Teaching jj

Chapter 29

On the ride back from the bookstore, Emily was suddenly struck with a realization as harshly as though she'd been hit by a lightning bolt. "Ms. Parsons," she mused aloud.

"I'm sorry?" JJ asked, visibly confused.

"In the flyer, Spencer - the kid next door - said he was working for a woman named Ms. Parsons. Yet today he called her Ms. Winters. He's been living there for a while; how could he get the name wrong?" Emily shook her head. She knew Spencer. She knew that he hadn't made a mistake. That he had been trying to tell her something important. "Listen, Alexandra, why don't you go upstairs, take a Xanax if you need to, and I'll go next door to talk to him about it while you relax?"

"Sounds good," JJ replied, flashing a grateful smile. It was clear she needed a break. She's new to this, Emily reminded herself, and she doesn't fully understand that when you're undercover, you aren't supposed to have the luxury of 'taking a break.' Give her time. Don't push her. And, most of all, do not let this case break her like they broke you when you were undercover. Don't you dare let that happen to her. Not to her, not ever to her.

After parking the car and kissing JJ on the cheek, Emily headed next door, knocking tentatively. An elderly woman answered the door. "Hello?" she asked suspiciously.

"Hi there," Emily said, flashing a bright grin at her neighbor. "I'm Vivian Cook. My partner, Alexandra, and I just moved in next door, and -"

"Oh, you're the ones I saw moving in the other night! I believe you've met my renter, Spencer, already. I'm Sarah Parsons."

Parsons. Not Winters. Emily's instinct had been correct.

"Come on in, dear. Would you like some tea? I can get Spencer to fetch it for you." Before Emily could protest, Ms. Parsons was calling toward the back of the house, "Spencer, darling? One of those nice ladies from next door is here."

"Actually, I came here to talk to him," Emily explained apologetically. "An issue with our backyard. Although I would absolutely love to sit and talk with you another time, I'm afraid we might have had some deer grazing on our lawn and I could really use his advice before they tear up the entire garden."

"Oh, of course!" Ms. Parsons exclaimed. "There he is ... Spencer, why don't you let this nice girl - Vivian, was it? - show you the havoc those deer have been wreaking on her yard. If you ask me, the best solution is a rifle and a good aim, but Spencer here won't even let me do a little target practice every now and again."

"There's a good reason for that, Ms. Parsons," Spencer said gently, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh, phooey! That one time I shot Johnny in the leg? He recovered just fine," she insisted vehemently. "Anyway, you run along and see if you can help these city folks with our country problems and when you return, perhaps you could read to me? A little Proust, maybe?"

"Absolutely," Spencer promised, following Emily into her yard.

"Nice trick with the ink," she muttered quietly, her dark eyes darting around her.

"I knew you'd figure it out," he responded in a low voice.

"Ms. Parsons. Not Winters. Tell me the significance," Emily implored, keeping her eyes fixed ahead as though they were discussing the garden.

Spencer tucked his brown hair behind his ears and shifted closer to her so that their shoulders were touching. "Possible unsub. Ashley Winters. Massive orders of sex toys sent to her address. You'll see her ID tomorrow at Kitty Corner."

"Got it," Emily said, adding in a loud voice, "Oh, so that's not from any deer after all? Just an uneven lawnmower before we moved in? Well, that's good. I'd hate to have to chase deer off the property. I was a vegetarian for ten years, you know."