Tara quite liked the plan that Emily proposed, and even agreed to do it after they brought Asa Turner in for questioning.
The name of the auto shop where Asa worked was called Jake's, and the building looked like it was in dire need of a paint job, but this was the only place in town bearing the name they were looking for. Asa had to be here.
"Ugh." Emily griped as she parked the car and she and Tara headed across the parking lot. "Why are auto shops always dirty?"
Tara laughed. "Ever met a clean grease monkey?"
"No."
"Then there you go. When I was younger, my dad ran a garage just like this, and he taught me how to fix old cars."
"That's really neat. My dad taught me how to play cricket."
Like Emily, Tara had grown up in a few countries where cricket had been a popular sport, so the two friends engaged in a conversation about it as they entered the main building.
The waiting area was nothing much to speak of, but the agents weren't long at the front counter before a man emerged from a door behind it, wearing a grease-stained jumpsuit. He was also wiping his hands on a rag, but when he saw Emily and Tara, he tucked the rag into one of his pockets.
"What can I do for you, ladies?" he asked politely.
Emily introduced herself and Tara as they showed him their credentials.
"We're looking for Asa Turner. Is he in?"
"I'm his Uncle Isaac, and I have guardianship over him while his parents are away on vacation. What's he done this time?"
"Bought a vehicle that was used in the abduction of a federal agent yesterday."
Immediately, Isaac Turner was livid. "We have a lot of members of law enforcement in the family; my brother and I are the only ones who didn't choose those career paths."
"Are any of them around?"
"No, m'am—they left this town a long time ago. If there's one thing I can't abide by, it's any member of law enforcement being hurt by some thug. Asa is in—come this way. It's a shortcut."
Using a latch, he lifted up a section of the counter that was big enough and wide enough to walk through. The agents followed Isaac through the door he'd used, and to the garage. Asa was hanging out near the back of the giant room, by a backdoor. He was dressed like his uncle, in a dirty jumpsuit, and he looked like he'd already been working awhile.
"Asa," Isaac addressed his nephew. "These are feds, and they need to talk to you. If they take you downtown or wherever, I am not bailing you out."
Asa took one look at Emily and Tara before bolting.
They gave chase, of course, and as it turned out, Tara was faster than Emily. She had chased Asa around a corner, and when Emily caught up to her, she saw that Tara had him pinned up against a fence, and was cuffing and Mirandizing him.
"Wow." Emily remarked when she took in what was happening. "Excellent catch."
Tara winked. "I needed a good run."
Emily entered the precinct with just Asa, because Tara had left to conduct the plan that Emily had proposed to her.
In the main bullpen, she passed by the conference room, where the rest of the team, along with Will and Bellamy, were camped out.
"Who's this?" Rossi asked after she put Asa in an interrogation room.
"Asa Turner. We were directed towards while we were out visiting at the Thistlewaite house just now—the plates Penelope saw on the van aren't the original ones, and Asa just bought the van a little while ago."
"Care to flesh out the details for us now?" Will said. "We're all ears."
Indeed, everyone was gathered around Emily, waiting to what she was going to say. She filled them in on what had happened at the Thistlewaite house, and at the auto shop, and by the time she was done, she could see the wheels turning in the brains of each person before her.
"If these plates were swapped out," Penelope said at length. "When were the old ones ditched?"
"I was hoping that you could solve that." Emily told her. "I was also hoping that you could look up Asa Turner and print out a copy of his record—he got caught with Lindsey Thistlewaite doing drugs last year."
"I can do all that. Anything in particular that I should know?"
"There are a lot of members of law enforcement in the family, and Asa's dad is a lawyer. He made Asa's legal troubles go away, so you might have to do some extra digging."
"Understood." Penelope looked around. "Where's Tara?"
"She's running an errand for me, but she'll be back later."
Emily's tone made it clear that everything had been said, so Penelope left.
Turning to Luke and Spencer, Emily said, "What did you learn about the van, other than that it was torched?"
"There was a dead body inside." Luke admitted.
Emily staggered. "What?"
"A body," Luke repeated. "But it was burned so badly that the ME said she'd give us a call when she had a handle on things."
No sooner were the words out of his mouth, than the phone rang.
Emily arched an eyebrow. "Let me guess—that's the ME's office, huh?"
Luke nodded. "Spencer and I are going to go now."
He the proceeded to answer his phone, and leave the room with Spencer, who had only just remembered to get their coats. This exit left Emily with Rossi, Will, and Bellamy. They were all still standing together in front of the interrogation room window.
Bellamy spoke up first. "What now, Emily?"
"Tara read Asa his rights, and he didn't even ask for a lawyer because he's confident that his dad will get him out of trouble again."
"Where are the boy's parents?" Will wanted to know.
"Before we left, Isaac told us that Asa's parents are vacationing in Turks and Caicos. They don't intend to be back until the second week of January, and this is December twenty-eighth. They left Asa in his uncle's care, but from the sound of things, the adults don't have much faith in him."
Rossi finally spoke. "And what? Uncle Isaac didn't want to come down here to see his nephew?"
"Oh, he made it very clear that he isn't going to lift a finger to help him out of this."
"Hey!" Rossi said suddenly, pointing towards the window. "Turner put his head down!"
Sure enough, the teenager was sitting at the table and was resting his head on the surface. It almost looked like he was bored.
Emily sighed. "Let's leave him be right now. There are bigger fish to fry."
"As in contacting his parents?"
"That, and telling the captain what's happening."
Will approached Emily and beckoned to her so that she'd follow him. "The captain's office is this way. Come on."
Captain Daphne Keller thought herself to be a reasonable woman because she was very patient, had been on a number of combat tours, and had a loving family at home whom taught her all about love and patience on a daily basis, but as she sat and listened to everything the agents were telling her, and then again as Asa's parents dismissed him and said they wanted nothing to do with him about this, she realized that even if it wasn't apparent, mankind would always be dark, somehow.
"Just when I thought I'd seen everything." she sighed when the phone call to Asa's parents had ended. "Thank goodness even my youngest child is polite. Where do we go from here?"
"Asa Turner knows more than he's letting on, but it's just a matter of getting him to talk, m'am." Emily said. "You all are welcome to come watch me have a chat with him."
Penelope caught up with Emily before she made it back to the interrogation room and handed a file folder with information about Asa in it.
Literally armed with information, Emily stormed into the room, taking as much care as possible to make a lot of noise. Including slamming the door.
"Wake up, Turner!"
He sat bolt upright and snarled, "I wasn't asleep, lady!"
"Could've fooled me, and that's Special Agent Prentiss to you! Why did you run away at the auto shop?"
"Cops and feds make me nervous."
He glanced at the mirror for a moment, and Rossi, Keller, Will, and Bellamy could all see that he was clearly searching for someone.
"Hey!" Emily barked, sitting opposite him. "Eyes on me!"
Asa humored her and made eye contact. "Yes?"
"Who are you looking for?"
"The other agent; she really makes me nervous. Is she going to come jump me again?"
"Uh-uh, although what Doctor Lewis did hardly counts as jumping you."
Asa spoke sneeringly again. "My bad. The word I'm searching for is 'accosted.' Is that better?"
"So you want to be a smart guy, huh? Is there anything else you want to get off your chest? Like asking for a lawyer?"
"No."
"Well, alright, then. Let's get started."
Emily opened the file folder, and showed Asa pictures of the van, before and after its untimely demise.
"What the hell happened to the van?!" Asa cried.
"You tell us—we've talked to the Thistlewaites, and we know all about what went down between you and Lindsey. We also know that Lindsey's old van had been sold to you, but what we need to know is how it got like this."
"I don't have a clue."
"You better get one because there was a dead body inside that van!"
Asa sobered up. "Oh, my God."
"That's more like it. Let's take this one step at a time—does the van belong to you anymore?"
"No."
"Why?"
"My parents bought me a newer car because they didn't want me driving a junk bucket around."
Emily leaned back in her chair. "Lindsey's parents did mention that it's a clunker."
"Just like they are. Lindsey's the only good one in that family." Asa muttered. "Her parents actually sent her away, and Jillian and Kensington have never made a dent in my life. But then there's the actual clunker—the crippled sister…"
Emily saw red and stood up so fast that she up-ended the table.
"ASA, SHE IS NOT CRIPPLED—SHE IS A CHILD, AND IF YOU SO MUCH AS TOUCH A SINGLE HAIR ON HER HEAD, I WILL FIND YOU! NOW START TALKING—WHO DOES THE VAN BELONG TO NOW, AND WHEN WERE THE LICENSE PLATES CHANGED OUT?"
"He said his name is John Smith."
Emily deflated. "What?"
Asa shrugged. "That's what he said. He paid me more for it than what I paid for it."
Already, Emily could see that Asa was dangling the information just out of reach.
This was going to be a long interrogation.
Later, Tara was finally back from the errand she had been running for Emily. After the airport, her first order of business was to go see JJ again.
Though not fully ready to be released, JJ was dressed in her street clothes and sitting with her legs hanging over the side of the bed. All of the wires and tubes were gone, except for her nasal oxygen supply—that was non-negotiable because of her last panic attack.
She was cheerful again, though, and chatting animatedly with Isobel.
The pair paused in their conversation when they noticed Tara.
"Hi!" JJ greeted her. "I'm better now, after the last time you saw me! What's up?"
"I've just been running an errand for Emily, and I'm back now. I thought we should stop by the hospital first."
"Who is 'we'?"
Turning to someone in the hall, Tara beckoned to them.
When the person entered, JJ's heart jumped for joy, and she yelled a single name.
"Derek!"
