The Element of Surprise

Lucky - Part 3

Hotch and I run into each other in the break room. He's stirring coffee while staring at a spot on the wall and I just know this case is taking its toll on him as much as it does on the rest of the team - Derek being antsy about religion, Rossi trying to 'fix' Morgan and me, Penelope having to cope with meeting a new guy and focusing on the case at the same time, Derek trying to 'fix' her. Okay, scratch that, it seems only a few of us are affected by this matter since JJ and Prentiss appear to be just fine.

Standing next to Hotch at the coffeepot, I try my best to radiate my usual optimism towards him, "Rough day?"

"You should know," he huffs but at least seem to lighten up. I fall silent, thinking he found out about what happened at the church. Luckily, I'm proven wrong when this time, he asks, "Is everything alright, Estella? You seem distracted."

Putting on a fake facade, I smile at him, "Now why would you think that?"

"Usually, I get at least a glimmer of smile from my remarks, the occasional eye roll, I think I got a snort once," he points out like a true profiler, "And the fact that you haven't rambled once since we boarded the jet."

I emit an incredulous breath and shake my head, "Now I know how Garcia feels. She's right, profilers are the worst." I'm rewarded with half a smile from my favorite boss which, surprisingly, makes me feel better. Giving in, I decide to set his mind somewhat at ease, "You were right on the jet, cases like these have a way of affecting people. I thought after working at the prison I'm immune to it, but turns out I'm not."

"If you feel you're not ready -"

"No," I shake my head rapidly, "I'm not backing out. I wanted to be a profiler and working with you guys for so long, I'm not letting a man who feeds his victims fingers before killing them scare me off. I can handle it, you know I can."

He studies my face intently, searching for any signs that I might be lying or putting up a tough-guy act in order to get him off my back. When he doesn't find anything amiss, he nods in acceptance, "Very well. But I'm here if you want to talk."

"And the same goes for you," I tell him kindly, "I was a therapist once, remember, I learned and studied how to make people feel better. In fact, I already sent good vibes your way and there's nothing you can do to stop them."

"This is the most threatening way I've even been cheered up." This time, he genuinely does smile. However, that smile instantly drops when his phone rings and he answers the call, "Morgan?" My stomach clenches at that look in his eyes - there's another body. "Alright, we're on our way."

Considering I was with Hotch when he got the call, he asked me to accompany him to the morgue to investigate the latest body. We pass Rossi on the way to the SUV, who apparently has been outside the station this entire time for a reason unknown to me. Perhaps he, too, needed a break from this chaos. Truth be told, it feels strange heading off with Aaron instead of him for once. Especially when I'm so used to feeling nervous and flustered whenever he's near. It's almost abnormal to feel this calm when I'm with Hotch when clearly, he should be the scarier of the two considering his passive expressions.

Upon reaching the morgue, the diener escorts us to the mortuary where a body lies covered beneath a sheet. He only exposed the head, which turns out to be another woman with a pentagram carved into her chest. My phone buzzes and I read the text from Garcia, "The woman's name is - was - Maria Lopez. She's thirty-four years old, numerous arrests for solicitation and prostitution just like the others. What doesn't make sense though, is she's been reported missing nine months ago."

"She's been dead for seventy-two hours," the diener adds, "And I can say with certainty there was no sexual assault."

"Then why would he keep her alive for nine months only to kill her three days ago?" I wonder out loud. I've never heard or met an unsub who held their hostages for that long. They never last that long without killing to begin with. However, unless the killer... it's a long shot, but it's something. Turning to the diener, I ask, "Dr Fulton, can you check the tissue to see if the cells have burst?"