[𝟐] 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 - 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙨

𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐄𝐑

ROSIE WAS GETTING ALONG WITH THE TEAM SO WELL. It made Emily and I feel so much better that she had other people here who love her. She's not used to a support system like this. I'm just thrilled we could provide her with what she never had.

Tara was back from her research. Emily and I walked into the office and saw her.

"Delia! Emily! It's so nice to see you guys again!" She exclaimed happily. That woman is so smart. I love working with her.

"It's good to see you!"

"Are you guys back for good?" She asked us. That was still to be determined. I kinda miss our life back in London but I do have to say, it's more eventful here.

"Right now, it's still temporary." Emily replied. Tara nodded.

"Well, either way, it's a pleasure to work with you guys again." She paused. "And you're going to have to tell me all about Rosie."

"Oh, you're gonna love her." I smiled.

We had to put this conversation on pause and move into the conference room. There's a case.

Rosie has been doing well with Emily and I not being home all the time. JJ gave Will the rundown and he's on standby if she needs anything. And of course, Penelope. She's said multiple times that Rosie can come chill in her office while we're away on a case. Rosie is a self-sufficient girl. Despite everything she's gone through, she has a good head on her shoulders.

Rossi walked into the conference room. "Hotch is still away on TDY but he's available for consulting if we need it."

I miss Hotch. It's not the same without him here.

"Okay, for those of us who kvetch about our AM commute, this will put it in perspective. This AM, a Virginia state trooper discovered a bag of dismembered body parts. They were with a homeless man's belongings. That homeless man then fled into the mountains." Garcia said and pulled up a map.

At first I was happy the case was local. Then, I saw just how "local" in the map.

"The Appalachian trail." I muttered.

And then, it felt familiar because we had a case in that area 6 years ago. It was not pretty. Spencer, JJ, Rossi, Emily and I all shared a look.

"Am I missing something?" Luke asked.

"We had a case in the same general area 6 years ago. The unsub was never caught." Spencer replied.

"That guy was a pedophile. Do the body parts in Virginia belong to a child?" Rossi asked.

"They do not." Garcia replied. That's a plus.

"If there's a silver lining in this, that would qualify." JJ muttered.

"The trail does have some history. In the early 1980's, Randall Lee Smith killed two hikers there. He served 15 years, got released, then went back to the exact same spot and tried to kill 2 more people." Spencer explained.