The Red Stars {Book One} The Mentalist

3: On the Way to the Case

"You were what?" Rigsby asked me. After I told Jane about me being kidnapped by the Red Stars, he made me tell the others. They arrived shortly after Jane started to talk. They were staring at me like I was someone who rose from the dead.

"Do I really have to say all of that again?" I asked. I felt like I was a suspect that they had to get the truth out of instead or part of the team.

"No," Cho said looking at Rigsby with a somewhat mean look. "It's just no one has ever lived by one of the Red Star attacks."

"Now hold on," VanPelt told us looking confused, "what is the Red Stars?"

"They are a group of people who take innocent men and women from their homes and do terrible things to them," Lisbon said. "They have been known to rape, assault, and plain up kill them. Cho is right, no one has ever lived. They have to think you are worthy and won't try to hunt them in the future. Or you have to have someone it the group. How about you, got a father, brother, uncle, aunt, anyone in the group?"

"No," I answered. "Dad died when I was sixteen, and I only had Tara has a sister. The only uncle I have is in a state prison, Iowa, I think."

"What did your dad die from?" Cho asked me.

"Cancer."

"Sorry."

"It's fine. My sister had it too. I can't remember what kind he had, but Tara got breast cancer just a few weeks ago. Would have been a better death than what she got."

"Hey, we will find the killers," Lisbon told me, "but it will take time now that we have to deal with the Red Stars. So till than we have another case to work. Let's go. VanPelt, you, Rigsby, and Cho take the van. I'll be going with you all. Thomas, you take your own car and meat us up there. Jane go with her, and try not to annoy her to much. She has permission to hit you."

"Yes boss," we all said and we moved out.

*Jane's pov*

I was sitting in the car with Thomas. She was totally in another world, and I knew what world that was. Or so I think. I have never been unable to read someone, but with her I can't get the full picture. I can't tell if it is because of the Red Stars or what. I could make out she was a smart girl and worked with her father until she got her own job. I couldn't tell you what he did, but I just knew she did. Who was this woman? What I really found amazing about her was that she knew I wasn't thinking of a color last night. I was going to figure out who and where she was if it killed me.

"So Thomas," I said looking at her even more, "a penny for your thoughts."

"Like you don't know," she told me.

"I don't."

"The great Patrick Jane doesn't know what I am thinking," she said with a smile. "Is that a first?"

"It is."

"Well if you must know, I was thinking about my dad."

"You used to work with him, didn't you? Before something happened, maybe school?"

"Yeah, I did."

"You know, one thing is bugging me."

"What is that?"

"You said you looked me up. Why? Was my name in the poem or the message or something? Why would you look up my name?"

"I didn't look up your name fore say. I was looking up something else he told me, a word that he said I was. I never heard it before, and below the definition, I saw an article about you. I read it, so I kind of looked you up. The word describes you too."

"What were the word and the definition?"

"Mentalist. Someone who uses mental acuity, hypnosis, and or suggestion. A master manipulator of thoughts and behavior.  That is what lead me to your name."

"Does sound like me. What about you. Are you a magician?"

"Not in the manner of you. My dad was a magician, but I got tired of fooling people into thinking that magic was real. None of it was real, and I still did the tricks, just in the sense to help people. I'm not a mind reader, but I can trick people into thinking I am. Not has well has you of course."

"Of course. So tell me what am I thinking."

She looked over at me and then back at the word. She got a smile on her face again and laughed.

"You are thinking about how funny the prank you are going to pull on Lisbon later will be."

"How did-"

"Yours eyes showed me that you are thinking something funny. Before we left I saw you placing something in Lisbon's office, and you hid it. Putting that with your nature, I can only guess that you are going to trick her. Am I right?"

"Yes. That was impressive. Now my turn. Think of something." She looked at me, than she sighed. She continued to look at the road and it was my turn to laugh.

"What am I thinking?"

"You are thinking about how immature and stupid this is, and how much you are enjoying it."

"There is no way you could know that!"

"I do."

"How did you figure that out?"

"The way you looked at me told me that you found this stupid. The way the light in your eyes told me that you are laughing very much inside. Am I right?"

"Yes."

We spent the whole trip doing this. She missed what I was thinking by a smug once, but I did too, so we had a good time. I never meant anyone who was this close to me in anything like this. It was scary, but at the same time exacting. What made it even more exciting was that we had a case to do. This was going to be fun.

I am really loving this book. Let me know what you think, and maybe give me a vote? I really have nothing to talk about right now, sorry. Bye Stars.