i believe that there are 3 people who know the absolute truth.  They are RJ, PJ, and........Crystal.  Halfway thru "White Lines", jane and the hottie are on their date.  She asks about his ring.  he says it is a long story and they better order drinks.  several minutes later, after an absolutely useless scene between fishcer and lisbon that was only their to show that there was a significant lapse in time, jane finishes telling her his story.  she then understands why he still wears his ring.

Now, if he told her that after several years of searching, he finally got his revenge and with it some long overdue closure, then her reaction would have been something like, "wow, so i guess now that it is all over you should consider taking it off and getting back out there".

instead, her reaction was to be understanding that he still wears it.  that would make sense if he had just told her that he just took down the BA, and another RJ accomplice, but he will continue to wear the ring until the day he knows for sure that RJ is dead.

i know for sure that the first thing i am looking at in S7ep1 is janes left hand.

Jane said, that he excludes all the possible suspects, that he met only once. Why the hell are McAllister and Smith on the list?
And if he met them again offscreen, it doesen't count. 
I can't acceppt Red John being someone, who should not even bee on this list. 

Laugh as much as you want but Red John will have the last smiley.

If Red John returns will the writers of the show press it hard from the beginning or will they tease us till the end?

I'd love nothing more than to have Red John come back from the get go, to watch every new episode glued to the edge of the seat, but I don't think the writers are capable of keeping that kind of tension going over the course of 13 installments. Heck, I'd be happy if they can come up with a single decent end to the Red John story line. If he is coming back it will be at the end, and they will conceal all the clues of his existence for the same length of time. IMHO

Would there be any indication or signs of his return earlier?

Perhaps. The most obvious would be to watch out for the announcement of the episode titles. Red in the title equals Jackpot! but this is just another reason I believe RJ will have to wait till the end. If they delay the name of the last episode for too long, that would be a good sign.

Also, if they make the end to last two hours (12-13) that has a promise to be epic, as well.

And the last clue for Red John's return would lie in the wedding. More precisely where would they have the ceremony? If they choose any church, then Red John might not return at all. However, if they gonna tie the knot at the Visualize church (for any reason), then I'd say the chances for Red John's return are 99.99%.

let me get this straight.  Mcallister being RJ was at Jane's house.  He planted a bomb that killed visualize.  He felt the need to move the bodies of bertram, smith, and Jane to safety just before the bomb went off.  then, a couple of days later, he changes his mind and thinks all 3 need to die?????  what kind of sense does that make???  How about NONE!!!

The Mentalist was like summer for me, in the previous seasons. It was always sunny, they showed us the lovely California. But even in this paradise, there was still something dark and creepy and everybody knew, that Red John was around, that he could be this not to special looking man, that it could be Partidge, Bertram, or just everybody, who was around. 
It had this special atmosphere, like a hot, dry somerday. It was like a beatiful world in the area of Sacramento, where crime and murder stood in opposite to everything else. 
The show was like that, a long time ago. But now, this feeling is gone and it's just a show beside a million others. 
But I still like to rember, this good old days, I will not forget them. 

Where do we go from here?*

Season 7 has only 13 episodes, but what are we going to watch in them, when Jisbon was already introduced and the season is too short to start a new arc or even a sub-plot. Will there be more pathetic FBI cases until the wedding and perhaps a honeymoon to wrap it up?

Or it will start with the partial BA list finally being deciphered, to close the book on the least interesting mystery that still remains, then jump to Stiles return. With him back the Visualize questions will be answered, then we'll have the wedding that will resemble a funeral and the final showdown with the real Red John.

If Red John is coming back I'd say they will hold him for the very last episode. We will harbor the hope until then and not complain... not really. Last episode come, it will make us either happy or very disappointed. However, by then No one will be there to listen to our complaints. I just want to prepare ya'll for the worst case scenario.

* Russ Ballard