deep end, cm [ 1 ]

073. 52 pickup

The team are in the round table room, Jordan briefing them on their next case. Jessica is sitting in one of the chairs, staring at the file, her eyes unfocused and head down, appearing to be reading the paper.

Spencer is next to her, constantly glancing over at her in concern. Ever since the call of her dad getting released, he's been practically glued to her side, never letting her out of his sight for more than a few minutes.

While Spencer has been expecting her to break down -- cry, yell, even punch a wall, anything. But she hasn't done a single thing. She pretends everything is normal while zoning out a minimum of ten times a day so far. It takes her longer to complete paper work, she plays with her food, she doesn't laugh at any jokes. It's like she's isolated herself. But she still won't break.

"Vanessa Holden, age 25." Jordan informs. "Last Friday night, she was clubbing with her sister. A stranger -- white male, roughly her age -- picked her up. They left the club at 1:00 AM, went back to her place. He forced her on her hands and knees. And then he cut her open just below the stomach."

"Whoa." Derek comments, looking at the crime scene photo.

Jessica's stomach churns as she looks up to the photo. Her throat closes up, the uncomfortable feeling of liquid rising. She harshly swallows the oncoming vomit down, forcing her eyes back to the papers on the table.

"Yeah, pretty rough." Rossi says.

"The gutting causes the intestines to spill out." Spencer says. "You can survive for a few hours, actually even days."

"Postmortem indicates that he slit her throat at 5:00 AM." Jordan states.

"So he disemboweled her, but didn't kill her for four hours." Rossi says.

"He could be a sexual sadist." Emily says.

"Yeah, I thought so, too, but I found two priors from a year ago." Jordan says, handing out new files. "Prostitutes, actually, in motel rooms."

Spencer puts a file in front of Jessica, but she doesn't touch it. Spencer glances up at her, noticing her eyes stuck on the table. He reaches out and gently taps her elbow, knocking her out of her trance.

Jessica quietly clears her throat, quickly opening the file, skimming through it, ignoring Spencer who stares at her in concern.

"Why do you think this is the same unsub?" Derek asks.

"In Vanessa Holden's apartment, the following were discovered -- bleach, ammonia, trash bags -- all in a triangular pattern." Jordan says. "One year ago, motel rooms -- bleach, ammonia, and trash bags -- also in a triangular pattern."

"He's cleaning up." Emily says.

"May be trying to hide his tracks." Derek suggests.

"Could be a sign of remorse." Spencer says.

"Apologizing for murder by minimizing the mess." Rossi says.

"But there's one other commonality between both sets of murders." Jordan says. "Bleach and ammonia were found under the victims' fingernails."

"He's making them clean it up." Jessica speaks up for the first time that day, her voice quiet and tired.

"It's the same unsub." Hotch states.

Hotch calls wheels up, everybody starting to leave.

"Taylor." Hotch calls making Jessica stop in her tracks. He waits for the room to be clear before speaking. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Jessica shrugs.

"You don't seem fine. You're not focused. That's dangerous in the field. You know that." Hotch says. "If you need to sit out, do so."