Chapter 12
Several minutes later, the sergeant was downstairs in the forensic lab.
"You said you may have found something?" he asked Kent as he approached.
"Perhaps, Sergeant," he replied. "I must admit, I'm not as well versed in these things as Dr. Isles, but I'm doing the best I can."
"It's appreciated," Vince said giving him a slight pat on the upper arm. "Show me what you have."
"The envelope was hand written, and it doesn't match anything in our records."
"So how does that help us?" Vince asked.
"It doesn't," Kent replied quite matter-of-factly.
Vince sighed, "How about we skipped to the part that does help?" He asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to keep a stress headache at bay.
"There's an anomaly on the envelope. Or more precisely, the marked postage area has a slight defect toward the bottom of the stamp." Kent pointed to the area as he explained. "The first message from this stalker was delivered through some balloons in our victim LeeAnn Samson. It belonged to a shoe store in the neighborhood where Detective Rizzoli was attacked several years back. The next message was delivered through parcel service whose video surveillance was malfunctioning so there was no record of who sent it. I'm willing to bet that the malfunction was no accident, but I digress. This latest message came through the United States Postal Service, or post office as some say."
"Kent," Vince sighed, "you're more like Dr. Isles than you realize. Will you please just get to the point before I retire?"
"There is a reason I'm mentioning all of this thank-you-very-much. I figured that this letter was more than likely stamped through a downtown Boston post office. So I compared letters from the other post offices to try to pinpoint a location of where this letter may have made its first stop. That, in turn, might give us a better location of where it was sent from, or where the kidnappers are currently residing."
"That's brilliant," Vince commended him. "How many offices did you have to go through?"
"Well, there are actually 19 main offices," he answered.
"You compared mailed posted from 19 offices?"
"I was about to. However, I speculated the possible area might be near the closed shoe store, so that's where I started my search. And sure enough, the location was a hit. You can compare the letters if you like, but this piece of mail matches the stamp ink outline of our kidnappers' envelope."
He gave Korsak the magnifying glass.
Kent pointed to the envelope and said, "Look at the ink in the lower left hand corner of each letter. The other letters I compared don't have that mark – it's the one that looks like a tiny smiley face from a Rorschach test."
Vince compared the two letters before saying, "You're right. It looks like the same ink stamp to me. So which office?"
"I looked it up on the map," Kent said, "444 East 3rd Street, Boston, MA 02127."
"South Boston."
"Very good, Detective Sgt. Korsak," Kent complemented him. "In fact, this post office is approximately two streets from the 200 block of D Street."
"You're kidding?"
"I am not," Kent replied. "It seems much more than just a coincidence that this post office is in the shadow of the shoe store whose balloons were found in one of our victims."
Korsak gave him a chuck on the shoulder and said, "Great work. We'll start a search of the area."
He quickly started to make his way upstairs when Kent called out to him.
"Sergeant?" he said, making Korsak stop and turn. "Please find her. It's... it's not the same here with Dr. Isles gone."
It was a simple statement, but Vince heard the slight crack in the man's voice. It was something so small that someone else might have missed it, but he didn't – it was the sound of deep sorrow and worry behind the words.
"We will," he promised the younger man. "And when we do, she'll also have you to thank."
They gave each other a nod before they both turned back to their tasks at hand.
Back in the basement, Maura had a feeling; a premonition. She knew that Jane was on the way. Sure, she was certain Jane was looking for her – that was a given. And she held tight to the fact that Jane would find her – maybe not 'well' but at least 'alive'.
But something was changing in the air around her... Jane was coming for her – she could tell. It caused a cauldron of mixed emotions – joy that she'd be free again, but also concern that her captors' plan would come to pass. Surely, Jane wouldn't be crazy enough to come alone. Not after all the things she'd faced in the past.
The door above opened and she watched as Dr. Harris came down the stairs. If she was going to make a move, it would have to be soon.
"You should know Dr. Isles," he told her. "Everything is proceeding as planned. In fact, Det. Rizzoli spent the night outside of my house waiting to see if I'd make a move and a companion of hers entered my home today. And as we speak, there's another unit sitting at my employer with no clue that I'm here – they're not the most observant teams. They didn't see me head out to lunch with some co-workers... I will say that I'm looking forward to what comes next."
Maura was fearful since this all started, but her worry just moved to a much higher level.
"Do I want to know what comes next?" she asked him.
"You're going to be legend," he said in a calm hypnotic voice. Once again, Maura felt her eyelids growing heavy. "You'll hold a place of greatness that you never would achieve in a lab. That police department, all of them, even Jane Rizzoli, they all fail to see the magnitude of your power. Now, place your hands out for me."
Maura did as he instructed and he reached into his pocket. He unhooked one of her handcuffs and then the other, freeing her from her confines. She stayed motionless, unexpressive.
"Good," he said softly. "Very good. You'll be reward, Pet. I promise. Soon this will be over. Your work – our work – will be done."
He put the handcuffs back on her without a struggle. She still stayed stationary, motionless. He clapped his hands loudly and she jumped slightly. She nervously looked around the room.
"What's going on?" she asked him.
"Mmm, you'll see soon. Everything is proceeding perfectly," he told her as he twirled the handcuff keys on his finger. He looked toward the staircase and yelled, "Frank!" Maura ran toward the utility sink, but Harris didn't give chase.
"You can't get it away," he told her. "You're all mine. My pet project. A masterpiece that Hoyte would be proud of, I'm sure."
As his accomplice made his way down the stairs, Maura was worried. Would she see Jane's brother? Jane's father? Did Harris get one of them too? Who the hell was Frank? As Harris turned to watch the man's arrival down the stairs, Maura didn't wasted time – she had a plan too.
While his back was turned, she flipped open one of the bottles of drain cleaner that she had rested inside in the utility tub. Next to it, unknown to anyone but her, was another drain cleaner that was already empted inside the clogged drain she created. She put the newest bottle upside down into the wide mouthed drain, letting the liquid pour out. She backed up and crouched down on the ground, near the tub. She turned her face from the approaching men, but more importantly, away from the sink where she cowered.
"Bring her out here," Harris ordered the other man. He ripped the ski-mask from the man's head. "And lose this," he said as he threw it aside. "No more hiding from the stroke of genius I'm creating."
Maura glanced at the tub beside her and that's when she got a look at the other man. He wasn't a Rizzoli, thanks goodness, but still, she knew this man. She just couldn't say how. The police department perhaps? Maybe the fire department? She couldn't place him, but she was sure she'd seen this 'Frank' before – perhaps even recently. Both men continued their approach and she grew more worried that maybe science had failed her. She gave a slight glance to the utility tub again.
But then she heard a slight hiss and she quickly hid her face.
Frank began to reach over the tub for her when there was a sudden boom that echoed through the basement. Seconds later, unable to react soon enough, her attackers were both meet with scalding water shooting from the tub's drainpipe. Minutes before, when she heard their movement in the room above her, Maura had set the trap by plugging up the drain with a mixture of water, sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide that was now burning and dousing the men.
Frank screamed and grabbed his face in pain as he fell to his knees. Maura took the opportunity of the confusion. Distracted by the acidy water on their skin, she found the handcuff keys Harris had dropped and went to work unlocking them as swiftly as possible.
Once she was free, she did her best to avoid the acid that was burning them. She started up the stairs as fast as her bare feet could carry her and hoped it would be fast enough.