by Van ©2014
		Chapter 3

Ainsley returned to the cottage she shared with Susie.  She'd casually poked around the Colony for a little more than an hour, chatting with the staff and her fellow guests, but hadn't learned anything relevant to the investigation.  Of course, she hadn't pushed very hard.  It wouldn't do to arouse suspicions.  At this stage it wasn't worth the risk of being labeled a busybody and getting nothing but the cold shoulder for the rest of the week.  She had nothing much to report to Jane, whenever she got around to briefing her, and figured she might as well wait until tomorrow. 

Ainsley entered her key-code in the cypher-lock pad next to the cottage door, the tiny red LED above the keypad winked out, the tiny green LED winked on, and she opened the door... and smiled.

Naked, but for her glasses, Susie was sitting cross-legged on the carpet in the middle of the common room.  Her upper arms were pinned to her sides by horizontal bands of rope passing above and below her breasts and her shins were lashed to their respective thighs.  Her wrists appeared to be bound against her spine, but on closer inspection Ainsley could tell that the end of the rope lashing Susie's upper arms was wrapped around her wrists and clutched in her right hand, but there was no knot.  Ainsley surmised she'd tied herself up, as best she could, following the instructions in the open binder on the floor at her side.

"Homework?" Ainsley inquired with a grin.

"Yes," Susie confirmed, "as best I can.  Learn anything?"

Ainsley walked over and stood in front of the semi-helpless Susie.  "You know in the early chapters of an Agatha Christie novel when Miss Marple putters around, talks to people, does her knitting, and sips tea?"

Susie smiled.  "And only later realizes that the brand of marmalade served at the hotel is the critical clue to solving the murder that hadn't even happened yet when she was sipping said tea?"

"Exactly," Ainsley chuckled.  "I'm at the noticing-the-marmalade stage."

"Sweet!" Susie giggled, then heaved a mildly frustrated sigh.  "You can't really do this to yourself, except for the legs part."  Obviously, she was referring to her self imposed bonds.

Ainsley knelt and turned the binder so she could read the page.  "Never fear, Ainsley's here."

"My hero," Susie giggled, then frowned.  "Or in this case... my villainess?"

Ainsley smiled.  "I'm your study mate."  She moved behind Susie and began unwinding the rope loosely looped around her wrists.

Susie let her, of course, and smiled as she felt Ainsley tightening the bands of rope pinning her upper arms.  She'd tried looping the shoulder-yoke, the under-the-armpits-and-behind-the-neck pass that was supposed to cinch the horizontal ropes, but had failed.  Ainsley corrected this deficiency.  "Oh!"  Ainsley had given the yoking rope a firm tug, significantly tightening the box-tie.

"Are you all right?" Ainsley asked.

"I'm fine," Susie purred.  Ainsley bound her wrists, then threaded the end of the rope under the yoke-rope at the nape of her neck.  She gave it a tug and the box-tie tightened, again.  This time Susie managed to contain her response, except for a slight smile.  "You're a quick study," she purred as Ainsley tied the final knot.

Ainsley smiled.  "I gave the reading a glance before going out," she explained.  She shifted to Susie's front, then tied the free end of the ankle ropes through the horizontal ropes below Susie's breasts.  This enforced the mild crunch specified by the assignment.  Ainsley pointed at a paragraph in the reading.  "I don't know why there's this part about an 'optional gag' when there's nothing we can use for one.  This is a clothing free zone."

Susie pointed with her chin towards the bathroom.  "There are head scarves on the bottom shelf, below the extra towels.  I suggest we use two."

Ainsley stood, strolled into the bathroom, and returned with a pair of neatly folded saffron-orange scarves.

"Good," Susie said with a happy smile.  "Stuff one in my mouth, fold the other into a narrow band, and tie it across the first."

"That should work," Ainsley agreed.  She unfolded one of the scarves and crumpled it into a wad.  "This is pretty big," she noted.

"I have a big mouth," Susie giggled.

"I'm sure Jane would agree," Ainsley purred, then stuffed the crumpled scarf into Susie's cooperatively open mouth.  Is was a big wad and it was a tight fit, but she managed.  She folded the second scarf as Susie had suggested and tied it across the wad and between Susie's teeth, then cinched it at the nape of her neck, under her ponytail.  "I suppose I better do this right," Ainsley said with a smile as she gave the ends of the scarf a firm tug, then completed a square-knot.

Susie was at a loss for words, which was just as well.  The gag was quite obviously effective.  She could tell that even without trying to make any noise.

"You know Jane thinks you're brilliant, don't you?" Ainsley asked, and Susie nodded.  "You're a bit of a nerd, like Dr. Isles," Ainsley continued, "but brilliant."

Susie's eyes sparkled.  She knew Det. Rizzoli and Dr. Isles respected her professional competence, and she was proud the Canadian detective constable could tell.

"And now," Ainsley said, "you meditate."  She closed the binder, stood, and sauntered towards the bathroom.  "I think I'll take a shower, then do the rest of my reading."

Susie watched the naked blonde's swishing legs, swaying hips, strong back, and swinging arms.  I like her short hair, the helpless prisoner thought.  It's fine, like mine, but blond, A or B on the Fischer-Saller Scale.  And her skin is about a two on the Fitzpatrick Scale, maybe a six or seven on the Von Luschan.  She's very pretty.

The bathroom door closed and Susie settled in to meditate, but before she cleared her mind, she gave Ainsley's ropes one last vigorous test.  The key knot was impossible to reach, and none of the rope bands loosened or shifted, no matter what she tried.  She truly was helpless.

I wonder what's going on in Jane and Maura's cottage, Susie thought.  Is Maura bound, gagged, and helpless... or is it Jane?  She tried one final twist and squirm, then closed her eyes.  Jane, she decided.  It's probably Jane.

The first half of their second full day at the Moon River Colony passed much as the first.  Upon arrival at the Meditation Lodge the students were tied to their posts by Kate; however, she didn't use the same technique as the day before.

She started with Jane, doing nothing to alleviate the somewhat grumpy detective's belief that Kate had it in for her.  As instructed, Jane sat with her back to her post, raised her hands, and allowed Kate to bind her wrists together behind said post and with her hands palm-to-palm.  At first, the wrist ropes were decidedly loose, but this changed when Kate cinched the bindings, took turns around Jane's hands and thumbs, then pulled the bindings tight, enforcing a hands-in-prayer pose.

Kate then stretched the doubled rope down and took a cinch around the post and Jane's chest, just above her breasts, then added another pass for a total of four neatly stacked, horizontal strands.  She took two more passes, this time below Jane's breasts, adding a tight band of four more strands.  Some sort of hitch or knot was tied behind Jane's back and on the far side of the post, then Kate shifted position to Jane's front.  She gathered the remaining fee ends of the rope, one strand from either side, tied a mildly complicated hitch through the lower horizontal band of rope and between Jane's breasts, passed the rope up and under the horizontal upper band, pulled down, bringing the upper and lower bands closer together, wrapped the remaining rope around the vertical rope, then finished with an elegant knot.

During this process it was impossible for Kate to not brush her hands against Jane's boobs, especially as she wrapped the last of the free ends and tied the final knot.  Jane found this in no way titillating or arousing, of course, nor was she infuriated and annoyed by the way Maura sat in front of her post, smiling her usual bright, happy smile and being her usual maddening, Dr. Smartypants, factoid babbling, gorgeous, naked self.  No, Jane wasn't affected by any of this nonsense.  All she had to do was bide her time and get through the class.  Tonight it would be her turn to prowl around and see what she could discover about Mistress and her nimble fingered Assistant. But none of this naked bondage stuff was titillating, no siree.

Meanwhile, Kate had used a second coil to bind Jane's ankles and crossed legs in much the same manner as Maura had tied them last night.  The only added refinement was a loop taken around the post to keep Jane's butt and back firmly against the post—not that her upper bonds weren't already keeping her butt and back firmly against the post—and a cinch taken through her upper bonds and behind the post, linking the two coils of rope together.

Maura was next, and Jane watched her BFF being bound in identical fashion with detached, analytical interest.  It was in no way exciting to watch as the ropes dimpled Maura's flesh and rendered her more and more helpless.  Not at all.  And the manner in which the torso ropes and vertical binding squeezed Maura's fuller, more volumetric breasts was... uh... informative... but not arousing.  Of course, Jane could see how someone else might actually derive pleasure from the sight of Maura naked and tied to her post with her arms raised, legs crossed, and boobs mildly compressed by tight bands of conditioned hemp, but not Jane Rizzoli!

The same went for Susie.

And for Ainsley.

Finally, just as the last knot was tied in Ainsley's bondage, Mistress appeared.

The morning class was instruction in several of the basic and common Shibari techniques: the Kimono tie, reverse prayer, box-tie, behind-head two-hand tie, and the teppou or "carrying a rifle" tie.  Mistress explained it was not her intent that they master all of these ties in one session.  She just wanted to expose them to the range of possibilities offered by the Art of Tight Binding.  She demonstrated each of the techniques twice, using Kate as her model and making sure all four of her students got a good look from the front and back of how the ropes were applied.

The final hour of the morning class was spent in meditation.  Or, in Jane's case, trying to meditate.  She kept stealing looks at Maura's bound, immobile, smiling form through half-closed eyes.  She was hoping for a hint on how she might improve her ability to enter the trance state, of course.  She was in no way fascinated by her BFF's naked body or the way the tight, expertly applied bands of rope compressed her breasts, dimpled her smooth, tan flesh, and rendered her so very very helpless.

Finally, Kate untied the students, leaving Jane for last, of course—Bitch!—and they went to lunch.

The afternoon class was quite literally hands on.

The students paired off and, under Mistress' and Kate's watchful eyes, were required to bind each other using the techniques demonstrated that morning.  Mistress kept changing the pairings between techniques, so everybody got to bind everybody else and to be bound in turn.  By the time class was over, Jane had experienced each of the basic ties from either side of the rope.  It was exhausting.  Tying up beautiful naked women, all of whom were her good friends, was hard work (but in no way arousing).  Who knew?

Anyway, Jane was more than ready for a good dinner and a relaxing evening of skulking around the Colony in her birthday suit.  They left class with a third set of reading and an additional coil of rope.

Maura and Susie were not exhausted, anything but.  In fact, they were enthusiastic about their newly found favorite meditative technique, giggling and chatting together as the four students made their way to the dining room.

"They're something else," Ainsley said to Jane.  They were walking a few steps behind the ME and Senior Criminalist, the subjects of her remark.

"Yes, they're something," Jane agreed in a drawl.  "What, I'm not sure, but something."

Ainsley was as tired as Jane, but was in no way fooled by her American colleague's manner.  Jane obviously thought the world of her fellow Americans.

"I wish we could conduct a detailed search of Mistress' cottage," Jane sighed.  "And the same for Kate."

"Being in class with them all day does make it a little difficult," Ainsley agreed, "not that I condone breaking and entering, of course."

"Of course," Jane agreed with a sly smile.  "In any case, it would be difficult to explain it away if one of us was discovered rifling through their things."

"Agreed," Ainsley nodded.  "We should remain alert for an opportunity.  One of them is bound to leave the Colony at some point."

"In the meantime, I'll pump the employees and guests for information."

"I wish you better luck than I had," Ainsley sighed.

They'd reached their destination and were crossing the threshold.  The menu board announced that the vegan special-of-the-evening was pasta puttanesca with capers and kalamata olives.  The non-vegan special was slow-cooked elk and venison chili.

"Not even close," Jane chuckled as she gazed at the board.

Ainsley nodded in agreement.  "Chili it is."

Her arms crossed under her breasts, Jane gazed at her BFF and heaved a truly disgusted sigh.  "You're gonna start whining and pouting if you don't get your way, I know it."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Maura said primly.  "I only need a few minutes of your precious time, and in any case, it's not yet dark enough to start your nocturnal prowling."  She was sitting cross-legged on the floor in the center of the cottage's common room.  Her notebook was open on her left and to her right were three neatly bundled coils of "homework rope."  She smiled a somewhat coy, somewhat wounded smile at Jane.

"I don't need darkness to stretch my legs and have a friendly chat with the Colony staff and our fellow guests," Jane countered.

Still smiling, Maura nodded towards the rope.  "You'll have to do it anyway.  Why not now?  Homework is homework."  To Maura Isles, there was no refuting that last argument.

Not so with Jane Rizzoli.  "Homework is homework?  Oh, please."

Now, Maura was both scandalized and gravely disappointed.  "Jane," she admonished.

Jane rolled her eyes, then squatted on the floor in front of Maura.  "All right already.  Let's get this over with so I don't have to listen to you whimper."

Maura chuckled, her amber eyes sparkling.  She knew Jane was kidding.  "Tonight's assignment calls for a combination kimono-tie hogtie," she said, pointed at the open notebook.  "The illustration is very clear."

Jane regarded the drawing on the page with a jaundiced eye.  She had to admit, the illustration was clear.  She picked up a coil of rope and released its restraining hitch.  "I swear," she huffed, "you're like a five-year old on Christmas morning."

Maura chuckled, again.  "I am not."

Jane moved behind Maura and set to work.  She positioned Maura's hands behind her back with her wrists crossed, then lashed them together.  She then passed the still substantial length of doubled rope around to Maura's front between her torso and left upper arm, passed under her left breast, up and over her right shoulder, then back down to take a hitch through her wrist bonds.  She pulled out the slack, then made a complementary pass under Maura's right breast, across her left shoulder, and back to her wrists.  She then took a third turn, this time around Maura's upper torso, under her armpits and above her breasts, then wrapped the remaining rope around the "V" of ropes between Maura's wrists and neck, pulling the doubled strands together and tightening the entire arrangement.  The final and key knot was tied just below the nape of her neck.  Maura's crossed wrists were now solidly lashed against her spine, and the neat, symmetrical harness made sure they'd remain there.

Step two was to lash Maura's crossed ankles together, ease her onto her stomach, then lash her ankle and wrist bonds together.  It was a hogtie, and following the illustration, Jane made it a somewhat stringent hogtie.  After she finished wrapping the free ends around the wrists to ankles ropes and tying the final knot on the far side of Maura's ankles, the helpless but still smiling captive was balanced on her stomach, thighs, and semi-quashed breasts.

"There," Jane huffed, then stood, took a step back, and resumed her arms-crossed-below-her-breasts pose.  "That should hold you."

Maura squirmed and struggled, testing Jane's handiwork.  It was obvious she was not going to be able to free herself.  "Excellent, Jane," she said.  With something less than her usual grace, Maura half-rolled onto her side and smiled up at her study-mate.  "Enjoy your covert investigative activities."

"Uh... thanks," Jane drawled.  "I'll certainly try."  She had been staring at Maura's rope-framed breasts, flat tummy, and hips—or rather, had not been staring at Maura's rope-framed breasts, flat tummy, and hips.  She turned and headed for the door.  "See ya later," she said as she made her exit.

Maura smiled at the now closed door, then called after Jane.  "Wait!  My gag!"  Seconds passed and Jane didn't return.  Apparently, she hadn't heard.  "Oh well," Maura sighed, rolled back onto her stomach, and settled in to meditate.  She could try reading the new assignment, but turning the pages in the notebook would be somewhat difficult.  The reading would have to wait.  Best just to meditate.

Suddenly, Maura heard the doorknob rattle and rolled back onto her side.  "Jane?"  There was a figure standing in the open doorway, but it wasn't Jane.

Jane thought she'd had a little more luck getting the residents and guests of the Colony to open up than Ainsley, but not by much.  She learned that Kate was more social than her Mistress, but both were well regarded.  Everyone seemed to chalk up Giselle Pierce's standoffish manner to her devotion to the art of meditation.  Kate, on the other hand, was devoted to the business end of Mistress' Shibari Meditation enterprise.  Neither had been out and about this evening, but all agreed that if anyone was the more likely of the pair to share a little wine or hoist a few beers, it would be Kate.

Anyway, Jane thought, mission accomplished.  She heaved a sigh as she approached the entrance to cottage #17.  Yes, it was mission accomplished, but without a lot to show for her efforts.

Actually, Jane wasn't worried.  Legwork often started off slow.  Facts accumulated, intelligence was gathered, and finally, something snapped into place and the guilty party or parties were revealed.  No, Jane wasn't worried.  She entered the door code in the cottage door's keypad, opened the door—and Jane froze in amazement!  See was also outraged!

"What the hell is going on in here?" Jane demanded.

Penny the masseuse was sitting cross-legged on her open massage mat in the center of the room with Maura's head and shoulder cradled in her lap.  Maura was still bound in Jane's ropes in the combination kimono-tie and hogtie.  She was also smiling.  And Penny was smiling.  They were both smiling.

Oh-by-the-way, Penny's hands were oiled and she was running them over Maura's stomach!

"Oh, hi," Maura said, still smiling—and not at all embarrassed to be discovered by her BFF having a naked youngster—Penny was little more than a teenager—sliding her oily hands over her naked body.

"Hi," Penny added.

Jane continued staring.  In addition to her stomach, Maura's shoulders and breasts glistened with oil.  Apparently, Penny had been busy.

"What is it, Jane?" Maura asked.  She was still smiling, but there was an undercurrent of concern in her voice.

"Uh..."  Jane stepped into the cottage, closed the door behind her, then stood over her bound BFF and the tiny, grinning masseuse.  Okay, Penny was giving her a massage.  Big whoop.  Why was it a problem?  Why was it a problem for Jane?  It wasn't, she decided.  Not really.  "You ordered a massage?"  She was addressing her BFF, of course.

It was Penny who answered.  "I was free for the evening and thought I'd drop by.  You two are a lot of fun."

"Thank you, Penny," Maura giggled, then resumed smiling at Jane.

Jane closed her mouth—which she hadn't realized was hanging open—then rolled her eyes.  "Whatever."  She went to the easy chair where she'd left her binder and flopped down into the seat.

"Penny and I were talking about Kate," Maura said.

Penny continued massaging Maura's tummy... and smiling at Jane.

"Kate?" Jane asked casually... very casually.

"Did you know she uses the Colony's servers to make all arrangements for Giselle's classes?" Maura asked, "student reservations, booking accommodations at the Colony, payment processing?  And she does the same at the spas in the Boston area, when Giselle takes her course on the road."

"I see," Jane nodded, gazing into the distance.  "So... she has every opportunity to conduct background research on all the guests at all the spas, determine who's loaded, their home addresses, everything she'd need to know."

"Need to know for what?" Penny asked.

"Uh, who would make good students, of course," Jane responded.  "Who she should invite to the course."

Penny's response was a skeptical frown.  "That makes no sense whatsoever.  The students come to them.  Why should she need to do research?"

"Yes," Maura agreed, "but by doing research she'd have everything she needed to know to optimize their course experience.  That's what you meant, isn't it Jane?"

"Uh, yeah," Jane agreed.  "That's what I meant."  Why am I babbling like an idiot? Jane wondered.  It's not like I'm distracted, or anything.

Penny replenished the oil on her hands, leaned low across Maura's bound body, and began massaging her hips and upper thighs.

Jane stood and pointed towards her bedroom.  "I'm going to read on my bed," she announced, then headed for the door.

"Would you like a massage?" Penny offered.  "I'm almost finished with Maura."

"No, no, I'm fine," Jane answered, then crossed the threshold and closed the bedroom door.

"She seemed nervous about something," Penny purred.  Her hands caressed Maura's inner thighs, then slid back out to her hips.

"She's fine," Maura sighed, then smiled at Penny's grinning face as the tiny masseuse sat upright and began cleaning her hands with a towel.  "That was very nice, Penny.  Thank you."

"You're welcome," Penny responded, then eased Maura off her lap and onto her side and began rolling her mat.  "I still think a massage would relax your friend," she said, nodding towards the closed bedroom door.  She stood, gathered her towels and bottle of oil and tucked the mat under her right arm.

"Come back tomorrow, if you can," Maura suggested.  "I assume the next homework assignment will include more bondage, and it'll be Jane's turn."

Penny smiled.  "That's wicked... and fun.  Just don't get me in trouble, okay?"

"Of course not," Maura chuckled.  "Jane is always up for merry pranks, clever jests, and frolicsome jocularity.  She won't complain."

Penny smiled as she strolled to the cottage door.  'Frolicsome jocularity,' she thought.  What a nerd, but I like her.  I like them both.  "Goodnight," she said as she made her exit.

"Goodnight!" Maura called after the little pixie, then rolled onto her stomach.  She waited several seconds, then shook her head in a somewhat futile attempt to clear the hair from her face.  "Jane?" she called out.  "Jane?  You can untie me now!"  Several seconds ticked by with no response.  "Jane?  I have to do my reading!"  More time passed.  "Jane?"

On the other side of the bedroom door, Jane was reclined on her back on her bed with her head and shoulders propped up on a pile of pillows, and was reading her homework, or trying, anyway.  She was also studiously ignoring her BFF's plaintive voice.  Getting a massage while I do all the work, she thought.  Letting that little... hottie run her oily fingers all over her body...  A smile curled Jane's lips.  She can just... meditate.

Susie was comfortably seated in one of the easy chairs in the common room of the cottage she shared with Ainsley.  Her notebook was open before her and she was reading the evening's assignment.  She'd already completed the practical portion of her homework, with Ainsley's assistance.

Ainsley was on her stomach in the center of the room and bound with two coils of conditioned hemp in the manner prescribed: a combination kimono-tie and cross-legged hogtie.  She was also gagged in the manner Susie herself had been gagged the night before: one saffron-orange scarf crumpled into a wad and stuffed in her mouth, and a second scarf folded into a narrow bandage and tied as a cleave-gag.  She was facing away from Susie and her chair at about a forty-five degree angle and was doing her best to meditate.  Ainsley had considered telling her cottage-mate and fellow student that they only had to pay pro forma attention to the instructions in the assignment, and that a full hour of meditation for the bound and gagged participant was unnecessary; but once Susie had her bound, and especially gagged, it was too late.

Susie realized she was having difficulty concentrating on her reading.  Her eyes kept straying to Ainsley's hogtied, helpless body.  Also, she kept thinking about all the things she could do to embellish tonight's assignment.  After all, between the two of them they'd been issued a total of six coils of rope.  It seemed like such a pity to let four of them go to waste.

The kimono-tie was nice, but left to her own devices, Susie would have made it a reverse-prayer kimono-tie, with rope strands binding Ainsley's hands, fingers, and thumbs.  Also, instead of a simple crossed-ankles tie, she would have added neat bands around Ainsley's thighs and shins, locking her legs into their current folded position.

And why stop there?  A third coil of rope could be used to pin Ainsley's upper arms to her sides, converting the kimono-tie into a combination kimono-box-tie.  Then, a cinch could be taken around the Detective Constable's narrow waist and through her crotch to anchor both the upper and lower bondage.

That would have left three coils of rope free... for someone to do the same to Susie... either Maura or Jane.  Yes, that would be perfect.

Susie shook her head.  She'd "read" the final three paragraphs without comprehending any of it, and decided she had no choice but to start over from the beginning.  She didn't glance at the travel clock she'd left on the side table to time Ainsley's hour of meditation.  Ainsley would understand if she lost track of time and the session went a little long.