Red Moon Rising
Summary: In Alpine Village people have started to disappear, again. It seems to be a serial killer targeting extraordinary people but Jane begins to think otherwise… will Lisbon listen, or will she disregard Jane's bizarre theories?
Disclaimer: This is a Fan-fiction story of the T.V Series; The Mentalist, and is in no way affiliated with the actual series. All Characters and other materials related to the show that are used are not intended to infringe on any Copyrights. Elemental-Zer0 takes sole responsibility for any mistakes or offence that may be taken but truly not meant.
However, this story plot and all Characters not affiliated with the show are Copyright © 2009 to Elemental-Zer0.
Authors Note/Warnings: Well, here's Chapter two… Enjoy!
Let me know what you think, but no flames please. If you have any criticism to make please do it politely otherwise I shall ignore your words. (It's happened before, I'm sorry to say, and I hadn't even posted any chapters…)
Chapter One: Lunar Light, Red Flight
"Hi, we're from the CBI. What have we got?" Agent Teresa Lisbon; a mid height, purse lipped, middle-aged woman asked as she and her team of CBI agents plus a certain CBI Consultant dipped under the yellow tape that isolated an apparently random area in the middle of a secluded forest.
Mr Patrick Jane, the aforementioned Consultant who was for the most part looking very much the gentleman character in his grey three piece suit and shirt, shivered slightly in the chilly breeze despite the layers he had on. He was tall and slimly built with a crop of blond curly hair and dazzling green eyes that caught everything in their captivating gaze. He wasn't an Agent for the CBI; he wasn't a violent man by nature and so couldn't warrant holding a gun or a badge or being burdened with all those responsibilities, and the paperwork! No, he was more of a laidback and carefree character who loved to watch, tease and confound all those around him. Like now for example, he was watching -very carefully- everything that was going on; the CSI team digging the glass topped coffin out of the shallow grave it'd been buried in, the officers of the local police dept who were milling around or helping the CSI team with their hard hands and shovels, and the small group of civilians who were gathered behind them just beyond the yellow tape.
In fact it was one girl in particular who he met eyes with and shared a secret understanding. 'She must be the one who found the coffin.' He suspected. She nodded at his unasked question before looking away. He smiled before turning back to the clearing; his sharp eyes picking out the different trees that circled the area, outlining this particular part of the forest for a reason beyond his understanding just yet. The floor was more downtrodden too, suggesting a lot of activity here - although given the current population of the enclosed area, that could be for a number of reasons completely unrelated to the crime at hand.
His visual sweep concluded, which took all of twenty seconds, he turned his attention back to the conversation at hand. His smug trademark smile firmly in place.
"Hi, I'm Sheriff Riley. I gotta tell ya; this is summit I ain't ever seen before." The local Sheriff, a tall and daunting looking man with a standard cowboy's hat and handlebar moustache, greeted them with a terse, tight-lipped grimace and a slightly drawling accent. 'A likely candidate for the cause of disappearance, the stiff upper body suggesting he suspected what was going to happen too but had no part in that event nor could he prove it.'Jane smirked again and shook the Sheriff's hand when he offered it to him. 'Firm grip but soft hands. Strange.'
"Who's the victim?" Lisbon asked, pulling the train back on to its tracks. Jane smiled at that, she always was a stickler for procedure. If only she would think outside the box sometimes… she'd find the world a very fascinating place indeed.
"Miss Iola Summers, 29, married with three kids. Husband's name is Mr Gary Summers. She was an expert pianist and was going for the 'Interstate Musical Award Championships' or 'IMA Champs' for short. There were high hopes for her future but she went missing three years ago." The Sheriff explained as he addressed Lisbon once again. "Case went cold about a month after her disappearance. It was suspected she was dead but her family still held on to that shred of hope." He finished as he led them to a circle of trees that surrounded the immediate crime scene. As they walked, the wind whispered past them again, caressing them each as it sighed through the forest. The rest of the team seemed to have not felt it or were ignoring it but Jane thought for a moment that he'd felt something in that wind; like a calm, warm feeling spreading across his mind. He glanced back at the girl who he'd dubbed in his mind as 'the discoverer' and found her staring at him with a look curiosity.
"Who found her?" Agent Kimble Cho, a smaller but more fierce looking man of what appeared to Chinese descent, asked as he followed the Sheriff. Jane shook his head and refocused on the conversation.
The Sheriff glanced back at them before stopping at the shallow hole where the glass coffin had been dug up. Seeing it up close was something else; the body of the coffin seemed to be made of pinewood that was smoothed and varnished with a handmade quality, while brass rods gilded the corners like a picture frame; hiding the nails that held the whole thing together no doubt. Engravings in a gold coloured paint ran all the way around the outside in a strange pattern. The lid was shaped in a plat-formed dome design, like that of a diamond head and framed with the same brass rods to hold it all together. Small detailed etchings on the glass decorated the edges of the glass lid that also had the quality of being handcrafted with the utmost devotion.
Through the glass, they could see the body of one Iola Summers, perfectly preserved on a white silk sheet. She was a mid-height, younger woman with olive coloured skin and long thick auburn locks that curled at the end. She was dressed in a simple white dress that stopped just past her knees, there were no undergarments visible and her feet were bare too. Her eyes were open wide in a terrified acceptance that she was going to die. All evidence suggesting, she had been buried alive.
Agents Wayne Rigsby – the giant of the team but with an opposing demeanour, and Grace Van Pelt – the youngest and most recent addition to the team, openly gaped. And Jane had to admit that he was slightly impressed too. But then something took his interest. He knelt down next to the coffin and studied the engravings for a moment. He'd seen these symbols somewhere before… There were a total of eight and they were carved all over the wooden base, in a repeating pattern.
He tuned the rest of the conversation out, subconsciously taking in what was being said but letting his thoughts mull over possible meanings for these strange symbols. Cryptology and symbolism wasn't strictly his forte, but he had dabbled in one or two symbolic researches -he'd had a client once who was deeply into symbols and the like, they'd shared some views on the subject which had pre-empted him into researching the topic- which was probably why these symbols seemed familiar to him in some way…
"That'll be Miss Rose Walker over there." From the corner of his eye, Jane saw the sheriff throw his arm in the general direction of the civilians, confirming his earlier assumption. "She's the daughter of Dr Aaron Walker who owns these lands. Sometimes comes up here to 'think' or 'get away from life' if ya know what I mean. This was her spot but I don't think she'll be coming back anytime soon." Jane nodded to himself as he refocused on the symbols while Lisbon began issuing orders. He half listened.
"Rigsby," She said as she turned to the addressed agent, her voice curt and clipped. "Take a look at the body; see if you can find anything we can investigate further; Cause of death, strange wounds etc." The man gave a quick nod and jumped forward with a quick "Yes boss." He moved around to the other side of the coffin so that he was in Jane's view. They shared a quick glance before he set to work and Jane stood up, turning to look at the group of civilians now dubbed as 'the Walkers and company'.
Lisbon turned to her rookie agent; "Van Pelt, look into this IMA champs, see if anyone was trying to eliminate threats to the prizes. Check out any other disappearances in the area too." The young agent nodded but before she could excuse herself, Jane tapped her on the shoulder and added his shopping list to her cart.
"Do you think you could investigate those symbols on the coffin too? I've seen them before but I just can't remember where. They feel important but I don't know why yet." He asked with a serious tone. Grace Van Pelt looked at him with amusement.
"Are you admitting that you don't know something?" She asked with a grin. He smiled with her before letting her disappear to the cars. She was getting quicker at noticing the smaller things, she'd make a great agent one day. After all, details and information were her specialty. Lisbon just rolled her eyes with a small smile before addressing her last agent.
"Cho I want you to visit the Summers; see if you can shed any light on what happened the day she disappeared, any enemies, family hardships and the like." The stoic man nodded and gave Jane a smirk that could be translated into a grin of amusement at his earlier admittance before he disappeared back to his car, the keys jangling in his hand already. Jane watched him go while Lisbon sidled up to him.
"Symbols huh?" She asked, her eyes also following Cho's car as it backed up onto the road. "Do I want to know what you're thinking?" She looked at him then, her hesitant smirk waiting for an unpredictable spout of nonsense that would probably make perfect sense at the end of the case. (Ask her to admit that out loud though and she'd sooner shoot you.)
"Not yet you don't. I want to confirm my hunch first."