Chapter 8
Reid stared at the murder trying to concentrate on geographical profile but he was too frustrated with this case and with Captain Fox. He was refusing to let Jade go and in the process accused Reid of trying to ruin his case. Hotch had calmed Fox down before he kicked the BAU off the case.
The team was very worried about their youngest team mate- they were confused as to what was going on and where concerned that Reid wasn't volunteering the information as easily as usual. They were also concerned that they didn't know Reid as well as they thought they did… They didn't even know he had child hood friends!
Susie, Dean and Luke had already left to get the apartment ready and Ash had volunteered to stay so she could keep an eye on Jade. Other than Spencer, Jade would be closet to Ash since she opened her home to her in their teens and looked out for Jade in high school.
"Hey Kid, I'm back from re-interviewing the witnesses" Morgan said walking into the room "turns out that the UNSUB had a long scar and eye sewn shut but had blonde hair. We are sending out a sketch artist"
"Okay good. The geographical profile proves that Jade isn't guilty but I can't match them up to a specific area. The data is too… random!"
At this point Spencer wanted to hit his head on the wall!
"Look Reid you're trying your best here" Morgan said
"Well my best isn't good enough!" Reid examined raising his voice
The tension in the room came fast, Morgan didn't know what to say and glad when he heard a little tap on the door. Both men turned to the door where Ash stood with a cup of coffee in one hand and a wrapped bear claw in the other.
"Hey, I interrupting something?" Ash asked glaring at Morgan
"No ma'am" Morgan replied
Morgan took the girl in, she wasn't his obvious usual type she opted for a baggy t-shirt with a graphic design and a pair of jeans. Her glasses where a little too large for her face and her hair was wildly curly but he had to admit she was pretty and from the light in Reid's eye that appeared when she did it was easy for Morgan to imagine that pretty boy did too.
Ash examined Morgan one last time before turning her attention back to Reid "So Spence, do you still take your coffee with an ungodly amount of sugar?"
"Yes, thank-you" Spencer smiled "This is just what I need"
"Eat this too" Ash said handing him the bear claw "You're too skinny"
Spencer laughed "OH there she is! Hi mom!" he gave her a little wave
In response she hit him on the shoulder and playfully glared "Hey! No disrespecting her! I love your mum!"
Spencer took a sip of his coffee and then took a big bite from his bear claw "Happy?" he asked with a full mouth
"As Larry" She replied but then looked thoughtful for a moment "Who is Larry?"
"It's just a phase, it can be dated back to around 1875, first used by a New Zealand writer- G.L. Meredith- he wrote 'We would be as happy as Larry if it were not for the rats'" Reid told her while examining the geographical profile
"Ugh, rats" Ash shivered in disgust
Morgan stared openly at the pair, where was the shy and awkward Spencer Reid that could barely look a girl in the eye let alone have a witty back and forth conversation with one! Ash looked around the room until her eyes finally rested on her the geographical profile that Reid was working on.
"Geographical profile?" she asked stepping towards it
"Yea. How do you know about it?" Morgan asked
"Do you forget who I grew up with?" Ash laughed "I remember when you first time you you first played with this thing! You had all of us running across Vegas committing 'fake murders' to prove your thesis"
"Of course!" Reid exclaimed
"Okay either you are very excited about that memory" Ash observed "or you just had a breakthrough"
"Ash you're a genius! I could kiss you right now!" Spencer exclaimed
"Well I'm not objecting" Ash winked while tapping her cheek
Spencer gave her a quick peck on the cheek as if it wasn't the first time he did so- Morgan was starting to question the relationship between these two.
"Ash just reminded me of my project thesis proving that a geographical profile- if used properly can be used to prove that identical crimes can be… distinguished from each other for lack of a better word" Reid explained
"For lack of a better word? Did Diana teach you nothing about literature?" Ash joked
"She publishes several bestselling novels and now she thinks she's an expert in the English language" Reid mumbled just loud enough for them to hear
"Nope, of course not" She replied "I'm still dyslexic"
"We've been over this Ashlyn- lots of people are dyslexic" Spencer said while straightened up to look her in the eye "including Da Vinci and Einstein- it does not make you less gifted as you already are"
"Your so geek it's actually sweet" Ash said more shyly then before "Is it your way of saying that you're the Einstein to my Da Vinci?"
Reid blushed and looked back to the board "I should probably get back to work…"
"And I should get back to Jade…" Ash agreed "You better eat that"
Ash gave him a gentle glare and an 'I'm watching you' gesture before quietly existing with Morgan behind her.
"It's best to let him work alone" ash told him "learned that the hard way, mess with his work one time and you never hear the end of it! - I was seven!"
Morgan laughed deeply "You two do seem to have some history"
Ash simply shrugged and walked away in the direction of where Jade was being held. Morgan watched her go and took out his phone and hit speed dial.
"Talk dirty to me" Garcia answered with a seductive voice
Morgan chuckled softly and moved to a more private area
"Hey Baby Girl, did you do as Hotch asked?" He asked
Hotch ordered a background check on all of Reid's friends- without Reid's knowledge of course- which Morgan didn't agree with, it made him feel dirty and like he was betraying Reid's trust. For some important reason Spencer trusted these guys like he trusted the team and if Morgan was completely honest with himself he suspected that Reid even trusted them more than the team. And right now he didn't blame him.
"Yes, and I feel like I need to shower" Garcia told him
"Why, what did you find?" Morgan asked
"Nothing, they are all squeaky clean- even that Luke guy- who by the way actually volunteers at a community centre that works to help teenagers that live in abusive homes connected too alcohol and drug abuse" Garcia said softly "Chocolate thunder, I feel icky, these are good people junior G-man's friends no less! How will he react when he finds out that we investigated his friends! This is very, very, very bad karma! We don't need any more bad Karma!"
"Wow, wow, wow! Baby Girl calm down!" Morgan soothed "Start from the start and tell me about them"
He heard Garcia take a deep breath "Ok I'll start with Susie Valentine, cause her name is UBER cute"
Morgan chuckled
"Susie Valentine, 26, She's a singer/dancer, but hear this: she's a child prodigy! She got early admission to Juilliard… full scholarship! She and her boyfriend live together in New York, but they're both originally from sin city itself. Get this though her family is rich and I'm talking Richie Rich, rice! Her dad owns like three casinos across Vegas but she was cut off years ago! No idea why though"
"Could it be because of the boyfriend?" Morgan asked
"Very strong possibility. Okay, Dean Knight, also 26- also a child prodigy- apparently he can put his hand to any musical instrument and play it perfectly! Isn't that amaz-"
"Baby Girl stay on track please?" Morgan said interrupting her
"Well like his girl, he got early admission and full scholarship to Juilliard but still he worked two jobs sending all the money back home to his family- still is- as far as I can see he is the only one supporting the family, their doesn't seem to be a father in the picture, he has three younger half-brothers and new-born half-sister, mother has a record for prostitution, she's been arrested half a dozen times already… WOW! How are these kids not in care?"
"Well that's a good reason for her family not to approve" Morgan observed
"You don't need to be a profiler to see that my chocolate stud muffin, but I have to admit his name proceeds him- he can be my Knight in shining armour any day" Garcia purred
"Hey now! I think you will find that, that position has been filled" Morgan said defensively
Garcia giggled "Don't worry Sugar lips, your my one and only"
"Good, moving on- did you find out more about Jade Collins?" Morgan asked
"Very little, except she is a MIT undergrad and lived in Vegas since she was fifteen" Garcia stated "Now let me tell you about Luke Jenkins, 26, he grew up in a family of lawyers, but get this he is a child prodigy…. In cooking! But apparently daddy didn't want a chief in the family so of course he had to be a lawyer- sounds very Hotchner brothers to me- he graduated early from Harvard law and got assistant DA after a huge case last year where he put away three Russian mobsters and several drug dealers. As I said before he works with kids in troubled homes."
"Well that was unexpected- he seemed like a jackass to me" Morgan stated
"Moving on- Ashlyn Carter, 26, she and her twin brother, Alexander are both originally from London but when they were six their parents died in a car accident- poor baby's- they moved to Las Vegas to live with their only living relative, a grandmother. She is a child art prodigy! I've seen some of her work online, she's brilliant! She obviously got a full scholarship to Yale University. She is also a bestselling writer. I realise now that I've read like half her books she is great- now I know why Boy Wonder gets all smug when he sees me reading them- she also volunteers at a suicide support group"
"Tell me about her brother's death" Morgan asked sadly
"Alexander OD on an unlisted drug…" Garcia voice soften
"Was he an addict?" Morgan asked confused "How did they know it was a suicide?"
"Ashlyn and Spencer both claim that he never touched the stuff. They know he did it on purpose because he left a note saying 'I'm so sorry. Goodbye'" Garcia said softly
"That's it? That's rough" Morgan's voice soften
"There's more in the ME's report, says that there was several if not hundreds of healed wounds and scars- healed broken bones and ribs. What is stranger is that these a years old, I mean childhood years old! This guy was abused! But no one could explain it so… they just left it! The police didn't even ask his sister or friends, they didn't want to upset them more"
SEVEN DEADLY SINS
Spencer smiled in satisfaction he had finally finished a working geographical profile proving that there was more than one UNSUB he had already called Hotch with the information.
There was a little tap on the door and Ash quietly entered again.
"Hey, sorry- don't mind me, finish your work" she whispered before sitting on the table crossed legged
"Actually for once your timing couldn't be more perfect" Spencer joked
"For once? Should I be insulted?" Ash asked
"Of course, but it's true you're the most disorganised person I know!" Spencer exclaimed
"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that!" Ash exclaimed "I just came to say Susie's with Jade now so I'm going to go back to the flat"
She slid down from the table and started towards the door.
"Ash, wait!" Reid called out "I need to talk to you"
Ash turned slowly, she was dreading this moment but she knew it was coming the moment she got the phone call for Luke.
"Okay, but me first" She said walking towards him "This is going to be tough"
She's right there he thought. She slid her hand in his and led him to the table and they sat down on the uncomfortable chairs facing each other. Both couldn't find the nerve to look at each other so they sat in silence, Ash was looking down at their joined hands and started play with his fingers just like she used to when they were kids.
"You broke my heart" She said finally
"I di-" Reid tried to defend himself but Ash interrupted him
"SH, please Spence- this is hard enough" Ash begged "Back then I was in a bad place, I lost my brother- I didn't know how I felt let alone how to express my emotions! I hate how you were the only one that seemed to know what I needed and you… you left! You just left me… You left us"
"What did you do" Reid whispered
"For a long time nothing" Ash shrugged tears formed in her eyes "But in time I started remembering my brother for the good moments, I was less angry and I took your advice I seeked help from a professional. You were right, it helped"
"That's good, I'm glad" He soothed rubbing their hands together
"The sessions they made me think about the fight we had when you ended things and how out of line I was, I understand now- like I understand why you broke things off between us"
"You do?" Spencer asked fascinated with their hands
"We were only dating two months- we didn't even tell Alexander! When he died you felt like you betrayed him and whatever 'bro-code' you guys had and you felt you had to make thing right between you and Alexander"
"You should be a profiler" Spencer joked nervously
"For what it's worth… I'm sorry" Ash said finally looking him in the eye "The things I said to you back then… not a day goes by that I don't regret every word"
"I'm sorry too- I should have been there for you" Spencer said holding her gaze "Not a day goes by that I don't regret my actions"
"Well we both share allot of regret" Ash laughed through her streaming tears "Forgive and forget?"
"Forgive and forget" Spencer stated wiping her tears away with his free hand
"Okay" She said softly leaning into her hand "What did you want to talk about?"
"This is going to be hard" Spencer told her honestly
"That's okay, take a deep breath start slow" Ash advised
"I promised myself when the time come, I'd tell you first in private" Spencer mumbled
"Spence? You've lost me" She stated confused "As usual"
Spencer let go of one of her hands and produced the envelop and letter from his pocket. He looked at it for a minute and then whispered "Please don't hate me"
"Spencer your scarring me" Ash told him "What the hell is this?"
"It's a letter" He answered "From your brother. It's from Alexander"
