Patrick saw smoke rising from the top of the hill and his heart sank. He stepped on the gas and sped around a curve in the road. What he saw when the road straightened made him slow down. What stood out most in that view was a large round cage bouncing off the top of a broken down pickup truck. The cage contained what looked like a chimpanzee wearing blue jeans, though he had never heard a chimp curse as profanely as this one was. The second thing he noticed was Stephanie, looking disheveled and terrified, but very much alive, running down the hill at top speed. The third and most troubling thing Patrick saw was Karen Westcott kneeling beside the truck, aiming her shotgun.
Patrick hoped that she was out of range and pulled to the side of the dirt road to begin a three-point-turn and get out of the way of the careening cage. Stephanie ducked as the cage vaulted over her head and then climbed into the jeep's back seat. A blast from the shotgun ripped through the leaves just to the side of the road. Not out of range after all, just bad marksmanship. Turn completed and passenger loaded, Patrick hit the gas and sped down the hill.
* * * *
"You sure it was called Hockley?" Rigsby asked. "Because there is a whole lot of nothing happening here."
"Yes, Hockley," insisted Van Pelt over the phone.
Rigsby had parked the SUV in front of an old-fashioned diner. He could smell bacon, eggs, and pancakes and his mouth was beginning to water. "When I say nothing, I mean…" Rigsby's attention was drawn to the far end of the main street where the road began a steep climb up a hill. There was smoke at the top of the hill, and a noise that he couldn't identify was getting louder. It sounded somewhat like the screams of a person trapped in an industrial dryer rolling down a hill. "I'll call you back," he said to Van Pelt, and snapped his phone shut. Rigsby heard a shotgun blast and he drew his weapon and took cover behind the SUV.
From the cover of foliage obstructing the view of the road as it slanted upward came not an industrial dryer, but a round cage of some sort preceded by a cloud of dust and leaves. It slammed into the wall of the little hotel at the edge of the town and the screaming stopped. Or some of the screaming anyway - The noise that came from the woods now was more of a "Whooooooooooo."
Still holding his weapon, Rigsby cautiously peered over the hood of the SUV, then ducked back as a vehicle burst out of the woods. This was a jeep, driven erratically by none other than Patrick Jane – from whom the "whooo" had come. Next to him in the passenger seat was the dwarf from the security camera video, and a very upset-looking Stephanie Donovan clinging to the back seat.
Rigsby straightened as Jane skidded the jeep to a halt behind the SUV, but diverted his attention back to the road as the jeep's three occupants were frantically pointing in that direction.
"Drop your weapon and get down on the ground." Rigsby shouted to the woman who had just emerged from the woods. Clearly worn out from her run, Karen did as she was told, tossing the shotgun into the street and then lying face down on the pavement. Rigsby approached her with his weapon drawn, kicked the shotgun out of her reach then knelt beside her and applied a set of handcuffs.
He looked at the jeep's passengers who had climbed out and were watching him. "Where have you been?" he asked Jane.
Jane was out of breath, but managed to say, "Oh, just out for a joy ride."
* * * *
By the time Lisbon and Cho arrived 90 minutes later, Rigsby had control of the situation. Local and state authorities had arrived, Karen was in custody and Dan was on his way to the nearest hospital to be shaved and have his numerous broken bones and scrapes attended to. The Westcott children were being tended to by the non-crazed members of the Westcott clan, and the garage fire had burned itself out.
Ruth's diner had become the unofficial headquarters for all of the law enforcement personnel, and she was having one of the most profitable days she'd had in months. At the large table in the corner sat Lisbon's crew with Stephanie and Landon. Landon had excused himself to take a phone call and Ruth hovered close by, certain that when Patrick left she would never see him again and he wasn't getting away this time without a hug.
Several locals had shown up and were clustered around the man they called either Patty or Curly. Rigsby committed those nicknames to memory for use in the future. Cho had a second helping of pineapple upside down cake and refused to explain why he'd eat pineapple on cake but not on pizza. Lisbon was amused because for the first time she saw Jane being reluctant to be the center of attention. She allowed the reunion to go on as long as she dared, but it was closing on one in the afternoon and they had a four hour drive back to Sacramento.
Everyone stood to say their goodbyes. While Jane was distracted by a hug from a tearful Ruth, Lisbon instructed Stephanie to turn around to be handcuffed. Jane witnessed this over Ruth's shoulder.
"Do you have to?" he asked.
"She's still under arrest," Lisbon told him.
"Maybe not," said Landon, who had just returned. "My brother would like to speak to you."
Lisbon took the phone and stepped aside.
"So what does he have to say for himself?" asked Ruth. "Did you tell him that we want to chop and dice him up and feed him to Vincent's tiger cubs?"
"You can tell him yourself," Landon said. "He'll be here in a couple of hours."
"He's got a lot of nerve!"
"That's not all he's got a lot of," Landon grinned. "Lucky bastard. Took the last of the money out of our account for a last fling. Put it all on red 23 on the roulette wheel at the Plaza. He's coming here with a million-six!"
"Lucky bastard!" said Patrick.
Lisbon hung up the phone and returned to the group. "He wants to drop all charges. I told him he has to come in and sign the paperwork and it'll be done." She took Stephanie by the arm. "Until then, you're still in police custody."
"You're kidding," Patrick said.
Lisbon grinned. "Yeah. Turn around." She unfastened Stephanie's cuffs.
* * * *
Cho and Rigsby left in one SUV, and Lisbon, Jane and Stephanie got into the other. "Can we make a couple of quick stops?" Jane asked.
Lisbon groaned. "It's a long drive…"
"I'll be quick, I promise," he said. "Turn right at the next street."
Lisbon did as she was asked. Less than half a mile away they were already out of the town, nearing a field of wild flowers.
"Stop here," Jane said. He got out of the car, went into the field and picked a handful of flowers. He got back in the car. "Turn around now, and take the next left."
Lisbon followed his instructions, turning left along a rural road with a couple of rusted caravans set off among the weeds. At the end of the road was their destination: a small tidy graveyard. She didn't need to be asked to stop.
Patrick Jane got out of the car. Lisbon and Stephanie watched as he approached a fresh grave and placed half of the flowers on it. He stood there for a moment, then walked deeper into the graveyard and stopped in front of an older stone. Patrick paused a moment, placed the rest of the flowers on the grave and then returned to the car.
Lisbon drove wordlessly away.