Chapter 6
Hotch knocked on the front door of the Strauss-Jareau house after Senator Prentiss had called him, inviting him over to talk. He still found it challenging to imagine Erin Strauss married to Jennifer Jareau. He had spent a while thinking back over time, trying to remember any signs that Jennifer had given that she had known Strauss, let alone married the woman. He was pulled from his thoughts as the front door opened, revealing a pretty Afghani girl.
Hotch was mesmerised by the smile from the girl; he thought Emily was correct. She was a Persian princess, " Yasmin? I am here to see your mother; my name is Aaron. She is expecting me," he declared
"You are my Mama's boss; she has told me lots about you, Mr Aaron. Your son's name is Jack Hotchner?" replied a pleased Yasmin
Hotch grinned, recognising traits of Jennifer Jareau in her daughter as she greeted him.
"Aaron, thank you for coming; it means a lot to me, and I know Jenny hates what she has done to you; she hopes you will forgive her one day for what she did. Please come in, and I will explain everything," Smiled Erin, inviting in her suspended unit chief.
Taking the offered seat, Hotch watched in astonishment as Erin Strauss snuggled with her daughter. The woman before his eyes was not the Erin Strauss he had worked for. She was the polar opposite.
Yasmin took her mother's hand and gently squeezed, giving her approval to tell Hotch her story, "Jenny's time at the Pentagon was a backstop. She joined a special unit searching for terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. I was her FBI liaison, and we fell in love and started a relationship, but that is another story. We met Yasmin through her family; her father was a local opium producer whom Jenny had singled out as a potential asset with a good relationship with the provincial drug lord who had direct links with a terrorist group we were interested in infiltrating. The bureau sent out a special team to expedite things, and I found out the leader had arranged for Yasmin to be sold to the drug lord for him to use as he wished; her father would rise in status. She planned to turn the drug lord into her super spy. With Elizabeth's help, we got Yasmin out of Afghanistan and brought her back to the States. Neither of us was prepared to allow our sweet Persian princess to be abused by anyone. We staged things that made Yasmin's father look like he was working for coalition forces. The drug lord executed him after discovering the evidence Jenny planted. Jasmine's family were shamed by her father working for the coalition forces, and they were thrown out, losing all their family status and branded as collaborators. Jenny killed his only son to save my life that night. If they discover what happened, they are honour bound to seek retribution to try and restore their family's honour. Jenny believes Barnes ' game has to have something else involved than what she has forced her to do." Erin told the surprised Aaron Hotchner. The stoic profiler looked shocked at the revelation about his friend.
"Aaron, Jenny is so protective of Yasmin and me that she refused to allow me to resign. Knowing we had to keep Yasmin away from Linda Barnes at all costs. She accepted that she had to do what Barnes wanted to protect us all. Jenny knew Barnes wanted us both to pay for what she believed to be malicious actions directed at her. She doesn't know everything we did but has made some well-educated guesses. Neither Jenny nor I broke any laws bringing Yasmin here and adopting her. We bent many rules to almost breaking point. If Barnes whispered about me to the higher-ups, my career would be over, and I would be forced to leave in disgrace, my career and reputation in ruins. I have just been promoted to Executive assistant director of the training division." An emotional woman paused to wipe the falling tears from her cheeks
Hotch listened intently to Erin Strauss as she told him about his blonde, blue-eyed friend. The media liaison was a tigress with hidden, sharp, and dangerous claws dressed as a mild-mannered media liaison. The blonde FBI agent he thought he knew sounded more like a spy than a liaison. His analytical mind told him her skill set was a very transferable commodity; her communication skills and ability to multi-task while dealing with multiple agencies were precious and much-desired.
"Yasmin, Erin, I promised Emily I would assist her. She is terrified that Jennifer is too close and might miss something that will get her killed. Family comes first, Erin. I might disagree with how you and Jennifer handled things. As a father, I understand how important protecting Yasmin is to you both. Jennifer and I can talk once this is over," Hotch told mother and daughter.
EJ
"We have a local case in Charlottesville, Virginia. Seven female patients were seen in St Mary's ER with rapid-onset coma with hypoglycemia. Not uncommon if you are a person with type one diabetes, doctors brought this to the police's attention when they realised none of the women were diagnosed with diabetes. The first four victims died in the ICU from fatal cardiac arrhythmias. An autopsy found they had been injected with a massive dose of insulin, provoking insulin-induced severe hypoglycemia. Three victims are on life support in the ICU; doctors discovered injection sites between their big toe and first toe on their right foot.
Victim 1 Ms Sam Cornish, age 26, surgical nurse, died in ICU
Victim 2, Ms Wendy Simmons, age 23, Paramedic, died in ICU
Victim 3, Mrs Tammy Todd, age 45, lawyer, died in ICU
Victim 4 Dr Andi Taylor, age 30, ER Doctor, died in ICU
victim 5 Ms Amy Arcent, age 25, teaches kindergarten on life support in the ICU
Victim 6: Ms Elizabeth Ritch, age 22, socialite on life support in ICU
Our latest victim, Ms Clare Humphrey, age 20, trainee paramedic on life support ICU
Doctors are unsure if they can successfully treat these three women," Garcia told the team sadly.
"Our UnSub has a gender preference, but age and profession seem random. How does our UnSub choose the victims? Do they know them? Poison is usually a popular choice of a female," Morgan announced
"What type of insulin does the UnSub use? Is there anything special?" Emily asked Garcia
Checking her notes, Garcia shook her head. "No, it is a commonly available synthetic insulin widely prescribed to a person with type 1 diabetes," she answered.
"Ok, let us get going; we have a two-hour drive ahead. We will take three vehicles; SSA Rossi and Dr Reid will take one and go directly to the police station. Dr Reid, get started with your geographic profile, SSA Rossi; prepare for the first press conference you're dealing with the press on this case. Dr Blake, you are with me. We will go to the hospital. SSAs Morgan and Seaver checked the crime scenes with Special Agent Prentiss. We will reconvene at the station when we are finished with our tasks. Any questions?" JJ told her team
She was answered with "No, Ma'am" by her entire team.
"Let's go. I want to be on the road in ten minutes," She told the team. JJ watched as her team walked out of the briefing.
"This case is going to be hard and very lonely," JJ told herself; not one team member had spoken to her if not needed; they just glared at her, communicating everything they couldn't say through their eyes.
"Well, you should be used to the cold shoulder; Freya, you are the ice queen of the BAU after all," she said to herself, hoping Alex Blake would talk to her on the journey.
EJ
Emily snatched the SUV keys from Derek before he unlocked the doors. "I'm driving, handsome," smirked Emily
Everyone on the team knew Derek Morgan was a control freak who never allowed anyone else to drive the SUV, and a smirk appeared on his face after he had recovered from Emily's snatch and grab of the SUV keys. Knowing her partner's non-verbal clues, she could guess what he was about to do.
Emily raised her finger to her lips, warning Derek to stay quiet, " I swear, Derek Morgan, I will hurt you badly if you try to pull rank on me since I was demoted to a special agent by Freya. And Ashley is shotgun. You're in the back; don't even think about pulling rank on me, partner," smirked Emily.
"If you're good, Derek, I am sure we can let you choose the radio station," laughed Ashley
Shaking his head in disdain, knowing when to retreat tactically, he silently climbed into the back of the SUV. Fist bumping, the two female agents laughed at the retreating Morgan.
"What are you doing about Freya, Emily?" Derek asked after they had been on the road for a while
Glancing at Derek through her mirror, she could see the concern on his face, "Nothing I can do, Derek. I hit her, and it's all recorded in high definition. Jareau made sure of my compliance when she got Strauss and the director to sign off on her recommendations for my punishment. While on probation, she knows I will toe the line and not cause her any trouble. She knows my Achilles heals my job on this team. I won't do anything to affect that. So Special Agent Emily Prentiss will be a model agent until Freya decides to take me off probation. I want to make her pay for Hotch, Spencer, and this, but that will have to wait," Emily coldly told her partner.
"You can't tell me you haven't thought about it, Emily. I know your scheming mind too well, princess," laughed Morgan,
"I can't believe Freya had you demoted, Emily. Surely, you want to get even look at what she did to Spencer. That was entirely out of order, making him feel so miserable it took me..." abruptly stopping, Ashley hoped neither Morgan nor Prentiss had caught her slip up. Glimpsing the smirk on Emily's face told her she had heard her Freudian slip. Looking in the mirror, she saw Morgan grinning like a Cheshire cat. Ashley closed her eyes, knowing it was time to come clean to her friends. She had put her foot in it.
"You can't tell anyone, not even Garcia, please, guys." pleaded the blonde-haired agent, "If Freya or Strauss discover my relationship with Spence, she will send me to Alaska. We have been a couple for around five months now. We didn't tell you guys; Spence was terrified the higher-ups would find out and transfer me far away from him; his abandonment issues made him worry about me, making him unwell. You both know how much he worries about things. Please, I don't want to hurt Spencer," pleaded Ashley,
"Don't worry, Ashley; my lips are sealed. We only have one Judas on our team. I'm pleased for you two, but I feel as his friend, I must warn you If you hurt him, I will hurt you badly," laughed Emily
"You and pretty boy? I am happy for you, Ashley. He needs a good woman to show him the world." Morgan smiled, pleased for his two friends.
EJ
Assistant Director Linda Barnes smiled after she finished reading her text message.
The team are giving her the silent treatment, only speaking when needed to stay professional. Prentiss is very annoyed by what Jareau did to her. If you approach her, she will help you with Jareau. Offer her the ability to get back at Jareau. You won't even need to sweeten the pot to convince her.'
Leaning back against her executive leather chair, Linda Barnes smiled at her plan to ruin Erin and Jennifer Strauss-Jareau; everything was going as planned. Pulling out her burner phone, she typed a reply to her willing mole on Jareau's team.
'Good work, Prentiss. It could be a masterstroke. She wouldn't expect her best friend to stab her in the back. I will speak to her once she returns from your case. Keep to the plan.'
Hitting send, she sent her message and replaced her burner phone in her desk drawer. Since her fall from grace, Linda Barnes's career had ground to a standstill; all her high-powered friends and supporters had flown the coup, and their allegiance reallocated to the next potential FBI prospect. That was how things worked in the executive world of the bureau. Those who failed or became embarrassed were cast adrift to float all independently. It had been five long years she had been in limbo; Erin Strauss, of all people, should have known how the game was played.
Barnes walked out of her office. She had one final thing to arrange before starting her end game.
EJ
Standing at the back of the room, JJ listened to Rossi as he delivered his press briefing. The reporters seemed elated that David Rossi was doing the media liaison job for the BAU. Having such an esteemed author and founder member of the elite profiling unit had dragged out the length of the press conference; several of the reporters were massive fans of his books. Every other question asked him was about his books and future book tours.
"Paybacks a bitch, Dave; I've been fielding questions about you and your books for years since you returned to the BAU. I hope you enjoy talking about yourself." JJ smirked as she watched the senior profiler struggling to keep the anger from his voice; some questions he was being asked were cringe-worthy. The team's unit chief thought two female reporters were about to bow down to the mighty David Rossi, the king of the BAU.
"Thank you! That's all, folks," Announced a relieved Rossi as he turned to leave the gaggle of reporters. His two female fans handed him their cards, kissing him on his cheek after whispering into his ear. JJ didn't need to be a profiler to know what they had whispered to the senior agent; his smirk communicated everything loud and clear.
"Good job, Agent Rossi," smiled JJ. She walked away, knowing he wasn't going to respond. Her team was only communicating with her when necessary. She didn't like it but tolerated their behaviour, knowing she deserved it for what she had done to Hotch. She merited more but knew her friends cared profoundly about what they achieved as a member of this elite unit. She loved each of them for their professionalism. Not one member of her team would allow their hatred of her to interfere with catching their UnSub and bringing them to justice.
Rossi walked into the office the team were using to a round of applause from his fellow profilers. "Good job, Dave. You're a natural and even have your own Rossi cheerleaders. Are you going to get them a snazzy uniform to wear?" laughed Emily
Rossi smirked, showing Emily the two reporters' business cards with their cell numbers written on the back under the lipstick kiss.
"Analyst Garcia, you are on speaker with the whole team. What have you found out?" JJ asked when Garcia answered her phone
"Ma'am, everyone, our first victim, Sam Cornish, the nurse's brother, Sebastian Cornish, is a doctor working at the same hospital as his sister. He works in the emergency room. This is where things start getting funky. He was being accused of malpractice by Wendy Simmons, the paramedic victim No. 2. She blamed him for incorrectly diagnosing her patients, causing their conditions to deteriorate. She used the legal services of Tammy Todd, our lawyer, victim number 3. I found several mentions on social media about our doctor mentioning his sexuality from victim number five, our kindergarten teacher Amy Ardent; he hid his sexuality from his friends and girlfriend Lorraine Smith, a Paramedic. Sounds like a story from a trashy medical soap opera. I am still checking into our other victims to see if I can find any links to our very naughty physician." Garcia informed the team. "Anything else, Ma'am?" asked Garcia, her voice filled with contempt.
"No, thank you, Analyst Garcia. Good work," responded JJ professionally.
"Special Agent Prentiss, take Dr Blake, speak with Lorraine Smith, and see what she can tell you about her boyfriend. SSA Morgan goes with SSA Seaver to bring Dr Cornish in for a little conversation with us. He is a person of interest with knowledge and access to Insulin. Dr Reid, finish the geographic profile and add our Dr Cornish to see if you can find any link with the victims. SSA Rossi goes through all tips from the tip line. That's all. I will see you back here as soon as you finish," she told the team.
" What exactly will you be doing, Ma'am?" asked Rossi
"Working agent Rossi, you worry about the tip line," JJ replied politely to the senior agent, knowing he was trying to get a reaction from her.
EJ
Finding Lorraine Smith was on shift that afternoon, Alex and Emily walked into the ambulance station to speak to the girlfriend. Alex looked over the file of the paramedic Garcia had sent to them earlier.
" Lorraine Smith, a 30-year-old paramedic well-liked by her peers and girlfriend of Dr Cornish for three years." Alex Blake summarised the file Garcia had sent to her iPhone. They found Lorraine sitting on the steps of her ambulance, waiting for them to arrive.
"Lorraine Smith? I am Special Agent Prentiss, and this is Dr Blake. We are from the FBI's behavioural analysis unit. What can you tell us about your relationship with Dr Sebastian Cornish?" Emily asked the paramedic
A stern look appeared on the paramedic's face when Emily mentioned the doctor's name, " He is a cheating bastard; the bastard couldn't keep his dick in his pants. He had affairs with a doctor and nurse from his hospital. Dr Andi Taylor, I found him in a compromising position with her one night shift. He walked away from me when he moved in with Peter Brash, a physician's associate working in the ER. He hid his sexuality from me, Agents. He used me to appear straight. He didn't want his colleagues to know he was gay." answered an angry woman not a fan of her ex-boyfriend.
"Dr Taylor, the one recently murdered?" Alex to double-check the facts.
Alex glanced across at Emily. Dr Cornish looked like their UnSub the more they uncovered about the man; neither profiler believed in coincidence. All but two of the victims could be linked to the doctor.
The two agents thanked the paramedic as she dashed off to answer a 911 call.
"What do you think?" Alex asked as she took her seat in the SUV
"Ashley and Morgan will have an exciting talk with our Dr Cornish. I will send a quick text to them to let them know about Dr Taylor's relationship with Dr Cornish," answered Emily
EJ
Dr Cornish had happily returned to the police station to answer questions. Outwardly, the doctor looked very calm, not worried, as he sat opposite two FBI agents investigating four murders and three attempted murders. The two profilers noticed how relaxed he looked. He didn't exhibit any signs of worry or suspicion; he didn't seem to care in the world and was not concerned about being invited to the police station by the FBI.
"What can you tell us about the allegations against you by Wendy Simmons?" Ashley asked
Glaring at the blonde agent, the doctor shakes his head, " The claims were unsubstantiated. I made a few minor errors in judgment. Ms Simmons's allegations were blown out of proportion by her lawyer, who was looking for a massive payout from me. My counsel advised me not to settle and let the case go to trial. Her lawyer pushed me hard to pay before going to court." Answered the doctor
Ashley looked through her notes for a second. "Tell me about your fling with Dr AndiTaylor," the blonde agent asked. She noticed the shock in his eyes,
"I see; you think I hurt those women? I didn't agent Andi was carrying my child; unfortunately, she miscarried after she fell at work. She was devastated when she lost our baby; helping Andi through her grief made me realise my sexuality didn't matter in the grand scheme. I decided to admit my feelings for Peter and leave the closet. Andi helped me come to terms with my sexuality, Agents." replied the doctor, angry when he realised he was a suspect.
"You have access to insulin doctor and the knowledge and training to administer the fatal dose. Three of the victims were known to you, and one victim filed a malpractice lawsuit against you. Is it just a coincidence that Wendy Simmons and her lawyer Tammy Todd died after being injected with insulin?" asked Morgan. "Stops the lawsuit against you, just a coincidence?" he asked.
The look of disgust on the physician's face answered his question. "I have the training and access to insulin, as does every doctor, nurse and paramedic in this hospital. I did not do this agent. You're going to find it difficult to prove I did this. I suggest you try looking somewhere else," answered a disgusted Doctor.
"Tell me about your ex-girlfriend Lorraine Smith, doctor," Ashley asked, playing a hunch she had after listening to the doctor.
"I cherished my time with Lorraine and once loved her very much, agent, but I betrayed her trust. I am not proud of myself. I had several flings with female colleagues. I struggled with my sexuality until I met Peter and realised I loved him, and sleeping about, I was trying to hide my secret. Elizabeth helped me realise I was deluding myself, and she told me to listen to my heart and tell Lorraine the truth. She didn't respond well to my coming out." The doctor explained
"Elizabeth, would that be Elizabeth Ritch, one of the victims?" Ashley asked
"Yes, I know how this looks, agents. I had nothing to do with this, you must believe me? That's why I haven't asked for a lawyer. I knew Clare Humphrey, the latest victim. She shadowed me several times on shift as part of her paramedic training. Lorraine was her mentor during her training and would become her partner once she qualified from paramedic school," the doctor answered.
A knocking from the other side of the one-way mirror ended the interview.
EJ
Ashley and Derek join JJ in the observation room.
"What do you think?" Enquired JJ
"I think we need to look closely at Lorraine Smith; things precisely line up with our Doctor being the UnSub. It just doesn't feel right. He doesn't seem to be a stupid man. Why would he choose to kill women? He could easily be linked to it, and it looks manufactured to me to frame our doctor." Ashley told her boss that her gut told her the doctor didn't do it.
"Agent Morgan?"
Derek nodded in agreement with Ashley. "I agree, Ma'am; Ashley could be onto something; killing his sister has always concerned me. Why? All the other victims can be linked to the doctor for various interactions. Sam was family and had a good relationship with her brother." Morgan agreed with Ashley
JJ nodded in agreement with her two agents; pulling out her cell phone, she dialled Garcia.
"Technical Analyst Garcia, Ma'am, how can I help?" asked Garcia coldly
"Analyst Garcia, please take a deep dive into Paramedic Lorraine Smith. I would like you to check if she was on shift for each attack and check on the location of her ambulance GPS tracker. I will get permission for you to access their inventory management system so you can check on their inventory of insulin, including when it was issued to individual paramedics and the frequency of issues. Check their station against the city to see if issue rates are higher than average." asked JJ
"I can do a thing, Ma'am, to save having to ask," answered Garcia
"No! Analyst Garcia, you will wait for my permission. Do you not think a switched-on defence attorney would notice how quickly we attained the information without prior consent or an accredited search warrant? We will do things by the book in my unit. You are not a hacker any more. Let your fingers do the talking, legally. If you don't like it, I will transfer you to the computer help desk in tech support. Am I clear?" JJ warned her excitable analyst
"Crystal clear, Ma'am, with your permission, Ma'am?" answered the annoyed analyst.
"Please, Analyst Garcia," replied the blonde unit chief.
EJ
Arriving at the ambulance station where Lorraine Smith worked, Rossi manoeuvred the SUV to its parking spot. Turning to JJ, he sighed and decided he needed to talk to her; he had reached his breaking point being relegated to handling the media on this case.
"Are you trying to ruin my unit, Ma'am? Because you're doing a damn good job so far. Everything worked well before you ousted Hotch. We were successful; our team was the best, but you ruined everything. What for, not satisfied with being a liaison?" asked an unusually emotional Rossi.
Momentarily, she considered telling him everything, knowing she couldn't do so without endangering Erin and Yasmin. Jennifer always put Yasmin and Erin above all else, including her happiness. Taking a deep breath, she looked at her companion, noticing the contempt for her in Dave's eyes.
"Your Unit, Dave?" challenged JJ.
She questioned the senior profiler. His eyes narrowed as he listened, "Yes, my unit. I started this unit with Gideon. We spent years proving profiling worked and could help solve crimes and wasn't just a party trick. The Behavioural analysis unit was groundbreaking. What makes you presume it's broken and you could do better than a profiler running my unit?"
"Things changed since you started the unit agent; you're stuck in the past and haven't changed with the times. You left to write your books, and when you returned, you started as if nothing had changed. This is the modern Bureau, and the BAU needs to change with the times. You can't merely continue as you did; profiling is an excellent tool, but it is only a tool. Modernising the team is essential to keep pace with the modern world. Just face it, Agent, your baby has grown into a grown-up and surpassed the father. Better oversight of the teams, including the unit supervisors, is needed. Too many chances have been taken to bring the UnSub to justice. Catching and convicting the culprit is the most crucial thing; having their case thrown out of court due to improprieties by BAU team members is not acceptable to me. Defence attorneys had questioned the speed of access to sealed records of their clients, intimating access was gained before a search warrant had been granted. The unit's success is well renowned, but the higher-ups are questioning the methods of individuals. These mar our success rate and allow a small percentage of perpetrators to be released on technicalities to offend again. We have been lucky that more outside attention hasn't been attracted. So...Agent David Rossi, my unit will change with the times." JJ cautioned her friend.