chapter seven

Ways & Means

xxxxx

Jane wanders aimlessly around the Serious Crimes floor for at least fifteen minutes after leaving Lisbon's office at her insistence; in an uncharacteristic display that would set off alarm bells with Lisbon, if only she were paying attention. She is used to him wandering off at crime scenes, strolling through a garden or casually perusing bookshelves at victims' homes instead of participating in the traditional investigative process. But within the confines of the CBI, his habits are far more stationary; his location at any given time limited primarily to his couch, her couch, and the kitchen.

Jane stops at Van Pelt's desk twice to inquire into her progress in the search through Paula Connelly's past, but other than that, he does not stop to talk to anybody for too long. He fixes himself another cup of tea, but even that does not calm him the way that it should, the way that it usually does.

He purposefully avoids lingering in any one place, particularly in anyplace where he might be in Lisbon's line of sight. He had not wanted to tell her like that. What he really wanted was to find out that he was wrong and that he would never have to tell her at all. Unfortunately, as he learned more, he became more concerned instead of less, and his conversation with Hightower only brought the issue to the forefront.

It was a great relief that Lisbon now knew. Still, this was not how he had wanted to tell her.

He cannot forget the look on her face when the truth came out. He would have preferred straight anger. The underlying betrayal had been worse.

On his fourth loop past Lisbon's office, he notices that she is on the phone, and that she appears to be a little more relaxed, joking with the person on the other end of the line. With a sigh, Jane abandons his wanderings and heads for the elevators. He realizes that it is going to take some time to make up for this particular offense, so he may as well get started.

Almost two hours later and five different stores later, he is standing in line with his purchase in hand when his phone rings. He glances at the screen to check his caller ID: Cho. Lisbon obviously is not ready to talk just yet.

Jane hits 'accept' and brings the phone to his ear to answer it.

"Lisbon wanted me to find out where you were and if you were planning on coming back to the office anytime soon," Cho says without wasting any time on friendly greetings. "We think Van Pelt has found the connection to Paula Connelly, and Boss wants to know what you think."

"I can be back in twenty minutes," Jane replies, reaching the cash register and taking out his wallet. After mouthing an apology and smiling at the teenage girl behind the register, he adds, "What did Van Pelt find?"

"Van Pelt ran Paula Connelly's maiden name like you told her to, and Paula Fletcher was a witness in an unsolved case from seventeen years ago. A young couple disappeared on their honeymoon and their car was found on the side of I-80 the next morning. The last place they were seen alive was the convenience store where Connelly worked. She was on duty then, and local LEOs interviewed everyone who was working that night."

Jane pays for his purchase while Cho recounts these details. With a final smile and nod to the cashier, Jane takes his change and heads quickly to the exit. Once safely in the parking lot and away from potential eavesdroppers, he asks, "Did local law enforcement have any leads at the time?"

"Nothing from the early 90's has been put into electronic records yet," Cho explains matter-of-factly. "Rigsby and Van Pelt just went over to central storage to pull the files themselves. Boss doesn't want anyone else but us handling them, and I don't blame her."

"Best not to let anyone else in on this before we know." Jane agrees, then adds, "I'll be back at the office shortly."

And with a quick "Okay," Cho hangs up the phone without saying goodbye.

Jane slides the phone back in his breast pocket, but not before he glances quickly at the digital clock on his phone. If Rigsby and Van Pelt had just left, they would be gone for at least an hour - and that was if all of the files from 1993 were exactly where they were supposed to be. Climbing into the driver's seat of his Citroën and starting up the engine, Jane maneuvers out of the parking lot and speeds in the direction of CBI Headquarters. He hits every traffic light and makes the twenty minute drive in fifteen.

xxx

The bullpen is empty when Jane arrives back on the Series Crimes floor, but he spots Lisbon immediately. She is sitting at her desk, her head bent over an open drawer as though she is looking for something. Although he knows he is tempting fate when only twenty minutes before she had asked Cho to call him so that she wouldn't have to, he decides that the risk is worth taking; he approaches her office door and knocks tentatively.

Her head snaps up, and he watches the crease in her forehead smooth out as she slowly nods for him to enter.

"Hey, Lisbon." He treads carefully, his voice soft as he steps over the threshold and into her office. She may appear resigned, but anger lingers in her shoulders. "Van Pelt found something?"

"Cho already told you," she says in confirmation. "Gary and Melissa Cooper were last seen at a convenience store just off of I-80 on June 16, 1993. Their rental car was found less than five miles away the next day, but their bodies were never found. You told Van Pelt to check into any connections that Connelly had to unsolved crimes, and this is it. She was interviewed because she was working that night."

Jane nods. "That sounds about right."

Eyeing him warily, Lisbon asks, "You don't want to wait to see the files? I sent Van Pelt and Rigsby all the way to central storage to pull them."

"I don't think we need to," he says with a casual shrug of his shoulders. "Not for confirmation that this is what connects Lutz to Connelly."

She leans forward against her desk, her doubt showing as she narrows her eyes. "And you don't think this is too... easy? Wouldn't Lutz try to hide this and keep us guessing?"

"Not necessarily. Lutz doesn't want the connection to be obvious, but he does want us to find it. This is a game to him: how fast can we come up with the missing pieces?"

"So he's always going to be at least one step ahead of us. Of course." Rubbing her temple, she sighs, resigned. "Well, I can't say I'm surprised. I just... I thought this was over. I never even saw this coming."

"None of us did," Jane agrees, studying the frustration he reads on her face and discerning its most likely meaning. "You can't blame yourself. There was nothing you could have done differently."

Lisbon considers this for a moment before countering, "I wanted to put Jennifer in witness protection, at least until the media storm died down. You know I did, Jane."

"And she didn't want to go," he answers quickly. He wasn't present for the conversation in the immediate aftermath of Red John's death, but he knows the content of every file by heart and Lisbon's notes are nothing if not thorough.

"I should have pushed harder." She shakes her head, her gaze shifting downward, and speaks more to herself than to him. "I knew it was for her own good."

"Jennifer Howell was a grown woman..."

"Who just found out that her husband was a serial killer!" she argues, her voice rising. "I was supposed to protect her."

She slumps back in her chair, the weight of the world resting firmly on her shoulders, and even though he knows she won't listen, he wants to find some way to offer her reassurance. It isn't her fault, no matter what she chooses to believe; his challenge lies in overcoming her own stubborn nature and natural instincts so that she can see the simple truth.

"You did everything you could for her, Lisbon," he says, choosing his words carefully because he knows that with Lisbon, his words matter and the wrong ones will do more harm than good. "She didn't want to hide from her life or her husband's true identity, and you respected that. That was the best thing you could do for her."

Lisbon shows the hint of a smile at this. "You're completely full of it, but that was a nice try, Jane. I appreciate the effort."

"I'm not lying," his rebuttal comes quickly, a reflex as her defenses set in. "You went well above and beyond the call of duty with Jennifer Howell. Witness protection wouldn't have done anything but possibly delay the inevitable for a few days and get a few state agents killed in the process. Lutz always planned to come after her, and no one could have stopped him. There is absolutely no need to feel guilty."

Her eyes cast downward again and she exhales slowly, silently; he can only see the slight movement of her chest, almost imperceptible in the dim lighting of her office. A stillness settles over them, a single moment of calm amidst the gathering storm, and he senses her quiet acceptance. He smiles; lost in her own world, she does not notice.

"Here, I got something for you while I was out," he says, finally breaking the silence as he picks up the bag he's been holding just beneath the edge of her desk, out of her line of vision. He places it in front of her, watching intently as she eyes the bag.

She glances up at him and raises an eyebrow, her own silent question.

"Just open it," he urges, leaning forward against her desk. "I promise, it doesn't bite."

A muffled snort is the only reply he gets. She rolls her eyes and fingers the bag warily, but she still reaches in and pulls out her gift. The small stuffed animal lands softly on the desk before her, and she picks it up and cradles it in her hands, inspecting it as carefully as she would evidence at a crime scene.

"It's a turtle," she says finally. It's almost a question as she looks up at him, both amused and puzzled at his choice of gift.

"It is," he agrees. "His name is Edmund. I thought he might liven things up around here; sit on your desk, keep you company."

"Oh really?" Lisbon tries to keep a straight face, but as always, her eyes give her away.

"Yes, really," he teases back, grinning. He draws in a breath, his tone growing serious. "I was wrong before, Lisbon. I'm sorry. I never should have kept that from you."

"A real apology from Patrick Jane. Will wonders never cease!" She mocks him openly in tone, but there is an underlying affection to her voice that tells him that she is genuinely touched. And even though she won't say the words out loud, she is not angry at him anymore.

Lisbon punctuates her statement by placing the turtle just to the left of her computer in a position of honor; feeling unusually pleased with himself (even by his standards), Jane beams down at her. This time, she notices and smiles back demurely, her cheeks shading a slight pink color.

"Not many people merit a real apology. You should feel honored," he quips.

She answers without missing a beat, "Oh, I am."

His gaze falls back to Edmund and lingers, but as much as he is enjoying the ease of their usual banter (something that feels normal between them in spite of the circumstances, as much as anything has in months), he knows that Van Pelt and Rigsby will be back shortly, at which point they will all be forced to return to the task at hand. Swallowing the sudden urge to sigh, he meets Lisbon's eyes. He regrets having to change the subject at all, but there is something that has been on his mind since earlier that afternoon, one that he had temporarily put aside in light of more important pursuits.

Lisbon seems to recognize his change in demeanor, giving him an inquisitive look that lets him know he has her full attention.

"Did you get a chance to look any deeper into Thomas O'Brien?"

She frowns. "Not yet. You don't really think he's involved in this, do you?"

"Not really." He says slowly, trying to explain as best he can. "It's just, well..."

"He irks you?" she finishes with a knowing look.

"Yes." Jane answers simply. "He does."

Narrowing her eyes, she asks, "What is it about him that bothers you so much?"

He gives her a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders and tries to remain casual and unaffected as he explains, "He's dishonest. I'd be willing to bet that he's running a couple of cons on the side and using his position to do so."

"And you think that's connected to this case?" She raises an eyebrow, making no attempt hide her skepticism.

"No, actually, I don't. It's not urgent, but I do think that he's worth looking into as soon as this case is over." Knowing that Lisbon will need more explanation than this, he continues without prompting. "He was honest with you when he was answering questions about his wife and his brother in law, but when he was talking about his upcoming surgery..."

"You think he was lying?" she interrupts.

At this, Jane leans forward and shifts his weight against the edge of her desk. "I watched him walk into the building. He wasn't using his cane."

Lisbon purses her lips in surprise, seemingly unaware of what to do with this new information, and the familiar crease forms on her forehead. A telltale sign of stress and frustration. "Oh," she says finally, somewhat subdued. "Okay."

"Lisbon..."

She shakes her head. "I don't understand, Jane. What does this even mean?"

"It doesn't have to mean anything," he reassures her, sensing that the last few days - and particularly the last few hours - have pushed even the ever-capable Agent Lisbon to the edge of what she can take. "We can give this to White Collar Crimes and have them watch him."

"I'll call O'Leary's team first thing tomorrow morning if you want," she concedes. "But can I ask... Why is this so important to you?"

Reading between the lines, Jane hears the question she really wants to ask: Why is Thomas O'Brien bothering you so much?

It would be so easy to go with a simple answer, to tell her that he saw something in O'Brien and wants his suspicions confirmed, but he realizes he would rather be honest. He needs her to know the truth; he wants her to know.

"When I was a teenager, my father and I ran with a faith healer for about eighteen months. It was one of our more profitable circuits, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. I was glad when the con went south and we had to leave; it was a relief."

Lisbon furrows her brow just slightly at this. "I never would have guessed," is all she manages.

He grins at her, although his eyes are curious. "Because of what I used to do?" he suggests, ignoring the sting in his chest even as his tone is light and airy.

"No," she replies with a quick shake of her head. "Because you've never been exactly discrete about your feelings on the subject of religion."

She doesn't elaborate, but her implications are clear. At this, he frowns; after all this time, she assumes he thinks less of people - especially of her - because of her beliefs. That he wouldn't be bothered by a con of this nature.

"Lisbon." His voice grows urgent; he needs to make her understand. "That's not... I never meant..." He frowns again, disconcerted by the fact that words are not flowing freely when he needs them most. He draws a steady breath to calm his nerves and continues his explanation. "I may tease Van Pelt or give a suspect a hard time, but I never meant for you to get the wrong idea. I need you to know that."

She nods slowly in response, a tacit acceptance.

"We'll get this guy," she says finally.

He knows it's as close to an outward acknowledgement of his words as he's going to get from Teresa Lisbon, yet in her own way, it's also the highest honor she can bestow.

"We will," he agrees.

But as he hears commotion carry in from the bullpen, the sound of Rigsby and Van Pelt shuffling back from central storage, his focus shifts back to more pressing concerns. O'Brien may be loathsome and conniving, but he will prove easy enough to catch in the end.

Lutz, however, is another matter entirely.

xxxxx

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A/N: That temporary hiatus lasted a lot longer than intended, I apologize! I appreciate those of you who have waited and sent me messages of encouragement in the mean time :-) I promise that I have no intention of abandoning this story, no matter how slow or sporadic I may be in updating. At least part of the delay this time was that I wanted to get the next chapter written and edited prior to posting this one, since I'm in the middle of several other stories (as usual).

Anyway, I'm really excited for the next couple of chapters, so if you get a chance, you might want to skim back over the beginning of this story as a refresher. There are a few things that might come into play soon. As always, you guys are the best. Thanks for sticking with me :-)