IDF seemed like a great excuse for an update
Title: unexpected circumstances part 16/?
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Emily/JJ
Archiving - passion and perfection if anyone else would like it let me know layla
Summary - Emily and JJ find a case hitting too close to home for both of them, in more ways than one.
Rating - R
Disclaimers: I don't own Criminal Minds, except my own
Notes: the case is starting to take shape - and just in time for the International Day of Femslash SWEET!
Notes 2: i would like to send out a huge thanks to isle_o_bubba for being the most amazing beta ever...she not only makes me a better writer but gives you a much better story to read, without her this story wouldn't be anything near what it has become.
Notes 3: i was waiting to do a big dedication when this beast was finished but it seems that the time has come to say this tale is for an amazing woman who inspires me and has inspired this story whether she knows it or not...i hope she does. love you baby.
part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7 part 8 part 9 part 10 part 11 part 12 part 13 part 14 part 15
“What sort of relationship do you think he has with his mother?” Reid’s natural curiosity kicked in shortly after they got in the SUV to drive to Helen Michaels’ house. Emily, having been the only member of the team who had met the possible unsub, was a possible wealth of information for the young doctor.
“I’m not sure,” Emily’s tone was thoughtful for a myriad of reasons. “His view of his mother is complicated. He obviously holds her in a position of respect, but that may be solely based in the Christian ideal of ‘honoring thy mother and father’. She is the one who got him to report his sister’s disappearance to the police so I would think they don’t necessarily share all of the same beliefs.”
“Do you think he would actually turn to her for help,” Reid asked. “If she already forced him into contact with the authorities he may not turn to her if he’s feeling exposed.”
“Possibly true,” Emily replied, “but if he is the unsub sending text messages to FBI agents doesn’t exactly indicate he has a fear of exposure.”
“Yes, but whoever sent those messages went to great lengths to cover their tracks.” Reid countered warming to the theoretical discussion. “If his technological savvy is enough to throw Garcia off the trail for more than a few hours he obviously isn’t exactly prepared to be discovered.”
“I’m not sure it is fear of discovery so much as fear of being stopped before his mission is complete.” Emily felt certain the fact that the text messages had contained scripture was about the unsub trying to show them the light not about making excuses. She only hoped they would track him down before he claimed any other lives. It seemed all too often more bodies had to pile up before the case was solved. Emily knew mission based killers rarely stopped unless they were caught she also knew there was every chance this unsub would kill again. At this point it was only a matter of time.
“If that were the case then why bother contacting us at all?” Reid continued attempting to work out as many of the grey areas of the profile as possible as they neared Helen Michaels’ suburban home.
“Because the killing is meaningless without the message. He has the entire gay community living in fear but he doesn’t want people to fear him, he wants people to fear God.” Emily could hear the underlying tone of anger in her own voice as she maneuvered the SUV into the driveway on a quiet cul-de-sac and parked.
__________________
“Thanks for your time Bobby.” JJ paused listening to the voice on the other end of the phone. “Please let me know if anything comes across your desk that looks interesting.” She flipped her phone closed with the finality of having made the last call on her list.
“Anything?” Hotch asked as he walked into the conference room.
“No,” JJ felt more than a slight frustration at feeling useless. “I’ve contacted all of the major media outlets and most of the minor ones but no one has received anything that even remotely resembles a message our guy would send.”
“Well,” Hotch did his best to sound reassuring rather than express any of the emotions he kept under tight control. “We knew it was a bit of a long shot going into it.”
“I guess,” JJ let out a soft sigh. “I did get a chance to reassure the local gay press that we are doing everything we can to make the streets safe, though from internet comments the community isn’t very convinced our presence really matters.”
“JJ,” Hotch had the slightest hint of hesitancy in his voice. “Are you alright?” He left the question simple knowing they had held enough conversations around the difficulty of their jobs for her to know what he was asking.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” JJ knew it wasn’t entirely the truth but she wasn’t going to say anything else. She could tell by Hotch’s expression that he wasn’t completely buying her answer. His serious, questioning gaze didn’t leave her face as he waited for her to continue. Once again she was forced to curse the fact that she worked with profilers.
Hotch could tell JJ wasn’t going to say anything else. He could also tell she was holding back. His job required treading a fine line with the agents who worked under him, especially now that Gideon was gone. The responsibility for their well-being, both physical and psychological, rested quite squarely on his shoulders and he took it very seriously. How much emotional investment was just enough without being too much was something completely vague and constantly changing. Over time he had learned that JJ always functioned in that grey area.
“Hotch,” JJ used her most no nonsense tone as she watched the wheels turning in his head. “You don’t need to watch out for me. I really am fine. I just wish I had gotten some results. You know as well as I do this job sucks when it feels like you are just spinning your wheels.” She could see that her words had gotten through whatever thoughts had made him look so pensive.
Hotch opened his mouth to speak just as his cell rang. He reached for his belt and brought the phone to his ear. “Hey Prentiss,” he thought he caught the barest glimpse of something flash in JJ’s eyes as he spoke but it was gone before he could identify it. “You and Reid take your time with Mrs. Michaels right now she’s the best lead we’ve got…Right…Call me when you are done and we’ll meet back here to debrief after your interview.”
JJ watched the one side of the conversation part of her wishing she could hear the other. She chided herself for worrying so much and tried to remind herself that Emily had done these types of interviews a thousand times and nothing too serious had ever happened. Even as she had the thought though a part of her couldn’t help but remember what had happened when she and Reid had gone out into the Georgia countryside following what seemed like a rather innocuous lead.
“Reid and Prentiss are at Helen Michaels’ house now,” Hotch said after hanging up. “They’ll let us know as soon as they are done there. They’re fine JJ,” Hotch wasn’t entirely certain why but it seemed a bit of reassurance was needed.
___________
The Congregation of the Living Water church looked like any other house of worship built in the mid-fifties. The building itself was moderately sized with high windows and a large cross that divided the double doors of the entryway and extended up to the highest point of the roof. Morgan and Rossi strolled up to the doors looking around for signs of the pastor. In the yard to the right a redhead in his mid twenties was weeding a small flower bed.
As the two men approached he stood and brushed his muddy hands off on his worn work pants. “Good morning,” he spoke in a soft almost timid voice. “Can I help you gentlemen?”
“Possibly,” Rossi spoke first flipping out his badge. “I’m Agent Rossi; this is Agent Morgan we’re with the FBI.”
“I’m not sure what you’d be here for but there’s really no one here to talk to,” the young man shrugged indicating he didn’t know what to do to help.
“You’re here,” Morgan pointed out brusquely.
“Yeah,” he shrugged again, “but I’m just pulling some weeds as a favor to Pastor John. He’s out running some errands for the church.”
“Nice of you to help out,” Rossi observed in a neutral tone. “Do you have a minute to maybe help us out too?”
“I don’t know what I can do for you but yeah I’ve got a minute.” He crossed his arms nervously as he spoke.
“Do you know Gregory Michaels? We’re investigating his sister’s murder,” Morgan kept his voice calm trying to help the young man relax.
“Greg? Yeah, I know Greg he’s been coming to church here for about four years. He’s a good man with strong faith. It’s a shame some of that didn’t rub off on his sister.” It didn’t take a great deal of profiling skill to pick up the disdain in his voice as he spoke the last sentence.
“Have you seen him lately?” Rossi, for the moment, tactfully ignored his more editorial comments.
“Not since Sunday services, but he never misses those.” He stated matter-of-factly. “Why are you looking for Greg?” Both men could see an obvious challenge in the young man’s green eyes.
“We’re just trying to get as much information as possible about the victims in order to more clearly understand why they were chosen.” Rossi answered knowing full well they wouldn’t get anywhere if they let on they suspected Gregory Michaels.
“From what I’ve read in the papers it seems pretty obvious why they were picked. Or did I read it wrong and they weren’t really all homos?” The young man’s quiet voice took on a cruel edge as he almost spat the last words.
Rossi and Morgan exchanged a quick glance at the vehemence present in the man’s tone. They could both tell there was obviously something going on in this guy’s head that was shared with their unsub. It seemed a few more questions were in order.
“That’s true, Mr…?” Rossi left the question hanging in the air hoping the young man would fill in the blank.
“Hutchins. Andrew Hutchins.” His voice had gone from hard to wary again as he shared his name with some reluctance.
______________________
Emily and Reid had been welcomed into Helen Michaels’ home and invited to sit around the island in her well lit kitchen. Emily noted that her son bore a striking resemblance to his mother, one that hadn’t been quite reflected in the photos around his house. They shared the same shade of hair and eyes, though his mother’s sandy blond was sprinkled with grey.
So far they had only exchanged the most basic of pleasantries. The ease at which they had been welcomed inside indicated that Michaels either wasn’t here or his mother had no idea what was happening. Emily was trying the gentlest approach she could manage to coax what information they could.
“As Dr. Reid mentioned we are investigating the murder of your daughter and three other women,” Emily began. “We have every reason to believe the same individual is responsible for all four deaths.”
“Yes,” Helen’s voice shook slightly as she spoke. “The police said that the last time they were here. I warned Erin she was putting herself in danger but she had no use for my motherly advice.”
“What was she doing to put herself at risk?” Emily spoke in a soft interested tone. She was fairly certain she already knew the answer to the question but they needed to hear it in the other woman’s words.
“Living that life, I told her it wasn’t safe,” the quaver in her voice increased. “Her brother tried to tell her too but she just wouldn’t listen.”
“What sort of relationship did Erin have with her brother,” Reid interjected for the first time since they had sat down.
“Well,” she paused for a moment, “they had sibling disagreements, competition, the usual you know. It seemed to get worse after their father passed away.”
“Have you seen your son much since his sister’s death?” Emily inquired finding the most subtle way she could to unearth one of the critical bits of information they required.
“He comes over for dinner every Sunday. It has been quite a comfort to me since I’ve lost both Erin and her father.” Helen’s voice took on a distant quiet tone as she continued to speak. “Greg is all I have left.”
“Your husband died two years ago?” Emily asked hoping Helen would open up about the details surrounding his death.
“Yes,” Helen paused before continuing. “It was just six weeks after Erin told us…well…I’m sure you know what she told us.”
“He died shortly after Erin came out,” Emily supplied her tone studiously neutral.
“I’m sure the two events had nothing to do with one another,” Reid interjected.
Helen Michaels took a sip of her coffee remaining silent not making eye contact with either agent. Emily watched her. She could see the very real pain in the woman’s face and didn’t slight her for it. It was also clear that somewhere in her heart she did equate her daughter’s coming out with her husband’s heart attack. The thing Emily was curious about was whether that opinion was originally hers or if it had been planted by her son.
“Did Greg blame his sister for his father’s death?” Emily knew the question wasn’t subtle but sometimes the clearest question got the clearest answer.
“As I said things were tense between them after Sean died,” Helen answered vaguely. “But they had always been very different children and then Erin was killed. It’s not as though they had time to resolve their issues before that happened.”
“Greg told me you asked him to report his sister missing. What had you worried enough to think she might be in trouble?” Emily pressed forward hoping the right question might trigger some more straightforward answers.
“She didn’t make it to Sunday dinner and wasn’t answering her phone. I was worried No matter how difficult things were, Erin was a good girl and she always made it to dinner. Greg always said I worried too much about her, that she’d obviously made her choices about what was important. But, I started to get concerned after a couple more days passed and I hadn’t heard from her. Sean always took care of things when he was alive and Greg hated to see me fret so I asked and he called,” there was no defensiveness in her voice, just a tired sadness.
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Emily/JJ
Archiving - passion and perfection if anyone else would like it let me know layla
Summary - Emily and JJ find a case hitting too close to home for both of them, in more ways than one.
Rating - R
Disclaimers: I don't own Criminal Minds, except my own
Notes: the case is starting to take shape - and just in time for the International Day of Femslash SWEET!
Notes 2: i would like to send out a huge thanks to isle_o_bubba for being the most amazing beta ever...she not only makes me a better writer but gives you a much better story to read, without her this story wouldn't be anything near what it has become.
Notes 3: i was waiting to do a big dedication when this beast was finished but it seems that the time has come to say this tale is for an amazing woman who inspires me and has inspired this story whether she knows it or not...i hope she does. love you baby.
part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7 part 8 part 9 part 10 part 11 part 12 part 13 part 14 part 15
“What sort of relationship do you think he has with his mother?” Reid’s natural curiosity kicked in shortly after they got in the SUV to drive to Helen Michaels’ house. Emily, having been the only member of the team who had met the possible unsub, was a possible wealth of information for the young doctor.
“I’m not sure,” Emily’s tone was thoughtful for a myriad of reasons. “His view of his mother is complicated. He obviously holds her in a position of respect, but that may be solely based in the Christian ideal of ‘honoring thy mother and father’. She is the one who got him to report his sister’s disappearance to the police so I would think they don’t necessarily share all of the same beliefs.”
“Do you think he would actually turn to her for help,” Reid asked. “If she already forced him into contact with the authorities he may not turn to her if he’s feeling exposed.”
“Possibly true,” Emily replied, “but if he is the unsub sending text messages to FBI agents doesn’t exactly indicate he has a fear of exposure.”
“Yes, but whoever sent those messages went to great lengths to cover their tracks.” Reid countered warming to the theoretical discussion. “If his technological savvy is enough to throw Garcia off the trail for more than a few hours he obviously isn’t exactly prepared to be discovered.”
“I’m not sure it is fear of discovery so much as fear of being stopped before his mission is complete.” Emily felt certain the fact that the text messages had contained scripture was about the unsub trying to show them the light not about making excuses. She only hoped they would track him down before he claimed any other lives. It seemed all too often more bodies had to pile up before the case was solved. Emily knew mission based killers rarely stopped unless they were caught she also knew there was every chance this unsub would kill again. At this point it was only a matter of time.
“If that were the case then why bother contacting us at all?” Reid continued attempting to work out as many of the grey areas of the profile as possible as they neared Helen Michaels’ suburban home.
“Because the killing is meaningless without the message. He has the entire gay community living in fear but he doesn’t want people to fear him, he wants people to fear God.” Emily could hear the underlying tone of anger in her own voice as she maneuvered the SUV into the driveway on a quiet cul-de-sac and parked.
__________________
“Thanks for your time Bobby.” JJ paused listening to the voice on the other end of the phone. “Please let me know if anything comes across your desk that looks interesting.” She flipped her phone closed with the finality of having made the last call on her list.
“Anything?” Hotch asked as he walked into the conference room.
“No,” JJ felt more than a slight frustration at feeling useless. “I’ve contacted all of the major media outlets and most of the minor ones but no one has received anything that even remotely resembles a message our guy would send.”
“Well,” Hotch did his best to sound reassuring rather than express any of the emotions he kept under tight control. “We knew it was a bit of a long shot going into it.”
“I guess,” JJ let out a soft sigh. “I did get a chance to reassure the local gay press that we are doing everything we can to make the streets safe, though from internet comments the community isn’t very convinced our presence really matters.”
“JJ,” Hotch had the slightest hint of hesitancy in his voice. “Are you alright?” He left the question simple knowing they had held enough conversations around the difficulty of their jobs for her to know what he was asking.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” JJ knew it wasn’t entirely the truth but she wasn’t going to say anything else. She could tell by Hotch’s expression that he wasn’t completely buying her answer. His serious, questioning gaze didn’t leave her face as he waited for her to continue. Once again she was forced to curse the fact that she worked with profilers.
Hotch could tell JJ wasn’t going to say anything else. He could also tell she was holding back. His job required treading a fine line with the agents who worked under him, especially now that Gideon was gone. The responsibility for their well-being, both physical and psychological, rested quite squarely on his shoulders and he took it very seriously. How much emotional investment was just enough without being too much was something completely vague and constantly changing. Over time he had learned that JJ always functioned in that grey area.
“Hotch,” JJ used her most no nonsense tone as she watched the wheels turning in his head. “You don’t need to watch out for me. I really am fine. I just wish I had gotten some results. You know as well as I do this job sucks when it feels like you are just spinning your wheels.” She could see that her words had gotten through whatever thoughts had made him look so pensive.
Hotch opened his mouth to speak just as his cell rang. He reached for his belt and brought the phone to his ear. “Hey Prentiss,” he thought he caught the barest glimpse of something flash in JJ’s eyes as he spoke but it was gone before he could identify it. “You and Reid take your time with Mrs. Michaels right now she’s the best lead we’ve got…Right…Call me when you are done and we’ll meet back here to debrief after your interview.”
JJ watched the one side of the conversation part of her wishing she could hear the other. She chided herself for worrying so much and tried to remind herself that Emily had done these types of interviews a thousand times and nothing too serious had ever happened. Even as she had the thought though a part of her couldn’t help but remember what had happened when she and Reid had gone out into the Georgia countryside following what seemed like a rather innocuous lead.
“Reid and Prentiss are at Helen Michaels’ house now,” Hotch said after hanging up. “They’ll let us know as soon as they are done there. They’re fine JJ,” Hotch wasn’t entirely certain why but it seemed a bit of reassurance was needed.
___________
The Congregation of the Living Water church looked like any other house of worship built in the mid-fifties. The building itself was moderately sized with high windows and a large cross that divided the double doors of the entryway and extended up to the highest point of the roof. Morgan and Rossi strolled up to the doors looking around for signs of the pastor. In the yard to the right a redhead in his mid twenties was weeding a small flower bed.
As the two men approached he stood and brushed his muddy hands off on his worn work pants. “Good morning,” he spoke in a soft almost timid voice. “Can I help you gentlemen?”
“Possibly,” Rossi spoke first flipping out his badge. “I’m Agent Rossi; this is Agent Morgan we’re with the FBI.”
“I’m not sure what you’d be here for but there’s really no one here to talk to,” the young man shrugged indicating he didn’t know what to do to help.
“You’re here,” Morgan pointed out brusquely.
“Yeah,” he shrugged again, “but I’m just pulling some weeds as a favor to Pastor John. He’s out running some errands for the church.”
“Nice of you to help out,” Rossi observed in a neutral tone. “Do you have a minute to maybe help us out too?”
“I don’t know what I can do for you but yeah I’ve got a minute.” He crossed his arms nervously as he spoke.
“Do you know Gregory Michaels? We’re investigating his sister’s murder,” Morgan kept his voice calm trying to help the young man relax.
“Greg? Yeah, I know Greg he’s been coming to church here for about four years. He’s a good man with strong faith. It’s a shame some of that didn’t rub off on his sister.” It didn’t take a great deal of profiling skill to pick up the disdain in his voice as he spoke the last sentence.
“Have you seen him lately?” Rossi, for the moment, tactfully ignored his more editorial comments.
“Not since Sunday services, but he never misses those.” He stated matter-of-factly. “Why are you looking for Greg?” Both men could see an obvious challenge in the young man’s green eyes.
“We’re just trying to get as much information as possible about the victims in order to more clearly understand why they were chosen.” Rossi answered knowing full well they wouldn’t get anywhere if they let on they suspected Gregory Michaels.
“From what I’ve read in the papers it seems pretty obvious why they were picked. Or did I read it wrong and they weren’t really all homos?” The young man’s quiet voice took on a cruel edge as he almost spat the last words.
Rossi and Morgan exchanged a quick glance at the vehemence present in the man’s tone. They could both tell there was obviously something going on in this guy’s head that was shared with their unsub. It seemed a few more questions were in order.
“That’s true, Mr…?” Rossi left the question hanging in the air hoping the young man would fill in the blank.
“Hutchins. Andrew Hutchins.” His voice had gone from hard to wary again as he shared his name with some reluctance.
______________________
Emily and Reid had been welcomed into Helen Michaels’ home and invited to sit around the island in her well lit kitchen. Emily noted that her son bore a striking resemblance to his mother, one that hadn’t been quite reflected in the photos around his house. They shared the same shade of hair and eyes, though his mother’s sandy blond was sprinkled with grey.
So far they had only exchanged the most basic of pleasantries. The ease at which they had been welcomed inside indicated that Michaels either wasn’t here or his mother had no idea what was happening. Emily was trying the gentlest approach she could manage to coax what information they could.
“As Dr. Reid mentioned we are investigating the murder of your daughter and three other women,” Emily began. “We have every reason to believe the same individual is responsible for all four deaths.”
“Yes,” Helen’s voice shook slightly as she spoke. “The police said that the last time they were here. I warned Erin she was putting herself in danger but she had no use for my motherly advice.”
“What was she doing to put herself at risk?” Emily spoke in a soft interested tone. She was fairly certain she already knew the answer to the question but they needed to hear it in the other woman’s words.
“Living that life, I told her it wasn’t safe,” the quaver in her voice increased. “Her brother tried to tell her too but she just wouldn’t listen.”
“What sort of relationship did Erin have with her brother,” Reid interjected for the first time since they had sat down.
“Well,” she paused for a moment, “they had sibling disagreements, competition, the usual you know. It seemed to get worse after their father passed away.”
“Have you seen your son much since his sister’s death?” Emily inquired finding the most subtle way she could to unearth one of the critical bits of information they required.
“He comes over for dinner every Sunday. It has been quite a comfort to me since I’ve lost both Erin and her father.” Helen’s voice took on a distant quiet tone as she continued to speak. “Greg is all I have left.”
“Your husband died two years ago?” Emily asked hoping Helen would open up about the details surrounding his death.
“Yes,” Helen paused before continuing. “It was just six weeks after Erin told us…well…I’m sure you know what she told us.”
“He died shortly after Erin came out,” Emily supplied her tone studiously neutral.
“I’m sure the two events had nothing to do with one another,” Reid interjected.
Helen Michaels took a sip of her coffee remaining silent not making eye contact with either agent. Emily watched her. She could see the very real pain in the woman’s face and didn’t slight her for it. It was also clear that somewhere in her heart she did equate her daughter’s coming out with her husband’s heart attack. The thing Emily was curious about was whether that opinion was originally hers or if it had been planted by her son.
“Did Greg blame his sister for his father’s death?” Emily knew the question wasn’t subtle but sometimes the clearest question got the clearest answer.
“As I said things were tense between them after Sean died,” Helen answered vaguely. “But they had always been very different children and then Erin was killed. It’s not as though they had time to resolve their issues before that happened.”
“Greg told me you asked him to report his sister missing. What had you worried enough to think she might be in trouble?” Emily pressed forward hoping the right question might trigger some more straightforward answers.
“She didn’t make it to Sunday dinner and wasn’t answering her phone. I was worried No matter how difficult things were, Erin was a good girl and she always made it to dinner. Greg always said I worried too much about her, that she’d obviously made her choices about what was important. But, I started to get concerned after a couple more days passed and I hadn’t heard from her. Sean always took care of things when he was alive and Greg hated to see me fret so I asked and he called,” there was no defensiveness in her voice, just a tired sadness.