A/N: Thank you to: phoenixmagic1, Jisbon4ever, watchyouwalk, Viktorija, In The Name, lil smiles and Famous4it for reviewing part three. Also to ch19777 for betaing.

x tromana

Part Four

"What did you say?"

"You heard me."

Lisbon stared at him searchingly, hoping for an answer. She knew that she was fighting a losing battle; it was like a novice trying to take on a Grand Master. But she had to try; she had to hope that because of their relationship, because of how they felt about one another, that he would willingly offer up the truth. Sometimes, Lisbon was certain that she was the only person he was entirely honest with. This, however, was not one of those occasions. She understood just how much Jane loathed his wife at times and statistics showed that in the majority of cases, victims knew their killer.

But was his hatred of the situation he'd found himself in enough to drive him to murder?

In all honesty, she just wasn't sure.

She wished that she could be. Jane was complicated and that was one of the reasons she was so attracted to him. Lisbon had never been one for the simple life, even as a kid. His past, his shady dealings with the carnival, all of it intrigued her. There was also the idea of trying to 'fix' him, to make him a morally better person. It wasn't something she intended to do; it just happened time and time again.

But she wanted, needed, to know that he was above murder. That her faith in him hadn't been a complete and utter lapse of judgment. The very idea that she could trust somebody who would mercilessly kill another human being shook her. He had done some pretty dark things in the past, though all of it was legal, if only just. Since they had started dating, he'd cut back a bit and started to change a little, but there could just as easily have been relapses that she just didn't know about. He was pretty secretive at times; they both were. She had also hoped he would give up the phony psychic career. There was something so unsavory about it; it was almost as if she'd known that it would come back and bite him on the ass one day.

That was if this wasn't just some convoluted, ridiculous plot where he was actually guilty.

"How could you say that?" he muttered eventually, still looking completely shocked. "My wife and my child have been murdered by Red John. Wasn't the smiley face on the wall evidence enough?"

"And haven't you ever heard of copycat killers?" she snapped back in return. "Of people trying to pin the blame on high-profile murderers in order to get away with heinous crimes?"

"Yes, but this isn't one of those times," Jane answered with a low voice. "I can't believe that you, of all people, would think so little of me."

"Patrick, I'm…"

"Don't 'Patrick' me."

"Well, what do you want me to call you, then? Mr. Jane?"

"I thought this was an interrogation. You seem to be acting as if it's one."

"You know this is just-"

"Shh."

She stared at him, completely stunned. Then again, it was so Jane to just stop an argument mid-flow in order to just listen to… nothing. It wasn't physically possible for him to do anything normally.

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Rustling. Heavy breathing. I think somebody's watching us."

"Apart from Minelli, who is in his office because we're in here and the security guard who is at his post outside, we're the only people in the building."

"No."

"No?"

"We're not."

"Don't be-"

He held up a hand to silence her again and against her better judgment, she obeyed. Jane screwed his eyes tightly shut and furrowed his brow as he listened. Lisbon too, tried to hear something. She cocked her head to one side ever so slightly before glancing warily over at the door. As far as she was concerned, nothing was happening. The building was deadly silent, just as it was expected to be during the graveyard shift.

"See?"

"I didn't hear anything."

"But…"

"Come on. Let's get out of here. We're not getting anywhere," Lisbon suggested, though Jane didn't appear to hear her. "Come on. You can stay at my place, if you like?"

"So you've finished accusing me of murder, have you?"

"Patrick…"

"Fine. But I'm sleeping on the couch."

Lisbon shrugged her shoulders. At least it would mean she would know where he was. Then, after they had managed to get a little rest, she would be able to finish off this farce of an interview.

It was going to be one of those cases. Whenever Red John was involved in some way, it always was.

xxx

As he settled into the passenger seat of her SUV, Jane decided he was a little irritated with Lisbon. Well, he would have been if he were actually innocent and therefore that meant he had to act as if he'd been genuinely hurt by her suspicions. He'd been surprised that she had been curious enough to suspect he could be responsible. Usually, whenever Red John killed yet another victim, they became so fixated on the sole task of catching the serial killer. All other potential motives were completely ignored as being irrelevant. Time and time again, he'd watched their desolation as they realized that he had slipped through their fingers yet again. That was what drove him to continue consulting for the CBI. Well, that and getting to spend time with Lisbon without his now-deceased wife being able to suspect a thing.

Lisbon remained silent as she drove. The window was open just a crack, allowing a breeze to enter the vehicle and cool them down. It was probably wise; he was feeling dead on his feet and Jane had no doubt that Lisbon was too. The fresh air would help her stay awake and therefore remain focused on the road. He wondered whether or not they would have been holding a conversation if they were feeling less tired. Lisbon was obviously feeling embarrassed about her question and therefore withdrew from him a little. She always did in situations like that. He didn't blame her much; admitting you were wrong was always a difficult thing to do. Only problem was, she was dead right and he didn't have the guts to tell her. Well, if he did, it would defy the whole objective of him trying to cover his tracks in the first place.

He closed his eyes briefly, but soon discovered that the headlights from the oncoming traffic bothered him. It wasn't as if he would have been able to sleep in the car anyway; he hadn't been able to sleep and travel since he was seven. Instead, he took to alternating between checking the mirror and staring at Lisbon, who was acting as if she was on her own. She wasn't fond of being scrutinized by Jane, but then again, not many people were. However, on this occasion, she was doing a pretty good job at ignoring him. Whether that was because she was irritated with how the case was unfolding, even in these very early stages, or because she was determined to focus on the task in hand, he wasn't sure.

They were also being followed.

Lisbon hadn't noticed, but Jane had. He had only realized it about ten minutes earlier, at first assuming it was coincidence. That they just happened to be heading in the same direction for now and that sooner or later, they would disappear off on their own way However, every time they turned left, the silver car did too. If they lost them for a short while, sooner or later, it was back on their tail. Half of him was fairly certain that the car had been parked in the parking lot opposite the CBI headquarters. Jane couldn't be sure though; the night had been such a blur that it was hardly surprising that a few facts were eluding him.

"Take the next right."

"What?"

"Just do it."

"Why?"

"Don't question me. Please."

When she turned on the blinkers, he was pleased, even if he did notice her trying desperately to suppress the urge to roll her eyes. There was a time and a place for her to pick a fight, to be stubborn, and as far as he was concerned, now was not it. When the car he had been keeping tabs on didn't follow them around the bend, he breathed a sigh of relief. Obviously, he was just feeling a little nervous because of what had happened. It was hardly surprising; he had, after all, framed a serial killer for murder. Now that odd things were beginning to happen, first at the CBI headquarters and now with the strange car, he was only just realizing that that was probably not such a good idea.

He settled back down in the chair as Lisbon navigated her way through the back routes. Jane's detour had put at least an additional fifteen minutes onto their journey time, but Lisbon was presumably feeling too tired to complain about it.

Jane didn't notice the same silver car parked at an unmanned crossroads just ahead. Neither did Lisbon.

Therefore, neither expected the driver to shoot out of the junction just as they drove past.

Jane was unconscious seconds after impact. Lisbon was merely in a great deal of pain.

xxx

"You're just the same as you always were," Angela snapped, thoroughly irritated with her husband. "If you're not family, you're a mark. You haven't changed a bit."

"Of course I have! I don't do this for fun, I do it to support you and Lottie."

"Yeah, sure. It's such hard work. Having women constantly chasing you around, swindling the life's savings out of vulnerable elderly women. Wining and dining with celebrities you happen to impress with your so-called gifts," she ranted, not looking once at her husband. "And if your psychic career is to support us, why the hell do you consult for the police?"

"Because they asked me to!"

"Oh really? I thought it was more because you couldn't stand to be apart from that cop lady. Why else would a common carnie like you be able to stand working with the police?"

"Don't you start acting all high and mighty. Remember, your roots are the same as mine."

"Yes, but I managed to escape them and do something else, something worthwhile with my life. You? You're just the same as you always were. You just pretend that it's completely different when really you're too blind to realize that it's exactly the same thing."

"That's not fair."

"Fair? You want to talk to me about fair? You killed me, Patrick Jane. How is that fair?"

"It was self-defense! You tried to kill me first!"

"Yes and does she believe that? She doesn't, does she? She suspects you're a cold, hard murderer and that's something she'll never forgive you for," she stated proudly, thoroughly pleased to have hit a nerve. "And you know what's worst? She's absolutely right, isn't she?"

xxx

"Are you done yet?"

"Ms. Lisbon, you've been involved in a serious car crash. I would be a little more patient, if I were you."

"Yes and my… my colleague is somewhere in this hospital and I would quite like to know if he's at least alright."

"I'm afraid I couldn't tell you even if I knew."

"Sure."

"You should get some rest, you look like you need it," the doctor who had been treating her eventually announced. "It'll be several hours until you'll be ready to leave."

Lisbon laid back down on the hospital bed, in a foul mood. The doctor may have been doing his job, but she would have appreciated a little more sympathy and a lot more information. Briefly, she had contemplated bringing up the fact that she was a cop, but she had a feeling that it wouldn't have made a difference either way. He was obviously a stickler for the rules and would not divulge any information on Jane. She was already blaming herself for landing them both in hospital as it was. As far as she was concerned, she should have noticed the car in the junction and should have reacted faster when it pulled out. Besides, why did she even decide to travel home in the first place? They could just as easily have booked into a motel near the headquarters or even slept on the couch in her office. But no, she just had to overcomplicate things and tell him she'd drive him home at some god-awful hour. It was funny how all the other potential options seemed so obvious now, after the accident.

It didn't help that she hadn't really apologized for doubting him over the murders either.

She knew Jane, she loved him. How could she even consider that he could be responsible? Screw statistics. What he'd done as a youth didn't mean a thing. Jane had changed since then. He was a better person. Well, sort of. Lisbon was also certain that, given time, he would have stopped needing to pretend to be a psychic. That he would no longer feel the buzz from that aspect of his life and he'd just let it fade away into obscurity. Sure, he loathed his wife, but that didn't mean he wanted to kill her. He just wanted her out of his life somehow. The fact that he was changing should have been proof enough that he wasn't guilty of killing his family.

Besides, he'd never hurt a hair on Charlotte's head. If there was one person on the whole planet he was absolutely devoted to, it was his daughter.

Just because it wasn't Jane, it didn't mean it was Red John either though. They'd have to look into the other possibilities.

Well, when she was feeling a little less drowsy anyway.

She glanced at the clock. It was already six thirty a.m and she had been awake for nearly twenty four hours.

Tiredness was finally beginning to creep in again. Maybe a nap would do her some good? Then, when she was feeling wide awake, she would be able to inform her team about what had happened.

She'd also be able to take on those dratted doctors and find out what was happening with Jane as well.

TBC…