Disclaimer: All of the characters belong to Bruno Heller, not me. I'm just reading
into their thoughts and behaviour and being inspired by them.
Thanks to: The Fabulous Baker Man ---Whoo, gotta love those cheekbones! And that smile….hoo - ee!
Note: I tried to be accurate with timescales…the devil's in the details after all….apologies for any glaring errors.
RED LETTER DAY
MALIBU, California – 2 am Tuesday
The shattering glass didn't seem to make any impact on the cool night. There was a momentary pause before a hand reached tentatively through the broken door pane. The key was still in the lock, even after all this time. The handle turned slowly and the figure was able to enter, but not before a small shard of protruding glass glancingly sliced through skin. Tiny droplets of blood emerged and there was a sharp intake of air sucked through gritted teeth. No matter. The blood would be destroyed anyhow.
Once inside, the figure made towards the open cherry wood staircase. A short corridor led to the master bedroom. 'It must have seemed like a mile to him – ha.' A wry smirk formed on the figure's lips. The door opened easily. There was little to say that this was a master bedroom – all that remained was a mattress lying in one corner of the room, pushed up close against a graffiti-ed wall.
Quickly, the figure set to work, daubing the floor with the petroleum jelly. Satisfied and with one final look, the match was cast down. Flames immediately ran along the lines of jelly, licking and spitting as they went. Once the accelerant had been devoured, the fire began to spread out searching for more fuel. By the time the flames caught hold of the wall and ceilings, the figure was long gone.
*****
CBI HQ, Sacramento, 6.30 am
Concentration was etched on Patrick Jane's face as his hand hovered over the three coins on Van Pelt's desk. Watching him with equal amounts of admiration and incredulity were the CBI's finest; Wayne Rigsby, Kimball Cho and Grace Van Pelt. Agent Teresa Lisbon stood just behind her team watching on. Jane raised his head as if making contact with a voice from beyond and immediately picked up the coin on the right. Van Pelt gasped. "How did you do that?"
Jane shrugged his head to one side, "Oh please, it's nothing. A simple trick. Kids love it." He grinned at Lisbon as she rolled her eyes and walked away towards her office. Jane followed, leaving Grace, Rigsby and Cho to ponder his psychic abilities, none of them picking up on the insinuated questioning of their levels of maturity.
"How many more times do you expect me to be your accomplice in fooling my team?" asked Lisbon, wearily.
"Oh, but it's fun. And you're so good at it,' replied Jane, beaming. One side of Lisbon's face unconsciously smirked at the compliment.
"Strange though," he continued.
"What?"
"Well, for a crack team of investigators, none of them seems to have picked up on the fact that you appear to have a serious twitch in you left eye whenever they pick a coin." He shrugged innocently. "Of course, it's not their fault. A team is only as good as its leader." He raised an eyebrow waiting for the provoked response. There was a hint of mischief in his eyes.
Teresa playfully slapped him on the chest with the back of her hand. "Hey! Keep that up Jane and you'll have to get a new wingman for your silly tricks."
"Boss?!" Rigsby's voice had a more serious tone to it.
"What is it?"
"We just got a call. Arson attack on an empty house in Malibu," he continued.
Lisbon was puzzled, "Why've we got the call? We don't investigate arson cases."
"Not sure. The fire officer requested us. Said they would contact the registered owner and get them to meet us there." Rigsby shrugged. The details were sketchy at best, but intriguing nonetheless.
At that moment, Jane's cell phone began ringing. He fished it out of his jacket pocket as Lisbon turned to leave.
"Hello?" He held up a raised finger to stop Lisbon from walking away. "Yes, this is Patrick Jane." Lisbon looked at him questioningly. A distant look flickered across Jane's face. "Yes… I understand. Thank you. I'll be right there." He hung up and slowly pocketed the phone again.
Lisbon raised her eyebrows. "Jane?" There was a pause as his thoughts seemed to drift away. She tried again. "Jane? Everything alright?"
Patrick came out of his trance and cleared his throat. "Ah…yes. Well, no, not really. That was the fire officer…."
*****
FORMER JANE RESIDENCE, Malibu, 7.05 am
Fire crews were still damping down when they arrived. Lisbon opened her door and stepped out. She was half-way towards the Officer-in-charge when she realised that Jane wasn't with her. She looked back to see him still sitting in the passenger seat staring up at the house. There was an intense look on his face. She couldn't decide whether it was deep sorrow, or fear. It wasn't surprising though, considering what he had encountered previously in this house. She walked back to the car.
"Jane?" He was lost in thought again.
"Jane!" She raised the volume of her whisper. Jane shook his head slightly as if he'd been momentarily hypnotised.
"Hmm?"
"I know this is hard, and I understand if you want to wait here…" she began.
He answered by opening the door and stepping out. "Nope. I'm okay." He tried to give a reassuring smile but she didn't buy it. Together they walked over to where Rigsby and Cho had been joined by the Fire Officer-in-charge.
"I was just telling your colleagues here. It was definitely arson. We found a discarded tub of petroleum jelly out the back. They got in through the back door – there are signs of a break-in. Left some blood on the glass. Lucky for us the kitchen didn't burn too much."
"Any witnesses?" asked Lisbon.
"We've got a few looky-loos over the road. Maybe they saw or heard something but I doubt it." As he paused to mull over his predetermined theory, Lisbon signalled with her eyes to Rigsby and Cho. They made their way over to the gathering crowd, pulling out notebooks on the way. The Officer continued, "My guess? Kids probably. Out looking to make some trouble. We'll know better when our forensic investigators have been in."
"Can we take a look?" Lisbon wanted to see for herself, not just because it was a case she was now going to be involved in, but there was a curiosity within her. She had been working with Jane now for a little over 3 years but she still didn't know much about him. She wanted to find out a bit more about this mysterious man who had helped her to close so many cases.
"Sure. I think the guys have finished damping down."
Lisbon looked around for Jane, who had disappeared. She caught sight of him hovering at the front door, waiting for a firefighter to come out, before disappearing within. She followed.
Subconsciously, Jane inhaled sharply as he walked through the doorway. Despite the fact that he'd been back several times since, the initial pain didn't go away. Although he no longer lived in the house – not since it happened - he couldn't bring himself to sell it. His memory flashed back to that day so many years ago. It seemed like yesterday. He stepped towards the charred staircase and hesitated briefly. Lisbon caught up with him at the top of the stairs.
"The Fire Officer says the seat of the blaze was in the room up ahead."
Jane said nothing. It was as if he knew already. There was deep feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. A firefighter brushed past them as they entered the room. Lisbon almost felt Jane flinch. She saw with horror the familiar graffiti still on the wall. It was slightly faded and newly soot-stained but still clearly evident. A shudder ran down her spine. Beneath it were the charred remains of a mattress, all that was left were the coiled springs.
Jane exhaled and was looking around at the floor, shuffling his feet about. Lisbon reached out a hand and gently placed it on his arm.
"Come on, I think we've seen enough." Her voice was tender. Jane continued to stare at the floor; this time with more concentration. He began shoving debris away with his feet, slowly at first, and then almost maniacally. Suddenly he stopped. His arm and hand pointed down at the floorboards.
"Lisbon?!" He looked at her intensely and then pointed again at the floor. His widened eyes were desperate to get her to look at what he was seeing. She looked down. This time she was the one who took a sharp intake of breath. Burned into the floorboards in a very definite pattern was a smiley face.
CBI HQ, Sacramento, 8.30 am
Jane was adamant. "No!"
"It's for your own safety!" argued Lisbon.
"I don't care about my own safety, Lisbon. This is a way to get Red John, and I will do whatever it takes." He stood his ground.
"Oh and that includes dying?"
"If need be…yes."
"Dammit, Jane. Don't be such a martyr. There are people who care about you. What? You're just going to make them suffer out of your blind need for revenge!" Jane shrugged nonchalantly. He was not going to reverse his position. Lisbon turned to her boss, Virgil Minnelli, in whose office they were now standing. Exasperated she said, "You talk to him!"
Minnelli sighed. "Lisbon's right. You need to go into protective custody. As long as you are a target, you are a danger to my people."
Jane shook his head defiantly, "No."
"We will catch Red John. And when we do you will be one of the first to know," Minnelli tried to reason with him.
"Oh I'll know alright, because I'll be right there…" Jane turned to Lisbon, his voice was softer. "I know you are …concerned. But I'm fine. I will be fine. If you put me into protective custody we will lose the connection and Red John will be gone. Free to kill more people. Is that what you want? Is it?" Lisbon knew it was a rhetorical question, but she answered anyway.
"No."
"Then let me do this. We can bring Red John out in the open." He could sense she was weakening. His eyes implored her to trust him.
Lisbon wavered, "I don't know…"
Minnelli sighed again. He turned to the other man in the office who thus far had kept quiet. "You're running point on this, what do you think?"
Agent Sam Bosco took a step forward. He was staring at Jane, weighing him up. There was no love lost between the two especially since Bosco had taken the Red John case away from Lisbon's team. Bosco had even arrested Jane for spying on him after Jane planted a microphone under his desk. He took a deep breath, mulling over the thoughts in his head. Part of him wanted to throw this idiot into a cell and leave him there, but there was a part of him that knew Jane was the only new lead they had on Red John; an even smaller part admitted, somewhat begrudgingly, to having some respect for the fact that Jane closed so many cases.
Jane looked incredulously at Minnelli. "You're leaving it up to him?! Bosco?" He threw his hands up in the air and breathed out his contempt. Bosco glared at him.
"Yes, Jane. Me. You know why?" Bosco turned and squared up to Jane. Jane didn't move. "Because I'm running lead on the Red John case. The case you couldn't solve. And now you are putting us all in danger just by being here!" A vein twitched in the agent's temple.
Jane remained calm. "Fine. I'll leave then." He walked out of the office.
Lisbon flashed a worried look at Minnelli before going after him.
"Jane, wait!" She was deeply concerned that, in his stubbornness, he would get himself into seriously dangerous hot water, and that she wouldn't be there to save him. She almost had to run to catch up with him. He wouldn't stop. Instead he threw a hand backwards and exclaimed, "Don't try and stop me Lisbon. I know what I'm doing. I wouldn't want to put anyone else in danger."
She grabbed his arm. "Jane, wait! What if there's another way to catch Red John that doesn't involve protective custody?" She was thinking fast now, but had no idea where the thought would go.
Jane stopped and turned towards her. He exhaled, "I'm listening."
*****
Lisbon came back out of Minnelli's office and walked into the bullpen. Jane was lying on his leather couch; his Temple of Thought. He heard her approach.
"Well?" he asked.
"Bosco's not too happy, but Minnelli agreed to it." Lisbon was unsure this plan was going to work.
Jane sat upright and swung his feet down. A smile appeared on his face. Lisbon was even more worried now.
"I'm warning you, Jane. If this is going to work you have to stay away from Bosco's case, and from your house. You hear me? I'm laying a lot on the line for you, you have to play ball."
Jane's grin grew wider. Lisbon sighed heavily. Cho broke the moment. He was just replacing the handset of his phone.
"That was Marin County PD. Woman's body found in a public park." He handed her a piece of note paper.
She read the details. "Okay, let's go."
*****
MARIN COUNTY COMMUNITY PARK, California 9.50 am
The journey didn't take long, but it was long enough for Lisbon to start doubting again. She was watching Jane through the rear view mirror from the passenger seat. Rigsby was driving.
"Jane, are you sure this is going to work?"
"Faith, Lisbon. Gotta have faith." He leaned forward. "It's going to work. If Bosco sees that we're working other cases, he'll stop paying close attention. He's like a scent dog – can only concentrate on one scent at a time. It's all about distraction – smoke and mirrors. Whilst he's concentrating all of his efforts watching me, he won't be concerned about what Van Pelt will be digging up on the arson case. And when the time is right I'll play ball..." His playful wink did nothing to reassure her. Nor did the additional words "..with him.." muttered under his breath.
"What?" she asked, even thought she'd heard what he said.
Jane looked out of the window as Rigsby pulled the car over. Enthusiastically he shouted, "Here!" Then opened the door and leapt out without answering.
The area seemed too perfect; lush green stretches of lawn grass, well-maintained footpaths, a brightly coloured play area; birds were singing and the sound of children's laughter floated across the breeze. Jane breathed in a deep breath of fresh air and stretched. He kept a watchful eye on his surroundings, ever wary that his nemesis could be observing from anywhere. His attention was grabbed by the children's sandpit. It was surrounded by crime scene techs who were slowly brushing away the sand, revealing a gruesome find. A woman's body lay curled on one side. There were multiple deep knife wounds in her sides, abdomen and chest, and several lacerations on her hands and forearms. Her throat had been cut. Her clothes were torn and bloodied; the hood of her top had been placed over her face before burial, and her shoes had been removed. Jane winced at the sight and quickly looked away again.
Lisbon finished up talking to the responding officer and made her way back to Jane. "Officer Walker responded to an anonymous 911 call made at 8.05 am this morning. Male reported finding the body whilst out walking his dog," she recited.
"And he is…?" asked Jane, casually looking around for the potential witness.
"Didn't hang around. Walker says there was no one around by the time he got here."
"Interesting," exclaimed Jane.
"What's interesting?" asked Lisbon.
"Hmm?" Jane wasn't really listening. He was looking back at the sandpit and then at the grass around it.
"What's interesting?" Lisbon repeated.
"The caller claimed to have been out walking his dog, and yet look…" He pointed and moved towards to the grass and the sand. "There are no track marks, paw prints. A dog would have sniffed out the body and begun to dig, and yet there is no displaced sand other than that moved by the crime scene people. And this..." He moved over to get a closer look at the woman's body. "You see this?"
Lisbon took another look. "Her head is covered."
"Yes. More precisely, her face. The killer didn't want to look at her after he had killed her. Why? Because he was remorseful; ashamed of what he had done." Jane moved further down the body to the torso. "Look at these knife wounds. Where have we seen these before? Look at the way he cut her." He looked up to see her staring at him. "This was a deeply personal killing."
Lisbon's experience told her the rest. "She knew her attacker."
"Yes. Most likely a husband or lover, I'm betting a lover. They had an argument. He killed her… somewhere else obviously, there's not enough blood here…then covered her face in remorse and shame and buried her here. Somewhere that is totally unconnected with either of them. I predict that the mystery 911 caller was, in fact, the killer." There was an air of voila in his tone.
Lisbon nodded in agreement. "Okay, I get all of that, but why remove the shoes?"
Jane nodded. "Mmm ..Yes.... Not sure." He leaned back slightly to look past Lisbon at the body again "She has freakishly large feet for a woman… Maybe it's as simple as she was wearing his shoes."
Lisbon gave him a look and was just about to chastise him for insulting a dead woman when there was a loud pop. She dropped to the ground, instinctively drawing her weapon and looking for the source. Jane was on the ground at the side of her, as were several other officers. Loud laughter rose into the air and a few cheers from a group of children nearby as another pop rang out.
"It's okay!" shouted Lisbon. "It's just a balloon." She looked over at the children. They seemed to be celebrating something – a birthday, maybe. She turned to Jane who was back on his feet. "Kids' party. Nothing to worry about." She dusted herself down.
"Oh I'm not worried." He looked at her closely. "Are you worried?"
"Me? No! 'Course not," Lisbon shrugged, not sure if he would see through the bravado. She was worried, deeply worried about Jane being out in such clear view, but she would have to bite her tongue. At least if he was with her team then she could keep an eye on him. She just hoped they didn't get caught in their subterfuge. She turned back to the body. "I think we're finished up here," she said and wandered over to Rigsby and Cho.
Jane stood looking over at the children's birthday party. He took in the colourful banners and balloons decorating the picnic area. He smiled at the unbridled display of joy and innocence. A young curly-haired girl broke away from the party. She was looking over at the hive of activity by the sandpit. Jane waved. She waved back. She reminded him of his own daughter. She'd have had a birthday coming up too – that very week in fact. He felt a surge of emotion building and quickly looked to the ground, blinking hard. When he looked back up the girl was walking towards some trees. She was carrying a white balloon. Jane smiled again, but his grin soon disappeared as a soft breeze brushed against the balloon, turning it so that he could make out the picture printed on its side – it was a red smiley face.
***
Lisbon's attention was attracted by raised voices coming from the trees near the public footpath. She looked over to see a man remonstrating with Jane and a little girl standing nearby. "What the hell?" She shouted Rigsby and Cho and they headed over to the disturbance.
They got there just as the man was pushing Jane to the ground. Whilst Rigsby and Cho restrained the angry parent, Jane got to his knees and began to stand up, dusting himself off. Lisbon demanded information. "You wanna tell me what's going on?"
The man began yelling and trying to push past Rigsby again. "That pervert…was attacking my daughter!" He pointed at Jane. Normally, in a situation like this, Jane would playfully feign innocence, but Lisbon noticed the dark, haunted expression on his face. She waited for an explanation.
"I wasn't attacking her. I was talking to her. Look at the balloon, Lisbon!" He waved his finger erratically in the direction of the girl. Lisbon saw the face printed on the side. She looked back at Jane in disbelief. Jane re-affirmed it with his eyes and nodded slightly. Rigsby and Cho glanced at each other.
Lisbon pulled out her badge. "I'm sorry, sir. We're with the CBI…." Before she could continue, the man interrupted.
"Good! Arrest this man!" He glowered at Jane, whilst protectively holding his daughter behind him.
"I'm not going to do that, sir. He's a colleague. We need to talk with your daughter."
"What?!" The man was incredulous.
"It'll just take a minute." Lisbon tried to reassure him with a calm voice that there was nothing to worry about and that Jane wasn't a threat.
Eventually the man calmed down and consented to a couple of questions, but it was no use; neither the girl nor her father could exactly recall how she came to have the balloon. Lisbon dispatched Rigsby and Cho to question everyone at the party and to see if there were any more balloons bearing the chilling drawing.
Jane began pacing back and forth on a small patch of the path. His demeanour was almost maniacal. He was waving an arm around. "He was here! Red John! He's been watching this whole time. The body in the sandpit wasn't a coincidence. It was a lure. To get me out here." He was rambling.
Concerned he was drawing attention to them, Lisbon gently pulled Jane's arm downwards and stepped closer to him. Quietly she said, "Jane, you need to calm down. I need you to listen to me." She made eye contact with him and had to shift her head slightly to keep it. "Are you hearing me?" Jane nodded with saucer-like eyes. He'd stopped pacing but was still displaying signs of agitation. Lisbon maintained eye contact. "If what you're saying is true…" Jane flashed a look of disbelief and was about to object when she cut him off. "IF what you're saying is true and there is a connection between the body and Red John, we will find it. But right now, you need to calm down and take a deep breath." She demonstrated, encouraging him to join in. Reluctantly, he drew a breath. A look of remorse began to appear on his face.
"Sorry….it's just…Red John…you know how he makes me…" Jane's gaze dropped to the ground, like a remorseful child.
"I know." Lisbon softly ran her hand down his sleeve, her fingers brushed his hand slightly before she pulled them away.
Rigsby and Cho rejoined them.
"Anything?" asked their boss.
They responded with shakes of their heads. "Nobody saw anything, nobody heard anything. Nothing. Nada," added Cho. Jane shut his eyes, bit his lip and sighed heavily.
"Come on, let's go," said Lisbon.
The journey back to Sacramento was a silent one.
*****
CBI HQ Sacramento, 12.15 pm
"Remember, not a word of this is to get back to Bosco, or his team." Jane quietly addressed his colleagues as he dunked the tea bag in his china cup and saucer. Rigsby was raiding the refrigerator in search of some lunch; Van Pelt was filling a coffee cup and Cho was sitting at the small round table, lightly tapping his fingers and nodding in agreement.
"Not a word of what?" questioned a voice behind Jane. Jane smiled curtly and deliberately cursed under his breath, before turning to see Sam Bosco standing behind him, eyebrows raised suspiciously.
"Nothing," he said smiling innocently. Bosco wasn't buying it.
"What are you up to Jane?" Bosco's eyes narrowed as he tried to read into Jane's thoughts.
Jane conceded. "Oh well… if you must know…" He looked back at Van Pelt and winked before returning his full attention back to Bosco. "I planted a small microphone in that pizza you ordered for lunch….smaller than a microchip, smarter too." He tried to sound impressed. "Can actually record sounds and conversations outside the body, from inside the body…Oooh, gotta love technology." He finished off his act with an impressed shake of his head as he got up to leave the table.
Bosco eyed him suspiciously. "Yeah, right! I'm warning you Jane. Stay away from the Red John case."
Jane held up a hand in mock defense and leaned backwards slightly. "I am. I have. Jeez……You need to lay off the caffeine for a while my friend. Not good for you…Oh and while we're on the matter, all that pepperoni and cheese…?" He shook his head, an expression of disappointment on his face. "What would Mrs Bosco have to say?"
Bosco glared at him and through gritted teeth ordered the others to get Jane away from him. Jane shrugged and headed towards his leather couch, grinning.
***
Bosco stormed off to his office. The pizza box was on his desk, waiting. The delivery boy must have left it there. Bosco turned slightly to look at the door. He wondered. He flipped open the lid and looked at the food. With a pen he began lifting each piece of pepperoni to check for anything that shouldn't be there. Finding nothing, he cursed himself for being played.
"Damn you, Jane!" he muttered as he bit into his first slice.
*****
Back in the bullpen, Van Pelt was busy tapping away at her computer. Rigsby was writing up a report and Cho was on the phone to the coroner's office. Jane lay full length on his couch staring up at Elvis – a stain on the ceiling which he claimed resembled The King. His hands were loosely clasped across his abdomen. Lisbon was making her way from her office when Van Pelt hissed in success. "Yes!"
Jane sat up and Lisbon moved to stand next to Van Pelt's desk. Grace didn't wait for them to ask before she began to explain her glee.
"I overheard one of Bosco's guys saying that they'd received the results of the blood from Jane's house. So I found a way to access the lab reports online …"
Lisbon looked around quickly and told Grace to lower the volume.
"Sorry," whispered Van Pelt. She continued in hushed tones. Jane joined them at the desk. "I was able to ascertain that the blood was from a female."
"Not Red John?" interrupted Lisbon, with a quizzical look. She glanced at Jane. He shrugged. Van Pelt continued.
"I then took the results and ran them through the national database to see if I could get a match…"
"And?...." Jane was eagerly awaiting the punchline.
"And…it threw up a name…Sally Ann Jenkins." Grace was pleased with herself.
"Who's she?" asked Lisbon.
Realising the shine of her success was somewhat diminishing, Van Pelt added, "Er…don't know yet. I'll get on to it."
"Do that," ordered Lisbon. "And while you're at it, see if there's any connection between her and Jane. Maybe a former client, or a relative of a client. Something."
Jane was reciting the name over quietly to himself. It didn't ring any bells. Cho hung up the phone and beckoned Lisbon. She meandered over to his desk. Grace gave her a brief grumpy look behind her back; she'd been so proud of her findings so far and now she felt a little peeved that Lisbon hadn't acknowledged her efforts.
Jane took a step away from her desk and then immediately stepped back. He leaned over the computer and whispered, "Good work, Grace." He beamed at her and winked then bounded over to Lisbon and Cho. Van Pelt smiled to herself, her pride restored. She flexed her fingers, cricked her neck and then began tapping away at the keyboard again.
"That was the coroner's office," began Cho. "Cause of death was exsanguination. She bled out…. Jugular." He was a man of few words at a time. He went on. "Time of death sometime between 3 and 4 am this morning."
"Any evidence on the body? Hairs, fibres?" asked Lisbon.
"Nope. But they did find traces of glass in one of the wounds on her forearm. Other injuries were caused by a serrated edged kitchen knife"
"Were they able to identify her?" asked Jane. He looked like he was adding something up.
"Ran prints through AFIS. Got one hit; a Sally Ann Jenkins." Cho held up his piece of paper with the name written on it. There was an audible gasp from Lisbon. She looked at Jane.
***
"Okay, we need to find out everything we can about this Sally Ann Jenkins. Where she was from, who she lived with, who her friends were, her connection to Jane…..and what links her to Red John." Lisbon stepped up a gear.
Rigsby hesitated before speaking up. "Do we know for sure that this is Red John? I mean…"
Jane looked at him in disbelief, "Er hello…" He held up and gestured to a photo of the burn pattern in his house that he had removed from the copied file on Van Pelt's desk. Rigsby looked up at him and continued.
"Well, yeah…I know that. But….it was scrawled on the wall in the same room, maybe she just copied it." He wasn't convinced by his own theory but felt the need to air it anyway.
Jane shook his head, "And the balloon?"
Rigsby winced as he replied, "Coincidence?"
Jane gave him a derisive look. Rigsby gave in. "I know, I know….no such thing as a coincidence."
Lisbon refocused them. "Okay. Now that's sorted, we need to get to work. Sally Ann Jenkins."
They all nodded and Rigsby and Cho both reached for their handsets to begin tracking down information. Lisbon turned back to Jane.
"Are you sure you don't who this woman is?" she asked. Jane shook his head.
At the same time Van Pelt almost shouted, "I do!" Everyone looked over at her. She was bobbing her head about with a self-satisfied look on her face. They moved over to her desk once more.
Lisbon was impatient. "So? Talk!"
Van Pelt reported her new findings. "Sally Ann Jenkins wasn't her real name. She was in the system as that because of an assault charge." She paused. "She had many aliases, one of which was Melinda Hardy." She looked up. Lisbon's brow was creased as she tried to bring forward a memory. She recited the name.
"Hardy…Hardy…." Suddenly it dawned on her. "As in Sheriff Hardy, the guy Jane shot to save me?" She looked at Jane. There was an excited look behind his eyes. He was beginning to piece it together.
Van Pelt nodded. "She was married to a Jake Hardy in 1997; who we now know was the son of Orville Tanner. But it didn't work out. He divorced her the following year. She obviously couldn't let go because he took out a TRO against her in 2000."
"And there's the link," said Lisbon. Jane nodded.
"Yeah, but why firebomb Jane's house?" asked Cho.
"Jane killed Hardy. Maybe it was her way of getting back at him. She had to have known details of what happened there. That's why she chose it," theorised Lisbon.
"But that was last year," added Rigsby. "Why now?"
"Uh I have a theory about that," said Jane, then quickly seemed to regret speaking.
Lisbon looked at him. "Care to share?"
Jane gave a secretive shake of his head and tried to shrug it off as inconsequential. Lisbon sighed and focused back on Van Pelt's monitor.
"Okay, so we know that Jenkins was the arsonist…" Before she could finish her sentence, a voice from the other side of the room interrupted.
"Oh we do do we? Dammit Lisbon, I thought I told you stay off my case!" Sam Bosco was annoyed, and holding up the photo that Jane had put down on Rigsby's desk. They'd been so focused on Van Pelt's findings that none of them had heard his approach.
Jane leaned forward on one foot, holding up a hand to emphasise the point he was about to make. "Ah technically, it was me you told to stay off your case."
Bosco glared at him and growled. Lisbon stepped in front of Jane, hushing him with her eyes. Jane shrugged defensively as though he couldn't understand Bosco's touchiness. "Well, it was!" he added childishly. Lisbon's look was now a warning. She turned to Bosco.
"And we did," she said.
"Yeah? So what's this?" Bosco held up the photo again. Lisbon glanced sideways at Van Pelt.
Lisbon exhaled. "Look….Sam…" She tried to make the peace. "Turns out our dead body is your arsonist. We're all working the same case here, so why don't we all just try to get along?"
Bosco looked at each of them before staring back at Lisbon. Her smile was disarming him. He couldn't help himself. She always had this effect on him. Eventually he breathed out.
"I want to know everything you've dug up," he growled. Jane smiled and went to pat him on the shoulder.
"Good man!" he beamed. Bosco jerked away from him and glowered at him. Through gritted teeth he told him to get away from him. Jane threw his hands up in mock surrender and stepped back.
*****
JENKINS' RESIDENCE, 5 pm
Cho and Rigsby had just finished their search of Jenkins' apartment. Cho put the last of the evidence bags in the boot of the car while Rigsby phoned in a report to Lisbon.
"Yeah, Boss. Neighbours claim she lived alone but we found evidence of a male in the place. Not much, just a few pieces of clothing, toothbrush. Oh and you're gonna love this….a bunch of letters addressed to a ….." Balancing the phone between his ear and shoulder, he looked at a page in his notebook so he pronounced the name correctly, "Roy Tagliaferro…." He paused for a response. There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone and then he heard her feeding back the information to Jane in the background. She came back on the line briefly, then hung up.
***
CBI HQ, Sacramento, 10.30 pm
The phone rang. Van Pelt picked it up. She listened intently before replacing the handset. The noise caused Jane to open an eye as he lay on the leather couch pretending to be asleep. Lisbon had insisted.
Grace began to tap on her keyboard. As she did, she called over to Lisbon, who was sitting at the conference table pouring over a file.
"Boss? That was forensics. They pulled two sets of prints from the glasses Cho and Rigsby brought back from the Jenkins' place. One belonged to Melinda Hardy, the other to a Cutler Irons…strange name…"
Upon hearing the name, Jane opened both eyes and sat bolt upright. He got up off the couch and joined Lisbon behind Van Pelt as she tapped the name into the computer.
He stated what they were all thinking anyway. "Cutler Irons…Cut Iron…Roy Tagliaferro ….It's Red John…he's playing with us."
Information came up on the screen. Van Pelt wrote it down as she read, "Cutler Irons, 2235 Millstream Sidings, Marin County."
Lisbon took the slip of paper. "Okay. Let's go."
***
IRONS' RESIDENCE, MARIN COUNTY, 11 pm
Cutler Irons was lying in his bed when they burst in unexpectedly. His TV was blaring away so he hadn't heard them busting the lock on his front door. Presently he was cuffed and seated in the back of a police car outside the front of the house.
Crime Scene techs scurried in and out carrying bags of evidence to vehicles. Lisbon, Bosco and Jane were in the bedroom. Jane was interested in something in the wardrobe when Rigsby, who had been talking to one of the techs entered.
"We got him, boss. They found a serrated edged knife in the kitchen with blood on it, a slapdash attempt at cleaning the blood off the floor in the garage, and bloodstained clothing that he had attempted to burn."
"Oh and don't forget these!" Jane was holding up a training shoe via a pen to avoid touching it. They were spattered with blood and there was a small shard of glass protruding from the sole. Jane moved the shoe around a little as if looking for the size. "Aha!" he exclaimed, adding "Says here they're freakishly large!"
Lisbon had to stifle a laugh at his childish look of glee. "It does not!" She looked over at Rigsby. "Bag those up and get them to the lab. We need to confirm that the glass matches Jane's house and that the blood belongs to Jenkins….Hardy…or whatever the hell her name was."
***
CBI HQ, Sacramento, 7 am -Wednesday
The interview room was stark. It contained only a desk with two chairs on one side and one on the other. One wall consisted of glass windows and a door all covered by drawn blinds. Another contained a large piece of mirrored glass. It was from behind this that the team were listening to Jane's interview with Cutler Irons. It wasn't going well, and hadn't been since the early hours.
Jane sighed deeply, placed both hands on the desk and pushed himself up off the chair. He joined Lisbon and the others.
"He's not Red John. It's another dead end. He killed Melinda Hardy in a jealous rage. He had no idea who she had been previously. He only knew her as Sally Ann Jenkins. He thought she was sneaking around on him after she crept out in the early hours and when she returned he confronted her and bam! Stabbed her to death…and then when he realised what he had done, he had to get rid of the body - hence the sandpit burial. But he felt remorse and wanted to make it up to her, so called the police."
"But what about the letters in her apartment? The Roy Tagliaferro connection?" asked Van Pelt.
Jane sighed heavily and rubbed his temple, admitting temporary defeat. "I don't know. I just can't…" he seemed annoyed with himself for not being able to piece it together.
Lisbon broke the tension. "Well, alright….let's look at this as a positive. We closed another case, right?"
Jane conceded with a slight nod to the side. "Yes, we did." He tried to force a smile but it was fleeting. Then he left the observation room to go back to his couch. He needed to think.
"Okay, then," was all Lisbon could muster. One by one they left the room.
*****
CBI HQ, Sacramento, 8am, Friday
Lisbon was topping up her coffee when Jane wandered into the kitchen area. She glanced at him as he retrieved a cup and saucer and set to making himself a cup of tea, milk first. She was still concerned about him, even more so now. He'd been very preoccupied over the last couple of days, somewhat down spirited. She suspected he hadn't got much sleep either, which didn't help. Nor had it helped that Red John had led them on another wild goose chase. Plus she'd discovered another piece of information which she hadn't shared with the team, nor mentioned to Jane – she guessed he wanted to keep it private. Today would have been his daughter's birthday – she would have heading towards her teenage years by now. She'd made a decision to try to help him through it by just being there for him, if he needed her. Cup filled, she tried to be breezy but he didn't seem interested.
"Wonder who those are for?" She nodded towards a large bunch of red roses being brought in by a delivery boy. Jane glanced over and shrugged, saying nothing. The delivery boy placed them on Van Pelt's desk. Lisbon decided it would be a good opportunity to tease her youngest agent. Jane followed her back into the bullpen, heading for his couch.
"Oooh someone's got a secret admirer!" she said down Grace's ear as she went past. Van Pelt looked at Rigsby and blushed. She picked up the small envelope which accompanied the arrangement.
Rigsby, a little irked, commented that there were only eleven roses, and went on to chastise the inability of said Romeo to figure out that there should have been twelve to make up two dozen. Grace wrinkled her nose at him. She read the envelope and then turned, slightly disappointed.
"Oh, they're not for me! They're for Jane." She looked intrigued. Jane looked up, slightly confused. Then he smiled weakly. Lisbon must have noticed that he hadn't quite been his mischievous self of late and add that to the fact that his house had been burned to ground, she must have decided to try and cheer him up. He got up and gave her a hug.
Lisbon pulled back slightly. "They're not from me!" she protested, maybe a little too much.
Jane nodded, playing along, but then decided that teasing was better, "Oh right….C'mon Lisbon. We're all friends together. I know that you have a secret crush on me. Go ahead, admit it. You'll feel better for it." His eyes explored her face.
Lisbon's mouth was wide in a mixture of horror, disbelief and embarrassment. She could barely speak through her humiliation. "They're not! I mean, I don't!" Her eyes continued to protest but inwardly she was enjoying this charade. It meant Jane was back to normal.
Jane suddenly realised she was telling the truth. "Well, if they're not from you…" He looked at Rigsby and Cho.
"Don't look at us!" They exclaimed, almost in unison.
"Open the envelope!" demanded Van Pelt. She grinned in anticipation.
Jane grinned and picked up the envelope, fully expecting to see Lisbon's handwriting on the card inside. His grin widened as he saw the anticipation on everyone's face, even Lisbon's. He pulled out the card and flipped it over. His grin immediately disappeared and ice coursed through his veins, almost stopping his heart.
It read : 'Happy Birthday Baby Jane!' And was signed with a red smiley face.
THE END
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