Emily sat watching the steam rise from the overly dark coffee in the plain white mug she had managed to find lurking in one of the cupboards of the small lounge area adjacent to the bullpen. She was acutely aware of the flat screen of her phone pressed firmly to her left thigh, they had been sitting with their coffee's for only five minutes leaving Syd to stew in the quite interrogation room. Emily was aware of the time frame, she knew they couldn't dawdle for fear of running out of time but her mind was still plagued with worry over JJ. She knew whatever was happening with the blonde was serious and she probably shouldn't waste any time contacting Garcia to have the tech wizard look into the problem, but at the same Emily feared what the blonde's reaction would be upon finding out Emily had gone behind her back to intervene. Or worse still, what would her team think if Garcia found nothing threatening at all. She knew the latter was far less likely, given the circumstances but that didn't stop the thought from intrusively barging its way into her mind every now and then.
"Just do it, Emily. We're all worried, did you see Hotch? He looks like he's aged at least five years since this morning." Morgan sighed, taking a large gulp of his own coffee. He had rolled up the sleeves of his navy shirt and unbuttoned two of the three buttons that the neck adorned since arriving, probably due to the high temperatures both outside and inside. He appeared to be enjoying the warm weather at the same time, though his features still had a weary edge about them.
"I know. It's just a little more difficult than I first imagined, I've had time to weigh up the possibilities now." Emily admitted, though she reached into the pocket of her trousers and retrieved her phone nonetheless. "I think I'll pop outside and call her. Do you mind watching my coffee for a minute?"
"Of course, but you owe me." Morgan grinned and finished his own coffee with one final gulp. "Don't be too long though, 'kay?"
"Of course not, we have a suspect waiting." Emily flashed Derek a quick smile and paused for a moment, opting to take a small drink of the still hot coffee to wet her lips and mouth before leaving. It was far more bitter than she liked, but would serve to keep her energised in the coming long hours of work. With a final joking salute, Emily exited the lounge area, crossed the bullpen area by weaving through numerous groups of officers then exited through the employee door they had entered in before. There were fewer cars in the parking area now, presumably because some officers finished their shifts and others left on duty. The bright shining sun still hung quite high in the sky indicating how many hours of sunlight they still had remaining.
With a muffled sound of anxiety, Emily unlocked her phone and once again found Garcia in her contacts. Her thumb hovered over the green call button for a minute or so before Emily managed to pluck up the courage to actually start the call. The sound of ringing overpowered the ambient sounds of birds chirping and cars passing as Emily pressed the phone to her ear. It didn't take long for Penelope to answer but the few moments before the click that indicated her call had been received felt like an eternity to the anxiety-riddled agent.
"You've reached the technology goddess, what are your prayers for assistance today my love?" Penelope's bubbly voice sounded over the line. Hearing the familiar tone of voice and style of speech let out a wave of calm that rushed over Emily, calming the storm of her mind for a moment.
"Hey Pen, it's me. I need to ask a favour." Emily couldn't help the note of worry that dribbled into her speech. She could hear the rustling of clothes and the squeaking of chair wheels as Garcia rolled closer to her desk. She could practically feel the change in the blondes demeanour over the phone and she cringed internally for being the cause of the normally peppy hacker's worry and stress.
"Of course, Em. You know you only have to ask. What's wrong?"
"It's Jayje, Penelope. We're all worried and I know she talked to you and asked you not to look into it but I'm scared we'll lose her." Emily cursed herself internally as her eyes began to prickle with the threat of tears.
"You got it. I'm on it like a nerd on a collectable. Call you back when I find something. Stay safe for now though, okay? I promise you I will fix whatever is happening."
Emily allowed a small smile to work its way onto her face as the line went dead. She knew Garcia would be able to locate the source of everyone's stress, she only hoped that fixing it wouldn't hurt them all in the long run. Feeling more at ease, Emily returned her phone to her pocket and re-entered the police department. She strolled over to the lounge area and found Derek sitting right where she left him, a rather bored look on his face as he stared at the rim of Emily's cup.
"You know, you didn't need to actually stare at the cup this entire time." Emily joked, sliding back into her seat. Her mug was still warm, but considerably cooler than it had been before. With a shrug, Emily chugged the rest of her coffee down to prevent it from getting any colder. She immediately regretted the action upon feeling the liquid sloshing around in her stomach but made an effort to mask her discomfort anyway.
"I know, I just felt like it," Morgan said simply, flashing a smile that showed the pearly whites of his teeth before standing from his chair rather loudly and making his way to the door. "Let's get going then."
Emily shrugged noncommittally but made to follow the dark-eyed agent after placing her mug by the sink. It was a short walk to the interrogation rooms and Emily couldn't help allowing her eyes to sweep over the windows of the room JJ resided in hoping to see the blonde on her way past. She caught a glimpse of Jennifer standing by the door to the room with Kate's parents. It looked like she was just about finishing up and would presumably rejoin the group fairly soon which left Emily feeling elated.
When they reached the room Syd was being held in, Derek and Emily stopped at the door. They held eye contact with one another for several minutes, neither backing down before both caved and raised a first for a round of Roshambo. At the count of three, Emily threw paper and Derek threw rock effectively ending the silent debate once and for all. With a cheeky grin, Emily waved Derek away, watching for the man to disappear into the observation room before dusting off her blazer and entering the interrogation room. The lighting was dim inside and all four walls were painted with a dark brown, adding to the dank dark feeling of the room.
"How are you doing, can I get you anything to eat?" She asked, taking a step toward the fidgeting young man.
"Isn't it weird for you to offer me food?" Syd responded, one eyebrow quirked slightly. He looked like the type of guy who cared greatly for his appearance and opted to use charm and wit as opposed to muscle. His hair still sat spiked atop his head despite his detainment, indicating a more expensive brand of hair wax. He wore a plain grey v-neck shirt with standard blue jeans though Emily could see the brand label on the side of his pristine shoes.
"Oh, I wouldn't think so. If you could have any food right now what would you want?" Emily asked with a fake smile, forcing herself to keep her body language open and friendly.
"Well I would have you but I'm guessing that's off the table. How about a steak burger, fries and no beer so how about a strawberry milkshake?" Syd replied a cheeky wide grin spread across his face. He leaned back in his chair, rocking back and forth on two legs while he surveyed her.
Internally Emily cringed at the boy's lack of eloquence and opted to flash a smile and nod before leaving the room in an effort to prevent herself from saying something ridiculously stupid to the arrogant boy. She stood with her back pressed to the cold stone of the wall for a moment calming herself before Derek appeared from the observation room with a frown.
"How the heck does a guy like that manage to get laid?" Morgan asked, his face scrunched up in confusion. Emily bit back a giggle at his comment. She could comment on how he always picked up chicks with his 'confidence' approach, which could quite easily be changed to 'arrogance' approach. Shaking her head to herself she followed Derek down the hallway, only stopping to ask an officer that didn't look too busy if they could pick up two orders of food for the suspects.
Emily was pleasantly surprised to find the rest of the team sitting around two tables that had been pushed together when they once again found themselves in the main body of the department. Files lay open across the table with papers scattered around them and Hotch, Reid, Rossi and JJ all sat speaking animatedly about the case.
"Did you guys find something?" Emily asked, taking the open seat next to her blonde haired friend. The two being close wasn't exactly a rarity but the close proximity in their current predicament left Emily with a fuzzy feeling forming in her stomach and she allowed a smile to shine through on her face.
"I found out that Kate's parents have already lost a son to leukaemia which led to them being a lot more protective and educative with Kate as she was growing up. From the sounds of it, Kate is a very level-headed and logical girl. It's safe to say at this point that she wouldn't have just run off with two boys she didn't know." JJ explained, turning to smile at the two new-comers. It was a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and Emily longed for the blonde's predicament to be sorted so the stress would leave her.
"Which means we need to find the connection between them, we need to know where they met." Derek supplied, his mind working through all the facts they had gathered so far.
"Right, so Morgan you'll be coming with me we're going to check out the club that the boys named while we wait for Garcia to get back to us with more information. Rossi and Prentiss, I want you to keep working on those two, anything we can uncover that's new information will help. JJ since the parents have excused themselves for some rest and I want you to observe the interrogations with Reid." Hotch stated, laying out a solid plan for the entire team, who chorused their agreement quietly.
Hotch and Morgan left swiftly afterwards and for a brief moment, Emily tried to imagine the two fighting over who would be driving, though she doubted that would ever happen.
"So what's the deal with Jim then? Syd seems to be pretty sure of himself, he's obnoxious but he doesn't appear to come from significant wealth. He's definitely a womaniser, I feel like repeat rape and assault offences would be likely for him, but kidnapping or murder? I'm not so sure." Emily rested her elbows against the hard wood of the table and rested her chin against her hand in an attempt to find some semblance of comfort.
"Jim is quite reserved, nervous even. He hasn't spoken much yet but from what he has said it's safe to say he's not the sharpest tool in the shed. I doubt he would be the instigator but you can never be too careful." Rossi replied, sifting through the papers in front of him carefully before returning them to the beige folder they came from.
"Garcia said the two have been getting in trouble together for a while. Petty theft, assault, they even apparently set an abandoned building on fire." Reid offered, taking Rossi's cue and helping to clean up the tables.
"Right, but why would they suddenly jump to kidnapping or murder from there? That's quite a big escalation." Emily responded, her brow furrowed.
"Well they were suspected for two rapes before now, maybe it went bad this time," Reid suggested as the group began to move towards the interrogation rooms.
"Alright, Rossi do you want to keep interrogating Jim? I'll take a crack at Syd and we'll see if we can find out something that'll crack this case." Emily asked as they stopped short of the first room.
"Sounds like a plan, kid," Rossi replied, showing a crooked smile before moving over to the door. "Spencer how about you look in on me?"
"Great, I'd like to see what Jim's behaviour is like when you put some pressure on him." Spencer grinned and disappeared into the observation room, Rossi following suit only moments later.
"I guess I'll be looking in on you then, Emily." Jennifer smiled, her clear blue eyes twinkling. It was the closest to a real smile the blonde had come since that morning and feeling a small sense of victory Emily smiled back, ignoring the fluttery warm feeling blossoming in her stomach.
"I guess you will, you're in for a treat with this one." Emily joked, earning a giggle-snort from her companion, who rolled her eyes and made her way over to the observation room.
"Let's get this over with then, I'd like to get Kate home to her parents," JJ said quietly, her slim hand poised on the handle to the room.
Tearing her eyes from the radiant beauty of her companion, Emily steeled herself and composed her emotions before once again entering the dingy interrogation room. Syd turned to meet her gaze immediately upon her entering the room and she could see in the dim lighting the bags beneath his eyes indicating his lack of sleep. It shouldn't have been surprised, after all, it wasn't exactly easy to sleep in a cell but at the same time, it didn't really look like he had any other side effects of fatigue. Emily considered for a moment the possibility that the boy just had depression, or natural bags beneath his eyes as she sat down. As she studied him, she leaned more towards the possibility of him having depression.
"My name is Emily Prentiss, I'm with the FBI's behavioural analysis unit. What did you do?" Emily asked, plopping his file down onto the table before settling into the chair and levelling her gaze to meet his. She watched as he considered his options for replying.
"This, oh I had this before Friday night." He said, lifting his left hand up to wave back and forth in front of her face. The file had noted he had a lasting injury, his left hand would never be the same again, it didn't appear to bother him too much though, in fact, it seemed like he wanted to flaunt his injury.
"That isn't what I asked you, Syd," Emily responded, hardening her gaze.
"Ah, but I know what you're thinking." He laughed, arrogance painting his words.
"I highly doubt that. Wow, division one lacrosse player and you're quite obviously left-handed."
"Broke it in three places." He murmured, his fingers tapping against the cold metal top of the table.
"Oh, that sucks. I bet you are, I mean were a force. Too bad you didn't dominate the way they'd hoped though. Why not? What happened? Were you still hung up on the chapel hill rejection? I mean you told everyone you were gonna go, that's gotta sting a little right? What's the deal?" Emily continued, hoping to push a button that would reveal something interesting.
"Shouldn't you have all that information in your little file already?" He retorted, the cocky smirk faltering as his irritation increased.
"Let's see here, what does my little file say... Oh that's right, it says you cheated on your SATS and had your girlfriend do them for you, that's another hard lesson, isn't it? You can't trust anyone to keep their mouth shut. Why haven't you lawyered up yet?" Emily felt as if she had him on the ropes, she directed the conversation down a path that riled him up in the hopes he would let something slip and she felt as if it was all about to pay off.
"Because I haven't done anything! I slept with her, it was consensual. That's the last I saw her, I swear!" The exasperation was evident in his tone and Emily felt her bridge of progress crumbling beneath her feet, sending her spiralling back to square one with no solid progress. After watching him sit red-faced with his head hanging low, Emily stood up to leave, resigned to the fact she wouldn't be getting any solid information this time around.
When she stepped outside the room she found Rossi and Reid both waiting outside, JJ joined them a few moments later closing the observation room door behind her with a soft click.
"He isn't budging, he's sticking to the same story doesn't seem to matter how much pressure I put on him." Emily sighed, turning to meet a young female police officer with long brown hair tied back in a bun. She looked a little red in the face like she had been rushing and Emily graciously took the offered food from her. "Thank's for getting this for us, it should help." She said, smiling at the young woman who grinned in return, her hazel eyes sparkling.
"Glad I could help." She replied, before turning on her heel and marching off down the hallway in pursuit of another task.
"Rossi didn't make much headway with Jim either, maybe we need to change our approach," Reid suggested, worrying the strap of his brown leather satchel between his long fingers.
"Well we have the food, Rossi you could take it in for Syd and see if he actually eats, how he reacts. Maybe Jim will be more likely to slip up with me questioning him." Emily offered, her eyes drifting over to JJ, who stood clutching her elbow, her lip tucked firmly between her teeth. It was a cute look on JJ, but it also had Emily wondering what JJ was thinking about, effectively distracting her from the current conversation. She was vaguely aware of the hum of vibrations that came with Rossi's voice but didn't quite make out what he said. Tearing her eyes from Jennifer's form Emily sorted through the thoughts in her head and attempted to compose herself and re-engage in the conversation.
"Are you okay Emily? I was just saying it sounds like a good idea, we should get started. Hotch and Morgan should be back soon." Rossi repeated, his expression soft and concerned. Emily felt the beginnings of heat rising in her cheeks and nodded sharply before heading into Jim's interrogation room. She really needed to get a better grip on her attention and emotions.
Both rooms turned out to be laid out much the same but mirrored. With brown painted walls, white-grey flecked tiles, large mirror and metal table with dim lighting it provided the exact same environment. Inside this room, a camera sat atop a tripod on the table beeping periodically to indicate the low battery percentage.
"Isn't that beeping annoying? Do you know anything about video cameras?" She asked, feigning ignorance over the workings of the small machine.
"The battery is probably low," Jim responded, his brows furrowed in irritation. It seemed like it was taking some effort for him to keep still. Emily watched him with immense scrutiny, her eyes analysing his eyes and facial responses.
"Ooh, hey guys can I get another camera?" She called, her eyes still pinned on him.
"Wow." He drawled, rolling his eyes before settling them on the reflective surface past Emily's shoulder. His reactions set off that gut instinct. While Syd had been obnoxious and arrogant he had the balls to meet Emily's eyes and the fact that Jim refused to made her feel uneasy. "What is that? Roast beef?" He asked, his face scrunching up in distaste.
"Didn't anyone ask you?" Emily retorted innocently, cocking her head slightly to the right.
"No, not hungry anyway."
"Ah, I see. Neither was I until I smelt it." She chuckled, seeing his frown. "Sorry." He turned away, looking at the blank wall to the right refusing to take the bait. "So Syd has a Lexus, that's nice. Did he ever let you drive it?"
"No." His mouth straightened out into a tight thin line and his brow furrowed further.
"Yeah he's kind of a control freak, right? I met him, he seems like a jerk." She tried, taking a different approach. "It says a lot that he can eat at a time like this as well. He gets a car at sixteen but not just any car, a Lexus. I guess that's what LRB's get."
"LRB's?" He snorted, quirking one dark brown eyebrow up.
"Little rich boys."
"His dad has a car dealership."
"Do you always defend him?" She paused for a moment allowing time to answer but when it looked as if he wouldn't respond she sighed internally and resigned this route in the conversation. "Never mind, I see you have a boat. Single outboard motor, two-stroke engine. Is it fast?"
"Yeah. It gets 25 maybe 30." He replied, perking up at the question slightly. Emily took note of his reaction for later and continued her line of questioning.
"When did your family move here?"
"I dunno."
"Come on you must remember. Grade school? Middle school?" She prodded, probing for some kind of a reaction.
"Fifth grade."
"So you were ten, isn't that when you met Syd? You've known each other for a long time."
"What does any of this have to do with that girl!?" He exclaimed, his hand tapping against the metal table surface jerkingly. Emily narrowed her eyes fractionally. He refused to mention Kate by name, depersonalising her and was becoming increasingly nervous.
"You want to talk about Kate?" Emily continued, trying to tread a little more cautiously with her wording.
"I didn't know her!" He stated vehemently, his palm slapping against the table suddenly.
"You brought her up," Emily responded, raising her hands. She watched as he turned his head to the side, cracking his neck as he shifted his weight in the chair.
"I'm done." He stated, closing his lips tightly together then falling back against the backrest of the chair, his hands pressed firmly against the table. Seeing his stone face Emily decided to end the questioning there. She'd garnered enough to be suspicious of the boy, now they just needed to work with the new information.