It was the fourth of December. The fourth of the month only brought one thing: Daniel. We always met at the third bench from the lamppost at the local park, located exactly 1 mile from my apartment. I always took that opportunity to go for a run, missing the feeling of running on the wooded trails.
The fourth always brought feelings of both dread and hope. Those feelings only magnified when I saw the familiar black suited man sitting on the third bench. Pulling the headphones out of my ears, I slowed my pace and walked over to the bench.
"Sarah," Daniel said, his voice gruff as his eyes scanned the park.
"Daniel," I said, sitting forward. We never made eye contact.
"Anything unusual happen?"
"No."
"Sticking to the routine?"
"Yes."
"Good," he said, rummaging in his pocket.
"Any updates?"
"No, unfortunately," he said, grabbing the monthly envelope.
"What about-" I began, but before I could continue he cut me off.
"You know I can't tell you about that."
"I know," I said quietly, tucking the envelope in the waistband of my leggings. I looked at the ground, feeling tears prick at my eyes.
"You have the bag still, correct?"
"Yes."
"Good. I will see you next month unless you need something else," he said, getting up to leave.
"Thank you," I said. He didn't respond, only nodding before walking across the park.
I let out a breath as I let myself relax for a second on the bench. It was cold, so I knew I should head back soon before I froze. I looked around at the people going about their business. It happened to be a Saturday, so there were kids running around anxiously to get to their games. I smiled as little kids looked for their parents' approval after scoring a goal and parents gossiping. They were all living so normally.
I missed that.
Shaking myself from my thoughts, I stood and began to put my headphones in.
"Sarah, right?" came a voice from behind me. I felt my heart began to race as I turned around and saw a familiar face.
"Aaron? Oh, hi!" I said, almost not recognizing him in more casual attire than his typical suits.
"Out for a jog?"
"Yeah, you could say that. What about you?" I said, wondering why he was here.
"My son, Jack, you remember him?" he asked. I nodded to show that I did remember the little blonde boy. "Well, he plays on one of the soccer teams and I just got bumped up to coach."
"That's great! Well, I won't keep you from the game," I said, wanting to leave. I had seen Aaron too many times and was beginning to feel suspicious. He wasn't part of my routine.
"I'm actually waiting on the assistant coach, so no rush unless you have somewhere you need to be?" he asked. I inwardly groaned. Saturdays were technically my "deviant" day where there wasn't a set in stone routine, so I could do my grocery shopping and relaxing.
"Not exactly, but I should finish up my run and go shower," I said, saying the first thing that popped into my head.
"I understand. Have a nice-" he began but was interrupted by another man's voice
"Hotch, why on earth would they have their games this early in the morning?" I turned to see a tan man with a goatee-beard thing behind us.
"Believe me, Rossi, if I knew, I would tell you," Aaron said letting out a short laugh.
"Hotch?" I asked, intrigued by the name.
"Aaron Hotchner," Aaron said, "so feel free to join everyone else in calling me Hotch."
"Noted." I said, giving a small nod.
"Who is your friend?" The other man, Rossi, asked.
"Rossi, this is Sarah, and Sarah this is David Rossi," Hotch said. I gave David a firm handshake as he asked, "Sarah… Is there a last name to go with that?"
"Sarah Bennett," I said, giving a smile. Just as I was about to excuse myself to leave when Rossi asked me a question.
"So how does a lovely woman like you know Hotch?" I froze, inwardly cursing. I wanted nothing more than to get out of this park.
"We go to the same coffee shop and have talked a few times," Hotch said, "and Sarah was just saying how she had to leave." I gave him a grateful look, but felt slightly guilty as he assumed that I had pressing matters, when really that was not the case.
"Sorry to keep you," Rossi said.
"It's fine, but it was great to meet you and to see you again Hotch," I said, putting my headphones in and began my run back to my apartment.
Even though it was cold, it was still nice weather for running. I didn't get to run outside very much nowadays, often opting for the safety of a local gym or yoga studio. It was nice to feel the wind on my face and the sun on my skin. In a matter of minutes I found myself outside of my apartment building. I wrestled my keys out of the back pocket of my leggings before walking up the stairs to the second floor. I walked down the hall and was greeted by the familiar door. Apartment 2G. Home, I guess.
Unlocking the door and swiftly locking it behind me. I walked to the small kitchen to grab an apple out of the fridge. Biting into it, I took out the envelope and opened it. Inside was $1,000 in varying bills, no repeated serial numbers. Pushing that to the side, I searched for the important item in the envelope.
The brief.
Opening the paper, I skimmed over the contents. The same old, same old.
No leads.
No suspects.
Investigation ongoing.
I let out a sigh as I rubbed my forehead. How much longer could this investigation be considered ongoing? After all, it had been nearly three years.
Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I took the paper to the small shredder I kept by the front door for important documents like these. Watching the paper turn into thin strips, I couldn't help but think about Hotch and his friend. After all, he had been turning up more and more.
And I wasn't sure whether that was good or bad.