Broken Circle
Chapter 8: Questions
"What do you make of Ria?"
JJ looks up at Reid, turning her attention away from the computer she was setting up. "Why do you ask?"
"She's quite the character. She waltzes in here, dressed in practically nothing, knowing an absurd amount of information on a rare topic, and she's so self assured. To be honest, I'm baffled by it." He pauses, taking a long draught from his coffee before continuing. "She's the same age as me, yet she has all the confidence I lack and more. She so self assured that it's hard to imagine that she has any personal demons at all. I mean, yes she was adopted by Garcia's family, but you wouldn't be able to tell without being told. She and Garcia fit perfectly as sisters. I'll be very surprised if she has any personal demons."
JJ laughs at Reid's diatribe. "Spence," she says gently, "she's not a child prodigy like you are. She's just a hard-working girl who knows where she wants to go in her life." She pauses for a second, fighting with the laptop cord. "I see myself in her actually."
Reid nearly drops his coffee. "Wha?" he sputters.
"Not in the microscopic clothing, adopted as a small child sort of way… I was driven, like her. She just happens to have a ton more confidence." She continues the fight with the cording for a few more moments before giving up. "As far as personal demons go, some people are just good at hiding them."
Placated for the moment, Reid settles into a chair, pondering the case file. "We're here in Salem, stereotypically known for being a sleepy little New England town, yet I see commerce thriving. For once in my life, I'm confused as hell. There's absolutely no connection to the real trials that occurred here back in 1690."
"Well, maybe Ria will be able to tell us what's going on here." JJ's cell phone rings shrilly. "Yeah…what…alright…" She turns back to Reid. "We've got a new scene."
"Let's go."
Meanwhile, in the morgue, Emily and Morgan are having a similar conversation.
"Hey, Morgan? What do you think of Ria?"
Morgan looks up from the body, slightly confused as to why Emily is bringing this up. "You got a problem with her?"
"She unsettles me," Emily confesses. "I've never seen so much confidence in one person." She pauses for a moment, looking at the body in order to make her thoughts coherent. "We barely know anything about her, except that she's a stripper, has an unusual degree, and related to Garcia."
Morgan nods, seeing the validity of Emily's distress. "She seems to know what she's talking about. I don't think we'll ever know anything about her, unless she willingly offers information up." He makes some mental notes about the condition of the body before continuing. "I think all her confidence comes from her profession. You can't exactly be timid if you're gonna make money in her line of work." He is interrupted by the ringing of his cell. "Morgan…yeah…alright….we'll be there."
"What's going on?"
"We've got a new scene."
Nodding their thanks to the mortician, they hurry out and drive over to the scene, picking Reid and JJ up along the way.
"It's sort of exciting to have a new scene," Reid quips from the back. "Not in the sense that we're too late to prevent another killing, but in the sense that we get to see how Ria works with a fresh scene. I'm sure she'll be able to get more information with a fresh scene."
JJ takes a sideways look at Reid. Morgan looks at him in the rearview mirror, and Emily actually turns around to face him. He senses their shock and quickly explains: "I'm quite interested in seeing how she works. I know very little about her field of study, and I'm excited to learn more. I hate the fact that there is a new victim, but maybe it's not all bad. I mean, we really don't know if there are going to be more or not. This will give Ria a chance to find that out."
When they arrive at Highland Park, there is an officer waiting to bring them along the trail. Every single professional bone in their body kicks into overdrive as they approach the scene. As they walk up, Hotch and Gideon are clearly in view, but Ria cannot be seen from their current position.
"Hotch, Gideon," Morgan calls.
The two older men turn around, and relax slightly at seeing the rest of their team. "This isn't like anything we've ever dealt with," Hotch cautions. "You can walk the scene, but leave Ria alone. I don't want us to inhibit her in her own methods."
The younger agents step into the clearing, but no amount of caution could prepare them for what lay before them.