-There Will Always Be Another Dawn-
Chapter Two: Counting Our Losses
It was already way past her lunchtime, and Jane still hadn't managed to find anything interesting about their suspect, Mason Chesterfield. He was missing, but had never before had any connection to crime. He was just a columnist working for a local newspaper and his favorite topic seemed to be the environment and pollution. And if Jane had to read yet another article about how harmful plastic was, she would puke.
Other than that the victim and Chestefield had nothing in common. Apart from the phone calls and emails, they'd never worked together before and apparently had never met either. The emails were so vague that it wasn't even clear if they were really working on a story together or if they were merely exchanging thoughts on the weather and the city.
Jane slowly began to doubt that Chesterfield was the killer, the main argument being that he had a ten year old daughter. She was staying with a friend from school for now, and there seemed to be no sane reason why a single father would abandon his daughter just like that.
Jane rubbed her eyes and leaned back. She had hadn't eaten since this morning and her stomach grumbled quietly in complaint. She glanced at the clock and decided that there was still time for a late lunch.
Korsak had already yielded to the demands of his empty stomach and would be gone for at least another fifteen minutes.
"I'm going to grab something to eat. Want to come?" Jane asked, but Frost only shook his head.
"I think I might be getting somewhere," he answered, eyes still glued to the computer screen.
"Alright, I'll see you in a bit then."
Jane grabbed her jacket and fastened her gun to her belt before heading to the elevator and down to the morgue. She had wanted to ask Maura out for lunch, so that they could talk about Bass, but Maura was already gone.
Jane sighed quietly, a little crushed that Maura hadn't waited for her. But then again she realized that she was already late and she couldn't blame Maura for getting hungry before she had worked her way through mountains of information.
Jane decided to get a greasy burger in a restaurant around the corner she'd just recently discovered. At least that way she didn't have to endure Maura's disapproving look at her unhealthy choice of nutrition.
Jane left the building and, shielding her eyes from the sun, looked around. It was a nice warm day and the weather had caused most people to take off their warm jackets and long pants. A woman who strolled past glanced up at Jane and smiled brightly at her with a raised eyebrow. Jane watched her walk by and couldn't help but grin. That was most certainly a flirt, and in fact not the first one. Several women and men alike had hit on her over the last couple of months, but she had never pursued anything. However attractive or interesting, they were not what she wanted.
But what she wanted, was so far out of reach that Jane was slowly starting to lose hope.
Shaking her head, she walked down the last couple of steps and moved across the street. She was still lost in thought when she passed an alleyway. Out of nowhere strong arms locked around her waist and she couldn't even scream because the air was forcefully driven out of her lungs. Jane immediately began to struggle but her taller and heavier opponent dragged into the shady alleyway behind a dumpster and out of sight.
But Jane Rizzoli was part of the Homicide Department for a reason.
She went completely slack for a couple of moments, letting her entire weight rest in the arms of her attacker until he had to loosen his grip and Jane could free one of her arms. She raised her hand and jammed her elbow into the man's solar plexus with all her might. As expected, he grunted in pain and tumbled backward, completely letting go of her.
Jane pulled her gun out of its holster, when a loud thud echoed through the alleyway and the man who'd attacked her sank to the ground with a mewl. Maura was standing behind him, holding the lid of a trash can in her hands. She stared wide-eyed at the man on the ground and then raised her eyes to look at Jane.
"Maura, what the hell?"
Jane immediately lowered her gun and hurried over to Maura, who dropped the lid and held her hands away from herself as if fearing that they could be covered with germs.
"I… I saw how you were dragged away from the street, and I had to help you," Maura said.
She still seemed a little shaken and Jane shot her a grateful smile.
"Thanks Maur, I appreciate it, but maybe next time you hurry over to the station and get someone with a gun."
"But it could've been too late by then," Maura protested.
Jane reached out and rested her hand on Maura's arm while still pointing the gun with the other hand at the attacker.
"Are you alright though?"
Maura nodded but took a small step back when the man groaned and sat up.
"Hands above your head where I can see them," Jane yelled.
The man immediately obeyed and awkwardly got to his feet. He was completely dressed in black, along with a cap shielding his face from view. But when he turned to look at Jane, his features were oddly familiar.
"Please don't shoot, please. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said.
Jane raised her eyebrows and slightly lowered her gun.
"It takes a lot more than a dirty alley creeper to scare me. Move over to the wall."
The man did as he was told and she just couldn't shake the feeling that she knew him from somewhere. She quickly stepped behind him and checked for weapons, but he carried nothing but a lighter.
"What the hell were you thinking, attacking a detective in broad daylight in the middle of the street? There is nothing more stupid than assaulting a cop."
Jane slowly shook her head and freed her handcuffs from her belt.
"Applying for a nice prison cell can be easier, you know."
The man craned his neck trying to look at Jane who was still standing behind him.
"Like I said, I didn't mean to do that. I wasn't thinking clearly. But I need to talk to you."
Jane stepped back and glanced at Maura who only shrugged non-committally.
"You can talk as much as you want once we're at the station…"
"No," the man interrupted harshly.
"You can't arrest me. Someone is trying to kill me."
Jane cocked her head to the side. She was about to put the cuffs on him when suddenly she remebered where she had seen this man before.
"You're Mason Chesterfield," Jane said.
Of course she had seen him before because she'd been staring at his picture the entire morning.
"Can I please turn around? I'll explain," he said.
"Alright, but nice and slow."
Chesterfield slowly turned to face them, hands still raised. He looked decidedly scared and there was something haunted about the way his eyes moved from Jane to Maura and back.
"He is dead, isn't he?"
"You mean your partner Jim Abernay?" Jane asked.
She lowered her gun completely and put it back into its holster. Maura came to stand beside her and regarded the man silently.
"Yes. Jim and I were friends. I had no idea that it would end like this, how was I supposed to know?"
Chesterfield shook his head and rubbed his hand across his sweaty forehead and around to the back of his head. He flinched when he touched the bump Maura's hit had surely caused.
"I'm sorry about that," Maura said.
"I can look at that if you want…" she began and walked toward Chesterfield, but Jane held her arm out and stopped Maura.
They shared a quick glance and Maura gave Jane a quick nod.
"Why don't we go back to the station and talk?" Jane suggested, turning to Chesterfield.
She didn't have a good feeling about standing in this alley with Maura and a man who could possibly be a killer. But then again her gut was telling her that Chesterfield was not someone who murdered a partner, let alone a friend, in cold blood.
"No, listen, they are probably watching everything. The police station is not a safe place, not for me. I can't risk them finding me, I just can't."
Chesterfield was getting more nervous by the second and he started turning his head from one end of the alleyway to the other. Jane raised her hands and took a few steps toward him.
"Alright, I need you to stay calm right now. I am going to help you, I promise, but I need to know what exactly is going on. Your partner is dead, and you must realize that you are a suspect in this."
Jane was trying to take this very slow. She knew she could easily scare Chesterfield off if she made a wrong move, and even if she arrested him, he might be too frightened to tell them what he knew.
Chesterfield nodded, wetting his lips and raking a hand through his dirty blonde hair.
"I will give you everything I have, all my research, the plans and evidence. But only if you guarantee that nothing will happen to my daughter Allison or me."
Jane nodded and gestured toward the exit of the alleyway.
"Yes, of course. There is an entire station filled with police officers right down the street, I swear no one will harm you or your daughter there, but you need to come with me."
"It would be too dangerous right now, and I still need to get everything. I don't have the documents with me. Listen, I… I will come to the station tonight, okay? Allison is with a friend from school right now, and if you could pick her up and we meet tonight, I will hand everything over."
Jane was about to reply when Chesterfield turned away and moved toward one end of the alleyway.
"I will see you tonight Detective Rizzoli, please take care of Allison," he said and then started hurrying down the alley and around the corner.
Jane's muscles immediately tensed and she had her hand on her gun, ready to sprint after him. Her hunting instinct had come to life, but Maura gently rested a hand on her shoulder and held Jane back.
"I think we have to let him go. He seems to know what is at stake, and he said he is going to give every piece of evidence he has to you. We should go back and see that his daughter is taken care of."
Jane turned to Maura and nodded at her words. She was right, but Jane did not feel good about letting Chesterfield go. Her gut was telling her that something was off. Plus he had picked her when he could've talked to any other officer walking down the street, but he had decided to drag her into an alley instead.
Together with Maura, Jane walked back to the main street and looked around, but Chesterfield was already out of sight.
"I'm glad you're okay though. It really scared me when I saw how this figure dragged you away," Maura said.
Jane couldn't help but smirk.
"That really was one hell of a hit, and with the lid of a trash can too. I had no idea you were so creative when it comes to weapons."
"Well I had to do something. I couldn't risk you getting hurt."
"I've said it before, but thank you."
Jane grinned at Maura who returned the smile with one of her own.
-o-o-o-
After everything that had happened, Jane had completely forgotten about lunch and her stomach was complaining loudly as she pulled into the driveway of the house where Allison was staying. She was starting to get a headache and decided that she would stop on the way back to the station to get something to eat. Maybe even invite Allison to some ice cream. But just as Jane got out of her car, a woman came through the front door of the house and hurried toward her.
"Gosh, I'm glad you got here so fast, I can't find her anywhere," the woman said.
Jane's stomach started to turn, but not because of hunger. She walked toward the woman and met her halfway. A young girl about ten or eleven stood in the door and gazed at them with wide eyes. She had the same dark curls as her mother.
"What are you talking about?" Jane asked.
"Allison, she is gone. I have no idea where she went. She was playing in the front yard and I just went inside for a minute and when I came back… she was just gone. I called the police and they said they would send someone."
"You did the right thing," Jane said.
"Is there anything I can do?"
"No. No, just go back inside. An officer will be here soon and he'll record your statement."
The woman nodded and walked back to her house where she cradled the little girl still standing in the door in her arms and carried her back inside.
"Shit shit shit," Jane exclaimed.
This was not how she wanted things to go. At all.
They should've sent a patrol to Allison right away, but how could they have possibly known that she was a target as well?
Jane sighed and massaged her temples with her fingertips because her headache was getting worse by the second. A moment later a police car stopped in the street and a young woman jumped out and hurried over to Jane.
"Detective Rizzoli?"
Jane let her hands fall to her sides again and turned to the officer.
"Yeah. Listen, I want you to take the statements of the family, and someone should also stay here for at least a couple of days, just in case anything should happen."
The officer nodded, her eyes wide at the commanding tone.
"Yes ma'm… detective."
Jane sighed again and walked back to her car. Now she had to find the girl, and she needed to find out where Chesterfield was. But first of all she had to call Frost and Korsak.
-o-o-o-
"Tell me something good," Jane said as she marched into the bullpen.
Frost and Korsak exchanged looks, silently battling who was going to face Jane when she was in such a mood.
"Frost," Jane said, effectively interrupting their silent conversation.
He sighed and shook his head while he leaned back in his chair.
"We have absolutely nothing. We don't know who could have taken Chesterfield's daughter and we don't know where he is either. I tried to track him through traffic cameras after he left the alley but he eventually disappears."
Jane sat heavily in her chair and rested her head in her hands, closing her eyes for a couple of moments.
"It's my fault. I should've arrested him right on the spot and brought him here…"
"No it's not," Korsak interrupted.
"You did what you thought was best, and you couldn't know that someone would kidnap the girl. Maybe Chesterfield will show up tonight and we can figure out who has his daughter with the information he provides."
Jane raised her head and shot a thankful glance toward Korsak who nodded in return.
"I've put out an arrest warrant, and every patrol is keeping an eye out for Chesterfield," Frost told them.
After that the hours passed and dragged on, it was like watching a snail crawling by. Jane drank way too much coffee and yet she felt incredibly tired. Frost was still working his way through hours of footage of security cameras while Korsak provided silent support and encouragement. He also had Chesterfield and his deceased partner's phone and credit card records, with which he tried to reconstruct the last couple of days of the two men.
And Jane, well, she was doing her best to piece together every bit of information they had gathered so far to make sense of everything. The two journalists had worked together on something that has now gotten one of them killed and the other one's daughter kidnapped. That alone attested to the fact that they had found something big someone else wanted to hide and keep secret.
Jane glanced at he clock and it was four in the afternoon already. She had poured over the same paperwork for three hours straight and her back slowly starting aching, not to mention the headache that had taken up permanent residence in the back of her head.
Korsak's cell phone rang and Jane leaned back to stretch her arms above her head. Just then she saw the same leather-bound book she had seen on Frost's desk resting atop a couple of paper's next to Korsak's hand. Were they now sharing reading material and had secretly opened a book club?
She only got as far as reading the first golden letter on the cover, it was a capital v, when Korsak saw Jane glancing at the book and grabbed it to hide it underneath a stack of folders. Jane was about to comment on their rather odd behavior when Korsak motioned for her to get up.
"What? Where?" Korsak said to whomever he was still talking on the phone. He started moving about and grabbed his gun.
"Chesterfield just used his credit card," Frost said.
Jane's attention was torn between trying to listen to Korsak's phone conversation and stepping behind Frost to glance at his computer screen.
"A patrol found Chesterfield's car," Korsak said after he ended his call.
"Near Franklin Park," Frost said.
Korsak glanced at him with raised eyebrows.
"How do you know?"
"That's where he used his credit card."
Jane grabbed her gun and fastened it to her belt.
"Then let's get him. If we know where he is, someone else might as well," Jane said as she hurried to the elevator, Frost and Korsak right at her heels.
They pretty much ran the entire way down to the cars. For some reason Jane felt like time was running out and that they were already too late. But she pushed that odd feeling aside and drove from the curb with screeching tires. Traffic was heavy, everyone trying to get home in time for dinner, and it took Jane longer than she would've liked to make it to Franklin Park. She got out of the car and gazed around, waiting for Frost and Korsak to join her. She spotted Chesterfield's car along with two officers not far from where she'd parked and hurried over to them.
"You know where he is?" she asked.
Both officers shook their heads.
"We only found the car. It is parked illegally, too close to the trees, that's why we had a closer look at it," the older man explained.
He scratched his head, pushing his hat aside.
"We haven't seen anyone around."
"Thank you," Jane said and walked back to her car just as Forst and Korsak arrived.
"Where did he use his credit card?" Jane asked as she walked around her car.
Frost whipped out his tablet and answered after a few swipes of his finger. "In a sports store, he bought… a baseball bat."
"What does he…?"
A shot rang out and Jane spun around.
"That way," Korsak said and hurried past her into the park.
Parts of the park were often occupied by families who were out for a picnic and joggers getting their daily exercise, but other areas were simply too overgrown and remained mostly abandoned by people.
Jane pulled her gun and, pointing it to the ground, followed after Korsak. She ran past park benches and bushes, looking around frantically. This time her guts were telling her that something was definitely off, and she had a sinking feeling in her stomach as Korsak stopped ahead of her. Frost was right behind her, and neither of them could see what Korsak was staring at.
"Rizzoli," he called and Jane ran over to him.
He was standing in front of a small wooden shack that was somewhat secluded from view by a couple of trees and large bushes. Jane skidded to a halt next to Korsak and what she saw stole her breath.
"Damn," Korsak said quietly.
"We're too late."
In the shack was the body of a small girl, crumpled on the floor in the middle of a large puddle of blood. Her widened eyes stared at the brittle ceiling above her, unseeing.
"God, no," Jane mumbled, lowering her gun and wiping the back of her hand across her sweaty forehead.
Just then she heard another shot coming from deeper inside the overgrown part of the park. Jane's muscles immediately tensed and she sprinted toward the sound.
People were screaming while she was still making her way through thick underbrush and past a large oak tree. A little footpath led her toward a meadow and a woman barged right into Jane in her attempt to get away.
"He shot him," she said in a shaky voice, terror clearly written across her features.
"Alright, I will take care of this. Please keep moving, there are officers over there who will help you," Jane answered, trying to sound as reassuring as she could.
The woman nodded a couple of times and glanced at Jane before she ran down the little path, almost risking another collision with Frost. Jane nodded toward him and gripped her gun tighter as she stepped onto the meadow. The second her eyes adjusted to the now bright sunlight, she saw Chesterfield kneeling on the grass, clasping his hands to his blood-soaked chest. The baseball bat was lying beside him in the grass.
He chocked on the blood that spilled out of his mouth and ran down his chin. His eyes, looking so much like his daughter's, stared at her as if realizing that his very life was draining out of him.
The shooter, gun still in hand, stood only a few steps away from Chesterfield and he didn't even as much as flinch when Jane pointed her weapon at him.
"Drop the gun," she yelled.
Although everything was happening in a matter of seconds, it still felt like hours to her. It seemed as if she had plenty of time to study the killer. He was wearing black pants and a dirty brown jacket. He also had long greasy dark hair and a beard, making him look like any other man you might pass in the street. His blue eyes however were different, completely void of any emotion, even as he raised his gun.
"Drop it!"
Jane saw how his fingers snaked around the trigger.
She fired exactly two shots, and the killer's life ended right then and there, next to his third victim and not far from the murdered girl.