Hotch, JJ and Morgan had spent the morning resetting murder boards to fit the way they profile. They had then separated the mountains of evidence, case files, crime scene photos, and other collected information into piles based on what it represents to the case as a whole. As they finish, JJ eyes the smallest pile.
"The unsub is pretty damn careful. The only forensic evidence on the clothes is what can be found at the dump site."
Hotch nods. "Makes me wonder if he's been in the system before and knows now how to be careful."
"If he has been in the system, we're going to have a hard time finding the smoking gun, so to speak," Morgan points out.
JJ grins at him. "Well, that's what we get paid the big bucks for, Morgan."
He grins at her and grabs half the files for family interviews as JJ takes the others. They need to know the victims before they can figure out who would target them for death.
Around 11 Reid and Rossi return from the coroner's office. With what they had found out, they start to read the profiles on the victims to confirm some of the ideas they had developed while speaking with the ME.
At 11:30 Hotch gets the name of a local deli that delivers and orders a round of sandwiches and sides for the team. Morgan goes to the vending machine and gets some drinks for everyone.
JJ is reading through the interview with the mother of female victim #7 when she starts to reach for her bottle of water. She suddenly stops, her eyes straying to the bottle, to her sandwich, to her pasta salad and then back to the bottle. She has an uncontrollable shiver of fear.
"Don't be an idiot, Prentiss. This bottle won't hurt you," she tells herself…but still can't bring herself to grab the drink.
Morgan happens to glance up and see the look of fear in her eyes as she stares at the bottle. Without a word he sits forward and picks up her drink. JJ watches as he wipes the condensation off with his hands, rubs them together, even pats some of the water on his face. He then sets the bottle back down in front of JJ. JJ looks him in the eyes.
"Thank you," she whispers.
He smiles and nods. "Anytime, Blondie."
JJ grabs the bottle and uncaps it, taking a long drink. She sets it back down on the table, sighing in relief.
"Scared by a fucking bottle," she whispers. "How pathetic."
Morgan leans towards her. "I'd be more worried if it didn't give you pause."
JJ just nods, not quite sure she believes him or not. Either way, he was a damn good friend for doing what he did. "I owe you, Derek."
He grins at her. "Buy me something pretty."
JJ chuckles. "Uh, that's what Emily does. I buy chocolates."
He shrugs. "That works, too."
She just shakes her head in amusement and gets back to work. Morgan glances up at Hotch, who had seen the interaction. Morgan nods…she's going to be okay. Hotch nods back…he knows.
It is close to 1 before Emily and Hicks arrive at the station. As they enter the conference room, Emily sighs.
"Damn. Was hoping you'd be all through with the case files before I got here."
Morgan grins at her. "Sorry, partner, we couldn't let you miss out on the fun."
Emily grins. "Trust me, Morgan, you could have. I would never have held it against you." She gestures to the woman beside her. "Team, this is Detective Abigail Hicks, she's primary on the case. Hicks, this is our boss Aaron Hotchner, the rest are SSA's Dave Rossi, Spencer Reid, Derek Morgan and JJ Jareau."
Hicks nods to each in turn. "Good to meet you. Prentiss explained to me how you all work. So, do you have any questions or should I just leave you all to the paperwork for now?"
Hotch steps to her. "We'll be pouring over these files the rest of the day. Will you be close by if we have any questions?"
Hicks nods. "Most likely. Have some paperwork I can do at my desk. If I get called out for anything I'll let you know before I leave."
"Thanks, Detective."
Hicks turns to Emily. "I'd say it's been a pleasure, Prentiss, but you'd know I was lying," she says with a smile.
Emily chuckles. "I understand. Thanks for the tour of death."
Hicks heads out as Emily closes the door and turns to her team. She is about to tell them what she learned when she sees the look of fury she is getting from JJ.
"Son of a bitch," she thinks to herself. "What the hell have I done?" She shakes that off to worry about later. "So, here's what I know about the dump sites and the place where we can confirm one couple was abducted."
It takes her about 10 minutes to get through everything. When she finishes, Reid is frowning.
"You're right it sounds like he has a partner but everything we're seeing screams single unsub." He looks at Hotch. "What about experience? Have we had Garcia looking for like crimes?"
Hotch nods. "Of course. But the country is pretty big, Reid. This guy could be killing couples here and killed singles somewhere else."
"What about someone in the Navy?" JJ suggests.
"Navy?" Morgan says.
"Yeah. We're in Connecticut. Isn't there a submarine base up here? Could explain the 6 months without kills."
Morgan shakes his head. "But sea tours are 9 months."
Rossi raises an eyebrow. "Not for submarines. Those are 6 month tours."
Silence descends as everyone considers that. Reid slowly nods.
"Submariners tend to be shorter than other personnel. Would explain the height of the male victims. Most below average height."
"And being military would explain the cleanliness and precise attention to detail at each dump site," Emily nods. "He'd be practically following the orders in his head to leave it as neat and tidy as possible. It's more than a countermeasure; it's a career-driven compulsion versus him having been in the system before."
Hotch sighs. The last thing he wants to do is bring in another agency to the investigation. "For now it's a theory. Keep it close to the vest. I'll call Garcia and get her looking at like crime sprees near submarine bases. If we start to see a pattern we'll have to call in NCIS."
Emily rolls her eyes. "Great. You can bet they'll send an agent with experience working with us."
Everyone grins, knowing she means…Agent Mack Brewster.
"At least with her we know what we're getting," JJ says. "We won't be surprised by someone else coming in to cause problems," she finishes, glaring at her wife.
Emily rolls her eyes. "She's fucking jealous? Really? Son of a bitch." Emily takes a deep breath. "I'm going to run to the restroom. Be back in a few."
Emily heads out to find the women's room. She is waiting, leaning against the wall when JJ walks in as expected. Emily stares at her wife.
"What the hell is up your ass, Jennifer?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that my wife is flirting with a fucking bombshell that's just her type."
Emily straightens up. "I was not flirting with her. She's a good cop. Smart. And she wants to stop a killer. That's the same damn thing I want. For your information, I made a joke up on Lovers Lane about the fact I'm married and she said it was okay because her girlfriend doesn't let her date."
"Oh, so being married is a joke to you?"
Emily throws up her hands in frustration. "What? You are so…where the hell…what the fuck, Jen? What the hell is going on in your head?"
JJ steps towards her. "Stop flirting with her, Emily."
"I was not flirting with her. How many times do I have to say that?"
"She's your type."
"And you're my WIFE! I have no plans to break my vows to you. As you keep pointing out to me: I'm not my father no matter how worried I am I could be! Or maybe you really think I am him. If so, our relationship is as good as over without trust."
That statement smacks JJ back to her senses. She flushes with shame. "Emily…I'm…I'm sorry. You're right, you're not. Shit. I don't know where that came from." She runs a hand through her hair. "Maybe I should have stayed off this case."
Emily takes her hands, concerned. "What? Why?"
JJ sighs. "The PCP is still in my system, Em. I had a near panic attack earlier at lunch. I was terrified of picking up my drink. Thank God Derek saw and helped me out before anyone else noticed. And then, when you walked in with Hicks, I just…I was so fucking angry and jealous. But you didn't do anything to make me feel that way. It was just her looks. I am so sorry, baby. You didn't deserve that. Neither did Hicks."
Emily brings a hand to JJ's cheek. "Baby, if you need to go home, no one will hold it against you. We know your body is still working that crap out."
JJ shakes her head. "If it gets bad, I'll stay out of the field but I can at least help with stuff around here. And I swear: I won't let this shit surface again. If I feel it boiling up I'll talk to you, okay?"
Emily nods. "Okay. I love you, Jen. Whatever you need to do I'll support, alright?"
"Alright. I love you, too, Em."
They are sharing a small kiss when the bathroom door opens and Hicks walks in. She grins at Emily.
"Either this is your wife or you're playing with fire, Prentiss."
Emily smiles and turns JJ around, wrapping her arms around her waist. "She's my wife and my world all in one, Hicks."
JJ grins. "And she's mine. Just had a…a bit of a jealous streak regarding you, Hicks. I apologize."
Hicks shrugs. "Since I didn't know, no harm no foul. And don't worry, like I told Emily, my girlfriend doesn't let me date other women."
JJ nods, chuckling. "So she told me. Trust me, the insecurity was mine. It had nothing to do with either of you. But I'm past it now. Probably. If not, just know it's an injury leading me to act like an ass, not you or Emily."
Hicks nods. "Apology and explanation accepted."
"Come on, Jen, if we stay gone much longer the guys will start to speculate what we're doing."
JJ laughs. "True. See you later, Hicks."
"See you, Jareau."
JJ stops. "My friends call me JJ."
Hicks smiles and nods. "JJ it is."
The team stays at the station until well after 9 p.m. reading through all the casework that had been done so far. Garcia had found several cities with similar open cases but not just ones near Naval bases. Hotch puts his last folder down on the table.
"Okay, enough. Where are we?"
"Hartford, CT," Rossi answers with a grin.
The team chuckles as they stretch. Hotch rolls his eyes.
"Remind me why I brought you back?" Rossi just winks at him. "Case wise, where are we?"
Emily sighs. "I still have 8 more people to read about."
Rossi nods. "I have 5."
"Four," Morgan says.
"Three," JJ states.
"Okay. Let's plan to be back here tomorrow at 7:30. We'll finish up these reports and come up with a preliminary profile. We'll then go talk to family members, witnesses and friends of the victims. I'll be calling detectives in the cities where Garcia found like crimes. Hopefully over the phone I can link or eliminate them to our unsub."
"Uh, Hotch, how far back did you have her go?" Emily asks.
"I had her pull up to 10 years worth of crimes. He had to start somewhere else and perfect his M.O. before he got here. If we have any strong leads one or more of us may have to go check them out in person."
"I'll go," JJ volunteers immediately.
Hotch raises an eyebrow. "Can I ask why?"
JJ stares into his eyes. "We know…what happened to me last case. That crap is still in me. I shouldn't be part of a final take down. Some fucking defense attorney could use it against us."
Hotch slowly nods, not completely believing her reasoning, even if it was true. "Okay, if one of us has to leave it will be you." He stands. "Let's get out here and get some sleep."
When they get out to the SUV Emily has been using, the brunette glances at the blonde.
"You know he didn't believe you, right?"
JJ rolls her eyes. "I know. But I wasn't going to say in front of everyone I turned into the green-eyed monster for no apparent reason."
Emily grins at her wife. "You really think they don't know?"
JJ glares at Emily. "Couldn't you at least let me have the fantasy that I hid my emotions better than I did?"
Emily laughs. "Uh, right. Gee, honey, they never saw a thing when the smoke started billowing out of your ears."
JJ slaps her on the arm. "You're such a jerk sometimes."
"But you love me anyway."
"Yes, for some damn reason, I do."
Emily lifts up her hand and gives it a kiss. "I love you, too, Jen. There is no one else for me. Ever. I swear."
"I know, Em. I promise you, I know."
