Norfolk's Paper Supply for the moment seemed more or less like a dead end. Holly Pasto was a receptionist for the company, nothing more, nothing less. The farthest she'd ever gotten from the phones at the front desk was the week before when the company's deliveryman had gotten the flu and she'd had to help drop off supplies to their customers. Lisbon had gotten a list of the places that Holly had delivered to that week, just to be thorough, but none of it seemed especially promising.
For Jane the trip was even more useless. Norfolk's Paper Supply Company was just as boring as it sounded. Nothing was being hidden there, at least from what he could tell. No embezzlement schemes, no affairs with the boss. Holly Pasto didn't even have and personal effects at the office for him to paw through. For him it was a total loss.
"Now what?" Jane said as they got back in Lisbon's car.
Lisbon couldn't begrudge him the impatience in his voice. After all, she knew how much this case meant to him. "We'll go back to the sheriff's office and see what the rest of the team found. Then we'll figure out where to go from there."
Jane nodded and turned on the radio. Lisbon never listened to the radio while driving, but she didn't have the heart to tell him to turn it off. He wasn't really listening to it, either, just fiddling with the stations. By the time they made it back to the station they'd gone through two talk radio stations, one sports station, one country station, two rock stations, a pop station, a classical station and some jazz. Lisbon needed some aspirin. As she pulled into a parking spot next to the team's large black truck she jabbed the radio off. Jane was already getting out of the car.
"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to get out of a vehicle until it's come to a complete stop?" Lisbon called behind him.
Jane stopped then and waited for her to get out. "Actually, my mother never really drove much," he commented.
"Right," Lisbon said.
The two walked into the station, to the space that the sheriff had reserved for their use. "I hope your time has been more productively spent than ours," Lisbon said to her team as they walked through the door.
"Yes," Cho said immediately. "I managed to pull something off of the video."
"What is it?" Jane said.
Cho pointed to a video screen. "Dark blue large size SUV, pulling out of Shaker Heights Apartments at one twenty-seven a.m. We've got a partial plate, ends in 74. I've got the database pulling up all dark blue SUVs with plates ending in 74 now."
"That's great," Lisbon said. "What else?"
"The superintendent's clean," Rigsby said. "The biggest blight on his record is a pot charge and that was in 1973."
"That's nearly as old as me," Lisbon said. "I figured as much, but it's good to be sure. Van Pelt, what do you have?"
"I got a hold of the roommate," she said. "Shannon Talbert, she'll be coming back as soon as she can. We can expect her either late this evening or early tomorrow. I haven't gotten anything on acting auditions yet, but I figure that her roommate will know or she'll have some records in her apartment."
"All right," Lisbon said. "Cho, how is that list looking?"
"Like I'm going to be working on it all day," Cho said. "We've got sixty-eight dark blue SUV's with license plates ending in the number 74 in the tri-state area."
"All right," Lisbon said. "You and Rigsby get on it."
"The medical examiner wants us down in her office at four," Van Pelt said. "To see the body."
Lisbon looked at the clock. It was now nearly three. "Okay," she said. "Keep at it until then."
"What are you going to do?" Van Pelt asked.
"I'm going to get us some place to spend the night," Lisbon said.
She turned to go and Jane followed her out. "Are you coming along?" she asked him as they headed out into the parking lot.
"You told me to stay with you," he answered. "Should I not take you so literally? I seem to recall that you usually complain quite a bit when I don't follow your directions."
"Perhaps I'm just contrary," Lisbon answered.
"Well, I've always thought that," Jane said. Lisbon rolled her eyes. "I could go for a walk instead," he suggested.
"Hah," Lisbon said. "Nothing good ever comes out of your walks."
"That's not precisely fair," Jane said. "Usually quite a bit of good comes out of my walks."
"Usually they're not walks," Lisbon said.
"Well, if you don't want me to stay with you-"
"Stay with me," Lisbon said. She unlocked her car door and got inside. "Just don't touch the radio," she cautioned.
Jane smirked at her. It wasn't his usual hundred watt smirk, to be certain, but she'd gotten a smirk out of him nonetheless. It left Lisbon feeling somewhat better.
"So what do you think of the case?" Lisbon asked once they pulled out of the lot.
"I still don't like it," Jane said.
"You don't think it's Red John?" Lisbon asked.
"No," Jane said. "It's Red John. I know his work. I know it well."
His face grew dark for a moment. Lisbon watched him from the corner of her eye. His face quickly returned to his normal mask, probably without him realizing that she'd seen anything else. He knew how inclined she to keep both eyes on the road.
"What's wrong, then?" Lisbon said.
"Red John's killed fifteen people before this and never left a real clue," he said. "And now this? His planning is usually better than this. And before you say it, he didn't get sloppy."
"Okay," Lisbon said. "Maybe not. Maybe he had things perfectly planned and those plans just went wrong. Maybe the girl caused more fuss than he would have liked, obviously she caused more fuss than he would have liked or the superintendent never would have noticed. Maybe he had to hurry out less carefully than he would have if things had gone right."
Jane sat silently, thinking about it for a moment.
Lisbon risked looking away from the road to look at his face. "Well?" she said.
"I hope you're right," Jane said quietly. "Maybe you are right. I've turned him into a monster in my mind, but he's still just a man. And the best laid plans of men…" He trailed off.
Lisbon pulled into the motel lot and parked in front of the office. She turned off the car but for the moment she didn't get out. She sat, studying his face.
"I hope you're right," Jane repeated, barely more than a whisper. "I want him," he said.
Lisbon nodded. "Wait in the car," she told him.
Jane nodded his assent. Lisbon went inside and came out a few minutes later, slipping four keys into her jacket pocket. When she got in the car Jane was still brooding.
"Jane," she said.
"Huh?" he answered, snapping out of it.
Lisbon sighed. "Let's go look at the body."