February Night

Chapter 39

"We have four victims. All of them are female and they all worked as kindergarten teachers", Rossi murmured while the whole team was sitting around a table, looking at crime scene pictures. Since hours they were working on that case: they had gone to the crime scene, they had talked to at least a dozen people but still they couldn't really figure out the motive to kill all these women.

Luke and Spencer both were eager to find the killer, maybe even more than the rest of the team. Not only for all the dead victims and their families, but also for Lucy. She was so heartbroken that it hurt them as well and they hated to see her like that. Emily even had to hold them back a bit so they wouldn't run themselves into something they might regret in the end. "We need to think. We need to do what we always do. I know, it's about Lucy's best friend and I know how much Lucy means to both of you. She means a lot to all of us. So, let's stay concentrated, focused and catch the unsub as soon as we can", she'd said. And they had to shake off the thoughts of Lucy for a while. They had work to get done and couldn't need distractions. The sooner they'd find the killer, the better.

"There's the obvious connections: female and kindergarten teachers", JJ murmured while she bit on her thumb nail, "but why kindergarten teachers?"

That was the biggest question, floating around above their heads. Sighing, Luke leaned back on his chair while his eyes were wandering over the pictures again. "We need to talk to Tessa's parents", he eventually said and suddenly, all eyes were laying on him.

"We've talked to the parents of some of the other victims already", Tara commented.

"Yeah, but Tessa was the last victim so far. And maybe their parents know something the others don't. Come on, we've got nothing to lose."

Everyone agreed that Luke was right. They could at least try it.

Luke and Emily had just closed the doors of the SUV when Luke's phone started to ring. It was Lucy. She needed to know if the team was getting closer to catch the killer. "Lu, we still have a lot of work to do. But I promise you, we'll get him. I'll tell you if we find out more", Luke said while Emily started the engine. "We're going to talk to Tessa's parents now. Maybe they can tell us something that helps us", he explained.

"Let me come with you! I'd like to see them!", Lucy said into the phone. She sounded kind of desperate.

"You can't come with us! This is an investigation, Lu! And you're not an agent!" Luke's voice was loud; louder that he had intended it to be but he was stressed. Lucy didn't reply and Luke apologized almost immediately. "Lucy, I'm sorry. But... you really can't join us. I don't think this would be good", he said in a tone much calmer and softer. "It might get even more emotional if you come with us. You were Tessa's best friend, little sis. I'll call you right after we've talked to them, alright?"

Lucy sighed. Deep inside she knew that her brother was right. But she had loved to meet Tessa's parents, to tell them how sorry she was and how much she missed their daughter. She'd have to see them at another time. "Alright", she quietly said and then hung up.

Sighing, Luke put his phone back into his pocket again. Him and Emily arrived at Tessa's parents' house shortly after he'd ended the call with his sister. He let out another, deep sigh. Emily glanced at him as she parked the SUV. "You okay?" Luke nodded.

"Yeah. No...I don't know. This is about my sister's best friend. I knew Tessa and her parents for years. It's strange", he admitted.

"I know, things like that are always hard. And they must be even harder when you know the people that are affected." She placed a hand on his arm. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Luke nodded once again. "I owe Tessa to I find her killer. And Lucy. She will not rest and be alright again for as long as this monster still walks around." Emily smiled sadly at her agent and then they made their way upstairs to the front door.

Five minutes later, they sat in the living room of Mr. and Mrs. White. Tessa's mother was trying her best to hold herself together. Her eyes were puffy and red, as if she had been crying for hours. Mr. White looked torn between anger and sadness.

"Luke, you have to find this monster!", Mr. White exclaimed.

"Mister White, we will. But...we need information. We need clues of what might have happened", Luke explained calmly, although his heart was racing in his chest. He hated this. But it had to be.

"Did Tessa mention anything that had to do with her job lately?", Emily asked, looking from one parent to the other. Mr. White gently wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulder. She leaned against him and quietly sniffed.

"How should anyone do...something like...this to our daughter?", Mrs. White asked, as if she hadn't heard Emily's question.

"We don't know", Luke quietly answered as he glanced at Mr. White. The man sighed. He looked old; much older than he actually was. Emily repeated her question. For a moment, he frowned and now seemed to think about Emily's question.

The two agents were patiently waiting. They knew, it wouldn't help anybody if they'd urge Tessa's parents. Suddenly, Mrs. White gasped. "What? What is it, darling?", Mr. White asked, staring at his wife and grabbing her shoulders gently.

"Tessa...she told me some days ago about...a child that died during child care at some kindergarten in the city", Mrs. White said with a shaky voice. "I remember that she has been shocked and...was wondering what had gone wrong that a...a child died in kindergarten. At a place where it should be safe."

Emily and Luke exchanged looks. A child died...maybe this was the motive of the unsub. Maybe the unsub was a parent of this child and now wanted revenge. "We need to release the profile", Emily murmured and Luke just nodded. They got up from the couch.

"Thanks for your time. We'll get the killer", Emily said as she shook Tessa's parents' hands.

"I'm so sorry for your loss", Luke murmured and Mrs. White just gave him a hug.

"Say hi to Lucy from us", she whispered in tears. Luke nodded and then followed Emily back to the car. They had to hurry back to the police station. The faster they could find out who they were going after, the better it'd be.

"We'll catch him, won't we?", Luke quietly asked.

"Yes, we will.", Emily replied and then they entered the police station to introduce the rest of the team to what they had found out.