A/N: On a scale of alright to not, I'm really, really not. This doesn't excuse or explain why I haven't been updating, but I'm sorry anyway.
Thanks to Lalalupin, Sara and Guest for reviewing part five.
x tromama
Part Six
"What's wrong, Lisbon?" Jane asked as he fell into step beside her.
They were on their way up to Wayne Rigsby and Sarah Harrigan's apartment. Lisbon had dreaded this from the moment she had heard about it. She just wasn't ready to see somebody she cared about, dead, and butchered by Red John. But then, whoever would be ready for such a thing? Still, she pushed these feelings aside. She had a job to do and now, she was determined to bring about justice for the individuals involved. Red John had changed MO and there was a reason for it. If they could figure it out, then there was the distinct possibility of them getting that one step closer to the serial killer. Then, they would finally be able to serve up justice for all the families involved, Rigsby and Jane included.
On face value, the reasoning for the serial killer's change in MO seemed obvious. Red John had discovered the change in staffing at the CBI and he did not approve of it. It was possible that he saw the whole team as his people and not just Jane alone. After all, he had never really shown a desire to attack any one of them directly; the closest he had gotten was asking Jane to kill her, and they both knew that was something that would never happen. Therefore, this time around, he could easily have been trying to spook Agent Douglas into leaving by killing her sick mom and then spur Wayne Rigsby back into action by killing his partner and the mother of his only son.
"I couldn't find my badge this morning. It's annoying me," she answered back as they stepped into the elevator.
In truth, it was just her most minor of quibbles for the day. However, that didn't stop it from being an irritation. The badge was as much a part of her identity as her gun and handcuffs. They confirmed her role as a homicide investigation agent and made her feel the part. Without it, it made her feel that little less professional and a little less like herself. But in the whole scheme of things, it was unimportant. When she spotted the ashen Wayne Rigsby standing in the doorframe of his apartment, she almost forgot about it entirely. Ben wasn't with him and she presumed that the little lad had been left with a relative or a neighbor. Or at least, that was what she hoped. If the poor child had seen the body of his deceased mother, then he would inevitably have been scarred for life. She murmured her apologies to Rigsby and she could only hope he knew just how genuine they were. Of course, whenever she apologized to a mourning friend or relative, she meant it, but it was still different in this case.
Cho and Douglas had arrived at Rigsby's apartment - the scene of the crime - shortly before she and Jane had. They had already started to scour the place for clues and it surprised Lisbon a little. She had half expected one of them - Cho, probably, given the fact they had been partners before he'd left the CBI - to be comforting Rigsby. However, she wasn't disappointed in either of them. At least they were working hard and scouring the place for any clues that there could possibly be. They were after justice; just because Rigsby had recently left them, it didn't mean that they didn't still consider him to be one of their own.
In spite of the shock he had just endured, Rigsby appeared to be in no need of comfort or pithy phrases of apology at all. He knew just as well as any of them did that no amount of comfort could bring Sarah back from the dead. Despite how pale he appeared, his face was set in a look of rigid determination. He took her by the arm and led her to his empty kitchen. Lisbon was more than happy to follow and besides, she had a feeling she knew what Rigsby wanted. And she couldn't blame him in the slightest for that.
"We need to find him, boss," Rigsby said without preamble. "Red John needs to be brought to justice."
"I know, Wayne," she answered back softly and stared him straight in the eye. "But I'm not your boss. Not anymore."
It seemed a little silly to get caught up in pedantics, especially given the circumstances, but she hadn't been able to help herself. Besides, it was intentionally a leading statement. If Rigsby wanted to ask a very specific question, then she wanted him to hurry up and just do it. Regardless of his status within (or not, as the case was) the unit, she still had a job to do. And he had to let her do it if he wanted her to bring Sarah's killer to justice. This conversation was only serving to stall her from doing just that.
"I know and you said there was always a place for me in your team," he started.
"I did," she confirmed.
Rigsby sighed and Lisbon could tell he was torn when it came to this decision. On the one hand, he wanted to be involved in the Red John investigation. Like Jane, he wanted to help firsthand. If entirely possible, he would have been more than willing to strangle Red John with his bare hands. However, Sarah had explicitly pulled him out of the CBI in order to save their relationship. He had sought out another position just to please her. She hadn't even been dead for two hours and already, he wanted to go back on his word. Eventually, the desire for justice won out.
"I need to come back. Please, boss. I need to help."
"Wayne, I know you want to help, but-"
"Don't you dare call me a victim," he growled and Lisbon was startled by his tone.
But then, Rigsby was well within his rights to speak to her like that. At this moment in time, she was not his boss and besides, he was bitterly angry. She had been tempted to mention it, but even so, every one of her team - Douglas included - had been touched by Red John. To exclude him based on that reasoning was nothing short of hypocrisy. Regardless, that wasn't her current issue. There were no vacancies on her team. Just because Douglas was still within her probationary period, Lisbon wasn't about to dismiss her. The woman's record may not have been entirely clean in this time, but she still hadn't done enough to deserve losing her job. Besides, she was showing every sign of developing into a good agent. She just had to temper the headstrong nature slightly and learn how to listen to instructions properly.
Of course, that didn't mean she didn't want Rigsby back in her team. They all missed him. If she could have had them both, then she would have. Half of her hoped that Red John's potential plans for the unit had worked and that Douglas would decide to leave, even if that did mean the killer got precisely what he wanted. But the rest of her hated the fact it would show he had such a control over all of their lives. Regardless of what Douglas did in the near future, when it came to Rigsby, her hands were tied. She couldn't just give Rigsby what he wanted there and then; it wasn't within her power to do so and they both knew it.
"It's not that easy, Wayne."
"I know. I'm sorry. I'm just…" His sentence died before he even had a chance to finish it. She nodded slightly at him and went to join the rest of her team. Lisbon hated this, even more so since Sarah had died. It had been bad enough that Red John had dragged Douglas into his sordid mess, but now the serial killer was getting closer and closer to the very heart of the team. She couldn't help but wonder what was in store for the rest of them. Nothing good, she imagined, but since when was anything that was connected to Red John good?
She closed her eyes briefly, mentally preparing herself, before she stepped into Rigsby's master bedroom. However, she couldn't delay the inevitable for much longer; she had to see the crime scene with her own two eyes. As always, Sarah's body had been perfectly presented, like a macabre piece of artwork. Nothing was out of place and there was no sign of any sort of struggle. That was almost a surprise; Lisbon knew from experience that Sarah was a feisty woman, in spite of her petite stature. But then, if she had somehow been drugged, then she wouldn't have had a chance. To know for certain, Lisbon knew she would have to wait for the ME's report.
Cho was busy making notes in the corner, pointing out items of interest that needed to be photographed for evidence. Meanwhile, Douglas was huddled under the bed, trying desperately to dig something out from underneath it. Lisbon could only wonder what was going on through her head; less than 24 hours ago, she had faced a not too dissimilar crime scene to this one, only her mother had taken center stage instead. The fact that she was here at all, soldiering on in spite of the grief that she was inevitably facing, said a lot. Lisbon had offered her the standard bereavement leave, almost demanded that she took it, but Douglas had refused to do so. Just like Rigsby, she had insisted that it was far more important for her to keep busy and ultimately, be distracted from the loss.
Jane wasn't around, which was unusual given that it was yet another Red John crime scene, and more importantly, the deceased was somebody that they knew intimately. Usually, the rulebook was thrown out of the window and he behaved more erratically than usual. This time, Red John had killed twice in the space of 24 hours and he seemed entirely fine. He had disappeared off somewhere, much like he always did at any other crime scene. Hopefully, he was finding out how Red John had been able to infiltrate the Rigsby family home undisturbed. Or, alternatively he was busy making himself a cup of tea and thus, keeping himself out of trouble in the meantime. Eventually, Lisbon vacated the room and went in search of him. She knew that Cho was keeping the situation under control and could trust him to inform her if anything of importance came up.
Before she reached for her cellphone, she briefly felt the spot where her badge should have been and sighed. It was funny how something so small could have such meaning and completely altered the way she felt about herself. However, it was something she knew she had to disregard in the meantime. As she had told herself before, there were far more important things for her to be worrying about. In the end, she didn't need to find her phone at all because Rigsby's neighbor's door was ajar and she could hear Jane's voice drifting out of it. It wasn't surprising in the slightest when she saw Jane sharing a cup of tea with the elderly woman inside.
"Lisbon, come and meet Mrs. Warner," he said encouragingly, beckoning her forwards.
"Hi," she answered tentatively before glaring at Jane. "It's nice to meet you."
"Sit down, my dear, sit down."
Lisbon ignored the request, but she had a feeling that Jane had been talking to the woman for a while. And she also suspected that there was half a chance that this woman had something to do with the case. Otherwise, why would Jane have spent so long with her?
"Mrs. Warner has been friends with the Rigsby family for years, haven't you?"
"Oh yes. I remember when young Wayne was just a baby. He was such a dear little thing. He always looks after me. And just yesterday, his grandpa came around. He wanted to surprise him as they hadn't seen each other in so long."
"Oh?" Lisbon asked.
"Only thing is, I thought young Wayne's grandpa died years ago. I can remember him coming here on the day of the funeral..." Mrs. Warner continued, only to quickly trail off.
Immediately, Lisbon glanced at Jane with her eyebrow raised. Just as she had suspected, Jane had been looking for Red john's method of entry and he'd found it. The serial killer had plagued on Mrs. Warner's naïveté and possible early dementia and thus, slipped in and out, unnoticed. It was entirely possible that he had introduced himself as her son, or at least, an old family friend to anyone who grew suspicious. And now, they had a living witness to the serial killer; something which didn't match up with any of Red John's prior killings at all. However, like Rosalind Harker, this woman had obvious flaws which prevented her from being a reliable witness. Still, all they could do was hope that with some gentle persuasion, she would be able to remember precisely what her male visitor had looked like. Then, they would be another step further, just like they hoped. At least they now had an age range to be looking at for the serial killer; that was more information than they'd had for years, not since the Lorelei Martins debacle.
"We would like to talk to you again, if possible?" Lisbon asked quietly.
"Why, my dear? I thought you were just friends of Wayne's, coming to the party that his grandpa was throwing for him. Aren't we all going later?"
For a second, Lisbon considered telling her that Sarah had been murdered and she was a key witness in a major case. However, the woman was already fretting and seemed deeply confused. For now, at least, she doubted they would get anything of use from her. Maybe later, they would be able to question her again, but it was a waste of time at the moment. Quickly, she thanked her for her time and exited the apartment. She wanted to get back to Rigsby's place with Jane in tow.
Once there, Cho and Douglas were huddled around one another, deep in discussion. Lisbon coughed slightly to indicate her presence and slowly, they turned around, almost surprised to see her back there. Douglas was hiding something behind her back and that only served to confuse Lisbon further. Why were they acting so cagily? It was almost as if they were behaving suspiciously of her – their own boss – for some reason. Slowly, Douglas revealed precisely what it was she was hiding and it was then that she was momentarily stunned.
Agent Douglas was holding her missing badge.
