Consultant for the CBI: a vocation for Patrick Jane

Chapter 3

He went away, letting Lisbon astounded, fixating the door he just went through. Van Pelt came into her office:

-Boss?
-Mm?
-Bad news: Cho and Rigsby found the witness stabbed in his apartment.

Lisbon didn’t react. She was still troubled by Patrick Jane.

-Is everything alright boss? Asked Grace, worried.
-Yeah, yeah. The witness, the one from the mall? Stabbed? We don’t have anything anymore, not a lead, not a witness, not a clue! It’s the third time that some evidence disappears! Have you seen someone leaving here?
-A blond man with a three-piece suit?
-Yes, him, Patrick Jane. Could you find me his phone number please?
-Sure. Does he have a link with the investigation? Asked the young red-headed, hopeful.
-No, but he might help us…

This sentence left Van Pelt perplexed, then she walked away. Teresa opened the file of the investigation. The victim was name Alicia Shrank, she had just turned 18, her body had been found near a kiosk in a park, “cleanly” stabbed and holding in her hand, on her wound, a lock of her hair, drenched in her blood. While reading those details, two words came to her mind: SERIAL KILLER. No other murder matched this one, and she felt dizzy when she concluded that it could only be the first killing of a serial killer. Those people start to kill one day, they need a first victim. She didn’t call Mr. Jane, because she thought he would see that as harassment, and she had already resolved difficult cases. But it is true that in those cases time is important. When she looked through the blinds, she saw that her team was pretending to work. They all looked bad and bored. She went into the open space and announced:

-I know it’s not easy to work without anything, but we must move forward. That murder could be the first of a serial killer: the location is precise, it’s near a kiosk; there are not finger prints, no DNA but there is a signature: the lock of hair. And there is no need to add that the killer has some experience. Whether he observed a killing, or he already committed one. And do not forget that the victim turned 18 the day before she died. Try to find something. And, have you seen that blond man in a three-piece suit less than an hour ago? I feel like this man is extraordinary. He said things no one could know…
-Like what? Asked Wayne.

She threw him a stink eye and Wayne, who didn’t understand why, shut his mouth immediately.

-And I plan to call him to know if he would like to help us.