Thicker Than Water
It had taken years for her to put together all the pieces of that complex puzzle that was the death of her parents. There had always been something missing, but living in denial was easier than facing stark reality.
Her family had never been perfect, she was fully aware of that; and yet she didn't like, in the slightest, what she'd come to suspect of late, when her cop instincts eventually began to kick in.
As a twelve year old she used to take things at their face value. Their neighbor visiting them almost every evening when her mother worked the night shift had never meant anything to her, until she went to college and saw her roommate sneaking out of a bedroom that wasn't her boyfriend's. The guilty look on that girl's face caused her childhood memories to resurface; for it was the very same look that was written all over her father's face each time Dana showed up at their door.
She'd talked to Greg after the episode, but he'd dismissed the subject quickly. He told her she'd only been a girl back then, couldn't really tell the difference between a guilty expression and something entirely different. However, she was pretty sure that her fiancé was just trying to protect her; she wasn't a twelve year old anymore, and as much as the truth might be unpleasant she couldn't marry a guy that didn't trust her with it.
Two weeks later she broke off their engagement and moved to California.
So her father had probably been a cheater. The thought haunted her for all her years at the police academy; she knew it mustn't have been easy to live with a woman so devoted to her job, but that didn't excuse him for sleeping with someone else. The worst part of it was that he'd had the nerve to have his affair right under his kids' noses, even though they'd thankfully been too young and naïve to understand what was going on.
She wondered whether her mother had ever suspected anything, and what her reaction had been if that was the case. It was only as she was working her first case with San Francisco PD that she realized there was much more to the whole business than first met the eye.
The night her mother was killed in a car accident she'd come home earlier than she usually did. Teresa and her brothers were already in bed, but she'd heard the front door bang again a couple of minutes later. When she peered from her window she saw her mother jump into her car and start the engine, and that was the last time she saw her alive.
The shattered look on her face was exactly like the one she could see now on the victim's wife, as they told her that her husband had been having an affair with her best friend.
In a way what her father had written in his suicide note was nothing but the plain truth. He blamed himself for his wife's death, said it was his fault; she'd always thought it had been grief talking, but now she had to acknowledge it was even too literal for her liking.
Her mother had caught her father in bed with Dana, and she'd been so upset that she ended up crashing into another car. That was the reason why he'd taken up to drinking after the funeral, until young Teresa was the one to find him hanging from a wooden beam in the garden shed.
She felt so sick at the notion that she quickly reconsidered the previous dilemma about her budding feelings for Lieutenant Sam Bosco. He was a married man, and there was no way she could face the prospect of wreaking havoc on another family just like her father had done.
Those feelings were wrong, and she would avoid acting on them at all costs. It didn't matter that she would have to seek comfort in the arms of some random stranger she'd met in a bar, only to sneak out of his bed at the first crack of dawn.
None of those guys were married (as far as she knew), and therefore she wasn't going to hurt anybody. And after the latest revelations about her family, she wasn't even sure she wanted to commit herself to a stable relationship anymore.
Men were never to be trusted, and her job mattered to her more than anything else anyway.
...
It wasn't until several years later that the past resurfaced again, in the form of an unpleasant, as much as unexpected, meeting. Dana had disappeared shortly after the death of Lisbon's mother, and she hadn't heard of her since; the last thing she was expecting was for her to be a person of interest in a police investigation.
Teresa Lisbon was now working with the CBI, and their latest case revolved around a young woman who had been found dead in an abandoned warehouse. The poor thing had been raped, then left to die from starvation and heat. The complete lack of forensic evidence was bugging her more than she was willing to admit, the single clue they had was the name 'Roy' carved in the floor right beside the body.
She peered cautiously through the blinds of the interrogation room where the woman was currently sitting. Truth be told she'd never liked the heavy make-up and the flashy clothes their neighbor used to wear, but now that she knew the bitch had been sleeping with her father all along she couldn't help a wave of nausea rushing through her.
Still she had to do her job. They had discovered that their victim had been sold at a young age to a healthy couple that couldn't have children, while Dana was her natural mother. The mere thought of the woman forsaking her own daughter for money had her even more disgusted than she already was, but then it wasn't the first time she had been faced with a gruesome task in her line of work.
So she simply walked into the room and did what she had to do.
Dana smirked slightly when she heard her name, but refrained from any comment as she tried to pretend she was frantic with grief at the passing of the daughter she hadn't seen in thirty years.
Lisbon kept her hands firmly on the small table between them, fighting the urge to slap the woman across her face. She felt no remorse for what she had done to her child; didn't even blink when she admitted that she'd been in dire need of that money, and it had been the better option for all those involved.
What struck Teresa was when Dana mentioned the age, in passing, of her eldest daughter. She hadn't bothered to check before, but now she couldn't help noticing it was the same year her parents had died.
A sense of foreboding crept over her, and her courage failed before she could bring herself to ask one last crucial question that had very little to do with the case.
She chewed on her lip as she watched the woman walk away with a smug grin on her face. It was time for her to do a bit of sleuthing all by herself, just like her pain in the ass of a consultant had done time and time again, under her very nose.
Only, this time she wished that Patrick Jane wouldn't be able to see right through her as he usually did.
...
Her hunched proved to be correct in the end. Dana's first daughter had been born six months after the passing of Mrs. Lisbon, and exactly three days before Mr. Lisbon hanged himself with a scarf.
There was little room for doubt as to who might be her father. For all that she always claimed she was a widow, Dana had never been married, and she'd been visiting their house more and more frequently in the months previous to the tragedy. The fact that she'd left shortly after the car crash spoke volumes about the illicit affair she'd been having; it would have been too much of a scandal if people had learned she was pregnant with her neighbor's child right when he was burying his spouse.
If Jane noticed there was something off about her, he was way too busy with the latest lead in the Red John investigation to give it more than a fleeting thought and she was grateful for that.
Coming to terms with the further developments about her family history was hard enough without him poking his nose into it. They were friends, that was true, but her father's infidelities weren't something she was willing to share with anybody. If anything, she would like to spare her brothers any further disappointment, even though there was another sibling to take into account now.
She made a few attempts at getting in touch with her, but the young woman had seemingly vanished into thin air after the murder of her sister. The case was becoming a cold one quick enough, they hadn't made any progress so far and, as likely as not, there was going to be no breakthrough any time soon.
When asked about her only surviving daughter, Dana simply shrugged her shoulders. The two of them had never got along, ever since she'd decided to separate her daughters, and she was a grown woman after all.
Lisbon bit back her irritation and walked out of Dana Martins' house, her last hope at finding her half-sister growing thinner with every passing moment. It seemed that fate was determined to keep them apart, and she couldn't tell whether it was for the better or not.
She just knew that she would have liked to give that poor girl what she'd never had a chance to have, and that was the warmth of a proper family.
Every human being deserved to be loved, no matter how flawed they are. Teresa had been blessed with the love of her parents and her brothers, it wasn't fair that her long lost sister was now bereft of the single person she had ever seemed to care about.
But then life wasn't fair, as her job never ceased to show her on a daily basis. Some days she didn't even know how she still managed to get by.
...
When Jane popped up behind her after six month's absence, she wasn't sure whether she wanted to throttle him or to kiss him senseless. Given the fact that they were currently in a church, neither of the options was a feasible one, though.
Of course she agreed to play along with his crazy scheme – what else she could do at that point?
However, the aforementioned plan required her to fake her own death, and Rigsby's as well. Her heart nearly stopped when Jane pointed a gun to her chest, she knew he wasn't actually going to shoot her but the words that slipped out of his mouth then were more dangerous than a hail of bullets.
Later on he denied ever saying them, and she easily allowed him to get away with it. There were much more important matters at hand, she couldn't help but hope they were really going to bring down Red John this time.
Then everything spiraled spectacularly out of control, the FBI had them in handcuffs while Jane was left alone to face the serial killer's minions. She'd never been more relieved in her entire life as she crouched beside him and allowed him to clutch onto her hand.
Luther Wainwright was dead, and Red John had slipped right through their fingers once again. However, they had one of his acolytes in custody, and she would have to speak sooner or later.
Teresa's confidence wavered as soon as they were able to identify the woman; Lorelei Martins. The very same person she'd tried to track down for so long.
She felt her heart sink; her sister had got involved with a serial killer, and she wasn't sure how she could save her now. Then she walked into the interrogation room, and Lorelei dropped a bombshell she surely wasn't expecting.
"We were lovers, him and me. Did he tell you that?"
When Jane abruptly left the room all she was able to do was stare at the smirking woman with a flash of horror in her unbelieving eyes. Her best friend had slept with her half-sister, who'd been sent by Red John to lure him in.
It never rains but it pours, and that was exactly what was happening to her now. Her fingers trembled ever so slightly in her lap, and her knuckles went white as she pressed them together.
She could only pray there would be a way out of this mess, even if she couldn't see any at this moment in time.
...
"I need to know, Jane. She's practically the first person since your wife, it wouldn't be surprising if you had feelings for her."
"Don't be ridiculous. She's a stepping stone to Red John, I knew that from the beginning. I don't have any feelings for her."
"You knew she was Red John's girl, and you slept with her all the same?"
"I slept with her because she's Red John's girl. I would do whatever it takes to get to him, I've told you time and time again."
"Well, newsflash for you, Jane. She's a woman, not another of your tools. Lorelei's a human being, for goodness' sake! You don't get to use her in your quest for vengeance."
Her sudden outburst didn't go unnoticed, for he tilted his head as a small wrinkle formed on his brow. She knew he was gauging her reaction, trying to work out her reason for defending a serial killer's minion.
"Are you seriously trying to protect her for me?"
There was a tiny note of disappointment to his tone; he wasn't expecting her to strike a blow for Lorelei, and seemed more than a little bit hurt by the concept.
He deserved it, she decided, for all he'd put her through during the time he'd been in Vegas. Those six months had been the longest in her entire life, and she wasn't sure he was completely forgiven. Not yet anyway.
"You slept with her, you can't be unbiased about the whole thing. And we both know you can't be trusted when it comes to Red John. I'll make sure you don't get to see her without my explicit permission."
The silence that fell after her words was so thick it could be cut with a knife. For a moment Jane seemed on the verge of questioning her authority, even their friendship maybe; in the end he simply shrugged and walked away.
She hoped he wouldn't do anything rash, but she was going to do everything in her power to save her sister from the sick game of cat and mouse that Jane was playing with the serial killer.
If that meant losing his friendship, then so be it. Family had always meant everything in the world to her, and it always would no matter what.
...
It took her a few days to brace herself for a much needed conversation with Lorelei Martins. She'd left Cho in charge, specifically asking him to keep an eye on Jane, to make sure that he wouldn't follow her.
She simply ignored Jane's intent stare, though she couldn't quite forget it as she waited for the guards to bring in the prisoner. It was only a matter of time before he discovered her secret, and she wanted to talk to her sister before he did.
"Agent Lisbon. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Lorelei looked as defiant as usual, though Lisbon wasn't sure whether her confidence was real or faked. She took a deep breath and folded her hands carefully in her lap.
"I want to help you."
That only earned her a derisive snort. "I don't need help, least of all from a cop. My friend can get me out of here in no time, if that pleases him."
"He's not your friend. Red John has no friends, only tools."
Her own words sounded strangely like Jane's, and she all but bit her lip. Still, she had to try; there was no way she was going to abandon her sister now that she'd found her at long last.
"Lorelei. I know life hasn't been easy on you, especially with a mother like yours. And you've been robbed of your sister, an important part of your life"
A flash of pain crossed her features at last. "Miranda is dead, and nothing can bring her back. John has taught me to accept this fact, I'm a stronger woman because of him."
"Did he also tell you he was the one who killed her?"
An astonished silence followed. "I don't believe you," Lorelei said at long last.
"There was a name carved on the floor next to your sister. It was 'Roy' – the same name Red John used to call himself when he visited his lover, a blind woman named Rosalind Harker."
Something flickered across Lorelei's face, as if she'd actually recognized the name. She didn't say anything though, and Lisbon slowly went in.
"Your lover, as you call him, is pretty sure it's Red John who raped and murdered your sister. He left her to die a horrible death, only to lure you in and make you his servant."
"That's not true. He'd never…"
"How many women has he brutally murdered so far? He simply chose a different death for your sister, that's all."
"Liar! You're just a filthy little pawn in Patrick's hands, and you deem yourself so smart."
"I'm nobody's pawn, that's the difference between us."
"He loves me, I tell you. He gave me everything, loved me in ways that Rosalind woman can't even imagine. He's my savior, and I'm grateful to him."
"He's your sister's murderer, that's all he is."
With that she got up and walked away. She wasn't really expecting Lorelei to believe her right now, and yet she hoped that she would in time.
As for the existing bond between them, such a conversation would have to wait. She prayed that Red John wasn't going to kill either of them before she managed to tell her.
...
"You're upset."
It wasn't a question, Jane had seen right through her from the moment she stepped back into the bullpen. She was beyond frustrated at the prospect of not being able to save her sister from Red John's clutches, and she'd just realized that there might be more to his little game than she thought at first.
The serial killer always seemed to know everything, and as likely as not he was perfectly aware that the two of them shared the same father. What a wonderful leverage for him to use against the leader of the Serious Crimes Unit, she was the next best thing now that he'd failed with his longtime nemesis.
"Teresa, look at me."
He put a gentle finger under her chin, then looked her straight in the eyes for a silent moment. She was sick and tired of hiding, so she simply allowed his searching gaze to meet her own.
"You know you can tell me everything. I might not be the most dependable person in the world, but I still care for you. I wouldn't trade your friendship, not even for vengeance's sake."
Lisbon buried her face against his chest, her ear landing right over his heart. "Lorelei's my sister," she whispered at last, and the hand that was running up and down her back momentarily stilled.
"What?" he asked in a bemused tone, she didn't even relish the fact that she'd managed to catch him off guard for once.
"My father – he had an affair with Lorelei's mother, before my mother died."
"I'm sorry," he said softly, and she was sure he meant it. Jane had always known how much family mattered to her, and it was true that he'd never wanted her to suffer.
All of a sudden he pulled back. From the look on his face she understood he'd just realized what he'd done in sleeping with Lorelei, and he seemed to be regretting it for the very first time.
"I didn't know – I would have never…"
She nodded quietly. It was one thing bedding a random girl, but sleeping with your best friend's sister was entirely another. Especially if you had some latent feelings for the aforementioned best friend, that was.
"I have to save her," she said with conviction, and it was his turn to nod this time.
Jane was a part her family now, even though she always did her best to overlook the fact. Perhaps together they would be able to bring down the man that had ruined so many lives, or die in the attempt at the very least.
She'd never regarded herself as a hero, and she wasn't going to start now. However, she would be happy to sacrifice her own life to set her sister free at long last.
Her desire to help other people was one of the reasons why she'd joined the police, and that was only more true when it came to those people she deeply cared about.
...
"Hello, Patrick. Did you miss me?"
"Not particularly, no."
Witnessing the conversation between Lorelei Martins and Patrick Jane only made Lisbon feel like she was the third wheel. However, it was Jane himself who had specifically required that she was present, in spite of the fact she'd granted permission for him to see Lorelei alone.
She honestly had no idea as to what ace he might have up his sleeve this time, but after their last heart-to-heart she trusted him enough to let him take the lead for once.
"Why did you bring along your girlfriend?"
"She's not my girlfriend," he stated quietly, and Lisbon could almost hear the unspoken 'yet'. It wasn't the right time or place to discuss their feelings anyway, so she simply ignored the hint.
"Sure," Lorelei mocked him lightly, then leaned forward across the table. "What do you want?"
"I'm here to talk about your father."
Lisbon winced slightly, but she felt Jane's hand cover her own under the shelter of the small table. She wasn't anywhere near ready to address the subject matter, but it was a small comfort that her friend was doing the talking. And Lorelei deserved to know, sooner or later.
"What about him? He's been dead for thirty years now."
"Did your mother tell you his name?"
Lorelei shrugged. "She was too busy sleeping around to tell me anything at all, let alone about my father."
"But you know something about him. Who told you, Red John?"
"Maybe. It doesn't matter."
"It doesn't matter who's your father?"
A wry smile touched her lips. "You seem to have a gift for manipulating other people's words. But, yes, you're right. My father was only a coward who didn't give a damn about me or my mother, and took his own life right after I was born."
Jane squeezed her hand under the table, and Lisbon swallowed. What Lorelei was saying hurt her more than she was expecting, even more so because there was a grain of truth to her words.
"You're not the reason why your father committed suicide. He felt guilty for betraying his other family, and indirectly causing the death of his wife too."
Lorelei narrowed her eyes all of a sudden. "How can you know that?"
"Let's just say that Miranda wasn't your only sister. You have another – and three brothers too. I guess that Red John has forgotten to tell you about them."
With that he stood up and made to leave. Teresa couldn't help meeting Lorelei's gaze at that point, and what she saw there made her heart skitter in her chest.
Her sister was staring back at her with such longing she almost threw caution to the wind and went to hug her there and then.
However, when it came to such a big secret, the fewer knew about it the better. That was why she only gave her an imperceptible nod and walked away.
The seeds of doubts about Red John had been planted; all they could do was wait for them to grow, and hopefully bear fruit too.
...
"Please, remind me why I'm here."
They were in the middle of nowhere, and she didn't even want to know how Jane had got his hands on that car. However, that definitely wasn't the worst part of it.
She was going to be an accessory to a crime, and a willing one this time. That didn't meant she had to like the whole thing though.
"We both agreed that jail is no safe place for your sister, remember?"
"You say that. Jail would keep her away from Red John, and vice versa. And sister or not, she still has to pay for what she has done."
"We thought the same with Rebecca, and look what happened. Red John knows where she is if she's in jail, he could easily get to her if he ever decided to do so."
"It's even easier for him to get to her while she's on the run."
"Not if you know where to hide. I have the perfect place for her to go unnoticed until she's ready to tell us everything about Red John, or we manage to catch him, nonetheless."
"What if she only runs back into his arms as soon as we look away?"
"It's a risk we have to run. Besides, she knows she has a sister now; she'll probably think twice before throwing away her life in bitterness."
"Last time I talked to her, she seemed genuinely in love with him."
"But she's started to doubt him ever since she discovered that her precious friend always kept the truth about her family away from her."
"I'm still not sure that this is a good idea at all."
He clutched onto her arm and pointed out of the window. "No time for doubts now. She's coming."
Lisbon took a steadying breath, while her heart started beating a military tattoo against her ribcage. She was never going to forgive herself if anything happened to her sister; for all that she was well rehearsed in shouldering the responsibility for other people's lives, it didn't make it any easier every single time.
So she simply closed her eyes and whispered a silent prayer under her breath.
...
"Pepper! What a surprise!"
Pete and Sam welcomed them with open arms. Jane had once told her that carnie people regarded themselves as some sort of family, and were always ready to help each other; it was only natural for him to turn to them now that he was in dire need of someone he could trust.
And while Pete and Sam might not be the most dependable people in the world, they would not think twice about covering one of Patrick's friends with their own life.
Lorelei eyed the couple warily, apparently trying to decide whether they were to be trusted or not. It seemed that the woman was indeed determined to seek the truth about Red John and find out if he was indeed the one who'd murdered her beloved sister. Lisbon knew it couldn't be easy for her to see all her certainties questioned all of a sudden, and she couldn't help but rest a friendly hand onto her shoulder.
"They're Jane's friends. You'll be safe with them."
Their eyes met, and Lorelei searched her gaze for an intense moment. She'd been silent for the whole drive, and she still seemed to be struggling for words when it came to her newly found sister.
Had she been in her shoes, Lisbon knew there would be thousands of question swirling about her mind at this moment in time.
How was her father, and why had he been cheating on his wife? Had he ever been in love with her mother, or had she just been a pleasurable diversion from the monotony of his family life?
She didn't have the answer to such questions herself; all she knew was that their father had only been human, he'd made mistakes but she had never stopped loving him because of that. Perhaps someday there would be a time when they could talk freely about him, and she would make sure that she met their brothers too.
Sam was gesturing for them to come inside the trailer, she shoved a bottle of hair dye in Lorelei's hand and a pair of scissors made quick work of her dark tresses. When they were done she looked a bit odd, but she wouldn't risk being recognized at first glance at the very least.
"We'll tell the others you're running away from your brute of a husband," Pete was saying. "They will understand, no questions will be asked."
"It's dangerous for you to have me here. You have to understand that."
Those were practically the first words she had uttered ever since they'd broken her out of jail, in a way it was a relief that she still worried about other people. That meant she wasn't so far under Red John's control as she wanted them to believe at first.
"Rubbish," Sam shot back defiantly, and for a moment Lisbon admired her strength.
Jane was already patting Pete on the back, it was time for them to go back to Sacramento before anyone could wonder about their absence. They'd made sure to have an alibi anyway, in case they happened to need it. Jane had taken a couple of days' leave on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of his family's murder, while Lisbon was officially at her brother's and Tommy would confirm if asked.
Another thing in their favor was the fact that homeland security didn't know anything about the bond between Teresa and Lorelei. As for Jane, he always seemed to be able to get away with the heaviest charges, and he'd promised he would come up with something in case Kirkland or the FBI decided to poke their noses into the whole business.
Lorelei chewed on her lower lip nervously as she watched the two of them in turn, then she took a step forward and placed a chaste kiss at the corner of Jane's lips.
"Thank you," she whispered, and he offered her a somewhat awkward smile.
The time for them to part had come at last. Lisbon looked her in the eyes but didn't dare to move, it was Lorelei who took the plunge and enveloped her in a warm embrace.
She relished their closeness for a little bit longer before eventually pulling back.
"Take care of yourself," was all she managed to get out.
Lorelei nodded slowly, then disappeared inside Pete and Sam's trailer. Lisbon felt Jane's hand resting on the small of her back as they walked towards the car.
All of them were in the hands of God now, and only time would tell. She took a deep breath, shot a tentative grin in Jane's direction and resolutely switched the ignition on.