Disclaimer: I do not own any part of The Mentalist.

Author's Notes: Sorry for the wait for Chapter 4. :\ Had a lot to do, so it was delayed. Hope you enjoy this chapter, do leave a review, thanks. :D

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S01E04: Ladies In Red

The case was passed to them by Minelli with a strict order to close it quickly and without a fuss. So on the way to the crime scene, Lisbon had told him to behave in at least five different ways. She made it seem as though he was always causing trouble, but it wasn't always his fault that things could go wrong. She just liked to overreact, that's all. The inspector who received them won't pleased that the CBI was called in, and she wasn't happy about his stand that Jason Sands was still in his ransacked study. Picking up the little remote and quickly typing in a couple of top pass-codes choices, Jane explained his actions to the rest. Lisbon had seemed amused that he was punching in random numbers. But when the door to the safe-room opened, that amusement became seriousness and faded to disappointment when they found the body of Jason Sands.

The team stood in a row, observing the ongoing funeral. There was a possibility that the person who had tortured the poor man would be at the funeral, but no one stood out. Rigsby seemed to doubt it, but Jane told him to picture the large amount of people in front of them naked and ravenously hungry, which earned him a disgusted 'ew' from Van Pelt. He spotted something off with the lawyer and the widowed Mrs Sands, pointed it out to the team. He didn't get anything useful apart from that though. The two females left to go through the victim's computer files, hoping to find something. He earned a dollar from Rigsby with the promise of 'the secret of seduction', which led to a bet and him hitting on the widow. Lisbon was going to be pissed, but a hundred dollars and more were at stake here.

Getting told off by Minelli wasn't what he expected as a reaction from the widow. Lisbon glared at him while they were being lectured. It was full of promise for a day of ignoring and being irritable. He was a responsible person, he took care of things and admitted to mistakes he had made. In fact, he was claiming responsibility for the incident with Jennifer Sands. He grinned sa his bosses before leaving the break-room. He doubted Minelli needed to know that he took off the labels from the coffee pot, simply to reduce the amount of caffeine consumed by the unit and to annoy Lisbon.

The visit to the widow got him the information he needed for the investigation to proceed. Jason Sands was broke for years, but the ten million dollars in his personal account was interesting to look at, seeing as it was withdrawn a few months back. The team reckoned that the wife had the money, but he told them that she was penniless. They looked at him funnily and Lisbon asked if he was soft on Jennifer Sands. A slight flash of hurt appeared on her face when he said he was. Huh, she was worried. He relaxed back on his couch, shutting out everything else as he planned his course of action.

That night, Cho, Lisbon and him went to check out their new lead. Jason Sands' boat was the address for his private company. Quietly, they proceeded on the boat. He followed Lisbon closely, looking around at the tossed cushions and knocked down items. Deciding that there was no need for his presence on the boat any longer, he told Lisbon that he would be at the docks only to turn around to see a gun pointed at him. Risky business, police work. Lisbon came just in time to save his back again, not that he couldn't talk himself out of the situation. Back at the headquarters, Lisbon and Van Pelt were questioning Adrianna who just looked at them, clearly bored. Van Pelt got sent out and he took her seat. Adrianna had assumed he was gay, maybe it was the suit. He heard Lisbon choke back her laugh. The suspect had given them names. For a mistress, she cared for the little girl of the Sands' residence dearly. Lisbon had let her go, much to Rigsby's disbelief. He smiled at Lisbon when she said that there was no point in holding her in for pointing a gun at the consultant. He bet she thought he deserved it after the trouble he had caused her. Picking up his jacket, he announced that he was going to visit the widow again.

He was upset when he realised that the widow was the one who had done it, all for the sake of money. He hid his disappointment well as he spoke to her. The real shock came to her face when she found out her dead husband had another woman by his side. When she asked him if he could hold her, he was sorely tempted. How long has it been since he held a woman in his arms? Five years? He glanced at his wedding ring, remembering the vows that he had made on that day and said 'no'. as he sat looking out of the window, he blocked out the memories that came rushing back to him. His wife would have loved this house. Too bad, it was going to be put on sale soon.

When he walked into the Serious Crimes Unit, he spotted Rigsby retelling the tale of the arrest he just made and bragging to the others about being paired up with Van Pelt. He caught sight of the consultant and invited him over for his unfinished reenactment. Jane politely declined and when to the interrogation rooms. The two man that Adrianna gave them were dead ends, no point questioning them for more information. Then he got the call saying that Julie Sands had been kidnapped. Lisbon and him rushed over straight away.

They successfully found the girl and got her back. She was being kept in the hospital under observation, the Sands' lawyer was still in surgery which the doctors predict he won't make it out alive. He had another plan to unveil who the accomplice was, so he sent Lisbon to inform Minelli. He sat at Julie's little wooden table, waiting for the plan to unfold. Soon enough, Jennifer Sands rushed back and ransacked her daughter's toy box. He had her confessing, relayed the confession to Lisbon through a phone call. Imagine, torturing your husband for money. That was one thing he would never understand. He pointed out the location of the ten million dollars worth of diamonds hidden in the chandelier dangling over their heads.

Now he owed Rigsby a hundred dollars, but it was worth it. The diamonds and Julie were in the care of Adrianna, and they should be on their way to a little island now. Everything was settled. He looked through the shelves of the children's section of the nearby bookstore. Grinning, he pulled out a story book and brought it to the cashier. Lisbon would love this gift.

Lisbon ignored the footsteps that approached her desk. Only one person would enter without knocking and that was their one and only irritating consultant. He place a book on top of the report she was writing and waited at her. As she read the title, she held back a smile. It was Peter and the Wolf. He grinned and left her office.