Tell me what you think!!

Flame Red

"The woman who assaulted you is holding her peace quite stubbornly. We're running her prints and pulling her records. Should have the info by lunch. We can hold her for assaulting an officer, but as soon as she asks for a lawyer, she'll be out with a fine." Director Minelli folded his hands on his desk in front of him. "To be totally honest with you, Masters, based on everyone we've interviewed in relation to this case previously, I don't have much hope that we'll learn anything from her."

Sitting next to Cho, Ronnie gave a short nod that didn't at all express her irritation at the CBI's lack of progress. Despite that, she expected no different. "We won't know anything for sure until she shows her own face."

Minelli looked confused. He glanced at Cho, who clarified for him. "Carla doesn't leave loose ends. It's likely that this woman doesn't even know anything."

Throwing his hands up in disbelief, the disgruntled station chief leaned back in his chair. "How could she break into the CBI and assault an officer of the law without having any prior involvement with the woman?"

"Carla Masters is very persuasive." Ronnie let the words hang flat, hands clenched on her thighs. "She found incentive or leverage."

Minelli shook his head. "I can't believe the AG let this case go cold. Well, that's all I have for you right now. I'll let you know what we find out about your assailant."

Cho and Ronnie stood, understanding the implicit dismissal. They thanked the considerate senior officer and moved toward the door.

"Agent Cho." Minelli held out a folder. "Please pass this on to Lisbon. Your team has some work to do."

THE MENTALIST

"Hey. We're up. Suspected arson murder on a farm in Marquesa." Cho entered the bullpen, mouth-first, holding Minelli's folder out to Lisbon.

She snatched it up almost desperately, nearly too fast for Ronnie to notice that Jane had her looking completely flustered, yearning for escape.

Ronnie shared a glance with Van Pelt, who smirked glowingly at what must have been a very telling exchange.

Jane had been making Lisbon blush quite a lot lately.

Cho, as usual, missed it entirely. "The county DA's asking if we'll check it out." He glanced at Jane, only to find him grinning boyishly, and promptly ignored him.

Lisbon flipped through the folder, cheeks heating.

Rigsby elbowed Ronnie excitedly. He masked a laugh in a cough and pointed to the two. "They're flirting telepathically."

"Let's go." Lisbon ordered, abruptly exiting the bullpen with a puppy-like Jane close behind.

Ronnie walked out with Cho, who looked completely baffled by Rigsby and Van Pelt's tittering.

THE MENTALIST

Cho's conservative driving somehow put them at the scene in Marquesa five minutes before the CBI van.

The field where the barn had once stood lay before them serene and peaceful, disturbed only by the lingering cloud of smoke and the rummaging around of the on-scene fire crew.

Cho beheld the burnt carcass of the vehicle with his iconic frown, arms crossed tightly over his chest.

Ronnie shuffled around behind him, careful not to disturb any of the debris left in the dirt.

In the distance, the rest of the team approached through the field, led by the police chief who had directed Cho in.

"My mom snuffed someone like this once." Ronnie murmured. "It was bad."

"We don't know it's homicide yet." Cho didn't turn from the car, as though it was gonna reassemble itself if he looked away from it.

Ronnie caught sight of a padlock fastened to some charred board. Her mind clicked the details into place. "It was. Anyway, my mom lit a school bus on fire."

That caught Cho's attention.

At his horrified look, she shrugged. "She wasn't trying to kill the kids. She was going for the driver. He'd screwed her over with some substances. Anyway, she also took that opportunity to smoke the kids into a new bus and head for the border."

Cho stared at her harder.

It was his version of disgusted disbelief.

Ronnie waved his judgement away with a careless hand. "Oh, don't worry. The driver died but the rest was poorly conceived. She got backed into a corner and abandoned her plan before she got out of the city. The kids are fine."

Once more at ease, Cho turned back to the scene. "You've gotta stop talking like that in public, Masters."

Lisbon set Rigsby to investigating the moment they arrived. He'd spent two years with the San Diego County arson squad.

While he worked, Jane and the police chief discussed the victim's shared military history. Rich Garcia, the victim, and Chief Piller had been in the same platoon, years back.

Piller didn't seem to be handling the death of his comrade very well.

Ronnie felt for him.

After confirming that the scene hadn't been contaminated by the first responders, Rigsby set to work. Like a dog on a scent, he traced the burn path, searching for a point of origin. From there, he'd be able to find out if an accelerant had been used which would indicated arson and, ultimately, murder.

Ronnie had watched him work like that many times. He'd never been wrong before.

Mere seconds later, he'd found the padlocked boards that Ronnie had seen. They were remnants of the garage door, locked from the outside.

He looked up soberly at the chief, still crouching in the ash. "Your friend was murdered. I'm sorry."

"Don't they usually like to watch their work, arsonists?" Cho wondered.

Rigsby put the boards back on the ground. "Yeah, even more so when it's coupled with murder."

THE MENTALIST

Ronnie took the wheel so Cho could call the forensics team. He put in a request to get casts of the tire tracks on the road leading up to the field.

She pulled off in the ditch to preserve the dirt and engaged the parking break. Just in case.

Forensics would be at least twenty minutes.

Ronnie turned the A/C up full blast.

"You seem stressed." Cho commented absently, staring out at the field. Most of the crops were dead or dying. "Have you been sleeping?"

Ronnie scoffed, staring at Cho's cheap gas station air freshener. "My mom has people in my apartment. Taking pictures. I got attacked in the bathroom at work. It's not exactly a peaceful atmosphere I'm surrounded by."

Cho finally looked at her. His eyes were so concerned and searching that she thought he might reach over and hug her, but instead he just said, "You gotta get a new place."

Ronnie rolled her eyes. "With what money? My last paycheck was seven hundred."

Cho seemed surprised. "You serious?"

"Not bad for government work." She quipped.

He seemed to disagree. "Did something happen last night?"

The change of subject was a welcome one. "No. I'm just too uneasy to fall asleep."

"Maybe you should stay with one of us for a while."

"And make one of you guys collateral damage? No thank you." Ronnie rubbed at the tension in her shoulders. She'd tossed and turned all night. Her collarbone had taken the brunt of it.

"We'll already be leverage. If she's as good as you and I both know she is, she'll use every one of us to either manipulate or torture you or both."

When the forensics team showed up, Cho gave them Lisbon's instructions and stood by, signing forms and confirming paperwork while the team took the casts.

Ronnie watched. The sun bore down on her dark clothes, beating into her skin.

She felt weak.

The lack of sleep hadn't been kind over the past couple days.

A hamburger would have been great in that moment.

Instead, she got a ping from Lisbon. "Chief Piller's house on fire. Piller inside. Address to follow."

"Oh crap." Ronnie slid back into the driver's seat. "Cho!"

He squinted at her past the sun as though she'd thrown a rock at him.

"We gotta go!"