Disclaimer – I own nothing.
A/N – Thanks for the reviews and the story alerts!!! Make me very happy when I see the mails in my inbox!! Hope you like this chapter!
The plane ride was relatively short and was spent listening to music, reading books and looking outside the window. Once the team landed in Newark, they got into the black SUVs and headed over to Basking Ridge. You could see why New Jersey was called the Garden state once you got off the highways. The entire place was green with patches of forest and signs telling you to watch out for deer crossing. Emily smiled. She liked this kind of scenery. She felt bad that such a peaceful place was going through something quite gruesome. She wrinkled her nose in distaste.
"Something wrong Emily?" Reid asked her as he watched her smile and then express disgust.
"Oh, no. I was just think how awful it is for such a pretty place to go through something like this." Emily said, voicing her exact thoughts, which was rare for her. Reid just nodded and went back to staring out the window. If she had to pick, she felt most comfortable with Reid. He was as bad as she was socially and she didn't feel the need to be anyone but herself around him.
Derek Morgan was a different issue. She loved hanging out with him and they always had fun together, but she felt a need for him to have fun and not just her. She always ended up cracking jokes, making an effort she wouldn't usually make. She guessed it was what people did with their best friends. She didn't really have any so she had nothing to compare it to.
Hotch and JJ sat in the front. Hotch looking grim as usual. Did that man never smile? Emily couldn't figure it out. It was awkward around JJ after the "hang-out" offer. Yeesh! She couldn't believe she'd done that! They finally reached the station and they all got out.
*****
They had all gathered in the conference room with the Police Chief. He was a tall man going by the name Kenny. It was how he introduced himself.
"There have been seven cases so far. The people are becoming concerned and they have every right to be. We find the bodies in people's backyards. The victim's own backyards. It's awful because it's usually a family member finding the victims. They are usually killed coming home from work, but the last two victims were found on weekends. And the coroner said that they had been killed on the same day they were found." Kenny explained to the focused team in front of him. He was glad they had accepted his invitation. "We've increased surveillance, but we don't know when the unsub will strike or where."
"Reid? You and Rossi head over to the coroner and see what you can learn. Prentiss? You and Morgan visit the victims' families and see what you can find out about the time of the dumping and when and how they found the bodies. JJ, start the works for a press conference. Chief, if you and I can go to the latest victim's house?" Hotch asked Kenny.
"Sure." Said Kenny and with that, the team dispersed. Reid and Rossi got in first and headed out, after which the cruiser with Hotch and Kenny pulled out and Prentiss and Morgan were the last to leave. It always gave Emily a thrill when they all headed out together. It was like they were on the trail and the unsub would soon be caught.
******
Derek knocked on the first door in Liberty Ridge. The door was opened by a teenage boy who let them in after they flashed their badges.
"Mooom? The FBI is here." He yelled in no particular direction and disappeared behind a door.
A woman who was in her early forties came and introduced herself as Mary Green, wife of Brian Green, the unsub's first victim.
"Hi Mrs. Green. I'm Agent Prentiss and this is Agent Morgan. Would it be okay if we ask you a few questions?" Emily asked Mary gently.
"Sure. Please take a seat." She said gesturing to a couch and chairs. "Can I get you anything?"
"Not thank you. Mrs. Green, when did you find.." Derek asked her.
"Call me Mary. I found my husband at bout 5pm. My son was home, in the basement, playing on his X-box with his friends and I had gone out grocery shopping. I wanted to make it back before my husband got home." Mary said, trying hard not to cry.
"What time would your husband come home every day?" Emily asked her, reaching out to hold her hand in support.
"Um, at about 5. Yeah. He was usually home by then." Mary said, nodding.
"Okay. So did you go out to the back yard? That is where you found your husband right?" Derek asked Mary.
"Yes. I didn't see his car in the driveway so I put the groceries on the kitchen table and went out the back to turn the sprinklers on. Usually Brian does it, but I just.. I don't know why I went." Mary said, shuddering slightly at the memory.
"Then what happened?" Emily prompted gently.
"I saw him. He was lying on the grass. His face had blood all over it and his chest had blood on it." Mary said, breaking down.
"Because of the gunshot and the carving." Emily told Derek softly.
"Ma'am, I am so sorry to ask you this, but did you see anything before you went to the grocery store?" Derek asked.
"I don't know. I've been asking myself that for a long time now. I cannot remember. I just can't." Mary said, getting hysterical.
"Ma'am, Mary. It's okay. It's okay if you can't remember. We would like to talk to your son if that's okay. May we?" Emily said, rubbing Mary's forearm to calm the panicked woman down.
"Uh. Yeah. The police already took his statement, but I'll call him." Mary said. "Jason? Jason honey? The FBI would like to talk to you. " Mary called out. She walked up to the room and opened the door. There was no one there. "He must have gone out the window again. I'm sorry. I'll call you when he comes back. I don't know how to control him anymore. I don't know what to say." Mary said resignedly.
"Thanks Mary. Do give us a call when and if Jason would like to talk to us." Emily said, handing over her card.
******
When Derek and Emily got back to the station, it was 9pm. They had spoken to 6 families and were thoroughly saddened and disturbed. The bodies had all been dumped when there was someone was in the house, but no one had heard anything!
They dup relayed their findings to the rest of the team and the Chief. Hotch asked the team to call it a night but to be ready for a 6am start tomorrow. The unsub was striking every two days, and tomorrow was his next kill.
******
Derek sat at the bar and downed a glass of amber liquid when he looked up to see Emily join him. She sat next to him, not saying a word and ordered tequila shot. He gave her a small smile as the bartender refilled his glass and handed Emily her shot.
"Here's to getting out of here with our sanity intact." Emily toasted and downed her shot. She asked for another.
"Do you mean New Jersey or this bar?" Derek asked her as he watched her down the second shot.
"Haha. Shut up Derek. I need to get the memory of the 10 year old telling me how she found her brother on the lawn out." Emily said, asking for a third shot.
"Okay. There are other ways of doing that besides destroying your liver." Derek said, taking the shot glass away from her.
"Hey! That was mine! Gimme!" Emily exclaimed, already tipsy and leaned over Derek to get her shot from his hands.
"No. Emily! You are not going to wake up tomorrow with a hangover." Derek said, sliding her shot across the bar.
"Fine. But how am I supposed to forget? How do you deal with it Derek?" Emily asked looking at him intensely.
"Like this." Derek said and leaned. He touched his lips to hers tentatively. She put her and on his head and held him in place as she deepened the kiss. They kissed for who knows how long, before breaking for air.
"Oh. It's an effective method." Emily said, nodding.
"It was never effective before." Derek said, looking at Emily seriously. Suddenly she burst out giggling, the tequila coming into effect.
"Dance with me Derek!" She said, pulling him onto the dance floor. She was so carefree when she was tipsy. He got off the stool and pulled her close as they swayed slowly to an upbeat tune. It only seemed fitting.