Patrick Jane to Mcallister- confusion

Did you watch the final episode of Season 5 and the first seven episodes of Season 6? If not, stop reading now and go watch those episodes.

If so, you know that McCalister was one of the seven Red John suspects. As the list of suspects was narrowed and the noose tightened on the others who remained on the list, McCalister faking his own death was the best way to remove himself from Red John consideration.

A more-intriguing question, and one I have raised here several times, is why McCalister would return for what he believed to be the final confrontation? By all accounts, he was dead... and he could have safely disappeared forever. At that point in time, Jane had convinced everyone that Bertram was Red John, and McCalister's plan was to have Cordero kill Bertram. Therefore, the public and everyone in law enforcement would have believed Red John to be dead. End of story. McCalister lives on some secluded island for the remainder of his life... and could re-appear every once in a while if he still wanted to play mind games with Jane.

The most common response to the question has been that Red John's ego wouldn't allow him to depart without one-upping Jane for a final time. Fine. But, if that's the situation, why did he come with such an ill-conceived get-away plan? The man who left no clues at crime scenes for 30 years... the man who baffled Jane for 20 years... the man who was always at least two-three steps ahead of each of his pursuers... the man who successfully planned to fake his own death... had Cordero (who was killed) and a tiny woman dressed as a nun sporting nothing more than a knife. No car. No other get-away vehicle. As I've said before, I guess he planned to walk the 60 miles back to Napa County. Baffling.