Chapter 7
Ok, wow, I seriously have no acceptable excuse this time, except that the end of the school year was reeeaaally bad. And I know that this chapter is shorter than most, but hey, what can I say? Any who, enjoy, everybody.
…..
I woke up gradually, as if I was coming out of a fog. My whole body felt heavy. Maybe someone decided to switch my blood out for lead. I could hear machines beeping in the background. Where the hell was I? I tried to open my eyes to see what was going on, but as soon as did, I regretted it. The lights in the room nearly burned my retinas straight through the back of my head. I opened my eyes gradually this time and saw machines and white walls. A hospital? Why was I in a hospital? I sat up too look around better and fell back with a cry when a sharp pain ran through my chest. Maybe that's why I'm in a hospital. But what the hell happened?
A doctor ran into the room and started looking at the machines and then the chart at the foot of the bed. He seemed excited. Why was he excited? He looked up at me and asked, "Do you know where you are?"
I nodded. "A hospital." I said, but it came out more like a croak.
He gave me a drink of water and asked, "Do you remember why?" I racked my brains trying to dredge up the memory. There was a case . . . a building . . . gunfire?
"I was shot?" I was guessing, really. I don't remember any details. Is that normal? I can't remember, but I feel like I should know.
The doctor nodded, "That's right. Once in the shoulder just above the heart and once in the arm. We repaired the damage. You're almost healed." He smiled reassuringly.
That confused me more, I was just shot, but I'm almost healed? "How long was I out?"
"22 days. You had everyone here very worried. It's good to see you awake." I panicked. 22 days? Just what the hell happened?
….
"That was an Agent McGee. LEO's just found another two bodies in a local park." JJ announced.
"Damn. This guy still seems to be two steps ahead of us." Prentiss muttered.
Hotch nodded, "Prentiss, you and Rossi have already worked with the agents at a crime scene, go with them and see what you can find out." The pair nodded and left. "Let's go over the profile again to see if there's anything we missed."
….
"A coma? Really? Doc, you gotta be kidding me."
"I am not. You slipped under right after surgery." But that didn't make any sense…
"Did I get many visitors?"
"'Oh, yes. Your team all came as often as they could, and you mother and sisters called me several times to make sure that I would have you call them as soon as you woke up…" he waved a phone in the air. I sighed.
Guess I had a few calls to make.
….
"The crime scene looks nearly identical to the others." McGee remarked.
"Really? Then how do you explain the ID left lying out, probie?" Tony asked as he held up two wallets, complete with driver's licenses.
"Why would he leave them out now? He has been very careful about that, yes?"
"It could be that there is something about these two that is important to the unsub." Rossi pointed out.
"But what? So far we haven't found any connection besides the casino between our victims." Prentiss argued. "It's more likely that he's devolving and left them behind by mistake."
"Well that's true, but we've only ID'd two of the victims so far. Let's have Garcia run the names and see what she comes up with."
….
"Hey Doc?"
"Yes?"
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course. What is it?"
"Is it possible to dream while you're in a coma?"
….
"So, when I got the names, the first thing I did was cross check them with our previous victims. And I got a hit." Petty Officer Trumpman appeared on the screen with the latest male victim. "Carl Rogers and the Petty Officer went to college together. So, I took it one step further, and added all the other male victims to the search. They all went to that college."
"Which college?" Agent Gibbs demanded.
"Mary Baldwin College." Abby replied.
Gibbs nodded and ended the video feed. "Tony, you and McGee go check it out. Take an FBI agent with you."
….
The doc had given me a lot to think about. But if what he said was true, I certainly had a huge decision to make. I mean, I could go back to the way things were, or I could … God, I don't even know. I could … say something, I guess? Yeah, that'd probably be the best way, just say something out right. How hard could it be?
….
"So, what can you tell me about these men, Professor Yarrow?" Probie asked.
"Hm, well, what are you looking for, exactly? I could tell you a lot about each of them, but nothing that I would think would be a cause for murder."
"We're looking for anything that might connect them in some way." Spencer clarified.
"I can't say anything comes to mind … wait."
"Yes?" I asked. Please tell me we finally have a solid lead.
"I think they might've all dated the same girl while they were here, but I can't be positive. You know how college kids are."
I nodded.
"And for the life of me, I can't remember the girl's name … Emilia, Emma … Emily! That was it, Emily."
Well, that's a start. "Ok. Can you remember her last name?"
"No, I'm sorry, I don't think I can."
McGee handed him his card, "If you remember anything else, call."
"Of course." Professor Yarrow nodded.
….
"Ok, so I cross-checked the name Emily with all the male victims and got one hit. Emily Leduc."
Reid looked puzzled. "Wasn't the casino manager named Leduc?"
"Yeah. Gabriella Leduc." Tony agreed.
Garcia added the name to the search. After a minute, she said, "Gabriella Leduc is Emily Leduc's mother."
Gibbs cut in, "Aren't we missing something, here? Serial killers are rarely female."
"While that's true," Hotch nodded, "In this case it would actually make a lot of sense. Garcia, what else can you find on Emily?"
"Hm, lets see, born in New York, but moved to D.C with her mom when her dad walked out on them when Emily was seven. Went to private school, got a degree in business, and helps her mom run the casino."
"Here's something!" Abby added, "She received an invitation to John Phillips, the first victims, wedding."
"That was probably the stressor." Rossi mused, "With her father leaving at such a young age, she most likely had abandonment issues, and her ex-boyfriend getting married would seem like the ultimate betrayal."
"Let's go pick her up." Gibbs decided.
….
The arrest was easy. Emily was at the casino when they showed up. She tried to bolt out the back door, but Agent David and Prentiss had the exit well covered. We brought her to NCIS HQ for interrogation. We also ended up arresting Gabriella Leduc, because she took a swing at Tony when he was taking Emily out to the cars. By the time we finished, it was a little past midnight. Hotch convinced Agent Gibbs to let both women sit in interrogation overnight and give the teams a rest. How, I'll never know. Agent Gibbs seems the type to work his team into exhaustion, and by the looks of disbelief on his teams face when he told them to go home, it was an accurate assessment.
I flopped onto the cheap hotel mattress with a tired sigh. I lay there for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling. My phone rang and I picked it up, not bothering to look at the caller id. If this was someone calling us back to work …
"Hello."
"Hey."
"…" I couldn't think, let alone speak. This wasn't … he couldn't …
"… I love you, Spencer."
….
….
Hehe, cliffhanger, I know, but I couldn't resist. I'll probably wrap this fic up in another chapter or at the most, two, but fear not, dear readers! There shall be a sequel ….sometime… and maybe a prequel… any who, reviews and feedback is always appreciated!
