A/N: Thanks for all the follows, reviews, and favorites for this story. Due to real life constraints I have been unable to respond to the last lot of reviews individually. However, I have read and appreciated them all.

Here is the next chapter. I'm trying not to rush the Rizzles, I hope people see a couple of reasons why I've decided to keep it slow in this chapter.

Again I have a very busy period of real life ahead, and I'm not sure when the next chapter will be posted, but I'll try and get it done as soon as possible.

This chapter has not been beta read, and so for all and any mistakes I apologize for in advance. And you always seem to spot them the moment you hit send.

Please feel free to review, just remember fanfic writers not professional writers, but all constructive views are welcomed.

Chapter 3: Further Details.

The relaxing time spent in the Jacuzzi had been just what Jane and Maura had needed the previous night, and Jane was thankful for Maura's foresight in getting rooms where they could enjoy the tub in secluded luxury. Even though the main suite could have slept a further four people, being situated inside the bathroom meant the Jacuzzi was limited to space for two people comfortably, three people at a squeeze. Overall it had been very cozy.

Thinking back to the evening Jane recalled how effortlessly she and Maura had migrated together once the Jacuzzi had been filled. Jane could see how much Maura needed comforting, and had easily opened up her arms allowing Maura to lie back in her embrace. Neither of them had questioned the move, it having occurred so naturally. Yet, the more Jane thought back, the more she wondered if her feelings for the Doctor weren't becoming blurred from friendship to romantic in nature. Jane was pretty sure a lot of what she felt for Maura could be considered romantic. Plus Jane also knew it would be far too easy for her to imagine a deeper, more intimate relationship with the one and only Dr. Maura Isles. Especially since Maura had admitted to having had a past relationship with a woman.

Jane had also had a dalliance with another woman while she was a rookie cop. But it hadn't been serious, and she'd never really considered herself to be bisexual, thinking of the encounter as more of a crush. Admittedly an extremely pleasant and fulfilling crush, but a crush nevertheless. The depth of these new feelings towards Maura had Jane reminiscing and revisiting that period of her life. But Jane also knew last night was not the ideal time to openly question her feelings, or the feelings of her best friend. Apart from anything else Maura was still feeling too raw from the loss of Eve. Plus, today they needed to be able to fully focus on the case and not be distracted. With that in mind Jane had shelved those rising libidinous thoughts. At least for the moment. She wasn't sure if she was being a coward using the case as an excuse; but Jane wasn't quite ready to let those emotions totally loose, for them to emerge kicking and screaming from her mind. As far as she was concerned, an extra day or two of denial would be of no harm to either woman right now. However, Jane also knew that once they returned to Boston she'd need to seriously examine her emotions. Some sincere soul searching was going to be in order.

The rest of the night had passed peacefully, and both women were currently eating a superb breakfast in the main room of the suite, going over what they wanted to do that day.

Slathering butter on some toast, Jane took a contented bite before she said. "So really all we need to do today is go and talk to the local police. See what they have to offer on the new information, and also see if they'll give us permission to talk to Eve's shrink on their behalf."

Maura nodded. "Tomorrow morning John should have preliminary results on the full toxicology reports. Once those come in I really won't have any further reasons as Chief M.E to stay in Holyoke."

Jane thought about the logistics for a moment. "Realistically, talking to the police here shouldn't take more than the morning. Is there anything as a tourist that you want to do this afternoon?"

Maura smiled and said without any hesitation. "I had thought about visiting the Volleyball Hall of Fame."

Jane nearly choked on the sip of coffee she'd just taken, before she carefully placed down the mug and gave Maura a calculated stare. To Maura's credit she held a perfectly innocent look when Jane said incredulously. "You hate any sports like that!"

"Well," Maura said, managing to both draw out the word, and look coy. "I wouldn't necessarily say I hate such sports. I certainly dislike most of them, but since we've been friends I will admit I have found my interest over the years increasing. That aside, we're already here, and given you have allowed me to monopolize your time for what will be close to three full days, I thought a visit would be a good way for me to say thank you."

Jane was uncharacteristically flustered. It took a few seconds for her brain to formulate a reply. "But you've already paid for a suite with a Jacuzzi in it, not to mention the gourmet dining here; which by the way you have also insisted on paying for. I think the very least we can do is go someplace you'd like to visit this afternoon."

"And that place is the Volleyball Hall of Fame," Maura said in a determined tone.

Seeing her best friend steel her face, Jane replied in a resigned voice. "I'm not going to win this one am I?" Automatically her mind flashed back to the method Maura had used to drag her to the awards ceremony by 'the hard way' a few years back.

Maura graced Jane with a triumphant grin. "No, you're not."

"Oh well," Jane sighed in a tone that knew she had lost the argument. "Police visit, then the Volleyball Hall of Fame it is."

The police department of Holyoke wasn't too large, but still, it was a bit smaller than Jane had been expecting. Pushing her way through the glass doors that led into the building, she politely held open the door, allowing Maura to pass.

Making their way to the reception area, both women pulled out their identification. A bored young cop was not really paying them much attention, focused instead on reading a computer gaming magazine. Jane rolled her eyes at Maura, before sending a searing look at the cop, simultaneously slamming her hand hard onto the top of the desk, causing the man to jump in surprise.

"Hey," he muttered in outrage. "Don't go around doing that to cops. We don't much like it, and it could get you arrested!"

"Please," Jane scoffed in reply. "You couldn't arrest me if I'd got a gimp leg and already had one hand tied behind my back!"

The policemen was starting to look seriously annoyed, and he decided to stand up to try and intimidate the unknown woman who dared challenge him at work. "Now I don't know who you think you are…" He started to say loudly, before Jane interrupted him in a growling voice, flashing her badge his way..

"That's Detective Rizzoli to you! Boston Homicide Division." She paused for a moment letting her words sink in, before smirking when she realized her comment had hit home.

The young man had gone pale, he glanced at Jane's badge and spluttered. "You're Detective Rizzoli? Oh shit, sorry ma'am."

"Listen Officer…" she waited expectantly, and suddenly the man realized she was waiting for him to introduce himself.

"Officer Jones ma'am."

"Officer Jones. I didn't do that to piss you off, but if I'd been a bad guy, I'd have managed to kill you before you even knew what was happening. And that would lead to the rest of your guys open to attack. Just because you're in a small city doesn't mean you're not vulnerable." Watching she waited for the words of advice to sink in. "Got it?" She asked.

Gaining back some of his composure, Officer Jones nodded.

Maura had watched the entire event from behind Jane; and it had taken some considerable effort not to laugh out loud while Jane was wiping the floor with the young Officer, whom she suspected was a rookie. Fighting a smile Maura made her way forward and placed a hand on Jane's arm. "Play nice with the locals dear, you can chew on them and spit them out later," this was said with a barely concealed giggle. Maura also winked at the young Officer to let him know she was joking. Well, partly joking. After the direct attack on Boston Police Department Jane was particularly sensitive when it came to matters of security. Focusing all her efforts on Officer Jones Maura added sweetly. "I'm Doctor Maura Isles. I believe you're expecting us?"

Jane hardly heard the last part of what Maura had said. She was still getting her mind to wrap around the idea that Maura had called her dear. Even if it had been in jest, it had set off a feeling of contentment Jane hadn't been expecting.

It didn't take long to sign both women into the visitors log, and they had soon been shown into the cramped office of the local police Captain.

The older dark skinned man had risen from his chair, the top of the wooden desk obscured by piles of paperwork. Taking in his sparkling brown eyes Maura hoped the meeting was going to be productive. "Please sit," he said in a deep bass voice. "Coffee? No, don't bother answering that. Of course you'll have coffee. I swear it's typewritten into the DNA of any and all law officials."

"Thank you," Maura said graciously, hoping the coffee was up to her usual high standards. Some coffee in these smaller law enforcement offices could be sludge, and she'd had to tolerate her fair share of undrinkable coffee in the past when she'd visited other morgues in Massachusetts.

Making his way past the two women, the Captain opened his door and bellowed. "Clarissa, please get coffee for the three of us."

"Sure thing boss." A slightly discombobulated, but cheerful voice shouted back. "I thought there was only going to be two of you?"

"Nope, three."

"Okay, I'm on it."

Settling himself back behind the desk the Captain said. "Now, where were we? I guess introductions are in order. I'm Captain Byron Bell, please call me Byron," he briefly looked Jane up and down with a smirk that would have done Jane proud. "And lady, you just scream cop, so I take it you're Detective Jane Rizzoli."

Jane nodded, trying to hide her own smirk at the Captain's abrupt, but engaging manner.

Byron turned his attention to the Medical Examiner. "And it's a pleasure to have you here Doctor Isles. Please don't be too hard on John," he referenced the local Medical Examiner. "We're as much to blame for missing the details on the Eve Clifford case as he was."

Maura inclined her head. "That's very gracious of you Captain. And I assure you he won't be formally reprimanded. It was an honest mistake. We have spoken in length about the matter, but as far as I am concerned it will not go any further."

Byron looked relieved. "That's good to hear. I know Mrs. Clifford initially ruffled a few feathers when she went over our heads, my feathers included. But I'm glad she did. Without her persistence we'd have let a murder go unpunished. I'll take my ruffled feathers to ensure a murderer not going free any day of the week."

Just then there was a knock at the door, and a pretty young brunette aged about twenty-five entered, carrying a tray with coffee mugs on top. Cream and sugar were also present, and much to her relief Maura could smell the good quality of coffee even before she was presented with a mug.

Jane also looked relieved to be getting something above the usual slurry, and happily doctored hers to taste.

Satisfied the three of them settled back down to discuss the case further.

Byron sighed before he carried on. "To be honest I'm glad you're here. We've very little in the way of experience when it comes to murders. Sure we've had them in the past. But they've always been obvious, and the motive and culprit have stuck out like a sore thumb. No, this devious beast is far outside our local knowledge."

"You know it's beyond my jurisdiction to help unless it crosses into Boston territory." Jane clarified.

The Captain nodded. "Yes, but I understand that Dr. Werner guy Eve was seeing is based in Boston. I was hoping you'd interview him for us?"

"That we can do," Jane confirmed. "I'd also like to offer my services privately if you need any help here in Holyoke. I can't do much during working hours because Boston Homicide has too many cases of its own going on right now. My Lieutenant would never agree to that, but I'm available out of hours."

Byron Bell smiled and relaxed even more. "Now that's mighty generous of you Detective. I could very well take you up on that, depending how the investigation goes. Your experience and expertise could prove to be invaluable."

"So what do we know so far?" Jane asked, wondering if the new forensic sweep of Eve's apartment had brought up anything.

"Not much more than what you and the good Doctor here already discovered." Byron admitted with a scowl that lasted a few seconds. "However there were traces of blood in both the shower and the sink drain traps. The shower we expected."

"Because that's where Eve's body was discovered," Maura clarified.

"Right, but there seems no reason for any to be in the sink trap as well. We'll test for DNA, but if it was the murderer cleaning Eve's blood off their person then chances are we won't get any other results except hers."

"At least it will back up the theory of a murder masked as a suicide," said Jane, contemplating the new information. "Anything else?"

Byron frowned slightly. "The only thing I found odd was the lack of any diary or journals. If Eve was having health problems I would have expected to find something she used to document her feelings."

"Her computer?" Jane asked.

"Her Mother said she kept that at work here in Holyoke. We're waiting on a search warrant."

Maura looked puzzled. "I thought Eve worked for MIT?"

Both Byron and Maura missed the upset look that briefly crossed Jane's face before Byron answered. "She did, but she had a lecturing spot at the computing center here. That's the office where she was storing her laptop." The Captain shifted his focus slightly until it was solely on Jane. "In fact, if we do the preliminary interviews here, could we add MIT onto our formal request for Boston Homicide to investigate?"

Keeping her voice neutral Jane replied. "I don't see why not." Jane knew that thanks to this case a heart to heart talk with Maura was edging even closer. And the prospect made her very uneasy. Tamping down on those thoughts Jane concentrated back to the moment. "Do we have any names of people Eve worked with on a daily basis?"

"Hang on," Byron leaned forward and dug through the papers on his right. "Ah, here we are," he muttered as he pulled a leaf of paper free. "It seems Eve was part of a small team, only six in total. Eve was the deputy leader, answering to a man by the name of Rod Ernest. He's the only guy based full time in Boston at MIT. The rest of the team worked out of Holyoke." Byron handed over the paper to Jane. "You can keep that, it's a copy."

Jane studied the names for a moment. "Thanks," she said as she carefully folded and pocketed the information. "I'll make sure my Lieutenant knows to expect the formal request that we interview both him and Dr. Werner."

The Captain nodded, looking satisfied with Jane's response. "I'll put those requests through once we've visited Eve's workplace. I'm hoping to get the search warrant through for tomorrow morning." Byron paused, then added. "Do you want to come with us to see Eve's office?"

Jane glanced at Maura, and seeing the inquiring look on the other woman's face Jane gave Maura a slight nod, telling of her consent. Maura was the one to answer Byron's question. "We need to be back in Boston tomorrow evening, but I should also have preliminary toxicology results back tomorrow morning. Maybe meeting at Eve's office will be the ideal chance to swap information."

"Perfect," Byron beamed. "I'll admit having you guys along will make me a lot happier. After the initial fiasco at Eves' apartment I wouldn't want to miss anything crucial."

"I think you're being a bit hard on yourself," Maura said.

Byron smiled, and shook his head. "That's awfully kind of you to say, but we both know several balls were dropped that day. No, I rather not to make those mistakes again."

"Somehow I doubt you'll miss much from now on," Jane told the man. "But we'll gladly supply the back-up you'll need for Eve's office."

"Thanks," Byron stood up. "Well, I think that just about covers all we know. If I hear anymore I'll give you ladies a call. If you don't hear from me, shall me meet here at ten in the morning?"

"We'd appreciate knowing if there is anything else to report," Maura rose at the same time as Jane. "And as unlikely as it might be, we'll also call if we hear anything further. And ten tomorrow would a be perfect time for us, that gives me time to go to the morgue and collect the lab results"

Seeing them out of the office Byron said. "I hope you get to spend a bit of time relaxing while you're here. Let me know if there's anything I can do."

"Actually," Maura paused with a bright smile. "There is one small thing you might be able to help with..."