This piece has an episode tag to Episode 1X18, Russett Potatoes. This is my take on what happens after they all get off the roof with Lindsey Hendricks and Tiegler in custody, and before Rigsby finally returns to work, a day or so later.
The Mentalist: Red Fog
Wayne Rigsby stood at the entrance to the parking garage at the ModelLife building, staring out into the traffic whizzing by on the highway, thoughts racing through his head, not really seeing anything. An air of confusion sat heavy with him. He had come back to himself on the roof of this building, in the middle of…something—he couldn't say what, with a gun in his face. Just in time to arrest the dead girl's sister. The details of what happened were blurred— bits and pieces mixed up and floating around inside his head. Emotional flotsam, as it were. It was a weird feeling to think that a whole other life was going on inside his mind—and he only remembered that world when he couldn't remember this one. A vague sense of embarrassment enveloped him and he really wasn't ready to face the questions, or the gentle ribbing, of the other agents on his team. He had gotten his prisoner settled, in the back of the SUV, under the watchful eyes of his ever stoic partner, Agent Cho, and then moved away before the other man had a chance to strike up a conversation.
His thoughts were beginning to spiral out of control, and he was contemplating whether he would ever be able to face his team again when something bumped against his arm. He turned his head ever so slightly and glanced to the side to find Patrick Jane standing there next to him, looking out into traffic just as he was. Rigsby turned his eyes back to the traffic, unwilling to acknowledge the presence of the other man, and hoping if he ignored Jane long enough, their consultant would go away, and leave him to brood in peace.
Almost as if Jane read his thoughts, he said, "Sorry, Rigsby, but you don't need to do this alone, no matter how much you might want to. I thought you might appreciate the opportunity to ride back with me—so you don't have to answer questions you aren't ready to face yet, and you won't have to ride back with Rick Tiegler or Lindsey Hendricks."
"I thought you'd be the first to want to talk about what happened up there," Rigsby said, hating the insecurity and the petulance in his voice, and knowing Jane had heard it there.
"I do, but I'd like to give you some time to recover first, maybe take you somewhere where we'll be more comfortable, and give you a chance to eat something."
"And what if, after all that, I still don't want to talk about it?"
"I think you know—at some point, you'll have to talk about it—if not with me, with someone. That's the only way to get you back to being the Wayne Rigsby we all know and love. Besides that, if I know the government, you'll have to talk to someone eventually if you want to go back to work."
Rigsby was quiet for a long time, considering. Jane finally spoke again. "Listen, Wayne, I won't expect you to talk about anything you don't want to talk about in the car, or at all, before dinner. I will answer any questions you have before we get started, and I can promise you that anything you say won't go further."
Rigsby didn't have a chance to say much, as Lisbon spoke up from behind them. "Are you two ready to go? We need to get back to the office—we still have work to do tonight."
Jane gave her an odd look and she said, "Minnelli wants you to talk to Tiegler while he is being booked. He wants to be sure the man is properly un programmed before he leaves our custody."
"Dr. Daniel can do that. Rigsby and I may be a little busy." He looked at Rigsby, who nodded.
"Well, Rigsby has to report in as well. It's SOP in cases like this for the Professional Standards Unit to order a physical exam and drug test, and it has to be done within eighteen hours of the suspension. Dr. Morgan is expecting him to report in when we get back. If he doesn't, his career is effectively over."
"Fair enough."
He looked at Rigsby. "You heard the lady. It's time to go."
Rigsby followed Jane a little way down the aisle, to the Citroen. Jane climbed behind the wheel and watched him as he opened the door and got in, and when the door was closed, Jane pulled off into the night.
"Fasten your seatbelt," Jane said.
Rigsby pulled the belt across his chest and clicked it into the fastener. The trip back to CBI headquarters passed mostly in silence, and Rigsby was more grateful than he could express that Jane wasn't pushing him to talk. Grateful, that is, until the silence became too much. He had so many questions, but he also had a sense that something bad had happened on the roof, something involving him and Jane, and under those circumstances, he wasn't sure he should say anything. He spent most of the trip staring off into the night, trying not to allow his thoughts to spiral out of control once again.
Jane kept glancing over at him every few minutes, but he never said a word.
More to keep himself grounded and to fight the urge to just open the door and step out of a moving car in the middle of traffic than for any other reason, Rigsby finally spoke.
"Can I ask you a question?"
Jane's normal somewhat flippant reply of something like, 'you just did' died on his lips when he glanced over and saw the look on Rigsby's face. "Okay."
"What happened between us on the roof tonight?"
"Are you sure you want to talk about that here? Now?"
Rigsby nodded. Knowing was better than not.
"You tried to throw me off the roof," Jane said, matter of factly.
"I did?," Rigsby asked, horrified.
"You did, but it wasn't your fault. That was also part of what Lindsey told you to do.
When the light changed, Jane turned left into the parking deck and parked in the first spot he found. Motioning Rigsby to accompany him, he closed and locked the car doors and bounded lightly across the parking garage and into the CBI building.
Leaving Rigsby to talk to Cho and van Pelt, he walked straight into Lisbon's office and closed and locked the door behind him.
Nodding at Lisbon seated behind her desk, he moved the other chair in front of Lisbon's desk so that it was facing Tiegler's chair.
"Well, Mr. Tiegler, I'm supposed to talk to you to be sure you are no longer programmed. I have to say, I'm a bit surprised you didn't have Doctor Daniel do it for you."
Cho and VanPelt were processing the bookings for Lindsey Hendricks and Rick Tiegler, and doing their best to include Rigsby in the conversations they were having as they worked, but he was restless and having trouble focusing besides, so he ended up pacing back and forth in the bullpen area. When he ran out of room for pacing, he flopped down into a chair, and sat, watching Jane doing his thing in Lisbon's office.
A sudden bout of nerves welled up inside him as he realized that this was the same position he would be in a very short time from now. First, he wasn't actually sure how he felt about Jane. The consultant could be infuriating at times. Jane was always playing tricks or games, and he was sometimes blunt to the point of being embarrassing or hurtful. On the other hand, he had attempted to bond with all of them at some point or other, and there were times that they all had seen how much he genuinely cared for them. And, though he had embarrassed Rigsby when he told him, in front of the team, that he'd been hypnotized, Jane had also been very kind to him after the incident on the roof. Something inside Rigsby told him Jane could be trusted with this.
Second, the idea of hypnosis was okay, so long as it was done on somebody else. Rigsby's experience with hypnosis dated back to his college days, when his university had hired men like Jane, though far inferior in skill level, to come and entertain the students with a show once or twice a year. The hypnotist would call volunteers to come up on stage, and soon, they were strutting and clucking like chickens, doing their best (lousy) impressions of famous singers, or all manner of other humiliating things, and then they would come back to themselves with no recollection of what they had done. Those friends he had known who had participated had seemed okay with it, but he wasn't sure how he felt about doing embarrassing things he couldn't remember later.
His biggest problem with all of this, he realized, was the lack of control. He didn't like the idea of anybody, not even someone he mostly trusted, poking around in his head and having access to all of his most secret thoughts and feelings. Some things were still private, after all. Before he could take those thoughts further, he felt a hand on his shoulder and he jumped slightly.
"I didn't mean to scare you, son." Rigsby looked up to find a tall man with an athletic build and a mild southern accent towering over him. He stood and shook the hand the man offered to him.
Doctor Morgan spoke up, "I'm Doctor Phillip Morgan, Chief Medical Officer for the state of California law enforcement. Mr. Wayne Rigsby?"
Rigsby nodded.
"Regulations require suspended CBI agents and staff to submit to a physical exam and drug test if the PSU determines that it is necessary. I've come to escort you down to my office."
Without a word, Rigsby followed him, feeling the eyes of Cho and Van Pelt on him as the two men made their way through the bullpen and to the elevator.
(0o0)
Fifteen minutes later, Jane walked out of Lisbon's office and looked around.
"Where's Rigsby?"
"Doctor Morgan came to get him. Physical exam and drug test," Cho said.
Jane nodded. "Are you two finished with the bookings for Rick Tiegler and Lindsey Hendricks?"
"Almost."
"Good. When you finish, get out of here. It's Friday night. No sense in all of us being here all night." As he moved toward the elevators, he smiled as he heard Cho tell Van Pelt that they would check in with Lisbon before they just left.
Jane rode the elevator down to the first floor, and then walked down the hallway toward Dr. Morgan's office. When he got there, he opened the door and walked inside, right into a small waiting area. He settled himself into one of the chairs to wait for Rigsby.
He didn't have to wait long. A few moments later, the door opened and Rigsby walked out with Dr. Morgan behind him. "Hang on, and I'll walk you back upstairs."
"No need," Jane said, and both men looked up in surprise. "I'll walk Rigsby out."
Jane and Dr. Morgan stared at one another for a few moments, each taking the other's measure, and then Dr. Morgan nodded once and turned and walked back into his office.
Jane motioned to Rigsby and said, "Come on."
As they moved back toward the elevators, Jane spoke quietly. "It's up to you, Rigsby. You can come with me and we can get this over with, or we can see if Dr. Daniel is still upstairs. If he's not, we can arrange for you to speak to Dr. Carmen next week."
"I don't want to do this at all, but if I have to do it, I'd rather do it with you, I think."
"Okay." When they reached the bank of elevators, the two men entered together and Jane pushed the button that would take them down to the parking garage.
(0o0)
Two hours later, Jane pulled into a drive lined with trees, and then stopped. He got out of the car and motioned for Rigsby to follow. Rigsby followed him through the trees, until they came to a small cottage, sitting in a clearing. Jane didn't go inside. He walked around the house and out to the back. Rigsby's breath caught in his throat when he saw the cliff they were standing on. Jane put a hand on his shoulder to steady him.
"Easy, Rigsby. Why don't you get settled inside while I figure out what we're going to eat for supper?"
While he was speaking, Jane had led Rigsby to the back porch, stopping on the threshold of the back door. Rigsby nodded and disappeared inside.
(0o0)
Pots and pans were bubbling and simmering on the stove, and Jane was making tea when Rigsby came back into the living area, wearing sweatpants and a long sleeved t-shirt. Rigsby sat down at the small table and asked, "What's up with this place?"
"It belongs to a friend. I borrowed it for the night. I thought you might appreciate some privacy while we talk, away from the things that might cause added stress in this situation."
Rigsby nodded and didn't say any more.
Jane served a wonderful dinner of chicken parmesan with a side of spaghetti with red sauce and a small salad. He poured them both a glass of expensive chianti. When they had finished eating, the two men cleared the table together and then they set to work washing and drying the dishes.
When that was done, Jane motioned Rigsby to follow him and he walked all the way through the house and out the front door. They followed a path that led them down beside the house and a ways away from it.
"Where are we going?" Rigsby asked, curious.
"If this is going to work, you're going to have to trust me."
"I do trust you, but it would help to know what to expect."
Just then, the trees ended and the trail opened onto a wide stretch of sandy beach. Jane spread the blanket he was carrying out on the sand, in the middle of a loose cluster of rocks where they had some cover but still had a view of the ocean. Their little stretch of beach was nestled in between two really tall, sheer cliffs, rising up above them on each side.
Jane stretched out on the blanket and sat looking out at the ocean. He motioned Rigsby to join him. Rigsby sat down with his back against a rock.
They sat in silence for a moment, then without looking at Rigsby, Jane said, "I'm sure you have some questions. I'll answer what I can before we get started."
"Why me?"
"Convenience. You were the one assigned to interview Lindsey, so you happened to be the one she targeted."
"So if it were Cho or someone else interviewing her, she would still have managed to hypnotize them?"
"Maybe. That's hard to say." Seeing the look on Rigsby's face, he said, "You have a problem with that, do you?"
Rigsby shook his head. "Not really, no. I'm just disappointed in myself. As you said, up on the roof, I should have had my guard up. It shouldn't have been that easy to trick me. I have a problem with that. Then, the fact that I almost threw you off the roof is not a sterling mark of my character. You said no one could be hypnotized to act against their moral character. So, yes, I find it disturbing that I tried to do that."
Jane was silent for a few moments, his eyes now locked on Rigsby's, trying to decide how he wanted to say what he needed to say next.
"Listen, Wayne, the truth is that I can't tell you how Cho or Van Pelt or Lisbon or anyone else would react to Lindsey because they weren't there. Everyone reacts differently, and I suspect at least some of them may have had a similar reaction to yours. You had no reason to suspect her of even knowing how to do hypnosis—she was working as an event planner.
"As for the other, the truth of the truth is that if you had really wanted to throw me off the roof, you would have done so. You were struggling, yes, but that was mostly because she was telling you over and over to throw me off. You didn't do it. I'd say that shows who you really are."
"Can you fix this?"
"Fix is a word people use to describe something that is broken. You aren't broken. I do have some ideas about how to remove the suggestions Lindsey planted, if you'll let me."
"Okay."
Jane stared at him for a moment, and then said, "There's something else bothering you. What is it?"
Rigsby rose and paced to the edge of the little rock formation Jane had set them up in. He stood looking out at the water, listening to the waves.
"Just the idea of being hypnotized. I don't like the thought of doing things I won't remember later, and I hate the thought of losing control of myself."
"Sometimes, it's better not to remember certain things, but if it really bothers you, I can plant a suggestion that you remember everything, at a specific point. I don't want you to remember everything we do and everything that has happened tonight. You've been through an ordeal and you need time."
Rigsby nodded. "Not too long," he said, in a low voice.
Jane continued, not letting on that he had heard Rigsby. "The second part of your statement tells me you have the wrong idea about what hypnosis actually is. You are in control at all times. Even if I have some limited control, it is because you choose to give it to me. I won't ask anything more than I need to know to help you."
"Can I trust you not to make light of this later? I don't really want the team to know about this."
"That's why we came here. We could have done this at your house or at CBI HQ."
"What happens after—" Rigsby trailed off.
Jane rose and moved over to the younger man. He stood beside him, close but not touching.
"After this is over?" Jane asked. There was no response, but Jane sensed that was what he was asking. "Well, you'll probably want to sleep for a while. That's normal. You have all of this pent up tension and many different emotions all rolling around inside of you. When all of that is released, the body's response is generally to seek respite. I wouldn't be surprised if you sleep longer than you normally would."
"And later?"
"Later, we go back home and back to work, and eventually you make peace with all of this. I'll be there if you need to talk about anything."
"Okay."
Jane guided Rigsby back over to their blanket and moved around until he was standing in front of the other man.
"If you don't have any other questions, I want to talk to you for a moment before we get started.
Rigsby nodded.
"I suspect that I embarrassed you today when I told you that you had been hypnotized. That wasn't my intention. I want you to know that."
Rigsby knew that that was as close as the other man would come to an apology. He would take what he could get.
Jane continued. "I want you to try to open yourself up to me and to the idea of hypnosis. For hypnosis to work, you have to trust me and be okay with being hypnotized. Can you do that?"
"I can try."
"Fair enough." Jane knew that Rigsby was a bit nervous about being hypnotized, so he decided to take it easy on him and do an immediate induction. Without warning, Jane reached out and squeezed Rigsby's shoulder with one hand while his other hand caught the other man in the chest, putting him off balance and making him fall backwards. As he fell, Jane said, "Sleep."
As soon as Rigsby was lying on the sand, Jane said, "Deep breath in. And out. Again. In. And Out. Deeper and deeper now. You're falling further and further into a deep, relaxing trance state. When you feel fully relaxed, let your right arm rise up without any effort from you."
Jane watched as Rigsby's right arm rose up about six inches and floated in the air. Good. Very good, indeed. At a word from Jane, he lowered his arm back down to the blanket.
"How are you feeling?"
"Good."
"Good. You will remember everything we've done here tonight and everything that happened while you were hypnotized when someone squeezes your right shoulder."
Rigsby nodded. Jane continued.
"Now, you're going to stay in this relaxed state while we think about this afternoon, when you interviewed Lindsey Hendricks. You can watch the whole scene like it's a movie. You can fast forward, rewind, zoom in on anything you want to look at more closely. You are in complete control. Tell me what happened."
"Lindsey and I were talking—I was interviewing her, and she seemed nervous so I tried to calm her down. She squeezed my shoulder and took my hand and told me she would relax, and she told me about Dr. Daniel—that he was borderline abusive to the people who worked for him, that he was dating her sister, and then she told me I needed to meet her at the ModelLife center later that evening. She needed my help with something, but she didn't tell me what it was. She said she saw I liked to protect women. She said if you or Dr. Daniel tried to undo the trance, it would feel like you were hurting me. I'd get a splitting headache and feel like I was on fire."
Jane winced at that, hating that the other man had to go through that. Then he said, "All right, Wayne, I want you to let all of those things Lindsey said to you fill your mind. Let them all crowd in there together, behind your eyes."
Jane watched Rigsby carefully. Finally, he said, "Do you see them?"
"Yes."
"Good. Now I want you to paint them all black. All the same color."
There was silence for almost two minutes while Rigsby did what Jane told him to do. Jane sat watching him and could tell when he was finished.
"Now that all of those suggestions are one big black substance in your mind, I want you to picture it getting smaller and smaller, folding in on itself. See it start to spin, around and around. Faster and faster. Smaller and smaller. It's just the size of a pea now. And it's gone."
Rigsby jumped a little when Jane said the object was gone, as if it had exploded. He groaned and started rubbing his temples vigorously. Jane spoke again, in a voice that had a little extra comfort in it.
"Headache?"
Rigsby nodded.
"It'll pass. Just breathe. You are in a deep, relaxing, trance state, and everything's okay."
Rigsby took a deep, shuddering breath and lay still, his eyes scrunched up against the pain. Jane sat, whispering quiet reassurances to the other man, until after a time, his breath evened out and moments later, he opened his eyes.
Quickly, Rigsby sat up and moved until he was sitting with his back to a rock like he had been when they were talking. He looked up to find Jane watching him.
"Are we finished?"
"Yes, and we should head back up to the house. All of the stress of the past hours will hit you, sooner or later. We'll talk some more when we get there."
So, Jane folded up the blanket and they walked back up to the house together, and by the time they got there, Jane noticed that Rigsby was starting to drag just a little bit. He didn't say anything, he just followed Rigsby inside and watched to see what he would do next. Rigsby plopped down on the sofa and sat. Jane leaned on the doorframe, waiting to see if the younger man wanted to talk or simply wanted to go to bed and deal with further questions tomorrow. After a while, Rigsby spoke, seemingly talking to the air.
"Jane?"
Jane picked up one of the straight backed chairs across from the sofa, moved it over in front of where Rigsby sat and seated himself in it.
"Why don't I remember being hypnotized?"
"You were nervous about it, so I decided to make it easier for you. I did what is called an immediate induction. It involves shocking your system to the point that it would normally be in fight or flight mode, but an immediate induction bypasses that part, so that you go under instead."
"And that's why I woke up to find myself lying down and didn't remember you asking me to lie down?"
"Right. There are a couple of ways to do it, but that's about the fastest."
"So what's next?"
"We're finished, unless you have questions or need to talk about things later. I'd recommend you get some sleep. It's after 10. We'll head back after you wake up tomorrow."
Rigsby let out a big yawn. He rose and moved toward the bedroom where he'd stowed his things when they first arrived. At the door, he stopped and turned back.
"'Night, Jane. And thanks."
Jane nodded and watched as the younger man disappeared into the room he'd chosen. Then, Jane walked around making sure the house was secure, and turning off lights before he walked down the hall and into the second bedroom.