The Mentalist

Her name's Madeleine Hightower.

She's been running intelligence down in Fresno. - New boss?

New boss. Madeleine Hightower.

Chief Deputy A.G. says she'll be here sometime tomorrow.

Word is she's hard as nails...

Political, tight statehouse connections. - So this is good for us.

We'll have some real muscle upstairs. - We'll see.

No need to be nervous.

I'm not nervous.

You're an exemplary agent. No reason for butterflies.

No butterflies. I'm fine.

Keep telling yourself that.

How are you doing?

Vic Bandino, Alpha Bravo residential security.

Appreciate your quick response. - Agent Lisbon. This is Patrick Jane,

and this is Ag...

Wayne Rigsby. CBI, huh? You did okay. - Hi, Bandino. What's up?

We worked a couple of cases together back in the day.

San Diego P.D. Arson squad. - Yeah. Boy, those were the times, huh?

Remember that stakeout in Pismo? - You ever call that chick?

Yeah... would you show us the body, Mr. Bandino?

Yes, ma'am. Yeah, of course. Please.

He's in the pool house.

Name's James Smithson... 28, British citizen.

He's a high-priced tutor for local kids.

Daughter of the homeowner's one of the students.

Couple months ago they let him move in here.

Rigsby, can you find out why the coroner's not here? - Yeah, sure.

Who found the body? You?

The homeowner's kid. She was coming in for a lesson.

She called her dad. He called me. I called you.

Not the local police? Why us exactly?

I don't know... - What the hell, Vic?

You were supposed to call me the second they got here. - Excuse me, sir?

I'm Hopper Banks. - Agent Lisbon, CBI. This is a crime scene.

It's my place.

Mr. Banks, I need you to leave. Can you do that for me?

I'll be in the main house. I'll expect a full report.

Let me konw when you get the body out of here.

That's why I called you.

Old California money, lots of clout.

Local P.D. won't cut it. He wants the best.

Coroner's on his way. - A single gunshot.

Judging by the wound, looks like a .38. No weapon.

Don't worry. It's a visual inspection.

Didn't touch a thing.

No sign of assault or robbery?

Real fancy resume, this guy.

Graduated from Eton and Oxford.

Last employer was some hotshot prep school back east.

Meh, I wouldn't be so sure.

Excuse me? - The facial scar.

Eton boy gets a cut on his head, and he needs a plastic surgeon,

he gets a plastic surgeon.

My guess... the whole resume is a fairy tale.

Excuse me? - You're excused.

I checked him out myself. - Well, I'm wrong then.

Uh... No blisters or calluses on his hands.

A lot of dirt under his fingernails.

Who is this guy? - It's a long story.

Hmm. - Anything else?

And this place must be alarmed. - Yeah, family never turn it on.

I got the call at 3:35.

I was at a client's residence nearby,

working an alarm upgrade.

Arrived here at 3:52.

Body was still warm,

So I guess the time of death was a good hour before that.

What the hell. - Guess again.

It's called lazarus syndrome.

Guy's heart somehow caught an electrical charge

and restarted. Hey, it happens.

So you're saying he's alive?

Well, if you can call that living. He's brain-dead.

With no oxygen for more than ten minutes,

He's not coming back. - There's security cameras out there.

Have Bandino show you the footage.

Maybe we'll get lucky and catch a look at the shooter.

I need to go and talk to the little girl

who found the body. - You got it.

What are you looking for?

The dirt under his nails smelled like rosemary.

Yeah.

Whatever was inside this box killed our man.

Well, the case is practically closed.

There's no reason to be snarky.

It was my wife Jolene, really.

She saw how much James helped Lanie with her schoolwork,

and when she heard he needed a place to live,

she rented the pool house to him.

I guess he's been here, uh...

I don't know. A couple of months, maybe.

Very generous of your wife.

Jolene has a big heart.

Is this her?

My muse.

Good-looking. - Mm.

She turned me into a real artist.

Before I met her, I was taking snapshots.

Mr. Banks, we're gonna need to talk to your daughter.

I'm sorry. Lanie's too upset to talk at the moment.

Please. Maybe later.

We need to speak to her when her memory's fresh. - She saw what you saw.

She came home, went to the pool house

for some homework help... - We're gonna have to hear that from her.

And she found a dead body.

She's 12 years old. Don't... don't you get it?

It's not homework. It's a project about the pyramids.

I can talk to you. - Thanks, Lanie.

Lanie, sit right here, sweetie.

I'm Agent Lisbon, and that's Patrick Jane.

Hi. What do you have to do for the pyramid project?

Describe the afterlife

as depicted in the ancient egyptian mythology.

Ah, as depicted in the ancient egyptian mythology.

Well, did you know that they believed that when you die,

you are carried into the next life

on the back of a sacred hippopotamus?

That's true.

What time did you get home from school?

A little after 3:00. - What did you do?

I made lemonade. James loves my lemonade.

Who else was home?

Uh, nobody. Uh, I was at the gallery,

and Jolene was at the gym. - Mr. Banks, please.

No one was here.

I took the lemonade to the pool house.

I... I saw...

so much blood.

Did you see anybody or hear anything?

Voices? A car?

Just James. - I'm taking her upstairs now.

Does anybody know what was inside this?

No. Are we through? - Almost.

Lanie, why didn't your mother want you to speak to us?

She's not my mother.

Honey, it... it's okay.

I was protecting her.

She's been through a very traumatic experience.

Oh, I thought you were worried she was gonna say something

about whatever it is you're trying to hide from us.

How dare you?

Really? How dare I?

Is that the best comeback you've got?

You're gonna let this man insult me? - Huh?

Stand there with your mouth open like a moron.

Baby.

Baby. Really?

Whew. Well played.

Yeah. I'm starving.

We've got four cameras in the backyard.

We ran the footage from sunup till we got here. Check this out.

We found this at 2:37. Watch the window.

It's a muzzle flash. - Who's in there? Wh... what camera had the door?

This is the only image we've got.

Nobody coming in or out or in the yard?

Whoever shot Smithson knew

where those cameras were placed and how to avoid 'em.

This one's mine. If you want one, I can make one for you.

We need to check Jolene and Hopper's alibis.

You know, hold on a second.

None of these cameras are hidden.

Anyone can see 'em... guests,

students coming here for tutoring, their parents,

Everybody. - Oh. Good point.

Thanks for your time, Mr. Bandino.

Thank you.

Cheers.

the victim, James Smithson, doesn't exist.

Passport's fake. His references are bogus.

I ran his prints through all the databases.

There's nothing, nothing at all.

Your friend Bandino didn't do much of a background check.

Mm. That's not like him.

He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer,

but he always did the legwork. - Do you think maybe he's holding something back,

protecting his clients? - Yeah, I'll check it out.

Take Van Pelt.

Just stop worrying.

It's gonna be fine with the new boss.

I mean, sure, there'll be a settling-in period

when she probes your psyche for weakness,

But once that's out of the way... - Would you stop? You're being so childish.

I think you're the one who's nervous.

Ooh. That sounds perceptive. Let me think about that.

No. I find that I'm not. It's definitely you.

I'm gonna go talk to Smithson's regular students

and their parents, fill in some of these blanks. - Good idea. Take him with you.

Come on.

My god. It's so terrible.

Do you have any idea who did it?

We're still investigating, Mrs. Blankman.

Now the parents and students we've talked to all say

he was a great tutor, but not much else.

How well did you know Mr. Smithson?

Not that well.

James had only been tutoring my son for...

three... four months.

I'd drop off, pick up.

You know, say hello.