A/N: I started uploading this fanfic to AO3, but since the fandom seems to be more active on here, I'm gonna upload it here as well. I'll post a chapter a day until I catch up to where I'm at on AO3. So basically this is loosely based on my favourite Mentalist episode ever (Blinking Red Light) and my favourite bad guy (Tommy Volker). It's set somewhere between Cheap Burgundy and Red Rover, Red Rover.

Summary: It seems like a straightforward case - a murdered woman found in a park, clues pointing to a jealous lover. But it soon becomes obvious that a serial killer who hasn't killed anyone in two years is back. And Jane is too preoccupied with Red John to be of much help. Luckily, a journalist who has done extensive research on the killer is offering his assistance. Meanwhile, Lisbon is trying to come to terms with her growing feelings for Jane while giving him his space, and Jane knows he's in love with Lisbon, but does everything he can not to acknowledge it because he knows it wouldn't be fair to her as long as Red John is still alive. But then Lisbon is abducted by the serial killer and Jane, the only person who could save her, is framed for muder.

Chapter 1 - Robes Covered in Mud

Lisbon shielded her eyes with one hand as she walked down the slopes of River Walk Park. The sun was rising, making it hard for her to see the group of people standing at the waterfront. Around her, the trees were sprouting the first green leaves of spring, and she could hear a bird sing, perched on a nearby branch. But when she finally reached her colleagues and saw what they were dealing with, her thoughts couldn't linger on the nice weather.

"Morning," she greeted them, already preoccupied with the task at hand.

The police officers glanced quickly at her, making sure she wasn't a bystander trying to get a better look.

They were all gathered around the body of a slim, dark-haired woman in her early forties. Her neck was covered in bruises, she was only wearing a bathrobe and pink slippers, and her hair was neatly brushed back. The bathrobe was dirty at the hem, as if it had been dragged through mud. Apart from that, she appeared to be in the process of getting ready for the day – if she hadn't been dead.

"All right, what have we got?" Lisbon asked with a sigh, raising her eyes to look at Rigsby.

"Her name is Cristal Giffard, she is a local woman," Rigsby started summarizing the situation, handing Lisbon a driver's license. Lisbon glanced briefly at the smiling face looking up at her. "A woman walking her dog found her about an hour ago."

"But she wasn't killed here?" Lisbon asked, handing Rigsby back the driver's license.

"We don't think so, at least judging by her outfit," Rigsby answered, "but the license was in her bathrobe pocket."

Lisbon bent down to get a closer look at the corpse, regarding the slippers thoughtfully. "Maybe she drove here, dressed like this?" she prompted. "Why would she have her license in her pocket if she wasn't using her car?"

"The thing is, she was reported missing two weeks ago." Van Pelt appeared next to Rigsby, reading something off her phone screen. "Someone had broken into her flat in the middle of the night, or at least that's what Sac P.D. assumed at the time. There were signs of a struggle when her fiancé came to check on her the next day. He reported her missing."

Lisbon sighed again. "And I'm guessing since Sac P.D. was unable to locate her in time, it's now up to us to figure out what happened to her in those two weeks and how she ended up here."

"Yes," Van Pelt confirmed.

"Then let's go and talk to the fiancé," Lisbon decided. "Do we have a name for him?"

Rigsby checked his notes. "Royston Winship."

"So that's why it's our business," Lisbon said, recognizing the name. "I'm surprised the CBI wasn't called when she went missing. We usually get the case as soon as a member of the City Council is involved."

"Apparently they weren't too concerned by her disappearance," Van Pelt said with a grimace. "She sometimes vanished for a week or two, just to appear in some hotel room in Las Vegas. It was only because there were shards on the floor when Winship checked on her that he even called the police."

"What about her other family apart from her fiancé? Any relatives we should contact?" Lisbon wanted to know.

"Her parents died several years ago, but she has two brothers. They both live out of state though," Van Pelt answered.

"What about work?"

"She worked as a PA for the editor-in-chief of the California Observer."

"Must be a nice employer if he let her take off spontaneously for several weeks at a time." Lisbon was surprised. From what Van Pelt had said, she had taken the victim as a spoiled society girl or a housewife at best.

Van Pelt shrugged.

"All right," Lisbon said, turning her back to the woman on the ground, addressing Rigsby and Van Pelt directly, "Van Pelt, go back to the office and see if you can reconstruct the last day before she went missing. Rigsby, I want you to pay the California Observer a visit, see what you can find out about her, friends, enemies, you know the drill. Take Cho with you."

"Sure thing, boss," Rigsby nodded. He waved to Cho who had, up until that moment, been talking to one the police officers.

"I'll finish up here, and then I'm gonna go and talk to the fiancé," Lisbon went on. "We'll meet up later at the office."

Rigsby, Van Pelt, and Cho said their goodbyes and Lisbon walked over to the police officers to see if there was something her colleagues had missed. But before she could start to question them, she heard a familiar voice calling good morning.

"Jane," she said, turning around again to welcome the newcomer. "Nice of you to drop by."

"No need to give me that look," Jane said, and Lisbon tried to put on a neutral face. "Where is everyone?"

"Doing their jobs, something you've been neglecting lately."

"I had some things to take care of … personal stuff," Jane offered as an explanation. He looked at the dead woman at their feet. "So, what's this about?"

Lisbon suppressed a sigh, knowing Jane would only tell her to cheer up if she gave her report sounding annoyed. When she didn't answer immediately, he still said, "Oh, cheer up, Lisbon, it's such a beautiful spring morning."

"There's a woman lying dead here," Lisbon pointed out.

"Yes, that is unfortunate." Jane put on a concerned look. "She looks like you."

"She does not," Lisbon protested with a snort.

Jane looked at Lisbon, his head slightly tilted to the side. "I don't know about that. You're the same height, you both have dark hair, and you're about the same age."

"Lots of people are my age," Lisbon retorted, slowly losing patience with Jane.

"Well, I guess you're right, she dresses very differently from you," Jane said with a shrug.

Lisbon tugged at the blazer she was wearing, straightening it. "Anything else? Anything that might help us solve the case?"

Jane leaned down, getting ready to do what he did best. "She wasn't killed here; she was strangled somewhere else and then dumped here."

"Way ahead of you," Lisbon interrupted, feeling proud she could tell him something he didn't already know. "Her name is Cristal Giffard, she is the fiancée of Royston Winship, and she was abducted two weeks ago from her apartment."

"Well, I was getting there, but thank you for filling me in," Jane said with a smirk.

Lisbon felt her heart skip a beat. He had tricked her into telling him everything they had already found out. "If you have nothing to add here …"

"There's a lot more to her than that." Jane turned his attention back to the woman on the ground. He squatted next to her to get a closer look. "Her fingernails are freshly painted, her hair was dyed a couple of days ago, and she smells like grapefruit."

"So you don't think she was abducted?" Lisbon tried to clarify.

"I don't know about you, Lisbon, but when I'm abducted, I don't sit around and paint my nails while I wait to be rescued. What makes you think she was abducted?"

"Her fiancé went to visit her and found signs of a struggle, shards on the floor and so on. That's why he reported her missing."

"Hm," Jane made. "It's more likely she went away with her lover. Let me guess, she has a history of disappearing for several days without anyone knowing where she is."

"Yes, how did you know?" After all these years, Lisbon was still impressed with Jane's skill to read a person's whole story just by looking at them for a couple of seconds.

"Please, a woman like her? Being the fiancée of a member of the City Council can be very boring, especially if you embrace and enjoy life as fully as she did."

"What makes you think she enjoyed her life?"

"Trips to Vegas, rooftop parties, weekends spent wine tasting … that's what people do who are full of life."

"And you can see all this from …?" Lisbon nodded at the corpse.

"It's all there when you know where to look." Jane sounded preoccupied, as if there was still more to observe and he was focusing on that.

Lisbon, however, wasn't done with their conversation yet. "Where would I need to look exactly if I wanted to see that?"

"You're a woman, Lisbon. Don't tell me you've never looked at a women's magazine."

"Oh, and you have?"

"They're very educational," Jane said gravely. "Only last week I read a spread about a woman called Cristal Giffard, fiancée to Royston Winship, and her appearance at an exclusive rooftop party to celebrate the grand re-opening of the Crocker Art Museum."

Lisbon shook her head.

"I had you fooled for a few seconds, admit it." Jane smirked at her again.

"You're impossible."

"As was Miss Giffard," Jane continued. "I'm certain she had a lover. And when we find him, we'll also find her killer."

"You think her lover murdered her?"

"Or the fiancé, I'd say the chances are about fifty-fifty."

"Do you want to bet?"

"With odds like that? Nah. They'd have to be at least seventy-thirty, so I'm sure I'll come out on top. And this case is too straightforward for me to waste money on anyway."

"I'm sorry I can't offer you something more interesting," Lisbon said, starting to feel irritated again.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Lisbon, it's not as if you're not trying."

"I'm going to talk to the fiancé now," Lisbon announced, ignoring Jane's last remark. "But since you're almost sure he's our prime suspect, I won't bore you with asking you to come along."

"Where does he live?" Jane wanted to know.

Lisbon was thrown off by the question. "Granite Bay."

"I'll come with you. I have something to pick up there."

"No, you don't."

"No, I don't," Jane admitted, "but I wanted you to wonder what it could be."

"I couldn't care less," Lisbon informed him. "I'm just quickly gonna finish up here. Meet me at the car."

"We should really take my car," Jane pointed out. "It fits in much nicer in a place like Granite Bay."

"Yes, if you want us to get arrested before we reach Winship's house." She quickly walked over to where the police officers were still standing before Jane could say anything else.