Ruby Red Dress-The Mentalist

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Patrick Jane

We're sat in the back seats of the car with a laptop in front of us so we have contact with Rigsby and Cho. All the sound that we can here is music ringing gently from the little receiver. Lisbon sits there for a few minutes then picks up a walkie-talkie and presses the button to activate the mic.

'What's going on?' She asks.

A few seconds later there's a reply.

'Crap, it's a strippers place in here. How much longer does this charade have to go on for?' Rigsby asks. I hear Cho's low voice in the background. 'Oh, hang on... Kloë Oscar is on performing at the moment... Yeah-' I blank out for a moment as Rigsby starts saying stuff to Cho.

'Interfere. Say your willing to pay double if she comes now,' I say urgently into the walkie-talkie.

'Double?' Rigsby says surprised.

'Come on,' Cho tells him. Suddenly the music blasts so loudly through the speaker flooding the car with sound. Lisbon's hands grab her ears trying to lower the volume as a high pitched beep enters the air.

'Boys, move away from the speakers!' I shout into the mic. I look on the side of our receiver and see a dial that can lower the volume. I remove one of my hands from my ears and quickly turn it to a reasonable level. Lisbon takes her hands away and rests them back in her lap.

'God... What happened?' She directly says to me.

'Sorry Boss. Kloë was performing by the speakers.' Cho mumbles into his mic.

'We're going to a quiet place now. Keep your mic on and give us instructions,' Rigsby orders.

Lisbon leans forwards and brings the mic closer to her face. 'Try and find out the name of the other lady as well.'

'Kay Boss.'

We hear some doors closing and opening and some women's voices. Lisbon reaches forward and clicks the off button on the walkie-talkie.

'Oh...b-but they said not to do that,' I tell her.

'I need to ask you a question and your opinion.'

'Okay...'

'I didn't want them to hear...' She says cautiously.

'Mmm...'

'Do you know anything about Van Pelt and Rigsby?'

'Do I?' I emphasise the 'I'.

'Yes. Do you know anything about them?' She repeats.

'I know that Van Pelt came from a small village and grew up around horses. Her father's a football coach and her mother is dead. Rigsby has a father, who he dislikes. A son called Ben and he is a single parent.'

'God Jane. Damn you. You know what I mean. Are they, in a sexual relationship?'

'Well what makes you say that Lisbon?'

'God, just answer Jane.'

I think for a moment or two about the best way to go about this, the receiver still buzzing in the background.

'I have no idea. They're colleagues, friends and ex-lovers.'

'So...?'

'I don't know Lisbon...'

'Could you use your... Skills to see? I need to understand before someone else knows and asks why I haven't transferred one of them to another unit. '

I pull a face and contemplate this request. 'Oh... Come on Jane. Please. A personal favour!' She stumbles desperately.

'I'll see what I can do.' I turn the microphone back on.

'We're waiting on them now Boss,' Cho says completely oblivious to my recent conversation.

'Okay. Stick to the plan.' With that she sits back in her chair and crosses her arms over her chest. She stares at the back of the seat in front of her deep in thought. I study her and close my eyes listening and thinking.