They made their way to her apartment and found crime scene techs everywhere. White paper suited figures dotted the room, each one engrossed in a task.

“Anything?” Korsak asked as he and Frost stepped into the room. He already knew the answer. They would find nothing, no fingerprints, no shoe prints, no hair or fibres. Hoyt was too smart to leave something so obvious behind.

“Only this.” A woman clad in white offered him an evidence bag containing the tea cup and saucer.

Korsak took the bag and sighed. It was definitely Hoyt’s calling card. Bone china cup with a delicate pattern, almost identical to the one they’d found at every other crime scene he’d been responsible for. With one exception; this time there was no body.

“What do you think he was looking for?” Frost asked.

Korsak looked around, aside from the total devastation of the apartment, nothing obvious was missing. “I don’t know.” He admitted. It didn’t make sense, the calling card was Hoyt’s, of this he had no doubt, but nothing else in the room matched his MO. Hoyt never made a mess, never drew attention to himself and wrecking an apartment seemed very much like a scream for attention.

“Maybe he just wanted to scare Jane?” Frost offered.

“Well he’s done that,” Korsak reminded him, “and she doesn’t know about this yet!”

Frost nodded and reached for his phone. If someone had to tell her, he preferred to be the one to do it.

On the coffee table, Jane’s cell phone rang loudly. Maura had run her a hot bubble bath, using the best lavender oils and bubble bath she had. It had taken some convincing but finally she manhandled Jane into the bathroom.

Reaching for the phone, she bit her lip when she saw Frost’s name on the screen.

“What is it Frost?” she asked as she answered the phone. She listened intently as he described what had happened at Jane’s apartment. “Ok, I’ll tell her.” She promised. “And Frost… take care of Jo.” She hung up the phone and headed towards the bathroom. On the other side of the door, she could hear Jane complaining.

“May I come in?” Maura called through the oak door.