Psychopathy

Chapter 29- The Arrangement

Isabel saw nothing, felt nothing, knew nothing. In fact, it was as if she barely existed.

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JJ's fingers hovered over the keypad on the phone, nervous about making the call. For a second she chided herself for her nerves. Back when she was the communications liaison, this was the part of her job that she loved the most: speaking to families. But for some reason, this was different. Maybe it was because she was talking to Ciara's family. Maybe it was because she had just come back to the BAU and was already being thrown into the middle of the investigation into Ciara. Or maybe it was because she was dreading learning about why Ciara had kept her family hidden in the first place.

"Come on. You can do this," she pumped herself up, before finally dialing the number Garcia had given her. She wasn't sure what to expect, but when the person on the other end picked up after three rings, she didn't have time to think. The time was upon her.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Tybalt Byrne?" she asked.

"It's Ty," he asserted, already sounding aggravated. Well, this wasn't a good start. But how was she supposed to know he went by Ty?

"Excuse me?"

"I hate the name Tybalt. I go by Ty," Ty explained, the aggravation in his voice growing. But that wasn't the only thing in his voice that JJ noticed. Ciara had always spoken with a soft Irish lilt. Ty didn't do that; in fact, he spoke with a very strong, clear Midwestern accent. If one hadn't known Ciara, they would have guessed she grew up in Ireland and not in Nebraska. Ty, however, definitely sounded like he had lived in Nebraska his whole life. She only wondered if Teresa had the Irish accent or the Midwestern accent, and what either answer would mean.

"I apologize, Ty. I didn't know," she responded, and she heard Ty take a deep breath.

"Yeah, of course you didn't. Well, I forgive you. Just this once. Don't let it happen again," he told her, and she raised an eyebrow. Well, he certainly had an attitude. But she supposed many businesspeople had that attitude of self-importance. Ciara was one of the few she had ever met that didn't, and she wondered if Teresa had that attitude, as well. JJ couldn't wait to hear what Morgan, Akilah, and Reid had to say about Teresa Byrne. "So, who is this?"

"Oh, of course. I'm Agent Jennifer Jareau with the FBI's Behavioral-"

"FBI? What the hell is the FBI doing calling me? I have done absolutely nothing wrong, I'll have you know!" he argued, and JJ laughed to herself. She probably shouldn't have opened with that. Innocent people almost always got defensive when they thought they were being accused of something.

"Oh, no, of course not! I'm not accusing you of something. I simply want to talk to you about your sister, Ciara," JJ responded, and Ty fell eerily silent. He didn't speak for a solid minute, and JJ started coming up with ways to save the conversation. At this point, JJ was surprised that he hadn't just hung up. Before she could say anything, though, Ty finally spoke.

"What did she do this time?" Ty asked, before laughing. "Well, whatever it is, I can't do you any good. She never did listen to me."

"No, you misunderstand. She didn't do anything, but-"

"Then why are you bothering me?"