REQUIEM - Emily Prentiss

Ch. 2, Downfall

THE BAU

The team split up into their assigned pairs and headed out to the crime scenes. Morgan drove while Emily sat in the passenger seat routing them to the location.

"So," Morgan dragged on, trying to start a conversation, "Did you finish getting your apartment together?"

Emily scoffed, "It's been done for the past few months, Morgan."

"Last time I was there," he started, "You had one box still sitting there."

"That one box is put away, thank you very much," Emily shot back, "And it was one box."

"Yes, and it was one box haunting you," Morgan hinted, "One box reminding you that you can move."

"Yeah, well I'm not gonna do that," Emily sighed with a sad smile, "My therapist has burnt it into my mind that I up and leave because it is what I'm used to, so it's the easiest thing to do when I'm unsure. But I am only thinking that way because things haven't been easy since I got back and I'm still working through all of it. Leaving here wouldn't solve those problems. I just need to stay put and deal with my feelings."

"Emily Prentiss has feelings," Morgan teased.

"Oh shut it," Emily smirked, "See, I have friends. Besides, you guys need me. You were screwed without me."

"Oh definitely," Morgan said. "Well, here we are."

The view from the window of the car was a scrappy old dive bar. The brick was worn and the sign was chipped, but this was the place. Neon caution tape wrapped around the edges, but passersby didn't even seem to notice. If they did, it wasn't something they were phased by.

"This area looks desirable," Emily remarked sarcastically.

"Definitely," Morgan smirked. "Did you look for a house here?"

Emily let out a small scoff.

The pair headed out into the cold weather. It had become increasingly chilly from earlier this morning. The wind was picking up around them and Emily found herself wrapping her arms around her torso trying to stay warm. The pair flashed their badges to the officer who lead them under the tape.

"You guys must be from the FBI," a man said. "Detective Packard."

"Agent Emily Prentiss," Emily shook his hand.

"Agent Derek Morgan," Morgan following suit, "So where was the body exactly found?"

"Right over here behind this dumpster," Detective Packard pointed. "A barback found her when he was dropping off a delivery in the evening before they opened. There are no cameras at all in the area that could get a view. We think was here sometime between the times of 6 am and 3 pm. The owner of the bar went out the back last night and saw no one, and the barback was the first one here. They both have an alibi for the first part of the day."

"The area is secluded enough to not be seen directly from the street," Dereck noted.

"Yeah," Emily agreed looking around. "It would be high risk to do something during the day, but from here no one would be able to see and the sounds would be muffled. What about the owner? Did he recognize Hannah?"

"Yeah," the detective nodded, "She was a regular. She had been showing up more often the past few weeks. Rambled a lot. The owner said that she had seemed to be unraveling a bit. But he didn't think much of it since half the crowd here is that way. Besides that, he couldn't say much about her."

Emily nodded and took a look around, "From the others, we know there is most likely a pattern and this wasn't random. She was most likely targeted. Did you ask if anyone was seen with her or had been acting odd towards her?"