Jane looks from his polished black shoes, to his tailored suit, to the fedora atop his head and finally settles onto his face. His features are handsome; pale skin, red eyes, a hooked nose, thin lips, but the combination is handsome. She matches him to the people she has put away. She goes over the grieving families in her head. Nothing clicks.
"It's over. You have nowhere to go." She holds the gun steady between both hands. She will not hesitate to put him down.
He only smiles, "It is, detective. Don't you see? I've won."
Jane frowns. She has the gun. He is the one who should be worried and yet the panic in her chest refuses to settle down.
"That woman you will find in my basement is not your beloved Dr. Isles. No, no... she is, and she isn't, you will see the face that once belonged to her and you will search for Dr. Isles, hoping she is just beneath there surface. But you will never again see Maura Isles. "
"Why her?" Jane's voice is barely a croak. She doesn't like how it comes out desperate, but she needs to know.
"I wanted to hit you where it hurt most, detective. And now the woman you love most in this world has vacated the premises, I can't wait for the torture to ensue." He chuckles.
Jane gulps. He could have taken anyone. There were so many people close to her, so many that would hurt just as much- no none of them would quite hurt this much except her mother.
"Your record is clean, I've never had you on any case."
"Selena Crane." He states and Jane nods, understanding dawning on her.
"Husband, but she carried her maiden name and had no other family making you impossible to track down."
"Very good, detective. Maybe if you would have put those fine skills to use earlier Dr. Isles would not have been here this long, perhaps if you did your job correctly the first time around my wife would be here. You see, I did get my wife back once you put her prison, but she was never again the woman you put behind bars. You took my greatest love, and now I have taken yours." His lips curve up into a thin line followed by a short chuckle that is more cold than it is gleeful.
"She was guilty." She states.
"She was innocent!" His eyes are wild and she gets a glimpse into the madness behind them. Jane stiffens the grip on her weapon and takes a step closer. He clears his throat to regain composure. "I hope you learn the hopelessness I know so well trying to save a woman who does not exist anymore." Before Jane can react he has already transferred the contents of his hand to his mouth.
"Goodbye, detective."
He swallows what Jane assumes is cyanide as he crumples into a heap. Jane rushes over, knowing well enough that there is nothing she can do. Her brow creases with more annoyance than anger. She wanted him to suffer. She wanted to make him pay for what he did.
"I've got him," Jane pushes the button on her radio.
"I've got Maura," Korsak's voice comes in.
And she should feel relief. She should finally be able to breathe because Maura is safe now. Maura is alive. But neither the knots in her gut, nor the pressure in her chest make any move to give away and Jane can only feel red hot guilt at taking so long to find her, at allowing her to suffer for so long.
Sorry for the wait and the short chapter, things have been crazy. But I have a lot of stuff written down in bits and chunks so more soon.