Two months after Aaron brought me to Virginia; he called and asked if I was up to helping him on a consultation with a possible battered woman. He said, "The woman killed her husband and the defense is saying it was self-defense, claiming she was a battered wife. We've been asked to interview her to determine whether or not she was battered." I said, "You know, if I have to give a testimony, the prosecutor is going to dig up my history and try to discredit me." Aaron said, "It's the prosecutor asking for the interview and you won't have to testify." I agreed to help.
Aaron called to have an agent pick me up and bring me to the airport. I met with Aaron and Agent Rossi. They had already interviewed the children and been to their house. They showed me pictures of the house and the crime scene and said, "The son told us that she could never keep the house clean." I looked at the pictures and said, "The house looks spotless. So who kept it clean?"
I sat back and let Aaron and Agent Rossi ask the questions while I observed and took notes on her behavior. For her, living with him was like walking on eggshells. He was a perfectionist. She was always afraid that she would do something to anger him. My eyes started to tear. She reminded me of how I felt when I lived with my father. I was always trying to avoid angering him by being a perfectionist and trying to be the best. I started to get upset and had to excuse myself.
Aaron and Rossi were speaking with the prosecutor who said, "Why do men always believe the woman is a victim?" Aaron said, "Well, we did bring along a woman who has had experience with battered women. She should be right out if you would like to hear her perspective." Aaron came to get me and looked concerned. He asked, "Are you ok?" I smiled and said, "Yeah, I'll be fine." The prosecutor asked my opinion. I said, "There doesn't appear to be signs of physical abuse, but the isolation and the emotional torment she experienced can be far worse. It seems like her husband was a perfectionist and nothing she did was ever good enough. The children seem to share the same opinion as their father did. She was never good enough for any of them. For years, she has put a smile on her face and pretended everything was fine, repressing how much she was hurting. Then one day, she couldn't bottle it up anymore and snapped." Hotch told the prosecutor that there was one question left to ask her. The prosecutor sat in as he asked her why she cleaned up after she shot him.
Aaron drove me back to the apartment and walked me to the door. I said to him, "You didn't really need my help. Why did you ask me to come along?" Aaron said, "I wanted you to see if you were ready to get back out there and help people again. You were good at what you did. I'd hate to see you give that up." I said, "Thanks, but I don't think I'm ready to get back out there just yet." I gave him a hug and said goodnight.
Rossi appeared concerned that there was something more going on. He said to Aaron, "You know, when I was doing my book tour, there was young assistant who was always telling me how much she admired me. I think she had a crush. She must have been 20 years younger than I was. It was nice to get attention from someone so young and attractive." Aaron said, "Dave, what are you trying to say?" Rossi said, "She's young and, after what happened in New York, she's very vulnerable right now. Reid loves her. You wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize their relationship."
I did start coming out of my shell. I started teaching the classes again at the fitness center. Everyone in the BAU was very friendly and accepting. I became good friends with them, especially the girls. We would always go out when they had time. I also clicked with Derek because we both had black belts and taught classes. I told Spencer that I wanted to move down here permanently. I was going to sell my NYC apartment. We started to look for an apartment with two bedrooms. I went back to New York to gather the rest of my stuff and sell my apartment.
I was only in New York for a week when my apartment sold. Spencer called me, "I want you to be careful while you're there and stay off the streets. There has been a series of random shootings and we are coming up to investigate." I said, "I sold the apartment. I just have to finish the paperwork for the sale, and then I can head home." Spencer said, "I'll drive back with you when we finish with this case. Until then, I want you to stay at our hotel, where I know you'll be safe. I'll leave a key at the desk." After the terrorism scare was over, Spencer drove back with me in the truck.
The BAU had a case which brought the team to Las Vegas. Derek called me, "I just wanted to let you know that we were staying to help Reid work on a case which involved a kid who had been molested and murdered when Reid was 4 years old. He has been having nightmares about it since we got here. Julie, he is afraid his father could be involved. It might help if you came to Vegas to be there for him."
I arrived right before they were going to see Spencer's dad. Spencer looked irritated and said, "What are you doing here?" I said, "Derek called me and was concerned. He thought I could help." Spencer was agitated, "You shouldn't have come. We're just working on a case." He walked away. Derek said to me, "Reid thinks his own father might have molested and killed that boy." I said, "I can understand why he doesn't want to talk about it. I'll be here if he needs me."
Derek called me and said, "We're bringing in Reid's father for questioning. Maybe you should be there?" I came down to the police station but Spencer still wouldn't talk to me. Later on, they brought in Reilly Jenkins's father for killing his son's murderer. I watched while Spencer tried to find answers about his memories. Spencer's father came back to the station, this time with his mother. Spencer finally got his answer. He came to me and said, "I'm so sorry for the way I acted towards you." I said, "It was understandable. I knew what you were thinking. You were afraid that something may have happened to you when you were a kid. Something like that can be difficult to talk about." I gave him a hug. We said goodbye to his parents and went home.
