Red John Theories
Who: Jane, Lisbon, Minelli, Walters
What: Minelli's information leads Jane to consider painful theories about Red John'
When: Around the time of "Red John's Rules"
Where: Minelli townhouse; CBI
Why: Jane needs Lisbon's help in facing some painful new possibilities in figuring out Red John
Disclaimer: The author owns nothing related to The Mentalist TV series, characters, plots, etc.
Why was the FBI tracking Jane? Did Jane's connection to Red John start with his TV appearance...or go back 30 years to his carnival days? Jane needs Lisbon's ideas and help in sorting through some painful, new possibilities.
Chapter 1: A Troubling Secret
Virgil Minelli greeted them at the door of his townhouse. "Teresa, come in, come in," Minelli said welcoming her with a kiss on the cheek.
Lisbon smiled, and kissed his cheek in return. "Virgil." She was fond of Minelli and didn't mind the social familiarities with him.
Minelli grinned. "Much nicer than the formalities at CBI. A definite perq of retirement." Minelli turned to Jane and shook his hand. "Patrick. Welcome."
May Walters stepped out of the kitchen, drying her hands. She tossed the towel over the back of the sofa. Walters shook hands with Jane and then Lisbon.
"Patrick, you and May already know each other. Teresa, May Walters. May, Teresa Lisbon, We're glad you could join us for dinner."
Jane handed Minelli a chilled bottle of wine. "Perhaps this will add to the evening."
~.~.~.~
Over dinner Minelli and Walters announced their engagement, telling Jane and Lisbon they were the first to know. Minelli thanked Jane for introducing them over a year ago. After dinner, Jane and Walters talked while she put food away in the kitchen.
"Patrick, Virgil told me a bit about how you came to CBI. How have you been?"
"Good. The CBI work is worthwhile and advances my...other interests."
Glancing at Minelli out on the balcony, "Speaking from recent experience, the right relationship can do wonders for one's life."
"Of course. Glad you two hit it off."
"I like Teresa a lot. You seem good together."
Jane swallowed, "We enjoy working together." Walters raised her eyebrows in polite skepticism. Jane cleared his throat and added, "I guess I meddled a bit so turnabout is fair play. Yes, I appreciate Teresa more than just professionally. Something could come of it."
"I was thinking of it as returning the favor," Walters smiled. "In my work I constantly see people who could get much more out of life if they would only let themselves. Life is about more than duty and grim determination."
"I'd like that...eventually."
Jane then asked Walters about her work in addiction rehab. She described new outreach programs she had initiated and discussed the success rates of various treatment approaches. In turn, Jane amused her with some lighter stories about CBI.
~.~.~.~
While Jane and Walters talked, Lisbon and Minelli relaxed on the balcony and caught up on CBI news.
"I hear your unit has a fantastic track record, even better than when I was with CBI. A rising star. Gale says you've become a force to be reckoned with at the poker table, too."
"Thank you," she smiled. "I hear you're teaching recruits at the academies. They're lucky to have you. But I still miss you at CBI."
"Nice of you to say. -And how goes it with Patrick?"
"Jane's calmed down a lot. Our team is working really well together. And there's much less friction with CBI."
"Don't tell me he's following the rules now?"
"He's less blatant about breaking them...most of the time."
"He does seem more settled, somehow. But that wasn't all I was asking."
"Oh?"
"Come on, Teresa. I know you both too well. And I have your best interests at heart." Lisbon had been recruited by Minelli shortly after he became director of CBI and was something of his protege. And Minelli had hired Jane as a consultant as well after Lisbon's gamble of involving Jane in the Dellinger case paid off with two high-profile arrests. "How's Teresa doing with Patrick?"
Lisbon sipped her wine, giving herself time to frame an answer. "Virgil, Jane and I spend a lot of time together at CBI–a lot of time. We work as partners now. And some of our cases have been pretty intense."
"So, are you heading toward a personal relationship?"
"The short answer is 'yes.' The details hinge on resolving Red John."
"Red John. Jane killed Timothy Carter who was thought to be Red John. I take it he wasn't Red John after all..."
"Carter claimed to be Red John. Jane believed him and acted accordingly. Carter turned out to be a Red John disciple and a monster in his own right. I sleep well at night, Virgil."
"I'll trust in your judgment and integrity, then. You've been with CBI–what?–ten years? Nine of them with Patrick in the picture? That's a long time."
"Jane worked undercover for six months, completely cut off from CBI–"
"-In Vegas, right? I heard about that."
"Those six months clarified things. They showed me I've already made my choice."
Minelli shrugged. "I'd be the first to admit Patrick is a fascinating guy. I just hope he gets there sooner rather than later. He feels the same way toward you?"
"Yes."
"Good," Minelli nodded, pleased at her certainty. He paused and sipped his wine, looking out over the city. "It's pleasant not to be caught up in the politics and problems. But, tell me about that Vegas operation. –It was about a year ago, right? If half of what I heard is true, it sounds like a major scandal."
Lisbon turned to face Minelli squarely. "Are you sure you want to know?"
"Yes. I'm asking for a reason–not just idle curiosity."
"On the anniversary of his family's murder, Red John sent a little girl to ask Jane if he gave up yet. From that, Jane realized he could use himself as bait to try to trap Red John–"
"–He did this on his own? It wasn't approved by CBI ahead of time?"
"On his own. He very publicly burned bridges with the CBI and faked a breakdown to lure Red John. Six months after Jane went to Vegas, Red John took the bait and tried to recruit him."
"If I'm not mistaken, Jane faked killing you and Rigsby as part of that operation. I was away at the time. Fortunately, the truth was out by the time I got back. Where does the FBI come in?"
"The FBI suspected Jane of being a friend of Red John."
"How the hell did the Feebs reach that conclusion?! Jane's been openly hunting Red John for years."
"The FBI arrested my unit in the middle of the operation, when Jane was meeting with Red John."
"Good god!"
"Someone in the FBI tipped off Red John so we didn't get him. But we did get his mistress, Lorelei Martins. Unfortunately, Red John had abducted my boss, Luther Wainwright. Wainwright was killed when the FBI stopped Red John's limo. He was probably killed by FBI fire."
"Damn. 'Major scandal' is an understatement."
"Gale Bertram and Alexa Shultz arranged a cover-up."
"What happened to the mistress? Why didn't she get you Red John?"
Lisbon sighed. "Another fracture between the CBI and FBI. The FBI illegally diverted her to a Federal maximum security prison."
"–Martins, Martins... She escaped and kidnapped Patrick?"
"Yes. We quickly rescued Jane, but Martins was at large for months, She killed two people who were connected to Red John. Red John eventually killed her. We never learned his identity."
"And I suppose Patrick was up to his ears in all this, somehow."
"He was involved. You don't want to know."
Minelli sighed, thinking about how much Lisbon hadn't said. "I don't know if this matters, but I keep thinking I should mention it. It's odd enough to stand out even after all this time."
"What, Virgil?"
"Jane came to the CBI nine years ago to find out about the Red John case. After–what was his name?- Hannigan assaulted Jane, I gave him access to the files. Now that I know Patrick, I'd guess he deliberately set up Hannigan. No matter. Patrick solved the Dellinger case and I hired him as a consultant. Pretty ad hoc, wouldn't you say?"
"Sure. So, what's odd?"
"That night, I got a call from Alexa Shultz. She requested inter-agency cooperation-to keep the FBI informed about our progress on Red John."
"So?"
"She knew we'd hired Patrick Jane as a consultant. She palmed it off as just knowing about someone associated with the Red John case. I thought it was strange at the time."
"It is strange." Lisbon looked closely at him. "There's more?"
Minelli rubbed his cheek, undecided on how to broach the rest. "Uh, you know Jane was off the radar for part of the year before he came to CBI?"
"Yes."
"Know why?"
Lisbon shifted uneasily, unwilling to violate a confidence with Jane. "Yes, but I'm not comfortable discussing it."
"No need. Sounds like we both know already. What's really strange is that Alexa told me about it and implied Patrick would be a problem because of it. She wished me luck."
Lisbon frowned and turned to face him. "Virgil, that is creepy and disturbing."
"Yes it is. Especially after you tell me the Feebs leaked your plan to get Red John and then ruined your operation. Why would they be tracking Jane nine years ago? He was a private citizen grieving for his murdered family. I don't know what's going on, but I don't have a good feeling about it."
"Virgil, thank you. I'd like to tell Jane about this."
"I want you to. A while back I told Patrick he was in danger of becoming a paranoid conspiracy freak. Maybe I should be more paranoid. I'm sorry I didn't mention it sooner."
The visit ended early-evening because Walters had group sessions the next morning for people who needed to meet before work. Minelli and Walters promised invitations to their wedding as Lisbon and Jane left.
