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Chapter 12

"I once read this quote by Elisabeth Fry and I can't help but think of it as my life's goal: Punishment is not for revenge, but to lessen crime and reform the criminal."

- Detective Cozak

Metro PD

Detective Marty Cozak was a man carrying a little more around his middle than was probably healthy, but his weight paled in comparison to the damage of smoking more than a pack a day for the last decade.

He crushed out his latest cigarette as he thought about his case and sighed. The sigh was punctuated by a deep, unhealthy sounding cough. From the pocket of his coat he retrieved a handkerchief and wiped his nose feverishly.

On his way back to his office he wondered why they wouldn't just let him smoke in the station? He'd get a lot more work done if he didn't need to leave his desk so much. When he arrived, Greggs was waiting for him. He had a file in hand and looked unhappy.

He took the file and flipped through it. He'd only been gone a few minutes, but that didn't mean things couldn't change. Sometimes cases moved quickly. "What's her story?" he asked, the younger man.

"Outside of that file, your guess is as good as mine," Greggs responded. "She's been in the box for hours, she hasn't asked for a lawyer, she hasn't asked to talk to a union rep, she hasn't taken a drink of water or needed a bathroom break. She just sits and stares."

With a curt nod, Cozak ran a hand through his short black hair, which was showing signs of grey. "She's a trained FBI agent," he reminded his friend. "She's not going to make it easy."

Shifting the folder to under his arm Cozak went into the viewing room opposite Jennifer Jareau. Before he locked himself in a room with the woman he thought killed her husband, he liked to get a feel for who she was. He'd read her file, the parts that weren't redacted at least and it was impressive. She was a Rockstar over at the FBI apparently. He had to turn the page to see the entire list of her awards and commendations. Still, none of that precluded her from being a potential murderer. He'd seen lots of good upstanding people kill when they were pushed far enough.

Just as Gregg's promised the plastic cup of water on the table looked untouched. Jennifer sat with her hands neatly folded in front of her, as if the cuffs connecting her to the big ring in the center of the table weren't there. Under the table he could see her left leg casually tucked behind the right. She wasn't tapping her toes and shifting uncomfortably in her seat, she looked perfectly at ease.

In addition to not moving, she rarely blinked, choosing instead to stare straight ahead into the glass she couldn't see through. To Cozak it was as if she knew he was there watching and she wanted him to feel just as watched as she did. The intensity in her eyes unnerved him and he shivered.

He took a few minutes in the hallway to collect his thoughts before he opened the door to the interrogation room and stepped inside. His prisoner didn't acknowledge him and she didn't even flinch as he tossed the file in front of her. He sighed, he cleared his throat, he even paced around the small room and she never broke her eye contact with the mirror. If he wasn't so frustrated by the woman he might have praised her willpower.

In an admittedly childish gesture he waved his hand in front of her face, snapped his fingers and stomped his feet, anything to try and get a reaction.

"Still not talking?" he asked rhetorically as he shook his head. "This silent treatment doesn't help anyone, certainly not you. I'm paid to be here, but you've got kids Jennifer. Don't you want to talk to me so you can go home to your kids?"

For the first time he saw a flicker of something. When he mentioned her kids, the tough exterior broke a bit, if only for a second. "Don't want to go see your kids, that's fine. That's perfectly fine with me. Since we're both here how about you listen? You killed your husband. I get it, I've got two ex-wives I know how rough divorce can be. You called your lawyer, you had him served with papers and then you went to talk about it. Maybe he said something, maybe he hit you, I don't know, but whatever happened, you snapped and you killed him. Does that sound about right?"

It would have been easy for JJ to ignore his comments just as she ignored everything else, but not nearly as helpful. If he kept talking she'd have a better understanding of what evidence led to her arrest.

Detective Cozak opened the file and lifted the first page. Holding a picture of Will's dead body between her and the spot she was staring at, he forced her to see what the first responders saw when they found him. She knew what Cozak was doing and she knew why, he wanted to get a response.

With no other choice she studied the picture for clues, swallowing down the mess of feelings that were bubbling up at the sight of the man she'd once loved and married dead. Yes, he'd been abusive, but they weren't all bad times and he'd been a good man once. She recognized the location as her former home. Will's body was lying in a pool of blood with multiple gunshot wounds to his chest.

Cozak finally lowered the picture. "Ugly shit, huh? You know who I feel bad for, other than your husband, who you killed. I feel bad for your neighbor. Lady was just out walking her dog and has an idea to stop in and say hi to that 'Nice policeman from New Orleans'," he said mimicking their neighbor's voice to emphasize his point. "Instead she finds that," he said slamming his finger down hard on the picture of Will's body.

Giving his head another shake, he picked up the picture and slapped the backside against his open hand. "What did he say to you? What did he say that got you angry enough to cut him with a kitchen knife and then shoot him four times?"

"It's over sweetheart," he said in a mocking tone. "Prison is going to be rough for an FBI agent but I can help you. If you tell me what happened, I'll talk to the DA and the judge, see if we can't get you kept someplace safe."

Seconds ticked by as Cozak waited for her to accept but JJ refused to break, she wouldn't even bend. Cozak looked at JJ, amused. "I know you've done a lot of interrogations too, so you know I wouldn't be here if I didn't have evidence. Do you think a federal judge is going to give me an arrest warrant for a federal agent just because I asked nicely?"

For the second time Cozak held up a picture in front of JJ, this time it was a closeup shot of a long blonde hair. "I'm sure there's a good reason for your hair being on his body, right?"

Looking at the picture she shrugged her shoulders and drew her lips into a straight line. "That's not evidence, it's a hair, my hair in what for years was my home. Not exactly surprising detective."

Pleased that he had her talking, Cozak set the picture down and rubbed his sweaty hands together. "Now we're getting somewhere."

Another turn of the page brought up a picture of Will's body again, this time focusing on his shirt. "Our techs found prints on his shirt, your prints, in right about the place you'd grab someone if you were fighting with them." He held out his hands in front of him, mimicking the action he was describing.

"That doesn't prove anything. Who do you think did the laundry in our house? Who picked up his jacket and hung it on a hook when he threw it across the back of the couch?"

"This is a statement of a witness. Claims to have seen you arriving by taxi. She thought it odd since she knows you have a car, but she found it stranger when the cab driver stayed parked down the street for an hour. According to my witness she saw you return to the cab an hour later, with blood on your hands." He paused and then clapped loudly. "Don't worry I won't ask you to try and explain that, because we both know there is no good reason for you to be leaving your home on the day your husband was murdered covered in blood."

Deep breathes worked to keep JJ calm and outwardly unbothered. She watched her reflection, seeing the tension in her neck and white teeth she was struggling not to grit in rage.

"Let's talk about the murder weapon, shall we?"

Knocking on the window JJ was staring at, Cozak gave a signal to those he knew were watching. In less than a minute the interrogation room door opened and he was handed a carboard box JJ recognized as the type used to store firearms.

He set the box in front of her, and leaned in as he lifted the lid, his hands dangerously close to hers on the table. Immediately she recognized it as her spare weapon. Up until then she thought it was where it always was, safely stored away in her bedroom closet.

"I don't think you planned this," Cozak began, "I think you're too smart to kill him with a gun registered to you, unless it happened in the heat of the moment. You were fighting, maybe he says he wants the kids, maybe he hits you, and the gun was there. If that's what happened Jennifer, I can help you. If that's what happened, it doesn't sound like first degree murder." He paused and did what he could to soften his voice. "Jennifer, you obviously weren't thinking clearly. You left the murder weapons for us to find in your kitchen. You didn't do anything to flee, or obstruct justice. This will you're your case. Just tell me what happened, get it off your chest and I'll do everything I can to help you."

After attempting the role of the 'good cop' Cozak ended their interview by returning to the 'bad cop'. "Fine, you sit there and say nothing. You act tough, but we've got enough to charge you and we've definitely got enough to hold you. Talk to me and maybe I can help, otherwise we'll get you moved out to the jail so you can begin the rest of your life."

Cozak was gathering up the pictures and slipping them into the file when he turned his head and found Jennifer Jareau staring straight at him, not the window, him. "I want a lawyer."

The Hospital

The entire team were huddled around Emily's hospital room. As much as they were there to try and help JJ, they were multitasking, working tirelessly to keep Emily in the bed and resting. The unit chief had threatened, attempted to bribe and eventually resorted to pleading with hospital staff but everyone agreed she needed to remain where she was.

Reid and Rossi were sitting in the rooms few chairs while the others stood, leaning against walls or pacing near the window. Garcia was sitting on the bottom corner of the bed, at Emily's feet, with her computer resting in her lap while her fingers blurred over the keys.

Piece by piece, as the details and evidence were logged by Metro, Garcia got access for the team. Making use of the nurse's printer Garcia got a copy of the hacked file for each member to review.

"This is bad Emily," Rossi said, saying what Emily suspected they were all thinking. "He was shot with her gun, in her house."

"Don't forget the witness," Alvez commented.

"If this witness is to be believed JJ went there when she left the hospital and came out with blood on her hands."

Rossi's accurate summary of how screwed up things were, wasn't helping Emily see a solution.

"What's the motive?" Morgan pressed. "Why would she kill him today? Hours after your car accident, before she knew you were going to be okay even?"

Emily knew this was her crossroads. She either told the team everything and they worked together to free JJ or she left them in the dark and did it alone. She wondered what JJ would want and she could hear the blonde's voice in her ear, 'Use the team,' she'd say.

With an exaggerated sigh she closed the file just so she wouldn't have to look at Will's face anymore. "They'll find plenty of motive," she predicted sadly. "Once they start digging they'll find all they need to back up their circumstantial case."

"Emily…" Tara said, stepping over to comfort her, but Emily shook her head and raised a hand to ask for silence.

"Will was abusing her," she said, her mouth twisting in disgust as she formed the words. "She was going to leave him." One at a time she looked at the horrified and hurt expressions of her friends and she hurried to repair the damage. "Okay, look JJ didn't want to tell anyone. I only found out because I saw the bruises when we were undercover."

"But we could have helped," Reid mumbled, his eyes showing the depth of his pain. JJ had always been his best friend and somewhere deep down, it upset him that she hadn't confided in him. "We could have done something."

Emily looked to the foot of her bed where the usually bubbly blonde was crying instead of typing.

"That'll give Metro all they need," Alvez guessed.

Garcia rushed to her friend's defense. "That's not all they need. How about the truth? I don't care if she had reasons to want him to dead, she couldn't, she wouldn't do it."

"You're right Garcia," Emily said in a firm voice. "She didn't do it, but she does need our help."

"There isn't much we can do," Morgan admitted. "They're going to hold her until her arraignment and with this evidence," he said holding up his copy of the file. "She isn't going to get bail."

Garcia was immediately horrified. "Oh my God, what is going to happen to her in there?"

Emily tried to get up on her own until Rossi offered aid. Ignoring her injuries Emily went to Garcia and hugged her. "We are going to help JJ, I promise."

"Where do we start?" Rossi asked, still helping to support Emily's weight.

"The prostitute murder, the one left for us outside the office. JJ and I had a theory that Will killed her."

"Emily!" Tara chastised. "You should have told us."

"I know, believe me I know, but it was just a hunch and we wanted to be sure before we dragged his name through the mud."

"You thought telling us would reveal JJ's secret," Reid correctly assessed.

"I was just trying to protect her. Tara, you and Reid dig into Will's life. Was he having affairs? Was he going to prostitutes? Every second of his life I want analyzed. Garcia, help them with that please."

"What about us boss?" Alvez asked, looking suggestively between him and Rossi.

"You two have the best instincts. Get access to that house and make sense of what happened there. Find me a logical reason JJ could come out of there with blood on her hands."

"Sounds great," Rossi agreed, "but local police aren't going to let us anywhere near that crime scene. It's going to be locked up tight."

"I don't want you to take anything, just look around. Garcia will get the reports from Metro as they receive the results anyway. Just go and see what you can find."

"They won't let us," Alvez chimed in, echoing Rossi's earlier point.

"Give the officer in charge my number. Tell him or her I'd consider it a personal favor if they let you two look around."

With the orders given everyone rushed to get started. When only Morgan and Emily remained, he smiled wide and shook his head. "Offering favors to get a look at a crime scene? You really have come up in the world."

"Having an FBI unit chief owing you a favor can be a valuable bargaining chip."

"I thought you hated politics."

"Still do," she promised, "but this is for JJ, so I'll do whatever it takes."

"We'll figure this out Emily."

"I know," she assured him. "Now help me up I need to go and see JJ."

"What!? You can't be serious."

To prove she was indeed serious she removed the monitors and the room quickly filled with beeping alarms. Not long after she removed the IV from the top of her hand a nurse came to check on her. "Is everything alr…" she started to say, disinterested until she realized what was happening. "Miss Prentiss. You need to get back into bed. That IV was helping you."

"Two options, one I go on a field trip and promise to come back when I'm done or two I sign myself out against medical advice and go back to work tomorrow?"

"Will you be accompanying her? She can't drive in her current state and if what she intends to do is dangerous…"

"It's not," Emily insisted.

"I'll be with her the whole time," Morgan added. "Please, I'll have her back in no time."

Turning off the protesting monitor the nurse nodded. "She'll still need to sign out."

Metro PD

Detective Cozak was enjoying a fresh cup of coffee, thinking about the praise that would be coming his way for catching a killer FBI agent, when the door to his office swung wide and bounced violently off the wall. Emily Prentiss walked in like she owned the place, even with the limp, glaring at him the whole time. He noticed her partner standing in the squad room, already in conversation with some of his men. "I need to talk to Jennifer Jareau," she demanded without pleasantries.

He recognized her as the woman from the hospital, and by all accounts she should still be there. Her clothes were covered in dried blood he hoped was from the accident, her jacket was torn and her right hand still had a bandage. Her attractive face showed signs of extensive bruising. He had no doubt there were many more injuries under her clothes that remained hidden. "Shouldn't you be in the hospital?" he asked with a smug look on his face.

"Jennifer Jareau. Where is she?"

"I know that usually when you Feds march in and bark orders people listen but not me lady. Miss Jareau has been arrested for murder. Unless you're her attorney you're out of luck."

Emily's features softened as she sat down on the edge of the detective's desk. With a man like Cozak, stroking his ego was the fastest way for her to get what she wanted. "Oh, come on, you said it yourself, you already arrested her. Nothing I do is going to change that. I'm not going to break her out, I just want to make sure she's okay. She should still be in the hospital." Five minutes, that's all I'm asking for."

"Two," Cozak challenged, wanting to remain in control. Emily let him believe he was and she did her best to smile while she thought of ways to hurt him.

"Fine but you turn off the listening devices and the cameras."

"No way. That's not going to happen."

"I'm going to see her," Emily said confidently. "Now we can do that quietly, and be the only two people who know, or we can make it big and loud. I'll call my boss and he'll call your chief." With her threat made she petted his ego again. "You've got a big win here Detective. Don't allow your shortsightedness to stand in the way."

"Fine, no audio, but the camera stays on."

Emily could live with that. "Agreed."

Morgan joined them and she directed him into the observation room to ensure no police officers were listening.

He opened the door and revealed JJ handcuffed to a table. She wanted to rush in but Cozak stopped her. "Two minutes," he repeated, before he let her pass.

Hearing this JJ turned her head toward the door and her even expression broke into a smile. "Emily," she gasped, clearly surprised to see her friend standing where she was. With limited time Emily kicked the door closed in Cozak's face and then hurried to JJ.

Ignoring the chair, she sat on the corner of the metal table, within reach of JJ's soft hair. Reaching down she took one of JJ's cuffed hands in hers, holding it gently. "They can't hear us, but we don't have long."

"I haven't said anything," JJ whispered.

"JJ, what happened after you left the hospital?"

This was all her fault. JJ knew that. It's all she'd been thinking about when Cozak went through his case, when he poked her to try and illicit a reaction. It was all her fault. Now the devastation was scattered far and wide. Will, her boys, Emily, the team, even her own life, she'd ruined everything. If she needed further proof it was right in front of her. Emily was here with her instead of resting comfortably in a bed, recovering from the accident that nearly killed them both.

She couldn't take it all back, no matter how she wished to. The best she could do now was mitigate the damage. "Get out." Her voice was so soft it barely reached her ears over her panting breath. It seemed as if Emily hadn't heard her so she raised her voice and tried again, "Get out!"

Emily climbed off the table, surprised by the outburst. "JJ, I'm here to get you out. I'm going to help you but you need to tell me..."

"Don't start, Emily!" JJ snapped, her eyes boring into the brunette's. She knew she was hurting her friend, but she needed Emily to distance herself now. She couldn't let this ruin her career and her life too. This was the last decent thing she could do. "You know what happened. I'm sure by now Garcia's got the file. You know, she knows, the team knows. Don't ask me what happened Emily just go back to the hospital and get better. Tell the team I'm sorry."

Emily moved into a position that gave JJ no option but to look at her. "What are you talking about? I don't know anything. You left the hospital, told Morgan you were going to get fresh air and the next thing I know you're being arrested." She ran her fingers through her already messy hair. "Damn it JJ why are you fighting me?"

"Because I did it, alright!" JJ screamed. Emily's knees buckled and she was forced to rely on the table to keep her standing. Although JJ sounded serious, Emily still had her doubts. "I killed him. I belong here, just go away."