VIOLENT DELIGHTS, aaron hotchner

compulsion to move

An uneventful week passes, bringing Juliette to the next Saturday. With Jack at a sleepover and no impending cases, her and Aaron meet for an early brunch with plans to spend their day at a DC museum.

They're at an elegant diner just outside of Quantico, a place Juliette enjoys because they serve mimosas and smells of flowers. The last thing she expects to hear over the background chatter is the sound of Aaron's phone ringing.

Although she hadn't had the chance to speak with Spencer about his date, she had a feeling it didn't go as planned when he's more withdrawn from the team. Even so, she didn't expect for Aaron's face to fall the second he answers the call, waving over their waitress while reassuring the person on the other side.

Hanging up, he finally turns to Juliette. "That was Reid. He said there's an emergency, that I need to meet him at Quantico as soon as possible."

She's just as confused as him, but pulls out her wallet and places a few bills on the table before following him outside. The car ride is filled with tension, the two grilling each other about what could be going on. "That's all he said? Nothing else?" Juliette pries.

"No, you heard how short the call was, that's all he said." Aaron answers, obviously stressed. "Do you know what this could be about? Does he really have a girlfriend?"

"I'm sorry, that was a dumb question." She takes a breath. "I think they're dating, but he would only call her from a payphone. I didn't press why, he said he was happy. God, I fucked up."

"Hey, we don't even know what's going on yet." He reaches out for her hand, lacing their fingers together and tightening his grip. "Nothing's your fault, we'll figure this out."

Racing into his office, no one acknowledges why Juliette is there, just that she can help. Spencer sits on Hotch's couch, holding a stack of letters. "I believe the woman I've been talking to, Maeve Donovan, is in trouble. Our correspondence started 10 months ago. She wrote me a compliment on my Journal of Behavioral Psych article, and for 3 months, this is how we communicated, because she was scared."

Hotch's brow furrows. "Scared of whom?"

"She didn't know, only that he was dangerous. Horribly threatening phone calls, letters, emails, no matter where she moved. It's why I never called her from the same phone booth twice."

"How do you know she's in danger?"

"Because we always addressed our letters to pseudonyms."

"And you're Dr. Joseph Bell?" Juliette asks, holding up one of the letters she had started reading.

"The real-life inspiration for Sherlock Holmes." Spencer nods. "And that codename is how I know she's in trouble. The voice on the phone identified himself as Adam Worth. That was the American criminal that Arthur Conan Doyle based the character of Moriarty on."

"What did he say to you?" Hotch asks.

"Zugzwang."

Hotch looks confused, so Juliette explains. "It's a chess term. It describes the point in a game when a player realizes they'll inevitably be checkmated. They have to decide whether to resign or play through to the end."

"You know if you're right about this, then you're apart of his victimology, too." He says, the concern in his voice almost scaring Juliette.

"I know." Spencer nods. "Please help me."

So Hotch calls the team in, and after a briefing, everyone agrees to help on their own time. Blake and Juliette continue to read over the letters, while Garcia searches for any information about Maeve.