A/N: Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed Halloween last night and you're in the mood for a new chapter! Thanks for the reviews to the last one, you guys are great!

Special thanks to Idan for betaing and waterbaby for her shout out!


(7)

When Jane got the call from Fischer about Carmen being their number one suspect from now on, he was surprised and pleased at the same time. For one, it would be really interesting to find out how exactly Carmen managed to escape from the psychiatric ward or rather made another man take his place. Carmen knew a lot about Lisbon's past. Who knew what she'd told him or what he made her tell him while she was under hypnosis.

Jane shuddered. Lisbon was such a strong minded spirit; it was horrible to imagine all the things this man could have done to her while she was under hypnosis. He's had the privilege of a hypnotized and vulnerable Lisbon only once, when she'd asked him to during the McTier case. Although most people back at the CBI thought he must hypnotize her on a regular basis, otherwise she wouldn't put up with his crap.

Second, Jane wondered who else was behind this. Carmen was a crazy sociopath and murderer, but he would never be able to kill four people within a week without leaving any trace behind. It was a puzzle he had to solve and he had to hurry, because Lisbon's life, and the lives of her family, were in danger.

One thing was certain, he would do anything in his power to protect Lisbon from harm. He owed her that much.

Cho got off the phone with Fischer and passed it back to Jane. His face showed no emotion, but Jane knew he was simmering inside. "Should we continue here or go back to the precinct?" the consultant asked.

"Fischer said we should continue here. She won't let Lisbon out of her sight," Cho added. It relieved Jane to know at least one person he thought capable of protecting her was with her. Of course, he'd prefer someone he could trust one hundred percent, too, someone like Cho.

"Then let's get this over with and see if one of the neighbors has seen something. I bet the old lady in the house with the pink curtains over there knows something. She's been staring at us through the gap between the curtains for a while now." Cho looked over to the house Jane had just described and frowned when the gap between the curtains quickly closed, like the woman knew she'd been caught.

They walked over to the door and knocked. It took a while before someone carefully opened the door. An old lady dressed in a flower patterned dress eyed them suspiciously. Jane gave her a quick cold read while Cho introduced them. Husband died early, no children. She has a cat but no other living relatives or close friends. The only time she comes in contact with other people is on Sundays after church, but she still knows everything that's going on in this area. Interesting.

"… so we were wondering if you've seen something." Cho took out his little notepad.

The woman glanced at Jane. "You look a little bit like my Arthur, boy. He used to wear suits just like you, but he always wore a vest and tie with them. He was a good man."

Jane smiled affectionately. "I'm sure he was. I'm very sorry for your loss, Mrs…?"

"Clark. I heard about the death of Father Andrew before. Was he really murdered in front of the altar?"

Someone did their homework, Jane thought. "Yes he was, Mrs. Clark. And the man who did this murdered three other people. We don't know who is next."

Her eyes widened in fear.

"That's why it's important for you to tell us everything you might know about this murder." Jane stepped closer to her, never breaking eye contact.

"Why do you think I know something?"

"Because you seem to me like you're the only one who knows what's really going on in this neighborhood."

Mrs. Clark straightened her shoulders. "That's right. Someone has to be informed and on the look out. My Arthur always said we have to stay informed about what's going on in the world, the country, even in this street. So, I saw a black car driving down this street at 7 am. It came back fifteen minutes afterwards."

"What did the car look like?" Cho asked.

"It was very big and black."

Jane and Cho exchanged quick glances. There were thousands of big black cars in Chicago. But the time of the murder sounded about right.

"Did you get a look at the license plates?"

"No, it was too dark outside. But I remember the man in the car threw a wrapper out of the window, which landed on my lawn. Intolerable!"

"Where's this wrapper now, Mrs. Clark?" Jane asked immediately.

"Well, I picked it up and threw it into the garbage cans. I can't just let it stay on my lawn, can I?"

Next thing Jane knew, Cho was picking though Mrs. Clark's trash in search of said wrapper. In former times, Cho would have tossed a coin with Rigsby, but he knew he'd lose against Jane, so he volunteered.

"I think I found it," the Korean announced after less than three minutes, holding up an empty Snickers wrapper. "Mrs. Clark doesn't seem to me like a Snickers kind of woman." He put the wrapper into a zip-lock bag and stashed it inside his jacket.

Since there was nothing more they could do, they walked back to the car and drove down the road. Jane was surprised Cho didn't choose the route they took on their way there.

"Where are we going?" Jane asked, surprised. He thought Cho would want to go straight back to the precinct.

"Lisbon asked me to pick Annie up at the Community College. She doesn't want her to take her bike back home because of Carmen. She thinks it's better for all of them to be together in case something happens."

"That makes sense," Jane murmured while an idea was forming in his head. He leaned back in his seat, a light smile on his lips. Maybe Annie was the key to everything…

Xxxxx

Annie was more than pissed when she was sought out by her teacher and told to come with him after the class was over. He'd brought her to the secretary's office, where she had to wait without any explanation of what was going on.

For a second she felt like she was back in high school, when she'd played all those tricks on her teachers and was sent to the principal's office to be put in detention.

"Seriously, why am I held hostage here?" the teenager asked, annoyed.

"I am not allowed to talk about it, Miss Lisbon. You may not leave until someone from the police comes to pick you up," the secretary answered, turning back to her computer.

In any other case, Annie would have taken a chance and run, but since her aunt was with the police at the moment, she was sure there had to be a reason she was not allowed to go to her other classes.

When the familiar looking blond and Korean men stepped through the doors of the secretary's office, Annie started grinning. "Jane! Cho! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Lisbon wants us to bring you home," Cho explained shortly. He walked over to the reception desk and showed his badge and ID to the secretary, who wrote everything down.

Annie turned to Jane, who looked at her with admiration. She was very tall, her hair bound up in a high pig tail, and her features resembled her aunt's. For a moment Jane wondered if Lisbon had looked the same way when she'd been around eighteen/nineteen. "You've changed a lot since I last saw you."

"It's been what, six years? I'm not the only one who looks different. Your vest is gone."

Jane looked down. He had never bothered to go back to wearing vests once he came back from Venezuela, because they reminded him of the old Jane, who had hunted Red John. Red John was dead and so were the vests. The island shirts emanated his new-found independence, his freedom… and failure at the same time. The failure to finally build a new life with the woman he loved.

"So I heard you want to become a police officer just like your aunt?"

"I do. I want to kick asses just like Aunt Reese. Maybe the two of us can practice at some point, I heard you're a very good target." Annie grinned at him and winked.

"I'd rather not," the consultant answered.

Once Cho came back, the three of them got inside the car and Cho followed Annie's directions back to her house.

"Okay you guys, I don't want to complain but why did you have to pick me up at the college? What's going on? Is something wrong with Aunt Reese?"

Cho and Jane exchanged looks. They weren't sure exactly how much Lisbon had told her niece about the murders, but Annie was old enough to know what was going on in case something happened.

"A former psychologist named Roy Carmen framed your aunt for murder a long time ago. We were able to convict him of killing McTier and he was put in jail. Now it seems like he's managed to get out of there and is possibly responsible for killing four people here in Chicago. Every victim is connected to Lisbon in a way and now she's scared a member of her family is going to be next," Jane explained. He didn't mention he feared Carmen would skip her family and go after her directly. He swallowed and turned back to Annie. "That's why Cho and I picked you up and will wait at your house until your father arrives."

"Holy shit that's so cool!" Annie exclaimed. "I'm in the middle of a case and I'm a possible target."

"It's not funny," Cho said.

"No, it's not funny but it's really cool practice for later. I'm sure Mr. Baldrin will let me analyze this case for my next term paper. Do you think Reese will let me look at the case files once you solve it?"

Jane sighed and shook his head. If Annie knew about the danger they were all in, she wouldn't be so eager about this. He'd have to talk to Lisbon, because he didn't want Annie to do anything stupid that could endanger her or her family.

They arrived at Tommy Lisbon's house. Cho walked in first to check the rooms for an unwanted intruder, but everything was clear. Annie was happy to help Cho sweep the rooms for bugs and lock the windows, while Jane prepared a cup of tea down in the kitchen.

While he waited for the water to boil, he sat down at the coffee table, interested in a bride magazine. He'd never taken Lisbon for someone to plan her wedding with the help of bride magazines, but once he opened the first page, he saw the small yellow post-it saying "Teresa, I marked some things for the flowers, decorations, and other stuff. Please check it and tell me if you like it or not, so I can arrange everything."

He thumbed through the pages of the magazine, more and more horrified with every page he was turning. Had Lisbon really given her okay to all of this?

"You haven't seen the horror of a bridesmaid dress that woman is making me wear! I look like Miss Piggy. This whole wedding is a nightmare in pink and white!" an annoyed voice behind him said.

Annie was back in the kitchen, walking over to the stove to turn off the boiling water. Jane watched her prepare the tea just like he would have done it. When Annie set down the cup in front of him, he raised an eyebrow.

"You know, when you were gone, Aunt Reese used to prepare tea just like that for everyone who came to visit her in Cannon River. I think it reminded her of you and gave her something to hold on to." She didn't sit down next to him, just stared. "One time when my dad and I were visiting her, he was up in the shower while I was down in the kitchen with Aunt Reese. She made tea and coffee for everyone even if nobody drank the damn stuff. This one time she was out of milk and started crying. 'That's not how he likes it,' she said. You broke her heart, and back then I'd have liked nothing more than to track you down and break your nose, Jane."

Jane flinched, knowing exactly how much a Lisbon-punch could hurt. He knew Lisbon must have missed him a lot when he was gone. That's why he kept sending all those letters to her: to remind her he was still alive and to keep himself sane on the lonely island. Sometimes he got to see glimpses of how the time during their separation must have been for her, but once he came back to the States, he'd been so happy to finally have her back, he hadn't wasted a lot of thought on the topic.

"You know when I first met you, I always thought the two of you would kind of wind up together. But instead of making things right, you screwed it up. Now you're an emotional wreck and she's about to marry a man she doesn't love." Finally, Annie sat down opposite him, staring right into his eyes. "So what is your plan?"

The consultant was startled. "What plan?"

"The plan to stop this wedding."

She was being crazy, right? She couldn't possibly want him to stop this wedding from happening. "What makes you think I've got a plan?" He didn't have a plan, because he swore to himself not to intervene. He had his chance in Miami and screwed it up. Now he was paying the price.

Annie rolled her eyes. "You're Patrick Jane, you always have a plan!"

Jane sighed, his gaze falling back on the bride magazine. The more he thought about it, the more he felt like he should do something about this situation. No, he'd sworn to himself to let Lisbon be happy, even if it was with Pike and not him. "I swore to myself I'd let Lisbon be happy."

"But she's not!" Annie argued.

"That's for your aunt to decide. No one forced her to move to D.C, no one is forcing her to marry Pike, no one is forcing her to do any of this." Except Pike and his sister, that is.

"Everyone knows she's doing it because she wants to prove something to herself. There's a bet running in the family when exactly she's going to back out on everything." Annie crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I don't think it's right to do that. I love Aunt Reese, she's my role model in so many ways and I want her to be happy. Now the situation between the two of you might be screwed up because of whatever happened in Miami, but I know the only man who will ever make her happy is you, Jane!"

If Annie only knew how wrong she was, Jane thought bitterly. He wished he could be the man Lisbon needed, but he was not. "You haven't even met Pike."

"I don't care, Jane. He can be the nicest guy in the world, but he's not what Reese needs. She needs excitement, she needs challenges and she needs… you." Annie got up, took his wrist and pulled him up from his chair. They walked up the stairs to her room, Annie closing the door behind them. She rushed over to her closet, pulling a bright pink dress out of it.

"I can't wear this dress! I will not look like a giant cotton candy at my aunt's wedding! This wedding, it's a farce! Gina planned everything and Reese doesn't even have a wedding dress yet. You have to do something!"

"And the priest was just murdered this morning, so the church is a crime scene," he murmured. Annie looked shocked at the news. Damn it, he should have been more tactful about the death of Father Andrew. Annie must have known him, too.

"Father Andrew is dead?" she whispered. Everything she complained about before was forgotten now.

He just nodded and took the dress from her so she could sit down on her bed. The dress was really ugly, he thought as he put it back in the closet and sat down next to Lisbon's niece.

"I'm really sorry, Annie."

"Was it this Carmen guy who killed him?" she asked, wiping her eyes to prevent tears from falling.

"We are sure it was him, yes. We are looking for him, but we don't know what he's planned next. That's why it's important you, your family and Lisbon are safe." He'd make sure of Lisbon's safety himself, if he were allowed to, but…

"Will you take care of Aunt Reese?" Annie asked, looking right up at him.

"I wish I could. She doesn't want me to. Once Agent Pike arrives tonight, he will be here to protect you, your dad and her."

"But you will do everything you can to protect her, right? Even if she doesn't want you to. I mean you never listen to her." She looked up, her eyes pleading. For some reason she didn't trust Pike and Jane wondered why. Maybe it was because she had never met the FBI Agent; maybe it was because she still hoped he'd change the course.

"I will," he promised in a low voice.

The girl nodded, hugged Jane and buried her face in his shoulder. She was really upset about the death of her priest and the wedding of her aunt. Carefully, he patted her back, whispering calming words in her ear.