First of all, I really hope Partridge turns out to be Red John. He is my personal favourite and I think Red John has the connections to fake his own death and get away with it. He was there from the first episode, the very first line he says is "Red John enters here", as he walks across the room (which seems to me like he is making fun of Lisbon and the others right in their faces), and in "Red Sky In the Morning" Patrick spooks him in the victim's room when he comes back to say one last thing to him, and at the end of the episode we see Red John do that exact same thing to Patrick (which I see as a way of getting back at him). The pieces just fit so well that I'd love it if it turns out to be him!
However, the theories about Michael Kirkland being Red John are very interesting, though I hope this doesn't end up with him being Red John.
Just one last thought.I don't think Bob Kirkland's twin brother is actually Red John, because, if he was, would he just had ordered Reede Smith to kill him? Just like that? I think Red John's egomaniacal personality would had made him kill his own twin brother by himself, and not just have somebody else to do it for him.
