A/N: For those waiting for the final part of 'Dance With Me' - it's nearly done. I just want to triple-check what I have. In the mean time, here's the start of a new multi-parter. This is probably going to be one of the darkest things I'll ever write. Just a warning. x tromana

Title: Deception
Author: tromana
Rating: T
Characters: Lisbon, Jane, Team (Jisbon and RigsPelt if you squint.)
Spoilers: None
Summary: Patrick Jane isn't the only one with enemies. Lisbon has been deceiving her team for a very long time, and that means Jane too. So when strange happenings occur close to home, Jane is on guard. Is it Red John that's back or is someone else on the team the target this time around? Expanded version of the 10 Song Drabble 'Nobody Listened', as requested by OnlySoAnHour.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist, however much I wish I did.

Part One

"I have pizza!"

"I'm surprised it got here in one piece," Cho remarked.

Rigsby placed the pizza down with relish on Jane's desk. Patrick Jane never used it for anything else, so it was the best place to put it. Rigsby loved celebrating the closure of a case. Not only did they get a treat but there was the sense of satisfaction like no other. It gave Rigsby the greatest thrill to know that he'd helped to bring another bastard to justice. It was why he'd got involved in policing, after all.

Lisbon smiled as she walked over to grab her piece. She never ate much of the closed case pizza, provided she could get a look in before Rigsby was there, and always made sure she had a run afterwards. It was always worth it though; Rigsby was always jubilant and his attitude always rubbed off on Van Pelt immediately. Jane would be cheerful because they were and Cho would even manage to crack a smile. Well, sometimes, anyway. You can't ask a miracle to happen that often.

She heard her phone go off from within the bowels of her office. Jane smirked at her, a non-verbal comment on the sheer cheesiness of the ring-tone - causing her to blush. Damn that man. Damn him to hell and back. Why did he have to have such power over her emotions? With closed case pizza in one hand, she excused herself from the situation and entered the relative respite of her office. She frowned as she realised she had six missed calls from one of her younger brothers. Six. He usually had the sense to call her when he knew she'd probably be off work (excluding stake outs, and some of Jane's more madcap plans, that was), so this was probably pretty urgent. Scratch that, it better be bloody urgent. Family just did not disturb her at work.

The pizza was consigned to her desk as she dialled her littlest brother's number frantically. He was always the most nervous, the most likely to call her for the smallest of reasons. Last time he'd called her at work, his cat had just been ran over. Lisbon had had to comfort him for over half an hour before assuring him she would buy him a new cat and bring it over at the weekend.

"Sam," she sighed down the telephone when he finally picked up. "What's wrong?"

"It's Jess." He sounded nervous. "She's gone, Tess. She disappeared three weeks ago. Oh God, I scared her away din't I? It was 'cause I was gonna propose weren't it?"

"Slow down," she instructed, throwing the pizza away. This was going to take some time. "When did you last see her?"

Jessica was a nice girl, she grounded Sam a bit. At least, she had stopped him from calling Lisbon every other day. She did have a habit of disappearing for a week or so citing a need for 'space' as her reason. But she was settling too, settling into a respectable career of midwifery with a boyfriend who doted upon her. Lisbon had hoped they would stay together for a while, at least. One of the Lisbon children deserved at least a little happiness romantically speaking. She knew sure as hell it wasn't going to be her, so seeing her youngest brother ready to ask the big question had filled Lisbon with a lot of joy.

"Three weeks ago today." Lisbon jotted down the notes. "We were in the park for our lunch break and then she din't come home that night. I was okay with that, 'cause y'know, she's done it a million times before. But not for this long, Tess. It ain't right."

Lisbon sighed. Yes, three weeks was a long time, even for Jessica Fitzgerald. She knew there wasn't much she could do to console her brother over the telephone and a mountain of paperwork was staring at her. She swore that it multiplied like amoeba overnight. She promised her youngest brother that she personally would call his local police and that they'd be over to investigate before nightfall. Lisbon had some sway with the police there, partially because it was her homestead, but mainly because of her badge. Missing persons wasn't the jurisdiction of the Serious Crimes Unit of the CBI, but the local guys would be good enough to help Sam.

That night, Lisbon slept fitfully. She was worried about her brother, in his home, alone, fretting about his missing girlfriend. If she had time at the weekend, she promised herself she'd go East and give him a little company. That didn't help sleeping in the here and now, though. Lisbon thought her jog (though she hadn't eaten the pizza, she went out of principle) would have tired her out, yet it hadn't. When she heard the unwelcome buzz of her alarm at 5am, she seriously wondered whether or not it had been worth her while going to bed at all.

She dragged herself into work at 7am, like usual. She shuddered as she threw down a cup of the industrial strength coffee. She hated the stuff, but at least it kept her awake during her long office hours. The rest of the team all filtered in and were present by 9am - all far too cheerful for their own good. Luckily, in Lisbon's opinion, it looked like it was turning out to be a paperwork day. She'd be able to avoid the happy sods for a while at least.

Her phone rang at 10am, Sam was more distressed than ever. A mystery letter had arrived on the doorstep threatening him, Lisbon and Jessica. She demanded Sam fax it over immediately; it was easier than relying on him dictating it through wracks of sobs. After saying a quick goodbye, whilst waiting for the fax to arrive, Lisbon wondered how her brother coped with being so emotional. She knew with her career if she wore her heart on her sleeve, she'd have gone mad by now.

Seems like she wasn't going to have her quiet day in the office. Nor was this case small-scale. The SCU was going to have to get involved after all. Lisbon shuddered at the fact that this was all terribly personal.

TBC...