FF: Slow Surprise (Criminal Minds) JJ/Emily NC-17 4/13
She was late.
JJ swept her front porch clean, washed and hung clothes to dry, and gave her rugs a good beating, and still Emily Prentiss hadn't come. Hailey had already come by and picked Henry up so that the boys could go down to the river and swim and catch frogs, and still Emily Prentiss hadn't shown. JJ was working her way toward a nice fit of temper when she heard hooves and the gentle coaxing of Emily's voice.
She walked out onto the porch and stood at the rail, jaw dropping at the sight before her. “That's some shiner.”
“Would you believe,” Emily grinned, “that I got it defending a lady's honor?”
“No.”
“Then you'd be right.”
JJ fought a smile and nodded toward the extra horse being led by the reins behind Hasiba. “What's that?”
Emily looked down at the horse and then back at JJ. “If you don't know, then I may need to rethink hiring you as my foreman.”
JJ gave her a look, which only made Emily smile. “Why do you have an extra horse?”
“It's not extra. It's for you.”
“You bought me a horse?”
“I bought the ranch a horse,” Emily clarified, having already worked the speech out in her head. “Which is why I was late. Something, for which I apologize profusely.” JJ didn't seem at all impressed with the horse or the apology, so Emily continued. “Your mule is steady, but he's not fast enough for ranch work. We may only have thirty head right now, but that's not going to be for long if I have any say. So you need a horse.”
JJ eyed the dark bay quarter horse, finding that the animal was eyeing her right back. No challenge, just a mild curiosity and generally relaxed feel. The horse seemed, well, sweet. Much like the woman holding her reins and waiting expectantly for JJ to offer any comment on her not-gift. “What's her name,” JJ asked, walking forward to run her hands over the mare's long face, scratching lightly as the animal nuzzled closer, eager for a more fervent scratch.
Emily slid off Hasiba, handing JJ the reins. “Calla. It means 'beautiful' in Greek.”
JJ smiled softly, her fingers sliding against Emily's as she took the reins, their touch just a moment longer than necessary. “She is beautiful.”
Hasiba snorted and knocked the back of Emily's head with her own, drawing a startled laugh from the woman. “Not as beautiful as you Hasiba,” Prentiss soothed, turning to give the mare a hearty scratch and hug.
“What does Hasiba's name mean?”
“It's Arabic, means 'of noble birth.'“
JJ looked the Arabian in the eye and knew the name was no exaggeration. “Seems fitting enough. Where ever did you find a horse like her?”
“She was a gift, actually.” The memory brought another type of smile, and a faint blush, to Emily's cheeks.
“A lover's gift,” JJ teased gently, nudging the other woman with her shoulder.
“Something like that,” Emily conceded. “It was a token when I left French Algiers. That's over in the-”
“I know where French Algiers is,” JJ interrupted. “I teach geography, remember?”
“Right.”
“We're not all uneducated hicks out here, you know.”
“Never thought you were,” Emily said cautiously, knowing she'd strayed into a sensitive area without realizing it. “I guess I'm just accustomed to explaining it so much I've forgotten what it's like to have a conversation with someone knowledgeable.”
“Well, I wouldn't go that far. Everything I know, I've learned from books and newspapers.”
“At least you have an interest,” Emily smiled. “I can't tell you how people I've met over the years with absolutely no interest in what goes on outside of their own town, much less the whole country. The worst are the people in the government; they're the most narrow-minded of anyone when it comes to dealing with other countries.”
“Sounds like you've had some experience with politicians.”
“Not directly,” Emily answered off-handedly. “But I saw what my father had to deal with on a regular basis as an ambassador and it was enough to know that I hate politics.”
“You're father's an ambassador?”
It occurred to Emily, then, just how much she'd relaxed around JJ that she'd so easily slipped and mentioned her father. Having Aaron Hotchner recognize her name had been a stroke of fate she hadn't been prepared for, but letting the information loose herself was just foolishness. Now, there was no taking it back. “My family... we have relatives... really it's more of a symbolic designation.”
JJ couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up as Emily foundered trying to give an answer to such a simple question. “Wow, you really don't like talking about it, don't you?”
Prentiss sighed heavily. “Not particularly.”
“Then we'll just have to find something else to talk about,” JJ said kindly.
“Like what?”
JJ saddled up, settling herself comfortably on Calla. “Like these plans of yours to buy more cattle.”
Prentiss smiled up at the other woman, swinging easily up into the saddle. “Now that I can talk about for days.”
“At the rate we're going it's going to take that long just to get around the ranch.”
Emily laughed again, feeling a freedom she hadn't felt in years. “Oh, that's all right. I've been promising Hasiba a chance to stretch her legs.”
“Well, we mustn’t let her majesty down.”
Hasiba tossed her head. Calla snapped a warning bite. Their riders looked at each other. “Looks like the start of a beautiful relationship.”
*
One hundred acres. It had taken most of the day to make their way across the land, especially with JJ stopping to point out weak spots in the fences and vulnerable areas where wolves had come down out of the foothills. There was work to be done, sure, but Emily knew she'd made the right investment, especially with the federal land the ranch abutted being open for grazing.
“You got the land as a homestead?”
“We did. Built the cabin and barn, bought a few head, and got the title after about two years. But then we had a couple of nasty winters, which killed the stock off. We sold some acres here and there at the edges. Took out a mortgage to buy more stock. Sold some more land. Then little Henry came and money got real tight, so Will went to work up at the copper mine. You know the rest.”
It was like a damn Greek tragedy, Emily thought, feeling more than a little guilty about her good fortune. Or at least her parent's good fortune, which had somehow been passed to her as well.
“Why didn't you come out and homestead yourself? Could've gotten 160 acres for free.”
“Well, my father always said, 'work smarter, not harder' so I figured...”
“You figured you could pick up a piece of land someone had already broken in for cheaper than breaking it in yourself.”
“I was told it was abandoned,” Emily defended. “I never would have bought it if I knew... if I knew you were still here.”
“I wasn't passin' judgment.”
“You sure about that?”
JJ reigned Calla to a stop, her eyes meeting Emily's. “I'd rather you have the land than anyone else.”
“That's an awful lot of faith to have in someone you just met a few days ago.”
“You saved my son's life, you gave me a job and a place to stay. You've done an awful lot to earn my trust in those 'few days.'“
It had been a very long time since anyone had given Emily that kind of unreserved praise and she found that while she couldn't quite understand it, she could do her best to accept it. “Thank you.”
“You're welcome,” JJ smiled. “Now, come on, we still have the northeast corner to cover. Not much up that way except scrub, so I don't graze the cattle there.”
“What else is up there?”
“Foothills. And if you keep going up, the copper mine. They set up camp on Jackson's plateau.”
Emily nodded, visualizing the land and terrain in her head. She'd gotten her tract deed on purchase, not to mention a territory map, but it was much different actually seeing the land, picking out markers and territory visually and memorizing the boundaries in your mind.
A vulture called in the distance. Another answered back. JJ slowed, looking up at the circling birds. “They must've found something big.”
“When'd you do a herd count?”
“Yesterday, but they never wander this far up themselves. There's nothing up here worth eating.”
“Let's check it out anyway.”
Emily clucked her tongue, urging Hasiba toward the area the birds were circling over. From a distance she couldn't quite make out what type of animal it was the scavengers were feasting on like Sunday dinner but the closer she got the more her gut told her to run away. Far and fast. “Whoa.”
Hasiba stopped immediately; Emily reached out, snagging Calla's bridle before JJ could go any closer.
“What? What is it?”
“Stay here,” the brunette ordered, sliding off the horse and pulling free a Peacemaker in one fluid motion. Inching closer, the vultures barely paid her any attention as they continued to pick at the carcass - a carcass Emily realized with dread - that was covered in satin and lace.
She shoved her gun back into the holster and grabbed up the nearest rock, flinging it at the birds. “Get out of here! Go on! Get off you bastards!” Another rock went flying, knocking a vulture square in the head as it dazedly stumbled off the corpse. Emily charged at the birds, finally scattering them into the air, barely resisting the urge to turn her six-shooters on all of them.
Reluctantly, she knelt down by the body. It was obviously a woman's, the left over blonde hair and torn dress enough indication, but who the woman had been was a mystery. Most of her face and eyes had been eaten away by the vultures. Bigger pieces were missing - including the woman's arm. Emily suspected coyotes had gotten to the body before the crows and vultures.
“Oh my god...” JJ hadn't listened to her, but that was the least of Emily's concerns as she turned to find the blonde ashen-faced, a hand covering her mouth in disgust and shock, blue eyes locked on the desecrated corpse. “Oh my god... oh my god...”
Emily sprang up, pulling JJ into a tight hug and turning her around so that she couldn't see the carnage anymore. JJ buried her face in Emily's jacket, shaking in her arms. “Shh... shh.. it's all right.”
“W-what happened to her?”
“Don't know, but I think we need to get the sheriff,” Emily replied calmly.
“We don't have a sheriff.”
“No sheriff?” Law enforcement hadn't been a major priority in Emily's property search; she'd assumed every town came standard with a sheriff, just like they had back east, even if most of those were corrupt. “Who usually handles problems in town?”_
“Hotch.”
“Right. Right, of course. Why don't you ride into town and get him? And a doctor. Do we have a doctor?”
JJ nodded, still shaking. “Dr. Reid... Spence. I'll get him. What are you going to do?”
Emily's eyes turned hard, all the warmth flooding out of them in the afternoon sunlight. “Keep the scavengers away.”
*
It took a couple of hours for JJ to get into town, rustle up who she could, and then get back out to the north end of the property, but Emily hadn't let that time go to waste.
There were no papers on the dead woman's body, no purse with money or coin either. Nearby there were no tracks, at least none left that had been made by humans. There were no weapons she could find tossed into bushes nearby. She'd explored as far out as she'd dared and then circled back, still finding nothing.
“Up this way!”
Hasiba pawed at the ground, clearly unhappy to be tied to a branch as strangers approached, but Emily soothed her enough the horse didn't try and uproot the tree as JJ rode up, several men in tow. She recognized Hotch and Derek immediately, and was surprised to find Rossi with them as well. Another man - if he could be called that - lumbered in behind them on a rather obstinate looking mule.
She watched with mild amusement as the man struggled to dismount the mule, and fell flat when his shoe got caught in the stirrup. Derek reached down and yanked the young Dr. Reid to his feet.
“Uh, yes, thank you.”
“No problem, kid.”
Reid dusted himself off and walked over to the body, ignoring Emily completely. “Given the skin discoloration, muscle rigidity, and general condition of the body I'd say she's been dead five days, maybe a full week. I can't say for certain until I get her back to my office and perform a full autopsy.”
“Anyone recognize her,” Rossi asked. The men collectively shrugged. “Maybe someone in town will know her.”
“We have a bigger problem than that,” Dr. Reid proclaimed. He adjusted the body slightly, pulling open the woman's high-collared blouse. The group stepped closer; JJ instinctively took an extra step toward Emily. “See here - this bruising - you see that in people who have been hanged, or strangled. I'm afraid to say it, but I think there's a relative certainty this woman was murdered.”
JJ gasped. “Who would do something like that?”
Oddly enough, it was Hotch who looked up and met Emily's gaze, something unspoken passing between them. This was a man, Emily realized, who'd seen darkness and knew exactly what evil the hearts of men could possess. And he knew, in that moment, that somehow Emily had seen that darkness as well.
“She's not wearing any jewelry but she's wearing a pretty nice dress,” Derek pointed out. “Think maybe someone robbed her and dumped her body out here?”
“It's a long way off the main roads the stage coaches use. Most bandits just shoot you and leave you,” Rossi answered.
“So someone brought her out here on purpose.”
“But was she alive or dead when they did it,” Prentiss asked.
Everyone turned to look at her. Rossi cleared his throat. “Does that really matter?”
“Seems to me,” Emily said slowly, “that if she was alive when she brought out here then she either had to come willingly, or he had to threaten her somehow to get her up here.”
“So?”
“So if she came willingly,” JJ jumped in, picking up Emily's train of thought, “then she knew who killed her. She trusted him.”
“But if he had to threaten her,” Emily finished, “then she either didn't know him, or she knew to be afraid of him.”
“Makes sense,” Hotch agreed. “Either way, we're not going to know what happened until we get her back to town and see if anyone recognizes her.”
Dr. Reid had brought a collapsible field stretcher on his mule to carry the woman's body down to JJ's wagon. Emily watched as Derek and Hotch lifted her body with more reverence than was due a dead stranger and placed her carefully on the canvass.
In silence, they rode back to town, all of them wondering to varying degrees when they would ever see enough death in their lives and then no more.
Part Five