Chapter 12

"Did you see this?" Frost asked, dropping a magazine on Jane's desk.

The headline read: Chasedoutofthecloset?

Jane shook her head. "Now I get why Chase wanted to keep it quiet."

Frost nodded. "Yeah. But that's not our only problem. Chase is missing."

"What?"

"Her mother called, said she never returned to the hotel last night like she said she would, everybody else went back but no Chase."

"But Stanley took her back," Jane frowned.

Frost shrugged. "He says he dropped her off in front of the hotel, then went for a drink, didn't see her again."

Jane sighed deeply and rested her head in her arms. "See what you can get on Stanley. And the others too. I wanna know everything about them."

"You got it," Frost half-smiled.

*everybody hurts*

Chase opened her eyes slowly. She looked around, not reconizing her surroundings.

"Good, you're awake," Stanley said. "I fucking waited long enough."

Chase tried to speak, but her mouth was taped shut.

"Oh, you wanna say something?" Stanley mocked. "That's too bad, cause I'm tired of hearing your voice."

Chase glared at him.

Stanley chuckled. "You think I'm afraid of you? You think I'm afraid of anything? You don't know me, Charlotte. But I know you. You're pathetic. You've got this whole fake persona, and a fake life. You are a fake!" He spat on the concrete ground of the basement.

"I've got to get back now, my friends are waiting for me. And so is your mother."

He left the basement, leaving Chase with tears streaming down her cheeks.

*everybody hurts*

Jack Newman looked lost when Jane saw him. He was pacing in front of the police station, looking anxious.

"Mr Newman? Are you alright?" Jane asked, putting a hand out to stop him.

He looked at her with empty eyes. "I never thought it would be like this," he muttered. "It wasn't supposed to be like this."

Jane led him inside, seating him in an empty interrogation room. She called Frost. "Get down here, I think I got something useful."

When Frost arrived, Newman was even more agitated.

"How should we go about this?" Frost asked Jane.

"I'll be good cop, you be black cop. Its a failproof for us," she grinned.

They stepped into the room, and Jane took a seat across from Newman. "Why don't you tell me what happened, and we can sort this out?"

Newman swallowed hard. "I heard them talking. I heard them saying things, bad things."

"Who?" Frost asked.

"Stanley, Kelly, and Helen. They were talking about MJ being dead, and how good it felt to be responsible for it."

Jane and Frost exchanged a look.

"Are you sure about this?" Jane asked softly.

Newman nodded, swallowing hard again. "Yeah," his voice was shaky.

Jane looked at Frost again. "Let's go get 'em, then."

*everybody hurts*

Maura wandered into the bullpen, expecting to see Jane, but she was nowhere to be found. Maura sat down at Jane's desk, and saw the post-it note.

"Maur, went out to get the bad guys. I'll be home for dinner. Love you!"

She glanced at Stanley's file, and her curiosity got the better of her. She gasped, and dailed Jane's number immediately.

Jane answered on the first ring. "Make it quick, babe, we're about to go into the hotel to get them."

"Jane, did you read Stanley's file?"

She heard Jane sigh. "No, we just got a tip off from Newman, why?"

Maura took a deep breath. "I think he's got Chase, in a house he rented earlier this month. Its in downtown."

Jane was silent for a while. "OK, I'll let Frost take over here, I'll go check the place out. Can you text me the-"

"Yes, Jane," Maura said.

"I love you."

"I love you too. Be careful, Jane."

*everybody hurts*

Jane turned to Frost. "I think I'm rubbing off on Maura. She would make a brilliant detective, if she only guessed more."

Frost nodded. "But she is guessing more already. Don't let it get outa hand," he clapped her back.

Jane grinned. "Listen, can you take over here? I gotta go check something out."

"Sure, its just questioning for now, right? I can take that much."

"Thanks, Frost. Call me if you find something important," Jane said.

"Yes sir!"

Jane rolled her eyes. "Thank your balls you didn't call me ma'am."

Frost chuckled. "I'm not that stupid, Janie." He dodged her attempted backhand, but she landed a punch on his shoulder.

"Go do your job," she called over her shoulder as she walked to her car.

*everybody hurts*

Chase woke up when Stanley ripped the duct tape from her lips. He checked the ropes around her hands and ankles, satisfied when he found them still knotted tightly.

"I hate you, you know that?" He said loudly. "I really fucking hate you."

Chase let out a small whimper. "What did I do, Stan? Why?"

Stanley laughed, no trace of humour in his voice. "You already had the girl, and you were gonna get the kid too. I couldn't let that happen, Charlotte."

"I still don't understand," Chase said softly.

"MJ was pregnant with my kid. But she didn't even feel a thing for me. It was just a drunken fuck, and she said that she was gonna lie to you about it. That you never needed to know that she fucked around behind your back."

"That's not true!" Chase said.

"How would you know?" Stanley asked, staring at Chase. "She was just a filthy little whore, and you were too blind to see it."

"Liar!" Chase yelled. "Don't you dare talk about MJ like that!"

Stanley chuckled. "After what we did to her, I wonder what to do with you. Would it be more torture if I let you live with this pain for the rest of your life, or should I just kill you, and let you fight it out with that slut in the after-life?"

Chase was crying again.

Stanley ignored her, and answered his own question. "There are too many flaws with the first option. You can't keep your mouth shut, and that's gonna be a big problem."

Chase sniffed loudly. "Please, Stan, don't-"

"So I think I'm just gonna kill you. I'd love to see the life drain from your eyes, to see you die. It would be better than seeing MJ die. I hate you both, but you are just too much to handle. Even your own mother said that you are a fake."

Chase watched with fear in her eyes as Stanley stepped closer, unclipping the knife from his belt.

"This is the same knife that killed MJ," he said. "Not the same hands. I wouldn't put your mother through that. But this is where it ends, Charlotte. Tell MJ I said hi."

Chase closed her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

There was a knock on the door. "Open up, Stan! Let me in!"

Chase's eyes flew open, thankful for the distraction.

Stanley sighed, and opened the door to let his partner in crime step inside.

"Jack?" Chase asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged and leaned against the wall. "I just came for the show," he stated.

Stanley grinned. "I want you to film this," he said to Jack. "Helen needs to see this."

Jack laughed. "She'd love it!"

Stanley turned to Chase again. "This is gonna be so much fun."

A/N: didnt see that coming... I probably should have said this earlier, but its the small things that are gonna lead to the truth.

I shall eternally worship Candy1989 for correctly identifying Dr Lawrence Zucker! He was indeed the pshycologist in Tess Gerritsen's books. Well done on that!

Probably gonna be two or three more chapters to bring this to an end. Thanks for sticking it out so far (:

R&R?