Jane is called to a murder scene by FBI agent Reede Smith, one of the people on his list of Red John suspects. The victim is Benjamin Marx, the killer that Jane buried alive in episode 423. Jane figures out that someone broke into his aerie and stole his list of suspect...the false one that he planted, which included Marx's name among other criminals that he's dealt with in the past. In an attempt to discover who might have had access and motive, Jane contacts his old boss, Madeline Hightower, who has faked her own death and gone into hiding. Hightower tells Jane that Robert Kirkland has been keeping tabs on him for years, and Jane realizes that the Homeland Security agent is on his own quest for vengeance against Red John.