Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds
Chapter 3- One day earlier
9: 32 a.m.
JJ stood in front of the police station as half a dozen microphones were shoved in front of her face and news reporters from all over the state were firing questions faster then she could answer. She held her hands in front of her as she took in a deep breath before asking everyone to quiet down and step back so she could answer their questions individually. She delivered important parts of the profile and warned the targeted women before answering questions with practiced ease. She sighed in relief as the crowd eventually began to die down and the press conference came to an end. For now the vultures were fed.
2:26 p.m.
Reid jumped at the opportunity to help JJ get lunch for the team. It was well past noon, nearly three in the afternoon and he really needed the break. Morgan and Prentiss had been sniping at each other all morning, Hotch was overly grumpy and Rossi seemed unusually agitated. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife, and going for food seemed to be the only way to avoid it. They waited in line at the coffee shop a few doors down from the station before placing the teams order. They carried the food and coffee back and Reid silently hoped that food would lessen the tension.
8:14p.m.
Tired eyes searched through the many folders and files for the hundredth time that day as they attempted to find even the slightest clue. The room was so silent you could've heard a pin drop. When the phone began to ring six startled agents looked towards the irritating noise and waited for someone to stop it. Morgan pulled his cell phone from his pocket and once realizing it was Garcia put it on speaker phone.
"Hey baby girl, what you got for us?"
"Well after many long hours of searching I have finally found three possibles for your unsub. The first is Jamison Clark, whose wife of seventeen years left him 4 months ago for her boss. Her features are very similar to those of the victims. Second, Brett Johnson, whose wife of three years died six months ago, also fitting the profile of the victims. The last is Harvey Jacobs whose sister died 3 and a half months ago. All three men fit the profile, the rest is up to you my loves."
"Thanks Garcia," Morgan said.
"Computer genius over and out," was her reply before the connection was broken.
"Okay Rossi and Reid head over to the home of Jamison Clark, interview neighbors and anyone else in the surrounding area who might know him. Prentiss and Morgan you do the same in Brett Johnson's neighborhood and JJ and myself will go to Harvey Jacobs." With that the team was on their feet and out the door, hoping that one of these people would be the man they were looking for.
8:46 p.m.
Hotch and JJ were the first to arrive in their assigned neighborhood. The neighborhood was beautifully built as tall colonial houses lined either side of the street. Iron gates sat at the end of nearly every driveway, closed tight to ward off any intruders. They located the suspects' house before interviewing the immediate neighbors and branching out further into the neighborhood. It turns out that Harvey Jacobs sister had killed herself shortly after an ended relationship but apparently the two siblings had never been overly close. Hotch and JJ nodded their thanks before moving on to the next house, the more people they interviewed the less it looked like Harvey was their guy.
9:01 p.m.
Reid stayed close to Rossi as darkness began to fall across the small town. The dark had never been Reid's favourite thing and as the sound of night began to fill his ears the more uncomfortable he became. He jumped back startled when a bat swooped down in front of him before flying back up into a nearby tree. They talked to many of the surrounding neighbors who seemed to have little knowledge of Jamison Clark as he had mostly kept to himself over the few years he and his wife had lived there. After an hour and a half of no information, Reid and Rossi returned to the vehicle frustrated that they were unable to rule him out.
9:32 p.m.
What should have been a fifteen minute drive had turned into over an hour. First Prentiss had spotted a coffee shop and asked Morgan pleadingly to stop, and with little argument he did. After all he had had little sleep in the past few days himself. Then Morgan had taken a wrong turn and they had ended up at the end of some gravel road way out on the other end of town. By the time they had found their way back into town Prentiss had downed her coffee and now had to pee. Morgan found a second coffee shop and while Prentiss relieved herself he bought two new coffees. So after a long drive they finally arrived in Brett Johnson's neighborhood. It was an older part of town and seemingly rundown. Many of the street lights had burnt out and the few that were lit blinked every few seconds, irritating Morgan's eyes. The house that belonged to Brett Johnson was one of the nicer ones on the street but still seemed somewhat rundown and ruined. A cold breeze was blowing causing Prentiss to shiver as she wrapped both hands around her coffee to keep them warm. They walked up to the house next to Brett Johnson's and knocked hoping the owner would still be awake. A light in the living room flickered, presumably the TV. A dog barked before being shushed with a swift kick and someone answered the door. It was an older lady who answered, only pulling the door open far enough to peer through. "What is it?" she asked grumpily. "I'm missing wheel of fortune."
"Sorry to bother you ma'am, but we just have a few questions regarding your neighbor Brett Johnson," Prentiss explained as she tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. The lady eyed her suspiciously before opening the door far enough to let her visitors in.
"He ain't in any kind of trouble now is he? I always thought he was a good boy, never caused much trouble for me like the rest of the hooligans around here."
"How do you know him ma'am?"
"Enough with this ma'am, call me Charlotte," she requested as she waved them towards the living room asking them to take a seat. Most people around here know him, like a said he's a nice kid. Had a pretty wife too, she died a couple months back. Haven't seen him much since then. He used to come over and mow my lawn. They hadn't been married real long, just living in this neighborhood till they could afford to move out into the real world."
"You haven't seen him recently?" Prentiss confirmed.
Charlotte paused for a moment before shaking her head. "Nah, every once in awhile he will come by and check on his house. Losing his wife really tore him up you know." She stood then walking into the small kitchen and poured herself some whiskey before offering it to Emily and Morgan. They both reclined politely. They waited for her to seat herself again before they continued.
"What was the wife like?" Morgan questioned.
"Oh I don't know. Real quiet type, quite pretty. Died in some boating accident down on the river I think. Went to her funeral. It was one of those real sad ones, she was only like 28 I think. Brett had her dressed in this real pretty yellow sundress, she looked almost as pretty dead as she had alive." Prentiss's eyes lit up at the mention of the yellow sundress as she looked at Morgan excitedly.
"You're sure it was yellow?" Morgan wondered.
"Dam sure of it. Just cause I'm old doesn't make me incompetent of remembering things. Now do you want help or are you just here to insult me?" Charlotte wondered.
"No ma'am we were just making sure," Prentiss said. "Thanks for your time, you have been very helpful." The lady just nodded and turned back to her game show as the two agents let themselves out. Morgan rang Hotch's cell phone and waited impatiently for him to answer.
"Hotch, I think we got him."
10:14 p.m.
The rest of the team arrived and secured their vests as they prepared to enter the house of Brett Johnson. They entered the house with practiced ease and began to clear the rooms one by one.
10:32 p.m.
The house had been cleared and now all six agents stood next to each other in what appeared to be the living room. The house looked fairly normal on the inside, furnished with pictures of the young couple hanging on the walls. Spider webs filled the corners and dust covered every available surface indicating no one had lived there in some time. A diploma hung framed on the wall indicating that Brett Johnson's wife had graduated from Yale and had probably had a high power job, linking her further to the victims. Hotch dialed Garcia.
"How may I service you tonight, my pretties?" Garcia greeted.
"Garcia was there any other address listed for Brett Johnson?" Hotch asked. The other end was silent for a moment before Garcia's voice came back.
"No sir, the one I gave you earlier is the only one listed."
"Look for another property connecting to Brett Johnson. Let us know if you find anything as soon as possible."
"Sure thing boss man," and with that the conversation ended.
1:45 a.m. Virginia Present Day
Garcia's arms rested on her desk holding her head. She was sleeping soundly as the computer continued to search for another property linked to Brett Johnson. When the computer dinged alerting her that it had found something she startled awake. She looked at the newly found information before dialing Hotch.
1:48 a.m. Vicksburg, Mississippi
Hotch and the team had only returned to the hotel a short hour ago when his cell phone began to chirp from the nightstand. He reached a tired hand across, searching blindly on the nightstand before his hand grasped it. He answered with a tired 'hello'.
"Hotch, its Garcia. I found a house located along the river bank that is owned by a Stella LaValley. Stella is the grandmother of Kara Johnson, Brett's wife. Stella LaValley passed away nearly a year ago and the house was left to Kara, but the deeds haven't been changed over to Brett and Kara yet."
"Thanks Garcia, good work." Hotch let the team sleep for another short while wanting them very alert, before awaking them as they prepared to head out to the home of Brett Johnson, probable crime scene.
A/N: So we are finally on present day, the action is about to begin! I hope the case makes sense; I'm not used to writing case stuff. I was just hoping to piece together something that would lead up to present day. Thanks for reading and to those who have reviewed. Please review!