24. Strawberries and Cream, Part II

Complete story — includes the ending

Hightower tells Jane Max James was her cousin who had been sending her money. She tells him she has decided to turn herself in and try and prove her innocence in court so her children can at least stay safe. She agrees to Jane's request to wait 48 hours so he can find Red John's CBI mole. Jane and Lisbon brief Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt about Red John and Hightower, and they agree to help. Jane forces LaRoche to give him the list of suspects by bluffing that he knows LaRoche's darkest secret. The suspects are Brenda Shettrick (CBI Media Relations), Osvaldo Ardiles (D.A.), Bertram (CBI director), and Craig O'Laughlin (FBI, Van Pelt's fiancé). Lisbon orders an indignant Van Pelt to go and guard Hightower in her mountain hideout. Jane knows Red John would send only an anonymous assassin. So the suspects are told Hightower is at the Pacific Palms Hotel but each suspect is told a different room number. A woman enters room 605, the number they told Bertram. They watch her unpack handcuffs, rope and knockout drugs but as Cho and Rigsby hold her at gun point she jumps to her death. Van Pelt returns to the CBI office and tells O'Laughlin they found Todd Johnson's real killer. She asks him to join her in relieving Lisbon who is currently guarding Hightower. Jane uses Bertram as bait, taking him to a cafe in Pinewood Shopping Mall, ostensibly to meet Hightower. When Hightower does not show, Bertram mocks Jane that he is at the end of his rope. Suddenly Jane realizes the assassin had rope to climb down to room 505 below making O'Laughlin the accomplice. O'Laughlin murders the two police guards outside Hightower's hideout. Jane rings Lisbon and warns her. As she turns to look at O'Laughlin, he shoots and injures her. Apologizing to Van Pelt, as he is about to shoot her and Hightower, Lisbon distracts him enough for them both to draw their guns and kill him. Jane asks Lisbon to press redial on O'Laughlin's phone and tell whoever answers that O'Laughlin is dead. A man sitting close to Jane answers his phone and Jane hears his reply, identical to the words Lisbon reports hearing. Jane sits at the man's table, and sees there is a gun on the table pointed at him disguised under a newspaper. Red John says he does not want to kill Jane unless he has to. He is going to quit killing, get a new face and a new life. Jane says he will find him and kill him. As the man leaves, Jane asks how can he know that he really is Red John. The man says Jane's wife smelled like lavender while his daughter smelled like strawberries and cream. Jane’s eyes well up with tears, and shoots him dead. Jane removes the gun that had been hidden in his coat pocket, sits down and waits for the police to arrest him.