The case is starting to come to a close, largely because my main goal was for it to serve as a catalyst for Emily to finally open up to JJ.
"Do we have anything?" Hotch asked as he walked into the precinct conference room with Seaver and Rossi.
"No" the other three agents said.
"What about Father Michaels?"
Emily cringed, worried that her outburst may have cost her the case, and maybe her job. "He wasn't helpful" Morgan cryptically said.
"Should I try to talk to him?"
"NO!" The three shouted in unison.
"He won't tell us anything" JJ spoke up.
"Why not?"
"The vows sir, he has to respect his vows" Reid stated as she looked over to Rossi who nodded.
"Well what do you have Reid?"
"All the murders except for Cooper have a set geographical pattern, she must have been his trigger or at least special to him. We need to focus on her to find our unsub."
"Detective reports confirm that there were two sets of prints found at the scene, Jimmer's and a mystery person's prints, but they weren't in the system" Emily added.
"They just ignored that lead and went with Jimmer?" Seaver asked surprised by the shady police work.
Emily sighed, "She was single, they assumed it was from a date. But I think that someone helped them get to their conclusion."
"Rossi?" Hotch asked hopefully as he looked over to the experienced profiler.
"Victim's families don't know anything new."
"They don't remember much from 15 years earlier either" Seaver offered in a disappointed tone.
"M.E. said the case notes proved that the women did fight back but were overpowered, no restraints were used, no drugs found in their systems. Our unsub must be male and strong enough to subdue a woman. I would put him in the age range of 20 to 30 years old 15 years ago. He would be between 35 and 45 now. We don't know who coerced the statement but what if the officer who took it knows?"
"He doesn't" Emily answered. "He said that local PD knew Jimmer frequented the area Cooper lived in and were told to go pick him up for questioning. He had priors, they thought he could be involved in some way. When they did bring him in for questioning he didn't know anything and he wasn't cooperative at all. However, Jimmer returned to the police station two days later and for some reason he had a new incentive to talk. But I was thinking, Jimmer has a record right?"
"Yeah" Morgan answered confused by Emily's line of thinking.
"I had Garcia look into Jimmer's record and 15 years ago he had already racked up 4 arrest warrants for solicitation, possession, and for attempted robbery. He was looking at some major time if he was caught again, but the strange thing is that he wasn't arrested for doing anything illegal for the next 5 years."
"Do we believe that our Jimmer stayed out of trouble for that long?" Rossi smirked.
"And why 5 years? Something about that number, it seems like an agreement" she added.
"Were there any arrest records for Jimmer leading up to his statement?" Hotch asked hopefully. Maybe it was the officer that arrested him that decided he'd be a good witness to help put away Murray.
"No" Emily sighed. "That's all I have, but someone must have had enough power to make his problems go away."
"Why would a cop want the wrong man behind bars?" Morgan asked with a small smile.
"Because he knew whoever did it and they were close to him" Seaver answered as she looked over and smiled to Emily. The flash of genius was interrupted by the southern drawl of a certain Louisiana detective.
"I was hoping I'd find ya here."
"Will" JJ greeted looking absolutely horrified.
"Will?" Seaver asked Reid who just nodded his head. Reid had been the one to accidentally tell the FBI cadet about JJ and Emily's history. She tried to suppress a laugh when she saw the man. This is Will? This was the guy that JJ had chosen over Emily? She chose him over Emily Prentiss? What a moron, I can't even with this woman. And how can someone his age not know how to enunciate? Emily can speak six languages, this guy can barely speak one, which is the overstatement of the year. Fuck, JJ gives us blondes a bad reputation."
""W-what are you doing here?"
"You didn't think I'd forget our anniversary did you?" Will asked with a wink. "You said you were here and I figured we could go see your parents while you're out here. They should meet the man in your life."
"Will I'm working" JJ quietly protested.
"They don't need you for one night right?" Will asked stupidly as he looked over to Hotch who furrowed his brow.
"That's not the case. It's all hands on deck" Hotch answered firmly.
"Well then I can help you move it along sooner."
Morgan scoffed at the ludicrous suggestion, "You don't even have jurisdiction here."
Emily was trying her hardest not to laugh at the look of confusion on Will's face. Morgan's statement had just put in her more pain, since she kept chewing the inside of her lip to stop the fit of laughter from escaping her mouth.
"Will why don't you just go wait at the hotel for me" JJ ordered as Morgan sent a text to Garcia.
You will not believe what just happened P.
What my chocolate God of love?
The Cajun cupid showed up to celebrate JJ and his anniversary on a case.
OMG barf.
"Real nice guys" JJ scolded as she took a look at Morgan's phone and stormed away with Will, leaving her team behind in a fit of giggles. Even Hotch was struggling to not laugh at the absurd sight in front of him.
"You can go ahead and stay at the hotel for the night JJ, we're going to stay and profile Cooper" Hotch offered with a smile.
"Thanks."
As soon as they entered into the hotel room Will started taking off his pants, much to the chagrin of JJ.
"What the fuck was that?"
"What?" He asked dumbly as he almost fell over trying to slip out of one of the pant legs.
"You just showing up here?"
"I wanted to see you. You know most women would be happy if their boyfriends came all this way for a visit."
"And I'm not most women. Why can't you seem to understand my job?"
Will chuckled, "Cher I get your job. We have the same job. Except I actually make an effort to see you."
"Will we do not have the same job. I have to fly across the country on a moments notice, I don't have pre-set shift times or set time off. I go when I'm called and that's the job."
"Well why don't you just do what we talked about?" he shrugged. "Why do you still have you clothes on?"
JJ shook her head, ignoring Will's last question. "We? What we talked about? Because last time I checked it was YOU that wanted me to move to New Orleans and give up my job to be a detective with you, which is the dumbest idea I've ever heard."
"Why is it dumb? Because it was my idea?"
"Because I'm a FBI agent in one of the most elite units in the Bureau and you want me to become a police officer" she huffed with her arms crossed as Will sat down on the bed. "I would never ask you to move to Virginia and give up your detective's shield."
"I would if you asked me. Ask me."
"No."
"Why no?"
JJ's tone became softer, "Will this just isn't working."
"What isn't?"
"Us, I'm not happy. Are you happy? Honestly? Because I don't think I ever really was."
"Then why're ya even with me?"
"Things were easy with us, but easy isn't enough."
"Easy is good!"
"Being comfortable together isn't enough though. We have to have more in our relationship and we don't have it. We don't connect."
"Connect? Ya know things aren't perfect but we can fix things."
"Will your idea of 'fixing things' is changing me into being the sort of woman you want. I don't want to stay home and raise children or live in New Orleans or have you fly across the country for an anniversary."
While JJ's tone became softer, Will's voice became more irate, "Are ya tryin' to break up with me?"
"I think I already did."
"Wow, you are a real bitch ya know. Real bitch…" He drifted off as he started to pace and gesture wildly. "You, you are the worst! You're talkin' 'bout dumpin' me on our 9 month anniversary! Someday you're gonna wake up and you're gonna be all alone and remember a certain conversation!" He screamed as he stomped around the room.
"You're right" JJ agreed as she thought back to a different conversation entirely. One that had already began to haunt her. One where she had made the stupidest decision in her entire life, one that she had regretted the very moment she made it. But she had been too stupid, stubborn, and afraid to admit it. The words raced through her mind as she drifted from that hotel room with Will back to a rainy night outside her front door.
"Him or me JJ" Emily sternly ordered.
"Emily I…"
"Just tell me" Emily pleaded, already knowing the answer.
JJ looked at Emily with tears in her eyes, "I choose Will."
"And Fuck you JJ" Will stopped ranting, obviously proud of himself for what he had said.
JJ didn't know what he had been going on about and she didn't care. "FYI anniversary means annual dumbass, like a year not 9 months!" She yelled to him as he walked out the hotel room door, slamming it behind him. JJ fell back on to the bed and laughed quietly as her thoughts went back to Emily. She just broke up with her boyfriend and she should have been sad, but she wasn't. Not about him anyway. How could I have been so stupid? She wondered as picked up her cellphone.