In a single moment electricity shot through my entire body, once again I was sent leaping across time. Just once I'd like to enjoy the things I accomplished but someone up above didn't seem to want the same thing.
When things came back into focus I found myself crouching next to of all things a dead body. This wasn't the first time, and just like before the only thought running through my mind was I was to late. I lost my footing and found myself falling backwards. Heels? Heeled boots, great I was a woman again. "Oh Boy."
"Lisbon you okay?" A man in a three piece suit helped me up his blue eyes gave me a once over studying me probably to make sure his partner was okay, but either way it felt like he was looking straight through me.
"I'm fine thank you." I dusted myself off and took a look around. I was on a beach somewhere, judging by the people around me somewhere in the recent past. The man looked me over once more and smiled.
"Glad to hear it my dear. Wouldn't want our fearless leader getting hurt before the fun even began."
"Right." I didn't quite know how to respond to this man. One thing I did pick up on was apparently I was the leader, and my name was Lisbon.
"Boss we got some more blood over here." A muscular Asian man called out.
"Good mark it and keep looking." I guessed.
"Right Boss."
"The yacht club is just on the other side of that cliff right." The blond suited man asked an officer in uniform. Okay so we're not local, what is this, the FBI. Lisbon probably has a badge on her somewhere if I could just get a moment to look at it.
"Yes sir." The officer looked up and the blond man only nodded looked at the body once more and wandered toward the shoreline. He asked a question and walked away, who was this guy. And where the hell was Al.
"Boss we done here?" The Asian man came up beside me.
"Yeah I guess so."
"Where's Jane?"
"Jane?" Was there another person here I should know about had Lisbon sent her somewhere. I hadn't seen a woman.
"Damn it, I'll go find him. You know Boss sometimes I wonder why you put up with him like you do." The Asian man sighed, so Jane was the blond man.
"Well…"
"I know I know he closes cases. Did you see where he was headed?"
"The shoreline."
"I'll go get him." Soon the two of them were walking back, the Asian man seemed to have a permanent frown on his face while the blond Jane was grinning ear to ear.
"My dear Lisbon, Cho was just telling me how much you wanted me to drive back to HQ."
"Why would I say that Jane?" The Asian man Cho frowned.
"Now Kimball if you didn't want me to drive you shouldn't have said it."
"I didn't say it."
"Kimball Cho are you saying you'd rather drive?"
"I'm not playing games with you Jane."
"I don't care who drives you two decide." I found car keys in my pocket and tossed it to the arguing men, that works out perfectly since I don't know where I'm going.
"Are you sure Boss?" Kimball Cho questioned.
"You heard the lady, am I driving or you." Jane grinned, the look on his face made me feel like he knew something, but I didn't know what.
"I'm driving not you." Cho went straight to a black SUV and climbed in, while Jane raced around and held the passenger side door open for me.
"Thank you Jane."
"Jane what do you want."
"Nothing more than to help a lovely lady into a car."
"Yeah right, Boss you want me to leave him here?"
"Why would I want that?" I questioned.
"Why would she want that Kimball?" Jane repeated, "I'm just trying to be helpful."
"You're up to something Jane?" Cho watched him in the rear view mirror.
"Me never?" The blond shook his head.
There was silence in the car for the rest of the drive. I lost track of time but it was somewhere between and hour or two, and still no Al. Jane seemed content on leading the way into the building and I had an excuse to get the badge out of my pocket. Teresa Lisbon Sr. Agent at the CBI.
"Van Pelt, Rigsby." Jane nodded before continuing through the room. The two in the room along with Cho watched me, causing Jane to stop and turn. "Lisbon will be right with you, I need a word." Jane informed, "Lisbon with me please."
"Right." I nodded and followed out of the room and into a smaller office, the name on the desk told me it was mine. Jane walked around my or Lisbon's desk, he leaned on the chair and looked at me.
"I'm waiting."
"Excuse me."
"I don't know who you are and I don't know how you got here but you are not Teresa Lisbon. And she better be safe because those three out there will do just about anything for her and well I'm not necessarily a nice person either."
"How did you?"
"Ha, really I have worked with Agent Lisbon for eight years and you are not her. I don't know how you did it but you better start explaining."
"I don't know what you're talking about?"
"You owe me."
"How do you suppose?"
"I got you out of driving, and I gave you the names of every member on this team. I bailed you out of having to debrief with the team out there. Now if you don't tell me who you are and what the hell is happening I will be forced you make you."
"Are you going to torture me Agent Jane?"
"I'm neither an agent or a physical man."
"Then how are you going to make me tell you?"
"I have my own specific skill set." He just watched me, and as he did, I got this bad feeling that I didn't want to find out what those skills were.
"My name is Dr. Sam Beckett. I'm a quantum physicist who developed a time travel experiment. I leap across time trying to put right things that went wrong. I help people and then I leap out." I tried, he didn't react and I couldn't tell whether he believed me or not.
"Okay, what does this have to do with Agent Lisbon?"
"Usually what went wrong happens in the life of the person I leap into, sometime they are just the person with the best access to the event that needs to be changed."
"So what needs to be changed?"
"You believe me?" I frowned, no one believed me that easily.
"I don't know about your time travel experiment, but I do know that you are not Agent Lisbon. Right now all I care about is getting my partner back."
"She's in a waiting room about two years in the future. She's not in any danger and my colleagues are there making sure all her needs are met."
"Yeah well your colleagues better be pretty convincing because if she gets mad your whole project is in danger."
"I trust everyone there."
"Well that's good because I still don't trust you. So what went wrong, what needs to be changed?"
"I don't know?"
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"Well my friend usually appears and fills me in on everything from the year, the persons name, and the original history."
"And how does your friend just appear?"
"He's a Hologram, he's in the future but our brainwaves are linked so I can see and hear him when nobody else can."
"I take it your invisible friend hasn't shown up yet?"
"No." We were both silent and there was something I needed to know. "How did you know?"
"When you fell."
"You knew because I fell?"
"No I knew because you excepted my help in getting up and you told me thank you. If Lisbon fell she would have gotten up herself and pushed me off with some sarcastic remark." Jane explained, I didn't know how to respond he knew I wasn't his partner with in seconds of me being there.
"That was it?"
"Well just in case it was just Lisbon having an off day I preceded with the comment that had three things that would elicit a response from her. She would at the very least have rolled her eyes at 'my dear' and again at 'fearless leader' then I would have been scolded for referring to solving a murder as fun. All you did was say 'right'. After that the way you walked and your mannerisms are completely off. I mean you practically wore a sign saying Teresa isn't here."
Who was this guy? How did he notice all of this? I mean I have a photographic memory and I don't think I could process things that quickly. "So who are you?"
"My name is Patrick, Patrick Jane. You call me anything other than Jane those three out there will know something isn't quite right. In fact I'm disappointed I thought I had trained them better…"
"Sam your name is Teresa Lisbon, but you better watch out for this guy Patrick Jane apparently he'll give you a run for the money genius why's."
"Your late invisible friend." Patrick threw himself on to the couch against the back wall of the office."
"How did he?" Al started but didn't quite know where to go with it.
"How did you know?" I finished for my holographic friend.
"Really you have to ask."
"Yes!" Al yelled, I just stared at Mr. Jane.
"Your eyes diverted to the corner of the room for about fifteen seconds, and you let out a brief sigh suggesting relief that you finally had contact. Along with a small smile caused by a familiar face."
"Who does this guy think he is?"
"Thanks for the warning Al, would you like to meet Patrick Jane."
"Oh."
"Forgive me for not shaking your hand." Patrick stared at the exact spot that Al was standing if I didn't know better I would have swore he saw him. "Please tell me what needs to be fixed so your Dr. friend can leave and I can have my partner back."
"Umm okay Ziggy doesn't have a lot on this. If I had to guess it's to solve the case but again, there isn't a lot of information on the case in general."
"Really it took you hours to come give me a warning that you delivered to late and you don't have any relevant information for me." I couldn't help but roll my eyes.
"Look don't get snippy with me. Its that Agent Lisbon you have to blame she's a little spit fire. She jumped up the minute she got here threating me if her team was in any danger. She didn't believe me for a long time and when she did she only laughed." Al explained, "Apparently she had good reason she told me we didn't stand a chance at doing this without Mr. Jane knowing. But I tell you Sam she is …"
"Al I'd stop before you say something that would get you into trouble. Agent Lisbon doesn't forgive easily."
"How did you… How did he?"
"Sam started to blush." He explained without any verbal prompting from me, "What that was the obvious next question. I may not be a quantum physicist…"
"Ain't that the truth, he didn't even go to school." Al interrupted for my ears only.
"But I'm not ignorant either." Patrick finished without hearing Al's interruption. He hadn't gone to school, who was this guy? "You two probably want to be alone and gossip about the charming man who knows all of your secrets."
"There is no way you know all of secrets." I couldn't help but blurt out.
"You're about my height, relatively attractive, from a good home, multiple degrees but your memory isn't all there. You have been 'leaping' for a while now and are used to shocking situations but are still surprised by me. You friend is shorter eccentric clothes smoking a cigar, crude probably a womanizer which is opposite of you. Oh and probably some form of armed forces."
"How?"
Jane just sighed and started, "When you start to talk to me you don't initially look up you are used to being eye to eye with men. You're confident in yourself so likely reasonable attractive from a good home. You mentioned being a doctor and a quantum physicist. As for the memory you were relatively vague on your description of a project you should actually know every detail of. As for the leaping you found yourself standing over a dead body and weren't surprised by it, As for Al, when you look at him you are able to look straight at him indicating that he is closer to Lisbon's height than mine. You smirked ever so slightly when he showed up hinting at the clothes. I've noticed you look down on occasion as if you were watching ash fall to the ground, the way you blushed when he was talking made me assume he was talking about a women probably Lisbon. Which made me think he's talked about women like this before. As for the armed forces that was a guess, but I was thinking of reasons why a womanizing, cigar smoking, eccentrically dressed man would be working on a top secret project with government funding." He finished, "Now the red head is Grace Van Pelt you call her Grace or Van Pelt doesn't matter the tall man is Wayne Rigsby call him Rigsby and you already know who Cho is. The director is Virgil Minnelli he is more of a father figure who she respects completely but isn't afraid to argue with."
"Thank you Mr. Jane."
"Now I'm going to do one more thing for you, the kids out there are going to expect a debriefing you can't avoid that forever. I'll give you a little bit more time to get yourself together. Yell at me the same way you were yelling at Al. Just tell me to get out and stop wasting your time. You can do it." Patrick smirked and headed for the door. "Pull out some serious acting chops Dr."
"I don't want to hear it Jane! Get out! You are just wasting my time!"
"Oh come on Lisbon."
"Get out! I have work to get done!"
Patrick continued to smirk, he gave me a nod as he left making his way back to the rest of the team. "Very nice Sam."
"Who is he Al?" I went over to Lisbon's desk and started looking through her desk.
"Patrick Jane. He had a very good career as a charlatan. He conned a lot of people out of a lot of money. Before that there wasn't much records, no schooling in and out of foster care apparently he grew up at a carnival with his abusive and controlling father."
"So why is he here? What happened to make him stop a profitable career and work with cops?"
"Well he umm, well his family was murdered, his wife and daughter that is were murdered by a serial killer. He blames himself, he talked about that serial killer, Red John, on live television. Red John got insulted and Mr. Jane blames himself for his families death. He came here and is working with the CBI solving cases while using their resources to track down the man who killed his family."
I looked out at the man lying on the couch; he exuded confidence and charm to think that he was hiding a rough childhood and the death of his family. "Does he ever find this Red John?"
"You don't remember?"
"I think we have established the holes in my memory."
"Your friend Mr. Jane kills the serial killer, heads to Mexico and then two years later he and agent Lisbon are recruited by the FBI."
"No kidding, so what am I here to change, does something happen now to stop him from killing Red John, so he doesn't have to move to Mexico?"
"No Ziggy says Red John has to die in one years time."
"Okay, so why am I here?"
"I don't know."
"Best bet is because of the dead body right I mean I leapt into a crime scene."
"I don't think so, this particular team at the CBI with the help of one Patrick Jane has never not closed a case."
"Alright so something happens on this case that I'm supposed to stop. Al you have to give me something to work with here."
"I'll go back and try and move Ziggy along, maybe talk to Agent Lisbon and see what she can tell me. In the meantime I'd stick close to Jane he seems to be steering you right, but be careful he's a professional con man."
"Right." I nodded and once again looked out at the rest of the team at work at their desk, on the computer or on the phone. While Patrick appeared to be dozing on the couch, but he caught me eye and I knew he didn't quite trust me. Should I trust him? He had helped me out, but the guy Al described the professional con man turned killer was a completely different man from the person I saw.
With Al gone I leaned back in the chair and took a breath. This leap was not going to be easy. The file on the desk caught my eye, it was an unfinished report from the previous case. I read through the case file there were a lot of portions in the report that she seemed to skip over. And each time that happened it ended with Jane solving the crime. I wanted sit in here and read more of these files I could learn so much. However there was a current case that needed solving and I knew from what Patrick had said if I stayed in here to long the other team members would get suspicious. I took a deep breath and made my way to the bullpen.
"What have we got so far?" I asked standing in the doorway, Grace jumped when I spoke both men looked up from their work, and Patrick continued to fake sleeping on the beat up couch.
"Well the blood we found at the crime scene would suggest that she came up the beach from the public beach. It's hard to say at the moment whether she was attacked by someone waiting there."
"Wrong."
I looked over and saw that Patrick was now sitting up, "I suppose you know what happened." I tried really hard to sound annoyed by him, which seemed to be how Lisbon treated him. He just smiled at me.
"One they came from the country club, and she probably knew her killer, they definitely went there together."
"And how may I ask did you come to this conclusion?" I pressed.
"She wasn't dressed for the beach, she was dressed for cocktails and there was a smoothed over portion on the beach to suggest a boat had landed with two sets of foot prints which could have easily gone unnoticed by your crack team since they were trampled over all around the body by the lovely local law enforcement."
"Gee thanks Jane." Cho didn't look as if he actually cared one way or another.
"Okay well that's a better lead than someone just attacked her on the beach. I want two of you to head to the country club and see if they know her. Meanwhile umm Grace stay here and look for similar crimes in the area, maybe Cho is right just wrong place wrong time."
"Right Boss." Grace went to work on her computer.
"Got it Boss." Rigsby and Cho grabbed their coats and made their way to the elevator."
"And me Boss?"
"Stay out of my way Jane." I warned and turned back toward my or Lisbon's office that is. With any luck that was convincing enough. I figured Patrick would wander in after a while to make sure everything was going okay. However, more importantly, Al had better show up again soon with some real information. I had hardly sat down when Mr. Jane stood in the door clapping.
"The lovely Grace sent me in here to make up with you." He crossed the room and threw himself on the couch. "You did a very convincing job."
"I usually do." I nodded, he smirked.
"I guess Al didn't have anything useful for you?"
"I still don't know why I'm here if that's what you mean."
"But he did tell you about me." Patrick stared me down he knew the answer before he even asked the question.
"Yes."
"What did he tell you? That I'm a lying conman and shouldn't be trusted."
"Not in those words."
"He's right."
"Excuse me."
"People who trust me get hurt."
"That's why you keep your distance from the rest of the team?" I questioned, he looked at me for a minute but didn't say anything. "You aren't the only one with skills in observation."
"Fair enough." He smirked. "I keep my distance because I don't plan on living past this job. There is no point getting attached."
"Why tell me this?"
"As a warning, because in spite of everything Agent Lisbon is my best friend so if anything happens to her or you in her body I don't care where you go. I am not above revenge."
"Oh I know." I sighed.
"How much did dear old Al tell you about me?" He questioned, and when I didn't answer he continued. "It's only fair that you know, the rest of the world does."
"I'm sorry about your family Mr. Jane."
"Save your breath."
"It's the truth Mr. Jane I am sorry."
"Yeah so am I. Now you have paper work to do. Lisbon will be incredibly pissed if she gets back and finds out nothing has been done. Then she'll take her frustration out on me, which I would very much prefer she didn't."
"Are you and she together?"
"Excuse me?"
"Are you and Agent Lisbon romantically involved?" I was trying to approach this lightly, because if I was his girlfriend would others notice.
"No Agent Lisbon and I are not romantically involved." Jane smirked, "Hope you didn't get your hopes up Sammy."
"That man hasn't had sex in years Sam, Agent Lisbon says he hasn't been with anybody but his wife."
"Really." I couldn't stop myself.
"What news does the invisible man bring?" Patrick was still lying on the couch with his eyes closed.
"And I thought you were a boy scout."
"AL!" I sighed, "Why are you here?"
"Because Agent Lisbon wanted me to make sure Mr. Jane wasn't taking advantage of you."
"That's all. Al come on you have to have something for us."
"The best I can do is, solve the case."
"That's it solve the case?"
"I've solved it already." Patrick didn't even open his eyes, "If that's all he's got I'd say your computer is malfunctioning."
"Wouldn't be the first time Ziggy's been wrong." I fell into Lisbon's chair. "What do you mean you've solved it already. We don't even have any suspects."
"Okay well I guess to say I solved it is a bit of an over stretch but I have a very good hunch about who did it."
"Well then who did it?"
"A jealous lover." He was now sitting up on the couch. "My very good hunch has to do with a love triangle. Someone found out that she was cheating and wasn't very happy about it. The way the crime was committed suggests that it was a crime of passion committed by someone one she knew. She was also able to fight back to a point."
"It is amazing how you do that. Can I ask is it a photographic memory?" I was really curious about this guy.
"After years of practice and the use of a memory palace I guess so."
"You taught yourself to remember and notice like that?" I questioned.
"Wow Sam that's almost more impressive than you." Al gawked at the blond man on the couch.
"Not all of us are as lucky as you Dr. Beckett."
"Excuse me? How would do you know?"
"You aren't here to help us solve the case, what else do you have?" He ignored my question, of course he was probably getting impatient explaining step by step how he see's the world. It was just so interesting I wanted to learn from him. How much easier would it be for me if I could read people the second I leapt into the situation.
"Okay I'll keep looking." Al complained at the same time Ziggy beeped. "Grace Van Pelt gets sho…" Al smacks the hand link repeatedly, "Oh shot. Grace gets shot tomorrow."
"When, Al when does she get shot, How?"
"Umm, in a gas station hol…" hand link gets smacked, "Oh hold up, a gas station hold up on her way home from work."
"What time?"
"I don't know."
"Well go find out would you?"
"As you wish." And with that Al was gone.
"I waited patiently for you, now I would like to be filled in who is getting shot?"
"Agent Van Pelt gets shot in a gas station robbery tomorrow on her way home from work." I worried.
"Well that's a relief I thought it was something serious." Jane went back to lying on the couch.
"What do you mean something serious? Your co-worker is getting shot."
"No she's not, because she won't stop and get gas tomorrow night after work."
"How do you figure?"
"Sam for a genius you ask to a lot questions."
"Okay so what do we do next?"
"You do Lisbon's paperwork until late in the evening and I sleep on the couch and annoy you while you work."
"Do you think you could help me with the paper work instead."
"I don't do paperwork."
"But I don't know anything about these files."
"If you have a question ask, just don't expect me to fill it out for you."
I soon learned why Patrick didn't do paperwork; his methods of work were not necessarily what you want to record in a police file. Eventually I stopped asking him for help and used what others had already written. After an hour or so Grace came in with a list of violent crimes in the area. None of them had much in common with our crime. A couple hours after that Rigsby and Cho came in, they had matched our women on the beach with a member of the country club. So Jane and I were going to go back and follow that up tomorrow. Meanwhile Jane pulled Rigsby a side to talk before falling back onto the couch in my/Lisbon's office.
Around six thirty Patrick got up grabbed a paper and pen off of the desk wrote something down and handed it to me. "Time to go home Dr. there are your directions and car description."
"What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Don't you go home?"
"Good night Sam." He led me out the door and to the escalator. He however did not get on. As the door closed I watched him head up the stairs. What was upstairs?
"He sleeps here Sam." Al had opened the imaging chamber door beside me. "He has a makeshift bed up there. Lisbon is the only one that he lets in."
"He sleeps here?"
"He has a hotel room at an extended stay motel, but Teresa says he sleeps here most nights."
"Okay what about Grace?"
"Well that's the good news, she doesn't get shot anymore."
"What do you mean she doesn't get shot anymore? I haven't done anything yet."
"Did Mr. Jane do something?" Al questioned, I nodded to the guard at the door and kept walking I waited until we were out of earshot from the guard.
"I don't think so he hardly said two words to her this afternoon. The only person he talked to was me and Agent Rigsby."
"Well there you go, Agent Lisbon says Agents Rigsby and Van Pelt are a couple even though it is against company policy. She looks the other way."
"Okay so Patrick fixed that why am I here?"
"Don't know?" Al shrugged, "Oh Agent Lisbon lives…"
"Patrick gave me directions." I interrupted.
"Of course he did."
"You're not jealous of him are you?"
"Why would I be jealous of him, were you dozing off when I said hasn't had sex in almost ten years."
I just shook my head, "Al this leap feels weird."
"Of course it is, this guy has you questioning your own genius with him in the room. Someone who hasn't had a day of schooling but can hold his own in a conversation with you."
"You think that's it?"
"Sam the more I watch the two of you and listen to Teresa talk about him, the more information I gather the more I'm sure. Patrick Jane is you if you hadn't been raised in a good home with people that loved and cared about you. And you are what he would have been if he had grown up in a normal home."
"You think so?"
"You applied yourself to math and the sciences, he didn't have a classroom so he applied himself to people and literature. You are the opposite of each other. You are a moral boy scout and he is a manipulative conman."
"That's another thing Al, I haven't seen the conman you keep describing to me."
"Just keep your guard up Sam." He warned as I unlocked the door to Agent Lisbon's apartment.
"So we're back to square one. We have no idea why I'm still here."
"I'll go back and talk to Ziggy."
"Thanks Al."
"Try and get some sleep Sam." I watched Al walk through the Imaging Chamber door and disappear to my own time. Why was I here?
The next morning I was hoping to get to work a little early and talk to Patrick let him know we were back to square A but we had saved Grace. When I made it to work I found Patrick reading on the couch in the bullpen. He looked me over once and went back to his work. "Here I was hoping you were just a bad dream."
"Patrick what ever you told Wayne saved Grace."
"I figured it would why are you still here?"
"I don't know Al is still looking into it. What did you tell Wayne?"
"To fill up his gas tank and then take Grace out for a nice dinner tonight making her rush to get home to get ready for a date instead of filling up her car."
"Patrick why do you think I'm here?"
"You wouldn't happen to know who Red John is do you?"
"I'm sorry Patrick, but that's not it."
"I figured, head to the office you'll have Cho coming in ten minutes. I'm thinking about leaving for the club in an hour or so."
When I got to Lisbon's office Al was waiting for me. "Anything?"
"Nope, Teresa sent me to check on Jane again. She's worried he's obsessing and not sleeping. Which he definitely is?"
"They really care about each other don't they?"
"Depending on who you talk to they're best friends, brother/sisters, partners, and some people say lovers but both are very firm that it is not the latter."
"Yeah so what if I'm here for them?"
"What do you mean?"
"What if they are supposed to be a couple?"
"I don't know Sam, that's a big thing to go messing with if your not sure, especially when both sides have commitment issues of their own. It could destroy both of them, Patrick is already on a suicide mission."
"But he doesn't die." I argued.
"But what if they don't work out and he doesn't survive."
"We should try."
"We should wait for Ziggy to come up with something."
"Fine you go sit and wait I'm going to try and do something to get me out of here."
"Sam don't do anything stupid."
"Al if you don't like my idea go and find out why I haven't leapt."
"You know you're starting to sound like her." Patrick was leaning against the doorframe.
"I guess that's a compliment." I sighed, "How long have you been there?"
"I brought you tea. Ignore the coffee cup I have to keep up appearances." He set the mug on the desk and fell on the couch with his own teacup. "Still no news on why you're still here."
"You getting bored with me already?"
"It's nice having someone around who is almost as smart as me."
"Almost as smart?"
"Were you not the person questioning my every action yesterday?"
"Your ego needs it more than mine." I rolled my eyes.
"Tis better to bear the ills we have than fly to others that we know not of." He smiled.
"But, Modest doubt is called the beacon of the wise."
"Very good Doctor."
"Patrick can I ask you a question?"
"I can't stop you."
"Who are you? I see you with the rest of the team and you seem happy, and yet you are using them to fulfill your own revenge. They care about you and yet you seem content on your suicide mission."
"But O, how bitter a thing it is to look into happiness through another man's eyes."
"Ain't that the truth." I couldn't help but grin.
"I don't dare try and live another man's life the care they give me here deserves a better man than I."
"That's not Shakespeare."
"No it's not." He smiled, "but certainly Shakespeare would have a field day writing my story."
"And mine for that matter." I nodded.
"Do you have a wife and kids Sam?"
"I don't remember." I admitted.
"That is lucky, because to remember the loss of someone you loved stops you in your tracks on a daily basis. And to know that it is your fault is unbearable."
"I can imagine, but Patrick if there is one thing I've learned leaping around like I am, is you can't stop all bad things from happening, and just because you can't stop it doesn't make it your fault. Bad things will happen no matter what you say or do." I tried and Patrick didn't respond right away.
"We better head out to the country club."
"Right. What are we going to be asking?"
"You're going to be following my lead."
"Does Teresa let you lead?"
"When I ask nicely." He smirked.
"How come I have a bad feeling about listening to you all of a sudden?"
"Because you are an honest man and you know I am not." He insisted on taking his car, which I'm sure Teresa probably would never have allowed, but I was following his lead after all. That and he had a pretty rare car.
At the club he pulled up to the valet who opened the car door for me, and Patrick handed over his car keys. Before I could react he had his arm around my waist.
"Don't get excited doctor, its time for you to change characters. How well can you do wealthy fiancé?"
"Wait what?"
"The rich respond to the rich, not the rest of the world. Follow my lead and smile."
"How come I have a feeling I'm going to hate this?"
"Now you really do sound like Lisbon." He laughed and used his arm to lead me toward the front desk.
"What can I do for you today?" The man behind the counter smiled.
"Well my bride to be and I are looking for a lovely place for a wedding reception." Patrick beamed; he wrapped his arm tighter around my waist. "May we have a look around?"
"Of course, may I interest you in a membership?"
"Well naturally." Patrick grinned, "We had a recent disagreement with our previous club, can you believe they tried to restrict our guest list for the reception. My Teresa was not going to have that, do you want to be the one to tell her parents they can't invite the senator because we don't have room." He started he was really good at this.
"Who are they to tell me who can and can't come to my wedding reception?" I chipped in.
"You are absolutely right." The man behind the desk nodded, as if this happened on a daily basis.
"If my lady wants it she gets it." Patrick kissed my cheek and pulled me closer. I'm just happy Al wasn't here for this.
"How about we start with the dinning room shall we?" The man signaled for another gentlemen to take his place at the desk and led us down the hall. "We have two large ball rooms, a members only dining room. We outdoor and indoor tennis courts along with an outdoor and indoor swimming pool. Our golf course ends right next to the out door café, which also has a lovely ocean view."
"These are all members only right?" Patrick cut in after looking over the outdoor café and the golf course."
"Naturally." The man nodded.
"And what's going on in there?" Patrick nodded to where one of the ballrooms had been closed off. There were flowers on the door along with a framed portrait of our victim.
"An unfortunate tragedy," Than man respectfully bowed his head. "A member passed away yesterday and everyone has come to pay their respects."
"Passed away." Patrick frowned.
"That's terrible." I added.
"Absolutely, how can anyone expect us to spend the happiest day of our life where someone has died."
"No sir she didn't die here, it was on the beach on the other side of the cliff."
"Natural causes I hope." Patrick cut in, "We would hate to think something that terrible could happen here." Patrick pressed on, moving down the hallway toward the pools. Our tour guide shifted his weight. "It wasn't, there is a murderer here and you were going to let us join your club, you were going to put my wife and I's life at risk."
"I would never sir."
"Well tell me about this murder."
"Ms. Kyle was always a bit of a flirt to be honest, but that's none of my business sir."
"Maybe not, but it is my business if you expect me to have anything to do with this club."
"Well the word around the place is she was killed by one of her lovers, but again none of this is my business I'm just an employee sir."
"A member of the club did this?" I tried my hardest to act like a shocked aristocrat.
"No, no that's not possible." The man seemed absolutely sure of it.
"How about you give us some time to look around." Patrick excused the man.
"Of course, I'll be at the front desk if you need me." The man nodded and walked away. Patrick waited for him to leave the room before he removed his arm from my waist.
"I think a round of applause is in order Dr."
"What did we learn from all of that Mr. Jane?"
"He knows who did it." Patrick looked over the room, "More than likely a member of the staff."
"I assume you have some plan to reveal who it is." I watched him look over the room, he watched the wait staff for awhile, then he watched the people coming in and out of the ballroom set up for mourning our victim. Then he smirked, and sauntered back toward me, he looked me over once and took a breath.
"You're going to hate me for this Dr." Before I had a chance to question or protest he was kissing me. His hand made their way down my back and my first reaction was to fight against it but he was a lot stronger than he looked. When he finally pulled away, he whispered in my ear, "Now is your chance to slap me and storm off to the outside café." He chuckled.
"Wow Sam I thought I was going to need a bucket of cold water to separate the two of you." Al grinned, I gave him a look and then did as Patrick directed, I wasn't one hundred percent sure what his plan was but I had a feeling.
As I was leaving I heard Patrick say, "Don't be to hard on him Al, he didn't know it was coming." I paced outside after a minute Al showed up.
"I guess I should have waited a little longer I didn't think I'd have to worry about it getting hot and heavy on this leap." He teased.
"Give me a break Al."
"So was he a good kisser?"
"Al why are you here?"
"Well I came to check on you and your boyfriend. He's something else he is."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"He's in there being a real nozzle. He's talking about how ungrateful you are with a couple of the kids on the staff who saw your little session."
"He is a genius." I couldn't help but smile, he had probably read one of those boys and figured out which one most likely killed the women yesterday. Then he set up a situation for a women in distress mad at her boyfriend."
"You know I think I like him." Al decided, right as a young boy probably early to mid twenties walked out.
"Are you okay ma'am?"
"I'm fine." I ran my hand over my face I had to look upset right now after all.
"I thought I heard you talking to someone."
"Just myself."
"I talk to myself sometimes to." He was standing right next to me now staring out at the water. "Especially when I'm frustrated."
"Why would I be frustrated?"
"Hard to get I like it Sam." Al mocked.
"I saw the way your husband treated you."
"He's not my husband."
"Really I saw the ring on his finger and I assumed."
"The ring is from Patrick's wife." Al supplied.
"We're engaged. The ring is from his first wife."
"Why are you marrying someone like him?"
"He's not normally like that, he's just under a lot of stress at work, and the wedding. He just wants to make sure I know how he feels in case something were to happen to me like his first wife."
"I know you want to think that, but I don't think it's true. He sad somethings to me after you left. "
"What do you mean?"
"He just said some things, you're just an object to him. You need someone who really cares about you."
"I suppose that would be you." I questioned.
"Well yes actually. I've been told I'm a very good shoulder to cry on. "
"Oh yeah by who?"
"Well a lot of the women here have uncaring husbands, I like to lend a hand where I can."
"I bet that's not all he lends." Al quipped.
"I don't need a shoulder to cry on, that's what my girl friends are for."
"Well in the past I have been known to be more to special women."
"I see women as in more than one."
"Never at the same time."
"And now?"
"I am actually on my own right now."
"What a shame?"
"It really is, she passed away recently. I was actually with her. Tragedy, but natural cause."
"You saw her die?" I didn't have to act shocked, I really was. Why would he tell me that?
"Yes and you see I'm looking for a shoulder to cry on myself."
"I'm afraid your looking in the wrong place friend." Patrick was sitting at one of the café tables not to far away."
"You don't own her, she can be with whoever she wants." The boy frowned.
"Oh I know I wouldn't imagine trying to stop her. I'm more interested in this death you witnessed."
"Why would you care?"
"Well one of my new friends in there mentioned that your last lover was the women being mourned in the ballroom."
"Okay."
"Well you see I happen to know she didn't die of natural causes."
"What are you a cop?"
"Oh no, not even close."
"But I am." I cut in pulling Teresa's badge out. "How about we go for a ride and you can tell me about watching your girlfriend die."
"I apologize." Patrick smirked after a couple minutes in the car.
"It's not the worst situation I've been in." I shrugged, he was driving back and we had our new waiter friend handcuffed in the back seat. Patrick had called Cho to have him meet us in the parking lot at work.
"I'll take that as a compliment." He chuckled. "Sam I have a feeling we will be heading our separate ways soon."
"How so?"
"We just solved this case at least twenty-four hours sooner with you here instead of Lisbon. She would have never agreed to go to the country club without a little bit more investigation."
"And you wouldn't have kissed her like that." I added.
"How do you mean?"
"You kissed me because you weren't worried about what I thought of you. You care about Teresa you would never do that without her permission. And she will never give you that permission because she's afraid that when you finally catch Red John she'll lose you."
"What you said outside at the café about wanting someone to know how you feel in case something happens to you that is a nice thought, but she's not the one I'm worried about. If something happened to me she's strong and would be fine, but if I were to lose her I came close to insanity the first time around there is no way I could go through that twice." I just looked at him Al hadn't mentioned insanity he made it sound like his family died and he came straight to the CBI. "I spent a long time making sure my stay at the psychiatric hospital was erased from all of the records."
"Patrick your fear of losing her is rational but you've already lost her if you don't let her know how you feel." I responded, and then remembered what Al had told me about them working at the FBI together down the road, "And don't tell Al because I'm not supposed to pass this along, but Teresa doesn't die in the foreseeable future. In my time you and she are working with the FBI."
"The FBI that will never happen." He just laughed.
"It will if you take down a major serial killer." I hung the bait out in front of him.
"Do I do it?"
"That depends on you Patrick."
"It's time to go Sam." Al showed up in the back seat. I made eye contact with him in the rearview mirror. "The guy confesses after a couple of minutes with Agent Cho. And Patrick and Lisbon make it, Lisbon kills Red John instead of Patrick so no one has to runaway to Mexico. The take a couple years off and open a private investigation shop before the FBI catches up with them.
"See you around Dr. Beckett." Patrick nodded and in the strike of a cosmic clock I was leaping again.