Chapter Two- La Bésa del Muerte.
"Ok, so…three fifteen year old girls: Jackie Thompson, Lisa Rodriguez, and Melissa Roberts; have been found missing from there homes within a week of each other. The first two victims have been found in extremely secluded areas of the forests by hikers. Both of these girls had bruising around their wrists and ankles, as well as signs of physical abuse. But the abuse may have come before the kidnappings."
"So, they were bound?" Alaina inquired.
"Yes. Also," J.J. clicked her remote to pull up pictures of other marks, "they both had these marks on their hips." It was an upwards facing star inside a circle.
"A pentagram?" Asked Morgan.
"Yep."
"Cause of death?" Hotch urged.
"Their throats had been cut, and then they were dumped off a trail in the Rocky Mountains."
"Which state did you say this was in?"
"Colorado, right near Pikes Peak."
"Alright, team. Go home, get packed, and be at the air strip in thirty. Someone go with Ali so she can find her way there later. Any volunteers?"
No on answered.
"Alright, then. Since nobody is kind enough to offer their help…Reid!"
Reid jumped at the sound of his name.
"You live a few miles past Alaina's house; you bring her to the plane."
"Yes, sir." He answered, even though he looked as if he were choking.
Later on the plane.
Alaina sat in the chair across the aisle from Reid and J.J.; she had been going over the case files and listening to music before reading a book.
"Just go over and talk to her already. There's no point in making google eyes at her if you're not even gonna try. Besides, she's all by her lonesome."
"Why would she want my company? I'm just the twiggy brainiac of a geek."
"Well, for a really smart guy, you're kinda useless when it comes to girls."
"J.J., I ca-" but she cut him off.
"Do not say that you can't." Why is she so stubborn? Reid asked himself, "All you have to do is sit next to her and talk to her."
"And what would we talk about, pray tell?"
"Ask about her book. Comment on what she's listening to, so a magic trick, anything."
"She's right, kid." Morgan sat down on Reid's other side, "You never know what goodies are hidden in an Easter egg."
"I honestly don't see how that is even remotely relevant, Morgan. Easter was first celebrated by Christians as the day that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, not as a giant rabbit running around hiding painted eggs filled with candy."
"Even when we're trying to help him, he has to give us a history lesson. Jeez, when we get back, me and Garcia are taking you to a club."
"Morgan," he complained, "you know I don't like going to clubs. I have absolutely no reason to like going to them, not when I could be doing my paperwork."
"Which you have been letting pile up because you won't put down that stupid Chinese cross-word puzzle." J.J. pointed out.
"Fine, I'll go talk to her, but only if you don't make me go to one of those crazy clubs."
"Deal. Now get your skinny butt over there." She pushed him.
Reid went over and sat down next to Alaina.
"Hey," she pulled the earbuds out of her ears.
"Hi…so, what are you reading?"
"'The Lovely Bones' by Alice Sebold."
"That's a rather dark Young Adult fiction book, isn't it?"
"I guess. In a way, Susie Salmon is like our victims. Except we're actually finding these girls."
"Susie was never found?"
"Nope. Her killer, Mr. Harvey, made sure that no one would find her by cutting her up, putting her in an old fridge, and then dumping it in a local sinkhole. He got his just desserts though."
"How?"
"Years after she was murdered, he approached another girl that he wanted. She refused a ride and walked away. Mr. Harvey would have followed her if an icicle hadn't fallen and knocked him down a cliff. He died and they didn't find his body until the snow melted three months later. It's a sad book, very dark, but it has somewhat of a happy ending."
"Interesting."
"Yes, it is." Alaina paused, "I've already read it several times. If you want, you can borrow it."
"Sure, thanks." He took the book that she handed him; it had a light blue cover. "So, you seem to know a bit about the case. What have you found?"
"Well, both of the girls had their throats slit with a very sharp knife. They were also stashed in a cloth of some kind after being washed, and put into clean clothes. All of the victims have red-brown hair, fifteen years old, all about 135 pounds. The first two vics were missing for a week before they died."
"What does that mean?" Rossi jumped in.
"It means that our UnSub is actually holding them for a significant amount of time before killing them. He's doing something to them, and once he's done, they're dead. After that he dresses up, and covers them in a ceremonial white shroud."
"Ceremonial?" Reid asked.
"I'm willing to bet he's Pagan."
"What makes you say that?" Prentiss joined in, too.
"Well, considering that both girls were found with pentagrams branded into their hips, and the fact that he seems to reverie them after they've died, I think it's a safe call. La Bésa del Muerte."
"What's that?"
"The Kiss of Death. In the Wiccan religion, it's believed that certain individuals can use spirits to help work magick. Something tells me he's sacrificing them to the Lady and the Lord."
"That's messed up."
"Indeed. Wiccans are not supposed to harm anyone, as put by our laws."
"Why not?"
"The Rule of Three. We believe that what we give out comes back to us, times three, that's why most of us are white magick users and try to do good. This is just a really twisted way of honoring the Goddess and the God."
"You said 'we', who are you talking about?" Morgan pressed.
"Wiccans." They all just stared at her, so she turned to Hotch. "You didn't tell them, did you?"
"Tell us what?" Prentiss glanced between Alaina and Hotch.
"Ali is Wiccan."
"There are witches in Virginia?" Rossi joked.
"Yes, but I'm a solitary, meaning I work alone. We don't harm animals or humans intentionally. But this guy, he's twisting the Rule of Three beyond anything I've ever seen. However, he probably thinks he's freeing these girls from their cages of flesh."
"That's just flat out weird."
"Yep, no doubt we'll find the third girl within a few days time."
"Ali," Reid's face showed his concern, "There's a very slim chance that we'll be able to get to her in time."
"That's not what I meant, Reid. I meant there's no doubt we'll find her body in a few day time. Poor Melissa Roberts has already been missing for two days, which means she probably won't last much longer."
No one wanted to admit it, but they all knew she was right. When they arrived at the local PD, they would be waiting for that call.
Cheyenne Police Department. December 20th.
"Agent Hotchner, thank you for coming." A stout man greeted them when the finally arrived.
"Thank you for having us. Everyone, this is Officer Darrell, the Chief of Police. Officer Darrell, these are Agents Morgan, Rossi, Jareau, Prentiss, Reid, and Grant."
"How's the investigation coming so far?"
"We still have yet to complete the profile. However, Agent Grant does have an interesting theory about the UnSub."
Darrell stared at Alaina for a moment, considering her face, before his face lit up with recognition.
"Ali? Little Ali Grant?"
"Not so little anymore. It's nice to see you again, sir." She moved forward to give him a hug.
"Aw, let me look at ya'. Jesus, honey. How'd you grow up so fast? The last time I saw you, you were fifteen and just coming back."
"Yeah, time moves quickly when you're trying to figure out what to do with your life."
"And you followed your dream, too. Good for you. A federal agent."
"I take it you know each other?" Hotch raised an eyebrow.
"Know each other? HA! Ali was like a second daughter to me, and Rita's best friend. If you remember…Danny used to have a huge crush on you." He chuckled.
"Yeah, I remember. Are the kiddles still around?"
"Yup, Danny's actually here in the station."
"Oh no. What'd he do this time?" her laughter showed that she was joking.
"Nothin' He works here now."
"Oh, well, that's good." Alaina turned back to her team, "I grew up here in Cheyenne. My parents died when I was twelve, leaving me to take care of my five younger brothers. We were sent away to live in foster homes."
"Ali came back with three of the five when she was fifteen. That was the last time I saw any of them. So, how are Jackson, Billy, and Mark?"
"Umm." She leaned to the chief and whispered something in his ear.
"Oh! Well, that's terri-" Alaina stopped him, shaking her head. "Alright. Well, I have a space ready for you to work; everything you need should be in there." The group followed him into a room with a long oval table and a giant dry-erase board.
"Sir, I'm going to need maps of the town around where the girls lived and the mountains where the girls were found." Reid put his brown satchel on the table.
"Of course, Dr. Reid. I'll get those for you ASAP."
"Thank you."
"Right, well, I'll just leave you to your work. It was good to see you again, Ali."
"You, too, Officer Darrell. I'll come see you about the case later; it'll give us some time to catch up."
"Right. Tea, not coffee?"
"Yes, please."
"Ok, honey. I'll see you later then."
"Bye." And the chief slipped out.
When Alaina turned around, she saw her teammates staring at her with obvious curiosity.
"What?"
"We might ask you the same thing. What was all that about?" asked Morgan.
"Mark Darrell was like an adopted dad to me since before my parents died. I grew up babysitting his kids, and they loved me. So, shall we get to work?"
"Yes. Morgan, you and Prentiss go talk to Jackie Thomson's parents. Rossi and I will talk to Lisa Rodriguez' parents. J.J., you talk to the police and see if there are any witnesses. Reid, you get started a geological profile. Ali, since this seems to be your area of expertise, I need you to find any Pagan rituals that are similar to the one the UnSub seems to be using."
"Yes, sir."
"When you're done, help Reid put together a full profile." They split up.
Later that day.
"So…does Hotch always stick you with the newbies?" Alaina asked him after going through hundreds of rituals.
"Not really. Mostly it's to keep you out of trouble, and to keep me company. Hotch may seem like a stone heart, but he genually cares about the people on this team."
"Mmm, you seem to know this from experience."
The question had struck a nerve, she could see it be the way he had stopped writing and held the marker with a white-knuckled hand.
"I'm sorry; you don't have to answer that." She tried to get back to her work.
"Yes, I do. You have a right to know what the rest of the team knows, as a precaution," as Reid spoke the last three words, he put the marker down, turned, and started rolling up the sleeve of his right arm, "And I'm not gonna leave you wondering."
Curious, Alaina took hold of his right arm to steady it as she looked. Where the veins stood out against the alabaster curve of his elbow, there were several puncture marks.
"What happened?"
"About a year and a half ago, I was kidnapped by an UnSub with a multiple personality disorder, Tobias Hankle. His other…faces, for want of a better word, were his father, and Raphael."
"The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle?" he just looked at her.
"Who? Never mind. No, the archangel. When Tobias was himself, he gave me dilaudid, a drug that he used to escape his own mind. I was beaten and urged to repent for my sins, of which I could only think of one. After a long time, he took me outside to dig my own grave, which is when the team found us. While he was distracted, I was able to get to my gun."
"You killed him?"
"Yes, and I took the dilaudid. But, I've now been clean for almost a year." Reid wore a smile of almost sad contentment.
"How are you still working at the BAU? You should have been dismissed as soon as they found out…unless…They never found out, did they." His smile widened and he nodded.
"You figured that out nicely. My team did, but they kept quiet about it and helped me through rehab."
"Wow, I guess you guys really are like one big happy family." Then it dawned on her, "Hold on…family!"
"Huh?"
Alaina grabbed Reid's phone off the table and found Garcia's number. It rang once before Garcia's voice came out of the speaker.
"Yes, my beauties? Speak to the all knowing goddess of all that needs hacking."
"Hey, Garcia, it's Ali and Reid. I need you to look for any hospital records to see if the any of the girls had been in for some reason. Also, could you look into the names of the doctors who treated them if they were?"
"Are the doctors' names relevant?"
"Maybe."
"Alright, give me fifteen seconds," they heard furious typing on the other end of the line. "Got it. All of the girls had been to the hospital recently, all for abuse injuries. Oh, and get this, all of the girls had the same doctor."
"That's what I thought. Name?"
"Mmm, Jason Pierce. And he has a record."
"Well, that's strange," Reid put in.
"Not really. Just because you're a doctor without a record, doesn't mean they all are. Garcia, what exactly was he charged with?"
"Pulling up pictures…he was charged with vandalizing several properties."
"Ok, could you send us his file, the pictures, and his contact info?"
"Oh, my darling, I am already three steps ahead of you. They should be in your mailbox now."
"Thanks, Garcia," Alaina hung up and moved to her computer, opening her email.
"Do you really think that this guy is the UnSub?"
"I don't think he is, I'm sure of it. I grew up knowing Jason, his family was Wiccan. His mother taught me the woman's way, while his father taught him. Jason and I really only saw one another during celebrations, rituals, and family get-togethers. He was always more violent, so was his younger sister, Amy, who studied with their father."
Hotch walked in with Rossi and J.J.
"What've you got?" the stony faced man inquired.
"Several rituals, all having to do with death and spirits. And let me tell you, it was not an easy task, considering that there were several hundred to sort through."
"Well," Rossi pressed, "What else."
This time Reid spoke up, "We also have a suspect."
"Already?" said J.J. with utter surprise, "I don't think we've ever gotten a suspect after only being here for about two hours."
"All of the girls had been to the hospital lately for abuse wounds, and they all had the same doctor. Jason Pierce is an old…childhood friend, and Pagan. He also has a record."
"Good, did you have Garcia look him up?"
"Yep, we have his home and work addresses."
"Great. You and Reid go up to his house, Rossi and I will go to the hospital. Good work, Ali."
"Thank you, sir."
"Oh, and Ali," Hotch stopped her halfway through putting on her coat, "Don't let Reid drive."
"Got it." She laughed.
"Hotch…" Reid whined, "I'm not that bad of a driver."
"You're also not that good of one either. Add that to icy roads that you're not accustomed to, and that's just asking for a wreck. We can't afford to have our best minds in the hospital right now because of reckless driving."
"C'mon, Reid. The longer we wait, the better chance he has of hiding anything that could link him to these girls."
"Right. Going."