The Mentalist Episode 3.01 Red Sky at Night

The CBI is called in to investigate the alleged kidnapping of a prominent, rich lawyer and state house lobbyist, Harvey Dollar. Dollar's chauffeur, Pete Ricci is found dead next to their limo, shot in the head. The new deputy AG, Bertram, is counting on the team to do it right because there will be a lot of media attention that comes with it. Jane, still secretly reeling from his encounter with Red John, doesn't feel this case is worth his time and decides to pass on it. Lisbon's concerned about Jane and Hightower convinces her that its better for everyone if Jane helps with the case. Lisbon then tricks Jane by convincing him to go with her to meet someone, not telling him who. When he's faced with Pete Ricci's teenage daughter, Jane realizes that he has no choice but to promise the girl he will find who killed her father. Through their investigation, Rigsby and Van Pelt discover that the alley where the car was found is a popular spot for hookers to bring their clients. The public reputation that Dollar has spoke to none of this and is attested to by his secretary, when Lisbon and Jane question her. Meanwhile Cho is babysitting Dollar's distraught trophy wife, Camille. When a ransom text comes in demanding a million dollars, Camille admits that they actually don't have that kind of money and that Dollar was in huge financial straights. She breaks down and tells them he was a philandering, back-stabbing crook. When she mentions the number of lawsuits Dollar was facing, Jane and Lisbon discover that the new deputy AG is a possible co-defendant in one of the suits. When no one shows up to claim the money at the ransom drop, Jane starts to think the kidnapping might be a ruse to disguise a simple murder. He updates the deputy AG on their progress and spouts a story about how Dollar, having come from poverty, used to carry around a diamond as collateral and that's what he believes the kidnapper was ultimately after. When faced with questions from the press about his involvement with one of the lawsuits, Bertram deflects by repeating the diamond story as the lead they're investigating. Meanwhile, Van Pelt & Rigsby discover a hooker who was in the alley the night of the murder/kidnapping and tells them what she heard. The team discovers from this that the kidnapping was indeed a sham to cover up the real motive - the murder of Pete Ricci. They figure, from what the hooker heard, that Ricci knew the shooter and that Dollar was just collateral damage. Jane returns to Ricci's daughter, her mother and step-father and questions them again, watngint o know if Ricci ever mentioned the diamond that Dollar used to carry around. The seed is planted and they follow the step-father, Marty, to a ditch in the middle of nowhere, about to search Dollar's body for the diamond. The story was a complete ruse to draw him out. Several months before, Marty and Ricci got into an argument over Marty discipling his daughter. It got very heated and Pete beat up Marty in front of his wife and step-daughter. Marty vowed revenge and knew that if he killed Pete alone, he'd be the prime suspect, so he waited and planned for the right moment, using Dollar's disappearance as a perfect distraction.