Agent Jacquline Diaz walked through the Boston Medical Examiner's office with Agent Annie Larrabee. The two approach a woman sitting behind a desk near the entrance.
"Hi, I'm Agent Jacquline Diaz," Jackie showed her badge to the woman, "And this is Agent Annie Larrabee. Could you show us where the Chief Medical Examiner's office is? We need to speak with them about a body that came in recently."
"Sure, follow me," The woman stepped out from behind the desk and led the two agents to the Chief Medical Examiner. In the office, a man sits at his desk looking over some papers. The woman knocks on the door, "Dr. Macy, there are two agents from the FBI about a body that came in recently."
"Thank you, Emmy," He said as he stood up, "Please come in, agents. I'm Doctor Garrett Macy. Who are you here for?"
"Dr. Macy, I'm Agent Jacquline Diaz and this is Agent Annie Larrabee," Jackie introduced them before answering his question, "We're here for Robert Munson."
"May I ask why the FBI is interested in Mr. Munson?"
"I'm afraid we can't disclose much information, Doctor," She replied, "Except that Mr. Munson was involved with a case of ours."
"We're going to need to take the body, Dr. Macy," Annie informed him.
"I understand," Garrett told them, "I'll see that Mr. Munson is ready for you and that the medical examiner in charge will sign off on a few things."
"Thank you for your cooperation, Dr. Macy."
"My pleasure. I'll show you where Mr. Munson is," Garrett walked out of his office and lead the two to the crypt. There was a body on the embalming table with a white sheet covering it.
"Dr. Macy, if you could remove the sheet for identification please?" Jackie inquired.
"Of course," He responded. Garrett pulled back the sheet enough for Jackie and Annie to look at the face.
"That's Munson," Annie spoke.
"Ok, let's get Smith and Brooke to come in and help move the body," Jackie said.
"Ok."
The two then left the crypt and the building before returning with two more agents. Munson was moved from the table onto a trolley and was being moved out of the crypt by the two other agents with Garret, Jackie, and Annie outside in the hallway.
"Jordan," Garrett called when he spotted her with a man, "This is Agents Diaz and Larrabee with the FBI. Dr. Cavanuagh is the E.M. assigned to the case."
"Detective Maltese," She introduced the man beside her before noticing Munson on the trolley, "What are they doing with my body."
"They are taking Mr. Munson with them," He informed her.
"Taking him where?"
"I'm afraid that's classified, Dr. Cavanuagh," Jackie answered before signaling the two agents to get Munson out of here.
"Garrett, what is she talking about," Jordan asked him.
"We're gonna need any tissue samples, trace evidence analysis, fingerprints you might have taken," Annie told Garrett before saying to Jordan, "Well, if there's any autopsy report that would be helpful, too."
"They can't do that," Jordan said before trying to get to Munson, but Garrett stepped in her way.
"They can and they did. I'm sorry," He told her before stepping away.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Doctor," Annie said as she shook Jordan's hand.
"And we're really sorry about any inconvenience," Jackie apologized as she also shook Jordan's hand after Annie before they left.
After arriving at the Boston field office, Jackie went to her temporary desk and called her boss, Supervisory Special Agent Connery with to inform him of Sergi.
"Hello, sir, I'm calling to inform you that Agent Larrabee and I have retrieved Sergi's body from the medical examiner's office," Jackie said, "Along with the tissue samples, trace evidence analysis, and fingerprints that were collected by the medical examiner."
"Thank you, Agent Diaz," He replied, "I'll arrange transport for the body."
"Sir, Agent Larrabee and I are curious about the continuation of the case that Sergi was involved in before he went missing?"
"The case has been dropped due to our witness now being dead," Connery answered, "I expect you and Agent Larrabee not to be involved or go any further with the previous case involving Sergi and his death."
"Yes, sit," Jackie responded before hanging up the phone.
Jackie sighs when Annie walks up to her.
"What did he say?" She asked Jackie.
"After I told him with have the body along with everything else from the M.E.'s office, he'll arrange transport for Sergi and that we are not to continue investigating the Russian mob for any involvement with Sergi's death and the other case," Jackie informed Annie.
"We need to figure out how to take them down and what happened to Sergi," Annie said, "It's my fault that he managed to get out of our sights. What do you say about playing plumber outside the Playpen?"
Jackie knew what Annie was saying, "I would say yes even though we're not supposed to be on the case because it is for the greater good."
"Great. I'll go get us a van."
Jackie was sitting in the back of the van keeping watch on the Playpen as Annie was out getting coffee and donuts. When she saw Annie was coming back, Jackie got up from her seat and slide open the van door.
"Agent Larrabee and Diaz, right?" Jordan said as she walked over to the agents and their van after spotting them.
"Please, it's Jenny and Maddie. You want a donut?" Annie offered.
"Nice van. Yours?" She asked them.
"What are you doing around here, Dr. Cavanaugh?" Jackie asked as she hopped out of the van.
"Please, it's Jordan," Jordan insisted in the name tone that Annie had given her their undercover names, "So, what's up with the stakeout, Jenny? Maddie?"
"Stakeout? Can't two girls just sit in their van and eat some donuts?" Annie said, acting clueless by what Jordan was talking about.
"Okay, play the secret agent stuff all you want but I could help you if you'd just tell me what the hell's going on," She demanded.
"Well, we could tell you, but then we'd have to kill you. Have a good one, Jordan."
Annie and Jackie got into the van and slid the door closed. Jackie watched the screen as Jordan walked away from the van.
"She is pretty determined to figure out the murder of our guy and the girl," Jackie said, "Do you think she could help us?"
"No, I'm worried she might cause some trouble for us," Annie told her.
The two FBI agents ended their conversation and went back to monitoring the Playpen.
That evening, Jackie and Annie watched as Jordan went into the Playpen. The two wondered what Jordan could be doing there, but they knew that it had to relate to Sergi and the girl who was found dead with him. A few minutes passed before Jordan left the Playpen and pounded her hand on the van door. Jackie and Annie got up from their seats and Annie opened the van door.
"Tax cheat, my ass," Jordan said.
"Hi, Jordan," Annie greeted as she and Jackie hopped out of the van.
"How's it going?" Jackie added.
"You want to tell me what's going on?" Jordan asked them.
"Not really," Jackie replied.
"Look, I know about Sergei," She informed the FBI agents, "But I don't know what he has to do with you."
Jackie and Annie looked at each other for a moment. Jackie sighed and nodded to Annie to tell Jordan.
"He was in witness protection," Annie confessed.
"So how did he know the girl, Angelica?" Jordan asked.
"We have no clue," Jackie replied.
"Look, we're not even supposed to be on this anymore. I'm just trying to cover my ass here and Diaz is helping me out. When Sergei committed suicide, he killed my... He killed our case," Annie said.
"Well, that's just it. He didn't commit suicide," Jordan corrected her.
"And how do you know that?" She inquired.
"Well, I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you," Jordan responded.
"How about this? We get changed into some normal clothes, we get some coffee, and we'll try to give you what information we know," Jackie suggested to Jordan.
Jordan took a minute to consider before saying, "Sounds good to me."
After getting changed out of the plumber suits, Jackie and Annie were walking down the street with Jordan who had just bought them some coffee.
"Okay, I bought you your latte. Now, who is the artist formerly known as Robert Munson?" Jordan inquired.
"Sergei Relovich, bottom feeder in the overall organization, but still in the know," Annie answered, "Our friend Ivan from the Play Pen?"
"Mr. Big Shot?" She guessed.
"He pretty much runs the Boston operation," Jackie informs her, "Sergei was his right hand, but stupid, vulnerable."
"So a couple of years back, we pinch him in a sting," Annie said, "Underage girl."
"Working for the FBI, no doubt," Jordan said.
"You do what you gotta do," Jackie told her, "So a deal was cut. Testify against Ivan and walk.
"Set him up in Kansas, white picket fence, cushy job."
"Case was a slam dunk. Ivan was formally indicted and we were ready to put him and the entire organization to bed," Annie told Jordan.
"But Sergei flew the coop," Jordan said as they stopped walking down the street.
"About a year and a half ago," She informed Jordan
"And let me guess, it happened on your watch."
"I brought him to Boston for a deposition. He slipped me. He walked right out of the hotel," Annie admitted to Jordan, "It was a simple job, just watch him, and I blew it."
"Oops," Jordan commented before they continued walking.
"Best anyone could figure is he got fake papers and left the country," Jackie said.
"So where's he been for the last 18 months?" She questioned.
"That's the mystery. This guy... This guy was an idiot, Jordan. But somehow, he just dropped off the planet," Annie told her.
"I think I know how to solve that mystery," Jordan told the FBI Agents.
"How?" Annie asked.
"Let's head to my place of work," She responded.
When they arrived at the Medical Examiner's office, Jordan led the FBI Agents to a conference room with a man looking over some things on the table.
"Agents Larrabee and Diaz, this is Dr. Treiman Sanders," Jordan introduced them, "He was nice enough to help us out."
"Thanks for the help, Dr. Sanders," Jackie said as she shook hands with him.
"Your welcome. Call me Trey," He then shook hands with Annie, "Pleasure"
"All mine," Annie said.
Trey and Annie looked at each other for a moment before Trey broke away.
"Your pal Maltese gave me keys to Angelica's place. I told him I needed personal effects to find next of kin. I didn't mention the murderer part. This is everything I could fit in my ride," He told Jordan as he walked over to her side.
Jordan holds up a butterfly black open cup bra, "Oh, yeah. This looks like a clue."
Trey opens his mouth to speak, but Jordan puts the bra down and walks to the other end of the table.
"So what does this have to do with Sergei?" Annie questioned.
"Sergei was already dead when Angelica was shot, so he's just a prop to sell the murder-suicide. Killing wasn't about him, it was about her," Jordan replied.
"Sergi just was a red herring," Jackie realized, "He was meant to lead us down the wrong path and not focus on the girl."
"Exactly. Any evidence of a boyfriend in the apartment?" Jordan asked Trey.
"Try luxury condo," He corrected, "She was loaded."
"Not bad for a stripper," Annie commented as she looked through a photo album.
"Someone was taking care of her. She must have had a sugar daddy," Jackie said.
"Who's the girl in all the photos?" Annie wondered.
"No idea. Maybe her sister," Trey guessed.
"She didn't have a sister. Just a brother I can't find. Thank you," Jordan accepts the offered photo album from Annie and looks at the photos, "This is Angelica. She still has the same eyes. This is what she used to look like before she transformed herself. Had her nose done, teeth fixed, obvious breast enhancement."
"Cost a lot of money for that kind of work," Trey voiced, "Maybe her sugar daddy paid for it."
"Well, that's an interesting theory," Annie commented before asking him, "How are you gonna prove that?"
"We ask Angelica," Jordan answered.
In an autopsy room, Angelica lays on the slab as Jordan, who had a mask and gown on, makes an incision on her chest. Annie, Trey, and Jackie standing not far behind her in the room.
"You want to tell me how cutting this girl open is gonna tell us who paid for her plastic surgery?" Annie questioned.
"I stopped asking questions a while ago. She doesn't like being challenged," Trey told her.
"Oh. What about you, Dr. Sanders? You like being challenged?" She questioned him in a flirt.
"Depends on the challenge," He flirted back in response.
"Get a room," Jordan muttered, "Hey, guys. Take a look."
Jordan shows them a bloody round silicone shell that she had pulled from Angelica's chest.
"What have you got there, Doctor?" Annie asked.
"It's a breast implant," Trey answered.
"An implant with a serial number. Every number leads to a distributor, and every distributor can track their implants to a surgeon," Jordan said.
"And if Angelica's sugar daddy paid for this then we got his name," Jackie added.
After finding out that Viktor Belkoff was the one who paid for Angelica's breast implants, he was brought down to a Boston precinct interrogation room, where Jackie and Annie were integrating him. Annie was sitting across from Viktor at the interrogation table while Jackie stood against the wall behind Annie.
"Tell us about Sergei Relovich," Annie said.
"I don't know any Sergei," Viktor responded, "Can I go now?"
"Sure," She replied.
Viktor was about to get up to leave but stops when Jackie says, "Just one more thing. Angelica. You spent a lot of money on her, huh?"
"I told you. I was with friends last night," Viktor reminded them of his alibi.
"You bought her a car, a condo," Annie said.
"It's not against the law, even in this country."
"Well, you must have loved her," Jackie said to Viktor.
"So, what if I did?" He asked.
Jackie walks over to the table and puts a hand on Annie's chair, "I admire a man like you, Viktor."
Viktor laughs, "Sure, you do."
"Dating a stripper. You must be a secure guy. I mean seeing the woman you love being touch and stared at by all those other men," Jackie said, causing the smile on Viktor's face to go away, "You must have a lot of self-control."
"Hey, it was just a job," He responded.
"Well, you just hear things, you know? With some girls, for the right price, they'll go pretty far."
"She didn't do that. Never. Never!" Viktor defended her.
"But if you had found out she did, what would you have done?" Jackie asked him.
"I'm not answering any more questions. I want my lawyer now," He demanded.
"You don't need a lawyer, Viktor. We're just chatting here. You can go," She said.
Viktor stands up from his chair before Annie asks, "Did you know she was pregnant?"
Viktor doesn't answer but just stares at Annie before he slams his chair against the table as he pushes it back in. He walks over to the door and slams it shut when he leaves the room.
"He must have not known about the baby when he killed her," Jackie said.
"You think he killed her too?" Annie questioned.
"He acted like he did it, but knew that there was nothing we could do about it," She responded, "My Uncle told me to trust your gut when it comes to people. And my gut is telling me this guy did it."
The next day, Jordan called Annie and Jackie that she figured out what happened to Sergi and told them to meet her at the Medical Examiner's office. When they walked through the doors saying 'Authorized Personnel Only', Jordan was waiting for them.
"Sergei's been on ice for 18 months," Jordan told them as they walked down the hall, "Now, my guess is our boy Viktor caught up with him, put a bullet in his head, stuck him in a freezer somewhere. No body, no crime."
"That's quite a leap," Annie commented.
"I know it's a long shot, but if we can find the freezer where they put him, maybe we can trace it back to Viktor," She told them.
"Uh-huh. And where would we even start?" Jackie asked.
"With Sergei. I just need to take another look at his body," Jordan answered.
"Not gonna happen," She told her as the three of them entered the elevator.
"Why not?" Jordan questioned.
"They're flying the body down to Quantico in two hours," Annie told her.
"Then we got two hours," She responded as the doors closed.
At Cortland Airfield, Annie, Jackie, and Jordan sat in State Police Crime Scene Investigators' van watching a few FBI agents and a couple of people who worked at the airfield. There was also a helicopter, a black sedan, a van that was no doubt holding Sergi.
"You know those guys?" Jordan asked the two FBI Agents.
"No," Annie replied.
"I do, they're from Washington," Jackie answered, "The one to the right I know from the New York office before he got transferred. Look, we told you we got booted off this case."
"Yeah, we can't go around flashing our badge," Annie added.
"Badges? We don't need no stinking badges," Jordan told them.
They each put on yellow hazmat and helmet before heading over to the other FBI agents. They each carried some equipment that they would need with Sergi and to fool the agents. Two FBI agents walk over to them and one holds his hand out to stop them from going any further.
"Hey, boys. Looking for the body of one Robert Munson," Jordan told them after she looked at her metal clipboard, "We in the right place?"
"I'm afraid not. And you are?" One of the agents inquired.
"Medical Examiner's office. Are you sure Robert Munson isn't in there?" She asked them as she looked at the clipboard again, "Because I've got this fax here from the CDC saying I need to do an exam."
"Center for Disease Control?" He questioned.
"Yeah, you think I'm wearing this suit 'cause it makes me look cool?" Jordan retorted, "Take a good look at that body in there, boys. Does the word "contagion" mean anything to you?"
"Ma'am, this is a classified area," The Agents told her.
"Fine. Play the classified card. Don't come crying to us when your arm falls off because of some flesh-devouring disease," Jordan said before she, Annie, and Jackie turned around and started walking back to the van.
"Go ahead," The FBI agents said, the three women stopped and turned around, "We'll be inside if you need us."
The two FBI agents calmly and quickly left. Allowing the three women access to the van holding Sergi. Once they were in the van, they each removed their helmets and Jordan unzipped the body bag. Sergi's body was different than it was when they had last seen it. The body had purple discoloration all over it as decomposition was beginning to take effect.
"It sure looks like a flesh-eating disease," Annie commented.
"Dorian Gray effect. Frozen body appears freshly dead when it's first thawed, but as time passes, it exponentially catches up with nature," Jordan explained as she examined the body for any clues.
"I heard about that. With Sergi being on ice for over a year, I don't think it'll take long for him to become mush," Jackie added.
"What are you looking for?" Annie asked.
"Well, if he was hanging up in a freezer for 18 months, we should find trace elements of whatever was in there with him," Jordan said as she applied a small white sticky rectangular sheet to Sergi's knuckles. When she peeled it on his knuckle, Jordan saw she had gotten something.
"What've you got there, dirt?" Annie questioned.
"No, this is something else," She replied before putting it in an evidence bag, "We're gonna have to take this to the lab."
After finishing with Sergi, the three women returned to the medical examiner's office and were now in the trace analysis room with Dr. Nigel Townsend. Nigel was looking at the substance that Jordan had found on Sergi under a microscope.
"Definitely coffee," Nigel confirmed, "What's it from?"
"Dead body," Jordan replied.
Nigel looked up from the microscope, "Duh."
"Can you trace it?" Jordan asked him.
"Can I trace it?" She asks," Nigel laughs and nods over to a binder next to Jordan, " Pass me that binder, love."
Jordan reaches over to the binder and hands it over to Jackie.
"'Big Bad Compendium of Exotic Substances', " Jackie read the cover before handing it to Nigel.
"On shelves this fall at your local bookstore," Nigel joked as he opened the binder, "See, what we have here really is residue from a coffee bean. Now, coffee beans are unique in region and blend. No two are the same."
"Kind of like snowflakes," Jackie said.
"Exactly," Nigel smiled, "Highly caffeinated snowflakes. But I digress. Colombian Sumatra," He closes the binder and walks over to a steel wire shelving rack with many more binders on it, "Right, now where would one find such a unique taste experience?" He picks up a binder and shows it to them, "Beantown: Tracing Coffee in Boston. "
"You gotta be kidding me," Annie scoffed.
"Well, when one's entire 401K is invested in Starbucks, one has to know the business," Nigel opens and flips through the binder before landing on a particular page, "Here we go. Colombian Sumatra. Only three stores in Boston carry it, and, well... Fancy that. They all use the same distributor. Panequator Industries. Now, one would think they have a local warehouse. At least that's where I would start."
Later on that day, after getting a search warrant for the Panqeuator Industries warehouse, several FBI Agents along with Annie, Jackie, and Jordan bust into the warehouse.
"FBI! Freeze!" Jackie yelled as she went into the warehouse.
"You can't just bust in here!" A man working at the warehouse told them.
"Can you read, pal?" Annie holds the search warrant in his face, "Huh? What's this say? "Warrant." I can bust anywhere I want."
"Listen, I'm telling you, no one comes in here. This room's for long-term storage. You're wasting your time," He told her.
"Larrabee, Diaz, over here," Jordan called them. Annie drags the man over as she and Jackie walk toward Jordan who was standing in front of two adjoined hooks, "Dried blood. Sergei had cuts under his armpits. He was hanging on this."
Annie slams the man against a rack of burlap sacks filled with coffee beans, "No one comes in here, huh?"
"Lady, you're gonna get me killed. This is none of my business," The man said.
"You getting killed is the least of our worries. Now, tell us. Who has access to this freezer?" Jackie demanded.
"Viktor Belkoff."
When the search on the warehouse was over, Viktor was brought to an integration room. He stood up in front of Annie, who is sitting at the table while Jackie with a leather bag in hand was standing against the wall behind Annie.
"You've got nothing on me," Viktor told them with a smug look.
"Maybe you're right, Viktor," Annie said, "I mean, just because I can put Sergei in a freezer that you own, doesn't mean you killed him, right?"
"Right," He agreed.
"But you know, something was nagging at us, why are you the only person who had access to that freezer?" Jackie mentioned, "So, we looked a little harder."
Jackie walks up to the table and placed the bag in front of Annie. Annie opens the bag and takes out a wad of cash that is composed of hundred-dollar bills. Viktor's smile fades as She smells the money before saying, "I love the smell of dirty cash in the morning. Colombia's number two export. Seven hundred grand in laundered money packed right into their coffee beans."
Viktor walks to the table and sits down, "I want to make a deal."
Jackie and Annie share a look before Annie asks, "What kind of a deal are we talking here?"
"You put me in witness protection, I give you names."
"Okay, Viktor. Let's talk."
"I'll get started on the paperwork," Jackie said before she leaves the room. When she walked around the corner, Jackie saw a sad Jordan with Detective Maltese who were both watching the integration from the two-way mirror.
Jackie walks up to Jordan and says, "Don't worry, Jordan. Once Viktor testifies, and with the help of a friend I have in Witness Protection, Viktor's new life isn't going to be as near as luxurious as the one he's become accustomed to."
"Thanks, Diaz," Jordan said before she walked away.
The next day, after Jackie had spoken with his boss in Washington the previous evening, Jackie was speaking with Garret in his office when Jordan walked in.
"Hey, Garret," Jordan began before she noticed he was in the middle of speaking with someone, "Oh, sorry, didn't mean to interrupt."
"No, it's alright, Jordan," Garret told her as he stood up, "Agent Diaz and I were finishing up."
"Wait, Daiz" Jordan looked confused before Jackie stood up from her seat and turned to Jordan.
"Hello, Dr. Cavanaugh," Jackie greeted.
"Hey, Jackie. What are you doing here?" Jordan asked.
"After Annie and I got back, our boss called us into his office. He gave us the third degree and was about to give Annie the boot when I told him it was my idea. Which took him by surprise."
"What did he do then?"
"Well, since I was one of his best agents and only been in the FBI for only a handful of years unlike Annie, he decided that I should be re-assigned to the Boston field office and to work with the Boston P.D." Jackie replied, "I stopped by to inform Dr. Macy that I will be working with everyone here at the medical examiner's office. I'm glad my boss was merciful."
"That's great!" Jordan smiled at the happy news from Jackie, "I'm happy your boss didn't fire you and Larrabee."
"Me too."
"Think you can handle Boston?" Jordan asked with a smirk.
"Please, I'm from the Bronx," Jackie replied, smirking, "And I used to work on the water during the summer in High school. So, like the Statue of Liberty. I'm tough. I'm a harbor chick."