Flameout Chapter 27
Saturday
Gen and Frost
Gen called Candice, the HR department's chief, for a meeting Saturday morning. Candice normally worked Monday through Friday but Gen thought this conversation warranted time away from others in the HR department. Frost sat in on the meeting and they explained to her their concerns about a few members of her department.
Candice was shocked. She didn't see that coming, she thought that Claire was a great hire. Candice was short-handed. It was hard to keep the HR department at full capacity. Qualified individuals could make a great deal more money working for the private sector. Candice had no control over the salary. They were government employees, civil servants. The job provided excellent benefits but the turnover rate was high.
Candice was an exceptional HR manager, Gen made sure to reinforce that with her. Gen also understood that when Maura came on board as the new Chief, Medical Examiner, she was given permission to overhaul her department and hire new employees. Although these employees did not work for BPD, HR still had to maintain personnel files on them and make sure that each employee met all of the requirements of the job.
Candice needed a person just to oversee that aspect of the job. She gave Claire permission to hire that individual. Claire hired Tomasita to oversee the personnel records of the new hires. It was a temporary position with a three-month term limit, with a possibility of the position turning permanent.
Gen asked, "Was there any discrepancies in Claire's file after I asked you to review it on Friday?"
"No." Candice responded promptly. "I thoroughly reviewed the file as you asked. I had personally checked all of her references before I offered her the position. They all checked out. She was a dream hire."
Gen looked over the file and she didn't see anything either until she looked at Tomasita's file. Their transcripts were almost identical. Frost had noticed that also. He didn't know how Jane knew but Jane had a feeling, a 'gut' feeling that something wasn't right. Frost knew to trust Jane's 'gut' feelings as they were almost spot on. Gen had heard of Jane's 'gut' feelings but had never witnessed it, now she was in the thick of it.
The three of them sat for over an hour and reviewed all of the fifteen files from the list of personnel that Jane had provided to Frost. They noted all discrepancies. Frost then brought Frankie in to find out which cases the identified lab techs were working on. Every case the individuals touched would have to be reexamined to make sure that the evidence had not been tampered with.
Gen realized that she needed to bring the Governor up to speed with what was going on. She couldn't wait for Maura and Jane to return. She had her assistant call the Governor's office to make an appointment. Gen was in luck as the Governor could meet with her at 2 PM.
Gen with Frost and Candice's help gathered the information she would need for her briefing with the Governor. Gen asked Frost, "Frost can you go to the meeting with me?"
"Yes, of course."
"Candice, I would appreciate it if you could stay here and help Frankie. We need to wrap this matter up as quickly as possible. We are going to have to get warrants and perform searches so that we can make arrests. We also need to check all employees that were hired since Maura became the Chief Medical Examiner. There might be others as well. I hate to think that but we must be thorough."
"No problem, Gen, I will do whatever is necessary to help."
"Thank you." At 1:30 Gen and Frost left BPD to go see the Governor and explain what had taken place. Gen knew that the Governor would suspend all activity in the morgue and lab until further notice. She would plead to have a quick turnover to the FBI so that their cases would not be harmed. This was a colossal situation and could have been worse if Jane hadn't have made her 'gut' feelings known.
Jane
Jane wasn't able to sleep too long as she was worried about Charlie. She knew he would need to go back into therapy. She needed to talk to Maura but she didn't want to wake her as she and the children were sleeping.
Jane got up before her alarm went off. She took a quick shower and got dressed. She kissed her family goodbye and left for work. She loved the sight of the three of them all cuddled up and sleeping. She felt fortunate that she had met Maura and now had a family. She wanted this, she wanted this family life. She told herself right then that she would make this relationship work.
They had disagreed on a few things over the last few months but agreed to disagree at times. They had to table several discussions and let themselves cool down before attempting to talk about the subject again. They always managed to come to some sort of agreement and Jane was proud of herself. She had never wanted to be in a relationship as much as she did with Maura and the children. She felt loved and appreciated with them and she had never felt that with any other relationship she had been in.
At 7 AM she sent a text to Maura, "Maur, we need to chat about Charlie when you have a few minutes. I have an 8 AM flight and will be in my office around 10."
Maura was awake when the text came in and replied immediately, "Do you want me to call Jennifer and see if she can talk to him today?"
Jane called Maura as it would be faster to have the conversation over the phone rather than text messages. "Hey Maur," Jane replied when Maura answered the phone. She didn't give Maura a chance to speak. "That would be great if Jennifer has the time. I have to go into a briefing, so just text me please and let me know."
"I will do that Jane, fly safe and see you when you get home. I love you, Jane Rizzoli!"
"I love you to Maur, kiss the kids for me and I will talk to you later." Jane disconnected the call and went into her briefing. She silenced her phone and knew that Maura would text her after she talked to Jennifer.
Maura
Maura got up at 6:30 and started preparing breakfast for the children. She knew they would love some pancakes. If they were not up when she finished, she would fix a tray and feed them breakfast in bed. She hadn't done that in a while. They had been so great this past week. She was so thankful that they were well behaved children. She had seen some other children just running around like little hellions at some of the museums that she and Cindy had taken the children to.
When Jane called the children were still in bed so she prepared a tray while she talked with Jane. She hoped that breakfast in bed would bring a smile to their little faces. She loved when the children smiled. She tried the best she could to provide a happy life for them. Since Jane had joined their family, everyone seemed to smile more.
When the call ended with Jane, she took the tray of food into the bedroom and woke the children up by kissing them softly on the check. She had to resort to tickling Charlie to get him to fully wake up. Bella just snuggled into her and looked at the tray of food sitting on the table beside the bed. "Is that for us?" she asked with a huge smile.
"Yes love, I thought you and Charlie might enjoy having breakfast in bed with me."
Charlie much like Jane noticed the bacon on the tray, "Is that real bacon mommy?"
"Yes dear, I hadn't cooked it all yet and we need to empty the refrigerator so I thought you might like to have some bacon with your pancakes."
"That is great, do we have to save some for mama?" Charlie was always looking out for Jane. He liked for things to be fair and he didn't want Jane missing out on bacon. He knew how much she loved her bacon. Before Jane, they had always had turkey bacon. Jane didn't like the turkey bacon and insisted on real bacon. Charlie agreed with Jane, real bacon was better.
"No sweetie, mama will eat at work so we can eat all of the bacon." Charlie just smiled as he grabbed the biggest piece of bacon he could see and started eating it. They spent the next thirty minutes enjoying the food that Maura had prepared and talking about what they wanted to do before dinner.
Maura had sent Jennifer a text and as they were cleaning up the breakfast dishes, Jennifer called. "Thank you, Jennifer for returning my call." Maura said as she stepped into another room so she could talk to Jennifer in private. She explained what had happened with Charlie and asked if she might have time to see him today.
"I am so sorry that happened. I can see him at 3 PM if that works for you."
"That would be perfect, thank you again Jennifer. I wouldn't have asked but I know you know his history. He likes his new therapist but I think it would be better if he saw you. We will see you at 3 PM."
Charlie had just finished a two-month regiment with his new therapist as they thought he was over all of his fears. This situation proved that he still had fears and would need to continue in therapy. Maura knew that Jane still had quite a few years before she needed to retire from flying and she didn't want to ask her not to fly. Jane loved flying. She knew that Jane would stop flying if needed but she didn't want Jane to give up something she loved. They needed to work this out.
Maura knew that it might require the entire family to go into therapy to help Charlie. If needed, she knew she would agree to that. She was positive that Jane would as well. Bella was younger but she would need to understand what Charlie was dealing with so that she could help as well. Bella loved her older brother and Maura knew that she would also go along with whatever the family needed to do to help Charlie.
Maura sent Jane a text, "Jennifer can see him at 3 PM." She knew Jane was flying and that she wouldn't receive the message until after she landed.
Jane
When Jane checked her messages and saw that Charlie had a 3 PM session she went to her supervisor and asked if she could leave at 2 PM. She explained the situation and he approved her early dismissal. He had seen how upset Charlie was the day before and knew that the matter needed to be dealt with promptly.
Jane was home by 2:20, she surprised Maura as she had forgot to text her and let her know that she was coming home. Jane wanted to take Charlie to his session. She had promised Charlie that she would be there for him as he dealt with this and she was going to keep that promise. Maura fell more in love with Jane every time she did something like this. It worked out because Bella wanted to have a tea party before she left so she and Maura enjoyed a little tea party while Jane took Charlie to his session.
Charlie
Charlie was nervous going in to see Jennifer again. Jane sat in the waiting room, she told Charlie, "I will be right here if you need me. I am not going anywhere." Jane smiled at Jennifer as she took Charlie into her office. Jane and Jennifer did not exchange any words just a smile.
Jennifer and Charlie talked for a few minutes and Charlie explained what happened. He looked nervous. He had his head down the entire time he was talking with her. Jennifer asked him, "Are you okay, Charlie?"
"I want my mama to be in here with me."
"That's fine, let me get her." Jennifer got up and went to the door. Jane looked at her when the door opened and she just motioned for Jane to come in. Once again, no words were spoken, Jane knew that Charlie needed her.
Charlie met Jane at the door and hugged her. She bent down to hug him better. He whispered in her ear, "Mama, can you sit with me while I talk with Miss Jennifer?"
"Of course, Charlie. I would be happy to." Jane rose and walked with Charlie to the sofa. They both sat down, Charlie was practically sitting on her lap he was sitting so close to her.
Jennifer asked Charlie, "Now that Jane is here can you explain to me what is happening?"
Charlie looked at Jane, Jane mouthed, "It's okay Charlie, just be honest. Jennifer wants to help you just like me and mommy." Jane grabbed Charlie's hand to reassure him. Charlie squeezed Jane's hand and then began to tell Jennifer everything that was going on with him.
He told her that he was fine seeing and climbing all over the fire engines. When they turned on the lights and sirens, he remembered seeing the wreckage of Jane's plane and then seeing Jane in the hospital bed. He remembered how he thought Jane was going to die because of his rocket. He had so much guilt about her accident.
Charlie climbed into Jane's lap and Jane just held him. She wiped the tears away from his face and kissed the top of his head. Jennifer reminded him of the positive things that happened after the accident. She reminded him that he had wrote Jane a letter and made her a card. She reminded him that he forged a friendship with her and helped get her new airplane ready for her. She reminded him that he talked to Jane at least once a week after she went back to Boston. She reminded him that Jane was here in the room with him right now and that she was now his mama. Charlie looked up at Jane then and smiled. Jane smiled back at him and just squeezed him tighter. She loved this little boy and she wanted to be his mama for real, legally.
Jennifer knew that Charlie would need to continue therapy. The session was ended as far as talking about his issues. The spent a good hour just talking about anything and everything, just being friends. Jane and Jennifer both knew that Charlie needed that. He needed to know that he could always talk about anything that was worrying him. It helped him immensely to know that Jane was there with him and for him.
Jane and Charlie left Jennifer's office hand in hand. They went home and finished packing. Jane was pretty much packed already but she needed to change out of her flight suit and get ready for dinner. When they entered the apartment, Charlie immediately sought out Maura and gave her a big hug. He knew his mommy had set up the appointment with Jennifer and he appreciated everything that she did for him.
Bella had a cup of tea waiting for Jane and Charlie and the four of them sat down and had a cup of tea together. Jane thought that was the perfect way to end their time in Syracuse. She knew that they had the big goodbye dinner, but this was family time, just the four of them. After the dinner, they would come home and sleep and then get up early and leave to go back home to Boston.
Before they left for dinner, Jane held out two hands to Maura, "Pick one," Jane said. Maura didn't like surprises and Jane knew that but she felt that Maura would appreciate this surprise. Maura picked the right hand and Jane opened it. Inside her palm was a new name badge and it read 'Blade' where her other one said 'DOC.'
Maura smiled as she held the new name badge, "I love it."
"I chose the name mommy." Bella announced. She was proud that her suggestion had been selected as Maura's new call sign. "I thought that it made sense being as you are a surgeon and medical examiner and you use a scalpel, which is a blade."
"It is a perfect call sign for me, thank you."
Jane told her, "the guys felt that you deserved a real call sign instead of 'DOC.' Charlie and Bella wanted to help select the name and Bella's entry won."
"Thank you. I love it and I loved the flight." Maura spent a few minutes telling the children all about Niagara Falls and how Jane had gotten special permission to fly over the falls. She also told them that they would have to go there on vacation sometime during the summer when they visited Syracuse. Jane and the children were all excited about that.
When the children left to clean up before they left for dinner, Maura noticed that Jane still had her left hand closed. Maura finally asked, "Jane, what is in your left hand?" Jane opened her left hand and revealed a note. Maura took the note and read it.
The note read, 'Maur, I love you with all of my heart and I always will. I will protect you and the children to the best of my ability always.' "Jane, that is so sweet. I love you too. They were kissing when the children entered the room again. The children joined them in a hug and then they left for their dinner.
Charlie and Bella were happy to get to see all of their friends again. There must have been over forty people at this dinner. Maura had invited all of the families to attend. She had hired out a restaurant. Some of her former coworkers also brought their families. Nina was happy to attend, she loved Maura and her family. She was happy that they would be coming to Syracuse from time to time with Jane. She had missed working with her friend. Maura kept trying to tell her that she should come to Boston but Nina loved her job.
Gen and Frost
The Governor paused their conversation and made a phone call. He called someone at the FBI. "I want them here immediately this is an urgent matter." The Governor ended the phone call and looked at Gen and Frost, "I am sorry but I need to bring in the FBI. We need to make sure that these individuals have not compromised any of our cases. We cannot have criminals go free because of this mess."
"I understand Governor, that is why we brought this to your attention. Dr. Isles had no idea that any of this had taken place." Gen told the Governor.
"I know, and I totally trust Dr. Isles although I do have to suspend activities at her lab. At this point I wouldn't put it passed these people to have tampered with the new equipment as well. A representative from the FBI will be here shortly and between the four of us we will lay out a plan of action. Has Dr. Isles been informed of any of this yet?"
"No, sir, the bulk of our investigation has taken place while she is on vacation with her family."
"Good, and where is Detective Rizzoli?"
"She is with Dr. Isles and her family, sir." Frost replied, not knowing if the Governor knew that Jane and Maura were an item.
"Oh, that is right, I remember her telling me that she was in a relationship with her. You believe this woman, Stella is behind all of this?"
Gen replied, "Yes, sir, although we don't have evidence to back that up yet, we are still discovering people and events. The scope of this wrong doing is greater than we initially thought, that is why we are here."
"I appreciate you bringing this matter to me, we will get this handled. Dr. Isles needs to be brought up to date. Can you talk to her tomorrow and bring her up to speed?"
"Yes sir, I will personally see to that. They are driving back to Boston tomorrow morning so I will call her and explain everything. I am pretty sure that Jane had not said anything to her because it was just a 'gut' feeling that she had."
"One hell of a 'gut' feeling. I can see why she is so highly decorated. She is a damn good detective and you are lucky to have some of her skills working in your department."
"Yes sir, we are. Thank you for your time, Governor and we will continue to assist in any way that we can."
They all rose and the Governor walked Gen and Frost out. He had a great deal to over with the FBI. He had his assistant cancel his golf plans for later that day and cancelled his brunch plans with the mayor.
Gen and Frost drove back to the precinct. Things were about to change at headquarters, tomorrow there would be FBI agents all over the building. Gen was not looking forward to her phone call with Maura.