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Raconteur: One who tells stories and anecdotes with skill and wit.

"I'm just saying. I've never seen you order a beverage other than coffee since I met you…," the voice trailed off as the elevator doors silently swished opened onto the BAU floor, and three agents disembarked from their journey out to lunch.

"Well Morgan, what can I say there are just some foods that require certain beverages to compliment the taste," Reid commented as the three companions walked back into the office.

"I think Morgan's right Reid. You've never ordered milk before, not even at breakfast," JJ added into the conversation.

"I guess I've never ordered soup in front of you guys before. You always have to drink milk with soup, or else it just doesn't taste right. It's kinda like how only saltine crackers are eaten with broth soups and oyster crackers are for cream based soups," Reid elaborated for his friends.

"What? A cracker is a cracker. It doesn't matter what type of soup it is, they all do the same job," Morgan said with even more disbelief in his voice.

"Not true, saltines soak up the broth and add that extra salt content to the soup, while oyster crackers maintain their crunchiness longer and add texture to the soup," Reid defended his strange eating habits.

"Okay Spence. What other foods demand a certain beverage to be enjoyed with them?" JJ asked as they reached Reid's desk and he settled in for an afternoon of paper work.

"Um…well. I can't eat a dill pickle without a glass of fruit punch to accompany it," Reid said nervously. No one ever reacted well when he announced this strange food combination.

"Eww! That's just weird, even for you," Morgan said as he started making his way to his office. "Leave it to pretty boy to enjoy some of the strangest things I've ever heard of. Next he'll be talking about his love of drinking orange juice after brushing his teeth."

"Yeah, I've gotta say I never would have imagined that you had such unique tastes," JJ said as she turned away from Reid's desk right into Hotch who just appeared out of nowhere.

"We've got a case. We're meeting in five," he said not bothering to join in the conversation centralized on Dr. Reid's abnormal palate. Both agents nodded their head to show their understanding and went about gathering their materials.

"Alright team, I am sending you off to a place swathed in myth and mystery. A place where you will cringe if you are caught alone in the dark and every strange sound could be the result of a swamp monster. I'm telling you now to prepare yourselves for an adventure in the bayou," Garcia announced to the team of profilers.

Afternoon was just emerging in Quantico, and all the agents looked well fed after eating their respective meals. Standing in front of the group, Garcia made note that each member had a prerequisite coffee perched in front of them. It was obviously there to help them to stave off any sleepy feelings that might develop as a result of eating too much food. Garcia was as perky as ever, leading some to wonder how she was able to work such long hours and still manage to have such a cheery disposition every moment of the day. Her outfit of the day consisted of an orange cardigan over a hot pink dress. In addition, her hair was brilliantly coordinated with pink and orange streaks along with an extremely large hot pink flowered hair tie.

Agent Hotchner looking as stoic as ever responded, "The case…"

"Oh, sir…I'm getting there now. Okay crime fighters, I hope you have some alligator repellent because you are going to be all up in the swamp's business. The little town of Krotz Springs has called us in because for the third time in four months an alligator has turned up with remains of human bodies in their stomachs. Now, before you even ask whether or not these people were just careless bayou workers, they weren't. All three bodies have been identified via DNA tests, and they are all young females that had been reported missing over the past five months," Garcia said as she summarized all of the details to the case.

"Did they go missing in successive order to when they were found?" Reid asked immediately flipping through the pictures of his hard copy of the information.

"Why yes, boy genius. Our first victim, Destiny Bradley went missing five months ago from her cabin on the bayou. She was staying at one of the kitschy touristy spots that cater to vacationers. Her husband reported her missing after she went out on her morning jog and never came back. It was an open missing person case until parts of her body were discovered inside of an alligator getting butchered at a local restaurant about a month and a half later," she explained.

"Local restaurant?" Blake asked for clarification.

"Ah, yeah. One of the most popular fares down there is fresh alligator. They have tons of ways to prepare it. The local restaurant gets a fresh delivery every morning from the trappers in the area."

"Huh, guess I'll have to give it a try while were down there," Blake said shifting her focus back to the case.

"The next victim Jasmine Curley went missing a few days after Destiny was discovered. She was in town visiting her friend, Jalan Harrington, and he reported her missing when she didn't come back to his house after she went out on an evening walk. Again, she was found by the same restaurant owner in the same fashion a month later," Garcia paused to see if any of the profilers had a question about Jasmine.

Seeing that there weren't any queries forthcoming, Garcia plunged on. "Our final victim, Shana Carver went missing a week after the remains of Jasmine were found. In similar fashion to Destiny, Shana disappeared after an early morning excursion. She was just found yesterday by…yep, you guessed it…the owner of Maybell's Diner."

The information screen showed the pictures of the three young victims whose lives were cut short way too early. Reid allowed his eyes to flit over the appearance of each girl and noticed that there was no significant resemblance between any of them. He noticed that the ages of the girls fit over a broad spectrum too: Jasmine was 18, Destiny was 25, and Shana was in her 30s.

"It looks like the unsub isn't concerned with finding a victims that are of a similar age or appearance. I wonder what else could be driving him," Morgan stated stealing Reid's thunder.

"Well, it could be any number of things," Reid began. "We have two taken in the early morning, and one at dusk. It could be that they were victims of opportunity because they were all taken at times when they were alone and there wouldn't be many people in the area to witness the abduction." Reid said not to be outdone by Morgan's observation.

"I don't like how the same diner is finding the bodies each time," Rossi mused aloud to the team. "I think it's definitely something we need to follow-up on with the owners. We should see who their supplier is and question them on where they hunt and trap the gators."

"Why did the police wait so long to call us in? Personally, I would have been on the phone the minute I found a second mutilated corpse in an alligator," JJ questioned.

Fielding this question, Garcia answered, "The local law enforcement wanted to give a go at the cases themselves. They felt that since the town is so tiny that they wouldn't have much difficulty getting to the bottom of the case. Unfortunately they haven't made much headway and decided to ask for our help."

"Alright team, we'll talk more on the jet. Be ready to go in thirty," Hotch said breaking up the meeting. They needed to get in the air as soon as possible. If the unsub followed the pattern another abduction could take place any time now.

On the jet they reviewed the information that was on hand and developed a game plan for when they landed. The flight to Baton Rouge, which was the closest city with an airport to Krotz Springs, was pretty short so they wanted to make sure they hit the ground running when they touched down. JJ and Reid were assigned the task of going to the local police station and setting up shop. Blake and Morgan were sent to Maybell's diner to talk to the owners and gather as much information about the alligators as possible. Finally, Hotch and Rossi were tasked with going to the last known whereabouts of the victims and talking to any potential witnesses. Their task was going to be the most difficult due to the fact that Destiny's family had gone back home to Little Rock and Jasmine's lived in New Orleans. They were hopeful that some of the locals could recall details pertaining to the young women and help add information to their light case files. At this time no one was able to talk to the ME because they were located in Baton Rouge and wouldn't be available for questioning until tomorrow.

The local sheriff greeted JJ and Reid the moment they entered the tiny station. It reminded Reid of those old one room school houses, in that it was a big open room with a door at the back leading to the two holding cells. The only other doors in the station led to the sheriff's office and the single stall unisex bathroom.

"We have a space cleared up for ya'll over there by the restroom," Sheriff Whitehead gestured toward the whiteboard and desk that was set up for the team. "Sorry, we just don't have a lot of room in here. Nothing much really happens here to justify expanding the department. The biggest issues we deal with are bored drunk kids causing a ruckus on the weekend."

"It's okay, we've worked with less," JJ said trying to make the sheriff feel better about the compact space.

"Is this all of you?" the sheriff asked realizing that there weren't any more agents walking in the door.

"Oh, no. The rest of our team are already out there investigating the potential abduction sites and talking to the diner's owner. By the way, our unit chief Aaron Hotchner, was hoping you could meet him and SSA Agent Rossi out at the cabins where Destiny Bradley was last seen. They would like a local perspective on the area," JJ told Sheriff Whitehead.

"Well, I'll just head out now. If you two need anything just ask Officer Sabuda and he'll be happy to help," the sheriff said pointing at the one lone officer working at his desk across the room.

"Thanks," was all JJ said as she turned away from the retreating figure. "Okay Reid, what do you want to get started on first?"

About five hours later the team had reconvened back at the station. They were all sitting around the small table that had been provided, discussing their discoveries. It turned out that the owner of the diner was able to supply Blake and Morgan with the names of all of her fresh game providers.

"Well it just so happens that the owner, Maybell Lee, buys her food from multiple sources. She said that on the days she found the body parts she bought the gators from a man named John Brookins. He's a local trapper that lives out in the bayou. We couldn't contact him because he lives totally off the grid. So we will have to wait for him to bring in his haul tomorrow morning and catch him for questioning then," Blake reported out.

"Okay, I want you two in charge of that," Hotch ordered Blake and Morgan. "Rossi and I explored the area with Sheriff Whitehead today. We looked around the cabins that Destiny Bradley disappeared from and the path we think she may have taken for her jog. We also looked over the areas where the other two victims were possibly taken. All in all, I'm beginning to think what Reid said earlier was right. These girls were victims of opportunity. All the areas they were kidnapped from were low traffic spots and would have been deserted at the time of the abduction. JJ and Reid, did you find out anything else significant while looking at the victimology?"

"Well, we looked at all their backgrounds with the help of Garcia. Based on what we found it actually looks like the kidnappings might not have been based on bad luck. The thing is all three women have their choice of work in common. Destiny and Shana were lower elementary school teachers, and Jasmine was going to school to become one. What we need to figure out now is why the unsub is targeting educators," Reid explained to the team.

Everyone sat and digested the information for a few minutes. The silence was interrupted by the loudest stomach grumble on earth. Each member of the team was shaken out of their stupor and looked around to figure out which one of them was the source. It wasn't too hard to figure out that Morgan's appetite was making itself known by the way he refused to meet anyone's eyes.

"It is a bit past dinner time, but I don't want to leave exploring this new lead until tomorrow. JJ and Reid, why don't you go out and get us some dinner and the rest of us will build upon what you found?" Hotch asked the two teammates.

"Sure," said JJ as she got up to go ask the sheriff where to go to get dinner for the team.

It turned out that the grocery store across the street also had a food counter that stayed open late. They took the teams' order from the carryout menus the sheriff provided and made their way over to the store to retrieve their meal.

Walking into the grocery store felt like walking back in time to the early 1950s. Like the police station it was a tiny shop but met the needs of the local population. The food counter looked like an old-timey soda fountain, and the server was even dressed in a dated uniform. There weren't too many customers occupying the store and only one other person sitting in a corner seat at the counter. JJ and Reid sat down on two of the empty stools and waited for the waitress to come and take their order.

"Hi ya'll! You must be the FBI," the perky young waitress said greeting her brand new customers.

"Uh, yeah. We were told by the sheriff that this place had the best food in town and we sure are dying for some dinner," JJ said trying to be friendly to the girl.

"I'm not sure about that, Maybell's food is definitely better, but we'll do in a pinch. What can I get for you guys?" she asked.

JJ went ahead and placed the whole order while Reid sat and observed his surroundings. His musings were interrupted by JJ's ruminations about the case.

"I can't imagine what this unsub must be doing with these girls for such a long period of time. I sure hope that when we talk to the ME tomorrow that there isn't any evidence of abuse. They must be terrified not knowing when it's going to end or if they're ever going to be found," JJ remarked forgetting to consider her teammate's experience in a similar situation.

"Well, when I was in their shoes I just kept on hoping that you guys would come. You can't give up hope in that situation, because once you do the unsub wins," Reid responded. He was surprised how easy it was to talk about his own experiences, but it really didn't bother him anymore. He had worked through those old emotions and knew how to handle them better now. It had taken a few years to get to this point, and he was proud of his ability to talk about it without getting a flashback or having a panic attack.

"You know what you say about never knowing when it's going to be over reminds me of a heroine in Middle Eastern mythology that managed to put off her own death by simply using her words," Reid told JJ.

"Yeah, what woman are you talking about?" JJ asked, figuring there wasn't anything better than listening to Reid while waiting for the food to get done.

Excited to have a chance to tell a story and have an attentive audience, Reid jumped right into the tale, "Well, once upon a time there was a Persian king named Shahryar. He was a suspicious king and suspicion was justified when he discovered that his wife had been cheating on him. As a consequence he had her executed, and decided to never trust another woman again. Not wanting to be alone for the rest of his life he assigned a councilor the job of finding him a new wife. He demanded that the new wife must be a virgin because he wasn't willing to settle down with someone else's leftovers, so to speak. Anyways, once the councilor found him a new wife he bedded her and killed her the next morning so she wouldn't even have a chance of being unfaithful. After an indeterminate amount of wives the councilor was unable to find anymore virgins left in the country for the king to marry. That's when his daughter, a virgin, offered up herself. Her name was Scheherazade and she was extremely beautiful. Now Scheherazade was not walking into this marriage without a plan, she had devised a way to keep the king from executing her the next morning. What she did was…" Reid trailed off when the waitress came over to the counter with the food all packaged up.

He had been so enmeshed in telling the story that he hadn't even noticed how much time was passed and that everyone in the vicinity had been listening to the tale unfold. Momentarily forgetting the story, Reid paid the bill using Hotch's company credit card and began to gather the bags.

"You're just going to leave me hanging without hearing the end of the story?" the waitress asked when she noticed that Reid and JJ were preparing to leave.

"Oh, uh sorry. We really have to get back to the police station," Reid said apologetically to the girl.

"Ahh, all right. But promise me you'll come back in here tomorrow to let me know how it ends!" she said merrily as she waved goodbye.

"We'll see," was all Reid said, not wanted to make a promise he couldn't keep.

"Yah, Spence. I want to hear how it ends too," JJ said seeing the excitement light his face at someone actually being interested in what he was saying.

"Well, just remind me when we have some down time and I'll finish the story," Reid said with a big smile plastered all over his face as they walked back into the station.

"All right! Foods here!" Morgan shouted upon their entry.

The team divvied up the food to its respective owners and sat around the table for another few hours brainstorming the case. It was close to eleven when Hotch called it a night, especially since Blake and Morgan had an early morning outing that they needed to attend. Fortunately, the local motel had enough vacancies that each member got their own room and they were more than happy to take advantage of the privacy. The last words of the night were Hotch's when he told everyone to meet at the station bright and early at seven.

Reid has never been one to sleep in very late and found his internal alarm waking him up at the early morning hour of six. After tossing and turning about on the bed for ten minutes he decided to give up and get ready for the day. He stumbled out of bed and took a hot shower to help get the sleep out of his system. Shortly thereafter he was dressed and ready to go with at least a half hour to spare before he was expected at the station.

With all the time he had left Reid decided to do his coworkers a favor and bring in some fresh brewed coffee from Maybell's diner. The walk to the diner and back would be refreshing this early in the morning and his teammates would praise his kindness for the thoughtful gift. Closing and locking his motel room door, Reid began to make his way down the dirt road.

Maybell's diner was just a mile away from the motel, snuggled between a fishing tackle store and a local tractor supply outlet. All of them butted up against the water which allowed for easy deliveries of fresh fish and other aquatic cuisine to the diner. Reid wondered if he was going to run into Blake and Morgan interviewing the local trapper, but was disappointed by their absence when he got closer. It turned out that Reid was the only customer in the diner this early. He went in and ordered enough coffee to satisfy all of his teammates. It was after Maybell brought out all six coffees that Reid realized that he was going to have to carry two beverage holders full of coffee over a mile back to the station. Really wishing that Morgan and Blake were still here, Reid took one holder in each and started his trek back.

Reid was walking past the alley separating the diner from the fishing store when he felt something loop around his neck. Taken by surprise he dropped all of the coffee and threw his hands up to remove the object. Whatever it was that was entwined around his neck got tighter when the person controlling it jerked it backwards. Yelling was not an option because Reid could feel the pressure increase cutting off the much needed oxygen.

With the backwards jerk on the line Reid was flung into the ally, which was still enshrouded in shadows at this time of the morning. No matter how much Reid tried to pry the thick wire around his neck off, it kept on tightening. He started to cough and gasp struggling to allow even a little bit of air into his body. Reid started seeing a darkening haze developing all around him when he began to thrash his body around in protest. Before the whole world went dark he got a glimpse of his attacker; it was the man that had been sitting at the diner counter last night listening to his story.

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