Chapter Three: Northeast
Jane's phone chirped merrily inside his pocket, a pleasant harmony of bells and buzzing.
He knew exactly who was calling, and smiled as he answered it. "Hey, Lisbon."
"Jane, what the hell are you doing?"
"Currently? I'm driving my car…"
A noise came from the other end of the line that sounded remarkably like thunder. Or the growling of a grizzly bear.
Jane quickly pulled the phone away from his ear, worried about the volume-level of what was coming next.
Lisbon's voice, now sounding small and tinny, barked out of the speaker:
"You know what I mean! Why are you going to talk to Jorsten's widow? Didn't I just get done telling you that Legal doesn't want you talking to victims' families? Not until the lawsuit's resolved. Didn't we have that conversation?"
"Uh, yes. Yes, we did."
"And you're blatantly disregarding it because…?"
"I need to ask her something."
Lisbon's sigh crackled over the speaker.
Jane tentatively deemed it safe to bring the phone back to his ear.
"Couldn't you just have called her?" Lisbon asked, sounding weary. "You do less damage over the phone…sometimes…"
"Eh. In person is always better."
Another sigh. "Just please, please, whatever you do, do not antagonize her. This is me begging you…"
Jane made a face. "'Antagonize' is such an ugly word…I like to think of it more as prodding for reactions. Raising pulses. Needling."
"I like to think of it as the reason we get more complaints and lawsuits than any other department," Lisbon told him flatly.
"That new lawsuit will get dropped," Jane assured her. "I guarantee it. Murdoch's just feeling bored and petty right now."
"Really? 'Cause he looked pretty pissed off from where I stood…"
"He's an over-actor. Eventually, he'll realize that this lawsuit makes him look like a vindictive, spiteful little man, and he'll drop it. Trust me."
"Trust you? Right, like anything good ever happens when I do that…"
Jane smiled at her grumbling tone. "You can trust me, Lisbon. Implicitly."
Skeptical silence oozed through the speaker. Jane didn't let it bother him. When the time came, Lisbon would see that he had her back.
Jane navigated the Citroen through a turn and switched the phone to his left ear. "Hey, Lisbon," he said brightly, "Did you know that escaped horses always head Northeast?"
"That's fascinating," said Lisbon, in possibly the least-fascinated voice Jane had ever heard in his life.
He grinned. "Isn't it?"
There was a pause, and then, "You know, she lives in the desert. It's over a three-hour drive…"
"Desert's beautiful this time of year. And I like driving."
"Whatever," Lisbon muttered, giving up her last-ditch effort to dissuade him. "Just check in when you get back."
"Bye," he sang into the phone.
There was a dismissive grunt, a click, and the line went dead.
Jane smiled as he tucked the phone back into his pocket. He pressed down on the gas pedal and felt the little car surge beneath him. His smile widened.
And, we're off…