Finally got chapter 2 up on this thing. I think I'm going to have fun writing this story. I hope you enjoy it! I still don't own The Mentalist! I wish I did, then I wouldn't be thousands of dollars in debt!

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Ch. 2 – Whirlpools

Back at the office, Jane's senses seemed dulled. Agents walked in and out in a frenzy trying to get the latest information on all the deceased and the incident, but Jane only saw blurs, silhouettes. And while he knew he had to stay updated on everything, his hearing only seemed to zone in on specific words.

"Officer Jenkins... shot... Red John..."

Those few words swirled around Jane's head over and over. Swirling faster until he felt as if his mind was caught in an endless whirlpool.

The rookie officer, still sitting in interrogation, was having his background checked out to the finest detail. His nerves never seemed to settle, even though he'd been asked to explain the situation well over twenty times now. And while he was nervous, his story never seemed to change or falter in the slightest. He'd strayed away from his partner, the hooded man came after him with a knife, and he shot him.

The woman, Jessica Byrd, worked in the building across the street. Her job was of no importance, she was a mother of two and worked as a pencil pusher. Cho and Lisbon had gone off to notify the husband and children. The man who'd made the call, Jeffery Faulkner, worked with Jessica on night shifts. He was a single man who'd moved to Sacramento from Seattle just a year ago.

The hooded man was Johnathan Smith. His record was clean, lived in the suburbs somewhere in Los Angeles. There wasn't much else on his file.

The information finally settled into Jane after Van Pelt had explained it for the sixth time to Cho and Lisbon when they had returned. Jessica's husband seemed to have been sound asleep before their arrival, but otherwise had no solid alibi for the time of the murder.

Those five words and the sight of the hooded man was still spiraling through Jane's mind, and he hadn't blinked much less moved from his spot on his couch since they'd gotten back to the office. Red John was a trickster, and smart. There had to be a loophole. This all had to be one elaborate joke he was playing to get everyone to let their guard down. Or to play a prank on Jane. After all, the woman he chose to kill looked almost exactly like his wife. His beautiful wife...

A gentle hand on his shoulder shook him from his thoughts, and he looked up to meet the concerned gaze from Lisbon.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just thinking."

"What do you gather from all of this?"

"I don't think that was Red John."

"A copy cat?"

"I don't know... Everything at the scene seemed to fit, but Red John wouldn't be foolish enough to get caught. We're missing something... I need to talk to that officer."

"Officer Jenkins? He's been sitting in interrogation for well over an hour now. He's told us the situation a dozen times now. We can't keep him in there forever asking the same thing over and over."

"I know, just let me talk to him one last time."

"Fine. I'll go in there with you."

Jane immediately took the only seat in front of officer Jenkins. Lisbon was sure if the room had been any smaller, he would have shoved her out of the way to get to that chair first. So she just stood an arms length from Jane.

"I'm sorry, Jenkins, but we're going to have to ask you what happened one more time."

Jenkins sighed loudly, the slight tremble in his voice still there.

"Look, I told you, I heard a noise. I accidentally lost track of my partner, so I followed the sound. Then I saw a man crouching over a dead body. He saw me, and came after me with the knife, so I shot him."

Something wasn't right, Jane could feel it. He was lying about something, but his mind was still foggy. He couldn't pinpoint what exactly he was lying about.

Jane could feel Lisbon's eyes burning into the side of his skull, waiting for him to ask something. Finally, as if her stare finally burned its way into the right spot in his head, he leaned forward and asked:

"How could you 'accidentally' stray from your partner?"