Ice Cold: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel

escape. And she fled The Gathering.”
    “That’s when she changed her name?” asked Maura.
    Jane nodded, but kept her eyes on her driving. “She became Catherine Sheldon Weiss. And she devoted her life to bringing down Jeremiah. The problem is, no one was listening to her. She was just a voice in the wilderness.”
    Maura stared ahead at what was now a familiar road, one she’d traveled every day to visit Rat at the hospital. This would be her last visit. Tomorrow, she was flying home to Boston, and she dreaded this goodbye. Dreaded it because she still did not know what kind of future she could offer him, what promises she could realisticallykeep. Little Katie Sheldon had been deeply poisoned by The Gathering; was Rat similarly damaged? Did Maura really want to take such a scarred creature into her home?
    “At least this answers a few questions,” said Jane.
    Maura looked at her. “What questions?”
    “About the double homicide at the Circle B Guest Ranch. The couple killed in their motel cabin. There was no forced entry. The killer simply walked in and proceeded to bash the husband’s head, completely obliterating his face.”
    “A rage killing.”
    Jane nodded. “They found the murder weapon in Cathy’s garage. A hammer.”
    “So there’s no doubt she did it.”
    “It also explains another thing that puzzled me about that crime scene,” said Jane. “There was a baby left alive in the crib. Not only was she unharmed, there were four empty bottles in the crib with her. The killer wanted that baby to survive. Even removed the DO NOT DISTURB sign, so housekeeping would be sure to come in and find the bodies.” She glanced at Maura. “Sounds like someone who cares about kids, doesn’t it?”
    “A social worker.”
    “Cathy kept constant tabs on The Gathering. She knew when any of them showed up in town. Maybe she killed that couple out of fury. Or maybe she was just trying to save one baby girl.” Jane gave a grim nod of approval. “In the end, she saved a lot of girls. The kids are all in protective custody. And the women are starting to leave Plain of Angels. Just as Cathy predicted, the cult’s collapsing without Jeremiah.”
    “But she had to kill him to make it happen.”
    “I’m not going to judge her. Think of how many lives he destroyed. Including the boy’s.”
    “Rat has no one now,” said Maura softly.
    Jane looked at her. “You realize he comes with a big set of problems.”
    “I know.”
    “A juvenile record. Bounced around among foster homes. And now his mom and sister are dead.”
    “Why are you bringing this up, Jane?”
    “Because I know you’re thinking about adopting him.”
    “I want to do the right thing.”
    “You live alone. You have a demanding job.”
    “He saved my life. He deserves better than what he’s got.”
    “And you’re ready to be his mom? Ready to take on all his problems?”
    “I don’t know!” Maura sighed and looked out at snow-covered rooftops. “I just want to make a difference in his life.”
    “What about Daniel? How’s the boy going to fit into that relationship?”
    Maura didn’t respond, because she herself didn’t know the answer.
What about Daniel? Where do we go from here?
    As they pulled into the hospital parking lot, Jane’s cell phone rang. She glanced at the number and answered: “Hey, babe. What’s up?”
    Babe. The endearment slipped off Jane’s lips so easily, so comfortably. This was how two people who shared both a bed and a life spoke to each other, no matter who was listening in. They didn’t need to whisper, to slink off into the shadows. This was what love sounded like when it came out of the darkness and declared itself to the world.
    “Is the lab absolutely certain about that result?” said Jane. “Maura’s convinced otherwise.”
    Maura looked at her. “What result?”
    “Yeah, I’ll tell her. Maybe she can explain it. We’ll see you guys at dinner.” She hung up and looked at Maura. “Gabriel just spoke to the toxicology lab in Denver. They ran a STAT analysis of the girl’s stomach contents.”
    “Did they find organophosphates?” asked Maura.
    “No.”
    Maura shook her head in bewilderment. “But it was a classic case of organophosphate poisoning! All the clinical signs were there.”
    “She had no degradation products in her stomach. If she swallowed that pesticide, there should be some trace of it, right?”
    “Yes, there should have been.”
    “Well, there was nothing,”