The drive to Washington D.C. gave the team time to swap ideas and theorize over speaker phone before they had to interview the victims.
"OK, Hotch and Prentiss, I want you to interview Sarah Cusak and Jane Dougherty. JJ and Rossi, you interview Sherry Williams. Reid, I want you to start the geographical profile at the station and I'll compile what Garcia sends over. Everyone is to meet at the station afterwards so we can brief a profile," Morgan rattled off the assignments as they pulled into the D.C. Police station. Morgan and Reid got out and JJ jumped in with Rossi before the SUVs took off again.
Morgan led Reid into the station and out of the blustery December air. An aging, balding man met them near the door.
"I'm Detective Childs," he said, offering his right hand.
Morgan grasped it firmly, "SSA Morgan and Dr. Read. The rest of our team already headed out to interview the victims. They'll meet back up with us later."
"We really appreciate you coming. I've got a room back here for you. Agent Jareau informed me of what you'll need. We did the best we could putting it together. Sorry it isn't much," Detective Childs apologized.
"This will work great," Morgan made a point to praise Detective Childs as he walked into the small conference room. He knew that the locals sometimes had a hard time working with them. Part of his job was to make them more comfortable in order to facilitate open communication and trust.
Reid immediately went to a map hung on a wall and started poking pins into it.
Morgan opened his phone and began dialing.
Emily reached out and rapped gently on the door. A wide eyed girl sitting in the bed startled at the sound. "I'm sorry for bothering you, Ms. Dougherty. I'm Special Agent Emily Prentiss and this is Special Agent Aaron Hotchner," Emily indicated Hotch standing behind her shoulder. She stepped into the room a little and showed her badge and Hotch did likewise. "We're with the FBI. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"
The pale girl bit her trembling lip and nodded meekly. Emily's heart broke. As she drew closer to the girl and pulled a chair up beside her, she made mental notes on the damage done to the young woman. Her sapphire blue eyes were accentuated by the black and purple marks surrounding them. There was a swollen gash across the right side of her forehead and yellow and purple bruising lining the left side of her jaw. There were also a number of bruises and abrasions on her arms.
"I am so sorry for your loss," Emily started.
Hotch noticed that Emily voice wavered ever so slightly as she spoke. He mentally filed this piece of information away along with his observations from the briefing that morning as he listened intently while Emily rattled off a number of questions.
Yes, Jane had been working there for a little over 2 years; No, she had never had any conflict with any of the customers or co-workers; Yes, she was currently engaged and they were to get married in the spring, after the baby was born. Emily paused while she retrieved a tissue for Jane as a new set of tears came on. The baby was a girl and they were going to name her May, after her mother; No, she hadn't noticed anyone suspicious hanging around her home or work…
"How about anyone overly interested in you? In your pregnancy?" Emily pressed a little harder.
"No…yes…everyone is interested when you're heavy with child. I've had young children interested," the girl said through sniffles.
"You might have seen this person regularly. They always ask how you're doing and how the baby was doing. Maybe offered you a ride home or inquired about your schedule?" Emily needed Jane to get past her grief for a short while and think about those around her. If she couldn't offer them anything, then they had nowhere to start.
"Wait. There is a guy who would ask a lot of questions. Some I would even consider personal. I think his name is Danny. He comes into the restaurant a couple of times a week, usually for breakfast," Jane had a thoughtful expression on her face.
"Can you describe to me what he looks like?" Emily asked quietly, trying not to break Jane's concentration.
"Yeah. He's not too tall. About my height, I guess. Unruly brown hair. It always looks like he just rolled out of bed. Brown eyes with bushy eyebrows but no mustache or anything. His hands looked pretty rough. Like maybe he's in construction or something? Is that good?" Jane ended tentatively.
"That was great and very helpful, Jane. Thank you so much for your time," Emily handed her a business card. "If there is anything else you can think of, please don't hesitate to give me a call."
Jane took the card and nodded shyly. "Thank you," she whispered.
Emily turned to Hotch and nodded. They left the room and silently started down the hospital hall towards the exit.
When she felt that she was out of earshot, Emily turned toward Hotch, "What do you think about this Danny guy?"
Hotch raised his eyebrows quickly, a gesture Emily came to learn was his idea of a shrug. "It's possible. There isn't much to go on with just a name and a description that could describe most men in their late teens and early twenties."
"That's what I thought too. Maybe we'll have better luck with Sarah," Emily finished as they walked the rest of the way to the SUV in silence.
"What's bothering you?" Hotch asked as they climbed back into the SUV after talking to Sarah.
"What do you mean?" Emily turned to him a little aggressively.
"You don't normally react to anger this way?" As Sarah's interview progressed, Hotch had noticed that Emily became more and more agitated as Sarah became more agitated. Though still very upset, Sarah had passed into the anger stage and didn't hesitate to show it through her colorful language and large gestures.
Emily sat quietly for a moment to collect her thoughts. She silently berated herself for allowing her emotions to take over and letting Hotch see them. She admitted to herself that she had a lot of respect for Hotch while she squelched the other feelings she held for him. "I'm fine."
Hotch gave her a closer look.
Emily turned away from him, unable to withstand the intensity of his gaze. She watched his reflection in the passenger window and saw him start to reach out to her before he stopped. She felt a momentary pang of loneliness. She wanted to feel his hand on her. She wanted to feel his closeness. She quickly pushed those feelings aside though. They weren't going to help her now and would only cause her more distress.
"You know you can talk to me about anything. My door is always open," Hotch's eyes locked with her reflection's gaze. She didn't have to say anything; her eye's said it all. She was hurting and he didn't know why. His throat constricted as her pain became his because there was nothing he could do for her.
Emily broke the eye contact first but continued to sit quietly. With a slightly pained expression, Hotch turned forward in his seat and started the SUV up.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! You guys are my encouragement. I really appreciate the ideas that you have planted in my head which are causing some changes in future chapters (I hope for the better) that will make the story a little more detailed and complete.
Thank you to all of the lurkers too. :) Even if you don't review, I know you're there and appreciating the story. Please don't hesitate to speak up though. :)
Have a great day and I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Please review.