A/N: Huge thanks to everyone that reviewed. If you signed in then you know by now that I'll write back to you personally soon. Guests yellowbrite, Nat and Angie - thank you for your lovely reviews.

And a special shout out to guest, Tina - you always review my stories and I just wish I could write and thank you personally. As it is, please know that I really do appreciate all your comments and lovely words.

Onto the story...

CHAPTER 3

"Did you think that Cho and Rigsby were acting a little odd at breakfast this morning?" Lisbon asked Jane as they drove to see Hicks at his office in Eureka.

"Odd?" her consultant hedged as he glanced over at her and shifted a little uncomfortably on the passenger seat. "In what way?"

"Oh, I don't know. They seemed on edge and kept giving each other weird looks," she tried to explain.

They had indeed Jane acknowledged to himself as he bit back a smile and gazed out of the window. It had amused him greatly.

"Meh, they probably just got hammered last night and didn't want you to find out they had a raging hangover," he dismissed lightly. "I'm pretty certain I saw Rigsby take a couple of Advil with his orange juice."

Lisbon frowned as she thought his explanation over then finally nodded her head in agreement.

"Yeah, you're probably right.

"My dear, Lisbon, when are you going to accept that I'm always right?" he countered smugly, drawing the conversation away from further speculation on the two male agents rather unusual behaviour.

"About the time Hell freezes over," she retorted breezily.

"Well, with the ozone layer being what it is and the increasingly peculiar weather we've been experiencing over the past few years, that might become a reality sooner than you think," he stated glibly.

"Oh, please," she muttered, rolling her eyes at his words.

The journey to Eureka only took around fifteen minutes and they soon pulled up in front of the Coroner's office and got out.

"Just let me do the talking, OK?" Lisbon ordered as they entered the building.

"Of course," Jane agreed, far too easily for her liking.

She gave him a suspicious look but when he merely grinned in response, she mentally prepared herself for what was to come. They were directed to the morgue and went in to find Hicks sitting on a stool and writing in a file.

"You're bright and early, Agent Lisbon," he greeted coolly as he looked up unsurprised at their entrance. "I'm afraid I don't have much to tell you."

Out the corner of her eye, Lisbon caught sight of Jane opening his mouth to say something but she nudged him indiscreetly in the side and silenced him with a glare. He raised his eyebrows at her actions then stuck his hands into his jacket pockets and sauntered off around the room checking the names on the large metal drawers that contained the bodies.

"That's fine, Dr. Hicks," Lisbon assured the thin man as she looked back at him with a smile while trying to keep one eye on her wayward consultant. "Just tell me what you did find and let me have a copy of your report."

"Very well," he agreed, watching Jane running a finger under the typed name cards of each drawer as he slowly wandered up and down. "I retrieved three .30 calibre bullets from the chest area. Considering the amount of damage sustained, I'd say two were shot from distance. The third was lodged in the heart and, in my opinion, was taken at closer range. It was also the cause of death, naturally."

"Hardly anything natural about it," Jane commented dryly from the far side of the room.

Lisbon shot him a dark look then turned back to Hicks and queried, "Anything else?"

"Minor contusions to his legs and arms that are consistent with several falls. Other than that, nothing of any consequence to your investigation," he replied, shooting an irritated glance at the blond as well. "All the other details are in my report."

"Oh, you mean like the knife wound?" Jane enquired as he walked back over to stand next to Lisbon.

"Knife wound?" the Coroner repeated, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"Yes," the consultant confirmed with a slight smile. "Top of his right arm. It was quite defined, you couldn't miss it."

Nor could Hicks miss the blonds' implication.

"Oh, that," he dismissed with a shake of his head as he let out a derisive snort. "You're mistaken, Mr. Jane, the mark you're referring to was just a scratch. Probably caught it on a branch when he fell."

"No it wasn't," Jane refuted confidently, his face now devoid of any trace of its previous pleasantness. "It was too precise. That wound was definitely caused by a knife."

Hicks sucked in a breath and puffed out his chest as he raised himself to his full height, which was still a good two inches shorter than the consultant.

"What makes you so sure you're right? Do you have some kind of medical training that makes you an expert on these things?" he enquired disdainfully.

"No," the consultant replied mildly. "Do you?"

"OK, that's enough," Lisbon cut in curtly when she saw Hicks turn an almost purple colour with anger. "We can easily settle this by you just showing us the body."

"I can't. It's been released to the family," the Coroner revealed defiantly as he turned away and went back to perch on his stool.

"Already?" the brunette agent questioned incredulously, beginning to feel her own irritation stirring. "Why wasn't I informed first? You should have waited until you had permission."

"I did," he retorted stiffly. "I spoke to Sheriff Newland and he gave it to me."

"Well, that was certainly convenient," Jane interjected caustically.

"And what do you mean by that?" Hicks irately demanded to know as he stood up again.

Jane looked bemused at the Coroner's temper and held up his hands in mock surrender. "Nothing. Just passing comment."

Lisbon mentally counted to ten as she reined in her irritation both at the Coroner's attitude and Jane's antagonism.

"Sheriff Newland isn't running this investigation any longer, the CBI is; so from now on you'll run everything regarding this case past me. Do you understand, Dr. Hicks?" she commanded in no uncertain terms.

The sandy haired man nodded reluctantly, his eyes showing his displeasure at being spoken to in such a way.

Not wanting to see the situation get any further out of hand, she plastered what she hoped would pass for a placating smile on her face.

"Good. Thank you for your time. We'll be in touch if we need further information," she said, trotting out the platitude with practiced ease.

She then turned abruptly and walked away with Jane in tow, the latter pausing in the doorway to give the Coroner a jaunty salute and grin before he left.

"He's obviously covering up for someone," the consultant announced as soon as they were out of the building. "But he doesn't strike me as a killer. That means he either knows who it is and he's doing it because there's some connection there, a relative maybe, or he's being paid a lot of money by someone to keep any trace evidence out of the reports."

"I know," she agreed as they got into the SUV and she started it up. "But without that body, we have no proof of anything."

"Well there must have been some photos taken at the scene," the blond mused. "If they took some of Miller then they should show the cut and as it's not mentioned in the report then we'd at least have enough to pull Hicks in for an interview."

"That's a good idea. Call Van Pelt and ask her to speak to the Sheriff," Lisbon decided as she put the car into gear and pulled away. "In the meantime, we'll go to Blue Lake and speak to Miller's parents."

Jane nodded then pulled out his phone and made the call. Van Pelt was only too happy to help and said that she and the men would go over to the Sheriff's office once they'd been to see Simmons' wife in McKinleyville.

The consultant relayed the message to Lisbon who nodded her thanks. The drive only took around twenty minutes and they soon arrived at the Miller's residence. The brunette knew the meeting was going to be difficult. Talking to relatives of any victim was a necessary evil that she always tried to handle professionally, but sometimes it was harder than others. This was one of those times.

The mother, Kate, was distraught to the point of hysteria and the father, Don, was doing his best, but failing miserably, to console her. Either way, they weren't going to get any questions answered so Jane went over and in that soothing, honey voice of his that secretly sent a tingle down Lisbon's spine, he managed to get the woman to use a breathing technique to finally calm her down.

Don gave the consultant a brief smile of gratitude then wrapped his arm lovingly around his wife's shoulders, trying hard to keep his own tears at bay.

Jane resumed his seat next to Lisbon, who shot him a grateful smile of her own, before he sat back and listened quietly as she began the interview. Usually when faced with such heart wrenching grief he preferred to make himself scarce and go and make some tea, unable to handle the painful reminder of his own personal anguish. In this case, however, as much as Kate would benefit from the calming effects of camomile, it just felt disrespectful.

He marvelled at how Lisbon navigated the turbulent waters of their sorrow with sympathy and understanding but still managed to elicit the pertinent information they needed for the investigation. Most importantly they found out that Daniel regularly used to drive to the northern part of Redwood National Park and turn off onto the Old State Highway then park up on one of its trails and complete a circuit of around eight to ten kilometres. His car had yet to be found.

Don also explained that when Sheriff Newland had visited and broken the news about Daniel, he'd hinted that their son's body would be ready for release as soon as the autopsy was complete.

It was an interesting piece to the puzzle that Jane immediately latched onto, his mind quickly producing and rejecting several innocent scenarios as to why the officer would do such a thing before the initial investigation was complete at least.

Lisbon stood suddenly, breaking his train of thoughts and the consultant quickly followed suit as soon as he realised that she was ready to leave.

"Thank you for your time," the brunette said warmly as she shook hands with each of them. "And, again, I really am sorry for your loss."

Jane saw the way the Miller's reacted to her obvious compassion and smiled to himself. No matter how many times he'd heard Lisbon give that condolence, she'd never once let it sound trite or insincere. It was an amazing feat considering how long she'd been a law officer and one that he admired greatly. It proved she still cared even after all this time and all the horrors they'd borne witness to. She really was an incredible woman.

Also one that was on a mission apparently, judging by the way she was on her phone to Van Pelt the second they left the house. He almost had to jog to keep up with her rapid gait as she strode towards the SUV. She unlocked the car then gestured for him to get in as she did the same. From what he could gather hearing just her side of the conversation and the way she suddenly frowned, the pictures appeared to be a bust. He'd suspected they would be, especially after the Miller's little revelation about the Sheriff.

She then asked whether Cho and Rigsby had found out from Simmons' wife if her husband had a regular exercise route in Redwood and her expression darkened even more if that were possible. She ended the call and put the phone back in her pocket with a growl of frustration before starting the vehicle and driving back towards Arcata.

"No luck with the widow?" he asked quietly.

"No; apparently it was the first time Simmons had ever exercised there. He usually went to his local gym. Only similarity is that his car was never found either."

"I see. And what about the photos? Or aren't there any?"

"Oh, there's photo's," she snapped in annoyance. "Just conveniently none from an angle that show Miller's right arm in any great detail."

"Hardly surprising," he commented with a shrug.

"Dammit," she cursed unhappily. "I really don't want to have go back to the Miller's and tell them that we need to take their son's body for further investigation. It's just not right."

"I know," he sympathised with a soft smile. Without thinking, he reached out then laid his hand on her arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. "But, believe me, they'll understand. They want us to catch the person who did this to their son as much as we do."

Lisbon looked down at his hand then glanced up at his handsome face before staring straight ahead at the road again. She nodded curtly and he pulled back, turning his head to look out of the window. She took in a breath and exhaled slowly as she pushed aside the little jolt of pleasure she'd received from his unexpected touch. He was just being supportive, she told herself sternly. Nothing more to it than that.

Jane clenched his fist in his lap and ignored the way his simple gesture had made him feel. He was used to it by now. The heat, the longing; it was second nature whenever he made close contact. Granted, he didn't go out of his way to touch her as often as he used to. That day in her office just before he'd pretended to shoot her, when he'd revealed how he truly felt, had made him more cautious. He just wished that she would initiate something for a change. Just once. Would they be too much to hope for? Some tiny sign of affection.

"You want to stop for some lunch?" she queried, cutting across his reverie.

He looked over at her and nodded. He hadn't realised the time; it was after one. No wonder he was feeling hungry.

They reached Arcata but just as they were about to go into a diner, Lisbon's phone went off. It was Cho.

"What's up?" she asked. There was a pause where her second in command obviously told her, then she said, "Really? The Miller's said the same. That's great, thanks. We'll take a drive along there now and check it out. Just let me know what you find out from Craig Phillips' partner, OK?"

"Good news, I take it?" Jane asked as he watched her put her phone away then insert the key back in the ignition. He let out a sigh. He'd really been looking forward to grabbing a bite to eat.

"Cho's just finished talking to Lance Williamson's family," she supplied.

"The first victim?" the consultant queried.

"Yeah. They said he used to regularly run along the Old State Highway. That's the same place as Daniel Miller."

"Two out of three so far," he murmured contemplatively as she started the engine. "If the others all exercised in the same area then we can assume Simmons also did on the day he went missing too." At her nod he then added seriously, "It's all starting to make some sense to me now but there's still one vital little thing I need before I know for sure."

"What's that?" she asked quizzically.

"Food. Could we get something to go? I'm starving," he told her with a sudden grin.

She rolled her eyes then smiled wryly and turned off the engine. They went in and bought a burger and fries each along with their preferred hot drinks then got back into the car and headed north along Redwood Highway towards their destination.

The scenery was fantastic and Jane was in his element. Trees gave way to a large lagoon and the ocean beyond drawing a smile of pleasure from the blond before they began to head inland again. Forty minutes later they reached the Old State Highway and turned onto it. Lisbon cruised down the winding road and it soon became apparent that little to no traffic used it anymore. They came to another large lagoon and she pulled over into a small lay-by, staring out across the expanse of blue water.

"Good place to dump a car or two," Jane observed, voicing her own thoughts.

"Yeah, although there are people fishing this end so it would have to be somewhere a bit more secluded," she replied as she drove off again.

"What I don't get is why a rifle?" the consultant suddenly conjectured with a frown. It was the one thing that been bothering him since they'd been handed the case.

"Why not?" Lisbon countered with a shrug.

"Serial killers like to get up close to their victims, Lisbon, you know that. They get off on the fear."

"OK, so is there a particular weapon that a possible serial killer should have in your opinion?"

"No; but it also shouldn't be as impersonal as a long-range gun nor does it tie in with the fact that the men were being kept somewhere," he responded with a shake of his head. "What reason could the murderer have if it's not to take his time killing the victims? I just can't fathom it out."

"Well, I guess…" she began only to be cut off by a loud bang and the SUV suddenly lurching to the right.

"Tyre's blown," the brunette cried out as she desperately struggled with the steering wheel to control the vehicle around the bend they were currently navigating.

Try as she might, the car just wouldn't respond quick enough and she let out a gasp of horror as it carried straight on off the road towards a large tree. It all happened so quickly that they had no time to brace themselves for the fierce impact that threw them both forward towards the dashboard, Lisbon's head cracking hard against the top of the steering wheel, knocking her out cold.

Once the car was still, Jane drew in a shuddering breath, trying to calm the adrenalin that was rushing chaotically through his system. Apart from the fright, he was unharmed and immediately turned his head to seek out Lisbon. His stomach dropped when he saw how her head lulled to one side away from him, a thin trail of blood making its way slowly down her cheek. He quickly undid his seatbelt then leaned across the centre console and reached out to gently cup her face with his hand, moving it so that he could see her injury better.

Although her face was pale, he could see a small cut just above her right eyebrow where the skin was already darkening into what he knew would be one hell of a bruise.

"Lisbon?" he called, gently tapping her cheek. "Lisbon, can you hear me?"

She remained unresponsive and he dug around in his pocket to find his phone in order to call Cho.

Suddenly, the car door behind him was wrenched open but before he could turn to see who it was, he felt something hard thrust painfully against the back of his head. He stilled immediately and drew in a sharp breath. Dread settled in the pit of his stomach like a ton weight as he gazed disconsolately at Lisbon's slack features and the silence of the vehicle was abruptly broken by the terrifying sound of the metallic click of a gun being primed to fire.

They were in serious trouble.

END CHAPTER 3

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