A/N: I know what you're thinking. A year and finally an update? I'm trying to finish this fic. It's been gnawing at me for so long and I'm determined to finish this for Cat and for all of you lovely readers. My suggestion is to go back and re-read the first four chapters. I did a complete overhaul of the fic. Nothing has changed but I am a lot happier with the edits. Thank you for all of your patience, it's much appreciated. Special thanks to Tracie for continuously to motivate me. Reviews make me happy. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Four seasons in and still nothing belongs to me.

Chapter 5: Looney Bin

"Allyson McCreedy! Ma'am, it's the police!"

"She's not here," Jane chirped.

Refusing to let his comment deter her efforts, she peered through the peephole of the midsized brownstone. She rang the doorbell three more times.

"Dammit," she muttered under her breath.

"I told you so."

"You're not helping. And how did you know she wasn't home?"

"ESP," he answered breezily.

Lisbon couldn't stop her eyes from rolling.

"You had Van Pelt call ahead, didn't you?"

"If her career as a travel agent doesn't pan out, she'd make a great telemarketer."

"How many times…"

Her rant was abruptly cut short when a yellow convertible pulled up behind their parked rental car. A little boy, bearing a strong resemblance to Max, jumped out of the backseat while a woman emerged from the driver's side. Although she was blonde, the similarities between her and Allyson McCreedy ended there.

"Judging by your silence," Jane whispered, leaning in over her shoulder, "my guess is either aliens have landed and they want us to take them to our leader or the owners have returned to their humble abode."

Lisbon didn't entertain him with a response as she made her way down the steps towards the woman.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

The blonde immediately looked up at Lisbon with inquiring hazel eyes.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm Agent Teresa Lisbon," Lisbon introduced, flashing her badge before pointing behind her. "Patrick Jane. We're with the California Bureau of Investigation."

"California?"

"Lisbon…" Jane interjected in a sing-song manner.

"We're looking for Allyson McCreedy," Lisbon continued, ignoring Jane. "We'd like to speak with her."

A lengthy, uncomfortable pause followed.

"Sweetie," the blonde said cheerfully, turning to the young boy at her side, "why don't you go inside and play with your toys, okay?"

With a loud sigh, Max eyed Lisbon wearily before grabbing the keys from the woman's open palm. Lisbon heard Jane and Max exchange pleasantries before the little boy disappeared inside.

"Lisbon…" Jane piped up again.

"This is some kind of sick joke, right?" the woman demanded frostily.

She had her arms crossed over her chest as she glared at Lisbon who was surprised at the blonde's sudden one-eighty.

"Excuse me?"

"My sister has been living at Palmerema Grove for the past two months."

"Palmerema Grove?" Lisbon repeated, puzzled.

"Uh, mental institution," Jane supplied enthusiastically, before the woman could. "It's a mental institution."

Slowly, Lisbon turned and stared at Jane who looked completely calm.

"You have a lovely little garden here, Ms. McCreedy" he commented, pausing to sniff the air. "Do I smell wintersweet?"

April McCreedy poured two cups of tea, guiding one into Jane's hands before giving the other to Lisbon. She had invited them inside, after Jane had bonded with the woman over flower beds and offered her some landscaping suggestions.

"Ah, peppermint," he sighed happily. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," April replied.

Nervously, she tucked a strand of long blonde hair behind her ear before turning to Lisbon.

"I'm sorry for how I reacted earlier. It's just Ally took care of me growing up when our parents passed away. She was my big sister."

"Ms. McCreedy," Lisbon started gently, not wanting to upset the young woman. "You refer to your sister as though she's already dead."

Sighing deeply, April settled into the armchair across from the sofa they were currently occupying.

"She might as well be. After the accident, she changed. She can't even remember her own name. It's all been really hard on the family, especially on Max."

"You live here with Max now?"

April nodded her head.

"So, Issac's really dead huh?"

"I'm afraid so," Lisbon answered.

"Well, that bastard deserved it for what he did to Ally and Max."

"He was stabbed multiple times, had his eyes gouged out," Jane said nonchalantly.

"Oh God."

"Jane," Lisbon chastised.

"C'mon Lisbon, we're wasting our time. It's obvious April didn't kill our esteemed professor. She was here taking care of her nephew. Pointless questioning her."

"Wait, you thought I killed him?" April demanded, wide-eyed.

"Ms. McCreedy, we need to consider all possabilities," replied Lisbon patiently. "Do you know anyone who may have wanted to hurt Mr. Greene, I mean Mr. Greenstein?"

"Only one. That psycho ex-girlfriend of his."

"Does this girlfriend have a name?"

"Alexis something, I can't remember. All I know is that when Issac bailed, she left not long after."

"You wouldn't happen to know where we could find her."

"Not a clue," April shrugged.

"Well, if you remember anything, please feel free to give me a call," Lisbon said as she handed over her card. "Thank you for your time."

Looking over at Jane, Lisbon found him staring blankly ahead. She nudged him with her foot, snapping him out of his trance-like state.

"Oh yes, thank you."

He rose to his feet before turning back around.

"If I could offer some advice, April, let go of your anger towards your brother-in-law. It's not healthy for you to be so embittered, especially now that you're trying to raise an impressionable boy like your nephew."

Smiling apologetically at a completely unamused April McCreedy, Lisbon dragged Jane by the arm out the door and led him back to the rental car.

"What the hell was that?"

"I was just speaking my mind."

"What you said was inappropriate. And what happened in there? You completely spaced out on me."

He hesitated a moment before removing his sunglasses.

"Thinking dirty thoughts," he replied with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Tell me."

"Maybe later, I'm tired."

She tweaked him on the nose.

"Owww, woman, must you always resort to violence?"

"Tell me, now."

"I'll tell you when we get to Palmerema Grove."

"Okay I'll bite. Why are we going to Palmerema Grove?"

"To talk with Allyson McCreedy, of course."

"You heard her sister. McCreedy suffered permanent brain damage. What's she going to tell us?"

"Don't know yet, hence why, we need to ask McCreedy herself. If you're too tired to drive…"

"You've conveniently forgotten that you're blind."

"Minor details. Besides, I expect you're better at directions than Van Pelt. She's a whiz on a computer but her navigational skills leave a lot to be desired."

"Now I know why Minelli wanted you to come with me."

"I'm blind, Lisbon, not deaf."

Lisbon rolled her eyes as she pulled out her cell phone.

"Van Pelt."

"I need you to track down a woman named Alexis, no last name," Lisbon ordered, skipping the pleasantries. "She's an ex-girlfriend of Greene. I'll call if we find out more information to narrow the search. Anything new from forensics?"

"We're supposed to be getting DNA results but the lab won't specify when."

"Get a hold of J.P. and tell him that Teresa wants to call in the favor he owes her."

"Got it, boss."

"Oh and Van Pelt? Don't do everything Jane tells you to."

Ending the call, Lisbon entered Palmerema Grove into the GPS unit.

"Well that was rude," Jane commented.

"She'll live. What I don't get is why you didn't just tell me Allyson McCreedy was at Palmerema Grove in the first place."

"I didn't know she was there."

"But you had Van Pelt check to see if McCreedy was home."

"And she wasn't."

"Then how did you know Palmerema was a mental institution?"

"With a name like Palmerema Grove, it was either a mental institution or a retirement home."

Lisbon glared at him dubiously.

"You can keep glaring at me all you want, Lisbon, I still can't see you."

"Why couldn't you have been mute instead," she muttered as she started the engine.

"I heard that."

TBC...

Chapter 6 Preview

"What is it?" Jane asked impatiently. "No wait, let me guess, CSU found some interesting trace evidence."

"Traces of gold and oil were embedded in Letko's skull."

"Gold. Interesting."

"Whatever the killer used, it was expensive."