Chapter Three

The team were all piled into the SUV and were heading back to the CBI, having just examined the latest crime scene. Teresa Lisbon was, as usual, driving, with Jane in the front next to her. Rigsby and Van Pelt were in the back, with Cho in between them to keep the peace.

Rigsby and Van Pelt were no longer involved in an intimate relationship, his hair was less tousled, her perfume was different, Van Pelt no longer wore a necklace underneath her shirt and Rigsby was drinking more alcohol after work. Patrick Jane had noticed these things.

Patrick Jane had also noticed that Teresa Lisbon kept on giving him looks. These looks were unlike any of the usual glares he got from Lisbon. They were almost embarrassed, almost as if she was a blushing schoolgirl. Whenever Jane caught her eye, she glanced away. She had not stopped looking at him like this since she had seen him without his shirt on. Maybe Teresa Lisbon feels the same way about you as you do for her. Jane brushed away thought as quickly as it had appeared. That was ridiculous.

"Hey Lisbon," called Rigsby from the back, "Can we stop off at the gas station for more food, I'm starving!"

Lisbon looked at him in her mirror. "Sure, I probably could do with a break anyway."

"Er, Lisbon?" said Rigsby awkwardly, "Can I have some money please?"

"What? No!" Lisbon pulled up at the gas station. "You have money. Now go get the food and we can sit for a bit in the car. Shoo."

Jane froze. You stopped at a nearby gas station on your way. Maybe, if you hadn't been so careless with your fuel, you would have been able to stop me, and everything would be OK.

"Lisbon?"

"Yeah, Jane?" Lisbon looked over at him. Her feet were on the dashboard, her legs just the right size to reach it. Jane supposed there had to be some advantages of being small.

"I think stopping is a bad idea, maybe we should just head straight back..." Jane's voice tailed off at the look of incredulity that Lisbon gave him.

"Why? We won't be too long. Besides, we are only ten minutes away. It's not like a few minutes is gonna make a difference." She looked the picture of calm as she signalled to Rigsby, who was at the counter, for him to buy a bag of doughnuts because they needed sugar after the long day that they had had. Rigsby seemed to understand.

That's what you thought the night I murdered your wife and child. Look what happened. Something is going to happen, Patrick Jane, and you are going to be too late again...

Jane frowned, trying to block out the voice in his head. Lisbon reached out a hand and stroked his forehead. Her hand was soft and cool against his skin, and he couldn't help but succumb to the soothing touch of her hand...

Xxx

"Look, Lisbon, maybe he looks a complete darling when he's asleep, but for God's sake, think of what a pain in the ass he is when he opens that loud mouth of his!"

"Be quiet, Hightower, you'll wake him up!" Lisbon's voice was soft and her hand was once again, stroking his head.

"Alright, brainiac, how do you suppose we get him out of the car, huh? You hadn't thought of that one, had you? We can't just leave him here you know."

Jane could sense the wicked smile that played at her lips. "We could."

It took a few stifled giggles for Jane to realise that they were planning on abandoning him. He opened his eyes, ready to glare at Lisbon.

"Awww, Jane, did you really think that we were gonna leave you?" Rigsby grinned.

"It was Lisbon's idea." Cho stated, almost grinning at Lisbon.

"Thanks Cho," Lisbon said sarcastically, "Jane, trust me, I will never leave you alone." She looked deep into Jane's eyes when she said this, and his heart seemed to do a flip.

Jane quickly recovered and swung himself out of the car. They all walked together back into the CBI, and unsurprisingly, today's Red John case sprung up as a topic of conversation.

"So, what Jane established was that the daughter was already dead when the mother was killed. The autopsy revealed that the daughter had died of bronchopneumonia, a complication of flu, a few hours previously."

"This means," Jane continued for Lisbon as she paused to take a bite out of the doughnut she was holding, "that Red John couldn't have killed her. He only killed the mother. My theory is that the mother, or Julia Lawrence to use her full name, already knew of Red John. Of course, a lot of people have heard of him, but her occupation was a journalist, specialising in crime and serial killers. She researched Red John."

"Let me get this straight," said Lisbon, having just swallowed the last of her doughnut, "Julia Lawrence was holding the dead body of her child, grieving, too wrapped up in her own loss to call 911, and..."

"Red John walks in, introduces himself and asks the woman whether she would like to die."

"But he's Red John, he'll just kill her anyway," piped up Rigsby.

"Exactly, but she doesn't know that," says Jane, "She has a choice in the matter, as far as she is concerned. But she chooses death. She welcomes it."

"But that's insane, who'd choose death?" asked Cho, his voice remaining even.

"Julia Lawrence would, apparently," said Lisbon, raising her eyebrows at Cho.

"Of course it's insane. Grief loosens life's grip on sanity. She wants to die," says Jane, Red John's words haunting him. You welcome death. You'd give anything just to escape from the world in which you live.

Jane holds the door open for Lisbon and they all walk in. Jane had to admit, they looked like they meant business. Hightower, her arms folded, lips pulled into a tight line. Cho and Rigsby on either side of her, marching in unison, their difference in height made it no less threatening. Van Pelt, her hands on her hips, her long ponytail swinging rhythmically from side to side. And, of course, Lisbon, her kick-ass expression, and her stiff suit screaming you better not mess with me.

They strode into the bullpen, Jane taking his usual position on the couch. Lisbon stood up and looked at everyone.

"Listen up!" she shouted, "I want to tell all of you something. Something personal..."