Hi to all my wonderful readers! If you got a chance to see last night's episode, called Fugue In Red, I hope that you will agree that it was super fantastic! And, if you have to wait to see the season, know that it is an episode well worth watching and will have some good Jane/Lisbon moments. At least from my perspective. Continuing, now for the latest chapter in my story, ENJOY!
Oh, and I want to just say ahead of time that I am not completely familiar with Park Service, etc. procedure, so if the title of Ranger is incorrect, or if anything else is wrong, I apologize.
Needless to say, Lisbon and Jane made up that night, and the next day they quickly moved the rest of Jane's stuff over to her apartment, the two of them discussing the case as they went. They tried to make sense of the case, but Lisbon, who made a couple calls that morning, was still waiting to hear from people who worked at the Park Service and people who were doing a background checks on Mr. Lampton, Helen and Sarah. She had also sent the t-shirt in for testing, but that would be a little while in getting those results back.
Finally, she got a call back from the Park Service while they were driving to the park itself. The guy offered to meet them there, so when they arrived at the area Mr. Lampton had given them directions to, they found a Park Ranger waiting for them.
He walked forward to greet them. "Hello. I'm Timothy Simpson, I work mostly in this area. You must been Agent Lisbon and Mr. Jane. You said you had a suspicion that a girl had been kidnaped in this area?"
Lisbon shook his hand. "Yes, her stepfather reported it to us."
"But we have not gotten any reports from any person in this area of a missing person."
Jane stepped forward. "Actually, her stepfather was with her at the time, in a tent right next to her's, so I would say he was pretty accurate in his assumption that she was missing."
Ranger Simpson looked shocked. "Then I will need to meet him and get a full case of the situation so we can begin canvassing the area for her in case she is still in the park."
"I will put you in touch with him, but we will need to be involved with this investigation as we highly suspect that she is no longer in the park, thus it will be our job to find her. Now, could you lead us to campsite 163, please?"
"Of course, it is right over here." Lisbon followed Ranger Simpson, while Jane headed off in the opposite direction to do, well, whatever Jane did.
The tents were still up and everything like it was when Mr. Lampton got up. Thankfully, the local wildlife had not decided to see about treats in the tents, and so the site was fairly undisturbed.
Ranger Simpson answered Lisbon's questions about how many people were have been in the area, how hard it was to get to the site from any direction beside the main path, and about if there were any caves or shelters close by.
She learned nothing too helpful. It still looked like the girl was kidnaped and take away in a vehicle. Ranger Simpson was
While Lisbon focused on the boring, useful, regular police work part of the case, Jane was off on his own adventure. He went on all fours looking under bushes, stood up straight to look in trees and then proceeded to try out his bird call(actually sounded like a moose during mating season), but was unable to find what he wanted.
Not swayed away from his train of thought, he headed through the bushes and around the trees to the campsite that Lisbon was currently investigating, hoping perhaps that the clue he was looking for would be there.
Lisbon was carefully examining Sarah's tent, looking for any traces of the blood that was on that shirt. So far, she had found none, and that was bugging her. She had so far not found any blood, in the tent, on the tent, on the ground, no where. She would have thought that there would have been a small trace, but everything looked clean and fine.
Ranger Simpson was using his radio to see if anyone had seen anything suspicious, and if they could be of help to meet them at the campsite. Lisbon appreciated his help, and only hoped that it would not be a waste of time.
Suddenly, they heard a yell and the two of them ran over to a large tree. Jane was standing right behind it, holding something in his hand, a look of elation on his face.
"Jane, what's wrong?" Lisbon asked.
"Nothing, Lisbon, nothing at all. But I just confirmed my theory. Now, just a few more pieces and we can wrap this case up."
"What did you find, Mr. Jane?" Ranger Simpson asked.
Jane pocketed the small item that he had been holding, his grin never leaving his face. "Sorry, I can't give away the ending. Besides, it would take too long to explain its significance. For now, Lisbon, I think we need to talk to Helen. We need to break the news to her about her daughter, and get her side of the story." He began to head towards the main trail.
"But, Jane, we still have to finish looking at this scene. Don't you want to look through everything?"
"No, not really. It is just a campsite, Lisbon, not that important. Now, to the car!" And with that, he walked away.
Lisbon was tempted to yell at him to stop, but she trusted that he must have found something good. Besides, this was not an official case, so they did not have to do things by the book. She thanked Ranger Simpson for his help, and told him that he could call the other rangers and tell them to just go back to work, and she would call him if they needed anything else.
When she got to the car, Jane was staring out the window with a contemplative smile on his face, deep in thought. She wanted to ask him what he was thinking, but she was not in the mood for some riddle-like answer. Instead, she just started the car and they pulled away and towards the address that Mr. Lampton had given them for Helen's house.
Merry Christmas, everyone! I know, not the most exciting chapter, but I have to build up the mystery. So, please REVIEW, and until next chapter, Li Li.
