Maybe it's just easier to continually employ the same extras. But, right after Jane and Kirkland shake hands (at the end of "If it Bleeds, It Leads"), CBI Ron comes around the corner and walks down the hallway. He is the last and only person on screen when the episode ends. Just sayin'

Bob Kirkland. Homeland Security.

We see him shake hands with Jane in 'If it Bleeds, It Leads' when passing in the hallway. Strange considering Jane doesn't shake hands often.  Also, he knows Jane, but Jane doesn't know him. 

We see Kirkland previously (in Red Dawn) in the car with CBI agent Alexa Shultz. His only words are 'thank you' yet it is said with such robotic distorted tones, his voice sounds strangely familiar.  Could she be Alexa's boss that she in fact is referring to? Is she the FBI informant and Minelli is the CBI informant?

Jane notices something too in 'If it Bleeds, It Leads' after his car wreck and Agent Kirkland is on the radio. He asks 'who is that guy.' Lisbon doesn't respond, but Jane has noticed something, possibly his voice?

Please note the way he pauses when he speaks, his emphasis on certain consonants, specifically his 'S's.

I am wondering about him, Lisbon seems to take to him quickly.  He is sly, suave, very clean, and seems to be an interesting character. Lets see what continues to be revealed.

I think theory #428 is right on.  

Red John can be seen in the season finale that Patrick Jane shoots the false Red John.
He is the guy with the red shirt wearing the black cap (he seems to be fond of wearing baseball hats). You can see him at the mall, in the background many times. He is talking to the coffee girl, the fake red john stares at him directly while walking away just before Patrick shoots him (off screen). He also is seen running from the same place the cop (the one that gets killed in the bathtub) comes from at the end (again off screen). I am sure this is him. Who wants to bet.

Red John is NOT (1) a woman (ii) Patrick Jane.  Red John is (i) someone with resources, charm, and connections (ii) someone Jane has met previous to season five, episode 8. (iii) extremely smart 

Assuming it's not some random rich dude from a past case, Walter Mashburn, Bret Stiles, and Gale Bertram seem to be the only people with the necessary connections, resources, charm, and mental capacity.  

I just can't picture Gale Bertram having the charm to manipulate people the way Red John does. It also seems rather cliched. The head of the CBI is Red John. I think Bertram is likely one of Red John's people, but not actually the man himself.  

Bret Stiles just seems too obvious. He is also too upfront. He openly manipulates people. He openly runs a powerful organization. Why sneak around killing people? Why moonlight as the mysterious Red John? It doesn't fit with his character. 

That leaves Walter Mashburn. He also seems a bit obvious. However, he has the charm, the connections, the resources, and the motive (boredom). 
There just doesn't seem to be anyone else who could plausibly be Red John. 

Initially, I believe, the writers intended Red John to be your
run-of-the-mill serial killer. Albeit, an extremely clever, egotistical, sociopathic serial killer. But a simple serial killer nonetheless.   As the series progressed, in order to keep it
interesting, they started piling on more and more layers of Red John plot
twists. Red John’s minions served as a series of false summits. Red John? Nope,
just kidding; it’s just another one of his minions. They threw in some red herrings too.

Somewhere along the way, the character of Red John transformed
from “straightforward serial killer” to  “criminal mastermind with unlimited power,
knowledge, charm, connections, resources, etc.” 
I think during that transformation, the writers lost sight of the
character. It is hard to reconcile season one's Red John with season five's Red John.  

Why would an all-powerful, evil genius who has
“an army” at his command, randomly (and increasingly less frequently - when was
the last Red John as serial killer murder?)  draw red
smiley faces over random kills?  Those types of serial killers are always people without real
power. People who live seemingly ordinary, isolated lives.  Can you really see a powerful, cunning character
like Bret Stiles acting like an ordinary sidereal killer and drawing smiley faces? Even Walter Mashburn says that if he killed someone, "they would disappear. It would be like they never existed." 



The entire Red John storyline has lost sight of itself. Seriously,
watch the entire series again. So many things don’t make sense. It’s because the writers kept changing the character of Red John as they went along. They didn't begin with a clear idea. Now the writers have written themselves into a corner. The
character of Red John is so incongruous and uneven that any reveal is going to
be a letdown.  I think the Mentalist
jumped the shark when Jane shot Red John, only for it to be yet another “just
kidding” moment.