The Beauty and the Geek
We walked through the cemetery following Haley's casket that Morgan, Rossi, Kevin, Anderson and Will were carrying, I was walking next to Aaron holding Jack's hand, they put the casket down and moved back. I was standing next to Spencer just slightly behind Aaron with Jack standing in front of me, my hand was on his shoulder and Spencer held my hand. Even though I had just lost my best friend, Spencer holding my hand was very distracting, leading up to today he would call me at least twice a day to make sure I was okay, I of course lied to him, I was horrible, I was hurting, Haley was my friend, my sister, the mother of my amazing nephew. Garcia, JJ, and Emily too asked me if I was doing okay and if I needed anything, I was staying with Aaron and Jack for a few days, helping with the funeral, and helping Aaron out with Jack while he moved Jack's stuff into his apartment.
"W.S. Gilbert wrote, "It's love that makes the world go 'round." And if that's true, then the world spun a little faster with Haley in it. Haley was my best friend since we were in high school. We certainly had our struggles, But if there's one thing we agreed on unconditionally, It was our love and commitment to our son jack. Haley's love for jack was joyous and fierce. That fierceness is why she isn't here today. A mother's love is an unrivaled force of nature. And we can all learn much from the way Haley lived her life. Haley's death causes each of us to stop and take stock of our lives." Aaron read to us amd I looked at Spencer for a brief moment, I wanted so badly to tell him how I felt, JJ, Emily and Garcia kept asking me if I was ever going to, I told them I can't, everything screamed at me to do it, but my heart held me back, "To measure who we are and what we've become. I don't have all those answers for myself, but I know who Haley was. She was the woman who died protecting the child we brought into this world together. And I will make sure that Jack grows up knowing who his mother was and how she loved and protected him and how much I loved her. If Haley were with us today, she would ask us not to mourn her death but to celebrate her life. She would tell us..." He paused and took a breath, "She would tell us to love our families unconditionally..." He said with his voice breaking a little bit, "And to hold them close, because in the end, they are all that matter. I met Haley at the tryouts Of our high school's production of "the Pirates of Penzance." he said and I smiled a little, I remember that day all to well, it was also the day I met my best friend, "I found our copy of the play and was looking through it the other night, and I came upon a passage that seemed...appropriate for this moment. "oh, dry the glistening tear that dews that martial cheek. Thy loving children hear, in them thy comfort seek. With sympathetic care their arms around thee creep, for, oh, they cannot bear to see their father weep." Aaron finished and we all placed our roses on Haley's casket, I started to walk away, I saw Spencer waiting for me at the car and I turned around and looked at Aaron and Jack, I saw Jack blow a kiss and I felt tears in my eyes again as I walked over to the cars.
TBATG
I was sitting at a table with Morgan, Emily, JJ, Will, Garcia, Kevin, and Spencer who was sitting next to me, we see Rossi walking down the steps with 2 glasses in his hand with Aaron following him, I gave Aaron a small smile as they walked by.
"What do we do?" Emily asked turning back around
"There's nothing we can do. We just gotta wait him out." Morgan told her
"You think he'll ever come back?" Spencer asked him
"Would you?" JJ asked
"He'll come back. I just don't know what he's gonna look like when he does."
"We just need to be there for him when he's ready." I said and I turned to look at Jessica, Haley's sister, standing there with Jack by the food. He looked like he was picking at it not wanting to eat, the days I was staying with Aaron sometimes Jack would sleep in Aaron's bed and sometimes he would come sleep in mine, I would just lay there and hold him until he fell asleep and I just layed there looking at the ceiling, I havent been able to sleep for the past few days, seeing Haley laying there dead still haunted me.
Suddenly Morgan's cell phone rings, "They can't be calling us in, not tonight."
"I'm on it." JJ said and grabbed her phone
"We can't go." Emily told him
"We have to. I'll get Rossi." Morgan said and got up
"Talk to strauss, tell her to send another team." Spencer told JJ
"There's no other team available. Nashville's calling us in. Second body in 2 weeks, both killed on consecutive friday nights. They realize they're up against the clock and they're hoping we might find something they didn't." JJ said and we all started to get up, "Elizabeth." She said and I faced her, "Strauss would understand if you didn't go, I can talk to her."
"No it's okay, I need to distract myself. I'm gonna go say bye to Jack real quick though." I told her and she put her hand on my arm and walked away while I walked over to Jack.
Spencer's POV...
I started to walk up the stairs when I turned and saw Elizabeth bent down in front of Jack talking to him, she had been through a lot these past couple of days, I tried to be there for her but at the same time give her space.
"Hey kid." Morgan said and walked up to me, his eyes moved to where I was looking, "I know there has been a lot going on lately, but I'm sure she really appriciates you being there for her."
"I just wish there was more I could do." I said and saw Elizabeth give Jack a hug.
"You're already doing it." He said and put his hand on my shoulder.
"I wish I could tell her how I feel Morgan."
"And you should, not right now, but you should when the time is right." He said and I looked at him.
"It's hard, she's so beautiful, strong and carefree but I would stand no chance with her."
"That's not true kid, yes she may be beautiful but don't let that stop you, you would never know what will happen unless you try." He said and walked away, I looked back at Elizabeth, she was heading towards me when she stopped and looked at Hotch.
Elizabeth POV...
I just got done saying goodbye to Jack and was heading back towards the steps, I looked over at Aaron who looked over at me.
"I love you." I mouthed to him and he nodded his head.
"Love you too." He mouthed back and I headed up the stairs.
TBATG
"Two women dead in two weeks, both killed in their own homes, and no sign of forced entry. Floors were covered in rose petals." JJ said to us as we sat on the jet looking through the files.
"Quite the romantic." Rossi said "Evidence of sexual assault?"
"None. Both women were last seen leaving their offices on a Friday and never showed up to work on a Monday."
"It's Thursday, why are we only being called in now?" Morgan asked her
"The second body was only found yesterday."
"There may be a socio-economic pattern emerging. The first victim, Bethany Heminger, lived in Belle Meade, Melissa Johnson in Brentwood. Both are affluent neighborhoods." Spencer said
"Yet there was nothing missing from either home." Rossi said matter-of-facterly
"What did these women do for a living?" I asked JJ
"Bethany was a defense attorney, Melissa a corporate executive."
"Two brunettes with similar features In high-powered professions? That's not a coincidence." Emily pointed out
"These women most likely represent someone he knows." Rossi said
"All right, so we need to figure out where this unsub Is meeting his victims and how he's gaining access to their homes. And if he's staying on pattern, most likely this guy has picked out his next target." Morgan told us
"We should check gardeners, housekeeping staff, pool attendants, floral shops, see if anyone worked both homes." Rossi says
"Start working up a paper trail, Garcia. Find out where these women were in the days leading up to each murder." Morgan told her.
"Like a genie in a bottle-poof!" She said and hung up, and I lightly chuckled.
"All right. Prentiss, you and I are gonna go check out the Johnson crime scene. Rossi, you and Reid talk to the coroner, start working up victimology. Jj, Elizabeth talk to the families and staff and find a connection we can use. I understand that all of our thoughts are with Hotch. But right now, I need us all to focus on this case. We have less than a day before this unsub will strike again. Let's finish this thing fast." Morgan said and put a hand on my shoulder, I smiled at him and looked back at the file.
TBATG
"You must be the FBI. Landon kaminski." The detective said and JJ shakes his hand
"Agent jareau. We spoke on the phone." She said, "This is Agent Elizabeth Hotchner." the detective shakes my hand.
"Yeah, it's nice to meet you. The mayor's on my ass. Two prominent women killed on my watch and everyone knows we're bracing for a third." He said to us
"Well, let's hope that doesn't happen. Where would you like us to set up?"
"In here." Landon said to us and we started to follow him.
"I'm gonna need to issue a statement with the press. Every woman in Nashville needs to know there's a serial killer on the loose. We need them taking preventative measures to avoid becoming his next target." JJ told him
"The mayor thinks we should be as specific as possible." Landon said
"Every woman, detective. His first 2 victims may be from the same social class, But if we isolate victimology this soon, It may cause him to go outside of his own comfort zone, And then he'll be even harder to track. Better to stress hypervigilance And shut down his victim pool completely, Don't you think?" JJ asked him
"Yes, ma'am."
TBATG
"Find anything?" Rossi asked as him and Spencer walked into the room
"Several people had access to each home. Housekeeper, gardener, pool cleaner, dog walker, each with their own key and an alibi to match." I said and Spencer walked around the table sitting next to me.
"Any cross-over?" Rossi asked
"None. We even vetted delivery people and utility workers." JJ told him
"Garcia, do you have anything?" Spence asked her
"There's no hits on the prints at all, But I did what sir Derek there asked and I created a paper trail. There's no cross-over between the two victims themselves In the wee leading up to their murders, but they did run in similar circles."
"How do you mean?" Rossi asked her, Emily and Morgan joined us at this point.
"They both have country club memberships, though to different clubs. They went to upscale restaurants, private concert venues, posh hotels. They enjoyed a high-class, highfalutin lifestyle, an expensive one."
"A lifestyle he'd fit right into. This guy is educated, intelligent, proper. He's a downright gentleman." Emily said and sat down.
"The rose petals sent a pretty specific message. He's romancing them whether they want it or not. He's got the social skills to back it up." Morgan pointed out
"Hey, Garcia, take a look at dating services and social networking sites. Look for working professionals and privileged elite." Spencer told her
"Check, check, and checkers. Back in a smidge." She said and hung up.
"We need more." Morgan told us
"Have we figured out how he's getting into these homes?" I asked
"No sign of forced entry anywhere. Yet he's still gaining access to their homes long before the victims ever get home from work. I mean, this guy needs time to cook And set up his scene. He's either got a key or he can move through walls." Morgan said.
"We need fresh eyes." Rossi uttered
"All right, listen up. I want everybody to go back to the hotel and try to get some rest. We're gonna have to pick this up again in the morning." Morgan told us
"We're giving up?" I asked
"No. we're gonna take a break. We have to give the profile at morning roll and none of us has slept since the funeral. Once Garcia can get us a paper trail, Then we can expand our canvass. Till then there's really not a lot we can do." Morgan said
TBATG
We headed back to the hotel and once I got my pj's on there was a knock at my door, I looked through the peep hole and saw Spencer standing there.
"Hey."
"Hi, I was just stopping by to see how you were doing." He said and I stepped aside and he came in.
"I'm okay, or well trying to be at least, I keep thinking about Jack and Aaron." I told him and sat down on the edge of my bed, Spencer sat in the chair across from me.
"I know you are going through a hard time right now but I'm always here if you need me." He said and I smiled
"Thank you Spencer, it's meant a lot to me that you have been here for me through all this." I said
"Well I should probably let you get to sleep." Spencer said and stood up.
I let out a small chuckle, "I haven't slept well the past couple of days." I said and he sat down next to me.
"Why not?"
"Everytime I close my eyes I see Haley's body, and I know it's probably just the grief but I also keep imagining what would have happened if Foyet got Jack and Aaron too, I just...can't close my eyes without those images popping into my brain." I told him and Spencer grabbed mmy hand and I looked at him with tears in my eyes.
"You can't let your mind go to those places, the average human needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep at night, children and teens n-" He said and looked at me, "You probably don't need facts right now." He said and I shook my head giving a small smile, "Well either way, you should try and rest." He said and stood up.
"Spence." I said and he stopped, "I know this may be weird and feel free to say no if you would feel uncomfortable but would you mind staying with me? At least until I fell asleep." I said and he looked at me.
"Um..sure" He told me and walked over to the chair.
"Spence, you can lay in the bed too, I won't bite." I told him, Unless you want me to. Not the time woman. I thought to myself and noticed Spencer looking at me still, Great I made him uncomfortable. Before I could tell him it was just a thought he rested his cane against the bedside table, took his shoes off and laid down next to me. I'm not gonna lie my heart was racing extremely fast right now and all I could think about was wanting to kiss him, it took an internal battle not to, finally exhaustion took over and I felt myself fall asleep.
"Good night Liz." I hear Spencer say and I don't know if I imagined it or not but I thought I felt him kiss my head.
TBATG
"We believe our unsub is already with his next victim. If he matches pattern, she'll be a successful woman, probably brunette, early 30s to mid-40s"." Rossi said to the Police force. "She'll be at home in nashville's upper echelon." Rossi added
"This means that he fits in. he drives the right car, he wears the right clothes, he's highly intelligent. He probably comes from a place of status." Spencer said, when I woke up this morning he was gone, all I could think was I made him uncomortable by asking him to lay in my bed, so all this morning I've been kind of giving him his space.
"This guy's sociable, and he's endearing. You would never suspect that this man is capable of murder. But he will do whatever it takes to protect the fantasy that he's trying to relive.
"It's this fantasy which fuels his drive. He's recreating a romantic evening And repeating it with each of his victims." Rossi said
"He most likely recently had a relationship taken away from him. So look at men who have lost loved ones or have gone through a messy divorce." Morgan implied
"Like bundy, These women are representations of that first loss. Bundy picked victims who had similar features to the woman that abandoned him, and we believe that our unsub is doing the exact same thing."
"These women were confident, successful, and strong, and they fought back. Which means he has the ability to overpower them fairly easily." I said and out the corner of my eye I see Spencer look at me
"He believes or fantasizes he's in a relationship with these woman. No matter how fleeting the initial interaction is, It's everything to him. An invitation."
"Our technical analyst has compiled a list of locations that the victims visited prior to their death. These are high-class establishments. We're going to want to visit the same places." Spence tld them
"So, look for men who fit the profile, but also women who match victimology. If somebody's been paying a little too much attention to them, talk to them. Get a read, then jot their name down so that we can check them out." Morgan said
"All right, folks, pick up your canvassing assignments and get to work." Landon told
"Thank you." Morgan said and everyone walked away, I headed over to the coffee machine.
"So, what's going on?" I hear JJ ask from behind me and I turned to face her.
"What do you mean?" I asked confused
"Oh come on I felt the awkwardness between you and Spence when I walk in here today."
I looked over at Spencer who was looking at the board then looked back at JJ, "Last night he came to my room to ask how I was doing, after we talked he was about to leave but I asked him if he would stay with me." I said and she looked at me with a smirk, "No not like that, I told him I haven't been sleeping well the past few days so he stayed with me until I fell asleep. The weird thing is though, is that after I started to fall asleep I swear I thought I felt him kiss my head." I told and she shook her head.
"You need to stop being a chicken and tell him how you feel." She said and walked away.
TBATG
"House belongs to an Erika Silverman, Project director in an international design firm. We're assuming the male victim Is her boyfriend Grant Franklin." Landon said as we walked to the house of the lastest victim
"Male victim?" Spence asked him
"Mm-hmm. they're both pretty beat up. We'll need dental records for a positive i.d."
"Who called it in?" Rossi asked him
"Ups guy, needed her to sign for a package, the door was wide open. We got him out back."
"JJ, talk to him." Morgan told her and she left
"Where's erika silverman's body?" Rossi asked
TBATG
"He changed his m.o. multiple stab wounds to the face and neck." Landon told me and Rossi as we looked at the victim
"Classic overkill." Rossi pointed out
"And evidence that she had sex before she died."
"Forced or consensual?" I asked holding a newspaper in my hand
"No evidence of sexual assault."
"She played along. She had sex with the unsub because she thought it would keep her alive." I said and put the paper down
"So why didn't it? This kill is personal, angry. She didn't give him everything that he wanted." Rossi says
"What else does he want?" I asked
Spencer POV...
"The dinner dishes are washed, but the breakfast plates aren't." Morgan said looking in the sink then walked over to me
"He didn't clean up this time."
"The boyfriend must have surprised him and disrupted his routine." Morgan pointed out and we made our way down the hall
"I don't know, I'd say he came pretty close to finishing it. It looks like they watched a movie, had an early breakfast. She was with him all night." I said, I wish I would have stayed with Elizabeth all night, I laid there and watched her fall asleep, I made a bold move and kissed her head and when I did I got a whiff of her conditioner which was coconut scented, I love that smell on her whenever she stands close to me, she stirred a little bit but stayed asleep. I didn't know how it would have gone if I would have stayed the whole night, a part of me probably would have tried to pull her into my arms, she was so peaceful and beautiful, all I could think about was wanting to kiss those lips, finally I was snapped out of my thoughts when Morgan stepped in front of me.
"What's going on kid?"
"What?" I asked him
"You have been in your own head space all morning and don't think I didn't notice the tension between you and Elizabeth." He said and I sighed.
"I stayed in her room last night." I said and he clapped his had on my back.
"Did you finally make a move?"
"What? No, no it wasn't like that. I went to check on her and she mentioned that she hasn't slept well the past couple days and asked if I would stay with her until she fell asleep." I told him and he smirked.
"So then how did go this morning?"
"I-i'm not sure, I left about an hour after she fell asleep." I told him and he shook his head.
"Kid you gotta stop being so nervous with her, what harm could come from telling her how you feel?" He asked me.
"She could reject me and then it would make things awkward on the team."
"You'll never know until you try." He said and walked away, I saw Rossi, Elizabeth and Ladon come back down stairs so I headed to the garage.
TBATG
Elizabeth POV...
"There has to be something in the victimology." Morga said flipping through a file
"If Grant Franklin hadn't come home when he did, Erika would probably still be alive. So how did the unsub miss him?" Emily asked and I flipped through another file.
"It says he was out of town last week visiting family in Indianapolis." I told her
"Still, the violence of those kills Indicates he knew both victims."
" 'cause the longer victims are with the killer, the more desperate the attack. The unsub stabbed erika silverman 17 times in the face, Grant franklin 34 times to the face and genitals." Rossi said
"It makes sense. The more he perfects his routine, The more invested he becomes." Spencer added
"Detective kaminski, have your men had any luck canvassing the victims' last known whereabouts?" Morgan asked him
"None. I'm thinking of pulling them off for the night." Landon answered
"That's a mistake."
"Why is that? The vic's dead. If he sticks to the pattern, We've got another week before he strikes again." Landon told us
"Because he's never gotten this far before. He's desperate to ay out his fantasy. A man like this isn't gonna stick to any timetable. He's gonna try to finish this tonight." Rossi informed him
"JJ, we need you on the news. Narrow victimology. Let people know that he's out there right now." Morgan told her
"I'm on it." She said and left
"We still don't know where he's finding his victims." I said
"But we do know that Erika Silverman lived in Green Hills." Spencer said standing up and walking over to the TV, "That's 3 points and we finally have our geographical comfort zone. It's a good bet the unsub lives somewhere In this area, and Erika is our key to figuring out where they met."
TBATG
"Garcia's got something." JJ said
"I'm a real genius 'cause this is what I did I took the travel logs from the GPS systems, overlaid their routes against the geographical profile to reveal what the paper trail could not."
"Which was?" I asked
"While Erika Silverman is the only victim who didn't visit a private club, a concert, or go to a fancy restaurant in the days leading upo her death, She did spend a couple of hours at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens on Tuesday."
"Garcia, did either of the other victims go to the park?" Spencer asked her
"No."
"I don't know if it's relevant, then."
"It is when her navigation system reads in a straight line. To work, back home, to work, back home. I don't think she ever left her house. She even had her groceries delivered." Garcia said
"What washe doing on Tuesday?" Spence asked
"Let's find out." I said
TBATG
"As you can see, the park attracts a variety of patrons. Older couples, walkers, tour groups. We'll hold an occasional wedding or concert sers on our upper lawn." The guide told us as we walked down the steps of the garden
"Did you have any events here past Tuesday?" Spencer asked her and she looked at her phone
"Tuesday. oh, we had a corporate fund-raiser Between 4:00 and 7:00."
"That's when Erika Silverman was here." JJ pointed out
"An event up here would be a hard sell for women in heels." I inputed, thank god I wore boots today
"Well, most of our private events hire valets to drive the cars down to the base of the park so they don't have to hike it up the hill."
"Who has access to your keys but goes unseen?" Spencer asked me and JJ
"And to your GPS." JJ added
"Dealerships program your home address into thnavigation system Before your car even leaves the lot. He had turn by turn directions straight to her front door And the keys to get him inside" I told them
TBATG
"Culpepper valet company handled the fund-raiser on Tuesday, and...the same company had contracts with the hotel lounge Bethany Heminger frequented and the country club Melissa Johnson was a member at." Garcia informed us.
"That's our connection." Spencer said
"JJ, get Rossi and Prentiss to pick up the owner." Morgan said to her
"Right away." and she left
"All right, baby girl, talk to me. I need employee records and a list of venues that Culpepper contracted out to this weekend."
"Oh, sug, check your email. It hit your inbox 60 seconds ago." she said
"Thanks, penelope." Morgan said and I shook my head then she hung up
"All right, culpeer contracted out to 3 venues This weekend, 2 today." Spencer pointed out
"We might be able to catch this guy in action." Morgan said
"Unless he's already with another victim." I told them
TBATG
"The manager said Belser picked up a shift at the Vonner Street Lounge." Rossi said
"Yeah, we're headed there right now." Spencer said over the speaker phone
"Ok." Emily hung up her phone "SWAT's gonna meet us at Belser's apartment."
"Garcia, did you find anything else on Belser?" JJ asked
"Ok. He attended southern charleston preparatory academy on scholarship his parents died in a boating accident 6 years ago. Belser lost his inheritance in the stock market, And since then, he has been racking up debt Faster than he can pay it off. He was engaged to society magazine editor Rose Smith until 6 weeks ago...when it was called off. And the chapel was already paid for."
"So he spent his entire savings trying to live in the world of his fiancee." Morgan pointed out
"She was his lifeline the society he'd grown up in." Morgan said
"Only to have her leave him and wind up penniless." Landon added
"Hey, garcia, I don't suppose Belser's car has a lo-jack system on it, does it?" Reid asked
"No. no such luck, boy wonder. Need potential victims' names."
"Ok. We'll get back to you."
TBATG
"FBI! open up!" Morgan said as we arrived at the unsub's apartment
"Joe Belser, FB! If you're in there, identify yourself!" I said, still no answer so they busted through the dorr and we headed inside and started sweeping the place
"It's clear here."
"Clear." Emily said from another room
"Hey, uh, I think I found the meaning of the rose petals." I said and held up a catalog
"Look at these." Rossi said holding up garage door openers.
"Garage door openers?" Morgan asked
"Universal garage door openers. This solves the problem of having to copy the key. Some drivers are smart enough to use a valet key, but no one thinks to take a garage door opener with them." Rossi added
"That's how he got into Melissa Johnson's house. We only found prints on the interior garage door. We thought it was from he moved the dog into the garage." Emily said
"People rarely think to lock a door that lies beyond another locked door." Rossi said and grabbed his phone, "Reid. he's not here."
TBATG
We arrived at Ann Herran's house and heard screaming when Morgan busted through the door, we saw the unsub standing above her holding a knife.
"FBI! Put it down!"Morgan yelled and I walked over and kicked him in the stomach knocking him down
"Uhh!"
"It's ok. You're gonna be ok." Rossi said to the woman
"Fantasy's over. Is that what you did to them? You hit them to shut them up and then forced them to play along with your sick delusion?" I asked kneeling over the guy
"I love them."
"You're finally gonna meet your soul mate, Joe. In prison. Only you're not gonna be able to push him around the way you did those women. And when he comes for you in the middle of the night, when you're least expecting it, you do me a favor. Play along." I told him.
TBATG
I closed the ambulance doors when Morgan, Rossi and Emily walked up to me, "How is she?" Morgan asked
"She's strong. She'll make it. But you don't survive something like that without scars." I said
"Scars remind us where we've been. They don't have to dictate where we're going." Rossi said.
TBATG
We sat on the jet and headed home, Derek was listening to his music, Emily was sleeping, JJ was making something in the jet's little kitchen and Rossi was reading a book.
I was reading mine as well when I felt someone sit down in front of me, I looked up and saw Spencer.
"Hey."
"Hi" I said and set my book down.
"You okay?"
"Why do you always ask me that?" I asked and he smiled.
"I don't know, you just always look like your lost in thought." He said and I sighed.
"I was thinking about the other night when I uh...had you stay the night." I said and he cleared his throat, "Look Spence if I made you feel uncomfortable I'm sorry, I just...I didn't really want to be alone and I don't know I feel..." I said and looked out the window, "..I feel better when you're around." I said to him continuing to look out the window.
"I'm sorry I left, I was getting tired and didn't want to intrude." He said and I looked at him and grabbed his hand.
"You wouldn't have intruded, I asked you to stay there." I said and he nodded his head. "Thank you Spence."
"For what?"
"Always being there for me, always comforting me, I don't know what I would do without you." I said smiling at him, And I love you.
"It's no problem." He said and I let go of his hand and grabbed my book again.