Hell Chapter 4

By Simahoyo

She came home to an empty house, except for Bass, who slowly made his way to her. Maura bent down and rubbed his shell. He blinked at her, then went off to his favorite resting place.

She sat in front of her computer, hoping–there was that name again. She sighed., gritted her teeth and opened her inbox. She scanned the emails, but there was nothing from Jane. She went on down the list to Korsak's email and opened it.

"Talking to that woman is like talking to a volcanic caldera. I'm telling you, she is still spitting mad. She finally calmed down enough to say that you could send her one email, and she would read it. I'm sure you know the addy. GOOD LUCK, you're gonna need it."

Maura took the draft of her letter out of her Jane folder, and reading it once more, held her breath and sent it. She noticed afterward that she had crossed her fingers. Stress was turning her into an unscientific, superstitious kid. So, she read all the medical journals that she had e-subscriptions to.

The inbox gave her notice, so Maura checked on the new one. It was from Jane. She was nervous–afraid of what Jane might have written, and frightened that their friendship was truly over. With shaking fingers, she opened it.

"I read it. You're still a jerk."

It was better than she expected. Maura typed her reply.

"I have to agree with you. I'm glad you read it."

There was a long pause, then her chat screen came up.

"I'll admit that I've been thinking of you–other than how to kill you."

Maura laughed. The answer was pure Jane.

"How are you doing?"

Another long pause. Jane is typing showed on the screen.

"Not my best. K and F are scared of me. Your dept has gone to hell."

"I need to do something about Pike."

"Come back to work–please."

"I'm not allowed. Cavanaugh is reigning me in."

"Are you in trouble?"

"Yes. But she did say she wouldn't fire me."

"Good."

"I really am sorry about Gabriel."

"It's going to be a while for my heart to stop hurting so much."

"Would you be able to work with me?"

"I don't know. But I cannot work with Pike. Have you thought about promoting someone?"

It was a jolt of common sense. Maura found herself typing and smiling.

"Great idea. Yoshima just needs to take his Board Certification tests.. I wonder if he'll do it."

"I hope so. We like Yoshima. He's a good guy."

"And he knows what he is doing. I could move Sarah up to his job. This could work. Thank you, Jane."

"Will we be able to talk to each other, do you think?"

"I don't know, but I'm under orders to work with and talk to all of you."

"Cavanaugh jr. is tough."

"So true."

"Speaking of, Cavanaugh sr. just walked in. Bye."

"Bye."

Maura sat back in her chair and sighed. She was feeling a little happy. It was hard work, but Maura knew she could do it now. The worst was behind her–she hoped.

The phone rang. Maura answered her usual, "Dr. Isles."

"This is Mary Margaret Doyle."

"Oh God." she thought. "Yes?"

"I don't know why, but my brother's will demanded that you be asked to his funeral."

Maura's mood sank. "I would rather not, if you don't mind."

"I don't even know why he would have wanted you there."

Maura knew she would pay for it. "I have no idea. Thank you for calling. I'm sorry for your loss."

After the goodbyes, Maura ran to the bathroom and lost what little she had eaten. She sat on the floor, shaking. Even dead he wouldn't leave her alone. Then she wept for his loss.

The next morning her father called to tell her some great news. Constance was getting out of the hospital the next day. Maura spent a busy few hours arranging for help for her home care. She arranged for two Certified Nurses Aids, and got a visiting nurse for their supervision. Their cook wasn't capable of preparing the special meals, so she arranged for paid leave for her. The service gave her the name of a nutritionist to help plan menus. By then, it was late afternoon.

Maura ate something forgettable, then made the first of two more calls.

Jordan Cavanaugh took her call quickly. "How are you doing?"

"Much better, thank you. My mother is coming home tomorrow. So, could I go back to work the day after?"

"First, it's great about your mother. And from what I've heard–don't ask about my sources, yes, you can go back to work day after tomorrow. I suspect you'll want to call Pike."

"Oh yes. I'll be happy to."

"Okay then. Go for it."

Maura and Jordan said their goodbyes, and Maura dialed her own office.

When Louise answered, "Boston Police Medical Examiner's Office", Maura' s heart warmed.

"Hi Louise."

"Maura. I'm so glad to hear from you. How is your mother?"

"Much better. She's going home to the Beacon Hill house tomorrow."

"Good. She's a lovely woman. Does this mean you'll be back..."

"Day after tomorrow, and I can hardly wait to see everyone."

Louise's voice lowered. "And will Dr. Pike be leaving soon." She sounded both anxious and hopeful.

"I called to let him know."

Louise let out a relieved breath. "I'll put him on."

After a few minutes, Pike was on the phone.

"You do realize, Doctor Isles, that I was doing an autopsy. I was doing it as a favor to you because all of your people are too inept to handle it themselves. What do you want that is so urgent?"

"I'm be returning the day after tomorrow. Thank you for your services. I will need you for just one day."

There was a pause. "Ah, so you have finished your little vacation. I did a lot of reorganizing. The place was a mess as usual. I hope that next time you need my help, your will not have let things go back to the chaos I found here."

Maura saw her hands form claws as she imagined strangling her underling. She really needed to do something about this man.

"Well, thank you for filling in. And thank you for asking about my mother's accident. Good afternoon."

Maura wanted to scream, she was so angry. Especially when she thought about the mess she would be going back to. She paced the living room, until her anger started to subside. Then she decided to go for a run.

End chapter 4