THE LAKESIDE KILLER

A/N: Warning - some coarse language in a small part.

The conclusion – Part 3

Lisbon's POV

She checked her phone as she entered the local police station behind Fischer. It was 3:32 am. They had just arrived from the scene, having debriefed the secondary team. She quickly checked for a text message from Jane. She'd sent him a few texts and hadn't heard back. She made a mental note to call the hospital in a few minutes to get a status on him.

She longed for a mirror to see what state she was in. The little mirror in the SUV was of little help. By the look on the deputy's face as they approached the intake desk, she must look a disaster. She hobbled over as best she could, her leg still feeling stiff. The bullet had torn her flesh and caused heavy bleeding, but in the end, it didn't require a hospital visit. The medic was able to treat it at the scene with a few bond stitches and some pain medication.

The Sheriff came to greet them immediately and led them to the observation room to watch the interrogation of Green that had started a few minutes ago. Green had been released from hospital an hour ago and brought here.

"He lawyered up right away. Wouldn't talk. But your guys are in there trying to get him to open up," said the Sheriff as he opened the door.

Immediately upon entering, she saw Jane's blond head through the two-way mirror, his hoarse voice permeating the room through the speaker. Her eyes darted to Fischer who also looked surprised. They had only been expecting to see Cho in the interrogation room, but Jane was there also. Only the back of their heads was visible, so she couldn't make out Jane's condition, he was supposed to be in the hospital getting treated. He was wearing what appeared to be an official navy-blue EMS shirt that was snug on his body, then she remembered that he'd given her his t-shirt when she'd been bleeding.

She listened to Jane on the other side of the two-way pane.

"… your smart, controlled, meticulous. Qualities to be admired in a man of your many talents. And I think you know that this is the end of the road… we don't need you to find your victims. I already know the location of one of them."

Green shrugged in defiance.

"The little island across from the one we docked for our day trip," Jane said, pointing to a location on the aerial map on the table. Green's eyes widened in surprise and his cheeks turned ruddy with anger. "Do you want to know how I know that?... You told me, that day."

She watched as Green clenched his teeth, anger radiating from his mighty frame, and shook his head in denial.

"Not with words, evidently. I'm telling you this, so you know that I know. So that we can have an honest conversation. You know that I'm right. Now… let's talk man to man here. I know things and I bet you're curious to know what they are. Well… are you… curious?"

Green just stared menacingly at Jane.

"Okay. You don't have to say anything. It's interesting, the path you took with your boat tonight," Jane said, moving his finger on the map over the markings in red that Wiley had drawn. Jane must have seen something in Green's eyes because he paused his finger on another spot. "Ah… another body on this island."

She leaned in closer to the two-way pane and watched Green's eyes pop in surprise, his lip curling in a sneer, his fists balling on the table where he was handcuffed. Jane took his pen and circled the island, then he leaned back in his chair and Cho did the same.

"You're upset that I'm finding them. Feel like I'm reading your mind. But I'm not. But here's the thing, Bentley… I already found two. You took an FBI agent hostage and shot another. You're going to prison. The only thing you can do now is tell me what you want to tell me anyway.

He paused to give Green time to consider his words, then continued.

"Maybe Cho here can put in a good word for you with the D.A. and get the death penalty off the table. I'm sure they'll be happy to cooperate if you give the family of the victims some closure, save some resources by telling us exactly where on these islands we can find the bodies, save the state from having an expensive trial."

Green pursed his lips in insolence.

"There's also your daughters to consider. You can save them the shame of having to have their names dragged through the media."

Green's face contorted in pain and shame when his daughters were mentioned. Jane had hit a nerve and he pursued it.

"They're quite lovely your daughters. Well-mannered, smart, strong and they adore you. You see Bentley, I know that you're a good man. You have your demons, but you never touched your daughters or John's. You restrained yourself and did right by them. Only a good man could raise such wonderful daughters."

"I would never touch a child!" Green shouted. "The women were whores. They got what they deserved. But I would never touch a child! Never!"

"I never doubted that about you, Bentley," he continued with a steady gentle voice.

Fischer, the Sheriff, and she all looked at each other at the same time excited that Green had finally spoken and nodded with relief.

"Okay, Patrick," Green enunciated Jane's name with bitterness. "I will tell you where to find the whores. But I want it made clear that I never touched a child you hear me? And I want the death penalty off the table."

Cho took out his notepad as Green started pointing on the map where they could find the bodies and what he knew of his victims. He described in detail how he abducted, assaulted, and killed them. Her stomach was churning, and she knew that listening to Green describe his murders was killing Jane. She sat in a chair, feeling exhausted all of a sudden. She hadn't noticed Fischer leave or come back with coffee for her.

"How's Jane doing you think?" asked Fischer.

"He can't be in a good place right now," she said unable to suppress her frown.

Fischer gave her a knowing look and she cringed inside. Up until this moment, she'd forgotten that she'd been outed by Green during the confrontation and that Fischer had heard her tell Jane that she loved him. Her blood chilled at the thought that he'd watch her and Jane having sex. It made her skin crawl.

"You should call it a night, Lisbon."

"You mean morning," she chuckled mirthlessly. "I'm going to wait for Jane to make sure he's okay."

She was about to get up to go to the washroom when she heard her name mentioned by Cho. He asked Green why he'd come after her… she wasn't a whore. His lips broke into a sinister smile.

"She was meant to be mine," she heard him say wistfully. "She loves to get fucked hard, she's the type… right Patrick? I saw that hickey you gave her, marking your territory because you knew that I was a threat. She wanted me, and you couldn't stand it. She was about to let me sample her that night before you showed up." – Green leaned on his elbows on the table and smiled cruelly, his eyes beady and focused on Jane. – "I watched you fuck her the morning of the party," he said chuckling. "She had your jizz inside her and she wanted mine. That's a whore if I ever saw one and I was simply going to give her what she wanted."

Her stomach flipped and threatened to show its contents. Fischer put a comforting hand on her arm. She saw Jane's shoulders tense and then relax.

"FBI agent or not… she's a whore. The plans I had for her… she would have been begging me for more. She missed out," declared Green as leaned back in his chair in satisfaction, contentment on his face as he appeared to be fantasizing about it.

Cho slapped the table and commanded his attention. Jane and Cho made a great team. She loved watching them work together, but this was hitting too close with her being the subject of the conversation. She remained stoic and did her best not to betray her strong cop facade.

As the interrogation continued, more disturbing information came to light. He used chloroform to subdue his victims. Her gut wrenched when she remembered smelling a sweet scent in the air when he'd crowded her behind the cabana the night of the party, and now knowing it had been chloroform. Jane had been right, he had been planning on taking her that night. Jane had saved her life. She fought the tears springing to her eyes as she remembered their fight after. She'd been wrong.

He'd also been right that she'd become part of his fantasy… Green said that he knew he would eventually get caught for taking her, but that he couldn't help himself. His plan was to enter the bunkhouse with a stolen key and take both of them. He said he wanted to try something different this time… he was going to make Jane watch what he did to her which he described in great detail.

"The recovery team just finished the search of the cabin," said Fischer, breaking through her thoughts as she relayed the info she was hearing from the team leader on the phone. "The cabin was set up with torture in mind… he'd brought food to last for a few days, there was a big dog cage with a lock, a video camera pointed at the bed, and outfits that resembled what teen girls would wear."

A chilled overtook her body. Fischer raised her eyebrows at her and gave her a triumphant look as her conversation continued with the leader on the phone. She nodded at her.

"We got him, Lisbon. They found video footage of his victims on a flash drive under the floorboards. I'll text Cho."

It was another hour before the interrogation ended. She rushed in the hall to meet Jane as he came out of the interview room behind Cho. She stopped dead in her tracks at the look on his face. He looked haggard and tired, to be expected, but his eyes held a warning in them. Her heartbeat picked up speed and her breathing came in faster. Something was wrong. He brushed past her not making eye contact with her.

"Hey," said Cho, grabbing her attention. "When did you get you here?"

"A long time ago," she said distractedly. "Just give me a minute."

She followed Jane and stopped him down the hall.

"Hey, are you okay?"

He looked at her and then at Cho down the hall.

"I need to clear my head. Go for a walk. Are you okay?"

She nodded and took his hand, squeezing it. His eyes were red-rimmed from extreme exhaustion. She longed to hug him to her, but it could wait until later. They could talk when they were alone at the hotel.

"I'll see you at the hotel, okay?"

He nodded.

"I love you," she whispered.

He smiled sweetly at her, his eyes caressing her, and let go of her hand. She watched him go, then went back to see Cho.

"Is he okay?" he asked.

She nodded. "He just needs some air."

Cho exhaled and gave her a pointed look.

"Look. The man's a creep. Nobody's going to believe what he said about you or Jane. I'll make that clear in the report and the record."

She nodded, thankful for his friendship and loyalty.

"We have more than enough evidence to convict with his confession alone."

Fischer arrived beside her then and they started discussing the interrogation and updating Cho on the recovery team's efforts at the cabin. The forensics teams were also on their way to search and recover the bodies of the victims. It was another few minutes before they decided to break for a few hours and get some much-needed rest and regroup after lunch.

Jane's POV

His heart was racing, his throat hurt unbearably, and his head was pounding like a jackhammer. The air was warming up in the early morning sunshine and the light was burning his eyes. His thoughts were swinging from one extreme to the next and he couldn't control them. It made him feel disorientated. Green was evil and having to listen to him describe his plans for Teresa had cut him so deep that he felt like it would be embedded in his psyche forever. Pretending to understand him and sympathizing with him had made him feel sick.

It had taken all his energy, self-control, and bio-feedback methods to get him through that interrogation. He couldn't lose his cool, he had to make sure that the interview was beyond reproach and that they got the evidence they needed to make sure that Green went to prison and could never put his plans for Teresa in play.

He was walking aimlessly he realized, the police station out of his view. He looked around… he needed to lay down. He found a bench in the park nearby and went to sleep.

"Sir. Sir. Sir. Wake up, sir. You can't sleep here," he heard. "Sir. Wake up."

He opened his eyes, the bright sunshine blinding him. A patrol officer was shaking him awake. He sat up and stretched.

"Wait. You're the guy I'm looking for. Are you Patrick Jane, sir?"

"That depends on who's asking," he answered.

He heard him talk on his radio.

"Your team has been looking for you, Mr. Jane. Come, I'll bring you to them."

He got up and exhaled. Now that he'd slept for a while, he felt more in control of his thoughts. But he felt immediate anxiety at the mention of joining the team, more specifically Teresa.

"That's okay," he said to the officer. "I'll meet up with them later."

He took off down the path that led to a waterfront. The air was cooler near the water and fresher. The birds were singing loudly and the noise of chatter from passers-by soothed his brain like white noise. He turned off his phone without checking it, knowing that the team was trying to get in touch with him. He took off his shoes and walked in the water for a while remembering the peace he had felt on the island.

He'd been bored during his exile… but after this operation, he decided that boring was all that his heart could handle. A thought presented itself to him and he couldn't ignore it once it took root. Maybe he was too damaged by his trauma to be able to handle all the highs and lows that came with being in a relationship with Teresa.

He wanted her to go to D.C. and to be fulfilled with her career, but he knew that he'd worry about her safety constantly and he didn't like feeling all the negative emotions he'd been having since they'd become lovers like jealousy, possessiveness, anger, fear. Those feelings had been there to some degree in the past, but there were in sharp focus and intensity now, making him feel less in control, which he hated.

The other option wasn't more appealing… if she stayed and they continued to work together, his love and need for her would grow even stronger than it was now, and he'd have to watch her put her life in danger. How could he survive losing her? He had to end things between them, for his own sanity and to ensure he wouldn't hurt her. He needed to return to an even equilibrium… he had been good without her before and he could return to that state again.

She looked at Jane's empty couch. It has been eight long and lonely days since she'd last seen him. Her heart constricted with pain and anger at the same time. Today was her last day and lots of friends and colleagues were dropping by to chat and wish her well in D.C.

Her phone vibrated, and she snatched it out of her purse in the hopes that it was Jane. She'd spent the last few days trying not to think about him or wondering if he was okay or in pain somewhere. He was ghosting her, and it hurt like hell.

Her heart sank in disappointment; it was her brother checking in on her. Her thumb hovered over Jane's name, part of his text visible as a preview. She knew what it said by memory.

Sorry. I thought I could do this, but I can't. Taking some time to figure things out. Take care of yourself in D.C. Don't work too hard. You deserve to be there, you have nothing to prove.

She'd kept reading it, hoping for a different result, but it of course always stayed the same and as the days continued to stretch ahead with no word from him, her sadness was replaced with anger at being left again. She exhaled, tired of the weariness that had settled in her bones and the hopelessness she felt with Jane. She shook her head and squared her shoulders, remembering where she was and to keep her melancholy and tears for when she got home.

She looked around the bullpen. It was life as usual again. But she couldn't get back into the swing of life like the others. She missed him with an ache she couldn't describe. She was moving in two days and he was gone. She was confused and hurt.

She grabbed the last of her files and brought them to Fischer, saying her last goodbye before she left. As she walked back to her desk, his couch was in her line of sight and she felt a sob threaten to break free at the thought that this would be the last time she'd see it or him. She swallowed over the lump and picked up the leftover cake from her going away celebration and put it on Wiley's desk. He gave her another hug and wished her well. She made one last round to say goodbye to Cho and Abbott, then grabbed her box and went home.

As she pulled into her driveway, she was surprised to see Marcus on her doorstep.

"Hey… what are you doing here?"

"I missed you. I hoped that we could just talk."

"Marcus, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Please… let's just talk a bit."

She opened the door and he followed her in. He smiled, but his eyes were sad. He was easy enough to read, unlike Jane. It felt good to be with someone that was simple and straightforward… that's what she had liked most about Marcus… she felt in control of herself and her emotions. Felt sure and confident.

She offered him a beer out of habit and he accepted. She took one for herself and sat beside him.

"What's up?" she asked, sipping at her beer.

"I heard that you didn't cancel your transfer. You're still going to D.C."

"It's a great job. There's nothing for me here really."

"Teresa. I don't think we should give up on what we have. I know you say you don't feel what you think you should for me… but I think my promotion rushed you and we moved too fast. I'd like a chance to keep dating you in D.C. I still think there's something good between us. That it can be what you want it to be if we take the pressure off."

"Marcus…"

She didn't know what to say. She was back in the same situation she'd always found herself in with Jane… waiting, hoping, not getting what she needed… living in limbo. He was gone. He'd left her.

'Okay,' she found herself agreeing, but regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth. She loved Jane. She wanted him… why did he have to break her heart. Why did she continue to let him hurt her?

They drank their beer together, chatting easily. She drank up his smiles, soothing to her nerves. He was so easy to get along with. Why couldn't she love him? Her life would be so much simpler. And then she thought… why not him… she'd never get over Jane. Another man wouldn't change that. So, why not Marcus… why not hang onto him. Jane seemed to be able to love her and leave her with such ease. He'd done it so many times over the years. She'd broken up with Marcus as soon as she got home after the case and here he was, fighting for her, for them. Jane wouldn't even answer a text. Her heart ached.

"Are you okay?" he asked her gently.

Her thoughts must be betraying her. She needed to be alone to think.

"I'm just tired, I guess. Mind if we cut this short. I need a shower and my bed."

He nodded, and she walked him to the door. He was standing on the threshold when he leaned in to kiss her. She hesitated but then decided to let him kiss her, curious to see if she could feel something for him. He kissed her sweetly at first then deepened the kiss, sweeping his tongue in her mouth. She felt nothing. Disappointed, she broke the kiss and said goodnight, then froze.

Jane was standing there watching them with a disdainful grin.

Jane's POV

His hands were painfully crushing his fingers in his fists. He could feel heat flush his skin and his nerve endings prickle. Teresa was making out with Pike, the speed at which she'd jumped back into bed with the guy making him nauseous. His head was buzzing. He forced himself with great willpower to get his body under control, so he could get through the next few minutes with his dignity because he couldn't just walk away now that she'd seen him. He became aware that his lip was hurting and realized that his teeth were painfully biting the inside of it. He forced his body to relax. His years of living the con didn't let him down as he made his approach, confident that he was projecting an air of nonchalance.

"Oh – Hi Patrick. Didn't realize you were coming by tonight," Marcus said, clearing his throat and standing by Teresa.

He smiled and surprised himself how easily it came. He raked his eyes over her. She looked tired. As his eyes met hers, he also saw her surprise switch to anger then sadness.

"It was meant to be a surprise. Looks like I came by just in time."

"This is not what it looks like," she said quickly.

"Oh… he didn't just have his tongue in your mouth just now?"

"Hey, what's your problem," Pike said.

"Marcus, it's okay. You need to go; Jane and I need to talk."

"You're my girlfriend, I'm not leaving until I know why he's acting like a jerk."

"Your girlfriend?" he asked looking at her.

"Do we have a problem, Jane?" Pike said annoyingly.

"No problem. There was a bit of confusion between Lisbon and I, but now that I know where I stand, I'll be going."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Pike asked confused looking from him to Teresa.

He turned to go, and Teresa rushed towards him.

"Jane! Don't go, please," she said.

She reached for him and dropped her arms when he turned.

"What is going on here?" Pike came behind her and put his arm around her waist.

"Jane, we need to talk," she said again, ignoring Pike's question.

His skin felt tight and uncomfortable as his gaze settled on Pike's hand on her waist, holding her possessively. She made no move to remove it. His breathing picked up speed again, his anger flashing to the surface.

"I think we've covered all there is to talk about don't you, Lisbon? And besides, I'm not into sloppy seconds, unlike Pike here… or didn't you tell him?"

Pike punched him square in the nose and he welcomed the pain. It was better than the ache in his heart knowing that he'd lost her. He smiled, the blood dripping in his mouth as he retrieved a tissue from his pocket. Teresa had inserted herself between them and yelled at Pike, 'What's wrong with you?'.

"Me? What the hell is going on here?" Pike asked Teresa.

She turned to him. He caught her gaze and knew that his words had hit their target and detonated on her. But he didn't feel better, he felt ashamed. He could see tears in her eyes as she wiped away at her cheeks. He needed to go and fast.

"I wish you all the best… both of you."

He made it half-way down her driveway before she caught up with him.

"Jane! Please, stop pushing me away. Let me explain."

"Explain? How? I just drove 16 hours to come see you and he has his tongue down your throat. A week ago, you were in my bed and said you were mine."

"And then you left me! AGAIN! No word… not answering my text, my phone calls, my voicemails. Nothing except a brush-off text!"

"So, you just turn around and jump in bed with him," he said louder than expected.

Pike came towards them again and she put her hand up for him to stay back.

"I didn't sleep with him! And even if I did, so what? You lost the right to be upset when you left! You broke up with me for god sakes… by text! You have broken my heart more times than I can count. I let Marcus kiss me because I was hoping that I could feel something, anything for him. But I don't, because I love you… YOU! I love you and it hurts. Every time I get too close, you hurt me."

Her shoulders slumped in defeat, her tears flowing without restraint. He reached for her, but she disengaged before he could make contact, backing off.

"I'm sorry, Teresa. I love you. I-"

"No! No more. I can't. Your kind of love just hurts too much. Leave me alone, Jane!"

She retreating quickly, entering her home and closing the door on both of them.

A/N: That hurt... but the next installment is the final part of the story and you can look forward to a happy ending! I'm hoping to have it up by Sunday night.

As always... drop me a line in the reviews. I love them. :-)