This story is set post Red John, with the CBI still intact and no 2-year island exile. Jane and Lisbon were keeping their relationship a secret. She'd wanted to make sure they could make things work before anyone found out. They'd been living together for 4 months and Jane was ready to let everyone know. Just when Lisbon had agreed to make their relationship public, she mysteriously goes missing and Jane is the prime suspect in her disappearance.
Chapter 1
"Dammit Jane, I'm so tired of your crap."
"Lisbon, please. I'm sorry." Jane said.
"I don't want to deal with this right now. I'm going home."
"Just talk to me." Jane said, grabbing Teresa's arm.
"Cho, I'm leaving. I'm going home." Lisbon yelled to her second in command.
"Ok boss." Cho answered.
"Jane. I said I don't want to deal with this."
When the elevator arrived, both Lisbon and Jane got in.
"He's an idiot." Cho remarked. "He knows when she's in that mood, just leave her alone."
"Yeah." Rigsby commented.
"We haven't had a case in a few days, so I wonder what he did to make her mad. I haven't heard about him pissing anyone off. Maybe he'll learn one day." Van Pelt said.
"I doubt it. He thinks he can apologize and smile at her and everything's okay. Idiot." Cho said.
When the doors closed, Teresa leaned over and gave Jane a kiss. "Sorry. Hope that wasn't too harsh."
Jane looked at Teresa. "How much longer are we going to keep our relationship a secret? I know you wanted to keep it quiet until we figured out if we could make this work. We've been living together for the last four months and things are great, so I believe we're solid."
"I know, I'm sorry. Thank you for agreeing to keep it secret for a while. You're right. The longer we keep this from the team, the madder they will be when it comes out. Let's invite everyone over this weekend and we'll tell them." Lisbon said.
"Really?" Jane's face beamed with excitement.
"Yes, really. It has been wonderful. I'm ready for people to know." Lisbon answered. "That doesn't mean there will be any public displays of affection at the office. Any PDAs and I'll punch you in the nose. Understand?"
"Yes, loud and clear." Jane said, still beaming.
When the elevator reached the first floor, Lisbon and Jane stepped off and headed towards her car. They'd been using their own cars so they weren't seen arriving or leaving together. However, this morning they were running late after a morning love making session and decided to take Teresa's car so they could grab a quick breakfast on the way to work.
"Do you want to stop at the Thai place for dinner?" Jane asked.
"That sounds good. We can make plans for the weekend." Lisbon answered.
"That sounds even better." Jane replied.
SAC PD officer, Andrew Dean, noticed a vehicle on the side of road up ahead as he patrolled his area. It was kind of late for people to be in this area this time of night. If they were, it usually wasn't good. As he got closer, he noticed a person sitting on the ground behind the vehicle. He quickly pulled over and cautiously exited his vehicle.
"Sir." the officer said. When the man didn't respond, the officer walked a little closer and said a little louder, "Sir."
The man still didn't respond. The officer then walked over to the man and reached out for his hand that was sitting in his lap. He felt for a pulse and found it strong and steady. He made a cursory inspection of the man, but didn't see any visible signs of injury and he didn't smell alcohol on him. He radioed for back up and for an ambulance. As he continued to watch the man while waiting for others to reach the scene, he noticed the man's other hand clutching something in his fist laying by his side.
Once the officer put on a pair of rubber gloves, he reached down and opened the man's hand. In the palm of his hand was a gold cross necklace covered in blood.
He quickly cuffed the man's hands, laying them in the man's lap. He retrieved evidence bags from his vehicle and placed the bloody necklace inside the first bag and labeled it. He continued to watch the man for any signs he was regaining consciousness. Once he was satisfied the man was still out, he started looking around the vehicle for another victim, since the man on the ground didn't appear to be bleeding anywhere. When he shined his flashlight on top of the truck of the car, he found a bloody palm print. He continued to walk around the vehicle, shining his flashlight around.
When he approached the driver's side of the car, he found blood on the console and blood on the steering wheel. There wasn't a great deal of blood, but enough that the person the blood belonged to needed medical attention.
The ambulance arrived as well as back up. Officer Dean radioed in the license plate of the vehicle. Once the paramedics had evaluated the man on the ground and got him on the stretcher, he was able to retrieve the man's wallet from his pant's pocket. The license inside identified the man as Patrick Jane. He knew that name, he was aware of who this man was. He also knew he worked for the CBI. What was Patrick Jane doing in this part of town and who did the blood and the necklace belong to? When he was given the identity of the owner of the vehicle he was even more puzzled. The vehicle belonged to Senior CBI Agent, Teresa Lisbon.
Cho had been working late trying to get all his paperwork done before they caught another case. He was just getting ready to leave when the phone on his desk rang.
"Cho." Cho said as he answered his phone, hoping this was not about a new case.
"Agent Kimball Cho?" the person on the other end asked.
"Yes, this is Agent Cho. How can I help you?" Cho asked.
"This is Officer Dean with SAC PD. Is Agent Lisbon in?"
"No. She left a couple of hours ago. Can I help you with something?" Cho answered and asked.
"We found her vehicle on Longo Street. Does your office have a case down here?" Officer Dean asked.
Cho had a bad feeling. What was Lisbon doing in that area? "Uh, no we don't. Was Agent Lisbon not with her vehicle?"
"No. There is no sign of her. When I pulled up to her vehicle, there was an unconscious man sitting on the ground behind the vehicle. We searched the vehicle and the surrounding area but we haven't found anyone else. There was blood inside the vehicle and a bloody handprint on the truck. The man was clutching something in his hand and when I opened his hand, there was a gold cross necklace covered in blood."
Cho's heart sank and his pulse sped up. "Do you know who the man is?" Cho asked
"Yes, Patrick Jane." Officer Dean answered.
Cho jumped up from his seat. "Jane? Where is he now?"
"Sacramento General."
"I'll be right there!" Cho said as he hung up and ran to the elevator.
Cho entered the Emergency Room entrance looking for Officer Dean. He needed to know what was going on. Where was Lisbon and what happened to Jane?
"Agent Cho?" Cho heard someone call his name.
"Yes, I'm Cho. Where is Patrick Jane?"
"He's being examined right now. When I found him, he was breathing good but unconscious. I just came out here to wait for you. He was still unconscious." Officer Dean explained.
"Anything on Agent Lisbon?"
"No. We found her purse in the vehicle, her wallet and cell phone were inside. The wallet appeared to be intact and the cell phone was fine. Her purse didn't look like it had been gone through. Mr. Jane's wallet was in his back pocket, his CBI badge was in his jacket pocket and his cell phone was also in his jacket pocket. He also had on a watch. So it appeared nothing was taken. The only thing that appeared to be out of place was the blood we found and the blood covered necklace in his hand. Did the necklace belong to Agent Lisbon?"
"Yes." Cho answered, knowing Lisbon never took that necklace off. If it was in Jane's hands, covered in blood, something was wrong, terribly wrong.
"I'm sorry Agent Cho. I wish I had more information for you. Are you close with Agent Lisbon?" Officer Dean asked.
"Yes. She's my boss—and my friend. Jane is also my friend. I would like to see him. I need to be the one to tell him Lisbon is missing when he wakes up." Cho said.
"I'll have to get with my supervisor. He is a suspect in the disappearance of another person right now. I know he works for the CBI, but the investigation is ours right now. I mean, you know how protocol is?" Dean said. He could tell he didn't want to get on Agent Cho's bad side, but until they could figure out what happened to Agent Lisbon and if the blood was hers, he had to do everything by the book.
"I understand. But you have to understand; Jane lost his family over ten years ago to the serial killer Red John and he took Red John down. He's very close to Agent Lisbon and if something has happened to her, he will not take the news well. I'm not sure how he will react, but I can say, it won't be pretty." Cho explained.
"I know the story Agent Cho. I don't think there is anyone in California that doesn't know the story. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the CBI and your team for taking down Red John and the Blake Association. However, the facts we have right now don't look good. Until Mr. Jane can tell us what happened and where Agent Lisbon is, I have to treat him as a suspect in a possible homicide case." Officer Dean explained.
Cho couldn't believe what he was hearing. This couldn't be happening. "One thing I know without a doubt, Officer Dean, is that Patrick Jane would NEVER harm Agent Lisbon. They're partners and you know as an officer, partners are close, very protective of each other. He is very protective of her."
"So they got along really well? No problems between them?" the officer asked.
Cho knew if other people in the office were interviewed about Lisbon and Jane, their argument as they left work would come to light. He knew that any one that didn't know the partners wouldn't understand the fight was not really a fight. It was just Jane irritating Lisbon. He would just have to try to diffuse the situation before it was taken out of context.
"Well, they argue and bicker like a married couple. Jane can be very irritating; he works differently than most other people. He rubs people the wrong sometimes which causes trouble for Lisbon, but in the end, Jane always smooths things over. They had one of their usual arguments before leaving the office this evening. Nothing other than one of their usual disagreements over something he had done or someone he had angered." Cho explained.
"So they fought shortly before Mr. Jane was found?"
"It wasn't a fight; it was a disagreement. Nothing any different than their usual disagreements. Look Officer Dean, as I said, Patrick would NEVER do anything to harm Teresa."
"Okay, Agent Cho. I will need to speak to your other colleagues that were in the office when Mr. Jane and Agent Lisbon left work."
"That's fine. Agent Grace Van Pelt and Agent Wayne Rigsby are the other two members of our team. They were both there when Lisbon and Jane left. Can I see Jane now?"
"I'll go back with you Agent Cho. I hope you understand; I'll need to be present while you talk to him."
"I understand." Cho said.
Cho and Officer Dean walked into the emergency room cubicle where Jane lay on the gurney. He appeared to still be unconscious.
"Has a tox screen been run?" Cho asked.
"Yes, it has." Officer Dean answered.
Cho turned back to Jane. He reached out and shook Jane's shoulder. "Jane? Hey, Jane." However, Jane didn't respond or wake up.
A doctor walked into the cubicle. "Dr. Oliver. This is Agent Cho from the CBI. He works with Mr. Jane."
"Dr. Oliver? Do you know why Jane is still unconscious?" Cho asked.
"I'm not sure at this point. We are running some test to determine if some kind of drug is involved or if it is physical. His x-rays are negative and the CAT scans are clear too. He doesn't have any type of skull fracture. So at this point, I'm leaning towards some type of drug." Dr. Oliver explained.
"Could it be psychological?" Cho asked.
"What do you mean Agent Cho?" Dr. Oliver asked.
"Jane lost his wife and young child to a serial killer, he found their bodies. He spent ten years hunting for that serial killer. That caused some deep emotion scars as you can imagine. He's very close to Agent Lisbon and she is possibly missing from where he was found. If he witnessed someone take her and or harm her, could he have suffered some type of emotional trauma that would keep him unconscious? Cho asked.
"Yes. That could be a possibility. If he witnessed something traumatic to someone he is close to, his mind could have shut down to protect itself."
"Thank you Dr. Oliver." Cho said.
"I will let you know as soon as possible if the tox screen shows any type of drug is involved." Dr. Oliver added.
Cho turned back to Jane. If something happened to Teresa, he didn't think Jane would ever recover from that. He knew Jane would blame himself for whatever had happened. 'Where are you Teresa and what happened?' Cho said to himself.
"Jane, we need you to wake up. Help us find out what happened to Teresa." Cho said to an unconscious Jane.
"The blood found at the scene belongs to Agent Teresa Lisbon." Officer Dean said, hanging up his cell phone. "I'm going to have to place Patrick Jane in custody on suspicion of murder."
"There's no evidence that Lisbon is dead and no evidence that Jane did anything to her." Cho said, raising his voice.
"Agent Cho. If you were faced with the facts we have at the present time, and not personally involved with the suspect and possible victim, you would do the same thing. Think about it. You know I'm only doing my job. I promise I will not jump to any conclusions in this case, but I have to act on the evidence before me right now." Officer Dean explained to the distraught Agent.
Cho took a deep breath. He knew what Officer Dean was saying was true. If he had the same evidence in a case, he would place Jane under arrest. It didn't make it any easier to accept. Jane had become his friend, a good friend. He knew without a doubt Jane would never lay a hand on Teresa. He'd never do anything to physically harm her, he'd do everything he could to keep her safe. Something happened out there where Lisbon's car was found with Jane clutching her bloody necklace. Cho knew he had to find out what happened.
