Distracted Chapter Thirteen:
Jane got back to the CBI after midnight. He tried to keep his mind of the utter disappointment that tonight had been, but he had never been good with dealing with disappointment. Someone had told him once that highly intelligent people had a more intense emotional inner world. Well, he hated disappointment intensely.
Knowing it was his only option for a situation like this if he wanted to appear chipper in the morning again, he retrieved to his attic where he lay down on his bed, sulking, until he fell asleep.
He awoke to the sound of someone calling out his name.
"Jane? Jane!"
He hadn't been dreaming about Lisbon, thank God he wasn't that corny yet, but she was the first thing he thought about when he woke. Of course, that could be explained by the fact that usually when someone woke him up, it was her.
This time, it wasn't her though. He knew, because he heard a man's voice. Besides that, no-one quite said his name like Lisbon did, he thought while he got up.
He felt really tired and had to fight hard not to let himself fall back on his bed again. The muffled voice on the other side of the door prevented it.
"Jane?! Jane, open up!"
He looked around his room and noticed there was no light coming from behind the thin curtains. He walked over to the door, curious about who would pay him a visit in the middle of the night.
"I'm coming, I'm coming..!" he semi-yelled.
When he unlocked his door, no-one could have prepared him for the sight that greeted him afterwards.
Wainwright nearly fell inside after Jane had opened the door. He looked pale as a ghost, dread in his eyes. Upon seeing Jane, he seemed to freeze up. He just looked at him with those panicky eyes, his mouth half opened, unable to get any words out.
Jane immediately noticed that this wasn't a moment to make fun of him.
"Wainwright? What time is it?" Jane asked.
Wainwright responded immediately.
"Six-thirty. Jane, you have to come with me" he said and sounded still out of breath from hurrying up the stairs to Jane's attic.
Jane looked puzzled at the man who always seemed so in control.
"Okay" Jane answered, hoping Wainwright would explain the situation while they walked to where-ever they were going. But as soon as Jane had agreed to come with him, Wainwright had turned around and stormed off already. Normally, Jane wasn't one to let himself get impressed by running cops, but something told him he should be this time, so he ran after the younger man as fast as he could.
Wainwright waited for him in the door opening of his office, motioning for Jane to sit down behind his desk. Jane looked expectantly from the computer in front of him to Wainwright, who had once again seemed to have frozen.
"What is going on?" Jane asked after several seconds of silence.
Wainwright came back to life again, acting more neurotic than Jane had ever seen him.
"I..I came in early today, about fifteen minutes ago. I have a big meeting at eight thirty, but yesterday my computer malfunctioned, so I figured I'd come in early today to fix it and prepare myself for the meeting. So I sit down behind my desk…" he rambled and when he glanced over at Jane he noticed his impatient look.
"… And I'm really glad, because all of the sudden my computer works perfectly again, without any effort. But then, just as I get ready to start typing, a file just downloaded itself to my computer. When I try to delete it, it turns out to be a video and starts playing. I…I can't tell you what I saw, I have no idea what this means, so that's why I came to get you immediately…" he concluded.
Jane looked at him with an incredulous look on his face. He still had no idea of what was going on, but somehow he feared what he would see in the video while he clicked on the file.
The video started and Jane's mind started processing the information. The quality was bad. The camera shook nearly all the time and loud white noise was all they heard. It seemed to have been filmed from the inside of a car and showed a typical street. It was dark outside and there was no-one to be seen. Due to the darkness and the bad quality, Jane couldn't really see if he knew the street. Suddenly, the video zoomed in on the figure of a man sitting in a car in front of a house. He sat there for a while, looking at the house without moving.
Jane got as pale as a ghost. He knew that house. Even worse, he knew that man. The camera zoomed in on the sad, defeated look on the man's face and at that moment the computer screen could just as well have been a mirror.
Jane didn't look away, even when he felt Wainwright's stare fixed upon him. Instead, he watched himself drive away. His mind was racing. The thoughts that had occupied his mind when he had been sitting in his care there yesterday were still present at the back of his mind, but they were accompanied by a bunch of new thoughts. He watched the video continue and tried to make sense of what was happening. He hoped against hope that it wouldn't be as bad as it seemed right now. His heart was beating uncontrollably as he watched while the person behind the camera got out of the car and walked up to Lisbon's house. When he neared the front door, the camera showed that it wasn't completely closed.
Jane's mind became clouded with fear. It was the same fear he had felt when he saw the letter Red John had put on the bedroom door for the first time. It was a numbing fear, filled with desperation and self-loathing. If only he hadn't been so…
But contrary to what Jane expected, the person behind the camera didn't go inside. Instead, he walked to the side of the house where Jane knew Lisbon's living room was.
The camera stopped near a window. The curtains weren't closed. It was dark inside the house, without anyone to be seen.
Suddenly, the camera's angle changed and dropped. It took the camera a second to focus on the scene that was unfolding on the couch directly beneath the window.
Jane noticed that Wainwright had started to get even more uncomfortable and had stopped staring at Jane for the first time since the beginning of the video. He didn't have to wait long to find out what the reason was.
Jane watched Lisbon and Ardiles kiss passionately while he lay on top of her. She unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it from his body. Lisbon seemed to be wearing a cocktail dress of which Ardiles was pushing the skirt up to the top of her thigh before letting his hand slip underneath the fabric. When Lisbon put her arms around Ardiles' naked back and pulled him close to her, Jane wondered how much more was coming, because it was already so much more than he could take.
Then all of the sudden, the video ended in a blood red screen. A dreadful feeling settled in Jane's stomach. He fought hard to keep the fear and panic from numbing his mind. Immediately, he looked up at Wainwright.
"Did you call Lisbon?" he asked.
Wainwright panicked.
"No… No. I..I… don't.. I don't know…" he stammered.
Jane pushed him aside to grab the phone to dial the only phone number he had memorized by heart.
It ringed.
Jane knew his absent-mindedness in this case would have its repercussions…
Wainwright rubbed his face. He looked younger than ever.
Out of nowhere, a text file popped up on screen. Wainwright looked at Jane questioningly.
"Open it" he beckoned.
The phone kept ringing.
Jane started to read the text just as he heard a voice at the other end of the line.
"Lisbon" he heard her saying, sounding very sleepy. He sighed with relief, but then he read what the text said.
"He was a distraction. He won't be anymore."
In his ear, Lisbon kept yelling "hello?"
Jane answered.
"Lisbon, is Ardiles with you?"
"Jane?" Lisbon asked surprised. "Why are you calling me? What? What did you ask? No, it's none of your business!" she muttered angrily. Jane interrupted.
"Lisbon, listen to me. Is Ardiles there with you?"
Lisbon was silent for a moment.
"No…" she said, sounding utterly confused. "No, he isn't…"
"Lisbon," Jane continued, "are you okay?"
Lisbon had started walking around her house.
"Yes. Yes, I'm okay. Jane, what's going on?!" she asked.
"Get here as quick as you can" Jane answered and waited for Lisbon to hang up.
He quickly got up from Wainwright's chair, offering it back to the younger man. Wainwright went to sit down, but still looked as clueless as before. Jane only took a moment to look at him before he walked out, telling him to call in the rest of the team, which Wainwright did immediately.
At the same time as Jane went to lie down on his couch, Lisbon got dressed as fast as she could. While she tried hard not to let her thoughts wander, the facts still ran through her mind. Ardiles was gone, no trace left of him. He had promised her not to leave her like she had left him, but he was gone now anyway. And though she hoped it was just retaliation, she knew Jane wouldn't have called her to ask about Ardiles' whereabouts if it was. While her mind reached the only possible conclusion, she ran out of her house and got into her car. As she sat behind the wheel, she felt panic start to rise in her. Realization of what was happening dawned on her, complete with nausea and headache.
Knowing the overwhelming fear and grief would paralyze her if she didn't deal with it soon, she did it the only way she knew how. Denial and avoidance kicked in automatically, numbing her until she felt able to start driving without thinking about what she would find when she arrived at her destination.
In the meantime, Jane tried to lie still on his couch. He was nervous. Feverishly, he searched his mind to remember any details from the night before.
Red John had been right behind him. What cars had been parked in the street? Had he remembered anyone sitting in a car?
Nothing.
He had been too emotional, too irrational to take in his surroundings, to be his normal observing self. Thoughts sped through his mind as he tried to focus on painting a detailed picture of Lisbon's street in his mind.
He remembered her house, the fact that it was dark inside. He had presumed that she was fast asleep. He had been wrong. And a coward. Could he have seen that her front door wasn't closed? He would have if he'd had just walked up to her house as he had planned.
God, Red John had been sitting in a car, filming him and he had been clueless about it.
Jane sat up again. He brought his hands to his face, rubbing it, hoping to get his brightness of mind back, something he seemed to have lost so gradually he couldn't remember when it had started. He knew exactly that had been the reason they were all in this situation.
He felt so ashamed.
His previously observant, clear, bright mind had been preoccupied for weeks with thoughts of Lisbon and whether or not she was dating Ardiles. It had distracted him. Distracted him to the point where he felt as clueless about the Red John case as he imagined normal people were.
Normal people. What on earth was there to set him apart from them? As it turned out, he was average. He had fallen in love as any mere mortal did. The same emotions, the same hopes, the same doubts had been the primary occupants of his mind and had made him unable to live up to the expectations of greatness. Of being special. The pettiness of him had disappointed everyone.
For one, it had disappointed Red John. However malignant he was, through the years, it had seemed that only Jane formed a threat that he took somewhat seriously. Though now Jane figured that he probably had been nothing more than a toy to him. Red John had played with him like a cat did with a mouse he chose not to kill right away. And as a cat, when the mouse didn't run around anymore, taking away all the fun, he had given him one final slap to get him running around again. And frankly, Jane had no choice but to run.
He had disappointed Lisbon uncountable times in the past, with an increased frequency over the past weeks, but he knew this was a disappointment she wouldn't be able to overcome. Once she would see the video, she would know about his feelings. Red John would have done what he himself had been unable to do. Even Lisbon would understand this time what she meant to him.
But it wouldn't be beautiful. It wouldn't be special, or romantic, or even a moment of shy smiles. It would be ugly and sad, and disappointment would fill the air around them. Because once she understood what his feelings for her were, she would see the petty man he was and the exceptional failure that was his. Instead of catching Red John, he had been wondering what Ardiles' role in Lisbon's life was. Well, he had his answer now. They were dating, and if anything happened to him, he knew Lisbon would be devastated. And it would be his fault. Oh how he wished that he had let Lisbon be happy with Ardiles. How could he have ever felt that other men weren't good enough for her when all he did was destroy her life.
"Don't interfere with my personal life, only bad things come out of that" she had said. It kept echoing in his head. On top of the terrible shame, he now felt a dreadful fear. He feared the moment where Lisbon would watch the video and figure out what was going on. He feared how much she would hate him. He feared how hard he would fall from her grace. He feared for how she would see him for the pathetic loser he was. She wouldn't want to have anything to do with him anymore. They would be alone and unhappy.
But although he dreaded the moment he would have to face her without any answers, he had been impatiently waiting for her ever since she hung up the phone. Why wasn't she there yet?
Right at that moment, Lisbon walked up to the CBI bullpen she knew so well. The sight of her brilliant consultant sitting, instead of lying, with his face buried in his hands made her heart drop.
"Jane" she started insecurely, "what's going on?"
Jane looked up at her and immediately got up from the couch. He sighed and averted his gaze. He walked past her and she figured she should follow. Without knocking, Jane pushed the door to Wainwright's office open. As soon as her boss spotted her, he showed her a similar reaction to Jane's, moments earlier, by jumping up and quickly avoiding any eye-contact. As they walked in, he made his way to the door, nervously mumbling that he would leave them alone.
Jane motioned for her to sit down at the seat Wainwright had been sitting in. Lisbon looked questioningly from the laptop screen to Jane.
Jane knew he should give her a proper introduction before letting her watch what he was about to show her.
"Lisbon" he said and dared to look her in the eye again. "Wainwright received this video nearly an hour ago. He immediately came to get me and then we called you…"
He didn't know what else to say. Without further delay, he opened the video file on Wainwright's desktop.
While it played, he wanted to do nothing more than to flee the room just as Wainwright had, but as it turned out, he wasn't that egoistic and insensitive. So he remained where he was, studying the changing emotions in Lisbon's face.
Very early in the video she had looked up at him again, probably when she recognized him in the man sitting in the car in front of her house.
Jane swore that between the confusion, he had seen pity in her eyes and it broke his heart. He looked down and Lisbon looked back at the screen, to never look back at him again for the rest of the video.
The shock on her face when she saw her own unclosed front door was nothing compared to when a little later the camera angle dropped suddenly.
Jane looked away when she watched it. The shame he felt wasn't caused by seeing her having sex with Ardiles, but by what his feelings were about it, and what they had caused.
When the screen turned red, he had to fight through all his shame and open the text file Red John had sent only seconds after Jane had watched the video.
After she read the words, Lisbon kept staring at the screen, pale as a ghost.
"Did you call the others?" she asked.
Jane nodded, though she didn't see him.
"Lisbon," he started, his mouth dry and his voice hoarse, "I'm sorry…"
"It's not your fault" she replied without looking at him.
After that, she stood up and walked out.
Jane watched her walk away. In seconds, he stood alone in Wainwright's office and he felt lonely. He knew Lisbon felt the same, but she had walked away from him and it had been clear to him what it meant.
When Wainwright's insecure face appeared in the door opening, Jane shook himself from his reverie. The man came walking up close to him, as if they were going to discuss delicate matters, but when he halted, it stayed silent. They exchanged brief glances. As if he had seen the defeat, shame and sadness in Jane's eyes, Wainwright suddenly got himself together and seemed like the in control, dependable boss again.
"Ah, when the team arrives, could you send them to me, please?" he asked.
Jane nodded.
"Could you perhaps not show them the video..?" Jane asked and Wainwright knew it was for Lisbon's sake.
"Of course" he promised and Jane walked out.
He was still doubting his destination, when he walked past Lisbon's office and saw her crying in her hands through the half-closed blinds. He couldn't look away, though it was the saddest thing and he felt his lip start to quiver.
He wanted nothing more than to be with her, but he didn't know what to do or say. He just wished she would let him stay in her life, that she wouldn't despise him. The idea that he may have lost her for ever made him know exactly how she felt.
But it wasn't over yet. After she had watched the video, she hadn't asked any questions, but even though they weren't many, he owed her the few answers he did have.
He walked into her office just far enough so he could close the door again. He stood there for an eternity, afraid that he wasn't welcome and she would tell him to leave. But she didn't. In fact, she said nothing. She had stopped crying and looked at him with a helpless sadness like only she could.
It was too much for him. So after only a short moment of looking her in the eyes, he cowardly averted his gaze to fix his stare on a part of the wall behind her. He still felt her eyes on him though, waiting for him to say anything that would comfort her, or even make a little sense of what was happening to her.
It made him feel sad and ashamed and he let his head hang a little, still looking at the spot on the wall as if it was his lifeline.
He had to say something. He had to let her know how much it pained him that he hadn't been able to tell her his feelings and that it caused her all this hurt. It proved to be harder than he could have ever imagined.
"I'm sorry I've never told you before…" he said earnestly, genuinely sorry. He let his gaze drop from the wall to the floor, bowing his head even more. "I guess you know now anyway" he ended, hoping he would appear somewhat confident and not as pathetic as he felt.
Lisbon had been looking straight at him, but was now shaking her head in confusion.
"What, Jane?" she asked, getting frustrated.
He looked her in the eye for just the shortest of moments.
"How…" his voice cracked and became inaudible. He swallowed. "How I feel."
Lisbon just looked at him, not really believing or understanding what was going on.
"What?" she asked again, still confused, still frustrated.
Jane couldn't believe that they still couldn't get on the same page. How did she still not understand him? What did she want to hear from him? What else could he say?
"I'm sorry it ruined your life" he continued.
"Jane, please help me find him" she begged, not responding to anything he had said to her.
"Yes, of course" he answered. It dawned on him that Lisbon still didn't understand that this meant that he loved her. He sighed and decided that he would let it rest, currently having no clue what else he could do or say on the matter.
He met Lisbon's innocently confused eyes once more before he abruptly turned around and left.
Minutes later, he found himself lying on his couch, holding the Mary Chapman case file open over his head, studying it minutely. He realized that he had to solve the case to keep Red John satisfied, and that that was the last tiny chance to see Ardiles back alive. He let every bit of information he had on the case cross his mind, scanning it for patterns, hidden motives, relations, whatever could make a new lead.
He had no idea how much time had passed when he suddenly got shaken from his thoughts rather rudely by the noise of four, no, five voices that neared the bullpen. Cho. Rigsby and Van Pelt. Wainwright. And a woman. Not Lisbon.
FBI Agent Darcy. Darcy? What the hell was she doing here, this was literally a private investigation. He chose to keep the case file close to his face when the group neared, hoping they would ignore him instead of start talking to him. First of all, it would be awkward and secondly, he needed to remain the focus he had found after leaving Lisbon's office. He heard Cho and Rigsby agreeing with Wainwright to go somewhere. He felt Rigsby's gaze on him for a few short seconds before he too left the bullpen. Van Pelt, as always, knew when to give him time and space and went to sit at the large table at the other end of the bullpen, studying pictures and rapports that she sprawled out on the table.
With Wainwright already back at his office, only agent Darcy found herself standing in his proximity.
The others' behavior had been predictable and exactly what he had wished for; a result of working so closely for years. But Darcy was oblivious to their unspoken rules of behavior. As he feared, she hesitantly neared his couch. He purposely kept covering his face with the file, but it was to no avail. This woman really needed to learn to pick up on signals.
"Jane…" she whispered so softly he almost didn't hear it and chose therefor to act as if he hadn't.
It only made matters worse. She went to sit down on his couch at the small free space next to his upper legs.
Jane removed the case file from his face and looked at her with a quasi-friendly face that betrayed so much annoyance even she would pick up on it.
"Agent Darcy" Jane sated, "what are you doing here?"
Darcy put on her typical Darcy face; lips pursed, frown in place, somewhat haughty look in her eyes.
"Your boss, special agent Wainwright, was professional enough to inform me of the recent events. Seen as this whole matter doesn't drip with professionalism, he has agreed with me that I will be following every step of this investigation from now on. Everything will be run by me. If it were up to me, this whole team would be suspended from the case seen as you are clearly way too involved, but the powers that be seem to be thinking that your familiarity with the case will prove an invaluable asset to solving it… So…" she concluded her little speech with a satisfied look on her face that Jane found particularly peculiar.
"Cut the crap, Darcy" Jane said, a grim smile on his face, "what are you implying?"
"Oh come on, Jane" Darcy sighed, lowering her voice again. "You're hanging around agent Lisbon's house like a love sick teenager, while she's sleeping with the A.D.A., whom you coincidentally probably got murdered…"
Jane frowned, trying to hide his curiosity at her blunt statement.
"What are you saying there, Darcy? That I kidnapped, maybe even killed Ardiles? You think I'm RedJohn?" he asked.
Darcy shook her head. "No, of course not. All I'm saying is that this isn't As The World Turns. Your mutual involvements just make you all a liability to this case. You knew that, lately, Red John almost exclusively acts in response to something you said or did. And because you were too busy being upset about Lisbon and her boyfriend, he decided to do something about it. And now Lisbon is blaming you for it, obviously…"
Jane hated that he let himself get worked up like this, but he couldn't refrain from interrupting.
"What do you mean, 'obviously'? Why obviously?"
Darcy frowned even more.
"You of all people shouldn't have interfered with her personal life. But you did, and now look what happened" she said matter-of-factly. "And now her anger at you is something that I have to deal with as well while we try to solve this crime. You see why all this doesn't sound professional to me?"
Jane looked at her with a face that said 'you make me sick'. More like screamed it. Darcy only shrugged once before she stood up.
"Anyway, I was just coming to ask you how you were, but I see you're busy, so I'll let you get back to your work then" she said and walked away from him.
Only when she was gone far enough so she wouldn't be able to see his face, raised Jane his eyebrows as he had felt like doing from very early on in his conversation with Darcy. He closed the case file and put it down beside his couch. He turned on his stomach so he was looking in Van Pelt's direction.
"Grace!" he whispered rather loudly. She looked up from whatever she was reading. He beckoned her to come over with his hand.
She stood up and walked over to him, surprise on her face.
"What?" she whispered, intrigued by the incredulous look on his face and the fact that they apparently needed to whisper.
"Did you just hear that?" Jane asked her while he kept his voice down.
"Hear what?" Van Pelt asked.
"What Darcy just said to me!" he answered.
Van Pelt looked a bit confused.
"No. No, I was busy reading and you were talking very quietly. Besides, I always try not to eavesdrop, grant people their privacy" she answered truthfully.
Jane nodded, staring to nothing in particular, squinting his eyes a bit, while just a tiny smile formed on his lips. Outsiders might have described it as a crazy look, but the team knew it as his realization face.
"What is it?" Van Pelt asked with curiosity in her voice.
"When Cho and Rigsby went to visit the FBI for more information on the person that blacked out nearly the entire trial report, did they manage to find when this has happened?" he asked Van Pelt.
After working with Jane for all those years, she still couldn't quite get used to the jumps he made in his mind.
"Ehm, yes! Yes, they did, but I… I can't remember. It wasn't much use to us then, so I never wrote it down, sorry" she apologized.
In the meantime, Jane had already grabbed his cell and dialed Cho's number.
"Jane" the voice on the other end of the line stated.
"Cho, do you remember what year the report from Mary's trial had been censured?"
"2003, why?" he asked.
"Get back here as quick as you can" Jane said, in hindsight a little too theatrically for his own taste.
Van Pelt just quirked an eyebrow at him.
He got up from the couch and motioned for her to follow him to her computer. She went to sit behind her desk.
"Can you find out for me when Darcy started working for the FBI?" he asked, whispering again.
Van Pelt stared typing while Jane looked around to make sure no-one would walk in on them.
"2003" Van Pelt stated
Jane smirked full blown now. He started to walk around the bullpen mumbling "I knew it". The smile on his face caused by the rush of finally getting something right again quickly disappeared when Lisbon's office came into his view.
This little breakthrough was still nowhere near enough to give Lisbon some hope. He had to give her more. He quickly paced back to where Van Pelt was still staring at her computer screen, probably hoping to find out what '2003' meant.
When he came to a stop next to her, she looked up at him.
"Jane, what's going on?"
Before he answered he looked around again, checking if no-one was listening in on them.
"2003 is the same year someone from the FBI censured the file from Mary Chapman's trial…" he whispered. Van Pelt kept giving him a blank stare.
A little taken aback by this, Jane frowned. Sure, he had been whispering, but he had put a great effort into presenting his statement as theatrically as he always did when explaining a case or a trick to them. Maybe she was a little slow this morning because they had to rush into work so early.
"The sister's name was Susan…" he tried again. Van Pelt gave him an awkward smile and looked sideways for a second.
"Darcy's first name is Susan!" he sighed.
Van Pelt broke their eye contact. She hesitated for a moment before she spoke.
"Look, Jane, I know where you're going with this…" she started.
'Not going anywhere, already arrived at the destination' Jane thought while he tried to await her response patiently.
"… But I don't think this is enough evidence to start suspecting colleagues. I know it must be hard for you not being able to help Lisbon find whomever ki-…dnapped Ardiles…" She paused to give him an empathetic look, "but let's just focus on the information we have gathered so far."
Jane had to fight hard not to roll his eyes and walk away, because he knew she meant it well. But still, she was delaying him and in times like these they had to let him do what he was hired for. What he was best at.
So he managed to keep looking at her straight through her entire speech, but as soon as she was finished, he spoke again.
"Yes, and the year of Darcy starting work at the FBI and de trial file being censured matching up is part of that information too!" he stated.
Van Pelt sighed.
"Why did you even start to suspect Darcy all the sudden? Just because she walked into your view?" she asked sarcastically.
Jane shook his head.
"It's because of what she said to me just now, how I was responsible for Ardiles' d-…isappearing, and that Lisbon blamed me as well. It was totally inappropriate, no empathy at all. I'm telling you, there's something off about her…" he said.
Van Pelt had started to look compassionately at him again, as if she tried to make up for Darcy's lack of empathy he was telling her about.
"Jane…" she said softly, "you know how people can get around you sometimes… Just, let her. Don't pay attention to it, she probably didn't mean it like that anyway."
This time Jane did roll his eyes and huffed.
"Grace, we're wasting valuable time here. Can you please try to find anything else about Darcy that could link her to Mary? Birth place, schools, jobs, anything" he asked.
Van Pelt sighed while she turned back to face her computer screen.
Just at that moment, Rigsby and Cho came walking in.
"So what's the news?" Rigsby asked eagerly.
Van Pelt answered before Jane could.
"Jane thinks Darcy has something to do with the victim" she said dryly.
Both men looked at Jane expectantly.
"It's more of a hunch, really…" he started out cautiously, suddenly feeling unable to convince two other critics yet.
"Yeah, what is it?" Cho asked.
"Well, as you mentioned, 2003 was the year the case file from Mary's trial was censured by someone from within the FBI, blocking out any detail on the mystery 'sister'. But as it happens, 2003 is also the year Darcy, whose first name coincidentally is Susan as well, started working for the feds" Jane told them.
"That's it?" Cho asked, looking as stoically as ever.
"Well, that, and the fact that she was ridiculously mean to me in this time of distress…" he added honestly.
The two men kept quiet for a moment.
"So… you think Susan Darcy is Mary Chapman's mystery sister?" Rigsby asked, trying to hide his confusion.
"She could have pretended to be her sister, like anyone would find out" Jane responded.
"I guess… But wouldn't Mary have found it weird that a stranger would pose as her sister?" Van Pelt asked.
"She was schizophrenic, even if she would have mentioned it to someone, probably no-one would take her seriously" Jane answered again.
"Those are all assumptions. We don't have any solid proof that she has something to do with our victim" Cho said. "Besides, why would she go visit a schizophrenic stranger at a mental facility?"
Jane sighed. "Look, I don't know the details yet. I just got the idea twenty minutes ago. But it's a hunch of mine and Lisbon would have supported it" he said and tried not to sound like a whining toddler.
"You haven't told Lisbon about it?" Cho asked again and Jane swore he saw something knowing in his stoic stare.
"No" he said, sounding a little too defensive. "As I said, I only came up with the idea a few minutes ago and immediately shared it with you guys, but I see now that I shouldn't have, since you've only been holding me up by asking me all those questions."
"Alright, I guess we can discuss it with Lisbon, see what she has to say" Cho said.
Jane wasn't really looking forward to undergoing yet another painful moment with her where he would disappoint her again. It seemed though as if Cho knew it, and by opting to talk to Lisbon first before pursuing his idea, he was testing Jane's confidence in it. Well, he hadn't been lying when he said that he thought all this was relevant information. And though his hunches hadn't been too great lately, overall he had been more often right than wrong. So he would go talk to Lisbon, although that didn't mean that he liked having everyone else with them as well.
"Fine" Jane said lightly. "I'll go talk to her. In the meantime, can you try finding anything to link Darcy to our victim?" he said, addressing all three of them before he started walking towards Lisbon's office.
Of course, Cho followed suit.
"Rigsby and Van Pelt can manage that. I'm coming with you" he said and Jane had to let him because he had heard the hint of protectiveness for Lisbon's wellbeing in the other man's voice.
Before they entered, Jane knocked again. Cho stayed perfectly still, but Jane knew he must have found it strange that he hadn't just barged in like he always did. After they heard a soft "come in", they walked into her office. Cho walked up to her desk, while Jane lingered a little in the back.
"How're you holding up?" Cho asked Lisbon.
Lisbon nodded faintly, probably in hopes of looking more reassuringly. "I'm fine" she said.
Cho left it at that.
"Jane has a theory that we wanted to run by you to hear what you think of it" he announced.
Jane knew it was his cue to start convincing them that he was right, but suddenly he felt overwhelmed by some form of performance anxiety, and Lisbon hopeful eyes staring directly into his didn't help him one bit.
"Well, a plan, that is, I had a hunch, but it's a strong one. It's just… we shouldn't get our hopes up, yet" he stammered.
Lisbon kept looking hopeful at him nevertheless.
"Okay" she said, "what is it?"
"Alright, well, I have a strong feeling that agent Darcy is involved" he stated. Lisbon looked surprised but said nothing, which Jane took as a note to continue.
"She came to talk to me half an hour ago, supposedly to ask me how I was" Jane said, relating the earlier events. Lisbon interrupted.
"Darcy's here? Why?" she asked.
"Wainwright called her. Said she needed to be involved" Cho answered.
Lisbon frowned.
"Strange" she said. "Nobody told me. And she didn't come to ask me how I was…"
"Exactly!" Jane said, happy that someone finally agreed that this was all very strange. The fact that Lisbon hadn't sounded sad, but more as if she was musing out loud made him feel a little more at ease. Of course Lisbon would always understand him. Except in one particular kind of situation, but that currently wasn't an issue.
"She didn't ask me how I was either, mind you" he continued. "It was more like she tried to make me feel worse. She said all kinds of nasty stuff, one could say rubbing salt in the wound, and then just left."
Lisbon had listened carefully.
"You think she's working with Red John?" she asked in suspense.
"Could very well be" Jane answered.
Lisbon sighed and slumped back into her chair.
"What evidence do we have to link her to the case?" she asked, all business, carefully hiding any personal feelings.
Cho had been watching their conversation and had found it remarkable how easily they communicated when discussing business. If only they were able to do the same when it came to their private life, they probably wouldn't even be in this situation. What a bitter irony, he thought while Jane explained the matching years of Darcy starting at the FBI and the case file being censured to Lisbon.
"Could be a coincidence" Lisbon responded.
Jane cocked his head and looked at her. Lisbon gave in eventually.
"Okay, maybe not! But why would she go visit Mary Chapman? She wasn't her real sister… And why go through all that trouble of erasing her last name from the file, but still use her real name when she visited Mary?" she asked.
"Perhaps she posed as the victim's sister. If the sister's real last name was gone from the files, she could pretend to be the sister by using her own name" Cho opted.
"Yeah…" Jane responded, thinking as hard as he could. "But if she really was working for Red John, he wouldn't have let her take that risk. He would have made her use the sister's full identity…"
All three stayed quiet after that, trying their best to come up with a theory that would explain everything. Nothing came to their minds.
"I don't know about it, Jane. I can see why you don't trust her, but there's no real evidence that she has anything to do with the victim" Lisbon eventually said and to Jane, it almost sounded as if she was sorry for him.
He sighed and looked down. Just when he was about to give up on his theory and go back to his couch to think of a new one, Rigsby stormed in, the excitement dripping from his face.
"Guys" he said and tried to sound solemn, "I think you need to see this".
They walked after him to Van Pelts desk. She pointed toward her screen.
"Mary's mother's last name is Darcy" she said.
Rigsby looked at Jane. "Looks like you were right all along."
Jane had no time to gloat. He had to make sure his suspicions were right.
"Grace can you find out for me who Darcy's parents were?" he asked.
Van Pelt shook her head. "No, we tried, but that information is blocked by someone from the FBI as well."
Jane looked at Lisbon.
"Probably Darcy herself" Lisbon said, keeping her voice down.
"But how do we prove it?" Rigsby asked.
"I may have a plan" Jane answered.
Darcy sat at the emergency office that was reserved especially for occasions like these. She was typing busily on her laptop when Van Pelt knocked at her semi-opened door.
Darcy looked up and spotted the young agent standing in her doorway.
"Come in" she said and smiled friendly.
Van Pelt looked around before she walked in and closed the door behind her. She looked somewhat nervously, Darcy thought.
"Agent Van Pelt, what can I do for you?" she asked.
Van Pelt hesitated. "Well, ehm," she mumbled. "This morning when you and Wainwright briefed us, you said that we had to run everything we had on the case by you, right?"
Darcy nodded, trying to await patiently where this was going.
"Well…" Van Pelt started again. "A few days ago we found out that the case file of Mary Chapman's trial was censured by someone from within the FBI. So they asked me to find a way to find out who exactly had done it. In order to do that I had to gain access to the FBI's database, so I used some new software to enter new lines of code into the syntax-"
"Yes, agent, can you go to the part that I need to know about?" Darcy interrupted, not understanding much of Van Pelt's computer lingo.
"Right, yes" Van Pelt said apologetic. "So anyway, when I got to the database this morning, Jane asked me to cross-reference Mary Chapman's personal data with all data in that database, and…" she said, hesitating whether she should continue or not.
"Go on, Van Pelt, it's okay" Darcy encouraged her.
"Well, I found that you have the same parents as Mary Chapman. You're her sister."
Darcy kept staring at her intensely, without moving a muscle. After what seemed like an age to Van Pelt, the older woman sighed and looked down.
"It's true" she said. "She was my sister."
"But why didn't you come to us immediately after you found out that your sister was murdered?" Van Pelt asked.
Darcy seemed to be getting upset. "I, I, I don't know," she stuttered, "I was confused and sad. No-one from within law enforcement knew she was my sister, I've made a great deal of ensuring that…"
Van Pelt pressed her lips together like she did when she felt sorry for someone.
"I'm sorry for your loss…" she said. "But you have to come forward about it, explain it to the team. Because when I show them the information I've found, they will surely think that you have something to hide… That you're… involved in the murder and everything. Besides, as you know, if you don't come forward it's an obstruction of justice."
"You're right, agent Van Pelt. And I'll promise you that I will inform the team about it today, but can you please give me some time?" Darcy asked. "When we grew up, our father was schizophrenic and eventually committed suicide. My mother managed to take care of us by herself through it all. When Mary turned out to be a schizophrenic, I was just building a career for myself. It hadn't been easy growing up with my schizophrenic father, and I didn't want my sister to destroy my adult life as well. Having a mentally ill sister might be considered a liability and I feared I wouldn't be able to get where I am today if people knew about Mary. So I took my mother's last name and once I got a job with the FBI, I made sure my name got deleted from every document that had to do with Mary. But I still visited her and tried to look after her as best as I could. I guess now it doesn't matter anymore whether people know or not…"
For a moment she looked as if she was about to cry.
"God, Darcy, I didn't know…" Van Pelt said softly. "I'm sorry. Shouldn't you be at home? Take it easy for a while?" she asked empathetically.
Darcy shook her head. "No, no, I'm fine. Just like Lisbon I would like to help find the person responsible for our beloved's deaths."
Van Pelt decided not to comment on the fact that Darcy had implied that Ardiles was already death, while they didn't know that for sure yet, but instead opted for a simple "Okay".
Before Van Pelt could leave the room, Darcy looked directly at her once more. "Please, Grace, will you not tell them until I get the chance to tell them myself?" she asked.
Van Pelt nodded and left the room.
When she walked past Lisbon's office, Jane caught her eye. They exchanged a meaningful glance, before Van Pelt looked away and walked over to her desk at the bullpen as if nothing was happening.
Cho took the headphones off and let out a small, barely audible sigh.
"So, what do you think?" he asked.
Jane looked at Lisbon. She seemed hesitant.
"She could be telling the truth," she said. "It sounded as if she got a little emotional for a second."
Jane frowned.
"I don't buy a word she's saying..!" he responded while he shook his head. "She looks nothing like a woman in emotional pain. She maybe tried to act as if she got emotional about her sister's death, but in reality she's stone cold. Hasn't cried at all, probably won't ever shed a tear about Mary being murdered. I say we should arrest her."
Lisbon looked at him with a sad, hesitant look on her face. "Jane…" she said.
Jane felt that familiar spark inside him well up again. The spark of determination, of resilience, that, at least temporarily, killed the self-loathing and self-pity that lived inside of him. He was going to fight, if not for both their happiness, then at least for Lisbon's.
"Oh come on guys, don't tell me she managed to fool you?!" he asked, no longer going easy on Lisbon. As he expected, instead of breaking down at his defiant words, Lisbon fell back into their normal routine easily.
"We don't know that she hasn't been crying! She could have used good make-up to cover it up..!" she answered.
"She must have gone through a great deal of trouble then to cover it up, even go so far as to cover up her blood-shot eyes. I'm telling you, that woman isn't the least bit sad about her sister's death" Jane answered immediately.
"Who's to say she wasn't upset when she heard? Maybe she had to cry when she was at home…" Lisbon opted, still thinking Jane's conclusion was a bit premature.
He rolled his eyes. "If she was upset, she would have been unable to sleep well, she would have bags under her eyes… Her shoulders would be slumped, the corners of her mouth would hang, her eyes would look sad…" he said while his eyes were fixed on Lisbon.
Lisbon looked away and tried to come up with an answer that would convince Jane that he had to get more proof before he accused Darcy of anything.
"Okay, well, then maybe she didn't need to cry. Maybe she's just a tough agent, maybe she didn't really have a bond with Mary!" Lisbon said, getting a bit worked up.
"Lisbon, you're a tough agent and you cried..! You cried for someone you've only liked for a week!" he blurted out.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Lisbon shot back at him.
"Nothing" Jane quickly stated and realized he should have thought about his words. "It's just that if she were anything like a normal human being, she would have seemed more upset."
The angry expression on Lisbon's face disappeared a little.
"Alright, I'll go talk to Wainwright" she said.
A few minutes later, Lisbon stood in front of Wainwright's office with Jane right behind her. She knocked on the door and entered. Wainwright looked surprised at the pair standing in front of him.
"Hey... What can I do for you guys" he offered softly.
Before Lisbon started talking, she mentally prepared herself for any reaction from him, from sympathetically ridiculing their plan to a blunt reprimand for accusing a colleague.
Surprisingly though, Wainwright stayed quiet during her whole explanation and started to get paler after each word she said. After a while Lisbon hesitated if she should even continue, since the fact that Wainwright was now burying his face in his hands in dreadful panic suggested that there was more to the story than she even knew.
Jane decided to ask the question that was on Lisbon's mind as well.
"What's going on?"
Wainwright stayed quiet a little longer. He was still hiding his face in his hands when he spoke up eventually.
"I let her take all the Red John files…" he said.
Jane and Lisbon looked at each other in confusion.
"Sir, what do you mean? Like copies of our files?" Lisbon asked, dreading the answer.
Wainwright still looked down.
"The actual files. Everything is gone from the CBI…" he answered and sighed in desperation.
Lisbon's mouth fell open after this revelation. Her face would have been stuck with this incredulous expression if she wasn't startled by Jane's loud question.
"WHAT?!" he shouted.
Wainwright tried to offer an explanation.
"She came asking for them a few months back, said it was mandatory since the FBI was taking over the investigation. She and a few other agents came collecting them shortly after…"
"And you let them?!" Jane shouted angrily. "What were you thinking?"
Wainwright was about to defend himself when Lisbon intervened.
"We need to talk to Darcy about this right now. There is still a chance that there's a perfectly good explanation for all this" she said with a voice that betrayed more panic than she had hoped to let on.
Just as Jane and Wainwright seemed to calm down, Rigsby came barging in.
"Darcy just took off, didn't say where she was going" he told them.
Lisbon looked from Jane to Wainwright before she stormed outside after Rigsby.
Before Jane could follow suit, Wainwright called to him.
"Jane, I'm sorry. We'll get her. Look after Lisbon, will you?"
Jane nodded briefly before leaving the room just in time to catch up with Rigsby and Cho, who were running down the stairs after Lisbon.
Lisbon got in a separate car, but Jane managed to climb in the passenger seat before she took off. Van Pelt had seen in which direction Darcy had gone after leaving the CBI lot, but that was all the information they had. The car ride was awkward. All things left unsaid lingered between them as a thick cloud. Jane felt the undeniable urge to explain himself to her, but he couldn't find the words. While knowing he should accept his defeat, he couldn't give up just yet. He secretly glanced over at her in hopes of catching some of her thoughts or feelings. Could it be that she honestly wasn't angry with him? Could they still be friends after this? Did she know he wanted to be more than friends?
"Jane, stop staring at me" she said, her tone sharp.
She was angry at him.
"I'm sorry, Lisbon, I'm so sorry. You should know how I feel, I should have told you sooner" Jane responded feverishly trying to fight for her. She cut him off in a way that made him wonder if she paid any attention to what he was saying.
"Stop, Jane. Please stop talking."
He slumped back in his chair. Lisbon was speeding, even though they didn't know for sure they were going the right way. Jane decided not to comment on it.
Suddenly, the bitterness between them lifted for a bit when they both spotted the same black FBI standard SUV.
They didn't speak up immediately. Instead, Jane grab the radio and contacted Rigsby.
"We think we found her. Check this license plate" he told him while Lisbon started to read the plate out loud.
"It's Darcy" Rigsby stated shortly after.
It took all her effort not to start speeding again, but Lisbon knew they should try to find out where Darcy was going.
"Could still be a reasonable explanation for all this" she mumbled, repeating her earlier statement.
Jane knew it was best to stay silent, so he did. Until he noticed where they were heading.
"She's going to the mental facility" he stated.
He knew that looking over at her might elicit another growl, but he needed to see how she was doing, even if she undoubtedly wouldn't accept his comfort.
To his surprise, once he let his gaze rest upon her face, she turned and looked back at him. Those big, green eyes locked with his for just a moment, but it was enough for him to see the whirlwind of emotions going through her and most of all the pleading look she gave him to help her through all this – including making sense of her feelings. After she looked back to focus on the road and the car they were following, Jane figured he might have never taken his eyes off of her, if it hadn't been for the panic on her face and the curse that left her mouth.
"Dammit!"
Jane looked back in front of him and noticed the black SUV was missing in the increasingly busier traffic. They both scanned the cars around them.
"I think that's her" Lisbon said, mentioning a black SUV a few hundred yards away from them. She disappeared behind a truck and they didn't spot her again.
"Shit!" Lisbon said sharply. "Where the hell did she go?"
Jane tried to find any clues that could tell her which way she had went, but none of it was substantiated.
"I don't know" he said honestly. "But I think checking the mental facility is our best option."
Rigsby contacted them over the radio and Lisbon responded by telling them they were going to head to Mary Chapman's old room.
They parked at the visitor's entrance, but couldn't find Darcy's car yet. Lisbon and Jane got out of the car, searching feverishly, proceeding head over heels. Cho therefore did something he normally never did: Stop the dynamic duo when they were on a roll. It was something he rather refrained from, not only because he didn't want to stop what mostly led to a breakthrough, but also because it felt like imposing on something private between them. This time though, he had to, because otherwise it could cost them the mission and things far worse.
"Guys."
He called out only once, but it was enough to make them stop and turn to look at him. He motioned for them to come over to where he and Rigsby were standing. He sighed and directed his attention at Lisbon.
"Boss. I need to know if you're alright. We need to do this the right way. If you're not okay, I totally understand, but then I'm going to take it from here" he told her. Lisbon fell silent for a second.
"I'm okay. You're right" she acknowledged his concern for the way she had been handling things.
They decided that Rigsby would cover the back entrance. Once they cleared the places surrounding the building, they went inside. Cho checked the room while Lisbon made her way to the receptionist's desk, with Jane following her.
"Excuse me ma'am" Lisbon calmly asked for the receptionist's attention. The woman smiled friendly and Lisbon managed to return it.
"Hi, we're CBI, ma'am. We are currently investigating the death of one of the facility's clients…"
"Yes" the woman said, turning serious, "I've heard about it. How can I help you?"
"We were wondering if you might have seen this woman around here before?" Lisbon asked and showed her Darcy's picture.
The woman raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"As a matter of fact, I have. Many times, too. She just came in a few minutes before you, asking to see her sister's room one more time…"
Lisbon and Jane exchanged meaningful looks. Cho joined them and Lisbon was just about to inform him of what the receptionist just told them, when the woman spoke up again.
"It was really awkward, because we already had to use the room for a new patient that was brought in this morning. We asked her to come back another time, but she wouldn't listen, so we had to tell her. We normally try to inform the relatives of the deceased before having someone new occupy the room, but it was an emergency and we needed the room on such a short notice. But she took it really well, so… I believe a nurse went upstairs with her to visit the room, since the new guy is still sleeping off his sedation. She would only be a few minutes. It's not decent, I know, but-" she rambled but got interrupted by Jane.
"Tell me about the new guy" Jane quickly asked, putting the pieces together. From that moment, everything happened extremely fast, but to Jane seconds felt like hours. He waited for the receptionist, that seemed a little caught off guard by his sudden question, to answer him, while he kept his eyes from looking at Lisbon with all his might. Whatever the answer would be, it would be bad news and he dreaded Lisbon's reaction when it came, knowing that it would be his fault. And then the baffled receptionist started talking again.
"Eh, he was brought in here just a few hours ago. Heavily medicated, but it appeared that he needs all the medication. The paramedic that brought him in told us he used to be a lawyer and could get very convincing and troublesome when he didn't get enough tranquilizers. It may seem harsh, but they need it when they're checked in here at first-"
She got cut off again, but this time by Lisbon.
"What did he look like?" she asked, her previous calmness fading quickly.
"Eh, a bit exotic; dark hair, tinted skin, not very tall…"
Before the other team members could look at Lisbon to see if she thought the same and way before they could form a plan of action, Lisbon had stormed off to the room she remembered used to be Mary's.
Jane ran immediately after her while Cho contacted Rigsby and told him where to meet them.
Lisbon found Darcy laughing at the man she had shoved to the side of the bed he was lying on, so she could stand upon it and push against a ceiling tile. Lisbon drew her gun and screamed at her to get her hands in the air and get down on the ground. Jane halted in front of the scene, taking a few seconds to process it. Cho caught up with them in no time and backed Lisbon up, repeating her actions from a few seconds earlier.
Jane watched Darcy's face as she just kept laughing. Cho didn't wait any longer and stepped inside to pull her down himself. While he cuffed her, Lisbon called out to the staff members that had gathered around the room to call an ambulance. She and Jane entered the room simultaneously.
Jane went to stand upon the bed to see what had been hidden in the ceiling. It appeared to be boxes with case files, all on Red John cases he presumed.
"Hey Lisbon, you have to see this" he called out and hoped to impress her, but when he didn't get any response from her, he looked down.
She sat kneeled beside Ardiles, clasping his hand and stroking his hair and face. Jane wasted no time coming down.
"Jane, he's unconscious" Lisbon whispered desperately.
He kneeled beside Lisbon and looked at his rival.
"He probably injected the drugs into his veins, but in case he also had to take pills, we need to get him to throw up" he told Lisbon, while he started moving Ardiles to his side.
"Lisbon, can you go find me a spoon. And some water if possible."
She nodded and hurried away.
Cho was still busy with Darcy, dragging her out of the room and calling for backup to take her away. Rigsby stood idly by the door, not knowing what to do.
"An ambulance is on its' way" he stated.
"Good" Jane said. "Can you get every staff member that has been in contact with Ardiles in here?" he asked. Rigsby nodded and asked the crowd of people that had gathered in the hallways.
Lisbon came rushing back and handed Jane the spoon and a bottle of water. He put in into Ardiles' mouth and pushed until he had to throw up.
After what seemed like hours of sitting idly by his side, EMT's came rushing in to take over. Jane asked the three staff members that had stayed after Rigsby's request to tell them what they had given Ardiles after his admission. They gave them all the information they had while the EMT's took Ardiles away on a gurney, Lisbon hot on their heels.
Jane stood still and watched Lisbon leave. He realized his part was over. There was still vomit on his suit. He heard Rigsby call the local PD as backup to get all the boxes of case files back to the CBI. Cho came walking over and offered him a ride back.
"Sure".
Jane got in the car and they drove back in silence. Back at the CBI, he went upstairs to his attic and changed clothes. He hesitated what to do next. If he knew for sure Lisbon would want him around, he would do it in a heartbeat. But she probably didn't, so he decided to pay Darcy a visit in jail and hope to at least get something valuable from this total disaster.
She sat in a highly guarded cell, especially reserved for the most dangerous of criminals. She smiled slightly when Jane entered. Jane sat down opposed to her and just looked at her for some time.
"Trying to determine your strategy of breaking me, Jane?"
Jane shook his head and leaned back. Darcy continued.
"Good. I would hate to see you waste your time on me. I have nothing to say. See, I'm just as big a nut case as my sister. I'm a crazy person, I have no use for the government and I certainly can't give any reliable information on Red John…"
Jane didn't react.
"After my trial, I will be locked up in a mental facility, like my sister, where I will have to take so many pills that after a week I will have completely forgotten who I am. And if worse comes to worst, I might even accidentally overdose at some point."
Darcy smiled. Jane shook his head and sighed.
"All that anger, all that loathing towards your sister… I get it, growing up with a father like yours. But it has blinded you from the truth. Your anger came first and caused all the horrible events in your adult life, not the other way around. Your anger towards your father made you an easy and susceptible target for Red John. He would be the father you never had. But then your anger turned towards your vulnerable sister and you made her into a schizophrenic, Susan."
Darcy's smile had faded but otherwise, she seemed unaffected. Jane continued.
"Let me explain the situation to you here. You have gone behind Red John's back too many times. He'll never let you live. You were a burden to him, so he killed your sister to let us find out what your role in all this was. He wanted to long ago, but you convinced him to put Mary in a mental asylum, because you figured she was just like your father, a schizophrenic. But the fact that she went to the police after you told her about you and Red John, wasn't because she was insane. She was trying to protect you. By saying that she was Red John, she tried to put the suspicion away from you in hopes of you changing your life. That's not something a crazy person does. With your testimony and your family history of schizophrenia, she was put away in this asylum and destroyed by having to take too many medication. You chose Red John, while you could have had a sister in your life…"
When he paused, Jane noticed her eyebrows frown ever so slightly. He continued.
"There's a chance to make this right, a chance to revenge the death of your wronged sister. Tell me about Red John. Tell me about the man that killed her" he said.
Darcy narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips together. She took one last hard look at him, before she broke their eye contact and glanced over his shoulder.
"I will say no more" she said, and kept to her word.
Jane stood up and left. He had no idea if it were true what he was saying about Mary. She probably really was schizophrenic, but it was worth a try, he thought as he sauntered back to his attic.
Even more fed up with the world than usual, he let himself fall back on his bed and tried to get some sleep until he heard a knock at his door.