CHAPTER 61

IT'S TUESDAY, THAT'S WHAT IT IS!

"Good morning, team." Emily greeted everyone when they gathered for breakfast in a small café, right across the street from their hotel.

"The morning would be good when we finish the case and go back home, so we can sleep in our own beds." Rossi commented, feeling all of his bones ache from sleeping on the floor. The mattress had helped a bit, but it was still hard and uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry…" Emily trailed off. There was nothing she could do about it.

"On the bright side, there are no news since last night. And, right now, no news is good news for us." She added, opening a file folder and reading the case info one more time.

Every victim had gone missing on a Tuesday night and had been found dead, by the next Monday. So if the UnSub stuck to his usual routine, a girl would go missing anywhere between lunch time and midnight, that day. And since the previous victim had been dead way before she was found, that only meant that his next victim had very slim chances of survival, hours, if not minutes; unless the BAU found her immediately, which at this point sounded naïve to even think of, as they had basically no information to work with, when individualizing the killer.

It was obvious to anyone that Emily had a tremendous dark cloud of pressure, hovering inches above her head, threatening to pour down on her, if the case went badly. And she was now, more than obviously, stressing out over every little detail.

"Aah, coffee!" Reid muttered awkwardly, allowing at least one thing to make him happy – the taste of his favorite drink.

They sat there for about an hour, working, because even when they were recharging, their minds were still at work – analyzing, scheming, thinking. Emily asked to hear everyone's theory on the UnSub's motive, even if it was too early to tell. She then constructed an idea of her own, using a few of the things her colleagues have said. It was against procedure to come up with an idea and then start looking for clues to support your idea, but she was willing to let go of her initial deduction, if additional information came their way. For now, she needed to have the security blanket of an idea, in the back of her head.


"Welcome back, Agents." The Chief of Police greeted them when they walked in the police station.

He let them know that his officers were going through old case files, trying to find a link between those and this new case. Reid offered his help, being able to read quickly and to analyze words and situations better than anyone.

JJ found herself going back to her media liaison days – mentally debating whether they should go public about the case, or wait a little longer. It was Tuesday now and someone was bound to be kidnapped, if the killer stuck to his routine.

"Talk to me, JJ." Emily pulled her away for a second, noticing her odd behavior.

"Okay, don't cut my head for this, but I think we might be making a mistake by not going public. And yes, I know it was my idea and I went against your idea as a Chief and now that you backed me up, I'm backing out and-…" JJ spoke quickly.

"You're hyperventilating!" Emily put her hand on JJ's, making her stop. "Breathe!" She reminded her.

"I still believe it is better to stay quiet about the FBI being in town, but I think the general public should be notified on what is going on." JJ shrugged.

"We can't tell all women to stay at home, JJ. Coming out with a statement now would only cause massive panic. We have nothing to warn them about." Emily disagreed passionately.

"Something about this case is off…" JJ whispered.

"It's our first case after, you know…" Emily sat beside her. "And it's a huge case. A complicated one. It's normal to panic."

"Just remember that when we're out there and you freeze." JJ reminded her.

"I won't freeze…" Emily trailed off.

After a second of thinking, she realized that she was bound to freeze. It was inevitable. Everybody knew that she was going to freeze during their first case. Or maybe the second? The third? Subconsciously she knew it, too. Wasn't that why she made JJ her Assistant for the case? She trusted her on the field and she knew JJ would make the right call, when the team needs someone who is not, well, frozen.


"Uhm, guys?" Matt called out for everyone.

He had stepped out to grab himself yet another coffee from the main room, when he heard something on TV.

Everyone walked out of their own lair, listening carefully.

Somehow, the news stations have figured out that the FBI was in town and now everybody knew.

"Conference?" JJ suggested, shooting a glance at Emily.

"No." Emily said firmly. "Until we have something, our only response to this is 'No Comment'. Am I clear?"

Everyone nodded, even JJ, although hers was a very insecure nod.

An hour later, it was impossible to hold out any longer. People were now circling around the police station, screaming and demanding answers.

Assessing the situation and realizing they were now unable to do their job, since they couldn't even crack a window open, let alone go out and explore, Emily finally gave up, giving JJ the Go.

JJ then walked out and stood up at the front steps of the police station, surrounded by only policemen. She had insisted on only showing her face, while the rest of her team could still have their identity protected. It was the best compromise between both options.

She made an announcement that the FBI was in town to help investigate two recent kidnappings, saying nothing about the four victims that had already turned up, dead; thus intentionally undermining the UnSub and his actions.

"Are we sure this is the best way to handle this?" Rossi raised an eyebrow skeptically, watching JJ on Live TV, from the comfort of their little room in the police station.

"One way to find out…" Emily was holding up like a champion.

She was scared, yes, but deep down inside she had immense trust in JJ and she would not go against her decisions.

JJ mostly listened to everyone's concerns, and only spoke when asked a direct question. Even then, she aimed at turning the story into what she wanted to communicate, not what people wanted to hear.

"We do not have cause to believe that both kidnappings are connected, but just in case, we are here to assist the Bellevue police. There is no need to panic, everything is under our control." JJ ended off her speech and wanted nothing more than to get back inside and breathe.


"Agent Jareau, we would like to-…" The Police Chief spoke as he entered the FBI lair, but he did not spot JJ there.

"She's not back yet." Reid informed him while doing a crossword puzzle.

"Really?" The Police Chief questioned. "We wrapped up ten minutes ago."

"She must have stayed for some extra coverage. She does that. Or she tries to individuate the parents of the victims and then goes to talk to them. So JJ." Matt explained.

"No, no. She was very clear about this – once the press conference was over, she wanted to go back inside and not answer any more questions, not by the media, not by the people and surely not by my police officers. This was her request." The Police Chief said.

Emily sighed. Had she put a bit too much pressure on JJ by making her head of this operation?

"Well, she's not here." Tara shrugged, her eyes darting up from the victim board just for a second.

"And she's not out there either…" The Police Chief added.

"Wait, did anyone escort Agent Jareau back inside the building?" Emily asked, remembering the end of the conference.

It had been chaos. People were right in JJ's face, standing inches away. Cameras were rolling and everyone was screaming, with their hands in the air. It looked like a hard rock concert to her.

"No." The man replied.

He hadn't really thought of the fact that, despite being an FBI Agent, this woman needed an escort anyway.

Emily's heart skipped a beat. And then another one. And another one.

She turned to face the whiteboard, a tantalizing realization hitting her all of a sudden, as her eyes laid on the timeline.

When she turned to face everyone, a few seconds later, her face was pale and her lips dry.

"Wow, Emily…?" Rossi noticed that first and he took the extra few steps to go stand by her side. "What is it?"

"It's Tuesday, that's what it is!" Emily's lower lip quivered and her chest went up and down, in rhythm of her attempts to breathe.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Reid jumped out of his seat. "No, this can't be happening. No, no, no! Not JJ!" He said, his eyes about to burst.


"Who the Hell are you?"

"Why were you so interested in our operation?"

"Why were you spying on us?"

"Who do you work for?"

"Are you a damn cop?"

Those and so many other questions were being directed to a man, chained to a huge industrial pipe, in a basement, who-knows-where.

After each question, he had five seconds to reply and when he ultimately failed to do so, for all the questions, he received a punishment.

A few minutes into his interrogation, his face was purple and his lips busted. But that couldn't even compare to the hits the rest of his body had received.

And yet – he simply did not seem to care. He sat there, holding his chin up to the best of his abilities, and he'd give those bastards an evil grin after each punch.

"Narc?" Someone suggested, but he just smirked one more time.

"Oh, we love narcs around here. Last guy is still out there…" He pointed at a large water reservoir that could be seen from the tiny little window in that basement.

"Wanna go keep him company?" He laughed, pointing a gun at his hostage's forehead.

"Bet his dead ass would be much more intellectually challenging than you, bunch of low lives." The hostage finally spoke and made the three men who held him there, take turns to punish him for being so brave.

"Who do you work for?"

He did not reply. His eyes looked up at the ceiling, as if he was saying he worked for a Higher power.

"What, you a Priest or something?"

He smirked one more time. By now it was getting harder to form any shape with his busted lips, but he'd push through the pain and he'd smirk because he knew this was, ultimately, his best weapon against those men.

"Better!" He replied, this time choking a little, his gag reflex making him spit out a whole bunch of blood.

"Search him!" One of the three men commanded.

They checked his clothes. He didn't carry a phone with him and he had no personal objects, not even a wallet with a card inside. Nothing.

"Stand up!" The other man commanded and he complied, after battling some more pain in his lower abdomen.

Damn, those men knew how to punch.

"Got something!" The third man said victoriously, snatching a card from this guy's back pocket.

"Holy freaking shit, bro…"

All three men froze when they read the card.

The kidnapped guy could see the regret on their faces and he just kept on smirking like the Bad Ass Boss that he was. Oh, this was about to be very entertaining.

"Dude, what the f-…" One of them muttered again.

"No, man…this must be a mistake…"

"Shiiit…"

They were still taking turns, yet this time it wasn't about hurting the man standing before them, but regretting life and all of their recent decisions.

"What the Hell are you still smirking about!?"

"Oh, nothing. Just…enjoying this. Why? Is it forbidden for a man to enjoy another man's failure? Times three, at that." The victim said coyly.

"Man, we're dead. Should we split and just let him rot in here?"

"Don't be dumb! They'd come get him. We can't leave him here alive."

"Yeah, he's already seen our faces."

"So, we finish him off and let him have his intellectual conversation with the dude in the water?"

"Oh, you see, based on my predictions on the temperature of that water outside, it wouldn't take longer than 24, maximum 26 hours, for my body to float to the surface. And then you're really screwed, because by that time my guys will have a full on search party for me and it would be a matter of a simple laboratory analysis, before they get you and dump you right in that water, skulls smashed and all that. But my people would be smart enough to put weights on you, so that you won't float. Hey, I'm just saying…" The kidnapped guy spoke so damn calmly, as if this was an everyday thing for him.

"What kind of analysis could possibly tell people who we are?"

"DNA analysis. Your friend over there…" The kidnapped one pointed at the dumbest guy from their little crew. "He really should not have bit me earlier. His saliva is deep within that bit wound now and there is nothing you can do about it. The cold water will make my skin shrink, thus the wound would close itself and the saliva would be well preserved and ready for DNA testing when they find me. And since this is not your first criminal offence, all three of you would surely already have a record, with DNA and fingerprints, back in the National Criminal Records. It's only a matter of minutes until your ugly ass photo pops up on the screen of some low life cop." He then whistled. Out of all things he could have done, minutes before his death, this guy had the nerve to whistle to a song that he really liked.

It threw the three men off guard.

"Shit, we can't leave him here."

"We can't bring him with us! What if someone recognizes him?"

"He's right. And also wrong. I mean, people know my name, but not many have seen my face. And you three doofuses certainly did not know who you were dealing with. Are you scared yet?" The kidnapped man asked, giving them scary looks.

"No!" The guy who seemed to be in charge, replied.

"That's too bad. You really should be scared. My men like to skin our victims before they trash them. It's like…call it our ritual, our signature, if you may." The kidnapped one was surely a freak.

The three men would not confess, but they were scared out of their minds.

"How about we hit him in the head, like really hard, and leave him here and hope he'd have amnesia when he wakes up?"

"Plausible suggestion, dumb ass. However, it could really work in your favor if you were the ones faking amnesia. A very thorough study has found that 29% of dudes sentenced to life in jail had claimed memory loss and out of those only 31,4% were convicted of homicide. So, your chances at survival here are as good as your acting skills, really. Although, it is quite an old study, so I guess the percentage must have changed by now. Oh well, either way, you're screwed." The man sighed, trying to shrug but feeling a certain sharp pain.

"Who do you think you are, like, better than us?"

"Oh, I know for a fact that I am way better than you. It would have sucked to die at the hands of someone smarter. I mean, I'd be pissed. And right now…I am so not pissed at you three, idiots." The man continued speaking slowly and surely.

With every second spent in his presence, the three guys were growing more and more confused and scared.

"Alright, smart ass. We'll figure you out later. We have somewhere to be right now." The ring leader said after checking what time it was.

"Consuelo will be with you shortly. She made pasta for you." The dumb one added.

"I'm not a fan of Italy. Consuelo, however, sounds like a lady I'd love to meet." He nodded. Those guys really had no idea how stupid they were being.

After they left, he was on his own for more than half an hour. He kept glancing over to the small window on the top of the wall, wondering if there really was a body in the water, and if so – whose body was it?

After a while, he heard heavy footsteps nearing the door.

An elderly woman walked in and brought him a tray of food. There was a plate full of pasta, some orange juice and a small chocolate bar.

He took a moment to assess the situation. She was nice, she seemed nurturing. She also refused to make eye contact with him and she dared to utter no word. It all pointed to her being kept there against her own will, as well. Yet, she wasn't handcuffed, so the three men must be holding something against her.

"Hello Consuelo." He smiled at her, but she busied herself by pushing the small table closer to him and placing the tray on it, so he'd be comfortable to eat.

"Oh, so you have a grandson?" He assumed.

Everything about her actions spoke about her, taking care of a child – the way she set the table and the food choice, especially that orange juice, would surely be something she'd prepare for a toddler.

"No words." The woman said in thick Latina accent.

"They told you not to talk to me? Okay. But they never told me I cannot talk to you…" He smiled again and this time she looked at him, very briefly.

He had the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen and a very comforting smile, too. His face, even bruised, was pleasant to look at.

"What's your grandson's name?" He asked, surely hoping he'd make her speak now that he had hit a soft spot.

"Pedro."

"Beautiful name. I once knew a guy named Pedro…but you really don't want to know what happened to him…" He sighed, remembering one of his colleagues that had been killed in a very colorful manner, years ago.

"Does he have your cute dimples?" He asked and he saw a tiny smile on her face.

Oh, he was good with words and he was good with women.

"I bet he's a beautiful child. Is it your daughter's son? Or your son's son?" He asked curiously.

"My daughter, the older one. Pedro only three years old…" She said, clearly not fluent with the language they were speaking.

"I want to have a daughter too. I've always wanted that. I mean, a son would be fine too, but I've always wanted a girl. Daddy's girl, you know, I would spoil her so much. I just never really got a shot at fatherhood, with my job, my life, and yeah the fact that my wife died…it just wasn't possible for me to start a family."

His words made Consuelo tear up. Being a Latina grandma, family was everything to her.

"I have five children, two grandchildren. My husband dead too. I know pain is big." She looked down at her hands and he saw she still wore her wedding ring.

"Must have been a great man. And it must have been a great love story. I stopped wearing my wedding ring after…you know. It was a constant reminder and it was just too painful. I obviously still keep it, but I just never put it on anymore. You know, after her, I never wanted to even think of a possibility of falling in love again. And yet, life had other plans for me…"

"You love beautiful woman?" She asked.

"Wait, do you mean that in general?" He smirked, but she did not understand what his question suggested.

Even right before his death, he'd be a smug ass, a woman lover, a master schemer.

"Okay, fine. Yes, there is this one woman I've recently been out with. She's beautiful and smart, mysterious and God damn it, she's just so sexy, with that…uhhh, and those…maann she was hot…" He spoke, mentally picturing all of her assets that he left unnamed in direct speech.

"Oh, sorry." He added when he saw Consuelo blush. Apparently the woman was not used to such kind of open and honest conversations.

"Anyway. Point is, whenever we think that something in life is impossible, we just have to look at things differently. Nothing is impossible. Here, let me give you an example – Do you think you'd ever get to see Pedro again?"

"No. Three men say they kill me and Pedro's family if I no cook and care for house…"

There it was – her confession. She was clearly acting under duress. Now it was only a matter of time to win her over.

"Well, I think you have to look at it differently. What can you do to change that?" He challenged her.

"Nothing. I stay here and they not hurt my family. They have pictures of Pedro in pre-school. They go watch my daughter at work, they know where she live…"

He frowned, seeing the pain in this woman's eyes. She was innocent, she did not deserve this. There was no chance in Hell he'd be using her and then he'd dump her there. No. He'd help her out and he'd make sure those three men wouldn't even get the chance to go grab her family.

"Eat. Food getting cold." She pointed at the table and he grabbed the fork hesitantly.

"No poison. I good person. I promise." She smiled and he found it adorable how she tried so hard to form a correct sentence. Yes, she mostly failed at it, but he appreciated the effort she was putting in.

"Listen, Consuelo…what if I told you there was a way to save your family?"

"No. I am old woman, they three men with guns. They kill me if I try anything."

"You don't have to go against them. You simply have to side with me, okay?"

"But what if you bad man too?"

"I'm not a bad man. You can be sure of that. And why do women keep thinking I'm a terrorist!?" He rolled his eyes. This just kept on happening to him recently.

"Something on floor…" Consuelo grabbed the small piece of paper and seconds later it dropped back to the floor.

"Ay, Dios mio!" She yelled, in her overly dramatic way.

"No, no, no…" The man groaned. This was going so smoothly. Why did she have to notice that dumb paper?

"You bad man. Here says Louis Andrè Renard…It say Mob Boss…you a bad man like them!"

At this point, Consuelo was freaking out. She already knew the names of all three men, so this Louis guy had to be the chained dude.

"No, wait!" He called out desperately, when he saw the woman walk to the door.

"That's not my name! Come on, please, give me a chance to explain…Consuelo!?" He begged, wondering if that would be the same exact outcome if a certain other woman in his life suddenly realized who the Hell he really was. Would she let him explain? Or would she walk away?

"Consuelo!? I'm not a bad guy! Come back! Ugh, damn it." He had the advantage of Consuelo being extremely slow as she walked towards the door. That gave him a few extra seconds to regroup and to find a new strategy.

"Consuelo? I'm not a bad guy! Now, your only option is to trust me, if you ever want to see your kids and grandkids again. Okay? Please, trust me!"

"No! You Mob Boss. Card say so!"

"Ugh, I knew this stupid crap would come back and bite me in the ass one day!" He mentally cursed the day when he had those printed out. He thought he was being all tough and cool.

"Ok, hate me all you want. But before you go, will you do one thing for me?"

Consuelo stopped and turned around.

"Come back here and look me in the eyes for a whole minute. I won't talk. I'll be quiet. I promise. And I can't hurt you, I am handcuffed, see?"

He showed her the cuffs and it helped ease her down.

She was old, but her desire to keep her family safe was stronger than anything, so she walked back and sat down in front of him.

As promised, he did not speak. He just looked her in the eyes.

A minute had sounded like a very short time. But being there, looking back in his eyes, she realized how long a minute could be.

After just five seconds, she felt uncomfortable. Inevitably, she started remembering things he had told her just moments ago. And then she started to see the truth, in his eyes.

She saw the pain of a man who had lost his wife, but she also saw the love that a man felt for a new woman in his life. She saw regret, maybe for not having had children earlier in life. And then she allowed herself to imagine what a hypothetical child of his would look like – tall, slim, with a beautiful smile, amazing skin, long hair, subtle dimples when she'd smile, but most importantly – beautiful, piercing, expressive eyes. She'd be a strong girl, she would argue her way out of trouble, just like her daddy.

And then she pictured him, as a father. He'd truly spoil this girl, but she knew he would have given her amazing education in life, too. He looked like a very smart man. Also, looking at him for over forty seconds now, he did not look like a Mob Boss.

He now only had twenty seconds left, to win her over. He stood immobile and let her look into his eyes, but really, he knew she could see his soul in them, too. And this was his best weapon.

"You no bad man, Mr. Louis…" Consuelo spoke, way before the minute was over.

"You good man. You have good, pure heart. You not deserve this…" She pointed at his chains and at the visible wounds on his body.

"Consuelo, my name is Richard and I can assure you I'm not a bad man. I cannot prove it, though, unless you trust me and you play on my team, okay? I need to know that you are on my side."

The woman nodded and he exhaled with relief.

"Alright, now I need you to do something for me…" He smiled at her and she could feel that it was a genuine smile.

He then told her a few things while she sat there and kept him company as he ate his food.

"Do you remember it?" He asked later, when she was walking to the door, holding the empty tray in her hands.

"Yes!" She said proudly, reciting a whole bunch of numbers.

"Good girl. Now remember what I told you to do. And be careful."

"What if I fail?" She asked nervously.

"You won't fail. Pedro's grandma is amazing. She is his superhero, remember you told me that earlier? Well, right now I need you to be my superhero, okay? Now go out there, beautiful mamacita, and work your superhero magic for me!" He smiled and the more he did so, the more she liked him.

She nodded one more time and walked out of the basement.