This story is a logical follow on From "Night on the Town"
These have been germinating for some time, now. I hope this one flows as easily as the last!

I should probably suggest reading "Night on the Town" to get an understanding of the Eliza character.

Short Eliza Synopsis:
Age undermined.
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 112
Build: very slim
Complexion. Very pale.
Hair: long, straight, black
General appearance: Goth


A Different Sort of Case

Chapter 01

"Gather 'round, gang. We have a winner." Lisbon waved a case folder and grinned. "This one is sort of odd."

"I do hope it's more interesting than that damn Denver seminar," Cho grumbled, picking up an onion bagel.

Rigsby nodded. "That was boring. That was really boring. Hey, Jane, you've not said a word about the trip. It's not like you to remain so silent. Normally we're hearing all about it."

Patrick sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh, I was bored. It was really boring. I do hope you have something good, there, Boss," he said, obviously trying to change the subject. It worked.

She put the folder on the table so they could each grab a summary sheet. They read silently for a few minutes. "Now, what strikes me is the fact that the cause of death is still undetermined. Six deaths and they don't have a cause of death. The coroner keeps changing his mind with each new body. The first one was ruled death by falling. The problem was that he was in an open field, so they assumed the body had been moved. The second was considered to be a gang style beating because of the damage, but he was nowhere near gang territory and would not have logically come into contact with gang activity. By the third one he was getting very suspicious, and he realized that all of them had been subject to exsanguination. That's when he began to suspect a common link."

"Well, DUH!" Van Pelt exclaimed.

"Now, be nice, Grace. It really wasn't that obvious if you take them one at a time." Lisbon commented. "He did pick up on it and he's screaming for help. We haven't had a nice serial in at least a few days, now."

Jane stifled a yawn. "Where are we heading this time? I sure hope the weather's nice."

Lisbon glanced down. "We're going to hitting the great northeast! Try northern Maine. It is truly," Teresa hesitated. "EMPTY. I don't think even Google has it listed."

Lisbon did notice Jane's seemingly increased interest at the mention of the northeast. It was one more thing to wonder about, she realized.

Jane had met a lady in Denver the last Friday they'd been there. To his amazement, he'd been able to figure out nothing about her, but she seemed to know his entire life. She'd confessed to killing her father and told him that when he killed Red John to enjoy it. She'd laughed at the idea of being prosecuted because she claimed nothing could be linked to her.

Jane would have discounted her story except he'd seen her remove the gun from the hand of a thug and leave him unconscious and bleeding on the street. Later she took down and terrorized a man that weighed at least 250 pounds – without even standing up. The time they'd spent in his hotel room had touched and affected him like nothing since the death of his family. Eliza claimed to live in the northeast.

Jane was staring at Lisbon, focusing on her words, trying to banish the memory of that night from his mind. It was working until - "Jane, what's wrong with you? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"I'm sorry, Boss. I was just focusing on what you were saying." He'd actually been focusing on her breasts, more than anything else, and she knew it, but they tacitly agreed to go with his explanation. "She does have nice breasts," he thought. Mentally, he compared them to Eliza's, wondering which were actually superior.

"Boobs, boobs, boobs. That's all they think about," Lisbon thought, but then she refocused and continued. She had a lot of practice refocusing from Jane type distractions.

oOo

He closed the top to his laptop and let out a noisy breath. He couldn't believe it. He'd actually found Eliza on IRC, again, and she said that she lived in Maine and would love to meet him when he was there. His heart was pounding like a school kid's. She'd given him her cell phone number and he'd given her his CBI cell number. He jumped when his CBI phone chimed that he had a text message.

He flipped open the phone and opened the message. It was a picture of Eliza that appeared to be a professionally done and showed her wearing almost knee high black leather boots, a tight black, leather, skirt that came to mid thigh, a semi-translucent white silk blouse and a black leather cape, casually swept back over her shoulders. She had jet black hair and a very pale complexion. She's sent him that picture via a url on IRC, but it was nice to have it on the phone to attach to her number. The image of her, nude, standing over him, just before he pulled her down onto him in the hotel room flashed into his mind.

Pain or pleasure, he wasn't sure. He closed the phone and set it down. He closed his eyes, slumped and put his head in his hands. She had told him "When you get Red John, just enjoy the moment and do it right. Know that it can never bring back what is lost, but that this particular scum bag will never take anything from anyone ever again." She paused. "That'll be your gift to yourself and the world."

Jane gritted his teeth. He wanted Red John so bad he could taste the blood. Yes, he was tasting blood. He'd bit his lip and a trickle of blood was leaking from the corner of his mouth. He wiped, looked at his hand and then licked it off. "I'll drink your blood, some day, Red John. I'll drink your blood."

oOOOo