Author's Note: Thanks to everyone for sticking with me through the creepy last chapter! You guys are awesome. So I wanted to update as soon as possible, even if it's a little shorter than usual, to reward your fortitude and especially the generosity of those of you who reviewed. Reading them was better than psychotherapy any day. :)
Chapter 34
Cho knocked on the door just as Jane was finishing his sweep of the apartment. "She okay?" Cho asked as Jane opened the door.
"She's awake. She says she's not hurt." Jane swallowed, trying to sound less like a two-pack-a-day smoker. Holding in screams of rage was hard on the throat, he reflected.
"You okay?" Cho asked next, frowning.
Jane intended to toss out a glib "never better" or maybe a sarcastic "just peachy," but in the end he just shook his head. Cho clapped him on the shoulder, then noticed the scanner. "I'll do that. You go be with her."
"I was finished," Jane said.
"I'll just make sure," Cho replied. When Jane didn't move, Cho made a barely perceptible grimace, took the scanner from Jane's numb fingers, and went toward the bedroom.
Lisbon met him halfway, obviously trying for her usual composure but unable to quite pull it off wrapped in a blanket with her bare feet poking out. Jane would have thought she looked adorably waif like except for the terror lurking at the back of her eyes.
Cho said, "Hey, Boss. You okay?"
Lisbon nodded. "Thanks for coming."
"I'll do a quick sweep. Anything need bagged?"
"My—my boots. He took them off. He wasn't wearing gloves." She swallowed hard. "I don't need them back."
Jane thought he might have a stroke. He'd taken off her boots? Why?
"Got it," Cho said, going past her to get to work.
She found her second in command's matter-of-fact attitude bracing, Jane realized through the haze of his own fear and fury. As long as Cho was Cho, she could be Agent Lisbon. And that was who she needed to be, because Teresa was probably having a screaming breakdown somewhere in the back of her mind. Much like her husband was. Brilliant Consultant Jane was clearly needed instead, but he wasn't returning calls at the moment.
Another knock spurred Jane into movement, not bothering to look through the peephole once he heard the cheerful babbling on the other side. Grace, Rigsby, and Ben hurried through the door before he'd even opened it all the way.
"Boss!" the two adults said, while Ben latched onto Jane's legs with a squeal of glee.
"I'm fine," Lisbon said, sounding almost like she meant it. "Van Pelt, check the camera, please."
Jane bent to pick Ben up, then realized he'd just made a mistake. Holding a happy, innocent child was bringing up his emotions, which had gone numb when he realized what had happened. It took enormous effort to hold on to his fragile composure.
"Sorry," Rigsby murmured. "Sarah's out of town, and it didn't sound like there was still any danger."
"It's fine," Jane said hoarsely. He turned quickly, causing Ben to clap in delight, and headed for the kitchen. "Let's see what we have for a late night snack, shall we?"
Ben frowned a little, then reached up to pat Jane's cheek, which Jane belatedly realized was wet. He scrubbed his face with his free hand, then opened the refrigerator.
"He shouldn't be hungry," Rigsby remarked, coming into the kitchen. "You okay?"
"Getting there," Jane lied. He noted that Rigsby didn't look convinced; his expression was clearly saying "then why aren't you with Lisbon?" But Jane knew that until he calmed down, he would only add to her stress level instead of helping her.
"I think I got something," Grace called from the dining room, where she'd set up her laptop.
They all gathered behind Grace's chair to see the image on the screen. Red John's back was to the camera as he entered a code on the alarm keypad. Cho gave a displeased little grunt. "We need to reprogram that tonight."
"He's what, maybe six feet?" Rigsby estimated. "Dark hair, medium build."
"Grey hair," Lisbon corrected. "Dyed. And he wears a wedding ring. And a lot of cologne." She wrinkled her nose and then buried it in the blanket, which she wrapped higher around her neck.
They all looked at her, surprised. "He let you see him?" Grace looked over her shoulder, eyes wide.
"Not his face. He made me close my eyes while he was taking my boots off, but I peeked. He stayed behind me most of the time."
"Why did he take your boots off?" Rigsby asked, perplexed.
Lisbon swallowed, then lifted her head. "I wanted to see how he reacted to being pushed. So I told him to get to the point because my feet were killing me."
There was more to that story, Jane thought, watching her wrap the blanket more tightly around herself. It was obviously a source of comfort for her, which was odd since she rarely used it. Then light dawned. He used it, so it smelled like him. She was seeking comfort in his scent because she wasn't getting it from him.
He handed Ben to Rigsby and moved closer to Lisbon, laying a hand on her shoulder. She flinched.
Jane immediately thrust his hands in his jacket pockets, trying to keep his shock off his face. Lisbon had never flinched from him, not once in all the years they'd known each other. He took half a step back, but she looked at him in apology and moved toward him until their shoulders touched.
Okay, so it wasn't him she had flinched from, but whatever memory his hand on her shoulder had evoked. He suddenly wanted to throw everyone else out so he could coax her into telling him every single touch, every single word Red John had forced her to endure. But he held himself quiet, knowing he wasn't ready. He had to be calm, so he could help her instead of making her feel worse.
Grace was fiddling with the laptop again. "Maybe we got one on his way out."
They all stared intently at the screen, but their only reward was a shot of his back, which added nothing to their knowledge. Still, Jane told himself, this was more than they ever had before. They actually had a physical description now, even if it wasn't enough for positive identification.
"Wait a minute," Grace murmured. "I think..."
She gasped, and they all leaned in as the new image appeared. Red John had paused, apparently to don a pair of thick glasses and a baseball cap before going into the hall. But the camera had caught him in the act, and they had a clear shot of the upper part of his face over his shoulder.
Jane moved closer, noticing the crinkled skin around the man's eye. The bastard was smiling. Pleased with himself. Because he'd terrorized Lisbon.
A red haze passed over his vision, and he pushed away abruptly, storming into the living room to pace back and forth, fists clenched.
"You need to calm down," Cho said, coming into the room behind him.
"I am not going to calm down!" Jane shouted. "He broke into my home and threatened my wife! I am not going to calm down!"
Cho folded his arms. "Okay."
Jane couldn't keep the anguish out of his voice. "He could have killed her while I was right upstairs!"
Cho said, "But he didn't."
Jane dismissed that with an irritated wave of his hand. Cho didn't understand. Only someone who had come home to find his family dead could possibly fathom the horror of it nearly happening a second time.
Cho waited a moment, but when Jane didn't respond, he went back into the dining room.
Jane heard Rigsby say, "It can't be that easy, can it?"
"How is it easy?" Grace replied. "I don't recognize him. Do you? And with only a partial quarter profile, the facial recognition search is just one big guessing game."
"It's more than we've ever had before," Lisbon said, sounding like herself. "We know gender, race, build, and hair color."
"And the cap and glasses he was wearing when he left," Cho added. "We need to get hold of the lobby security camera tapes, see if there's anything else there."
Jane ruthlessly stamped down his fury and frustration and went to stand in the dining room doorway. "He won't have gone out that way. At least not right away. He'd know we had a timeframe for him being here. He either went upstairs to the party or to see his friend in the building. We know he has one."
Lisbon's gaze went from worried to excited. "Yes. He said his friend was making sure you wouldn't interrupt us. It's someone you talked to."
"And who probably tried to delay me," Jane agreed. He frowned, thinking hard. When he looked up again, he realized everyone was looking expectantly at him. "More than one person delayed me once I decided to leave. None of them made me suspicious at the time."
"Probably a woman," Cho said.
"Why?" Rigsby asked.
"He sent a woman last time. And it wouldn't be weird for a woman to chat him up. Women chat him up all the time," Cho pointed out.
"That doesn't narrow it down much. It was mostly women I talked to, though some had men in tow," Jane said. "I'll give it some thought. At least three of them were on Grace's short list. I made a point of being charming to all of them."
Lisbon rolled her eyes, then asked, "Did any of them look like me at all?"
"Not that I—" Jane broke off, struck by sudden realization. "Not physically. She was tall and blonde. But her eyes were green, and her smile reminded me of yours."
"We'll start with her," Lisbon decided.
Jane nodded. "Her name is Elspeth. Elspeth Wagner. Married, no children, two Yorkies. We should get a dog. More reliable than electronics, if trained to be."
Lisbon blinked at him. "We'll talk about it later," she replied, which meant no. But with wiggle room for changing her mind, he suspected.
"Got it," Grace said, typing something into the laptop. "I'll get started tomorrow morning."
"Yes, it's late," Lisbon said, smiling a little as Ben let out a huge yawn. "Great work, everyone, and thanks for coming over."
"I'll get the boots," Cho said. "We'll have to decide which case to tell the lab they're for tomorrow."
"Shouldn't we turn this over to the FBI?" Rigsby asked. "I mean, I thought we weren't investigating Red John anymore."
Lisbon said, "We weren't. But there's no way in hell I'm letting him get away with this. And we can't trust the FBI. So we are going to work this under the table, on a strictly volunteer basis and very, very carefully. Anyone who wants out, there'll be no hard feelings."
Jane let his expression convey that she was speaking only for herself, but he needn't have worried. None of them had ever failed to answer Lisbon's call for volunteers, and none of them was choosing tonight to begin.
"Jane and I will go over everything and let you know if there are any useful clues," Lisbon said.
Grace packed up her laptop and got to her feet. "Do you want one of us to stay?" she asked, clearly volunteering.
"No. He won't be back tonight," Lisbon said. "But thank you."
Jane was very tempted by the thought of a bodyguard for Lisbon, but he knew he wasn't going to sleep tonight anyway, and Lisbon wouldn't open up completely until they were alone.
Cho and Rigsby reset the alarm codes, Cho suggesting they start changing them daily since they didn't know how Red John had gotten the one he used.
"And I'm coming in with my weapon ready from now on," Lisbon grumbled. She'd obviously calmed down enough to begin second-guessing herself, Jane was both relieved and exasperated to see. She looked at him firmly. "And so will you."
Jane nodded. He hadn't taken his gun to the party, but he wouldn't be leaving it behind again. Then a thought occurred to him. "Should we check all the guns?"
Lisbon grimaced, and Jane realized how exhausted she was. Cho said, "I'll do it."
"I can help," Grace volunteered.
"No, you guys go get some sleep. Some of us need to be awake tomorrow," Lisbon said. "Especially you, Grace. Red John can't know we have those photos. You need to be on your toes."
Grace nodded. "I know. Okay, see you tomorrow. Boss, let me know if you need anything."
"Red John's head on a platter," Lisbon muttered.
"You got it," Rigsby said.
mmm
"Can you start in our room? It's under the bed frame," Lisbon asked Cho after Rigsby, Ben, and Van Pelt had left. Jane's head was going to explode if she didn't tell him exactly what had happened pretty soon, but she was going to need privacy for that.
"I'll find them," he assured her. "How many am I looking for?"
"Seven. Plus Jane's. Crap!" She panicked as she realized she wasn't wearing her weapon either. "And mine!"
"Got it," Cho assured her, heading into the hallway.
Lisbon felt around, making sure she still had her badge at least. "My handcuffs?" she asked Jane.
"On the nightstand, with your key," he replied.
They were silent for a moment. Then Jane said softly, "I need to know that you're all right."
She went to him, giving in to the urge to throw herself into his arms. He hesitated, no doubt remembering how she'd reacted when he'd touched her before, then carefully put his hands on her waist. Pressing herself against him and sliding her hands under his jacket, she sighed in relief as his scent and warmth surrounded her, then let out a little hum of contentment when he wrapped his arms all the way around her, holding her tightly. "I'm okay," she whispered. "He didn't hurt me. Just creeped me out."
Jane buried his face in her hair. "He gave you a goddamn hickey."
That's what he's outraged about? God, how can I tell him the rest? But she knew she had to. Unless... "Do you still think we should run? I will, but not if I have to leave you to a horrible padded room. We have to find a way for us to go together."
He rubbed a hand up and down her back. "There's no way to do that without making him suspicious. And then he'll try to smoke us out by killing again, probably one of the people we care about."
"Then we have to catch him," she said, unsurprised.
"Kill him," Jane corrected. "I'm not sitting in a courtroom with him knowing one of his friends is going to help him escape, and then he's coming straight for you." His arms tightened around her. "I was willing to trade my vengeance for your safety, but if that's not on the table anymore, then I will do what I have to."
Lisbon decided she wasn't in the mood to argue her usual point. They could do that later, when they were both calmer and she could think of a better argument against murder than that she had no intention of arranging conjugal visits to him in prison.
Jane took her silence for agreement, apparently, because he didn't press his point. He just held her, though he moved his face out of her hair. She shivered as she wondered if she smelled like Red John.
"Tell me what you need," Jane whispered.
"This," she said immediately. Then she thought about it and sighed. "And a shower. Don't let Cho leave until I'm done, okay?" She kissed his jawline, then reluctantly pulled out of his embrace.
"Okay," Jane said, looking at her tenderly. "We'll both be here when you're done."
It took every ounce of strength she had to walk away from him. But he wasn't going anywhere, she told herself firmly. Even if he wanted to, Cho would make sure of that. And she could lose herself in his arms after she got the damn smell out of her hair that was torturing them both.