Chapter Text
"I think it's because we're so used to touching each other," Maura said as they pulled up to a crime scene the next day.
"You what?" Jane asked, looking at the body, squinting into the dawn light. She chugged at her coffee and rubbed at her eyes, yawning. She saw Frost's car pull up as she stood to block the harsh angle of sunlight from Maura's eyes so she could examine the corpse.
"We frequently indulged in physical contact at work, even before we started dating," Maura said. "It feels a little awkward now, because now we are dating and not sure it's appropriate."
"Huh." Jane said, remembering Maura's hand on her shoulder yesterday, the way it had felt like Nina had been staring at it. "So we're just overthinking it?" Jane asked.
"Well, no one seems to find it unusual any more. We did get some looks a few years ago, but it appears as though people accept that we're tactile." Jane remembered how Frost had flinched the first time she'd given him an encouraging pat, how he'd grown used to the way she'd tug him along, the way she'd tugged Frankie and Tommy around after her as a child. She remembered how Nina had stared the first time Jane had kissed her on the cheek for clearing her brother's name. How people watched when she and Frankie had one of their roughups in the cafe.
"I'm tactile," Jane said. "You're still..." Jane trailed off, unsure if which word to use. "Reserved," she said finally.
"If you mean I'm more aware of appropriate workplace practices, then I agree. Single shot to the head," Maura said, examining the skull. "Lack of decomposition - still warm - possibly shot sometime in the last 24 hours. Pool of blood beneath him is consistent with if he was shot here, yet no gun has been found." Jane waved Frost over. He shook his head and held up half a sandwich and Jane rolled her eyes and strode over to him.
"This one is barely even messy," she told him. "You'll be fine." Frost reluctantly followed her over.
"You check your texts?" Frost asked, looking away from the man's head. "Fancy dresser," he remarked. "How much does a suit like that go for - 6 gees?"
"More. It's been tailored," Maura said.
"You catch a break on that server?" Jane asked and Frost nodded, still turned away from the corpse's face.
"Read your damn texts, man," Frost said, gagging once before walking away. Jane pulled out her phone, shaking her head in amusement at Frost. There were numerous accident scenes Frost had sent through, one of which quickly caught her attention. She slid her phone away, turning back to the current crime scene.
"How does someone like this end up out here?" Jane asked, looking around. They were in a park next to the beach; it would have been a lovely picnic spot if it wasn't for the fashionable corpse littering the playground. Jane sipped at her coffee. "This feel like an execution to you?" Maura looked up briefly, pointing so one of the crime techs put a measure next to the body's distance to a slide.
"To early to tell," Maura said, and Jane turned.
"I have to ask," Jane said, almost an apology.
"I know," Maura said. "And you're more polite than most when you do." Jane came back over, pointed at some leaf litter to be collected, looked over at Frost who was checking some tyre prints in the sand between the park and the parking lot.
---
Back into the squad room Jane pulled up the picture Frost had sent her.
"Good eye," she said. "Now let's play spot the difference." She pulled up the Seattle crime scene photos and the report, scrolling through to find the cause of the accident that had killed the Alsteads. "Damaged brake lines," Jane said, looking at the police photos again. "They look worn to you?" Jane asked, pointing at the complete brake lines, then over to where the insurance photos had close ups of frayed brake lines. "Now, can we prove Tony did it?" Jane asked herself. "For the insurance, probably."
"After all this time, we'd need a confession," Frost pointed out. "Any physical evidence would be disposed of by now."
"But what were these photos doing on Layton's server?" Jane asked. "Blackmail? Did he hire Tony to kill his boyfriend? Was Jason helping Layton set up insurance fraud?" Jane asked, looking over to the board again. "Was Jason helping him stage the scenes, or was Layton just using him for access to the office? If we tie Layton to Tony, can we take them both down?" Jane started drawing new lines on the board. Then glared at it, arms crossed. The first three still didn't fit somehow. Tony had a line to his parents, with a line to insurance and a line to Able Tech, which had a line to Mark Taylor and Janice Easton, and a direct line from her back to Tony. Insurance had a line to Jason and both Layton and Mark Taylor, as well as all three Alsteads. Jane groaned in frustration. The first three bodies just had a line to the word 'cane' next to a question mark. The cane extended to Mark Taylor, then a line from him to Layton Taylor, who had a line to Keith Bailey and Jason Huxley.
"Maura would have started the autopsy by now," Frost said. "I'd go, but..."
"Yeah, yeah," Jane said, dropping the whiteboard marker on his desk. "Check the Keith Bailey files," she said on her way out.
--
"You're just in time for the Y incision," Maura said without looking up. Jane waited until she was finished before handing over a coffee. Her phone dinged and she checked the text from Frost. 'Bailey scene tampered,' it read, and Jane stared into the open cavity of their newest victim's chest. 10 years of insurance fraud. Maybe more.
"It's only Tuesday," Jane complained.
"Frankie can take over for you," Maura said. "It's unlikely you'll be able to solve this particular suspicious death before we leave. Thank you for the coffee."
"Anytime," Jane said, smiling. "Should I get Frankie down here?"
"Frost and Korsak will receive my full report," Maura said. "There may not be much he can learn by attending the autopsy."
"I always learn something from your autopsies," Jane said. "You always come up with something to teach me, even if it's how cute you are in scrubs." Maura blushed and sipped at her coffee. "You going to cut into him or what?" Jane asked, but her smile let Maura know she wasn't impatient.
"I'm waiting to see if Susie overheard you call me cute," Maura said, teasing.
"I did, it was adorable," Senior Criminalist Chang called from the lab, and Maura laughed.
"Thank you, Senior Criminalist Chang," Jane called back sarcastically, and Maura laughed again, finishing her coffee and digging into her latest client.