HI GUYS, THIS IS CHAPTER 4…YOU MAY FIND THAT I HAVE RUSHED WITH THE CONCLUSION OF THE CASE. PLEASE BEAR WITH ME. I WAS EXCITED TO GET TO THE PERSONAL STUFF ON LISBON.

HOPE YOU ENJOY!

"You can come in, Aunt Nettie…" Lisbon said as she dragged her aunt's luggage with her into her house. Aunt Nettie walked in as she looked around the house. Lisbon stopped dragging the luggage and looked back at her aunt, carefully thinking of ways in which she can criticize her taste in furniture and other upholstery in the living room.

"Hmmm…as simple as your office…" Aunt Nettie commented as she kept on looking around. Lisbon let out a quiet sigh and shook her head. She dragged the luggage up the stairs where her aunt was supposed to stay for a couple of days. Her aunt followed her up and walked into the guest bedroom. There was a double bed in the middle, a bedside table with a simple lamp on it and a wardrobe on the left. Pink floral wallpaper covered the wall. On the right hand side of the wall hung a painting of a white and pink rose on a green background. Covering the floor was a light pink carpet. Towards the left corner was the washroom. Aunt Nettie sat on the bed and looked at Lisbon, who stood at the door on her way out.

"I'll be right back." She said as Aunt Nettie nodded and she walked out. She went down to her kitchen and made chamomile tea…just the way her aunt loved it. Despite all the rivalry she had with her aunt, she still was her relative and she still liked her. She smiled to herself as she carefully made her way upstairs with the cup of tea in her hand. Aunt Nettie was looking outside the window just above her bed.

"Aunt Nettie…" Lisbon called out gently. She turned and looked at Lisbon. "I made you your favourite chamomile tea." She continued as she walked in carefully as she handed the cup to her aunt who readily accepted it with a slight smile.

"I am surprised you still remember…" she said simply as she sipped it and closed her eyes as she inhaled the aroma. Lisbon smiled a little, waiting for her to comment rudely that either there was less sugar or the tea was too hot. "It is nice, Terry." Aunt Nettie said. Lisbon raised her eyebrows in surprise that she didn't complain. However, that surprise was short lived. "But I like mine with a bit of rosemary. You have forgotten that." Lisbon's smile disappeared. "Now, please excuse me. I need to have a shower…" Lisbon walked out slowly and returned the door behind her. She walked towards her room and sighed as she thought to herself that that was going to be the longest 2 days of her life. She lay down flat on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Her train of thought led her to think that she was alone in this and she had to take care of her aunt herself. Just then her phone in her pocket vibrated. She quickly reached to her pocket and removed it. The caller ID showed 'Patrick Jane'. Her cheeks felt hot as she looked at his picture and remembered what had happened earlier at the office where Jane was trying to prove her 'alleged' gullibility. She quickly composed herself and pressed the receiving button.

"Yes Jane…" she answered, definitely not excited about it.

"Well, hello to you too." Jane answered playfully.

"Jane, what is it?" Lisbon was in no mood of playing around.

"Why so serious?" is everything ok?" He sounded concerned.

"No. everything is ok…" Lisbon's voice softened as she realized she was being rude.

"Is it your aunt? Is she annoying you?" Jane asked.

"No. I mean, not annoying…she just…" Lisbon replied.

"I understand…that is why I called up to check on you. I thought you needed someone to talk to especially after you invited her to stay with you despite not wanting to do so." Jane stated.

"Yeah. But I'll be fine. Don't worry." Lisbon said simply, trying to sound positive. There was a brief silence. Then Jane said:

"Ok then. But call me if there is anything."

"Will do. Thanks. Bye." Lisbon said and cut the phone after hearing Jane say bye too.

***********************AFTER 5 DAYS, LISBON'S HOUSE: ***************************

"Jane? You called?" Lisbon said as Jane picked up. It had been 5 days since the start of the case and since Aunt Nettie had been staying with Lisbon. The case had taken longer to solve and Lisbon had to accommodate her aunt till it was over. She was so tired of the constant complaints that her aunt had regarding Lisbon that she preferred staying at work for longer hours after working hours in order to avoid confrontations with her. Her aunt would complain over every minute issue: Right from having too much oil in the curry or the chicken being too dry that she felt like she could choke on it to how her tea was so bland that she could drink it as water. There was a time she even complained about how lonely Lisbon was and what a mistake she was making by not getting a guy for herself, pointing out much to Lisbon's dismay, her friend's son who was a doctor and was in search for a bride. She complained about how boring Lisbon's clothes were and how she lacked a sense of style. Every minute spent with her aunt resulted into hundreds of complaints from her. She was so tired of the arguments that her aunt presented every day that for one night, she had slept on her couch in her office. Lisbon was of view that her aunt simply hated her and doted on her own daughter who was married to a real estate agent, who was very rich, who had a sense of style, who was high in the social circle, who had a great figure and amazing hair. Her aunt's constant comparison of Lisbon with her cousin Tara annoyed Lisbon very much. She was so frustrated sometimes, that she would think of drowning her sorrow in drinks. But Jane was always there to discourage her to drink. "Sorry I missed your call. I was driving." Lisbon continued and sighed. She was really tired. Her aunt had said hurtful things last night about how if she had her mother, she would have turned out to be a better lady. She had slept at 4 in the morning after crying herself to sleep. She was already up at 6 for work.

"It's ok Lisbon. I need you to come to James LeBryn's home as soon as you can."

"Why?" Lisbon asked.

"I have a plan to catch the killer." Jane said and he cut the phone. Lisbon drove off fast. After about 10 minutes, she parked her car outside James' house. She walked out of her car and walked to the main entrance. As she got up the steps, she felt someone pull her by her hand. She resisted the force and twisted the arm that pulled her and tackled the person to the floor. She reached out to her holster but saw familiar blond hair and heard a familiar 'OUCH LISBON' being whispered and she quickly let go of the hand.

"Jane!" Lisbon blurted out as she leaned down to help him up.

"Yes Lisbon, it's me! Can you for once stop acting like a ninja?" Jane said irritatingly. "And why do you look so tired?" He finished off with an air of curiosity.

"I am sorry. How am I supposed to react if someone grabs me like that? And I didn't sleep well last night." Lisbon defended herself as she caught his hand, trying to apply pressure to the wrist where a bruise was visible.

"It's ok…Shhh…" Jane whispered as he put his finger on his lip and directed Lisbon to look at Melanie Shields who was walking fast to the front door of James' house. He got hold of Lisbon's hand and jumped to the shrub nearby. Melanie impatiently knocked on the door. After a few seconds, James opened the door and once he saw Melanie, he hugged her and kissed her on her lips passionately before cautiously looking around and guiding her inside the house. Lisbon looked at Jane in puzzlement as Jane smiled at her. "I knew there was something going on with them the moment James reacted nervously when I mentioned that Melanie was the murderer yesterday."

Indeed he was right. The previous day, they had found evidence of a large sum of money transferred from James' bank account to that of Melanie. They then called in James for interrogation again and Melanie was called too. Melanie looked relieved at the notion of James being the murderer but James became all clammed up and started defending Melanie, her being Valerie's best friend and all.

"But Melanie had nothing good to say about James. She definitely does not like James from how she told us that she suspected him of killing Valerie. What is this?" Lisbon asked, referring to James and Melanie kissing.

"Think about it. James transfers a huge amount of money to Melanie. Melanie said she wouldn't be surprised that James would be the killer. James however defends Melanie. But here they are, kissing and behaving like they are lovers. Why would they do that?" Jane recapped. Lisbon looked at the ground thoughtfully and suddenly it hit her. She looked up at Jane unbelievably.

"They are both involved in Valerie's murder…" she said as Jane nodded. "James funded the killing while Melanie hired the shooter."

"Yes, the shooter being Gabriel Shepherd, who decided not to talk about Melanie when we interrogated him. He clearly recognized her. James might have told him not to tell us that it was Melanie who gave him the money." Jane reasoned. They had traced the money to Melanie's account that was given to her by James, which was subsequently transferred to Gabriel.

"But only part of it was transferred to Gabriel. Why not the whole amount?" Lisbon asked.

"She kept part of that money for herself. Melanie doesn't love James. She was in this the whole time for the money. She tried to talk Valerie into divorcing James because she told her that James was having an affair." Jane said.

"And she told James that Valerie was having an affair…" Lisbon stated in realization. Jane nodded again.

"She used that as an excuse to get close to James. But when James sought to marry her, she said she would feel guilty for marrying him by breaking the marriage of her friend. The reason why she didn't want James to divorce Valerie was because Valerie would get a divorce settlement…perhaps half of what James owned." Jane said.

"Melanie wanted all the money to go to her. So she had to find another way out, thus the murder. But why blame James?" Lisbon mused.

"Because James had already transferred all his property to Melanie. She knew that James loved her too much to confess that she was involved as well. She knew James would sacrifice himself for her. She would be set free!" Jane replied.

"She wanted to have it all. She wanted James' money and she wanted to enjoy it alone, so she decided to have him confess so that he can go to jail and she would have all the property for herself." Lisbon thought out loud and Jane nodded yet again in agreement. "Oh my God! Such a bitch!" Lisbon exclaimed. Jane motioned her to lower her voice and suggested they arrest the two of them. Lisbon called Cho and Rigsby for back up and they arrested both James and Melanie. Both of them confessed to have a hand in Valerie's murder. And the truth was just as Lisbon and Jane had reasoned. James was in love with Melanie. She had 'supported' him while Valerie was out having an affair. Valerie, after learning from Melanie that James was having an affair, went out and got herself a boyfriend to show to her husband that she was capable of affairs too. They both had an argument regarding the same and that is when James sought to beating his wife. He then started an affair with Melanie and they then decided to kill Valerie on the day she was going to meet her lover so that the lover could be incriminated. However, the lover, Colin Heffner had an alibi at the time of the murder. He had been running late and he had asked his friend to drop him off to the park where he was meeting up with Valerie. When they got there, they saw her body and ran away, scared. However, Melanie had to make sure the job was done. So she went there to check if Valerie was dead. And once she found her dead, Melanie had called the police and said that Valerie had told her to meet her there in the park at that specific time to introduce Melanie to her boyfriend. James indeed funded the murder and Melanie hired Gabriel to kill Valerie.

"Alright James! The truth!" Lisbon said harshly. They were in the interrogation room. James shook his head arrogantly. "Come on! We know you killed your wife. And we know Melanie was involved too!"

"No!" James shouted in denial.

"It is true!" Lisbon shouted back and looked at Jane, who was looking at James intently. Lisbon turned her attention back to James. "Melanie was never in love with you…she wanted your money. And for that, she destroyed your marriage. You gave her the money to hire a gunman to kill your wife! Admit it!"

"No!" James shouted again and got up from his chair and caught hold of Lisbon harshly by her throat. Lisbon, in shock and fury, gripped his hand and twisted it in the same manner as she did Jane's and tackled him to the ground. James was lying down on his stomach with Lisbon leaning strongly over him, holding both his hands behind his back with her one hand and the other pinning James' head strongly to the ground.

"Try harder next time!" Lisbon growled at him. Jane was in a state of shock himself. Rigsby and Van Pelt burst into the room, Van Pelt holding a gun and Rigsby a handcuff that he used on James. Rigsby was taking James away when Lisbon asked him to seat him back on the chair. "We still need a confession." Then she looked at James who had bruised lips from the tackle and was bleeding and said: "Tell us the truth!" Lisbon said furiously, breathing frantically.

"Yes! Alright! I did it! All because of that bitch! I had no idea she didn't want me but was after my money. She made me believe Val was…" James started talking and then stopped as his voice quivered. Jane looked at Lisbon to see how she reacted to that but Lisbon's face was still as hard as stone. "My wife…I killed her…" he said as he began to cry. Lisbon was still furious. "I am so sorry!" James shouted and cried as he hung his head down in shame.

"Take this miserable son of a bitch away from my face!" Lisbon ordered Rigsby who promptly held James by his hand and dragged him out of the room. Lisbon, still breathing fast, told Van Pelt to bring into the room Melanie. As soon as Van Pelt did that, Lisbon crossed over to Melanie's side of the table and leaned and told her in grave tone: "I want the truth! She said and then shouted: "Now!" as Melanie jerked at that sudden outburst of emotion. Jane raised his eyebrows. He had never seen Lisbon that angry. Lisbon walked back to her place opposite and sat down on the chair. She opened a file that was on the table and removed a photograph of a very much dead Valerie. "Look at your friend. You killed her!" Lisbon said in a threateningly low voice.

"She was not my friend…" Melanie said as her voice trembled with anger. "She was always flaunting her lifestyle at me…perfect husband, lots of money, a designer store…" she said and spit on the ground. "I hated her! She was the one with the perfect life and I was the messed up one…I got tired! Then I decided to take everything away from her! Her money…her husband…" she said and laughed sarcastically, "such a fool…an emotional fool. Believed every word of mine! Trust me, it was easy to get rid of her. Very easy…" she said and looked at Lisbon daringly. "And I don't regret anything!" Lisbon looked at her disgustedly.

"You will rot in jail for the rest of your life, Melanie. And I will see to it, personally…" Lisbon said authoritatively. "Van Pelt, take her away!" Lisbon said angrily. Van Pelt did the same as she dragged Melanie out of the room. There was a brief silence as Lisbon stared at the file in her hand. Jane slowly went and sat on the chair opposite Lisbon's…the chair that was previously occupied by Melanie.

"Nice tackle…" He said light heartedly referring to how Lisbon handled James. "I didn't know your small frame had such tremendous strength. Lisbon looked at him, definitely not amused. Her eyes depicted an internal battle in her. She looked furious and hurt at the same time. That alarmed Jane. "Are you ok?" he asked, definitely concerned. Lisbon shook her head and said: "I can't believe there are these type of people in the world…who would kill their loved ones for money…I am just sad for Valerie…" she said and walked out, leaving Jane in deep thought.