Plot summary
On his school's baseball field, English teacher Jack McTierney is found with his skull bashed in. On his body are Ecstasy pills and a letter. The letter leads to Lindy Hayes, who had left school 2 years ago. McTierney was urging her to leave prostitution and return to school. Hayes says he had "projects" trying to help people. Jane gets involved with the school's production of the play Hamlet, impressing theater teacher Ms. Austin ( Emily Bergl ). Jane learns that the school's career counselor, Mr. Loveland, sought help for alcoholism from McTierney, but Principal Snyder ( Matt McCoy ) found out and made Loveland's life miserable.
Loveland, assuming McTierney had reported him as they had talked alone in the boys' bathroom, had an argument with McTierney. Jane paints 'Snyder Sucks' in large letters on the walls of the boys' bathroom resulting in Snyder summoning Jane and Lisbon. Jane exposes how Snyder had illegal hidden cameras in the bathrooms (for "discipline" purposes). Jane identifies the murderer from watching footage of Billy ( Tom Maden ) tidying his appearance in the bathroom and picking a leaf out of his hair. On stage, in Shakespearean character, he accuses Billy of "lust in the woods next to the baseball field....the murder of Mr. McTierney, a murder born of unnatural lust between woman and boy...(murder) with this baseball bat." Billy accuses Ms. Austin and Lisbon arrests her.
Snyder faces ruin when Jane tells the audience about his hidden cameras. At CBI, Ms. Austin confesses to murder and statutory rape. McTierney had caught her with Billy, so she killed him. Sarah gives birth to Rigsby's and her son, whom they name Benjamin.
Credits
Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, The Mentalist season 4. HTML formatting and reference markers removed.