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Lisbon sat at a table near the bar drinking her second jalapeño margarita with Dana, a friend from her academy days who had recently moved to Sacramento. Whatever else was going on in her life, Dana had always been a good friend and always been there for her. Lisbon had never had a sister, but she had always imagined that if she did, their relationship would be something like she had with Dana. They had confided their secrets to each other almost from the start.
Considering how close they were, it seemed only natural for her to bring Dana up to speed on the events of the past few weeks, including the whole Jane / Lorelei saga. Luckily, Dana already knew a lot of the Jane background. Lisbon and she had talked frequently over the years, and Lisbon had detailed many of Jane's exploits…the good, the bad, and the ugly. All Lisbon needed to do was fill her in on a few relevant details, including her newly discovered feelings, to put recent events in context. Even though she trusted Dana implicitly, she refrained from telling her a few details, partly to respect Jane's privacy, and partly to prevent Dana from ever being called as a witness in court if things went badly. The main omission was that she did not reveal that Jane finally admitted breaking Lorelei out of prison. Instead, she said she had suspicions that he had done so.
Lisbon was shocked to discover that Dana had suspected her feelings for Jane. Apparently it was obvious by the way she spoke about him that she felt more than friendship. Dana had teasingly inquired a few times in the past about the status of their relationship, but Lisbon had taken it as a joke and not thought anything of it.
Dana definitely thought that Jane was no good for her. She viewed him as damaged goods and a selfish user. She had felt that way ever since Jane disappeared to Vegas for six months. She and Lisbon had many long late night phone calls during that time, and she saw how hard that situation was on Lisbon. She had never forgiven Jane for all of that.
Dana wanted her to kick him off her team and end their friendship. Her rationale was that Jane constantly lied to her, did not respect her authority, and put his own desires ahead of both her and the law. Lisbon tried to defend him and tell Dana of his generous nature and the kind things Jane had done for her and others over the years. But none of it swayed Dana's opinion.
"It's all window dressing. He does a few nice things here and there, turns on the charm occasionally, so that people are blinded and more willing to overlook the ugliness behind the shiny façade. At the end of the day," Dana said, "you don't treat your friends like he does if you actually care about them. Good Lord, he worried more about that murderous harpy than he worried about you."
Lisbon hated to admit it, but she knew Dana was right. Jane might view her as a friend (she still held out hope that he had some genuine emotion where she was concerned), but she was a tool first, and always would be.
Just talking everything over with a friend made her feel a lot better. It had been a rough week: finishing all the reports related to the Lorelei Martins case, the difficult conversation with Jane, even looking through that damned book of his was no picnic.
She couldn't believe the level of detail the man had included. She also couldn't believe a lot of the names that Jane had not yet eliminated. Walter Mashburn was in there. Lisbon knew she did not have Jane's powers of observation, but she was highly confident that she would know if she had slept with a serial killer. Being a cop all these years had helped her develop a skill set of her own. She had very good instincts at the end of the day. She could never be that wrong about somebody that she had been intimate with.
He also included Virgil Minelli, which seemed absolutely ludicrous to her. Minelli was one of the finest men she had ever met. He was like a father to her. She had her doubts about whether this so-called clue that Lorelei had "let slip" was really a clue at all. Even now, when Jane believed Lorelei had betrayed him, it was impossible to convince Jane that she may have lied.
But she had to at least consider the possibility that "the harpy", as Dana so colorfully called her, was telling the truth, and Jane had met Red John. She would proceed as if this was a legitimate clue, because it could be. She had made copies of the book and after talking with Jane today had instructed the team to look into the background of the people on the list, including the whereabouts of Jane's suspects 25 years ago. She hoped that she would be able to eliminate more people if she could prove that they couldn't have been near the Visualize farm at that point. Jane's list was still several hundred names, so this would take quite a while.
She couldn't believe Jane had been trying to do this all on his own. He didn't have the access, or more importantly, the expertise needed to efficiently use the various law enforcement databases that they had. She had no idea how he thought he would get the information. Google can't do everything.
The man's paranoia and secrecy was a real challenge when it came to Red John. Luckily, once he realized Lisbon wasn't going to back down, he calmed down (this took two painful hours) and eventually got comfortable with the idea of sharing the names with the team. He even sounded like he appreciated the help in researching the people on his list. He seemed somewhat optimistic, and had ventured down from his attic lair to once again occupy his couch in the bull pen. So at least as far as work was concerned, she was cautiously optimistic that things with Jane would be all right. She would keep a close eye on him, but the early results were positive. She hoped dealing with her personal feelings would be as easy.
Dana interrupted her thoughts about Jane by interjecting excitedly, "Ooh, Teresa, check out the tall dark-haired guy in the blue shirt to your left. He keeps looking your way."
"What makes you think I can handle dating right now? I can't even handle my non-relationship with Jane and you're trying to shove me at other men? Did you listen to anything I said?"
Dana looked her straight in the eye and replied with a very serious expression and tone, "Yes, Teresa, I heard every word you said, and a sad tale it was. But it's like my grandmother used to tell me when I was in high school, 'The best way to get over somebody is to get under somebody else.'"
Lisbon laughed so hard she almost snorted her margarita. "Your grandmother told you that? Why didn't I grow up in your family? With all the things she could have taught me, I would be so much ahead of the curve now."
Dana couldn't hide her smile any longer, "OK, so I admit it wasn't my grandmother, it was a friend two years older than me who seemed like the font of all wisdom when I was 17. But I thought it would carry more weight if I said it was my grandmother than if I said it was my slutty friend Jenna."
Lisbon shook her head and chuckled, tapping Dana's glass with her own, "I think you've had too many of these."
"Nonsense, Teresa. You haven't had enough if you're going to pass up the opportunity to take that guy home with you. Trust me. You won't regret it. He'll make you forget all about that psycho blond pretty boy. He is exactly your type, and you know it."
Lisbon glanced to her left and had to admit she liked what she saw. Tall, dark and ruggedly handsome. The object of her attention made eye contact and she smiled before turning back to Dana. "He is rather attractive, but I don't think rebound sex is the answer. Especially considering that Jane and I never actually had sex. God, this is pathetic. I feel like I just had a bad break up and I never got to have the fun of the relationship. I feel cheated!"
Dana laughed, "How many times do I have to tell you? You're supposed to date BEFORE you decide to dump a guy? Clearly, it is very lucky for you that we are in the same city once again. You just can't manage to date properly without my expert guidance. Most women, no matter how hard they work, can never achieve your level of incompetence."
"Oh, wise woman, what would I do without you?"
"Continue pining after losers not worth your time."
"That's probably true. But a little sympathy would be appreciated. Just you wait until the next time you come crying to me about some guy that broke your heart. But how do I fix things…other than firing him? I'm not doing that unless he breaks the rules again".
"Which he will."
"Maybe. Or maybe not. But let's wait and see on that for now."
Dana sighed. "Fine. You said you want to get over Jane. I think that is the right decision, by the way. The guy doesn't even deserve your friendship, let alone your love. Did I happen to mention that he's an ass?"
"Yes, I think you said that five or six times."
"Good, hopefully it sank in. So I think the first thing you have to do is stop thinking about and obsessing over him. You need a life outside of work. The more time spent with friends and with other men, the less time you will have to sit and dwell on him. You get out there and have fun and date and enjoy the attention you get from your many admirers. Your ass looks fantastic in those jeans, by the way. You need to go take a walk past Mr. Blue Shirt so he can appreciate the view."
"I love you. I'm so glad you're here. I really missed you."
"I know. I am pretty incredible, so of course you missed me. But enough of this sentimental nonsense, finish that drink and go take a walk and give Mr. Blue Shirt a chance to talk to you. If you don't want to take him home, at least give him a glimpse of the attractive, fun woman you really are. See if you even remember how to flirt. You need to be reminded what it's like to have a man dance to your tune, instead of you constantly dancing to theirs. Get him to buy you a drink. Have him buy me one as well. Fixing your love life makes me thirsty."
Lisbon could only laugh at Dana's advice before she finished her drink and walked toward the bathroom…and admirer number one.
Maybe Dana was right. She had to start moving on some time. Why not tonight?
xxx
She didn't follow Dana's advice to its ultimate conclusion…she didn't take Reynolds, AKA Mr. Blue Shirt, home that night. Not that she had any objection to casual sex, but he seemed like a really great guy with a lot of potential and she wanted to give them a fair shot. Drunken liaisons after an alcohol fueled first meeting might be an entertaining way to pass a few hours, but they rarely resulted in anything meaningful. She should know, she'd had many of them over the years.
That was fine with her in the past, in fact, that had been her preference in recent years. She had not wanted the entanglements that a true relationship would provide. But that approach had its downside as well. It meant that she remained alone while everybody else in the world seemed to have somebody. And she was starting to think that it was entirely possible that the lack of emotional intimacy in her sexual relationships contributed to her feelings for Jane. When she had no other outlet for those feelings, it made sense that she would develop feelings for the man she spent the most time with, despite the fact that he was the most emotionally unavailable man she had ever known. At least, that was her theory. She really hoped if she became involved in a healthy relationship with an appropriate man, her feelings for Jane would fade away.
She was trying to turn over a new leaf and make meaningful changes in her life, so she would try to change how she dated as well. So she limited her interactions with Reynolds to flirtatious banter and happily gave him her number when he asked for it at the end of the night. That was Saturday. He called her the next night, and they talked for an hour before agreeing to get together on Tuesday for lunch. Unfortunately, a development in a case forced her to cancel their lunch date. She was a little surprised when Reynolds was very understanding and suggested getting together Friday night instead. They made plans which included dinner at a trendy, new Spanish restaurant.
Lisbon was very much looking forward to Friday.