Chapter 8
JJ was answering what felt like her hundredth stupid question when she noticed Morgan making 'wind it up' motions in her direction.
"Thank you very much for your time ladies and gentleman" she said firmly. "That is all we have time for."
She quickly followed Morgan out of the door towards the SUV.
"What's going on Morgan? Slow down" she said breathlessly.
Morgan turned as he reached the car and said, "They've found a body."
JJ paled and felt sick at the thought of that beautiful little boy dead. She felt Morgan put a hand on her shoulder.
"Shit, sorry JJ. I didn't think about how that sounded" he said apologetically. "It's not Tommy. It's a 44 year old man named James Hamilton."
JJ felt some of the tension leave her body, but then felt only confusion.
"What has that got to do with our case?" she asked.
They both got into the car and Morgan started driving as he answered; "There was a note with the body that is similar in tone to the Lawson and Mathers' notes. It said 'Maddie. I'm sorry. He didn't keep his promise; he hasn't been there for you. He wasn't prepared to pay the price.'"
JJ winced, stunned by how quickly this case was becoming more serious.
"He's spiralling" she said worriedly. "What does this mean for Tommy?"
Morgan sighed as he answered; "I really don't know JJ. It can't be anything good though, can it?"
They both sat silently as they continued their journey to the Lawson house, lost in their own thoughts. When they arrived they went straight into the office, where Hotch and Reid were waiting for them.
"Rossi and Prentiss have gone to the crime scene to talk to Mrs Hamilton and Maddie" Hotch said. "We believe the Hamiltons were earlier victims of the abductions and Mr Hamilton had somehow angered the unsub."
"How is this going to affect the other victims?" JJ asked. "Do you think it will stop them from coming forward?"
"It probably would," replied Hotch, "but we are going to keep this quiet for the time being. We have the full support of his family in this."
"Aren't we putting the families at risk if we do that?" JJ queried worriedly. "He's clearly losing control. Surely he'll kill them if they come forward?"
"We've thought of that" Reid reassured her. "We're only going to gather information through the hotline to start with. The operators have been given a series of questions to ask. All information is being sent to Garcia to collate. If we need to follow up, we will do so by phone."
"What sort of questions are they asking?" JJ questioned.
"The usual" Reid replied; "We're looking for crossovers, so work, school, any clubs or activities, shops... that sort of thing."
JJ's phone rang as Reid was finishing and she noted from her display that it was Garcia. She put it straight on speaker.
"You've got me, Reid, Hotch and Morgan Garcia" she said. "What have you got for us?"
"Good morning my crime fighting family" Garcia started. "JJ, your press conference was a hit – we've already had five new families call in."
"5?" Morgan asked. "God JJ, you must have really got to them."
"Let me speak angel-fish" Garcia continued. "With information from those 5 cases added to the Mathers, Lawsons and now the Hamiltons I've found a few possibilities. They all use the same dry-cleaners; go to the same social club and the kids use the same after-school programme."
"That's alot of possible suspects" said Reid. "Can we narrow it down?"
"As we get more people coming forward, it'll get easier, but figuring out how this guy is thinking is your job, not mine" quipped Garcia.
"It's unlikely that he would be using the dry-cleaners to target families, that wouldn't give him enough information." Morgan was thinking out loud; "What information have you got on the club and after-school programme?"
"The Potomac Golf and Social Club is located on the north end of the park" Garcia informed them. "All families have full membership, meaning that the whole family could use the facilities, but it is a club that focuses mainly on the adults – golf and stuffy parties really!"
"What about the after school programme?" asked JJ. "After all, that was where Tommy had just come from before being taken."
"It was kitten" answered Garcia. "Busy Bees after-school programme is used mainly by children who attend private schools, although it also has links with federal departments. All of our victims attended at least twice a week."
JJ felt her legs go wobbly. "Busy Bees on Maple Avenue?" she asked shakily.
"Yeah. How did you know Jayje?" Garcia queried.
"Henry started at the attached day care centre 6 weeks ago." JJ replied numbly.
Hotch put a comforting arm around her shoulder and said, "Henry is in New Orleans JJ. Even if this is our link, you've got nothing to worry about."
Whilst completely accepting the sense in what Hotch was saying, JJ couldn't help but worry that she had put Henry at risk without meaning to. JJ smiled at Hotch, saying "As much as I hate to think about it, you've got to accept that this is our most likely link. If the unsub works or worked there, he would have access to all of the information he needed for the abductions and the ransom demands."
"You're right JJ" was Hotch's reply. "When Rossi and Prentiss get back, we'll make our way over there. Garcia?"
"Yes Sir?"
"Can you get employee records for Busy Bees for the last 6 months?"
"No problem Sir" and with that she ended the call. At this point Rossi and Emily walked into the office. JJ noticed that Emily looked pale and tired. It had clearly been a tough interview.
"Anything useful?" Hotch asked, as Emily slipped into the chair next to JJ's. When she answered it became clear why she looked so drawn.
"8 year old Maddie found her Father's body when she woke up this morning and went to find him in his office. She was taken just under a month ago and Mr Hamilton had only started to go back to work properly yesterday." Although Emily was clearly trying to appear controlled, her voice was shaking. JJ squeezed her friend's hand under the table as she continued. "His throat had been slit with such force that his head was basically hanging by a thread. The note was pinned to his chest. The unsub was kind enough to use a print big enough for Maddie to read." Emily stood up quickly and rushed out of the room, leaving the team stunned.
"When we got there," Rossi explained, "Maddie just attached herself to Emily and would only speak to her. When we had to leave Maddie screamed herself into a fit and had to be sedated. I've never seen Emily affected like this. I had to stop on the way back for her to be sick."
JJ stood up, intent on checking on her friend. Nobody stopped her as she left the office and made her way upstairs. She bumped into Emily as the pale looking agent made her way out of the bathroom, where she had obviously been sick again. She led her into their room and sat down next to her on one of the beds. Emily immediately broke down and sobbed as JJ pulled her into a tight hug. She didn't say a word as she let her friend cry out the stress and pain from her encounter with the grieving child.
As Emily began to calm she pulled slightly away from JJ and said "I don't know what's wrong with me. I never react like this."
"There's nothing wrong with you Em" JJ said calmly. "You're just being human."
Emily sighed and said, "I just felt so helpless. She was in so much pain and I had nothing to give her. I couldn't help her and when I had to leave her, it was like she was losing someone all over again. We don't normally get to see the families this early in the grieving process. I have never felt pain that intense before."
JJ was slowly stroking Emily's back in an attempt to make her feel better. "Em, you did everything you could" she said gently. "You must have helped her, or she wouldn't have been drawn to you."
Emily sat up and wiped her eyes with her sleeves.
"God JJ," she said with a shaky laugh, "I've cried all over your top. I'm sorry."
"No problem" said JJ, slightly disappointed that she already begun to put up her walls. "Sometimes it's nice to know that you need me as much as I need you."
Emily smiled at JJ and pulled her into a quick hug before asking, in a transparent attempt to change the subject, "What information have you guys gathered then?"
JJ quickly brought her up to date on the links that Garcia had made, giving her a few minutes to completely calm down. When they were both ready they made their way back to the office where the team were busy discussing next steps.
"Right," Hotch said as he saw the two of them enter, "If it's OK with you guys, I'm going to send you with Rossi to Busy Bees. Reid, Morgan and I will stay here, just in case the unsub calls again."
Both JJ and Emily let Hotch know that they were fine with the decision before quickly following Rossi out of the room.
