Maura. "What?"
"Maura I need the keys to be able to make the car start because we can't go anywhere until the car starts. I thought you with you being the genius and all would know that." She turned and smiled at Maura and saw a genuine smile grace her face for the first time since this morning. Maura handed Jane the keys and Jane pulled out and headed for Maura's house.
"Jane when we get home will you just hold me?" Maura took Jane's hand and rubbed the back of it.
Jane pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned to Maura and pulled her against her. "Of course I will."
"I think I would like that. But what about what we talked about this morning?" Maura looked worried.
"You mean making love all night long? We've got the rest of our lives. I think just holding each other is what we both need to get us through this night. I hate it when kids are involved!" Jane slammed her hand against the steering wheel.
"Let's just go home and take care of each other. There's beer in the refrigerator and we can order take out and eat ice cream."
"Is it chocolate chip cookie dough?" Jane asked as she pulled out on to the road again.
"Of course." Maura smiled at the childlike glee on Jane's face.
They pulled into Maura's garage driveway a few minutes later and Jane ran around to Maura's side of the car to help her out of the car. "Are you ok? What is it about this case that is getting to you?"
"Remember the déjà vu at the scene? It was just so strong that I felt as if I was actually a part of the scene. Jane, I'm a scientist and you know I deal with facts but I can't explain these feelings I am having. They are throwing off my sense of 9balance. Maybe a good night's sleep will make a difference." Maura walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out one of Jane's beers and opened it and took a long gulp then placed the bottle on the countertop.
Jane just stood there and watched and had no idea what to say or do. She walked over and wrapped her arms around Maura from behind. "Hey, we'll get through this together just like we always do. I won't let anything happen to you ok?"
Maura turned around in Jane's arms so she was facing her. "Jane you can't control what may or may not happen to me. Although I love the idea that you want to." She went up on her tip toes and gave Jane a kiss. Jane pulled her closer to deepen the kiss then pulled back.
"I know I can't be with you 24 hours a day but I will do my damndest to make sure when I am with you nothing's going to harm you." Jane's eyes showed every bit of the sincerity she felt.
"Thank you." Maura rested her head on Jane's chest. "What do you want to order for dinner?"
"You choose. Let's go change clothes and get comfortable. That will give you time to decide what you want to eat." Jane took Maura's hand and led her to the back of the house to the bedroom they were now sharing. She turned and removed Maura's blouse and bra then slid her tank top over her head. She knelt down and removed her skirt and replaced it with the yoga pants Maura like to use to lounge around the house. Then she gently pushed her down so she was sitting on the bed and proceeded to change into a tank top and shorts. Then she took Maura's hand and led her back out to the living room and pushed her down on the couch. "So have you decided what we're going to eat?"
Maura looked up at her, her eyes shining with love for the woman standing in front of her. "I'm glad I'm the only one that get's to see the tender side of you. You make me feel so special."
"You are special Maura, now what are we going to eat, I'm starving."
"Let's do Chinese ok? You decide what to order but make sure you get me…
"Moo Shoo Gai Pan." They both said it at the same time and then laughed and it seemed to break some of the tension they were both feeling. Jane pulled out her cell phone and hit the speed dial for their favorite Chinese place and ordered dinner. She then went to the kitchen and retrieved Maura's beer and got one for herself and returned to the living room. She handed Maura her beer the plopped down on the couch next to her and started to put her feet on the coffee table until Maura pointedly cleared her throat. Jane pulled her shoes off and placed them next to her on the floor then put her feet up.
Maura leaned into Jane and felt Jane's arm wrap around her and pull her closer. "I feel so safe when I'm with you."
"Hey what happened to my badass protector?" Maura felt Jane laugh.
"She only comes out when you need protecting. I hide her until she is needed. But she's there all you need to do is ask." Maura smiled up at Jane. They both jumped when the doorbell rang and Jane stood up to answer the door and pay for dinner. She then walked out to the kitchen and retrieved plates and chopsticks and returned to the couch. They ate in silence for the first few minutes but it was a companionable silence as it always was between the two of them.
Maura reached forward and picked up the remote and turned on the TV. She turned it to one of Jane's favorite channels and sat back. "You can watch what you want to watch. Why don't we watch one of the documentaries you saved on the DVR?" Jane served up Maura's food then filled her own plate and sat back with a contented sigh. "I love nights like this."
"What's different about tonight?" Maura sat back and turned towards Jane.
"The guys know better than to call either one of us so we can sit back and not worry about our phones ringing. Now put on one of your shows and let's enjoy it ok?" About an hour later Jane heard Maura's breathing even out telling her she was asleep. She waited about 15 minutes then swung Maura's leg down off of her lap then stood in front of her and placed one arm under her knees and the other behind her back and picked her up and laid her gently on the bed then lay down next to her and brought the covers up to cover both of them. Maura scooted back against Jane and Jane wrapped her arms around her and kissed her then fell asleep.
They both woke to their phones ringing the next morning. "The real world waits." Maura mumbled as she rolled over towards Jane. "I don't remember coming to bed last night. Did you carry me?" Jane nodded. "Good morning." She smiled at Jane and kissed her. "Isles." She turned to answer her phone.
"Rizzoli." Jane grabbed her phone off the nightstand. "Fuck not again! We'll be there soon. Why don't you call Pike? As much I hate him I hate it even more to see you suffer." She walked up to Maura and almost pleaded with her.
"Jane let's get dressed and we'll deal with it when we get to the scene. Who knows it may not happen again." Maura walked by Jane on her way to the bathroom and caressed her cheek.
"I had to try. Ok I'll go use the other bathroom so we can get out of here. Not that I'm looking forward to getting to this scene." She took some clothes and headed down the hallway grumbling as she went. When Jane came out she could still hear the water running in Maura's bathroom so she started a pot of coffee and ran her fingers through her still damp hair. When the coffee was ready she poured a cup for the both of them and was ready to go when Maura came out of the bedroom. "Are you ok?"
"For the time being. Let's just go get this over with." Maura kissed Jane as she walked by her and headed out to the car. Jane grabbed the keys and followed her. They arrived at the scene within 10 minutes and Maura turned to Jane. "Don't worry about me, I'll let you know if I need you." She squeezed Jane's hand then opened the door of the car and left. Jane sat staring after her for a minute then shook her head and ran to catch up with her. She followed closely behind Maura as they entered the house and followed the line of cops to the basement door. Jane watched as Maura took a deep breath and headed down the stairs.
Maura slowly walked down the stairs, at least this time she was prepared for what was to come. She got to the bottom of the stairs and Korsak walked over to her. "You ok Maura?"
"Yes Vince I am fine let's get this over with." She walked into the room waiting for the déjà vu and took a deep breath of relief when it didn't happen. She turned to Jane and smiled then turned back to Korsak all business. "Has the child left already?"
"She's on her way to the hospital and her parents are going to meet her there. Naturally she's pretty shook up." Korsak watched as Maura walked up to the woman hanging from the ceiling by the wrists. This woman looked a bit like Maura but not as much as the first one did. She had the same coloring and facial structure.
She was taking notes and she was well aware of all of the eyes that were focused on her and she was trying to quell the déjà vu that was doing its best to overtake her. She tried to avoid turning around because Jane would surely notice that all was not well with her. It wasn't as bad as the first time but the sense of having been here before was overwhelming and frustrating at the same time. Why was this scene so familiar to her? What was it that was affecting her so strongly? She never reacted to feelings yet here she was working on a crime with nothing but feelings guiding her. Sure there were facts and evidence but the feelings far outweighed everything else. Maura instructed the morgue technicians to help her remove the body and transport it to the morgue. "Looks as if the injuries are consistent with Patricia Fielding, but I will know more once I finish the autopsy." She removed her gloves and prepared to leave the crime scene.
Jane walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Maura are you ok?" Maura just nodded her head. Jane leaned in to whisper. "I'll let it go for now but we'll talk later ok?"
Maura turned to Jane with a haunted look and smiled at Jane. "Thank you."
They headed out to Maura's car and Jane drove towards the precinct. "So, I can see this didn't affect you as much as the first one but it got to you didn't it?"
"Yes but at least this time I was prepared and knew what to expect. I felt a little déjà vu but not as strong as the first time. I think I can handle it. I just wish I knew why this was happening to me."
Jane cleared her throat and was unsure how to approach what she wanted to say. She had been thinking some bizarre thoughts that in any other circumstance she would completely ignore but she couldn't ignore them this time. "Maura I have something to say and I would like you to hear me out before you say anything. Can you promise that?"
"I cannot promise that Jane but I will do my best." Maura turned to Jane with a worried expression.
"I think you should talk to your mother and ask her if anything like this ever happened to you as a child."
"Don't you think I would know if I went through what those little girls are going through? Besides I don't think my mother would keep something like that from me. Do you?" Maura looked at Jane like a little lost child.
"Korsak said there were three little girls that came from money and the parents never revealed themselves because they didn't want anyone to know who the children were or they didn't want the world to know what was happening to their girls. Money bought them anonymity and they still have it to this day." Jane pulled into Maura's parking spot and ran around to her side to help her out of the car. "Do you want company or do you need time to think?" Jane asked tentatively.
"I think I need time to think. I will call you later though." Jane walked her to the morgue and pulled her into a hug before she left. "Jane I know how hard it must have been to say what you did and I appreciate your openness. I will think seriously about what you said and I will let you know what I decide. Whatever I do decide, I want you with me if and when I approach my mother."
Jane felt her heart melt all over again at Maura's declaration. "Are you sure? That seems like a family matter and Constance may not be forthcoming with me being there."
"Oh I think she'll be more forthcoming with you there. You are quite intimidating when you set your mind to it and I've seen what it does to my mother." Maura gave her a little smile.
"Oh so you just want me there to intimidate her?" Jane felt a little let down but she smiled anyway..
Maura wrapped her arms around Jane's neck and kissed her soundly. "No my love I want you there because you are my family too and I don't want to keep anything from you. I know that you have intervened on my part with my mother on more than one occasion and she knows it too and you have gained her respect." She laughed at Jane's surprised look. "What? You didn't think I knew you've been talking to her. Or should I say threatening?" She smiled to show she was only teasing. "I love you and I need your support."
"Well if you put it that way how could I say no." Jane leaned down and returned Maura's kiss then turned her around and patted her on her lovely ass. "Now go do what you do so magnificently. Find me some clues. By the way." She waited for Maura to turn back. "I love you too." The smile that lit Maura's face would get her through the day.
"Now go so I can get to work." She smiled and turned around to get to work. Swaying her hips for Jane's benefit.
"Damn you are going to be the death of me woman." She smiled as she turned and headed upstairs.
Maura pulled out her cell phone and dialed her mother's number and waited for her to answer. "Mother I know it's short notice but is your schedule open this evening?"
"Yes darling I just so happen to have a few hours free around 7:00 would that be convenient?" Constance said rather pensively. "Do I get a clue as to what this is about?"
"I'd rather just wait until I see you at 7:00. We'll see you then." She hung up before Constance had a chance to respond. She then sent a text to Jane. Meeting with mother at 7 is that ok? She didn't have to wait long for Jane's response.
Shall I wear my evening gown Maura had to smile at Jane's response.
Evening wear is optional.
Are clothes optional? Maura laughed out loud at that one.
We'll save that for later. XOXO
I'll pick you up about 6:30 XOXO. Maura turned with a smile on her face to await the arrival of the second woman's body.