It was early the next morning when Hotch's cell phone rang, waking him up. "Agent Hotchner," the answer was automatic.
"Sorry to wake you, Agent," the voice on the phone apologized. "But, this is the stare police dispatcher and I was asked to alert you that another woman's body has been found."
"What?" Hotch was now fully awake. "Where?"
"Detective Wade asked me to tell you that he will meet you and your team at the community center in approximately half an hour," the dispatcher continued.
"We'll be there," Hotch assured her.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
When the BAU team walked from their hotel over to the community center, they found that the door was already unlocked, and that the coffee maker in the conference room was plugged in and steaming.
"Good morning, Agents," Mrs. Jenkins greeted them cheerfully as they walked into the conference room. "As you can see, the coffee is almost ready and there will be some breakfast sandwiches and pastries delivered for you shortly."
"Thank you, Mrs. Jenkins," Hotch told her. "But, you didn't have to get up this early just to take care of us."
"I'm used to it," the woman laughed. "For years I taught at the local high school and I tutored students before classes started. It's hard to break an old habit like that."
"Well, Thank You!" JJ added her appreciation. "Some of us can't function properly without our daily allotment of caffeine." She looked over at Reid who was concentrating all his attention on the percolating coffee pot.
"You do know what they say about a watched pot, don't you Doctor?" Mrs. Jenkins teased the young man.
"Actually, the original saying, as ascribed to Ben Franklin, is 'A watched pot is slow to boil', Reid told her seriously as he reached for a coffee cup. "Although, scientifically, whether or not a pot is being watched has nothing to do with the speed its contents reach a boiling point. That depends on - " He stopped to take a breath and fill his cup with coffee.
"Where were you during my teaching years?" Mrs. Jenkins asked. "Having just one student like you would have made my whole career worthwhile!"
"Do you want him now?" Morgan offered. "We can send him over as soon as we are through here."
Reid stopped doctoring his coffee and turned to glare at his team mate.
"Did you spend your entire teaching career in this area?" Rossi questioned the retired teacher, effectively putting a stop to the impending squabble.
"Yes," Mrs. Jenkins told him. "My late husband grew up around here and, after we graduated from college and got married, we came back so he could take over the family farm. When he was killed in a car accident I stayed in the area, mainly because his family was here to help out with the kids while I worked."
"You never remarried?" Blake asked curiously.
"No," was the sad reply. "This is a small community with too much gossip going on. And, there never was anyone I felt I could love as much as Mike. Sometimes I think I should have moved somewhere else where I could have met more people and moved on with my life, but it is a little late for that now."
"But, if there was someone – ?" JJ persisted.
"If I thought for a second that I had another chance at love, I wouldn't hesitate for a moment," the retired teacher told her.