Alright this is my CBI Ron theory. It's gonna be kinda long but if you read it all it will make a lot of sense I promise.

I've watched a lot of the mentalist in my day and until browsing this sight I honestly didn't know who CBI Ron was. I always thought that Heller would make Red John someone important because if it was like Reede Smith it would just be kind of a letdown. But after reading some CBI Ron theories they made sense and I'm putting it all together.

Heller said himself that Red John wasn't a main character but more of like a where's waldo in the series. Ron is the ultimate where's waldo. He kinda lurks around and never does anything bad but never anything good either. He is just kind of there. He has always been there, since the very first season.

Heller said that he knew who RJ was from the day he started the series. This makes me doubt that RJ could be Kirkland or someone else who showed up really late in the series. So he introduces Ron early and has him hang around doing literally nothing until boom he's red john and everyone is shocked.

CBI Ron is often absent in Red John episodes, for obvious reasons if you believe this theory. But he's never suspected of anything. He just lurks. That's what makes this so perfect.

So now I have to explain a few things. First I have to explain the list because Heller said we can trust the list. We know that PJ knows someone broke into his bulletin board or whatever with his Red John notes. He probably thought about this in advance because I feel like PJ would be more likely to just keep his thoughts in his head. So after that he guesses that Red John will make a video with that list, so PJ makes the list that he thinks RJ will make. So PJ is actually one step ahead, not the other way around.

Now this is the main thing I have to explain; how CBI Ron is Red John based on the first couple episodes of this season. But before that. I need to talk about the people on the actual list. Kirkland is RJ's main accomplice, and I derive this mostly from the breaking into the notes and another point i will make later. Reede smith, bertram, and mccalister are a tag team trying to catch RJ for themselves or trying to keep PJ from catching Red John for some reason. Haffner and Stiles are just visualize members who know RJ and help him when need be. Partridge is dead.

So this leaves us with Season 6 episode 1, which went down like this. Partridge, a former accomplice, fails Ron somehow, and Ron decides he has to go. So he ties him up bleeding in a closet he can't escape. Lisbon gets a call that she needs to go to this location and Ron knows she will because she sees where Partridge's phone is. So he waits til she gets there, knocks her out, takes her phone, and leaves. When Lisbon is on the phone tracking system Kirkland is being shown as in transit. He is going to the house to do the rest of the work. Ron goes back to CBI to wait for Jane. He looks around for Jane, doesn't find him, and is about to call Jane on Lisbon's phone. Then he bumps into Jane. Jane asks him has he seen Lisbon, he says no and walks off the screen. Immediately Jane gets a phone call. Back at the house Kirkland is painting the face on Lisbon. We know that he does it wrong, showing that he isn't RJ. Plus there are two hands on the knife, so the person there isn't RJ. So Ron is back at CBI talking to Jane with Lisbon's phone.

The "big clue" that Heller talked about in the last scene of S6E1 is the two hands on the knife. Also 666 is a clue somehow, as it is the number of the beast.

This is my Red John theory and it sounds pretty dang good to me. Comment any questions or doubts please so I can develop this theory.

1.) Patridge is dead! Get over it. He is not RJ. I think RJ killed him because he found some evidence against him.
2.) Kirkland is NOT RJ. It is impossible! If he hadn't had a face surgery (which i strongly assume, because that would be just cheap and lame) he cant be Red John, because Lennon would have recognized him as RJ. So it is impossible that he is RJ. I really dont understand how people can keep saying he is Red John. He is also not after Red John, because he would have asked Lennon to tell him who Red John is. He works for Red John, - as simple as that.
3.) Stiles is NOT Red John. It is impossible. Stiles was already the leader of visualize back at the time when the RJ smiley was painted on the ellison barn. The priest said some kid painted the RJ smiley on the barn, - do you really think anyone would refer to the LEADER of Visualize as of some kid?! He would have simply said the leader of visualize painted that smiley on the barn. So it is absolutely impossible that Stiles could be RJ. Not because of his age, but because the leader of visualize was back then not just some kid.
4.) I cant say for sure Reede Smith is not RJ, but I just think he isnt. I dont have a valid reason why he is not RJ, but I just dont see him as RJ.  Neither is McAllister. Thats just my opinion, I cant give proof for that. But I think that McAllister and Reede Smith were in Bertrams office not because they are allies of Red John, but because they are up to something else, a secret project or some dark and illegal affairs. The fact that Reede Smith told Bertram, that it is his job, to find out, how much Jane knows, I think he wasnt refering to how much Jane knows about Red John, but how much he knows of the stuff Bertram, McAllister and Reede are up to.
4.) My strongest Red John suspects are Bertram and Haffner. Till end of season 5 i was convinced RJ is Bertram, but after season 6 episode 2, I have that gut feeling that it could be Haffner.
Reasons why Haffner could be RJ:
- Haffner is a known Visualize Member. He could have been at Elliston Farm.
- Haffner said in one of the episodes to Lisbon, "that he was a kid, that was heading to a bad direction and that Visualize helped him to straighten him out." - What if Visualize tried to straighten him out but didnt succeed? Maybe Haffner tried to become better with the help of Visualize , thus didnt kill for many years, but at the end his evil traits won and he started killing again. This would also explain why Stiles knows who Red John is (Haffner), but at the same time, doesnt reveal the identity of RJ/Haffner, because he doesnt want Visualize to get into trouble.
- If Haffner is RJ, then Jane didnt trick him to lose his job and to get Lisbon back as the boss back in season 4. If he is RJ he wanted it and did it on purpose, like in "His right red hand" where Rebecca said that he wanted him to be back on the RJ case". RJ wants Janes team to be after him.
- The psychiatrist said RJ has no family. If Haffner came as a child already to Visualize it indicates that he has no family or family ties. He is also not married.
- Unfortunately we dont know much about Haffner that could prove that he is RJ.

Reasons why Bertram could be RJ:
- betram military bravery award in his office from the gulf war. Carter, who he killed was a veteran from the gulf war, could be a link there.
- Bertram is a passionate fisherman. (as you can see in his office)
- Bertram said to Jane in S06 E02: "Why did lisbon go into the house, because when the call came in, neither Red John or Patridge was mentioned." - I ask myself, - how did Bertram know, what was said in the call to Lisbon, if he didnt call himself?! This is a bit thin, but worth taking into consideration.

I am more inclined to Haffner, - I have the feeling that Bertram might be only a Red Herring. Happy to hear your thoughts here.