A/N: Slight delay in updating, sorry. Especially as I said I'd be quick posting this one.

Thanks to: TwilightLover-CarlisleandEsme, anthropologist, Ebony10 and Miss Peg for reviewing part three.

x tromana

Part Four

"You've brought in the manager," she said flatly.

"It could have been worse," Jane piped up and Lisbon glared at him.

"How?"

"They could have brought in Santa," he answered with a grin. "Imagine how bad that would have looked."

"I don't want to," Lisbon said with a groan.

"Imagine the headlines…"

"That's enough," she said warningly.

Van Pelt was already searching away for clues as to the whereabouts of Tristan Stevens. Lisbon quietly hoped that she would make a breakthrough soon, so that they could interview the boy before the working day was over. For now, there was nothing to do but go and observe Cho questioning Arden O'Hanlon once more. Cho quickly justified bringing O'Hanlon in as they walked over to the interrogation rooms. Apparently, O'Hanlon had been caught tampering with evidence.

If that was the case, and it was an indication of guilt, then maybe they would catch a lucky break and get an arrest within the next hour or so. Then, they wouldn't even need to track down the Stevens kid because the case would be closed.

"What the hell? I want my lawyer," O'Hanlon snapped as Cho entered the room.

"You were caught attempting to destroy evidence by Agent Rigsby and myself," Cho replied quickly. "Things are pretty bad for you. But if you want to do this the hard way, that's fine by me."

"What do you mean?" O'Hanlon asked.

"The longer this interrogation takes, the longer until you'll be back at your mall," he answered, in his typically steady tones. "And I know how much that means to you."

"And what if you charge me for murder?"

"Are you saying you're guilty?"

"No. I just want to know the facts."

"If you're guilty, then you won't be returning at all," Cho said.

Lisbon glanced briefly at Jane, who was studying the pair sitting on the other side of the one-way mirror with a fierce intensity. She was always glad to see him taking his work seriously, after all, he often opted to mess around and cause hassle for her. Then again, she knew he was just trying to ascertain whether or not he believed O'Hanlon to be guilty of murder. Just because he had thought that there was something shifty about the way O'Hanlon looked, it didn't mean he was guilty. Even destroying evidence didn't implicitly imply guilt; it could simply have meant that he was trying to protect somebody else.

"I still want my lawyer," O'Hanlon decided with a firm nod.

"Daddy!" a brunette girl shouted as she ran into the interrogation room. "Julie told me they'd brought you here. Why?"

"Ma'am, we're in the middle of a homicide investigation. If you could…" Cho started, but was soon interrupted.

"You were the one who dragged him here, weren't you?" the girl said, looking at Cho with critical eyes. "He's done nothing wrong."

"And how do you know that?"

"He's my father, he wouldn't…"

"Yes, because that's a convincing testimonial," Jane said as he and Lisbon entered the increasing-claustrophobic interrogation room.

"Georgie, I came as quickly as I could. Finding a parking space was a-"

"And who are you?" Lisbon said and she turned to face their newest arrival.

"Juliette Mayer. I'm Georgie's best friend."

"So, what business do you have in here right now?"

"I've come to support her, duh," Juliette stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Ain't that what friends do?"

Rolling her eyes, Lisbon briefly left the room and dragged Van Pelt over. If anyone would be capable of dealing with hyperactive late-teens, it was her. Really, they needed to get rid of both of the girls, so that they could get on. Lisbon made a mental note to have a word with whomever was on security. This was ridiculous; they should have been able to question O'Hanlon in peace and instead, it had been turned into a circus act. Then again, with Jane around, it wasn't that much different to usual.

"If you could leave with Agent Grace Van Pelt, it would be much appreciated," Lisbon said calmly, looking at the two young women. "She will explain exactly what's going on, won't you Van Pelt?"

"Yes, of course. If you could just come-"

"I want to stay," Georgie wailed, "you think my Daddy killed that girl and I have a right to listen."

"What part of homicide investigation don't you understand?" Lisbon snapped, sounding far more angry than she intended. "The only way you can help us prove your father's innocence is by letting us question him."

Eventually the girls gave up and followed Van Pelt out and towards another room. Lisbon, along with Jane, left, agreeing to chase up O'Hanlon's lawyer as he was still insisting upon his presence before saying another word. Neither of them were surprised at that; any senior management in his position almost always interacted in the same way. Jane smiled slightly and Lisbon looked at him warily. There was something quite obviously on his mind.

"You're going to say you think he's innocent now, aren't you?"

"No I wasn't," he answered quickly and Lisbon raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Okay, so maybe not entirely. I was going to say I didn't think he was guilty of murder."

"If that's the case then why did he-"

She stopped abruptly, mostly because her cell phone was ringing. Raising a single finger to indicate that the conversation wasn't over yet and that Jane just had to be patient, she looked at the screen. Annabeth. It was unusual for her niece to call her. Whenever she did, she was usually after something, like an escape from her parents rowing or money. Either that, or Tommy was in trouble and who else could she contact but Auntie Reese?

"What's wrong, Annabeth?"

"Annie. How many times do I have to tell you? It's-"

"Annie. Yes, I'm sorry."

"No you're not," Annabeth replied, though there was a hint of humor in her voice. "Is it still alright for me to come around tomorrow?"

"Yes, it's fine. Why do you need to ask?"

"Dad told me to check. He heard something about you getting a new case."

"I'm always getting new cases, Annie."

"I know. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No."

"I knew you'd say that."

"Then why did you ask?"

"I've gotta try, haven't I? I thought you'd approve of me looking for work experience."

"The CBI doesn't offer shadowing placements."

"I think they should."

"You tell my boss that."

Lisbon immediately regretted planting that seed into Annabeth's mind. Knowing her niece, she would most likely set up camp in Wainwright's office until he backed down and gave her exactly what she wanted. She was a stubborn soul and didn't take kindly to the word no. Unfortunately, Lisbon understood both of those characteristics all too well, especially given the fact that they were very atypical of the Lisbon family. Still, even though she couldn't say she was entirely pleased about the girl wanting to sell her life to the police force, as she had done, it was good to see that Annabeth was so driven. That was something that would get her far.

"Can I see Patrick Jane when I do?"

"I thought you wanted to go Christmas shopping?"

"Dad wants you to take me Christmas shopping," Annabeth clarified and Lisbon sighed. "So, can I see him?"

"I'll see what I can do," Lisbon assured her, though really she meant 'not if I can help it'. "Look, Annie, I'm really busy..."

"Oh yeah. Being badass and catching murderers, yeah?"

"More like interviewing persons of interest and collecting evidence, which then all translates into paperwork. It's not all as glamorous as you make it out to be."

"You still get paid to carry a Glock," Annabeth answered, as if that were the most important aspect of her aunt's job. "See you tomorrow."

Jane was smirking when she finished the call. Despite having heard only one side of the conversation, Lisbon suspected that he knew exactly what Annabeth had been asking based on her responses. He probably already knew that she wanted desperately to see him again, no doubt to be taught more little parlor tricks.

"Annie still wants to be a cop, then?"

"Something like that."

"And you still don't approve."

"It doesn't matter. I'm not there to run her life. If anyone has a say, it's Tommy and even then…""You find it hard, not being in control."

"Shut up, Jane."

"If it's any consolation, I think you're doing a great job at letting go of the reins."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really."

They fell briefly silent as Lisbon contemplated Jane's opinion. It didn't really matter what he thought of her relationship with her brother and his daughter, but it was still appreciated, in a way. Sometimes, it did help to get somebody else's reassurance, even if that someone else was Jane.

"Well?"

"Well what?" he asked.

"Why did O'Hanlon tamper with evidence if he isn't guilty?"

"Because he's trying to protect someone?"

"One of his employees? His daughter? Santa?"

"Oh please, you don't really think Santa is the killer, do you?"

"He had access and opportunity."

"Motive?"

"You're right, I'm being ridiculous," Jane said as they headed towards the elevator. "So, the stepbrother then?"

"Jane…"

Though Lisbon knew full well that she had a better read on Jane now then she had ever done so before, she still hated the fact she didn't entirely understand him all of the time. If she did, then she would have been able to do her job better and people would stop questioning why Bertram had dared to rehire her. Eventually, she decided it was simply easier to let it go for now. Jane was obviously still in a silly mood and therefore, it was better just to ride the storm.

Jane remained surprisingly quiet when they got into the van. Lisbon didn't mind though. Sometimes it was nice when Jane took a break from the constant barrage of random conversation. She still swore that he had eaten too much candy earlier and when she saw him pull some more out of his jacket pocket, she groaned. As far as she was concerned, he had already had enough and yet, he was about to eat more. Even if she suggested he saved it for later, she knew he would simply ignore her.

"Would you like a candy cane, Lisbon?"

"Really, Jane?"

"It's just candy. It's not going to hurt you," he answered before breaking off a chunk and popping it into his mouth. "Or is this part of the commercial crap that you hate so much about Christmas?"

"Yes, it is."

"I still think this is repressed anger about taking the Santa revelation so badly."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"That it's nearly Christmas once again and you're still refusing to indulge in the festivities."

"One, it's not nearly Christmas, it's still November and two, I'm not refusing to participate. It's just too soon."

"So, if I offer you one in a month's time, it'll be fine then?"

"If I wanted one, then yes."

"Why the discrepancy? They still taste good now."

"Because then they're less special," she explained, with the tone of a parent speaking to a particularly insufferable child. "What's the use if you can get them all year round?"

"Better sales for candy cane makers?" he offered.

"Candy firms generally don't just make candy canes."

"True."

Throughout the rest of the journey, Jane spoke about nothing in particular. The case, her impending visit from Annabeth. At least he had dropped the persistent chatter over her inability to celebrate the holiday season outside of December. It was only destined to be a short journey anyway; Tristan was staying on the opposite side of Sacramento to his family. It was his teenage rebellion, a way of putting a distance between himself and the relatives that were probably, in his opinion, out to ruin his life. No doubt, when he saw her badge, he would assume that they were responsible for setting them on his trail.

"I'd put the rest of that away, if I were you."

"Why?"

"Because we're here."

"Oh."

Carefully, he wrapped the piece of candy up before putting it into his pocket. Lisbon was standing by the front door of the nondescript townhouse before he exited the vehicle. He smiled slightly as she knocked on the door. The case wasn't anything particularly special, but for some reason, he was actually enjoying this one.

"Hey, Lisbon?" he said as she knocked sharply on the door.

"What?"

"Do you think Tristan would want a candy cane?"

TBC…