Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the TV series, Criminal Minds.
Full Circle
Part 7
By N. J. Borba
Derek knocked on Emily's front door and anxiously waited for an answer. Reid and JJ stood behind him on the front porch, their eyes scanning all directions as they made sure the area was secure. Hotch and Rossi had gone up to Everett to meet with Agent Casey at the crime scene. Their unit leader had suggested the rest of them check Emily's house for anything that might help her case. Derek understood that Hotch had made the suggestion mostly for his sake, sensing how worried he was about Beth. He hadn't even minded the coddling from his boss, happy to accept the rare gift.
The slightly gray-haired woman appeared through the window at the top of the door and Derek pressed his badge against the glass for her to see. "I'm special agent Derek Morgan, we spoke on the phone," he announced. "I have Agent Jareau and Doctor Reid with me."
Silvia quickly ushered them inside and locked the door again. "I understand that you've just arrived, but is there any word about Emily yet?" she asked, leading them further into the house. "You see... my husband passed away early in life, two years ago now. It was about the same time little Beth was born and I became close friends with Emily. My Stanley and I could never have kids. Emily and Beth have become the only family I really have these days, aside from a brother in Texas who I rarely talk to."
Morgan smiled sympathetically, but spoke very little. "We're doing everything we can to find Emily." He glanced over his shoulder to JJ and Reid. "There's a darkroom in the basement, maybe the two of you can start there," he suggested. Derek motioned toward the staircase and then turned to Silvia. "Where is Beth?" he finally asked, realizing he hadn't heard or seen any evidence of the child being near.
"She went down for a nap a short time ago. Poor thing wore herself out with worry. She keeps asking for Emily and I haven't been sure what to tell her. Emily is always here in the mornings and at night. It's disorienting for such a small child," Silvia explained.
He nodded. "If you don't mind, I'm just going to check on her before I join the others."
"Not at all," the woman inclined her head toward the bedrooms.
Derek didn't know why he felt so nervous as he crept toward his daughter's room. He'd spent time with her over the weekend, but he still worried she might not remember him after such a short encounter. The second he laid eyes on her sweet little face, though, Derek relaxed. He knelt down beside her bed and ran a hand gently over the back of her head. "Hello, my beautiful girl," he whispered.
"Mama?" Beth's tiny voice croaked and her eyelids fluttered open.
"Shh," Derek tried to coax the child back to sleep, letting his hand gently glide along her silky dark hair again.
But her eyes opened wider. "Daddy?"
He smiled to hear that moniker roll off his baby girl's tongue. Derek watched as she reached out to him and he soon found himself with an armful of warm, sweet-smelling toddler as she flung her arms around his neck. "Hey, angel. Daddy's sorry he woke you."
"Daddy... miss mama," the child whimpered.
Morgan kissed the top of her head, which rested beneath his chin. "I know you do, darling," he said as he stood, keeping her safe in his arms. She looked like a slight little thing, but Beth was nearly thirty-six inches tall without much baby fat left. She was made of study stuff, and Derek hoped her heart was just as strong. "Come on, there're some people I want you to meet."
In the living room they were greeted by Silvia. "Mr. Morgan, I almost forgot to tell you..."
"Please, Silvia, you can call me Derek," he offered.
"Derek," she nodded. "I'm sorry we didn't get to meet under better circumstances. Emily has always spoken fondly of you. I never could figure out why things between you didn't work out." Silvia wore a curious look, but realized quickly that it was none of her business. "What I wanted to tell you is that Emily's parents contacted me just after you let me know your team was on the way. They returned from France on Sunday night and have had their phones turned off to rest, but they called the second they got my messages. They've already left DC and are headed here. Their flight is due in this evening."
He took a deep breath, trying to settle on a feeling. There was anger and there was worry. Mostly worry. Derek was nervous, wondering how they'd react now that he was in Beth's life. But all of that could wait. Emily's life was still in danger and he needed to focus on finding her, first and foremost. "That's good," he settled on a pragmatic answer as he gazed at Beth. "She should have family with her right now."
Silvia smiled, sensing that it had been a tough thing for him to admit. "Do you need me to stay?"
"Yes, actually. Once we've gone over things here, we have a scheduled meeting with a man in Renton that we need to get to this afternoon. And things could go late," Derek let her know. "If you would stay with Beth until Emily's parents arrive I'd really appreciate it. I can pay whatever you like."
She put a hand up and shook her head. "I don't need money. But, could I go gather a few things at my place?"
"Of course," he shifted Beth to one side. "I've got her for now." Morgan walked Silvia to the door and even waited, watching to make sure she got inside the house next door safely. Then he moved to the back of the house where the basement entry was.
"Daddy... swing?" Beth pointed to the window in the back door where she could see the swing attached to a tree branch.
"Not right now, sweetheart." Morgan felt bad for saying no, but tried to cheer her up as they started down the stairs. "Daddy has to work. Would you like to help me?"
"Yes!" she happily answered.
He didn't think she had much idea what he'd meant about working, but was pleased by her enthusiasm. "Okay, my smart girl," Derek tickled her tummy and delighted in the soft peals of laughter that lifted from her throat. The sound did wonders to help ease his troubled mind.
The basement was not what Derek had been expecting. It was bright, lit by several casement windows in the foundation walls. The space was warm and fully finished with recessed can lighting, painted wood-stud walls and carpeting. The main room could best be described as a family room, with a sofa, TV and an office area. He turned around and found a small alcove under the stairs that was used as a laundry facility. Then Derek noticed the open door at the far end of the spacious room. There was a light on inside and he found Reid and JJ shuffling about.
"Find anything?" Derek asked as he stepped inside.
JJ and Reid instantly noticed the child in his arms. They thought Morgan looked both awkward and at ease holding the little girl; a gentle giant with his princess. It reminded JJ of something. "Well, there is this," she handed him an 8x10 black and white print.
Derek was surprised by the image at first, until he remembered Emily's odd behavior when he'd woken from his nap on her sofa Sunday afternoon. It seemed she'd secretly captured the very first photo of him and Beth together. And it was a gorgeous site. "Daddy... sleep," Beth pointed to the picture. "Bethy sleep," she grinned up at him.
He kissed his daughter's cheek, facing Reid and JJ again. "Beth, I'd like you to meet some of daddy's..." he was about to call them colleagues when he paused, remembering what Rossi had said to him on the jet just a short time ago. He'd considered the team his friends for a long time, but even more so now as he leaned on them for support. "These are daddy's friends... JJ," he pointed to the woman who wore a smile and reached out to gently touch Beth's right hand.
"Hello, sweetie," JJ greeted.
"Hi," Beth shyly replied, resting her head against Derek's shoulder.
Morgan patted Beth's back reassuringly, glad to be a source of comfort for her around the new people. "And that tall, skinny guy there is Dr. Reid," Derek pointed to the younger man who stood across the room with a stack of folders in his hands.
"Hi, weed," the girl responded to her second introduction.
Spencer frowned as he eyed the others. "Did she just call me, weed?" JJ and Derek each chuckled and nodded their heads in confirmation. Beth seemed to think their laughter was funny and joined in, not realizing it was her comment that had started the ball rolling. Even Reid couldn't help but laugh as he heard the little girl's infectious joviality. "It seems she's got Emily's sense of humor down pat already," the doctor noted, which caused the three adults to laugh even harder.
It felt nice to laugh for a moment, but, unfortunately, the moment slipped away as Derek noticed something on the corner of a picture in JJ's hand. It was a small, colored circle like a price tag sticker one might buy at a discount store and use at a garage sale. "Is there a number on that?" he questioned JJ.
"Yeah, they all seem to have these," JJ spread a few of the photos out in front of him on the table in the middle of the room. The black and white images showed a series of events; the same dark-haired man and a brunette woman as they moved from the interior of a parked car toward the entrance of a ritzy looking restaurant. "Reid and I haven't been able to locate any names yet."
"All these files have numbers too," Reid informed them. "And just pictures inside, no notes."
Derek motioned for them to follow him back into the main area of the cozy basement. He pointed toward the desk. "Emily's laptop might hold the actual documents that coincide with these numbers," he suggested.
It took JJ and Reid just a few minutes to figure out Emily's password; a combination of Beth's name and birth date, the latter of which was supplied by Derek. The three of them found several hundred files. Reid scrolled through the list to find the number they'd seen on the pictures left in her darkroom. "Here it is... Jared Hopkins hired Emily to tail his wife, Cynthia. Apparently those pictures are of Cynthia and her fitness instructor, Hercules,"
"Herles," Beth tried to mimic Reid.
"Are you kidding me?" JJ rolled her eyes, though she smiled at Beth's comment, remembering when Henry had gone through that repetitive stage. "Is that really his name?"
Morgan read over Reid's shoulder. "Unless it's some code Emily is using. It seems Hercules has been benching more than just weights at the fitness club for the last several months," he concluded. "I think we should contact this Hopkins guy. He could have been upset to learn about his wife's affair, maybe even enough to try and hurt Emily because of it."
"Don't shoot the messenger," JJ mumbled as she and Reid searched for his contact information. "I'm guessing a lot of these cases could be suspect as well, if disgruntled spouses are involved... oh, boy..." she caught Derek's attention again. "Turns out Jared Hopkins lives in Everett." The words were barely out of her mouth when her cell rang. "It's Hotch," JJ let the others know as she put their boss on speaker. "What did you find at the scene?" she asked.
"Not a whole lot more than what Casey originally told us. Lab work is already back, though, and the blood recovered is a DNA match for Emily," he explained. "But there wasn't much blood in the car. I'd say someone just wanted to make her more pliable for transport. We found a day planner too. Her appointment last night was with a man named Jared Hopkins," Hotch let them know. "Folks at the coffee place around the corner say they saw Emily and some guy chatting for about an hour."
JJ nodded at her end. "We just found pictures of Hopkins' wife and her personal trainer on their way to dinner. According to Emily's report, Cynthia Hopkins has been with this, Hercules, guy for months." They could hear Rossi chuckling in the background, no doubt at the mention of the name Hercules. "We have a home address for him," she pointed the phone at Reid so he could relay the information.
"Thanks," Hotch replied. "Dave and I will head out there now. How are things at your end?"
"I think we might email Emily's client files to Garcia and have her sift through them while we meet with Kupfer," Derek relayed.
"Good plan," Hotch said. "We can rendezvous at the field office this evening," he added just before ending the call.
"Excuse me, Derek?" Silvia's voice called down the stairs.
He left JJ and Reid to finish up and joined the woman upstairs. "Is everything all right?" Morgan asked as Beth was still leaning against his broad chest.
"When I came back to the house just now, I noticed a package on the front steps," Silvia explained. "I didn't look very closely at it, I thought it best to let you know."
Derek nodded. "Okay, you did the right thing," he insisted, pealing Beth off and passing her over to the woman. The girl reached out for him, but Morgan told Silvia to stay in the house as he went to investigate the package. He held a hand against the weapon at his hip and stepped on to the front porch, glancing up and down the block. Not seeing any delivery vehicles, Derek bent over to examine the medium sized box. His whole body relaxed when he recognized the label. He even wore a smile as he picked it up and went back inside.
"Is it okay?" Silvia asked as the girl beside her rushed to Derek.
"Nothing to worry about," he replied, squatting in front of Beth. "It's just something for my favorite little girl." Derek opened the box, and Beth was more interested in being as close to him as possible. But, when Morgan pulled the stuffed animal out, he saw her eyes light up. "That's for you, sweetheart," he handed it to her.
Beth beamed as she instantly crushed the soft animal against her. "Ducky!" she exclaimed. "Daddy duck." The child kept hold of her new toy, but also squished herself against Derek again. "Mama go?" she whispered in his ear.
Derek realized that a stuffed toy couldn't hold a candle to Beth's mama. He scooped her up and kissed her cheek. "I'm going to find mama for you, okay? Don't you worry about that," he promised.
Reid and JJ found them in that embrace when they emerged from the basement a few minutes later. JJ almost hated to interrupt. "We're due to meet Kupfer in a half hour," she reminded Derek.
"Will you be returning tonight?" Silvia asked.
"Yes, but maybe not until very late," Derek let her know.
The woman grabbed something from inside the living room desk drawer and handed it to Derek. "This is an extra key to the house. Emily's parents will be here tonight, so I'll probably be back at my place. But I'll let them know to expect you late."
"Thanks." He took a deep breath as he separated himself from Beth again and placed her in Silvia's arms. "I have to go for a little while. And I might not see you until you wake up tomorrow morning, okay?" She didn't appear to really understand but smiled just a little, seeming to reassure him when it should have been him trying to do that for her. Morgan kissed her forehead. "I love you, munchkin. See you soon."
"Bye, daddy," Beth waved as he and the others exited the house.
Morgan looked back to see her at the window and remembered when Emily had left on Sunday. Beth had cried for her mama then, the way she had tears in her eyes for him now. "You could stay," JJ spoke up as they reached the SUV. "Reid and I can handle talking to Kupfer. And that little girl would be happy to have you stay." She paused, watching him weigh the choice. "No one on this team would fault you for staying, Derek."
"I know," he finally nodded. "And thank you, but..." Derek stood by the driver's door and watched the living room curtain close. He hoped that Silvia would be able to comfort his baby girl. "I can't sit still on this, JJ. I need to find Emily."
xxx
Philip Kupfer's home was large; modern and stark. He was a spindly, balding man, who Derek could tell was holding something back as they questioned him.
"I loved my wife up until the day she died. I still love her. And for the first few years of our marriage I truly believe she loved me, but I think I was mistaken. She loved the money my job provided. At first she was happy with a new car, maybe a trip to Fiji. But then that wasn't enough. She wanted ridiculous things like cosmetic surgery; breast enhancements and a face lift. I told her she was beautiful the way she was, but she stared at me like I was crazy. And I just wanted to make her happy."
"And was she happy with those things?" Derek asked.
Kupfer shook his head. "Of course not. I was in denial, Agent. I know that now. But love is love, you can't just turn it on and off. Even unreciprocated love is true love in the eye of the beholder. I loved her enough to overlook her little foibles."
"Enough to let her have an affair?" Reid inquired.
"I don't... I... why would you ask that?" Philip sputtered.
"Mr. Kupfer," JJ tried to take a softer tone with the man. "There are reports that state you told Agent Casey you wanted Lauren's killer brought to justice. Well, in order for us to help her rest in peace, you need to help us. You need to be completely honest with us. Was your wife seeing someone else?"
The man's gaze lowered to the floor, ashamed of what he was about to admit. "Yes," he revealed.
Derek was glad to finally be getting somewhere. "Did you hire a private investigator in Seattle named Emily Stewart to uncover your wife's indiscretions? And please keep in mind that we have Stewart's records on hand so we'll know if you're lying."
"No," Kupfer scrunched up his nose, feeling accused. "I never needed anyone to tell me. Well, Lauren told me, but I already suspected before that. She desired more from life than mediocrity, and I've never been much to look at."
"Was it someone she worked with?" Reid asked.
Philip Kupfer shrugged. "I always assumed. Why else would a woman hold on to a job if she already had a husband who could afford just about anything she'd ever want or need?" he glanced over at JJ. "I'm sorry, I know women like to work, I didn't mean to imply... hell, it's just Lauren. I know she didn't like to work. So, I drew the only conclusion I could."
Morgan had suspected the same thing. "Do you know specifically who this man was?"
"No. The firm has three partners, fifteen associates and who knows how many law clerks. Not to mention assistants to all of them and however many other people it takes to run an office like that."
"But your wife was attracted to money and power, so it's pretty safe to assume she wasn't carrying on with the mailroom guy," JJ guessed.
Kupfer nodded. "She was assistant to one of the associates, a Ben Wilkerson. I met him once at a function. He's a tall guy, mid-forties, athletic build. Everything I'm not."
"You think it was him?" Derek fished for a stronger answer.
Philip just shrugged again. "I really don't know."
They thanked the man for his time and let him know they'd be in touch if they had any more questions. "Do happy marriages even exist any more?" JJ asked as the three of them walked toward their vehicle at the end of a long driveway. After almost five years, living together and raising their son, she and Will were still dancing around the issue of marriage.
"Statistically, almost fifty percent of all first marriages in the United States end in divorce," Reid promptly replied. "And that percentage goes up considerably for second and third marriages."
JJ groaned. "Yeah, just ask Rossi."
Reid remained in data mode. "Therapist and author of The Monogamy Myth, Peggy Vaughn, believes that something like sixty percent of men will cheat in the course of their marriage and forty percent of women will. Which would mean that nearly eighty percent of all marriages will be touched by infidelity."
"You read that stuff for fun, man?" Morgan asked, shaking his head. "I think my parents would've stuck it out if my dad hadn't been killed. They were happy. And Emily's parents are apparently still married. I don't know about happily, though, but..."
"So, maybe you should just tell Emily that you love her? Get married, make it work," Reid suggested out of the blue. He was probably one of the least romantic people in the world, but even he could see how much Derek was pinning for the woman.
Morgan sighed. "It's a lot more complicated than that, kid."
"Maybe three years ago it was complicated," JJ countered. "Because you worked together. But now..."
"This Kupfer guy has definitely got some self-esteem issues," Derek blatantly dodged his friend's efforts as they reached the SUV. "But I think Casey was right to rule him out. We should look deeper into this law firm instead, see if we can suss out the guy Lauren was carrying on with." He promptly got Garcia on the line and was thankful that the other two made no effort to resume their previous discussion. "Hey, doll-face, how you coming on those files we sent?"
"Well, it's been all of an hour..." the tech replied. "So you know I've got something for you."
Morgan could just about picture the proud grin curling her lips. "Yeah, I figured. You're the best at what you do, sweetness."
"Someone is in a much better mood," Penelope noticed.
"That's because he got to hold his daughter," JJ interjected.
"She's very cute, and luckily takes after Emily," Reid added.
"Oh, my... did she actually charm Dr. Reid?" Garcia gasped, playfully. "That girl is good," she chuckled. "And I'm jealous you've all gotten to gush over her already. But, back to business. You remember that law firm I mentioned Lauren Kupfer working at?"
Derek was further impressed. "Are you a mind reader too, girl? We think Lauren Kupfer might have been having an affair with someone in the firm."
"Yeah, well... one of the partners, Brennan; that name came up in Emily's files."
JJ leaned toward Morgan's phone to speak. "Do you think he could be the one?"
"Well, he is actually a she," Garcia corrected.
"Come again?" Derek responded.
The tech clarified a little more. "Louise Brennan is the partner in question."
Reid looked a bit stymied for a moment. "So, Lauren and this other woman, you think they were..."
"Oh, no, no... nothing at all like that," Penelope jumped in. "Louise Brennan hired Emily to find out what her husband, Charles, was up to when she suspected him of cheating. And in the files it lists Charles being seen repeatedly with a woman who is only identified by the initials L. K."
"Lauren Kupfer," Derek stated.
"Brilliant deduction," Garcia quipped.
Morgan pondered something Philip Kupfer had said. "Doesn't make as much sense as we thought, though, as to why Lauren was working there if Charles doesn't."
"Fear not, my love. Your profiler instincts have not failed you," the analyst replied. "Brennan happens to be Louise's maiden name. She's married to Charles Meyer, one of the three founding partners. The third is a Craig Zingler who was a good friend of theirs in college. Rewinding things a bit here... Charles and Louise met as undergrads at Seattle University and were married straight after graduation. They also had a child that first year of marriage, about eight months after the honeymoon. Could have been a preemie, not sure, don't care. Louise started law school a year after Charles and graduated three years later, whereupon they added a second child to their family. Then they started the firm, and the rest is history."
Derek never ceased to be impressed by how quickly she could round up information. He thanked her and hung up, then turned to JJ and Reid. "I think we need to pay a visit to the Brennan-Meyer residence, but we should probably meet up with Hotch and Rossi first, see what they learned from that Hopkins guy, if anything," he concluded.
xxx
"Now that the case has been clearly laid out for you, do you wish to speak on your behalf?" the voice asked.
Emily wanted to reply with a resounding: duh! But she restrained herself, remembering what had occurred earlier in the day. After her second round of being used as a punching bag, Emily's stomach and ribs were mighty sore. And sitting strapped to a chair for several hours wasn't helping the healing process. They'd left her alone for a long time after that, and Emily had watched the sun slowly fade in to an evening sky. Now the voice and its lackeys were back and the so-called trial had begun. She couldn't help wonder if it was all some bad dream. That perhaps she was still in her car, unconscious, waiting for the world to right itself.
"Did you hear me?" the voice called out again.
"Yes, I did," Emily finally answered, realizing her unconscious mind could doubtfully create a scenario quite so elaborate, or bizarre. "I'd like a clarification on the exact charges. Maybe the name of the family that I've supposedly destroyed?"
"Nice try. But I'll give you this name: Lauren Kupfer."
The name Kupfer was not a popular one and Emily recognized it right away. "So, you're Charles Meyer? Louise Brennan's husband?"
"Who I am is not important. What you did to my family is."
That was pretty much an admission in Emily's book. Although, the man didn't seem agitated to know she'd figured out who he was. That could mean one of two things. Either she was wrong and he wasn't Meyer, or he didn't care if she knew who he was because he planned to kill her before she could ever identify him as her kidnapper. She didn't like the last option. "In my defense, Louise Brennan hired me to do a job," Emily pronounced.
"So, as long as you get paid, you don't care who gets hurt?"
"No," Emily sighed. "I care about my clients," she insisted, recalling her Sunday meeting with the man whose wife was dying of cancer. "I don't take these cases lightly. Your wife asked me to find out if you were having an affair," Emily kept to the idea that he was Charles Meyer. It seemed easiest. "She needed answers."
"But if you hadn't interfered, she would have dropped the matter. Her family would be whole."
Emily rolled her eyes. "She would have found someone else to take her case."
"Maybe, maybe not."
"So, you'd rather she live happily oblivious? That would be a lie," Emily persisted, though it seemed futile to argue.
"Not a lie, a lack of knowledge."
Emily scoffed. "Lack of knowledge? That's just a fancy way of saying, lie. Lawyers are certainly good at fancy talk, aren't they? Judges are usually more impartial. I'd say you're a lawyer, not a judge."
"Silence."
"I apologize for that," Emily conceded, remaining cautious. "It can be stricken from the record," she added. "You asked for my defense. Well, this is it in a nutshell. I try to decipher truths, whether it's the truth about what happened to a person's missing pet or the truth about a cheating partner. And the truth I found for your wife gave her piece of mind. I'd do that without any monetary reward attached."
"This court is in recess until tomorrow morning. Take her to the room," the voice ordered.
Emily knew her explanation had not been well received, and she heard retreating footsteps, but couldn't catch a glimpse of the voice's source. When the two young men untied her, Emily's mind made a valiant effort to fight them, but her body disagreed. She was locked in a small room with impossibly high walls, a maze of old pipes running along one wall and a steel door that had no knob on the inside. There was also one empty bucket and one filled with cool, clean water. Emily cupped her hand and drank as much as she could then attempted to clean her head wound, which she feared was infected. Feeling somewhat satiated by the water, Emily slumped to the concrete floor and cradled her head against one arm.
She fell asleep with a comforting picture in her mind's eye; the vision of Derek and Beth taking their nap together on her sofa.
To Be Continued...
