Say It Again

Chapter 4: 48 Hours

"Hey, JJ, wake up. We gotta go," Emily says, shaking me gently. I open my eyes, and look around the room, still a little disoriented.

"What's going on? Is it five already?" I ask, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"No. It's not even four yet." Emily pulls a dark blue shirt out of her bag as she responds. "They just found another body."

"Where?" I'm wide awake now, and I climb out of bed quickly.

"Remember that statue we passed earlier, with the lady holding the bug up in the air?"

"Yeah, it's right in the middle of the main street running through downtown."

"Apparently the body is there, but I don't know anything else. Hotch said to meet him there as soon as possible. I'm going to go brush my teeth and get dressed. Let's leave in 10 minutes, yeah?" Emily disappears around the corner into the bathroom as she finishes speaking.

"Sounds good, but I think I need some coffee," I respond, pulling my shirt over my head.

"You and me both, Jen," I smile despite my exhaustion, realizing once again that I kind of like that she doesn't always call me JJ like everyone else.

...

Twenty minutes later, I hop out of the black SUV and duck under the crime scene tape, Emily right behind me. Somehow it's already hot and humid outside, even at 4 am.

"Good, you're here. I finally woke Morgan up five minutes ago, but he and Spencer are going to meet us at the station," Hotch says, as usual forgoing small talk.

I open my mouth to reply, but I stop short as I notice the victim in front of me. She looks like she was probably in her late fifties. Her gray hair is pulled up in a bun, and she's dressed in modest clothing. As with the other victims, a plastic bag is pulled over her head.

What catches my attention is the way she's posed. She was tied to the statue and posed in the same manner: standing upright with arms above her head. I let my gaze drift up toward her hands and notice a sign with one word written on it:

REMEMBER.

The sign is propped in front of the large boll weevil the statue holds, and it's sloped down a little, as if it was thrown up haphazardly.

I look back down at her face and allow myself to focus on it for the first time. She has an expression of horror, her mouth open in what was probably a scream. I turn away quickly, trying to shake the image from my mind. Unfortunately, I know that I will probably be seeing it for a while. That's the worst part of this job. I never really get to go home.

I hurry toward our vehicle and climb into the front seat, putting my head on the dashboard in front of me to try to control my breathing. I hear footsteps approach slowly and turn my head to see Emily coming toward me.

"JJ, are you alright?" Her brown eyes are full of concern, and she lays a hand gently on my back.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I don't usually react like this, but the look on her face was awful. I can't imagine ever feeling as scared as she must've been," I respond, sitting up and facing Emily.

"That was hard for me to look at too. We're going to catch the son of a bitch that did that," her voice is hard and decisive.

"Yeah we will. Do you mind if I stay here while you finish up with Hotch and Gideon? I'm going to call and organize a press conference for 9:00. That'll give us a few hours to finish the profile," I say, already pulling out my phone.

"I think staying here would be good. I should only be another ten or fifteen minutes. Are you sure you're okay?" Emily asks, stepping back from the SUV.