Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist.
A/N: Hey everyone, happy season finale week! This little scheme popped into my head last night and I knew I had to write it down. For those of you who follow Timeless, don't worry, chapter 17 will be up sometime tomorrow. All introductions aside, I hope you enjoy my strange inspiration. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated.
Summary: Patrick Jane is reunited with his past when the decomposing body of Alex Jane is found on Sacramento carnival grounds. Tracking the murder back to the site of his youth, Jane returns to his old abode. Emotions run wild when Patrick comes face to face with his former self. The only difference between now and then is that this time, he has Lisbon by his side. Set shortly after 5x21.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The CBI was ablaze with the exhilaration of their latest case. As Lisbon made her way into the bull pen, she was almost knocked to her feet, not once, but twice. When she stationed herself in front of Vanpelt's desk, Lisbon made sure to grasp the edge for anchoring. She couldn't take the risk of being swept away into a sea of government personnel.
"What do we have?" Lisbon called over the bustle. "In the elevator I heard talk of a double homicide. Any of that true?"
The slender redhead tried to suppress a perverse grin.
"I guess you could say that." Vanpelt chuckled. "Is that what people are saying?"
Lisbon nodded.
"I don't get it, what's the joke."
"There's no joke, really." She responded. "It's just, well, the man we found killed wasn't alone."
"So it is a double homicide." Lisbon groaned.
"PETA might think so, but for our purposes it's only a single. SacPD found them this morning, a dead carnie and his elephant."
Lisbon checked to made sure she heard right.
"Did you just say there was an elephant at the crime scene!?"
"Yes." Vanpelt confirmed. "A dead one."
"Jesus." Lisbon muttered. "Do we have an ID on the victim?"
"Were working on one right now. Rigsby's running all carnival personnel in the area. It seems July is a heavy month for travailing circuses."
"Alright, keep me updated." Lisbon ordered. "We'll head to the crime scene in ten. Oh, and Vanpelt?"
"Yes boss?"
"Have you seen Jane?"
"No I haven't." Vanpelt responded. "He seems hell-bent on locking himself in the attic, probably there now. What do you need him for?"
Lisbon had already turned her back on her agent and now was working through the bustle to reach the elevator lobby.
"Nothing." She called over her shoulder. "I just thought he'd get a kick out of this."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Lisbon stood outside Jane's attic door. She tried to keep her feet light on the approach; Lisbon didn't want to tip Jane off so he could manipulate her arrival. Still, Jane was able to catch every step.
"For the hundredth time Lisbon," Jane called through the door. "I need to be alone. What about that statement confuses you people. I don't think my request is unreasonable."
Lisbon rolled her eyes; Jane could be so stubborn when he wanted to.
"You've been cooped up there all day." She called. "Come out for an hour to visit the crime scene. I think you'll like this one, it has Jane written all over it."
"Lisbon." Jane lowered his voice. "I need to do this; I need time to think. I'm not locking myself away for my own enjoyment, everything I do surveys a purpose."
Lisbon scoffed.
"Since when does—"
"Lisbon please!" Jane begged. "I can't do this right now. For the time being, I'm off the CBI. I have full confidence that you can solve this one without me."
Lisbon contemplated arguing, but she knew it would do her no good. She left the attic and began descending the stairs into the elevator lobby. If Jane wanted a temporary leave of absence, that was fine by her. She might get a week with no complaints to respond to or unnecessary paperwork to fill. A week without Jane might be a gift.
"Boss." Cho called from the door to the bull pen. "You're going to want to see this."
The stoic agent looked as dispassionate as ever, but something in his tone concerned Lisbon.
"What is it?" She asked.
"We got an ID on the victim."
"That's great, what's his name?"
"Alex." Cho stated. "Alex Jane."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Shortly after Lisbon's visit, a second set of footsteps made their presence through the hallway. Jane was sure he had gotten his message across; there was no need to send Cho in to mediate. What was it with this team? They never knew when to give up.
Cho stood outside his door and called his name only once. Something told Jane that the persistent agent would not leave until Jane addressed him. Unlocking his door, he met Cho face to face.
"What do you—"
"Jane." Cho said coldly. "There's something you need to know."
"Whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait."
"No," Cho stated. "It can't. Rigsby just received confirmation on the ID on our victim. A fellow carnie just verified the body belonged to a Mr. Alex Jane. I checked the records and it appears that he is—"
"My father." Jane interrupted.
There was a moment of silence before Jane followed up his statement.
"Yes, I know. Is that all or can I get back to—"
The agent raised an eyebrow. Jane's casual response seemed to have baffled Cho. He hadn't expected the blond consultant to break out in tears, but Cho had anticipated a more emotional response.
"I don't think you heard me." Cho repeated. "Our victim is Alex Jane."
"Yes, I know." Jane repeated, obviously irritated. "There's no need to say it twice. So if that's all."
Jane tried to shut the door, but Cho wedged his foot in the crack just in time. Cho's attempt to inform Jane had failed, so it was Lisbon's turn to give it a shot.
"Boss wants to see you downstairs." Cho instructed. "She seems to thinks that, due to the personal connections of this case, that it is natural that you might want to be involved. However, this action should be discouraged, not the other way around. "
"Stay away from the case, got it. Now that everything's all cleared up,"
Jane tried to close the door once more, but Cho wasn't going to move.
"You still need to go see Lisbon."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Jane did not bother knocking when he reached the glass door of Lisbon's office. He pushed open the door and plopped right down on her white leather couch.
"Jane." Lisbon said kindly. "Thank you for—"
"No need to glove handle me Lisbon." Jane interrupted. "I don't want to hear condolences or pity. I'm fine, really."
There was an awkward silence before Lisbon gave her response.
"I wasn't going to—"
"Oh please Lisbon." Jane interrupted. "Just save it. It's a community's natural response to loss, you should know."
Lisbon took in a sharp inhale of breath. Jane felt immediately guilty for making a jab at her loss; he wished he could take it back.
"I know what you're doing," Lisbon said through her teeth. "And I understand. You're in pain and you want to push your frustrations off on someone else. I get it."
"No you don't Lisbon, because I'm fine. Alex Jane means nothing more to me than he does to you. He's just another downed victim in the ocean of homicide."
"He was you father." Lisbon repeated.
"You say that like it means something," Jane grunted. "but really it's just another word. I haven't spoken to Alex Jane in over a decade. For all intensive purposes, he is a stranger. A stranger that just so happens to share my DNA."
Lisbon looked quizzically at him. He knew that all she wished to do was comfort him, but it was truly unnecessary. Jane's words were true; he had nothing to do with Alex Jane. To be truthful, Jane hadn't even been sure if his father was alive before today. The man had gotten himself into many dangerous situations in the past. Put that together with his alcoholism, and you have a cocktail for disaster.
"If that's how you really feel, fine. I just wanted to let you know you will receive that quiet time after all. You have vacation time effective immediately."
Jane shook his head slowly. It was obvious that Lisbon thought he was pulling a charade over his feelings. He needed to show her he was truly fine, for her sake. The only way he could do that was follow through with this one. It would mean giving up his lamenting time, but sacrifices had to be made.
"No." Jane stated. "I think I'll take this case after all."
Lisbon rolled her eyes.
"There's no pleasing you Jane. First you want off the case, and then you want back on. You do this just to mess with me don't you? I can't believe—"
"Lisbon!" He stopped her. "Is that a yes?"
She sighed.
"Fine. But if at any point you decided that this is too much, I want you back here. Got it?"
"Not going to happen," Jane grinned. "but alright Lisbon. I'll follow your rules."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
As Lisbon approached the crime scene, she cringed internally at what she saw. The bodies were located inside a small mustard yellow tent, which currently was located under a small grove of palm trees. When a man from SacPD opened the tent flap, the first thing she smelt was decay. The tent was acting as a greenhouse in the hot summer air. The stench of the bodies rung through the room, making Lisbon feel an urgent need to vomit. She took a scrap of cloth from her belt and held it over her face.
"I love the sweet smell of fresh air." Jane teased. "How are you holding up Lisbon?"
She shot him a look of disbelief. How could he act so casual when the rotting body of his father lay a few yards away from him.
"We've canvassed the area for blood spatter, both human and elephant." Rigsby said. "The results came back negative for the victim, but positive for Dumbo over here. Two gunshots were delivered to the skull of the elephant, which seems to be the only laceration. As for Mr. Jane—erm—our victim, blunt trauma to the head with an unknown object."
"So, no murder weapon present?" Lisbon asked. "Great."
Jane moved past the body and knelt down next to the elephant. He studied the marks on the cranium and seemed to be measuring distance with his fingers.
"These are extremely precise." Jane commented. "Each shot was delivered not to wound, but to kill. The killer knew the exact right spots to execute him."
"But why bother," Rigsby asked. "I mean why not just dump him?"
Lisbon shot a warning look in Rigsby's direction. Would it kill him to show a little respect, this was Jane's father they were talking about!
"The elephant wasn't just an unnecessary casualty. The killer needed a reason to do it, probably to silence him."
Rigsby laughed.
"Why, so he wouldn't tell the other elephants what he saw?"
"Agent Rigsby." Lisbon hissed. "If this is a joke to you, then I would encourage you to leave."
Rigsby backed away sheepishly.
"No boss." He apologized. "Sorry boss."
Jane, in the meanwhile, had made his way over to his father's body. If there was any emotion behind his gaze, Lisbon could not see it. Patrick Jane was closed off to everybody, even himself.
"Elephant blood on the walls, but not human." Jane pondered. "Trauma like this would have left a traceable amount of residue."
"What does that mean?" Rigsby asked.
"That means," Frowned Lisbon. "That this isn't the crime scene."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Okay, so what do you guys think? The title of this piece, Stomping Grounds refers to Jane's old home, and that is exactly where the team is headed. There might not be a lot of emotion going on right now, but there is a ton to come. I've always wondered what Jane's life was like as a teenager, now it's time for him to share it. Get ready for some fun Patrick Jane shenanigans, both new and old.