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Madeleine Hightower was the chief of the CBI Sacramento Office after Virgil Minelli and before J.J. LaRoche and then Luther Wainwright.

Hightower immediately puts Lisbon and the rest of the team on notice that she will adopt a by-the-book approach to managing the CBI, and her mission is to re-establish the CBI as the premier investigative agency in the state. In a private meeting with Patrick Jane, she tells Jane that he is the CBI's golden boy, and she sees him as a valuable part of the CBI's future. She also tells him -- multiple times -- that if he continues breaking the rules, it will be Lisbon who gets in trouble for it.

Hightower does show herself as willing to cover for Jane to some extent: Lisbon's team was investigating a murder that occurred at a private residence, Jane insulted the homeowner, and the homeowner complained to a judge. The judge then denied Lisbon and her team a search warrant to further investigate the house, but Hightower made a phone call to the judge and the team got their warrant.

In a private meeting with Lisbon, Hightower tells her that if she can't keep Jane in line, she'll be replaced with someone who can. Hightower also says that she's aware of Rigsby's and Van Pelt's relationship, and that she knows that Lisbon knows: "You are too good of a cop not to have noticed."

Hightower also says regarding the Rigsby/Van Pelt relationship that if Lisbon doesn't do something about it, she will. She later follows through with that statement when she calls Rigsby, Van Pelt, and Lisbon on the carpet and orders Rigsby and Van Pelt to either end their relationship or one of them will have to leave the Sacramento office of the CBI (Rigsby chooses to put in for a transfer to the San Francisco office). As for Lisbon, Hightower gives her a reprimand for failing to uphold the rules about relationships between CBI team members.

In Season 3, Hightower is among Agent LaRoche's five suspects in the Todd Johnson murder, and was considered the prime suspect due to her previous relationship with one of Johnson's victims; this, along with evidence planted at the scene of the murder of Johnson's accomplice, Manuel Montero, ultimately leaves Hightower a wanted fugitive. Jane realizes Hightower was framed by Red John's accomplice, the true killer, and helps her escape and he works throughout Season 3 to identify the true CBI mole. In the Season 3 finale, Hightower resurfaces, realizing Red John is closing in, and works with Jane and the team to expose the mole, FBI Agent Craig O'Laughlin, who is shot and killed by Hightower and Van Pelt in a showdown at Hightower's hideout.

In the fourth season, she was replaced as the boss of Lisbon's team by Luther Wainwright.

She returns in the sixth season, she faked her own and her children's death to prevent Red John from "cleaning house" after he killed Lorelei Martins . Madeleine later helps Lisbon and Patrick Jane arrest Robert Kirkland who turned out to be a vigilante hunting down a fake list of Red John suspects he stole from Jane's office.

Personal Life / Family[]

In the third-season episode "Red Gold", it is revealed that Hightower and her husband are separated and going through a divorce. The exact circumstances aren't known, but Hightower's situation has been the topic of much speculative gossip around the office at CBI. In the same episode, it is also revealed that Hightower has two children: Mimi and Will, who Lisbon watches at the office after injuring her ankle.

Appearances[]

TheMentalist
Season 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 #
Two - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - G R R R - R R N/A 6
Three R R - - - R - R R R - - - - R R - - - - - - R R 10
Six - - - R - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - N/A 1
Total 17


Special Agent in Charge
Virgil Minelli (Retired) • Madeleine Hightower (Retired) • J.J. LaRoche (†) • Luther Wainwright (†) • Gale Bertram (†) • Teresa Lisbon (Resigned)
Lisbon's Team
Teresa LisbonWayne RigsbyKimball ChoGrace Van PeltPatrick Jane (Consultant) • Stephen Hannigan (Transferred)
Bosco's Team
Sam Bosco (†) • Rebecca Anderson (†) • Marlon Hicks (†) • Mark Dyson (†) • Nick Martinez (†)
Haffner's Team
Ray Haffner (†) • Rick TorkAnthony NiskinEd Masterson
Other Members

Brett Partridge (†) • Roy Carmen (Arrested) • Brenda Shettrick (Arrested) • Oscar Ardiles (†) • Tamsin WadeCBI KarlCBI RonVint Molinari
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