Chapter 3 – Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Patrick Jane's quick eyes were able to locate Special Agent Minelli as soon as he stepped into the CBI bullpen. The man was talking to a petite brunette, probably one of his agents briefing him about a case.

As he casually drifted in their general direction he was able to catch snippets of their conversation.

"They drank tea from the same pot, sir – and all the witnesses are adamant that our suspect couldn't have put anything in the victim's cup without them noticing it."

"I would bet my bottom dollar that Mr. Jackson didn't commit suicide. It's murder alright, Agent Lisbon – and you have to prove it."

"I know, sir, but…"

"Did the suspect rush to the bathroom shortly after drinking their tea?"

As he dropped his hint two pair of eyes turned on him, and Virgil Minelli looked definitely annoyed at the interruption.

"Mr. Jane, I thought I had made myself clear. We don't need your services, and you can't stay here."

Patrick forced a charming smile to his lips, the one he specially reserved for the audience of his magic tricks. "You didn't answer my question."

"What has that to do with anything?"

The brunette however looked suddenly interested. "She did, actually. All the statements say that Mrs. O'Neill briefly excused herself to the ladies' restroom. I can't see the link though."

He rewarded her with one of those dazzling grins that only came with years of practice. "There's a thing called emetic, Agent. It causes instant vomiting, and therefore a person can empty their stomach before a poison they have ingested takes effect."

The woman exchanged a quick look with Minelli. "It would make sense."

"Make sure that your men check out Mr. Jane's theory. As for you, Mr. Jane – my office, now."

Agent Lisbon's eyes followed him all the way out. It looked like he had made quite an impression today, and he hoped it would be enough to pave the way for his future cooperation with the CBI.

He would do better than any fake psychic when it came to consulting on a case anyway.

xxx

Walking into the bullpen bright and early in the morning, Teresa Lisbon paused to stare at the recumbent form of her newly hired consultant. It seemed like he'd spent the night on that couch he'd dragged in from somewhere; his clothes were rumpled and his hair disheveled.

However, he looked momentarily at peace, and a warm smile crept to her lips.

In spite of his show of carelessness and joviality, she could see through the cracks in his well-constructed mask. The man was more broken than he would ever care to admit, she was sure that he'd rather die than admit to his own vulnerability.

His precious daughter had been murdered, and the only person he could turn to now was also the woman he still blamed for his loss. And even though she didn't approve of Mrs. Jane's rashness, she couldn't help but hope for a reconciliation between husband and wife at some point.

They should be grieving their child together, instead of adding more heartbreak to each other's burden.

She wandered off to the kitchenette, trying to remember the lecture he'd given her about the art of brewing tea a couple of days ago.

Patrick Jane was a tea lover, and if the only thing she could do to ease his pain was bring him a steaming cup of Earl Grey, she would at least make sure it tasted exactly as he liked it.

That, and making sure the man who'd killed his daughter was sent straight to death row.

Lisbon smiled again as she placed the teacup next to him and headed to her office. He had been lucky he'd managed to solve a case he knew nothing about right before Minelli's eyes, otherwise her boss would have never relented about his consulting position with the CBI.

And she surely wasn't going to tell Minelli that Jane's hunch came from one of Agatha Christie's books he'd happened to read in his youth. He'd candidly admitted it to her once Mrs. O'Neill had cracked and confessed to the murder of her lover, and she hadn't been able to hide a smile at his childlike delight in catching his first criminal.

She hoped this could be a baby step in the right direction, and that he was going to heal completely someday.

xxx

"Go home and change. You look a mess."

He only smirked at Lisbon fussing over him in full mother hen mode. "Yes, Mom."

"I mean it, Jane."

For the briefest of moments he wondered how she would react if he dropped a kiss on her cheek before leaving. He decided she would probably slap him, but that was only because they were in a workplace in front of their colleagues, and her whole team too.

It didn't help that he'd spent the last few weeks in denial about his latent feeling for his little firecracker of a boss. She was everything that Angela would never be, loyal and caring with a healthy dollop of stubbornness to complete the mix.

Teresa Lisbon was always trying to save the world, no matter if such a responsibility was too heavy for her shoulders. She was stronger than she looked anyway, had had her fair share of grief in her childhood, but that had only turned her into a better woman.

The fact that his feelings were entirely mutual went almost without saying. Lisbon was determined to fix him, to pick up his pieces and see him whole again.

Unfortunately, not even a woman that stubborn would ever be able to do as much. The tragedy that had befallen him had destroyed the love and trust he'd put in his wife, and no one could ever fix his broken heart.

In another life he would have met Lisbon under different circumstances, and they might have been entitled to their happy ending. In this life, however, he was still married to Angela and unwilling to burn his fingers again.

The fact that his wife had betrayed his trust didn't mean he had stopped feeling responsible for her in spite of everything. That was the reason why he couldn't bring himself to divorce her, let alone cheat on her with other women.

It was safer that he and Lisbon stayed just good friends. She was a good woman, and a good cop too; the last thing she needed was someone like him to jeopardize her life and the career that mattered so much to her. She deserved to be happy and loved, and she surely would be one day.

As for himself, he would disappear as soon as his task was accomplished.

xxx

It wasn't like her to snoop into private conversations, but it wasn't the first time she'd happened to overhear a phone call between Jane and his brother-in-law, and it surely wouldn't be the last.

Daniel Ruskin was nothing but persistent in pleading his sister's case, even though it was quite apparent that Jane wasn't going to relent anytime soon.

"I don't care what she does, Danny," she heard him utter as he paced the empty bullpen. "You're her brother, it's up to you to make her see reason."

She shook her head and sighed. The burden of guilt that Angela Jane was carrying would be enough to break the strongest of wills, and she had a shrinking suspicion that the woman had always been more fragile than she liked to show.

Lisbon had seen her father spiraling out of control after the death of her mother, and he hadn't even been the one responsible for it. He'd taken up drinking, turned her life and her brothers' into a living hell before taking his own life.

Now she hoped that the same thing wasn't going to repeat itself for Jane's wife too. She cared for him, it was only natural for her to be worried about the wellbeing of his loved ones.

For she was sure he still cared for his wife even after all that had happened. He might not be able to see it yet, but he eventually would.

She didn't want him to wake up someday to find that Angela was dead and gone, and the only thing he could do was bring flowers to her grave as a belated pledge of his forgiveness.

He deserved far better than this, and she would do everything in her power to assure that he didn't waste his life in bitterness and regret.

As for herself, she would still have her job, and that had to be enough.