Battlefield (5/15)
Previous parts: Prologue, Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four
"Why?" Lisbon asked Jane bluntly. "Why has he killed Agent Douglas' mom? What is the message behind it?"
Jane shrugged his shoulders but Lisbon knew he was already thinking about the whys behind it. The notorious serial killer, Red John, simply did not kill for the sake of killing, or at least, he didn't do that anymore. There was usually a hidden message behind it and that message was usually for Patrick Jane himself. Lisbon squeezed her eyes shut as the image of Lorelei Martins' butchered body flooded the forefront of her mind. Jane had literally spent months and months grooming her, with the hope that one day; she would give up Red John to them. And on the day that she agreed to give up the identity of her serial killer associate, they had discovered her dead. That had been his way of telling them that, in his eyes, no cost was too great. And that, however solid a lead may have seemed and however determined they were that this time, they would capture him, he would always find a way to slip between their fingers.
"Jane," she stated softly.
"Sorry, just thinking," he answered back.
"Well, speaking would be good right now."
Lisbon glanced briefly out of the door to the master bedroom. Somewhere in the hallway, Lilith Douglas was sobbing and in shock, and Grace Van Pelt was attempting to comfort the poor woman. Her closest relative, her only living family, had been murdered simply because she had chosen to join their unit. As far as Lisbon was concerned, it was cruel and senseless. The woman had been dying from cancer anyway; he had just sped up the process. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a tiny voice argued that Red John had cut short her suffering, but Lisbon ignored it. As far as she was concerned, Douglas had been stolen of the last few months she could have spent with her mother, and vice versa. Regardless of how sick her mother was, it didn't change the fact that it was cruel murder, especially as Douglas was only suffering because of who she worked with.
Jane crept around the body carefully, trying desperately to take it all in. As usual, it was practically perfect in every way. Red John had left them with absolutely nothing to work with. Lisbon clenched her fists several times as the tension in her body built up. Just what was she meant to say to her rookie? She couldn't promise that they would catch him, and that they would bring her mother's killer to justice. He had eluded them for so long that it was clear that it would just be a petty lie. What, exactly, was different about this time around? Nothing. They all knew it, even if none of them wanted to admit it out loud.
"Red John always wants to hurt the unit as a whole, not just me," Jane eventually answered and Lisbon nodded in response.
That was something she had figured out a while ago, when Red John had used and abused Van Pelt's naïveté against her and Craig O'Laughlin had seduced her. While it was obvious that she had somehow managed to piece herself back together again, the damage had already been done. Grace was still scarred for life. She still found it notoriously hard to trust any man whatsoever, regardless of how genuine they appeared at face value. Lisbon felt responsible for her team and whenever he tried to hurt them - or worse - she couldn't help but blame herself. As far as she was concerned, she dragged them into this mess with her eyes wide open. She didn't have to willingly follow Jane on his quest for revenge; she chose to. As a consequence, her team followed her down this dark alleyway too. There were targets painted on each and every one of their backs, regardless of how long the team had been together.
She shook her head violently; she couldn't afford to start thinking like that, not now. However much it felt like a lie to think that maybe next time would actually be this time, she had to put all her energies into the case. Otherwise, they would never have a chance to capture him and they might as well give up now. Lisbon left Jane working with the body and went to call Cho, who was dealing with the killer father at present; they needed to get moving on Red John now. The call to Cho was predictably swift; he’d already managed to get a confession out of the man responsible for his own daughter’s death. Now, he was in the middle of preparing the transfer papers in Lisbon’s absence. At least that was some good news; it was one more case closed and one less thing to worry about.
"Cho, I want you to do a background check on Mary Douglas; find out if there are any other reasons why she was targeted by Red John,” she said as a conclusion. “Jane and I will go to the hospital, speak to the staff there."
Cho acquiesced immediately, but Lisbon could tell by the tone of his voice that he felt uncomfortable with the task he had been assigned. After all, it felt like an invasion of his coworker's privacy and Lisbon knew just how much Kimball Cho respected everybody he worked with. Just because he sometimes crossed certain rules in order to close a case, it didn't mean he didn't still have that inherent respect inside of him. That was what Cho was like; he did whatever he felt was right, regardless of what the rulebook said. And usually, his instincts proved to be correct.
Slowly, she made her way back to Jane, who was still kneeling beside the body of Mary Douglas. Deep down, Lisbon knew that Cho wouldn't find out anything they didn't know already. Red John had killed the woman because every single member of the CBI's Serious Crimes Unit had to be tainted by the serial killer in some way. It was as simple as that. However, if by some remote reason they were able to discover how Red John had come across the woman, then maybe, there was a half a chance that they could close the net on him.
It was still highly unlikely though. They all knew that.
Quietly, Lisbon and Jane left Van Pelt to hold down the fort at the Douglas family residence. Douglas herself opted to stay with her, and Lisbon was almost relieved by that decision. She knew Lilith had a reckless streak and the last thing they needed her to do was do something stupid and compromise the case. If for some remote reason, Red John was apprehended, they didn't want him getting off on a technicality. At least this way, it gave Douglas a way to clear her thoughts and make some serious decisions. That included whether or not she wanted to stay with the team at all; nobody would blame her if she chose to leave after this.
The visit to the hospital proved to be, ultimately, a fruitless enterprise. The doctors merely confirmed that the woman was in the middle of receiving brutal chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer, and that the disease had spread. Any treatment she was receiving was designed to prolong her life, not to save it. Red John had murdered a woman whose condition had become terminal. She was going to die anyway. Regardless of that simple fact, Lisbon couldn't help but feel guilty for being partially responsible for allowing her agent's mother's death to be sped up. It was a tragic situation for her to be in. If they had already caught Red John, put him behind bars and sent him to death row, then he wouldn't have been capable of doing this. Instead, Mary Douglas would have been able to live out those last precious few months with her only child.
With a heavy sigh, they headed back to the SUV. Jane was still in a quiet, pensive mood. Normally, during a Red John case, he was a little more wired than this and it almost worried Lisbon. But then, that almost seemed like a contradiction. After all, she was usually worried because he was behaving too recklessly during a Red John case, threatening to either kill the serial killer or compromise the case to the extent that Red John could eventually walk free. Instead, it seemed like Jane had already decided that it was futile, this time wouldn't be the 'next time' that Lisbon frequently promised him. She hated the fact that so many people she knew were suffering all because of one person. And yet, there was nothing she could do about it. She didn't know the identity of Red John, didn't know where he resided, his age, his race, his religion or even what he looked like. The serial killer was an enigma who hid behind bloody smiley faces - and on the rare occasions that he did make a 'public' appearance, a mask with a voice modulator installed.
It was getting late by the time they reached the headquarters once more. Sometimes, it was surprising just how long certain aspects of case investigations took, even if they didn't have to travel that far afield. When visiting the hospital where Mary Douglas was being treated, they had been passed from pillar to post until they found the man that they needed to speak to. And even then, they had to wait a couple of hours, simply because the good doctor had justifiably prioritized his seriously ill patients over their murder investigation. The living could receive treatment, could have something done to help them. There was nothing that could be done to help the dead. Even catching the murderer only served to uphold the law and seek justice for the family and friends of the deceased.
"You okay, Jane?" she asked quietly as they headed up to their floor.
"Hm, fine."
"You don't sound all that convincing," Lisbon answered back.
Jane shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets. It was a long while before he bothered to speak to her again. Lisbon couldn't blame him for that; he had a lot on his mind and she knew it. After all, they were all in that situation. She hoped that he would at least try and get some sleep, instead of merely immersing himself in the case files. In truth, the only reason she had returned to the headquarters was to pick up some files for her to read before she headed to bed herself. She knew that she needed to ensure she was at least rested if she wanted to be able to tackle this case - or any case - properly. But that didn't mean that Jane had the same principles; that was something that Lisbon had learned a very long while ago.
"Don't worry, Lisbon. I will be fine. One day," he said gently.
"I know," she said softly, and all she could do was hope that it was the truth. In reality, she wasn't actually entirely sure what direction that Patrick Jane was headed in. He was a loose cannon and there were times when it seemed he was only destined for disaster. That was something which he most certainly didn't deserve, but that didn't necessarily mean that fate actually agreed with her. She drifted away to her office as he stopped off at the kitchenette to presumably, get himself a hot cup of tea. It was only when she was back in the bullpen with the files in question in her hand that she paused to give him a few, final, instructions.
"Don't stay here tonight; go to your motel room. Get some proper rest."
"Yes, boss," he answered back and Lisbon still didn't believe him.
The drive home was uneventful and her cellphone - reclaimed from a tearful Agent Douglas - remained mercifully quiet. She didn’t need any more stress at the moment, whether it was familial, work, or otherwise. And now she was headed home, Lisbon had realized just how tired she was. Worrying about all the agents in her team had really taken its toll on her and now, she was feeling emotionally drained and justifiably so. In the end, the files, along with her badge and handcuffs, were discarded on her couch and she headed straight to bed. Lisbon didn’t even have the energy to fix herself a dinner. In a way, it was hypocritical; she was always lamenting Jane’s lack of personal care, but at that moment in time, it didn’t bother her. Sleep felt more crucial than having something to eat.
She didn’t sleep well; for at least three hours, she tossed and turned, unable to actually settle down. It was utterly typical; when she needed to sleep the most, of course it eluded her. Jane wasn’t the only one to suffer from insomnia, even if Lisbon’s was only rare and occasionally. She swore she could hear noises downstairs, but dismissed it as a part of her overactive imagination and sleep deprivation. Eventually, when she had finally managed to drift off, she received a prompt and rude awakening in the form of her cellphone ringing sharply. Lisbon groaned, grabbed the device and answered it with a hoarse voice.
The caller was the director of the CBI, Gale Bertram. And if Bertram was ringing her personally, Lisbon knew that generally only meant very bad things.
“Red John has killed again,” he said, sharp and clear, despite it being 3.21 a.m.
“I know, we’re investigating the death of Mary Douglas-“ Lisbon started, but was soon cut off.
“There’s been another murder,” he spoke, making it clear that he was disappointed in her lack of comprehension. “The victim is rumored to be ADA Sarah Harrigan. You need to nail this man, Agent Lisbon. It’s been going on for far too long.”
From the moment she heard Sarah’s name, Lisbon felt her blood run cold. Just a few hours ago, she had been talking to Wayne Rigsby’s partner, and now she was dead.
Just what games was Red John playing with them?
To Part Six
"Why?" Lisbon asked Jane bluntly. "Why has he killed Agent Douglas' mom? What is the message behind it?"
Jane shrugged his shoulders but Lisbon knew he was already thinking about the whys behind it. The notorious serial killer, Red John, simply did not kill for the sake of killing, or at least, he didn't do that anymore. There was usually a hidden message behind it and that message was usually for Patrick Jane himself. Lisbon squeezed her eyes shut as the image of Lorelei Martins' butchered body flooded the forefront of her mind. Jane had literally spent months and months grooming her, with the hope that one day; she would give up Red John to them. And on the day that she agreed to give up the identity of her serial killer associate, they had discovered her dead. That had been his way of telling them that, in his eyes, no cost was too great. And that, however solid a lead may have seemed and however determined they were that this time, they would capture him, he would always find a way to slip between their fingers.
"Jane," she stated softly.
"Sorry, just thinking," he answered back.
"Well, speaking would be good right now."
Lisbon glanced briefly out of the door to the master bedroom. Somewhere in the hallway, Lilith Douglas was sobbing and in shock, and Grace Van Pelt was attempting to comfort the poor woman. Her closest relative, her only living family, had been murdered simply because she had chosen to join their unit. As far as Lisbon was concerned, it was cruel and senseless. The woman had been dying from cancer anyway; he had just sped up the process. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a tiny voice argued that Red John had cut short her suffering, but Lisbon ignored it. As far as she was concerned, Douglas had been stolen of the last few months she could have spent with her mother, and vice versa. Regardless of how sick her mother was, it didn't change the fact that it was cruel murder, especially as Douglas was only suffering because of who she worked with.
Jane crept around the body carefully, trying desperately to take it all in. As usual, it was practically perfect in every way. Red John had left them with absolutely nothing to work with. Lisbon clenched her fists several times as the tension in her body built up. Just what was she meant to say to her rookie? She couldn't promise that they would catch him, and that they would bring her mother's killer to justice. He had eluded them for so long that it was clear that it would just be a petty lie. What, exactly, was different about this time around? Nothing. They all knew it, even if none of them wanted to admit it out loud.
"Red John always wants to hurt the unit as a whole, not just me," Jane eventually answered and Lisbon nodded in response.
That was something she had figured out a while ago, when Red John had used and abused Van Pelt's naïveté against her and Craig O'Laughlin had seduced her. While it was obvious that she had somehow managed to piece herself back together again, the damage had already been done. Grace was still scarred for life. She still found it notoriously hard to trust any man whatsoever, regardless of how genuine they appeared at face value. Lisbon felt responsible for her team and whenever he tried to hurt them - or worse - she couldn't help but blame herself. As far as she was concerned, she dragged them into this mess with her eyes wide open. She didn't have to willingly follow Jane on his quest for revenge; she chose to. As a consequence, her team followed her down this dark alleyway too. There were targets painted on each and every one of their backs, regardless of how long the team had been together.
She shook her head violently; she couldn't afford to start thinking like that, not now. However much it felt like a lie to think that maybe next time would actually be this time, she had to put all her energies into the case. Otherwise, they would never have a chance to capture him and they might as well give up now. Lisbon left Jane working with the body and went to call Cho, who was dealing with the killer father at present; they needed to get moving on Red John now. The call to Cho was predictably swift; he’d already managed to get a confession out of the man responsible for his own daughter’s death. Now, he was in the middle of preparing the transfer papers in Lisbon’s absence. At least that was some good news; it was one more case closed and one less thing to worry about.
"Cho, I want you to do a background check on Mary Douglas; find out if there are any other reasons why she was targeted by Red John,” she said as a conclusion. “Jane and I will go to the hospital, speak to the staff there."
Cho acquiesced immediately, but Lisbon could tell by the tone of his voice that he felt uncomfortable with the task he had been assigned. After all, it felt like an invasion of his coworker's privacy and Lisbon knew just how much Kimball Cho respected everybody he worked with. Just because he sometimes crossed certain rules in order to close a case, it didn't mean he didn't still have that inherent respect inside of him. That was what Cho was like; he did whatever he felt was right, regardless of what the rulebook said. And usually, his instincts proved to be correct.
Slowly, she made her way back to Jane, who was still kneeling beside the body of Mary Douglas. Deep down, Lisbon knew that Cho wouldn't find out anything they didn't know already. Red John had killed the woman because every single member of the CBI's Serious Crimes Unit had to be tainted by the serial killer in some way. It was as simple as that. However, if by some remote reason they were able to discover how Red John had come across the woman, then maybe, there was a half a chance that they could close the net on him.
It was still highly unlikely though. They all knew that.
Quietly, Lisbon and Jane left Van Pelt to hold down the fort at the Douglas family residence. Douglas herself opted to stay with her, and Lisbon was almost relieved by that decision. She knew Lilith had a reckless streak and the last thing they needed her to do was do something stupid and compromise the case. If for some remote reason, Red John was apprehended, they didn't want him getting off on a technicality. At least this way, it gave Douglas a way to clear her thoughts and make some serious decisions. That included whether or not she wanted to stay with the team at all; nobody would blame her if she chose to leave after this.
The visit to the hospital proved to be, ultimately, a fruitless enterprise. The doctors merely confirmed that the woman was in the middle of receiving brutal chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer, and that the disease had spread. Any treatment she was receiving was designed to prolong her life, not to save it. Red John had murdered a woman whose condition had become terminal. She was going to die anyway. Regardless of that simple fact, Lisbon couldn't help but feel guilty for being partially responsible for allowing her agent's mother's death to be sped up. It was a tragic situation for her to be in. If they had already caught Red John, put him behind bars and sent him to death row, then he wouldn't have been capable of doing this. Instead, Mary Douglas would have been able to live out those last precious few months with her only child.
With a heavy sigh, they headed back to the SUV. Jane was still in a quiet, pensive mood. Normally, during a Red John case, he was a little more wired than this and it almost worried Lisbon. But then, that almost seemed like a contradiction. After all, she was usually worried because he was behaving too recklessly during a Red John case, threatening to either kill the serial killer or compromise the case to the extent that Red John could eventually walk free. Instead, it seemed like Jane had already decided that it was futile, this time wouldn't be the 'next time' that Lisbon frequently promised him. She hated the fact that so many people she knew were suffering all because of one person. And yet, there was nothing she could do about it. She didn't know the identity of Red John, didn't know where he resided, his age, his race, his religion or even what he looked like. The serial killer was an enigma who hid behind bloody smiley faces - and on the rare occasions that he did make a 'public' appearance, a mask with a voice modulator installed.
It was getting late by the time they reached the headquarters once more. Sometimes, it was surprising just how long certain aspects of case investigations took, even if they didn't have to travel that far afield. When visiting the hospital where Mary Douglas was being treated, they had been passed from pillar to post until they found the man that they needed to speak to. And even then, they had to wait a couple of hours, simply because the good doctor had justifiably prioritized his seriously ill patients over their murder investigation. The living could receive treatment, could have something done to help them. There was nothing that could be done to help the dead. Even catching the murderer only served to uphold the law and seek justice for the family and friends of the deceased.
"You okay, Jane?" she asked quietly as they headed up to their floor.
"Hm, fine."
"You don't sound all that convincing," Lisbon answered back.
Jane shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets. It was a long while before he bothered to speak to her again. Lisbon couldn't blame him for that; he had a lot on his mind and she knew it. After all, they were all in that situation. She hoped that he would at least try and get some sleep, instead of merely immersing himself in the case files. In truth, the only reason she had returned to the headquarters was to pick up some files for her to read before she headed to bed herself. She knew that she needed to ensure she was at least rested if she wanted to be able to tackle this case - or any case - properly. But that didn't mean that Jane had the same principles; that was something that Lisbon had learned a very long while ago.
"Don't worry, Lisbon. I will be fine. One day," he said gently.
"I know," she said softly, and all she could do was hope that it was the truth. In reality, she wasn't actually entirely sure what direction that Patrick Jane was headed in. He was a loose cannon and there were times when it seemed he was only destined for disaster. That was something which he most certainly didn't deserve, but that didn't necessarily mean that fate actually agreed with her. She drifted away to her office as he stopped off at the kitchenette to presumably, get himself a hot cup of tea. It was only when she was back in the bullpen with the files in question in her hand that she paused to give him a few, final, instructions.
"Don't stay here tonight; go to your motel room. Get some proper rest."
"Yes, boss," he answered back and Lisbon still didn't believe him.
The drive home was uneventful and her cellphone - reclaimed from a tearful Agent Douglas - remained mercifully quiet. She didn’t need any more stress at the moment, whether it was familial, work, or otherwise. And now she was headed home, Lisbon had realized just how tired she was. Worrying about all the agents in her team had really taken its toll on her and now, she was feeling emotionally drained and justifiably so. In the end, the files, along with her badge and handcuffs, were discarded on her couch and she headed straight to bed. Lisbon didn’t even have the energy to fix herself a dinner. In a way, it was hypocritical; she was always lamenting Jane’s lack of personal care, but at that moment in time, it didn’t bother her. Sleep felt more crucial than having something to eat.
She didn’t sleep well; for at least three hours, she tossed and turned, unable to actually settle down. It was utterly typical; when she needed to sleep the most, of course it eluded her. Jane wasn’t the only one to suffer from insomnia, even if Lisbon’s was only rare and occasionally. She swore she could hear noises downstairs, but dismissed it as a part of her overactive imagination and sleep deprivation. Eventually, when she had finally managed to drift off, she received a prompt and rude awakening in the form of her cellphone ringing sharply. Lisbon groaned, grabbed the device and answered it with a hoarse voice.
The caller was the director of the CBI, Gale Bertram. And if Bertram was ringing her personally, Lisbon knew that generally only meant very bad things.
“Red John has killed again,” he said, sharp and clear, despite it being 3.21 a.m.
“I know, we’re investigating the death of Mary Douglas-“ Lisbon started, but was soon cut off.
“There’s been another murder,” he spoke, making it clear that he was disappointed in her lack of comprehension. “The victim is rumored to be ADA Sarah Harrigan. You need to nail this man, Agent Lisbon. It’s been going on for far too long.”
From the moment she heard Sarah’s name, Lisbon felt her blood run cold. Just a few hours ago, she had been talking to Wayne Rigsby’s partner, and now she was dead.
Just what games was Red John playing with them?
To Part Six