The New Girl

Chapter 9- Cuts and Bruises

You watch the numbers go up on the elevator, holding your go-bag in your right hand. The elevator doors open and you walk through the glass doors into the BAU. As you set your things down at your cubicle, JJ walks in holding a case file and says, "Hotch wants everyone in the conference room for the case briefing".

Everyone else begins heading up the stairs to the conference room and you follow close behind. You decide to take a seat between Reid and Rossi. JJ passes out copies of the case file to each of you and then begins the briefing.

"Over the past two weeks in Atlanta, four women have been found murdered in their homes. Each woman was left tied to their beds, strangled with wire. All the women were in their late 20's and lived alone in middle-class neighborhoods," JJ begins.

"Were there any signs of sexual assault?" Reid asks. "None of the women were raped, however, there was semen found on the bed sheets at each crime scene," JJ replies. "So he's either disorganized or he knows we won't be able to identify him through his DNA," you say.

"Well, his victimology is pretty consistent. Each of these women have long, brown hair, all white, they were all high risk victims, and they all lived alone and were in their late 20's. This unsub definitely has a type," Morgan states. "When was each victim found?" Emily asks.

"The first victim, Margaret Harold was found on the morning of November 11th by a colleague that came in to check on her when she didn't show up for her shift at work. The second victim, Renee Conway, was found in the afternoon of November 16th by her sister. The third victim, Carol Richards, was found in the morning on November 19th by her boyfriend. The most recent victim, Victoria Martin, was found two days ago on November 24th. She was discovered by her friend, Colin James, who came by to check on her after she hadn't responded to any of his calls or texts for two days," JJ says.

"Two days? So she had been dead for two days by the time he found her?" you say appalled. "The coroners report hasn't come back yet, but it's looking that way," Hotch replies. "A new body could come in at any time so we need to get to Atlanta ASAP. Wheels up in 30," Hotch announces.

On the plane, you decide to sit next to Reid. Taking a seat, he looks up at you from his book and gives you a small smile. Emily and Morgan board the plane at the same time. You look up at Emily from your seat and raise your eyebrows, hopeful that she'll notice you.

You figure maybe she was right and you were getting too caught up in everything before. She doesn't return your look though, and she walks past where you're sitting and plops down in a seat facing away from you.

'Fine. Whatever, have it your way,' you think as you cross your arms and slump back in your chair. Reid notices and asks, "Is everything okay?". "Yeah. Sometimes people just aren't who you think they are, you know?" you say loud enough that Emily can hear you. You notice she adjusts herself in her chair, but she doesn't say anything.

You spend the majority of the flight zoned out, looking through the plane window. You watch the clouds float by, laying your head against the headrest.

"When we land, I want Morgan, Prentiss, and JJ to interview Maragret Harold's colleague and Renee Conway's sister. Reid, Clarke, and Rossi, I want you to talk to Carol Richards' boyfriend and Victoria Martin's friend, Colin James. See if you can find anything the victims had in common, a place where the unsub might've come in contact with them," Hotch says. You all nod.

When the plane lands you gather your things and get up to leave. As you stand, Emily's shoulder bumps into yours as she walks past you, causing you to falter slightly. You exhale sharply, annoyed as you follow Reid out of the plane.

Walking into the Atlanta Police Station, you meet the Police Chief, Dan Winters, and the lead detective on the case, Peter Campbell. "Atlanta Police Chief, Dan Winters. This is my Head Detective, Peter Campbell. He knows everything there is to know about this case," Chief Winters says.