Within the CBI (The Mentalist)

Chapter 1

//Disclaimer: I do not own the Mentalist, it's characters, or anything affiliated with it. The only things I own in this story are the victim, his family, and the suspects (aka the things that aren't in any of the actual episodes) Enjoy!//

Grace Van Pelt awoke to her lover's strong arms wrapped around her waist. She inhaled the sex-ravished scent of his cologne and smiled. His body shifted, and she turned to face the cute yet handsome features of none other than Wayne Rigsby. Her striking hazel eyes locked with his for several long, blissful moments before Rigsby leaned in to kiss the lovely ginger. Grace glanced at the alarm clock on her nightstand. It read 6:30 am, meaning they had to get to work soon. She leapt out of her warm bed to her closet. Rigsby watched amorously as the gorgeous redhead stripped from her pjs, exposing every inch of her smooth alabaster skin. He slipped silently off of the bed, putting on his clothes as well.

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The two arrived at the CBI offices exactly ten minutes apart on purpose. They wanted to keep their relationship secret, as to not disobey the "No Office Romances" rule again, even though Lisbon, Cho, and Jane secretly shipped them, affectionately dubbing them 'RigsPelt'.

At around 8:30, Lisbon strode into the set of four desks that was her unit.

"Case. Van Pelt, Rigsby, Jane. You're with me." She said as she headed toward the elevator. They followed her, leaving Cho to do the office work. Grace and Rigsby drove to the scene together, as did Lisbon and Jane.

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"So, " Wayne started " how about dinner tonight, babe?"

"Uhhh, sure." Grace replied.

"Italian?" Grace shook her head no. "Sushi?" This time she made a face like an eight year old would. "Okay then. What do you want?"

"Soup. Soup sounds just great." Odd, since she usually disliked the stuff, claiming it was 'just flavored water'.

"What? It's what sounds good!" She laughed, causing him to chuckle as well. They pulled up to the scene first, a tidy little house with light grey paint covering the exterior. They both stepped from the car and went toward the small group of forensics in deep blue coats next to one of the bushes. The body there was sort of different than usual. No blood or wounds whatsoever. Other than being deathly pale (Haha. Get it?) the young man laying on the ground looked like he wes merely sleeping. Lisbon and Jane arrived a few minutes after.

" ID?" Lisbon asked Grace, who tossed her a wallet. The driver's liscence showed a picture of the man and displayed a name as well. Colin Lister, 27. Born in Fresno, CA.

"Lana Pryce, his girlfriend, found him a few hours ago. She passed out from shock, then woke up around an hour ago and called 911. Cause of death still unknown, possibly poison."

"Possibly?" Patrick interrupted. "This was most definitely a poisoning. Killer wanted to be clean, unobtrusive. Leaving him close to the way he was while alive." He continued looking over his surroundings.

"We talking crazy stalker here?" Lisbon questioned, popping her gum to look like a badass.

"Precisely. Crime of passion. Very nice Lisbon, I think I'm rubbing off on you!" He jested, making her frown.

"Girlfriend is over there. Work your magic." She gestured to the girl on the steps of the house, who was

staring aimlessly at a rock a few yards in front of her and shuddering. The two walked calmly to her, and started talking.

"Excuse me, Miss. I'm Agent Lisbon and he's Mr. Jane, we'd like to ask you a few questions." The girl nodded.

"Do you know anyone who would want to hurt Colin?" The girl sobbed at his name.

"I... I don't know. He never mentioned trouble anywhere." Her voice began to break with tears.

"I sense..." Patrick mumbled. He gasped. "Uh, may I use your bathroom, Miss Pryce?"

"Sure, I guess. It's down the hallway on the right." He walked in the front door, following the directions. Upon closing the bathroom door, he fell to his knees and grabbed the waste basket. All of the contents of it fell to the ground. He shuffled through the tissues, toilet paper rolls, and wrappers until the desired object was seen. A pregnancy test! And a positive one at that. Patrick covered his hand with a tissue and picked it up. He headed back out to the steps with the test firmly grasped in his hand.

"What is this?" He asked, showing the object.

"What does it look like to you?" The girl shot back.

"Pregnancy test. Positive." He looked at Lisbon, then the girl.

"Yeah. I'm pregnant. 6 weeks. But we only found out a few nights ago. And Colin... He was so happy..." Her voice trailed out into low whimpers and tears fell down her face. Lisbon returned a look, she had a theory forming in her mind.

"Was there... a stalker in Colin's life?"

"Yeah. Her name's Mandy. She worked as a receptionist at his office. You think she did this!?" She turned from grief to rage in around two seconds. A deep, angry red overtook her skin.

"If she did this, I WILL KILL HER!" Lana shreiked.

"Ma'am, please calm down." Lisbon set her hand on the shoulder of the agitated girl. She inhaled sharply, then exhaled.

"You don't get it. Some day I will have to explain to my kid that the reason he doesn't know his father is because of that BITCH!"

"As of yet, we don't know who Colin's killer is, however she is a suspect. We will also need Mandy's full name." Lisbon stated. Lana bent her head down and let tears flow.

"Mandy Trent. She works for Mendell and Howe."

"I think that's all we need for now, Lisbon." Patrick whispered, obviously sympathizing with her. He knew what it was like to lose someone that you had a serious, intimate relationship with. More accurately, he felt that the girl was the opposite of him in a way.

The agent and consultant pair stood and regrouped with the other agents.

"Call Cho. Tell him to look up a Mandy Trent that works for Mendell and Howe." She instructed Grace. Jane hopped into the passenger side while Lisbon naturally took to the driver's seat of the SUV.

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//AN: Hope u like it!!! That is if anyone does happen to read it lol. Any suggestions are welcome!//