Chapter 11

Jane sprawled out on the large, overstuffed chair Korsak had occupied the night before as Frost and Maura milled around the kitchen. Frost picked at the remaining French fries on his plate while Maura cleared the takeout containers from the Dirty Robber. The tension wasn't thick but the murder board they had decided to put up in the corner of the room seemed to mock them into silence.

Jane and Frost managed to wrangle copies of the old case files out of evidence along with her cold cases she had suspected were connected. Mary Castor's photo had been moved to the list of confirmed victims which had left an ache deep in her chest. The locations of previous murders had been pinned on a small map of Boston and she rose to look at them closer.

Small red pins dotted where bodies had been found, the green stood stark against them as known locations owned or frequented by Callaway, the final sparingly few yellow were known acquaintance's locations. They weren't sure if another person had fallen into helping the woman, but they didn't want to chance it.

Her eyes shifted naturally over to the secondary map of New York, the pins floating there reminding her of her recent trips out there to help Maura. She had planned originally to go out on the last day of Maura's conference to surprise her with a small weekend int the city together. Instead, they were thrown back into a world that neither one of them expected to see again so soon. In the back of her mind, she knew Callaway would come after them again. She knew this was her curse for as long as she stayed a detective.

She crossed her arms so that she could run her fingers over her mouth, tapping them lightly in a rhythm that was familiar. Lines ran in a loose triangle on the map of New York, the coordinates matching those that Frost's program had generated.

"Hey Frost," she called out from over her shoulder. "You got that program of yours up?"

She looked back to see him dropping the French fry to his plate and wipe the grease off on his pant leg. Maura flashed a look of distaste at the action but kept silent as she rounded the counter to stand with him as he slipped the laptop open for them.

"Hit me with it."

Jane removed the two maps from the board and moved to sit next to him. She laid them flat out and pointed as she spoke.

"This is the triangulation you ran from what Maura was able to piece together in New York. What if we ran that here?"

Her finger slipped over the pins in the Boston map touching each location.

"We know that her original home and the space she used in Brookline are about 30 minutes from Langone Park, which is just down the road from Heather's apartment in Southie. Last location of importance? My apartment and Maura's house. Anything outside of that would put travel time at over 45 minutes without traffic. Let's start there."

Maura leaned into the space between Jane and Frost as she studied the maps intently. Frost's quick typing filled the room as Jane looked over at her. She could see the gears turning in Maura's head as she shifted closer.

"Jane, the spaces that Callaway used before were all residential outside of the space in New York, right?"

Jane nodded, "Looks to be, even her office at the corrections facility was pretty free of anything connected to her murders."

"It takes on average 20 years for us to develop our patterns and behaviors, long term changes in those behaviors can take years to correct. Often never. If we are operating on the stances of this, then Callaway wouldn't be holed up in a warehouse or office building somewhere."

Frost paused his typing as he focused on Maura.

"I can run a filter for apartments and homes like the ones in Brookline. We can take historical data to see what units were available in the last three months and narrow them down from there." He offered.

Maura agreed and paced over to the table where Jane had left her notes. As she shifted through them, Jane's phone rang out. Freeing it from the hostler she answered without looking at the screen.

"Rizzoli."

"Hi Jane."

If blood could freeze in the body, Jane was pretty sure this is what it felt like.

"I hope I'm not disrupting your evening, but I knew that you were having a rough day and figured I'd check in on Boston's finest."

Jane snagged Maura's phone from the counter next to her and opened the recording app. She slipped her phone down and on speaker as Callaway's voice continued.

"I was thinking about Dr. Isles today, I know she wasn't too pleased about seeing our old friend, please tell me you aren't too upset you weren't invited. In any case, I'm sure the next round of our little game will be quite exhilarating for you. Think you can find me before warmups are over?"

Jane spread her hands on the counter and leaned in as Frost and Maura exchanged glances.

"You know I think we're closer to the top of the ninth than just warmups. You think you can really hit it home; I think my team's defense is next to none and your offense has been getting a little loose. Take the note you left in Heather Green's apartment, got your prints as well as a video of you leaving the area. The FBI is going to love all the free evidence they can get."

The faint scoff from the other end of the line was swallowed by a conversation from a group passing by as the sound of an announcement system played quietly. Jane's lie hadn't gone unnoticed by Frost who smirked as he leaned in with her. She could see Maura's mouth twitched with questions so she laid her hand firmly over the counter to catch her attention, leaving only a look that she would explain later.

"You think I'd really be so careless to leave something like that behind? I know you're bluffing Detective." Her voice dripped with venom as her title slipped out. Jane could tell by the hesitation to continue though that she had her rattled.

"I don't think, I know Grace. Just like I know about your apartment and garage in New York, and about the men and women you've killed up and down the Eastern Seaboard. I know that obsession drives you, but it also is making you careless. You could have ridden off into the sunset set to God knows where, but you came back to Boston and to me. I'm not letting you slip away again."

The line was silent for a moment, and Jane would have though Callaway had hung up had it not been for the sound of people shuffling around in the white noise.

"Careless would have been letting myself gut your little plaything like a fish in New York while you were states away. You know she gave me a lot of great tips at the symposium. Her talks on how to identify victims of exsanguination vs. a regular bleed out I think are really going to come in handy. I must admit I am a little disappointed I didn't know that a few months ago."

Maura's face paled and she felt the calm protective fury settle in her bones at the sight.

"Oh! Jane, I'm sorry but I must go now. Looks like my next appointment is here. I'll be seeing you both soon."

Callaway hung up leaving the room void of sound as Jane carefully tapped the end recording button. Maura's hand spun the small ring on her right hand in tight circles while Frost shook his head. She felt overwhelmed as she came out of their conversation, the cool confidence she had moments ago faded into anxiety as those last words hit her.

Frost's voice was the first to break pulling her attention away from her spiraling thoughts.

"You know I think I'd prefer to have had one of those creepy dudes that just breathe down the phone instead of whatever the hell that was. She's getting bold."

Jane huffed out a sigh as she swiped her hands across her face, pausing midway as she locked in on the phone still resting on the counter. Dropping them suddenly, she picked it up and hit the play button on the recording.

In the moment she had been completely focused on Callaway, trying to find any hint that could help them find the woman. As she scrolled forward, she slowed the clip to focus on the voices that had passed as they talked.

"Frost you got anything on that magic machine of yours to amplify this?"

He leaned down to his laptop bag and pulled out a USB phone connector plugging one end into the computer and the other into Maura's phone.

"Might not be as good as the equipment in the BRIC but it'll do."

Jane leaned in close to the computer speaker as Frost slid the volume mixer to reduce the noise interference.

Room 315, code blue… Hey man wanna grab a drink at Bar 10 after shift?... a short scoff…

"There! Play it again?"

Frost rewound and they listened carefully to the scruffy voices crackling from the background.

"Jane Bar 10 is a few streets away from Boston University Medical Center. That's where Heather Green was taken for surgery."

Maura's voice had hitched in concern, her hand stopping the rotating item to lay flat on her chest. Jane reached out automatically to run her hand down the slightly panicked woman's arm.

"Maur she's ok, the Feds and Cavanaugh have that wing locked down tighter than Fort Knox. No one without a prescreen is being allowed past the lobby, even if she was able to get passed that we've got two guards at the door and one in the room with her."

Jane tightened her hand around Maura's bicep before dropping it to her side.

"Shit, Frost can you add the hospital into the coordinates filter? I need to call Dean."

Jane felt her heartbeat race as she took in the stark white hospital room that Heather Green had been placed in. It was downright cozy compared to the ones that she had been placed in before, but still held that sickly death feeling in it. Agent Gabriel Dean stood to her right, faced marred with deep set wrinkles that hadn't been there a few months prior.

Heather cautiously sat up to regard them both. Her normally bright red hair had dulled into a lackluster maze of knots and grease. Dark purple circles ran under her eyes which made her skin look paler than normal. Wires ran from her hands to the machines in the corner, but much to her thanks were silent as they monitored her vitals.

"I'm not sure why she would go after me Agent Dean, I mean I ran articles on the case of course," she shot Jane an apologetic look. "Outside of that I really don't know a damn thing about her."

Jane stepped forward to the edge of the bed, hands clasped tightly in front of her as Dean continued his questioning.

"Ms. Green, let me be clear. Currently the Bureau isn't pursuing you as a suspect in any outstanding cases. We are simply trying to gather as much information as possible to catch this woman so no one else gets hurt."

Jane had to give it to him, his calm presence kept Heather from teetering into hysterics, and she was glad he was here and not some hotshot trying to muscle his way to Director. If there was one thing, she could count on him for, it was his devotion to the victims even if it was for a selfish reason.

"Heather, I know that you've been through a lot, but is there anything you can remember from that morning?" Jane spoke softly, hoping the gentleness could somehow convey her apology and understanding.

"I remember her knocking on the door, but I didn't recognize her at first. She didn't look like her photo from when we were running articles on her. She had almost jet-black hair with bangs that brushed over her eyes. She told me she was supposed to be meeting a friend and when I asked who that was, she said you."

Her breath ran ragged as she continued to push through.

"Her smile though, you couldn't mistake that. Before I knew it, I was on the ground in a daze."

Dean shot her a look from the corner of his eye before jotting down a note in his small pocketbook.

"Wait, she may have seen something on my wall that made her mad? I don't know it's all fuzzy after the stun gun part. Could have also just been my phone ringing that made her mad."

Heather rubbed lightly at the bruising on her neck. Jane could feel the energy in the room that only came when a victim was struggling to truly remember what happened to them. She paused the small rotations to look at them both, a deep furrow forming between her brows.

"Was my laptop still there?"

"Yes, why?" Dean questioned.

"Frankie installed one of those dash cam things on my motorcycle, insisted if I was going to be zooming around on one at all hours might as well cover my ass in case I got in an accident."

She reached over to the tableside for a small hospital notepad and pen and quickly wrote down a short password and name.

"Here, it plugs into a converter on the bike which is parked out front of my apartment. It should be recording since well you know what kinda place I live in."

She handed the sheet over to Dean who glanced as he slipped it in his jacket pocket. Jane felt her hope swell in her chest, maybe her bluff from earlier wouldn't be a bluff after all.

"We'll be sure to check it out, thanks."

He nodded at her and turned to leave, his hand reaching out to catch Jane's shoulder.

"Be right there." Jane husked out.

As Agent Dean closed the door behind him, Jane felt herself untense. She knew that he had to be there if they were going to do this right, but it didn't mean she liked it. She looked over to the bed to see Heather staring out the small window to the courtyard below. She looked tired and smaller than her normal self as if she was being swallowed by the large bandage over her chest.

"Heather, if we are going to protect you, I need to know just how involved you are with Frankie. Don't try to belittle my intelligence and lie to me like you have been up until now. Whether or not I am ok with it or like it is not important, but you know how dangerous she is."

Jane sat next to her on the bed, her scars ached with tension as she gripped the edge tightly.

"Frankie and I are dating, not so serious that we need to be planning family vacations or Sunday dinner together, but the possibility is there. I like him…A lot, and I know that he likes me even more which I didn't think was possible. I know that Callaway came after me because of that fact, doesn't take a genius to see that we like to spend anytime we aren't working, together."

She shifted to look at Jane fully. "I know that we have not had the best start to things, but I'm willing to try."

Jane broke her stare on the windowpane to tilt her head over, matching Heather's pleading gaze. The honest admission she was expecting, but that look she wasn't. The grudge she held was justified, she knew that to her core. Sitting here in this room though she couldn't deny that she needed to step up and make things right or at least try.

She studied Heather like she did with any perp that came through her interrogation room. Searching for any sign of dishonesty or deceit she saw nothing but quite acceptance and truth. She thought back to the times Maura had listened to her complaints on the matter more than once with a patient ear, always leaving her with the same advice.

Acknowledge the hurt Jane, identify what you have an issue with on the deepest level and communicate that. If you let it all out and talk with her and still feel the same way, then let it be and move on but give it and her a chance.

"Alright, thank you for being honest. If it's worth it I'm also willing…to try that is."

"Yeah?"

She nodded. "We need to talk after all this, but yeah. Listen I still harbor a lot of anger towards you. However, I can't deny you're important to my brother and I am willing to try for him. In the meantime, I need to know anything you aren't telling Agent Dean, anything you may find insignificant?"

Heather pulled her lower lip into her teeth in concentration.

"The photo on the wall, it may have been one of the articles I had saved. She was in a few of them up there, but I didn't get a good look at which she saw."

Jane felt the rush of adrenaline mix with her burgeoning hope.

"You think there was something there she would have had interest in?"

"I'm not sure Jane, maybe? If you can show me the wall, I can tell you what article is missing."

Jane reached over to squeeze her hand before barely controlling herself from bolting out the door in excitement.

"Thank you, keep your phone on. I'll call you later today once we get over there."

The door to the hospital room opened enough for Agent Dean's head to poke through. He cleared his throat in politeness.

"Detective can I steal you?"

"Of course, was just on my way out to you." She responded as she made her way out of the room into the long hallway of the recovery unit.

Dean guided her by the elbow to the end of the hallway furthest from the nurse's station. The uniformed officers nodded at them in recognition before returning their gazes to the unit entrance.

"Jane, my agents picked up footage of Callaway leaving the hospital about five minutes after your phone call. Got her in full HD thanks to the new security system installed after…"

His voice dropped off as she glared at him. Patty Doyle wasn't just a sore spot for her and Maura. She still hadn't fully forgiven him for abusing her trust to try and nab him in that warehouse. The fallout from that had been more than Jane could take and it almost cost her the best relationship of her life.

"Gabriel, if you respect me in any way, you will be careful to not utter that man's name in my presence."

His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. Regret swam in his dark brown eyes but she couldn't bring herself to feel guilty about that.

"Understood. Now come on, I've got the team downstairs waiting. Techs are on their way over to Heather's apartment to collect any footage that may be there."

She followed at a half pace behind him letting her mind wander over everything Heather had given them.

Grace could feel the cool bite of the fall air whip across her face as she lowered the latest Journal of Medical Psychology to her lap. The bench she wandered to was tucked neatly away in the front courtyard of the medical center. She could see the crowded sidewalk near the emergency entrance to the left and the expansive well-manicured lawn to her left. The small area provided enough seating that nurses and guests flocked here, soaking up the waning sun on their breaks. She knew it was a risk, but she had missed the shock of thrill that went through her knowing she was close enough to reach out and grab them if she wanted.

She watched as the brooding form of a man who she assumed was FBI waved over a black sedan to the emergency room bay. Her eyes widened in excitement as Jane Rizzoli stepped out after him, concentration blooming across her face at the man as he ushered her into the sedan before it pulled away seamlessly into traffic. She knew the call had been ill advised, she could have been caught by a guard or by one of those squirrelly agents that were now crawling all over the building. Still, she sat watching and waiting.

The detective and the doctor both had given her a hell of a time last time she was here and well she was a sore loser and knew it. After all she had succeeded in every part of her life up until encountering the two women and she wasn't about to let that slide. She had managed to come this far with nothing more than a handful of nuisance complaints that forced her to leave her work earlier than planned. Now she was back here to clear up her loose ends, then she could continue.

The surly agent ducked back into the hospital as she ruminated on the two she came here for. She knew she needed to move fast as she was sure they were heading to the reporter's apartment next. Not that there would be much there, but she knew that she didn't want to wait any longer. Without the help of her former assistant, she would have a monumental task getting both women where she needed them.