When we land, Reid and I hop into one of the black SUVs provided for us. I drive, and Reid fills the silence in the car with random facts about World War I until I turn the radio on. I flip through the stations looking for a good one. Country station, country station, country station. Finally, I find one that plays a nice mix of music.
"Hey Emily, do you hate country music?" Reid asks after the last notes of Bon Jovi's "Livin' On a Prayer" fade.
"It isn't my favorite, but I don't hate it. Why?"
"You skipped at least five country stations before you found this one. Plus you rolled your eyes when you got to the fifth one."
I chuckle under my breath and sing along to "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" instead of replying. Reid pulls a book out of his bag and flies through the pages for the rest of the drive.
When we finally meet with the ME, Reid notices that each of the bodies has a similar puncture wound on the right side of the neck.
"It's really small, but I'm surprised I missed it," the medical examiner says, pushing her glasses up her nose.
"Yeah, it almost looks like it was from an injection of some sort. But there were no drugs found in any of their systems, correct?" Reid asks, standing back up from where he had bent over the most recent victim's body.
"Nothing came up at all. Nothing unusual in the stomach contents, either," the ME's red hair falls across the clipboard in her hand as she double-checks her notes.
"If he isn't injecting them, what are these puncture wounds for?" I ask, turning to look at Reid.
"That's what we need to find out. Let's head to the station and tell them team what we know."
...
When we walk into the conference room half an hour later, the only ones present are Hotch and JJ. JJ smiles softly at me as I walk through the door, and I can't help but smile back.
"What did you guys find out?" Hotch asks, looking up from the papers on the table in front of him.
"Each of the three victims died from asphyxiation, as we already knew, but there was one thing we didn't notice until we arrived. There was a puncture wound on the right side of the victims' necks. It almost looks like it was from some kind of injection, but we really aren't sure what it was for because no drugs were found in their systems," Reid explains quickly.
"We need to figure out what that's for. It's definitely part of the unsub's signature, but understanding why may help us figure out who he is. Morgan and Gideon may not be back from the crime scenes for another hour or so. Reid, why don't you start working on a geographical profile. Prentiss, the families of all three victims just arrived. Will you talk to Caleb Matheson's family, JJ, you speak with Juliet Monroe's, and I'll speak with Anthony Micheals'," Hotch says as he stands up and walks out of the conference room door.
JJ stands as well, running her fingers through her hair before smoothing out the new wrinkles on her skirt. She pats Reid on the shoulder and glances toward me again before following Hotch. I glance at the whiteboard and the map taped to it. Reid is already opening a marker and drawing circles around the three dumpsites. I sigh quietly before going to meet the latest victim's family.
...
About forty-five minutes later, I walk back into the conference room and slump down into a chair. Interviewing victims' families is one of the hardest parts of this job. It always takes a lot out of me.
Reid finished with the map at some point during the interviews, and now he's going through the detailed report we got from the ME earlier. Hotch walks in a minute later and wastes no time.
"Reid did you find anything out with the geographical profile?"
"I feel like he either lives or works somewhere in this area," Reid says, indicating a circle he had drawn in blue ink.
"Okay that's something. Any luck figuring out what those puncture wounds are?"
"Not yet. I'm researching now," Reid looks back down at the papers in front of him.
JJ walks in as soon as Reid finishes speaking, and she sinks into the chair next to me.
"You good?" I ask softly as she puts her head into her hands for a moment.
"Yeah. That was just really tough. Juliet was their only daughter, and they just seem so numb now. That scares me. I can't imagine losing someone else so close to me like this," JJ looks tired as she speaks.
"Hey, don't think about that, okay?" I swallow my own exhaustion and reach over to squeeze her hand, sensing that she doesn't want to talk about it further. She smiles and squeezes back before turning to Hotch.
"Emily, JJ, what did you two learn from the interviews?" Hotch asks, also taking a seat at the table.
"Caleb Matheson seemed like an average kid. He graduated from high school in the middle of his class, didn't have many extra-curricular activities since he started at the local junior college other than the debate team. He stayed at home most of the time playing video games with his friends, but he had a job at the local movie theater on the weekends," I say, reading off the notes I had scribbled down.
"Any known enemies, drug use, history of partying?" Hotch asks, adding to his own notes.
"None. He seemed like a normal, introverted kid. His family has no idea of anyone who would want to hurt him."
"What about Juliet?" Hotch turns to face JJ as he speaks.
"Juliet was pretty different from Caleb. Obviously, the biggest difference is that she is a female. But she was also involved in pretty much everything. She went to the local junior college for two years, and was the president of three different clubs. Then she went to the University of Alabama to complete her degree, and she moved back here last summer to teach at the high school. In her free time, she played the piano for the community college's show choir group, volunteered at the local animal shelter, and sang in the choir at her church."
"So she doesn't seem as introverted as Caleb Matheson," I say, leaning forward.
"No, and her parents said everyone loved her. She was the kind of person who would bring water and food to the homeless. The kind of person that was friends with everyone. She did a little partying when she went to the University of Alabama, but she seems to have lived a low-risk lifestyle once she moved back here."
"What about the second victim, Anthony Micheals?" I ask Hotch.
"Well, he was a bit older than the first two victims. He also came from a lower socio-economic status. According to his sister, he dropped out of high school his junior year after getting involved with drugs. She said he got clean a few years ago, got his GED, and just started taking classes at the junior college this semester. He wanted to make something of himself. He even volunteered at the homeless shelter, where he lived for a year before he went to rehab," Hotch says.
"So what does that leave us? Juliet was a female, while the other two were male, so there isn't a gender preference. Juliet and Anthony were white, but Caleb was black, so no apparent racial preference. Anthony was a bit older than the other two, so there is a bit of an age gap...Wait. They all have one thing in common. They went to the junior college..." my voice trails off as Morgan and Gideon enter the room.
"Hey guys. So we found something at the most recent crime scene. We almost didn't see it, but I'm glad we did. We also decided to revisit the other two crime scenes to see if we found the same things there, and we did," Morgan explains, wasting no time as he walks to the table.
"What exactly did you find?" JJ asks, spinning her chair to face the two men.
"These," Gideon pulls evidence bags from the box he had just set on the table. "Needles."
"There was nothing unusual found in any of the victims," I say, confusion clouding my features.
"Let me look at that for a second," Reid stands and walks over to Gideon. "It makes sense that nothing was found in the victims. These needles were used to draw blood."
"Why did the unsub want to take blood from the victims?" JJ asks.
"That's what we need to figure out. That and why these particular ones?"
"Wait a second, Emily, look at the files the ME gave us. What was the blood type for each of the victims?" Reid asks suddenly.
"Um," I flip through the pages quickly. "They all had O- blood. The universal donor."
"So did the unsub know their blood types or was it a coincidence?" Morgan asks.
"I have a feeling that these victims weren't chosen for convenience. I think he planned this, picked them out. But for what?" Gideon rubs his forehead.
"Another thing to consider: if the needles were found at the crime scene, I'm assuming the unsub took the blood at those locations. If that's the case, I also think the victims were strangled at the dumpsites," Hotch adds.
"The unsub would have to leave quickly so he wouldn't be caught after he strangled and posed the bodies. I wonder what else he left behind other than the needles..." I glance toward Morgan.
"All I know is that it's getting late. We all need to get some rest. Emily, JJ, Reid, Morgan, why don't you head to the hotel. I want us back here before six tomorrow morning to finish the profile," Hotch heads out the door, Gideon close behind.
...
We arrive at the hotel half an hour later, and we walk together to the front desk to check in.
"It looks like there are four rooms booked for you all. One for Aaron Hotchner, one for Jason Gideon, one for Emily Prentiss and Jennifer Jareau to share, and one for Derek Morgan and Spencer Reid," the receptionist says politely as she checks us in and hands us our room keys.
"Looks like we're having a sleepover, pretty boy," Morgan teases, squeezing Reid's shoulder. I can't help but notice the younger man's face redden as he chokes out a laugh.
"I am exhausted. I think I'm going to pass out the second my head hits the pillow," JJ says as the elevator opens onto the second floor hallway.
"I think I'm going to shower and then join you in the realm of the unconscious," I respond, swiping the card to open our room. "Looks like we're sharing a bed, Jen. Hope you don't mind."
"Of course not! I mean we slept on Hotch's couch together, and that was much smaller," she responds, sounding slightly nervous.
"I'll do my best not to snore," I laugh as I drop my bag on the floor.
"Mmm no promises from me," JJ responds as she flops onto the bed.
I take a quick shower and brush my teeth, and by the time I'm finished, JJ is snoring lightly. It's cute. I smile as I climb in bed and she snuggles a little closer in her sleep.