Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.
A/N: Shout out to Mrs. JaganshiReidofHufflepuff for being the 25th reviewer of this story, and also a shout out to tannerose5, Hippichic81, OhSnapItsMadison, and Chermayne for reviewing chapter 6.
This chapter takes place two weeks after the last chapter so Piper's now 16 months old, and at the end of this chapter Albert and Ava will be five months old since they were born on May 29th.
I hope you guys enjoy the description of Spencer's, Olivia's, Piper's, Albert's, and Ava's Halloween costumes in this chapter.
Spencer was pushing the cart at the grocery store for Garcia.
"Why didn't you recruit Morgan to help you with shopping for your party?" asked Spencer.
"I barely see you except for work, and I wanted to find out what my godchildren are going to be for their first Halloween." said Garcia.
"I'm still under orders not to tell, and you will find out after Halloween when you see the pictures that my dad takes of Olivia, the kids, and I in our costumes." said Spencer.
"Are you and Olivia going to bring the kids to my party next week?" asked Garcia.
"We're not." said Spencer.
"Why?" asked Garcia.
"Dad suggested that Olivia and I come without the kids since we deserve a child free evening, and it would be bedtime for the kids during your party." said Spencer.
"Makes sense. So who are you and Olivia putting on my alter?" asked Garcia.
"Uncle Daniel, and Olivia's going to do her parents." said Spencer.
Garcia checked the cart.
"I think we have everything we need, so let's pay for it and drop the groceries by my house before going to your house for lunch." said Garcia.
Spencer followed Garcia into her apartment while he carried the three bags of groceries that he helped her buy.
"OK, just put everything on the counter and I'll put it away later." said Garcia.
Spencer looked at the alter that Garcia was talking about earlier.
"I like your altar." said Spencer as Garcia shut her door.
"Thank you. Yeah, there's still a lot to do before the party next week, and... I'm scared. I've never had the whole team here before." said Garcia as Spencer started unloading a bag.
"Why are you doing a Day of the Dead theme?" asked Spencer.
"Well, uh, my stepfather's family always made a big deal of it in Mexico, and my name is Penelope Garcia, after all, so... Hey, could you check my refrigerator and see if I have enough hot sauce?" asked Garcia.
Spencer made his way to Garcia's fridge as she removed her glasses and squeezed some fake blood under her eyes to allow it to stream down her face and he spoke as he removed the jar of eyeballs from the fridge.
"You have some jalapeno sauce here next to this jar of eyeballs, but I think you're gonna need more, depending on which guacamole you plan on making." said Spencer before seeing the fake blood on Garcia's face. "You OK?"
"You didn't even flinch. JJ's right. I told her I wanted to go scary this Halloween, and she just laughed at me and she said that I don't have a scary side." said Garcia.
"I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, you probably do." said Spencer.
"Really?" asked Garcia.
"Yeah. The building blocks of the human personality are complex, varied, and multi-faceted. It's essential to one's mental health to want to express these hidden personalities, and it's a fact of nature that everybody has one." said Spencer.
"Everybody? You have one?" asked Garcia.
"Oh, absolutely. Yeah." said Spencer.
"OK. OK. I want to see it. I want to see Dr. Spencer Reid's hidden personality." said Garcia.
"Uh-you, uh- right here? Like right now you want to see it?" asked Spencer.
"I have fake blood running down my cheeks right here, right now." said Garcia.
"OK. Once you see it, you can't unsee it." said Spencer.
"OK." said Garcia.
Spencer grunted deeply as he had his hands on his head before moving them to his side.
"I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, did that guy just fire 5 shots? Or did that guy just fire 6 shots? You're gonna have to ask yourself a question. Do you feel lucky, punk?" said Spencer before returning back to his normal self, "That's Clint Eastwood, in "Dirty Harry."
"Oh." said Garcia.
"I mean, I know it's not as effective," said Spencer as Garcia's phone vibrated, "as my dominant personality, but I feel like there's-" rambled Spencer.
"Hey, look, we gotta go." said Garcia as she grabbed her keys and purse.
"These eyeballs, do they need to be refrigerated-?" asked Spencer.
"No. Let's go." said Garcia.
A few minutes later they were in Garcia's car Esther, and Garcia looked at Spencer.
"Do you need to stop at home to get your bags, badge, and gun?" asked Garcia.
Spencer patted his messenger bag.
"My revolver, holster, and badge are currently in here since I have a concealed carry permit, and since we didn't have a case during this week I left my go bag in my Bureau issued locker." said Spencer as he sent Olivia a text message.
GARCIA AND I WON'T BE COMING HOME FOR LUNCH SINCE WE JUST GOT CALLED IN FOR A CASE, AND I WILL CALL YOU AFTER I FIND OUT WHERE I AM GOING. ~ SR
"Did you let Olivia know that she won't be expecting us?" asked Garcia.
"Just did." said Spencer as his phone vibrated.
DO YOU HAVE EVERYTHING? ~ OR
Spencer quickly sent Olivia a reply.
I ALREADY HAD MY GUN AND BADGE IN MY MESSENGER BAG, AND I LEFT MY GO BAG IN MY LOCKER AT WORK. ~ SR
Spencer entered the conference room with his teammates and was surprised to see Hotch back.
"Oh, I recognize that face from somewhere." said Rossi.
"It's good to have you back, Hotch." said Morgan as he patted Hotch on the shoulder.
"It's good to be back. Thanks." said Hotch as Spencer took a seat next to him, "And under the heading of no rest for the weary..."
"A woman was found dead yesterday near Provo, Utah, buried under a pile of rocks. Her face was smashed. Her head was smashed. Pretty much everything smashed." said Garcia.
"24 hours later she's still a Jane Doe?" asked Spencer.
"No personal items were found at the scene, and the severity of her injuries made official recognition impossible." said Hotch.
"So Provo missing persons has like zero intel on her." said Garcia.
"Well, it looks like the victim was tortured. Lacerations on both arms and a burn in the neck area." said Morgan.
"It could be the killer's way of silencing her, literally and figuratively." said JJ.
"The robe she's in almost looks ceremonial." said Rossi.
"Yeah, the unsub must have changed her clothing." said Spencer.
"Could be a straight-up woman hater. Took away her clothes, her voice, her identity." said Morgan.
"And then covered her with rocks. Might be a concealment or an expression of remorse." said Alex.
"It looks like a makeshift tomb, if you ask me." said Rossi.
"Have there been similar killings in the area?" asked JJ.
"None that we know." said Hotch.
"I'm impressed, Hotch. How'd you get the brass to let us investigate a single, isolated murder?" asked Rossi.
"I told them that the ritualistic nature means that he's forensically sophisticated and organized and he's likely killed before." said Hotch.
"And likely will kill again." said Alex.
"Which means we can't waste time. Wheels up in 20." said Hotch.
Spencer called Olivia as he started walking toward the locker rooms to grab his go bag.
"So where are you going?" asked Olivia.
"Provo, Utah and we're leaving in 20 minutes so I can't talk long." said Spencer as he entered the locker room and found his Bureau issued locker.
"Has Garcia grilled you about our Halloween costumes when you helped her with shopping?" asked Olivia as she heard Spencer unlocking a locker in the background.
"She has since that was one of the reasons she elected me to help her shop for her party, and I told her that I am under your orders to not say anything at all." said Spencer as he grabbed his go bag before shutting his locker and locking it.
"I will let you go so you can catch your flight, and please stay safe." said Olivia.
"I promise and I love you and the kids." said Spencer.
"Love you too." said Olivia before hanging up.
"Single victim, unidentified. Not much to go on." said JJ.
"Let's start with the basics. Those rocks were heavy, so our killer's most likely male, probably in good physical shape." said Morgan.
"There could be more than one unsub." said Alex.
"Newsflash. We just got lucky with dental records. Our Jane Doe is Gloria Carlyle, 24-year-old grammar school teacher. One red flag, and it's pretty Scarlet, carmine, crimson. She used to belong to a utopian-style sect in town. She joined it right out of high school." said Garcia.
"Used to belong?" asked Rossi.
"Mm-hmm. She left the sect 3 months ago and she moved in with her boyfriend." said Garcia.
Spencer's mind started racing through which sects Gloria could have joined, based on news articles he has read.
"Do we know the boyfriend's whereabouts?" asked JJ.
"He's in Alaska, so his alibi's as solid as a pre-globally-warmed glacier." said Garcia.
"Garcia, is this sect run by a man named Herbert Sykes?" asked Spencer.
"Wonder boy, yes, it is. How'd you know that?" asked Garcia.
"5 years ago a teenage girl was found dead on the grounds of his compound. It was determined to be an honor killing of sorts. The girl was stoned to death." said Spencer.
"The rocks appear to be the cause of death in Gloria's murder as well." said Alex as she realized that Spencer could be onto something.
"The red flag just got redder." said Rossi.
"All right, Dave, you and Blake find out what you can about Gloria Carlyle from the medical examiner. Morgan and Reid, go to the crime scene. JJ and I will talk to Gloria's family as well as have a chat with Herbert Sykes." said Hotch.
Spencer, Morgan, and Sergeant Mahaffey were reaching the top of the mountain where Gloria was found.
"A couple of fossil hunters nosing around up here found her." said Sergeant Mahaffey.
"Those the rocks?" asked Morgan as they reached the top.
"My men moved them off her body. But that's all anyone's touched them." said Sergeant Mahaffey.
"These are sedimentary conglomerates with rounded clasts." said Spencer.
"If you say so." said Sergeant Mahaffey.
"That means that geologically speaking, they don't belong up here. The rest of this canyon is tertiary rhyolite volcanics, which means the unsub must have brought these rocks with him." said Spencer.
"Which would be noisy and time-consuming. So the unsub obviously felt comfortable enough up here to take the time that he needed." said Morgan.
"He's probably been here before." said Spencer as he took a look around the surroundings.
"Sergeant, how wide was the radius of your initial search?" asked Morgan.
"We canvassed out about 200 yards in all directions. We didn't find anything." said Sergeant Mahaffey.
"Well, we may need to push that out a little further." said Morgan.
Spencer removed his prescription sunglasses despite not being able to see at all to see a screeching bird flying in circles nearby before grabbing his glass case from his pocket and switching to his regular glasses.
"You two ready to climb down?" asked Sergeant Mahaffey.
"Yeah, and I am familiar with terrains like this since I grew up one state to the left from here." said Spencer
"You're from Nevada?" asked Sergeant Mahaffey.
"Yes, and I didn't live far from the Mojave Desert." said Spencer.
A short while later they reached the bottom of the mountain, and Spencer took a look at his surroundings.
"What used to be up here? The dirt road leading in seems rather substantial." said Spencer.
"Salt mining. Hauled the stuff out by the truckloads. These hills filled a hell of a lot of salt shakers." said Sergeant Mahaffey.
"Actually, less than 6% of salt in the United States is used for food. The vast majority of it goes for de-icing roads and snow control." said Spencer.
Morgan decided to alert Spencer and Sergeant Mahaffey that he found a body.
"Guys. Over here." said Morgan.
A few seconds later Spencer and Sergeant Mahaffey looked at the body.
"You're right. The killer's been here before." said Spencer grimly.
"And he seems to have a preference for blondes." said Morgan.
As Spencer was heading back to the station with Morgan and Sergeant Mahaffey who was their driver, his phone vibrated and he grinned when he saw a picture of Piper, Albert, and Ava together after a messy meal.
"A picture of the kids?" asked Morgan.
"Yeah, and they had a messy dinner." said Spencer.
"Are you even going to tell me what you, Olivia, and the kids are going to be for Halloween this year?" asked Morgan.
"I'm not telling you, and no hints either." said Spencer.
"How old are your kids?" asked Mahaffey.
"Piper's 16 months old, and Albert and Ava are turning five months old on the 29th." said Spencer.
The following morning Spencer updated the clear board with the crime scene photos that were sent over.
"So this guy's killing men now." said Mahaffey.
"Parker Mills must have had a hidden or perceived connection to the other victims." said Alex.
"Or Mills got in the way somehow and had to be killed so the unsub could return to his preferred victim type." said Spencer as he crossed his arms.
"Then why bother with the cutting and throat burning?" asked Alex as an officer brought the tox report.
"Excuse me." said an officer as he gave Alex the report she requested and after reading it she spoke up.
"Interesting." said Alex.
"What is it?" asked Spencer.
"Tox report on Abby Stafford. Our conservative, studious girl had cocaine in her system at the time of her death." said Alex.
Spencer squinted his eyes in thought before turning his head to the board to look at the photo of Abby Stafford.
"We're looking for a physically fit male from his late 20s to mid 30s. He's brazen, confident, and organized." said Hotch.
"This person may be a moral vigilante. Abby Stafford had drug issues. Gloria Carlyle moved in with her boyfriend. Parker Mills was a sexual deviant." said Morgan.
"Moral vigilantism typically has its roots in repression and guilt. This generally manifests itself in low self-esteem and self-loathing. By punishing others, the unsub may also be punishing himself." said Spencer.
"He's also literally branding his victims. We're not sure why, but he's likely marking them as his own." said Hotch.
"His organizational skills suggest someone who can get and keep a full-time job." said Alex.
"But the work is likely low level. His impaired social development would not allow him to move very far in the professional world." said Rossi.
"Consequently, this is someone working in solitude, having minimal interaction with others." said JJ.
"And this makes it a challenge to determine how and where this person is choosing his victims." said Morgan.
"The two female victims were reserved and studious. Parker Mills lived quietly in the margins of conventional society." said Spencer.
"So the killer may frequent or work in locations that attracts this type of person. Uh, places of solitude, contemplation." said JJ.
"Museums, gardens and parks, bookstores." listed Alex.
"His choice of a city square rather than a remote canyon means he's gaining confidence." said Rossi.
"But the recklessness of killing in such a public space suggests that this confidence may be stemming from a delusion." said Morgan.
"He may believe he's in a place and time that makes him invulnerable." said JJ.
"And if his delusion is gaining in strength, then his next killing may be riskier and more dramatic. Thank you." finished Hotch.
An hour and one trip to the library later, Spencer approached Sergeant Mahaffey with a stack of books in his arm with another officer who helped him during his trip to the library.
"Mind if I borrow your office to read these books so I can find something about the brand that was used?" asked Spencer.
"Why not read at the conference table?" asked Sergeant Mahaffey.
"I just don't like being stared at when I read, especially since I read 20,000 words per minute." said Spencer.
Sergeant Mafaffey whistled.
"You can definitely use my office." said Sergeant Mahaffey before turning his attention to the officer who was holding a big stack of books, "If Dr. Reid needs anything, please get it to him." said Mahaffey.
"Yes sir." said the officer.
A few minutes later Spencer was settled on the floor of Mahaffey's office picking up the first book, and Sergeant Mahaffey watched Spencer read for a minute before leaving his office.
For the next hour, Spencer was mumbling to himself as he read book after book while trying to figure out why that brand looked familiar. While he was reading an officer would bring him coffee and snacks and before he knew it he found what he was looking for and took the book to Hotch and the others.
"Guys, check this out." said Spencer as he approached his teammates.
"What have you got?" asked Hotch.
Spencer showed Hotch the book he was reading.
"The pattern in the branding mark has design characteristics similar to family crests from the late middle ages. I found this encyclopedia of heraldry and look." said Spencer.
"It's the seal of William Stoughton, a Magistrate." said Hotch.
"Check when and where he's a Magistrate." said Spencer.
"Salem, Massachusetts, 1692." said Rossi.
"Stoughton was the lead prosecutor in the Salem Witch trials." said Spencer as he showed Hotch and Rossi a picture he printed out.
"So this unsub believes he's hunting witches." said Hotch.
Spencer nodded as he set the book on the table and removed his glasses to rub his eyes.
"It's a good thing you were wearing your glasses instead of your contact lenses." said Hotch.
"I know." said Spencer.
"Our unsub chose the right role model. Stoughton was the most ruthless of all of the Salem prosecutors." said Alex.
"Our killer's also emulating the methods of execution at the time of the trials. Witches were thrown off cliffs, hung, slowly crushed by rocks." said Spencer.
"So the family crest thing, is that his way of honoring the guy?" asked Sergeant Mahaffey.
"It's more than that. He may believe he's a direct descendant of Stoughton." said Hotch.
Spencer decided to address Garcia who was on the phone with them.
"Garcia, were you able to run a history yet of the Stoughton family tree?" asked Spencer.
"It isn't so much a tree as it is a giant sequoia- branches, twigs, roots, sticks, limbs, pine cones, woodpecker holes. There are literally thousands of Stoughton's descendants out there." said Garcia.
"Are there any in the Provo or Salt Lake city area?" asked Alex.
"Yeah, there's a handful, but none of them fit the unsub's profile." said Garcia.
"Can you send me the Stoughtons' ancestry chart?" asked Spencer.
"Did you hear the part I said about the giant Sequoia? I can send it to you, but unless your laptop screen is the size of a drive-in movie theater-." said Garcia.
"Send it anyway. We'll print out a hard copy here." said Spencer.
"I'm going to send the side of the tree that migrated westward, and do not say I did not warn you." said Garcia.
Alex looked at Spencer.
"You're going to need a bigger copy machine." said Alex.
Spencer nodded.
Spencer was mumbling to himself as he examined the family tree that Hotch and JJ helped him piece together with Hotch near him while JJ and Sergeant Mahaffey stood in the background, watching him work.
"I've learned to stop asking questions about this guy." said Sergeant Mahaffey quietly to JJ as he thought about the conversation he had with Spencer the day before.
Spencer allowed dates and locations to pop up in yellow before he laid his eyes on one certain name, causing JJ to notice.
"What's up, Spence?" asked JJ.
"There's something strange about this one branch of the family tree. Garcia?" asked Spencer.
"Talk to me. I am fluent in genius." said Garcia.
"Roy and Becky Danary, they died in 1985, leaving behind a son named William Danary, but there's no record of what happened to him." said Spencer.
"The Danarys were Peace Corps workers in Ecuador. They died in a car accident there. And you're right, their kid just sort of vanished. Let me do some digging and I will call you back." said Garcia before hanging up.
"All right, well, we profiled the unsub as delusional. What if Stoughton being a great-great-great-whatever is just part of his delusion?" asked JJ.
"Or the discovery of being a direct descendant triggered the delusion." said Hotch.
"He looked into his ancestry." said Spencer.
"That would be easy to do here. Salt Lake City has the largest family history library in the world." said Sergeant Mahaffey.
"Gloria Carlyle researched Herbert Sykes' ancestry." said Hotch.
"Abby Stafford was a bookish college student." said Spencer as he continued to look at the family tree.
"Maybe that's where they crossed-at a library." said JJ.
"JJ, have Garcia get the names of all the employees and volunteers in the Provo and Salt Lake City library system and cross-check those with descendants of William Stoughton." said Hotch.
A short while later Spencer was sitting at the conference room table with his teammates when Garcia called them back.
"Hey, I have a thing." said Garcia.
"What is it, Garcia?" asked Hotch.
"No library employees are direct descendants of William Stoughton. However, there is a volunteer with a fascinating family history there. Leland Duncan, son of Orland and Clara Duncan, Mormon missionaries." said Garcia.
"But the Duncans aren't part of the Stoughton lineage." said Spencer.
"But, a big kiss to who can guess where they were doing their missionary work in 1985." said Garcia.
"Ecuador." said Hotch.
"Ding, ding, we have a winner." said Garcia.
"Same time and place as the Peace Corps couple that died and left a son." said JJ.
"So the Duncans adopted the boy and changed his name." said Hotch.
"I'm sending you a current photo of Leland Duncan along with his home address. There." said Garcia.
JJ looked at her tablet.
"Thanks." said Hotch before hanging up before looking at Spencer who looked exhausted, "I am going to have an officer take you to the hotel so you can catch up on some sleep since you have been up the past 24 hours." said Hotch.
"I definitely need a nap due to all that reading I did since I am developing a small migraine from the lack of sleep, so I am not going to argue with you." said Spencer.
A few days later Spencer grinned at the sight of Olivia dressed up as Little Bo Peep.
"You make a beautiful grown up Little Bo Peep." said Spencer.
"And you make a handsome farmer who married Little Bo Peep." said Olivia.
"Should we go round up our sheep?" asked Spencer as his way to refer to Piper, Albert, and Ava.
Olivia laughed as she lightly slapped her husband on the chest.
"We should go round them up so pictures can be taken for your mom, aunt, and uncle." said Olivia.
A few minutes later William was getting ready to take a picture of his smiling son and daughter in law holding their three little sheep on their hips.
"Can you say baa?" asked William.
"Baaa." said Spencer, Olivia, and Piper in unison as Albert and Ava stared at their grandfather.
The following morning, Spencer was having a meeting with his teammates and Garcia looked at Hotch, Spencer, and JJ.
"Don't you three have pictures to show off from last night?" asked Garcia.
"I guess I will go first." said Spencer as he pulled out his phone and a few seconds later he was showing his teammates the pictures that his father took.
"Aww." cooed Garcia.
"Little Bo Peep theme?" asked JJ.
"Yeah." said Spencer.
"At least you and Olivia get to choose costumes for now, but probably next year Piper will want to pick out her costume." said Hotch.
"I know, and I really can't believe it that Albert and Ava turned five months old a few days ago." sighed Spencer.
Spencer and Olivia were curled up together on one of Garcia's couches when Morgan looked at them.
"Why didn't you two bring the kids?" asked Morgan.
"Dad wanted us to have a child free evening." said Spencer.
A few minutes later Spencer and Olivia were standing around Garcia's altar with Spencer's teammates each holding pictures and figurines in their hands.
"OK, everybody, I guess it's time to start. Here you go, sir." said Garcia as she passed Hotch a glass of wine.
"Thank you." said Hotch.
"Uh... I want to thank everybody for doing this with me, and our altar's burning, and I just feel so blessed to have you all here. I will start. Uh..." said Garcia as she placed a picture on the alter, "This is my mom and dad. I miss them." said Garcia before adding another photo, "And this is my cat Simba with his usual bowl of soda pop. He was a weird cat." said Garcia gaining some laughter.
"OK. Who's next?" asked Garcia.
"Uh, OK. Well, uh, this is my sister Roslyn. Ros." said JJ as she put a picture of her sister on the alter, "She always dreamt that someday she'd live in Paree, so, um...it didn't happen, but I thought this would bring her some happiness." said JJ as she placed a miniature Eiffel tower figurine on the altar.
"Private First Class Darryl Jenson. We lost him during the Tet offensive." said Rossi as he placed a photo along with some tickets on the altar.
"What are the tickets?" asked Morgan.
"Opening day next season, Wrigley, right behind the home dugout. Jenson was a diehard Cubs fan." said Rossi.
"Sweet." said Morgan.
Alex then put a picture with a crossword puzzles book on the altar.
"Um... My mom. She was the one who got me into crossword puzzles- no erasing allowed- which got me into linguistics." said Alex.
"You said we could bring more than one, right?" asked Spencer.
"Oh, yes. This is a come one, come all altar." said Garcia.
Spencer placed a photo of his uncle Daniel and himself at three years old sitting in front of a chess board and set a chess piece on the alter.
"This is uncle Daniel, and he was the one to teach me how to play chess when I was three years old." said Spencer before grabbing the other photo that he brought and setting it up there, "It's Nikola Tesla. I figured he's probably been inventing things on the other side, so hopefully he'll bring something to us."
Morgan looked at Olivia.
"Ladies first." said Morgan.
Olivia placed her parents wedding photo on the altar with a small Big Ben figurine.
"My mom and dad, and there are days that I really miss them. They had their honeymoon in London, and they were hoping to take me to London after I finished college, which didn't happen." said Olivia before stepping back to her husband who wrapped an arm around her waist.
"Maybe we can eventually take a trip there this summer." whispered Spencer into Olivia's ear.
Morgan placed a photo of his dad with a cigar on the altar.
"I guess that's me. OK. I brought... My pops. He was a cigar aficionado, big time." chuckled Morgan, "And, actually, Rossi, he was also a huge Cubbies fan, so I was thinking maybe he and private Jenson over there, maybe they could go to the game together." said Morgan.
"They can sort that out when they get here." said Rossi.
Hotch placed a picture of Haley on the alter and everyone was silent.
"Well, I guess this is proof positive that ancestry ain't all bad." said Rossi.
"How about a toast to the... 30 or 40 of us?" asked Garcia.
Everyone clinked their glasses together.
"Cheers." said Spencer and Olivia in unison.
"Cheers." said JJ.
"Cheers."
"Cheers."
"Salud." said Rossi.
After everyone at least clinked glasses, they took a sip of their drinks or non-alcoholic beverages.
A/N: There is a little bit of foreshadowing in this chapter that will take place in a future chapter in this story since I am still going to deal with the storyline of Spencer getting shot.