13. Redline

Complete story — includes the ending

Jane and the CBI team investigate when Liselle Douglas, a young saleswoman, is found dead in the trunk of a Bentley at Zenith Motor Gallery, an elite car dealership. Jane and Lisbon meet the sales team, except for lead salesman James Kinsey who is away sick. Brad Elias, second lead salesman, claims they are like "family", but Jane counters it is a gladiator pit, confirmed by owner Oliver Westhoff – at the end of each sales drive, the most successful salesman wins a prize, the least successful is fired. Liselle was fairly successful as the rich male clients were attracted to her and gave her gifts. Jane riles Kinsey when he takes his packed lunch out of the Zenith fridge, and Kinsey admits he asked Liselle out – she refused because she had a boyfriend. In the office, Lisbon talks to no-longer-secret lovers Rigsby and Van Pelt, saying she is obliged to report them at the end of the case, which means one of them will have to transfer. Sparhawk was Liselle's boyfriend: he is a poorly paid musician, has no alibi, and Liselle's job kept them afloat. They both hated her job and gave away client gifts except for one to fund their future wedding – a valuable picture from millionaire Walter Mashburn. He was Liselle's last appointment on the day she died. Lisbon and Jane meet Mashburn at a private club. He denies sleeping with Liselle and says the picture was a gift for finding him a rare car; he identifies Jane as being a charlatan psychic, and enjoys being a murder suspect. Cho reports that the night of the murder Westhoff called the police to report a Ferrari stolen from their service department but called back later to say never mind. The autopsy report shows Liselle was hit by a car – probably the Ferrari. Jane and Cho overhear Kinsey being angry with Westhoff – Kinsey risks losing the top salesman position due to his absence with stomach problems, his drop in performance signalled by Westhoff now taking an account from him. Mr Landau, a client, might have taken Mrs Landau's Ferrari since the Landaus are mid-divorce. Jane goes through the fridge and finds Kinsey's lunch, beef barley soup – Kinsey put his name on it as somebody had stolen his lunch recently. Van Pelt chafes when Rigsby assumes he will be the one to stay on at the CBI as he has been there longer. Landau explains he and his wife are reconciling. But when he hears how Liselle died he implicates Sparhawk – Landau had left drugs in the glove box and paid Sparhawk to steal the car. The CBI team locates the Ferrari, which Sparhawk has crashed, and Lisbon talks him down from threatening everyone with a samurai sword; he confesses to the murder. Meanwhile Jane has been entertaining Mashburn and his friends at the private club, but after a 'psychic' show in which Jane drives Mashburn's car blindfolded, the car rolls off the cliff into the sea. Lisbon realizes that Sparhawk feels liable but did not kill Liselle. Jane and Cho visit Zenith with Mashburn for Jane to buy a replacement car for Mashburn. Jane chooses Elias over Kinsey as salesman for this sale, saying the second-best tries harder. Jane ensures Mashburn's interest in a particular car but Elias tries to interest him in another. Jane then explains that Elias is feeling squeamish because he used this car to run over Liselle: Elias had been poisoning Kinsey's lunch to drop his performance so that Elias would gain top position. Liselle had caught Elias tampering with Kinsey's lunch and ordered him to confess on pain of her reporting him, but Elias knew that if he did Westhoff would fire him and Kinsey would call the cops, so he murdered Liselle. Jane had suspected Elias because the second-best tries harder and no one steals a barley beef lunch. Lisbon tells Rigsby and Van Pelt she will ignore their relationship provided they show no sign of it at work.