𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗹 - 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀

A Break

Chapter 7

August 7th, 2018
"Hey Madden, wake up." I awoke to Spencer shaking me. "Hotch needs us." I sat up and saw JJ begin to stir.

"What time is it?" She questioned.

"Too early." I replied. The clock by my bed read 3:30 AM, supporting my too early to work argument. We quickly got dressed and headed to the station.

The ride over was quite, we all fought to not fall asleep. Spencer drove as JJ and I dozed in the back seat. The sky outside was still dark and littered with stars that created small specks of light. I stared at them and counted, forcing myself to stay awake.

We pulled up to the station and moseyed inside, out feet dragging behind us. We were greeted at the front doors by Hotch and Emily who held out mugs.

"Here coffee. Drink it." We eagerly grabbed the beverages and began to sip at the dark caffeine.

"Why'd you call us in so early?" I asked Hotch. He pointed over at a man in handcuffs, he was sitting in an interrogation room with an officer.

"We found our unsub, he turned himself in." Emily replied.

"You're sure it's him?" Spencer countered, skeptical of the situation.

"He fits the profile. Mid 30s, lives in the kill zone, organized and sophisticated but were still going to interrogate him." Hotch replied. We steadily walked over to the room where the man was placed and gazed through the one-way glass.

"Look at his body language, he's nervous." Spencer inquired.

"Well he did just turn himself in as a serial killer." Morgan responded, sneaking up behind us.

He pointed though the glass. "Dale Archer, 36, father of two."

"But his body language isn't showing that he's guilty," Reid continued, ignoring Morgan's comment. "It says that he's holding something back."

"We'll get in there boy genius." Derek waved Spencer towards the door. He took the opportunity and walked into the room.

"Hale, go in there with him." I followed quickly after Reid and we took our seats in front of the man.

His eyes were light brown, the color of honey and his jawline was sharp. His gaze was serious yet nervous, what is he so scared about? Generally when serial killers get caught, they're elated and proud. They feel a sense of euphoria take over but this man was feeling anything but.

"Hello Mr. Archer, I'm Dr. Reid and this is Agent Hale." I shared a brief nod with the man before speaking.

"We just want to ask you some questions." His body language shifted, he went from nervous to agitated.

"Why? I already turned myself in. I did it, that's all you need to know." He spoke loudly and angrily. This did not fit our profile. Our unsub is a textbook psychopath, unable to feel any remorse or guilt, he would be proud of what he'd done. But Mr. Archer was nervous and agitated as if he was hiding something, not as if he'd killed 3 women.

"Okay, if you did it then where is Lindsey Taylor?" I asked, sure that this wasn't our guy.

"Who?" His face showed confusion, he was definitely not our guy. "I mean," He doubled back.

"Thank you for your time." Spencer said. We both stood up and headed for the door.

"He's not our unsub but he definitely knows something." I relayed to Hotch who turned to the Chief.

"Hold him for the 36 hour period and have him questioned by local officers." He ordered. "You guys go home and get some rest, I need you back here by 9." We all shared a look, regretting that we'd drank coffee to stay awake.

JJ, Reid, and I hurried to the car. "Can we stop by my house so I can grab a few things, it's on the way back to the hotel." I glanced over at them and they shrugged.

"I don't see why not, we're awake now." Reid joked.

"Thanks."

We loaded into the black SUV and started to drive. It was almost 6:30 and I wanted to say goodbye to Jason and Caleb before they left for work and school. I was apprehensive about how Jason might react about me spending the night somewhere other than home, but ignored the pit in my stomach so I could see Caleb.

The radio was on a dull volume, like background music. JJ and Reid sat in the front seats and I took the back. We rolled up to my house and I got out of the car with my house key in hand. I crept in the front door, Caleb was groggily eating a plate of eggs at the kitchen table and Jason was brewing a pot of coffee.

"Hey mom!" Caleb waved from the table and stood up. "I'd love to stick around and hear you two fight but I'm walking to Finns so we can finish our project before school starts." I frowned at that, I didn't want him to worry about us fighting but I also knew it was instinct, he'd been surrounded by it all his life.

"I love you." I ignored his comment and kissed him on the forehead. "Have a good day." He walked out the front door and Jason almost immediately started lecturing.

"I can't believe you did that again."

"Did what? I made sure to text you."

"You have to come home at night. You're out of town enough, we need to see you."

"I didn't have a choice."

"Of course you didn't." He scoffed.

"I didn't, Hotch made me stay at a hotel. Bosses orders."

"Whatever." He slammed the coffee pot into the sink, causing it to shatter on the spot. He threw his hands up in anguish.

"Calm down." I politely chimed in, careful to not upset him.

"Don't tell me to calm down." His tone became aggressive. I need to get out of here, fast.

"I have to go," I picked up my purse. "I need to get some sleep before I go back to the station in the morning." I tried to get out of the house as quickly as possible when I felt a hand on my shoulder. A cold chill ran down my spine, I froze in terror.

"You're not going anywhere." Jason grabbed my chin, turning my head to face towards him.

"Stop." I stood my ground, yanking away from his grip and jogging towards the door, JJ and Spencer are waiting outside. He turned me around by my neck and a swinging fist came tumbling towards my face. It nailed me in the eye and an instant release was made when he let go of my collar.

I held my face with one hand and stormed towards the door, tears pooling in my eyes. I'm leaving with Caleb, I have to. That was when I made my decision. My eye pounded and ached as I stepped into the car. I choked back tears, creating a sniffling sound causing JJs head to swing around, followed by Spencer's. I spoke before they could say anything.

"Drive." Spencer started the car and JJ unbuckled her seatbelt, crawling into the seat next to me. She gasped at the bruise on my eye, it was swollen almost shut.

"God damn it." She mumbled. "He did this didn't he?" I sat in silence for a few moments and took in a deep shaky breath.

"No." I replied, tears now pouring down my cheeks.

"I'm turning around, that motherf-" I heard Spencer cursing under his breath in the front seat. He can't turn around, he can't do anything. It'll just make things worse.

"Spencer no, please." I sobbed. "Please don't." I unbuckled my seatbelt, ready to take the steering wheel into my own hands, the car was now stationary. My breath quickened until I couldn't take in enough air. "Don't." I pleaded. JJ grabbed my shoulders, pinning me against the car seat, preventing me from going near Spencer.

She pulled me into a tight hug, I cried into her shoulder softly. "Shhh. It's okay." She held me and glanced up at Spencer. "Drive Spence."

***
Woohoo! Another part! Leave your thoughts on what might happen next, I love to hear them.