Disclaimer: Mentalist is not mine, no money from this

Author's Note: Thanks so much to jisbon-sessed for reviewing. Needed a break from trying to catch Red John in Change so I wrote this instead. Hope you guys like, feeling pretty aprehensive about this, chapter 21?! 21 just likes to stalk me, that sounds a bit weird anyway enjoy, I'm gonna try sleep now

"Why?" Lisbon demanded of Jane after they'd left Minelli's office.

"What do you mean `why`?"

"Why do you want to be on my team?"

"I want to do some good with my life," Jane explained shrugging.

"Liar!" she spat angrily, "you wouldn't need to be on my specific team for that! Are you trying to screw up my team for not finding Red John or some-" she saw his eyes narrow at the mention of Red John, "you want to help catch him don't you?"

"So what if I do?"

"Just... never mind," Lisbon muttered as she led him to the bullpen, "just sit on the couch and shut up."

Jane did as he was told, getting comfortable on the couch. Jane smiled slightly at the ceiling, it looked just like Elvis.

"Why is Jane here?" he heard Rigsby whisper to his new boss.

"He's out new consultant," Lisbon snapped before striding into her office.

"Okay... welcome to the team then I guess," Rigsby smiled slightly at him before returning to his sandwhiches.

Jane stretched and closed his eyes. He found the noise from people working oddly comforting compared to the silence at his house. It was weird sleeping without his wife beside him, there was just a cold stillness that descended every night now. Of course it might help if he didn't sleep under the face but he was transfixed by it.

"Why is Jane sleeping on our couch?" he heard Cho's voice ask quietly.

"I'm your new consultant," Jane answered without opening his eyes.

"Does Lisbon know?" he asked bluntly.

"Yep."

"Okay then, welcome to the team I guess."

"We got a new case," announced Lisbon as she came back out to join them, "Jane are you asleep?"

"No," Jane said jumping to his feet, "what are we waiting for?"

Lisbon sighed and led them to the elevator...

*****

Jane studied the body carefully. He was a only a kid, Jane guessed a junior at some high school, his body was slumped in front of a tombstone. His brains had been blown out, probably by the gun beside him. It looked like a suicide to all but Jane's observant eyes.

"If it looks like a suicide and smells like a suicide," Lisbon said, "it's most likely-"

"Not a suicide," Jane cut in, causing Lisbon to glare at him.

"How is it not a suicide?" she asked him tiredly.

"Firstly," Jane grinned triumphantly as he spoke, "his clothes are not the clothes of someone depressed, they are the clothes of someone confident, determined and loving life."

"Maybe he's good at pretending?" offered Rigsby.

"Secondly, he wasn't a goth, so why would he have killed himself in a cemetary?" Jane continued ignoring Rigsby's comment, "and finally he was left handed, so why shoot himself with the right?"

"How do you know he's left handed?" asked Cho bluntly.

"Look at the hand he's wearing his watch on," Jane nodded at the corpse, right handed people wore it on the opposite arm.

"Maybe..." Lisbon began but couldn't think of a good counter argument.

"Maybe...?" Jane prompted flashing her a smile.

"Fine," she admitted grudgingly, "it might not be a suicide. Have we got an ID?"

"Trent Clark, 16," said Cho reading the boy's driving permit.

"You and Rigsby go talk to whoever runs this cemetary and see if they have any surveillence footage," Lisbon commanded, "I'll go interview the parents."

"What about me?" Jane asked looking innocent.

"I guess you can come with me," she agreed reluctantly. Jane's grin returned as he followed her to the car...

"Yes?" snapped a plump woman opening the door, Lisbon presumed Clark's mother. Lisbon showed the woman her badge and she relaxed visibably.

"I'm Agent Lisbon of the CBI and this is Patrick Jane. May we come in?"

"Sure, I guess," shrugged the woman nervously as she let them in, "what is this about anyway?"

"Mrs Clark, I am so sorry to inform you but your son Trent... he's dead," Lisbon spoke the rehersed words solemly.

"No!" gasped the woman putting a hand to her mouth as tears formed in her eyes, "please no."

"I am so sorry," Lisbon said as the woman started to sob.

"How?" she cried, before Lisbon could reply Jane answered.

"He was shot in the head in a cemetary and made to look like suicide," Jane spoke bluntly and the woman sobbed harder. Lisbon shot him a dark look.

"Did... did he suffer?"

"No," Lisbon told her calmly trying not to glare at Jane. It took the woman half an hour to calm down enough to answer their questions. She and Mrs Clark sat in the family room while her new consultant wondered around the room looking aimlessly sipping his tea.

"Would you like to sit down?" Mrs Clark asked him.

"Nah, I'm fine," muttered Jane, "nice tea."

"So Mrs Clark," Lisbon said regaining the woman's attention, "when was the last time you saw your son?"

"Last night, he was watching some film and I was doing some crosswords. When the film finished he said goodnight and went to bed," Mrs Clark answered suppressing tears.

"Any idea what time that was?"

"About 11 I think, I went to bed at quarter past. Not long after Trent."

"Okay," continued Lisbon, "weren't you surprised when you didn't see him this morning?"

"I overslept, by the time I woke up he should've already been at school," Mrs Clark answered blowing her nose.

"How does he usually get to school?"

"He walks, it's only a few blocks away."

"Where's his father?" Jane asked before Lisbon could, she scowled at him.

"Max is on a buissness trip... oh god, how do I tell him? Or Marcus and Sophie?" Mrs Clark sounded distraught.

"Marcus and Sophie?"

"His elder brother and sister," explained Jane.

"How did you know that?" Mrs Clark looked amazed by this.

"I'm psychic," Jane told her flashing his smile.

"Really?"

"Do you have any idea why he would be at a cemetary?" Lisbon cut in before Jane could reply.

"No! He was a good boy, he... a cemetary?"

"Thank you for your help Mrs Clark," Jane said handing her his empty mug, "I promise we're gonna find the killer."

With that Jane headed towards the door, she and Mrs Clark quickly followed him. Lisbon was fuming, he couldn't just finish an interview like that! She was the boss, not him.

"Thank you Mr Jane, it was nice meeting you. Good luck," Mrs Clark waved as she and Jane left. She managed to contain her temper until they got into the car.

"What?" he asked her sweetly.

"You can't do that!"

"Do what? Sit in the car?"

"Finish questioning someone like that! We're not done until I say we're done," Lisbon snapped furiously.

"But she doesn't know anything and we need to go interview his friends in school," Jane protested.

"That's no excuse!" Lisbon continued her rant, "what's the rush anyway?"

"Gotta pick Holly up from school soon. It would suck to drive all the way to pick her up then all the way back to CBI then all the way back here and then school would be finished so we'd have to interview all his friends seperat-"

"Okay, okay, shut up already," Lisbon glared furiously at his point, "that still doesn't make it okay. Why don't you just hire a sitter? You can't just leave her at CBI."

"Why not? She'll be safe at CBI and a sitter? Anyone willing to look after her is not someone I'd trust," Jane explained.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Red John," Jane's face immediately darkened at the word.

"Fine, let's go interview his friends," Lisbon threw her arms in the air in defeat, "find out why he was at a cemetary."

"I already know why," Jane said condidently as Lisbon drove off.

"Care to share?"

"No..."