Chapter One: There Goes the Neighborhood
Hi guys, hope you enjoy my fic! Just letting you know that if you plan on following the story, I tend to keep up with the fic and post more often on AO3, so if you want to find the story on there, it's the same title and my account is the same name as well.
"Theodore Jacobs. 20 years old, found dead in his home outside Dover, Massachusetts, early yesterday morning," JJ stated as photos of a young man with blonde hair and blue eyes appeared on the screen.
The moment the case had come across her desk, something inside of JJ screamed that they had to take it. It wasn't exactly the BAU's typical case, with there only being one victim so far, but something about the young man and the circumstances of the case just struck JJ as odd.
The rest of the team watched from the round table, each with a file in front of them and a mug of coffee.
"No fingerprints or a weapon were found on the scene?" Morgan asked, flipping through the file in front of him.
"No, and the Boston PD are worried that with the level of aggression displayed the killer could strike again, and soon" JJ replied.
As more photos of the boy appeared on the screen, the team suddenly understood what the detectives in Boston were so worried about. The young man had been stabbed dozens of times and was covered in blood, while photos of the crime scene showed the house had been torn apart.
It was these types of crime scene photos that really got to JJ. Not just the fact that someone else had taken a human life, but that they took their time, and clearly enjoyed it.
"These stab wounds are unusual, not ones you would see with a typical knife" Reid murmured.
"Who discovered the body?" Rossi questioned.
"A neighbor was apparently stopping by to borrow something and found him," JJ explained.
"He wasn't discovered by family? It's an awfully big house to live alone in," Hotch said.
Although they didn't have many pictures of the crime scene, the house was clearly large and well-maintained, one that would be owned by a wealthy family, not a college-aged man.
"Parents were Thomas and Lauren Jacobs, they died in a car accident almost seven years ago. Theo has one sister, Natalie, aged 13, that he's been raising since he turned 18. Before that, they were in foster care," JJ informed Hotch.
Even though they worked on horrific cases every week, this one hit JJ hard. In many ways, it reminded her of her older sister. Theo had been his younger sister's protector, her only family left, and now someone had killed him. She sympathized with the girl, knowing what it was like to lose an older sibling.
JJ suddenly realized that it was the existence of his little sister that made her subconsciously choose this case over all the other ones that she could have chosen. Unlike most people Theo's age, he actually had someone who depended on him, someone who needed him, rather than just someone that would miss him and loved him.
"Well, in any case, BPD was right to be worried. It's a case of extreme aggression with no motive, and we don't know when the killer will strike next. Wheels up in 30," Hotch declared.
The team pulled up to a grand house set far back from the main road. The town of Dover was a fairly wealthy town, filled with lawyers and bankers, and the Jacobs had been no exception.
"It would've been pretty easy to get him all the way out here," Morgan said as he stepped out of the SUV, "the property's what? 10 acres? No one would've seen someone come and go in the night, or hear Theo scream".
A man slightly older than Rossi stepped out of the house, his hair white with age and a detective's badge hanging around his neck.
"BAU?" the man asked.
"Yes sir, I'm Jennifer Jareau and these are Agents Hotchner, Prentiss, Rossi, Morgan, and Dr. Reid" JJ informed him, introducing each member of the team.
"Jack Fitzpatrick," the man offered, shaking their hands. "I've been the head of homicide for about ten years now," he told the team as he led them into the house. "We got the call from the Dover PD yesterday morning, they aren't really equipped to deal with these things. It's a pretty small town, they mostly deal with teenage pranks and speeding tickets".
JJ was relieved the BPD had stepped in, as it was always difficult dealing with small-town police departments. They never had the resources or the experience to provide proper assistance to the cases.
The team stepped through the foyer of the house and into the living room as Jack continued "Hell I'm not sure this town has ever had a murder. Much less one of this nature…" he trailed off.
It became obvious what Jack was talking about as they entered the living room. Although the rest of the home was fairly intact, the living room where the body had been discovered was clearly destroyed. Even though they'd received the crime scene photos, the violence of the crime was much more apparent now that they were actually there.
"The body is in the morgue, I presume?" Hotchner asked Jack, who nodded in response.
"Alright then, Reid, Rossi, JJ, you stay here, Prentiss, Morgan, you head to the morgue. We'll finish up here and then head over to the station," Hotchner instructed the team.
Just as Hotch was finishing his commands, two men walked in from the back of the house. One was a stranger to the team, but the other was recognized instantly.
"Will! What are you doing here?" exclaimed JJ.
JJ hadn't been able to see Will in almost a month due to how many assignments the team had been sent on recently, but she was still confused as to why he was here.
Will walked over to the group and greeted JJ with a kiss.
JJ blushed slightly in embarrassment, as she was usually the epitome of professionalism while on the job. Will, on the other hand, could care less about that, but then again, it was apparently a "cultural thing".
"Nice to see y'all again," he said to the team.
"NOLA PD sent Detective Lamontagne up here to help with the case, and identify the body if necessary," Jack clarified.
Seeing the confused looks on the team's faces, Will explained further. "Thomas Jacobs used to be the District Attorney for New Orleans, till about ten years ago, when the family moved up here. My daddy was pretty close with him. He and his wife were in New Orleans when they got in the car accident that resulted in their deaths. The circumstances were a little suspicious, but nothing was ever confirmed".
Thomas and Lauren had been taking a quick trip down to New Orleans when Thomas lost control of their car on a bridge, sending it 100 feet down into the river below. The department had looked into the crash since it had been a perfectly sunny day and the roads were in perfect condition so there shouldn't have been anything to make Thomas lose control. However, after investigating for weeks, they hadn't been able to find anything, and the case was closed.
The fact that they'd never discovered what caused the crash had always bothered Will, so when his captain walked into the precinct late last night and asked someone to go check in with the Boston Police Department, Will jumped at the chance. Usually, the captain wouldn't have sent someone to help, but Thomas had been the best DA the city had in years, and his father and brother had been cops before their deaths, so he was part of the department's family.
"You're worried this might be a revenge killing? An old enemy of Theo's father seeking vengeance?" Reid questioned.
Will glanced over at Jack quickly before responding, "Hope not, but we can't be too sure yet. Tommy was a nice guy but he put a lot of people away. A lot of people that could want revenge".
Will recalled watching Thomas in court one time. The man was a spitfire and fundamentally opposed to losing. Over the years, he'd gotten many offers from successful law firms in Boston and New York, but had constantly refused, preferring to help people over a big check. One day though, out of the blue, he changed his tune, and he and Lauren quickly packed up their lives and headed up to Boston.
The team, being incredibly familiar with revenge killings, nodded.
"Even if it doesn't turn out that they knew his daddy, I could still ID the body. Tommy came back to New Orleans to visit his parents and brought Theo with him most of the time," Will continued.
Will hadn't seen Theo since he was around thirteen when Thomas had come by the precinct to visit his father and brought the boy along. Bill had always doted on Thomas's son, spoiling him slightly with presents. Will remembered a few conversations he'd had with Theo over the years, and he'd always been such an intelligent, humorous kid.
However, someone had decided to go ahead and kill him, and Will was determined to help catch his murderer, no matter what. Even if, in the worst-case scenario, they couldn't catch the killer, Will could at least spare Theo's little sister, still a child, from having to look at her dead brother's face and confirm it was him.
As the group had been talking, Rossi had strayed away from the group and begun inspecting the scene. When he approached the location the body had been in, he could see broken glass all over the floor, and the rug had been torn up.
"You say there wasn't any sign of a break-in?" interrupted Rossi.
"The windows were all intact, and the doors were locked from the inside. We had to break the front door down," Fitzpatrick told him.
"He clearly put up a fight," Hotch stated, looking over the scene. "Or the killer felt the need to destroy the scene afterward".
Will walked over towards the fireplace on the edge of the room and inspected a family photo on the mantle. "Where's Natalie?" he asked.
Will had always found it strange that in all his years of traveling back to New Orleans, Thomas had never brought Natalie with him. In fact, he'd never really mentioned the girl at all. Perhaps he'd just been closer with his son, Will told himself, but he still couldn't shake the odd feeling his behavior left.
"CPS took her into custody last night," Jack informed him. "Speaking of which, they wanted to know if she could come get some of her things once we've finished going over the scene?," he directed his question at Hotch.
"That should be fine, so long as she stays out of the living room. We can interview her then as well," Hotch replied.
"I'm assuming you'd like to be present for the interview," Hotch asked Will.
"I've never actually met the girl, Thomas never brought her back to the city, but sure," Will responded.
It's not like him being there would comfort the girl at all, but at the very least it would give Will more information about the case.
As the team began formally looking over the scene, JJ grabbed Will by the arm and pulled him into the privacy of the kitchen.
"I missed you," she said, kissing him far more passionately than she had with the previous audience.
"I missed you too, Cher," Will replied after their kiss, pulling her into a hug. He held her there for a minute, making up for all the time they spent apart. Although it was hard living long distance, it was worth it, and their relationship had definitely gotten better since Miami.
"Are you alright? I mean, were you close to Theo and the family?" JJ asked him, concerned.
"I'm alright darlin', I didn't really know 'em that well. This is more professional than anything else. Hell, I didn't even know he had a daughter," Will told her.
Truth be told, Will was more upset than he was letting on, but having JJ there with him made everything better. They didn't see each other nearly enough, but he'd take only seeing JJ a few times a month any day over not seeing her at all.
"Alright then, if you're sure. You better get back in there and look over the scene before someone realizes we're gone and we get in trouble" JJ said jokingly, pushing him back.
"And what will you do without me," he asked teasingly, giving her another kiss.
"Usually I'd be heading to the station right now, but it's half an hour away at least and Hotch wants me to stay here and interview Natalie when she arrives," JJ explained.