Jane was distracted the next day, plotting his next move. They were still working on the case up in Chico, and he was very annoyed that the killer was throwing a wrench in his plans by forcing them to drive up there two days in a row. He was eager to see the case closed and get Lisbon back to Sacramento as quickly as possible, so he may have rushed things a little. By late morning, he'd provoked three separate people into fits of rage, and nearly gotten punched in the nose by a scowling iron-faced man named Cheney. Only Lisbon's timely intervention saved him.

"I think it's him," he told her when they got back in the car and were on their way back to Sacramento a couple hours later.

"Cheney?" she said, frowning. "He has an alibi."

"It's faked," Jane said with certainty.

"How?"

"I don't know," Jane said. "But he did it. You saw for yourself. He's hot-headed. Impulsive. He obviously lost it and killed our victim in a temper and covered it up after the fact."

Lisbon rolled her eyes. "Obviously."

"You mock, but you'll see that I'm right," Jane said placidly.

Lisbon sighed. "I'll have Van Pelt double-check his alibi."

"Excellent," Jane said. He glanced over at her, no longer interested in talking about Cheney. He had far more important things on his mind. "You working late again tonight?"

"I was hoping to get out of the office on time for once, actually," Lisbon said. "I need a break after all that audit work."

"Got any plans?"

"Not really," Lisbon said. "I just want to relax."

"Good idea." He cleared his throat. "Hey, remember that time you asked me if I'd seen any good movies lately? And I said no, and asked you if you'd seen any? And you said you hadn't seen any either."

She glanced at him. "Sure, I guess."

Jane gathered his courage. "Well, it was a pretty sad state of affairs, really. Neither of us being able to remember the last time we'd seen a good movie. So I was wondering if you wanted to go to the movies with me tonight. Rectify the situation on both sides."

"Sure," Lisbon said, surprised. "That sounds fun. Is there anything good playing?"

Jane was prepared this time. "Shadow of a Doubt is playing at Tower Theater."

"Hitchcock, right?" Lisbon said. "I don't think I've seen that one."

"You'll like it," he assured her. "It's a classic. Unless you'd rather go see a more modern action movie or something," he added hastily.

She shrugged. "Let's try it out."

"Great," Jane said. "I'll buy you popcorn and everything. What's your favorite kind of movie candy?"

"What, the great Patrick Jane can't guess?" she teased him.

"Ooh, a challenge," he said, pleased. "Let's see. I'd say…you don't have one favorite. Sometimes you go for Milk Duds, other times for M&Ms, other times for Red Hots."

She shook her head, grinning. "I seriously don't get how you do that."

He sat back, smiling at her fondly. "Just paying attention."

Xxx

He bought a large popcorn and five kinds of candy when they got to the theater.

Lisbon gave him a look.

He shrugged. "Just want to have all my bases covered."

She shook her head, but he noticed that she wasn't shy about helping herself to the Red Hots once they were seated. The spicy cinnamon smell went straight to his head. He passed the majority of the movie not paying attention to Joseph Cotten or the clever and good-hearted Teresa Wright, playing his suspicious niece. Instead, he inhaled the scent of the spicy cinnamon and wondered how it would taste on Lisbon's tongue.

"I liked it," Lisbon pronounced when the movie was over and they'd walked out to the hallway together. "The family was great."

"Except the murdering uncle," Jane pointed out.

"Right," Lisbon said. "But I liked all the rest of them."

Jane smiled at her. "Me, too."

She grinned back. "Thanks for buying all that candy."

"Any time, my dear." He made a show of reaching for her wrist and checking her watch. "It's still early. Want to grab a drink?"

"I don't know," Lisbon said. "I'm pretty beat, after working late last night and driving half the day."

"Don't decide yet," he urged. He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "I'm going to stop at the restroom. Just think about it, okay?"

"Okay," Lisbon agreed.

Jane went to the restroom and washed his hands, stalling a little. He knew if he gave her a little more time to think on it, his chances of getting her to agree would be greatly increased.

He stepped back out into the hall, but before he could turn the corner to where Lisbon was waiting for him, someone grabbed him from behind, threw a black hood over his head, and clamped a strong hand over his mouth.

"Lmokph!" Jane tried to yell for help, but it came out as a muffled sort of yelp, and then cool night air hit the back of his neck. His captor had succeeded at manhandling him out into the alley behind the theater.

Jane struggled mightily, deeply annoyed. Kidnapped from a movie theater. Of all the undignified ways to end a date!

His captor shoved him into the back of a van. Jane hit his shin hard on the way in and fell gracelessly onto the van floor. Ugh. This could not be sanitary, he thought, his nose telling him the musty van floor had seen better days. His captor pinned him down and roughly bound his hands with zip ties, undeterred by Jane's spirited flailing.

Jane continued to yell for help, but his voice was muffled by the hood and the body of the van, so his efforts only gained him a clout on the side of the head.

"Shut up," his captor hissed. "Or I'll do a lot worse."

Cheney! Jane thought indignantly. This was only getting worse. How could he have been captured by such an impulsive idiot? It was insulting. If someone was going to kidnap him, it should have at least been at the hands of a clever mastermind, some worthy adversary, not this half-rate moron. Clearly the situation with Lisbon and her spicy candy had thoroughly addled his wits.

Jane shut up. His yelling didn't seem to be doing any good, anyway. He might as well use his energy to some greater purpose. Escaping from Cheney shouldn't be much of a challenge. He only needed a few moments to recover from the shock to his dignity.

He kicked out experimentally to vent his feelings and caught Cheney in the kneecap. Cheney swore and clouted him on the side of the head again.

Okay, now his head really hurt. Jane winced inside the hood and was unsurprised but still winded when Cheney socked him in the stomach.

"Think you're so smart," Cheney muttered. "I'll teach you who's the smartest guy in the room."

Jane didn't dignify this with a response. Obviously, he would be the one teaching Cheney, but there was no point in showing his hand at this stage. He remained silent and played at cowering against the van wall to make Cheney think he had the upper hand.

Cheney dealt him one more swift kick. Jane yelped obligingly, then occupied himself with rolling around on the van floor in search of something to help him get free of the zip ties while Cheney climbed past him into the driver's seat and started the engine.

Really, Jane thought three hours later with some weariness, being kidnapped was not only undignified, it was so boring. He hadn't managed to find a way free of the zip ties yet. His head was still under the hood, greatly hampering his ability to watch for opportunities to escape. He'd deduced by the smell of pine needles, wood smoke, and cedar when Cheney hauled him out of the van that Cheney had brought him to the mountains. He'd taken Jane inside a wooden cabin of some kind, fairly rustic, by the feeling of the draft coming through some unsealed cracks in the east wall, and tied him to a chair.

Jane spent some time plotting his revenge against Cheney, but as Cheney wasn't an adequate challenge for this to occupy much of his brain power, he turned his mind to pleasanter fare. Lisbon had enjoyed herself at the movies, he told himself. This was real progress. They'd actually partaken in a social occasion together. Away from the office, and without the promise of a crime lord muddying the waters about the purpose of said social occasion. Okay, they hadn't made it the entire evening without work intruding, what with the whole kidnapping thing, but they'd made it a solid 85% of the way through with no interruptions or distractions. And Lisbon had been so warm and happy at his side, watching the movie with him. And there was that candy to think about…he spent several very agreeable moments thinking more about that spicy cinnamon taste on her lips, the possibility of running his hands through her long silky hair to bring that cinnamon taste closer…

Bang!

Jane jumped as a gust of icy wind blew through the cabin.

"Freeze!" Cho bellowed, and Jane relaxed. Excellent. The cavalry had arrived.

Then Lisbon was at his side, and he could smell the spicy cinnamon again for real. "Jane," she said, her familiar, wonderful voice so endearingly anxious and worried for him. "Are you all right?"

He felt her soft, slender fingers brush the back of his neck while she fumbled to pull the hood off his head. He blinked into the dim light and shook his head a little. He looked up, and there she was, looking lovely as ever, those green eyes fathoms deep, full of concern for him. He melted a little at the sight. "Right as rain," he assured her.

She put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay." She produced a pocket knife and cut him free of the zip ties.

Jane stood and shook himself free of the kinks from being forced into a static position for so long, then impulsively reached out and hugged her. "Thanks for coming to my rescue."

"Of course," she said, patting him awkwardly on the back. She leaned back, still watching him anxiously. "You sure you're not hurt?"

"Meh," Jane said. "Nothing to signify." Who could fret about one measly bump on the head when Lisbon was still so focused on worrying about him that she hadn't remembered to pull away yet?

He hugged her again, shamelessly taking advantage. She was so warm and strong and soft all at once. "I'm really glad you're here."

"Hey," Cho said, coming back in from outside and interrupting the moment. "We've got Cheney secured in the back of the rig." He addressed Jane. "You hurt?"

"Nah," Jane said.

Lisbon pulled away. "I think I'd better take you to the hospital, just in case," she said, biting her lip.

"I assure you, that's not necessary," Jane said, concealing his dismay at the idea of the date ending not only in kidnapping but the horror of a white hospital gown.

Cho looked back and forth between them. "Lisbon said you guys were at the movie theater together when he took you. Were you out on a date or something?"

Lisbon snorted. "Yeah, right. Jane was trying to buy goodwill for his next scheme by bribing me with candy."

Cho kept his eyes on Jane's face and saw Jane grimace. "Uh-huh," Cho said, clearly guessing the truth of the matter but deciding not to illuminate Lisbon about his conclusions. "Well, we've got Cheney if you want to drive back with Jane."

"Thanks, Cho," Lisbon said, and Jane shot Cho a grateful look. Good old Cho. He'd always known Cho would have his back in matters of the heart.

Lisbon took Jane outside and they climbed into her car.

"How did you find me?" Jane asked curiously.

"I have developed a fool-proof formula over the years," Lisbon informed him. "Whenever you get kidnapped, I think about the top three people you've pissed off in the past twenty-four hours, then identify any locations they might take you to, and narrow it down based on proximity and level of humiliation you've exposed them to."

"Very clever," Jane said, amused.

She shrugged. "Hey, it works. I always find you eventually."

"For that," Jane said, reaching out and taking her hand, which startled her so badly she almost drove off the road, "I am eternally grateful."