Title: An Honourable Man
Pairing: Emily Prentiss/?
Rating: M for now, but not sure where it might end up.
Summary: It was just another case, just another broken resolution, that brought them to this.
Spoilers: I've only seen up to series four episode four so anything up to there is fair game.
Author's Notes: I've never written Criminal Minds Fan fiction before I have loved the show since the first episode. I've written 'Waking the Dead' and 'West Wing' fan fiction before so this seems like a natural progression. I tend to write a few chapters then post one so it may take time to update but it also means I can take on suggestions along the way.
Part Four
When Rossi and Prentiss arrived back at the local police department, there was no sign of the rest of the team. They walked through the doors, flashing their badges at the young trooper on the front desk, and finally located J.J. who was talking on the phone. She held up her hand and they waited for her to finish the conversation, each of them scanning the room, making mental notes.
J.J. finally hung up and closed her cell. "The press are on the scent, or at least one of them is. The fact it's Sunday gives me a little room but they have a deadline too."
"You can handle them," Rossi offered with a smile.
"That's what they pay me for." She slid off the desk and began to walk them towards the small office they had been assigned for the duration. "What did you get at the apartment?"
"Not much," Emily acknowledged. "The place was like a show home."
"I haven't heard from the others so I'm guessing they're still at the crime scenes," J.J. said, coming to a halt in the doorway.
Rossi scanned the room as the two women continued to wonder the whereabouts of the rest of the team. "Who's in charge?"
"That would be Officer Newstead. He took a ride out with Spence. Told me to set everything up and if there was anything I needed. . ." She rose her hands in the air and indicated the four young officers.
"Nice," Emily grinned. "There's suddenly a whole torrent of things I need."
"Shall we get started with the board," Rossi suggested gruffly, not liking the way his two colleagues were sizing up the officers.
"Don't worry, Dave, we wouldn't swap you for anyone," J.J offered, stroking his arm and glancing at her cell phone as it began to vibrate. "I need to take this." She began to pace the room, her hands gesturing as she talked into her phone.
"I'll get the coffee," Emily said, heading in search of one of the officers while Dave positioned himself in front of the board and the three photos tacked to it. "Then we can make a start on the board."
Dave nodded absently, his attention again focused completely on the case as he picked up a pen and began to make notes on the white board.
______________________
"I have some things I need to take care of. If you need me, I'll be at my desk," Newstead said, pulling the door closed firmly behind him.
The team had finally all arrived and were gathered around the small round table, waiting for Hotch to begin.
"Before we get to the crime scenes, have we got cause of death for Robin Green," he asked, making his way to stand in front of the board.
J.J. nodded, "I just got off the phone with the coroner. He wants to run a few more tests but it looks like dehydration."
"How do you die from dehydration?" Garcia asked, her voice carrying through the speaker phone on the table.
"He thinks it was salt poisoning. The unsub gave him copious amounts of salt and trace amounts of water," J.J. explained, glancing down at her notes.
Rossi rose to his feet and stood against the wall. "Drowning, suffocation, dehydration. We're talking slow, painful deaths with the victims gasping for air, begging for water. We're looking at a sadist."
"Who enjoys watching them die," Emily concluded. "But not it's sexual. There were no indicators on any of the bodies to suggest they were penetrated."
"Unless the death is how he gets off," Morgan suggested. "Are we looking at a thrill killer who's thrill is watching them suffer?"
"Robert Hansen took his victims to a secluded area, and then let them loose so he could hunt and kill them," Reid reminded. "He chronicled every chase in detail but barely detailed anything about his victims."
They waited for him to add something more, when he didn't say anything for a few minutes, Rossi spoke, his words said with certainty. "I think we're talking dump sites versus murder scenes, he's killing them somewhere else."
"What did you get at the dump site?"
Morgan shrugged, "The unsub is either local or has scouted his dump site. We're talking well off the main road on an old logging trail. Two local kids were planning a little extra circular activity and came across more than they planned."
"A little abstinence in their future then," Emily said, a grim smile on her face.
"Same is true of the other two sites, well off the main road on long deserted tracks," Reid announced. "Tire tracks were obliterated by the rain, and bodies found by accident."
"Have the locals run the witnesses?" Hotch asked, his attention on no one in particular.
Garcia's voice once more drifted through the phone line. "Upstanding citizens, no parking tickets, born and raised in Seattle."
"OK, just to be sure, Morgan, Reid head out and speak to them this afternoon. See if there's anything else they remember." Hotch turned to look at the board. "Anything from the apartment?"
"Prentiss thinks he was a throw back to the sixties," Rossi said, a bemused look on his face.
Emily swatted his arm. "All I said was he had silk sheets!"
"Seriously?" Garcia asked.
"Anyway," Rossi interrupted, noting the perturbed look cross the Unit Chief's face. "It was a bachelor pad, somewhere to take a one night stand, not a girlfriend. He wasn't looking for commitment and I doubt he ever paid for sex."
"What's the significance of them being divorced?" J.J. asked perplexed, her mind racing to similar cases. "Garcia couldn't find anything to suggest they abandoned their kids. In fact the staff all described them as devoted fathers."
Garcia continued to tap at her keyboard while she listened in. "Credit card receipts suggested they took the kids out every weekend. Moretti finished early every Wednesday to watch his son's game. Whitford was visiting colleges with his kid."
"Maybe it has more to do with them being single and available," Emily commented, turning to look at the man sitting beside her, causing the others to do the same. "Peter's secretary described him as a player. Robin's apartment certainly gave that impression."
"Why does everyone always look at me when we talk about players?" Derek moaned.
"It's because the rest of us live a life of celibacy," Rossi interjected, earning himself some raised eyebrows.
"Well clearly J.J.'s getting some," Derek scoffed, hoping to deflect the situation and failing miserably.
"Yeah right, new baby does not equal romance."
Hotch allowed the banter to continue for a few minutes, knowing that whenever they veered off they always managed to return to the case at hand. His eyes locked with Rossi's and the older man cleared his throat.
"So we have an unsub who preys on men who like having a good time. We could be looking at someone who's insecure," Emily offered, stretching her arms and shifting position.
"Jealous of those who are successful, outgoing . . ." Reid continued.
"So why those three in a city of millions?" Garcia asked. "Don't they normal have comfort zones?"
"Well, baby girl, you've been paying attention," Morgan grinned.
"His comfort zone may be the whole city, although they do tend to stay away from where they live," Reid shrugged. "As for how he's picking them. There was a serial killer in the eighties who picked his victims because he liked their voices. He'd then stalk them, until he eventually stabbed them through the vocal cords," Reid explained, his voice as normal as ever despite the image.
"So far they have nothing in common. They're from separate suburbs, use different contractors, their offices are across the city from each other," Garcia acknowledged.
"What about telesales?" Rossi asked. "Maybe the guy sells insurance, phone contracts."
"Garcia, why don't you run a chase on their incoming calls, see if anything pops up," Hotch instructed, finally taking his seat at the table.
The sound of Garcia's fingers hitting keys echoed down the phone line as she searched months of data in a matter of minutes.
"In the meanwhile we need to speak to the ex wives. Sounds like something up your alley, Dave," Hotch said with a small smile, "why don't you take J.J. and visit Mrs. Moretti, Prentiss and I will speak to Mrs. Whitford. I think we should leave Mrs Green a while. We'll can meet back here later."
__________________________________
There was always a fine line to work between working around the clock and having highly strung exhausted agents, and stopping at a reasonable hour and making sure the team were fit for duty. It also depended on his mood and how frustrated he was. For once Hotch was in a good mood and as there was little more they could do until normal office hours, he decided they should call it a day. "It's six thirty, Dave," Hotch said, the phone to his ear as Prentiss tried to negotiate the traffic. "There's a diner across the street from the department so why don't we meet up there, grab some dinner and get an early night?"
"I'd kill for a bath," Emily announced, indicating and pulling over into the empty lane. "What?" she asked, glancing at Hotch and catching his pointed look. "I was just saying."
"Do you actually need to voice everything you're thinking?"
"Yeah," she nodded, grinning.
Hotch rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the call.
"J.J. says she'll meet us there," Dave said, smiling as the young blond checked her watch. "I think she has a young man or two she wants to talk to. You'll talk to Morgan."
"My next call. Can you call and tell Garcia to call it a night, if she hasn't already."
"Consider it done."
Hotch listened to the drone of the dead tone as his friend hung up.