Jane sat at the hard, rotted picnic table, wishing he had his couch to lay on as he watched a kayak in the middle of the lake appear as if it were going to flip. He smirked, but it faded when he head Lisbon's footsteps approaching from behind him. Jane turned to face her. "Hello. Have a nice walk?" Lisbon flopped onto the bench at the table. She said nothing but a long exhale. Jane nodded in response to the silence as the agent pulled out her phone and began to text. After a few seconds, Jane was bored by her and looked over to Cho who sat reading in the shadows of a tall cedar.
"Whatcha reading?" He asked leaning over to see him clearer.
"dracuala." Though Agent Lisbon did not hear Cho respond and assumed Jane was talking to her.
"Oh you know just my love letters from Officer Walker." Jane had turned back to Lisbon and replayed what he heard under Cho's words and cocked his head.
"What was that about loving Officer Walker?"
"Get life." Lisbon gave him "whatever" look before becoming engrossed into her phone. Jane sighed, tapping his fingers on the dry wood of the table. The wind began to toss the oak branches above him, giving him intermediate shade from the toasty July sun.
"You know Cho, I have a few books I think you'd like." As Jane continued his conversation with Cho, whose voice was so quiet and monotone it nearly blended in with the wind and the music of the campground. But for Agent Lisbon it did. For a tree blocked where Cho was seated.
She continued toying with her phone, listening to fragments of Jane's words as she attempted to text Officer Walker to tell him what they were doing, but to her dismay there was no phone service this high in the sierras. "Damn't." She grumbled. Jane happened to be laughing at something the invisible Cho had said, and Lisbon flicked her eyes to him. "What?" Jane had already begun to respond to Cho and failed to hear Lisbon's irritated voice.
"Oh ugly, just so horrible and ugly." Jane said and Lisbon let out an annoyed and loud "hey!" He turned to face her.
"You rang?"
"Can you stop talking to yourself? I'm trying to actually do my job here." Jane looked puzzled.
"Talking to myself?"
"Or to the trees, whatever." Jane's brow sank.
"You know it's not very nice to refer to Kimball as a plant." Lisbon stared for a moment, before Jane leaned out of her view and pointed to the tree Cho was sitting behind. Lisbon scooted and looked surprised.
"Whatever. You're annoying me. Go have fun with yourself." Jane stared.
"You know how inappropriate that sounds, Lisbon." She looked up from her phone.
"Stop being immature. They have bikes for rent up at the store." Jane contemplated her words. The idea sounded more appealing than sitting around with no couch to lounge on, but the fact Lisbon had suggested it made him unwilling to check it out.
"Hey Cho," he called as he wandered over to him, unbuttoning the top part of his shirt for the heat was pounding on him. "Do they have bikes for rent at the store?"
"What did I just say?" But Jane ignored her and patted Cho on the shoulder, pausing for a moment to enjoy the shade.
"Thanks, what a good idea. You're a genius, Kimball." Jane avoided Lisbon's gaze as he passed her and began in the direction of the store. Lisbon watched him leave before shaking her head and walking to the van. "I'm going to try and get some service somewhere else, Cho."
"ok." She pushed through the bush that was blocking the van's door, hopped in and headed down the road.
The dancing water gently lapped against the side of the orange kayak. The joyful screams of children tubing echoed around them, the boats' wakes nearly threatening to tip the small boat. The sun melted down onto the sides of the kayak and caused Rigsby to yelp when his hand brushed against it while paddling.
"Ah." He sighed and looked back to Grace, whose end of the kayak was nearly in the air. When he noticed his brow rose. "Wow! I think I should have gone in the back." Grace raised a brow at him.
"I did suggest that back at the dock."
"Well, we can park at a beach and switch then." The two continued paddling and began to leave the middle of the small lake and make the dangerous journey to the long line of shore, where many private beaches rested in the kind shade of the looming pines and cedars.
"I, want,"
"Food?" Grace answered. Rigsby smiled.
"How did you know."
"I must be a genius I guess." Grace instantly regretted saying the F word, for she knew at any mention of the thing Rigsby's mind turned into a dog's and couldn't stay away from the matter.
"Mmm, cheeseburger and a milkshake…Hey, you know what," he let his paddle rest on his lap. "I never got my lunch! It's been, what, almost 5 hours since I've eaten…" Rigsby licked his lips. "I think I am going to die." Grace was quiet but for a long sigh, at which he turned to face her and continued his paddling.
"What?" Rigsby sensed her irritation and began to panic.
"Is there anything else that interests you besides food?" Rigsby went quiet. "Is that all you want to talk about, ever?" The couple was nearing shore, and as Rigsby's anxious mind was fluttering, Grace was directing them towards a cove where a small sandy beach sat.
"Well no…I could talk about how beautiful you are." Grace stopped paddling and smiled to herself as her heart danced.
"Let's stick with food then." Rigsby looked back to see her smile and shook his head.
"Nope, I like this topic better anyway." Grace looked away from him, blushing as the pair slowly cruised onto the small beach that was nestled in a small shadowed cove beside a quiet road that led to vacation homes along the lake.
Patrick Jane was smiling as he coasted down the shady road. The sun was calmer beneath the arms of the tall pines, and the sounds of the campground softened the further he biked down the freshly paved one way road. The leaves gently were tossed by the easeful summer breeze, and sprinkled the empty path ahead of him. The occasional roar from a boat off the water, and echoing voices from parked boats that were letting kids swim in the middle of the lake were the only sounds, putting his constantly thriving mind into a more relaxed state. There was no Agent Lisbon to threaten or insult him for simple jokes, just Patrick Jane and his bike.
As he rounded a corner and slowly peddled down a straight away, careful not to get his pants caught in the petals, he slowed. A piece of his curling hair was being pulled by a strap on his helmet. He stopped his bike beside a small shady cove and unbuckled the helmet. He winced as the hair was yanked from the strap. As he ran his fingers through his hair, he looked down to a beach below him. Two people sat hands together and laughing with one another. Jane smiled upon the young lovers when the two kissed. He didn't want to seem like a stalker, so he slipped his helmet back on. But just as he began to readjust his seating on the bike, he stared. The profile of the man looked a lot Like Wayne Rigsby. Jane stared for a moment, and then as the couple parted, he let out a surprised gasp. It was Wayne Rigsby, and Grace Van Pelt, kissing.
"Oh god!" He let out and threw his feet on the pedals and attempted to flee the scene for he had already embarrassed Rigsby enough for one day. He pushed the pedals as fast as he could, but he wasn't a bike person, and was unaware that the bike was set on its lowest gear, causing his rapid pedaling to do nothing but spin the pedals in circles, nearly keeping Jane in one place. He frantically looked back to the beach and when they began smooching again Jane let out a series of strange frustrated sounds. He began hitting his bike when it failed to move.
"Come on, come on!" He began pushing and flicking levers until the gears switched, and right as he thought he was okay to go his bike suddenly made a loud clinking sound. The gears were stuck. He let out a yelp and as he tried switching gears in attempt to get them unstuck, he froze. From the road behind him, his ears caught onto the sound of a car coming his direction, and coming fast. "Ah!" He shook his bike wildly as he groaned with an anxious tone. It became ride able again, but by the time he began to pedal he panicked, as the sound of the car grew louder. "Lisbon!" He called, for it usually got him out of trouble. However this time it ended up being an ironic thing to say. For as Jane frantically pedaled, losing his balance, a black van bombed down the road.
Jane looked back, horrified at the monster and before he could pedal one last time, the vehicle collided with his bike, and as he fell, he heard a familiar voice growl, "Move it Bitch!" His eyes looked to the woman's as he fell, and with horror he rolled away from the tires and was tossed down into a rain made crevasse on the side of the road. He panted and stared up at the trees above him. "Oh god, oh god." His hand began to burn as his blood dripped onto the dirt, he groaned and picked dirt and pine needles from his wound. After a few moments, he slowly rose, his head spinning and body aching from the speed of the collision. As he swaggered to his feet, the voice and the face of his hit and run attacker replayed in his frantic mind. "Oh god." Was all he could say, for his near death experience momentarily traumatized him, and it was even more traumatizing as he slowly realized that it was in fact, Agent Lisbon behind the wheel. "Oh god." This time, his words faded as he tried to walk, but his knees gave out on him and he fell onto the warm road, the sounds of the lake slipping away from him. "Oh g-…" Then he saw no more.