Chapter 1
"Beth Miller, 32, Melody Mauro, 31, Nancy Peterson 32, Helen Joyce 34," Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer Jareau began, pushing the button on her remote to bring up a picture of each woman as she said the name. Four blonde haired, blue eyed women smiled at the team from their respective DMV pictures. Glancing around the conference room at her colleagues, she took a deep breath before continuing. "All found strangled near the dumpsters outside their various places of employment. The first victim, Miller, was found 5 weeks ago. The most recent, Joyce, was found this morning. It appears they were grabbed on their way out of work. Bruise patterns indicate the unsub grabbed them from behind in a choke hold. No physical evidence left at any the scenes."
"Four women murdered and we're just now hearing about it. What took them so long?" questioned SSA Derek Morgan, his expression incredulous.
"Four women in four different towns in the DC and northern Virginia area. LEOs only connected them this morning when the cases were covered on the local news," explained JJ.
"What makes them think these cases are connected?" asked SSA Spencer Reid.
Bringing up another series of pictures, this time of pendants like what would be found on a necklace, JJ continued, "Each woman was found with a different letter pendant near her." The silver letters J, A, R, and E appeared on the screen. "Crime labs traced the pendants to the manufacturer, but there's no way to tell where they were purchased from."
"Besides the obvious physical similarities, are there any other commonalities between the victims?" SSA David Rossi inquired, studying the faces on the screen.
JJ sought out a comforting face before answering. Catching SSA Emily Prentiss's brown eyes with her own, JJ replied. "As you can see, all victims had blond hair and blue eyes. All were about the same height and build. All were single mothers with young sons. Each woman had a typically male-dominated career – neurosurgeon, mechanical engineer, construction contractor, and IT consultant – that they were very successful at." JJ saw something register in Emily's mind and silently begged her friend to not bring it up. "Other than that, no other connection has been found."
Standing, Unit Chief SSA Aaron Hotchner spoke, giving out orders. "OK because there is no central location, we'll work out of here. Garcia, I want you to run backgrounds on these women and look for any other connections. Morgan, work with her on victimology and see what you can find on those pendants. Reid, start a geographic profile. JJ, we'll need every piece of paper the different police departments have on these cases sent over here. Prentiss, take JJ when she's done and interview the families and friends of the first 2 victims. Dave and I will go to the latest crime scene and interview the third victim's family. We'll meet back here at this afternoon to review what we've found. Let's get to work."
As the team filed out, JJ stayed behind to straighten up and collect her files. When she looked up, she saw Emily waiting near the door. "You okay?" the profiler quietly questioned, knowing that JJ was not.
"Yea, I'm fine," JJ replied, though her eyes told a different story. "This isn't the first time I've resembled the victims, nor will it be the last.
"You know, it'd be okay to not be fine. I mean, you don't just resemble those women, you are them," Emily said gently. "It would be completely understandable if you wanted off this case." That earned Emily a glare from the blonde.
"Emily, I am fine. Yes, it is a little disconcerting when I fit the victimology, but that is not going to stop me from doing my job. I am a capable agent and can take care of myself."
"Ok, ok, JJ, I didn't mean to imply that you can't. You're right. If I was in your position I would be saying the same thing." She paused, studying JJ, looking for signs that the media liaison was actually angry. As she saw JJ's face soften, she continued, "Do you want help contacting the precincts for their paperwork?" Seeing JJ's nod, Emily followed her to her office and settled down to make some phone calls.
An hour later, JJ and Emily were on their way to a brownstone in Georgetown to meet the family of Beth Miller. It was a quiet ride, both women deep in thought. Though she said she was fine, the fact that she was so similar to the victims really did bother JJ. All she could think about was the young boys left without their mothers. JJ couldn't help but wonder what would happen to Henry if something happened to her. Will had left them seven months ago, saying that he couldn't stand being Mr. Mom any longer. When she had reminded him that they had agreed that she would work while he cared for the baby, he had said that he'd thought she'd change her mind once the child was born. He had returned to New Orleans with a promise to visit his son often, but he had yet to call her once in seven months. JJ was secretly happy that he hadn't. He had said some hurtful things to her, accusing her of loving her job more than her own son. It was obvious that he resented Henry, blaming the child for taking away his freedom and ruining his and JJ's relationship. JJ had had a hard time adjusting after he left, but with the help of her friends, she had managed to build a new life for her and her three year old son. She had been amazed at how supportive her colleagues had been, from Hotch's advice on picking a daycare to Garcia's standing babysitting offer. JJ found Emily's help to be the most surprising. During the first few months, it wasn't unusual for Emily to stay the night with JJ, comforting her when she became overwhelmed and offering encouragement when she doubted herself. Emily was a natural caregiver and it showed in her interactions with Henry. The friendship between the women had grown stronger, and JJ was pleasantly surprised to see the normally reserved profiler open up around her and her son. She knew what she felt for the profiler was deeper than just friendship, but had never allowed herself to think about it. Breaking from her thoughts as the SUV hit a bump; JJ looked over at the driver's seat, studying Emily's profile.
As if they could read each other's minds, Emily had also been thinking about her friendship with JJ. The brunette had been fascinated by JJ since the day they met. The media liaison was beautiful, intelligent, and charming without knowing it, which made her even more intriguing to Emily. However, she had long ago compartmentalized her attraction, sticking it in a little box that she thought she had closed permanently when Will LaMontagne came into the picture. But in the past few months that Will had been gone, she had been allowing herself to open that box and explore those feelings a bit more. What she found surprised her. Though her feelings towards JJ had started out as mostly physical attraction and curiosity, over the years they had morphed into something a lot more. Somewhere along the way, she had fallen in love with the younger woman without even realizing it was happening. The thought had hit Emily suddenly one night as she watched a frazzled JJ walk a screaming Henry around his nursery. JJ had called Emily because Henry had an ear infection and would not stop crying. JJ herself was nearly in tears because she hadn't slept in days. Between trying to do everything for everyone at work and coming home to a sick child, JJ was pushing herself too hard. Emily had walked right in and taken JJ and Henry in her arms, offering comfort to both the blondes. Taking the toddler from his exhausted mother, she sent JJ to bed and began her own course around the room, murmuring softly to the boy, who eventually quieted and fell asleep. She carried her "mini-JJ" with her as she checked on his mother. It was then that she realized how in love with JJ she was. The blonde was sprawled on top of her covers, still in her work clothes, hair forming a halo around her head. The moonlight from the window gave her skin a soft glow, illuminating the tear tracks on her smooth cheeks. Emily mused that the sleeping woman was the most beautiful sight in the world. Using one hand to pull the blanket from the bottom of the bed over the sleeping figure, she had gently run her fingers through the silky blonde hair and kissed her forehead. That had been months ago, yet she could still remember how soft the skin had been beneath her lips and she desperately craved more. She just hoped her compartmentalization skills were good enough to keep her feelings from her expression when she looked at the younger woman. The last thing she wanted to do was scare away her best friend. As she pulled into their destination, she glanced over at the object of her thoughts, catching the blue eyes staring at her. Giving JJ a half smile, she asked, "You ready for this?"
Two and a half hours later, the women were on their way back to Quantico after interviewing the families of the first two victims. Emily could see that JJ was upset. "It's good that they have supportive families, you know? Those boys will grow up hearing about how much their moms loved them." JJ was surprised that Emily had known what she was thinking about, but then figured she shouldn't be. Emily always seemed to know what was bothering her and that had nothing to do with profiling. It was a testament to the strength of their friendship.
"Yea, I know. It's good that their dads are there for them and that their extended families are all working together to make this easier on them. I don't know why this is bugging me so much, it's not like this is even close to the worst things we've seen. I shouldn't let it get to me," JJ said, forcing her voice to sound nonchalant.
"You and I both know why it bugs you so much. You don't have to hide it or pretend to be strong, it's just me here. I would be more worried about you if it didn't get to you." JJ was quiet for a while.
"It's just, I don't know what would happen to Henry if I were to die. Will obviously doesn't care for Henry like a dad should and my family isn't very close. Who would tell him stories about me?" JJ asked quietly, her head turned towards the window.
"Hey," Emily reached over and grabbed JJ's hand, squeezing until the blonde looked at her. "Don't talk like that. I know that in our line of work we can't guarantee anything, but I can promise that I will do my best to make sure you return to Henry every night," she said emphatically, her eyes revealing the truth behind her words. Giving JJ's hand one last squeeze, she let go, returning her attention to the road.
JJ was struck by the honesty and other emotions she saw in the dark brown eyes. Her hand tingled where Emily held it. The weight of those words and the emotion behind them hit her hard, making her breath catch in her chest. As Emily released her hand, she turned back to the window, tears in her eyes. They spend the rest of the time in comfortable silence. As they climbed out of the SUV back at Quantico, JJ unexpectedly pulled Emily into a hug. "Thanks, Em," she whispered into the profilers neck as Emily wrapped her arms around her waist. They stayed like that for a few moments until pulling back and smiling at each other before walking into the FBI building.
"What've we got?" asked Hotch as soon as the women joined their waiting colleagues at the conference table.
Morgan spoke first, "I got nothing on the pendants. Like the crime labs said, I tracked them to the manufacturer, but from there there's no way to tell where they came from. Manufacturer sells to hundreds of different vendors in the metropolitan area alone. They're basic sterling silver block letters, about 1 inch tall and a half inch wide, nothing too fancy, usually retail for about $10." Morgan stood, tacking photos of the pendants to the white board. "As for the letters J, A, R, and E, Garcia ran them through their background checks using some fancy program and found nothing. Victim number 3, Nancy Peterson, had a brother names Jared, but he died three years ago, so I don't think it's connected."
"You're probably right. Any new connections?" asked Hotch.
"Nothing. No overlap in schools, grocery stores, doctors offices, daycares, anywhere. They lived in different towns and ran in different circles. There's no indication that they ever met or visited the same places. The only connection I got is what we already had, but Garcia is still digging for more." Morgan sat down again.
"Ok. What about you Reid? Do you have a working geographical profile yet?" Hotch questioned the young doctor.
"Normally an unsub has a comfort zone in which he stays and kills in. This guy doesn't seem to have that. Each kill has been in a different town." Reid stood up to point to the map. "First victim in Georgetown, next in Arlington, then Springfield, and Woodbridge. The only pattern I can see emerging is the southern movement. These areas are in the vicinity of I-66, I-395, and I-95, moving from north to south, so assuming he's traveling by car from his home to his targets, probably lives near one of these highways. There's no centralized location, so I probably won't be able to narrow it down any more than that without additional data." Reid finished and returned to his chair, looking slightly defeated.
"Prentiss? What'd you find out?" Hotch turned to his female profiler. Emily looked lost in thought, staring at the board as if she were trying to piece something together. Hotch knew that she needed to fully work it out in her head before she mentioned it to the team, so he turned to JJ to answer for Emily.
"We didn't really find out anything new about the victims. Both were on good terms with their exes. Beth Miller had sole custody of her son while Melody Mauro shared custody with her ex. Both their sons are preschool age; both are now living with their fathers in accordance with the women's wills. No one can think of anyone who would want to hurt them. Their coworkers all said that they were nice people who would do anything for anyone and hard workers. Beth Miller left her practice at her usual time, 5pm, and was found by the dumpsters in the alley beside the building that night by the garbage man. No one heard or saw anything unusual. Melody Mauro left her office building around 6:30pm but never made it to her car. She was found when her nanny called the police the next morning. Again, no one reported any strange people or unusual sounds," JJ said, disappointed that they hadn't found anything useful.
"Rossi and I got pretty much the same. No one could think of anyone who would want to hurt these women. Nancy Peterson was a widow, so her son is living with her parents. Helen Joyce's ex signed away his parental rights as soon as the child was born and moved to Oregon. The boy is with his grandparents now. Coworkers didn't report anything out of the ordinary at either scene. Nancy Peterson left work late, around 9pm, and was found the next morning by a jogger. Helen Joyce left her office at 7pm and was found this morning by a homeless man."
Emily was still staring at the board, her face screwed up in concentration. It was like the answer was dangling in front of her, she just couldn't grasp it, like the word was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't say it. JJ was watching Emily and knew her well enough to know that she was getting frustrated with her inability to figure out what it was that caught her attention. She tilted her head to the side and crinkled her nose, which JJ always found adorable, not that she would ever say admit it. As Hotch stood handing out the reports that JJ and Emily had retrieved earlier from the police stations, Emily's face changed. A triumphant look appeared in her eyes, signaling to JJ that the puzzle pieces had fallen into place. As Emily realized what it was that she figured out, a look of fear crossed her face briefly, before she schooled her expressions into her neutral mask. "Um Hotch? I know you probably realize this, but JJ matches this victimology to a T," she began nervously.
"Emily, we already talked about this, I'm fine, I can do my job just fine," JJ interrupted, slightly annoyed that Emily was bringing this up in front of their boss.
"No, I know that, I'm not trying to stop you or saying that you can't," Emily turned her eyes from JJ back to Hotch. "These women are just like JJ, but it's not unusual for one of us to match the victimology. What is unusual is these letters. Look at them. J, A, R, E. Given the physical similarities, I'd bet anything that the next 2 victims have an A and U. I think the unsub is spelling JJ's name."