"'Kimball' she says, 'you shall kneel before the lord of beasts'." Cho stared hauntedly out the window at the school, one hand anxiously pressed against his chin.
From the backseat, Ronnie rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. He just had to be such a baby.
Totally distracted, Rigsby was actually on watch from his position in the driver's seat. "That's scary." He muttered.
"Yeah." Cho muttered.
"If you're a twelve-year-old girl at her first sleepaway camp." For once, Rigsby seemed to be the more level-headed of the two.
For that comment, Ronnie could have high-fived him. The betrayed look on Cho's face was well worth being unable to reach and shake Rigsby's hand.
"You had to be there." Cho grumbled.
"Oh, Cho, come on. Please. The girl is full of crap. She probably dropped out of college and started running a scam for the cash to live on her own. You're giving her too much credit." Ronnie leaned in between the front two seats. "Though I find it somewhat insulting that you're so freaked out by this and yet when my mother, an actual threat, shows up in my bedroom, you couldn't give a crap."
Rigsby's head snapped around. "Your mom showed up in your bedroom? When? What happened?"
Meanwhile, Cho's face had scrunched up in confusion. "I give a crap."
"Ronnie, when did this happen?" Rigsby asked insistently, turning to give her a once-over. He seemed to be looking for injury, as though he might have missed some terrible wound that her mother might have inflicted upon her.
"Last night." Ronnie responded simply, sitting back in her seat. "It's fine, Rigsby. I'm dealing with it."
Cho let out a scoff like he was about to argue with her, and then paused when something outside caught his eye. "Hey, there he is." He unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car, pausing open to pop Ronnie's door open for her.
She slid out, doing up the button on her collar.
As Cho shut her door and passed her, he muttered, "And I do give a crap, Masters."
Eyebrows raised, Ronnie let his moodiness roll off her back and followed him and Rigsby down the sidewalk, navigating around high school students who were streaming out of the building.
"Daniel Brown?" Rigsby called out, catching the boy's attention.
Cho flashed his badge. "We've got some questions about Cody Elkins."
Ronnie saw the flight in the kid's eyes just before he turned and bolted, and was already mid-sprint after him. Cho and Ronnie close on her heels, the crossed the busy lanes of traffic with cars honking angrily all around them.
Overtaking her, Rigsby tackled Daniel Brown into a pile of garbage, just as a heavy thump sounded from behind them.
Turning, Ronnie saw Cho make contact with an old, brown van, shock and pain crossing his face. "Cho!" Had he just gotten hit? Did he get hit by a van? Ronnie took a few steps forward, trying to see the driver past the glare in the windshield. If he'd hit Cho, he'd pay out the nose.
Recovering, Cho jogged around the front of the van and shook his head at her. "Let it go," He touched her arm as he passed her, kneeling to help Rigsby detain the boy. Once Brown was secured, he glanced over his shoulder. When he noticed the cartoon lion painted on the side of the van as it drove away, the words 'Kingsly Carpet Cleaners' printed under it, a stricken look fell over him.
"The lord of beasts." He muttered.
Ronnie reached him then, her hand falling on his shoulder. "Cho? Did you get hit?"
He stared at her blankly while Rigsby struggled with the thrashing high school student. "The spell was real."
She checked his clothes for any tears or scuff marks. "So you didn't get hit?"
Rigsby was hauling the boy up, dragging him back across the street to the CBI SUV.
When Cho didn't respond, she took one of his arms and pulled him up to his feet, staring at the horrified frown on his normally stoic face. He stared after the van, a distant look in his eyes. "It was real."
"Cho." Ronnie glanced at Rigsby. He seemed to have it handled.
Cho still wasn't responsive.
She gave his tie a small tug. "Cho." Still nothing. She placed a palm to his cheek, a second away from rearing back and slapping his face to snap him out of it, when her touch shocked him back to the present.
He blinked down at her, one hand absently coming up to take her wrist. "Did you see that?" He asked, more coherent that time.
Ronnie began to pull him towards the car. "I saw it, honey."
"You're being condescending again."
"I would never."
the MENTALIST
While Rigsby interviewed Daniel Brown back at the office, Cho, Jane, and Ronnie stood in the observation room. Ronnie was halfway through an energy drink, trying to stay awake after weeks of not sleeping well compounded by the trauma of her mother's presence in her bedroom.
Riveted to the conversation happening behind the glass, Jane took a second to shoot her a glance.
She sat at the table, one elbow propped up on it, rubbing her fingers calmingly over her forehead. A headache was coming on. She needed to eat something. She needed a nap.
Just then, a soft, warm hand cupped the back of her head. "You okay kid? I heard about last night." Jane questioned gently, bending over her shoulder.
Over their heads, Cho watched Jane lean in close and touch her. His arms tightened across his chest, eyes sliding away gruffly.
Ronnie glanced up, nodding gingerly. "I'm good, thanks." She fought her natural reaction to lean into his touch as his hand slipped from the back of her head to her neck.
"Hang in there, Ronnie." Jane encouraged, pressing a fatherly kiss to her hair. "We'll figure this out." With that, he stood upright refocusing on the interview. "Oh, I want to get in there."
Cho glared at him. "Then go in there."
Jane smirked at his surly reaction, but then schooled his face and shook his head seriously. "No, no, I'm waiting." He got another look at Cho and Ronnie out of the corner of his eye, seeing her slouched over the table obliviously while Cho suddenly was standing six inches closer to her than he had been a minute ago.
Five minutes later, Jane couldn't handle it anymore. "I'm going in."
As he burst into the interview room, Cho looked down at Ronnie, more gently than he had in Jane's presence. "Are you actually ok?"
She looked up, a glazed expression on her face. "I'm tired. I'm super spooked, I guess. I'll be okay." Honestly, she couldn't bear the thought of going home that night. She knew the police presence around her apartment was working that day to install extra security, but it still made her jittery and anxious to think about laying in that bed again.
And then, remembering Cho's trauma of the day, she met his eyes again. "How are you doing?"
He rolled his eyes. "You mean besides being spiritually bound to a witch?"
Ronnie snorted and barely choked back her laughter. "Gosh, Cho, it sounds like you've found yourself in a romance novel."
His eyes narrowed. "There's nothing remotely sexual about that."
Anxiety momentarily forgotten, Ronnie lowered her voice to a sultry murmur. "Spiritually bound to a witch."
"I'm not kidding, Masters, I fear for my life."
the MENTALIST
After discovering that Cody Elkins had gotten out of hand and violently assaulted Daniel Brown, who had been paid by the Elkins for his silence, Jane, Cho, and Ronnie paid the Elkins another visit. Still shaken, Cho argued with Jane about the chances that Tamzin Dove was legit the entire way to their house.
Ronnie felt like her brain would melt out of her ears at any second if Cho kept going on about the hippy witch.
The family still seemed to be distraught over their son's murder, both parents sitting forlornly in their own living room, worlds apart from each other.
"Is she in custody? The witch?" Cody's father questioned.
"No, sir." Cho responded, sounding regretful. He explained that they were there to follow up on questions about Cody's alleged violent tendencies, which his parents firmly denied. While Cho tried to gently convince them to confess to their son's aggressive behavior, something caught Jane's attention.
The mentalist took a moment to make an ass of himself before asking to use the restroom and practically being shooed out of the room.
Cho asked if they knew Daniel Brown. The father denied it, the mother didn't.
Ronnie watched while she convinced her husband to confess to the same story that Brown himself had described, watching more of the context surrounding Cody Elkin's death fall into place.
"You gotta understand, if a coach hears about these run-ins, it would have ruined his chances at a top school," Mr. Elkins explained desperately, sinking down on the sofa beside his wife.
Ronnie stared at him in disbelief. "If you kept paying to bury his indiscretions, it would have ruined his chances at a life out of prison."
Elkin's eyes flashed to her, suddenly livid. He scanned her quickly, snapping, "And who do you think you are?" He turned back to Cho. "You'd better call your dog off, or we're done here."
A smile fell over Ronnie's face as Cho sighed in disappointment.
There it was.
The perfunctory shot taken at her physique.
It wouldn't feel like a real case without it.
Cho was trying to get the conversation back on track. "Had these run-ins ever happened before?"
"No." Michael Elkins snapped. His wife corroborated his denial, stating that the affair with Daniel Brown had been an isolated incident.
the MENTALIST
"I totally called that she dropped out of college." Ronnie smirked, smacking Cho's arm proudly.
Rigsby and Van Pelt had found Cody's younger brother, Brad Elkins, in the middle of some kind of secret ritual at Tamzin's house, and had brought them both in. Jane handled the interviewing of Tamzin since Cho wasn't particularly feeling up to it.
"Easy guess." Cho muttered.
When Rigsby discovered Brad's medical records, Lisbon and Jane interviewed him to determine whether or not he'd killed his brother for taking the roughhousing too far.
They didn't even get the chance to finish their talk when his parents showed up. Ronnie stayed with them while Cho went to talk to Lisbon.
"Can I get you anything while you wait? Water? Coffee?" She wondered, gesturing for them to sit in the conference room.
Michael waved her off with a sneer while his wife smiled appreciatively. "No, thank you."
Ronnie nodded, standing by the door. "Brad was unharmed when our agents found him. He's understandably upset, but he's perfectly fine."
Mrs. Elkins nodded, tears in her eyes. "Thank you."
"If you people had arrested that witch woman in the first place, none of this would have happened." Michael snapped, slamming a fist down on the table. "If you'd arrested her the first time we'd reported her, our son would still be alive."
Ronnie turned to face them again, wary of the bursting hostility in his tone. She raised a calming hand. "At this point there's been no evidence to confirm that Miss Dove is responsible for your son's death. As it is, we're following every lead we have to figure it out. I know that it's impossible to be patient or understanding at a time such as this, Mr. Elkins, but I assure you we are working around the clock to figure this out."
Michael shot up from the table, a finger raised and pointing at her accusingly. "Don't tell me you're doing everything you can when that woman is still out there victimizing boys the same way she did to Cody—and tried to do to Brad. And don't tell me you understand what we're going through."
Ronnie didn't make a move to back him out of her personal space. Victims and families acted rashly all the time, and there was little she could justify doing against them when they let their emotions get the best of them. "Mr. Elkins, please have a seat. Agent Lisbon will be with you to explain developments in the case in a minute."
He only continued into her space, jabbing a finger so close to her face she felt his fingernail scrape her cheek. "Don't you tell me what to do."
"Michael!" His wife cried, alarmed at his aggression.
But Ronnie didn't blink. "You need to calm yourself and have a seat, sir."
Michael Elkins lashed out with both hands to grab her by the shoulders, but was stopped in his movements by Cho flinging the door open and stepping inside, putting himself between Michael and Ronnie. His eyes were hard as he backed the older man down, one hand coming around his back to gesture for Ronnie to step back.
She rolled her eyes at her protective partner, leaning against the wall with her hands in her pockets.
"Agent Lisbon will see you, if you'll head out into the hallway and take a right." Cho stated flatly, watching, unmoving, as the couple shuffled meekly out of the room.
When they were gone, he turned to Ronnie, who merely raised her eyebrows at him. "What?"
"What did you say to them?"
She shrugged. "I offered them water. I told them Brad was unharmed. That Michael guy just doesn't like me because my biceps are bigger than his." She flashed him a smirk and thumped her fist against his chest. "You worry too much, Cho."
He still stood over her, hands on his hips, frowning.
She took a moment to admire him, all lean and broad, his dark eyes so deep and feeling when the rest of his face invariably wasn't.
He still hadn't said anything. "You okay, dude?"
He was staring at her face. "Did he hurt you?"
Ronnie blinked. "Huh?"
And then Cho's hand was on her face, the pad of his thumb swiping gently over her cheek, which stung under his touch. She winced, jerking away, and saw his thumb come away with blood. "He scratched you."
Pressing a tissue to the scrape, Ronnie shrugged. "I don't think he meant to. I think he was trying to be intimidating."
Cho sighed heavily. "This family, I swear."
end of episode 12
Tell me what you think!! (Sorry it was so late)