Author's Note: I promise, I'm going as fast as I can to get through the separation, but my muse doesn't like to be rushed. So please bear with me! And thanks for all the reviews, speculation, and encouragement. You guys rock!

Chapter 48

Jane sat on the couch in Lisbon's office, thinking. Grace had pulled a list of all property owned by Visualize in California, but it was longer than Jane had expected. They couldn't cover half of it before word got around and the cult's lawyers blocked them. Even narrowing it down to facilities with known medical facilities didn't help much. It seemed Bret liked his minions in good health.

Lisbon's intent in quoting Sophie still puzzled him. Visualize's university offered a psychology program, but nothing like the research Sophie had been doing.

He had to figure this out. She was counting on him. Could they be wrong about the Visualize angle? Maybe Lisbon was referring to Sophie herself. Could she be in league with Red John? He didn't want to consider that, but he had to. He should at least try to eliminate the possibility.

Getting to his feet, he went out to the bullpen. "Grace, I need you to find—"

"Ah, Jane," Bertram said from his place near Cho's desk. "I was just asking about you. How are you holding up?"

Jane examined him for a moment before speaking. He'd never liked him, and now he suspected the man had lured Lisbon into Red John's clutches. "I'm still standing," he replied. "Fit for work."

"I'll be the judge of that," Bertram said, his expression crinkling with concern. "You shouldn't be working this case. None of you should. You're too close to it."

Cho said, "Nobody will go at this harder than we are. This is our case."

"But it isn't. It's a Missing Persons case, or, if it really is Red John, the FBI's," Bertram said. His voice softened with what Jane judged fake regret. "Lisbon was the one who gave the case up. It's too late to get it back now."

Jane felt a flash of rage, which he only partly managed to keep out of his voice. "Finding Lisbon is our case. If you try to take it away from us, I will go to the press and tell them you took your best team off their most important assignment, thereby endangering the life of a missing CBI agent. Who also happens to be my wife."

Bertram clearly realized that the media would be on Jane's side, playing up the fact that he had lost his first wife and child to the killer suspected of kidnapping Lisbon. No amount of explaining the reasons behind the rules would overcome that. "Now, let's not be hasty."

"In fact," Jane said, struck with a new idea, "I should go to the media anyway and ask for the public's help. It's possible someone saw something."

"In the middle of the night on a residential street with almost no traffic?" Bertram said incredulously.

"All the police activity had to wake someone up," Jane argued.

Bertram sighed. "All right. I'll see what I can arrange. But I have to go now; I have an important lunch to attend."

When he was gone, Rigsby said, "You really think someone will come forward?"

Cho added, "And not immediately be killed by Red John?"

"No," Jane said. "I'm not going to ask for witnesses. Even if they exist, it would be nothing but a dead end. Red John's too careful to have left a trail."

Grace frowned. "Then why go on TV?"

Jane put his hands in his pockets, trying for a casual air. "To surrender myself to Red John."

mmm

Lisbon spent the rest of the morning in her room. She'd taken a long shower, trying to scrub away the sense of violation from the forced exam, and then dressed before sitting on the bed, knees drawn up to her chest as she tried to think of what to do next. She tried to focus on what she'd observed and inferred about the facility, but her mind kept returning to the unexpected little life inside her.

The baby was a game changer in every way. She had to ensure any risks she took didn't endanger him or her. But at the same time, it was more critical than ever that she escape, because this child deserved better than to be born into a cult, possibly never knowing or even meeting his or her father.

Her heart squeezed painfully at the thought that Jane didn't know. She ached with the need to tell him, to see his eyes light up with joy and have him hold her close so she could rest against him and feel the reassuring thump of his heart. She needed to hear him say that everything would be all right, that he'd be with her every step of the way. She wanted to know that he would be there to help her sleep, to indulge her cravings, and to hold her hand and help her breathe when she went into labor.

Of course, that assumed she managed to carry to term. She had to be careful now. She could not be responsible for Jane losing another child, even one he hadn't met.

Her gaze fell on the stack of paper. Someone had removed the notes she'd written while she was out this morning, and she wondered if her letter would reach Jane. Maybe she should write him another one and try to tell him she was really pregnant?

No. That would only make him more frantic than he already was. It was better he didn't know until she was free again. Besides, she very much wanted to tell him herself so she could see his reaction. That would be a gift she hadn't expected to get, since she'd come to assume he'd know first. And he had, but the negative test result had fooled them both.

Why hadn't the pregnancy test worked? Had it been a dud, or was it too early? If it had come out positive, she'd be with Jane right now, on the run. She knew now that she would have done it, even though it meant endangering her team. The need to protect her child was overwhelming, superseding all other obligations.

A knock at the door startled her out of her thoughts. "Go away," she snarled. There was nobody here she was remotely interested in seeing.

The door opened anyway, so she jumped to her feet and moved to the bookcase, ready to grab the vase. Then she gaped in shock and took a step forward. "Sir!"

Bertram smiled at her, and she had a moment of profound relief that her captivity was at an end before harsh reality crashed in. There was zero chance that Cho would bring Bertram on a rescue mission, or any mission at all. And he looked completely at ease, obviously not on hostile territory.

"Good to see you, Lisbon," he remarked, as if they'd met at the coffee cart. "I hear you had a rough morning."

Her lack of privacy made her furious. Did everyone in this goddamned place know every single thing she did? "I've had a rough couple of days," she retorted. "So you took me out into the backyard on purpose? Led me into a trap?"

"Yes. It was laughably easy, really. I expected more of a challenge."

Lisbon was chilled by his casual admission of what was, after all, a massive betrayal. She remembered that Jane had taken an immediate, instinctive dislike to Bertram when they'd met, and also that Bertram had thoroughly creeped her out once by quoting William Blake. "You're Red John?" Oh God, if he was, he'd been the one fondling her feet and threatening to rape her. She wanted to throw up.

He gave a little chuckle. "Red John will reveal himself to you when you're ready. Which you most definitely are not. You need to learn obedience, Lisbon. Lose those bad habits you picked up from Jane."

She retorted, "Are you telling me if a doctor tied you to the exam table, you'd just lie there and let her do unpleasant, unnecessary procedures on you?"

"If I knew that's what Red John wanted, yes," he said. "There is always a price for disobedience. You are lucky he's willing to write off your little tantrum to hormones. Got a little too real for you, did it?"

You have no idea, she thought. But she didn't answer, folding her arms and glaring at him.

"Well, come along." He gestured to the door.

"What makes you think I'm ever going anywhere with you again?" she scoffed.

"I just came from seeing Jane and your team. Come along and eat a good lunch, and then I'll tell you all about them." He smiled, confident in her answer.

She really wanted to say no, but the idea of hearing a firsthand account of Jane and the others was irresistible. Besides, she was eating for two now, and she shouldn't make the baby skip lunch. With a scowl, she marched past him into the hall.

If she was clever, she thought, she could at least get an idea of how far she was from Sacramento.

She didn't say much while she ate, but Bertram didn't seem to care, chatting about the most recent poker game, some fundraiser he'd attended, and general statehouse gossip. When she had cleaned her plate, he beamed at her. "Excellent. Now you shall have your reward."

"How is Jane?" she demanded.

Bertram shook his head. "He looks like a man living on tea and desperation. It's not a pretty sight. You should be glad you don't have to see it."

If I was there, he wouldn't be desperate, she snarked to herself. But she kept silent, wanting him to continue.

"He's not completely broken yet, though. When I said your case should go to Missing Persons, he threatened to go to the media and complain. I can only imagine what a PR nightmare he could cause if he set out to." Bertram shuddered. "He causes them often enough when he doesn't care."

I hope he takes years off your life, Lisbon thought.

"And then he decided he should put out an appeal to the public, try to turn up any witnesses. If that's the best idea he can come up with, you'd best get comfortable here."

She was willing to bet her last paycheck that Bertram didn't know Jane's real plan. He wouldn't trust anyone other than Cho, Rigsby, and Van Pelt, especially if he'd figured out that Bertram was involved in her kidnapping. She was sure he had, but equally sure he wouldn't let Bertram know that until he was ready to pounce. "What about the others? Is Rigsby at work, or did he take Ben into hiding?"

"They're all fine, just worried about you. The video helped, though. Rigsby decided to stay at work after they realized the break-in was just a trap to catch you. Brilliant, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," she said sourly. "Is Jane sleeping at all?"

Bertram shrugged. "He mostly shuts himself up in your office. Who knows what he's doing in there?"

Lisbon felt a pang. She knew that Jane was seeking comfort in her space, and she could only hope he found some. "Is he eating? When did you see him?"

"I have no idea if he's eating. Your people are watching him like hawks, though. They all slept at your apartment last night."

Lisbon sent up a prayer of thanks that they were looking after Jane and obviously realized the worst possible thing would be to leave him to his own devices. He'd surely come up with a crazy plan that would end in disaster. "Have they caught any other cases?"

"No. I'm not sure any of them are actually fit to work at the moment," Bertram frowned. "So I have other teams covering new cases for the time being." He glanced at his watch. "I need to be going. But I'll see you soon. Red John has moved the poker game here so you can play at the level you're accustomed to."

Lisbon stared at him in astonishment. "Everybody in the poker game is with Red John?"

"Yes. Why did you think Mancini brought you in? There are some others who used to play but had to drop out, because we didn't want you to realize how well we know each other. They'll be glad to come back." He stood. "Make this easy on yourself, Lisbon. Not even Jane can get you out of this. But I think you'll see that life with Red John can be good. You can't go back to field work, obviously, now that you're the mother of such an important child, but Wainwright's position is still vacant. Once Jane is out of the picture, I'll be happy to give that to you."

She blinked. "I can go back to work?"

"Once you've seen the light, yes. And once the baby's old enough, of course."

"Why is my child so important?" she demanded.

He chuckled. "Red John will tell you when he's ready. Take care, Lisbon. I'll see you soon."

Lisbon went back to her room, more perplexed than ever. A new flower arrangement awaited her, but there was no note.

So, she thought. She was close enough to Sacramento that not just Haffner and Bertram, but everyone in the poker game, could make time to come here. Bertram had done it as a lunch, so it wasn't a long drive. Even though it was Sunday, which meant his schedule should be more flexible than a weekday, she doubted he would have devoted too much time to visiting her n the middle of the day.

And Red John apparently envisioned a future for her that included the CBI but not Jane. Did that mean Jane would be dead? Shut away after another breakdown? Fired for gross insubordination?

And what, in God's name, was Red John planning for her baby?

mmm

"You're nuts," Rigsby said, having swallowed the last bite of his sandwich and eyed Grace's salad despondently. "There's no way Red John will buy that you're giving up."

"Why not?" Jane asked. He handed Rigsby the untouched half of his sandwich. Chicken salad on a croissant had sounded edible, but it tasted like sawdust. He sipped at his tea instead. "Am I not a mere husk of a man, barely eating or sleeping? Everyone knows it was Lisbon keeping me sane. Without her, who knows what I might do? Why wouldn't I make any sacrifice to be with her again?"

Cho frowned, finishing his cheesesteak. "Okay, say you're convincingly pathetic. Then what? As far as I can see, all that accomplishes is getting two of you in trouble. Besides pissing off the boss."

"We have to figure out how to put a tracking device on me that won't be detected. Could I swallow one?"

Grace crinkled her nose in disgust. "That would only work for as long as it takes to work its way through your digestive tract. We could do a subcutaneous implant if we could find someone we knew we could trust."

Rigsby said, "Wouldn't it be easier to just stick a tracker on Bertram? I mean, if we know he's in on it."

"I thought about that," Jane admitted. "But if he found it, he'd use that to throw me off the case. I want to lull his suspicions first. That will also be achieved by my going on television and begging Red John to let me join him for the sake of my wife and child. He'll think I'm nuts."

Rigsby wolfed down the last of the sandwich Jane had given him. "Because you are nuts. The boss is going to—"

"That's it!" Jane snapped his fingers, startling them all. "A mental hospital!"

His three companions looked at each other, then glanced around to make sure no one was listening. Fortunately, the cafe was so noisy that no one had even noticed, which was what they'd hoped for when they chose it.

"How is putting you in a mental hospital going to help?" Rigsby looked perplexed.

Jane failed to conceal his impatience as he explained how Lisbon had quoted Sophie, and then had to confess that he'd met Sophie in a mental hospital and that Lisbon knew it. "We know Visualize often works with addicts. And that they sometimes find them on the streets. Some of those people are almost certainly mentally ill, and their addictions result from an attempt to self-medicate. So it makes sense that they have a mental health facility somewhere. A ready made prison."

"Sure," Cho said. "But how do we find it?"

Grace had stopped eating, looking disturbed. "I'll search the state licensing records. Do you think there's more than one?"

"There won't be many, if there are," Jane said, leaning forward. "It'll be somewhere isolated, not on their main campus. Someplace the crazies can't disturb the illusion that all is well in Stiles' empire. Did we ever confirm that he is out of the country?"

Cho nodded. "He's been in Australia for a week. Expected back tomorrow."

Grace said, "I wish we could get the suspect list narrowed down. Isn't it weird that so many of them don't have alibis for the Red John murders?"

Rigsby nodded. "It's almost like more than one of them are guilty. Maybe there are a bunch of them, and Red John is just a name they use?"

Jane shook his head. "It's highly unlikely a group could all have the exact same cutting style. Maybe a master and apprentice could do it, but more than that...no."

"We know he has disciples," Grace said. "So why couldn't he have an apprentice?"

Jane leaned back, thinking hard. "It's possible, of course. But then why did he stop killing? He'd need to train his apprentice, so logically he should have been killing more often."

"Lorelei Martins," Cho reminded them. "There were differences, remember? That's why Moore thought it might have been you."

Jane nodded. "It's a theory. I've also been thinking, if Bertram is Red John, that explains why the killings all but stopped once he was put in charge of the CBI. He didn't want the CBI to look bad on his watch."

They all considered that for a moment. Then Grace said, "We should take another look at the photo of him leaving your apartment and see if we can match any physical traits with our suspect list."

Jane hadn't thought about that. He wanted to kick himself. "Yes." He stood. "Let's go."

mmm

Lisbon made herself go to Group Guidance again that afternoon, but it only confirmed her initial impression. Some of the members of the group might have doubts, but they were too cowed to express them in the group setting, and she was still a stranger. Moreover, she was a stranger under intense scrutiny. None of them were going to confide in her. She was on her own.

On her way back to her room after yoga and dinner, she wondered if any of her fellow poker players were a possibility. Bertram's betrayal still stung, and Judge Manchester and Senator Dawkins were probably indebted to Red John for their jobs. But maybe one of the lower level, occasional players would show up. She wished she could think of some way to use one of them to take a message to Jane, some invisible equivalent of a sign taped to their backs that said "Arrest me!"

She could slip her engagement ring into a pocket, probably, if she could only be sure Jane would search that person. Maybe if she used too much perfume, Jane would literally sniff out who'd been with her? But her sense of smell seemed to be more sensitive lately, so she would probably make herself sick before she could carry that out.

With a sigh, she went into her room. Immediately, the envelope propped up against the flowers caught her eye. Apparently Red John had something to say today after all.

Dear Teresa,

I hope you enjoyed seeing a familiar face today. I thought receiving news of Patrick would outweigh your irritation with Gale.

I appreciated the honesty in your letter to me. Your forthrightness has always been one of your most attractive qualities. And your anxiety about your child's future is certainly understandable. Let me put your mind at rest. I mean no harm to your baby. On the contrary, I have a brilliant future in mind for him.

I will be content regardless of the child's gender, but I confess I prefer a boy. Though I am sure any daughter of yours will be tough enough to fulfill the destiny I have in mind.

Even a cursory study of history reveals that great leaders often fail to raise great leaders to come after them. I have several theories about this, but the points you will find most relevant are that I believe great leaders often have difficulty finding mates worthy of them, and for many of the same reasons, they often unintentionally stifle the qualities of leadership in their own children. I have built something I intend to endure after I am dead, but I must provide it with a worthy leader in order for that to happen. I believe I will do best with a child whose genes I am not responsible for. I have noticed, as I am sure you have, that many parents are unable to clearly evaluate their own children because they view them through the prism of their own ego.

So I need a child born of parents whose qualities I admire, with a mother I can depend on to give him a strong foundation for his character in his early childhood. After long consideration, I decided that you are that woman. Between Patrick's wily intelligence and your strength of character, this child should be formidable indeed. With my hand to guide him, he will rise further than I have managed. I believe you will be as gratified as I when that day comes.

So you should let go of your fears for your baby, Teresa. I will do everything possible to keep you both healthy, and I have no plans to take him from you after he is born. I will not even object to your telling him about his biological father. And if Patrick should someday come to enlightenment, I would be pleased to have him teach my heir his own particular skills.

Should Patrick join us, I would also not object to you resuming your sexual relationship and providing my heir with siblings. While I hope to enjoy you myself one day, I do not fool myself that we would be emotionally compatible in the long term. I yearn to break you for my own pleasure, but for the sake of my heir, I must not.

I hope sharing my plans with you will remove your anxieties and enable you to more easily adapt to your new life. And I look forward to revealing myself to you someday soon and discussing the future we will build together.

Regards,

John

Lisbon put the letter down and curled up on the bed, her mind and stomach churning. It was all clear to her now. Red John had manipulated her and Jane into a relationship, then into marriage, as part of a breeding program to give him a worthy heir. God. It would serve him right if the baby had Down's or some other disability that ruined his plans.

Her heart clenched at the thought, and her hand went to her cross, clutching it tightly. God, please, I didn't mean it. Please protect my baby. Please let us get home to Patrick and be a family. I promise I'll bring him or her up in the church. I'll get on my knees every morning and thank you for saving us. I'll do anything you want, just please, keep us safe and healthy. All three of us.

She wondered if Red John planned to use her and the baby as bait to lure Jane into his power. Of course, Jane didn't know the baby was real, but he might give up his freedom just to find her. While she was desperate to see him, she didn't want him to give himself up to his worst enemy. They couldn't depend on Red John's word, and Jane would be just as determined to get their child out of the killer's clutches as she was. And she had a feeling if they tried to escape and failed, Red John would decide he could no longer tolerate Jane's presence and kill him.

Hopefully Cho would be watching for a crazy Jane plan and be able to stop him. Or better yet, she would find a way out of here before Jane could do anything unwise.