𝗜𝘃𝗼𝗿𝘆 - 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀

Part 4: Suspects

JJ sat on the bed of her hotel room, staring into space until she heard a knock at her door. She took a deep breath and stood up, making her way towards the door. She stood there for a moment and shook her head, as if that would get rid of any negative thoughts that she was stuck with. She pulled her lips into a smile and opened the door slowly, surprised to see Spencer.

"Hey!" She made an extra effort to be cheery, hoping it would make up for her depressive energy on the way to the town. "What's up?"

"Hey," Spencer looked confused as he spoke. "Hotch needs us."

"Ok," She grabbed her phone from behind her and pushed past Spencer to get out of the room. "Let's go." She started to make her way down the hotel hallway when Spencer grabbed her arm.

"Hey," He paused and looked JJ in the eyes. "Is everything alright?" He could tell something was wrong, JJ was his best friend after all. He noticed the small changes in her body language and behavior throughout the trip but he wanted to wait until they were in private to mention it.

"Yeah," She smiled at him. "Everything's fine." She pointed towards the elevator and released her arm from Spencer's grip. "Let's go, the team needs us." She walked briskly down the hallway and paused when Spencer didn't follow her. "Come on Spence, I'm fine. Let's go." She waved him towards her and they got onto the elevator.

On the drive over, JJ pondered why Hotch needed them so urgently. It was 2 A.M. when Spencer came knocking at her door. It's not like she was able to get any sleep, but it was still disconcerting that he needed them on such short notice.

The car hugged the black tarmac, bright headlamps illuminating the onward road. Fresh, night air flowed into the car through the cracked windows. It blew JJ's long blonde hair around in wisps and curled around her face, she quickly tucked it back behind her ears.

Stars filled the sky and shone like sugar spilt over black marble. They reminded JJ of snowflakes, yet they were still, like a photograph. The hues of the night sky went from a navy blue at the bottom to a deep, jet black nearing the top. The sky brought JJ tranquility, it settled the pit in her stomach for a moment until she remembered the horror that was going on around her.

***

They found a body. Which one of the girls was dead?

"Police found the body of Amelia King today near the church on Hightmans Street." Garcia's face lit up on the computer as she spoke.

Oh thank god. JJ sighed a breath of relief. Wait no, I'm a monster. I can't believe I just said thank god after finding out an 8 year old girl was dead.

"When she was found, it was clear she was sick." Hotch stated. "Her body was pale and skeletal, she had blood on her face and many injuries indicating that she was beaten."

"This was the first girl that went missing," Emily stood up. "That means we still have 3 missing kids to find." She nodded at Hotch and they walked back into the main area of the police station. 

"JJ," Hotch whispered and motioned JJ over to him. She walked over to him and just stood there, waiting for h8m to ask the golden question. Are you ok? It was almost all she had heard the past couple of days from every member of the team. Generally, profilers were masters at covering up their emotions but in this situation it was near impossible to do so.

"I'll be fine," She looked into his eyes intensely. Suddenly her emotions manifested themselves into anger, causing her to get lost in the torment that her brain was in. "We just need to catch this son of a bitch." She walked powerfully out the door, prepared to do whatever was needed to save the missing girls.

In the station there were officers and agents scattered throughout the building. There were white boards with maps, pictures of the girls dead body, and possible suspects. Possible suspects? Why was nobody being interviewed?

"Hotch!" JJ stormed back into the conference room where Hotch was still standing. She didn't even give him a chance to answer her when she pushed the door shut and began speaking again. "We have suspects?" She paused and looked up at Hotch. "Why aren't they being interviewed?" Her hands flew through the air in violent, passionate motions as she spoke.

"That's what we're doing today," He looked down at her. "JJ, you need to stay calm. We will catch the monster who did this." He assured her and gripped her shoulder tightly, in an attempt to study her unstable body and mind. She buried her face in her hands and took a deep breath.

"Ok," She said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be-" She apologized but Hotch interrupted her.

"You're ok," Hotch remarked.

JJ's anger turned to fear then back again. She was an emotional volcano, ready to explode. The steam that the anger produced burned her from the inside out. I need to get out of here.

***
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