A/N: Hope you guys are okay after that last chapter, lol. Anyway, hope you enjoy! I still don't own CM.
*the underlined words are written in the notebook
Chapter 20
JJ POV
"I still don't understand why you want to see Emily's things," Sasha said as she unlocked the door to her apartment. "I gave you her work bag. She didn't have any files or anything with her in here…"
"I understand," I told her, annoyed that she was interrogating me about this. "I just want to see her things."
As we entered the apartment, I saw Hotch giving me a confused look. I couldn't tell him why I needed to see her things. Sasha was right here. And I could not trust her. Not yet, anyway.
"It's the last room on the right," Sasha told me.
The apartment was much like Emily's. There wasn't too much character or personality. It was scary how similar they were. I walked into the bedroom and found the duffel bag on the floor.
I tried to remember where the notebook was. I opened the bag and found the hidden pocket. I sighed from relief.
I heard a knock on the door and turned around to find Hotch standing there.
"What is that?"
I gave him a short smile. "It's Emily's notebook. She puts all of her thoughts in this thing. She uh- she told me that if something ever happened to her…" I lowered my voice. "I need to find out if she had any doubts about her, too."
He nodded as if he understood what I wasn't saying. "JJ, I've worked with you long enough to know that your hunches shouldn't be ignored. You need to read to it. When we go to the first stop, I want you to stay in the car so that you can read without… anyone else knowing. Do not tell her about this."
I nodded, feeling relieved that he believed me. That I wasn't alone. I wondered if that was the opposite of how Emily felt when we decided not to help her.
Emily POV
It was like all the boxes that were stored in my brain suddenly opened. Every memory felt fresh and new. I didn't want to feel. I didn't want any of it.
"How do you feel, Mary?" Sadie asked as I felt her take my hand and squeeze it. "Are you okay?"
I shook my head over and over and over and over again. I didn't think I could be okay ever again. Not after that.
"It's okay. Charlie will be here soon. Charlie will help you get better. In no time at all, you won't remember a thing. You'll be reborn. And Charlie will raise you. And everything will be better again."
Tears bubbled up in my eyes. "So, what? Break me down so Charlie can build me back up in his own vision?"
Sadie shook her head. "No, Mary. Charlie will kill all your demons. Charlie will set you free. Charlie is going to save you."
"How do you know I need saving? How does Charlie know?" I asked her, trying to understand why I was in this position in the first place.
She simply smiled. "Charlie's been talking about you forever, Mary. Charlie's been wanting to save you for years."
JJ POV
Hotch, Delmonico, and Sasha finally left the car. I gave some BS lie that I felt nauseous. I didn't know if Sasha believed it, but she certainly didn't question me.
I pulled out the notebook from inside of my jacket and found the last page that Em wrote on.
"Something's bothering me about this case. DeCarlo and the Flynn family should not have been easy for an UnSub, or a cult, to find. I find it hard to believe that this new leader is smart enough to find out these things. Manson definitely wasn't. That isn't to say he wasn't intelligent. He was. But he killed randomly. This seems like vengeance. And I have no clue who would want to kill for Manson.
As close as the murders are to the Tate-LaBianca killings, there is something professional about these new murders. Like there is a certain amount of knowledge that the new Family has about law enforcement. I wonder if they have a connection to the police. Maybe a member was a police officer.
Sasha's been acting strangely. Of course, I believed her when she said that there was a new Family… but something isn't right. She's different than last time I was with her. She doesn't even seem angry about how things ended. It was like she didn't want to even think about it. And she was always the one that wanted to talk things through.
It's almost like she's turning all of her emotions off. Even I don't know how she's doing it. I understand before when she wanted to learn about Manson. But there's a difference between learning about your father and investigating him.
I'm going to keep watching her. She seems so… distant from everything. I'm not saying that she's apart of anything… but something isn't right."
I re-read it, just to make sure I understood her correctly. Sasha was Manson's daughter and she didn't even say anything about it.
I pulled out my phone and dialed Garcia's number.
"Quantico's Oracle, how can I help you?"
"Garcia, it's JJ. Look, can you connect me with Derek as well. I need to tell you guys something. But in private. We cannot let anyone from LAPD hear us."
"Sure thing, sweetness. I'll add him."
Derek picked up. "Hello, baby girl. How can I-"
"Derek, listen closely and listen quietly. We cannot let anyone from the LAPD hear us. I found Emily's notebook. She told me about it a while ago and anyway. There's something you guys should know. Sasha is Charles Manson's daughter."
"Oh my god," Penelope murmured.
"Look, I don't have much time. She's going to come back. But you guys need to let the others know. Secretively. If Sasha is helping the Family, we can't let her know we are on to her. Or the others. They are freakishly loyal to her and see her as a boss. PG, I need you to dig into her backstory. And look at her financials. We need to know everything about her. I hope that she isn't apart of this… but it would explain why she wasn't taken. Maybe Emily found out too much…" I saw Hotch, Delmonico, and Sasha come toward the car and I finished the conversation. "They're coming. I have to go. Stay safe and keep this between us. I'll try to tell Hotch."
I hung up and put the recorder into my pocket. I closed my eyes and pretended like I was trying to rest.
Sasha opened the door and said, "Strikeout. Nothing. You okay, Agent Jareau?"
I nodded and pretended to act normal. "Yeah. Just worried about Emily."
She made some twisted face I couldn't depict and replied, "I'm sure you are."
JJ is so brilliant and I love it. She's really the boss in this case. She's so intuitive, especially when it comes to Emily.
Thanks, guys! Only 14 more chapters to go!