A Mentalist story that I started a few years back, then forgot about and now want to start up again, so please tell me what you think and if it's worth continuing!
Takes place post-Season 4, possibly somewhere early during Season 5!
"That yellow one looks really good on you."
"You think?"
Sarah turned around and tried to see how the sweater looked from behind through the mirror.
"Of course", Lydia answered. "Becca, doesn't it look great?"
"It does", Rebecca agreed with one of her usual soft smiles. "Yellow is definitely a good color, and it will cheer you up."
"What, are you suddenly psychic?" Sarah teased as she placed the sweater back on its hanger.
"No, just had a good feeling", Rebecca answered and, as usual, turned her gaze slightly and studied the shop. Her friends had become used to her doing that from time to time, no matter if they were in someone's private house or in a public place like this. Suddenly she turned around and started to flip through the clothes on one of the nearby racks.
"I'm going to try this on", she said and held up a shirt that both Lydia and Sarah thought of as hideous; neon-green with pink stripes on the arms. Sarah eventually shrugged.
"Well, I'm done in here, so…"
"No, no, I'll take this stall", Rebecca interrupted and nodded at one of the stalls with its door closed.
"But that's occupied", Lydia protested. Rebecca did not seem to hear and placed her hand on the wood.
"Wait!"
The new voice came from a man, stout and dark but his eyes were currently glimmering with fear.
"My sister's in there", he continued. "Please, just give me a moment and I'll make sure that she gets ready…"
"I think that she will need more than a moment", Rebecca said, still with her hand on the door. "The woman in this stall has not moved during the whole half-hour that we have been standing here."
The man shook his head.
"No, no, she's just taking her time. She'll be done in a moment, just…"
"Freeze!"
The man stopped in his tracks and threw his hands up in the air while the three young women all tried to pier over his shoulder. A short woman with her dark hair neatly put up in a tuft was pointing a gun at the man, her expression determined and focused. Slightly behind her stood a taller man, slightly tanned with clear, blue eyes and a bundle of blonde curls on his head. Lydia exchanged a glance with Sarah, who seemed to have noticed the same thing; this man had the same expression on his face that Rebecca had had only moments before, right before saying that she would try out that hideous shirt.
"Turn around so that I can see your face", the woman ordered and the stout man slowly spun around on the spot.
"Please, put that down", he begged. "I… please, I do not…"
"It's alright, Lisbon", the blonde man said. "He won't do anything."
The woman hesitated slightly before lowering her weapon.
"Where is Victoria de Sousa?" she asked.
"Who?" the man asked in return. "I don't know…"
"In the stall behind him", Rebecca interrupted.
"No, that's my sister", the man said and shook his head in protest.
"The moment the officer spoke the name Victoria de Sousa you glanced in the direction of the stall", Rebecca clarified, ignoring the comment. "Your right leg also moved forward slightly as if you wished to run away."
Everyone turned to stare at her, including the stout man.
"Are you psychic?" he whispered.
"No, she sees the details", the blonde man answered. "She is able to read a person's body language and actions in order to solve a problem."
He smiled slightly, white teeth glittering in the light of the lamps.
"Anyway, I believe that she's right because I detected the same things she did", he continued. "Also you are sweating considerably and I doubt that is because of the lights in here."
"Open the door of the stall", Lisbon, the female officer, ordered. The man's breath hitched slightly, but he did not move. Instead it was Lydia, who happened to now stand the closest to the stall, who reached out towards the door.
The moment her hand touched the wood the man suddenly dashed forward, dodging both of the officers and rushing out of the store. The officers turned and ran after, and after them ran Rebecca. She was not sure why she was running after them but something told her that she had to.
The man quickly seemed to vanish in the crowded streets and Lisbon groaned in annoyance.
"Damn", she muttered.
"It's alright; he was just one of the lower ranked men", the blonde said. "We should get the body."
"If there is one", Lisbon remarked and turned around, heading back into the shop.
"Do you also have a feeling of knowing where to go?" the blonde man then asked and turned towards Rebecca, who had remained outside with him. She blinked in surprise before she nodded. He smiled again.
"Come on."
Back in the shop, Teresa Lisbon, CBI-agent, walked back towards the stalls. Two of the women, those that had not spoken earlier, stood where she had left them, one of them still with her hand on the door of the suspected stall. She now quickly removed it and stepped back.
"You might want to step away", Lisbon remarked and put on her rubber gloves. "Things can get pretty bad."
The two women immediately followed the order and stepped back, as far away from the stall as possible but still not heading in the direction of the door. Curiosity obviously kept them back. Lisbon carefully pushed the door inwards, only to stop when it was only revealing the wall. Her eyes widened slightly and she stepped back.
"Oh no", she whispered and turned to look back out on the street. Patrick Jane, the consultant at the CBI, and the young woman had both disappeared.
"Oh no", she repeated and ran back outside. In her mind she saw the mark drawn on the first wall you saw when you opened the stall; the red smiley face drawn in fresh blood.
By that time Patrick Jane and Rebecca had walked away from the busy main street and in between the houses. Here the sun could barely be seen and the shadows were long, but neither seemed to mind. They were both used to the shadows.
"You lost someone?" Rebecca suddenly asked. Jane hesitated before continuing to walk in silence.
"Were they killed?" Rebecca continued.
"Yes", Jane answered, glancing back at the younger woman. He should have known that she would be able to read him; she had the same manners that he himself had, and many other psychics too, for that matter.
"You lost someone too, did you not?" he then asked. She nodded, but kept her eyes focused on the darkness in front of them. They were about to emerge into a slightly bigger alley where the sun's rays had been able to find their way to the ground. Jane got there first and spied out in both directions. To the right the alley eventually led out onto the main street again, while to the left there was a dead end. Jane frowned; he had been absolutely sure that this was where they needed to go, but now there was nothing. In fact the feeling of being able to catch the accomplice in his hide-out had vanished completely and another feeling had started to creep up inside of him.
"We should…"
He turned and froze as he saw the empty, dark alleyway behind him. He had not heard anything, not had the feeling of anyone else being close. So where was the young woman?
Suddenly someone reached up from behind him and placed a cloth over his mouth and nose. He barely had time to register the sweet smell of chloroform before his knees gave way and he fell to the ground, blacking out.
Please comment what you think!
