Chapter 3: The Good Doctor
Dr Friedman had arranged to meet Lisbon to go over Jane's case, Lisbon being the only living person who could fill in the gaps. The bespectacled psychiatrist had a slightly offbeat feel to him to him, his slightly unkempt wiry grey hair and mismatched clothing and sandals gave him an unworldly feel but his sharp eyes showed a razor sharp mind that belied his appearance.
Dr Friedman had recently lost his own wife after a prolonged illness and was still struggling with the practicalities of day to day living things like choosing his own clothes. His sons had rallied round but they lived busy lives and tried to compartmentalise everything, they just did not have the sensitivity to appreciate that grief cannot be switched on and off.
They could not appreciate that he did not want to move on - he wanted to experience his grief in full; the happy recollection of the intimacies that only he and his wife had shared - just silly things not even romantic and the little imperfections that drove him crazy but he would not have changed for all the world.
He did not want to be organised, he did not want to sort things out - there was no timetable he just wanted to follow through the process until he was ready . He could still function and in many ways felt he had more empathy with his patients, understanding that there was no magic solution and things just took as long as they took.
Lisbon felt strangely at ease with him, she felt Jane would be in safe hands and might even warm to the man's slightly unorthodox appearance – Jane normally had an irrational aversion to slick doctors but she instinctively knew that Jane would like this bookish man and he in turn would be unfazed by Jane's antics and would be prepared to call him out on things.
"So Agent Lisbon, or may I call you Teresa?" Dr Friedman started.
"Teresa's fine"
"So you have known Patrick for a long time?"
"I was the Agent in charge of the case of the serial killer Red John who killed Jane's wife and daughter, he came to me for an update on the investigation initially. We quickly realised that his ability to read people would be invaluable to us and he started to work with us as a consultant."
"So tell me about him when you first met him"
"He had a homeless vibe to him, unkempt not worried about his appearance and kind of vulnerable. He could still manipulate people to get what he wanted – almost straight away he had put us in an awkward position by tricking one of my team into being aggressive towards him, so we couldn't just fob him off with some platitudes.
At times there was a childlike innocence to him his face would just light up in wonderment when he saw something of beauty; he would take great pleasure in simple things - he loved the outdoors and nature.
He was both endearing and annoying in equal measure – he would do the most outrageous things but then would win us round with simple acts of kindness and his winning smile.
Believe me Dr Klein when Jane starts to recover he will try to wrap everyone round his little finger in order to get what he wants – very few people are immune to his dazzling smile when he chooses to use it.
Conversely when someone irks him they may suddenly find little things start to go wrong without reason. Jane does not live by the normal conventions – he has his own code of conduct, quite moral in his own way these days but the end justifies the means for him – rules simply have no meaning to him."
"I have read the files about what happened to his wife and child, I understand he had a breakdown and spent some time in hospital."
"Yes that is right, he did not like people to know about this phase of his life, I am the only co-worker aware of the details of his breakdown – though God knows he had nothing to be ashamed of with all he has had to cope with.
A psychiatrist Sophie Miller, who bore a superficial resemblance to his deceased wife managed to engage with him and pull him through. She was a complex and combative character herself and did not go strictly by the rules, in that respect they were kindred spirits and they stayed in touch on and off over the years. She was murdered by Red John - Jane found her head in the oven after finding a note with one of his smiley faces saying dinner is in the oven." Lisbon just shuddered at that recollection.
" Thank you Teresa this is so much better that reading dry case notes, I am starting to get a picture of a complex and interesting man now tell me about how it all started."
" Jane was a minor celebrity in his earlier life as a fake psychic , he was a regular on TV the camera loved him with his slicked back hair and shiny suits he was a natural. One fateful time he got carried away in the limelight and offended Red John who decided to teach him a lesson and Jane came home to find his wife and daughter murdered.
He will never forgive himself for that, although he did not wield the knife he still feels the guilt of that day. The video clips are still up on You Tube of Jane is his heyday if you want to look at them."
"Hmm interesting, maybe I could get one of my younger colleagues to look at that."
Lisbon got the impression that technology had passed the good doctor by.
" Now I understand that you witnessed him in a fugue state - tell me more about it."
"Someone tried to kill Jane and he regressed to his old conman days – all the team his friends, we were all marks. He did not know me and thought we were sleeping together, as he could not understand how else he would know a cop.
He was about to embark on life as a conman again, so I took him back to the scene of the murder and the memories and pain came flooding back to him. It was devastating for him to have to face up to it all again.
I hope I did the right thing – I was never entirely sure."
" I am sure you did what you thought was best Teresa it is obvious you were concerned for him. You are close?" he asked pointedly.
"We are friends and colleagues" she said coyly.
"Just friends – no entanglements perhaps?" he smiled and raised an eyebrow.
"We are the best of friends – he is the person I am closest to in this world and vice versa but that is all."
"It is obvious you have feelings – and Patrick?"
"There is an unspoken bond – I don't know what it is but Jane was driven by his desire for revenge and would not entertain matters of the heart. With one exception , which was a means to an end, Jane has been entirely loyal to his dead wife's memory."
Friedman understood that position, he had no desire to move on from his own loss and just wished people would leave him alone.
"I think Patrick is a very lucky man to have you as a friend my dear. So going back to his present state what would you say has caused it?"
"Well I was not there but Jane would feel he had let everyone down. He wouldn't cope well with failure; his nerves were pretty much shot at this stage and he had put everything into this final push. It was do or die for him."
"He has killed before – would you say he is a violent man?"
"Not at all he has an aversion for physical violence – this is a crusade to Jane a righteous kill."
Friedman was looking forward to getting his teeth into this case, he could empathise with much of what he had heard.
"This has been most interesting Teresa, we will talk again as the treatment progresses. Now I understand you managed to get some response from Patrick – we had him on a low dose drug therapy to try and alleviate the immediate stress and agitation. He seems calm but just wants to sleep at the moment. I would like to slowly withdraw the medication and see how he progresses over the next few days. Hopefully the sleep will help heal some of the trauma and I can start a talking therapy over the next few days.
What I would like you to do is talk to him and assist with some of the simple tasks such as helping him with eating and drinking – he may respond better to someone he knows. Don't take it personally if he does not respond to you and don't mention events leading up the trauma – he is in a safe place now with his memories. One other thing does Patrick have any interests?"
"Jane loves music and is an avid reader classics, poetry he can hold his own on any subject - he has the most amazing memory - a memory palace he calls it."
Teresa noticed a chess set in the consulting room then added "He bought me a chess set but I rarely played him because he beat me every time."
"One final question for today, I notice you call him Jane not Patrick – when you are with him I think a more personal approach will be more appropriate."
They bade each other goodbye and Theresa made her way to Jane's room, where she found Cho waiting outside looking in watching Jane's inert body.
"Kimball, what are you doing here – you know Jane wouldn't like it."
"Had to see it for myself Boss and you can't do everything yourself."
The normally stoical man frowned obviously upset, in their own undemonstrative way he and Jane had quite a friendship. "I've been watching him - he has not moved a muscle he is just a shell. How will he ever recover from this?"
"Kimball, now please don't take this the wrong way but you know how proud Jane is - he would be mortified to know that the team had seen him this way. It is really better he does not see you until he is in a better state."
Cho nodded his agreement. "Abbott called me this morning, he says there is an opening at Quantico if I can be there next week." he looked at her for approval "You alright with that Boss? I feel bad leaving you at this stage - I can always see if he can get me on the next programme if I can help in any way."
"Kimball stop calling me Boss! I could not be happier. Just make sure they don't put a chip in your neck while you are there." she said with a proud smile on her face. He really deserved this, she half suspected he had put his career on hold out of loyalty to her.
"Go on get yourself ready - you must have things to do I will call you tonight." She watched him reluctantly leave - knowing his loyalties were divided at this point.
Dr Friedman smiled at the recollection of the diminutive but proud woman who had so succinctly presented the case to him - her professional training allowing her to step back from personal feelings to make an analytic, if not entirely unbiased appraisal. No matter how hard she tried to disguise her feelings, there was obviously some profound bond between her and the patient.
The prospect of dealing with another broken man, whose grief must outweigh his own tenfold held no worries for him - he genuinely wanted to help this poor soul find himself or what was left of himself.
He chuckled - let's see what we can do Teresa, with the love of a good woman and some gentle guidance we will find out what Patrick Jane is all about. From what he had heard he already liked the sound of Patrick Jane.
A/N not sure when the next update will be , I have a full on week ahead of me.