[CM] THE CASE

There is no coincidence. ——Feng Menglong

"James Griffith." Griffith fiddled with the "JG" on the bracelet and said, "When I was ten years old, he was an external professor at a university near my home, specializing in criminal psychology, and occasionally cooperated with the police on some cases. I was one of them victims of the case."

Elle didn't speak knowingly, waiting for Griffith to explain herself.

"I... when he rescued me, I was in a bad condition. I couldn't communicate with the outside world. I could only scream." Griffith said, "He took me home and counseled me patiently. Because I was an orphan, he still Take care of my daily life, count me as my adoptive father."

"He is american?"

"Yes, he took me back to China when I was an adult, and granted me citizenship by the way. However, one day I woke up and never saw him again."

Elle frowned: "Missing persons? You should call the police."

"No, it wasn't. He left a note telling me he was home. He said I was able to live on my own and hoped I could take good care of myself. I knew he had a wife and children, and I thought he might I went back to them. I... I just want to meet him, tell him I'm doing well, and repay him for his upbringing." Griffith smiled wryly, "But I don't know anything about him except his name and appearance. "

"So you joined the FBI as a forensic scientist?" Elle couldn't find the logic in it, and her tone was almost incredible.

"People who studied criminal psychology at that time were more or less related to the public security agencies, especially professors like James. I collected his information and found that he used to be a member of BAU, but the time was very short. You may not have Did. If so, he probably still keeps an eye on it. After all, for that generation, this job was never retiring.”

This is a very common psychology. Elle pursed her lips, and turned the topic to something she was more interested in: "You just said, the experience of seeing the victim?"

Griffith's body tensed, as if resisting the question. Elle did not intend to let him go: "I don't believe it. To put it bluntly, this is a manifestation of empathy. We all have feelings, and we can detach ourselves from empathy and analyze the case rationally. You do Less than that just means you are unqualified, not anything special."

Griffith closed his eyes, as if he didn't want to argue with her.

In a moment, he turned back to the silent person, as if he had never revealed his sincerity.

"Go back." He said wearily and weakly, "I...will not tell Hotch about today."

Elle sneered: "Don't tell Hotch? Do you know that what I just did was dangerous?"

"Yeah, I won't tell Hotch because I don't want him to be disappointed." Griffith's eyes fell on her hand gripping the steering wheel, "I'm sure you won't do anything like this in the future."

Elle didn't take it seriously: "How could you..."

"They say you're good, so you'll know your mistakes and correct them, won't you?"

Elle didn't speak.She started the car, and the bright headlights concealed her gloomy expression.

The black car sank into the pitch-black night, and the bright red taillights dimmed, like a tossing mind finally found a burial place, and fell asleep contentedly.

"Happy birthday!"

As soon as Griffith entered the office, he was blown up by Garcia's fireworks.He blankly wiped off the confetti on his face, looked at the cream cake on his desk: "Huh?"

JJ happily pushed him: "Happy birthday, don't forget that I handled your file. Today is your birthday, right?"

Griffith still hasn't recovered: "Yes."

Morgan put the crown cut out of colored paper on Griffith's head, and the latter quickly supported it with his hand, and was dragged to the edge of the table by the strong black detective. Reid, Hoch and Gideon were waiting there, smiling at the birthday star: "Happy birthday!"

"Thank you, thank you..."

Griffith's chest felt warm. It had been a long time since he had a birthday.

"JJ planned it a long time ago, so it's a belated welcome ceremony." Morgan lit the candles, stopped Reid's hesitation, and said to Griffith, who looked out of the situation, "Come and blow out the candles."

Griffith was concerned about the crumbling "crown" on his head, his neck was stiff and he didn't dare to move, and he didn't even dare to speak loudly: "Don't you want to make a wish first?"

"Yes yes yes, come on, let's sing happy birthday!" Garcia clapped his hands happily.Everyone formed a circle, surrounded Griffith and the cake, and sang happily.

Griffith seldom faced this kind of scene, and couldn't think of any wish in a hurry, so he closed his eyes and pretended, and finally took a deep breath amidst the booing, and blew out the candle—it didn't go out.

His face flushed from holding back, and he watched the flames rekindle, feeling embarrassed, so he blew again.Huo Miao straightened up tremblingly, and swayed happily twice.By the time he tried it a third time, Morgan was laughing on the floor.

"It's a prank candle that can't be blown out." Reid, who had been tricked once, kindly explained, "We'll just do it."

"Dude!" Morgan smiled and patted Griffith on the shoulder. "Don't you know?"

Holding the "crown", Griffith said in amazement: "I don't know, what a magical candle! How did you do it?"

Reid said excitedly: "I know! It's..."

JJ interrupted him relentlessly: "Griffith, come and cut the cake. Garcia made this, how about a taste?"

"Garcia made it?" Griffith turned to look at the chubby Miss Hacker, "You can make this? I always thought that only cake shops can do it."

Gideon was amused: "Please, the cakes in the cake shop are also made by people."

"It's really troublesome to make. I made it in the bakery outside, and I was taught by someone. It's DIY." Garcia shrugged, "But for the handsome guy, it's worth the hard work."

Griffith, who was inexplicably praised, blushed: "Thank you, I am very happy."

"Birthday is always a happy thing, no matter how old you are." JJ helped Griffith share the cake, "Gideon, do you want it?"

"No." Gideon looked at the thick cream and shook his head, "It's easy for the elderly to get high, I'm going back to the office first. Happy birthday, Griffith."

"Thank you."

Garcia couldn't wait to pick up the paper plate and took a sip with a plastic fork: "Well, it's delicious! By the way, why hasn't Elle come yet? It's already late, right?"

Griffith's smile faded away.He silently cut the cake and picked up his own.

Today is his birthday and the day after BAU returned to Quantico from Ohio.

"Maybe overslept?" Reid said with a cake in his mouth.

"Eat it before talking." Morgan tapped his forehead helplessly.

JJ moved the last piece of cake to the plate: "Just leave one for her, Hotch, do you want it?"

Even on this occasion, Boss kept his seriousness: "Thank you." He glanced at Elle's desk and said nothing.

In fact, Hotch received Elle's resignation early this morning, and it was packaged and sent with her case report, lying quietly in his mailbox.There is only a pile of documents on her desk, which should be finished according to her habits.The laptop was taken away, and some dispensable personal items were left on the desk, creating the illusion that she would return.The little radiation-proof plant is still in place. Because of frequent business trips, Elle asks other people in the office to take care of it. The soil is still wet, but its owner will not come back.

"Go to the bar to celebrate tonight?" Morgan was proposing to Griffith, "It's been so long since you've been here that we haven't had a drink together, are you coming tonight?"

"The bar? I'm going!" Garcia stroked the pink necklace on his chest and said intoxicatedly, "Maybe I can get a dreamy affair, oh, my dreaming prince, Your Highness."

"I don't want to go." Reid said coldly, and was slapped on the back of the head by Morgan.

Morgan said half-threateningly, "You must come, don't even think about it."

bar? Griffith nodded hesitantly, "Okay."

He rarely goes to bars, and occasionally goes to collect evidence for work needs.He was taught that bars are not a good place when he was a teenager, so that he has not been able to get rid of the discrimination against bars for so long as an adult, not to mention that no one has invited him to bars.

Griffith asked worriedly, "Will it be expensive?"

Morgan choked at his simple question, and even Reid gave him a weird look.

"It's okay, your salary is definitely fine." JJ smiled and said, "If you're lucky, someone buys you a drink and you don't need money."

Garcia looked Griffith up and down, and gave him an ambiguous look: "Tsk tsk, I feel that you are very likely to be invited to drink, handsome boy, so be careful."

Embarrassed, Griffith tried to find a crack in the ground.The mobile phone rang twice just right, which happened to relieve him.He bowed his head to avoid the ridicule of his colleagues, and found that it was two unread emails.A letter from Elle, the former colleague first congratulated him on his happy birthday and informed him of his resignation.At the end of the email, Elle wrote: "I have considered your words carefully and feel that things may not be as simple as I thought. I want to apologize to you because I went to consult Gideon and hinted at your situation. He told me, If the empathy is strong enough and you have a similar experience, your situation may happen, as I did this time out of control. In any case, you have done nothing wrong, and I must express my admiration. Also, I wish you to be A good FBI agent."

Griffith breathed a sigh of relief.He naturally read Elle's relieved attitude from the lines, and he was also happy for Elle knowing that the people he had worked with had gotten out of the predicament.

Another email came from an unknown number. Compared with Elle's long speech, he only had two short sentences: "Happy birthday. Watch TV."

Griffith subconsciously looks at the TV—

The door to Gideon's office was flung open. Everyone in the BAU was frightened by the gloomy Gideon, the office suddenly fell silent, and the voice of the female anchor on the TV could be heard clearly: "This morning, a male body was found at the gate of the Dayton County Police Department in Ohio. It is reported that the deceased had been The police suspect that he is a suspect in a local serial rape case.”

Griffith's pupils narrowed instantly.

He saw that there was a line of blood on the door of the police station in the picture: "Happy birthday.——JG"