Russian Roulette (4/16)
Previous Parts: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
Part Four - Doubt
They spent an increasing amount of time together and soon enough, Lisbon fell into a relationship with Jackson Roberts. She hadn’t been looking for one; Lisbon found it difficult to truly trust other people and had been happy enough on her own. However, that was often the way. Before she died, her mother had always insisted that she shouldn’t go looking for love. That it would find her when she least expected it to happen. Deep down, she had always clung onto that belief. And now, though she was still behaving cautiously about it all, it seemed true enough.
And she genuinely did like him. He was easy to talk to, always trying to please and he never made her feel uncomfortable. Even if she was behaving nonsensically, he seemed to take it in his stride and never judged when she tried to push him away. In that respect, he appeared to be the polar opposite of any other man she had fallen for and she appreciated the change.
That was why, after six months of dating, she felt the need to introduce him to her brothers. However tempestuous her relationships with them, she did appreciate their opinions on such matters. One by one, she cautiously organized the meetings. James and Joseph had both been thrilled with the developments. They had been pleased that their elder sister was finally showing signs that she was ready to settle down and do something relatively normal. After everything they had been through as kids, it was all they had ever wanted for her.
Tommy, however, was always going to be the hard sell. That was unsurprising given the fact he had always been the most difficult of the three.
At least the meal had been pleasant enough. Jackson had immediately charmed Tommy’s six year old daughter, Annabeth, and the girl had been on her best behavior. Tommy, meanwhile, had yet to say something rude, but Lisbon knew there was always time. After all, he had spent most of the afternoon shooting dirty glares in Jackson’s direction. Even though he squeezed her hand reassuringly, Lisbon could tell that Jack was finding the situation as uncomfortable as she was.
Later on, they returned to Tommy’s place. Annabeth was happily playing ‘Cowboys and Indians’ with her toy ponies in the middle of the lounge. Despite lame protestations about bedtime from her father, Jack insisted that she was doing no harm. Besides, it wasn’t a school night and he was trying to get to know both Tommy and his daughter.
The television provided background noise, filling the silence when stilted conversation could not. Lisbon couldn’t help but judge her brother’s taste in TV when she realized it was a dodgy chat show onscreen. Worse, the featured guest was some man masquerading as a psychic. She watched, only intrigued by the fact that people could fall so easily for such a charlatan.
Then again, he was good. And there was no denying that he was rather easy on the eye, either.
“I’ll turn it off,” Tommy said rather hastily.
“Don’t,” Jack insisted.
He was practically rapt until the end of the segment and only drew his attention away whenever it cut to adverts. Lisbon eyed him warily, making note of the fact he was squeezing the armrest of the couch so tightly that the whites of his knuckles were showing. She frowned; he had no reason to be acting so tense, especially over something as stupid as this. Everyone knew that psychics didn’t exist, that this man was little more than a con artist. Didn’t they?
Only when his cellphone rang shrilly was he no longer transfixed by the screen. Instead, his attention was transferred onto the device until the call ended. Everybody watched as he answered the call in short, sharp sentences. Once he said goodbye, Lisbon finally dared to speak to him.
“What’s happened, what’s wrong?”
“I’ve got to go,” he answered and she gave him a pointed look when he didn’t elaborate. Eventually, he sighed and continued. “My mom’s taken a fall; I’ve got to go see her.”
“You sure that’s all?”
“Teresa…”
“Okay, okay,” she said, relenting. “Send her my love.”
He placed a soft kiss on her cheek and Lisbon flinched at the touch. Unlike the other kisses he sent her way, it seemed like it was lacking something. Then again, she couldn’t blame him if his mind was elsewhere. She understood how and why he was so protective of his elderly mother. Lisbon could remember all too clearly what it was like to be the main breadwinner of the family at an all too young age. Just because he was suffering the slow and steady demise of a parent at an older age, it didn’t make it any easier.
“I probably won’t be back home for a few days. You’ll let work know for me?”
She nodded and he seemed to accept her word for it. Jack gave his farewells quickly to Annabeth and Tommy, the latter of whom seemed like he couldn’t wait to get rid of him. When his car had pulled off the drive and disappeared into the distance, Tommy rounded on her.
“What the hell was all that about, Reese?” he asked with a steady glare.
“Really, Tommy? He’s stressed. Wouldn’t you be if something happened to-“
“Who? Mom, Dad?” he replied, baiting her. “They’re dead, Reese. Remember?”
“How can I forget?” she seethed. “What about Annabeth, Joe, Jay… me?”
“I don’t like him.”
Lisbon stared at her brother, surprised by the quick change of subject. Then again, whenever her brother didn’t like the direction the conversation was going in, he was liable to do that. Her concerns that Jackson hadn’t been telling her the whole truth had quickly dissipated and been replaced with frustrations about her brother. He could never seem to be happy for anyone else, barring himself. Out of all four of them, he was the only one who really wore the chip on his shoulder.
“I wasn’t asking you to like him.”
“Oh yeah? Then why the hell did you bring him here, then?”
xxx
The lie had tripped easily off of his tongue.
Of course it did, it was only a white lie and their whole relationship was based on them. Deceit was a natural state of mind for Red John and some people were easier than others to fleece. He’d half expected Teresa Lisbon to see straight through him, to work out what he actually was. While she had briefly questioned him, she had dropped the matter quickly. It was almost disappointing. Her famous Rottweiler attitude at work was half of the reason he’d been drawn to her. Then again, had she not been distracted by her foolish younger brother, than maybe she would have had more fight left in her.
Still, it made it easier to slip away and disappear into the ether. He didn’t have a mother; she’d died, years ago. His father went much the same way. Red John would know, they were his first murders. Of course, nobody knew that. He’d been naïve, back then. Didn’t have the same kind of finesse which he prided himself now. It was a matter of luck that he had managed to (literally) get away with murder. Instead, the cases had been left in the bottom of a pile somewhere. Cold cases, officially. Unsolved murders. There were no links to Red John. He’d made sure of that since.
Now, he knew. He played with no such chance. Red John knew what he was doing, he had experience and expertise. If he wanted to kill somebody, he could.
He also made sure to effortlessly ensure that his personas appeared entirely separate in the public eye.
The moment that somebody suspected him of being the serial killer, he was going to be in trouble. Of course, he wasn’t going to let that happen. Anybody who got close enough to suspect ended up six feet under anyway.
There was one exception to that rule.
Red John had been aware of Patrick Jane for quite some time. He had been watching with eagle eyes as the man had volunteered his services to aid the Major Crimes Unit with his case. When the case had changed hands to a certain Teresa Lisbon, Jane’s association had been put into jeopardy. Not because Minelli hadn’t been somewhat pleased with the charlatan’s assistance in the case, but mostly because of logistics behind the scenes. In other words, Red John had thrown a spanner into the works during his day work.
Seeing him on television, acting as if nothing had changed, had annoyed him.
His company hadn’t been able to quell the rage bubbling inside him. Nor had he been able to stop thinking about anything other than retaliating.
One of his allies had called him, asking ‘what should we do?’
I’ll be there, he’d responded. I’ll sort it out.
And sort it out, he would.
For death would have been too kind for somebody like Patrick Jane. No, Red John had a fate much worse than death planned for him. Something deserving of a man with such an ego, such arrogance. He didn’t need taking down just a step or two, but a whole damn flight of stairs. He needed reminding that he was human, that he had flaws, that he made mistakes.
That he had just made the worst mistake of his damn life.
When they had first crossed paths, Red John had suspected that Jane would behave in such a way. That was why he had taken it upon himself to learn every minute fact about the man that he could. His upbringing, his friends, what he prided himself on… his family.
Contrary to popular belief, Red John understood family. He knew that that was where a man’s weakness was likely to be. He understood that people always relied upon their family in times of trouble. They always expected them to be there, to hold their hands, to catch them when they fell. That was why so many people’s lives fell apart whenever something disastrously wrong happened to that support unit. It was half the reason Lisbon - with her broken background and walls as a consequence - was such an interesting person.
And Jane did have a family. He had a wife, who had suffered with him for too long, and a pretty little daughter. While it would be sad, almost, to kill Angela Ruskin-Jane, it would almost be a blessing in disguise for her. After all, how long had Jane been destroying her from the inside for? As for the girl, that would be the most devastating part of his plans for Patrick Jane.
No man was meant to outlive his children.
But Patrick Jane was going to do just that.
Throughout the flight to Malibu, the very thought had Red John humming with excitement.
He’d had the pleasure of meeting with the Jane family on a number of occasions. Angela was a pleasant woman, who carried her tension well. Surprisingly enough, young Charlotte was a well brought up little lady. If Patrick Jane hadn’t been her father, then he was sure that Charlotte would have been destined for great things. Alas, that wasn’t meant to be. Instead, she had a date with his silver blade.
On the final part of his journey to the Jane family residence, Red John found himself moving faster and faster. Swiftly, he knocked three times on the door and waited as patiently as he could. He wasn’t a friend of the family, per se, but he was definitely an acquaintance. It wouldn’t have been completely out of character for him to show up on their doorstep.
Angela looked confused when she answered the door, but he explained quickly. The car had broken down; he was visiting his elderly mother who was staying in a care home nearby. Patrick had said he was always welcome to stop by whenever he was in the area. The woman accepted his statements without question and stood to allow Red John into her home.
And he smiled. It was time.
To Part Five
Part Four - Doubt
They spent an increasing amount of time together and soon enough, Lisbon fell into a relationship with Jackson Roberts. She hadn’t been looking for one; Lisbon found it difficult to truly trust other people and had been happy enough on her own. However, that was often the way. Before she died, her mother had always insisted that she shouldn’t go looking for love. That it would find her when she least expected it to happen. Deep down, she had always clung onto that belief. And now, though she was still behaving cautiously about it all, it seemed true enough.
And she genuinely did like him. He was easy to talk to, always trying to please and he never made her feel uncomfortable. Even if she was behaving nonsensically, he seemed to take it in his stride and never judged when she tried to push him away. In that respect, he appeared to be the polar opposite of any other man she had fallen for and she appreciated the change.
That was why, after six months of dating, she felt the need to introduce him to her brothers. However tempestuous her relationships with them, she did appreciate their opinions on such matters. One by one, she cautiously organized the meetings. James and Joseph had both been thrilled with the developments. They had been pleased that their elder sister was finally showing signs that she was ready to settle down and do something relatively normal. After everything they had been through as kids, it was all they had ever wanted for her.
Tommy, however, was always going to be the hard sell. That was unsurprising given the fact he had always been the most difficult of the three.
At least the meal had been pleasant enough. Jackson had immediately charmed Tommy’s six year old daughter, Annabeth, and the girl had been on her best behavior. Tommy, meanwhile, had yet to say something rude, but Lisbon knew there was always time. After all, he had spent most of the afternoon shooting dirty glares in Jackson’s direction. Even though he squeezed her hand reassuringly, Lisbon could tell that Jack was finding the situation as uncomfortable as she was.
Later on, they returned to Tommy’s place. Annabeth was happily playing ‘Cowboys and Indians’ with her toy ponies in the middle of the lounge. Despite lame protestations about bedtime from her father, Jack insisted that she was doing no harm. Besides, it wasn’t a school night and he was trying to get to know both Tommy and his daughter.
The television provided background noise, filling the silence when stilted conversation could not. Lisbon couldn’t help but judge her brother’s taste in TV when she realized it was a dodgy chat show onscreen. Worse, the featured guest was some man masquerading as a psychic. She watched, only intrigued by the fact that people could fall so easily for such a charlatan.
Then again, he was good. And there was no denying that he was rather easy on the eye, either.
“I’ll turn it off,” Tommy said rather hastily.
“Don’t,” Jack insisted.
He was practically rapt until the end of the segment and only drew his attention away whenever it cut to adverts. Lisbon eyed him warily, making note of the fact he was squeezing the armrest of the couch so tightly that the whites of his knuckles were showing. She frowned; he had no reason to be acting so tense, especially over something as stupid as this. Everyone knew that psychics didn’t exist, that this man was little more than a con artist. Didn’t they?
Only when his cellphone rang shrilly was he no longer transfixed by the screen. Instead, his attention was transferred onto the device until the call ended. Everybody watched as he answered the call in short, sharp sentences. Once he said goodbye, Lisbon finally dared to speak to him.
“What’s happened, what’s wrong?”
“I’ve got to go,” he answered and she gave him a pointed look when he didn’t elaborate. Eventually, he sighed and continued. “My mom’s taken a fall; I’ve got to go see her.”
“You sure that’s all?”
“Teresa…”
“Okay, okay,” she said, relenting. “Send her my love.”
He placed a soft kiss on her cheek and Lisbon flinched at the touch. Unlike the other kisses he sent her way, it seemed like it was lacking something. Then again, she couldn’t blame him if his mind was elsewhere. She understood how and why he was so protective of his elderly mother. Lisbon could remember all too clearly what it was like to be the main breadwinner of the family at an all too young age. Just because he was suffering the slow and steady demise of a parent at an older age, it didn’t make it any easier.
“I probably won’t be back home for a few days. You’ll let work know for me?”
She nodded and he seemed to accept her word for it. Jack gave his farewells quickly to Annabeth and Tommy, the latter of whom seemed like he couldn’t wait to get rid of him. When his car had pulled off the drive and disappeared into the distance, Tommy rounded on her.
“What the hell was all that about, Reese?” he asked with a steady glare.
“Really, Tommy? He’s stressed. Wouldn’t you be if something happened to-“
“Who? Mom, Dad?” he replied, baiting her. “They’re dead, Reese. Remember?”
“How can I forget?” she seethed. “What about Annabeth, Joe, Jay… me?”
“I don’t like him.”
Lisbon stared at her brother, surprised by the quick change of subject. Then again, whenever her brother didn’t like the direction the conversation was going in, he was liable to do that. Her concerns that Jackson hadn’t been telling her the whole truth had quickly dissipated and been replaced with frustrations about her brother. He could never seem to be happy for anyone else, barring himself. Out of all four of them, he was the only one who really wore the chip on his shoulder.
“I wasn’t asking you to like him.”
“Oh yeah? Then why the hell did you bring him here, then?”
xxx
The lie had tripped easily off of his tongue.
Of course it did, it was only a white lie and their whole relationship was based on them. Deceit was a natural state of mind for Red John and some people were easier than others to fleece. He’d half expected Teresa Lisbon to see straight through him, to work out what he actually was. While she had briefly questioned him, she had dropped the matter quickly. It was almost disappointing. Her famous Rottweiler attitude at work was half of the reason he’d been drawn to her. Then again, had she not been distracted by her foolish younger brother, than maybe she would have had more fight left in her.
Still, it made it easier to slip away and disappear into the ether. He didn’t have a mother; she’d died, years ago. His father went much the same way. Red John would know, they were his first murders. Of course, nobody knew that. He’d been naïve, back then. Didn’t have the same kind of finesse which he prided himself now. It was a matter of luck that he had managed to (literally) get away with murder. Instead, the cases had been left in the bottom of a pile somewhere. Cold cases, officially. Unsolved murders. There were no links to Red John. He’d made sure of that since.
Now, he knew. He played with no such chance. Red John knew what he was doing, he had experience and expertise. If he wanted to kill somebody, he could.
He also made sure to effortlessly ensure that his personas appeared entirely separate in the public eye.
The moment that somebody suspected him of being the serial killer, he was going to be in trouble. Of course, he wasn’t going to let that happen. Anybody who got close enough to suspect ended up six feet under anyway.
There was one exception to that rule.
Red John had been aware of Patrick Jane for quite some time. He had been watching with eagle eyes as the man had volunteered his services to aid the Major Crimes Unit with his case. When the case had changed hands to a certain Teresa Lisbon, Jane’s association had been put into jeopardy. Not because Minelli hadn’t been somewhat pleased with the charlatan’s assistance in the case, but mostly because of logistics behind the scenes. In other words, Red John had thrown a spanner into the works during his day work.
Seeing him on television, acting as if nothing had changed, had annoyed him.
His company hadn’t been able to quell the rage bubbling inside him. Nor had he been able to stop thinking about anything other than retaliating.
One of his allies had called him, asking ‘what should we do?’
I’ll be there, he’d responded. I’ll sort it out.
And sort it out, he would.
For death would have been too kind for somebody like Patrick Jane. No, Red John had a fate much worse than death planned for him. Something deserving of a man with such an ego, such arrogance. He didn’t need taking down just a step or two, but a whole damn flight of stairs. He needed reminding that he was human, that he had flaws, that he made mistakes.
That he had just made the worst mistake of his damn life.
When they had first crossed paths, Red John had suspected that Jane would behave in such a way. That was why he had taken it upon himself to learn every minute fact about the man that he could. His upbringing, his friends, what he prided himself on… his family.
Contrary to popular belief, Red John understood family. He knew that that was where a man’s weakness was likely to be. He understood that people always relied upon their family in times of trouble. They always expected them to be there, to hold their hands, to catch them when they fell. That was why so many people’s lives fell apart whenever something disastrously wrong happened to that support unit. It was half the reason Lisbon - with her broken background and walls as a consequence - was such an interesting person.
And Jane did have a family. He had a wife, who had suffered with him for too long, and a pretty little daughter. While it would be sad, almost, to kill Angela Ruskin-Jane, it would almost be a blessing in disguise for her. After all, how long had Jane been destroying her from the inside for? As for the girl, that would be the most devastating part of his plans for Patrick Jane.
No man was meant to outlive his children.
But Patrick Jane was going to do just that.
Throughout the flight to Malibu, the very thought had Red John humming with excitement.
He’d had the pleasure of meeting with the Jane family on a number of occasions. Angela was a pleasant woman, who carried her tension well. Surprisingly enough, young Charlotte was a well brought up little lady. If Patrick Jane hadn’t been her father, then he was sure that Charlotte would have been destined for great things. Alas, that wasn’t meant to be. Instead, she had a date with his silver blade.
On the final part of his journey to the Jane family residence, Red John found himself moving faster and faster. Swiftly, he knocked three times on the door and waited as patiently as he could. He wasn’t a friend of the family, per se, but he was definitely an acquaintance. It wouldn’t have been completely out of character for him to show up on their doorstep.
Angela looked confused when she answered the door, but he explained quickly. The car had broken down; he was visiting his elderly mother who was staying in a care home nearby. Patrick had said he was always welcome to stop by whenever he was in the area. The woman accepted his statements without question and stood to allow Red John into her home.
And he smiled. It was time.
To Part Five