Chapter 15
The quote elaborates about the part of the episode where these insights start.
I do not own The Mentalist and make no money from this.
Season 2 Episode 2
"I was thinking that you sir, are a bumptious fool and exactly what training you have in forensic pathology…"
I was feeling loose-limbed and lithe, nice and foggy, the height of the fall was unpleasant to actually measure but it was easy to switch gears. Wonder why the nap I took in the car feels so good and smooth, haven't had this quality of sleep since years. Rigsby seems in an excellent mood, Van pelt is struggling with past memories of a trauma related to suicide and now this geeky Doc presents some entertainment. I feel like if I wave feelers in the atmosphere, all will be known at the merest flick, aerial dissonance and sonic disturbance. It's an old intoxicating experience. Easy to see through Doctor Nerdy Mcpants fawning over 'science' being his 'mistress' over here so I admit to reading minds. Being contrary is a fault of mine for others, I'm rather fond of it, so I always look to polish my habit. A heads-up to Lisbon and Van Pelt about his objectifying gaze is necessary. The well-intentioned idiot…
"Jane, Red John belongs to Bosco now. I don't like it either but you're gonna have to deal with it." Lisbon says tiredly. "Do you want a coffee, I want a coffee…" Jane pushes.
I don't mean it to come out as a threat but that's how it goes. It's Bosco's deception that give it away. He hid the new developments in the file like a lioness protects her cubs… How am I supposed to let that go? Keep losing focus and the Marley case doesn't seem to want to close. My hunches are taking time to prove and it's irritating. The earlier surety I felt is wearing thin. There doesn't seem anyone to blame it on. Lisbon just happens to be there when I snap a bit.
"Not much of a campaign slogan. 'Bateson, so tough on crime she puts the innocent behind bars'." Throws in Jane.
On the outside, it's 'Like Father Like Daughter' but Crew is a bulldozer, Bateson is a smooth sailor handling every storm with a curious diplomacy. There's a dangerous righteousness that comes from narcissism in her. Also she keeps hiding something about Marley, along with anger and sadness. Someone would give a lot to know what's going on in the CBI major crimes unit bullpen, I just have to find out who it is. A red glow awaits, embers afire in deep waters, for me to come back and I will, patiently in time.
"What loose ends? Him? What are you doing? No, don't tell me… I want this off my desk. Get Mcadoo to the DA tonight." Tempers Minelli.
First, his metaphor about walks, now this. If my hunch about the real perpetrator is right then Minelli will soon feel like a fool and regret putting pressure on us just because his precious and well-connected Crew is doing it to him. But Lisbon stays steady, taking back the reigns and my admiration rises as I'm taken aback. I can't recall if I have put in effort for creating contained messes and this is just her way to return the gratitude or there is another reason waiting to reveal.
She says she already regrets it but still keeps doing it again. For now it is a conundrum I can't figure out.
"And then I did what I always do when I'm in trouble. I called daddy." Grits Melinda Bateson.
And that's when it slides away. Her father's hand that had been needling her shoulder since the beginning of the confession. It's the length to which his love extends. It's disgusting to watch. She might have had her problems but when she needs her father, he is instead disappointed to be embroiled in this situation of his own creation. Cavillieri, the fixer is already dead and if I felt any guilt towards this person who had threatened to kill me, I no longer do. It was completely worth it to persuade Lisbon, Cho was easily onboard but uneasy, it niggled Rigsby to do it but he took it as a price of revealing the real killer; Van Pelt as expected was the least enthusiastic to my idea. I thought she would never go for it but I did it, I danced for her. Didn't really mind doing it either…
"You abused a corpse to get a confession." Minelli squinted his eyes. "Used a corpse, there's no 'ab'." Says Jane with a calm air.
"I'm appalled. I, I don't know what to say!" Blusters Minelli.
Yes, very obvious primary over reaction. Almost similar to Lisbon's. So it's amusing to hear her defend the action and idea in the aftermath. What she says is true, every bit of it. There's a law about obstructing the course of justice but that's all for the theatres of court to figure out. What shocks me even more is Lisbon. She reaches an imaginary line of belief for me and of tolerance for Minelli. I can't decide on her sincerity. Minelli accuses me of making Lisbon drink the 'Kool aid' it isn't just saying I tweaked her sense of principle. He's implying that I'm making her drink cyanide-laced Kool-aid like the Jonestown massacre, that I'm destroying not just a career but her as a person. It hits a nerve, I hang my head a bit ashamed and his hook willingly accepted, a bullseye on my jaw. It hurts worse than any punches my nose might have suffered in the past. It makes me stop, recaliber. It makes me afraid to death. The worst possible affront anyone can throw at me. Am I putting her in personal danger on account of my own desire? A thought so horrific I don't even want to think about it. But it's there, buried, a nightmare. So I recover my chase of the Blood Whale.