'If I Had It To Do All Over Again
Chapter 7
"No, no this can't be happening again." Maura felt her knees start to weaken so she took a deep breath and tried to go into work mode.
"It doesn't really mean anything." Korsak tried to reassure her.
"Oh really Vince, how can it not mean anything?" She heard the accusatory tone of her voice but she couldn't stop herself. "When was the last time Jane didn't show up for a crime scene. Her car is here." She looked inside and saw Jane's gun and badge on the passenger seat. "Her gun and badge are here and we all know she would never willingly give them up."
Frost went around to the passenger side and pulled on some gloves then opened the door. He squatted down and reached towards the floor. "Looks like he hit her with a quick acting sedative or something." He said as he held up a syringe with his gloved hand as he placed it in an evidence envelop. "But why would he leave it here?"
"To tell us he has her." Both Frost and Korsak turned to Maura. "He's playing with us, he wants us to know he has her. Do you think he'll contact us?" Maura was trying very hard not to cry but she knew if she didn't get away from Jane's car she was going to lose it.
Korsak wasn't sure how to handle the Doc in this situation. He wasn't good with women crying, but seeing the normally strong unemotional Maura Isles close to tears was his undoing. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her and Maura lost it. "We'll get her back Maura. She tough and one hell of a fighter, as we already know."
"Thanks for trying to reassure me but Jane also told me that she wouldn't let him take her because she was ready for him. Apparently she wasn't. We need to analyze what was in the syringe, and that might tell me how long she'll be out. That way we'll know how much time we have to find her. The first woman was alive for hours before she died so maybe he played with her first." She cringed at the thought of him doing the things to Jane that had been done to the other women. "I hadn't finished my autopsy on the second woman but she was in much the same condition as the first. Not all of the stab wounds were deep enough to cause death but certainly deep enough to inflict pain. She died slowly and painfully but they weren't drugged. I think he killed this last one to draw Jane out and now he is going to take his time with her."
"Damn Maura you've been spending too much time with Jane you're starting to think like a cop but your scenario certainly fits. Let's get back to the office so we can start digging to see who has our girl so we can go get her." Korsak called for CSU to be ready then called to have Jane's car towed back to the garage for CSU to go over with a fine toothed comb. Maura gave Korsak a small smile and headed for her car. "Whoa where ya going? You're not driving. I'll have an officer bring your car by the office so that you can drive your girlfriend home once we find her." He looked at the shocked expression on Maura's face. "What? You think I haven't noticed the difference between the two of you?"
"We thought we were hiding it fairly well." Maura headed towards the car Korsak indicated. He opened the passenger side and held Maura's arm as she sat and belted herself in. "Does Frost know?" She asked as she watched Frost walking towards the car.
"He was the one that brought it to my attention the day after you had your 7:00 p.m. appointment. The two of you were back to your old ways."
Frost climbed in the back seat. "Jane's a kick ass cop and she's going to come out of this just fine Dr. Isles."
"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Maura? We've worked together for years yet you still call me Doctor Isles. Please call me Maura."
"Ok Doct…Maura. But I still think Jane will be able to handle herself."
"So what are we going to be looking for once we get back to the office?" Maura turned to Korsak.
"We check the computer to see if any of the guys she arrested have recently been released from prison and are taking revenge for starters."
"Then why kill the other women? Why not just come after Jane instead of killing three innocent women? That just proves to me that he's a sick son of a bitch and he's going to do the same thing to Jane that he did to those women maybe even worse." She turned her head to look out the window and effectively silenced any further conversation. All three of them we're lost in their own thoughts as they pulled into the precinct parking lot. Maura immediately opened her door and headed for the door. "I will let you know exactly what he used when I get the tox report. You two get to work trying to find Jane's abductor." She turned and hurried to the morgue.
Korsak and Frost looked at each other and had to smile despite the circumstances. "We better find Jane or we'll have to answer to her." Korsak pointed to the door that Maura had just entered.
"I don't think that would be pleasant so let's get to work. I'll access the courts database and see if I can get a list of recent parolees. Aren't they supposed to notify us if someone that is a threat to the arresting officer is released?"
"Yeah but you know how these things are, they slip through the cracks. But let's start there and work back over her cases. I'm going to make a few calls and see what I can find out."
Jane was slowly becoming aware of her surroundings. She was in a basement somewhere and she would bet money it wasn't anywhere near Boston. It was then she also realized her hands were tied above her head and they were hooked over a large hook. Her feet could still touch the floor but just barely so she was not able to take any pressure off of her arms. "Damn I promised Maura this wouldn't happen. How could I let this happen?"
"You didn't let it happen I made it happen." Jane looked up but all of the sudden there was a bright light in her eyes and she couldn't see who was speaking.
"So what did you use to knock me out?" Jane tried to remain calm when every bone in her body was telling her to scream.
"Etorphine. My brother is a vet and I stole some from his office. It works pretty good doesn't it? I may have given you too much because you've been out for quite some time."
Jane tried squinting to see if she could see through the light but all she could make out was a silhouette. "So how long have I been out?"
"About 4 hours." He saw Jane smile. "What are you smiling about? You're not exactly in a position to be smiling."
"Well you see, your miscalculation in the dosage has given my team just that much more time to figure out who you are and find this hell hole. So I assume I'm going to die like the other three women so maybe you can tell me a few things about yourself. How about we start with who the hell you are." She let her anger loose by the end of the sentence and yelled the last few words. "And why did you kill three innocent women to get to me?" She felt the change in the tension in the ropes before she heard the machinery kick in, then next thing she knew her feet were no longer touching the ground.
"I'll be back in a few minutes and I will tell you everything except my name." The light went out as fast as it came on and she was left in complete darkness. She felt the blade make contact with her stomach before she realized he was still in the room. "This is just a taste of the fun yet to come."
This time she knew he had left the room, she felt the emptiness. She felt the cut wasn't deep but it sure hurt like hell. "Why do I always wear white on the days someone draws blood? Maybe I should look into wearing colors more often like Maura suggested." At the thought of Maura she grew serious. Life just isn't fair, she thought. Things finally start falling into place, she gets rid of Hoyt and her and Maura find each other, then this psycho shows up. "What do I have to do to get a fair shake?"
Korsak frantically motioned to Frost. "Get ready to trace this call, it's Jane's cell. Where's Jane you son of a bitch?" Maura happened to walk into their office at the same time he said this and she sat down at Jane's desk listening intently.
"Detective Korsak that's no way to greet an old friend. Tell Frost I need Jane's IP address so you can see what's happening to Jane."
"Can I put you on speaker?" Korsak asked.
"Sure." He heard the click signaling the speaker phone was on. "Frost don't even try to trace this call. I learned a lot while I was in prison thanks to Detective Rizzoli. One of the things I did while in prison is work on the computers. It's amazing what you can learn with nothing else to do with your time. So Frost how many towers have I bounced off of so far? It's useless so just give me the IP address and sit back and enjoy the show." Frost gave him Jane's IP address. "Give me a few minutes to go see how our girl is doing and get this set up, just keep the computer on." Frost walked over to Jane's desk and booted up her laptop and then all three of them gathered around the desk.
"He used Etorphine to knock her out which is available to veterinarians so you may want to check on that Barry. Vince he called you an old friend what did he mean?"
"Must mean it's a case Jane and I worked together. I guess we can start narrowing the search using that information too."
Jane looked up as the door slammed open but she still could not make out anything about this guy. "Could I have something to drink?" She asked as the light went on again.
"In good time. Give me a minute." She watched as he setup a camera and watched the green light come on. "I'm going to set up one way communications with Frost and Korsak, they'll be able to see and hear us but they won't be able to talk back to you."
"It's a miracle! You found a way to keep people from talking back to me, can I use it on my Ma? Hey guys I'd wave but as you can see I'm tied up at the moment."
"Oh Rizzoli that was bad. Now I will tell you why I am doing this and why I killed those other women." Jane heard a chair scrape across the floor and saw his silhouette sit in front of her.
"What about my water?" Jane asked hopefully.
"I supposed. Hang on." He walked to the corner and Jane heard water running. She listened intently as he walked back across the room. She watched as the silhouette crossed in front of her and she kicked out as hard as she could making contact with his head. He threw the water in her face and picked up something in the corner. "You're going to regret that bitch." He swung the pipe as hard as he could as he made contact with her ribcage over and over again. She was unconscious by the time his anger subsided. He turned towards the camera. "She should not have made me angry, she's just making it harder than it has to be." He turned and left the room.
"I don't know if I can stand to watch this." Maura said from Jane's desk where Frost had set up Jane's computer. She looked up at both men and saw a combination of anger and pain on their faces, but mostly anger. "But I also want to be here for her. I know she can't see me but I hope she'll know I'm here." Korsak placed his hand on her shoulder wishing he could say something to make her feel better but he knew nothing would help. He watched her crying as she stared at the computer screen and felt as if he was intruding on a very private moment.
"But think about how good she felt when she got that kick in." The three of them turned around as Crowe stood looking over their shoulder. He was staring at the computer and for the first time he wasn't berating Jane. "She probably planned the whole thing and waited for just the right time and she got in the only shot she knew she'd be able to get. She's not giving up, she's a fighter." He looked around the room and lowered his head and walked to his desk.
"Thank you Detective Crowe, Jane would appreciate you saying that." Maura turned back to the screen. "What about Angela and Frankie, should we contact them?" She said this without taking her eyes off the screen.
"I'll go downstairs and talk to her mother myself. Frost why don't you try to find Frankie and tell him to get over here. Maura do you want anything from the diner while I'm down there?" All Maura did is shake her head.
Maura heard a chair being pulled up beside Jane's desk and turned to see Lieutenant Cavanaugh sitting there. "How's she doing?" He cringed when he saw Jane on the screen.
"He took a pipe to her ribcage after she kicked him." She heard him laugh beside her. Maura turned to him and gave him a small smile. "Yeah she got him in the side of the head. But it sure angered him, that was when he grabbed the pipe."
"Yeah but at least she got a good shot in first."
"I don't understand you men." She stood up and started pacing back and forth not even hiding her anger. "Why is it that you all seem to concentrate on the fact that she got one kick in that didn't even do any damage? She's hanging there defenseless and if we don't find her soon he's going to kill her. Yet you all seem to think it's important that she got that one kick in. Why is that?" Tears were streaming down Maura's cheeks as she finished her tirade. She turned and sat back down at Jane's desk.
"Dr. Isles that one kick was her way of proving to herself that she wasn't defenseless." Lt. Cavanaugh hoped he was able to get through to her how important that one kick was to Jane's survival.
"She's telling him that he's going to have one hell of a fight on his hands and that she wasn't going down easy." Crowe said from his desk.
"She's showing that she's one tough bitch and that if he gives her the opportunity she'll do it again."
"But Lieutenant what good does that do her?" Maura said just as Angela ran into the room.
"It gives her hope." He stood, patted Maura on the shoulder then went back to his office.
"Oh my god what has he done to her?" Angela asked as she pulled up a chair next to Maura. She reached over and took Maura's hand and Maura squeezed it. Maura looked around the room and smiled when she saw Korsak enter the room with a box in his arms. "I packed food for everybody so we could eat if we need to. Vince why don't you bring Maura a sandwich?"
"Thank you Angela but I don't think I could eat right now." Maura was staring at the screen when she saw Jane move. "She's awake!"
"Hey guys I hope you find me soon because I don't know how many more times I can kick this guy. Frost keep an eye on the time, that might help you find me. Maura I'm sorry I didn't keep my promise of being careful and not letting this guy get me. I love you. Leave her alone guys. Shit my ribs hurt. Ma if you're there I didn't go looking for this, he found me."
"Frost what does she mean, keep an eye on the time?" Korsak asked Frost who was sitting at his desk trying to locate Frankie.
"I have no idea. Let me think for awhile."
"She doesn't have awhile, she's trying to tell you something now you have to know what she means."
"Vincent give the boy a break. Barry you take your time but don't take too much time." Angela said as she looked up from the computer screen.
"Ah shit he's back, Ma, Maura don't watch ok? Go to the bathroom or something." They watched as Jane turned towards the door. "So are you going to finally tell me what I did to warrant this? What did I ever do to you?"
He carefully walked up in front of her and kept an eye on her feet. "You put me in prison you bitch." He drove the knife into her side as deep as he could and watched as she struggled to breathe.