Chapter 13
Maura spent most of her first day back at BPD rearranging her office, and getting herself reacquainted with the morgue and its personnel. There were quite a few new faces, and also a few familiar ones, like senior criminologist Suzie Chang who still worked there.
It was late in the afternoon when there was a knock on her door. Maura looked up and spotted the familiar face of one sergeant detective Vince Korsak.
"Detective Korsak," Maura said with a smile, getting up to greet the man.
"Maura Isles, Frankie just told me you were back," Korsak smiled back at her, "it's good to see you, doc." A brief moment of sadness passed over the older detective's face, "things just haven't been the same since… ," he closed his mouth thinking he'd said too much, "well, let's just say that I missed having you around, and leave it at that."
Maura nodded, understanding and appreciating the sentiment, "I've missed being here too."
"So, are you here to stay?" Korsak actually looked hopeful, "we haven't had a steady M.E. since you left."
"I…I honestly don't know yet." Maura said truthfully, "Frankie actually convinced me to stick around for a while, but I'm not so sure if I can."
"Because of Jane?" Korsak came to the heart of the matter.
The M.E. nodded slightly, "among other things."
"Well. I guess it's up to you, but I hope you stick around. We need you here, doc."
"Thank you, Vince." Maura gave the older detective a small smile.
They spoke briefly about her time in London, then Korsak left her by herself.
Maura had been worried about detective Korsak's response, but thankfully it hadn't been too bad. Most people so far had been friendly with her, although she hadn't see Angela yet. From what Frankie had told her, she was worried about the older woman's response. Maura just hoped that if she did decide to stay in Boston, they could at least be civil with each other.
It was 4 a.m. in the morning when Jane was woken up by persistent ringing. She groaned loudly before she picked up the phone, "Rizzoli. …okay, text me the address."
She rolled out of bed, staggering because she was still drowsy. She blindly felt her way to the bathroom, then squinted her eyes when she turned on the light.
While brushing her teeth, she looked in the mirror. If she wasn't so grumpy from being woken up this early, she would have laughed at the sight of herself, her hair was one big jumble of curls this morning. "Looking hot," she sarcastically muttered to herself, then pulled her hair back in a pony tail.
She was yawning loudly several times while putting on her clothes and shoes. Finally she snapped on her badge and gun, "Rizzoli, ready to go," she joked.
'I seriously need to stop talking to myself', she thought while getting in the car and driving to the crime scene, "I also seriously need some coffee."
It was fifteen minutes and one hot cup of coffee later when Jane walked onto the crime scene.
"What have we got?" she asked as soon as she saw detective Cooper.
"A body washed up on shore this morning, female, early 30's," Riley answered.
"Do we have an I.D. yet?" Jane asked, putting on her rubber gloves.
"Not yet. No personal effects on the remains," Riley took a few quick steps to catch up her partner who was already headed for the body, "oh, and Jane? We have a new M.E."
"Again?" Jane stopped and looked at the other detective, "well, that's good I guess. The last one really sucked. Maybe this one will be better and actually stick around for a while."
Both detectives quickened their step and walked over to where their victim was. Jane instantly noticed the honey blonde woman who was kneeled next to the body, dressed in what appeared to be very fancy clothing, high heels: definitely not what she would expect anyone to wear to a crime scene.
The doctor was still doing her initial examination, talking quietly to one of the crime techs.
"Skin texture suggests immersion for at least two days," the M.E. was touching the victims arm. Then checked her head and torso, "superficial wounds, nothing that appears fatal."
Jane had been quietly standing a little to the side of the blonde woman, not wanting to rudely interrupt. But when her presence continued to go unnoticed she gently cleared her throat. She did have a possible murder to solve after all.
When Maura glanced up from her position on the ground, she was met with somewhat tired but friendly looking chocolate brown eyes.
When their eyes met, the brunette detective briefly frowned, appearing confused, then understanding flittered across her features, and Maura's heart skipped a beat.
"Hey, I ran into you yesterday," Jane said excited, "outside the elevator?"
Maura had a hard time trying to hide her disappointment. When she had seen the recognition in Jane's eyes, she had just briefly hoped that the brunette remembered her. But now she realized that Jane really had no idea who she was, so she pulled her face into the most neutral expression she could manage and nodded, not yet able to find the words to speak with.
The detective gave her a puzzled look, not sure why she was getting the cold shoulder. Had she offended this woman by leaving her by herself yesterday, she probably shouldn't have left her like that, but she had been in a hurry. 'Way to go, Rizzoli, you already pissed off the new M.E., and she hasn't even been here a day yet.' So Jane directed her attention to the victim.
"Rizzoli," she heard, then saw one of the officers motioning her over.
The brunette turned to her partner, "I'll be right back," she told Riley, then turned around and walked over to meet with the anxious officer that had called her over.
When Jane finally returned, the body was already being loaded up, and the blonde doctor had disappeared.
"Hey, Cooper. Where did the new M.E. go?" Jane asked.
"Back to BPD to start the autopsy I assume. What did you do to piss her off?" Riley inquired.
Jane shook her head, "I'm not sure. I ran into her yesterday outside the elevator. Remember, I was late getting to the car." The detective scratched her head, puzzled. "Did she say anything to you?"
"Not much. Just introductions, then she took off." The black haired detective tapped her partner on the shoulder, "I'm sure you'll make it up to her, whatever it is you did. In the mean time, we have some people to interview."
Later that day Jane stepped into the bullpen, balancing a tray with different cups of coffee; it was her turn to provide caffeine for the team.
"Ah, you're a life saver, Jane" Korsak was the first to grab his cup.
The brunette detective sat down in her seat, and took a sip from her own hot cup of joe, "any news on today's floater?"
As if on cue Korsak's phone buzzed. He looked at the message, "Maura is just starting with the autopsy."
Jane frowned, "Maura? You know our new M.E.?"
The older detective just realized his slip, "uh…I do. She…Dr. Isles worked at BPD before."
"She did?" the brunette tapped her finger on the top of her cup, "when was that?"
Korsak briefly considered how much to tell Jane, but he had learned to only tell her the things she specifically asked for. "About six months ago."
Jane scratched her head, considering the odd coincidence, "we worked together before?"
"Yes, you did." Korsak tentatively answered.
"Well that explains a few things," Jane said, getting up from her seat. "Okay, I'm going downstairs."
Korsak sadly smiled to himself, it had been a long time since he had heard Jane utter those specific words.
Unlike some other detectives, Jane had no problems going down to the morgue. Yes, it smelled funny, and sometimes downright nasty, but otherwise it didn't bother her.
The place was creepy, but interesting.
She quickly found the M.E. in the autopsy area, and knocked on the door.
Maura looked up to see Jane standing in front of her, and she swallowed.
For a few moments they just looked at each other, neither of them really sure what to say.
"Can I help you?" Maura finally asked. Trying to hold down the emotions was making her voice sound detached and cold.
Jane was a little startled but recovered quickly, "yes, I feel like I should apologize for uh, yesterday."
Maura raised an eyebrow; that wasn't what she had expected to hear.
"I uh, I probably came off as rude. I didn't mean to be. It's just that I didn't know you worked here before." Jane put her hands in her pockets, "so you probably know me, or knew me, and I don't… um…, okay, this is going to sound weird, but -"
"It's okay, Jane." Maura finally interrupted, "Frankie told me what happened to you. I understand, and there's no need to apologize."
"You know?"
The blonde nodded, "I do. You don't need to explain."
…
"You called me Jane", the detective was thinking out loud, not really realizing she had spoken the words out loud.
"I did," Maura answered.
"Most people call me Rizzoli," the brunette's brow wrinkled, "what did I call you?"
The doctor rubbed her hands on her scrubs, remembering what Frankie told her about the things Jane did and didn't want to know, "you called me Maura."
Jane was quiet for a while, her mind trying to connect the dots. "Okay. Maura," she finally said, then smiled. Which received a very small smile back.
…
"Oh," Jane said after a few seconds, "the autopsy, I almost forgot. Would you mind if I observe?"
Maura shook her head, knowing it would probably be awkward, but they did have a job to do. She motioned to the wall, "you better suit up."
After Jane put on the protective gear, she joined the M.E. on the other side of the table.
Maura went through the initial steps, removing the clothing, examining the exterior of their victim. With Jane's help, she moved the body on its side.
"No sign of blunt force trauma," Maura said, moving the victim back to the original position. "Besides the superficial wounds on her arms, nothing that could indicate cause of death."
"What's that?" Jane pointed to some damaged skin on the victims left arm.
"I will have to do some further testing to be sure." Maura replied.
"But if you would guess?" the detective tried again.
"I don't guess," Maura continued her examination.
"Never?" Jane asked surprised.
"No, I'd rather confirm than guess." Maura inserted a needle in the victim's arm, trying to withdraw a blood sample. "That's odd," she said, then removed the needle and inserted it in the opposite arm.
"Problem?" the brunette asked, seeing the plunger come up empty twice now.
The M.E. tried it on the victims leg next, "well, it appears that our victim has no blood in her body, not in the brachial, not in the femoral. Not in any of her arteries."
Jane looked down at the body in front of her, "vampire attack?", she whispered in a conspiring tone.
"Of course not, vampires are just mythology and folklore." Maura responded seriously, until she saw the smirk on the brunette's face.
It wasn't until later in the autopsy that Maura found the explanation for the absence of blood in the remains.
"Look," she motioned Jane closer, "petechial hemorrhaging on the serosal surface of her liver, and here, her other organs as well."
"What does that mean in English?" the detective had no idea what Maura had just told her.
"It means that we found our cause of death. Our victim exsanguinated from every orifice of her body." The M.E. frowned, "A systemic bleed out, that's the C.O.D."
"That sounds…unpleasant." Jane wrinkled her nose, it wasn't like she'd had much of an appetite to begin with, but it was definitely gone now.
"It is very unpleasant. Our victim died a very painful, agonizing death." Maura confirmed.
"Any idea what could have caused it?" Jane knew she probably wasn't going to get an answer, and after Maura shook her head, "can you at least tell us if we are looking at a homicide or not?"
"I'm sorry, not at the moment." Maura took off her gloves, hating to disappoint the detective, "but I can tell you the victim was dead before she entered the water. There was no water in her lungs, she had stopped breathing prior to entering the river."
Jane stayed quiet, thinking, then started to pull off her protective gear.
"Let me know when you have more information?" the detective was just about to turn around and go back upstairs when she stopped, "oh, and here…" she grabbed a pen and piece of paper, "my number, it's different from what you might've had before" she handed it to the doctor. "See you later… Maura," she smiled at the M.E. and then left the room.
When Jane got back upstairs she was greeted by her partner.
"Did the Dr. Isles confirm C.O.D?" Riley asked.
The brunette nodded, "yes, the victim bled out, ...from everywhere. No blood left in her body at all."
"Vampire?" Riley joked.
"Don't think my mind didn't go there too," Jane smirked. "Did we get a hit on her prints yet?"
"We did, her name is Susan Johnson," Cooper pointed at the screen where the driver's license of their victim was pulled up. "Her prints were on file from a previous job screening, she was as a pharmaceutical rep."
Jane grabbed her jacket and keys, "let's go visit her place of work, it's as good as any place to start."
Maura had just washed up and changed from her scrubs into her regular clothing when there was a knock on the door to her office.
"Come in," she said, then took a seat behind her desk.
"They were right, you really are here," Angela Rizzoli walked inside, her face not hiding her discontent with the doctor's presence. "Why? Why are you back, Maura?"
"I'm back for Jane." Maura responded honestly.
"Like hell you are," Angela's tone was low and menacing, "because of you I almost lost my daughter. You've caused enough pain."
The honey blonde was definitely startled by the older Rizzoli's tone; this woman had at one point lived in her guest house. She had been like a mother to her, and Maura was at a loss for words.
"Ma," Frankie quickly walked into the M.E.'s office, "leave her alone."
"Frankie, stay out of this,"Angela reprimanded her son.
"Maura, I'm so sorry. Could you give us a minute?" the younger Rizzoli gave her a compassionate look, Maura nodded, grabbed her bag and left the room.
Frankie angrily glared at his mother, "what happened was an accident, Ma. It wasn't Maura's fault, it wasn't anybody's fault," was all that Maura heard before she stepped onto the elevator.
At the end of their day, Riley and Jane walked back into the bullpen. They had been out all afternoon. They had found the victim's apartment, talked to her room mates and visited her place of work.
It was really only an initial investigation, since they still weren't even sure if the victim had been murdered or not. For all they knew the woman had some weird virus, bled out and fell in the river. Unlikely, but without confirmation otherwise, they had to keep all options open.
Jane was tired and hungry. She was thinking of calling it a day; there wasn't much they could do right now anyway.
"You want to grab a bite to eat, Cooper?" she asked her partner.
"Can't tonight. I'm supposed to meet with my sister and her new boyfriend." Riley said looking a little miffed.
Jane laughed, "You look excited about that."
"Don't get me started," the black haired detective grabbed her things and left the bullpen.
On her way, outside Jane ran into the honey blonde M.E. again. She quickly noticed the woman looked upset.
"Maura," the detective said kindly, "are you okay?"
The doctor closed her eyes, she didn't want to get hives from lying, and she couldn't quickly come up with a way to avoid the question either. "I'm not," she softly spoke.
There was something about this woman that brought out Jane's protective side; from the very first moment she had ran into the doctor outside the elevator.
"You want to talk about it?" Jane asked, not wanting to pry.
"I…I, Maura visibly swallowed, "I can't. I'm sorry."
The detective had noticed the discomfort and the hesitation, and she was surprised that it bothered her, "oh, okay." Jane tried not to look too disappointed. What was it with this woman anyway that affected her so much. 'Stupid disconnected emotions' she thought.
Memories without emotions, and emotions without memories. That was what her life was like now. At least she should be happy that she could connect emotions to new memories, since it could have been a lot worse.
Maura had definitely noticed the disappointment on Jane's face when she had declined the offer to talk. But what could she say. You don't remember this, but I love you. We shared a life together. We were supposed to get married. Oh and your mother just told me to stay away from you.
It wasn't like she could explain any of these things to Jane. And Maura remembered what Frankie had told her about the things Jane did and didn't want to know.
Why, why had she come back to Boston? What was she doing here? It was just so painful knowing what they had, knowing what was gone.
"I'm sorry Jane, it's been a long day." It wasn't a lie, it had been a long day, "I think I just need to go home and go to sleep."
Jane didn't look appeased, but she nodded, "okay, but if you change your mind. I'm a pretty good listener." The brunette briefly reached out her hand and squeezed the doctor's shoulder, then quickly removed it, putting her hands in her pockets.
"Then I guess I'll see you tomorrow Maura," she said, then left to go home, leaving the sad doctor behind.