„Cherchez la femme!" Korsak wistfully said when we were discussing our next move during breakfast. His french earned him an awarding glance from Maura, and it was obvious that she was impressed by his language.

"We need to find Belinda." I explained to Frost who gave the older man a questioning look.

"Oh yes, Belinda!" he exclaimed, and everybody chuckled.

OH YES, BELINDA! I thought not without anger. Seeing as to how this woman thought of Maura as her possession, she wouldn't stop stalking the doc and pestering her life. That much was sure.

The question though was where the woman was hiding and what she was planning. I knew from experience that such persons could be very dangerous. Now that her son was in prison, she would either look for some other partner or commit the next crime herself.

I wouldn't be surprised if Belinda was already lurking around our hotel, waiting for an opportunity to get hold of Maura. My eyes turned to the doc who was still exchanging French phrases with Korsak and smiled.

The doc was the kindest and most innocent person I knew. Despite all the dirt that life had thrown at her, she was still cheery and bright. Sophie was sitting in her lap, munching away on a bagel and talking to ma.

For a moment, I saw the picture of the family I had never dared to dream of. It made my heart jump in joy. No one – especially not Belinda – would ever get to destroy this. That's what I swore to myself while taking a sip of my coffee that was black and strong – just as I liked it.

"So, how are we going to find her?" I asked and watched Frost furrow his eyebrows.

"I checked every digital lead, but it looks as if she has dropped from the face of the earth. Her bank account hasn't been touched since Maura has been abducted. Nor has she used her social security number. I let the face recognition program run all available CCTV footage from all cameras around town, but there was no hit." He stated slowly as if he was thinking about having missed something while speaking.

I wasn't exactly an expert on these things but even I knew that with the amount of cameras in such a big city, it must have taken at least all night to check it.

"So, either she's lurking around dark alleyways or she's hiding." Korsak concluded. Maura was busy cleaning Sophies mouth, but I knew that she was listening attentively to our conversation.

"The officer whom we placed in front of her apartment claims that she hasn't returned to it, the one who has an eye on Mauras house also denies having seen her. Which means that she must have another place where she could hide." Korsak continued.

These weren't good news I thought. We all looked at Maura when she spoke up "All she wants is me, so maybe she'll come out if we give her an opportunity to get me." she spoke while keeping an eye on Sophie who had left the table to play with her favorite puppet.

"No!" I said instantly. "We are not going to use you as a bait."

"Why not? How else do you want to find her?" Maura asked in all seriousness.

Korsak wore a pensive expression on his face while Frost followed the conversation.

"We are not going to use Maura as a bait!" I repeated firmly, ignoring Mauras protest.

R&I

It was less than two hours later that I found myself sitting in our rental, biting my lips. This was really a shitty plan I thought as my eyes scanned the perimeters. I pulled the phone to my ears and dialed Frosts number.

"Is everything okay with you?" I asked, thinking of Angela and Sophie who were in my hotel room. Frost was staying with them, watching them, but also trying to find new digital leads on Belinda.

My partner sighed. "Yes, Jane. There is no need to call every five minutes to check on us. Have you forgotten that you told me yourself what good detective I were? Besides, there is still the cop sitting in front of our door."

He was right of course. I shouldn't worry so much about everybody. But I had the fear that Belinda could go after Sophie in order to get to Maura. It wouldn't be the first time such thing happened.

My eyes darted to Maura who was about to enter the grocery store, followed by Korsak who was dressed like a tourist in a cheesy T-shirt, shorts and tennis shoes. He briefly touched the shield of his baseball cap – sign that everything was okay. The situation was in control, and it also meant that he hadn't spotted Belinda so far.

Maura had told them that she had ordered special lamb chops at the butchers. In fact she had placed an order for them to be delivered once a week. So, it was very likely that Belinda would know that Maura would be at the grocery store, following her routine.

Moreover, we had all moved back to her house to make it more credible that Maura was going to go back to her routine. We did everything to trigger Belinda to come and get the doc.

And it wasn't long for sure when I saw the woman walk towards the entrance of the store. I stopped biting her lips and sat up to have a look at Belinda who was glancing around. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a shirt, looking like a mom with her disheveled hair, blending in perfectly with the other shoppers that frequented the store this time of day. I noticed that she had bleached her hair, but she would always recognize this womans face.

"She's here." I said after Korsak had picked up his phone. Then I stepped out of the car and followed the woman inside in a reasonable distance so that she wouldn't notice me. Following her through the aisles I tried to see where Korsak and Maura were.

It still felt like a crazy idea, despite the situation being under control so far. Belinda walked around a corner and when I got there she was gone. My eyes darted around as I began walking faster, checking aisles by aisles. But it was futil. She could very well be hiding behind one of the other shelves.

"I lost her." I mumbled into the phone while fighting back the panic that threatened to raise.

"I'm close to Maura." Korsak whispered back and I could see him now. His eyes too were looking for Belinda. There was commotion coming from behind me that caught my attention.

"Hey, careful lady!" an angry man called, bending down to grab some dropped items. I saw a familiar shirt and Belinda running towards the back of the store. My feet moved instantly to follow her. The instincts of a cop I mused as my brain caught up that we were running towards the loading area.

I willed myself to run faster, afraid to lose her. For the fraction of a second I chided myself for not bringing Frost or having asked for back up. Once Belinda would be on the street her chance increased to get away.

My heart was pounding fast as I managed to close the distance between her and me. Almost there I thought, daring to jump. My tall body landed on hers and she huffed. "Maura is mine, and no one is going to change that!"

I bit back a comment but tried to get hold of her hands. The woman surprised me by kicking my shin. Ouch, that hurt! Then she used my surprise and rolled me over. Before I could even react, she sprung to her feet and ran to one of the loading ramps.