CHAPTER SIX

Standing imposingly tall and stiff, hands clasped formally by her belt buckle, Detective Rizzoli read Rachel Deakin her rights as Frost snapped a pair of metal handcuffs around her wrists.

Frost turned the girl by the shoulders, indicating they were ready to leave, when she asked, "Do I get to collect my stuff? I want my purse."

Jane turned to the facility's manager, who had escorted them in and silently witnessed the arrest, "Where do the nurses keep their belongings?"

"There's a locker room down the hall," she pointed.

"Do you have a key?"

"No, it's a combination lock."

Jane turned back to the suspect, "I'll get your purse for you." She looked at her colleague to confirm he was happy with her actions, "You will wait here with Detective Frost."

"I'll show you where it is," said the manager, leading the way out of the room.

With the combination secured, Jane opened the metal locker and took out a brown, leather satchel. Just as she was about to close the door she noticed a syringe lying on the bottom shelf. This is too easy, she thought with a deep sigh. Knowing Frost had his hands full, she slid her cellphone from its holster and speed-dialed her Sergeant.

He picked up after two rings. "Hey, Vince. Look, Frost's got Rachel in cuffs and we were ready to bring her in to the station, but… I just found a syringe in her locker."

"Have you touched anything?"

"No, I literally just found it, but I don't have any evidence bags on me."

"I'll send CSRU over, get them to photograph it in place and collect it. Get Frost to arrest her again."

It had already been a long day and Jane huffed, "Arrest her again?"

"For murder."

oOo

Korsak had the Thursday morning news playing on his computer monitor when Jane and Frost walked in. "Hey, you guys seen this?"

They crowded around the back of his desk, peering over his shoulder. The small video screen showed a reporter and news crew camped outside Boston Water and Sewer Commission's headquarters, along with what looked like a rally of people all holding signs.

"… demanding more information about the quality of Boston's drinking water. Officials have declined all interviews and are yet to comment. But these folks say they're not leaving until someone talks to them. With me now is respected community leader, Father Crowley…." The camera panned to the side and the suited man shoved his microphone into the face of a very familiar priest.

Korsak was giggling, shaking his head, as Jane and Frost turned their heads behind his to look at each other.

Frost's eyebrows were as high as Jane had ever seen them as she mouthed What the fuck?

"… we have a right to know if the water is tainted. We demand independent testing and the free publication of results to put the public at ease. No corporation should be able to hide potentially harmful substances from decent, god-fearing people. Until they open their doors we can only assume they are covering up something evil…"

Jane growled and walked away, "I've heard enough."

Korsak was still chuckling, "I've never heard anything so ridiculous. Most entertaining thing I've seen all week."

"Dr. Isles would be horrified," balked Frost, turning to head into the BRIC.

"Indeed, I am," came a lilting voice, drawing three sets of eyes to the doorway. Explaining her sudden appearance, she entered and regarded Jane, "I was just passing." Turning back to Frost she added, "Water contamination is a serious issue; many diseases can be contracted from drinking contaminated water, such as Giardiasis, Legionellosis, Cholera, and Adenovirus, though contamination in Boston is rarely an issue and to claim otherwise could incite a citywide panic." She lofted a finger in the air, confused, "Though, I believe the protesters are implying something more… behavioral might be contracted if they drink the water." She shrugged, dismissing the ridiculous notion, "Impossible. My mother would say all protesters should be shown kindness; I think she rallied a few times in her youth. Personally, I think they ought to be forced to read educational materials. There's no excuse for ignorance where science is concerned."

Frost cleared his throat and looked away awkwardly.

Jane was grinning like an idiot. Dr. Isles was back.

The blonde smiled and turned her gaze over each detective. It was good to be back. Then turning fully to Jane, "I actually just popped in to check you were still okay for tonight."

"Oh, um, yeah."

"Okay!" she beamed. Turning, she gracefully dipped her head at the males before leaving, "Gentlemen."

Korsak turned his attention to his ringing telephone but Frost's attention lingered on the doorway as it swung closed. "I hate to see her go but I do so love to watch her leave."

A balled up napkin hit him square in the face as Jane shouted, "Hey!"

"Sorry, sorry," he surrendered, laughing, hands held up. "I'm just glad she's back, that's all."

Jane tried to hide her face to cover a smile. She couldn't really blame him. "Yeah… me too."

She didn't see him looking at her. He'd seen it, couldn't really miss it. It wasn't the smile so much as the look in her eyes that gave her away. The only time it hadn't been there had been the day Maura chose to leave Boston with Ian.

An audible click was heard as Korsak replaced the phone handset, "Rachel Deakin's attorney just arrived."

The younger detectives stood up, grabbing files and a tablet computer.

"Where are we with the memory stick?" the older man asked Frost.

"Nearly there," he guessed, hoping the algorithms he had left running in BRIC would be complete pretty soon.

Evidence against Rachel Deakin was mounting but Jane shook her head, "I still say Charlie did it."

"You found the syringe, though."

"Yeah," she drawled. "That could have been planted. Someone is pointing us towards Rachel. The assault and the murder could still be unrelated."

oOo

The tablet computer sat on the interview room table, vividly replaying the moment the nurse assaulted Harry Mitchell.

Removing his glasses, Korsak looked sombre, "What do you have to say about that, Ms. Deakin?"

"I'm sorry," she squeaked, teary and trembling.

"Do you make a habit of hitting the Beechgrove residents?"

"No!" she yelled. "It wasn't… I didn't…" Her face turned red as she became more upset.

"Why would you do that?" the detective pleaded.

Like it should have been obvious, she explained, "She said sometimes the old folks get a bit muddled and… out of hand… and that if you give them a quick slap it snaps them out of it."

"Who said that?"

"Charlie."

"Do you always do what Charlie tells you?"

She sounded so young, naïve and immature, "No, but… she helps me."

"What else does she help you with?"

"Anything," she smiled, swooning. "Everything. She's my girlfriend."

Korsak's eyebrows lifted, that was news to him. He smiled encouragingly, "Really?"

"We made out in her car." She blushed, embarrassed, "Couldn't keep her hands off me."

"How long have you been seeing each other?"

"Since I started working there," she giggled before turning serious again. "But it's a secret. Charlie said management wouldn't like us having a relationship."

"And what can you tell us about the camera?"

She looked around at her attorney, unsure, stuttering, "I don't know anything about a camera."

"Someone put a hidden camera in Harry Mitchell's room. Do you know who would do that?"

She shook her head again, "No. I -"

She turned deathly white the instant Korsak asked, "What if I told you that we think Chief Staff Nurse Charlie Winter hid that camera?"

oOo

Jane dragged the metal chair away from the interview room table and sat down. Placing her case file on the surface she regarded Charlie Winter with interest. "We have discovered some evidence that suggests Rachel Deakin assaulted Harry Mitchell."

The brunette's mouth hung open, "I – I don't know anything about that."

Head tilted, the detective probed, "You didn't know she hit Harry Mitchell? Slapped him across the face."

"No. I told you… she's… harmless."

Piercing brown eyes narrowed, studying, "She says she's your girlfriend."

A harsh laugh echoed around the cold, spartan room. "No." She shook her head, then more firmly, "No. She can be a bit clingy and I've tried to be supportive but everything has been above board and professional."

oOo

Swinging her arms and sighing loudly, Jane stalked into the BRIC.

Frost was busy tapping keys on the computer as Korsak looked up and asked, "Any luck?"

She shook her head despondently and plopped down in a chair. "Nope. She's denying everything." She swept her curls away from either side of her face, "But I'm convinced, after what you said about Rachel, that Charlie is using her. She's manipulative and I think Rachel was any easy target to exploit."

Korsak had been mulling it over. It did seem to fit. "A scapegoat?"

"Yeah." Jane reasoned it out, "She's done everything Charlie told her to because she's besotted."

Something bleeped on the main computer and Frost threw his hands in the air. "A-ha!"

The large display screens came to life and Jane squinted at the documents on view.

"These are deleted files we managed to recover from the memory stick." The name on the utility bills was clear as day. "Looks like Charlie did make the video."

Jane's forehead was creased and her eyebrows were knitted painfully together, "Why send it in anonymously just to get found out that easily? It's sloppy."

Korsak murmured, Jane was right, it didn't make sense. "I'll organize a warrant to search her flat." He pointed at Frost with a ballpoint pen, drawing a firm nod from the computer whiz, "See what else you can find on there and then go get the rest of her computer equipment."

oOo

If only every suspect was this quick to crack, thought Jane, she'd spend much more time at home and a lot less time sat in a hard, metal chair in this brick-lined box.

Charlie's posture had slumped and her guilty eyes were glued to the table top, "I think… deep down… I wanted you to know it was me." She sighed, breathing out the weight of her confession. "I set up the camera and sent you the memory stick."

There were several things Jane wanted to address, but rather than jump the gun she simply asked, "Why?"

Charlie shrugged, "I suspected… I felt sorry for her. She has quite a temper and I became concerned for the residents."

"Concerned for their welfare," Jane nodded, earning a murmur of agreement from the nurse.

A series of further nods punctuated the detective's pause as she opened the file and drew out a photograph. It was actually a screenshot from the assault video and she set it right side up in front of Charlie.

"See, here's the thing… that show," she pointed her left index finger at the image. "The one playing on the TV in Harry's room, in the background, my colleague identified it as having last been broadcast five weeks ago."

Charlie stared back at the detective, speechless.

"Can you see how I might be a bit confused, Ms. Winter?" Jane lowered her voice and leaned in, "You said you were concerned for the residents' welfare and you went to the trouble of getting proof… so why would it take you five weeks to report it?"

oOo

Frost was busy connecting wires to a pile of electronic equipment and a computer hard drive when Jane flounced back into the BRIC.

Korsak looked surprised, "We weren't expecting you back so soon, Jane."

"Oh," she waved a dismissive hand. "I'm just letting her stew for a while."

"It's not like you to take a break during interrogations."

"Just trying to rattle her a little bit. I'm right about this one," she stated, supremely confident. "I can feel it. She's tying herself up in knots as we speak."

The sound of heels clicking through the homicide department had all three detectives turning toward the open door.

Without preamble, Maura stopped and handed over a manila folder to Jane and spoke to the room, "The substance in the syringe is potassium chloride. CSRU found vials of a clear substance behind the bath panel in Charlie Winter's apartment and they contain potassium chloride in the exact same concentration." She leaned in to Jane, pointing an index finger at the contents of the file as the brunette held it open. "There's also a partial print on the syringe matching Charlie Winter."

"Yes!" Jane suddenly grabbed Maura, a long arm wrapped around her shoulders, tugging their torsos together as a kiss was planted into thick, blonde hair. The smell of shampoo permeated her nostrils and it took a couple of seconds to realize she needed to release the medical examiner.

The blonde smiled and made a little curtsey motion, equally modest and proud, "We're still running additional tests but I thought you'd want to know right away."

"We still have no witnesses," stated Korsak, putting a dampener on their excitement.

"And no motive," Frost chipped in absently. "A jury won't convict without a motive."

Jane huffed childishly, planting her hands on her hips and jutting her chin towards the grey-haired man, "Well, you haven't managed to get anything either."

He waggled his eyebrows before throwing a well-worn notepad at her, "Haven't I?"

Jane skim read the first block of information on the front page and looked up at him, grinning, "You've been holding out on me, old man."