Lead the Way - Chapter 089 - 4x22 - The Big Wheel
So the Sunday Surprise made a lot of you quite happy :) if I would've known that... Okay, to be honest: I knew it and I wouldn't have posted it any sooner, because, be honest guys, wasn't getting here fun?
Wasn't it necessary too? Some character development and some hurdles along the way. Not just because I stick but because it's more natural this way?
Well before any of you get the wrong idea, let me make one thing very clear: The remaining chapters will be a logical step forward. Meaning Emily and JJ did not suddenly discover all the secrets of communication. They have not been cured of their issues over night and there still are some problems ahead.
Ever since I got back from NY I have been itching to write again. And you can guess that knowing some questions will be left unanswered after chapter 111 means I'm looking at LTW S5 very longingly. However, with my current workload that is nothing but a fantasy. Hopefully, November 20th will come around just in time for me to finish my projects so that I can finally begin work on the sequel.
For now though, it's time to solve a case.
The Big Wheel, episode 22 of season 4 was written by Simon Mirren. So the Unsub and the dialogue are his, as usual. The bits you don't see in the ep are my doing.
Oh and one last thing: Savour it. Because this is the second to last episode chapter.
Lead the Way - 089 - 4x22 - The Big Wheel
JJ woke up with a sense of relief. She felt as if a paralyzing burden had been lifted of her chest and she could breathe freely for the first time in her life. She tried to remember the dream that had brought this on, but her mind was blank.
On autopilot she went to soothe Henry. He was crying. He probably was the reason she was up so early. While she held him until he calmed down JJ closed her eyes. She remembered last night now.
She had caught up to Emily just in time. She had made her promise to grow out her bangs and then she had found a suitable parking space for the FBI SUV. Meanwhile Emily had gone back to the restaurant and waited for her.
They had shared dinner and conversation. Somehow splitting up right after that timid kiss had left an uneasy silence between them. They spoke of work and cases, the Redskins and Garcia and many other things.
Afterwards Emily drove home while JJ returned the SUV. As they said goodbye they stood a little further apart than they usually would have. Both of them were too scared to make the first move and so they said good night without touching or kissing.
Neither of them had mentioned their relationship or where they were going. It had been like one of those evenings way back when Emily had first joined the team and neither her nor JJ had known that their lives were already changing forever.
JJ knew she should be happy about that. Her mother had always told her that the strongest relationships were built on friendship. It should have comforted her to know that they could always fall back on that. It didn’t.
She wanted more. She had risked everything, had stood her ground through a terrible time of being apart, resisted temptation to give in early - all because she had wanted more. She was not about to give up now. She would work on their relationship.
Just as Henry was finally calm her alarm rang and he started up again. She took him with her to turn it off and start her routine. It was time to get ready for work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michelle Watson, a real estate agent from Buffalo had been murdered. On its own that would hardly raise an eyebrow at the BAU, but the odd thing was that the murder had been filmed and the film sent to the police.
In the background a tape of another murder was playing and at the end of the footage a man’s hand wrote “HELP ME” in red. Witnesses had provided the police with the sketch of a white male, in his early thirties, with glasses.
During the briefing Emily pointed to the monitor behind her, showing the editing suite on which the Unsub had probably edited this film, as well. She looked straight at JJ who held her gaze.
Suddenly the memories of their evening together rushed over JJ like a powerful wave. She froze for a second, completely losing track of where she was.
Morgan’s voice brought her back to reality and she informed the team that in the last year alone Buffalo had seen over 700 murders. They were understaffed to deal with a potential serial killer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Garcia was used to the second briefing on the airplane, though she usually watched it on her screen. This time she was right there with them, as Hotch had asked her to come along in case they found any more videos.
While Prentiss and Reid figured out that the Unsub had edited out seven hours in his snuff film and that they wouldn’t be able to trace him back to his home, she had been multitasking again. Quickly she found that over the last ten years no less than 22 murders fitted the MO of this Unsub.
Pen noticed that JJ had been rather quiet. When she saw her at the coffee maker by herself she seized the opportunity.
“Something on your mind?” JJ turned around, looking scared.
“What? Oh, no.” She ran her fingers through her hair to hide how shaky it was. She had been thinking about that dream again. Why couldn’t she remember? “Do you want coffee?”
“No caffeine please.”
“I know.” JJ smiled and busied herself with the pot.
“It’s about Emily isn’t it?” Garcia said.
“Would you be quiet?” JJ hissed.
“Why, I thought we’d talked…” The analyst had brought her voice down to a whisper.
“There is no privacy on this plane.”
“Later, then.”
JJ looked after her friend with a sinking feeling. She hadn’t even had a chance to figure things out for herself yet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The detective on point was surprised to hear that they had come up with 22 possibly related cases. Her team had only found six. She agreed to give them full access to the medical reports. Even when Hotch barked out his orders and he, Prentiss and Morgan left barely two minutes after arriving, she didn’t say anything.
It must have been disconcerting to see someone take over her case and her precinct like this, but Detective Anderson would endure any bruised feelings as long as the women in her city were a little safer.
The footage of a woman’s murder in the background of the film that had been sent to the police had been digitized. Still thousands of viewings over the years had degraded the image considerably. When Garcia noted that the murder must have taken place twenty years ago because the woman was wearing a sweater she hadn’t seen since Flashdance, Detective Anderson smiled despite herself.
“Michelle’s highly organized, precise, light of hand… She’s left handed.” Reid concluded from the organizer left at the scene.
“How can you tell?” Anderson asked.
“The hardest point is where she starts, the lightest point is where she tails off and in her case she tails off to the right. That’s weird.”
“What?” JJ knew from experience that sometimes Reid needed someone to point out that he should explain his reasoning aloud.
“I’m not sure, but the number 29 is circled twice in red ink and it tails off to the left. Who ever wrote this is right handed.” She took the remote and pressed play. The TV in the room was set up to play the film of Michelle Watson’s murder.
“That person is right handed and “HELP ME” is written in red.”
“The Unsub wrote the circled 29,” Rossi said.
“Guys…” Garcia called for their attention. “Tomorrow is the 29th.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Walking through the crime at the scene Prentiss, Morgan and Hotch further narrowed the MO. The Unsub chose a secured, private place, without witnesses, where he didn’t have to dump the body. Clearly he had no connection whatsoever to his victims.
They also concluded that the camera had to be hidden inside the Unsub’s glasses. It was the only way to film exactly what he saw without attracting attention. By watching the film over and over the profilers determined that the Unsub had OCD.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From this Rossi, JJ, Reid and Anderson determined that this Unsub was responsible for ten of the 22 murders that had caught their eye on first glance. All of them died a year apart almost to the day, except for last year when he hadn’t killed.
It was time to hold a press conference.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I’ve missed this.”
“Me too.” Emily had to agree. Going out with Morgan had always been fun, but for some reason their last outing was months ago.
“Prentiss?”
“Morgan?” She smiled at his seriousness.
“I’ve got your back.”
“I know. Thanks.” She frowned a little and took another sip from her beer.
“That’s not what I meant.” He paused. Emily could watch him thinking this over. She knew he tried to be a good friend and she wanted to make this easier for him.
“You know.”
He exhaled.
“I know.”
“How?”
“Prentiss, we’re trained to see behavior changes and JJ is not as good at compartmentalizing as you are.”
Emily smiled at that. “So you’re okay with this?”
“I think it was long overdue. If you find you can’t work with each other being a couple we’ll have to accept that, but you have to admit working together not being a couple didn’t work well for either of you.”
“Fair enough.”
They sat quietly for a while before Derek spoke again.
“I must say, Prentiss, I don’t get it.”
“What do you mean?”
“All this time, we could have had so much fun together.”
“You and me?”
“Yeah, picking up women, sharing stories.”
“I couldn’t tell you.”
“You didn’t trust me.” He nodded grimly.
She shook her head and contemplated how she should say it.
“Remember that time, when I was new and you asked me about my weekend and I first said I didn’t want to talk about it? How you walked away and I felt I had offended you so I told you about my date and how I mentioned Kilgore Trout.”
“I remember.”
“I said: he didn’t respond. I lied to you, Morgan.”
“I would’ve understood.”
“I didn’t know you and after I lied… How could I expect your trust after that?”
“You helped clear my name in Chicago, you didn’t rat us out to Strauss, you always have my back in the field - Our friendship isn’t going to end over pronouns.” They both smiled and toasted.
“To pronouns.”
“So does she read Vonnegut?”
“JJ? No, no… she likes Twilight.”
Morgan inhaled through his teeth.
“I guess we all have our secrets then.”
“Oh yeah? What’s yours?” Prentiss asked.
“JJ is a lucky woman.”
“That’s not a secret.”
Derek laughed.
“Delusions of grandeur, ha?”
“Who said anything about delusions?” They laughed again.
Emily noticed that Morgan hadn’t shared anything personal, but she knew the feeling too well to disrespect it by asking again. The day would come when they would talk about his demons. Maybe one day they would even talk about hers. For now it was time to get back to the hotel and get some sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the morning of the 29th a woman was found wrapped in a blanket. They made the connection to their Unsub by the stab wound to the chest. She had no ID on her nor a purse or wallet, suggesting that he knew her. Her TOD was some time last night. Whatever he had planned for today was still on.
Hotch, Rossi and Morgan gave the profile to the police along with a blurry picture of a man having small cameras fitted into his glasses. The interviewed shop owner only knew him as Vincent. Hopefully with the profile and this information they would turn up a lead.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Sure does like his blondes. Not a good date though. Too stabby.”
“Less so though with Michelle Watson and the girl we found this morning.”
Emily enjoyed having Garcia along with them. She managed to make even the most gruesome things seem less terrifying.
“Every one of these murders happened during the months of spring,” the media liaison said now.
“So, spring, for the Unsub, is a stressor.”
“Hey, do you think my video was done in the spring?”
“There’s a good chance,” Emily said.
“Okay. Eighties, spring, Buffalo: search for homicides, see if I can make a connection.” Garcia was already setting up the parameters for the cross reference check.
“All of the victims, except for Michelle Watson, were killed within a year of each other,” Reid said.
“Victim number ten, Joyce Wolcott, was stabbed 32 times.”
“And then Michelle Watson was stabbed just once, two years later.”
“What’s missing from the Michelle Watson murder is any sign of rage or overkill.”
Emily didn’t have to say it. They all knew that something must have happened to change his MO, but without further input they could only guess.
“Yeah. Instead on the tape we see signs of remorse. A complete and sudden emotional change. It’s absolutely fascinating.”
“I love you Reid, but the stuff you find fascinating is sad.” JJ smiled at Garcia’s comment. How many times had she thought along the same lines?
“Okay, the woman in my video; she looks a lot like the ones on your board, don’t you think?”
“So he’s killing her over and over again,” Emily agreed.
“Maybe. I don’t know. Not my job.” Penelope’s advances in the world of profiling were immediately cut short.
“Guys there was an actual witness in the Joyce Wolcott murder.”
“A witness?”
“A boy. Her son,” Reid read from the file. Unfortunately he hadn’t been very helpful. He was blind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A man fitting their Unsub’s description had been shot during a hold up. He had stabbed one of the robbers to death. The other one described a noise he had made with his tongue. Morgan recognized it as echo location.
He had learned earlier from Stanley Wolcott that he used it to live a relatively normal life without the help of a cane. The Unsub must have heard him make that same clicking noise while standing on the porch of his house, unable to see that he had just killed Joyce.
Rossi went over the facts of the case in his mind to find any link between Stanley and the Unsub. He realized that Stan’s birthday was that day. He was the event.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The phone rang and she put it on speaker.
“Garcia. I got a name: Vincent.”
“Morgan, I’m going to need a surname, Honey.”
“She can’t remember.”
“Can you at least cross-reference Vincent’s name with all the mentor organizations in Buffalo?” Emily tried to help.
“I think we’ll get more from the video.”
“We’re running out of time.”
“Come on Garcia, we’ve got to find this kid.” They meant to cheer her on, but the technical analyst didn’t do well with people literally breathing down her neck.
“Just trust me, okay? Give me a second.”
“That’s her. That’s the woman from the film.” JJ leaned in when a news paper article popped up on the screen.
“June 5th 1983, Kim Rowlings was killed in her home. When police arrived they found her son Vincent Rowlings…” Emily couldn’t believe her eyes. “Oh Garcia!”
“Thank me when we’ve got an address.”
“Vincent was found sitting with the body of his murdered mother. Police believed that he sat with her for more than 24 hours.” Reid was already at the end of the article.
“He was only nine years old.” JJ couldn’t believe it. “He filmed his mother’s murder and hid the tape from the police all these years.”
Garcia found his driver’s license and from that his address. She forwarded it to their PDA’s.
“Tell Hotch we’re en route. I love you.” Emily and Reid left to get their Kevlar vests and join Hotch at Rowling’s apartment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JJ stared at the door with big eyes. She didn’t see it. She didn’t even see Emily and Spencer leave. All she saw was her dream. She remembered it vividly now. Now she understood what that sense of relief had meant.
She understood the truth and felt lifted again. Garcia called her back to reality and she deflected her unwanted questions with a joke. While she seemed to be looking at the screen JJ’s thoughts kept going back to her dream and its meaning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As they had feared Vincent was not at home. Hotch, Reid and Prentiss were standing in an empty apartment staring at a TV that played his mother’s murder over and over again.
“Garcia I need you to conference everybody now,” Hotch ordered.
“Hotch, you got Rossi and Morgan.”
“And we’ve got Stan’s foster mother Kate here. Stanley is missing and there is blood on the window sill.” Morgan completed the list.
“Kate, did Vincent take Stan out? Was there a favorite place they liked to go?”
“A park, playground…” Rossi tried to help Kate’s memory along.
“No. Like I said I only allow him to see Stan under this roof, under my supervision. He’s been coming around more since I told him we were moving away.”
“When did you tell Vincent that?” This could be the stressor.
“Like a week ago? Why?”
JJ shot Garcia a meaningful look.
“Why?” The technical analyst didn’t pick up on what her best friend found so revealing.
“He killed Michelle Watson over a week ago,” JJ read from the evidence board.
“That must be the stressor that triggered Vincent’s behavior change.” Reid explained for Kate and Garcia.
“Kate, Vincent wrote the number 29 with a circle around it numerous times. Today is the 29th. We believe the circle may represent a specific location. They would have talked about it or he might even have taken him there before.” Emily knew the stressor would only get them this far. They had to focus on where they were going right now.
“Did Vincent talk to Stan about adventures they could take, places they could visit?”
Rossi figured that Vincent would have been too smart to plan this out loud while Kate was in the room. Maybe the answer wasn’t in their words, but in their actions.
“What are Stanley’s favorite things to do?”
“He… he just likes to make things, to build things. Vincent used to help him.”
“The construction sets?” Morgan asked, looking around. There were several finished sets in Stanley’s room. “Ferris wheel. It’s a circle.”
“When did he build this?” Emily looked at Hotch when she heard Rossi’s question. This had to be it, right? Kids liked theme parks and it would be too much of a coincidence.
“Over the last couple of months. He’s been in here every night.”
“Garcia check Buffalo and the surrounding areas for any theme parks, permanent or visiting.” Morgan barked into his phone, adrenaline pumping in his veins. They were close, he could feel it.
“Theme park just outside of Buffalo.”
“Ferris wheel?” Hotch wanted to make absolutely sure.
“Yes!”
Morgan, Rossi, Reid and Prentiss left immediately for the theme park while Hotch decided to stay behind and look at Vincent’s videos in case there were more victims or that he might come back. JJ went to tell Detective Anderson so she could join the team. They might have to secure the perimeter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They drove as far as they could before jumping out of the vehicles. It was Rossi who spotted them on the car at the top of the ferris wheel. The agents and officers moved forward and ordered the operator to get them back to the ground.
His gun drawn Morgan approached the car and took Stanley to safety. Vincent had lost consciousness on the way down from the gunshot he had suffered in the hold up. Emily watched Derek as Stanley and Kate were reunited.
‘What a terrible burden for a little boy.’ Prentiss reminded both herself and Morgan that Kate was a good mother and that she would take good care of him. He nodded and said:
“I can’t wait to get home.” Emily smiled and followed him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JJ looked for the most secluded place on the jet. When she found it she spread a blanket over her legs and put her mp3 player’s ear plugs in. She listened over and over to Run to you by Whitney Houston. Emily’s song for her. She closed her eyes and remembered her dream.
She came home to a strange apartment. But to her dream consciousness it hadn’t been strange, it had been her home. Her home where she lived with her wife and kids. She knew as one knew things while dreaming without them ever being explained or shown. She knew she was married to Emily and that they had had children.
From that knowledge had come a sense of peace and relaxation she had never felt before. She took a step forward and was in her bathroom. She was wearing pyjama’s and was ready to go to bed. She took another step forward and stood in her bedroom.
Their bedroom. Emily was already drifting off and JJ climbed in next to her. She nuzzled into her neck like she knew she did every night and said:
“I love you.”
Wasn't it necessary too? Some character development and some hurdles along the way. Not just because I stick but because it's more natural this way?
Well before any of you get the wrong idea, let me make one thing very clear: The remaining chapters will be a logical step forward. Meaning Emily and JJ did not suddenly discover all the secrets of communication. They have not been cured of their issues over night and there still are some problems ahead.
Ever since I got back from NY I have been itching to write again. And you can guess that knowing some questions will be left unanswered after chapter 111 means I'm looking at LTW S5 very longingly. However, with my current workload that is nothing but a fantasy. Hopefully, November 20th will come around just in time for me to finish my projects so that I can finally begin work on the sequel.
For now though, it's time to solve a case.
The Big Wheel, episode 22 of season 4 was written by Simon Mirren. So the Unsub and the dialogue are his, as usual. The bits you don't see in the ep are my doing.
Oh and one last thing: Savour it. Because this is the second to last episode chapter.
Lead the Way - 089 - 4x22 - The Big Wheel
JJ woke up with a sense of relief. She felt as if a paralyzing burden had been lifted of her chest and she could breathe freely for the first time in her life. She tried to remember the dream that had brought this on, but her mind was blank.
On autopilot she went to soothe Henry. He was crying. He probably was the reason she was up so early. While she held him until he calmed down JJ closed her eyes. She remembered last night now.
She had caught up to Emily just in time. She had made her promise to grow out her bangs and then she had found a suitable parking space for the FBI SUV. Meanwhile Emily had gone back to the restaurant and waited for her.
They had shared dinner and conversation. Somehow splitting up right after that timid kiss had left an uneasy silence between them. They spoke of work and cases, the Redskins and Garcia and many other things.
Afterwards Emily drove home while JJ returned the SUV. As they said goodbye they stood a little further apart than they usually would have. Both of them were too scared to make the first move and so they said good night without touching or kissing.
Neither of them had mentioned their relationship or where they were going. It had been like one of those evenings way back when Emily had first joined the team and neither her nor JJ had known that their lives were already changing forever.
JJ knew she should be happy about that. Her mother had always told her that the strongest relationships were built on friendship. It should have comforted her to know that they could always fall back on that. It didn’t.
She wanted more. She had risked everything, had stood her ground through a terrible time of being apart, resisted temptation to give in early - all because she had wanted more. She was not about to give up now. She would work on their relationship.
Just as Henry was finally calm her alarm rang and he started up again. She took him with her to turn it off and start her routine. It was time to get ready for work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michelle Watson, a real estate agent from Buffalo had been murdered. On its own that would hardly raise an eyebrow at the BAU, but the odd thing was that the murder had been filmed and the film sent to the police.
In the background a tape of another murder was playing and at the end of the footage a man’s hand wrote “HELP ME” in red. Witnesses had provided the police with the sketch of a white male, in his early thirties, with glasses.
During the briefing Emily pointed to the monitor behind her, showing the editing suite on which the Unsub had probably edited this film, as well. She looked straight at JJ who held her gaze.
Suddenly the memories of their evening together rushed over JJ like a powerful wave. She froze for a second, completely losing track of where she was.
Morgan’s voice brought her back to reality and she informed the team that in the last year alone Buffalo had seen over 700 murders. They were understaffed to deal with a potential serial killer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Garcia was used to the second briefing on the airplane, though she usually watched it on her screen. This time she was right there with them, as Hotch had asked her to come along in case they found any more videos.
While Prentiss and Reid figured out that the Unsub had edited out seven hours in his snuff film and that they wouldn’t be able to trace him back to his home, she had been multitasking again. Quickly she found that over the last ten years no less than 22 murders fitted the MO of this Unsub.
Pen noticed that JJ had been rather quiet. When she saw her at the coffee maker by herself she seized the opportunity.
“Something on your mind?” JJ turned around, looking scared.
“What? Oh, no.” She ran her fingers through her hair to hide how shaky it was. She had been thinking about that dream again. Why couldn’t she remember? “Do you want coffee?”
“No caffeine please.”
“I know.” JJ smiled and busied herself with the pot.
“It’s about Emily isn’t it?” Garcia said.
“Would you be quiet?” JJ hissed.
“Why, I thought we’d talked…” The analyst had brought her voice down to a whisper.
“There is no privacy on this plane.”
“Later, then.”
JJ looked after her friend with a sinking feeling. She hadn’t even had a chance to figure things out for herself yet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The detective on point was surprised to hear that they had come up with 22 possibly related cases. Her team had only found six. She agreed to give them full access to the medical reports. Even when Hotch barked out his orders and he, Prentiss and Morgan left barely two minutes after arriving, she didn’t say anything.
It must have been disconcerting to see someone take over her case and her precinct like this, but Detective Anderson would endure any bruised feelings as long as the women in her city were a little safer.
The footage of a woman’s murder in the background of the film that had been sent to the police had been digitized. Still thousands of viewings over the years had degraded the image considerably. When Garcia noted that the murder must have taken place twenty years ago because the woman was wearing a sweater she hadn’t seen since Flashdance, Detective Anderson smiled despite herself.
“Michelle’s highly organized, precise, light of hand… She’s left handed.” Reid concluded from the organizer left at the scene.
“How can you tell?” Anderson asked.
“The hardest point is where she starts, the lightest point is where she tails off and in her case she tails off to the right. That’s weird.”
“What?” JJ knew from experience that sometimes Reid needed someone to point out that he should explain his reasoning aloud.
“I’m not sure, but the number 29 is circled twice in red ink and it tails off to the left. Who ever wrote this is right handed.” She took the remote and pressed play. The TV in the room was set up to play the film of Michelle Watson’s murder.
“That person is right handed and “HELP ME” is written in red.”
“The Unsub wrote the circled 29,” Rossi said.
“Guys…” Garcia called for their attention. “Tomorrow is the 29th.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Walking through the crime at the scene Prentiss, Morgan and Hotch further narrowed the MO. The Unsub chose a secured, private place, without witnesses, where he didn’t have to dump the body. Clearly he had no connection whatsoever to his victims.
They also concluded that the camera had to be hidden inside the Unsub’s glasses. It was the only way to film exactly what he saw without attracting attention. By watching the film over and over the profilers determined that the Unsub had OCD.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From this Rossi, JJ, Reid and Anderson determined that this Unsub was responsible for ten of the 22 murders that had caught their eye on first glance. All of them died a year apart almost to the day, except for last year when he hadn’t killed.
It was time to hold a press conference.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I’ve missed this.”
“Me too.” Emily had to agree. Going out with Morgan had always been fun, but for some reason their last outing was months ago.
“Prentiss?”
“Morgan?” She smiled at his seriousness.
“I’ve got your back.”
“I know. Thanks.” She frowned a little and took another sip from her beer.
“That’s not what I meant.” He paused. Emily could watch him thinking this over. She knew he tried to be a good friend and she wanted to make this easier for him.
“You know.”
He exhaled.
“I know.”
“How?”
“Prentiss, we’re trained to see behavior changes and JJ is not as good at compartmentalizing as you are.”
Emily smiled at that. “So you’re okay with this?”
“I think it was long overdue. If you find you can’t work with each other being a couple we’ll have to accept that, but you have to admit working together not being a couple didn’t work well for either of you.”
“Fair enough.”
They sat quietly for a while before Derek spoke again.
“I must say, Prentiss, I don’t get it.”
“What do you mean?”
“All this time, we could have had so much fun together.”
“You and me?”
“Yeah, picking up women, sharing stories.”
“I couldn’t tell you.”
“You didn’t trust me.” He nodded grimly.
She shook her head and contemplated how she should say it.
“Remember that time, when I was new and you asked me about my weekend and I first said I didn’t want to talk about it? How you walked away and I felt I had offended you so I told you about my date and how I mentioned Kilgore Trout.”
“I remember.”
“I said: he didn’t respond. I lied to you, Morgan.”
“I would’ve understood.”
“I didn’t know you and after I lied… How could I expect your trust after that?”
“You helped clear my name in Chicago, you didn’t rat us out to Strauss, you always have my back in the field - Our friendship isn’t going to end over pronouns.” They both smiled and toasted.
“To pronouns.”
“So does she read Vonnegut?”
“JJ? No, no… she likes Twilight.”
Morgan inhaled through his teeth.
“I guess we all have our secrets then.”
“Oh yeah? What’s yours?” Prentiss asked.
“JJ is a lucky woman.”
“That’s not a secret.”
Derek laughed.
“Delusions of grandeur, ha?”
“Who said anything about delusions?” They laughed again.
Emily noticed that Morgan hadn’t shared anything personal, but she knew the feeling too well to disrespect it by asking again. The day would come when they would talk about his demons. Maybe one day they would even talk about hers. For now it was time to get back to the hotel and get some sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the morning of the 29th a woman was found wrapped in a blanket. They made the connection to their Unsub by the stab wound to the chest. She had no ID on her nor a purse or wallet, suggesting that he knew her. Her TOD was some time last night. Whatever he had planned for today was still on.
Hotch, Rossi and Morgan gave the profile to the police along with a blurry picture of a man having small cameras fitted into his glasses. The interviewed shop owner only knew him as Vincent. Hopefully with the profile and this information they would turn up a lead.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Sure does like his blondes. Not a good date though. Too stabby.”
“Less so though with Michelle Watson and the girl we found this morning.”
Emily enjoyed having Garcia along with them. She managed to make even the most gruesome things seem less terrifying.
“Every one of these murders happened during the months of spring,” the media liaison said now.
“So, spring, for the Unsub, is a stressor.”
“Hey, do you think my video was done in the spring?”
“There’s a good chance,” Emily said.
“Okay. Eighties, spring, Buffalo: search for homicides, see if I can make a connection.” Garcia was already setting up the parameters for the cross reference check.
“All of the victims, except for Michelle Watson, were killed within a year of each other,” Reid said.
“Victim number ten, Joyce Wolcott, was stabbed 32 times.”
“And then Michelle Watson was stabbed just once, two years later.”
“What’s missing from the Michelle Watson murder is any sign of rage or overkill.”
Emily didn’t have to say it. They all knew that something must have happened to change his MO, but without further input they could only guess.
“Yeah. Instead on the tape we see signs of remorse. A complete and sudden emotional change. It’s absolutely fascinating.”
“I love you Reid, but the stuff you find fascinating is sad.” JJ smiled at Garcia’s comment. How many times had she thought along the same lines?
“Okay, the woman in my video; she looks a lot like the ones on your board, don’t you think?”
“So he’s killing her over and over again,” Emily agreed.
“Maybe. I don’t know. Not my job.” Penelope’s advances in the world of profiling were immediately cut short.
“Guys there was an actual witness in the Joyce Wolcott murder.”
“A witness?”
“A boy. Her son,” Reid read from the file. Unfortunately he hadn’t been very helpful. He was blind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A man fitting their Unsub’s description had been shot during a hold up. He had stabbed one of the robbers to death. The other one described a noise he had made with his tongue. Morgan recognized it as echo location.
He had learned earlier from Stanley Wolcott that he used it to live a relatively normal life without the help of a cane. The Unsub must have heard him make that same clicking noise while standing on the porch of his house, unable to see that he had just killed Joyce.
Rossi went over the facts of the case in his mind to find any link between Stanley and the Unsub. He realized that Stan’s birthday was that day. He was the event.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The phone rang and she put it on speaker.
“Garcia. I got a name: Vincent.”
“Morgan, I’m going to need a surname, Honey.”
“She can’t remember.”
“Can you at least cross-reference Vincent’s name with all the mentor organizations in Buffalo?” Emily tried to help.
“I think we’ll get more from the video.”
“We’re running out of time.”
“Come on Garcia, we’ve got to find this kid.” They meant to cheer her on, but the technical analyst didn’t do well with people literally breathing down her neck.
“Just trust me, okay? Give me a second.”
“That’s her. That’s the woman from the film.” JJ leaned in when a news paper article popped up on the screen.
“June 5th 1983, Kim Rowlings was killed in her home. When police arrived they found her son Vincent Rowlings…” Emily couldn’t believe her eyes. “Oh Garcia!”
“Thank me when we’ve got an address.”
“Vincent was found sitting with the body of his murdered mother. Police believed that he sat with her for more than 24 hours.” Reid was already at the end of the article.
“He was only nine years old.” JJ couldn’t believe it. “He filmed his mother’s murder and hid the tape from the police all these years.”
Garcia found his driver’s license and from that his address. She forwarded it to their PDA’s.
“Tell Hotch we’re en route. I love you.” Emily and Reid left to get their Kevlar vests and join Hotch at Rowling’s apartment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JJ stared at the door with big eyes. She didn’t see it. She didn’t even see Emily and Spencer leave. All she saw was her dream. She remembered it vividly now. Now she understood what that sense of relief had meant.
She understood the truth and felt lifted again. Garcia called her back to reality and she deflected her unwanted questions with a joke. While she seemed to be looking at the screen JJ’s thoughts kept going back to her dream and its meaning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As they had feared Vincent was not at home. Hotch, Reid and Prentiss were standing in an empty apartment staring at a TV that played his mother’s murder over and over again.
“Garcia I need you to conference everybody now,” Hotch ordered.
“Hotch, you got Rossi and Morgan.”
“And we’ve got Stan’s foster mother Kate here. Stanley is missing and there is blood on the window sill.” Morgan completed the list.
“Kate, did Vincent take Stan out? Was there a favorite place they liked to go?”
“A park, playground…” Rossi tried to help Kate’s memory along.
“No. Like I said I only allow him to see Stan under this roof, under my supervision. He’s been coming around more since I told him we were moving away.”
“When did you tell Vincent that?” This could be the stressor.
“Like a week ago? Why?”
JJ shot Garcia a meaningful look.
“Why?” The technical analyst didn’t pick up on what her best friend found so revealing.
“He killed Michelle Watson over a week ago,” JJ read from the evidence board.
“That must be the stressor that triggered Vincent’s behavior change.” Reid explained for Kate and Garcia.
“Kate, Vincent wrote the number 29 with a circle around it numerous times. Today is the 29th. We believe the circle may represent a specific location. They would have talked about it or he might even have taken him there before.” Emily knew the stressor would only get them this far. They had to focus on where they were going right now.
“Did Vincent talk to Stan about adventures they could take, places they could visit?”
Rossi figured that Vincent would have been too smart to plan this out loud while Kate was in the room. Maybe the answer wasn’t in their words, but in their actions.
“What are Stanley’s favorite things to do?”
“He… he just likes to make things, to build things. Vincent used to help him.”
“The construction sets?” Morgan asked, looking around. There were several finished sets in Stanley’s room. “Ferris wheel. It’s a circle.”
“When did he build this?” Emily looked at Hotch when she heard Rossi’s question. This had to be it, right? Kids liked theme parks and it would be too much of a coincidence.
“Over the last couple of months. He’s been in here every night.”
“Garcia check Buffalo and the surrounding areas for any theme parks, permanent or visiting.” Morgan barked into his phone, adrenaline pumping in his veins. They were close, he could feel it.
“Theme park just outside of Buffalo.”
“Ferris wheel?” Hotch wanted to make absolutely sure.
“Yes!”
Morgan, Rossi, Reid and Prentiss left immediately for the theme park while Hotch decided to stay behind and look at Vincent’s videos in case there were more victims or that he might come back. JJ went to tell Detective Anderson so she could join the team. They might have to secure the perimeter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They drove as far as they could before jumping out of the vehicles. It was Rossi who spotted them on the car at the top of the ferris wheel. The agents and officers moved forward and ordered the operator to get them back to the ground.
His gun drawn Morgan approached the car and took Stanley to safety. Vincent had lost consciousness on the way down from the gunshot he had suffered in the hold up. Emily watched Derek as Stanley and Kate were reunited.
‘What a terrible burden for a little boy.’ Prentiss reminded both herself and Morgan that Kate was a good mother and that she would take good care of him. He nodded and said:
“I can’t wait to get home.” Emily smiled and followed him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JJ looked for the most secluded place on the jet. When she found it she spread a blanket over her legs and put her mp3 player’s ear plugs in. She listened over and over to Run to you by Whitney Houston. Emily’s song for her. She closed her eyes and remembered her dream.
She came home to a strange apartment. But to her dream consciousness it hadn’t been strange, it had been her home. Her home where she lived with her wife and kids. She knew as one knew things while dreaming without them ever being explained or shown. She knew she was married to Emily and that they had had children.
From that knowledge had come a sense of peace and relaxation she had never felt before. She took a step forward and was in her bathroom. She was wearing pyjama’s and was ready to go to bed. She took another step forward and stood in her bedroom.
Their bedroom. Emily was already drifting off and JJ climbed in next to her. She nuzzled into her neck like she knew she did every night and said:
“I love you.”