Interesting season so far. A lot of questions, such as, "is the list real?"
Well, assuming the list is real (and I believe it is), my prediction is that Red John is Brett Partridge. He faked his own death in episode one of this season to eliminate himself from suspicion. The list is real, because even if Patrick did NOT have the list before Jane watched the Lorelei disc, Red John/Brett Partridge would have put himself on his list (a seemingly risky move) in order to later throw suspicion off of himself by faking his own death (removing the risk from the move of putting himself ON the list). Brett Partridge/Red John would have the forensic know how and connections in the forensic department to enable him to pull off such a fake.
There are other clues from prior seasons as well, such as when Rebecca was being walked to her cell and was killed by Red John - some of the suspects on the list would not have been able to pull that off. Bertram would have been recognized by the other guards instantly as being out of place, as would Haffner and Stiles. McAllister also would have stuck out like a sore thumb in that scenario. Partridge, though, would have had the inside knowledge as well as the obscurity to pull that off. Smith and Kirkland also might have pulled that off, though.
Smith can be eliminated because of his "yelling" at Bertram this season as well (which also obviously eliminates Bertram - RJ would NOT be yelled at by one of his followers). RJ simply would NOT have lost his cool like that over something as simple as a Patrick Jane trick. Remember, RJ is playing with Jane. He would NOT need Bertram to keep Jane under control.
That leaves Kirkland or Partridge. Kirkland is a strong suspect, given his reaction towards Jane and other Red John followers, and I cannot point to anything that definitively eliminates him (yet).
And we must remember what Jane pointed out about RJ in the pilot - his killings are an exercise in his showmanship - his need to be the center of attention, even at the murder scene, where his gruesome painting draws the eye away from the murder victim. Bret Stiles already gets all the attention he needs as the leader of a cult. Bertram gets attention as a rising political player. Same with SHERIFF Tom McAllister (Sheriff being an elected position). Haffner, being a political/corporate climber as well, would seem to fulfill his need for attention through his professional life, too. Kirkland, Smith, and Partridge, though, all lead lives outside of the limelight, but none moreso than Partridge. As a forensics guy, there is not a lot of upward mobility in that position. Kirkland and Smith, while not in the limelight, don't seem to be as professionally reclusive and yet with an undercurrent of desiring attention and admiration (as demonstrated by Partridge's "bungled" attempts to analyze the crime scenes he has been shown in). Partridge seems to best fit the role of someone desirous of attention, yet knowing he will never get such attention professionally.
Finally, the fact that we never saw a confirmed, dead Partridge, and we did not see Jane even try to inspect his dead body, really leads me to think that Partridge's death was faked. This leads me to think that RJ WANTS Partridge eliminated from Jane's radar as a suspect, and the primary reason for that would be because Partridge IS RJ.
