I Bet on Losing Dogs - Patrick Jane

304 - Red Carpet Treatment

Kenzie walked up to Patrick's office. She knocked on the door.

"Patrick? You in there?"

"I'm up," called out Patrick. "I'm up."

Kenzie slid the door open and walked in to see a pillow and blanket sitting on a table.

"Homicide in San Francisco. Cho and Rigsby are already on their way. Did you sleep here?"

"No, I was working."

"The blanket says otherwise."

"Well, I programmed my, uh, dreams to work on the Red John case."

"You want overtime?"

"Ah, healthy skepticism. I like it. But it could work. Mendeleev saw the entire periodic table in his dream."

"Good for him." Patrick walked to the door. "Patrick?"

Patrick held out his arm. "Shall we?"

"As your friend, this isn't good."

Kenzie looks at him in confusion as a unreadable look filled his eyes. "Keeps me going."

They reached the crime scene at the motel with the rest of the team. They walked into the room.

"There's evidence of a physical confrontation, and this is where he ended up," explained Rigsby. "He was on his back when the shots were fired. Eight to ten rounds to the head."

"Damn," exclaimed Kenzie, pausing in place. "What head?"

"Yeah."

"Ew."

"Two motel guests heard muffled pops around 1 AM, figured it was city traffic," said Cho.

"No defense wounds. You'd think he would've at least put up his hands to shield his face."

"Or it depends on how hard he fell," said Teresa.

"Forensics recovered the casings. 9 millimeter. Also collected a cigarette butt and some red fibers around the body," said Cho.

Patrick turned to Kenzie. "You woke me up for this? This man is a sociopath. He should've been in prison."

"He was," said Cho. "Full pardon two days ago. Name's Henry Dahl. Convicted nine years ago in the rape and murder of one Jennie Winter. Was a life at Del Norte until a new DNA test set him free."

"How'd you peg him as an inmate," asked Teresa.

"You can tell by looking at him," said Kenzie.

"Give me a break. Kenzie's right," said Patrick. "A classic rooster build-massive upper body, skinny legs. Jaundiced skin, probably hepatitis 'C' from the dirty needle tattoo on his elbow. Spiderweb representing the passage of time."

Patrick turned around and walked out of the room. Kenzie followed him.

"Hey. Where are you goin'?"

He turned to her. "I'm tired, and I don't really care who killed this creep."

"Look I don't either. But I have a job to do and apparently he's innocent."

"Meh. He made instruments of death out of toothpicks."

"Seriously, don't do anything stupid. And we're talkin' later."

"Talking about what?"

"You know what."

Patrick gave her a worried look and Kenzie caught it. "What?"

"Nothing. It's nothing."

"Don't I know you two?" Kenzie turned to see a familiar blond woman standing in front of them. She bit back a curse. "Are you with homicide?"