Chapter 26 – Jason Myles

As they walked into the office, Abbott walked towards them. 'So, how are you two this morning then? Ready to get back to work?'

They nodded and Lisbon replied, still a little embarrassed at breaking down in front of her boss the day before, 'Yes, much better thanks, just want to get this one over with.'

Abbott answered, 'Good, and how about you Jane? I take it I don't have to put you in holding in case you decide to take a trip to Fairfield?'

'For once Dennis, no, you have nothing to worry about.'

Abbott looked a little surprised and looked at Lisbon for a second before turning his attention back to Jane. 'Well, that'll certainly make a nice change.' Maybe she can change him into a better person after all, he thought to himself. He added, 'Come on, the others are in the conference room, I believe Wylie has an update for us.'

Cho, Fischer and Wylie looked up as they walked in. Jane smiled thinly and nodded to Cho, his way of thanking him for making him see what was important the day before. Cho nodded curtly in return, acknowledging the gesture.

After sitting down, Abbott began. 'So, Mr Wylie, I believe you have an update for us on Jason Myles, Julia Myles' father?'

'Yes, we've checked him out and he's actually in a care home at the moment, he suffers from Alzheimer's disease. According to doctor's reports, it has transgressed rapidly over the last couple of years.'

Jane listened intently, his head bowed as Lisbon asked, 'So, I take it we can't talk to him?'

Wylie shook his head. 'No, the people at the care home say that he hardly remembers who he is some days.'

Cho said 'So, we're at a standstill then.'

Wylie replied, a little nervously, 'Well, yes and no. Before this disease took over him he was actually quite a brilliant doctor himself, specialised in obstetrics. Well, I looked online and he guest lectured at quite a few events around the country for many years. Some of the lectures were even posted online.'

Abbott, growing impatient, interrupted him. 'Is there a point to any of this, Mr Wylie?'

'Well, yes. As I said, some of the lectures were posted online so I have begun to look at the dates of some of them to see if I could rule him out of any of the Red John murders.'

Jane suddenly lifted his head and stared at Wylie.

Wylie continued, a little more nervous as he caught Jane's gaze. 'Well, the first date I checked was the one where ...well, the one you might be interested in hearing about Mr Jane and...well, it turns out that he was giving a lecture in New York on that particular evening.'

Wylie looked back at Abbott. 'Obviously it doesn't clear him of all the murders Red John committed but it's a start.'

Jane sat motionless, still staring at Wylie. Lisbon exhaled loudly.

Fischer asked 'Are you sure, Wylie, the footage hasn't been tampered with or anything like that?'

'No, I've checked the metadata myself, everything is clean, there were also some comments on the footage so I got in touch with a couple of the people who posted them and they've confirmed he was certainly there. I also double checked with the venue and their records back it up too, he was definitely there that night.'

Abbott looked at Wylie. 'Very good work, Mr Wylie, keep at it to make sure we can positively rule him out.'

Abbott turned his attention to Jane. 'So, Julia was obviously bluffing you yesterday, what do you think we should we do about that now?'

Jane's smile returned as he sat back in his chair and looked back at Abbott. 'I think we better get her back in here, believe me she won't do it to me twice.'

As the group broke up Jane caught Wylie on his way out and said to him softly, 'Thank you Jason, you have no idea how happy I was to hear that particular news.'

Wylie, a little uncomfortable upon seeing this new sincere side to Jane, so used he was at seeing the jovial side to him instead, shifted on his toes and muttered 'No problem, just doing my job', exiting the room quickly.

Jane went to the break area to get a cup of tea and found Lisbon there getting a cup of coffee.

When she saw him she hugged him profusely with a huge sigh of relief.

He held her waist and kissed her tenderly, tension erased from his face. 'A little relieved about that, eh?'

She laughed a little. 'Thank god that part's over with at least.' She then broke off from him to grab the cup again and added, 'I can't wait to get that lying bitch back in here now!'

Jane raised his eyebrows to her. 'Am I going to have to restrain you now instead?'

She softened and replied, 'Do you really think you can get her to confess? I mean, like Abbott said, she was able to bluff you of all people yesterday, there are not a lot of people in this world that can do that convincingly.'

Jane nodded, thinking, taking a sip of his tea, and replied, 'You're right, there aren't.'