"There are things known
And there are things unknown
And in between are the doors" – Jim Morrison
The moment JJ heard Hotch say that Cory had been left alive for the threat of killing her later, she whipped out her phone. Emily picked up on the second ring.
"Hey JJ," she answered.
"Em, are you at your hotel?" JJ asked.
"No, we went to the aquarium and now we're getting ice cream."
"We?" JJ questioned, "Cory's with you?"
"Yeah, is everything okay Jayje?"
"No. You need to get Cory here as fast as you can okay. We think they might come after her."
"What?" Emily practically screamed, the panic in her voice clear, "Who might? Come after her how? JJ!"
"Em, I will explain everything as soon as you're here, but right now I don't want to waste time talking on the phone with you. Right now you need to get Cory somewhere safe."
"Okay," Emily replied, and ended the call.
Back inside the interrogation room Morgan said, "You know what this means, don't you Dunn?"
"I can't go back to prison," Dunn choked.
Hotch gave a bitter laugh. "At this point, you'll be lucky to avoid the death penalty."
"What! I didn't do anything! I wasn't there. I was just supposed to be a robbery."
"You were involved in a burglary, that's a federal offence. Any murders committed during the course of that felony you are accountable for. You've admitted to orchestrating the robbery so you're going to be charged with three counts of felony murder, that's not up for debate," Hotch stated.
"If you help us now though, it will look better for you," Morgan added.
Dunn was crying again. "What? What can I do?" he asked.
"Tell us where Atocha is," Hotch said.
"I don't know. I swear I don't."
"Who else was in on the robbery?" Morgan asked.
"Felix Bebida, Juan Ramos and Diego San Martin," Dunn offered up quickly.
"Do you know where we can find them?"
"No," Dunn stated dejectedly again before he suddenly perked up. "No, wait. There's this diner in the Bronx. I met them there a few times. They have this ritual after a job, they eat every meal there for 48 hours and basically don't leave the place for two days. It has something to do with showing their commitment. They should still be there."
"Address," Hotch stated firmly, dropping a pad of paper in front of Dunn.
Hotch and Morgan left the interrogation room, address in hand and met JJ and Detective Belem outside.
"Did you - " Hotch started but JJ cut him off.
"I called Emily. She's on her way here with Cory."
"Good," Hotch replied. "I want a protective detail on her until we get this guy in custody. Where are Rossi and Reid?"
"In the conference room with Garcia," JJ replied.
"Can you get your people ready Detective?" Hotch asked. "We need to take that diner."
"I'm on it." The detective left and Hotch, Morgan and JJ rounded the corner to head back to the conference room. Before they made it there however they ran into Emily and Cory.
"Good. You're here," Hotch stated matter-of-factly.
"Yeah," Emily replied taking a step towards him and away from her niece. She lowered her voice. "What the hell is going on?"
Hotch turned to Morgan. "Morgan, let Dave and Reid know what's happening and the three of you go with the locals to the diner in New York. Have Garcia phone ahead to that precinct so that they can meet you there and provide assistance." Morgan nodded and departed. "JJ," Hotch nodded towards Cory.
JJ put her hand gently on Cory's shoulder and said, "Come with me sweetie," as she lead her away.
Hotch gestured to an empty interrogation room and he and Emily went inside.
"You should sit," Hotch offered gently.
Hotch began recounting all that they had learned. How Brady had amassed a debt from the Nevaro family when in prison. How he had been unable to pay them upon his release. How he had given them the security code to Caroline's home and told them where the coins were that would cover his debt without knowing that Caroline had moved them to a safety deposit box. That Atocha had assumed a set-up when the coins were not there and killed Caroline, Lou and Addie as a message and a warning to Dunn. That Atocha had left Cory alive as a reminder to Dunn that he still had something to lose. Hotch explained that they had the names of everyone involved in the murders and a potential location that they were moving on now.
When he'd finished telling her everything, Emily was holding her face in her hands. "We were worried that with the amount of time Dunn spent in the station, Atocha might get nervous and make a move on Cory," Hotch added and Emily nodded, her face still in her hands. "I've ordered a 24 hour protection detail on her until we have Atocha in custody." Emily nodded again. Slowly she raised her head.
"How am I going to tell her Hotch?" she asked. "He's her dad. She loves him, and this is his fault. There's no way around that. If it wasn't for him they'd still be alive."
Hotch nodded. "He'll be in prison for a long time."
Emily shook her head. "That's not going to make her feel better."
"I know, I thought it might make you feel a bit better."
Emily gave him a weak smile. "It does, but he's not my dad." She shook her head. "God, she really has lost her whole family."
"She still has you," Hotch offered gently.
Down the hall JJ sat with Cory.
"They asked you take me away so that Emily can talk to the serious guy about the murders," Cory said flatly.
Under different circumstances JJ would have laughed at Cory's description of Hotch. Instead she said, "That's Agent Hotchner. He's our boss."
Cory nodded. "Something bad happened. Emily was really freaked out on the way over here. She was trying to hide it but I could tell. She thinks that whatever it is will upset me, so they don't want me to know."
Cory's words came out like a statement rather than a question and so JJ saw no point in denying it. "Yes," JJ replied.
"What's the point?" Cory sighed. "Like it could get any worse."
JJ felt her heart break a little at how wrong Cory was, very aware that when Cory found out about her father's involvement in it would seem so much worse. And so she changed the subject.
"Emily said you were at the aquarium?"
"Yeah," Cory replied, accepting the fact that JJ wasn't going to tell her anything. "My sisters and I would go there together when our parents were getting divorced. It kind of turned into our special place."
"That's nice," JJ smiled.
"Yeah, I'm really going to miss it," Cory sighed. "Especially Cleo and Phyl."
"Cleo and Phil? They work there?" JJ asked.
Cory laughed. "Kind of. They're these two clown fish Addie and Lou named – Cleopatra and Phyllis. We went there all the time but there were so many fish. Those were the only two we could distinguish by name. Phyllis has a big black spot and Cleopatra has a funny shaped white stripe. And they were always together, chasing each other. They were pretty hilarious."
JJ laughed. "Clown fish, that's like Finding Nemo right?"
"Yeah."
"My son would love that, he's obsessed with that movie right now. And the Little Mermaid. He's big on under water. I swear I am so sick of those movies…"
"How old is he?" Cory asked.
"He's three," JJ smiled.
"I babysit a four year old boy who lives down the street, Carson, every time I'm there he makes me watch that Justin Bieber movie."
"You're kidding."
"I wish. I'm just saying it could be worse."
JJ laughed. "C'mon, you're a 15 year old girl. You should love Justin Bieber."
Cory rolled her eyes. "Please, I actually like music. The crappy pop he makes is not music. It's too bad because he actually has a decent voice. He could make music if he wanted to."
And so they talked for the better part of half an hour as they waited for Hotch and Emily to finish up. JJ was amazed that for a 15 year old kid who had just gone through the worst experience of her life, she had no trouble keeping a conversation going. In fact, JJ greatly enjoying talking to her. When the door finally opened both looked up to see Emily standing there. JJ rose to leave and give them privacy but Emily stopped her in the doorway. Emily pulled JJ aside so that Cory could not hear.
"I don't know how to tell her this Jayje." JJ gave her a sympathetic look. "Should I wait?" Until he's in custody I mean? I don't want to scare her."
"I think she'll know you're not telling her something. She seems very perceptive."
Emily nodded. "I just hate that I have to tell her something that will make her feel worse. She's already going through so much."
"I know," JJ replied. "And if there's anything we can do to help, you know not to hesitate right?" Emily nodded. "That goes for both of you. We're all here for you Emily."
"Thanks Jayje."
And as JJ left the room, an idea occurred to her of a way the team could do something. She pulled out her cell phone to call Will as she hurried to talk to Garcia.
