Sitting on the jet was uncomfortable at best, but nowhere near as bad as the drive had been. JJ sat toward the back of the plane, looking out the window. She watched the clouds below them, forming a thick blanket.
It was quiet in the cabin. In the early morning hours, they were all still waking up. Well, except for a few members of the team, namely Derek, Emily, and Spence. They were napping.
She looked over at them and couldn't help the fond smile that crossed her face. Derek was facing away from her, and Emily's face was leaned up against the window whose shade she had pulled closed.
Reid had his chin propped up in his hand, and one ankle was crossed over his other knee. His hair was on the shorter side, for Reid, anyway, and soft strands were falling across his cheek. With his legs crossed his pant leg rode up, and JJ could see his purple socks from the other side of the jet. She silently wondered if they were the ones that she had gotten him for his birthday.
The plane shifted and she looked down at her watch. They were probably going to be starting their descent soon. Standing, she made her way to the back of the jet first, where the coffee pot sat. Grabbing a cup, she filled it with hot coffee, adding a couple of the little creamer cups as well. After adding a few packets of sugar and a lid, she headed back toward the other end of the jet. Hotch and Rossi were huddled together over the file, not even looking up as she passed them. Derek and Emily didn't wake either. Double-checking that no one was watching her, she stopped beside Spencer. Bending over the slightest bit, she gently lowered her hand onto his shoulder. She smiled a bit as he blinked his eyes open slowly, taking in his surroundings.
Looking up at her, he sat up a little and rubbed his eyes. "Oh, hey."
JJ smiled softly at him, removing her hand from his warm shoulder. "Hey. Sorry to wake you, but we're gonna be lading soon," she told him.
He brushed his hair out of his face and nodded as he straightened up. "Okay, thank you." Reid looked up with a smile.
She held the coffee out toward him and his eyes widened in surprise. "Oh! Thanks, JJ," he said with a smile. He took a sip and sighed contently.
Giving his shoulder a squeeze, she went to wake the others as well. Soon enough, they were disembarking the plane.
The Washington air was cold and she pulled her coat tighter around her body. Her chattering teeth were only making her headache worse.
Separating and climbing into the two waiting vehicles, the team made their way to the local police station. Upon their arrival, they were greeted by Captain James Kent. He introduced them to a few of the other officers, then led them into one of the conference rooms. After thanking him, They brought their files out and started setting up their area.
JJ always enjoyed this part of their cases. She didn't enjoy looking at the graphic pictures, but she liked the process, making everything neat. Setting out photos and categorizing them. Organizing them onto the boards and labeling them, laying everything out before them. She pinned up the photos of the three victims to the board, labelling their names beneath them. Laura Johnson. Maria Chavez. Yulissa Tate.
Staring at the board, at those poor women, she felt a deep pang of sadness. She vowed to herself that she would do everything in her power to catch the person who had ended their lives too soon.
They'd only just begin their discussion the Kent entered the room once more, a grim expression in his face. "We just recieved a call, a body was found near the creek in Ramset Park. We don't know much yet, but it could be connected. The park is only a few miles from where we found Yulissa Tate's body."
JJ sighed silently. Already? They hadn't even been in town a day yet, and it had only been two days since they had found Yulissa. He was attacking faster and faster.
Hotch nodded his head at Kent and turned heavy eyes on the team. "Morgan and Prentiss, go with the captain to the crime scene, let us know whatever you guys find. Rossi and I are going to interview Maria Chavez' and Yulissa Tate's families. JJ, you and Reid stay here and keep going over the files."
They all nodded their understanding, and JJ, took a seat at the table as all but one of her team filed out of the room. She looked down at the file in front of her. "Okay," she began. "So the first victim was Laura Johnson, found 11 days ago in a park along the race track."
Spencer nodded. "She was nude from the waist down, and the ME confirmed that she was raped before the UnSub strangled her. She was gagged with her own underwear. She was stabbed one time, postmortem, in her uterus. The knife was left embedded in the wound."
Bile rise in her throat at that statement. "Same for both of the other women. Laura's sister was interviewed and the told Officer Langham that her sister went for a run in that park four times a week, early in the morning."
"So, it wasn't just a body dump. There was no evidence of a struggle off the track where her body was, but if he attacked her on the track itself, it's polyurethane, it wouldn't leave footprints like the dirt where she was laying. Or, he could have taken her into the woods about 20 feet off the track. It would be hard to tell if anything happened there, theres so much brush on the ground."
JJ nodded. "Bottom line, she wasn't attacked right where her body was, he moved her there."
"But he didn't move her into the woods even though it was close by, she wouldn't have been found for at least a day, possibly more."
"He wants them found," she said thoughtfully. "She wasn't posed, her eyes weren't closed, he didn't remove the gag, he didn't redress her. No remorse at all "
Spencer nodded sadly. "They never found the rest of her clothes, the UnSub must have taken them."
"What about Maria and Yulissa?"
"They were both found the same way, pants also missing. Maria Chavez was found behind a restaurant, she was walking home from work. And Yulissa Tate was found on a popular hiking trail."
"All of them were alone, and these are places that would be a part of their routines. He would have had to watch them."
"They all lived alone, it would have been easier to attack there," Spencer noted. "But I think its important to him that they're found right away."
"The first three victims were killed four days apart, but this new victim was killed only 2 days after Yulissa, assuming it's the same UnSub."
"He's escalating, he could kill again at any time."
JJ sighed, rubbing her hands over her face. They had just gotten there, and already things were getting so much worse. After a few more minutes of going over the files, they were frustrated to find that there was no more real evidence or information to go off of.
Her phone rang, startling both of them out of their concentration. She took a deep breath and answered the call.
"Hey Morgan."
"Hey, we're at the crime scene and it's definitely the same guy. She was out in the open, sports bra missing this time, gagged, one stab wound to her uterus, exactly the same as the others."
She closed her eyes, sighing. "Any idea who she is?"
"Yeah, actually. She had a lanyard on with her school ID. Her name is Elizabeth Taylor."
"Have you called Garcia?"
"I sent her the name, she should be sending you guys some information soon. Have you heard from Hotch or Rossi?"
"No, I think they're just finish up with Maria Chavez's parents, Yulissa Tate's sister should be here in a few minutes."
"Okay. Me and Prentiss are gonna stay here for a bit, take a look around, and stay with the techs while they photograph it all."
JJ nodded her head
"Okay, we'll see you when you get back."
As she hung up, she could feel a headache creeping up behind her eyes. Sighing, she pressed the ball of her hand to her eyes, closing them against the bright light of the room.
"Are you okay?" Spencer asked her.
She squinted at him, smiling softly. "Just a headache, I'll be fine. Just didn't get much sleep." That was an understatement.
His eyebrows pinched together in concern. "Are you sure? You should take something for the pain."
"I'm fine , Spence" she assured him. When he didn't look convinced, she relented a little. "If it gets any worse I promise I'll take something."
He nodded, looking a little bit satisfied at least. "Thank you."
She flushed slightly, touched by his concern for her. It was nice having people worry. She missed when Will would worry about her.
No, she wouldn't think about him, not here. Not now. She had been doing so good all day, not thinking about him, about the night before. Even though every time she moved pain coursed through her body, and she could feel the ghosts of his hands on her, she had managed to keep her composure and keep it together. She could keep doing that.
Eventually, everyone had come back to the conference room. ReId stood by the map, the rest of them seated at the table as they all discussed the days findings. There wasn't much, though, and that annoyed them all.
"What do the victims have in common?" Rossi questioned, wanting to go over everything one last time.
JJ groaned internally. She just wanted to lie down. "They didn't know each other. And their appearances are all over the places."
Emily nodded. "One is white, two of them are Hispanic, the the latest victim is black. Two are brunette, one is a redhead, one had black hair. They have different eye colors."
"They're all very active," Reid pointed out. "They all kept in shape, they worked out, 3 of them held gym memberships. And they were all attacked during some sort of physical activity."
Hotch nodded thoughtfully. "Running, hiking, walking."
"They have similar body types too. They're all quite short, and thin. They're around the same age."
"Maybe that's his type," remarked Rossi. "Maybe the hair or skin color doesn't matter to him."
They weren't able to deduce much else, at least until they had a better report on the newest victim. By now it was late, and they were all quite exhausted. Hotch dismissed them, and together they all made it over to the hotel, splitting into pairs and heading to their rooms.
JJ and Emily were quiet as they made their way into their room, both worn out. They traded turns in the shower, then got into bed. They chatted and gossiped for a bit until they both couldn't stop themselves from yawning. With no one around that she was afraid would grab her, in a quiet room with her friend, JJ found herself falling asleep quite quickly.
The next morning, she was really beginning to feel the effects of her last beating from Will. The bruises had finally settled in, and she was covered in them, she realized as she changed in the bathroom. Her chest, her stomach, her arms, and even her back, she noted as she turned around in the mirror. There were also what resembled claw marks along her backs and breasts. Will had scratched her deep enough to draw some blood.
Swallowing against the nausea rising in her, she pointedly did not study the deep, deep bruising along her hips and butt, pulling her slacks up and buttoning them closed. Even that much movement made her bite her lip, holding in a whimper.
JJ forced herself to take a deep breath, shaking her head. She could do this. She'd been doing it for years. Why was it so much harder now to pretend she was fine? Maybe Will was right, and she was just weak.
Forcing herself not to make a sound, she pulled on a long sleeve crew neck sweater that would hide any evidence of her pain, and exited into the bedroom. Sitting down on her bed, she pulled on her shoes, smiling innocently at Emily as they got ready for the day ahead of them.
"There's something we aren't seeing," Morgan said, annoyed.
"Let's go over it again," JJ suggested.
They covered all the details they had the night before. "
"The physical similarities are too much to ignore," Prentiss pointed out again. "They're all young, fit, live active lifestyles."
"A surrogate for someone else maybe? An ex-wife, or girlfriend?"
Hotch nodded. "That's very likely. And the stab wounds, they're symbolic."
"He's taking away their fertility," JJ said, looking down at a photo of Elizabeth Taylor. "Maybe he's sterile himself? Or maybe he's angry about an ex, maybe she got an abortion, had a miscarriage? And now he's punishing these women?"
"I think that's the most likely explanation," Rossi mused, nodding his head.
They all thought about that for a few moments, looking up as an officer entered the room in a hurry. "I thought I'd ought to let you know, a woman just called, said she saw the murder from yesterday on the news. Said she was out walking her dog around that time near there, and saw a man running from that direction and get into his car. She didn't get a good look at him, but she was able to tell us what kind of van he was driving."
JJ felt a flicker of hope in her heart. She dialed Penelope.
"What can I do for you, sweet cheeks?"
"Hey Pen, can you do a search for men living within 30 miles of here who drive a Chevy Express van?"
"You've got it! Just one minute."
They all waited in silence.
"Yikes, that's a long list of names. It seems that's a popular choice among delivery drivers and such businesses in Leighton."
She bit her lip. "Can you cross reference those owners and business employees, and see if any of them have gone through a divorce recently? Go back a year."
They heard quite a lot of tapping and typing on the other end.
"That definitely narrows it down, but we're still in the double digits, lovebug. I'm sorry."
JJ sighed. "Not your fault, Pen. Can you send the list anyway?"
"Can do!"
She received the list, but couldn't do much with it until they found out how to narrow it down more. So, they sat, speculating, until it was time for lunch. They all decided on a diner that sat a few buildings down from the precinct. As she looked around at the table they were all seated at, JJ found herself with a bittersweet smile on her face.
She had missed this. She had missed going out with her friends while they all talked, and laughed, and joked around. She tried to think back to the last time she had been out with the team.
There was Hotch's birthday, when they had gone out for drinks. But she hadn't enjoyed that night. Even though she wasn't drinking, she wasn't lying when she said that to Will, she'd been paranoid all night. Trying the think harder, she wasn't too surprised to realize that his birthday had been the only time she'd been out after work for nearly a year. Occasionally they had barbecues or dinner at Rossi's, but that was always on weekends, and Will and Henry were always there with her. She didn't count those.
Of course, this wasn't the first time they'd all been to lunch during a case, but she couldn't deny that this felt different. She couldn't figure out why, other than that this time she wanted to be here.
Usually she felt trapped, caged at a small table with five of the most brilliant people she knew, trying to keep her biggest secret from them. She couldn't wait to get back to the precinct, somewhere she could breathe without feeling like she needed to constantly pull up the neck of her sweater, or pull down her sleeves.
But today, she never wanted to leave this table. She knew they'd have to, but she was surprised to find that she was relaxed. She lifted her glass of soda to her lips, quirking a genuine smile smile at Reid as he caught her eye, her cheeks tinging pink as he returned it.
Why couldn't things always be like this? she wondered. She knew why, but it still killed to her to think that as soon as they got back home, once this case was over, that things had to go back to the way they were before.
And instead of relief, disappointment flooded her when it was time to pay the bill and make the walk back to the precinct. The six of them walked slowly, and she was comforted by the fact that at least she wasn't the only one not looking forward to being back in the conference room.
They all settled back into work, trying to figure out anything else. JJ studied the list that Garcia had sent over, but with nearly two dozen names, there were too many to do anything with.
It was only a few hours later that Captain James Kent walked into that conference room, that same grave look on his face. JJ sighed.
"They found another one," he informed them. "But this one's different."