Chapter 2: Proper Introductions
"So, boy genius, tell us what you did with the weekend? Netflix and Chill?"
Being a BAU agent was a stressful job so when they weren't on a case and the day was filled with paperwork, they enjoyed some downtime. It was good to talk and joke with each other and not to talk about crimes committed by the worse humanity had to offer. Reid, of course, had already finished his work for the day (and a few of files from Morgan's pile that Reid had pretended not to notice). Prentiss was trying to give the impression of working but was paying attention to the conversation.
"Well suppose you could say did that." Reid paused for effect and enjoyed the excited look Morgan gave him. "But it was with books instead of Netflix. I don't have Netflix. I did chill though. I had a very chill weekend."
"Err no Reid. It means you know..." Morgan tried to explain.
"Well, what Morgan?" Reid asked innocently. Reid could be very oblivious and often missed cultural references though a part of Morgan suspected he was being obtuse half the time.
"Never mind kid. You know you should come out with me sometime. I'm sure we'll find you a girl. Or a boy..." Morgan encouraged not wanting to make a presumption. He'd never seen Reid with a woman and although that didn't necessarily mean he was gay or bi, if he was, Morgan wanted to ensure Reid knew he had his support.
"It'll be a girl and thanks but no thanks."
"Sure. I'll be your wingman! I'll find a girl who thinks your hair's cute." Morgan teased. He leaned forward and ruffled Reid's hair.
Reid promptly shook Morgan off his hair and gave him a playful shove.
JJ chuckled, enjoying a rare moment out of her office and spent it with the team. Coming to the aid of her son's Godfather she scrunched up a ball.
"Hey, Morgan! Think fast!" Before she had got the words out so to not allow Morgan chance to react, JJ had chucked the ball at him. It bounced off his shiny head and crashed into the file Emily was trying to work on.
Emily rose slowly, glaring at Morgan threateningly.
Morgan's eyes rose in surprised. He rose his hands in a surrendering fashion as if Emily was an Unsub that he was trying to talk down.
"Err Now Emily don't do anything rash. JJ threw the ball." Morgan begged appeasingly "Let's talk about this. No-one needs to get hurt..."
It didn't seem to be working. Reid decided to come to Morgan's defence.
"Come on Emily. All it does is prove my suspicions that Morgan's shiny bald head is remarkably bouncy." He interjected and Morgan threw his head back and laughed.
"You weren't fooling anyone anyway. We all know you weren't working." Reid pointed out.
Emily rapidly turned her glare to Reid. After a few seconds delay, she ran towards the young genius.
Reid feigned a yelp of surprise. "Ahh help me!"
Morgan leapt into action. "I'll save you, Reid!" He promised, jumping in front of Reid protectively. He parented to speak into a communications device. "I need maximum backup! The suspect is armed and dangerous!"
JJ joined in the fun and games. She placed her hands onto Reid's shoulders and lead him away as if the situation was real and in Reid was in danger.
"This way Doctor Reid. I'll take you somewhere safe."
Emily backed away.
"Ok, I surrender!" She announced.
The team collapsed in their chair in a fit of giggles.
"Here was I thinking that I worked in the FBI and not a day-care centre, but it appears I was wrong. What dare I ask is so funny?" It was Rossi who had come out of his office to investigate the commotion that had interrupted him from his 'work'.
Rossi's response only made them laugh harder.
"You had to be there. Really." JJ explained once it had subsided.
"I'm glad I wasn't." He counted. Trying hard to maintain his facade of annoyance.
"Like you were doing anything important anyway," Emily replied
"I was working. Something you should be doing."
"Pull the other one Italiano it has bells on it." Morgan retorted causing more laughs. Rossi cracked a smile giving the game away. Not that he had the group of profilers fooled.
"That's what I like to hear. A bit of laugher." Garcia's voice. "I'd ask what the course of it is but I'm afraid I have to interrupt. We have a case."
The effect was immediate. They changed into serious FBI agents. They liked to play around but when all that's said and done, they had a job to do and when that job came calling there was little else that mattered.
"I'll get Hotch. He's doing an interview right now, but it will have to wait." JJ volunteered.
They went their separate ways: JJ to Hotch's office, the team to the conference room.
Reid had just finished reading the file before Hotch entered the conference office closely followed by a woman they hadn't seen before.
She had ginger hair, the bluest eyes Reid had ever seen (not that he was gazing into them) and freckles. She was wearing rose gold glasses, white blouse, mint blue jumper and light grey trousers. There was a Glock 17 clipped to her waist showing she was a government agent. Hotch indicated her without turning.
"This is Persephone Ambrose. She is joining us for this case as part of her interview. Agent Ambrose, these people are Agents Rossi, Morgan, Prentis, Jareau and Doctor Reid. Garcia, I believe you already know. Proper introductions will have to wait. Garcia?"
"Three lifeguards have been drowned in the last month in Amarillo, Texas."
The screen was filled with three photos of dead mean, clearly showing the signs of drowning and each wearing a part hat upon their head.
"The first was Felix Winfield aged 32, Dylan Baxter, 34 and Adrian Farley 33. They were all found near Lake Meredith and ME reports confirm they were drowned in the lake."
"The party hats are interesting." Rossi commented, "Were the victims killed on or around their birthday?"
Garcia shook her head. "Nowhere near."
"Then maybe it is the unsub's birthday? Or someone they know." Suggested Morgan
"What you mean like some kind of sick celebration?" Asked Persephone trying to see if it would explain some of the actions.
"But they were taken on different dates. That wouldn't make sense." Prentiss pointed out "It's defiantly symbolic somehow."
"What about this bruising?" Persephone pointed to a picture taken by the ME. "Is that where he tried to do CPR?"
Reid nodded "ME report confirms that. Look at the way the victims were placed. The unsub treated them with care."
"That could be remorse or maybe he's got a hero syndrome" Hotch suggested
"Could be. Or it might be something else. I want to investigate this CPR thing further." Persephone added
Hotch nodded "You can do that while we land. Wheels up in thirty."
The team scrambled to get their go bags and inform their families they were going to be out of town for a few days.
Persephone watched them and having already picked up her go-bag from her car. She didn't know the way to the plane so would rely on the team to show her. JJ saw her watching and smiled at her.
"Hey wanna ride with me to the airstrip? I could use some company. The others are going together."
"If it's not too much trouble. I could follow you in my car if that's better for you."
"It's no trouble! It makes sense if we're going to the same place anyway. Have you told your family where you're going? We can be a few days and they might worry."
"Don't worry Agent Jareau everyone who should be aware, is aware." Persephone responded. She had told her boss she was going to be out of town but as she was on holiday anyway it hadn't been a big deal.
"Please call me JJ everyone does. After all, I think we're going to be teammates soon."
"I don't know about that. I am sure some people would be better suited to the job than me."
"Agent Ambrose, Hotch is bringing you on a case when you're not a team member. He never does that."
"Are you sure he never does this sort of thing? I don't want to get him into trouble."
They got into the car to drive to the airstrip. While they could walk as it wasn't very far, it was quicker to drive and often when dealing with unsubs, it was a race against time.
"Persephone, Hotch is Unit Chief he is in charge of interviews. Anyway, our Section Chief has been wanting us to hire someone for a while now and as long as she gets that she won't care."
"Oh. I was under the impression it was Agent Hotchner that wanted a new member for the team." She couldn't help but feel guilty if the stoic agent was being forced to hire someone.
"Well, that too. We were surprised when she ordered it. It always helps to have some extra help and Hotch was going to put in a request for a new agent anyway, so it worked out well."
The rest of the team were already there when JJ and Persephone arrived at the plane, but they hadn't been waiting long for the pair. They took the remaining seats, with JJ sat by Rossi and Persephone sat by Emily.
"So, Agent Ambrose. I've heard a lot about you from Agent Turner." Emily mentioned.
Alister 'Disco' Turner was an old co-worker of Emily's and when he had heard of the interview, he had mentioned Persephone to her who in turn mentioned the Brit to Hotch.
"Tell me has he still got that awful hairstyle?"
"The one that makes him look like he's straight out of a 70s musical and gives him the nickname Disco? That one? Yeah."
Emily laughed. "God to think that was ever considered stylish."
"I think it was mass hysteria," Rossi commented dryly. "What made you want to interview for the BAU?"
Persephone's brow furrowed. Hotch had asked that same question and hadn't seemed to accept her answer. Was this his way of getting more answers? After giving it a second or two she gave the answer she had given previously.
"So where exactly are you from?" JJ asked
"Eastbourne. It's right on the South East coast. I miss England but America's my home now. Strangely enough though, I've been living here 10 years and there are still things that confuse me."
While the four of them were discussing the many differences between America and Britain, Morgan and Reid discussed the mysterious yet seemingly likeable Persephone Ambrose.
"What do you think of her kid?" Morgan asked a knowing smile tugging at his lips. He had noticed the way Reid had looked at the women when she first entered the conference room.
"She seems intelligent. She's rather unique too." Reid replied.
"Persephone is a name I've never heard of before."
"She was a Greek goddess of vegetation and was the wife of Hades, the Greek god of the underworld. Did you know that ginger hair and blue eyes is the rarest combination possible? Fewer than 1% of the population have it. Some estimate it to be around 0.17% but it is hard to determine that. Either way, it is exceptionally rare."
Morgan's smile morphed to a mischievous grin.
"Is that your way of saying she's cute Pretty Boy?"
Reid decided not to dignify that with a response. He didn't have the time to anyway as Hotch at that point ordered them to get to work.
The team moved closer to make it easier to discuss the case. The plane wasn't massive, but the seats were spread out, so it made it harder to maintain a discussion.
After the quick introductions and pleasantries that were required to work with the local law enforcement officers, Hotch ordered Persephone to go and speak the ME. So, she sent off in search of him and had quickly found him, not in the morgue as she expected but the office opposite theirs.
"Dr Farnum? I am Persephone Ambrose." She introduced herself and shook the man's hand.
"Good mornin'. Ah suppose yore with thuh BAU? Hif would faller may, playze?"
Persephone followed the doctor, thankful that while there was a definite accent, she could at least understand what he was saying. She hoped she would be just a lucky as she had been a few instances where her strong Southern English accent confused other people. She always found accents a point of interest and they were so unique that you could often pinpoint the place where a person had been brought up by the sound of it.
"So, this bruising was caused by the unsub attempting CPR?"
"Dunno if it wuz thuh guy yore lookin' fahwar but sumone tried an failed tuh resuscitate 'em."
"Right. Did the tox screen come back positive for anything?"
"Naw ma'am. It's wuz negative."
That was curious. The unsub had to be fit enough to drown three lifeguards. They weld under and weren't drugged. So why didn't he CPR work? Why attempt it?
"Thank-you Doctor. You have been very helpful."
"Yore welcome ma'am. Ah hope yawl find thuh bastard thet did thus. Ah apologise fahwar mah language. Ahl pray thet y'all ketch him an naw else gits hawhrt."
Persephone gave him a reassuring smile before heading up and reporting her findings to the team.
"You know what confuses me?" she asked after relaying everything. "The fact the CPR didn't work. I mean the fact that he did it suggests he wanted to undo what he did but they all died."
"Well, it might just be he doesn't know how to do it probably. You need to perform rescue breaths when someone's drowned." Reid explained
"I don't think it is that though. We know he must be strong, be managed to over-power three fit men. You'd think the damage from the CPR would be more extensive than it is. What if he was holding back?"
Rossi noticed Reid starting at the Geographical profile. He had not responded to Persephone's idea though Rossi himself though it held some merit. The young genius was pulling that face he did when he had spotted something and was trying to work it out.
"Reid? Have you noticed something?" He asked.
The team turned to look at the map of Lake Meredith that had been displayed. On it where three different coloured sticky arrows denoting where the bodies had been located.
"Look at the way these bodies were placed. What's different?"
"They're being placed further up the lake. Closer to the town." Rossi stated.
Reid nodded. That was what he was referring to. It could be hard to guess what Reid spotted sometimes. He was a genius and while he constantly reminded the team, he didn't know everything, he knew a lot. That meant he often made connections the other members of the team could only dream of making. He was certainly a valued member of the team and not just because of his brain.
"I could just be a coincidence." Reid stated, "But what if he's placing them where he has access to while getting closer to a place of significance?"
"Detective Travis," Hotch asked, "Is Lake Meredith a popular spot to visit?"
"Yayus sir. Lotsa families go thayure an it's uh hotspot fahwar couples on dates. It's very popular speshuly thus tahm uh year." He replied
The team turned to the detective that had helped settle them in. They hadn't noticed that he had entered the room until Hotch spoke to him.
"So maybe he's dumping them where he can avoid being seen." Morgan replied.
"Why not just do it at night?" Prentiss asked
"Maybe he has a job at night."
Morgan grunted to himself in thought.
"You know it's sort of ironic. They were lifeguards and yet they were all drowned. Maybe that's a point of obsession for the unsub just like the party hats."
It was getting late, so the team returned to the hotel to get some well-needed sleep. There wasn't much they could that say anyway.
In the morning Hotch ordered Prentis and JJ to go and speak to the first victim's family. Morgan and Reid go the first crime scene. As the first victims are often the most important in crimes of obsession, it made sense to go and look over it again in case the original team missed something and talk to that victim's family.
Meanwhile, Hotch, Rossi and Persephone were talking about the fact the course of death was drowning and what that meant for the unsub's mentality. They concluded that as drowning was not as certain as other methods such as shooting the Unsub must have a least some confidence in himself. After all, there were some many variables would have to account for. He took a big risk and that either meant he was arrogant, or he had extra information available to him.
"Well, that was interesting, to say the least." JJ greeted them after speaking to the victim's partner.
"What was?
"Well about a week before his death, Felix Winfield had gone to a support group for lifeguards who have tried to save someone but were unsuccessful. Garcia had confirmed that all three victims had been to support groups before their deaths."
Morgan and Reid returned at that point and showed the team a badge that had been found in the tall grass. It was a badge from a support group. The same one of the victims had attended.
"So that's where he is getting his victims from. JJ gather everyone please. I think we're ready to release the profile."
The precinct stood around the group of profiles, writing down the information they had been given.
"Our Un-sub is male. 30-35 years old. We know that the is strong as he managed to over people three very fit men." Morgan started.
"He most likely works a night job and appears unassuming. That gives him the confidence to murder three victims without getting caught or interrupted. That will also be his downfall." Rossi continued
"Those that know him, know that he is unforgiving for mistakes in both his work and personal life. He is single and struggles to form relationships." Persephone added
"He has access to support groups but doesn't attract attention. As he is killing those who have attended these support groups, he has likely lost some due to drowning. Baring this in mind lifeguards and their families should be on high alert. Thank-you." Hotch finished. He then noticed that JJ had gone off with Prentis and was speaking to the Captain. They caught his eye so he went over to them.
"A fourth body has been found." Hotch told the team when he returned. "This one was drowned in a pool though it's defiantly our Unsub."
"Why change the MO?" Morgan asked
"Well, Lake Meredith has been patrolled maybe he can't access it." Suggested a nearby officer.
"No maybe… he's escalating. I think he's trying to emulate something that happened in a pool. Maybe that's how he lost someone in a pool on a birthday." Persephone replied. She picked her phone from her pocket and dialled Garcia's number.
"Fountain of all knowledge speak and be answered." She greeted. Persephone briefly smiled at that.
"Miss Garcia it is Persephone. Could you bring up a list of pool fatalities in the local area around twenty to thirty years ago?"
"It's cute when someone is unaware of my skills. You going to have to limit it down though."
"Well Garcia, they would have to be strong. And live near the Lake." JJ supplied.
"The accident would have been at a birthday party." Emily added
"Ok that's good but we have a few names still."
"Well, we know the connection are the support groups. Do any of them attend these groups?" asked Persephone
"None."
"What if they work there? What do all support groups have?" asked Reid
There was a second of thought before both Persephone and Reid answered, in unison.
"Doughnuts!"
"Do any of them have a job delivering snacks?" Reid asked
"And we have him! Richard Dewald. Oh, that's sad. He lost his twin brother on their 8th birthday. Says he had a seizure and the lifeguard couldn't revive him."
"That's the stressor. What's the trigger Baby Girl?"
"Last month that same lifeguard got an award for saving another child. He's retired but he was near Lake Meredith when it happened. Oh."
"What?" Hotch demanded
"It's his birthday today."
"He's going to go after the lifeguard who didn't save his brother. Garcia's what's the lifeguard's address?"
"I've sent both his and the unsub's address to your phones. Be safe crime fighters. Garcia out!"
Persephone stayed at the precinct as she was not technically allowed out in the field yet. While they were gone, she found out that the last victim had been dead for two days and was called Bruno Dalton. He was well known amongst the cops, so she let them inform his wife before giving her condolences.
Luckily the team had arrested the unsub in time and the lifeguard had been left unharmed though would not forget the ordeal for a while. All in all, the outcome was as good as it could be and although four people had lost their lives, it could have been a lot more had not been for the BAU. The team said their goodbyes and were set with good wishes and thanks.
Shortly after lift-off, Hotch walked over to where Persephone was sat and took the seat opposite her.
"Agent Hotchner thank you for allowing me to assist on this case."
"It should be me thanking you. You were brilliant. You gave good insights and more importantly, you worked well with everyone and they all seem to like you. You see, we're a close-knit team. You kind of have to be when you do our job so when I'm looking for a new team member it is important, they are a good fit." Hotch explained.
Persephone had a feeling she knew what he was about to say but didn't want to get her hopes up.
"I believe that you are a good fit for our team. So, if you'd still like it, I would like to offer you the job."
"Of course, I would sir! I would be an honour Agent Hotchner!"
"In which case, welcome to the team. And call me Hotch."
The rest of the team who had of course been listening in, immediately started cheering.
"Chocolate God I hear cheering and applause. Put me on speaker and tell me what's going on!" Garcia demanded. She was on the phone to Morgan and didn't want to be left out.
"Baby Girl. Persephone's part of our team now." Morgan explained
"YES! Welcome to our team British Pumpkin!"
"British Pumpkin?" Asked Persephone
"It's official you're one of us now. Garcia's nicknamed you." Reid explained his smile so big you'd be forgiven for thinking his face would crack.
"Right. When we land, we're heading to a bar!" Morgan announced, "Rossi's paying!"
"Oh, I am, am I?" Rossi questioned
"Yes, you are." Prentiss agreed "We need those proper introductions Hotch promised us. Who's in?"
"Me!" The team chorused. Even Hotch joined in. After all proper introductions were defiantly needed.