Chapter Two - Help

Just as the clock struck ten, Emily Prentiss finally finished the stack of case reviews that had accumulated on her desk. With the rest of the team having already headed home, it felt fitting to end her day with a glass of scotch from the well-aged bottle at the back of the cupboard. It had been a rough case, so winding down with a drink and a moment to simply breathe and reflect felt right. Unit Chief wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. Late nights filling in paperwork like it's an Olympic sport occasionally took its toll. Feeling rather disgruntled, Emily took a swig of the scotch, emptying every last drop, when her phone buzzed.

A message from JJ read, 'need everyone's help ASAP. Can we meet? You still in your office?'

Prentiss sighed the briefest of sighs, pulled herself together and began to reply, 'yeah I'm still here, what up?' not knowing what her friend and colleague was about to require ...

Approximately a minute passed by before her phone buzzed with a response, 'Need to speak in person. I'm coming over. Be there in 10'

Both puzzled and curious, Emily waited.

The nearby lift stopped and began to open with a worked-up JJ mumbling under her breath, "I need proof, he wouldn't do this without a reason, but he could have done it, wait, that's nonsense. Ahhhh."

Spying her friend, Emily sprung up from her chair to meet JJ, ushering her back into her office.

"So what's going on? Sounded pretty urgent. Everything okay?" she asked.

Prentiss barely had any time to understand what was happening before JJ started rambling, as she told about discovering Will and the dead woman. "I froze, I didn't know what to think or do. I still don't. I mean there's no way Will would do something like that. I say that and then suddenly I'm thinking 'well he doesn't look very innocent, does he?' Stood over a body with the blood on his hands. What do I do? I mean of course I want to believe him. And part of me does. There's the problem of the part of me that doesn't have any kind of proof, so how can I? I don't know, I didn't even call the cops - he is a cop! I reall-"

"Whoa, slow down. Take a breath alright!" Emily interrupted. "Exactly when was this? I know you say after you got home but how long before you came to see me?"

"Erm..maybe about an hour. To be honest I've not been thinking too straight, so it could be more. I tried to go to sleep but I couldn't. That's when I got up and called you. I need this to make sense. I need this problem solving. So much so, I had to drop the kids off with their grandparents for a little while. I felt bad waking them but I just couldn't have them around this."

"Right. Okay. I need you to calm down. Take a seat, have a drink, I'm going to round up the team. We are going to need to speak to Will and see the victim. You told him not to go anywhere? Also I realise you want this under radar but we still have to stick to protocol somewhat. You understand?"

JJ nodded, relieved that her friend was able to help her.

"Tell you what", said Emily, "It's really late so we will all get started in the morning. I'll ask Garcia to give the guys a call then. In the meantime why don't we go back to your place and I can get a better idea of what we're dealing with?"

"Sure. Thanks a lot, Emily. I'm sorry about bringing this situation to your door."

"Hey, don't even worry about it. You know I'm always here."

Emily and JJ arrived at JJ's house, eager to uncover what actually happened. The first thing to do would be to sit down with Will and finally get his version of events. Hoping to get some clarity, JJ walked over to the very place she left Will, where she was taken aback by what she saw. Or what she didn't see, for that matter. For neither he nor the body were to be seen. It was almost eerie how dead the place had become. Immediately JJ's face shifted to a look of confusion and concern.

Where had he gone?