The shrill ringing of Jane's phone woke both women early the next morning. Taking a moment to adjust to her surroundings, Maura rolled her shoulders and stretched her neck. The heavy, patterned curtains let through just enough light to hint at the early hour, Maura guessed no later than seven. In her post-slumber haze, the doctor focused on Jane's movements, feeling the bed dip as her Italian partner moved to answer the still-ringing telephone.
"Good morning, sir". Jane's voice was smokier in the mornings; low and rough. Laying in the large hotel bed with her eyes partly closed, Maura lost herself momentarily in the familiar sound of the brunette's tone. The deep velvet voice coated her body with a satisfying sense of comfort, of home.
"Of course." Jane paced the room as she spoke, feet padding lightly on the thick hotel carpet as she took in the words of her superior. "We'll be there as soon as we can."
Hanging up the call, Jane looked across at Maura. Now propped up against plush, downy pillows, she brushed honey waves out of her face. The warm, soft light of early morning seemed to enhance her already dewy complexion into a mesmerising glow.
"Hey". Maura smiled at Jane's greeting, running a hand through her hair.
"We.. uh. We need to go. O'Neill's guys have got something."
"Okay. I take it there's no time to shower?"
Jane shook her head. "He said it's important."
/
The two women arrived at Oxfordshire police headquarters to find every member of their team assembled in front of a large screen in the conference room. Special Agent O'Neill's voice boomed through the speakers arranged on the wall.
"First off, I need to thank you for all you have done. This case has been unusual for us all, it requires a team on the ground to deal with local problems, plus a task force of international players to bring down the bigger group. Now is the time we come together. We need all of you on the same page. Is that understood?"
Around them, uniformed men and women nodded.
"We have- at the request of detective Rizzoli- looked further through our systems for evidence of Vladimir Kaplowitz. What we have found changes everything."
The anticipation in the room was palpable. Beneath the large, wooden table where everyone sat, Maura reached for Jane's hand and held it tightly.
"Vladimir Kaplowitz was a government- employed translator during the war. He was Polish, which meant that he would have been one of the earliest employees involved in translating messages for the allied forces."
Jane turned to look at Maura, who was focused intently on O'Neill, taking in every word.
"Kaplowitz senior, at some point in the final years of the war, learned about Operation Mercurius. Learned that the British were making a machine to rival the communications of Enigma. From the surveillance photographs that Maura and Jane found in Harriet Morgan's possession, we now know that he did, in fact, take the original Mercurius machine from Bletchley Park and travel with it back to mainland Europe.
Now, he did not return to Poland. From England, he travelled with the machine to what was then known as Yugoslavia. And, by marrying a beautiful young woman named Magdalena Nikolinovic, he found himself wound up with one of the biggest organised crime families in Europe- the Yugoslavian Mafia.
The Yugoslavian Mafia families drifted apart during the wars, but the largest faction is known to have settled in Serbia. Our organised crime unit, with the CIA, have monitored this group and their communications for years. In 2008, their bosses were sentenced to life in prison and things went quiet.
We believe that the Serbian Mafia employed Vladimir Kaplowitz for his communications knowledge. When he died, he left a legacy and his son took his place. Even as an academic in England, the mafia ties are stronger than any bond."
"So do you think Elias Kaplowitz believed his father invented Mercurius?" Jane asked.
"It's possible. What we do know is that finding Martin Richards, and his machine, would have allowed the Serbian mafia to communicate without danger of interference."
"So he was tortured and killed for an organised crime family to have an easier life? That's unfair." Maura spoke only to Jane, her disgust and confusion at the logic of the situation evident in her expression.
"We believe" O'Neill spoke again. "We believe that Elias Kaplowitz was used, possibly under duress, by the mafia to find this machine. He… he is not a trained killer but he is dangerous. Despite everything, he will do as the mafia- his family- tells him to do.
We are closing in on this. Right now I need you guys, as a team, to do everything you can to find Kaplowitz. We are closer to the Serbian mafia than we have been since 2008. But we need Kaplowitz alive to take us to them."
After a quick goodbye, O'Neill's call went dead.
"Okay" Jane stood up, addressing the room. "So we know who Kaplowitz is. Where he came from. We need people tracking his car, his finances, his phone." A group of detectives and technicians stood up. Turning to face them, Jane spoke again. "If you need anything- manpower, time- call Nina Holliday at Boston Police Department. Tell her I sent you."
The tension in the room was palpable, the anticipation building. Rubbing her now-sweating palms on her trousers, Jane turned back to the people left in the conference room.
"Martin Richards was killed because he was in possession of something the mafia needed. Kaplowitz- we assume- was not alone when he tortured and killed him. But, since then, the use of poison tells us he has been acting alone. The bodies haven't been hidden, haven't been moved. Since he had Mercurius, I am going to theorise…" Jane looked across at Maura, who winced at her use of the word. "I am going to theorise that the mafia instructed him through the codes. Is someone able to go back over everything we found on the SD card? We need every detail."
Maura watched Jane take control of the room. It was clear now why so many people felt intimidated by her. She was a powerful woman, with determination and drive. It was, she had to admit, incredibly attractive.
"Maur". Jane's voice brought her back into the present. "Do you have a pen?"
Pulling a pen out of her bag, she handed it to Jane who immediately began drawing a series of arrows and names.
"Kaplowitz killed Martin Richards for the machine. We… we know Rachel was there, that she found him. I'm going to assume that she saw more than she let on. That she was there as he was being tortured, or as the murderers were moving evidence into the property."
Jane drew a heavy line between them. "I… I don't know if you agree, detective," Jane looked at Greenly, who had been standing watching her as she managed his team, "but my belief is that Rachel's death was a tragic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"We need to check the SD card communications" Greenly answered matter-of-factly. "I'll check." Pausing at the door, he turned to Jane with a smile. "Excellent work, Rizzoli."
"Do we have the tox report on Harriet yet?" Maura asked Jane once Greenly had gone. "I… I'd like to do something to help. If we have the report, I can work out what was used to poison her. It might lead us somewhere."
"I'll get it for you" Jane turned to her and smiled. "I… I think this might be it, Maura. I think we're going to find him."