Chapter 5

Jane woke up as the first beam of sunlight peeked through Maura's drapes. She felt calm, at ease and surprisingly well-rested. She thought about their case. That maniac was still out there, but she had slept like a baby. Jane smelled something familiar. When she looked down, she saw that it was Maura's hair. Maura was still asleep, lying on her chest. Everything that happened last night came rushing back. Jane thought about their conversation. She still couldn't believe that Maura reacted the way she did. Jane had anticipated rejection. She thought it would end up being an awkward conversation with Maura saying that she wanted some distance between them. Jane was aware of the risks she had taken. Their friendship could have been damaged beyond repair. The fact that Maura hadn't sent her away made Jane feel happy and relieved. She stroked Maura's hair and kissed the top of her head. Maura started to wake up.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," Jane said.

"Hey, you." Maura smiled and moved so that she could see Jane's face.

"How did you sleep?" Jane asked.

"Very well. You're softer than my pillow."

"I can't tell you how happy I am right now," Jane said. "I was so afraid I'd lose you because of what I told you last night."

Maura simply smiled and touched Jane's face. Maura was glad Jane had told her how she felt. She never would have had the courage to tell Jane about her feelings. Neither Maura nor Jane knew what to say. Jane brushed Maura's hair away from her face and resisted the urge to kiss her. They hadn't figured out what to do next.

"I'm so glad you're in my life," Maura said.

"Me too."

Jane hugged Maura tightly and kissed her softly on the cheek. For the next couple of minutes, they just lay in each other's arms, silently.
Jane's phone broke the silence. Jane grumbled and let go of Maura to answer her phone.

"Rizzoli."

"Jane, where are you?!" Korsak said. "You were supposed to meet me at the station half an hour ago to prepare our meeting with Joanne Franklin's boss at BCU."

"Oh my god, I totally forgot!" Jane said, shocked. "I'm so sorry, Korsak." She looked at her watch. They were supposed to be at BCU in 30 minutes.

"I've prepared most of the meeting, you can tag along," Korsak said. He wondered what had occupied Jane's mind. Never before had Jane missed an appointment. Work would always come first with her.

"Of course, I'll be there! I'll meet you at BCU in 30 minutes." Jane climbed out of bed and ran into the bathroom to get washed up.

"I'm sorry, Maura, I have to run. I have a meeting at BCU and I totally forgot to help Korsak prepare for it."

"It's OK, Jane. I have to get started on that DNA test anyway," Maura said as she got out of bed. After having only two sips of coffee and half a sandwich for breakfast, Jane grabbed her jacket and her keys and headed for the door. Just before she walked out, she halted and smiled at Maura.

"Thanks for… just thanks."

"Bye, Jane. I'll see you later today," Maura replied, smiling happily.

"Bye, Maura."

Fifteen minutes later, Korsak and Jane met outside BCU.

"So, who's the guy?" Korsak asked Jane directly.

"Excuse me?" Jane said nervously.

"I've never known you to skip work."

"There's no guy. I just… didn't hear my alarm," Jane said, looking nervously at the ground. Korsak shrugged. Something was off. Jane was obviously hiding something, but Korsak decided it wasn't his business so he dropped it.

At 11 am sharp, Korsak and Jane walked into the chancellor's office at BCU.

"Thank you for meeting us," Jane said. She introduced Korsak and herself and sat down at the chancellor's desk. The chancellor was a middle-aged man, who seemed friendly and cooperative.

"When did Joanne start her employment here at the university?" Korsak asked.

"She started about three years ago. She gained popularity with the students almost instantly."

"Did she often speak about her personal life?" Jane asked.

"Not really. She was very dedicated to her work. She was even up for tenure. The only personal information I know about her is that she was single and that she liked sports."

Jane and Korsak looked at each other. They were both thinking the same thing. All three victims worked out. Jane suddenly remembered they were about to make a list of gyms in her neighborhood before the third victim was found.

"Do you happen to know which gym or sports club she frequented?" she said.

"No, I'm sorry."

Korsak and Jane both looked disappointed.

"Can you think of any students that would wish her harm?" Korsak continued.

"No, I can't think of anyone," the chancellor answered. "As I said, Joanna was a very popular professor, not just with the students but with the other professors as well. If there had been any conflicts or disagreements, I would have known about it."

They continued asking questions for some time, but nothing helpful came up.

"Thank you very much for your time," Korsak said after about half an hour.

"Please don't hesitate to contact us if anything comes to mind," Jane said as she handed the chancellor her card.

"I sure will, good luck with the investigation," he said, escorting them out.

As they walked to their cars, Jane and Korsak agreed that they should look at the gyms and sports clubs in Jane's neighborhood.

When they arrived at Boston PD Headquarters, Jane realized that she hadn't had anything to eat since her hasty breakfast at Maura's this morning.

"I'm going to grab a bite to eat, OK?" she told Korsak as she walked into the café.

"Sure, I'll get started and I'll meet you upstairs in a bit."

Jane sat down at the counter and ordered lunch. Angela was busy serving other customers. While she waited for her order to arrive, Jane started to think about how she woke up this morning. She conjured up the image of Maura lying on her chest, all the while gazing dreamily into the distance. Oh, how she would love to wake up like that every morning. Unfortunately, Jane's musings were cut short.

"What are you smiling about?!" her mother asked.

She startled when she realized her mom was right in front of her.

"Nothing. Just thinking about the case."

"You're a bad liar, Jane Clementine Rizzoli," Angela replied.

"Could I just get my lunch, Ma?"

"Sure, honey," Angela said as she gave her daughter a full plate.

"Thanks, Ma."

Jane figured that if she ate really quickly, she could go see how Maura was doing before she went up to help Korsak. In just 10 minutes, she finished her lunch. She walked to the elevator and pressed the button, leaving Angela with a puzzled look on her face.

Maura wasn't at the morgue, so Jane figured that she was in her office. She smiled when she found her sitting at her desk.

"Hey, Maura," she said, closing the door behind her.

"Hi, Jane."

"Any luck on the DNA test?"

"No, I'm sorry. A DNA test takes time. It's a very delicate process," she explained. "I should have the results by the end of the day, though." Maura stood up and walked out from behind her desk towards Jane.

"Is that the only reason you came to see me?" she asked as a smile appeared on her face. Jane checked to see if the blinds were closed.

"No," she admitted. "I also wanted to tell you that I liked waking up with you very much." Jane took a step in Maura's direction, their bodies almost touching.
Maura took Jane's hands in hers and said: "I liked waking up with you, too. I'm really glad you told me how you feel."

"Me too," Jane said.

"So… where do we go from here?" Maura asked. "Do you want to start dating? And should we keep it a secret or should we tell people?"

"I don't know, Maura," Jane said. "I really want to be with you but… aren't you worried about what it might do to our friendship? If things go wrong and I lost you as a friend… I don't think I could handle that."

"Why would things go wrong?" Maura said, gently squeezing Jane's hands and leaning forward. Her lips were only an inch away from Jane's when Frankie opened the door.

"Janie…," he started. Maura instantly let go of Jane's hands and took a step back. Frankie looked at them, shocked.

"I… uh… just wanted to tell you that Korsak has found the gym where all three victims worked out," Frankie said.

"Great!" Jane said, acting as if there was nothing awkward about this situation. "I'll be right up."

Frankie closed the door and went back upstairs. Maura laughed, but Jane wasn't happy her little brother had walked in just as she was about to kiss Maura.

"I have to get back to work," she said.

"Sure, I'll text you the results of the DNA test before I go home," Maura said, a little disappointed that their moment had been ruined. She knew that Jane didn't like how it had ended, either.

"Jane, don't worry. We'll be OK."

Jane gave her a faint smile and walked out of Maura's office to meet Korsak.

"I got lucky," Korsak said. "There are five gyms and sports club in your neighborhood. I called all of them to ask if our victims were registered members. Only one of them issued membership cards to all three victims."

"Nice!" Jane replied. "Let's go over there and check it out." Korsak nodded and followed her to the elevator.

Twenty minutes later, they parked their car and went inside. It was a large and luxurious gym.

"Sergeant Detective Vince Korsak, this is my partner Detective Jane Rizzoli," Korsak said while they flashed their badges at the woman at the reception. "We would like to speak to the manager, please."

"Sure, I'll get him. Just a second," she replied. She walked away, allowing Jane and Korsak to look around. A membership to this gym could easily cost a few hundred bucks a month, Jane thought. Everything around them looked expensive. Just as Jane was about to tell Korsak that she would rather run outside for free, the manager walked up to them.

"Scott Peters, nice to meet you," he said while shaking their hands. "Would you like to go to my office?"

"Yes, please," Jane answered. "It's a rather sensitive issue."

"I hope I'm not in trouble?" Mr. Peters asked.

"No, but three of your members are," Korsak said as Mr. Peters closed the door to his office and walked to his desk.

"Mia Clark, Susan Richards and Joanne Franklin have been murdered. All of them had a membership to this gym," Korsak continued, while showing Mr. Peters photos of the victims.

"I don't recognize them," Mr. Peters said, obviously shocked by this news.

"Any reports of harassment or violent behavior?" Jane asked.

"No. Not a single complaint in the last six months."

"We're going to need a list of all your members and employees," Korsak said.

"Of course. I'll get it for you right now," Mr. Peters said. A couple of minutes later, he returned with the list, which had a few hundred names on it.
"I hope it helps," he said. "But as I said before, there hasn't been a single complaint in the last few months. We make it our priority to keep our members and staff happy."

Afraid they were at another dead end, Jane and Korsak thanked Mr. Peters for his time and walked back to their car. As they arrived at Boston PD Headquarters, Jane got a text from Maura.

Jane, I'm on my way home. Almost forgot to text you. DNA results came back.
Hair belongs to John Garrett, 21, Boston resident. Prior convictions include breaking and entering and DUI.

"Ha! Looks like we're not at a dead end anymore," Jane said as she showed Korsak Maura's text. "We have a name. Do you want to check the list of members and employees at the gym right now?" Jane asked, secretly hoping this could wait until the morning. She was feeling tired and wanted to go home.

"I can handle that," Korsak said after seeing Jane's face. "You can go home and get some rest. I'll let you know if I find anything."

"Thanks, Korsak. I appreciate that," Jane said, patting him on the shoulder. She turned around and walked to her car. It was getting dark. As she drove off, she figured she could swing by Maura to thank her for her help.

After a ten-minute drive, Jane parked her car on Maura's driveway. She noticed the light was on in Maura's kitchen, but she sensed that something was off. When she saw that Maura's front door was ajar, she reached for her radio and called for back-up. She grabbed her gun and slowly opened the door with her foot. The lock had obviously been tampered with. Her heart started racing. Anger and fear took over. This cannot be happening, she thought. Not Maura, not now we are getting so close. Tears started to well up in her eyes as she wondered if she had come too late.

"Jane!" Maura yelled.

Jane ran to the kitchen, her gun still drawn. There they were. A man in a black hoodie had Maura in his grip, holding a knife to her throat. Maura was crying and obviously panicking. Jane quickly considered her options. She could try to shoot him, but the risk of his knife cutting Maura's throat was too big. I have to distract him, she thought as she remembered she had called for back-up. In a few minutes, Korsak and Frankie will be here.

"It's over, John!" she said, pointing the gun at him.

"Ah, so you know my name?" he said in a deep, creepy voice. "With whom do I have the pleasure?"

"Detective Jane Rizzoli, Boston PD. Drop the knife!"

"Why should I?" he said. Jane was subtly trying to signal Maura to keep calm; back-up was on the way.

"Because you don't want any more blood on your hands," Jane said, trying to remain calm and focused.

"How do you know what I want?!" he yelled. "Nobody cares about what I want! I've always been on my own! My mother never had time for me, she was always working!"

"So you decided to kill women with careers?" Jane asked. At that moment, Korsak and Frankie burst in. They both pointed their gun at Garrett.

"Drop your weapon!" Korsak shouted.

Garrett was overwhelmed by this sudden invasion.

"Stay away from me!" he yelled while he briefly took the knife away from Maura's throat and pointed it at Korsak.

Jane didn't hesitate for a second and shot him right in the head. The knife dropped to the floor. One second later, Garrett dropped to the floor as well. Alarmed by the gunshot, Angela and Lieutenant Cavanaugh stormed in. Maura looked at Jane, still in shock but aware of the fact that she was safe now. Jane put her gun back in her holster and ran over to Maura, fighting tears of relief. She took Maura's face in her hands and kissed her right on the lips. Completely unaware of the fact that Korsak, Frankie, Angela and Cavanaugh were all staring at them, Jane and Maura kissed as if their lives depended on it. Korsak and Frankie looked at each other, smiling. They both had suspected something was going on between them. Frankie knew for sure after he had caught them almost kissing in Maura's office. Angela remembered Jane telling her about her feelings for Maura and smiled, happy that her daughter had finally found love. Cavanaugh's jaw was on the floor.

"So, I see you're not scared anymore to cross the line between love and friendship?" Maura said, her arms wrapped around Jane's neck.
Jane smiled and shook her head before she kissed Maura again. She was ready to jump over the edge. As long as she was with Maura, everything would be fine.