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Dead Ringer

Chapter 3

Cho - Shaken and Stirred

Jane and Lisbon returned to the bullpen a little more informed in the ways of poison spy pills but a lot more shaken by the cruelty of this murderer. Were these crimes of opportunity or carefully thought out killings against a predetermined list of victims? And why would this particular group of people be singled out? They were not related by blood, occupation or affiliation to any organization as far as the limited research had uncovered. At this point, the case was a dead end.

Jane made a beeline for Cho when he entered the FBI office. Cho rounded on him, a severe expression darkening his face.

"Where've you been?" Cho challenged him, before Jane could speak. "I need to know where my team members are at all times with this case." He seemed angry. Jane tried to placate him, palms up in supplication.

"Doing research Cho...like usual...since I leave the slogging to the academy graduates" Jane smiled, trying to undo any aggravation he had caused his friend and now, boss. Cho was having none of Jane's nonsense.

"This is a dangerous situation Jane. We're dealing with a psychopath who has access to chemical weapons. When you disappear without a word, it worries me and causes unnecessary stress to the team."

"What's this all about Cho? Why so angry?"

"You turned off your phone. Lisbon didn't answer hers. Not cool Jane. You could be taken by this guy and we'd be none the wiser" Cho vented. He sounded scared.

Seeing how his old friend Cho only meant well, but had to come across as tough and in control, Jane held back his planned sarcasm and allowed himself to be contrite. He owed Cho that respect after all these years. And yes, if he got snatched by the killer, Cho and his team wouldn't know until it was too late judging by this madman's methods. Ignoring their phones so he could enjoy his visit with Mike Staples had been a selfish decision, one Jane regretted now. Lisbon would be pissed off too for going along with his demand to just ignore any calls until they were back in the car. She knew better.

Jane dropped his hands and slid them into his jacket pockets. Rocking gently on his heels, he raised his chin and gazed directly into Cho's eyes.

"You're right. I wasn't thinking. I had an idea and I just ran with it. I brought Lisbon along to meet an old friend who's a chemistry professor to get some clarity on cyanide, since our information packet was too convoluted to wade through. We should have kept in contact. But I'll tell you where I'm going the next time I feel the urge to take off on a whim, I promise Kimball."

Jane's expression assured Cho he was serious and not just playing him. But Cho wasn't finished yet.

"That's just it Jane. I don't want you taking off on a whim. Play according to the rules so that I don't have to worry that you're in over your head. Got it?"

Jane bit his lip and felt foolish. He had let one of his most respected friends down. Cho had to maintain order and Jane was as good as a poke in the eye for all of Cho's efforts. He wouldn't do that again.

"Got it. Sorry. Just enthusiastic. No taking off."

Cho relaxed his stance and crossed his arms over his heavily muscled chest.

"Was the trip worth it?" he asked, his tone more friendly now that he had established his professional dominance.

"Yes, on a couple of fronts. The cyanide is too easily available online to any nut job out there with a computer and a credit card. It will be futile to try to figure out who ordered it without going through a mountain of names. There has to be a more mundane link between our perp and the victims. And we should expect to find glass shards in the gums and soft tissue of the mouths of the two women. If we want a consultant on the case regarding cyanide or chemical weapons, Dr. Mike Staples is our man."

Cho sighed heavily. "Good to know. I may give him a call. We're doing background checks into each of the murder victims to see if there is any way they somehow knew each other. So far, nothing is turning up. This last victim, the nurse from the Litchfield Psychiatric Home, is confirmation that he has a grudge against the medical profession."

Jane reached into his vest pocket and gave Cho Mike's business card. "Here, in case you need to reach him. I'm going to head out to the City Hall in Markdale, see why our man was able to leave the nurse there on display without being seen."

"Forensics should be done by now. Take Wylie with you. I need Lisbon here for a while" Cho suggested, glad to have moved past this now with Jane.

Jane smiled and turned towards the bored, blonde young man sitting behind his computer doing research, as usual.

"Jason! Grab your jacket! We're on our way to Markdale!" Jane announced, patting Wylie on the back.

Wylie broke out into a wide grin and stood up, almost spilling his coffee in his excited haste. Jane almost never took him out into the field, preferring to keep Agent Lisbon Jane at his side.

"Jane? What's up?" Teresa asked as Jane waited for Wylie to shut down his files.

"Heading out to Markdale to take a peek at the crime scene. Cho says he needs you here. See you soon" he said, coming over to give her a quick peck on the forehead.

"Ok...stay safe" she mumbled before turning towards Cho's office. Wylie was already at the elevator, looking like a kid who was gifted with a day off school. As the elevator door slid open Jane lifted his head and gave Teresa a beaming smile, then he was gone.

Once outside, Wylie slid behind the wheel of a company SUV while Jane arranged himself comfortably in the passenger seat.

"Thanks for taking me with you Jane. It gets boring being in the office day in and day out" Jason said, smiling over at his companion for the afternoon.

"Cho's idea, but a good one. Glad to have you along Wylie" Jane grinned graciously. He really like young Jason Wylie and hoped these outings would boost the man's confidence to get out into the field more often. Jane punched in the address for the City Hall in Markdale and let the GPS direct Wylie while he snuggled down for a quick nap. There would be time enough for chit chat on the way back to Austin.

The time between Austin and Markdale flew by as Jane dozed and mulled the investigation over in his mind. Did the killer know in advance where he wanted to display his latest victim, or did he react to an opportunity that opened up to him at the last minute? Did that last minute opportunity then cause him to commit the murder? Which came first, the plan to kill or the opportunity to kill? Perhaps the answer lay in a leafy city square.

Wylie maneuvered the SUV into a parking spot not far from the city centre.

"Jane! We're here!" he said, leaning over to shake his passenger's shoulder.

"Yup! I'm ready to go!" Jane mumbled, getting the fog out of his brain. Stepping out of the SUV, he looked across the lawn and saw the bright yellow crime scene tape fluttering in the cool autumn breeze. It was wrapped around the entire front lawn area, encompassing the statue, light posts and benches. No one was allowed to enter and disturb the crime scene. No one except he and Wylie, he assumed.

Taking a slow walk towards the area, he sent Wylie around the corner to see if anything seemed out of place, but really, he just wanted to putter without being distracted by his young sidekick.

It all looked so ordinary. Beautifully manicured lawn, bright fall flowers, immaculately maintained building, nothing amiss. He stood and cast a long look all around the square, at the shops around the corner and the dull grey municipal building across the road. It couldn't have been more ordinary and neat if it came out of a movie set. Pursing his lips in concentration, Jane stepped over the crime scene tape and sauntered across the lawn towards the statue where the body had been found.

"Hey you! Get outta here! Can't you see this here is a crime scene? What'sa matter with ya?" a heavy set man in a grey uniform yelled at Jane as he hurried towards the statue with a ladder and tool belt rattling as he walked.

Jane turned and smiled at the man, obviously a maintenance worker for the local government building.

"Hello!" Jane smiled, slowly reaching into his pocket to pull out his laminated FBI badge.

"Can't you understand English buddy? Scram!" shouted the man in grey.

"FBI. This is my crime scene" Jane said, lazily waving his index finger around to indicate the property in question as he waved his badge under the other man's nose. The maintenance man stopped and flushed in embarrassment. The Feds scared the hell out of him and the place had been crawling with them since the body was found.

"Sorry...sorry Agent" he mumbled, fumbling with his ladder, looking for a way to exit without a confrontation.

"No problem. The name's Patrick Jane. Actually, you are just the person I was looking for" Jane smiled, waving the flustered man over to where he stood. "And your name?"

"Oh, ahh...Ralph Petrelli. You wanted me?"

"Nice to meet you Ralph! I suspect you're someone who knows what's really going on around here. The other agents talked to the guys in suits - right?" Jane suggested, to the other man's surprise, getting a nod in reply.

"But you're the man who should be consulted. You know everything" Jane said persuasively, drawing the man over with praise instead of insults.

"I do?" the man answered, flattered but on his guard. Who was this nut in the dark blue suit?

"I'm sure you do. For example, you maintain this building don't you?"

"Well, yeah, me and a couple other guys…" he answered cautiously, not wanting to get into trouble.

"Yes, and you would know if something was out of place, odd or unusual, correct?"

"Well, ahhh...yeah, I would" he agreed.

"So tell me...how often do you change the light bulbs in those antique light standards surrounding the City Hall building?" Jane asked, turning around to point to one close by the front sidewalk.

The maintenance man snorted in derision and gazed up at the light fixture. There was a hole in the antique glass shade on the side facing away from the City Hall. The hole would be missed if you stood looking at the light from the base of the statue.

"Damned kids! Those light shades are almost impossible to replace and every year some smart ass kid throws a rock at the light just to piss me off. Takes me forever to climb up there and take the shade down and order a replacement. A few months later, the little prick does it again!"

Both men walked over to the light post and looked up, quietly contemplating the hole and the prick who put it there. Whatever glass had fallen was nowhere in sight now, but the inside of the shade was littered with glass from the shattered light bulb within.

"So this gets broken every so many months, correct? But randomly?"

"Yessir. I guess whenever the little shits get tired of whatever else they're doin' to piss off folks, they come back here and smash my light fixture again. If I get my hands on those shitheads I'll knock them from here to Kingdom Come!" he said with venom.

Jane shook his head in commiseration and turned to walk back towards the statue.

"So, if that light goes out, what happens here, around the statue? Is there enough light from the other light posts to keep this area illuminated, or does it fall into darkness?"

The man in grey smiled and understood what Jane was getting at. No one else had bothered to ask the maintenance guys what happened if the lights went out.

"The way the posts are laid out around the square, they don't exactly overlap with their light coverage. Too far apart. They were put up so long ago, it wasn't done for safely. It was just for looks. Nowadays, cities make sure the walkways are flooded with light so you don't walk into dark spots where someone can knock you out and rob you blind" the man said, gesticulating wildly, acting out the crime of theft.

"I see...so really, all it would take is for one light...that one" Jane pointed to the the light post in question, "to cast this entire part of the lawn into darkness. Someone could take advantage of that and drag a body up here without being seen."

The man in grey looked at the base of the statue and nodded mutely. Geez...that's what must have happened last night.

While both men stood staring at the statue, Wylie came around the corner across the lawn to meet up with Jane. The maintenance man sprang into action. A bull terrier in a cotton uniform.

"Can't you read kid? Stay the hell off this property! It's a crime scene!" he yelled at the surprised FBI Agent.

"Ahh...he's with me" Jane said quietly, tapping the angry man on the shoulder.

Wylie held out his laminated FBI badge and smiled lamely at the overwrought man.

"Agent Wylie, Austin FBI."

"See? With me" said Jane, turning to speak to Jason. The maintenance man shut up.

"Find anything amiss?"

Wylie shook his head, no. "No one saw anything. No one knows anything. The guy is a ghost."

Jane turned and showed the damaged light shade to Wylie and let him figure it out for himself.

"That would do it" Jason agreed.

Jane turned to Ralph and shook his hand.

"You've been a big help" Jane said to the maintenance man. "Keep up the good work!"

Ralph was beside himself with pride. The Feds needed him!

"Yessir! Will do!" Ralph beamed, amazed to have been of help to the FBI. Then he picked up his ladder and continued on his way. Jane and Wylie stepped over the yellow crime scene tape and started to walk towards the car.

Once they were back in the SUV, Jane sat thinking through what he had just learned. The events of the previous night were beginning to make more sense now.

"We've been wondering if this was a crime of opportunity or if it was planned far in advance" Jane said out loud, getting his thoughts in order.

"Yes…?" answered Wylie, knowing Jane was on to something.

"There is no way the killer could have known that light would be out last night, unless he threw a rock and took the light out himself. But…"

"But that would be stupid. He would draw too much attention to himself if someone was passing by" Wylie finished the thought. Jane continued.

"Especially if he already had a victim tied up in his car…" Jane mused. "Or planned to kill soon.

No, he needed to get in fast and get out fast." Turning to Wylie, he offered a new idea for the scenario.

"What if this was a crime of opportunity? He saw the light was out, knew it wouldn't be repaired that night or in the days to come. Gives him time to take his victim back to the square where he knows the statue is in darkness. He can kill his victim when it suits him, then just walk away in the darkness, unseen. Next morning, the body is revealed in the daylight."

"Makes sense" Jason agreed.

"Hmmm..makes sense" Jane repeated. "But only to a madman…"