In fact, I suddenly wonder if his girl-abducting sideline isn't what made Red John offer him up to Jane?
I'm still wondering how Bradley Whitford's character (BWC) knew that the place to be was the food court at the mall.
Very few people knew that ahead of time. Jane, Rigsby, and Cho knew. Lisbon probably was told. Maybe Van Pelt was told, but if she were, she did not appear to tell O'Laughlin about the mall. Jane told Bertram when the meet was happening, but not where. Perhaps Bertram had BWC follow him and Jane to the mall (Bertram made a phone call right after Jane told him about the meet). LaRoche was told about the meeting time just as Jane was leaving the building, so LaRoche could have had Jane followed, but the timing was tight and it is hard to believe LaRoche could get BWC to the mall that quickly. None of the camera angles in the mall scene show the table where BWC was sitting until Lisbon calls him, so we do not know whether BWC arrived before Jane and Bertram, or after.
At least one security guard at the mall knew, but he was probably not told about it until an hour or two before the meet, and it would be an absurd coincidence for a random security guard at the mall to be a RJ associate.
The woman who went to the hotel with the rope went into Bertram's room, which was right above O'Laughlin's room. That would be consistent with both Bertram and O'Laughlin being RJ associates -- she could check Bertram's room and then use the rope to check O'Laughlin's room.
Who took BWC's gun and switched the phone? Waitress, security guard, or forensics guy? If it was the waitress or security guard, then the RJ associate must be someone who knew about the meet ahead of time (i.e., probably not Bertram). I suppose RJ could have been in the mall, watching, and quickly bribed the security guard to do it. If it was the forensics guy, then he could be RJ, or just an associate. I could not tell if the forensics guy was Brett Partridge, the suspicious forensics guy from the first episode.
So, I think one of the following must be RJ or an associate of RJ (in decreasing order of likelihood):
Bertram
....
Van Pelt
LaRoche
Rigsby
Cho
Lisbon
....
Jane
Bertram is way ahead of all the other suspects. The woman went to "his" room. He made a phone call after hearing about the meet, and was at the mall. He quoted William Blake for no apparent reason ("Red Queen" episode). And he seemed more hostile than usual to Jane and the team in this episode. He is powerful and has a lot of connections.
I initially had Van Pelt at the bottom, since it is not clear that she knew the mall location ahead of time. But then I started thinking about her history of boyfriends, and it is just too suspicious that she has had two mole boyfriends by pure chance. Her reaction to the O'Laughlin reveal seemed a little strange to me. And she has red hair. So I think she has to be near the top of the list for a RJ associate (but probably not RJ, since she is too young).
Lisbon seemed genuinely surprised when Jane told her about O'Laughlin, and she did get shot, so I think she is near the bottom of the list. Jane is at the bottom, since I REALLY don't want to hear that Jane is totally insane and is his own worst enemy. But I included him on the list for completeness.
