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Chapter 2
APOV
We all stood watching Dave try one last time to get some kind of answer out of our killer, Ralph Jackson. He wasn't getting anywhere so he picked up his file and stormed out of the interrogation room slamming the door. "I take it you've made no headway on this then." We all span around to see Chief Strauss in the doorway. "No Erin we haven't. Not since you last asked twenty minutes ago. What is this hovering you're doing? You've never done this before." Dave exclaimed and we all held our breath to what would follow that outburst. Strauss simply said, "I'm considering bringing in another interrogator. It's clear you're getting nowhere. I'll be back with them shortly." She turned and walked away. We all sighed in relief. "Rossi, what was that? You never speak to anyone like that?" Morgan asked, running his hand over his bald head.
"This bastard is the unsub, I know he is, but we can't break him and that's getting to me." Dave sighed. We were all feeling the strain of this case, despite being able to go home in the evenings; it still used a lot of energy, although most of that came from having to deal with Strauss. "Guys, who do you, think she's gone to get?" Reid asked, making my lips quirk, that man was forever curious. "Peters maybe. He could crack this guy." J.J suggested. "Yeah, but Rossi could crack Peters." Prentiss added. I turned around watching Jackson through the glass, while shifting my shoulders trying to ease the tension in them. What I wouldn't give to be able to have a massage right now. I thought as I stared at the glass.
Through the open door I heard Anderson say, "Their just through there Agent." There was a pause and then instead of the masculine voice of one of the Bureau interrogators, a soft female voice asked, "I hear you need an interrogator?" I turned around and blinked. Stood in front of us was a petite woman, with Mediterranean colouring, long black hair and the most amazing green eyes. She would be the perfect masseuse. I thought as I stared at her, I then heard Morgan ask, "Yeah, we do. When's he coming?" I watched her eyes dip down to his badge as she spoke. "Well Agent Morgan. She's right here. "I drew in a breath as she smiled; it made her go from incredibly pretty to beautiful in a heartbeat. I heard her say, "What's your profile?"
"Classic Narcissist. He's intelligent, well-organised, methodical, competent and confident in his ability to kill. He takes jewellery from the victims as trophies, leaves the bodies in highly travelled areas and he enjoys and craves the attention and prestige that his kills are bringing him. Agent.. "I replied without thinking, trailing off not seeing a badge."Raven. Agent Hotchner. Do you have any photos I could look at? Crime scene when the body was discovered and the precautionary ones they take after the areas been processed please." I looked at Seaver, who phoned Garcia, repeating the request. We all watched her turn towards the viewing window, looking at Jackson. I flicked my gaze towards Dave when he cleared his throat. He then asked her the question we were all thinking.
"What makes you so sure you can get him to talk, Agent Raven?" We watched as she turned to face us, leaning against the table with her legs stretched in front of her. God, they are long. I thought as my gaze drifted down the length of them. I turned my attention back to her face as she began to talk. "Well Agent Rossi, He is expecting one of your team to walk back in there. Someone who looks the part of the Agent, someone older, someone serious, in some variation of a business outfit. A stereotypical F.B.I. Agent. By sending me in there you're not only sending him off kilter by sending in an unknown entity, but also by sending me in you send in someone who couldn't be more out of place here. And my method of questioning is fairly different to yours. Thanks Penny." I watched as Garcia gave her the file containing her photos.
She was right, she didn't look like an agent as she was dressed in skin tight black jeans, a green top, black cardigan and high heels. How does she even walk in them? I refocused when I heard Garcia say, "Your welcome Cassie. I thought they were for you. You going to make him cry like a baby?" She asked, rubbing her hands together. Dave and I looked at each other, then back to the Agent as she said, "I'm going to try, doubt he'll cry though. Shouldn't take too long." She carried on looking at the photographs, flicking back and forth between them. "You're awfully sure of yourself, almost cocky Agent." My breath caught as her eyes focused on me when she looked up. "Am I?" she said as she stood, placed the file on the table and walked towards me, until she was standing toe to toe with me, but she still had to look up at me even with the heels she had on.
I had no idea what she was doing, but I could feel the heat coming from her body and the smell of her perfume was creeping into my senses. She tilted her head slightly to the left and my awareness of her shot up. After a minute or two I began to focus on other things around the room. I knew I had proved whatever it was that she was trying to prove when she said, "Do I make you nervous Agent Hotchner? Only you don't seem to be able to look at me." I took a step back and collected myself. She smiled when I began to reply with, "No you don't make me nervous-" she laughed softly, making me stop to listen to the sound. "Sure I don't." She replied as she turned away from me, picked up the file and opened the door to the interrogation room. "Hi there, may I?" She asked as she shut the door, gesturing towards the chair opposite Jackson. "Why ask him? He isn't in charge." Strauss asked as she walked into the room. We listened to Jackson's reply, "Sure it's your interrogation sugar."
"Actually Mr Jackson, this is your interrogation. I'm just here to see if you can clarify a few things for me." We watched her lay out the photographs on the table in front of him. "No she is in charge, but by asking him and telling him it's his interrogation, she has appealed immediately to his narcissistic tendencies. He may well let his guard down now. "Prentiss said as we watched her sit down and begin speaking."My name is Supervisory Special Agent Cassandra Raven. I work in another department with the Bureau, so I'm not linked to the people who brought you in." Cassandra kept her voice soft as she spoke, stopping to draw breath. "What is she doing? And what did I just walk in on Agent Hotchner?" I kept my eyes on the glass when Strauss spoke." She was showing us how she could unnerve someone as stoic as Hotch without saying anything and she's building a rapport." I heard Reid reply, Cassandra's voice catching our attention as she continued speaking.
"I do listen to the profile that the B.A.U. gives, but I just focus on what I can see in evidence, plain and simple. The Agents in the other room told me what they thought about the killer. They told me that he was intelligent, well-educated as he knew exactly where to inflict the most damage, that he was confident, charming and quite possibly very handsome." She paused, watching him preen at the praise. "What exactly is this going to accomplish? This is supposed to be an interrogation, not an ego-stroking and why isn't she using his name?" Strauss demanded hotly. "Ma'am she isn't ego-stroking, in fact she's going to do the opposite. Watch." Garcia said gesturing back to the other room.
"Unfortunately, I think that they were being overly charitable. Just from looking at these photographs, I can see that, while there may be aspects of the profile within the murders themselves, it isn't there afterwards. I mean the killer takes jewellery from his victims as trophies, but in all 5 cases this killer is amateurish and clumsy enough to drop his trophy within a close proximity to his victim." Seaver chose then to answer Strauss's comment. "By not using his name she isn't giving him the credit for his crimes." We looked back into the interrogation room; she hadn't changed the tone or volume of her voice once since she had entered the room.
"He is obviously so scattered that he doesn't even realise that he's done it until the bodies have been discovered. Then he does the most unbelievably stupid thing and goes back to get the trophy, when surely he knows that the police presence will be so much higher." "She's good, she found things we didn't, she's expanded the profile. We should talk to her about possibly moving up here" Dave suggested, I just nodded watching the interaction."That to me doesn't say to me that he's clever, competent or well-organised. It's quite the opposite actually; it tells me that he is sloppy, amateurish and unintelligent. He's-" She stopped suddenly as he slammed his hands down onto the table. She got him to snap. I thought in awe. "Wait. Let her handle this." I said to Morgan, who had moved towards the door. "Hotch, you can't be serious. You've seen what he does to women." Morgan replied as Jackson started to rant.
"I am not sloppy! I am not stupid! I am clever! I avoided you after every murder. I avoided the cops at every crime scene. I am the best!" Dave whistled, "She got a confession. Now we really need to talk to her about transferring." The rest of the team murmured in agreement, as we watched her stand and collected the photos back into the file. "Thank you Mr Jackson." He looked at her, "You're leaving already? You've only been here 5 minutes." He frowned when she nodded and said, "Yes I'm leaving." "Why?" She smiled at him and looked directly at him, saying, "I'm leaving because you just told me you were the killer." We all watched his frown deepen. "No I didn't." He said shaking his head. She moved towards the door. "Yes you did. In all the things I said, not once did I say 'you'. I always said 'the killer' or 'he', but you personalised it."
She opened the door, closing it softly behind her. God she's good. However before we could congratulate and thank her, Strauss said, "Well done Agent Raven. That will be all." She looked at Strauss, blinked, then laid the photos on the table, saying, "Yes Ma'am, Agents." She nodded at us and walked out of the room, "Why did you dismiss her like that? We wanted to talk to her." Dave exclaimed. "I dismissed her because her job was done and you really didn't need to talk to her at all. I expect your reports by the end of the day." With that Strauss turned and left. "Do you get the feeling Strauss doesn't want her to leave where ever she is?" Prentiss asked.
"Of course she doesn't want Cassie to leave unsolved cases. Cassie has solved some of the longest standing open cases and I've seen her current cases workload, she solves between 10-15 of those a week. As well! Everything from fraud to murder. Strauss keeps her in an office no bigger than that room and she doesn't complain. Why would Strauss let her above ground? She may as well be keeping Cassie in a cage!" Garcia ranted, before turning and storming out of the room.
"Wow. I don't think I have ever seen Garcia that worked up. Do you think she's right?" J.J asked. I looked at Dave and he nodded, "I have no idea, but I'm going to find out." I said as I walked out of the room and went to find Garcia. I knocked on her office door. "Yes, Sir." She said when I walked in. "Where is Agent Raven's office Garcia? I want to go and thank her for what she just did." I looked at her. "You go down 5 floors, second right, down the corridor, then left and it's the last office, boss man." Garcia smiled as I nodded and said, "Thank you, Garcia." I turned and walked out of her office and towards the elevators. Please let Garcia be wrong. No one should be exploited like that. I thought as I walked.
