Chapter 7.
Stupid imbecile, look at him, sitting there in one of the most expensive coffee shops in town, sipping a latte without a care in the world. He has no idea that tonight will be his last. I'm hiding behind a large skip, across the street from this… well, it's an insult to call him a man really; I doubt that he has seen me, or the public have sussed it out yet. Already the sun is setting, and soon, it'll be completely dark with nothing and I'll just have the moon and the stars for company. People are heading home to their families, to bed, until they have to repeat the same routine tomorrow, and then the day after that, and after that; the same thing over and over. I'm not saying that my 'activity' is a hobby, neither is it an escape from my normal life; I see it as a service, getting rid of imbeciles like this makes the world a better place. My time will come, the death penalty it may be, but I'll die knowing that, although it may not seem like it at the minute, I've made a difference in this world. The police are closing in, sooner or later they'll find me, and I'll go willingly, but not tonight, they're bound to be pissed that I took that Patrick guy. The only reason that I took him was to try and explain my logic; I hope it worked. That's why I only gave him the tranquiliser, he didn't deserve the same fate as the others, he's a good guy from what I've read up about him anyway. Wait a minute, there's another man…he's walking up to the target…no, no, no, you're going to ruin everything!
I've been waiting an hour, not even a hundred games on my phone has cured my boredom. Buffoon! He's ruined it; the target has bought another drink, and he's been chatting with his companion. Taking out two men is way too risky for me, besides, I only have one syringe of venom. If this guy would just go away and leave us be, so we can get down to business, but he just sits there. Sighing, I'll to leave it; tomorrow is just as good as any day to get him. I'll drift off if I have to stay here another hour.
Jane enters the living room from his bathroom, having had an hour and a half long soak in the bath, accompanied by a cup of therapeutic tea and a playlist on his iPod. Retrieving his pain killers from the cupboard for his shoulder, he notices the makeshift bed that he had shared with Lisbon the night before. He smiles at the memory, though he still does not fully believe that it happened though he remembers it vividly. She knows that he unconditionally loves her, and he knows that she feels the same; it's as if he is in a dream that he never wants to end. She loves him. For all the years that they have known one another, he had never thought that he would be in a 'relationship' with the stubborn senior agent; neither of them were ready to trust anyone in such a way, let alone fall in love with each other. Red John is still at large; Jane knows that they are walking on very thin ice, one false move would blow their relationship wide open and into the icy waters, and he has no intention of letting that happen, not after everything that they have been through. Rigsby knows to keep his lips tightly sealed about what Jane told him today; besides, they mutually agreed not to spread the word on each other's personal relationship. Blowing that whistle would be bad for all four of them, lucky Cho. Jane takes a few sips of his tea to wash down his medication before he begins to tidy up the entanglement of pillows and blankets in the living room. The pain in his shoulder begins to subside, making it easier to put things away. He pauses when he hears footsteps approach his front door, there is a moment of silence before…
"Jane, could you let me in please!"
He curses to himself for not giving her a key earlier, puts the neatly folded blanket on the sofa before letting his partner in.
"How's the case?" Jane asks her.
"Getting there," she responds, "we've finally got some suspect names."
"Ooh, tell me more," he moves aside to let her in before closing and locking the door.
"Before I start, is it okay if I get something to eat from your fridge? I haven't had the chance to get a bite to eat."
"Go ahead, what's mine is yours," he smiles, and then realises that he too hasn't eaten a scrap, "tell you what, how about I whip something up and you relax?"
"I'm not the one who's been kidnapped today Jane," Lisbon reasons.
"I'm fine," he reassures her, "omelette okay?"
She looks at him, he's giving her the puppy look again and it's adorable! Though she hates backing down, she nods and follows him to the kitchen near the rear of the house.
"So," he begins, taking half a dozen eggs from the fridge, "who are the suspects?"
"After all the owners of the pet shops cleared, we did a background check on the employees," she explains, "two of which brought up red flags."
Patrick cracks each egg open, with a little difficulty, and drops the whites and the yolks into a glass mixing bowl, "go on."
"The first suspect is Carl Jennings, he knew James Tuffnell, the second victim. It turns out that they went to high school together and were both jocks. From what we've heard from fellow classmates, they weren't friends off the field," Lisbon expands, perching herself on one on the worktops, "also, when we asked the owner, he specifies that Jennings has an interest in exotic snakes."
"And suspect number two?" Jane asks, adding milk to the eggs.
"His name is Joey Kingston, he's been known to sell exotic species on the Black Market, but we've had no concrete evidence on him, so he's avoided arrest."
"Both these guys seem to fit the killer profile," Jane replies, taking a whisk to the mixture, making quite a racket as he struggles to stop the bowl sliding across the slippery worktop surface.
Teresa can't help but laugh at him as he tries his best to follow the bowl as it moves in circles. As it approaches her, she holds it still for him whilst he finishes.
"Y'know, I hope that this is worth the effort," she teases him.
"It will be," he smiles, "I promise you that."
She dips her forefinger in the bowl and puts a small drop on the end of his nose.
"Yep, now you look like a chef," she laughs, before being silence by Jane's lips against hers.